New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

[CTaylor]

The name of this is a bit misleading, perhaps AE: Chain would be more intuitive. By arc I don't mean a geometric portion of a circle but rather like lightning that arcs between targets. Here's what I have in mind:

 

AE: Arc (+1/2 advantage)

 

The power with AE: Arc on it will leap between targets within an area losing 1 DC of effect each jump until it runs out of dice. Each target in the area can only be hit one time by the effect, and the effect will hit the next nearest target each time. Like explosion, each jump reduces the effect by the largest die of effect. AE: Arc has an area of 1" radius per 5 active points in the power.

 

EXAMPLE: Bob is facing seven thugs and uses his arc lightning power. This power has a 7D6 energy blast, and an area effect of 5" radius. Bob hits the area and the lightning snaps around between targets in an instant. The first target (in the center of the AE) takes the full damage, the next nearest takes the full amount minus the largest die roll, until each target takes an arc, the final target suffering the smallest D6 damage.

 

The only reason to have this in the game is to simulate certain effects and spells seen in games and media. This is a fairly obscure and rare construction but it would do the job pretty well. As usual, it could be modeled with other area effect rules and lots of stacked limitations, but with a single advantage you'd save trouble building the power and get a consistent, well-defined effect in the rules. The primary difference is that the damage reduces each hit rather than everyone taking the same damage (which would just be an AE radius).

 

This plus area effect autofire would let each target be hit more than once, I'd rule that if you hit 5 times with the autofire, you arc between different targets five times at full damage then the remaining get 5 hits at 1D6 lower, and so on. If there are not five targets, then it would bounce back and forth between the existing targets, hitting each one once, then returning to the original to repeat the sequence until the dice are expended.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

Not to be a rebel, but this sounds like a modified Auto-Fire Advantage. Have you double-checked the rules on walking fire?

[ghost-angel]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

Looks like Area Of Effect: Any Area with an additional Limitation "Attack loses 1 Damage Class per Target" (at least -1/2).

[CTaylor]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

Sure you could model something like that with autofire, but it would require lots of speciality skills to get the single effect - in other words you'd be able to do wonderful things with any autofire just to use this one power.

[Sean Waters]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

I like it: it may be doable other ways but it is nice to have a single mechanic that does the trick in our toolbag.

 

Not sure I'd necessarily do it with radius: once it is arcing it could go ANYWHERE Perhaps you can define the area it will adopt when you buy the power (radius, cone, any area etc).

 

Sounds useful

[ghost-angel]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

What you could do is apply a -1/4: Loses 1 DC Per Target modifier to any Area Of Effect. Now you can have strait lines, radii, set paths...

[CTaylor]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

That's not a bad thought, I have used a similar modifier like that with explosion, except I treat it as a reduction to the advantage instead of a limitation (as in, Radius with the explosion modifier makes it a +1/2 instead of a +1)

[Thia Halmades]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

That's not a bad thought' date=' I have used a similar modifier like that with explosion, except I treat it as a reduction to the advantage instead of a limitation (as in, Radius with the explosion modifier makes it a +1/2 instead of a +1)[/quote']

 

Okay. I think I grasp what you're saying now. A "bolt jump" type power. Huh. I like it. Tasty. Things to consider:

 

* limiting the 'distance' it can jump (for an additional -1/4); you'll also want to set an 'average' distance, and have an Advantage "increased jump distance" to go along with it.

 

* I agree with my brother, "loses 1 DC per Jump" making it a heavily modified Explosion, basically.

 

* Then of course the usual Selective, Non-Selective, etc. & so forth.

[schir1964]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

The concept is sound. Values and how it may be implemented may vary.

 

Good idea.

 

Added: [thread=42607]New Mechanic Ideas[/thread]

 

- Christopher Mullins

[Doc Democracy]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

* I agree with my brother' date=' "loses 1 DC per Jump" making it a heavily modified Explosion, basically.[/quote']

 

I was thinking along the same lines when I saw it first BUT explosion loses 1DC per fixed distance. This would allow a number of targets to be effected regardless of how far they were apart to begin with and so much more useful than explosion in that respect.

 

I'd be inclined to treat its cost exactly like explosion - it loses the area effect which is useful for close packed opponents but it gains in that the second person will get the damage - 1DC, the second -2DC etc. which is far more useful for dispersed combatants.

 

 

Doc

[MorpheousXO]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

instead of basing it's range off of the current AoE's, you could base it's jump distance on the AP, and then it can go as far as there are people within range and dc's left. Something like 1"/10AP or something (or 5AP), then if you have a 10 DC attack, it could in theory jump 5" 10 times as long as there were new targets. You could also say that it cannot leave the range of the power, if that's what you want.

[Tonio]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

Not quite exactly what you're describing, but a similar effect could be built with Explosion, Nonselective (I'm not entirely sure you can apply Nonselective to Explosion by default, but it makes sense). That way, the initial target gets hit by the full blast, then opponents farther away get hit by smaller blasts, only you have to roll to hit for each (since the effect is arcing towards them, not a true area effect). Or use Selective if you wanna choose who gets hit.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

I was thinking along the same lines when I saw it first BUT explosion loses 1DC per fixed distance. This would allow a number of targets to be effected regardless of how far they were apart to begin with and so much more useful than explosion in that respect.

 

I'd be inclined to treat its cost exactly like explosion - it loses the area effect which is useful for close packed opponents but it gains in that the second person will get the damage - 1DC, the second -2DC etc. which is far more useful for dispersed combatants.

 

 

Doc

 

Ah, you just said exactly what I said, Doc. Loses 1 DC per jump, which is a heavily modified explosion. But feel free to repeat it, that's fine too.

[Doc Democracy]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

Ah' date=' you just said exactly what I said, Doc. Loses 1 DC per jump, which is a heavily modified explosion. But feel free to repeat it, that's fine too. [/quote']

 

Methinks I was reading heavily modified to be heavily limited - a different prospect pointwise....

[Thia Halmades]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

Methinks I was reading heavily modified to be heavily limited - a different prospect pointwise....

 

That is entirely possible, but I would want to see "weaker jump" (loses more DC per jump) "stronger jump" (loses DC after two jumps) and a specific jump-distance ruling, so we'd know how far apart each target was, and the power could be purchase as 1", 2", 3" and so on. Or, modeled in an AOE, must jump from target to target, only within defined radius of power.

[CTaylor]

Re: New Advantage: Area Effect Arc

 

Using distance rather than area is an intriguing idea, because it would allow you to put things like "reduced by range" in the mix so it weakens even more based on how distant it has to leap to get the next target.