Grand Unified Tech Level 3 Innate Attack Theory

[A Ladder]

Below I have created an Unusual Background cost per level of Innate Attack to balance the point cost to be as close to equal as possible with strength based attacks in a tech level 3 campaign.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand Unified Tech Level 3 Innate Attack Theory:
Each level allows the PC to purchase 1d of Innate Attack. (I.E. L3 allows purchase of Innate Attacks up to 3d).

L1: IA has no Unusual Background cost.
L2: Characters need to pay an Unusual Background of [10].
L3: Characters need to bump that Unusual Background up to [20] total.
L4+: each level of IA has a UB cost of [10]. (so [40] for 4d of damage and [60] for 6d)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I based my Unusual Background cost off of Thrust and Swing damage for a character who purchased just Striking Strength with the points that a character would use to purchase the Innate Attack and UB. The logic behind this choice is that Innate Attack and Striking Strength are the advantages characters purchase to deal damage. The comparison is easiest for the cr, cut, imp damage types as muscle powered weapons fall into those categories. Note that a weapon’s damage can be increased with money through quality, while IA cannot.

For comparing the Impaling Innate Attacks to the damage from Bows, keep in mind that an unmodified Innate Attack deals half damage past 10 yds. So an effective strategy to close the gap in power level is to have a Bow user attack from farther range than the Innate Attack user. To be fair, bows can only attack once every three turns, once every other turn with a fast draw, or every turn with Heroic Archer. IA Imp is typically better compared to bows in the early stages of this chart. But once a PC can start to afford Heroic Archer and Weapon Master they can start to “catch up” with rapid fire shots and making attacks from farther away.

The reason why I did not start with all levels of IA need [10] each level was because the first level of IA was typically behind on damage to point cost. Everyone gets 1d-2/1d for free at the start. An IA purchaser is throwing [5] to [10] away to get that first 1d damage.

I created this Unusual Background pricing so that I can start using Magic as Powers in my next campaign and have wizards blasting with fireballs based on Innate Attack without outpacing the warriors with their swords for damage. So far all of this is theoretical and has not been used in play or in character creation. Do you guys see any flaws in the model I created? Give me some feedback.


Point cost comparison.
L1
IA [5] 1d cr, br. [7] cut. [8] imp.
Regular [5] Base 1d-1/1d+1. Modified as 1d-1 cut (knife) to 1d+2 cut (broadsword), or 1d+4 cr (mace). 1d+1 imp from a longbow or 1d+2 for fine arrows.

L2
IA [10] +[10] for 2d cr, br. [10] + [14] 2d cut. [10] + [16] 2d imp
Regular [20]-[26] Base 1d/2d to 1d+1/2d+1. Modified by weapon 2d+3 cut (two handed broadsword), 2d+1cut shortsword. 1d+2 imp from broadsword. 2d+3 cr mace. 1d+3 imp from longbow, or 1d+4 imp for fine arrows.

L3
IA [20] + [15] for 3d cr, br. [20] + [21] for 3d cut. [20] + [24] 3d imp.
Regular [35] – [44] Base 1d+2/3d-1. to 2d-1/3d+1. Modified by weapon 3d+2 cr (mace). 3d+2 cut (two handed broadsword). 3d cut (shortsword). 2d+1 imp from longbow, or 2d+2 imp for fine arrows. A Heroic archer with Striking ST 15 for [45] would do 1d+3 or 1d+4 imp with fine arrows every turn.

Etc… I had more math, but I lost the file.


FAQ:
*Do you need to purchase a UB for each Innate Attack you have?
No, one UB covers the capped level for all Innate Attacks characters buy.
I.E. A character buys a 2d IA Burn fireball for [10] and a 2d IA Corrosion acid ball for [10], his UB cost to be able to use the 2d damage would be [10]. His UB dictates the max level of dice he can purchase with both of those attacks instead of having to buy a UB for every Innate Attack he has.

*I want to add enhancements/limitations to my Innate Attacks, do those augment the cost of the UB?
No. The UB is a flat cost that regulates how many dice you can purchase regardless of what you add to your Innate Attacks.

*Archers get kind of screwed with this system, along with small piercing Innate Attacks. Why not make a UB cost based on the type of Innate Attack used?
Because I’m lazy. And simple is superior to complex, in my opinion, when creating your own house rules. Also, see my reasons why archers aren’t too far behind in the notes above. For the small piercing attacks, remember you can target vitals for x3 damage.

[ericthered]

Does high st provide levels of UB? Because it should. ...

[Terwin]

Concern:
IA gives ranged damage. Even if it is reduced beyond 10yds, that is still at least one extra full-strength attack before the enemy gets their first attack in(and usually 2-3 if the character steps back after shooting).

You also get the benefits of using full-strength ranged attacks after being 'disarmed' (prison, court of the paranoid king, etc)

Usually ranged attacks consume a limited resource(arrows, throwing knives, etc), basic Innate attacks do not.

Suggestion:
If you want to make innate attacks for mages, you could also put in a prerequisite of Magery talent level >= max innate attack dice.

Even with that, you may find that the 'rock mage' (IA crushing and mxed out magical defenses) tends to be a better tank than your warrior or barbarian...

[A Ladder]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Does high st provide levels of UB? Because it should. ...

I would just allow the character to add the Based on Strength enhancement from Powers. That get's the same idea across in my opinion.

[A Ladder]

Originally Posted by Terwin

Concern:
IA gives ranged damage. Even if it is reduced beyond 10yds, that is still at least one extra full-strength attack before the enemy gets their first attack in(and usually 2-3 if the character steps back after shooting).

You also get the benefits of using full-strength ranged attacks after being 'disarmed' (prison, court of the paranoid king, etc)

Usually ranged attacks consume a limited resource(arrows, throwing knives, etc), basic Innate attacks do not.

Suggestion:
If you want to make innate attacks for mages, you could also put in a prerequisite of Magery talent level >= max innate attack dice.

Valid point, don't know what to do about that. I might have to modify the UB.

I'll be using this in a campaign that would have Magic as Powers. I'll probably require all IAs to have an FP cost, therefore consuming a limited resource. And also with a Power Modifier of Magic, so that the IA users could be disarmed with NMZ and "Counter Spells".

Even with that, you may find that the 'rock mage' (IA crushing and mxed out magical defenses) tends to be a better tank than your warrior or barbarian...

Tanking isn't the issue of this discussion. I'm more worried about balancing damage output.

[Anthony]

I would probably just base the UB on relative ST -- something like 'maximum points in an IA is (Striking ST - 6) * 2'. That will generally allow pretty close matches on actual weapons, and means that people won't be tempted to take attacks doing 1d with massive enhancements to get around the UB limit.

[Edges]

I'd probably base the UB off of total points spent in IA rather than number of IA dice. Enhancements can overpower even low-basic-damage IAs.