Fear!

[Cantriped]

That construct looks good. I might bump Long-Lasting to 1 Minute Though, and I would definitely rephrase the consequence to match the wording of 0 PRE (Target Must Flee or Take Defensive Actions). While it is pretty cheap, it's worth noting it's gonna fail outright between 25% to 50% of the time against Targets with EGO scores in the NCM Range. If you want it to be more reliable you should increase the penalty to -5 or more.

[Christopher R Taylor]

That would drive the price up, and it would simulate the effect in genre better: only people of unbelievably high willpower could possibly resist the effect.  Minute feels to long for me in terms of play; you don't really want someone taken out of the fight forever like that.  Just enough to be of tactical use.

 

Just thought of something: the Change Environment structure could work for the "Mesmerization" effect that EverQuest had.  It didn't exactly mind control anyone, it just made them very peaceful and relaxed, ignoring what happened around them.  This allows you to "pull" nearby friendly targets or move past them safely "eh, there goes Bob, man I think I'll just rest here a while..."

 

Change Environment, make a roll or ignore events happening around you (time limit, breaks if harmed, etc).

[mallet]

A little late to the conversation, but this is how it is described in Fantasy Hero 6th ED:

 

In Fantasy settings, some areas are so Evil or disturbing that they inflict fear on characters in them; similarly, many Evil creatures can inspire fear in people. On the other hand, some beings of power and might inspire awe instead. While awe is a standard Presence Attack in most situations, some special considerations apply to fear. In HERO System terms, there are three primary ways to create a fear effect. The first, and by far the most common, is Drain PRE. Since PRE represents a character’s bravery, confidence, bearing, and resistance to shock and intimidation, reducing it inspires fear in him and/or makes him more susceptible to feelings of fright. If appropriate, you should assume that the Drain PRE power automatically includes a Presence Attack saying “run away in fear!” or the like. The Presence Attack occurs atfer the Drain applies, and is resolved in the usual fashion against the character’s diminished PRE. If a character or monster can inspire fear in anyone near him, you can buy this as a Drain PRE, Area Of Effect, Personal Immunity, No Range — anyone who enters the area suffers the effect, and the longer they remain within it, the more terrifed they become. For a fear that virtually any character will feel, apply the No Normal Defence Advantage to the Drain PRE (the defence is the Fearless Talent, page 139). Second, you could build a fear attack as Mind Control with the Limitation Set Effect (create fear;-1). Third, you could use Change Environment to create an effect that removes points of PRE, creating an effect similar to a small Drain PRE over a large area.

 

 

I personally feel that if you do a Change Environment build like you have shown, it should be a PRE roll to resist not EGO, as PRE is the characteristic used for Fear, Awe, etc... and by changing it to EGO any Player who has built a Character believing their PRE score would help against Fear attacks will be annoyed that it is EGO instead that they have to role (unless you tell them right at the begnning of the campaign when they are building their characters that it will be an EGO check in your game, not PRE)

[Surrealone]

After reading the above, I would tend to agree that PRE makes the most sense.  Fear, after all, IS a form of interaction...

[Christopher R Taylor]

I'm ambivalent on the stat used, I just wanted to get a rough build worked up to consider.  I can see good arguments for either side: strength of will or personality?  There's a reason you can usually compare presence attacks to either Ego or Presence as you choose.

[Surrealone]

Insanely high strength of will doesn't necessarily equate to being 'fearless' ... or anything approaching it.

 

Given that:

• PRE attacks can and do cause opposition to flee
• PRE drains to 0 PRE result in flight unless a PRE roll is made; EGO at 0 doesn't have this effect
• PRE, not EGO drives interaction skills and flight due to fear is such an interaction
• FHC specifically calls out use of PRE, not EGO (as cited, above)

I would say there is a strong suggestion that PRE should be the characteristic that's used.  Hanging your hat on EGO being a viable defense for PRE attacks is hanging your hat on only one of the 4 bullets.  The other 3 bullets for which EGO is unsuitable, clearly tip the scales to PRE ... at least in my objective weighing of the two characteristics in this scenario.