On Mon, Oct 28, 2013 at 5:18 PM, Longspeak Teller <longspeak.teller@gmail.com> wrote:
On Monday, October 28, 2013 2:51:18 PM UTC-7, Daniel M. Kane wrote:I'd give Perceive DNA the Touch Only Flaw (changing it to Capacity: Touch) instead of an If/Then.
I based this off of examples in the book which use If/Then (Must Touch Subject) for things like power mimic. What's the difference between the two flaws, with respect to when you use which?
The difference is that Power Mimic affects the mimic themselves, and touching the target is just a trigger like Attached. Touch Only indicates that your power works on anything you can touch (and is basically the Range Capacity with range 0).
Also, since Variable Effect (as in Power Mimic) has no Capacities by default anyway -- you're emulating powers for yourself -- taking Flaws that reduce the Capacities would be silly.
Assuming Touch Only really is the more appropriate method... with the cost already at 1/die, I'd want to fine the player a nice, thematically appropriate +1 Extra to offset the net -1 switching to Touch Only. Oh... Subtle +1 would be perfect. She's already used the power several times while shaking hands and such.
I'd also knock Variable Effect, Attached, and If/Then off of the Dead Ringer analogue. Since you can very specifically only shapeshift into one form (the last DNA you sampled), no Variable Effect should be necessary.
Useful (Dupe last sampled DNA): Endless +3, Self-Only -3, Capacity: Self
The Self Only gives me the same weird munchkinny feeling it did for the other character's shapechange, but I allowed it there, so I should allow it here to be consistent. :P
Self-Only is second only to Obvious in being an easy source of points for powers. Think of it this way: without Self-Only, the power can have Range and apply to *anyone*. Which is actually a pretty cool power, especially with If/Then (doesn't work on self) -1.
This might be my inner munchkin speaking, but whenever I write up a power I think to myself "Is this less awesome or flavorful if it's loud, bright, or otherwise attention-grabbing?"
But Variable Effect and If/Then is taken from Dead Ringer, and while this use of the power is a bit more limited than free change because of the need to read DNA first, the effect is still variable. But... pointwise... "Variable/IfThen/Attached" is +1 and
The big difference is that Dead Ringer can do more than one thing. "Turn into one particular person" is specific enough that it's covered by a single Useful quality IMHO, like "Useful (turn into my opposite-gender alter ego): Subtle +1, Self-Only -3".
The existing power doesn't emulate powers at all. She only wants to change appearance, but her own stats/skills and powers remain.
Variable Effect = emulating powers. The Flaws on the Quality apply to the actual emulation, but don't carry over directly to the "multi-power" emulated Qualities. For example, Slow on a Quality with VE means you can only emulate a different power every other turn, while If/Then (emulated powers have Slow) -1 forces you to add the Flaw to the emulated powers. You can also mandate Extras for emulated Qualities in the same way, like If/Then (emulated powers have Permanent) -1.
In practice, it's easiest to take Permanent and a wd or a couple hd so you can pretend it's one Quality that does a bunch of things (because you never have to roll to emulate powers), and note down the Extras/Flaws of the de facto power, the emulated one. Those aren't the Extras and Flaws that actually count for points, though!
This is more important for you, the GM, to know than the players... most of the time. I'd avoid people without good system mastery taking something like Cosmic Power, though.
Variable Effect is pretty complicated and, additionally, changed a lot between early versions of the Essential Edition and the final print version.
But... both powers have the same parameters with respect to the sorts of forms she can assume. The perfect copy only makes the copy...er... perfect. DNA, fingerprints, retinal scan. The free-change lets her be creative. What about...
Thousand Faces 2hd (U; 8/die; 32 pts)
Useful (Free Change) Extras and Flaws: Endless +3, Variable Effect +4, If/Then (Human Forms Only) -1, If/Then (Variable Effect is only for choosing different appearances) -1, Self Only -3. Capacity: Self. 4/die
Useful (Doppelganger) Extras and Flaws: Permanent+4, Variable Effect +4, If/Then Attached (Perceive DNA) -2, If/Then (Variable Effect is only for choosing different appearances) -1, Self Only -3. Capacity: Self. 4/die
Effect: User changes freely to any human form of roughly the same mass. Upon perceiving the DNA of a subject, the user may immediately assume that form.
I considered attaching the Doppelganger to the free change as well as the DNA reading, but your idea of making it permanent for an immediate change was appealing and if I attached it to the free change I don't think the permanent effect would work.
Reading some of the other items on Arc Dream's site, and with this particular character coming in quite low in points, I might suggest a few modifications to the player, to use powers of copied Deltas, perhaps, maybe, or to enhance her fighting prowess by adding some neat Defends and/or Attacks qualities to the power. But really the player's plan was a more physcial character who could also adopt disguises at-will
Speaking of Permanent, putting it on the DNA-duplication would differentiate it a bit more from the free shapechanging, because it wouldn't require an action (or multiple action) to shift between your normal form and the last DNA you "tasted," while arbitrary shapeshifts require one (or two) actions.You may also want to write up the specific power that the Variable Effect emulates, something like:Useful (shapeshift into _____): Endless +3, Self-only -3, If/Then (no more than plus/minus half base mass) -1
I thought you needed a size shift power to affect mass appreciably anyway?
You really do, but I thought it was worth emphasizing and it doesn't change the value of the Quality. Emulated qualities don't have points/die and so don't count the first two points from the Quality; the user just has to pay Willpower if there aren't enough Flaws to balance out the Extras.
-- Daniel
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