Leech as a Follow-Up: Whip it! Into shape!

[DuncanR]

Hello! I've been a huge fan of GURPS for over a decade now. I've never posted in this forum before, but frequently lurk through the archives whenever I have a tough question about the books. I think I finally need to step forward and ask a question directly.

I recently did something funny with the Leech advantage from the Powers book. I have a sneaky suspicion that my idea is broken, dumb, or some combination of the two. If so, I need someone to tell me why, and how badly. I poked around the forums and found several other interesting threads about Leech, but none of them quite contain the exact advice I need.

Here's the setup: I'm making a 400 point Superhero character, built using Basic Set and Powers, and her Energy Reserve has a special recharge mechanic. Her arsenal of ranged attacks all cost energy to use, and she can only replenish that energy via short-range attack powers. It forces her to get up close and personal every now and then, alternating between blasting and brawling. For her recharge mechanic I initially considered Damage Resistance (Absorption, Heals ER only; Limited, Energy), but decided that useful levels would be too expensive, and DR is just too passive to be interesting.

I decided to experiment with Leech, which is easily affordable in a 400 point campaign. Just a few levels can be devastating when you're draining the victim's fatigue, and the Fatigue Only version guarantees a non-lethal take-down, suitable for a hero. Leech is simply more interesting to me as a recharge mechanic, since it requires me to be clever or gutsy enough to get close to an enemy. Most important of all, it sounds like fun: I get to roll more dice, instead of just standing around waiting to be shot.

This is where the problem comes in. Using Leech in combat requires a continuous series of grapple maneuvers, and unarmed hand-to-hand combat does not suit my character concept at all. Instead, I came up with the idea for a whip-like attack with a very short range. But the book explicitly states that Leech requires Ranged and Malediction 1 or 2 to work at a distance. I agree that Malediction is an expensive but reasonable prerequisite, but it doesn't suit my character concept any more than unarmed grappling does. Maledictions act like telepathic attacks, magic spells, and supernatural afflictions. The character's origins are closer to superscience, and her powers should reflect that.

After banging my head against the keyboard for an hour or so, an idea came to me out of nowhere. It's just so crazy, it might not work:

Binding Attack 12 (Melee, Reach 1-4, -15%; One-Shot, -10%) [18]
Leech 1 (Follow-Up, +15%; Ranged, +40%) [39]

You can project a powered whip from your hand that coils itself around an enemy and holds them in place. The whip has a reach of 4 yards and does not become unready after an attack. You may use the Whip, Force Whip, or Kusari skills to attack with it, and the target may use any defense permissible against an ordinary whip. On a hit, your foe takes no damage but is grappled: He cannot take the Move or Change Posture maneuvers, and is at -4 to DX. On each following turn, your victim may attempt to break free with a quick contest of his ST versus the ST of the Binding Attack. This attack tethers the enemy to you, preventing you from moving more than 4 yards apart.

On each turn after a successful hit, you may absorb vital bio-energies from your target. This requires no special maneuver: As long as you retain your grip on the whip and the victim remains bound, the Leech effect is automatic. If more than one person maintains physical contact with the whip, you may only drain one of them each round. You may still deliver an attack on your turn if you have a free weapon or attack power. The whip has 4 DR, and no HP: if any part of it is severed, the entire whip vanishes at once: The victim is instantly released and the draining effect ends.

TL,DR Version: Leech requires a grapple. Binding Attack is a ranged grapple. Anything that breaks the Binding Attack immediately stops the Leech. There should be no reason I can't connect the two via a Follow-Up, and without Malediction. And if you want to get picky, the Melee limitation grants Reach, not Range.

I also have a nice bridge for sale in Brooklyn. Any takers? Anyone?

*shifty-eyed look*

Seriously, though, that's it. That's the whole thing. Two abilities, four modifiers. The final version for my character will have tons of additional bells and whistles, but this is the foundation. I know I'm supposed to Keep It Simple Stupid, but this seems a little too simple. Strictly speaking, the Binding Attack might not even need any modifiers at all: I only added the Melee and One-Shot limitations to make it function like a whip.

I did run into one problem right away: The Cost of Follow-Up is determined by which modifiers the carrier attack has: If the carrier has Melee, the Follow-Up must also have Melee. I'm sure you'll note the absurdity of being forced to apply the Melee limitation to an ability that already requires a physical touch. I decided to treat this as an upgrade from "Melee, Reach C" to "Melee, Reach 1-4". Going from -30% to -15% counts as a net profit of +15%, so I counted it as an enhancement for the purposes of pricing the Follow-Up. I didn't claim the -5% for Cannot Parry, because neither whips nor Leech attacks can parry in the first place. I might be wrong on that last point. Can an Innate Attack (Melee) limitation be used to parry, even when it's whip-like? For that matter, would such an attack become unready after use? I just assumed it wouldn't, because it's a "powered" weapon, like a lightsaber, rather than ST based.

Kind of a kludge, I know, but I don't see any other serious problems... but just because I can't see them, doesn't mean they're not there. The Engulfing enhancement, for example, would be problematic. I'm still suspicious of the concept as a whole, but the more I think about it the more it seems to fit. Thematically and mechanically.

Let me be clear and up front: I understand that a ranged Leech requires Malediction to preserve the checks and balances inherent in the unmodified ability. If I understand it correctly, Leech must always have at least one of the following terminal conditions:

1) The enemy must be given a chance to break free of the attack each turn

or,

2) The enemy must be given a chance to make a resistance roll each turn.

My Leech Whip ability satisfies one of these conditions. The added reach certainly makes it more useful, but that's reflected in the cost of the Ranged enhancement. I suppose you could argue that Binding Attack, at only 2 points per level, is a cheap way to get abusive levels of ST... but Lifting ST is also fairly cheap, and it helps to maintain (and escape from) slow, crushing attacks such as unarmed grappling. And neither advantage is useful if you don't have a good enough attack skill to land that initial hit.

Regardless, it doesn't seem to be any more abusive than buying Leech and a Binding Attack without any Follow-Up modifier, and simply using them separately. If you're in such a terrible hurry to use them both on the same turn, get Extra Attack. This is probably what I'll fall back on myself, if the Leech Whip turns out to be broken.

Is there something I'm missing here? Something I'm not seeing? Any observations or suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated.

[Nereidalbel]

This has come up before, and using a Cosmic on Leech to treat it as a Follow-Up attack is generally acceptable.

Follow-Up attacks don't take Melee limitations; the Follow-Up modifier itself will just have the same cost as the Melee limitation. That said, the Follow-Up cost on your Leech build should be -15%, not +15%.

Unless you take a discount for it, any melee IA can parry without becoming unready, regardless of the fluff around it.

[DuncanR]

Originally Posted by Nereidalbel

This has come up before, and using a Cosmic on Leech to treat it as a Follow-Up attack is generally acceptable.

Ooh... That does keep it simple. Can you tell me which level of Cosmic is appropriate? Is it just a flat +50% for "bending the rules, or does Leech count as a "lingering special effect"? The latter option is even priced the same as Malediction 1.

I know it's an attack, but the book specifically forbids Cosmic (Irresistible) on a Follow-Up. Regardless, I don't want it to be irresistible.

EDIT: Would the Cosmic modifier replace both Ranged and Malediction? Or do I need Ranged and Cosmic?

Originally Posted by Nereidalbel

Follow-Up attacks don't take Melee limitations; the Follow-Up modifier itself will just have the same cost as the Melee limitation. That said, the Follow-Up cost on your Leech build should be -15%, not +15%.

I know how Follow-Up works: Leech doesn't really have Melee -15%, it's just priced the same. But unmodified Leech requires a Close touch, so it felt weird giving it a -15% discount for improved reach. But adding the Cosmic modifier makes it more pricey overall, so...

...Hm. Clearly I don't know how Follow-Up works. :/

Originally Posted by Nereidalbel

Unless you take a discount for it, any melee IA can parry without becoming unready, regardless of the fluff around it.

Good to know.

Thank you very much for your help! I figured I was overthinking this.

[Nereidalbel]

50% Cosmic allows it to piggyback on any melee attack. Since your melee attack allows active defense, it satisfies the condition of "your opponent has a way to avoid being Leeched." Do note that the cosmic replaces the need for Follow-Up, as well.

[DuncanR]

Originally Posted by Nereidalbel

50% Cosmic allows it to piggyback on any melee attack. Since your melee attack allows active defense, it satisfies the condition of "your opponent has a way to avoid being Leeched." Do note that the cosmic replaces the need for Follow-Up, as well.

Ooooh... that does sound like fun.

Thank you very much for the help!