Variable Enhancements with Takes Extra Time?
 

I wish to build an ability that allows it's effects to grow, the longer the user concentrates. The actual ability I want to modify is Snatcher (Permanent, Creation, and more). The longer the concentration time, the more levels of More Weight Enhancement can be used. It's important that the effects grow with time (consider a growing forest), so every doubling of time increases mass by 10, but if concentration is interrupted, what has already been created will remain... it's not an all or nothing effect. However, this could be used for a slew of other effects on different abilities... increasing area of effect, duration, range, or any other scalable quality.

What would be the best way to model this? I'm considering using Selective, then adding a slew of “More Weight” enhancements limited by increasing amounts of “Takes Extra Time”. Such as:

Large Items +50%
More Weight +50%
Selectivity +10%
More Weight +30% (Takes Extra Time -10%) [+27%]
More Weight +30% (Takes Extra Time -20%) [+24%]
More Weight +30% (Takes Extra Time -30%) [+21%]
More Weight +30% (Takes Extra Time -40%) [+18%]
More Weight +30% (Takes Extra Time -50%) [+15%]
More Weight +30% (Takes Extra Time -60%) [+12%]
More Weight +30% (Takes Extra Time -70%) [+09%]
More Weight +30% (Takes Extra Time -80%) [+06%]
Total: +242%

This allows 200lbs with 10 seconds of concentration, 1 ton with 20 seconds, 10 tons with 40 seconds... ...1 Million Tons with 21min20sec of concentration, 10 Million Tons with 42min40sec of concentration.

Not bad, but problems (no discount for reduced effect) occur if I wish to go above this level... or if I add on additional Limitations such as Cost Fatigue. This is aggravated if I wish to make it so lesser creation take less than 10 seconds... Also, would this be adequate to cover the “effect grows with time” aspect, or does it need something else to avoid the “all or nothing” problem?

What would be the best way to model this?

Re: Variable Enhancements with Takes Extra Time?
 

Takes extra time rapidly becomes a point crock. After a couple of levels, it really should be switched to "Immediate Preparation Required."

That said, whenever the subject of graduating limitations for the scale of abilities, I refer people to the rules for scaling fatigue cost on Page Powers 101, then suggest substituting the cogent values. In this case you would...

1. Set the amount of time it takes to use the ability at full effect.
2. Divide this time by the maximum weight you can Snatch, to give you your weight to concentration time ratio.
3. Multiply Seconds per pound by “average” Snatch weight – (max weight you can snatch)/2 – to find average time a snatch takes.
4. Drop all fractions.

The resulting average is what you would then use as the effective activation time for the purpose of your limitation level. Take the level of Takes Extra Time (or Immediate Preparation Required) to stretch your normal 10 second activation time to this average.

EDIT: This was not thought out.... Please disregard my nonsense, with how cheap it is to add weight, this is a total debacle.

Re: Variable Enhancements with Takes Extra Time?
 

I considered this, but passed on it for a few reasons:

• First, variable Fatigue affects the Powers level. In this case I want to affect the level of an Enhancement. Applying the limitation to the whole advanage seems like a serious point crock.

• Second, I'm trying to incorporate levels of Reduced Time (& Reflexive) at lower mass. This makes things a bit messy, and generally comes out to more points than an unmodified ability (4 levels reduced time & reflexive is +120%, but 5 levels of takes extra time to "remove" them yields only -50%).

• I've considered applying the variable rate to only the More Mass enhancement... but this produces funky numbers too.

But most importantly...

• This has the opposite effect on low mass creations as you expected. Consider I'm using a Immediate Preperation Required Limitation: One Century, and my Weight Limit is 10 Trillion Tons (enough to create a 200 square mile Basalt Island rising from the Sea Floor, with some mass to spare). If I instead bring a 200 pound item into creation, the time required will only be 0.000031536 seconds.

Re: Variable Enhancements with Takes Extra Time?
 

That's what I get for not checking my math... and not thinking about the ramifications of a scale that high.