[Powers] Alternate Afflictions

[Nereidalbel]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I seem to remember Powers having a rule about a given power being crippled by various events (notably, I think it's a possibility on a critical failure). A character with 10 Afflictions who screws up and gets one crippled still has 9. A character with 1 Affliction and 9 alternates loses all 10 if a single one gets crippled.

Of course, Powers is another of those "Awesome books not currently in my library," so I can't confirm the above.

Being crippled by a critical failure is a limitation on a power, and not automatically part of a power.

[Anthony]

RAW does not forbid alternate beneficial afflictions, but also leaves it up to the GM what is an acceptable alternate ability. Thus, the easiest RAW solution is to just say no to beneficial afflictions as alternate abilities. In non-RAW, you can certainly house rule that a beneficial affliction ends if you switch to an alternate ability (I recommend it being any alternate ability, not just another beneficial affliction).

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Nereidalbel

Being crippled by a critical failure is a limitation on a power, and not automatically part of a power.

My mistake, then.

...

I suppose another way to look at things is like this - Alternate Ability is a Limitation due to the lesser abilities being less useful. A 3d burning attack isn't too terribly useful if you already have a 4d impaling one, so there's a price reduction to make it an Alternate.
Afflictions, on the other hand, potentially remain just as useful if you have 1 or 10. Being able to Afflict someone with Extreme Regeneration doesn't make being able to Afflict them with Flight any less useful. If the abilities lack some sort of "easily crippled" link (crit fails, Gadget, etc), you might be justified in disallowing Afflictions as Alternate Abilities - failing that, you could easily say switching removes prior Afflictions.

[the_matrix_walker]

I don't see the problem. Alternative Attacks and Abilities are optional rules. If you don't like them, don't use them.

The theme behind Alternatives is not "it's genuinely 80% limiting" it's "You can already do 'this' so it's not that much more powerful to say you can do 'this' and 'that' if you can't combine them and have to take a ready to switch them.

[Tinman]

As GM I would say that he can buy them as alt abilities. However, if he switches to a new ability and enhances somone then the old one ends.

The rule on alt abilities is that you can not get a benifit from two at the same time. If he's getting two buffs at a time then he is.

Unlike a damage (or heal) ability you are using a buff as long as it's on. An attack or heal's power is the damage it's done (or healed). once that's done the power ends. Unless it's cyclic damage or regeneration.

[the_matrix_walker]

Originally Posted by Tinman

The rule on alt abilities is that you can not get a benifit from two at the same time. If he's getting two buffs at a time then he is.

Unlike a damage (or heal) ability you are using a buff as long as it's on. An attack or heal's power is the damage it's done (or healed). once that's done the power ends. Unless it's cyclic damage or regeneration.

Not true. If you have some evidence to the contrary, please post a page reference.

You can have smoke grenades, tranquilizer darts, a tangler style net pistol, and a 50mm gun as alternative attacks. If you net someone one turn, tranq someone the next, fire off your smoke grenade in round three and finally start spraying your gunfire in round four, none of your previous abilities durations magically vanish.