How to build: ablative regenerating force fields

[Claire Redfield]

I'm considering using HERO for a Mass Effect game, and one of the fun features of the setting is the prevalence of personal force fields. They ablate under fire, but the user only suffers damage once the shield is fully down. The shields regenerate quickly, too, usually within seconds. Looking at the rules, though, I'm really not quite sure how to tackle this. Seems like there might be more than one way, and certainly something I'm missing.

 

How would you build this in HERO 6E?

[Greywind]

Standard Force Field. Any hit strong enough to go through ablated it. The rest just seems like SFX.

[Chris Goodwin]

The Force Field Power doesn't exist in 6E.  

 

Most of this style of regenerating shields I've seen use extra BODY through a Focus with a Regeneration applied to only it.  

[Christopher]

As a general rule, "Shields at 40%" does not work well in HERO. But it also doesn't has to work well in HERO.

 

The reason "ablating, regenerating forcefields" are used in fictions is because that way there is a way to measure them. Wich means somebody can shout/show the percentage to create dramatic tension.

In HERO (the game system) Forcefields work as extra Armor. Simple as that. Dramatic Tension is never lost, but your ability to survive might be increased.

 

The second thing is that game mechanics hardly translate into a RPG. Games have a extremely limited set of actions a player can take - or rather they have too.

In RPG's it is the opposite. And on top of that you can think for hours about what action you take the next second, something few games do (and in even fewer can teh result of that choice have an effect equal to what can happen in a RPG combat.

 

Third thing is wheter you actually loose the equivalent of BODY in ME, or the equivalent of STUN.

BODY in hero heals at REC/Month

STUN at REC/recovery taken (wich usually means completely between combats).

 

 

If you still really want to try (wich I can only advise agaisnt), here are some rules/ideas to work with:

One propblem is that in order to prevent the attack, the defense must be high enough. So wheter you take 100 times 5 damge or one time 500 point hit the shield must block either fully. While still being broken by either scenario. Wich makes the thing really expensive.

 

6E1 Barrier with Non-anchored and Mobile could work the way you want (as personal forcefield ot sorts). Limit the barriers defenses to "Only to prevent damage to user, not barrier" and the Barriers BODY will be the Lifepoints of the shield.

Use trigger to make it recast itself (you can only have one instance running, so the new one replaces the damaged one) every phase it is not beign hit.

 

6E1 Ablative is designed for armor that is as hard to repair as it is to regain charges. So by RAW it does not work for your scenario. You could change those rules to "automatically repairs when not taking damage". But since it needs to be extremely high, does not suffer from "partial ablation" (and thus increasingly less protection) and regenerates quickly this could become close to a -0.

 

APG I 62 has "damage-based endurance cost" (or rather Endurance Cost based on Damage). Combined with a END-Reserve (the "Shield Generator") it can work the way you want.

Biggest problem: The damage is based on the total Stun damage taken - not the stun damage that was prevented by the defnse (so damage that goes through the defense still counts against the durability).

 

Extra Body, STUN and "KB resistance, Only while still having extra STUN/BODY". In a way the shield really absorbs the damage/effect after it is taken, while protecting the real body.

 

 

A Campaign Rule.

For example for a Star Trek game you could say that "Every attack that hits a shield also counts as a Drain of half the AP of the shield".

I would not say that, because I would shields let work closer to the way they work in HERO.

Edited October 7, 2013 by Christopher

[Christougher]

Depends on how fast you want the shield to regenerate, probably.  Chris Goodwin's point works well but recovers slowly.  If you want fast...

 

Resistant Protection, Costs END.  I think APG or APG2 had a limitation Costs END based on Damage.  END Reserve, with REC equal to half of the END.  The beating it will take (in END cost) from absorbing hits will take it down fairly quickly, but the low END cost of the base power means that one Recovery gets you back in the fight quickly too.

 

If the Costs END base on Damage isn't in one of those two, I think it was one END per 5 BODY for -1/2.  

 

Chris.

[Christopher]

The Force Field Power doesn't exist in 6E.  

To be a bit more precise:

There is a Power Named "Force Field" in 5E. It is nothing but "Armor[Resistant Defenses in 5E], Cost Endurance to Maintain (-1/2)" with the Real Cost of this construct taken as Basecost for the Forcefield Power. Similar things are done to get the price for Density Increase, Growth and Shrinking.

You can still do the same in 6E by using "Resistant Defenses, Cost Endurance to Maintain(-1/2)" except you do not get the better AP/point of defense that Forece field" offered.

 

But it worked/works like worn Armor, that you had to spend End to keep up. It does not work the way wanted by the OP.

[Claire Redfield]

Wow! That is a lot of a great ideas. I'm not even sure which ones to go with. Thanks, people, I appreciate it. Here's a little more information on the shields I'm after, in case that helps. Note that I don't necessarily want to capture everything about the way the video game works, since it's a video game, but I like the way shields work and based on what y'all have said, I believe it can work like this in HERO.

 

They do act sort of like an extra amount of health, taking damage instead of the character while they're active. They recover quickly, however, while health doesn't. Also while active, they protect the character from effects that would knock them down (or, in the case of Singularity, pull them into its orbit). They're also personal, though they protect the character from all sides. They're completely body-hugging.

[clsage]

I'd also take a gander at Digital Hero, Issue # 10. The article is entitled 'Force Fields Enhanced'. There is a regenerating force field option in the article that might fit your needs...The article also includes a variety of other options for Force Field as well.

 

Of course, this disclaimer: the article is written for 5thEd(Revised) rules.

 

 

-Carl-

[NuSoardGraphite]

Several ways to do this:

 

The standard Ablative on Force Field, Force Wall (Barrier) or Armor.  Whatever the activation roll on the force field is at any given point, is the % where your shields are.  Example, a roll of 10 or less is 50% chance of success, thus when your Ablative activation roll hits 10 or less, your shields are now at "50%"

 

Force Field+ extra Body:  A lesser powered force field with additional Body is a good model to work with.  Have the FF linked to the Body, so that when the Body hits 0 (or negative, however you want to handle it) the FF shuts down until the Body aspect of the power regenerates enough to have the shield come back up.  This model also requires Regeneration attached.  I would make it regenerate no more than 1 or 2 Body per turn, or you are going to have some very long and drawn out fights unless everyone carries really big, nasty weapons.

 

Extra Body: This version is like the one above, but without any defense attached.  It's just a field that absorbs a number of Body damage up to the fields rating and that's it. The field goes down.  If you want the "force field" to regenerate, add Regeneration to it.  The faster the field can regenerate, the more useful such a device/ability will be.

 

My personals suggestion would be to use Force Field+ extra Body (w/Regeneration) method.  That way you can have Force Fields that have "80% strength remaining" and also that recharge back to their "full strength" after some time.

[Christopher]

I think i need to add some more details:

ME Shields ('Kinetic barriers'):

- Are always part of a personal Body armor (also works as Eva Suit) or a ships/vehicle hull armor. More an extension of existing protection then your sole defense.

- Only work against kinetic impacts (wich happen to be the default, but not the exclusive damage type for the ME Universe). They do not work against Energy weapons, fires. And they might be useless against Melee attacks (to slow or something like that).

- If they work they also counter knockback, completely (as seen in the  beggining of this Conversation: http://youtu.be/WPZ6LI_JGFg)

- Regenerate incredibly fast. I would say they completely regenerate from 0 in about the time it takes a normal (SPD 4) person to take 1 too 4 Recoveries (depending on Total Durability and Regeneration ability). So 3-12 Segments.

- The only requirement for them regnerating is not preventing damage in that time, so either taking cover, ending the fight or running out of LoS. All situations also ideal for taking recoveries.

[Chris Goodwin]

Another option would be to use an END Reserve with your Defense Powers; APG1 p. 62 has a section called Damage Based Endurance Cost which allows defenses to only cost END when they stop damage (and when first activated).  It sounds like this might fit what you're looking for.  The END Reserve would represent the current shields level, and would automatically recover when the shields are down.  

 

Edit:  What Christougher said, above.