Blinding Flash

[Refplace]

So a few weeks ago a player decided to improvise a spell to create a blinding flash of light. At the time I improvised and made something off the top of my head with Affliction. Affliction I think is the way most would do it, but what about another option?
I present ..
Blinding Flash

1d/16 points

You create a blinding flash of light in a small area that can blind those in it. Make a HT roll at -1 per 2 pts of penetrating damage or be blind for (20 - HT) minutes. Statistics: : Innate Attack 1d (Area Effect. +50%; No Blunt Trauma, -20%; No Knockback, -10%; No Wounding, -50%;Sense Based (Vision),+150%; Side Effect (Blindness), +100%; +220%) 16/level

Not bad really, though its not RAW since Sense Based and Side Effect are both penetration modifiers.

A more permanent version could add Symptoms! By RAW you might need to remove the No Wounding but as a GM I would allow it, that would be +100% for threshold of half HP for 21 hp/per die.

EDIT Forgot about the shorter version.
Blinding Flash

1d/15 points

You create a blinding flash of light in a small area that can blind those in it. Make a HT roll at -1 per 2 pts of penetrating damage or be blind for (20 - HT) seconds. Statistics: : Innate Attack 1d (Area Effect. +50%; No Blunt Trauma, -20%; No Knockback, -10%; No Wounding, -50%;Reduced Duration 1*60, -35%; Sense Based (Vision),+150%; Side Effect (Blindness), +100%; +185%) 14.25/level

[Plane]

Originally Posted by Refplace

Sense Based (Vision), +150%;
Side Effect (Blindness), +100%;
not RAW since Sense Based and Side Effect are both penetration modifiers.

B109 refers to SB as a PM, can't see SE described as a PM, it just says "cannot combine it with penetration modifiers other than Armor Divisor"

Armor Divisor 100 is worth +200% so it doesn't seem that unbalancing to allow Side Effect to work with Sense-Based for 1 or 2 senses.

Does Hardened reduce divisors from "ignores" to /100 like it does against Cosmic: Irresistible Attack?

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Plane

B109 refers to SB as a PM, can't see SE described as a PM, it just says "cannot combine it with penetration modifiers other than Armor Divisor"

Armor Divisor 100 is worth +200% so it doesn't seem that unbalancing to allow Side Effect to work with Sense-Based for 1 or 2 senses.

Does Hardened reduce divisors from "ignores" to /100 like it does against Cosmic: Irresistible Attack?

Hardened wouldnt have an effect on Sense Based, Malediction, or similar abilities.
I dont understand your first sentence, though. Side Effect says it cant be used with Penetrating Modelers (except AD) and since Sense Based is a Penetrating Modifier that means by RAW they cant be used together.
However I feel like you that its fine in this case, both thematically and balance wise.

[Plane]

Originally Posted by Refplace

Hardened wouldnt have an effect on Sense Based, Malediction, or similar abilities.

I found 2007 Kromm posts to confirm this
http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...3&postcount=97

Malediction and Sense-Based aren't meant to interact with Hardened at all. It's very specifically Cosmic that's affected, because Cosmic is really a high level of Armor Divisor. Malediction and Sense-Based aren't high levels of Armor Divisor -- they're something else. And yeah, when we get a FAQ Keeper, we can note this.

http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...2&postcount=69

When Powers says, "DR with Cosmic subtracts from 'irresistible' attacks with Cosmic," it means exactly what it says. DR 100 with the +50% version of Cosmic counts as DR 100 vs. an attack with the +300% version of Cosmic. Against an attack with a (10) divisor, that Cosmic DR acts as DR 10, because the defensive +50% version of Cosmic isn't Hardened, and does nothing againt other armor divisors. Somebody with DR 100 (Hardened 1, +20%) gets DR 1 vs. an attack with the +300% version of Cosmic, because he shifts "ignores DR" to (100), while he gets DR 20 vs. an attack with a (10) divisor, because he shifts (10) to (5).

If you want an attack that not only ignores DR but also ignores Hardened, then add another +50% to your +300%.

Since you can shift ignores DR to armor divisor 1 (negate it) by Hardened 6 +120%, the ability of Cosmic, Defensive to negate it with merely +50% could be read to mean that enhancements which only work against cosmic attacks are worth 5/12 as much (41⅔, like -59⅓% Limited Enhancement)

Here I was thinking "irresistible attack" is the best... apparently it isn't.

You have "Malediciton DR" to counter that option, but I guess the only guard against sense-based is to actually stop using that sense?

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Plane

You have "Malediciton DR" to counter that option, but I guess the only guard against sense-based is to actually stop using that sense?

Nictating Membrane adds +1 DR and +1 HT for the eyes so would help against the Flash.
Protected Senses would lower the damage but would help with the HT roll.
I could see other advantages based off Nictating Membrane for other senses, perhaps like noise canceling headphones and ear protectors.
Also Forcefield and Sealed would work against Smell based and Vision if it was opaque.
You could also try a Power Parry with the right form of Obscure.
And finally for a mundane defense I could see covering your eyes with your arm or a cloak to add its DR but at the cost of not being able to see for a moment.

[hal]

dumb question...

If someone is wearing anti-flare goggles, how would that work against the Flash power?

Does this power affect cameras to where they are overloaded?

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by hal

dumb question...

If someone is wearing anti-flare goggles, how would that work against the Flash power?

Does this power affect cameras to where they are overloaded?

Depends to my mind.
Anti-flare goggles should help, depends on if they react fast enough. I'd treat them as Nictating Membrane but as gear not advantages you would have to eyeball the level.
Cameras would have a picture washed out if they were taking a pic at the time. Otherwise no effect. Though with Symptoms you could burn them out.

[Plane]

"Unstoppable Attacks" on page 118 of GURPS Powers seems to lump Malediction, Sense-Based, and Blood/Contact/Respiratory Agent (w/ AE or Cone) and says:
To unconditionally avoid protection requires the “irresistible attack” version of Cosmic (p. B103) – and even then, defenses with Cosmic can still interfere

Only a mention of cosmic defenses, not Hardened

If "Hardened" is an exception to "unconditionally avoid" for Cosmic +300%, it does seem strange it wouldn't be an exception to the other lesser forms of Unstoppable Attacks.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Plane

"Unstoppable Attacks" on page 118 of GURPS Powers seems to lump Malediction, Sense-Based, and Blood/Contact/Respiratory Agent (w/ AE or Cone) and says:
To unconditionally avoid protection requires the “irresistible attack” version of Cosmic (p. B103) – and even then, defenses with Cosmic can still interfere

Only a mention of cosmic defenses, not Hardened

If "Hardened" is an exception to "unconditionally avoid" for Cosmic +300%, it does seem strange it wouldn't be an exception to the other lesser forms of Unstoppable Attacks.

Not to me. There different implementations of very different concepts, no reason Hardened should be a catchall for everything.

[Plane]

"Mental Defense Only" from Power-Ups 4 page 19 would probably also belong in the UA class. If you wanted some sort of absolute defense against damage I guess it'd be some combination of:
*Hardened (against divisors and irresistible) Malediction-Proof DR
*Mind Shield

There doesn't seem to be any counter to Sense-Based and the 3 Agents (Blood/Contact/Respiratory) unless Cosmic counters them.

Malediction-Proof requires combining with Cosmic Defensive +50 anyway unless you take a "Limited" limitation for it, implying that Cosmic Defensive by itself does not defend against Maledictions (probably just irresistible attacks)

Do you think the Cosmic Defensive required to take non-Limited Malediction-Proof DR inherently covers Sense-Based/BCRagent attacks, or if separate versions of "defensive" might be needed to stop each of them?

Would Cosmic: Defensive stop Mental Defense Only where Hardened couldn't?