08-20-2021, 10:19 AM | #11 |
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Re: [Powers / Psionics] Help with Uncontrollable
No, but the GM does. I was expressing my understanding of how the power would work in the scenario presented, which specifically mentioned an attack.
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Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life. "The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates." -- Tacitus Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted. |
08-20-2021, 10:42 AM | #12 | |
Join Date: Sep 2011
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Re: [Powers / Psionics] Help with Uncontrollable
Quote:
The player whose character has Uncontrollable has no control over the character until he makes a Will roll bringing the character back under his control. He may not pick Maneuvers or Free Actions until then. The GM is in sole control of the character. That said, the GM needs to play the character with some regard for the personality and character of the character. It's fine to say that the character resents a recent hurt from another PC and the power goes after him. It's not fine to have the power take after even an NPC because the character has always hated him, if the character hasn't been role-played that way (and if there's nothing about the hatred written down on the character's sheet). And on the gripping hand, if a character has been taken as an Enemy on the character sheet and the player has usually ignored it, the power may go to town on that Enemy just because it was so frustrated and now has the chance to cut loose. Last edited by Curmudgeon; 08-20-2021 at 10:45 AM. |
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08-20-2021, 11:04 AM | #13 |
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Re: [Powers / Psionics] Help with Uncontrollable
Nothing in the entry for Uncontrollable on p116 of the 4e Basic Set indicates that to me. The GM is in control of the ability, but I don't see anything in that entry that says the GM takes over the entire character. That doesn't mean that I can't be mistaken, though, nor that something elsewhere might say that, so please quote what you saw that gave you that idea, or at least tell us the book and page.
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Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life. "The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates." -- Tacitus Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted. Last edited by Prince Charon; 08-20-2021 at 11:08 AM. |
08-20-2021, 04:18 PM | #14 | |
Join Date: Aug 2018
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Re: [Powers / Psionics] Help with Uncontrollable
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Imagine also something like Uncontrollable on Flight : does it give you free Move maneuvers and fly you around in random directions, or is it only uncontrollable hovering? This also isn't paralysis we're talking about: being forced to take certain maneuvers is basically just "I'm slowed to a step" and you can still do active defenses. Uncontrollable utility really shines in cases where the abilities are attacking obvious enemies of a person while they're stunned: being forced to Do Nothing means you couldn't even take maneuvers to use your ability if you wanted to. |
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08-20-2021, 05:46 PM | #15 |
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Re: [Powers / Psionics] Help with Uncontrollable
It's not a free manoeuver, though. The GM is controlling it, and the write-up in the book indicates that it should be treated as a separate being; 'playing it as though it were an entity of a prankish or hostile nature,' to quote the page.
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Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life. "The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates." -- Tacitus Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted. |
08-20-2021, 06:38 PM | #16 | |
Join Date: Aug 2018
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Re: [Powers / Psionics] Help with Uncontrollable
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foes first" approach to attack abilities. If I have "takes extra time" on my attack and it's slow to use anyway then this would give me a lot of increased output... |
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08-21-2021, 02:02 AM | #17 | |
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
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Re: [Powers / Psionics] Help with Uncontrollable
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I'm surprised that the posts here are so split on the question (though it looks like a lot of that is Curmudgeon's posts). To me, it's a complete no-brainer that the character is free to do whatever he wants while his power jerks him around. If it makes you feel better, imagine that that problematic sentence reads "A harmful ability might go after obvious foes first". Personally, I would ignore that altogether. An Uncontrollable ability might be many things - subconscious impulses, sure, but it might be a possessing demon, or a curse. If the ability has the Spirit PM, it might be a completely separate, free-floating spirit doing mischief - obviously that wouldn't affect the character's own ability to do stuff. It could be an energy beam that fires from the character's hand(s), in which case it wouldn't attack an obvious foe unless the character just happened to have his hand pointed that way - not likely. On the other hand, Uncontrollable is probably most commonly used to represent inexperience and lack of skill, and I like to imagine it in those circumstances as a sort of impulse control issue. In situations where the character has reason to consider using the ability, but for whatever reason realizes that is not a good idea to do it then (or in that way), that would be a good time for those conflicting impulse to make it go off. In the case of Uncontrollable limitations that are justified that way, it makes sense for the character to need to Concentrate - he started to use it, thought better of it, but couldn't restrain himself in time. In that case, it would probably go off a bit less often, so I wouldn't give him any extra limitation value to compensate for losing his actions. Just as an aside, I've always thought that Uncontrollable should have been called Irrepressible. Then Uncontrollable could have been used for abilities whose options couldn't be controlled - which mode an AA ability is in, how powerful a Variable attack is, etc. Last edited by transmetahuman; 08-21-2021 at 02:06 AM. |
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08-21-2021, 04:18 AM | #18 | |
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: New York City
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Re: [Powers / Psionics] Help with Uncontrollable
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However, the limitation is only worth [-10%] if non-destructive. Compare that to the disadvantage On The Edge [-15] (B.146). It looks to me that Uncontrollable could easily give you that disadvantage or worse Berserk (do all-out attacks) against the player will. It's one thing to involuntarily set fire to one's hotel room, but to not be able to flee the fire because the power is still attacking things seems like a suicide modifier. |
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08-21-2021, 07:25 AM | #19 |
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: UK
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Re: [Powers / Psionics] Help with Uncontrollable
I'll chime in with my agreement that the character would be free to act when they lose control of their abilities. The power acts on its own, and not necessarily to the benefit of the PC, otherwise it would not be a limitation. If it is e.g. Telekinesis, random things nearby might rattle or fly off shelves.
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08-21-2021, 07:30 AM | #20 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Portsmouth, VA, USA
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Re: [Powers / Psionics] Help with Uncontrollable
I've always treated it that way (it doesn't take up an action) and I've been pretty brutal with it in the past with players. I had one player who could read minds involuntarily and she bought that up to Reflexive as soon as she could about 12 sessions later. It's worth the points it gives back in almost all cases.
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