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Old 10-04-2019, 02:57 PM   #1
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Radiation Attacks [Powers]

Radiation attacks provide an interesting threat because exposure is based on damage rolled and not injury inflicted. If you have Toxic Attack 10d (Melee, C, -30%; Radiation, +25%; Variable, +5%) [40], you would deal no injury, but your victim would suffer 35 rads of radiation per successful attack. If you have Burning Attack 10d (Melee, C-1, Destructive Parry, Dual, -0%; Radiation, +100%) [100], you will do an average of 35 points of damage and an average of 35 rads of radiation. Regardless, only Radiation Protection protects against radiation and only Regeneration (Heals Radiation) heals radiation.

In your experience, how often do radiation attack come up? Are they a frequent annoyance or are they a rare threat? Do PCs actually care enough about them to take Radiation Protection or Regeneration (Heals Radiation)?
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Old 10-04-2019, 03:04 PM   #2
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Default Re: Radiation Attacks [Powers]

Very rate threat in my experience.
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Old 10-04-2019, 05:07 PM   #3
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Default Re: Radiation Attacks [Powers]

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
In your experience, how often do radiation attack come up?
Depends on the game master. In a TL 11-12 game they're pretty common because of X-ray lasers and Grasers, though ultratech gear tends to have PF, but the radiation rules are unfun enough that I suspect most games avoid using them.
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Old 10-04-2019, 07:23 PM   #4
Fred Brackin
 
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Default Re: Radiation Attacks [Powers]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
In a TL 11-12 game they're pretty common because of X-ray lasers and Grasers, though ultratech gear tends to have PF, but the radiation rules are unfun enough that I suspect most games avoid using them.
At TL 11 and 12 you've got DNA Repair nano that heals radiation and oh,by the way doubles your lifespan. Get the Carcinophages at TL 10 and you not only never get cancer those will double your lifespan again. Even simple TL10 Antirad (Bio-tech version rather than the older UT type) reduces radiation by 5.

So if facing rad weapons you can have TL11 Space Armor for PF 10 with a Life Support Field for another PF 10 and then the Antirad and that's reducing rads by a cumulative 500x.

Then there's the whole thing where even if you do give someone enough rads that they will get sick that'll be sometime next week at the lower levels. Even at 4000 rads + it'll take at least an hour before they keel over.

So, no radiation is sually an environmental issue. For personal weapons it's a kind of annoying side effect rather than an exploitable asset..
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Old 10-04-2019, 08:01 PM   #5
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: Radiation Attacks [Powers]

What about lower TL games? For example, a TL8 super campaign could easily have a supervillain that uses a neutron sword as their primary ability. I would model it as Toxic Attack 10d (Melee Attack, Reach 1-2, Destructive Parry, Dual Weapon, +0%; No Signature, +20%; Radiation, +25%; Super, -10%; Variable, +5%) [60]. Unless the heroes are capable of detecting radiation, they would receive an average of 35 rads of exposure with every successful attack and not even know what had happened until it was too late.

With two attacks per turn (from dual weapon), the supervillain could inflict 70 rads of exposure per turn (as well as dealing equal amounts of radiation exposure per parry, meaning that they could easily deal 140 rads of exposure per turn). Since they are not receiving a continuous dose, they must make a HT roll every time they suffer exposure (one to four times per turn). The following would likely occur:

1st exposure: After HT hours, suffer 1d of damage from radiation burns and gain Low Pain Threshold (or lose High Pain Threshold). After HT hours, become nauseated for (40-HT) hours, lose 1d from DX, IQ, and FP, and acquire Hemophilia.

2nd exposure: As above, but at HT-1.

3rd and 4th exposure: As above, but at HT-3.

5th through 22nd exposure: As above, but at HT-4.

And so on. Since each exposure is considered a different event, they could easily suffer critical damage without realizing that they had ever been in a fight. One minute of pressing the two undetectable neutron swords into the body of an unaware opponent would give them over 4,200 rads of exposure, guaranteeing a painful death within a few hours.
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Old 10-04-2019, 08:11 PM   #6
Fred Brackin
 
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Default Re: Radiation Attacks [Powers]

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
What about lower TL games.
It's a way of comitting stealthy murder if it's Rads only. It might even make a viable gimmick for a Pulp-era villain as long as it only claims NPC victims.

As an add-on its only "useful" as a way of gaining revenge after the user loses. If he'd won with direct effects he doesn't need the rads.

However, if your players get hit with a special attack for which their characters have no defense and no cure so they lose even when they thought they had orignally won, it's grounds for revolution.

The GM can always beat the players if he wants to but it'll limit his career as GM.
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Old 10-04-2019, 08:37 PM   #7
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Default Re: Radiation Attacks [Powers]

Ah then time for wheels within wheels. Hack their repair nano and irradiate them like chicken left out to long and let them go off thinking they have won. When it becomes obvious that something is wrong and new nano is administered - the old nano attacks it.

EDIT: Read Fred Brackin's comment about players hating being killed by something they didn't know about.

1) The villains that irradiated them show back up with a "cure" that will work for 7 days. Do the job they want you to in 6 and they will give the supplemental booster that will make everything right.

2) The Villains board/invade and take back whatever McGuffin the PCs have. They leave the cure behind but if taken before the villains have signaled/crossed into some other jurisdiction/or it was set for a certain time and won't work until then. PCs spared and what do they do?
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Old 10-04-2019, 10:23 PM   #8
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Default Re: Radiation Attacks [Powers]

Note that realistically, any radiation attack large enough to count as 'burn' damage has enough energy that, as a whole body dose, it would cause prompt disabling (10,000+ rads; 100,000+ is likely), but is also tightly focused enough that using radiation rules is wrong, just treat it as burning damage that ignores armor that doesn't give enough radiation protection, and it might cause internal necrotizing burns without leaving more than a scorch mark on the skin.
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