Cascade Failure Disadvantage

[Pursuivant]

This disadvantage is split off from a more general discussion about progressive, catastrophic failures where a small triggering event cascades to produce ultimately fatal damage.

Cascade Failure (Mental, Physical, Exotic)

Variable

Whenever, you are presented with a problem you can’t solve, or a paradox you can’t resolve, your mental processing systems overload and will eventually self-destruct.

Anyone can attempt to trick you into going into Cascade Failure by making an IQ roll trick you into pondering an unsolvable logic paradox or performing some mathematical calculation which can go on indefinitely (e.g., calculating the exact value of Pi) or which doesn’t have a solution (e.g., dividing by zero).

You are vulnerable to Cascade Failure as long as you can sense and understand a question being posed to you. It might be possible to avoid certain types of attacks (e.g., shouted questions) by blocking your senses, however. Properly designed attempts to induce Cascade Failure automatically succeed if they are directly introduced into your memory.

The cost of the disadvantage depends on how much damage you take per minute.

Cost	Damage	Average Damage
-20	1d per min.	1 HP per 18 seconds
-30	2d per min.	1 HP per 9 seconds
-50	3d per min.	1 HP per 6 seconds
-60	4d per min.	1 HP per 4 seconds

Damage bypasses armor and DR. Once it begins it can’t be stopped unless someone shuts you down (effectively knocking your Unconscious) or quickly reprograms you (using Mind Control or a skill such as Computer Hacking) so you ignore the problem.

This trait is common among cinematic robots and computers. It combines the Self-Destruct, Vulnerability and Weakness disadvantages.

Notes
Physical Cascade Failure is represented by a combination of Weakness and/or Vulnerability, possibly limited to just certain hit locations, as well as the Fragile (Brittle, Explosive or Flammable) disadvantage. Self-Destruct, with a special effect or enhancement that it's triggered by being reduced to some level of negative HP is another possibility. For machines that normally lack Blood, Brain or Vitals hit locations, adding those locations back in can model vulnerability to critical hits which instantly shut the machine down or disable its mental functions or which cause progressive, ultimately fatal damage.

Special Enhancements

Stunning (+10%): Whenever you take damage you must make an IQ or HT roll (Choose when you take this limitation) at a penalty equal to the amount of damage you just suffered. Failure means you are Mentally or Physically Stunned for seconds equal to your margin of failure.

System Failure (+100% or +200%): Any damage you suffer as a result of cascade failure affects your mental and physical traits as well. For +100%, each 10% HP loss gives a -1 penalty to skills. For +200%, each 10% HP loss gives -1 to skills, attributes, secondary characteristics and rolls to use advantages based on those traits. If any attribute or secondary trait is reduced to 0, you “fall unconscious” or shut down until restarted or repaired. If this enhancement is combined with the Resistible special enhancement, you resist using your original attribute score rather than the reduced level.

Special Limitations

Averaged Damage (-10%): Rather than rolling dice, the GM assesses 1 HP of damage after every “damage interval,” based on average damage you suffer per minute (e.g., every 18 seconds if you take 1d HP per minute, 9 seconds if you take 2d per minute, etc.).

Hacking Required (-80%): You are only vulnerable to cascade failure if your security systems are compromised. At minimum, this means that someone needs to make a Computer Operations/TL or Electronics Operation/TL skill roll to load a virus or corrupted code into your memory. Sophisticated security measures might require hackers to bypass multiple layers of physical security and make multiple Computer Programming/TL or Computer Hacking/TL rolls to defeat defensive programs and introduce malicious or corrupted code.

Limited (Variable): Your cascade failure can only be triggered by a particular type of problem such as an unsolvable mathematical problem, a logical paradox or some sort of emotional overload. This is a -80% limitation if you’ve on vulnerable to a specific type of paradox, or -60% if you’re only vulnerable to limited types.

Resistible (-20%): You can resist taking damage, or suffering other ill effects, by making a IQ, HT or Will roll (choose when you take this limitation). Roll once per damage interval. Maximum effective HT is 14.

Shutdown (Variable): You shut down rather than self-destructing. Any damage you take suffer temporarily reduces your IQ, HT, Will, or FP (choose when you take this limitation) instead of FP. When your trait is reduced to 0, you shut down - effectively falling Unconscious - until some external stimulus “wakes you up”. This is a -5% limitation if you shut down until someone can repair you (treat this as a Minor Repair, typically using Electronics Repair/TL skill). It is a -10% limitation if you shut down until someone can make a skill roll (typically vs. Computer Operations/TL) to “reboot” you. It is worth -15% if you automatically restart after 24 hours, -20% for 18 hours, -25% for 12 hours, -30% for 8 hours, -35% for 6 hours, -40% for 4 hours, -45% for 2 hours, -50% for 1 hour, -55% for 30 minutes, -60% for 15 minutes, -65% for 5 minutes, -70% for 1 minute, -75% for 30 seconds, or -80% for 10 seconds.

Trickery Required (-40% or -60%): For -40%, anyone attempting to trigger a cascade failure must win a Quick Contest of IQs or relevant IQ-based skills. For example, tricking you into calculating an unsolvable math problem might require a Quick Contest of Mathematics (Pure) skills. For -60%, you can roll vs. IQ or a relevant IQ-based skill, to avoid going into cascade failure. Roll once per attempt to affect you.