How to Properly Make Voltron

[Seluecos]

Okay, so maybe not Voltron exactly. I have a player who is wanting to have a Follower (a robot his character made) combine with a Vehicle the character has. The character would then ride on the combined Follower/Vehicle as a robot he pilots (so a Vehicle). At first I was thinking both the Follower and Vehicle would have Multiform and Focus for the other but I feel like there's some holes in that. Would it be better to have the character itself take Multiform with all the same traits as his 'true form', just without the Follower and Vehicle, and make a single Vehicle to represent the original Follower and Vehicle combining under the PCs Multiform power?

Just not sure where to start on this one. Any advice is appreciated
 

Edited July 14, 2019 by Seluecos

[Steve Long]

I suggest looking at the rules for "Combining" on pages 107-08 of The Ultimate Vehicle (which specifically looks at the issue as it concerns mecha/vehicles) and 56-58 and 215-16 of The Ultimate Metamorph.

[Gnome BODY (important!)]

Last I checked there was a Limitation to make a single power require multiple users.  Away from books so can't give you the name, but it meant multiple characters had to have the power and spend the actions to get one instance of the effect. 

[Duke Bushido]

If you're shopping opinions:

 

Way back when, we used to do Combiners during our attempt at Transformers on the Champions engine (don't ask how it went.  I mean, mechanically, it went _great_.  but it was the very first thing we attempted under 4e (Duplication was new to us with that book), and a lot of the 4e stuff -- well, we were too excited to _use_ the new differences to actually _learn_ the differences, and it got all whompus-jawed in a hurry)      by building the big, put-together version first, then using Duplication (duplicates are less powerful and different, obviously) and limitations on the powers of the "base robot"  that were not available to him while duplicated:  a couple levels of Growth, the big monster attack power (whatever that happened to be), etc.

 

you might consider going that route.  It was a pretty clean build-out that way.

 

 

[Christopher R Taylor]

There was a thread about this a few months back where a few builds were suggested, I'll see if I can't find it and link that

 

I can't find the exact thread but here's how I built the character type based on the discussion there:

 

Main Form buys:

Split into lions:  Duplication (creates 5 x-point Duplicates); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), Only to Activate, Character May Take No Other Actions, -3/4), Takes Full Turn to recombine (-1/2)

All bots (including main form) buy:
Lion Form:  Multiform (x Character Points in the most expensive form); Linked to Duplication (-1/2), May only be used with duplication (-1/4)

 

this gives you 6 total duplicates (head, arms, lets, torso) who are all different than the original, and the original multiforms to be different when the duplication takes place (lowering their power to be the same as all the others).  It takes a turn because the combo is depicted as taking about that long in all the media Voltron is shown in. 

 

Its a bit backward from what you'd expect from the concept, but this allows 6 different lion bots to combine into 1 more powerful lion bot.  Since Duplication is persistent, they can all be knocked out and still will stay separate and the same is true with Multiform.  This also allows for a significantly more powerful single form than the split off lions individually are.

[Tech]

On 7/14/2019 at 8:30 PM, Christopher R Taylor said:

There was a thread about this a few months back where a few builds were suggested, I'll see if I can't find it and link that

 

I can't find the exact thread but here's how I built the character type based on the discussion there:

 

Main Form buys:

Split into lions:  Duplication (creates 5 x-point Duplicates); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), Only to Activate, Character May Take No Other Actions, -3/4), Takes Full Turn to recombine (-1/2)

All bots (including main form) buy:
Lion Form:  Multiform (x Character Points in the most expensive form); Linked to Duplication (-1/2), May only be used with duplication (-1/4)

 

this gives you 6 total duplicates (head, arms, lets, torso) who are all different than the original, and the original multiforms to be different when the duplication takes place (lowering their power to be the same as all the others).  It takes a turn because the combo is depicted as taking about that long in all the media Voltron is shown in. 

 

Its a bit backward from what you'd expect from the concept, but this allows 6 different lion bots to combine into 1 more powerful lion bot.  Since Duplication is persistent, they can all be knocked out and still will stay separate and the same is true with Multiform.  This also allows for a significantly more powerful single form than the split off lions individually are.

 

I remember an episode (don't ask me to remember which ), where it was a very quick assemble or disassemble of the lions. I wouldn't go with a turn if only because alot of combat is over with by then.

[Chris Goodwin]

The third edition era standalone game Robot Warriors (which I highly recommend if you have any interest at all in giant robots) had something called Combine, which was essentially Duplication in reverse.  You could use Duplication without any issues.  

[Christopher R Taylor]

Voltron probably isn't supposed to take so long to combine, but for dramatic reasons everyone (including the villains) go into holding patterns and wait while the long sequence takes place.

[Duke Bushido]

They have to:

 

The shock and awe of such an astounding feat of mechanical engineering in action, preparing to kick the butts, is an overwhelming Presence Attack of unimaginable proportions.  It's easily--   _easily_! - - PRE + 100.

 

What else makes sense? 

[Doc Democracy]

9 hours ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

Voltron probably isn't supposed to take so long to combine, but for dramatic reasons everyone (including the villains) go into holding patterns and wait while the long sequence takes place.

 

Ah Christopher, I think you are missing the point, this is a soliloquy performed through the medium of interpretive dance...and (as we know) soliloquies take no time.

 

Doc

[ghost-angel]

It's a Plot Point; Build the Lions (or if you're going for the other series the various ships), build Voltron, use Vehicle Rules, hand wave the combining as Cool Stuff That Happens; Give the players different roles in Voltron like you would any Starship style combat.

[Duke Bushido]

And check out that episode of Venture Brothers to really appreciate what it's like to be in one of the limbs....   

[Vanguard]

On 7/17/2019 at 3:24 AM, Duke Bushido said:

They have to:

 

The shock and awe of such an astounding feat of mechanical engineering in action, preparing to kick the butts, is an overwhelming Presence Attack of unimaginable proportions.  It's easily--   _easily_! - - PRE + 100.

 

What else makes sense? 

 

Voltron uses/creates a temporal field that suspends time for all those inside it, except him, for the duration of the transformation/combination sequence.  Thereby allowing all the spiffy effects to be showcased without the villain getting bored and just obliterating him befores he's completely formed.

[dialNforNinja]

One of the things I particularly liked about GaoGaiGar was that the components of the main super-robot actually do set up a barrier to keep enemies from disrupting the combination process... and at least once or twice, a boss type got through the barrier and wrecked some face until the supporting cast could come to the rescue.