Power Design: Drain Electricity and Static Field

[Sveta]

So I've been thinking over a character design based around Electrical Manipulation, and came across these two sticking points. It's easy to design a Lightning Bolt, or a Paralytic Entangle, or Flash, or so on, but these two got caught in my craw as I began to consider them. So, thoughts and ideas would be much appreciated.

Drain Electricity is a simple enough idea. The character puts their hand or foot or such on a device, or the electrical line to said device. They reroute and pull that energy back into themselves, and cut it off from the object. Whether I add that second half in as a Linked Endurance Reserve or Aid for some power makes little difference at this time, as I pretty well know how that would look. Now, for the draining part, it doesn't so much reduce the ability of things to function, as simply cuts off their power source. Ideas for this vary, but I'm only coming up with the following:

• Drain Electronic Device: Nd6, Expanded Effect + Variable Effect (All Electronic Powers  simultaneously +4), No Range (Touching device or it's electrical supply -1/4), Gestures (Unable to remove limb from said device whilst draining -1/4), Suppression 1/2, ect...

This idea came from examining equipment lists for inspiration, and drew from EMP Grenades. However, this becomes prohibitively expensive nigh instantly. End cost of 5 per d6, adding ontop of that each turn that it is continued by Suppression. It does generally what I'm looking for, but given the prohibitive cost, I'm trying to check to see if this is the only way this could be done.

• Drain Electronic Device: Nd6, Expanded Effect (END and REC +1/2), No Range (Touching device or it's electrical supply -1/4), Gestures (Unable to remove limb from said device whilst draining -1/4), Suppression 1/2, ect...

This idea came from examining exactly what I'd be trying to do. Not limit the powers in any way, but draining the source of energy to it. The power can still be used, just getting energy to it isn't going to happen. This does pretty well exactly what I'm looking for. However, upon looking over what this might effect, I thought about it in a sense of how it would act in the world. Reach out, touch a wire, and cut the power to a Lightbulb... Except most devices don't have END or REC. They function either on a using character's power, or on fuel, or such. It would be useful for something like an Endurance Reserve or Battery as it is listed, but beyond that it seem as though it is missing something. So I thought what about a combat scenario, Reach for Mr Gadget's laser gun and... Same problem. If I was a nightmare, I could try to figure a limitation on the END and REC cut out by it applying only to electrical devices, but that makes bookeeping a nightmare.

 

Static Field is as much an easier idea as it is complicated to implement.  The character discharges energy into the area around, the air filling with ozone, the conductivity of the area going through the roof. Static sparks from fingers and runs rampant through fabric and metallic devices. A gentle hum seeming to surround, hair rising amid a light shiver as the electrical energy flows.
So this one is equally easy to figure the overall of it. Something akin to:

• Static Field, Change Environment: Area of Effect Radius +1 or +3/4, Pick Limitations as appropriate

Rather than though, I'm struggling to determine what would be an apt effect that is signified by this. Something such as reducing Dex Characteristic and Skill rolls would make sense, given a more jittery atmosphere and area. Applying low Stun damage would also make sense, protection being insulation. Examining Low Pressure for inspiration I found that perhaps causing an active END cost for being in the place would be possible. At the moment, I'm leaning towards the low Stun Damage. 

 

All in all, Thoughts and Advice would be appreciated! 

[Sveta]

Update:

I was thinking back over this issue for a while, and re-examined Drain Electricity in particular. The primary flaw I noticed was that thanks to drawing from EMP Grenades, which are area of effects that effect everything in the area simultaneously, I am more looking towards creating a drain that impacts only one object or power at a time. If you grab Mr Science's techno-glove and drain the energy from that, you obviously won't be effecting his jetpack. Thus:

• Drain Electricity : Nd6, Variable Effect (Electrical Based Powers   +1/2), No Range (Touching device or it's electrical supply -1/4)

I took out the Gestures and Suppression from a touch of a mechanical standpoint, as well as a character point. Thanks to Suppression's caveat that whenever the connection would be broken, all the drained characteristics return, Gestures caused that to be an easy out. Whilst I still enjoy the idea of only being able to do this in a touch sort of range, dismissing the lingering effect by removing their hand... Well, that's all but simply saying Drain Electricity only works in a grapple, which is kinda unfortunate. It would make it so the power functionally works by applying Restrainable to a power that the opponent has. If I want to do that, there are easier ways.

 

Thus, I'm left with the conundrum of whether to simply amp up the dice pool to represent a more powerful drain at a moment's notice, apply Suppression with a caveat that the attack can only be made again once they touch the device again, or have a lower amount of dice, but increase the time it takes to recover from the Drain. Personally, I'm not liking the idea of the Suppression option, as it indicates that they did something to the device that's preventing it from recovering. That would thematically be something like both draining the energy, and putting in an energy sink into it all in one. Not what I'm looking for, but added for completeness.

 

 

 

Static Field though, I've pretty well hammered out in the meantime. 

• Static Field: N Stun with Defense being Insulation, Area of Effect (32m +1), Restrainable (Tail, -1/2),  Lockout (Non-Linked Powers -1/2), Unified Power (-1/4)

The idea for this one looks sorta wonky, but will explain. After bumming around a bit, I wondered how he'd sustain a field like this, so I said, "Hey, what about a magic orb?" I didn't want to run a magic orb though, so I figured, Attach it to him. Give him a tail with an orb that holds the electricity he tends to use for this. Write it up as an Endurance Reserve (Inherent +1/4, Limited Effect to Only regain when the Character would be capable of it, -1/4, Side Effect -1/4 or -1/2) that only powers Static Field to start with, and give it a nasty side effect about dumping electricity around them when it's hit with a targeted attack. Boom, done, easy.

 

So with an electro-orb on their tail, that makes the field Restrainable, so that it someone snags it they can't really use the bloody thing. Sounds neat, But what then? Well, treat that Electro orb as the sort of hub of their energy, so slap Unified Power on things that come from it and anything else that could reasonably be caused by the thing being hit. Probably a mediocre Multipower. But I said, Hey... Multipower. If I'm going to have this be tied to a Multipower, Have this limit the utility of that Multipower and this. If they are going without any Focus or focusing devices, their locked out of anything except these two powers, Static Field and the Multipower. Probably slap Range Limitation on Ranged powers from that Multipower so they don't leave the Static Field. 

 

Long Story Short: Static field is located on an orb on the tai. Use Static Field. Gain Access to Separate Multipower, but loose access to everything else. They drain Static Field? They drain the Multipower too. 

 

Oh, and as may be noticed, I didn't put Personal Immunity on this power for a reason. Given how often they would be using Electrical powers, I figured I'd make them Natively Insulated. (Life Support, probably 5 Base points to start with, Inherent, Always On) 

 

So, uh, this has turned less into How would this Power be Designed, and more a complete thought... Anyway, hope you enjoy it, and comments, thoughts and ideas are still greatly appreciated!