Snarf

A power like that would make the game completely revolve around that character. I think it's reasonable to set a maximum fade rate for Aids in genral that's appropriate for the campaign. Getting Aids that last longer than that should do something like tripling the value of the advantage. The dispel prank sounds great too, but since the guy is cooperating and trying to solve the problem, it would be nice to take it easy on him.

What are the guns rates of fire like? It seems like there would be no appreciable difference between 1000 charges and unlimited charges unless you burned through 100 in every phase or something.

Maybe I could just put the real weapon limitation on the drain/dispel/killing attack, to represent the fact that although you could utterly destroy a small piece of armor, the most you could realistically do in one destroying hit to a whole starship would be to punch a hole in the defense. I wouldn't want to rework the whole world for this one ability, because it will be pretty rare. Definitely an interesting thought though. The tunneling would probably be the closest fit to this specific special effect, but it doesn't fit in how someone can stroll through a certain amount of DEF but is completely stopped by more. I thought it might make sense to apply cumulative, so that someone could take extra time to move through greater DEF material, but I'm almost certain it's illegal: Plasma Torch: 1" Tunneling through 8 DEF, Cumulative (8x, +1), (AP 58); OIF Bulky (-1 1/2), (RC 23). In other words, the user could move through up to 64 DEF but it would take 8 phases to move 1". Does this power make sense to anyone? Another issue is that this is for a player who is just learning hero, so it might be better to do this as "by the book" as possible.

Normally, I would wholeheartedly agree with you. It would certaintly keep things simpler. Except this time the effect I'm trying for is to literally destroy armor, or possibly destroy walls. Doing greater damage is more like an incidental perk. At any rate, armor drain is more effective in combat than dispel. They'll actually feel something from the partial effect. Plasma Torch: Drain Armor 2d6, Delayed Return Rate (5 per Century, +3 1/4), (AP 65); OAF Bulky (-1 1/2), (RC 26). I don't get this part. How did you figure the value at -1? You applied it to just the fade rate portion of the power?

Plasma Torch: 1" Tunneling through 20 DEF (AP 65); OAF Bulky (-1 1/2), (RC 26). It seems to work kind of fast for something that's supposed to be an ordinary heat-based armor melting weapon. Maybe I could put extra time on it or something. There's also a problem if the user runs into a wall with more than 20 DEF. These are the by the book versions I've been messing with. By The Book Plasma Torch 1: Dispel Armor 20d6 (AP 60); OAF Bulky (-1 1/2), (RC 24). By The Book Plasma Torch 2: Dispel Armor 5d6, Cumulative (8x, +1) (AP 30); OAF Bulky (-1 1/2), (RC 12).

I kind of wanted something like the activation rolls for armor rules. Sometimes it protects but if the attack happens to hit a gap then there's no defense. I love the tunneling idea. I'll research it..

Thanks for all the great suggestions Drains would work for ordinary armor destruction, but I don't think it would normally make a hole. Wouldn't a drain vs. armor just lower the overall protective value across the whole surface, rather than creating a gap of no protection? The trouble is there's no existing rules for targetting drains and dispels. I can see a how transform could work, since a partial effect could be defined as a hole that keeps growing until the armor is scrap. I think I might just use the killing attack method. Since this was mostly going to be for cutting through starship hulls, I could just treat the hull as a wall and use a huge bomb to blow through it's defense and body.

How would you build a power that destroys armor? Maybe some sort of dispel? What about a power that could make a hole, but not completely destroy an armor?

See Victor? No literal nudity involved Advantages are almost always part of a power. When they're seperate, they're called "naked."

Definitely a SFX. If people complain, think of a situation where the silver would be a disadvantage, so you could argue that everything cancels out.

I forgot, how does turning undead work exactly? Is that where you pray and it harms the undeads.

I think change environment would work too. Check out this sidebar example: Pea Soup Fog: Change Environment 8", -3 to Sight Group Per Rolls. Total Cost: 26 points.

Victor, you can read more about naked power advantages on page 157 of fifth edition. Since you're still a beginner, you probably shouldn't include stuff like that in your game.

PerennialRook, try carefully reading the example in the middle of the follower text. The one about captain Australia. That helped me out a lot. You shouldn't buy vehicles through followers, or computers through vehicles, or multipowers through VPPs or anything like that. If I'm understanding what you're saying correctly, you'd be dividing your sidekick's part of the costs by 5 twice, in other words dividing a portion by 25, and that's just waaay to cheap for what you get. I suggest paying the cost of the vehicle yourself or sharing the cost with other player characters. You should buy skills for the characters who will drive the vehicle. For normal driving, the driver should have an appropriate transport familiarity. For dangerous driviing, the driver should also know combat driving.

I think if you're 200 base points, then it's 40 for a 200 base points follower.

A while ago I posted a question to Steve about what sort of powers naked power advantages can be applied to and he responded that there are no official rules about it. So, I made some of my own house rules and I'm wondering about what everyone else is using. In my games, by default, a naked power advantage is an instant and self only power that costs END, as the 5th edition book recommends. Uncontrolled, Persistent, Usable by other, a focus limitation defined as universal, and Reduced Endurance may be used to change these properties. By default, the advantage can be applied to only one power, but it can be applied to any form of that power the character possesses. For example, the armor piercing advantage that can apply to any gun that was the example in the book. Varying Effect can be purchased to increase the advantage's scope. For +1/4, the advantage can be applied to any power in a related group of special effects, one at a time. For +2, every power in a related group at the same time. The stuff in between works similarly. This is the FTL drive I made, which enhances the range of a psion's teleportation enough to send a ship between star systems: Jump Drive: 1 Light Year Megascaling for up to 30" Teleportation (AP 210), IIF Bulky Expendable (requires promethium crystals, difficult to obtain, -1), 2 Charges (-1 1/2), (RC 60). These would just scale up range for either any psi powers, one power at a time or all at once: General Psi Enhancer 1: 1 Light Year Megascaling for up to 60 cp of any psionic power, Varying Effect (+1/4), (AP 225), IIF Bulky Expendable (requires promethium crystals, difficult to obtain, -1), 2 Charges (-1 1/2), (RC 64). General Psi Enhancer 2: 1 Light Year Megascaling for any number of psionic powers of up to 60 cp each, Varying Effect (+2), (AP 330), IIF Bulky Expendable (requires promethium crystals, difficult to obtain, -1), 2 Charges (-1 1/2), (RC 94). Do these rulings sound reasonable? What sort of system have you been using in your games?

It depends how common those attacks are in the game. Assuming a medieval setting: Vulnerability: Swords and Arrows (common, 2X damage, Body and Stun), -40 points.

Best Topic Ever Let's see, he would probably armor for his scales, extra limbs, burninating breath, and enough strength to stomp down peasants. When he stomps enough peasants, he activates his invincible burninate mode. Buy a bunch of extra defense and burning with the Only In Heroic Identity limitation. He's hunted by knights and archers. He has a reputation throughout the lands for burning down peasants and their thatched roof cottages.

It looks like you only bought one die of regeneration. Wouldn't that mean you can only heal up to 3 body? Or is regeneration exempt from the maximum effect rules for adjustment powers?

What will happen if it's used on a machine without controls, like a bomb with no buttons on it to manipulate or an automatic sprinkler or something?

Ah. I think something around 14 to 20 would fit. Post your write up when you're all done. It looks like there's going to be some stuff I'll want to steal

From what I remember of the show, those guys were very beefy, but not superhuman. I think something like 18 would be accurate. PerennialRook, are you doing a write-up of the guys from the show or just trying to make a 200+150 point character?

I think either of those forms of machine control you describe would work Monster, but the controlling character or summoned AI would need a lot of different TF's and PS's to be able to operate any machine at all. Maybe you could allow a skill VPP connected with the control. I've been wondering about these same things when I created some villians with machine control powers based on mind control. How would machine mind control work if used on a device without intelligence, like a vacum cleaner or a bomb? I was planning on ruling that it can be done; but the device has 0 EGO and there's a -30 penalty to the effect since there's barely any mind there to control. Your psychokinesis method of building the power would work better in that situation. As long as it's got controls, it can be manipulated.

If it's like the show Gargoyles, I think there's no resurrection. You can still do that. It's listed as the standard effect option somewhere near the beginning of 5th edition.

Ah. Thanks guys.