Ablative DR tied to Powers

[sonic232]

I'm trying to figure out how to pull this off, but I'm thinking it to be similar to how the Devourer in GURPS Monster Hunters 5: Applied Xenology works: They have a Morph ability where they basically have two sets of HP: That of the shell they have formed around themselves and that of themselves. Once the HP of their shell runs out, they have to retreat and take 10 minutes to reform. I wanted to try and make an Inhuman template based on them (Think a Devourer shard that lost its absorptive abilities and had the person it absorbed be mimicked a little TOO well... Similar to an episode of Batman: The Animated Series where a shard of Clayface took on a life of its own.)

They'd only be able to transform into its original human form (Alternate Form instead of Morph), but the Form would fail after taking so much damage. I was thinking the best way to handle this would be to link Ablative DR to Alternate Form, so that if one fails, the other fails, but I wanted others' opinions on how to work this, as that'd mean that would ADD 10% to both costs for a disadvantageous link. A similar concept could honestly be tied to a variety of effects: Camouflage which starts to fail as you take hits, for instance, things like that.

[weby]

Well, it is not RAW, but I have misused the "Required Disadvantage" rules to apply also to advantages at times when the advantages required have been limited/annoying enough that you do not want to have on normally.

But the RAW solution would likely be accessibility "Only when the Ablative DR is not ablated"

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by sonic232

They'd only be able to transform into its original human form (Alternate Form instead of Morph), but the Form would fail after taking so much damage. I was thinking the best way to handle this would be to link Ablative DR to Alternate Form, so that if one fails, the other fails, but I wanted others' opinions on how to work this, as that'd mean that would ADD 10% to both costs for a disadvantageous link.

It adds to the cost in a situation where it seems negative, because it's not doing what you think it's doing.

Link is not "these two things are the same thing". It's "these two things that take a separate action each to activate now take one action to activate". It takes an Attack action to fire your innate attack, and an Attack to fire Binding. If you fire both of them with ONE action instead of two, that's Link.

If you can only use your Innate Attack when you're Flying or using some other obviously switchable advantage, that's -10%. A limitation, because it limits your actions :D

[sonic232]

Originally Posted by Bruno

It adds to the cost in a situation where it seems negative, because it's not doing what you think it's doing.

Link is not "these two things are the same thing". It's "these two things that take a separate action each to activate now take one action to activate". It takes an Attack action to fire your innate attack, and an Attack to fire Binding. If you fire both of them with ONE action instead of two, that's Link.

If you can only use your Innate Attack when you're Flying or using some other obviously switchable advantage, that's -10%. A limitation, because it limits your actions :D

Fair enough :) So it'd be fair to have:

Alternate Form (Human Form; -10%, Accessability: Only while Ablative DR is not empty; -5%, Nuisance Effect: DR must be fully healed to reform once emptied)
DR (-10%, Only while in Human Form; -80%, Ablative; +10%, Switchable)

[sonic232]

A thought occurs: Would it be better in the instance of an Alternate Form (not Camouflage or Invisibility) to instead give the Alternate Form with Non-Recipricol Damage and Recipricol Rest the Fragile (Unnatural) disadvantage and have Alternate Form be Reflexive to shift so once you reach the -HP threshold, you instantly shift back?

[Dingle]

Alternate form and morph already require a reasonably common way force you to your base form.

Running out of the form's ablative DR seems like it would be a good one.