The Dresden Files > DFRPG
Why are powers so much stronger than stunts?
nadia.skylark:
Would this stunt be less of a problem if you couldn't use more than one of its consequences on any given thing (ie, you couldn't use more than one consequence to power a spell, you couldn't use more than one extra consequence to absorb an attack, etc)? This feels clunky, but I don't want my character to be able to absorb bigger hits than any other character or cast massively overpowered spells; this stunt is supposed to be for a bunch of smaller things.
Celebnasse:
--- Quote from: nadia.skylark on May 27, 2019, 09:26:16 PM ---Would this stunt be less of a problem if you couldn't use more than one of its consequences on any given thing (ie, you couldn't use more than one consequence to power a spell, you couldn't use more than one extra consequence to absorb an attack, etc)? This feels clunky, but I don't want my character to be able to absorb bigger hits than any other character or cast massively overpowered spells; this stunt is supposed to be for a bunch of smaller things.
--- End quote ---
If this is supposed to model being able to take more damage before going down because you don't feel as much pain as others, why not model it with Armor: 2 (or 1, or 3). Small hits (1 or 2 stress), you just shrug off the pain it causes (ie. you take no stress). With larger hits, you are able to partially ignore the pain, but not fully (ie. you take less stress than you would have).
nadia.skylark:
--- Quote ---If this is supposed to model being able to take more damage before going down because you don't feel as much pain as others, why not model it with Armor: 2 (or 1, or 3). Small hits (1 or 2 stress), you just shrug off the pain it causes (ie. you take no stress). With larger hits, you are able to partially ignore the pain, but not fully (ie. you take less stress than you would have).
--- End quote ---
The idea is to model being able to better function while damaged than most people. A character with this stunt shouldn't be getting hurt any less--they should just be able to keep going longer while injured.
Celebnasse:
--- Quote from: nadia.skylark on May 28, 2019, 05:27:47 AM ---The idea is to model being able to better function while damaged than most people. A character with this stunt shouldn't be getting hurt any less--they should just be able to keep going longer while injured.
--- End quote ---
From a non-mechanical point of view, keeping going longer while injured reads to me as they can take more hits before being taken out. Does this sound about right?
Mechanically, being taken out is when you have to fill in a space on your stress track and have no space to fill in. There are lots of different ways to allow a character to get hit more before being taken out.
* Have more stress boxes to fill in.
* Have more consequences to spend to reduce incoming stress
* Take less stress per hit
Both the first 2 allow one to cast bigger, stronger spells, by using the higher stress boxes and/or consequences, which you've said you don't want (and doesn't fit the fluff of ignoring pain). As for the third, the easiest way to take less stress per hit, mechanically, is Armour.
Yes, most of the time Armor (the power/ability) is used in the book as just that, armor (scales, flak jacket, etc). But there are lots of other things that can be used for something that isn't exactly what the name implies. The one that jumps to mind is Breath Weapon. I'm sure not every creature/character that has the power called "Breath Weapon" is actually breathing something on their target. Some are just attacking at range (which is mechanically what Breath Weapon is doing). Mechanically what Armor is doing is allowing you to take more hits before being taken out. Sometimes that's because each hit is doing less damage (in a non-mechanical sense) to you. But there's nothing that says it can't mean you just ignore the pain (or some of the pain) of the hit, so you won't go down as easily as someone who doesn't have it.
Sanctaphrax:
--- Quote from: Mr. Death on May 26, 2019, 01:08:20 AM ---Looked at another way, that's another 12 shifts a character can throw into a Death Curse (or when used as a human sacrifice), which is also a pretty big deal.
...
True -- and this stunt lets a character be hit three more times, and two of those times can be fairly substantial hits.
--- End quote ---
Sure. That's not at all out of line for 2 Refresh.
--- Quote from: Mr. Death on May 26, 2019, 01:08:20 AM ---And prohibiting it is also a little squirrelly -- are there any powers that explicitly prohibit mixing with other powers (aside from, for instance, Supernatural Recovery being an upgrade to Inhuman recovery)?
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There are some special interactions like Sponsored Magic + Evocation. And for some reason you can't take Wizard's Constitution with Toughness. It's hardly common, though.
It's probably better to say that Recovery Powers don't affect the extra slots than to ban taking both together.
--- Quote from: Mr. Death on May 26, 2019, 01:08:20 AM ---It also comes with a higher cost and a required weakness, neither of which is present in this proposed power.
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It's way better and also way more expensive, as is appropriate.
The Catch is really more benefit than weakness. It's a big discount.
--- Quote from: nadia.skylark on May 26, 2019, 05:03:33 PM ---For that matter, I'm not sure how someone with recovery powers would justify taking this power, since it's meant to represent someone who is so used to being hurt that they've developed the ability to keep functioning with more damage than most people can handle, and someone with recovery powers wouldn't have learned to function with a huge amount of damage--they would have healed it.
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On the contrary, it's often the people with Recovery powers who spend the most time in brutally injured states. They can handle it, after all.
--- Quote from: nadia.skylark on May 27, 2019, 05:17:38 PM ---This feels wrong narratively--if you're going into a fight already hurt, it ought to make a difference--but I'm not sure how it should be handled mechanically.
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Consequence Aspects can be invoked and Compelled.
--- Quote from: nadia.skylark on May 27, 2019, 05:17:38 PM ---It can't only be people who just want to get around defenses, because using spirit attacks like this is in the RAW. I feel like they wouldn't stick it into the sourcebook just because someone wanted to cheat the system like that, so it follows that some groups can use it without a problem.
--- End quote ---
Every imaginable set of rules is fine for some groups. But if you allow mental spirit attacks, anyone who's good at Evocation can one-shot everything. Pretty much nothing is physically tough enough to handle a 7-shift force lance and mentally tough enough to handle a 7-shift sleep beam.
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