[4th] Timed multiform question.

[Spence]

One trope I want to duplicate is for a character using multiform is where they have two (or more) forms, a “normal” form and a “powered up form”.   

In this concept the whenever the “powered up form” is knocked out it automatically reverts to the “normal” form.   The “powered up form” is also limited by how long it can remain in that form. 

Basically, the character is built as a Hero (75/75) and is the primary form of the character.  When pressed they can transform into a more powerful battle form that they can only maintain for a specified number of turns (phases?). 

The reversion from the more powerful form to lesser form upon being knocked out will be easily handled as a limitation. 

The part that really has me stumped is how to write up the timed part.  How to define how long and how to define the cost.  I want to use a method that allows the character to increase the length of the time they are powered up with Exp. 

Any constructive thoughts for 4^th edition.

Not 6^th edition.

4^th edition. 

[Gnome BODY (important!)]

Are Continuing Charges a thing in 4th?  The granularity is a bit high, but it should be pretty simple to add intermediate breakpoints at an intermediate cost. 

[Solitude]

Accidental change, with the trigger being the defined passage of time.

I designed a lot of multiform characters in Fourth and used a lot of accidental change variations. 

 

My many iterations of Wildfire inspired characters generally accidentally changed to the energy form if the suit was damaged and had to put on the suit piece by piece activating each one in turn to regain the ability to affect the material world.

 

Accidental change should do what you want. 

If you are going to be playing the character yourself you might add in some additional accidental change triggers because I find that being gimped like that makes the character more fun to play. I admit it's just frustrating in a character for a new gamer though.

[Spence]

6 minutes ago, Solitude said:

Accidental change, with the trigger being the defined passage of time.

 

Perfect. 

 

Thanks, I knew there had to be an answer but I just couldn't latch on to it. 

 

It isn't for my character, it is for a setting where there are people that can transform into beings with extraordinary powers.  But the time they can sustain the transformation is limited.   

[Spence]

16 hours ago, Spence said:

 

Perfect. 

 

Thanks, I knew there had to be an answer but I just couldn't latch on to it. 

 

It isn't for my character, it is for a setting where there are people that can transform into beings with extraordinary powers.  But the time they can sustain the transformation is limited.   

 

Actually not perfect

 

I want the players (and NPC's) to be able to buy up (increase) the time they are transformed with XP.  

[sentry0]

Have you considered requiring that all of these Multiforms must take an Endurance Reserve without a REC.  Once the reserve is depleted, they revert.

 

You may have to do some handwaving but it may work like you want it to.

[Duke Bushido]

31 minutes ago, sentry0 said:

Have you considered requiring that all of these Multiforms must take an Endurance Reserve without a REC.  Once the reserve is depleted, they revert.

 

 

 

 

This is pretty much _exactly_ how I did my character Armorine years ago: three forms, all on an END reserve.  The form itself cost END from that reserve, and any powers that form used pulled from that reserve.  When the reserve was gone, she reverted to her normal form.  The reserve had the limitation that it could only recover while she was in her base form.

 

Lots of fun to play, but tracking four recoveries did get a bit old.....  It wasn't difficult; just tedious.

 

 

[Gnome BODY (important!)]

48 minutes ago, sentry0 said:

Have you considered requiring that all of these Multiforms must take an Endurance Reserve without a REC.  Once the reserve is depleted, they revert.

 

You may have to do some handwaving but it may work like you want it to.

Or even just REC that doesn't work while transformed. 

I think this is the silver bullet for this solution: It's cheap, granular, and intuitive. 

[Spence]

15 minutes ago, sentry0 said:

Have you considered requiring that all of these Multiforms must take an Endurance Reserve without a REC.  Once the reserve is depleted, they revert.

 

You may have to do some handwaving but it may work like you want it to.

 

That could work.  The "normal" Heroic form could run off of the characters END just like normal.  The more powerful form could be run on an END Reserve.  Starting with no REC, but the player (or GM for NPC's) can buy up the Reserve (END or REC) as they like with XP. 

 

I can simply hand wave the reversion to "normal" form upon being knocked out since it doesn't feel right as a limitation, or maybe it does.  I'll need to consider. 

[Spence]

18 minutes ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

 

This is pretty much _exactly_ how I did my character Armorine years ago: three forms, all on an END reserve.  The form itself cost END from that reserve, and any powers that form used pulled from that reserve.  When the reserve was gone, she reverted to her normal form.  The reserve had the limitation that it could only recover while she was in her base form.

 

Lots of fun to play, but tracking four recoveries did get a bit old.....  It wasn't difficult; just tedious.

 

 

Only having one form on a reserve will simplify that.

[Spence]

4 minutes ago, Gnome BODY (important!) said:

Or even just REC that doesn't work while transformed. 

I think this is the silver bullet for this solution: It's cheap, granular, and intuitive. 

 

I like that.  It would be an easy "timer" on when it becomes possible to power up again.  Nice.

[Duke Bushido]

1 hour ago, Spence said:

 

Only having one form on a reserve will simplify that.

 

 

Most certainly it would have, but the character conception was normal human with three forms, unable to access any of them for an extended period of time.  I enjoyed the challenge of playing the character, particularly those situations where "this form would be ideal, but I've used it all up for right now" or having to switch from form to form to manage the remaining "time" left for them and giving them the time to "recharge," if you will.  And of course, the amusing occasions where "it would be helpful if you could fly and shoot" but instead I'd have to make do by climbing and throwing things.  

 

All in all, it was a fun character, and probably the last thing I did with Multiform.  4e had just come out, and we were all anxious to test out certain things presented there and compare them to how we were currently doing them.  Armorine was created to really give 4e as fair a shake as possible:  I worked very hard to create a multiform character that would be difficult or impossible to simulate the way that we had done such things until 4e.   That END reserve timer tied to each form was a pretty critical part of that test, as it was the thing that would have been most difficult to create using our previous "changes into someone else" methods.

 

Now that might not have been a fair test: I might have edged advantage specifically to 4e in my efforts to _not_ edge advantage to 2e.  The results, however, was undeniable favor to 4e for that particular concept.

 

 

[Chris Goodwin]

20 hours ago, Spence said:

Any constructive thoughts for 4^th edition.

 

Not 6^th edition.

 

4^th edition. 

 

The general Limited Power covers a lot.  I see no reason you couldn't look at the Time Limit Limitation from 6th and import it into 4th via Limited Power.

[Doc Democracy]

2 hours ago, Spence said:

 

I can simply hand wave the reversion to "normal" form upon being knocked out since it doesn't feel right as a limitation, or maybe it does.  I'll need to consider. 

 

There could be a limitation on the reserve that it drops to zero when the character is KO'ed.  He reverts because the reserve is zero.

 

I would also limit the multiform such that it can only be activated when the reserve is full.  That enforces a real downtime.

 

Doc