Thunderbolt7 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Still working on the meat and bones of the actual character, but I sure could use a critique of my math (and related bits) to date. CRIUS Power Level: 10 (150 PP) Trade-Offs: None Abilities: 2 + 6 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 18 PP Strength 12 (+1) Dexterity 16 (+3) Constitution 14 (+2) Intelligence 12 (+1) Wisdom 12 (+1) Charisma 12 (+1) Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP Attack: +6 base; +8 melee, +9 ranged Defense: +6 base; +3 Dodge Initiative: +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Saving Throws: 8 + 3 + 6 + 3 = 20 PP Toughness: +10 (+2 CON, +8) Fortitude: +5 (+2 CON, +3) Reflex: +7 (+3 DEX, +6) Will: +4 (+1 WIS, +3) Skills: 32r = 8 PP Acrobatics 6 Concentration 8 Intimidate 4 Notice 6 Stealth 8 Feats: 3 PP Eidetic Memory Improved Initiative Seize Initiative Powers: 81 PP Instant Costume Change (Feature 1 [1 pp]) Singularity Mastery (Dynamic Array 70 pp, Feats Alternate Power 10.) [80 pp] (Gravity) Concealment 10 (Feats Close Range, Dynamic, Selective. Flaws Blending) [13 pp] Dimensional Pocket 65 (Feats Accurate 2, Dynamic, Progression (range), Subtle. Flaws Fades) [70 PP] Flight 5 (250 MPH) (Feats Dynamic, Subtle.) [12 PP] Force Field 34 (Feats Dynamic, Subtle. Extra Impervious.) [70 pp] Immovable 33 (Feat Dynamic, Subtle. Extra Unstoppable) [70 pp] Immunity (gravitic, total) 10 (Feat Dynamic, Selective.) [12 pp] Move Object 34 (Feat Dynamic, Subtle. Extra Damaging. Flaw Limited Direction [only up/down].) [70 pp] Nauseate 34 (Feats Dynamic, Subtle. Extras Range. Flaws Fades.) [70 pp] Snare 16 (Feats Dynamic, Reversible, Subtle. Extras Linked [Fatigue Extra Range.]. Flaws Fades.) [67 pp] Teleport 32 (Distance 3200' as a move action, carry 100 lbs.) (Feats Change Direction, Change Velocity, Dynamic, Subtle, Turnabout. Extras Accurate. Flaws Short-Range.) [69 pp] Drawbacks: (-4) = -4 Vulnerable (Cold) (Common [+2], Major [+2]) [-4PP] Abilities (18) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (20) + Skills (8) + Feats (3) + Powers (81) - Drawbacks (4) = 150 PP Link to comment
Thunderbolt7 Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 Thanks to immediate commentary in chat, I will note that, yeah, Dimensional Pocket wasn't meant to be so high; that's how it was from my initial concept, where it was the base power from whence the power points for the rest of the array came from. That will be knocked down to something like rank 10 or so - able to contain a single target massing (not weighing) up to about 50 tons, give or take. It certainly wasn't meant to be able to contain the known universe! Basically, I got so used to it being a high number, I didn't question it after it got moved down into the Array. As for those powers which exceed various PL damage/defense caps (such as Force Field, Nauseate), well... I hadn't even considered that, honestly. I was just looking to maximize rank based on available power points. Those will be reviewed and tended to. I recollect mention that the Damaging extra on Move Object was not a good idea, if not an actual no-no... my thinking was that it was meant to be sort of an emergency setting on Move Object, but in retrospect it's only Feats that can be used/ignored when using a power, not Extras. So, I'll drop the Damaging, and I'll probably (if I remember how these things go correctly) save a "damaging use of Move Object" as a power stunt (Blast) instead. Could still use an official review, the above was based on my admittedly poor memory of things said in chat. Link to comment
olopi Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 (edited) Not a Ref, but always willing to help, so here goes: Abilities: Everything’s right, as far as I’m concerned. They’re not very high, but I assume you’re going for a character that’s mostly human, enhanced by his powers, so that’s all correct. Combat: Currently caps out at 9 both offensive and defensive, are you going for a Trade-Off of 1 or a PL9? Otherwise probably raise these to the cap Saves: You actually can’t buy Toughness directly here, have to do that through Protection/Force Field (and so on) in the Powers. The Exotic saves look good, if a bit low, maybe something to invest in. Skills: While I’m personally not a fan of characters that don’t invest a lot into skills, it’s not wrong to do so. Feats: Same as with Skills. I generally spend too much points on feats, so don’t take my advice at face value (you shouldn’t to begin with! ). Powers: Instant Costume Change is generally done through the feat Quick Change. The Dynamic Array is a bit confusing (and maybe takes up too many points), plus I’ve never actually used one due to not fully understanding how they work, so let me instead comment on each individual power. As I only have the mechanical parts, I can’t really comment on flavour (which is what I’m best at), but anyways: Concealment: All correct Dimensional Pocket: As mentioned, at 65 you can probably fit the universe in there Flight: Looks Correct Force Field: This, as mentioned above, just increases your Toughness when turned on, so it’s bound by PL. I suggest not putting it into an array. Also, Impervious is a Ranked Feat, each Rank you take increases the Damage it blocks by 1, and costs 1, up to a maximum of the PL. Immovable: I think you can take this up to 33, but you really don’t have to. At this point, the Moon could crash into you and you wouldn’t suffer knockback (I think). Immunity: Per House Rules, gravity is Uncommon, so this, without feats, would only cost 5 PP. Move Object: With Damaging, this is limited to the PL. I will also add that due to the way M&M scales, at a level this high you could probably move planets. (But don’t quote me on that, I didn’t have time to look it up). Nauseate: Limited by caps, as mentioned in chat. Snare: Same here. Teleport: Looks right, but once again, at this point you can teleport massive distances. Drawbacks: As somebody who has done it, I suggest against taking a major Vulnerability, or would at least warn you. It gives a lot of points, yes, but especially once you get to Damage above 7, it just makes it incredibly difficult to not go down in one hit, which can be frustrating unless you’re aware that this can happen. As always, not a ref, so take this with some salt. Edited January 22, 2017 by olopi Link to comment
Thunderbolt7 Posted February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 2017 (edited) OK, I'm trying to figure out a "gravity sense" for my character. Basically, without delving into hard science and edge cases, gravity and mass are the same. So a "gravity sense" is basically the same as being able to detect mass - more specifically, how mass bends space-time (which is, basically, "gravity"). Below is the first, fumbling attempts at defining a "mass sense", with explanatory notations. I would really appreciate input. Do note that none of the example super-senses in either the Core book or Ultimate Power seem, in my opinion, to cover what I believe such a sense would, or should. Super-Sense (Mass Detection) 15 (Mental Sense: Accurate 2 [can be used to target in combat], Counters Obscure 5 [in general, the warping of space-time isn't obscured by fog or darkness or any other typical Obscure effects], Extended 1 [this is a maybe; the sense should have a decent range but not far-reaching], Penetrates Concealment 4 [in general, the warping of space-time isn't concealed by a wall or shadows or any other typical Concealment effects], Radius 1 [the sense applies to a globe around the user]) [13 pp] That's the core. Now, there are some limitations to the power, some, none or all of which may be capital-L Limitations: 1. Cannot effectively detect masses under 1 lb. 2. Cannot register any visual or tactile information (color, softness, text, stickiness, etc, etc,), and is "blurry" even on shape. 3. Can be countered by Conceal/Obscure effects with gravity, inertial, spatial, dimensional, incorporeal and insubstantial descriptors. 4. Powers that can change a target's density or inertia can interfere with Mass Detection. 5. Targets that are incorporeal or insubstantial do not have an effective mass. 6. High mass in close proximity to low mass will tend to obscure the low mass, the more so with greater differences between the masses (a car engine will conceal a cat warming itself on the hood; a ton of gold ingots will conceal a briefcase of diamonds under it). So the idea is, the sense can be used to target Bad Guys in the usual superheroic situations, but more exotic stuff is still effective against it. It's not a Lensman's sense of Perception, but it can kind of "see through" things, and kind of allows "seeing" in the dark. Commentary?. Edited February 2, 2017 by Thunderbolt7 Link to comment
Amelia Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 (edited) I'll stick to your Super-Sense power in this post. In my next post, I'll go over the rest of the sheet. The way I understand it, the sidebar in Ultimate Power for Super-Senses describes how each sense type has default extras that it gets for free. For example, Visual-type senses are Accurate, Acute, and Ranged by default. That's why Infra-Vision costs 1PP for a new Visual-type sense, rather than 5PP. I'm guessing that the intended inherent balance is that, while Visual-type senses have the most free Super-Senses extras built into them, they're also the sense type most commonly Dazzled, Obscured, and Concealed against. Conversely, Mental-type senses have no Super-Senses extras built in, but there is also next to nothing out there which provides concealment against Mental-type senses. For the most part, it is the Sense Type, rather than any Flaws or Drawbacks, which determines what does and does not interfere with a given sense. Darkness interferes with Normal Vision, but not with Infra-Vision (at least when it comes to heat sources). Invisibility to all Visual-Type senses interferes with both Normal Vision and Infra-Vision, but not with Radar (a Radio-type sense) or Sonar (an Auditory-type sense). Similarly, it is the individual sense which mostly determines what information you do and don't get. For example, by default, Normal Vision would be the only sense which tells you the color of an object. Infra-Vision and Ultra-Vision see into different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum than visible light, and by default, colors are seen, not heard or smelled. Here's a quick run-down of these extras, in case you're confused: Counters Concealment is what you buy when you want your sense to see through power effects like "Invisibility," which are relevant to your sense-type. You'd need Counters Concealment to see someone with an "Invisibility" power, but you wouldn't need it to hear them. Counters Obscure is what you buy when you want your sense to see through power effects which create things like "Darkness" and "Fog." Again, you'd need Counters Obscure to see through a "Darkness" or "Fog" effect, but you wouldn't need it to hear through them. Penetrates Concealment is what you buy when you want your sense to see through intervening obstacles, barriers, crowds of people, etc. Again, you'd need Penetrates Concealment to see through a solid opaque wall, but not necessarily to hear through it. The house rules here combined Detect and Awareness into one Super-Sense, so there's a layer of complexity we don't need to worry about. If you choose "Mental" as the sense type for your mass-detection, then by default, it has none of the Super-Senses extras, but there is also almost nothing which provides concealment against it. Extended wouldn't do anything for you unless you first bought the Ranged extra. Since Mental-type senses have no extras by default, they're not ranged, so by default, your mental mass-detection could only detect something you were touching it. You wouldn't need to buy Counters Obscure for it to "see" through darkness or fog, since those are things which provide concealment against Visual-type senses, not Mental-type senses. (It's also worth noting that Counters Obscure is one of the Super-Senses extras which covers all senses you have of a particular type, rather than just one individual sense.) You probably wouldn't have to buy Penetrates Concealment for it either, since there isn't really any terrain or objects which provide concealment against Mental-type senses. The only things I can think of which provide concealment against Mental-type senses are specific sensory super-powers. If you chose a different sense type for this power, however, then you might have use for Counters Obscure and/or Penetrates Concealment (and possibly Counters Concealment). The house rules here also give a variable base cost (1-3PP) for Awareness Super-Senses, depending on the frequency of the descriptor they detect. "Mass" would definitely be a "Very Common" descriptor for this Awareness, so the base cost would be 3PP. For what you're describing, I'd build it as Super-Senses 9 (Mass Awareness [Descriptor Frequency: Very Common, Sense Type: Mental, Default Extras: None], Extras: Accurate, Acute, Extended [100ft Notice Increments], Radius, Ranged) [9PP] Accurate would let him target a given source of mass in combat at no penalty. Without Accurate, he'd be vaguely aware of the presence of an object, but he couldn't pinpoint its exact location. Acute would let him distinguish between different sources of mass, knowing that one object was more or less massive than another. Without Acute, he wouldn't be able to tell any objects apart from one another. If you want him to know precisely how massive each object around him is, then he'd need Analytical as well. Radius would let him detect sources of mass in all directions, rather than just in his front arc. Ranged would let him detect sources of mass further away from him than touch-range. The only Concealment, Dazzle, or Obscure power effects which would interfere with this (or any other Mental-type sense) would be the ones which specifically target Mental-type senses. So even if he were, for example, blinded, or deafened, he could still navigate and target based on the relative mass of the objects around him. I would consider making this a Tactile-type sense instead of a Mental-type sense, allowing him to "feel" the gravity of the objects around him. I suggest this because, by default, the only thing which gives one direct concealment against Tactile-type senses is being Insubstantial. That would make sense here, since the only way to hide from his mass-detection is by having no mass to detect. Physical objects and intervening terrain, such as barriers or crowds of people, could also effectively provide concealment against a ranged Tactile sense, if you don't buy Penetrates Concealment for it. Super-Senses 5 (Mass Awareness [Descriptor Frequency: Very Common, Sense Type: Tactile, Default Extras: Accurate, Acute, Radius], Extras: Extended [100ft Notice Increments], Ranged) [5PP] A Dazzle or Obscure power effect which "numbed" him or the area he was standing in would shut down this Tactile-type sense. I don't know if that works for your idea or not. Being blinded or deafened would have no effect. You could theoretically make an Auditory-type or Olfactory-type sense instead, if you'd rather he "hear" or "smell" the relative gravity pull of any given object, but that hurts my brain. Edited February 2, 2017 by Grumblefloof Link to comment
Amelia Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Quote Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP Attack: +6 base; +8 melee, +9 ranged Defense: +6 base; +3 Dodge Initiative: +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative) Where are you getting the melee and ranged attack bonuses from? I don't see any Attack Focus or Attack Specialization under your feats, and I don't see Accurate on any of your attack powers. Abilities in 2E don't directly affect your attack or defense bonus like they do in 1E and 3E. Quote Saving Throws: 8 + 3 + 6 + 3 = 20 PP Toughness: +10 (+2 CON, +8) Fortitude: +5 (+2 CON, +3) Reflex: +7 (+3 DEX, +6) Will: +4 (+1 WIS, +3) The math checks out, but these saves are really low. Most of the sample PC builds in the 2E book average the 3 exotic saves at about PL-2. The 3E book raises the average to PL. You're free to build a character who will probably be taken out of the fight with one exotic attack, but you should know that's what you're getting into. Quote Skills: 32r = 8 PP Acrobatics 6 Concentration 8 Intimidate 4 Notice 6 Stealth 8 I'd write the whole skill bonus here for clarity. So, for example, Acrobatics 6 (+9). The main mistake people make when buying skills is not looking at the skill DCs in the book. I recommend deciding what tasks you want to be capable of, then looking up the DC for those tasks, and buying your skill to within 10 or 20 of it, so you can reliably do it. The task DCs vary significantly from one skill to another. Survival and Swim have pretty low DCs. A little bit of skill goes a long way. Disable Device has sky-high DCs, but it's assumed that you'll usually be able to Take 20. Computers just has unqualified sky-high DC numbers. Quote Feats: 3 PP Eidetic Memory Improved Initiative Seize Initiative I question the worth of buying both Improved Initiative and Seize Initiative. I question the worth of Seize Initiative, period. I don't recommend Eidetic Memory unless you need it for concept reasons. Mechanically, it's not great. The general interpretation of when you get that +4 bonus is "almost never." Quote Powers: 81 PP Instant Costume Change (Feature 1 [1 pp]) Singularity Mastery (Dynamic Array 70 pp, Feats Alternate Power 10.) [80 pp] (Gravity) Concealment 10 (Feats Close Range, Dynamic, Selective. Flaws Blending) [13 pp] Dimensional Pocket 65 (Feats Accurate 2, Dynamic, Progression (range), Subtle. Flaws Fades) [70 PP] Flight 5 (250 MPH) (Feats Dynamic, Subtle.) [12 PP] Force Field 34 (Feats Dynamic, Subtle. Extra Impervious.) [70 pp] Immovable 33 (Feat Dynamic, Subtle. Extra Unstoppable) [70 pp] Immunity (gravitic, total) 10 (Feat Dynamic, Selective.) [12 pp] Move Object 34 (Feat Dynamic, Subtle. Extra Damaging. Flaw Limited Direction [only up/down].) [70 pp] Nauseate 34 (Feats Dynamic, Subtle. Extras Range. Flaws Fades.) [70 pp] Snare 16 (Feats Dynamic, Reversible, Subtle. Extras Linked [Fatigue Extra Range.]. Flaws Fades.) [67 pp] Teleport 32 (Distance 3200' as a move action, carry 100 lbs.) (Feats Change Direction, Change Velocity, Dynamic, Subtle, Turnabout. Extras Accurate. Flaws Short-Range.) [69 pp] Quick Change shows up as both a Feat and a Feature power, so you can buy it as either. Someone with the feat may be wearing special tear-away clothes (made out of fragile fabric, or strategically tailored with snaps/zippers/etc.). Someone with the power may have a costume made from the super-tech "morphic molecules" the Atom Family makes. You don't want primary defense powers like Force Field or Immunity folded into an array. You want those to always be on, or at least always available. I would pull them out and buy them as stand-alone powers. I also think you want at least some of the movement power as a stand-alone effect outside the array. I think this array is bigger and more complicated than it really needs to be. 80PP is a ton of points to spend on any one power. 10 alternate powers is a gigantic array. Dynamic arrays are complicated. You're far past the point of diminishing returns on all fronts, and the sooner you understand that, the better a time you'll have. You could drop half the alternate powers, buy a couple ranks of the Luck feat instead, and have hero points handy to buy off the fatigue when you use Extra Effort to gain a temporary alternate power feat in the heat of the moment, if/when you need that AP. Some of those exotic attacks are redundant. Do you really need both Fatigue and Nauseate? They do pretty much the same thing and they target the same save. And do you really think you'll use either one often enough to justify buying it up-front instead of stunting for it? Power stunts are one of the things that make this game great, because not everything you can theoretically do has to be etched in stone on your character sheet first. There are extras and feats you can apply to those powers to make them more expensive and more effective, rather than just buying up the ranks sky-high. For example: Dimensional Pocket. By default, the range on that power is Touch. You could buy it up to Ranged, and open up pockets under people at a distance. The default duration is "Instant (Lasting)", so on every single round after you hit them, they get a new save at +1 to break free. Buy that up to "Continuous (Lasting)", and named villains will need to use Extra Effort to get another save to break free, while their minions will just be stuck. Teleport: Get some Progression for the mass, and you can bring a friend or two. Open up a Portal instead, and you can bring pretty much whoever you want. Quote Drawbacks: (-4) = -4 Vulnerable (Cold) (Common [+2], Major [+2]) [-4PP] A weakness like this is always going to be either a Drawback or a Complication. Each choice has its merits and flaws. If you take it as a Drawback, then you get a few bonus points at character generation, and then you spend the rest of that character's career earning those points back. When it comes up, you get nothing, because you already got the bonus points. You just suffer. But it may never come up. Or it may come up so rarely that it may as well have never come up. If you take it as a Complication, then you get nothing up-front. But you get the promise that, if it does come up, you get a Hero Point, and the spotlight. I think most people would concede that the Hero Points will do more for you than the bonus Power Points will in the long run, but that the bonus Power Points pay off immediately and definitely. It's a gamble. You should read up in the core book on "Power Level caps." Your offensive traits (attack vs damage) and defensive traits (defense vs toughness) need to each average out to your Power Level, or lower. So, for example, as a PL10 character, you can have Attack +10 and Blast 10, or Attack +5 and Blast 15, or Attack +15 and Blast 5, but you can't have Attack +10 and Blast 15. Same goes for Defense and Toughness. Defense +10 and Toughness +10 is ok. Defense +5 and Toughness +15 is ok. Defense +10 and Toughness +15 is not. And we're not just talking base Attack or base Defense. We're talking total bonuses. Things like Attack Focus count against those caps. Things like Attack Focus are cheaper than base Attack bonus because they apply in more narrow circumstances. They're easier to lose. But they don't let you break PL caps. This isn't D&D, despite the superficial similarities. For your first character, you probably want to hit your PL caps for attack, damage, defense, and toughness. Otherwise, you could find yourself face-planting very early. Every single person I've known who built their first PC under PL caps has regretted it in hindsight, unless they were very specifically choosing to build what is effectively a lower-PL character on a higher-than-usual point budget. You see that a lot with Batman-style characters, who have (relative to super-heroes) weak combat stats but tons of skills and feats. But even then, you have to be prepared for the possibility that, for example, a GM running an adventure for PL8 characters isn't going to want to include a PC with a PL10's pile of points, whether you spent the extra points on combat stats or not. Link to comment
Amelia Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Here's a sample re-working of the powers: Quote Powers 87PP Features 1 (Quick Change) [1PP] Force Field 12 (Extras: Impervious 10, Feats: Selective, Subtle) [24PP] Gravity Control 15 (30PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 3) [33PP] Base Power: [29PP] Move Object 10 (Max Range 1,000ft, Extras: Damaging, Flaws: Limited [Direction: Up/Down], Feats: Accurate 2 [+4 Attack], Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Improved Range 3 [1,000ft Range Increments], Precise, Subtle) [29PP] Alternate Power: [30PP] Dimensional Pocket 8 (Extras: Duration 3 [Continuous, Lasting], Flaws: Action [Full], Distracting, Feats: Accurate 3 [+6 Attack], Precise, Progression [Capacity] 1 [100 tons], Subtle) [30PP] Alternate Power: [29PP] Nauseate 10 (Extras: Range [Ranged, Max Range 1,000ft], Flaws: Action [Full], Feats: Accurate 2 [+4 Attack], Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Improved Range 3 [1,000ft Range Increments], Precise, Subtle) [29PP] Alternate Power: [30PP] Snare 10 (Max Range 1,000ft, Feats: Accurate 2 [+4 Attack], Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Improved Range 3 [1,000ft Range Increments], Precise, Reversible, Subtle) [30PP] Gravitic Movement 6 (12PP Array, Feats: Dynamic Alternate Power, Dynamic Base Power) [15PP] Base Power (Dynamic): [3/11PP] Flight 1/5 (10MPH/250MPH = 100ft/2,500ft [1/2 mile] per Move Action, Feats: Subtle) [3/11PP] Alternate Power (Dynamic): [7/11PP] Teleport 1/3 (100ft/300ft per Move Action, Extras: Accurate, Flaws: Limited [Short-Range], Feats: Change Direction, Change Velocity, Progression [Capacity] 2 [500 lbs.], Turnabout) [7/11PP] Immunity 5 (Gravity Effects) [5PP] Super-Senses 9 (Mass Awareness [Descriptor Frequency: Very Common, Sense Type: Mental, Default Extras: None], Extras: Accurate, Acute, Extended [100ft Notice Increments], Radius, Ranged) [9PP] Here's a step-by-step breakdown: Force Field 12 (Extras: Impervious 10, Feats: Selective, Subtle) [24PP] House rules here cap Impervious ranks at your Power Level, so you can't have more than 10 ranks. 12 ranks of Force Field combine with your +2 Con bonus for +14 Toughness. Since your Defense is +6, you hit your defensive power level caps for Power Level 10. 6 + 14 = 20, 20/2 = 10. You're relatively easy to hit, but hard to damage. Gravity Control 15 (30PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 3) [33PP] Base Power: [29PP] Move Object 10 (Max Range 1,000ft, Lifting Strength 50 [Heavy Load: 12 tons], Extras: Damaging, Flaws: Limited [Direction: Up/Down], Feats: Accurate 2 [+4 Attack], Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Improved Range 3 [1,000ft Range Increments], Precise, Subtle) [29PP] This is your staple attack power. Quick note on how Ranged powers work (this applies to most powers in this array): A Ranged power has a maximum range of (Power Rank x100) feet, and 10 range increments of (Power Rank x10) feet. For every range increment between you and your target, you suffer a -2 attack penalty. The Improved Range feat increases the size of your range increments, without increasing the max range of the power. With Improved Range 3, your range increment is increased to be equal with your max range. So you'll never suffer any range penalties. Normally, you wouldn't even be able to really see a target that far away. The default increment for Notice checks with ranged senses is 10ft, and you suffer a -1 Notice penalty for every increment between you and the target. It's only a DC0 Notice check to see something out in the open, but at 1,000ft out, you're at -100 Notice. But the Mass Awareness Super-Senses below is Extended, so your Notice increments are 100ft, and it's Accurate, so you can use it to target in combat. So at your max power range of 1,000ft, you're only at -10 Notice. A DC10 Notice check isn't that hard to make. And if you can see them, you can attack them with no range penalty, as if they were standing next to you. With Accurate 2, you get +4 to attack with this power. Combined with your +6 base attack bonus, that's +10 attack, and with a rank 10 power, that hits your offensive power level cap for Power Level 10. 10 + 10 = 20, 20/2 = 10. If you wanted to be less accurate but to have more raw power, then you could drop one or more ranks of Accurate to lower your attack bonus, and you could buy a higher power rank. The Precise power feat is the same as the Precise Shot feat, so you ignore the penalty for targeting people who are in melee combat. It also lets you do fine manipulations, as if you had two hands (though limited to vertical movement in this case). You could take the Attack Specialization feat for this array instead of the Accurate power feat, and/or Improved Critical as a feat instead of a power feat, and/or the Precise Shot feat instead of the Precise power feat. The advantage would be that, if anyone else copied your power, they wouldn't get those feats, since they'd represent your proficiency with the power, rather than the innate accuracy of the power itself. But those would also be feats taken away from the power array, which would give you fewer points with which to power stunt (see below). And power mimics almost never happen. Alternate Power: [30PP] Dimensional Pocket 8 (Extras: Duration 3 [Continuous, Lasting], Flaws: Action [Full], Distracting, Feats: Accurate 3 [+6 Attack], Precise, Progression [Capacity] 1 [100 tons], Subtle) [30PP] This one was just too expensive, even with all the flaws, to get up to rank 10 like the rest, so I threw in a third rank of Accurate. Instead of +10 Attack / Rank 10 like the rest of the powers in the array, this one's +12 Attack / Rank 8. It still hits your power level cap, just a little differently. The house rules let anyone use the temporary tradeoff feats (Accurate Attack, Power Attack, etc.) at +2 to -2 without actually having the feat, so you could just Power Attack for +10 Attack / Rank 10 by default if you wanted to. It's expensive to use: It takes a full action instead of a standard action, you lose your dodge bonus to defense for the round, and it's only touch-range, so you have to get in close (if you're not already in melee range, then you'll have to either spend 2 rounds setting it up, or you'll have to use Extra Effort for an extra action to both move and pop this). But if it lands, it's basically a one-shot kill. And if the GM has the villain use Extra Effort to get another save to break free, then it's clear that they didn't want the villain captured, period, and they would have gotten free one way or the other anyway. Alternate Power: [29PP] Nauseate 10 (Extras: Range [Ranged, Max Range 1,000ft], Flaws: Action [Full], Feats: Accurate 2 [+4 Attack], Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Improved Range 3 [1,000ft Range Increments], Precise, Subtle) [29PP] Full Action is a great flaw for expensive long-range powers, because it's likely you won't have to move to set it up anyway. Alternate Power: [30PP] Snare 10 (Max Range 1,000ft, Feats: Accurate 2 [+4 Attack], Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Improved Range 3 [1,000ft Range Increments], Precise, Reversible, Subtle) [30PP] You can use Extra Effort and suck up a level of Fatigue (or burn a Hero Point to get rid of the Fatigue) to add a temporary power feat to any non-Permanent power. The most common use of that rule is to get a temporary Alternate Power feat, to do something cool that you don't do often enough to pay for permanently. It's called "power stunting." So if there's an alternate power that you don't think you'll use very often, it's best to just leave it off your sheet and occasionally power stunt it. For example, you probably won't need to be Immovable very often. But once in a while, you can use Extra Effort, gain Immovable 15 (Extras: Unstoppable) [30PP] as a temporary AP for this array, jump in front of the runaway train, and bring it to a screeching halt. Gravitic Movement 6 (12PP Array, Feats: Dynamic Alternate Power, Dynamic Base Power) [15PP] Base Power (Dynamic): [3/11PP] Flight 1/5 (10MPH/250MPH = 100ft/2,500ft [1/2 mile] per Move Action, Feats: Subtle) [3/11PP] Alternate Power (Dynamic): [7/11PP] Teleport 1/3 (100ft/300ft per Move Action, Extras: Accurate, Flaws: Limited [Short-Range], Feats: Change Direction, Change Velocity, Progression [Capacity] 2 [500 lbs.], Turnabout) [7/11PP] You seemed to want to be able to both fly and teleport, and this was one way to do that. With Flight and Teleport in a dynamic array together, you can decide each round to allocate all the points to one or the other, or to give some to each. So you could just give everything to Flight, hitting rank 5, or everything to Teleport, hitting rank 3. Or you could go Flight 1 + Teleport 2, or Flight 2 + Teleport 1. I don't know what short-range teleports give you that Flight doesn't, except for bypassing the occasional solid barrier, but there it is. If nothing else, being able to fly and teleport at the same time means you can teleport in mid-air without falling. What was the rationale for using gravity manipulation to get Concealment against all senses? I left that out because I couldn't wrap my brain around it. Link to comment
Thunderbolt7 Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 Thank you for the critique. The character has changed substantially since the initial post, thanks to olop's input, and remarks made by various people in chat. However, your critique has opened my eyes to just how much I still wasn't getting about character building, and Crius will be undergoing more changes thanks to your input. You had a lot of questions, some of which were addressed in my post-olopi changes, but most centered around rationales about power choices. Here's what I was/am thinking, though obviously my thinking is undergoing changes: 0. Overall, my original gravity controller concept has morphed from "lock 'em down" to "heavy hitter" to what I'm working at now, which is more "subtle & sneaky". The build you've seen was a transitional one, but at a point where I had too many questions not to get some input. 1. Feature (Instant Costume Change): In my mind, this is a power, as it is an actual, instantaneous change from/to street clothes/costume, as well as several minor cosmetic differences (hair length/color/style, and eye color). Not "Clark Kent enters a telephone booth and emerges as Superman", but an actual power. Nothing to do with gravity, has to do with Crius' origin. 2. Concealment: this is a warping of space-time around Crius that is adjustable from low-level "bending light around me so I'm hard to see" all the way up to "just shy of Dimensional Pocket: still here in the world, but distorting light, sound and scent so much that I'm nearly impossible to detect unless you're right on me". 3. Dimensional Pocket: actually what Crius' core power would be, if Ultimate Power treated Arrays exactly like the Core book. But since UP doesn't require a base power beyond "Array", it is inside the Array. I intended this to be the primary attack/defense power - hide in a pocket dimension from overwhelming attack, or stick a target in a pocket dimension to get it out of the way. 4. Flight: obvious and logical gravity-related movement power, and the primary travel power since Teleport is short-range only. 5. Force Field: obvious and logical gravity-related defense power, for when hiding in a pocket dimension isn't an option. 6. Immovable: gone since the build posted above. Leftover from the "heavy hitter" idea. Disregard. 7. Immunity: if one is to be a master of gravity, one should be largely immune to it's negative effects. 8. Move Object: obvious and logical and usually core gravity control power, but in my head, it's more of an emergency backup power for Crius, who prefers the subtle and sneaky approach. 9. Nauseate: a subtle and sneaky way of disabling an opponent. Make 'em seasick by wiggling gravity around their heads. 10. Snare: the lock 'em down power - crank up the gravity around the target and they can't move, or will have a harder time doing so. Fatigue is long gone; it made sense (struggling against high gravity would tend to fatigue the target), but it made the power expensive and was kind of redundant. The current concept is more of curving space-time around the target, creating a true "gravity well" that doesn't give them the effects of heavy gravity (no fatigue), but still snares them effectively (can't "climb out"). 11. Super-Sense (mass detection): upcoming addition, seems reasonable for a master of gravity. 12. Teleport: short range, good for getting around the combat arena, upgraded version also allows for getting into/out of the dimensional pocket without dismissing the pocket. Conceptually, warping space with high gravity to create a Dimensional Pocket suggested the ability to also create an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, which for game and concept purposes, made sense to keep short range, for now, at least. Having both flight and short-range teleport is a fairly potent combination of travel powers. Also, subtle and sneaky. I have been considering making it a Portal, but that really ups the cost. That's the power concepts, and some of those are changing. Most of the powers are subtle (hard to detect warped gravity), and some fade (as the fabric of the universe tries to reassert itself on the local warping). The power Spatial Control might be a good fit for a lot of this, but conceptually, it is all gravity control, so I'm sticking with it. More overarching concepts are that, well, yes, we have the weakness of all the powers being inside the array, making them all vulnerable, but on the other hand, they're almost all just variants of "gravity control", which is a no-no in FC, so that's how it pans out with an array. I do have some ideas about that, but one consideration is that moving powers outside the array starts making the Powers section more expensive. The new build already has fewer points in Powers and more in saves, skills and so on, and it looks like I need yet more, so it looks like I'll have to start eliminating powers to shrink the cost in Powers. Still working on all that; I have also noted errors in my power builds that need correcting. We shall see. Again, thank you both, olopi and Grumblefloof, for your insights. Link to comment
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