How to multi-target Malediction?

[St. W.]

I need advice on pricing new modifier for usage in my game. If you seen something like this in some of the game's products or have some logical way to deduct the price - I would be glad to see.

So, the modifier is an enhancement, and it can apply to resistible abilities without fixed range, like Maledictions or Mind Control, letting user affect as many targets as he wants simultaneously, for cumulative -1 to Quick Contes roll per each target after first. Rapier Wit works like this, but I need that effect for other abilities.

[Sorenant]

I've previously used Area Effect + Emanation + Selective Area but with Innate Attack, so I'd need to check the rules to see if it can be applied to malediction and similar advantages.
For example: Burning Attack (Area Effect, 16 yards, +200%; Emanation, -20%; Selective Area, +20%) [15/level] to attack any number of enemies within 16 yards. The idea is that instead of attacking everyone but those you choose, I'm using it to attack no one but those I choose.
Other than that I think limited Extra Attack or Compartmentalized Mind might be also appropriate.

[Refplace]

Area Effect + Selective Effect is the RAW way to attack multiple targets and I'd add a -5% limitation for the increasing penalty. Its worth so low since you can avoid it by just attacking 1 person. Also matches up with Reliable.

[Anaraxes]

Other alternatives:

You could use a power Stunt to add Temporary Enhancements (Powers 172) to an ability that doesn't normally have them. In this case, Area Effect + Selective Area, as has been mentioned. The difficulty increases with the number of targets, but only indirectly, as more targets are likely to require more AE because they're spread out.

Malediction is an Attack Enhancement, so you could use Rapid Fire on the base attack as well, then use the Spraying Fire rules (B409) to hit multiple targets. RAW requires them to be in a 30 degree arc.

You could also use Extra Attack and perhaps Enhanced Tracking (if you're going to Aim those attacks). To match the concept, if with painful math, you could calculate the cost for each additional level separately, adding an extra -1 to each additional level.

Gun Fu probably has some extra rules for hitting multiple targets with high RoF or Extra Attacks, but I don't have that one.

[AlexanderHowl]

The standard way, as presented in Banestorm with the Yrth Medusa, is to have Cone with Malediction. The range of the Malediction is set at 1 yard per yard of Cone, with Selective Area allowing for you to choose your victims. Of course, each yard of range effectively cost 1 CP, so there are diminishing returns, though all of your potential victims are probably within your range of vision.

For example, a supervillian could have the following ability:

Stone Curse (+1,550%): Affliction 1 (Cone, 100 yards, +1,040%; Extended Duration, Permanent, Until Reverse by Affliction Healing, +150%; Malediction 3, +200%; Pertification, +150%; Selective Area, +20%; Super, -10%) [165]. The character can transform anyone into a statue within 100 yards of them with a successful Will versus HT roll.

[St. W.]

Thank you for the answers!

Actually we used Malediction+Area Effect for this in the past, but that's proved to be a bit confusing and confining, because that's not what you expect from a curse or something like that. Also, we recently used Rapier Wit with Words of Power modifier from Powers, and it seems like a better way to show something like that. In particular because of maximum distance, limited only by your skill. We are usually have really fast character progression over time and rewarding PCs with something that gives bonus to attribute rolls and after some time combines in really crazy number is like tradition now, so we love Malediction for open-ended range in particular. It's just escalates in fun way.

[Plane]

Originally Posted by St. W.

letting user affect as many targets as he wants simultaneously,
for cumulative -1 to Quick Contes roll per each target after first.

P100 already establishes a uniform penalty when doing an all-at-once Area Effect rather than attacking individually on consecutive turns.

Without Independent (P108), the "Multiple Feats" rules from P158 would already apply to something you define as a power:

• All rolls for active uses of a power’s abilities are at -1 per active ability already “on.”

This is one of the major downsides to using powers instead of normal advantages.

So you don't have to change anything, just define this ability as a power then apply the MF rule.

Using AE just means you would tally up whatever the "Multiple Feats" penalty would be for the last guy (if you had targeted them consecutively) and roll against ALL of them at that penalty.

[AlexanderHowl]

That rule specifically applies only to non-attack powers though, it explicitly says so in the second paragraph, so it would never apply to a Malediction attack. Independent applies to abilities that normally require Concentration or Ready maneuvers to control after activation, such as Mind Control, and explicitly removes the penalty for multiple use for those advantages. Multiple Feats is also an optional rule and is not the default rule in GURPS, just an optional rule for GMs who wish to limit abilities, and only non-transcient abilities (non-attacks) cause such penalties. There is no standard rule that penalizes attacking multiple people with Selective Area.

[Plane]

Maledictions don't use Attack, they use Concentrate and a Quick Contest, just like Mind Control, one of the examples there.

Which is probably why this was said in 2006...

Originally Posted by PK

The concept behind Leech is that you are limited by

(A) having to make contact with a person and hold onto them tightly
or (B) having to win a Quick Contest against them.

Since you have given your ability range (via AE instead of Ranged, which I think is certainly fair), you'll need to also add Malediction.

That will create an ability which steals from everyone around him simultaneously, at a penalty to the roll equal to the number of subjects minus 1

(e.g., if there are four people around, the Malediction Leech roll would be his Will-3 versus their Wills.)

Add Independent, +70%, if you want to avoid this penalty.

Or, just skip Area Effect and go with Ranged if you want it to leech from the nearest person instead of everyone nearby.

Chris Rice agreed with it in 2016: https://www.ravensnpennies.com/gurps...succubi-oh-my/

[AlexanderHowl]

Leech is a special case because it is not technically an attack ability. Notice how both examples specifically mention Leech and none of the attack abilities (Affliction, Binding, or Innate Attack). An attack abilith with Malediction is still an attack ability, even if it does not use the Attack maneuver.