Multiform-Duplication Combo?

[PhilFleischmann]

I think I asked this question before, but it would have been a long time ago, and I can't find it now.  And maybe the answer is different in 6e.

 

First, a bit of background:  This is for a wizard in a Fantasy Hero campaign.  The wizard lives in his own tower within the big city.  The public story is that he has a gargoyle assistant.  The gargoyle is big and scary-looking, as gargoyles are, but the citizens know the gargoyle by now, and they're used to seeing him around, running errands for the wizard, and they know the wizard is a good guy, and so they trust that the gargoyle is "tame" and has never caused any problems.  That's the public story.

 

The truth is that the wizard *is* the gargoyle.  It's a Multiform.  When the wizard is in his human form, he has access to all of his usual magic, and when he's in gargoyle form, he loses access to much of the magic (say, at least half of it), but becomes bigger and stronger, gaining flight and some straight-forward combat abilities.

 

Having gained some experience points, the wizard would like to re-work the gargoyle form as a Duplicate - with approximately 50% different abilities.  Easy enough to do.  However, what would really be nice is to have the option of being either duplicate, or both.  In other words, when he recombines, he'd like to be able to be the gargoyle instead of the wizard some of the time.  Should this cost extra?  Should this just be a plain Duplication with an altered duplicate?  Should this require some combination of both Multiform and Duplication?  Paying full price for both seems way too expensive.  I know in 5e you're no allowed to put either of these powers into a Multipower.  Did this change in 6e?  Did anything else about these powers change in 6e?

 

The wizard would essentially have three forms:  The normal wizard form, the gargoyle form, or both at the same time.  And it may also wind up (depending on how the build works, that the "Both" form leaves both slightly less powerful than they'd be if he was just one or the other.  In other words, as just the wizard, he may be very powerful, but when he also has his gargoyle duplicate active, some of his magic power is being used to sustain the gargoyle.  Maybe.

[Gnome BODY (important!)]

I'd suggest asking your GM about allowing it, it seems reasonable to me. 

If your GM won't accept it, you could also put the Lockout limitation on both Multiform and Duplication to create a pseudo-Multipower.  It's a bit more expensive, but not that bad. 

E: Actually, if the prices of your Multiform and Duplication are sufficiently different and you don't have many Limitations on them, it can actually be cheaper. 

[Hugh Neilson]

What if he had three Multiforms (i.e. +5 for 2x the alternate forms)?  One is just the Wizard, the second is just the Gargoyle and the third is both with Duplication Cannot Recombine?

 

What happens if the two are forcibly separated (or one is killed) while Duplicated?

[PhilFleischmann]

The three-forms version might be a possibility, but it does seem like buying a lot of the same abilities twice.  Although if it's only +5 points, I have no problem with that!

 

Yes, the two forms would have to be able to touch in order to recombine.  And he would only split/recombine/change form in private anyway to preserve the secret.

 

If the wizard is killed in "normal" wizard form, then he dies normally.

If he dies in gargoyle form, it may be dramatically appropriate for the corpse to morph into the wizard.

If one of the two forms dies while both are "active", then the other one remains alive, and presumably unable to change form.

[Scott Ruggels]

Cool Idea!