Regeneration + Costs FP? Does this work?

[knarf]

I'm working on an undead supervillain for a supers game. He'll be using Leech to drain life from his victims to feed an Energy Reserve. As long as he has points in his ER, he will automatically spend them to activate Regeneration. (I'll probably go with an FP cost of 1 per turn for 1 HP per turn Regeneration)

I know it's a trifle convoluted, but I wanted him able to bank his healing ability until he should need it and the Energy Reserve can also be used to fuel other abilities

[Kelly Pedersen]

Hmm. By default, Regeneration seems to qualify as an always on ability - it may not always be healing you, but it takes no action to start it, and it can't be ended prematurely. However, putting Costs Fatigue on an ability normally makes it switchable. So, in this situation, I think you could claim, in addition to the Costs Fatigue limitation, the Always On limitation (the -20% version, I'd say - removing energy you could use for other powers sounds like "physically inconvienient" to me). And, of course, the -5% for "ability can only be powered from Energy Reserve". Mind you, I'd only allow this build if you actually had other powers that also relied on the ER - otherwise, it's basically a crock.

[knarf]

In a little more depth, here's what it looks like:

Energy Reserve 20 (Special Recharge, Leech, -70%) [18]
Leech 1 (Only Heals ER -20%) [20]
Regeneration (Very Fast, 1 HP/second) (Costs ER, 1 ER/second, -10%; Trigger, Leeched HP, Common, Illegal, -30%) [60]
Other undead powers that draw from ER to be determined [?]

It's 2 points less than default Regeneration, and definitely more expensive than Leech by itself, so I don't think it's too much of a point crock. I should also mention that this is an NPC build, not something I'm trying to slip past my GM. I'm just a by-the-book kind of guy seeing if something like this will fly going by the RAW.

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by knarf

Regeneration (Very Fast, 1 HP/second) (Costs ER, 1 ER/second, -10%; Trigger, Leeched HP, Common, Illegal, -30%) [60]

Hmm. So, even if the character has energy in their reserve, the Regeneration won't actually start unless they've used Leech in the past minutes?
In any case, if the character can't shut off the Regeneration once it starts, I still say it deserves Always On (-20%). Also, remember that an advantage that can only draw on an Energy Reserve, instead of both the ER and normal Fp, has a -5% limitation (see Powers, p. 119, Energy Reserves)

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen

In any case, if the character can't shut off the Regeneration once it starts, I still say it deserves Always On (-20%).

I'd say rather a form of Nuisance Effect, possibly at the -10% level, but more likely at -5%, since healing up completely is something you would usually want to do anyway.

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

I'd say rather a form of Nuisance Effect, possibly at the -10% level, but more likely at -5%, since healing up completely is something you would usually want to do anyway.

Always On gives a value of -20% for effects that are "physically inconvenient". I'd say that burning all the energy that you could otherwise have available for other powers, counts as "physically inconvenient". I suppose it could be rated lower, but I wouldn't go as low as -5% - it would be -10% at the very least.

[knarf]

Originally Posted by Kelly Pedersen

Hmm. So, even if the character has energy in their reserve, the Regeneration won't actually start unless they've used Leech in the past minutes?
In any case, if the character can't shut off the Regeneration once it starts, I still say it deserves Always On (-20%). Also, remember that an advantage that can only draw on an Energy Reserve, instead of both the ER and normal Fp, has a -5% limitation (see Powers, p. 119, Energy Reserves)

My intent was that the Regeneration would activate if both of these conditions were met: 1) The villain has energy in his reserve, which can only come from leeching and 2) the villain is damaged. If he is undamaged (or just regenerated), he doesn't need to regenerate; If his ER is empty, he can't regenerate. If you can think of a better way to do this, I'm all ears.

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by knarf

My intent was that the Regeneration would activate if both of these conditions were met: 1) The villain has energy in his reserve, which can only come from leeching and 2) the villain is damaged. If he is undamaged (or just regenerated), he doesn't need to regenerate; If his ER is empty, he can't regenerate. If you can think of a better way to do this, I'm all ears.

Drop the Trigger, then, and put the -5% "can only draw on Energy Reserve". Regeneration won't start "working" until the villian is damaged, at which point it will start draining FP from the reserve until the character is either a) healed, or b) out of energy.

[Anaraxes]

The basic structure seems fine: Regeneration powered by ER, ER filled by Leech. There's just a small quibble about the exact value of a limitation for not being able to stop the Regen in the event you want the ER for other purposes.

-20% feels high to me. You're highly likely to want to Regen. There may be some times when you'd rather make the call that another power is more urgent. But then, villains aren't known for self-sacrificing heroics, as opposed to hopping into the escape pod and Regenerating to fight another day. Also, consider the case when you're at 0 HT and below -- unconscious, that is -- and thus can't choose to use other powers anyway.

So, the possible choice kicks in fairly rarely and only when you're only mildly injured. I'd probably give it a -5% to round out the -5% for "powered by ER only".

NPC villains don't have to worry too much about their exact point count anyway.