How to build an ability that shuts down your power if used.

[Kfireblade]

So I'm wondering how you would go about building a ability that has the caveat if you use it it essentially burns out your powers for awhile, making it and any other ability using the same power modifier unavailable for a period of time. Any limitation that dose such a thing?

[Crystalline_Entity]

Would "Takes Recharge" (B115) do the trick? It makes your ability "unavailable during the recharge period". If you then build all the abilities granted by the power with this modifier, and make them alternative abilities (P11) of each other, I think that means that after using one, the whole set becomes available for the recharge period.

[zoncxs]

If every ability has that effect, then do what was suggested above. With every ability having Takes Recharge and being Alternate Abilities of each other, once you use one they all become unavailable until the recharge period passes.

If it is only one ability in the power that has this effect, then you do the same thing as above but only put Takes Recharge on the one ability that shuts everything else down.

Example:

Ability 1 (takes recharge)
Ability 2 (takes recharge) A.A. of 1
Ability 3 (takes recharge) A.A. of 1

Using any of them means you can't use them again until after they recharge.

Ability 1 (takes recharge)
Ability 2 A.A. of 1
Ability 3 A.A. of 1

You can use 2 and 3 all you want, but once you use 1 you can't use any of them until it recharges.

[Mark Skarr]

Arguably, Limited Use, 1 per day, is more what the OP is looking for than Takes Recharge (which is limited to 1 hour, and even says to take Limited Use instead for longer periods), but, the application is the same.

[Plane]

Originally Posted by zoncxs

With every ability having Takes Recharge
and being Alternate Abilities of each other,
once you use one they all become unavailable until the recharge period passes.

B61 "Alternative Attacks" was the basis for AA... restrictions being

1) cannot use them simultaneously
2) can't be combined with Link (which is really just a natural consequence of previous )
3) critical failure or malfunction disabling one disables all
4) if most expensive is drained/neutralized, cheaper ones won't work either

I don't see a mention of Limited Use.

Powers 11 lists "three drawbacks" for Alternative Abilities". Were you thinking that it was the 2nd point or the 3rd which might apply to Limited Use?

[zoncxs]

Originally Posted by Plane

B61 "Alternative Attacks" was the basis for AA... restrictions being

1) cannot use them simultaneously
2) can't be combined with Link (which is really just a natural consequence of previous )
3) critical failure or malfunction disabling one disables all
4) if most expensive is drained/neutralized, cheaper ones won't work either

I don't see a mention of Limited Use.

Powers 11 lists "three drawbacks" for Alternative Abilities". Were you thinking that it was the 2nd point or the 3rd which might apply to Limited Use?

I never mentioned Limited Use.


Takes Recharge Basic pg. 115

"Your ability requires “recharging”
after each use. It is unavailable during
the recharge period..."


Alternative Abilities Powers pg. 11

"3. Using an ability that can’t be activated again until its duration
expires (e.g., Neutralize with the Power Theft enhancement, or almost
anything with the Ranged enhancement) means that none of the abilities
are available for the duration."

Stands to reason that when an ability with "Takes Recharge" is part of a A.A. group, then when it is used you can not use any other ability in that group until it is recharged. If all abilities in that A.A. group has takes recharge then when ever you use one you have to wait till it is recharged to use it again or switch to another ability (I would allow PCs to switch to a different ability while it is recharging but add an additional turn of "charging").

Is that more clear for you?

[Daigoro]

For an alternate take, anything part of the power set affected should have the same Power Modifier, which has a "shutdown" Limitation on it.

As it happens, Pact basically does this. Pointwise, it's basically the same as "Pact: Don't Use My Burn-out Power."

[Plane]

Originally Posted by zoncxs

I never mentioned Limited Use.

Takes Recharge Basic pg. 115

"Your ability requires “recharging”
after each use. It is unavailable during
the recharge period..."

Right, I mixed them up, though it's a similar idea because when you've used up your Uses then Limited Use is normally unavailable as well.

Originally Posted by zoncxs

Alternative Abilities Powers pg. 11

"3. Using an ability that can’t be activated again until its duration expires

In the case of either Takes Recharge or Limited Use, do these count as "duration" though? Usually duration means when an ability is active, not when an ability is inactive.

A 3rd limitation we could also throw into comparison would be "Maximum Duration" since that requires a 5-minute downtime between uses.

I'm just not sure why it would apply to these but not other limitations...

Like for example with "requires IQ roll", a failed roll means you must spend 1 FP to attempt to use the advantage again...

Should that also mean you must spend 1 FP to use any alternative abilities for it?