Help needed with leveled powers

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Grunker

OK, Heliotrop should work like this: When the witcher makes a gesture and spends the FP, he (as an active defense) gains magic resistance and damage resistance vs. magic. Now the problem is two-fold: how to make MR and DR require activation, and how to make them both activate simultaneously and not one without the other. I don't see how it can be done with accessibility (becasue that doesn't do anything about activation). I was thinking maybe there was a limitation called "requires activation" which we could then take and THEN take link. However, I can't find such.

Adding the Active Defense limitation to one power (A), and adding Accessibility to the other one (B), does precisely this. When attacked by a spell, you roll to activate power A; if successful, this automatically activates power B as well. I'd put the Costs FP limit on power A. It would also be best to have power A be the more expensive base advantage, since it will likely have more limitations (and thus a larger discount).

[Grunker]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

Adding the Active Defense limitation to one power (A), and adding Accessibility to the other one (B), does precisely this. When attacked by a spell, you roll to activate power A; if successful, this automatically activates power B as well. I'd put the Costs FP limit on power A. It would also be best to have power A be the more expensive base advantage, since it will likely have more limitations (and thus a larger discount).

WOW

Of course. How could I miss that -.-

Thanks man. I love this system but I am incapable of operating natively in it. Still a fight after all these years.

Back to Heliotrop.

[Grunker]

So, just Quen and Yrden left and the whole shebang is done. Quen should be relatively easy - it's just a DR force field that requires activation.

So all I need is to find out how I give the DR advantage activation and a duration. Quen should not be an active defense - it should be a force-field of DR that lingers after activated but costs FP to activate.

Any ideas on how to do that? It must be a pretty significant limitation (akin to Active Defense).

Do I make an self-focused Affliction that grants DR?

[Langy]

Originally Posted by Grunker

So, just Quen and Yrden left and the whole shebang is done. Quen should be relatively easy - it's just a DR force field that requires activation.

So all I need is to find out how I give the DR advantage activation and a duration. Quen should not be an active defense - it should be a force-field of DR that lingers after activated but costs FP to activate.

Any ideas on how to do that? It must be a pretty significant limitation (akin to Active Defense).

Do I make an self-focused Affliction that grants DR?

Use the Maximum Duration limitation from Powers.

[Grunker]

A whopping -75% for less than 30 seconds! Wow. That presents us with a problem akin to the mind control one. Quen must also have some form of ablative that allows us to reset it...

I mean, here's how Quen should work: You spend the FP, then you gain, let's say, 20DR (hypothetical). As soon as 1 minute passes, OR you are dealth 20 damage, the shield dissipates (since the DR is ablative). So that's -65% for Maximum Duration (1 minute) and -? for Ablative (it can't be -80% when we're able to restart the shield by just "casting" Quen again).

[Gnomasz]

It could work that way with just Costs Fatigue and Ablative. FP cost is per minute by RAW, so Maximum Duration is not needed. With just the two limitations the witcher could maintain Quen as long as he had FP, like normal GURPS Spells user. If you don't want that option, add Nuissance Effect (cannot be maintained), -5%.

So, let's say DR 20 (Ablative, -80%; Force Field, +20%; Magical, -10%; Costs Fatigue 2/minute, -10%), -80% [20]

There's one problem with this build. When you run off your ablative DR, you have to wait until it heals back, and Costs Fatigue doesn't change that. This means that a witcher that lost Quens DR points in a fight cannot cast Quen again until he heals the DR.

I can come up with two solutions:
1. Regeneration dedicated to Quen's DR. I'd go with Extreme Regeneration (Limited, DR, -40%; Only while DR is off, -40%), -80% [30]. Rapid Healing (Limited, DR, -40%) [6] could be added to make DR come back in a second.
I've priced "Only while DR is off" as -40% along with some RPK's article about Summonable Allies, in which normal HP regen get -40% for "only while dead" (along with Unkillable 3). This makes entire Quen cost [46]
2. Affliction that grants ablative DR, castable only on self. The thing is, this one would be messy and I'm a bit tired now, so I'd just recommend the Regeneration build for now.

Maybe I'll come up with build that uses just modified DR later.

[Grunker]

Originally Posted by Gnomasz

It could work that way with just Costs Fatigue and Ablative. FP cost is per minute by RAW, so Maximum Duration is not needed. With just the two limitations the witcher could maintain Quen as long as he had FP, like normal GURPS Spells user. If you don't want that option, add Nuissance Effect (cannot be maintained), -5%.

So, let's say DR 20 (Ablative, -80%; Force Field, +20%; Magical, -10%; Costs Fatigue 2/minute, -10%), -80% [20]

There's one problem with this build. When you run off your ablative DR, you have to wait until it heals back, and Costs Fatigue doesn't change that. This means that a witcher that lost Quens DR points in a fight cannot cast Quen again until he heals the DR.

I can come up with two solutions:
1. Regeneration dedicated to Quen's DR. I'd go with Extreme Regeneration (Limited, DR, -40%; Only while DR is off, -40%), -80% [30]. Rapid Healing (Limited, DR, -40%) [6] could be added to make DR come back in a second.
I've priced "Only while DR is off" as -40% along with some RPK's article about Summonable Allies, in which normal HP regen get -40% for "only while dead" (along with Unkillable 3). This makes entire Quen cost [46]
2. Affliction that grants ablative DR, castable only on self. The thing is, this one would be messy and I'm a bit tired now, so I'd just recommend the Regeneration build for now.

Maybe I'll come up with build that uses just modified DR later.

First solution won't work. I'm thinking it will probably end up being the second. But my main thought is:

"is it really this hard to make a simple damage shield?"

Another thing: Is magical a limitation that should be put on magic powers? If so it should go on all the signs... *sigh*, more limitation puzzles. Many powers are at -80% already :/

[vierasmarius]

Ablative DR + Regeneration often ends up being more expensive than unmodified DR. I think GURPS really needs a "Regenerating Ablative" limitation for DR, since it's such a common feature of magical and superscience force shields. I'm not really sure what that would be worth, though... somewhere between unmodified (-0%) and Ablative (-80%) - which really doesn't narrow it down at all.

[Grunker]

Well, since this supplement is as expansive as other GURPS supplements, and seeing as it breaks with RAW on a few other points, I will add a custom limitation/enhancement myself to make the shield possible and easy.

That shouldn't be a problem. I might use this approach for Yrden too depending on how hard that will be. Just for kicks: Let's say we drop the Jet/Cone idea and make a custom enhancement that does what we want. How would you cost that?

I have to find some solution for 'Magical' though. I don't know how much it will gimp the signs if I just force it on the ones that have -80% already.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Grunker

I have to find some solution for 'Magical' though. I don't know how much it will gimp the signs if I just force it on the ones that have -80% already.

You may want to review the Signs in question, and see if there are enhancements you could add. Otherwise, if they include limitations that basically make a variant power (such as the above Mind Control (Emotion Control)) then you could remove the limitation and adjust the base cost accordingly. Perhaps you could repost / link to the powers you're having trouble with still?