Re: Discussion on costs of Characteristics
Have Elemental Controls been changed in some major way I wasn't aware of? You buy a 60 Apt attack, defense, and movement power in an EC, and you've spent 120 pts and gotten 180 points. The more slots you add, the higher the yield. You can put almost anything in an EC, if your special effect calls for it.
Think of Stats as a very restrictive form of EC. You get a good deal, in terms of point savings, but you get a very structured return (less flexibility).
It's probably not as vital to have figured characteristics in 5th as it used to be. You have more points to throw around, so you can often build an adequately-powered character without resorting to power frameworks or extensive limitations. In earlier versions of the game, building a starting character with competative power generally required you take a power framework, or take a lot of limitations (or a single overall limitation) - or build a simple high CON/STR brick who got his point savings from being characteristic-heavy. You can still take limitations, you can still take power frameworks, you should still be able to build a fairly cheap & simple brick. But, if you don't like it, you could do away with frameworks, perhaps be more restrictive or give smaller breaks for limitations, and do away with the figured characteristics you get from primary characteristics, and the game would still be playable, and simpler.
I still wouldn't say go ahead and change the cost of STR. STR is a normal-damage attack power, it should be 5pts/die. But, if you take away the figured characteristics, you've effectively doubled the cost (10 pts of STR gets you 2 REC, 2 PD, and 5 STN - that's 11 points).