Cheek Pouches?

[tigersloth]

Another building query! I am doing some Starfinder conversions as package deals and am currently doing the Ysoki. They have the following ability,

 

CHEEK POUCHES - Ysoki can store up to 1 cubic foot of items, weighing up to 1 bulk in total in their cheek pouches. and they can transfer a single object between hand and cheek as a swift action. A Ysoki can disgorge the entire contents of his pouch onto the ground in his square as a move action that does not provide an attack of opportunity.

 

I am totally perplexed as to how to build this ability. Anyone want to take a crack?

[Duke Bushido]

Extra limbs with limitations on the amount of STR that can be used for it.  You could add a limitation that you can't do fine manipulation, either, but a jerk of a GM might use that against you for "switching hands" as a zero-phase action. 

 

The cheek pouch is just sfx. 

[Tech]

A moveable base of 1 hex you can deposit items in and drop off? 

[Killer Shrike]

Unless you are making other characters pay points for a mechanical build out for backpacks and belt pouches and so forth, there's no reason to make a "Ysoki" character pay points for a variant SFX of a backpack.

 

Is this a heroic game where equipment costs money not points?

 

 

 

[mallet]

Are there other in game benefits to the cheek pouches? Allowing the character to hide small gear, weapons, lockpicks, etc... from casual detection?  If so, then it should probably cost some points (maybe as + Skill levels in Concealment) with limits on the objects size and weight? 

[Greywind]

What about a prison pocket?

[tigersloth]

6 hours ago, Killer Shrike said:

Unless you are making other characters pay points for a mechanical build out for backpacks and belt pouches and so forth, there's no reason to make a "Ysoki" character pay points for a variant SFX of a backpack.

 

Is this a heroic game where equipment costs money not points?

 

 

 

No, it's a sci-fi superhero game, so everyone is paying points for equipment.

[Killer Shrike]

4 hours ago, tigersloth said:

No, it's a sci-fi superhero game, so everyone is paying points for equipment.

 

Then what I recommend you do is write up a backpack (or use an existing write up), for general use. 

 

Take that write up and tweak it slightly to replace the OIF with perhaps Restrainable, any other small tweaks that seem appropriate (if any), and use that for the "Ysoki" racial ability.

[tigersloth]

4 hours ago, Killer Shrike said:

 

Then what I recommend you do is write up a backpack (or use an existing write up), for general use. 

 

Take that write up and tweak it slightly to replace the OIF with perhaps Restrainable, any other small tweaks that seem appropriate (if any), and use that for the "Ysoki" racial ability.

 

Any examples of a backpack do you know I can have a look at? 

[IndianaJoe3]

18 hours ago, tigersloth said:

CHEEK POUCHES - Ysoki can store up to 1 cubic foot of items, weighing up to 1 bulk in total in their cheek pouches. and they can transfer a single object between hand and cheek as a swift action. A Ysoki can disgorge the entire contents of his pouch onto the ground in his square as a move action that does not provide an attack of opportunity.

 

Extra Limb, Inherent, No Fine Manipulation, Limited Power (Limited Carrying Capacity, -1)

 

Adjust the value of Limited Carrying Capacity as you see fit.

[Ninja-Bear]

Well with the transfer, that would be slight of hand. And I’m thinking concealment for the pouch. It’s not that the race is carrying anything extra heavy or such, but whose going to look in the mouth for items?

[Ninja-Bear]

12 minutes ago, IndianaJoe3 said:

 

Extra Limb, Inherent, No Fine Manipulation, Limited Power (Limited Carrying Capacity, -1)

 

Adjust the value of Limited Carrying Capacity as you see fit.

I would say that this should cost no more than 1 CP.

[IndianaJoe3]

3 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Well with the transfer, that would be slight of hand. And I’m thinking concealment for the pouch. It’s not that the race is carrying anything extra heavy or such, but whose going to look in the mouth for items?

 

Anyone who's trained to look for these sorts of things, I'm sure. Humans sometimes conceal things in their mouths (and other, less comfortable places) as it is.

[IndianaJoe3]

7 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

I would say that this should cost no more than 1 CP.

 

I get:

Cheek Pouches:  Extra Limb (1), Inherent (+1/4) (6 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Limited Carrying Capacity; -1), Limited Manipulation (-1/4) Real cost: 3 pts

 

That does seem a little expensive, but I'm not sure what Limitations to add to bring the cost down.

[Ninja-Bear]

I would charge more for the limited  capacity. Perhaps -2?

[IndianaJoe3]

I'm not sure it's worth that much. There's a lot of useful items you can fit into one cubic foot.

 

Do you think that, "must put items in mouth" is worth anything as a Limitation?

[Ninja-Bear]

52 minutes ago, IndianaJoe3 said:

I'm not sure it's worth that much. There's a lot of useful items you can fit into one cubic foot.

 

Do you think that, "must put items in mouth" is worth anything as a Limitation?

Wouldn’t that be gestures? Plus I do think that some items would be limited not size but their makeup. Just because it can fit in your mouth, should it be in there?

[Ninja-Bear]

Or this could be a time when the GM just creates a custom power too.

[IndianaJoe3]

4 minutes ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Wouldn’t that be gestures? Plus I do think that some items would be limited not size but their makeup. Just because it can fit in your mouth, should it be in there?

 

I think we're thinking along the same lines. The object has to physically be in the character's mouth. This has obvious problems for dangerous items. Is that worth -1/2, or even -1?

[Ninja-Bear]

Not really sure myself but -1/2 is a safe bet.

[IndianaJoe3]

That would bring the real cost down to 2, which I think is about right.

[Brian Stanfield]

18 hours ago, Tech said:

A moveable base of 1 hex you can deposit items in and drop off? 

 

This sounds like a good idea. If you look at The Ultimate Base you can design a small, highly limited base in your cheeks. 

 

You could also also created a pocket dimension with Extra Dimensional Movement and Stretching (think: bag of holding), with many limitations related to its size, the small mouth opening, and detectable in “this” dimension (big fat cheeks).

[Duke Bushido]

17 hours ago, Greywind said:

What about a prison pocket?

 

I think the scientific name for that is "colon." 

 

5 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Well with the transfer, that would be slight of hand.

 

That is over-thinking, I think.  Unless as a matter of course you charge your players a half-phase (or anything more than zero phase) to switch an item from one hand to another. 

 

5 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

I would say that this should cost no more than 1 CP.

 

Agreed.  The overall utility is little more than a perk. 

 

4 hours ago, Ninja-Bear said:

Or this could be a time when the GM just creates a custom power too.

 

Or a one point perk.  But yes; I  am good with that. 

[dmjalund]

we need an advantage/limitation that represents an extra limbs ability to protect an object with it's PD/ED and suffer some body while doing it

[Killer Shrike]

19 hours ago, tigersloth said:

 

Any examples of a backpack do you know I can have a look at? 

 

Not off hand, but there is a post I put up on these forums 11 years ago on bags of holding and whatnot that has something that could serve...might be helpful.