[MA] [Powers] Steaming Hot Monk

[Seneschal]

Well, actually, he's Unattractive. I was referring to my monk character's ability to convert body fat into heat, giving him a flesh-searing, armor-melting Aura. Think Extremis from Iron Man 3. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to stat this. This is what I came up with, but I'm not sure how it works.

Corrosive Attack 1d (Aura, +80%; Costs 1 FP/Minute*, -10%; Incendiary, +10%; Melee Attack C, -30%; Power Modifier**, -30%) (+20%) [12]
* Costs Fatigue has its value doubled in our campaign, since we use FP for a lot of things (almost all powers, chambara skills, cinematic Extra Effort, etc.).
** The Power Modifier contains a Pact, requires movement, mundane and supernatural countermeasures, etc. for a total of -30%.

I've done my best to search for threads regarding Auras, but I've yet to see an answer to whether they require attack rolls. The Basic Set doesn't mention automatic hits - in fact, it seem to imply Auras are just melee attacks with Persistent. Would this mean that an Aura can be dodged? E.g., you punch an enemy who has a damaging Aura, and his Aura attacks back, rolling Innate Attack, hitting, and then you roll an active defense.

Or do Auras apply damage automatically? How come this doesn't require Cosmic (No die roll required), +100%; Cosmic (No active defense allowed), +300%?

Moreover, how does a damaging Aura interact with unarmed striking and grappling? Does it passively deal damage to a grappled enemy every turn? Does it apply like a buff to your punching and kicking damage if you hit?

[Nereidalbel]

Auras require no attack roll to deal damage because they require you to touch somebody. Your roll to strike/grapple/bite your opponent is what allows your aura to deal damage. Also, if they strike/grapple/bite you, your aura affects them then, too. Well, it affects their weapon, if they use one.

And yes, every time you hit somebody, your aura deals damage. If you have 100 attacks per turn, your aura (assuming you hit) damages 100 times per turn. During a grapple, it's simply once per second.

[Seneschal]

Phew! Good, since I only have 250 points to play with and having to put Cosmic would have ruined it.

Also, another question - is Corrosion with Incendiary appropriate, or should it be Burning with some kind of Special Damage Effect (Reduces DR), +20% (value taken from "Missing Damage Effect" on Powers p. 102, but I'm not sure if it works in reverse)? Corrosion has injury multipliers on some hit locations (the face, I think), while sustained searing heat probably works equally well everywhere.

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Seneschal

Also, another question - is Corrosion with Incendiary appropriate, or should it be Burning with some kind of Special Damage Effect (Reduces DR), +20% (value taken from "Missing Damage Effect" on Powers p. 102, but I'm not sure if it works in reverse)? Corrosion has injury multipliers on some hit locations (the face, I think), while sustained searing heat probably works equally well everywhere.

Corrosion seems to assume a certain amount of "splash", which is why a Face hit can blind, and perhaps why it can affect DR over an entire hit location. Adding Incendiary to it will give it a 1-pt burning follow-up - good for setting paper or loose clothing on fire, not good for much else. Unfortunately, we don't have a Corrodes DR enhancement. Considering the relative value of Corrosion vs Burning Innate Attacks, such an enhancement may be as much as +100%.

Perhaps a better way to do it would be to build this as two attacks, Corrosion with a Burning follow-up. This is basically the same model as Incendiary, but lets you scale up the heat to whatever level you please.

[Nereidalbel]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

Corrosion seems to assume a certain amount of "splash", which is why a Face hit can blind, and perhaps why it can affect DR over an entire hit location. Adding Incendiary to it will give it a 1-pt burning follow-up - good for setting paper or loose clothing on fire, not good for much else. Unfortunately, we don't have a Corrodes DR enhancement. Considering the relative value of Corrosion vs Burning Innate Attacks, such an enhancement may be as much as +100%.

Perhaps a better way to do it would be to build this as two attacks, Corrosion with a Burning follow-up. This is basically the same model as Incendiary, but lets you scale up the heat to whatever level you please.

Actually, Corrosion is usually anti-matter or disintegration rays. The reason a face hit can blind is the random hit location table for the face, which includes the eyes.

You do NOT have to pay for Link or Follow-Up effects to have a secondary Burn aura, if you wish to light things on fire.

[Seneschal]

For the moment, I'll write up "Corrodes DR" as a +80% (100% - 20% for not dealing extra neck/face/eye injury) enhancement to a Burning Attack; that way it burns more than a lighter, as 1d burn damage should, but still slowly melts hard materials, ruining their protective properties. I'll consult with my GM later.

[Nereidalbel]

If you only want to start small fires, it'll only come out to 3 points to have a second Burn aura that only deals 1 point, if it causes no wounding on its own. This is still going to be cheaper than adding a +80% effect, which doesn't seem to actually be a real rule.

[Seneschal]

Originally Posted by Nereidalbel

If you only want to start small fires, it'll only come out to 3 points to have a second Burn aura that only deals 1 point, if it causes no wounding on its own. This is still going to be cheaper than adding a +80% effect, which doesn't seem to actually be a real rule.

Well, I didn't intend it to be like an open flame, but more like white-hot iron. Perhaps that would be Corrosive Incendiary after all, with a "No injury modifier on Face and Neck" limitation. What would that be, -10%? -20%?

[Nereidalbel]

Originally Posted by Seneschal

Well, I didn't intend it to be like an open flame, but more like white-hot iron. Perhaps that would be Corrosive Incendiary after all, with a "No injury modifier on Face and Neck" limitation. What would that be, -10%? -20%?

Well, with an aura, you have to intentionally hit the face/neck to even have a chance for the extra injury modifiers. So unless you headbutt somebody or they headbutt you, just punching somebody in the chest won't make this an issue, but it will make your attacks targeting the face/neck that much more devastating!

Remember, the hit location of an aura is identical to whatever touches you. This does make unarmed parry vs unarmed attack a very, very dangerous thing.

[Walrus]

"Corrodes DR" is just additional dice of Corr IA with No Wounding modifier.