Ignoring Armor once and for all.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Mark Skarr

Yes Cosmic: Irresistable Attack (+300%) + Cosmic: Ignores Hardened (+50%)

Actually, the favored method is Malediction. Yes, it means you get a resistance roll, but game systems are generally allergic to powers which don't offer a defense.

[DieMunchkin]

Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen

The house rule I prefer is to make Armor Divisor 100 and Armor Divisor: Ignores DR available as separate enhancements (at +250% and +300% respectively), and separate Cosmic: Ignores DR entirely. Hardened does its normal job on normal Armor Divisors, but Cosmic still goes right through it.

This is the rule I use for my games. While I understand what Kromm is saying, I just don't agree with it.

[Mark Skarr]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Actually, the favored method is Malediction. Yes, it means you get a resistance roll, but game systems are generally allergic to powers which don't offer a defense.

Any game that is going to allow something like Cosmic is either someone's personal munchkin-fulfilment fantasy, or includes ways to defeat it.

The problem with Malediction is that someone can take "Resistant: Teleportation, Immunity" and render the kitten-teleport attack completely irrelevant since theirs is a resistance roll and that is explicitly what Resistant is for.

[ravenfish]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Actually, the favored method is Malediction. Yes, it means you get a resistance roll, but game systems are generally allergic to powers which don't offer a defense.

You can do HP damage with an Affliction now?


By the way, Kromm, do you think maybe this issue should go in the FAQ? It isn't really very clear from RAW, so some reference to it besides searches on the forums might be nice, I think.

And, out of curiosity, what was the thought behind listing Armor divisor: Infinity (if that is all it is) under Comic rather than under Armor Divisor? And is the fact that it can be completely countered by a +50% enhancement to DR (as opposed to the +120% for hardened vs. Ignores DR) not worth any discount? Admittedly, it will be a very rare counter, but still....

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Mark Skarr

The problem with Malediction is that someone can take "Resistant: Teleportation, Immunity" and render the kitten-teleport attack completely irrelevant since theirs is a resistance roll and that is explicitly what Resistant is for.

And isn't that okay?

In a world where kittens can be teleported into internal organs, it does not strain the suspension of disbelief that some beings would be immune to such an attack.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Actually, the favored method is Malediction.

It's generally best for this, yeah.

. . . game systems are generally allergic to powers which don't offer a defense.

If these abilities are in the PCs' hands, then the players are liable to feel that they are being cheated if the GM takes measures to protect NPC foes from them (e.g., power-leeching the attack or putting out illusionary decoys to bear the brunt of a one-use ability). If these attacks are in the GM's hands, then the players tend to feel that they have no control over their PCs' destiny -- that the PCs are reduced to cannon fodder. And if these things are reserved for NPCs, then the players are likely to feel some annoyance at the double standard. Note the repeated use of "feel"; all of the above are essentially psychological factors. There's no good game-design reason not to allow such attacks if their actual "damage per second" or whatever is in line with everything else . . . it's just the bad reputation that such things earn for the GM, the campaign, and the game system means that they're rarely worth the grief.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by ravenfish

You can do HP damage with an Affliction now?

He said "Malediction", not Affliction, and Malediction is a valid enhancement on an Innate Attack. Malediction: It's not just for Afflictions any more! (tm)

Originally Posted by ravenfish

By the way, Kromm, do you think maybe this issue should go in the FAQ? It isn't really very clear from RAW, so some reference to it besides searches on the forums might be nice, I think.

I don't think Kromm keeps the FAQ, but I'll certainly vote for having something about this whole issue put in the FAQ.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by ravenfish

You can do HP damage with an Affliction now?

Malediction has nothing to do with Affliction. You can stick it on Innate Attack just fine.

Originally Posted by ravenfish

By the way, Kromm, do you think maybe this issue should go in the FAQ?

Not especially . . . this has never come up before, and everybody who was playtesting Powers appeared to understand this point implicitly. It might have triggered a debate here, but the "F" in "FAQ" is for "frequently," and this question just doesn't qualify.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Not especially . . . this has never come up before,

Actually, it has come up at least once before on the forums here, and sparked a fairly long thread IIRC.

Originally Posted by Kromm

and everybody who was playtesting Powers appeared to understand this point implicitly.

I was on the playtest. I suspect there were others like me who were also in the dark about this. (If there weren't, I'm going to be really embarrassed). I was only made aware after Powers came out, the last time this thread surfaced.

Let me find the thread link for you.

EDIT:
http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=12072

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by Kromm

this has never come up before,

Actually, it's come up at least once before, here: http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread...osmic+hardened
And I'd be willing to wager it'll come up again. Really, I think it hasn't come up very much because most people are assuming the "Cosmic Attacks ignore Hardness" point, and not even bothering to ask about it.