Altered time rate or basic speed?

[Not]

I have 100 points to spend on being fast. Is there any reason to prefer Altered Time Rate over +5 to Basic Speed?

[Nereidalbel]

+5 to speed lets you get in and out of melee range faster, and may just push your Step to 2 hexes instead of one. ATR gives you two actions per turn, and even allows you to AoA and AoD in a single turn.

[Phantasm]

A +5.00 to Basic Speed also has you Dodging better and reacting (combat initiative) faster than anyone who doesn't have Enhanced Time Sense.

But Nereidalbel's other points still stand.

With ATR, you don't react faster, but you can act twice as often.

[mr beer]

I prefer ATR for 100 points. Two actions is more flexible than +5 Speed. I guess it depends a bit on your characters, for example if you need them to be really adept at Dodge, maybe Speed is better.

[Anthony]

ATR is generally the offensive option, basic speed the defensive option.

[weby]

+5 dodge tends to be a big deal in many games, that is the biggest benefit from speed(movement and acting first as lesser effects)

ATR is more generally useful though. It allows for a lot of actions and things like halving the time to do any long actions.

So depending on what you want to be fast for you may want one or the other. Note that if it is for combat use then a limited ATR and some speed might be a good compromise if you cannot decide.

Something like:
ATR(maximum duration 10 minutes -50%) [50] and then +2.5 speed.
or ATR(maximum duration 1 minute -65%) [35] and then +3.25 speed.

[ericthered]

The two are quite different. But don't spend points on ATR until you have a good speed. ATR and speed 5 just feels wrong. They do achieve very different effects.

[GodBeastX]

I kinda wish these gamesystems would just turn speed into the stat for these ATR effects and such.

A scalable speed where every so many gives extra action or even interleaved extra actions and such.

Seems odd you can buy speed up to like 30 and still not make more than 1 move a turn.

[evileeyore]

What each brings:

Basic Speed +5: +5 to Move, +5 to Initiative, +5 to Dodge, +1 Step.

ATR: 2 maneuvers each turn. However, with this you can AoA and AoD each turn which can be:
----- +4 to an Attack and +2 to Dodge, or
----- +2 to Dodge and +2 to another Defense, or
----- +5 Move (Move Manuever), or
----- Aim and Attack in the same turn, or
----- Cast and Attack in the same turn, or
----- Etc.

What ATR can not do is give an Initiative boost.



As Anthony said, +5 Basic Speed is (mostly) Defense, ATR is (mostly) Attack... however ATR is also far more flexible.

For my money? I'd take ATR if those were my two choices.

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by ericthered

The two are quite different. But don't spend points on ATR until you have a good speed. ATR and speed 5 just feels wrong. They do achieve very different effects.

Very different effects is right, but wrongness depends on context, IMHO. I once built a hero for a 1000-point supers game who had about 300 points in being a mad scientist with average athleticism, and about 700 points in a miraculous gadget that warped time to let him take a seriously ridiculous number of actions at Speed 5, especially out of combat where he had the greatest effect, and it was exactly right for the character concept. He could pull out a book and look something up, aim for three rounds, shoot, and then AoD twice per round, or jog home to get something in the middle of a fight scene, and out of combat Fast Gadgeteer would be an understatement.