ECs VPPs and MPs: Help?

[SSJ Archon]

People keep telling me to use a Vpp for this, but it just doesnt make sense to me.

Ok, I got my self a little techno geek who builds crap. No literatly, like in his garage with a screw driver and left over stero wires. I call him Jack, the Inventor on Crack.

Anyway Jack wants to build some power armor. He wants to be able to rerig it to do everything and for anything imaginable when hes in his garage. But in the field it will have several prebuilt modes to choose from. It will also include a Computer (Maybe A.I.). It will need a built in power plant.

 

I really am having trouble with this. The whole thing together says VPP. But some components in themselves seem like Multipowers. And I really don't want some silly fuel charges, I like the End Reserve.

 

The best things I've come up with is alot of linked powers in a VPP, or a vehicle. I'm trying to work this under 50 points. It doesnt need to be anything fancy, just a little weapon, some sweet scanners, and very good movement capabilities.

 

Any Ideas?

[Insaniac99]

here is what I would do:

 

ok, the things he gets all the time you use a MP, or bare, everythign will take the OAF or in a few cases, OIF Disadvatage.

 

so outside either MP or VPP:

armor

normal char boosts (just the basics, you character will probably be tens, except for int, so this is the basic boost)

 

MP:

standard weapons, this would be an entangle, a EB and a RKA maybe one more, but that's it.

commonly used boosts, this is extra STR taht you use alot, leaping, or somethinglike that

 

VPP:

EVERYTHING else, you shouldn't spend much points on the regualr characteristics and MP, so all you points that don't go into skills and the otehrs go straight into this, this is how you make yourself more like a brick or speedster or whatever else you want to be. this is also for the unusual weapons, and so one, you should be able to get plenty of points in this, so you'll have lots of room for variety, especially since this too takes the discount of atleast OIF for each power

[tesuji]

My advice...

 

If there are common elements to every armor suit... the frame with armor, jet boots and the like... put them in an EC (with Gm permission.)

 

If there are common components which are chosen from... like say a weapons hardpoint that holds several weapons but only one at a time... build these with multipowers with a "change slots at base" style limitation.

 

Then buy a smaller VPP, maybe 30 pts active, maybe 45, to allow a degree of customized items.

 

I once used something similar.

 

He had armor, life support, basic movement (boot jets, and some sensory stuff) in the FRAME. This went with most any version of the suit. Included with the frame were several small power cells to run the basic functions.

 

He had a weapons hardpoint, which was a 60ish ap multipower with about four different weapons that could only be changed at the base. This hardpoint also included one non-weapon sensory package for the "spy suit" mode. Basically, these were plug-in modular systems he could attach to fit the mission.

 

He had a chest area "shield generator" bay which was a second multipower with a force field generator (which brought the total defenses up to full combat standard), a stealth field (invisibility) and a holographic generator (images or shapeshift) also all only switchble in lab.

 

He had a back hardpoint (a third multipower changeable in lab) which could carry a variety of modules including a generator module (increased reserve and power to allow for more intensive uses), a wing (added non-combat speed and maneuverability in general to his boot jets flight), an underwater ops pack(swin & sonar) and a couple of others i forget now.

 

Anyway, the net result was a modular suit, with the choices made in the lab for what modules were loaded in th weapons bay, the shield bay and the auxiliary bay enabling the suit to go from combat to spy to any number of mix'n'match mission needs.

 

If you did something similar but added a moderately sized vPP, you should be able to get something in the vicinity of what you are looking for.

[Lord Liaden]

I'm not sure if this will be exactly what you're looking for, because it wasn't clear to me whether the "prebuilt modes" that the armor has in the field are always the same from one adventure to the next, or whether they can be changed to anything when your character is in his garage/laboratory but must thereafter remain the same while he's away from his lab.

 

If the latter is the case, my suggestion would be to place the Limitation, "Powers Only Change In A Laboratory" (-1/2) on the Control Cost of the VPP. That means that whatever Powers are in the VPP can only be changed when the character has access to the tools and parts in his garage or similar facilities. You can of course apply whatever other Lims are appropriate to the individual powers in the Power Pool to bring down their cost.

 

If that's not what you're looking for, and the suggestions that the others have given you don't cut it either, please post a clarification of what you're looking to do and we'll give it another shot.

[Farkling]

wants to be able to rerig it to do everything and for anything imaginable when hes in his garage

I am afraid that the "anything and everything" line SCREAMS Variable Powers pool.

 

do I have this right?

Example:: 4 prebuilt configurations (Stealth, Combat, Travel, Power)

 

Switching between these configurations in combat is a one phase action to reconfigure the armor... Switching from Stealth mode to Combat mode is a single phase action involving a few button presses.

 

I would probably use the VPP approach instead of the stacked Multipowers. The control cost could be limited with (-1/4 Configurations rebuilt in laboratory) (-1/4 powers change between 5 preset configurations)

 

A stricter GM will only allow ONE -1/4 on the VPP...arguing that the -1/2 should limit it further (going by the "days" example)

 

Don't forget to put OIF on the control cost also if everything in there requires a focus of some kind. And maybe include "no Mental Powers", but that would disallow a Mind Control defined as "subsonic screamers to scatter the crowd" also.

 

that's my .02