Another brain buster of a Power. Help!

[Yamo]

Here's the situation:

 

Whenever the character dies, his spirit automatically seeks out, and permanently take possession of, a random new adult human somewhere on Earth.

 

From then on, the character has:

 

1. The physical Characteristics and physically-based Disadvantages of the new host.

 

2. His own mental Characteristics, Powers, and mentally-based Disadvantages.

 

3. Perks and socially-based Disadvantages adjucated on a case-by-case basis depending on how well the character can either prove (Perks) or conceal (Disadvantages) his former identity in the new form.

 

Anyone? Would a MegaScale Ranged Duplication with Altered Duplicate, Cannot Recombine, No Conscious Control, and Only Triggers Upon Character's Death work?

 

And what if I wanted to have the character be able to perform a special ritual to designate a specific person to be his new soul vessel when he died? Would slapping a big-ass Transform (target to target with spellcaster's mind and Powers) with Trigger (the character's death) on the subject be enough?

 

Sorry for all the elaborate questions, but I'm still trying to get a hang of how HERO handles matters of the soul.

[Mutant for Hire]

Re: Another brain buster of a Power. Help!

 

Originally posted by Yamo

Here's the situation:

 

Whenever the character dies, his spirit automatically seeks out, and permanently take possession of, a random new adult human somewhere on Earth.

 

From then on, the character has:

 

1. The physical Characteristics and physically-based Disadvantages of the new host.

 

2. His own mental Characteristics, Powers, and mentally-based Disadvantages.

 

3. Perks and socially-based Disadvantages adjucated on a case-by-case basis depending on how well the character can either prove (Perks) or conceal (Disadvantages) his former identity in the new form.

 

Anyone? Would a MegaScale Ranged Duplication with Altered Duplicate, Cannot Recombine, No Conscious Control, and Only Triggers Upon Character's Death work?

 

And what if I wanted to have the character be able to perform a special ritual to designate a specific person to be his new soul vessel when he died? Would slapping a big-ass Transform (target to target with spellcaster's mind and Powers) with Trigger (the character's death) on the subject be enough?

 

Sorry for all the elaborate questions, but I'm still trying to get a hang of how HERO handles matters of the soul.

 

Try "Summon" with a Trigger. It's easier than just about any other method available. Technically its more along the lines of a Transform, but Summon is the easier way to build it.

[zornwil]

I'm sorry if I'm not answering directly, but if the characters' death should be very rare, like maybe once a year real-time or even less, I'd just visit it as a "radiation accident" (large changes to character) when it occurs and not build it as an ongoing mechanic.

[JmOz]

Try this: Regen from death, Only to heal after death, Multiform, NCC

[Dynamo]

Have you considered Healing with the Regeneration option, Resurrection adder, Resurrection Only and Extra Time limitations, and possibly another limitation/advantage to change it to a "reincarnation" model?

 

Being able to specify the body you're going to "reincarnate" into may be problematic, as that implies that the target might be an established NPC who may not consent to the possession, making the whole thing an attack. However, if the subject were willing or is always assumed to be an abstract part of the character's background (or maybe a DNPC) rather than an NPC with another campaign role, I wouldn't see a problem.

 

HERO rather specifically doesn't handle the matter of the soul at all. That sort of thing is purposefully left undefined in the system so that individual campaigns can feature different takes on the subject without impacting the game mechanics.

 

Defining "soul mechanics" would be a mistake for a game designer trying to produce a universal rules engine like HERO. Advice to help the GM do so would logically be found in an appropriate genre book (something I'm hoping will appear in Fantasy Hero), and a specific setting book might define the nature of a soul if it were central to the setting, like in White Wolf's World of Darkness setting, and might provide game mechanics for the purpose.

 

As for the changing physical attributes, I'd file that under "radiation accident" and leave it off the character sheet. If your GM insists on making you pay for it, try selling back all your physical characteristics to zero and put them into a Power Pool with enough points to pay for whatever other physical capabilities come with the new host body. This would require GM permission, but with a Change Only After Death and Resurrection limitation he/she should be OK with it.

[Chaosliege]

Originally posted by zornwil

I'm sorry if I'm not answering directly, but if the characters' death should be very rare, like maybe once a year real-time or even less, I'd just visit it as a "radiation accident" (large changes to character) when it occurs and not build it as an ongoing mechanic.

 

I agree. This sounds more like a plot issue than a power. Just remake the guy a little differently when he's killed, and say that's what happened.

[Yamo]

I'm sorry if I'm not answering directly, but if the characters' death should be very rare, like maybe once a year real-time or even less, I'd just visit it as a "radiation accident" (large changes to character) when it occurs and not build it as an ongoing mechanic.

 

And what if the character plans to die pretty frequently (because he knows he can get away with it)?

 

I'm picturing a kind of morbid Quantum Leap here.

[BlueBuddha]

Originally posted by Chaosliege

I agree. This sounds more like a plot issue than a power. Just remake the guy a little differently when he's killed, and say that's what happened.

 

I also concur with the above. maybe buy a regen w/ ressurection, make all versions of his character take it, but don't worry about it too much. Unless the character is using it as a way to constantly cheat death, it's more of a plot device than a power, IMHO.

 

BlueBuddha

[Osprey]

Originally posted by Yamo

And what if the character plans to die pretty frequently (because he knows he can get away with it)?

 

I'm picturing a kind of morbid Quantum Leap here.

 

Try the Regen option so many people above recommend. But make it dependent upon an BOECV killing attack. That way he's got to kill the other person to take over their body (how unheroic).

[coach]

Originally posted by Yamo

And what if the character plans to die pretty frequently (because he knows he can get away with it)?

 

I'm picturing a kind of morbid Quantum Leap here.

 

So, is this an NPC? If so, I'd still go with the "special effect" method of making it a plot device and not worry about the points. Since it doesn't really effect combat directly (except that he might be more reckless), it is more of just a "the villain keeps coming back" plot element, kind of like the villain who keeps getting out of prison.

 

However, if you are looking at it for a player character, I would also suggest buying it as the Resurrection option with some triggered, highly limited Duplication. Although, I think, as a GM, I would probably disallow this power as being very un-heroic.

[Yamo]

However, if you are looking at it for a player character, I would also suggest buying it as the Resurrection option with some triggered, highly limited Duplication. Although, I think, as a GM, I would probably disallow this power as being very un-heroic.

 

It's a PC, yes, just not a particularly heroic one. I much prefer a good antihero.

[altamaros]

I would say :

 

1. The physical Characteristics and physically-based Disadvantages of the new host.

 

a BIG power pool with limitations on change

- only change when leaves current host -1/2 or -1 ?

- only for physical attributes

 

2. His own mental Characteristics, Powers, and mentally-based Disadvantages

 

buy them as usual.

 

For the power:

 

- regeneration from death

- megascale teleport with fixed trigger, Fully Invisible PE and Limited CC

 

You could also try the "shift spirit" power from "Horror Hero".

 

D.

[Dino]

Write the character up as a spirit. Give him inherent Desolidification and Invisiblity, plus a really big Mind Control (affects real world?) to literally possess his victim. You can also sell back a lot of his physical stats, and give him disads to reflect his inablility to survive with out a host body.

[Chaosliege]

Originally posted by Osprey

Try the Regen option so many people above recommend. But make it dependent upon an BOECV killing attack. That way he's got to kill the other person to take over their body (how unheroic).

 

This I also agree with. If you're talking about someone who does this all the time, then he has to do something with the host intelegence. Also, there needs to be at least one way to perminantly kill the character. Something like the same kind of attack he uses on his victoms(BOECV killing attack).

[Michael Hopcroft]

This is a nasty one

 

Why do I picutre a villain who has this power creating suicide machines as escape devices, as he knows he'll come back as someone else anyway and what's another stolen body to him anyway?

 

Player character opponents would have to find a way to keep the original body alive so he can;t use his power. That means preventing him from poisoning himself, blowing his own head off with his powers, or doing any number of obviously deadly things.

 

And yes, this would be an attack against the mind and "soul" of the new host, which would presumably be destroyed. IT might be such a powerful attack that a normal person has no chance against it. But the random nature of the power creates the slight chance that he'll latch onto a powerful mentalist, psychic or mage, in which case he's in for a struggle.

 

I would NEVER allow a hero to take this power, as its very nature is grossly unethical.