Quote:
Originally Posted by malloyd
The original point of Alternative Abilities (as Alternative Attacks p.B61) was to give you a price break for having two abilities that did basically the same thing.
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Well, maybe. The root purpose is to give a discount for abilities that are less valuable than the sum of their parts, or where the inability to use them simultaneously is significantly limiting. The first is usually caused by redundancy, the second more because you would normally both be able to and want to use them at the same time (for example, if you had innate attack and DR as alternate abilities of one another, they aren't redundant, but being unable to use them simultaneously is still pretty limiting).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Donny Brook
Well that's one opinion, but as I said, I see nothing in the rules that says that has to be about the power modifier.
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Sentence 1: "it often makes sense to define several abilities as different, mutually exclusive 'settings' of a single, adaptable trait". Later on, it states "The GM shouldn't permit abilities with incompatible in-game explanations as alternatives". In addition, "2. Anything that disables one ability disables the entire collection". None of those
explicitly rule out different power modifiers, but it's very hard to meet the first two qualifications, and the third is tends to make power modifiers cumulative -- if you have a "PM: Magic" alternative ability, you won't be able to use
any of your abilities in a no mana zone, even then ones that don't have that PM.