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Old 10-26-2011, 11:05 AM   #1
Nameless One
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
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Default Weak Innate Attack with strong Side Effect

I want to create a touch attack that withers living tissue on touch, causing damage reducing ST. If it hits a limb, the limb is permanently useless unless healed within 5 days.

Innate Attack (Toxic) 1 [4], Side Effect (if limb hit it is crippled +15%, -2 to ST +20%, Permanent until healed but only within 5 days +200%) +285%, Contact Agent -30%, Melee Attack -30% [13]

Crippling a limb is temporary disadvantage affliction and should be +20%, but I reduced it to +15% because you don't always hit limbs.

Permanent should be 150% if it can be negated, but I've increased it to +200% because there is a limited time to negate the effect, after which it becomes truly permanent.

The final cost seems to be a bit low for such an ability. True, it is useless against an armoured enemy, but shouldn't an attack with a potential ability to cripple permanently be slightly more expensive? Am I missing something?
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Old 10-26-2011, 11:49 AM   #2
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Default Re: Weak Innate Attack with strong Side Effect

Side Effect always offers a resistance roll: HT, at -1 per 2 points of penetrating damage. For this attack, that will always be straight HT (you use penetrating damage from each attack, not cumulative injury – that's Symptoms). So what you actually have is an attack that, if it manages to injure the target (any clothing will stop it!), causes a HT roll to avoid crippling.

Or for 12 points, you could buy Cutting Attack 2d+1 (Melee Attack -30%) [12]. That averages 8 points of damage, for 12 points of injury on someone in light clothing that would stop your Toxic Attack. That would dismember a man with ST 10, no HT roll possible. It could also hack him to bits in other ways. And it would have a chance of hacking off limbs even through real armor.

So no, there's nothing especially broken here.
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Old 10-26-2011, 11:57 AM   #3
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Default Re: Weak Innate Attack with strong Side Effect

Yeah, the resistance is quite troublesome. I've added Irresistible +300% for a total cost of 25 points. Now it's much better.
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Old 10-26-2011, 11:59 AM   #4
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Default Re: Weak Innate Attack with strong Side Effect

Please note that you can't ever remove this kind of resistance roll. If you actually read the text of "Irresistible attack," you'll see that it means only that the attack bypasses DR. Powers spells out that no level of Cosmic can ever deny a resistance roll.

If, as the GM, you disagree, then you'll want to consider that these attacks and enhancements were priced with that maxim in mind. If you allow Side Effect without any resistance at all, you need to ramp up the value of Side Effect quite a bit – I'd say a base +500%, at least.
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Old 10-26-2011, 12:20 PM   #5
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Default Re: Weak Innate Attack with strong Side Effect

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nameless One View Post
Yeah, the resistance is quite troublesome. I've added Irresistible +300% for a total cost of 25 points. Now it's much better.
Naughty. No, if you want an attack that does only a little damage while having a high chance of crippling someone, then you need an Affliction with a linked innate attack.
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Old 10-26-2011, 03:30 PM   #6
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Default Re: Weak Innate Attack with strong Side Effect

Alternately add more levels of innate attack, but limit the extra levels with No WOunding, no knockback, and so forth. They will still count for figuring the penalty for the linked attack, and they might help penetrate DR so you might need an extra limitation.

It's probably approaching the -80% mark rapidly to be honest.
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Old 10-26-2011, 03:49 PM   #7
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Default Re: Weak Innate Attack with strong Side Effect

David is right, I should try the Link approach. Side Effect can only be combined with Armor Divisor penetration modifier and I have Contact Agent which is another penetration modifier.
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Old 10-26-2011, 04:08 PM   #8
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Default Re: Weak Innate Attack with strong Side Effect

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Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
Please note that you can't ever remove this kind of resistance roll. If you actually read the text of "Irresistible attack," you'll see that it means only that the attack bypasses DR. Powers spells out that no level of Cosmic can ever deny a resistance roll.

If, as the GM, you disagree, then you'll want to consider that these attacks and enhancements were priced with that maxim in mind. If you allow Side Effect without any resistance at all, you need to ramp up the value of Side Effect quite a bit – I'd say a base +500%, at least.
Once granted, a resistance roll is impossible to remove. The only way to get around this is to use things that don't have resistance rolls. Now Side Effect is often a cheaper way of getting an Affliction to work, for those effects amenable to be given via Side Effect.
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