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Drain Powers, on non-living things?


NisseFrasse

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For myself as GM, I would let special effects decide the power Dispel/Drain's effects.

 

If you purchase either power with the special effect of, say, it sucks the water out of things - well then, it's not going to work at all on metal objects. As always, the GM has the final say-so in how a power works in a campaign.

 

Special effect is what makes one 10d6 Blast different from another, as well as giving it possible advantages/disadvantages, i.e. 10d6 Blast defined as frigid cold used underwater.

NOTE: That happened in the campaign I'm in. The characters underwater needed to get to the surface faster than just swimming so a few quick spread attacks and, voila, sheets of ice to get them up to the surface.

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OK 2nd edition book says for Power Drain (the original name): recover 1 point per segment, starting the segment after effect.  For each 2 (x cost of characteristic drained) it can be delayed 1 segment.  Destroy recovered at the same rate as your body did (REC per month).

It was Characteristic Drain in 1st edition (c.f. #23).

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It is normally me sidelining stuff...

 

SO:

 

1.  Drain Body works fine against inanimate objects.  It drains the Body.

2. An object drained to 0 Body is destroyed, it crumbles to dust see page 196 of 6E1

3. Points of Body Drained DO recover at the standard adjustment power rate (usually 5/turn) whether or not the drained target has a REC value BUT destroyed objects (reduced to 0 or fewer Body) do not then magically resconstitute.  If you have killed a building (#Archer) then it is dead.  So, in effect, the recovery of drained Body only happens if the object is not completely destroyed.

 

Moreover, and this is often overlooked, ANY Drain (Body) can be used against inanimate objects unless limited appropriately.  I love Drain (Body) - it is hilarious.  Also useful for killing things that, unaccountably*, are ridiculously tough, like tanks.

 

There is nothing wrong with this power (Body only v non-living objects), legally**.  It is a really easy way to destroy buildings, say.  Even a small Body drain with a medium AoE (I probably would not normally treat a large building as a single object in this instance but as a series of support struts that the structure hangs from) will kill a very large building in a few turns, at most.

 

Most inanimate objects to not have any Power Defence (which is why it is easy to kill  buildings).

 

You have to be REALLY careful with the 'Wall' rules here.  By those rules, if you CAN treat large objects as a single thing then you only need something like 80 Body to destroy the entire world - this is entirely possible with a small, long lasting drain with AoE and megascale.  This is what GMs are for.

 

Body drain against focii is, typically, confusing.  Normal Focii do not have Power Defence, or at least it is not mentioned if they do.  unbreakable focii DO have Power Defence, but you have to guess how much.  No clues, and no peeking.  Give me strength...

 

Generally though, a successful hit on a focus with a Body drain will destroy one power or the whole thing if you do 2x(active points of largest power/5) in Body in a single hit.

 

Those are the rules and, where appropriate, my spin on them I hope that helps.

 

 

*Well, I say 'unaccountably', it is not really: it is because there is a silly amount of power inflation with guns.  Bloody guns.  Mind you, 30 points of hardened resistant defence for the front armour of a M1 Abrams?  There is not a weapon in the entire weapons section that can get through that.  Still it only has 16 Body, so an average roll for 5d6 Drain kills it outright, on average so Caveat Magister.  Like I said, I love Body Drain, but only when I'm playing.

 

 

**However, what is 'non-living'?  Is a robot non-living?  What if it is occupied by an autonomous consciousness?  Is a plucked apple non-living?  Is a ghost non-living?  Personally I would define a less ambiguous term of art.

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EGO can be an "All Or Nothing" NND (Defense is having an EGO) for 1/2 less Advantage/more Limitation.

 

NNDs are usually Rare. However since most living beings have EGO it may be a Very Common defense in the same category of frequency as PD & ED for AVADs.

 

Detonate: Blast 6d6, Does BODY (+1)(60 active pts); NND (having an EGO, Very Common; -1/2). Total cost: 40 pts.

 

"The latent energy inside inanimate objects can be harnessed, focused & released violently. Does not work on targets w/ free will."

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I think we're straying a little bit from the OP's original request. Especially when we started talking about 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions! haha

 

I would build it as a Suppress, I think, with a GM hand-waved length of time, like Only lasts until end of battle (+/- ?). That would steer you away from any questions about whether it is destroyed or not.

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I had a character that would recover the End in her Endurance Reserve with a Transfer (Now a Drain(body) plus Heal (End Reserve)) She used the body from metallic objects to make nano machines that would do things for her. She could also flat out destroy objects with her Nanates (Drain Body).  She was really cool.

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Since as I understand the rules you can kill someone draining them below -Bod, it seems reasonable that you can permanently destroy an object in the same manner.

You can kill the but they don't stay dead.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary buys Inherent BOD

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My suggestion would be to take a look at Brittlize in Champions Powers pg. 169.  This is an example of what the OP is trying to do.  This is a good example of what is being talked about.  The Cold Manipulator supercools an inanimate object so that it is more susceptible to damage.  Over time the substance warms up (meaning it gets its points back) until it is back to normal (a function of the return rate on the drain).  Let us not forget that the dice are halved because it is being used against a defense and the Active Points of Resistant Protection are 3 per 2 points of the Defense.  It could be adjudicated that because the Inanimate Object takes no Stun the Active Points are 4.5 per 1 in line with the Automaton rules (allowing for the Resistant Advantage).  What this means is that it would take 9 points of Drain to drain a single point of Resistant PD or ED.  If you aren't that cruel you could use the standard cost and it would be 3 points of Drain to drain 1 point of Resistant PD or ED which I believe is the intention of the RAW.

 

Since I love examples let's run it down. . .

 

Freon wants to Brittlize Viking's sword and targets it with that power.  He will need to make an attack at -2 OCV (per the Focus rules) to hit it and does so successfully.  He decides to put it all vs. the PD of the sword and rolls his 4d6 of Drain and gets 16 points of effect.  The GM decides that he will subtract 1 Resistant PD for each 3 points of effect (the cost is 3 points per 2 halved because it is a defense) so Freon's attack will subtract 5 Resistant PD from the sword.  Viking's sword is bought through a 45 point Multipower giving it 9 PD and ED.  Freon's attack brings the sword's PD down to 4.  On a subsequent Phase Freon targets the sword with an Icicle attack which does 3d6 RKA.  He hits the sword and rolls 9 Body which is over twice what the current PD score is.  The sword is destroyed based on the RAW for Breakable Foci (6E1 pg. 379).

 

Well there is my $.02, what do you all think?

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works for me
my character Wraith is a gravity based mutant http://www.herogames.com/forums/files/file/13-wraith-400pts-6th-ed/

has a body drain that is simulating a micro black hole is form at the middle of the target
the effect is like going past crush depth on a sub
everything still works mostly till the body or bodyx2 is reached the the target is crushed into a sphere 1/2  the volume of the target
at about - body x6 or GM's call the target is microscopic and weighs the same as the target and is somewhat easy to dispose of(perfect murder?)

My suggestion would be to take a look at Brittlize in Champions Powers pg. 169.  This is an example of what the OP is trying to do.  This is a good example of what is being talked about.  The Cold Manipulator supercools an inanimate object so that it is more susceptible to damage.  Over time the substance warms up (meaning it gets its points back) until it is back to normal (a function of the return rate on the drain).  Let us not forget that the dice are halved because it is being used against a defense and the Active Points of Resistant Protection are 3 per 2 points of the Defense.  It could be adjudicated that because the Inanimate Object takes no Stun the Active Points are 4.5 per 1 in line with the Automaton rules (allowing for the Resistant Advantage).  What this means is that it would take 9 points of Drain to drain a single point of Resistant PD or ED.  If you aren't that cruel you could use the standard cost and it would be 3 points of Drain to drain 1 point of Resistant PD or ED which I believe is the intention of the RAW.

 

Since I love examples let's run it down. . .

 

Freon wants to Brittlize Viking's sword and targets it with that power.  He will need to make an attack at -2 OCV (per the Focus rules) to hit it and does so successfully.  He decides to put it all vs. the PD of the sword and rolls his 4d6 of Drain and gets 16 points of effect.  The GM decides that he will subtract 1 Resistant PD for each 3 points of effect (the cost is 3 points per 2 halved because it is a defense) so Freon's attack will subtract 5 Resistant PD from the sword.  Viking's sword is bought through a 45 point Multipower giving it 9 PD and ED.  Freon's attack brings the sword's PD down to 4.  On a subsequent Phase Freon targets the sword with an Icicle attack which does 3d6 RKA.  He hits the sword and rolls 9 Body which is over twice what the current PD score is.  The sword is destroyed based on the RAW for Breakable Foci (6E1 pg. 379).

 

Well there is my $.02, what do you all think?

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