1FP/hour "prolonged ability use" and switchable advantages

[Plane]

P159 appears to be the introduction of this concept:

"Low-intensity but relatively constant ability use"

The 'minimum threshold' for charging 1 FP wasn't totally clear in the example, since it sounds like 1 FP total was charged in the first 'stealth' mission example of using 3 abilities (1-time use of Super Jump, switching on Invisibility for an unclarified amount of time, lock-picking with TK)

Sorcery: Chinese Elemental Powers is the only place I can recall seeing this approached in further detail, on pg 10:

Using a switchable ability costs 1 FP/hour. This rate of fatigue does not count as a limitation (Costs Fatigue, p. 17)

and 17:

Using the elemental abilities in this supplement costs 1 or more FP per hour (see Activating Powers, p. 10). This is a 0% option

This leaves me with a mixed impression, a pg 10 sounds like it's the new rule for all switchable activities, but pg 17 makes it sound like it is just intended for the abilities in the supplement but not switchable abilities in general.

Where 0% modifiers exist though, while I realize there is reason to take them for RP reasons, it's usually good if there is some kind of microscopic benefit to balance a microscopic drawback, to give incentive to include it in a power.

What could that be, in this case?

To understand this, I was thinking of how Costs Fatigue -5% alters a switchable ability...

This basically has to do with what an "active use" is, per P235

Any use of an ability that requires a deliberate effort

P135 establishes this includes switching an ability ON:

turning on a switchable ability (e.g., Growth, Mind Shield, or any attack with Aura) counts as an active use

This means that using a ready (or even a free action) to switch an ability on is DETECTABLE per P163:

Active uses are always detectable with vision, hearing, touch, and/or smell

If you have "Invisible to Normal Vision" you might think at first that you wouldn't need to specify anything because "he vanishes" is built-in vision detection... but one problem with that is it gives "See Invisible" a drawback of "inability to detect when someone is switching invisibility on and off" so there should probably be some effect specified in addition to that.


Maybe a brief glow for vision, a "beep" for hearing, a sulfurous smell which you do not continue to omit. Stuff you'd expect to be necessary for switching on "Invisible to Radar" because that definitely has nothing obvious about it.

Using "touch" is probably the most appealing since that doesn't make active uses obvious at a distance. You might have something like "my skin briefly gets colder when I switch on Invisible to Infra-Red" or "my skin briefly warms up when I switch on Invisible to Normal Vision". These would not have to be ongoing changes, just something that lasts about a second to indicate your active change in passive state.

Insubstantiality would similarly not have to specify anything if you're transparent/misty (because that makes it obvious when you start using the ability) but you WOULD need to specify something if you looked "completely normal" (maybe you briefly flicker transparent when switching it on, then resume normal appearance, maybe there's a 1-second hum, maybe it smells like cookies for 1 second)

"Touch" as above, though, might actually stand in for this requirement since "it looks like he's touching me but I don't feel him" is a pretty obvious indicator the ability is switched on too.

PROBLEM ONE: this gives a disadvantage to being a substantial creature with "Affects Insubstantial" bought for your ST-based thrust. You are capable of feeling insubstantial creatures (you can punch them or grapple them) which means you wouldn't actually be able to discern (via "my grapple is lost") that the ability was turned on.

PROBLEM TWO: the inverse of the above: if an insubstantial creature w/ "Affect Substantial" enhancement on their insubstantiality buys "Affects Substantial" for Modifying ST-Based damage, they would be able to punch/grapple substantial creatures while insubstantial. This means if they are actively "touching" (grappling) a substantial creature and turn substantial that this would NOT be detectable by touch (the grapple would be maintained)

Due to those situations, some extra effect (brief temperature change, brief vibration) beyond "cease touching" would probably make sense.

- - -

I can't find anything saying it works the other way, but if "using the switchable enhancement to turn your ability off" ALSO counted as an "active use" that would explain an incentive towards taking "my ability costs 1 FP per hour" if the ability turning off by not paying the FP piper cause a "non-active" switchoff.

Of course if you DO pay that FP, that might count as an active use. That part I'm not sure about.

"Detects as an active use once per hour if I don't let it expire" is probably a worse drawback (even without the FP cost, CERTAINLY with it) than "Detects as an active use if I want to switch it off after an hour" but the latter can still have some limited benefit to incentivize taking the 0% modifier.

The benefit of "let ability expire passively without actively switching it off to avoid detection" could also explain incentive towards taking "Maximum Duration: 12 hours" at -0%: the benefit of a non-active switch-off to avoid detection.

This might matter moreso for powers

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by Plane

Using the elemental abilities in this supplement costs 1 or more FP per hour (see Activating Powers, p. 10). This is a 0% option

I've never liked the idea that a cost is a -0% limitation. My idea for 'prolonged use fp costs' is to halve that of Costs FP. Now, when you spend your FP, it is on for however long you want, but you can't recover that FP until you turn it off. It's close to but not the same thing as "Temporary Disadvantage: -1 max FP".