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Old 03-20-2019, 02:51 AM   #11
Gef
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Yucca Valley, CA
Default Re: Using Alternate Abilities

For me, it depends on the game. In my supers game, there were lots of AAs including in the NPCs I designed. In the absence of powers, I don't use 'em much, but there are instances, especially for a character with a network of Contacts. That can get expensive, but I allow different Contact Groups as Alternate Abilities, especially when the groups cover the same skills but operate in different cities.
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Old 03-20-2019, 07:06 AM   #12
khorboth
 
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Denver, CO
Default Re: Using Alternate Abilities

I use them some. I worked out a DF bard (before I had access to DF) with some cool song-based powers this way. Other than that, it's all been for supers.
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Old 03-20-2019, 09:11 AM   #13
Varyon
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Default Re: Using Alternate Abilities

I’m rather fond of them, but for me gamist explanations for why they should be AA’s are far more important than thematic/simulationist ones - primarily because the latter are often laughably easy. The gamist explanation needs to be either a) that the character is losing a good deal of functionality by being unable to use them at the same time or b) that the abilities are such that paying full price for both is a highly-inefficient use of points. An example for (a) would be Flight and Innate Attack - shooting foes while flying would be extremely useful, so being unable to is worth a price reduction. An example for (b) would be two different forms of Innate Attack - once you have a ranged attack, having another one with some different attributes isn’t worth nearly as much as having the first.

An exception can be made for a GM-designed (or -approved, such as one published elsewhere) metasystem that uses AA. Sorcery (and most other competitive Magic as Powers schemes) would be a good example here. Oversized price reductions in general that match a setting’s theme are often a good idea, but they need to come from the GM (for example, the DF setting I’ve been playing around with is going to have a Dungeons Only Limitation on a lot of abilities, worth around -50%, which is well outside of what it should be as an Accessibility).
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Old 03-23-2019, 12:24 AM   #14
Yako
 
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Germany
Default Re: Using Alternate Abilities

Given that having several full price attack abilities is usually only useful if they can be linked, I would always highly encourage alternative ATTACKS.

Otherwise there is really not much reason not to simply build one all purpose attack and just stick with that an maybe use selective to play around with different enhancements, add selective, and maybe variable to allow for something that can incapacitate but not necessarily kill.

Alternative Abilities on the other hand should really only be for things that are actually potentially useful at the same time.
That covers pretty much anything relevant for combat, purely from a mechanical point.
Whether it is Telekinesis as an alternative to an innate attack or flight, or damage resistance that can be switched to a universal defense bonus or any other thing.

...but even with something still mostly sensible when it comes to flavor, like maybe speak with animals as an alternative to an innate attack with area and bombardment that represents a quickly called forth swarm of tiny animals attacking the opponents, has the mechanical issue that there will likely never be a situation where the drawbacks of alternative abilities hinders you in any way.

And then Alternative Abilities are mostly a reward for players to be clever about justifying it.

I think systems like sorcery and divine favor slightly get around that issue by being built around an expensive core ability that already allows a lot of flexibility.
I think though that Sorcery without having to buy the core modular ability or divine favor without the patron, but still using the same rules for alternative abilities, would be a bit unbalanced.

If I am a magic as powers character, there would mostly only ever be advantages to having noncombat utilities bought as alternatives to combat powers.
That is not how we do it with other powers.

Alternative Abilities should be there to make purchases reasonable which otherwise would be redundant.
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