Multi-Hit Melee 'Blink' Attack

[DevoutGuardsman]

I'm currently trying to devise an innate attack that allows the user to 'blink' between multiple targets and make one melee attack against each one in a single turn, but I'm not sure how to go about implementing it. My current prototype is something like this:

Warp (Link (Cutting Melee Attack, Extra Attack), +10%; Reduced Time, +20%; Reliable 5, +50%; Range Limit, 10 Yards, -50%; Costs 5 HP, -50%) [80]
Cutting Melee Attack, 1 damage (Based on ST, +100%, Link (Warp, Extra Attack), +10%; Requires Weapon, Scythe, -10%; Reach 1, -25%) [4]
Extra Attack (Link (Warp, Cutting Melee Attack), +10%; Multi-Strike, +20%; Single Skill, Scythe, -20%) [28]

Total cost of 112 points.

The idea is that the character triggers their Warp ability, which takes no time, and can immediately jump 10 yards to a target within their line of sight. It's not so much as a teleport as it is a really fast dash over 10 yards. They then make a single melee attack against that target using their scythe, then Extra Attack kicks in and refreshes their attack. Provided they keep paying the 5 HP cost for the Warp, they can keep making 'blink' attacks in this manner until they run out of HP or choose to stop.

That said, I think I've done this horribly wrong. If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd be grateful!

[Brandy]

Have you considered buying it as an area effect attack and letting the warping about business just be a special effect?

I don't know how much damage your character does with the scythe, but something like Innate Attack 4d6 (Area Effect 16 yards (+200%); Selective Area, (+20%); Emanation (-20%)) [84] could be a starting point and you could add your costs HP and accessibility limitations on top of that.

[Nereidalbel]

Originally Posted by Brandy

Have you considered buying it as an area effect attack and letting the warping about business just be a special effect?

I don't know how much damage your character does with the scythe, but something like Innate Attack 4d6 (Area Effect 16 yards (+200%); Selective Area, (+20%); Emanation (-20%)) [84] could be a starting point and you could add your costs HP and accessibility limitations on top of that.

The modifier you are missing is Bombardment (Basic, pg 111). That makes one attack roll per target, instead of automatic hits.

[Kelly Pedersen]

I agree with the principle of modelling the attack as an Area Effect build (with Bombardment, as Nereidabel says). However, if it allows you to effectively teleport (for instance, if there's an opponent on the other side of a chasm, and your attack lets you finish up there, without having to cross the gap on foot), then Linking the Warp into is still appropriate. It's effectively just a special effect of the Warp that you appear at all the locations you're making the attacks on, instead of just the last one.

For the Warp ability itself, there's a couple things I'd change. First, I wouldn't allow Reduced Time. That's for advantages that don't have other ways to reduce the time it takes to use them, whereas Warp does - just take an additional -5 to the roll. So I'd dump Reduced Time, and add another 5 levels of Reliable. However, I think you are entitled to another limitation because you can't teleport to anywhere except right next to an enemy, basically. I'd peg that at -20%. Also, it sounds to me like you can't ever use this ability to stealthily teleport - you always have to attack all your targets, so it's always going to be fairly obvious where you've ended up, even if you're otherwise concealed or invisible. I'd give you another -20% for Warp for that. You might also want to put on some levels of Extra Carrying Capacity so you can use this while you've got any encumbrance.

[DevoutGuardsman]

Originally Posted by Brandy

Have you considered buying it as an area effect attack and letting the warping about business just be a special effect?

I don't know how much damage your character does with the scythe, but something like Innate Attack 4d6 (Area Effect 16 yards (+200%); Selective Area, (+20%); Emanation (-20%)) [84] could be a starting point and you could add your costs HP and accessibility limitations on top of that.

The character does about 4d+2 with the scythe, for reference. The extra 1 point was just to actually make the melee attack viable.

I did consider using Area Effect at first, then I realised it wouldn't cover uses such as multiple enemies within range of each other in a dead straight line and the like. The warping is also part of the effect, since the character does end up at their last selected target rather than staying still, and the character's targets do get active defence rolls, though they're considered mentally stunned, because having someone suddenly appear next to you would be grounds for being caught off-guard. Area Effect didn't cover these parts, so using a combat Warp coupled with a melee attack that could keep hitting provided there was enough HP to do so was the next best thing.

Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen

I agree with the principle of modelling the attack as an Area Effect build (with Bombardment, as Nereidabel says). However, if it allows you to effectively teleport (for instance, if there's an opponent on the other side of a chasm, and your attack lets you finish up there, without having to cross the gap on foot), then Linking the Warp into is still appropriate. It's effectively just a special effect of the Warp that you appear at all the locations you're making the attacks on, instead of just the last one.

For the Warp ability itself, there's a couple things I'd change. First, I wouldn't allow Reduced Time. That's for advantages that don't have other ways to reduce the time it takes to use them, whereas Warp does - just take an additional -5 to the roll. So I'd dump Reduced Time, and add another 5 levels of Reliable. However, I think you are entitled to another limitation because you can't teleport to anywhere except right next to an enemy, basically. I'd peg that at -20%. Also, it sounds to me like you can't ever use this ability to stealthily teleport - you always have to attack all your targets, so it's always going to be fairly obvious where you've ended up, even if you're otherwise concealed or invisible. I'd give you another -20% for Warp for that. You might also want to put on some levels of Extra Carrying Capacity so you can use this while you've got any encumbrance.

I forgot that Warp had the Instantaneous use option, my mistake. I'll take out the Reduced Time, then. The extra 5 levels of Reliable would be expensive but potentially worth it; those other limitations are handy as well!

Only issue with Area Effect is that it doesn't quite match the attack itself. Like I mentioned above, it's more free form in that so long as there's a target within 10 yards of the current one, the character can jump there, no problem. This does have the side effect of allowing them to jump 50+ yards in a single turn if all their targets are 10 yards apart in a straight line, though that's intended.

One of the other ways I've thought about doing it is making an Area Effect version and a modified cone (rectangle) version to allow for attacks around the user or in a wide, straight line. It has a lot more flexibility, but still doesn't manage to cover all the bases.

[Celti]

There are two real problems with this build. One is that one level of Extra Attack allows one extra strike, period. The second is that without other modifiers, you get, again, one use of an instantaneous/"free action" ability per turn (though you may use several different such abilities each turn!).

GURPS Supers (p. 29) offers applying the Rapid Fire enhancement to allow multiple Warps per turn with a single roll, which might be a useful thing to look at. I might consider a build like this...

Warp (Based on DX, +20%; Costs 5 HP, -50%; Gyroscopic, +10%; Link, Cutting Attack, +10%; Rapid Fire, RoF 10, +100%; Reliable 10, only for instant use, +30%; Range Limit, 10 Yards, -50%) [170]
Cutting Attack 1 point (Accessibility, Only while Warping, -10%; Accessibility, Requires Weapon, Scythe, -10%; Cosmic, Rapid-Fire Melee Attack, +50%; Link, Warp, +10%; Melee Attack, Reach 1, ST-Based, +75%; Rapid Fire, RoF 10, +100%) [6]

You make one attack roll for this maneuver, using the lower of your effective roll for Warp (at no penalty for instantaneous activation) or your attack roll, and the range penalty for the longest single distance between any two targets. You get one "hop" and one attack on a success, plus one more per point of margin. Putting Rapid Fire on a melee attack breaks the rules slightly, hence Cosmic.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by DevoutGuardsman

I'm currently trying to devise an innate attack that allows the user to 'blink' between multiple targets and make one melee attack against each one in a single turn, but I'm not sure how to go about implementing it. My current prototype is something like this:

Warp (Link (Cutting Melee Attack, Extra Attack), +10%; Reduced Time, +20%; Reliable 5, +50%; Range Limit, 10 Yards, -50%; Costs 5 HP, -50%) [80]
Cutting Melee Attack, 1 damage (Based on ST, +100%, Link (Warp, Extra Attack), +10%; Requires Weapon, Scythe, -10%; Reach 1, -25%) [4]
Extra Attack (Link (Warp, Cutting Melee Attack), +10%; Multi-Strike, +20%; Single Skill, Scythe, -20%) [28]

Total cost of 112 points.

You would need to buy more levels of Extra Attack to do what you describe, as it is this only lets you hit two targets.
Edited after rereading Aura, Auras of Power and Emanation.
So some options...
1) Innate Attack 4d6 (Area Effect 2y, +50%; Aura, +80%; Link (Warp), +10%; Melee Attack - C, -30%; Requires Weapon, Scythe, -10%) and add as many levels of Extra Attack as you want, no need to link them.
2) The Emanation Build suggested above with an Accessibility only those next to you. Optionally you could add something like Wall, +60% to change the Area type. I thought there was a variant like this already but cant find it at the moment. I would allow it here though.
3) Go with Rapid Fire Teleport as suggested Above and Extra Attack, possibly with Aura.

[DevoutGuardsman]

Originally Posted by Celti

Warp (Based on DX, +20%; Costs 5 HP, -50%; Gyroscopic, +10%; Link, Cutting Attack, +10%; Rapid Fire, RoF 10, +100%; Reliable 10, only for instant use, +30%; Range Limit, 10 Yards, -50%) [170]
Cutting Attack 1 point (Accessibility, Only while Warping, -10%; Accessibility, Requires Weapon, Scythe, -10%; Cosmic, Rapid-Fire Melee Attack, +50%; Link, Warp, +10%; Melee Attack, Reach 1, ST-Based, +75%; Rapid Fire, RoF 10, +100%) [6]

You make one attack roll for this maneuver, using the lower of your effective roll for Warp (at no penalty for instantaneous activation) or your attack roll, and the range penalty for the longest single distance between any two targets. You get one "hop" and one attack on a success, plus one more per point of margin. Putting Rapid Fire on a melee attack breaks the rules slightly, hence Cosmic.

This looks good. Fits the requirements to a T, and the built-in maximum number of hits is very useful. Not sure what he gyroscopic enhancement does, though. Is that in Powers, or another book? And is it necessary for the ability to work?

And would it be possible to have a variable rate of fire? Say, 5 HP as an initial cost, with another 1 HP for every 1 possible hop and attack?

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by DevoutGuardsman

This looks good. Not sure what the gyroscopic enhancement does, though. Is that in Powers, or another book? And is it necessary for the ability to work?

Yes Gyroscopic is in Powers, IIRC it just avoids the Body Sense roll after each port.

[Culture20]

If your character really has to travel the distance on foot (or other travel ability hhey already have), PK has a limitation for Warp to mimic speedsters: “must travel distance” -30% So into a sealed room is impossible, but if the character could run down the sides of the chasm and back up given infinite time, they can warp to the other side super fast. As I told one of my players recently: no moon for you, but another continent is fair game.