Post by reddecker on May 25, 2010 11:28:31 GMT -5
I made a character with the "Transform self by touch" Modifier and figured it'd be a lot of fun to play. I searched the forum and found a few threads discussing why it cost so much so I figured I'd take a crack at it. For the power you touch something and gain the properties of it. We have three examples of this ability in comic books. Absorbing Man, Mondo [Generation X], and Metalhead [X-men 2099].
While all three varied slightly the result was the same, they could turn their bodies into other substances. By the rules the only thing truly set is that they get toughness equal to the hardness of what they touch. A toughness of 10 is 30 white stones, so if this were the only use of this power it would in essence punish a player for having a variable flavored toughness, something MURPG doesn't really do.
Since the best example of this power is Crusher Creel, we'll use him as our main example. In the comic books Absorbing Man has made a history of fighting very powerful enemies, he's able to match Thor, the Hulk, and other Avengers over the course of his career. He's able to absorb properties of things, even the mystical abilities of Mjolnir. How can we gauge within the context of the rules without over powering it?
What does it do?
The book simply states:
*You cannot alter your Intelligence
*Gain attributes of whatever you turn into
*Duration at will
This is very broad most likely meant as a path to creativity. The broadness however adds so much room that it can be exploited.
"Transform self by touch" has three components. First is "Toughness", on average the strongest material a character will come into contact with is steel or titanium. Hardness of 6 and 7 respectively. Titanium is fairly cheap, a ring or bracelet can be purchased from between $200-600. Instances of a hardness of greater that 7 will be rare, if ever; tanks, Wolverines Claws, Cap’s Shield, Thor’s hammer, and Ultron’s composition are some of these. Which are rare and all deserve to make the character more powerful then the cost would normally allow.
Toughness, since this power is equal in cost to an always functioning Toughness of 10, and its variable dependent on what's available (i.e. GM Discretion); to make it worth the cost something else has to happen. That's the way of this game, you get what you pay for.
Second is density, to increase or decrease density we look at "Manipulate Body Density" with titanium as the example at 7 we increase the density to by 7... Can you say overpowered? I think it’d be better to base it off the substance, which will minimize the overall increase. Increase by 2 for metals and other solids, 1 for liquid or 0 for gases and energy, since this lowers density there is no strength increase.
Third is properties, for this part we look at metamorphosis. Metamorphosis allows us to change ourselves; we use this to take on the properties of what is touched. Originally I had thought to make this also the hardness value however, this makes liquids, gases, and energy almost worthless to absorb. We’ll use Metamorphosis at an AN of 10. This is where we get other increases from, in my opinion since titanium is lightweight, and durable I'd like to use these stones to increase my Durability, and agility. If I touched a building, and wanted to grow tall, "Growth" would come from here. Extra Strength and other fun parts would be purchased here as well. They touch something and want the qualities they can have it but only so much. These “stones” can’t be used to improve toughness.
When you change into something you acquire a vulnerability to something (i.e. wood is vulnerable to fire, magnetism or electricity for metals).
A few things I’d like to touch upon:
I agree that the example in the book is poor and the reason he was unaffected by the bullets was because his defense was higher at that point. So if Wolverine tries to slice him up, he’ll get the toughness but unless he puts some stones in defense he’ll lose some stones. After all when Absorbing Man touched Thor’s hammer the Norse god was still able to hurt him with it.
There should be two ways to use this, first is reflex. The book example, the reflexive way should be weaker then actively transforming. So with reflexive you only get the toughness and Body Density, you simply don’t have the time to get all of the properties.
The Second is Active, this is where you take an action to touch something and absorb its properties. This gives you a few seconds to take what you need and leave the rest.
It’s very important to understand that unlike the other 30 stone actions/modifiers this is the most GM dependant. Steal Superpower & Copy Ability/Action/Modifier... you will encounter someone with something you want, Duplicate self... Transform Self by touch however, the GM may decide you never encounter a substance harder then an aluminum can. Even if the only thing they turn into is titanium this still a good choice.
Some of you may be saying "Hey!? This makes solids better then Gas/Liquid/Energy!?"
Very true, in the comic books, Absorbing Man was defeated several times by being tricked into turning into something. Thor got him to turn into helium and he dissipated; he's turned into glass and was shattered, and he got lost in the ocean when absorbing water...
Abuses to avoid, Adamantium Skeleton/Claws: rule that the substance must be external and not part of your body.
Absorbing the “essence” of someone is possible; Absorbing Man absorbed the Hulk at one point. With this, they look as much or little like the person as they want. They gain toughness equal to whoever they absorb if they have it. Powers would be “paid” for out of the Metamorphosis part of the power.
Point-by-point:
Benefits:
*Toughness
*Hardness level=MN
*Use of Manipulate Body Density
*Stones add to strength
*Weight increase/decrease= +/- 1-2
-Cannot be applied to toughness
-Cannot control weight change
*Use of metamorphosis at AN of 10
*used to duplicate properties
*Durability can be purchase at a 3:1 ratio
-Cannot increase Toughness
-Appearance becomes human made of substance
Overall
*When turning into inorganic substance no need to eat/drink or breathe
-One absorption at a time (substance/object)
-Gain Vulnerability GM decides
-They cannot have an increase greater then hardness for anything
-Nothing they change into can increase their Intelligence
(*Possibly purchase Self-Contained life form and Reconstitute Self for a discount)
If people want some examples of how this would work I'd be happy to give some. (As previously stated, I have a lot of time to think about things like this when I work)
While all three varied slightly the result was the same, they could turn their bodies into other substances. By the rules the only thing truly set is that they get toughness equal to the hardness of what they touch. A toughness of 10 is 30 white stones, so if this were the only use of this power it would in essence punish a player for having a variable flavored toughness, something MURPG doesn't really do.
Since the best example of this power is Crusher Creel, we'll use him as our main example. In the comic books Absorbing Man has made a history of fighting very powerful enemies, he's able to match Thor, the Hulk, and other Avengers over the course of his career. He's able to absorb properties of things, even the mystical abilities of Mjolnir. How can we gauge within the context of the rules without over powering it?
What does it do?
The book simply states:
*You cannot alter your Intelligence
*Gain attributes of whatever you turn into
*Duration at will
This is very broad most likely meant as a path to creativity. The broadness however adds so much room that it can be exploited.
"Transform self by touch" has three components. First is "Toughness", on average the strongest material a character will come into contact with is steel or titanium. Hardness of 6 and 7 respectively. Titanium is fairly cheap, a ring or bracelet can be purchased from between $200-600. Instances of a hardness of greater that 7 will be rare, if ever; tanks, Wolverines Claws, Cap’s Shield, Thor’s hammer, and Ultron’s composition are some of these. Which are rare and all deserve to make the character more powerful then the cost would normally allow.
Toughness, since this power is equal in cost to an always functioning Toughness of 10, and its variable dependent on what's available (i.e. GM Discretion); to make it worth the cost something else has to happen. That's the way of this game, you get what you pay for.
Second is density, to increase or decrease density we look at "Manipulate Body Density" with titanium as the example at 7 we increase the density to by 7... Can you say overpowered? I think it’d be better to base it off the substance, which will minimize the overall increase. Increase by 2 for metals and other solids, 1 for liquid or 0 for gases and energy, since this lowers density there is no strength increase.
Third is properties, for this part we look at metamorphosis. Metamorphosis allows us to change ourselves; we use this to take on the properties of what is touched. Originally I had thought to make this also the hardness value however, this makes liquids, gases, and energy almost worthless to absorb. We’ll use Metamorphosis at an AN of 10. This is where we get other increases from, in my opinion since titanium is lightweight, and durable I'd like to use these stones to increase my Durability, and agility. If I touched a building, and wanted to grow tall, "Growth" would come from here. Extra Strength and other fun parts would be purchased here as well. They touch something and want the qualities they can have it but only so much. These “stones” can’t be used to improve toughness.
When you change into something you acquire a vulnerability to something (i.e. wood is vulnerable to fire, magnetism or electricity for metals).
A few things I’d like to touch upon:
I agree that the example in the book is poor and the reason he was unaffected by the bullets was because his defense was higher at that point. So if Wolverine tries to slice him up, he’ll get the toughness but unless he puts some stones in defense he’ll lose some stones. After all when Absorbing Man touched Thor’s hammer the Norse god was still able to hurt him with it.
There should be two ways to use this, first is reflex. The book example, the reflexive way should be weaker then actively transforming. So with reflexive you only get the toughness and Body Density, you simply don’t have the time to get all of the properties.
The Second is Active, this is where you take an action to touch something and absorb its properties. This gives you a few seconds to take what you need and leave the rest.
It’s very important to understand that unlike the other 30 stone actions/modifiers this is the most GM dependant. Steal Superpower & Copy Ability/Action/Modifier... you will encounter someone with something you want, Duplicate self... Transform Self by touch however, the GM may decide you never encounter a substance harder then an aluminum can. Even if the only thing they turn into is titanium this still a good choice.
Some of you may be saying "Hey!? This makes solids better then Gas/Liquid/Energy!?"
Very true, in the comic books, Absorbing Man was defeated several times by being tricked into turning into something. Thor got him to turn into helium and he dissipated; he's turned into glass and was shattered, and he got lost in the ocean when absorbing water...
Abuses to avoid, Adamantium Skeleton/Claws: rule that the substance must be external and not part of your body.
Absorbing the “essence” of someone is possible; Absorbing Man absorbed the Hulk at one point. With this, they look as much or little like the person as they want. They gain toughness equal to whoever they absorb if they have it. Powers would be “paid” for out of the Metamorphosis part of the power.
Point-by-point:
Benefits:
*Toughness
*Hardness level=MN
*Use of Manipulate Body Density
*Stones add to strength
*Weight increase/decrease= +/- 1-2
-Cannot be applied to toughness
-Cannot control weight change
*Use of metamorphosis at AN of 10
*used to duplicate properties
*Durability can be purchase at a 3:1 ratio
-Cannot increase Toughness
-Appearance becomes human made of substance
Overall
*When turning into inorganic substance no need to eat/drink or breathe
-One absorption at a time (substance/object)
-Gain Vulnerability GM decides
-They cannot have an increase greater then hardness for anything
-Nothing they change into can increase their Intelligence
(*Possibly purchase Self-Contained life form and Reconstitute Self for a discount)
If people want some examples of how this would work I'd be happy to give some. (As previously stated, I have a lot of time to think about things like this when I work)
