Post by takewithfood on Jul 23, 2009 18:25:47 GMT -5
Hey gang,
So, I've been wanting to create a new version of Duplicate Self for a while now, and after fiddling with the Henchmen Rule, it actually seems possible. This version of Duplicate Self is still a Modifier, but it uses a Modifier Number rather than having a flat cost:
So, that's what I have so far. I'm not sure about the price, but considering that this enables you to essentially get a +MN bonus on all sorts of different Actions, I'd say it's well worth the price.
What troubles me is the Share Pain option. I'm not in love with the way I have it at the moment. Multiple Man used to suffer pain when his dupes died, but now it seems that their deaths don't bother him at all - I want to allow for both versions, but the trouble is how. Instead of losing health, maybe you should suffer energy drain or something.
The reason why it matters is that with enough preparation, having a lot of duplicates can make you nigh invulnerable to physical attacks. If you have a Durability of 2 and you have, say, 64 dupes out, even if you take 64 stones of damage (enough to KO HALF of your dupes), you can get back to full numbers by spending a single Action. Your only significant weaknesses are Telepathy/Magic, and AoE attacks.
Essentially, this IS what makes Multiple Man so damn annoying, but damn.. with a little preparation and enough room, you can be downright scary (hence the extreme cost).
EDIT: It just occurred to me that KO'ed dupes still count against your limit of how many you can have out at once; thus, if you are limited to 64 and half of them are KO'ed, you can't actually replace them until you have time to run around and absorb the fallen dupes. That makes it pretty balanced.
I'm eager to hear what you guys think, and maybe even playtest it.
~TWF
So, I've been wanting to create a new version of Duplicate Self for a while now, and after fiddling with the Henchmen Rule, it actually seems possible. This version of Duplicate Self is still a Modifier, but it uses a Modifier Number rather than having a flat cost:
Duplicate Self MN+7 CL
You can make identical clones or duplicates of yourself (often called "dupes" for short), which enable you to literally double your efforts - or more.
Your duplicates each have the same CAD that you have, and appear at full health and with full energy. Following the Henchmen Rule, you and your dupes may gain a group bonus to certain Actions. Most combat Actions will gain this benefit, as will some other Actions as determined by the GM, depending on the situation: a gang of 150 dupes may gain a full +7 group bonus when using Social Skills to intimidate an opponent, but only one or two dupes are helpful when it comes to piloting an airplane with Vehicle Operations, for example.
You must spend an Action to create a duplicate, but no energy is required. Each of your dupes can create its own dupes as well, meaning that you can effectively double your current number with each Action you spend.
The maximum number of dupes that you can have at one time is related to your Action Number:
* including yourself
If you are a member of a group of dupes when it is attacked, the "real you" is always the last to suffer any damage.
Options
-2 CL = Share Pain. Lose 1 white stone of health for every dupe that is killed, to a minimum of 1 white (losing dupes can mess you up, but it won't kill you). This damage heals completely in 24 hours.
Example: After hearing about a drive-by shooting that landed one of his informants in hospital, Jamie Madrox is anxious to find out who was behind the attack. He decides to put his ear to the ground, and wants to use his duplicates to speed the process up.
Madrox has a Duplicate Self MN of 6 with the Share Pain option (he paid 20 stones). He can create a maximum of 63 duplicates (64 total, including himself), but he decides that 16 is probably more than enough. He stomps his foot 4 times and goes over the plan with his team of dupes: they split up, with each dupe pursuing a different lead or visiting a different contact. They are to meet back up again in 3 hours to pool the information they gather. Madrox places 5 stones into his Private Investigation Action, and the GM allows him the +4 group bonus for coming up with a clever and efficient way of using his dupes.
3 hours later, Madrox has a promising lead: one of his dupes has heard that the injured informant has racked up some considerable gambling debts, and a local bookie has put a contract on his head. Madrox decides to pay the bookie a visit to see if he can't sort things out. Not wanting to cause trouble, he absorbs all of his dupes and hails a cab.
The meet-and-greet with the bookie doesn't go so well - apparently, the bookie has something to prove, and wants to use Madrox and his informant as an example. As diplomacy quickly turns sour, our hero suddenly finds himself in a small office with three angry goons who want to feed him to the fishes.
Anticipating a fight, Madrox quickly spends a Page creating dupes. He doubles himself with one Action, and then doubles again with his second Action: instead of being outnumbered 3 to 1, he now outnumbers THEM 4 to 3. He has Strength 2, Durability 2, Pool and Recovery of 3 each, and Close Combat 4 - and so do each of his dupes. He wants to see what these goons are made of, so at the start of the next page he puts 4 stones into Close Combat and shifts them all to defense. Following the Henchmen rule, he and his dupes act as a single unit, and so he gains a +2 bonus to his Close Combat Action (which he also shifts to defense). If the goons are just common thugs, he should be able to mob the floor with them easily enough, but if they're tougher than they look, he might need to spend another Action or two to increase his numbers, but the bookie's cramped office will probably limit the size of his army.
You can make identical clones or duplicates of yourself (often called "dupes" for short), which enable you to literally double your efforts - or more.
Your duplicates each have the same CAD that you have, and appear at full health and with full energy. Following the Henchmen Rule, you and your dupes may gain a group bonus to certain Actions. Most combat Actions will gain this benefit, as will some other Actions as determined by the GM, depending on the situation: a gang of 150 dupes may gain a full +7 group bonus when using Social Skills to intimidate an opponent, but only one or two dupes are helpful when it comes to piloting an airplane with Vehicle Operations, for example.
You must spend an Action to create a duplicate, but no energy is required. Each of your dupes can create its own dupes as well, meaning that you can effectively double your current number with each Action you spend.
The maximum number of dupes that you can have at one time is related to your Action Number:
MN | Max Dupes* | Group Bonus |
1 | 2 | +1 |
2 | 4 | +2 |
3 | 8 | +3 |
4 | 16 | +4 |
5 | 32 | +5 |
6 | 64 | +6 |
7 | 128 | +7 |
8 | 256 | +8 |
9 | 512 | +9 |
10 | 1024 | +10 |
* including yourself
If you are a member of a group of dupes when it is attacked, the "real you" is always the last to suffer any damage.
Options
-2 CL = Share Pain. Lose 1 white stone of health for every dupe that is killed, to a minimum of 1 white (losing dupes can mess you up, but it won't kill you). This damage heals completely in 24 hours.
Example: After hearing about a drive-by shooting that landed one of his informants in hospital, Jamie Madrox is anxious to find out who was behind the attack. He decides to put his ear to the ground, and wants to use his duplicates to speed the process up.
Madrox has a Duplicate Self MN of 6 with the Share Pain option (he paid 20 stones). He can create a maximum of 63 duplicates (64 total, including himself), but he decides that 16 is probably more than enough. He stomps his foot 4 times and goes over the plan with his team of dupes: they split up, with each dupe pursuing a different lead or visiting a different contact. They are to meet back up again in 3 hours to pool the information they gather. Madrox places 5 stones into his Private Investigation Action, and the GM allows him the +4 group bonus for coming up with a clever and efficient way of using his dupes.
3 hours later, Madrox has a promising lead: one of his dupes has heard that the injured informant has racked up some considerable gambling debts, and a local bookie has put a contract on his head. Madrox decides to pay the bookie a visit to see if he can't sort things out. Not wanting to cause trouble, he absorbs all of his dupes and hails a cab.
The meet-and-greet with the bookie doesn't go so well - apparently, the bookie has something to prove, and wants to use Madrox and his informant as an example. As diplomacy quickly turns sour, our hero suddenly finds himself in a small office with three angry goons who want to feed him to the fishes.
Anticipating a fight, Madrox quickly spends a Page creating dupes. He doubles himself with one Action, and then doubles again with his second Action: instead of being outnumbered 3 to 1, he now outnumbers THEM 4 to 3. He has Strength 2, Durability 2, Pool and Recovery of 3 each, and Close Combat 4 - and so do each of his dupes. He wants to see what these goons are made of, so at the start of the next page he puts 4 stones into Close Combat and shifts them all to defense. Following the Henchmen rule, he and his dupes act as a single unit, and so he gains a +2 bonus to his Close Combat Action (which he also shifts to defense). If the goons are just common thugs, he should be able to mob the floor with them easily enough, but if they're tougher than they look, he might need to spend another Action or two to increase his numbers, but the bookie's cramped office will probably limit the size of his army.
So, that's what I have so far. I'm not sure about the price, but considering that this enables you to essentially get a +MN bonus on all sorts of different Actions, I'd say it's well worth the price.
What troubles me is the Share Pain option. I'm not in love with the way I have it at the moment. Multiple Man used to suffer pain when his dupes died, but now it seems that their deaths don't bother him at all - I want to allow for both versions, but the trouble is how. Instead of losing health, maybe you should suffer energy drain or something.
The reason why it matters is that with enough preparation, having a lot of duplicates can make you nigh invulnerable to physical attacks. If you have a Durability of 2 and you have, say, 64 dupes out, even if you take 64 stones of damage (enough to KO HALF of your dupes), you can get back to full numbers by spending a single Action. Your only significant weaknesses are Telepathy/Magic, and AoE attacks.
Essentially, this IS what makes Multiple Man so damn annoying, but damn.. with a little preparation and enough room, you can be downright scary (hence the extreme cost).
EDIT: It just occurred to me that KO'ed dupes still count against your limit of how many you can have out at once; thus, if you are limited to 64 and half of them are KO'ed, you can't actually replace them until you have time to run around and absorb the fallen dupes. That makes it pretty balanced.
I'm eager to hear what you guys think, and maybe even playtest it.
~TWF