08-11-2015, 02:57 AM | #1 | |
Join Date: Aug 2015
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Leech as a Follow-Up: Whip it! Into shape!
Hello! I've been a huge fan of GURPS for over a decade now. I've never posted in this forum before, but frequently lurk through the archives whenever I have a tough question about the books. I think I finally need to step forward and ask a question directly.
I recently did something funny with the Leech advantage from the Powers book. I have a sneaky suspicion that my idea is broken, dumb, or some combination of the two. If so, I need someone to tell me why, and how badly. I poked around the forums and found several other interesting threads about Leech, but none of them quite contain the exact advice I need. Here's the setup: I'm making a 400 point Superhero character, built using Basic Set and Powers, and her Energy Reserve has a special recharge mechanic. Her arsenal of ranged attacks all cost energy to use, and she can only replenish that energy via short-range attack powers. It forces her to get up close and personal every now and then, alternating between blasting and brawling. For her recharge mechanic I initially considered Damage Resistance (Absorption, Heals ER only; Limited, Energy), but decided that useful levels would be too expensive, and DR is just too passive to be interesting. I decided to experiment with Leech, which is easily affordable in a 400 point campaign. Just a few levels can be devastating when you're draining the victim's fatigue, and the Fatigue Only version guarantees a non-lethal take-down, suitable for a hero. Leech is simply more interesting to me as a recharge mechanic, since it requires me to be clever or gutsy enough to get close to an enemy. Most important of all, it sounds like fun: I get to roll more dice, instead of just standing around waiting to be shot. This is where the problem comes in. Using Leech in combat requires a continuous series of grapple maneuvers, and unarmed hand-to-hand combat does not suit my character concept at all. Instead, I came up with the idea for a whip-like attack with a very short range. But the book explicitly states that Leech requires Ranged and Malediction 1 or 2 to work at a distance. I agree that Malediction is an expensive but reasonable prerequisite, but it doesn't suit my character concept any more than unarmed grappling does. Maledictions act like telepathic attacks, magic spells, and supernatural afflictions. The character's origins are closer to superscience, and her powers should reflect that. After banging my head against the keyboard for an hour or so, an idea came to me out of nowhere. It's just so crazy, it might not work: Quote:
I also have a nice bridge for sale in Brooklyn. Any takers? Anyone? *shifty-eyed look* Seriously, though, that's it. That's the whole thing. Two abilities, four modifiers. The final version for my character will have tons of additional bells and whistles, but this is the foundation. I know I'm supposed to Keep It Simple Stupid, but this seems a little too simple. Strictly speaking, the Binding Attack might not even need any modifiers at all: I only added the Melee and One-Shot limitations to make it function like a whip. I did run into one problem right away: The Cost of Follow-Up is determined by which modifiers the carrier attack has: If the carrier has Melee, the Follow-Up must also have Melee. I'm sure you'll note the absurdity of being forced to apply the Melee limitation to an ability that already requires a physical touch. I decided to treat this as an upgrade from "Melee, Reach C" to "Melee, Reach 1-4". Going from -30% to -15% counts as a net profit of +15%, so I counted it as an enhancement for the purposes of pricing the Follow-Up. I didn't claim the -5% for Cannot Parry, because neither whips nor Leech attacks can parry in the first place. I might be wrong on that last point. Can an Innate Attack (Melee) limitation be used to parry, even when it's whip-like? For that matter, would such an attack become unready after use? I just assumed it wouldn't, because it's a "powered" weapon, like a lightsaber, rather than ST based. Kind of a kludge, I know, but I don't see any other serious problems... but just because I can't see them, doesn't mean they're not there. The Engulfing enhancement, for example, would be problematic. I'm still suspicious of the concept as a whole, but the more I think about it the more it seems to fit. Thematically and mechanically. Let me be clear and up front: I understand that a ranged Leech requires Malediction to preserve the checks and balances inherent in the unmodified ability. If I understand it correctly, Leech must always have at least one of the following terminal conditions: 1) The enemy must be given a chance to break free of the attack each turn or, 2) The enemy must be given a chance to make a resistance roll each turn. My Leech Whip ability satisfies one of these conditions. The added reach certainly makes it more useful, but that's reflected in the cost of the Ranged enhancement. I suppose you could argue that Binding Attack, at only 2 points per level, is a cheap way to get abusive levels of ST... but Lifting ST is also fairly cheap, and it helps to maintain (and escape from) slow, crushing attacks such as unarmed grappling. And neither advantage is useful if you don't have a good enough attack skill to land that initial hit. Regardless, it doesn't seem to be any more abusive than buying Leech and a Binding Attack without any Follow-Up modifier, and simply using them separately. If you're in such a terrible hurry to use them both on the same turn, get Extra Attack. This is probably what I'll fall back on myself, if the Leech Whip turns out to be broken. Is there something I'm missing here? Something I'm not seeing? Any observations or suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated. |
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08-11-2015, 05:28 AM | #2 |
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ellicott City, MD
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Re: Leech as a Follow-Up: Whip it! Into shape!
This has come up before, and using a Cosmic on Leech to treat it as a Follow-Up attack is generally acceptable.
Follow-Up attacks don't take Melee limitations; the Follow-Up modifier itself will just have the same cost as the Melee limitation. That said, the Follow-Up cost on your Leech build should be -15%, not +15%. Unless you take a discount for it, any melee IA can parry without becoming unready, regardless of the fluff around it. |
08-11-2015, 03:17 PM | #3 | |||
Join Date: Aug 2015
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Re: Leech as a Follow-Up: Whip it! Into shape!
Quote:
I know it's an attack, but the book specifically forbids Cosmic (Irresistible) on a Follow-Up. Regardless, I don't want it to be irresistible. EDIT: Would the Cosmic modifier replace both Ranged and Malediction? Or do I need Ranged and Cosmic? Quote:
...Hm. Clearly I don't know how Follow-Up works. :/ Quote:
Thank you very much for your help! I figured I was overthinking this. Last edited by DuncanR; 08-11-2015 at 03:23 PM. |
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08-11-2015, 04:05 PM | #4 |
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ellicott City, MD
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Re: Leech as a Follow-Up: Whip it! Into shape!
50% Cosmic allows it to piggyback on any melee attack. Since your melee attack allows active defense, it satisfies the condition of "your opponent has a way to avoid being Leeched." Do note that the cosmic replaces the need for Follow-Up, as well.
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08-11-2015, 07:56 PM | #5 | |
Join Date: Aug 2015
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Re: Leech as a Follow-Up: Whip it! Into shape!
Quote:
Thank you very much for the help! |
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Tags |
leech, powers |
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