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Old 05-31-2017, 02:06 PM   #1
deneb3525
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Default Rule of 16 question

Ok, this should be quick.....

per the rule of 16, against creatures with a resistance skill of 16+, you are capped at a 50% chance of affecting them?
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Old 05-31-2017, 02:25 PM   #2
Gef
 
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Default Re: Rule of 16 question

Quote:
Originally Posted by deneb3525 View Post
Ok, this should be quick.....

per the rule of 16, against creatures with a resistance skill of 16+, you are capped at a 50% chance of affecting them?
Exactly, on the first attempt, but potentially better when you count repeated attempts. In super-powered games, the advantage of having a huge lead over their 16 resistance is that you can soak the -3, then the -6, and so on, and have a 50% chance each try.
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Old 05-31-2017, 02:32 PM   #3
vitruvian
 
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Default Re: Rule of 16 question

Or get Cosmic, No Rule of 16, +50% if I recall correctly.
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Old 05-31-2017, 02:38 PM   #4
deneb3525
 
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Default Re: Rule of 16 question

um... where is the -3 then -6 coming from?

(if it matters, I'm specifically looking at spell resistances)
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Old 05-31-2017, 03:22 PM   #5
Curmudgeon
 
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Default Re: Rule of 16 question

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Originally Posted by Gef View Post
Exactly, on the first attempt, but potentially better when you count repeated attempts. In super-powered games, the advantage of having a huge lead over their 16 resistance is that you can soak the -3, then the -6, and so on, and have a 50% chance each try.
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Originally Posted by deneb3525 View Post
um... where is the -3 then -6 coming from?

(if it matters, I'm specifically looking at spell resistances)
Presumably from Repeated Attempts (p.159, Powers & B348), though he may be thinking more of Repeated Attempts in 3rd Edition which did incur a -3 penalty, rather than the -1 per attempt of 4th Edition. Basic premise and argument are still valid, despite differing numeric values, though.
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Old 05-31-2017, 06:06 PM   #6
Not another shrubbery
 
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Default Re: Rule of 16 question

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Originally Posted by Gef View Post
Exactly, on the first attempt, but potentially better when you count repeated attempts.
For the benefit of the OP - It is potentially worse for the attacker.
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Old 05-31-2017, 06:38 PM   #7
mr beer
 
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Default Re: Rule of 16 question

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Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery View Post
For the benefit of the OP - It is potentially worse for the attacker.
Or 'potentially less disadvantageous'.
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Old 06-01-2017, 01:15 PM   #8
PK
 
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Default Re: Rule of 16 question

Please note that Repeated Attempts is an option discussed in GURPS Powers, not any sort of mandatory rule. (And it seems to me that Gef is thinking of Healing specifically, which uses its own rules.)

So the answer to the OP is "yes"; it caps at a 50/50 shot.
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Old 06-01-2017, 04:17 PM   #9
Gef
 
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Default Re: Rule of 16 question

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Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post
though he may be thinking more of Repeated Attempts in 3rd Edition which did incur a -3 penalty
Indeed so. Thanks for the catch. Mind Control is a power that specifically forbids repeated attempts, so to do it anyway you'd need a power stunt to add Cosmic, meaning there'd be a heaping fatigue cost or further penalty. But if you could pull it off, you've got 50% chance to beat 16 resistance on the first try, and up to 50% again on the second try, for a net of 75% chance to succeed over two tries. That's better for the attacker, unless the defender, successful against the first attempt, uses his action to prevent a second attempt.

Last edited by Gef; 06-01-2017 at 04:23 PM.
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Old 06-01-2017, 08:06 PM   #10
vitruvian
 
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Default Re: Rule of 16 question

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Originally Posted by Gef View Post
Indeed so. Thanks for the catch. Mind Control is a power that specifically forbids repeated attempts, so to do it anyway you'd need a power stunt to add Cosmic, meaning there'd be a heaping fatigue cost or further penalty. But if you could pull it off, you've got 50% chance to beat 16 resistance on the first try, and up to 50% again on the second try, for a net of 75% chance to succeed over two tries. That's better for the attacker, unless the defender, successful against the first attempt, uses his action to prevent a second attempt.
Or just add Cosmic, No Rule of 16, +50% to the ability itself.
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