TheDarkness

I allow Players to spend exp as they like (I tend to not get many players wanting to start the stat arms race often). I work with the player to come up with a backstory where it's needed. Sometimes I don't even sweat it at all. (ie PC is constantly using Computer Programing and wants a higher roll or to widen it to other areas within the skill). Buying off hunteds and other complications, I will try to set up something where they make peace with the hunted or I come up with a short story bit where the thing is explained. Again, I find that Players who want to get rid of complications are because the GM is abusing or over using the complication. Same with limitations. Every punitive action a GM makes though their adventure has a ripple effect within the campaign. 

To make clear, almost everything in this paragraph I agree with. The character who uses their computer skills constantly HAS roleplayed the cause of their experience expenditure. The character who wants to buy off hunteds has maybe a small roleplay that does this, I provide this the same way you are talking about. I tend not to overuse limitations beyond when they just come up, and haven't actually had someone's hunted appear without an overall place in campaigns, almost never using those hunteds for a fallback as a random scenario for exactly the reasons you state, as well as because those things should provide story for the character and the game, not an excuse for me not to work out a good scenario because hey, they've got this hunted.

I just draw a distinction between things people have worked on, and am loathe to have characters come back from a weekend break in game time with 6 new CSLs. They usually wait until they know that they have a break in which to train, and, for six levels, this usually will mean training with one of the more combat oriented team mates, which adds flavor, imo. Powers are a bit different, especially if the power relates closely to what they already have, and one or two skill levels or improvements in expertise in a short time does not break the narrative that the whole group is working on. This generally equates to characters buying skills that they want to improve in consistent, if modest, chunks, others adding new slots to VPPs, and most putting some aside and eyeballing whatever their big dream purchase is. And, since I do require it to be roleplayed, I don't just leave it to them to tell me, I ask them as we move along in sessions what they are training or what they are planning on buying.

As a last point, campaign caps, which I don't know if you use, are exactly the same, telling a player what they can do with the experience they earned. I would not characterize campaign caps as a 'mind game', but they are literally the same thing, except they may be an ultimate cap, whereas what I am describing is merely periodic, and does not prevent players from saving points over time for large purchases, and finding ways to make those purchases work.

Again, in my experience, it has led to players really planning out what they want their character to be and making that happen, and, along the way, finding cool stuff that augments that image while they build up into their goal character. Yes, it's a slower process, but I am upfront about it, so characterizing it as a mind game is patently false.

I think one thing got lost in translation. If they are training, I have no problem them gaining a skill. But the danger room stuff is actually game play time, it's not "I practice in the danger room", it's scenarios that are fairly low key, have some beers, hassle the GM for the hell of it, etc.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I don't feel it's a mind game to expect everyone, myself included, to try to make a good story of it, even and especially when it's often a surprising story even to me, who might have thought I'd know how it would go. And I completely understand that gamers who simply want to blow off steam gaming, and aren't as much into the story of it, don't want to play that sort of game. I am upfront about this being the rules, they choose to play, they seem to like it, for a lot of the reasons I stated above.

That said, I totally disagree that arms races are always the fault of the GM, except in cases where the GM does not make clear that power gaming is or isn't the goal to the players. There are plenty of players who live for munchkins and escalation. Some of flexible, some are not. Some are upfront about it, some think the game is for their sole entertainment and will blow everyone else's evening in the process.

Essentially, I do not railroad a single story element. I am constantly changing my plans because the players have their own, and enjoy it. I don't have any problems with this, never have had one player upset about this approach to experience, as I never actually recommend what they should spend their points on, only that it's part of the role play, however they make that happen is their choice. Raising Ego over a long stretch while also expanding other abilities of the character is the same end result as buying the ego in bulk, but far more organic, with the big purchases being fewer, but standing out waaaaay more for the player, and not screwing the narrative that everyone is working for. These meaningless purchases are often the same purchases spread over time as what you deem meaningful, they seem to be challenged by their foes(the ones meant to be challenging) but not swamped, and they seem to be effective for their levels at what they have chosen to be effective at, and less effective outside of their expertise, so they cover each others' butts instead of feeling a need to draw away purchasing power from their original goals to make themselves quickly immune to everything.

So, 1. No foresight required, they know upfront, and generally are experienced gamers, so they play the character they want it to be, 2. I do not consider excuses to do danger room days or side scenarios for them to be overcomplicated, and they often may choose those scenarios, or ask for them, 3. I never said they could not learn something new, I believe I was clear in saying that it merely has to be roleplayed, they can choose how, or I can help, and, in many cases, it may already have been(for example, improvising with a power in a combat), and 4. No, it motivates them to role play well, are you seriously suggesting that it is even possible to make a Champions player not add new things? If someone is playing Champions, they are probably tinkering, the system doesn't attract a lot of people who aren't as far as I can tell on this board, judging from the number of builds one can find for a toaster oven with broiler option.

So, I hold it's not BS. Mind you, the experienced people, as you stated, tend not to do the arms race, and enjoy the role play. I am not railroading people into this, I am quite upfront and I make great efforts to make it fun, and integrate their experience expenditures into the fun, even when part of that is them keeping their new power secret from their friends.

Forgot one:

5. Gives a chance to test things before major scenarios

All the danger room stuff is handy, because undoubtedly players will come up with something that I was not familiar with, and we can all figure it out then, instead of making a big suspense moment drag on while we figure out that the power does or doesn't do what we thought.

I said a little bit about this before in another thread, figured I'd put it here.

When I award experience, I always require that somehow it's use is role played. There are four reasons I do this:

1. It makes for more consistent story and narrative

2. It avoids a lot of munchkin silliness without me having to look at the way someone spent it, and tell them no

3. It tends to produce much more interesting characters for me and the players, with more nuanced expenditure and better thought out mechanics.

4. It creates scenarios

Now, I know some feel it's their experience, and they should get to spend it how they want, but the game is a mutually crafted story as well, stupid expenditures hurt everyone in terms of fun, what kind of game they get to play, and what kind of headaches people are willing to bother the GM with when they know better. I'm not averse to experimental builds that might be dodgy, I am annoyed if I'm handed something that is just a veiled attempt to slip something past me. Players get to spend experience if they have or do role play the development.

As for the specific points:

1. It makes for more consistent story and narrative(and smoother game play)

Character 1 has two weeks between scenarios, and has earned some points, perhaps saved a few. So he buys 10 points of strength, going from a weak guy to quite the athlete. In two weeks. Hey, Spider Man was all wiry last month, now he's built like Bane. Sure, he could explain the expenditure by way of comic book chaos, that beam that hit him before must have boosted his strength. That's fine. Until another large odd change. Soon, this player will have mutated faster in three weeks and in odder ways more than any comic book characters does in the span of three dozen issues.

Add to that the character who is already quite the shot, one of the best OCVs in the group, whose last two scenarios did not put him against anything particularly close to testing his skill with his firearms. Two weeks later, his OCV jumps again.

The teleporter of the group develops a new teleport power that is combat ready the first time he actually does it.

Never mind the guy who buys four CSLs on the weekend.

Using these examples, the first, the guy who wants more strength, if recent scenarios have involved him in a fair amount of physically demanding things, hey, a point or two is understandable. If he's hoping for more, maybe he sets aside time, but he's going to have to be patient to get 10 more. If he's not patient, he can certainly go the crazy mutation/act of the comic book gods route, everyone does it, BUT, too many of those makes random mutations for your character part of the overall story, and it would be rather inconsistent story wise if we had to wait for him to accrue experience before the next dynamic life changing mutation. If he's already recently used too many acts of god for an experience expenditure, and doesn't want to suddenly wake up with a giant lolling frog tongue, I'm sure he can find something else useful to spend it on. Hey, didn't he do a few Presence Attacks? He could spend on that. He could buy a gun on his break. Whatever, as long as I don't have to ignore that he's transmogrifying faster than Cthulhu in a funhouse mirror.

The second guy, the crack shot who wants to spend a chunk on OCV, but really hasn't had much shooting lately. he could talk to a teammate, set up a scenario. The team teleporter or telekinetic could run him through the ringer, having him walk a course while teleporting/ moving targets all over the place. The team brick could provide a live target and some challenge. Actually make a team danger room game so that that trait is worked on in different ways, and the other team members can either lend support or team up against him, see how many he can take out.

The team teleporter likewise sets up the idea for the new power, then does danger room games using it as an improvised use, temporarily giving the power an activation roll to represent that it's not combat ready yet. I let him choose to play the danger room game on the off time: at the point where I think he's worked it enough(even if, especially if he's been rolling terribly on the activation roll, but has worked on it alot), I just let it work without the roll, it's combat ready.

The guy who gets four CSLs on the weekend had better have been in the thick of it against great foes for a while, and he's still going to have to do some danger room sparring of a variety of types in order to solidify the skill, unless he's really been in the thick of it for a long time, living on the edge and saving everyone's keisters from slim odds. If that's not the case, he could train and get one or two over a period of time, but four?

In short, if they want to buy what they want to be, they've got to play what they want to be.

2. It avoids a lot of munchkin silliness without me having to look at the way someone spent it, and tell them no

This one's straightforward. See buying four CSLs when you don't see that much combat. See buying mental defense because you think you're going to face a mentalist. How did you get more mental defense? Do you even personally know a mentalist? What, you, who has zero experience with mentalists, built a mental protection helmet? Really? And as GM, I have to explain this to players who actually did a build that makes sense? And then, shall we begin the powers escalation. Can I get regeneration for 300, Alex?

Want to strengthen mental defenses, tell me how that happens, if it's reasonable, I'll go with it. It might actually require a scenario of its own. Or, save your act of god for this one, that's fair game.

And of course, just because the character got totally controlled once, does not mean that now that character has role played gaining will enough to resist. Some will power, perhaps.

It's role play. If a player is worried about a mentalist, they need to figure out what that mentalist is worried about in the role play, and not just warp a character build in a doomed quest to be resistant to everything.

When the players know this, they tend to present less silliness. Or make really clever arguments for the silliness. Which can be fun.

Even if I still say no.

3. It tends to produce much more interesting characters for me and the players, with more nuanced expenditure and better thought out mechanics.

When players are not in an arms race for SPD, EGO, CSLs, what have you, they actually try to slowly beef up the things they worry about as weaknesses, but which they can only justify a point or two at a time being spent on, and find interesting ways to spend their other experience. Let's face it, it burns a hole in their pockets, and they get looking through the books at things they never thought about buying before, finding weird ways to work things in their character.

When they do danger room type games to test new things, they can test the power before their fighting an enemy, against other players, who will undoubtedly point out if the power's build is unbalanced while it is in the 'testing' phase where I am still requiring an activation roll. They can fix it before the broken build ends up taking out my key bad guy (sadly, ALWAYS before I realize the build is broken).

Plus, they will do scenarios against each other with the intent of outsmarting each other, subteams using their powers to complement each other(while I secretly watch and consider how their enemies need to respond to keep up a fun balance during actual scenarios.)

Further, they engage in actual scenarios in a way that will get them the experience expenditures they want, instead of altering their build every time they discover that some other power could be a problem for them.

4. It creates scenarios

This one is straight forward. Want to build that mental shield helmet, but have no experience with mentalists? Might need to search out someone who does. Got a long hiatus? Might be just the time to climb to that hidden mountain temple you heard about, the one you have to fight your way in to get trained there.

Want to buy off your hunted?

As GM, these could all be opportunities for fun games. It's not my goal to make it unduly hard to spend the experience, these sorts of side scenarios shouldn't always be too difficult, but more a way to broaden the world and allow the characters to develop in a way that actually represents the players' triumphs in-game.

The funny thing is that the MCU Iron Man suit appears to function as if this rule IS in play as his various armors get damaged during several fights.

His GM is Jarvis. Much faster at the math than mine.

It's also worth keeping in mind that, if a lot of people are wearing armor of one sort or another in a game, combat will crawl if you are constantly having to calculate damage to the armor.

I've considered, given the doubling rule, just setting a refresh rate for replacing armor. Every X games, spend the five points for doubling and assume one suit is gone.

For high point, specialized armor, I'll probably treat it more like the Millennium Falcon, when not adventuring, you are always repairing. Major damage in game may effect things, but I'm not taking away the suit.

I'm a bit confused on this, so, using this example(assuming a STR 20 character):

1) 15 pts.              3 CSLs, all HTH

2) 20 pts.              naked advantage to STR attack: reduced END(1/4), triggered by Defensive Abort with CSLs above when he wishes to use this power(+1/4), trigger takes no time(+1/4), trigger takes a zero phase action to reset(1/4)

3) 52 pts.              naked advantage to nightstick attack: reduced endurance, triggered by Defensive Abort with CSLs above when he wishes to use this power(+1/4), trigger takes no time(+1/4), trigger takes a zero phase action to reset(1/4)

a) Assuming that I had a list of related moves that could go in a MPP or VPP, can a slot in the pool have a naked advantage off of the character's strength?

b. Could the pool have a slot that was a naked advantage off of a power outside that pool(but not in another pool)?

c) Can a pool have slots that trigger off of another slot in the pool, as 2 and 3 above do off of 1?

d. Does the nightstick in 3 need to be in the pool?

Thanks again!

Also, there are different kinds of details on the trigger. It costs to make it automatically reset so that the next segment it might be used again. Otherwise, you have to take an action to reset it(so, most expensive is automatically reset, slightly less expensive is Zero Action reset, etc.)

There are a number of other options that affect how much the trigger advantage costs.

would the trigger still work if a second person attacks them, after they have already done the above?

 

I don't think so. At least in my build, the Combat Skill Levels are already allocated to defense, that is the abort to defense that carries the trigger. The rest of the phase(and until my next action), my DCV will be higher from those CSLs, but I cannot reallocate them to defense to make the trigger go off again, since they're already there.

Now, while triggering is not an attack action, the attack is, and an attack is always the end of your phase, so once the attack occurs, I don't see how they could trigger again even if they had another batch of CSLs to use or defaulted to martial block or something. They attacked, so they are done.

 

Not true.

 

Marvel movies without Stan Lee:

 

• "Blade" (New Line Cinema 1998)
• "Blade II" (New Line Cinema 2002)
• "X2" (20th Century Fox 2003)
• "The Punisher" (Lions Gate Films 2004)
• "Blade: Trinity" (New Line Cinema 2004)
• "Elektra" (20th Century Fox 2005)
• "Ghost Rider" (Columbia Pictures 2007)
• "Punisher: War Zone" (Lionsgate 2008)
• "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (20th Century Fox2009)
• "X-Men: First Class" (20th Century Fox 2011)
• "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" (Columbia Pictures 2012)
• "The Wolverine" (20th Century Fox 2013)
• Howard the Duck (1986)
• Captain America (1990)
• Man-Thing (2005)
• The Punisher (1989)

 

Herewith I shall only respond to lists in either chronological or alphabetical order!

Thanks for the help, everyone!

So, Bullseye swings at Daredevil, Daredevil dodges, his dodge has a trigger that allows him to punch. Then Bullseye becomes bitter because Daredevil didn't hit him harder, kills his girlfriend, but, and this is key, he must do it in a future phase, because he already attacked this phase. No matter though, because she's a ninja who gets resurrected as often as Phoenix. Marvel profits greatly. Movies get made. Stan Lee, for some reason, has to appear in every darn one of them.

So...

 

If two characters have these abilities, say Daredevil & Bullseye, they could theoretically hit/counter-hit each other in one phase until one is knocked out or stunned?

 

Or am I misreading the whole thread?

One attacks, once they attack in a phase, they cannot later in the phase abort to dodge.

The other, because he has not attacked in this phase, can abort a future phase in order to dodge now, and has a trigger, if they aren't stunned or KOed in the phase, their trigger allows them an attack. Once they attack, they cannot abort again(and will have no reason to, as the first character already attacked in the phase, and so can do no more).

So, at most, each one will attack once.

Barring multiple attacks.

Or combined attacks.

What it looks like is you're running into the difference between reality and the game system.

I actually kind of think for 25 points, a 20 STR character having a chance to attack every time he is attacked and not stunned or KO'ed is kind of worth it for some characters.

52 points for the nightstick, not so much.

Link is a Limitation that forces you to use one Power when you use another. It doesn't allow you to break the rules and perform actions you normally couldn't do.

 

If you want to Abort to a Defensive Action like Dodge or Block and attack the opponent in the same Phase you need to build it with Trigger.

Ah, I did not realize it was breaking the rules, but now, looking at trigger, I see that, even if the trigger elicits an attack action, it does not count as an attack action.

Okay, let me try again:

Character with 20 strength:

15 pts.              3 CSLs, all HTH

20 pts.              naked advantage to STR attack: reduced END(1/4), triggered by Defensive Abort with CSLs above when he wishes to use this power(+1/4), trigger takes no time(+1/4), trigger takes a zero phase action to reset(1/4)

Okay, I was thinking 5 pts seemed too low, now I get it.

The cost of the nightstick version should be frightening, eh?

52 pts.              naked advantage to nightstick attack: reduced endurance, triggered by Defensive Abort with CSLs above when he wishes to use this power(+1/4), trigger takes no time(+1/4), trigger takes a zero phase action to reset(1/4)

Definitely not something I could see putting 52 points into. Twenty, I could see.

So, the simplest build I'm envisioning, assuming a STR 20 character:

15 pts.            3 CSLs, all HTH

5 pts.              naked advantage to STR attack: reduced END(1/4), linked to Defensive Abort with CSLs above(-1/4), no need for proportionality(1/4 less limitation)

Now, a more ornate version for a power pool might include more CSLs and more specific linked tasks. For example, say the character also had a nightstick(we'll use club costs here).

15 pts.            3 CSLs, all HTH

5 pts.              naked advantage to STR attack: reduced END(1/4), linked to Defensive Abort with CSLs above(-1/4), no need for proportionality(1/4 less limitation)

13                   naked advantage to nightstick attack: reduced endurance, linked to Defensive Abort with CSLs above(-1/4), no need for proportionality(1/4 less limitation)    [the active cost here is the nightstick's active cost, the cost of the STR, and the advantage's cost]

The above build allows for an abort followed by an immediate strike, or an abort followed by a strike with the nightstick(assuming it is in hand)

Now, at some point, a VPP might be useful, but I have to keep in mind, the active points in the nightstick example is 65, so this might not be as cost effective in that case, I'd have to crunch the numbers, but if the nightstick example is the highest value, then a VPP would need around a 15 point pool and a 65 point control cost, which would put the total cost at around 50, if my numbers are right, and could be higher if I built trip maneuvers with the nightstick or something like that.

It might be worthwhile to explain in plain English what you envision this character capable of.  It's possible that you are overlooking something that the core/basic combat maneuvers are already capable of*.

 

*I say this with experience as the original reason I first posted to this forum 12+ years ago was to figure out how to create an ability inspired by Dragonball Z combats where Goku or his opponent would move so fast as to be unseen (Teleport) and reappear behind their opponent to deliver a surprise attack. I wanted to take it one step further and create the ability to fly at a target and deliver a Move Through attack but 'interrupt' the direction that the attack was delivered from via Teleportation.  What I discovered was that there is no simple way to build this effect where it can occur within 1 Phase. And as a result there is no residual 'Flight Velocity' that would contribute to the surprise attack.

 

The bigger lesson I learned from this is that it is far too easy to get into crazy complex minutiae of what can occur in a single Phase.  This is not so bad when using the well developed Multiple Attack rules (the 6e version of Sweep) but can quickly get crazy otherwise.  The way to avoid this temptation into chaos is to think of the HERO Turn as the functional equivalent to the generic 'combat round' used by so many other RPG's.  A SPD 2 character doesn't seem so lame from this point of view.  They can Block AND Attack in the same 'round' for example.

 

Hope this helps.

 

HM

Of course, and I appreciate your help.

Simply, I want to enable an abort to include an attack. Not an attack at the next available segment(after the aborted segment), but an attack in the segment that the abort occurs in.

To clarify the why(and to further cement any reputation I may have gained for verbosity(12d6, reduced endurance, AOE, sticky AND penetrating), there are two reasons:

1) myself and my player are both martial artists, and the concept of counter strikes, in most cases, involve the actual counterstrike occuring at the very moment the strike it is countering is at its full extension, and so delaying it until even two segments later makes us go "wait, that's not a counterstrike", which really messes with the narrative for us.

2) My theory on the results of playtests makes me feel that a few of the results, if I'm correct, will be useful.  The results I expect to see are:

A) First, because to do a build like this will be most cost effective for those in the normal human strength range, it will make the starting Daredevil's particularly effective against thugs, as even their aborted actions will often result in counterattacks that mess up the thugs(given the low quality of thugs these days, I blame Obama). Thus, while the brick of the group is duking it out with someone the starting Batman could not hope to harm, the starting Batman is wading through low level thugs in a thoroughly gratifying way, trying to get to Catwoman, because getting to Catwoman is really a worthy goal in my opinion. In this case, the player does not even need to apply the full DCV that a dodge would have, it could be as low as 1 DCV and still open the opportunity for the counterpunch(given that the thugs are swimming uphill, DCV wise, from the character).

An example of this build could be the character having 3 CSLs HA, then having a naked advantage of reduced endurance to their STR based attack linked to those CSLs when they are used for defensive aborts.

Second, while it may not be cost effective for bricks at the start, later it would mean that, when faced with speedster's and teleporters that they can hardly ever hit, they at least have more chances to miss, thus hedging one of the most overkill aspects of speedsters and teleporters and forcing smart play over design accounting, given that any roll of three still means a STR 50 punch in the nether regions.

This one would probably have a similar build, but might devote some skill levels for OCV as well.

C) I think it will lend a dynamism to fights between your Daredevils and your Bullseyes, the so-called normals, by increasing the tit for tat, while all paid for fairly.

The only reason I'm using reduced endurance is to make it a naked advantage to STR based attacks, instead of spending the points for another hand attack, since the STR is already bought. So, say my STR gives me a strength 4d6 attack roll, I am not needing to spend the points for another 4d6 HA for my maneuver if I simply use a naked advantage to my STR attacks with it, and reduced endurance fits decently. If my STR were more superhuman, this would be more expensive.

+5 DCV, Linked to HA, would cost 25/1.5 = 17 points. +5 levels with HA would cost 15 (3 point levels), and allow you to allocate the levels between OCV and DCV at your discretion. I'd pick the more flexible and less expensive option myself.

But with the second, I would lose the counterattack option, correct?

I should clarify, I plan on play testing the build to see how it affects hth combat. So, for the playtest, I'm willing to spend the points and see what they get me. I also will likely use a power pool setup in one of the playtests, with a variety of similar countering options in it(counter-grab with a reversal throw, dodge into countersweeps, stuff like this).

I'm mainly playing with this idea as a supplement to the martial arts setup, as obviously, martial maneuvers are heavily discounted, but at the same time, do not benefit from the same flexibility of design as the rest of the Heroes system. Which is the tradoff for their  simplicity. So it makes no sense to buy a strike through powers, but this sort of counterstrike, if one wants to do it, isn't actually possible through the martial arts skills, and must be designed. But to use the discounted skills as powers to do this seems like cheating(and is), so I want to do a proper build. Since this seems exactly the sort of thing that linking does, it seemed like a natural fit.

So this would not be to replace the martial maneuvers, but to customize a bit through powers while also buying martial maneuvers and CSLs where they are best suited.

Trigger seemed like a bad fit, as adding another roll to combat seemed like a headache I didn't want to play test yet.(the roll to check for accidental triggers). Theoretically, trigger sounded like it could add another element, in that an opponent could make a 'draw' maneuver(as in leaving an opening in the hopes of drawing a particular response) to set off triggers, and link attacks to that. But the thought of building it currently makes my head spin, and would not add a lot, as after an initial attack and abort in response, neither of the two opponents could actually abort anymore, anyway.

So I decided on linking.

What I'm currently thinking, as far as a build, is to use reduced endurance as a naked advantage to a basic STR attack, linking that naked advantage to the equivalent CSLs for a dodge, and seeing how it goes to start. If it works well(not meaning makes the character invincible, but makes for dynamic play without too much trouble), then I will play with power pools and other options to defray costs, much as one would with any power that one wants, but maybe costs more than one is willing to spend for just one ability, and see how that works.

My thinking is that the points might actually be worth it for the chance to strike back on an abort, and might add an interesting dynamic for those characters that focus more on combat skills. Further, it seems to me that, for those with powers, linked powers can have some value, so I wanted to see whether that same value could be passed on to the more skills-based hth fighters. Play testing may prove all this wrong, I'll have to see.

"Super Skill" is only a special effect of the powers the Ace of Spades has.

Lol! Of course!

In my opinion the best way to simulate a counterstrike is a Hand-To-Hand Attack power with the advantage Trigger (to a sussful Block maneuver). See my post of Ace Of Spades for more information (you need to searc).h for him

Just checked it out. Love Deathstroke, fun read.

What I'm curious about is, since you can define a skill as a power, especially for him, is it necessary to buy the hth attack when you already paid for strength? Couldn't you just buy a CSL for the attack(heightened OCV, DCV, or an added damage class), then buy skill levels for the dodge or block that make it higher point cost than the attack(if the GM holds to the greater power being linked to)?

As you have it, if I understand link correctly, unless you have dodge under your powers, you cannot trigger to it.

Last night did two brief, simple scenarios for my new game, primarily to get in the swing of the combat system, but am already having a number of further ideas from them. Here's how it went. I'll try to add more each time we play.

Encounter 1

He hides in the dark. In the night of Travis City, in the dark of the Old City that lies beneath it, and even in the caves and caverns that mark the dried reservoirs beneath, once filled with water long since pumped out except in what those beneath call The Great Black Lake. His life is hidden, and while tiny whispers and rumors of him are to be found in the press, the details are missing, vanished.

In the Old City, outside of the main thoroughfares frequented by those who live in or find part of their livelihood beneath the city, he is wandering his way back to the place he sleeps when he hears the voices. First a man, pleading. The sound of a frightened girl. Cruel laughter.

He rounds the corner of an old street bounded by old buildings whose history he does not know. Ahead of him is a short, dark stretch of road, more buildings. Light from a fire flickers from around another corner. He moves closer.

When he reaches the corner, he sees them. Two men closest to him, both holding knives, their knives pointed at another man, one of the poor who find their unfortunate way down below. His was clearly the pleading voice.

Behind that man, a woman and a girl, perhaps eleven years old, frightened, her face round and dirty, her eyes shifting frenetically back and forth to each of the adults around her, then back to the man in front of her as he futilely pleads for her. Behind the girl, a tall, thick man with a baseball bat and a smile like a curse. All are lit from behind by a fire, foolishly built here, away from witnesses, a dream of a spot where the man, woman, and girl might sit, eat, find comfort in each others' company. Two cans of beans spilled over give testimony of the dream's seemingly instantaneous departure.

"We don't have anything to give you, please...," the man pleads.

The two men, their knives waving, are smiling, chuckling as they come closer. The large man with the bat grabs the young girl by the arm, and the father and mother look to her as she cries out.

He pulls the fabric up over his face, so that it covers the strange skin of his face. His goggles already obscure the glow of his eyes. He does not need to concentrate to part the space. He reaches through, and behind the large man, a hand reaches from nowhere, seizes the bat from him, and is gone.

The large man turns around, his back now to everyone. The other two survey the scene, and spot the interloper. They turn to face him and open their mouths as if to speak some threat.

He does not wait. The two form a line little more than twenty feet in front of him. He does not want conditions to change. He parts the space again, three times in rapid succession, each time passing through fully, striking the first man hard, then again, dropping the second, only to end back in his original position.

The large man, finally cutting through his dullard's haze sufficiently enough to spot the newcomer, charges him, swings with some power, but little finesse. The interloper is quick, light, out of the way just enough. Under fabric, his smile is mischievous and cocky. As the large man's fist glides past its mark and he overextends himself, the other tilts his head, his goggled eyes looking bug-like and tilted downward in seeming judgment of the man, points his index finger at the large man, and touches the thug on the chest.

It does not take the large man two full seconds to fall from the height he suddenly finds himself at. It takes him considerably longer to stand again. By then, the others have long since fled, and only he and his two cohorts remain behind, all three wincing at their injuries and cursing at the empty darkness.

This is where I always get a bit confused.

Technically, I could build a dodge and a strike by way of skills as powers. So, CSLs that add up to the added OCV, DCV, and DCs of two moves. And, if I'm not mistaken, technically, I could then link those. They might cost more than buying them as maneuvers, but I don't think there is anything against doing so, at least, not from the 'linked is for powers' perspective.

At which point, like other powers, they could be linked.

Now, here is where I get a bit confused.

I understand that multiple attacks and combined attacks do not allow for defensive maneuvers, so they are straight out.

But, I am assuming that I am missing something with linked. So let me pose another example to see if I'm just misunderstanding the advantage. Could you link a small AOE blast to a powerful barrier? And could you abort to that barrier when attacked, and would the blast not occur until your next unaborted phase?

Fairly specific question here.

Am I understanding correctly, using a simple example, if I linked a dodge to a strike, calling it a counterstrike, the two occur simultaneously?

Second, if I abort to that dodge, I can do the strike, even though in abort, one cannot usually abort to a strike?

Third, if the second is true, have I aborted my next action, or my next two, one for the dodge, one for the strike, or is the linked power considered one action?

It really hasnt. Everyone has gotten way over sensitive. Thats not the fault of technology.

 

When we have serious discussion on whether the new droid BB-8 is male or female, thats how I know PC sensitivity has officially jumped the shark.

I think that's a matter of, someone writes one thing, and then the internet shares it. Years back, we could simply have a stupid theory, and it was just our stupid theory. Now, it gets shared, and people think a large swath of people follow it.

The flip side of PC is that many of the arguments that arise are because one person says something silly, and those who disagree generalize it to all feminists, all Republican/Democrats, all Americans, all Christians, all Atheists. Rarely does this apply, the number of groups in the above list that are in lockstep is very limited. Then, others get sensitive and turn it into 'society is falling apart because xxx', when, in reality, PC takes different forms for each of those groups. Anyone who thinks they don't practice political correctness is living an illusion.