Need Help with a Skunk Attack / Stinking cloud.

Doctor Thantos · 10-06-2012, 10:49 AM

Need a little help with a attack. I have a munchkin player that has maxed and min'd himself to the point where he is immune to most things (only fails on 16's) High armor, danger sense, etc.

He was very clever about putting his character together and as a result he is very difficult to put in real danger. He also has very fit, so HT checks haven't been working well against him. The problem is the other party members are not as well put together / or have different skills that make them less resilient or effective in combat.

If I design a creature to hurt the munchkin, it will kill the others outright. He is also paranoid so he covers most avenues of attack (fire resistance, gas masks) face masks, etc.

It is a high point campaign (around 750 points) and I want to really dick with him (and the rest of the party) without killing him.

I am using a shape-shifting enemy who can morph pretty much into anything I can dream up and can add any 100 point power) to its already impressive stats.

The player also has acute smell, so I want to use a scent based attack (Which I will use acute smell as a penalty to resist the attack. (-2)

I was thinking an affliction based on a reduced range (only needs to be 10 yards max) a cone (10 yards wide at the widest part) - I was thinking malediction scent based (smell) with incapacitation - retching. However, the filter mask he wears will prevent this. Would Contact agent work since he does have exposed skin.

Maybe persistent with some form of lingering smoke like obscurement? and I need to get past the high HT bonus from Very Fit when he makes HT Checks.

I want him vomiting in his armor, I want him incapacitated. I have 100 points to play with..

Anyone got a suggestion for the attack?

mlangsdorf · 10-06-2012, 11:09 AM

1d toxic attack, Symptoms (Retching after losing 1/3rd HP) +150%, Area Effect 4yds +100%, Contact Agent +150%, Increased 1/2d x10 +15%, range Persistent +40%. That's 22 points, and will allow you to create large areas of fairly nasty gas that just does 1d damage on skin contact, straight up no resistance, and the victim starts retching after taking HP/3 injury. In theory, you can add 22 1second cycles, but that's probably overkill.

It does sound like this is a meta-game issue that you're trying to solve in-game. That doesn't usually work and you may want to reconsider your approach.

johndallman · 10-06-2012, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlangsdorf

It does sound like this is a meta-game issue that you're trying to solve in-game. That doesn't usually work and you may want to reconsider your approach.

Agreed. It sounds far more fun for some powerful lord or organisation to offer him a job as a leader of elite adventurers, as a separate game. Then don't run it at all often.

Doctor Thantos · 10-06-2012, 12:48 PM

Been gaming with the guy for about 30 years. He is like a brother and is a genius, literally, and no matter what we play, this eventually happens. He finds combinations and uses for things I never thought of or anticipated.

Even when I am careful about his powers and abilities, he finds new and unusual ways to use them. PC's just have themselves to play, the GM has to run everything so its hard to stay ahead of him.

So I try to write adventures that require skills and abilities that he doesn't have, to engage the other players, make other players needed plot wise, etc. No matter what I do, I will always have the metagame issue with him.

Everyone has fun usually, but once in a while, I want to just trick him, surprise him and not just do it with fudging dice or DM fiat. I have done it a few times and he enjoys it when it happens. Just pressed for time, the game is tomorrow.

I wanted to avoid damage, because I want him helpless, so the others have to save him for a change.

I like the idea of making him fail a HT roll and retching. It will be so unpleasant in the armor he wears...

JCurwen3 · 10-06-2012, 01:18 PM

If you want to more closely emulate a skunk attack and leave additional lingering problems, add a Linked Affliction with a decent amount of Extended Duration giving him Bad Smell.

DAT · 10-06-2012, 02:07 PM

What are this character's Attributes, Secondary Characteristics, advantages, and Disadvantages?

With a point buy system, not everything can be high. So make sure he has to make rolls against his lower attributes/secondary characteristics, or let one of his disadvantages come into play.

I had a PC in my game with Weirdness Magnet, that was real good at rolling with all the strange things I sent his way (zombie salesmen, food stealing sprite, leprechaun ninja, halfling groupies, etc). Nothing phased him. About 12 sessions ago I got him seriously thinking about finding a way to buy it off ... With a herd of amorous manatees (they only wanted to eat his clothes, but he thought differently), when he was stuck out in the ocean without a boat.

Disadvantages are an evil GM's best friend.
-Dan

Note: The player was okay with it, but he judged his character would be freaked out

David Johnston2 · 10-06-2012, 02:10 PM

A gas mask would in fact be effective against skunk spray's incapacitating effects. It would also of course render acute smell utterly useless.

Sutibu · 10-07-2012, 06:31 AM

Hiya,

I'm pretty new at GM'ing (few months experience, about 15 sessions), but here are some thoughts:

I'm instantly thinking of this small lice I made recently which does consecutive bites and each dose makes the effects of its poison lethal. So the first dose might be mildly irritating, the second dose gives hallucinations, the third retching, the fourth a coma, the fifth a heart attack, etc.
You make the lice very small and give it strong chameleon skills so he wont be able to sense them. But why doesnt it kill the other party members? Well maybe the lice happens to like a specific type of material incorporated in his armour / gas mask/ etc?

Also, a social situation would work nicely. Someone or something has noted his prowess and lures him into eating something containing an extremely addictive drug that has very severe withdrawal symptoms. (permanent blindness, Loss of feeling in limbs, etc) The person then, once he has control over him forces him into (lethally) dangerous assignments.

Lastly, make his strength a weakness. An alien horde attacks the party and sprays a gas. The gas eats away inorganic matter (armor, clothing, guns, etc). Then another gas knocks out players based on HT. This gas is used by the aliens to select strong specimens. (So in this case, if your player keeps standing, he's selected for alien breeding. Lucky him!) The rest is considered 'weak' and might be put in some feed container which they can fight a way out of.

Doctor Thantos · 10-07-2012, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlangsdorf

1d toxic attack, Symptoms (Retching after losing 1/3rd HP) +150%, Area Effect 4yds +100%, Contact Agent +150%, Increased 1/2d x10 +15%, range Persistent +40%. That's 22 points, and will allow you to create large areas of fairly nasty gas that just does 1d damage on skin contact, straight up no resistance, and the victim starts retching after taking HP/3 injury. In theory, you can add 22 1second cycles, but that's probably overkill.

It does sound like this is a meta-game issue that you're trying to solve in-game. That doesn't usually work and you may want to reconsider your approach.

What is the increased 1/2dx 10 for?

Railstar · 10-07-2012, 11:44 AM

A small detail to consider: what are the inconveniences of a gas mask? Does it restrict your vision? Does it make exertion more difficult?

Start enforcing hindrances for what he does and it might put him off.

10-06-2012, 10:49 AM	#1
Doctor Thantos Join Date: Jun 2010	Need Help with a Skunk Attack / Stinking cloud. Need a little help with a attack. I have a munchkin player that has maxed and min'd himself to the point where he is immune to most things (only fails on 16's) High armor, danger sense, etc. He was very clever about putting his character together and as a result he is very difficult to put in real danger. He also has very fit, so HT checks haven't been working well against him. The problem is the other party members are not as well put together / or have different skills that make them less resilient or effective in combat. If I design a creature to hurt the munchkin, it will kill the others outright. He is also paranoid so he covers most avenues of attack (fire resistance, gas masks) face masks, etc. It is a high point campaign (around 750 points) and I want to really dick with him (and the rest of the party) without killing him. I am using a shape-shifting enemy who can morph pretty much into anything I can dream up and can add any 100 point power) to its already impressive stats. The player also has acute smell, so I want to use a scent based attack (Which I will use acute smell as a penalty to resist the attack. (-2) I was thinking an affliction based on a reduced range (only needs to be 10 yards max) a cone (10 yards wide at the widest part) - I was thinking malediction scent based (smell) with incapacitation - retching. However, the filter mask he wears will prevent this. Would Contact agent work since he does have exposed skin. Maybe persistent with some form of lingering smoke like obscurement? and I need to get past the high HT bonus from Very Fit when he makes HT Checks. I want him vomiting in his armor, I want him incapacitated. I have 100 points to play with.. Anyone got a suggestion for the attack?

10-06-2012, 11:09 AM	#2
mlangsdorf Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Austin, TX	Re: Need Help with a Skunk Attack / Stinking cloud. 1d toxic attack, Symptoms (Retching after losing 1/3rd HP) +150%, Area Effect 4yds +100%, Contact Agent +150%, Increased 1/2d x10 +15%, range Persistent +40%. That's 22 points, and will allow you to create large areas of fairly nasty gas that just does 1d damage on skin contact, straight up no resistance, and the victim starts retching after taking HP/3 injury. In theory, you can add 22 1second cycles, but that's probably overkill. It does sound like this is a meta-game issue that you're trying to solve in-game. That doesn't usually work and you may want to reconsider your approach.

10-06-2012, 12:48 PM	#4
Doctor Thantos Join Date: Jun 2010	Re: Need Help with a Skunk Attack / Stinking cloud. Been gaming with the guy for about 30 years. He is like a brother and is a genius, literally, and no matter what we play, this eventually happens. He finds combinations and uses for things I never thought of or anticipated. Even when I am careful about his powers and abilities, he finds new and unusual ways to use them. PC's just have themselves to play, the GM has to run everything so its hard to stay ahead of him. So I try to write adventures that require skills and abilities that he doesn't have, to engage the other players, make other players needed plot wise, etc. No matter what I do, I will always have the metagame issue with him. Everyone has fun usually, but once in a while, I want to just trick him, surprise him and not just do it with fudging dice or DM fiat. I have done it a few times and he enjoys it when it happens. Just pressed for time, the game is tomorrow. I wanted to avoid damage, because I want him helpless, so the others have to save him for a change. I like the idea of making him fail a HT roll and retching. It will be so unpleasant in the armor he wears...

10-06-2012, 01:18 PM	#5
JCurwen3 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY	Re: Need Help with a Skunk Attack / Stinking cloud. If you want to more closely emulate a skunk attack and leave additional lingering problems, add a Linked Affliction with a decent amount of Extended Duration giving him Bad Smell. __________________ -JC

10-06-2012, 02:07 PM	#6
DAT Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho	Re: Need Help with a Skunk Attack / Stinking cloud. What are this character's Attributes, Secondary Characteristics, advantages, and Disadvantages? With a point buy system, not everything can be high. So make sure he has to make rolls against his lower attributes/secondary characteristics, or let one of his disadvantages come into play. I had a PC in my game with Weirdness Magnet, that was real good at rolling with all the strange things I sent his way (zombie salesmen, food stealing sprite, leprechaun ninja, halfling groupies, etc). Nothing phased him. About 12 sessions ago I got him seriously thinking about finding a way to buy it off ... With a herd of amorous manatees (they only wanted to eat his clothes, but he thought differently), when he was stuck out in the ocean without a boat. Disadvantages are an evil GM's best friend. -Dan Note: The player was okay with it, but he judged his character would be freaked out

10-06-2012, 02:10 PM	#7
David Johnston2 Join Date: Dec 2007	Re: Need Help with a Skunk Attack / Stinking cloud. A gas mask would in fact be effective against skunk spray's incapacitating effects. It would also of course render acute smell utterly useless.

10-07-2012, 06:31 AM	#8
Sutibu Join Date: Sep 2012	Re: Need Help with a Skunk Attack / Stinking cloud. Hiya, I'm pretty new at GM'ing (few months experience, about 15 sessions), but here are some thoughts: I'm instantly thinking of this small lice I made recently which does consecutive bites and each dose makes the effects of its poison lethal. So the first dose might be mildly irritating, the second dose gives hallucinations, the third retching, the fourth a coma, the fifth a heart attack, etc. You make the lice very small and give it strong chameleon skills so he wont be able to sense them. But why doesnt it kill the other party members? Well maybe the lice happens to like a specific type of material incorporated in his armour / gas mask/ etc? Also, a social situation would work nicely. Someone or something has noted his prowess and lures him into eating something containing an extremely addictive drug that has very severe withdrawal symptoms. (permanent blindness, Loss of feeling in limbs, etc) The person then, once he has control over him forces him into (lethally) dangerous assignments. Lastly, make his strength a weakness. An alien horde attacks the party and sprays a gas. The gas eats away inorganic matter (armor, clothing, guns, etc). Then another gas knocks out players based on HT. This gas is used by the aliens to select strong specimens. (So in this case, if your player keeps standing, he's selected for alien breeding. Lucky him!) The rest is considered 'weak' and might be put in some feed container which they can fight a way out of.

10-07-2012, 11:44 AM	#10
Railstar Join Date: Jul 2012	Re: Need Help with a Skunk Attack / Stinking cloud. A small detail to consider: what are the inconveniences of a gas mask? Does it restrict your vision? Does it make exertion more difficult? Start enforcing hindrances for what he does and it might put him off.