Ockham's Spoon

Re: How to build: melting a bank vault The All or Nothing limitation would work well on the vault, but I am now thinking that the ED Drain linked to the small RKA is best because it has the fade effect built in (as the temperature drops) and because the vault won't feel it at all until the ED is low enough for BODY damage, but characters will start to take STUN damage well before that. Also, it gives me something to link the Too Hot to Touch! AoE Surface attack strength to, so that it fades along with the temperature drop. Thanks all for your help!

Re: How to build: melting a bank vault Transform crossed my mind too, but it has two drawbacks in my mind. First, when used on a bank vault it is fine, but when turned on a character, you are basically Transforming a character from normal to cooked (dead), and really that is a job for a RKA (Tunneling can't be used on characters either, although I guess in a Multipower you could just define which slot was in use by what target you had). Second, the threshold for the power should be defined by the ED, not the BODY, which is what Transform does. Hmm... actually you could have a Penetrating Transform against and Alternate Defense (ED) which could work pretty well combined with the Multipower slots...

Re: How to build: melting a bank vault Yes, that is why I first thought of Penetrating too. But if the vault melts at 1500°C and she only has time to heat it to 1000°C, then once it cools down the vault is unaffected. If I go with Penetrating, the damage starts immediately and remains even after the vault cools, which is not what I am going for here.

I am making a pyrokinetic supervillain, with the ability to gradually make things hotter and hotter until they melt/burn. Ultimately she should be able to bore through a bank vault with this (24 ED, 9 BDY), but I don't want to give her a 25d6 attack for two reasons. First, it is way over the damage cap. Second, if she doesn't actually melt through the vault, it will just cool down and be undamaged. From a dramatic standpoint, I want the heroes to know that if she attacks them, they have a few PHAs to put her down or escape before they end up like the vault door, but I don't necessarily want them to go down with a single hit. So my first though was a Penetrating attack, but that starts doing damage immediately, and I want this to gradually build up and have no effect if it doesn't exceed the threshold. Damage Over Time seemed like it might be good with the optional advantage that the Defense is only applied once. But then I have to pick how many segments it works, and this power is continuous as long as the pyrokinetic focuses on it. I thought of a few other ideas, but they become increasing more complex for a physically straightforward concept. So I throw this out to other Herophiles. How would you model this power? To add a little more complexity, this power would almost certainly be linked to a AoE Surface attack to represent the hot object being dangerous to touch. If anyone can see a good way to build it all as a single attack, that would be great, but if I have to link them so be it.

Re: Entangle That Get's Tougher Over Time This is a nice idea for an Entangle. The simplest way would be a custom limitation, the size being based on how long it takes the resin to harden, but the question would be how much? You could model it with partial limitations on the power. For a 6d6 Entangle say, the first 2d6 happens immediately, the second 2d6 has a 1 turn delay, and the third 2d6 has a 1 minute delay. So your total cost will be 20 + 20/(1½) + 20/(2) = 43 pts. Or to simplify it, you could say that a 60 Active pt power with a Real cost of 43 pts cost is close to what you would get with a -½ limitation, so make your custom limitation -½ and be done with it. If the target can escape the full Entangle by just getting out of the first 2d6, add Linked to the second two Entangles. The the partial limitation route gives 20 + 20/(2) + 20/(2½) = 38 pts. That is still actually pretty close to a -½ limitation, but I'd go with a -¾ partly based on the first example and partly because functionally I think it is probably a bigger limitation than the numbers immediately suggest. Edit: Whoops! I see I have been beat to the punch, and by an official rule!

Re: Super Martial Arts and endurance I am not quite sure how the recoverable charge is supposed to work, so I won't comment there. If you want players to mix up their combat, be generous with Surprise Manuever bonuses, and/or penalize their OCV for using the same manuever over and over because they become predictable. You can also encourage martial arts manuevers that have the limitation "must follow X manuever". You might also have attacks with large OCV penalties (because they have to be targeted just so) which would encourage use of throws or grabs which can make the target easier to hit.

Re: 5e Naked Advantage I'd buy him separate multipower slots for Telepathy with IPE for three reasons. First, it is potentially less abusive. Second, it is probably cheaper (well, depending on how many IPE slots he wants). Third, it makes sense in my mind that if he is being careful not to be detected that the total number of dice would be lower. The analogy is if you want to be stealthy you don't run at top speed. Of course with a additional +20 effect on the roll, you can have the Telepathy not be detected by the subject, so maybe you just need +6d6 Telepathy only for purposes of remaining undetected.

Re: Random Thought: Splitting Speed Combats would take longer for two reasons. Partly just the added complexity of tracking two SPD for each character. Partly because most people don't use half their SPD for Defensive manuevers IME (speedsters being the possible exception). So now the characters deal damage more slowly since they only have half their SPD to attack with, and because there would be a lot more blocking & dodging so everyone gets hit less frequently (you have those Defensive SPD phases, you might as well use them). Of course most of those Defensive SPD phases would probably be used for movement so as not to waste Attack phases, but even so you can see a dramatic increase in combat time.

Re: Proper Whip Build in 6e I bow to your experience. Thanks for the reality check. Still, I think the cinematic whip probably has too much appeal to be modelled realistically in a RPG. BTW, does anyone know if bullwhips were ever considered weapons of war instead of instruments of intimidation/punishment? And (more tangentially) how similar are chain weapons? I can see a lot more bludgeoning utility in a heavy chain, but I don't think weapons like the kusari had heavy chains or were used that way.

Re: Mundane Item Buildng: Rope The rope automaton is an interesting build and potentially a better representation than just the TK build. That said, while I would allow it if a player really wanted to, it is a bit cumbersome to spec it that way, so I would have to go with the TK build personally.

Re: vampire blood drain Yeah, Transfer was useful notationally, but I guess it was really just Drain + Aid anyway, so that is how 6e models it. It makes the rule book that much shorter, but it makes writing out a transfer power on your character sheet that much longer. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Re: Proper Whip Build in 6e I believe that whips built as Killing Attacks are those that have metal tips or barbs in them, giving some cutting power (still you ought to apply Reduced Penetration though). For a less cruel version, such as Indiana Jones' iconic equipment, I would probably use a small HTH attack instead. In either case, you might care to give the character +5 PRE only for attacks just because the crack of the whip is so intimidating.

Re: Armor Wars Some of this has been covered, but I see power suits as limited in production for the following reasons: 1. Too expensive. Yes, tanks are pricey too, but the high tech needed for personal body armor is well beyond even that. This is also why you don't have supertanks everywhere. 2. The required materials are exceedingly rare and difficult to obtain. You simply don't have enough unobtainium in the world to build more than a couple of suits properly. 3. The suits require fine-tuning to the "pilot", so you can't easily mix and match which limits versatility, and it requires lots of pilot training. Something goes wrong and you have to overhaul the whole thing. That is putting too many eggs in one basket for the military. Alternatively, the suits are too easy to use and they don't want them being stolen by enemy soldiers or terrorists. 4. Does the army want to be responsible for one of their power suit soldiers going rogue and stealing the suit (or even getting a bad case of PTSD)? People stealing high tech and setting themselves up as supercriminals happens all the time in the comics, so you might guess that the military would be wary of giving any single soldier that kind of readily transportable firepower. 5. The inventor is a genius and the simple fact is that no one else has figured out how to do what he did, or at least as well as he did it. The inventor could have any number of reasons for not widely distributing the technology, from a concern of the technology falling into the wrong hands to simply being too busy inventing to bother with some kind of business plan to do so.

Re: Quick questions for a Martial Artist Powers I have always house ruled it as such: if you have a HTH attack with an advantage on it, either you pay for the STR to have the advantage too or the DC that STR adds are reduced by the value of the advantage. So for a 30 STR added to a 4d6 Penetrating (+½) attack, you only get an extra 6d6/1.5 = 4d6 for a total of 8d6. If it were an NND (+1) attack, you would get 6d6/2 = 3d6 extra from STR.

Re: Ultra sonic interference device The idea of an ultrasonic generator sounds like something that inhibits the mentalist rather than aids his victims to me, in which case a Suppress does seem to be the way to go. If Mind Control has already be thrown before the Suppress goes off, then the mentalist wasn't at any disadvantage when the commands were given, so the ultrasonic device gives no help to someone already affected. If you are looking for something that just dampens the effects of all mental powers in the area, thrown or not, I think I would go with Mental Defense, AoE (do you need to add UBO on that too?). Or maybe you would still go with the Suppress and house rule that instant powers with continuing effects will still be affected. I think most GMs would allow a Dispel vs. an existing Entangle, and this is a similar case. The only fly in the ointment is would it be an advantage to be able to affect continuing powers or a disadvantage not to? I think I would rule the latter (-¼).

Re: Mundane Item Buildng: Rope My first thought was a multipower with an Entangle and Swinging and Stretching, etc. but I think Mattingly has a very elegant solution with TK. My only addition might be to give it a built-in Power Skill roll (rope tricks!) so you can pull off stunts that might be a little outside of the normal TK effect (like making a makeshift fuse with rope and gasoline).

Re: Would like help with a Champions game

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... I am running a Champions game with my two elementary school-aged kids. They enjoy playing superpowered people, but are still working on the heroic aspects of it. In our last session the heroes were sealed inside a robotics lab with a swarm of deadly spider-bots that had been programmed for the infiltration of enemy bases. Of course the programming malfunctioned and so the heroes were there to stop the robots and save the technical staff. Players: Iceman (my son): Same as Bobby Drake of the X-men but with a different secret ID Whirlwind (my daughter): mage with weather powers Shadow (my wife): Mutant with shapeshifting powers Rumble (me): Mentalist/martial artist Shadow:"Do the lab techs have any spare clean-room suits that I could borrow?" GM:"Yes, although they seem puzzled you should ask for one." Shadow:"In case I get hit by one of the robots electrical attacks." Whirlwind:"Will they make us immune to electrical attacks? Can I have one too then?" Shadow: "It isn't for protection. If I get hit with an electrical attack, my shapeshifting shuts down and I revert to my true form." Iceman:"So what? We know your Secret ID already." Shadow: "Yes, but I can't shapeshift clothes, so I don't normally wear them. If I get eletrocuted I might end up naked, and the robots aren't going to stop to laugh." Both the kids did laugh. It took several minutes to restore order. GM: "You can hear the spider-bots scuttling around in this next lab area, but they have killed the power to lights so you can't see them, except for Iceman because he has IR vision." Iceman: "Yes! I don't have to worry about getting surprised!" Whirlwind: "Great for you. I'll wait outside while you fight the spider-bots." Iceman: "Maybe you could start a fire with one of your lightning bolts so we can all see." Shadow: "I'll ask one of the technicians if they have a flashlight; surely they must have a flashlight somewhere." Whirlwind: "Yeah, but if we start a fire we can burn the lab down and then we won't have to fight them at all." Rumble: "Uhh, you realize that the military isn't going to be happy with us for destroying millions of dollars of equipment..." Iceman: "Isn't that why we have secret IDs?"

Re: Rigging Elections in Champions Who needs an election? The Master villain has his superteam engage in highly destructive acts of terrorism, often disguised as other supers and even some heroes (might as well smear some names in the process). The president is forced to declare martial law to deal with the metahuman threat and, by previous political manipulation, finds the best candidate to wage the war on metahumans is Jim Smith (which happens to be the Secret ID of the Master villain). The Master villain now has carte blanc to do almost anything he wants as a matter of national security.

Re: Damage Class and Balance While I agree with most of what has been said, I interpreted the initial post a bit differently. If you are talking a 7DC attack and a 5DC attack bought as say, a 35 STR with a +5d6 HA club, then the net result is 12d6, which is no different from a damage standpoint than the brick with a 60 STR. What is different is how the powers are purchased. In most cases I would say that stacking attacks is more cost effective, especially if part of that stack is from Martial Arts or a Multipower. Often, however, part of the stack is bought through a focus, so there are limitations. Also stacked attacks usually provide a bit less flexibility (e.g. a 60 STR can be used for lifting too; a 12d6 Blast can be spread more easily, etc.). The nice part is that you can have two totally different character concepts and still keep both heroes at close to the same DC level for the sake of balance.

Re: Inflicting Drowning... Yeah, a Suppress on REC would work well in place of the END part of the Drain; then the Drain could go from STN to END to BDY. Should have thought of that. Good call.

Re: Inflicting Drowning... I haven't done a drowing power in 6e, but in 5e I worked it with a Drain. You have to define what the Drain goes against when you buy it, so by definition the drowning Drain was 2d6 Drain NND Continuous vs. STN +1d6 Drain NND vs. END Continuous until STN is gone then it switches to END until END is gone (or vice versa) then both Drains switch to BDY. Since it is a Drain, REC doesn't come into play, although you have to slow the recovery rate down to once per 5 min just in case you are drowing a high STN, high BDY brick-type. But then you also get the limitation (-¼) that the recovery rate jumps to 1/PHA once the Drain is stopped (you could have it come back instantly, but I think nearly drowning might slow you down a bit more than that). As for slowing down the target's SPD so he doesn't drown as fast, I ruled that although normally a Continuous power affected the target on the attacker's SPD, for drowning (and gas attacks as well) it is based on the target's SPD which was a -0 limitation (yes it will probably make it slower than basing it on the attacker's SPD, but it tends to force the victim to slow down, and a voluntary SPD drain has to be worth something, and this makes book-keeping easier). This build has the flaw that the victim can still recover STN from other attacks while drowning, and recover whatever END they have left normally until unconscious. But in practice it worked out pretty well, which is why I throw it out here.

Re: Resistance to Wind I would buy this as Flight, 0 END, Persistant, Always On, Invisible, Only to resist effects of wind powers. Then buy as many meters of Flight as fits the conception (or that you have points for). The only sticky part is how it affects a TK grab, and there my inclination would be to subtract the active points in the Flight from the active points in the TK and let the TK run on the lowered value. Alternately you could buy it as Clinging, only vs. wind powers, and sweet talk the GM into handwaving the sfx so that it works even when not in contact with a surface. That isn't strictly legitimate, but is keeps it simple and it isn't a power that will become abusive.

Re: How to build a variation of Mental Transfer You might be overthinking this. I would buy this simply as Regeneration with the Resurrection adder, and the limitation Requires nearby freshly dead body. The sfx is that he reappears in a new body. If you want to shift around characteristics and/or abilities, just treat it as a "radiation accident" and fiat it. It isn't really a Multiform, since he isn't likely to go back to a previous body. The power to swap bodies strikes me more as a plot device than a useful ability, beyond the fact that it means the character is really hard to kill once and for all (which is why he needs to buy Resurrection). If you want to be hard line, you might make the character buy Shapeshift with No Conscious Control to reflect the fact he looks different each time, but I would probably be inclined to handwave that.

Re: How best to replace "Find Weakness" Lots of good ways to do a Find Weakness as mentioned already. The thing I never understood was why FW should let you keep halving defenses for each successful roll, either logically or in game terms since it was so potentially unbalancing (not as bad as the old STN lotto, but still problematic). In my mind there shouldn't be a discussion on how to replicate the multiple halving mechanic in 6e because that was a good reason to get rid of it. Maybe its just me, but I don't miss it at all.