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Old 07-31-2006, 08:48 PM   #24
transmetahuman
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Default Re: Why would I take the "emanation" limitation?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mgellis
As far as I can tell, an Area Effect by itself would probably be used on a ranged attack to create an effect like a grenade launcher--you fire at the target and the target is the center of a blast that can affect other, secondary targets.

An Emanation gets a -20% because you can't "throw" it--it can ONLY initiate from the character. It can have range--you buy that range with levels of Area Effect--but you're always at the center, with your attack moving outward from you (which is why it won't affect you).

Selective Area will let you pick and choose whether the Emanation affects everything or only certain things within your range.

An Aura is just an Emanation with no range beyond C-range melee combat. I'm pretty sure you can't put Selective Area on an Aura, although I may be wrong here.

Am I getting this right?

Mark
All except the Aura bit. As I understand it:

An Aura is a continuing thing; once you turn it on, it keeps zapping anyone you come in contact with, without any more maneuvers or attention on your part, until you turn it off. By the book, an Aura has no Area Effect associated with it, so Selective Area is meaningless. I guess a GM could let someone use the same cost for a variant enhancement that let you select among those you're in contact with, without having to turn the Aura off and on, but that would be outside the bounds of what the book says. Likewise, the GM could let you take Aura and Area Effect (and either Melee Attack (to fit the wording of Aura), or Emanation (which I think is more appropriate for Area Effect) to make a continuing field around you that affects anyone who comes within x yards of you. Again, the books don't address that.

An Emanation is a one-shot "burst" that requires an attack maneuver, but no roll, for each use. It automatically affects everyone within the associated Area Effect (with the same limits as a regular Area Effect), except you. You can take Selective Area to further discriminate amongst your potential victims. It lops -20% off the cost of whatever Area Effect is associated with it; with Selective Area that becomes +0%.

I don't see why anyone would take AE + Emanation instead of AE + Reduced Range (1/10) + Selective Area, by the mechanics alone. The 10% difference in price seems more than offset by the increase in versatility. The former might be a better fit for a lot of powers' concepts though. I think Selective Area is probably too cheap, just at a guess (but that might be the HERO reflexes).

Edit: Hmm. How does 1/2 Damage range interact with an Area Effect attack? Remember that your 1/2D goes down to one yard with that much Reduced Range. But I don't think it makes much sense to have grenades go off less strongly because you threw them farther than 10 yards away from you. I'm too tired to go look it up, but this and the whole attack roll thing (which isn't that big a deal with such short ranges and Selective Area) might be the answer. If centering her AE more than a yard away ends up giving her victims a +3 to resist the Affliction, that might be a good incentive to stick with Emanation.

Last edited by transmetahuman; 07-31-2006 at 09:52 PM.
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