dan
Star Wars GM
Posts: 587
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Post by dan on Nov 7, 2009 12:24:10 GMT -6
Been reading about some of the powers people have while bored this morning so I figured I would put them here.
Randy, how did you get dark force blast as a power stunt right away? Trying to see if i missed something while reading. Also is there on a range for the flight from it? Also, how do you keep up the flying so long?
With Ionization, it said a man-sized object can be ionized. If I'm reading this right I don't think it would work fully on the werewolf as he is over 9 feet tall and pretty muscular. If hes that big he wouldn't really be man-sized would he? It could basicly mess him up causing him to be half in half out of phase and not do too much or it would effect him for less maybe.
Force Fields: It says you can put them up in an area, which we had tony do. It also said something about it can be shot though it just does less damage because it has to break the shield on the way out. Or did I read it wrong?
How exactly does Energy Sheath work? Is that your shield? If so when you take damage does it get knocked down and you have to make a red roll to put it up?
Iron Will: Looks like it is up always unless you don't want it to be right? But you have to relax it at times.
Mind blast: Harry mentioned something about this, Could it be used while berserking? Also is there a range on it?
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dan
Star Wars GM
Posts: 587
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Post by dan on Nov 8, 2009 13:49:18 GMT -6
More with Ionization: Per the players2 book, a player can stay phased only as long as they can hold their breath which is determined by his endurance. Every round a person phased would basically have to make an endurance check and if failed: Be knocked out, or be forced to phase back in. Also it looks like the phased person isn't immune to everything and just physical attacks and some elemental. So mental and magic attacks can still be used into and out of phased people. It also looks like you have to roll to phase yourself out and in. There is an example where Kitty used her phasing and used it on both ways in and out.
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Post by tony on Nov 8, 2009 20:57:53 GMT -6
I'm not quite sure why this is announcement-worthy, or how it got posted as an announcement, but I think I can answer 2-3 of them right now, and get back to them when I have time to look up the info to answer the rest.
Dark Force Manipulation (I think it's called) starts with one power stunt. This is due to the power being useless unless you have a power stunt, so the power itself grants a single power stunt with allows you to begin defining the direction of the power.
Man-sized would be up to the GM to decide. As a rule of thumb I'd consider anything which has two arms, two legs and is listed as humanoid to be man-sized; otherwise, a portion of the object would be ionized, which could lead for some fun (or deadly) results. Ionizing something like a person's lungs, for instance, could be quite deadly.
As for the force field, I think it's assumed that if an object is surrounded by a force field, unless your target is the focus of the force field then it'd take a shot to "remove" the force field. I'm assuming that the force field would perform a slight deflection such that the likelihood that the offensive object would continue on it's existing path would be minimal, but again I suppose that's for a GM to decide.
Per your second post regarding Ionization, it doesn't actually "phase" anything so it isn't a "phasing" of the person. We were using "phase" as a descriptive term, not as a game mechanic, therefore I think the breath portion of that is a moot point. Either way I'm not sure if it's relevant, since the example for the skill clearly describes ionizing an individual for the purpose of walking through walls or otherwise ignoring physical limitations. In any event the GM would decide this.
I'm not really sure why these questions are particularly relevant, such as the Iron Will question. There's plenty of situations where superheroes can do such things as shake hands without crushing a person's hand or walking across a room without leaving indentations across the ground, and I think the rules are meant to be read as such that reasonable people can make reasonable assumptions without having to rules lawyer things like this.
The characters are super heroes, not everything has to make sense so long as the spirit of the rules are followed and nobody gets ass-hurt about any details.
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dan
Star Wars GM
Posts: 587
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Post by dan on Nov 8, 2009 22:14:38 GMT -6
Actually the ionize power mentions it as phasing out, so breath would take into account i think.
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Paul
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Post by Paul on Nov 8, 2009 22:21:41 GMT -6
I'm not quite sure why this is announcement-worthy, or how it got posted as an announcement, but I think I can answer 2-3 of them right now, and get back to them when I have time to look up the info to answer the rest. I didn't know you had the right to choose what I felt as noteworthy. Dark Force Manipulation (I think it's called) starts with one power stunt. This is due to the power being useless unless you have a power stunt, so the power itself grants a single power stunt with allows you to begin defining the direction of the power. You know I thought that too, but if you read the power it doesn't say that. Catalytic Control doesn't really stary with anything either (just an example). Man-sized would be up to the GM to decide. As a rule of thumb I'd consider anything which has two arms, two legs and is listed as humanoid to be man-sized; otherwise, a portion of the object would be ionized, which could lead for some fun (or deadly) results. Ionizing something like a person's lungs, for instance, could be quite deadly. From that description you can include Galactus. I do agree with the body part suggestion, that could be hella deadly. |
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Post by randy on Nov 9, 2009 0:18:10 GMT -6
Darkforce Manipulation in the Ultimate Powers book doesn't list coming with a power stunt, but the power from page 76 of the Marvel players book lists a free starting power stunt.
Catalytic Control doesn't look like it comes with a free stunt as the character can add or subtract it's rank from either the intensity or speed of chemical reactions without a power stunt, giving it utility without any stunts used.
For Ionization, the were-wolf looks somewhat borderline. He might be 9' Tall and muscular, but that could be considered "generally" man-sized as the power description lists. Galactus although humanoid is obviously not "generally" man-sized. If not, Tony could just phase out his upper torso, preventing him from clawing or biting, or his lower body, and have him collapse from not being able to support his upper body anymore. I didn't read the phasing power closely, so I didn't see the breathing limitation. That looks like it would apply to Ionization as well. The ionization is limited to 10 rounds duration currently, so that should be within most characters ability to hold their breath.
With the force field, I had to convince Tony to put up the force fields behind us, he had commented about it only adding 10 points of armor if we were attacked. We were aware of that limitation previously. However you can't move through the field until it's broken, so they could shoot at Tony and break it at the same time, but it's still going to slow down pursuit.
Energy Sheath is one of the worst worded powers in the Ultimate Powers book, which is an accomplishment. I actually considerably nerfed the energy sheath, and am just treating it as body resistance of it's rank while it's active. With the power as worded, I get surrounded by a sheath of shadow, and it absorbs any damage that I would take until somebody used shadowshaping to destroy it. If it was destroyed by shadowshaping, I'd need to do make a red feat to replace it, but otherwise I'd be invulnerable to damage. I decided it would just be best to ignore that shadowshaping and invulnerability aspect and treat it like it was a force field type effect that only protects me. I chose it more for flavor.
Iron Will doesn't take any action to use it. It takes effect whenever the hero is attacked. The hero can choose to release the damage at any time as well.
Berserk doesn't indicate that it limits the use of powers, so Mind Blast could be used at the same time. It doesn't look like it would benefit any from the berserk power. Mind Blast uses column A on the ranges chart at the beginning of the Ultimate Powers book.
For the further questions, I didn't look at the player's book for Phasing to notice that it mentioned that magic and mental powers still worked. It isn't mentioned as a limit to the power in the Ultimate Powers book, and in Ultimate Powers disrupting electronics isn't a power stunt. The drawbacks look like it's going to depend on which version of the power is used. Ionization doesn't require a roll to unphase has a 10 round limit to the duration before it stops. Also, reading the power, it doesn't list needing to hit as an attack, so we could just run it as Tony needs to make a feat check to phase or electrify or disintegrate something instead of needing to make an agility roll to hit. For electrifying or phasing that would only need a green feat, and couldn't be dodged. It looks like I was nerfing this power a bit as well. Phasing in Ultimate Powers also doesn't list needing to make a FEAT to activate or deactivate the power, it's power rank is only a limitation on what material strength can be phased through.
Also as a clarification. The Free Spirit power doesn't list that the spirit is specifically "ethereal", but I assumed that it was. The Ionization power refers to making things "ethereal" which is why I worked it as the two interacting.
Edit:
I also thought that electricity powers specifically said they effect phased matter, but I can't see that in the power descriptions. So it looks like I was wrong about Johan being able to blast phased people.
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dan
Star Wars GM
Posts: 587
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Post by dan on Nov 9, 2009 0:27:25 GMT -6
The ironization listed it as phasing, so I looked up phasing and found the attacks etc in the players book.
For force fields, it looks like it would be the same as if tony put it on himself. So he can put it behind him, they can shoot a target through it etc.
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Post by randy on Nov 9, 2009 0:36:25 GMT -6
Well, Ionization actually indicates it makes matter "ethereal", which allows it to phase as if it has the phasing power. It's pretty much splitting hairs on the wording, but that's what it lists.
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Post by tony on Nov 9, 2009 1:40:18 GMT -6
For force fields, it looks like it would be the same as if tony put it on himself. So he can put it behind him, they can shoot a target through it etc. Regarding force fields, it seems prudent to discuss whether force fields that are provided "on the landscape" are different than force fields that are "used as a personal shield." For the force field that is personal there seems to be no need to continually put it back up after each successful attack received. If this were true of force fields that are provided on the landscape then they could be utilized to entrap individuals who are incapable of making a grappling check to perform enough damage to get through the force field. Or, maybe there's another method of "rating" the strength of the shield to ensure that an individual can always get through the shield (or always NOT get through the shield) that we haven't discussed yet, but I think we're still moving in the right direction for this discussion. The core questions for force fields would be: 1) Are they destroyed once they receive a particular amount of damage, or do they last until removed (via another power such as "Energy Sponge", OR a non-superpower ability such as a crushing effect.) 2) When an amount of damage in excess of the force field's strength is received, what happens to the damaging effect as it "pass through" the force field? (Assuming the answer to #1 is that they aren't destroyed) |
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dan
Star Wars GM
Posts: 587
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Post by dan on Nov 9, 2009 10:17:15 GMT -6
For the force fields, I would think personal ones would stay up or be considered to be put back up right away. For ones on an area, or around someone other then the caster I would say they are destroyed on the hit that is more damage then they can absorb.
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Paul
Administrator
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Post by Paul on Nov 9, 2009 11:28:18 GMT -6
I think it might be more fun to have energy type force fields take damage like Dan is suggesting.
The problem with that is if you take a hit that is more than your field, then your field is down. Then you put it back up as a free action. Rather redundant. No one in their right mind would take one. Of course the system is designed for random generation but you know what I'm saying.
It makes sense to have a field lose energy after an attack, but then if putting up the shield is a free action then it is pointless cause the user will just put it back up to full level after taking damage.
I do remember reading something about shooting through a field like Dan said, but I can't remember where and I don't feel like looking.
I think there is just too much rules changing to make the energy shields different then the others. It might be easier to just leave all the shields and armor the same like we have been doing, and the only difference is the means at which the shield is created.
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Post by randy on Nov 9, 2009 11:38:21 GMT -6
Force Fields pop when they take more damage than they can absorb. That's in the power description. Personal fields are supposed to do the same, but that was actually house ruled way back in the day when we were playing Marvel before so that personal fields worked like armor that you put on, I believe the intent was to simplify them, I assumed the same house rule still applied.
Edit: In addition, they do act as a barrier of a rating of their power, so, until they are attacked, they will stop movement. They can be attacked, or they could have a charge attack made against them, so it is possible to just fly through, however if the charge didn't do more damage than their rating it wouldn't break, and the charging character would take damage from the collision.
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