Hugh Neilson

Actually, DEX and EGO effectively cost exactly the same amount...unless you're in the habit of lettimg your Speed round down. I'd probably make it +1/4. It's not as strong as "line of sight", which is +1/2, it doesn't target the opponent's EGO, and you don't get a power defended by EGO def (which is +1 1/2 AVLD to get only this, or +1 to get all this plus much more BOECV ). The advantage in this case is that the character avoids the need to spend points on both DEX and EGO (he's unlikely to be using this if he doesn't already have a high EGO for some other reason). TINSTAAFL

The sinmple word "small" provides the physical limitation for being smaller than normal, doesn't it? Of curse, if you aren't smaller than normal, I believe you'll need to roll a STR roll (9-) each phase just to move. Other disads? Well, the usual "demon" disads for an imp or demon creature, just off the top of my head. Yeah, you get back 59 points by selling all those stats. You also get low END, poor STUN, etc. To some extent, it's a creature of the game mechanics, but that's unavoidable. If the GM chooses to handwave PRE and END, then don't whine when the result is people selling back PRE and END to save points.

Put me down for a vote that it's like knockback. For damage, however, I woud use Grond's full STR. If Our Hero hits something solid (and doesn't break it), he takes 18d6 (assuming 90 STR). If he hits the ground and bounces, he takes half damage. He could avoid damage altogether with a spectacular breakfall roll.

Assuming you don't much care about getting Mental Defense characters, this can be designed at a relatively low cost. Say: 1d6 Mind Control, 0 End (+1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Telepathic (+1/4), Cumulative (+1/2?) with Increased Max (+1 1/2; x64 MAX = 192 pts), Area Effect (radius, +1), MegaScale (1" = 10 km; +1/2), Penetrating 2x (+1), IPE (+1 - doubled so targets are not aware of building accumulation); Personal Immunity (+1/4) Always On (-1/2), No Range (-1/2), Single Command ("forget all about me" at +20 so target won't remember power used on him; -1) So that's 5 x 8 = 40 AP / 3 = 13 points. You'll average 3.5 points per phase (1 point if the target has mental defense), so assuming a target with 30 Ego and mental defense, you need to stay within 10 km of the target for about 80 phases to get 80 points of effect (30 EGO +30 "violent opposition to forgetting" + 20 target will remember actions and believe they're natural = 80). Assuming you have a 3 Speed, that's 5 minutes, 20 seconds of effect required. Don't leave the area TOO quickly! For 2 more points, your area could be 100,000 km. You may want to take some levels if your GM won't let you automatically "hit" with an area effect mental attack. In that case, may as well make it 100 km radius and make your AE nonselective. So it's pretty easy to build, and pretty cheap. How likely it is that your GM will allow it - well, that's another issue. But if he's agreed to the effect, he should be prepared to allow the mechanic. If he wants to prevent it working on someone, the target need only buy enough Mental Defense to get the target total to 6, and double harden it. That's 9 points at most, reduced to the extent the character will get base mental defense.

It has -59 STAT points which can't come from SPD, DEX or more than one figured char. OK, let's go to 1 EGO, 1 INT and 0 COM (but is it now smart enough to stay 8" away?). That's 32 points. 27 to go. Now, if they come out of STR or CON, figureds go down. That makes it easier to hurt, and faster to exhaust (it needs 8 END per turn to keep firing and flying each phase, remember). BOD? Well, that only makes it easier to take out. Say 9 BOD, and we now have 9 points to go. PRE? Well, not the bad old bear scares it! Maybe go to 8 STR and 8 CON - that's 6 points, so 3 more to go. We can either sell back STUN (to 6) or END (to 10) to get there. But what is it? The point of Summon is to summon up a creature, not a bundle of statistics. Hence, the bear costs more because the bear has actually been defined as a bear, and has bear abilities like exceptional senses, not pure min/max'ed combat abilities. If I saw a construct like that, I'd be reminding my player that the GM approves or designs all summoned creatures. And at that point, I'm leaning to the latter.

This very question is in the FAQ. The answer is "You have to give a Summoned being Disadvantages because this is a roleplaying game, not a tax return. The object isn’t to get away with whatever you can get away with — it’s to simulate a fictional setting and the fictional adventures taking place there. To do that properly, you have to do your best to represent the way things should be. If a demon should have, say, Susceptibility to holy objects, you should give it to him, regardless of whether you get a point break for it." Since the GM must approve, if he doesn't write up, all summoned beings, I would expect the GM to enforce reasonable disadvantages on the creatures summoned. I would generally view any Summoned creature with more base points than the Summoner as a "Requires GM Permission" construct. Show me why this won't be unbalanced. One reason may be "these disadvantages". edited to add actual FAQ response

This is a concept I find many players (especially new ones, but spome older ones as well) have difficulty with. A 12d6 EB, on average, will reduce a normal human to 0 BOD. It will do serious harm against anyone with defenses in the realm of "normal human". It IS a lethal attack, despite not being a killing attack. And firing it on an unknown target is not appropriate for someone with a CVK. A 1d6 KA, however, will likely inflict serious harm, but absolutely will not kill in one shot, or even place its target in danger of death (assuming one does not use hit locations). It is a killing attack, but not a lethal attack. A 15d6 EB, or punch, IS lethal force, no less so than a gun.

Yup. But this requires more Flash Def under 5e than 4e. In 4e, 10 points of flash defense blocked 6 or 7 dice (60 or 70 points) of flash pretty consistently. In 5e, it blocks 6 or 7 dice, but only 30 or 35 points, of Flash pretty effectively. To be immune to 60 or 70 points worth of flash requires 15 - 20 points of flash defense. With a few (ie 5) points of flash defense, the character will likely be flashed a full phase unless his SPD is quite low. With 10 points, he's still likely to be flashed for at least a brief period of time, although it is possible it won't cover a full phase, especially if his speed is relatively low. All in all, I think the 5e version is a superior construct. YMMV.

Why not just look at Transform, where it suggests Create Water creates a gallon per BOD, say, and create some similar arbitrary amount for snow?

Now, this is why I don't use AP caps. Set a maximum level of defenses, a maximum damage class for attacks, etc. and avoid handicapping powers like Telekinesis. I guess that makes my pet peeve "arbitrary caps that don't treat all powers equally".

My poet peeve (and it's a small one): why doesn't transfer act as a Drain after it transfers the maximum possible points? Think about it: 60 AP Transfer costs 6 END. On each successful hit, the target loses 4-24 points which the attacker gains. At 24 points, the attacker can neither inflict more damage nor gain more points. What about a 4d6 Drain linked to a 4d6 Aid? The Link is -1/2, Self Only is -1/2, and "only aids to the extent the Drain gets through" should be worth another -1/2 (it requires the Drain to hit, and the target have no power defense, to have full effect). So that's 40 points for Drain, and [40/2.5 =] 16 points for the Aid. So the Transfer costs 4 points more, has a damage cap, and costs 50% more END to use. It is less than the sum of its component parts.

OK, I haven't seen it in action much, but I thought Flash got stronger in 5th, at least applied to Supers. A 60 point Flash in 4th would work for 6 phases. The slowest Supers would be blinded for a turn. Speed demons mightb be blinded for 6 segments. A 60 point 5th Ed flash blinds for 12 segments on average, which is a full turn for everyone. Additionally, 10 Flash Def used to be a guarantee against any non-AP flash. Now a 60 pt flash will still blind that individual, at least briefly. In heroic campaigns, where 4 SPD is very high, 3 more common and 2 a possibility, flash is weaker. But maybe it needed to be - 60 AP blinding for 2 or 3 turns seems a bit too effective.

As a point of correction, the agent does not have to roll high on all his dice. He can roll average on his 4d6 RKA (14 BOD), but he needs to roll high on the STUN multiple to get 70 STUN. He has a 1 in 6 chance if he rolls average BOD. Now, punks with handguns need to roll high on all dice. A 2d6 RKA can inflict 60 STUN, but only one time in 216. The Brick will take out a lot of mooks in the time it takes to fire 216 shots that hit, and that one shot won't likely STUN him, much less take him out. On average BOD, they have a 1 in 6 chance to inflict 35 STUN on average BOD, and any self-respecting Brick can take a lot of 35 STUN hits (infinite in many cases). So generally, they do bounce bullets. But not "exploding shells"). I think your suggestion of "apply the 3x default" to real world weaponry (or even just to weaponryu below the heavy artillary level) would save some dice rolling, as well as preserving the "bullets just bounce off him" image of well-defended bricks. For what it's worth, I see merit on both the "prevent wild variance" and "allow wild variance" sides. My players have maintained the attitude, in Supers, that Killing Attacks are intended to kill, not to provide a chance at big STUN on a well-defended opponent, so it hasn't been a problem. I think they're also concerned by the fact that the KA will do no STUN half the time. And they've never complained that a lucky shot from a rifle could inflict some serious STUN. On the characters where that's an issue, their DEF, CON and STUN is generally enought to deal with lucky rolls from anything under heav military equipment.

Most villains follow the "unwritten rule" that you don't kill the hero, mainly because hero killers tend to pick up a lot of new hunteds. In some cases, a comic book type coincidence that rescues the character may well be in order.

This, to me, is where the real issue lies. The above reasoning is sound. If you use the STUN lotto (and like most, I still do), the image of the brick wading through a hail of bullets is lost - a 5x STUN multiple + good BOD roll and he takes a significant STUN hit. Similarly, if the villain is "all but indestructible", perhaps we give him 45 defenses. An average 12d6 EB will hit him for 42 and he takes nothing. A bit above average will chip away. But an average RKA will do 14 BOD - no STUN half the time (1 or 2 Stun multiple), same as the EB with a 3x, 11 STUN 1 time in 6 and 25 STUN 1 time in 6. To get 25 STUN with an EB, you have to average 5 per die, statsistically far less likely (Gary, feel free to chime in with the odds here). Give the KA a 3x SM, and you solve that problem, but it now averages the same STUN as the EB, and still has wilder swings due to only 4 dice actually being rolled. Its average is up from 2.67 (2 chances of 1, and one each of 2-5), so it does more STUN than normal. Make the SM 1-4, and we have an average of 2.5, and a lower variance. Make it 2,2,2,3,3,4 and we keep the 2.67 average, but reduce the variance. I agree with those posters who say a KA is SUPPOSED to be dangerous, but it should be dangerous in the BOD it inflicts, not the STUN. If our MegaVillain has 45def, 25 rDef, hitting him with a 4d6 KA never draws blood, but has a much better chance than an EB of inflicting serious STUN. Killing attacks should be good at killing, not knocking people out.

Actually, I think the above may be the most technically correct approach. I don't have the book in front of me either, so let's assume your limitations are correct. By the book, a power that takes extra time to activate, but after that works normally (ie no extra time to use again) uses 1/2 the extra time limitation. It would seem reasonable to say the power takes the -1 1/4 "once per turn" limit, then gets half of the 3/4 difference between once a turn and every 20 minutes for the extra activation time. Since rounding is always in the character's favour, the limit "Takes 20 minutes to activate, then acts every turn" would be worth - 1 3/4.

7 Comparing KA to EB under this approach, the differences are that the KA does more BOD damage and has a reduced likelihood of knockback (14 BOD - 10.5 = 3.5" average vs 12 BOD - 7 = 5" average). In my opinion, the tradeoff creates an insufficient drawback for the KA. Using a deemed multiplier of 2.5 or 2.67 would seem more apropriate (note: even an oddball multiplier isn't a big deal if it's constant - just make a chart). At 3x, the KA is equal in STUN and superior in BOD, making it the better choice. "Buy to concept" helps, but should the player whose concept includes a KA be rewarded by a more efective attack? A flat multiple makes sense, for the reasons stated above. I just think 3x is too high. Maybe go from 1,1,2,3,4,5 to 2,2,2,3,3,4 to provide some variability without the extremes (and the same average roll)? 14 BOD now does 28, 42 or 56. 56 would be a pretty serious roll on a 12d6 EB, but not impossible. Of course, an above average BOD roll and 4 SM is still going to do a lot of damage, but knowing the SM will be 2 half the time curtails some desire to use the KA in hopes of a big SM.

Look harder. Off the top of my head (and not one shots like Batman's), Iron Man had a polarizijng field that "hardened" his armor from a cloth-like consistency for many years. SOunds like a field of force to me. More conventional, in his very first appearance the Juggernaut bragged of his force field which further defended him from harm (he had to - it was invisible so the reader otherwise would have missed it!). For that matter, Unus the Untouchable had an ivisible force field, but completely wastes it by bragging about it. Consider also characters who evidence a mysterious invulnerability to normally devestating attacks (for example, those characters Rogue cannot affect). It;'s been established Magneto can block her with a force field (even one which can't be seen - there's another one!), so may of those others may have invisible force fields which have not been "formally disclosed". See, the problem with something being invisible is that you can't see it!

This leaves an average stun multiple of 2.87, a bit higher than the 2.67 generated by the d6 method. Seems reasonable - a bit more STUN on average, but a much reduced likelihood of a huge stun multiple. The odds also favour unusually low multiples over unusually high ones. I agree with Derek's comment on using a multiple of BOD that gets through defenses. The only reasonable result of such an approach, in my opinion, is that KA's would not be used against living targets (only against walls, automotons and other things where BOD is all that matters.

If you go a bit further back in the thread, you'll see where Gary and I discuss his use of one averaging method for EB and a different one for KA. Gary's right that the impact is more significant for KA's than EB's, but it's still comparing apples to oranges (or at least Red Delicious and Granny Smith)

Looks pretty even, then. I'd rather take 19 Stun per attack than 3 BOD. I'll live a lot longer, absent regeneration/healing. But there's no question +8 SM is well into the realm of the ridiculous, and I would not be inclined to allow it in any case. Come to think of it, I don't believe I've ever aproved an NND that does BOD. Mind you, I don't think anyone ever asked for either one.

Re: Two Answers For two points, I'd probably tell the player he must buy off the limitation and can use his next 2 xp for this to avoid the need for a rewrite over 2 points.

It's the CV issue that does it for me. When you have Martial Artists who can reach a 17+ OCV, and Bricks with a 5-7 DCV, the MA can pretty much be assured of 3-5 shots hitting if he's alowed (or getting that head shot every time). When CV's range from, say, 4 to 8, this issue shrinks down. As well, ,lower AP attacks = more damage lost if you spread to compensate. ummmm...Batman had an invisible force field pretty early in his career. (Man of Steel #4, IIRC) No DEF, but a force field nevertheless. Yes and no. Do they have these permanently, or have they borrowed them from contacts who expect them back? Maybe they're experimental (burnout rolls?) so they can't rely on them always being effective. But you can bet if a GM has a "flash heavy" campaign, the players are going to come up with reasons why their characters are buying flash DEF. And a good one is "I've been taken out of the fight three times running thanks to flashes. Of course my character is going to look for ways to mitigate that effect."

My guess is AP will have a better chance of doing BOD. Both are +1/2 advantages, so say we can get a 3d6 KA (67.5 AP). It averages 10.5 BOD. 15 rDef will reliably stop the bonus SM KA, but the AP attack will sometimes get through 25 rDef.

+1 advantage. Choose NND or +4 SM. At 60 points, NND averages 21 STUN. At 60 points, 2d6 RKA averages 7 BOD x 6 2/3 stun = 46 2/3 STUN - 27 DEF = 19 2/3 STUN. Marginally less STUN on average. Still has a shot (though slim) at doing knockback and/or BOD on inanimate objects. +2 advantage. Choose NND Does BOD or +8 SM (yes, a ridiculous level). Average 14 STUN and 4 BOD, or average 4.5 BOD * 10 2/3 = 48 STUN - 27 DEF = 21 STUN. The RKA gets all the way to the normal NND's stun. The KA admittedly has some pretty wild shifts - but a chance of doing extraordinarily high damage is balanced against the chance of inflicting nothing (oops! 2 STUN and 10 SM = 20 STUN - he laughs!), so that villain with all of 5 (or less) STUN gets off another shot/escapes/what have you. At the +2 advantage level, take 4 BOD reliably every hit. Make the defense Force Field and give this guy a KA (with no Stun multiple) in his multipower. While he kills the opponents vulnerable to his NND, his alies take down the force fielders. He can kill them when they're out and their fields are down. A 2 1/2d6 Penetrating KA will reliably get about 2 BOD through a phase, and average 24 STUN (not even a dent after defenses).