Trigger And Linked

[steriaca]

While trying to recreat Transfer as a "metapower", I used both Trigger and Linked in the power. Then someone told me that I can't use Linked with Trigger. Is that true? If I just use Linked, don't I need a full phase to use both parts of the power?

[Steve Long]

I don’t currently have access to all of my books and materials, which have been packed up as part of my home renovation project, so I reserve the right to edit or change this answer at a future time.

 

As far as I can recall, no specific rule speaks to this, and a quick, non-exhaustive search didn’t turn up anything. So it sounds like it’s time for me to address the issue.

 

The “official” example of how to build a “Transfer” power is one of the example powers in the sidebar for Drain in 6E1. That example uses both Trigger (+1) and Linked at the -½ level for the “Aid” portion of the power. So either the assertion that the rules forbid using Trigger and Linked together is incorrect, or I changed my mind since then and published a change (which I don’t think I have, but like I said, I don’t have access to all my materials right now). So, to put it plainly:  the rules don’t say you can’t use Trigger and Linked for the same power.

 

However, that’s not the end of the analysis. This is one of those classic situations that shows why we have GMs. The GM should examine the proposed ability to see if Linked is a legitimate Limitation in a situation where there’s a Trigger in place. This may depend on how the Trigger is defined, the GM’s preferences for his campaign, and other factors. In some cases the GM may think that the Limitation is unnecessary (or an attempt at “min-maxing” that doesn’t properly restrict the use of the power) and forbid it.