Rakshasa

The rules-lawyering way... Hi, Maybe your players cannot be detered by roleplaying means. That's often the case with commited D&D players. As a frequent offender in ruleslawyering I can only give you one advice : make the rules go against the undesired behaviour. What about this : there's a very potent telepath hidden somewhere. Using a cerebro-like contraption, he has recently begun to send violence inducing mindwaves. Anyone capable of mass destruction can be affected, which mainly targets superheroes, supervillains, and some soldiers. Every time one of your players lets his violent side loose, have him try an EGO roll against some fixed difficulty. Each time he fails, he gains 1 BODY of cumulative Transform. The minor effect is a strange fever that can't be cured by mundane means. The major effect is recurring fits of berserk rage (only accelerating the transformation). The final effect is a nasty head explosion, which you can bloodily demonstrate on some hot-tempered supervillain. Healing takes durable restraint. Now your players can clearly see what you dislike and understand what you're gonna do if they persist. If they get it and behave, you can have them destroy the wave-sending machine, but the telepath will (of course) escape by the skin of his teeth, to come back should he be needed again... Rakshasa.

Hi, I could not find any mention to REC in the FAQ, so I'm taking this here : A character has a "healing transe" slot in a magic multipower (extra REC and Regeneration). Out of combat implications are rather clear, but I'd like to explore in combat options. Can the character change his multipower to the healing transe and take a recovery (gaining benefit from the extra REC) in the same phase ? I know recovering implies taking no other action, but I don't think changing a multipower is an action, and even if it is, changing to a healing transe could be considered part of the recovery. Failing this, can the character change to his healing transe at the end of his last phase of a turn, in order to benefit from the extra REC and the Regeneration during the free post segment 12 recovery ? I feel this is more of an abuse, but I can't see how it breaks the rules. Rakshasa.

Seems like contributors have been busy while I was away... To clarify the result I expect : I think the final power would look like a multipower, with 3 predefined fixed slots (extra Strength, Megascale Flight, Energy Blast) and 2 fixed slots that can contain anything. While in combat, I can switch to any slot at the beginning of the phase, like a multipower (simulating the redistribution of energy among the circuits). And at the lab, given a few hours, I can change the contents of the variable slots (simulating the reconfiguration of the circuits). The idea is to have the options array of a regular multipower in the heat of battle, and adapt (more slowly) to the environment or the threat of the current plot. While I appreciate all the effort gone into providing alternative constructions, I still believe there's nothing wrong with my limitation on a Cosmic Pool. Now I just need to gather some opinions about the value of said limitations. Rakshasa.

I think the design I described in my first post is both legal and cost-effective. I just need to fine-tune the level of the custom limitation. Of course there are other ways to achieve the same result, but I can't see how anything would be gained from doing so. For example multiform would use half a phase each time the suit changed modes (although it would be very cheap). And the AP limit in my campaign would only allow weak forms. That's not really the subject of the thread, but I believe the -1/4 "Only one SFX" is appropriate for VPPs. It ensures that the GM can devise countermeasures that the VPP won't circumvent. A suppress field against technological powers (defined as an intense magnetic field perharps) will neutralize anything my VPP could produce : the loss of versatility should be worth something. Rakshasa.

The concept does imply that I will be using some kind of Focus (I'm leaning towards OIHID, since almost all my powers will be based on the suit). And the mandatory limitation for the VPP will of course be "-1/4 Technological SFX" (which does imply restrictions, but nothing explicit : every power construction will have to be explained by technology, with as little techno-babble as possible) But I think this is irrelevant for the question asked, because the same question could concern a mage that knows very well a few spell, and can memorize a few more given time and study. In fact, I find the construct so natural I'm surprised it's never been considered in the rules. If you study the cost of a VPP that changes only in a lab, the control cost is 1/3 of the VPP size. In multipower terms, it costs about the same as 3 full ultra slots. If I use this approximation to create a new sort of slot for the multipower (Versatile Slot : costs max AP/3, can be changed in specific circumstances), the cost of the hybrid is even more precise : - 3 fixed slots (10% of size each) - 2 versatile slots (33% of size each) which gives a "control cost" of 96%. That could mean I was a bit generous in my -1 estimation. -1/2 would be closer to that calculation. Any more thoughts ? Rakshasa.

I'm trying to build a versatile power armor. In the game, the pilot has a choice between 5 modes, deciding which to choose at the beginning of his phase. The first three are classic : Power (more Strength), Speed (high velocity Movement), and Reach (Ranged Attack). That works like a regular multipower. The last two are custom, and can be changed in a matter of hours back in the lab. Those can only be simulated by a VPP. If I am to include all these in a single structure (doing otherwise would cost twice as much), it must thus be a VPP. Since changing between any mode is a free action, I think it is a Cosmic VPP. Now how much of a limitation is : Only 5 Possiblities, only 2 of which can change in hours and in a lab ? I know Change in a lab is only -1/2, and this is less restrictive, but the example Gadget Pool is not Cosmic. I think the loss of versatility compared to an unlimited Cosmic Pool is huge, and since this limitation will affect only the control pool, versatility is the only factor to consider. All things considered, I would say -1. What do you think ? Rakshasa.

Just to add a little color, the god Hermes was said to be amekane ("impossible to trick" in Greek). He was the god of con artists (and himself gained his godhood by tricking Apollo). To simulate that power, I suggest a simple "sense illusions". It should be cheap, since illusions are rather rare... A possible extension of that power would be "sense lies", and maybe some kind of danger sense, since traps and ambushes are a kind of trickery. Rakshasa.

Thanks for looking past my little tantrum, DG. Actually, I saw your suggestion and it seems the more reasonnable for the time being. I'll call it plan B. I think an EB with AoE(Any shape) would do the trick nicely, if it wasn't for the incredibly small area covered. Is there really a reason for limiting AoE(Any area) that much ? It covers only a quarter of the line, and a ridiculous fraction of the other shapes... If I did not offer comment, it was mainly because I had no reproach to formulate (boy does that makes me look bad)... Your other suggestion is nice as well, balancing an abusive limitation with a really strict limitation is original yet fair play and jives well with the AP limit. My GM could even allow it. Rakshsasa.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I feel I have to defend my intentions here : I don't want to gain any special benefit from the power I'm creating here, normally I would be more than happy with a regular EB or plain old fist in the face. The only reason I'm doing this the hard way is to make my main attack "in concept". For a ridiculous amount of points, I could design an attack and take Flight to move-by with, and it would be very close to my goal, except for the part about going through walls. Now because I want that last part (which doesn't really makes the character that much more powerful, he could simply take Teleport on the side), the power construction becomes a nightmare that can only be very weak or very tweaked. To be honest, I don't care if I have a penalty for each target, or miss everyone if I miss one roll. That could be explained within SFX easily. I'm not trying to be extraordinarily efficient here, just moderately efficient. Let's face it : most strange power constructions are either horribly overpowered or horribly underpowered. The HERO system is so paranoid about munchkins that anything resembling a tweak is shot down mercilessly (pointwise), along with many innocent bystanders, while major tweaks still go right under the radar. Rakshasa.

Did I mention the campaign is under strict AP limits ? Any sort of heavy advantage will greatly reduce the damage. I think +1 is the maximum I can afford. Anything more and my damage will never get past the average Armor. I think this (somewhat silly) restriction shows the overly cautious nature of HERO. Desolidification used in the way described on this thread would not protect the character at all, but it still would prevent any meaningful attack. And Area of Effect is nice, but too expensive compared to move-by, which would be enough for what I'm trying to do. Rakshasa.

Originally, I was trying to make a teleporting character, and thought of adding an attack that would stay in concept. Obviously that proves harder than I expected. I still want the character to go through things, so desolidification or teleport are mandatory. I also like the move-by way of resolving multiple attacks, it simulates well the character trying to intentionaly move through many targets. But I won't pay a huge sum of points to achieve what the regular move-by provides for free : I'd like to be able to do my share of villain bashing ! Maybe a HTH, no STR would qualify for the regular move-by maneuver ? I would gladly trade the velocity bonus damage for the self-inflicted suffering part. Rakshasa.

Yes, that is another perspective at this power, one that maybe describes best what's really happening. The cost is not that high, since the desolidification would not protect against attacks. My problem then is : how much do you pay for a (basically free) move-by that is based neither on STR nor on velocity ? Rakshasa.

The AoE linked with teleport always goes off...if it's constant. I have no problem being required to use a full phase to combine a move and an attack, but paying for a constant power that triggers only once in a while, that's a bit too dear (and my GM imposes AC limits, so the damage would end up ridiculously low). This damaging teleportation will cause severe collateral damage, but that's the idea. I think the teleport path could be made curved (maybe AoE : any shape with restrictions), allowing the character to spare innocent bystanders but not obstacles and walls in general. Rakshasa.

Thanks fo the reply. I considered the structure you submitted, but it doesn't resolve the main problem : how do you account for the fact that a move and an attack share the same action ? If it takes half a phase, that's certainly an advantage. If it takes a full phase, then it is a limitation (because you cannot combine either powers with any other action). But how much is it worth ? Which power gets it ? I thought the subject wasn't new, and hoped this was resolved without bending the rules too much. Rakshasa.

Hi, I'm trying to build a Teleporter PC with a twist. I want his main power to be the special effect for most of his abilities, so I'm considering having his teleportation damage everything in its path. As a move combined with an attack, it looks like a move-by, but really isn't, as velocity has nothing to do with it and multiple targets can be hit. I think I need help. How would you construct this ? Rakshasa.