Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[shinryu]

So this has bugged me about the Limited Use modifier for a bit; there seems like a lot of cases where one or the other effect is appropriate for a power, but not really both: e.g.

1) My combat drugs give me Super Strength or Growth and take a few seconds to do what they do, but they don't wear off for quite a while (so 1d6 rounds start up time is quite good, but not the duration)

2) I only have so many missiles in the pack or charges in my magical wand, and then I'm out till i can reload/sacrifice another virgin (so 1d6+5 rounds is appropriate, but not the start up time. Also, might need to be a fixed number since there's no real time limitation, unless that's the trapping and the amazing electroblaster fires up for ten seconds and then goes offline or something).

3) My combat drugs are giving me lots of Extra actions, but it's very hard on my otherwise mortal flesh; not really provided for as written, but you'd think a limited use trapping (inflicts fatigue every 1d6+5 rounds) would be a very useful option.

So I'm not sure I understand why the first two cases were combined, unless the thought was they just weren't individually inconvenient enough to justify a full power point off in cost. I'm inclined to think allowing at least case 2) and 3) as a separate one point off, assuming reloading is not possible for case 2). While I suppose you could consider that a special case of Requires Material, it seems like there are other powers it would be worthwhile for (only so many shots in the Contaigion injector, ablative Armor, etc.)

[Clint]

[shinryu]

[Clint]

[shinryu]

So I think I understand the logic of Slow activation vs. Requires Activation, though I'm not sure limiting it to just Device is necessary, honestly; it seems like a way to handle brief and nasty transformation abilities (you wouldn't like me when I'm angry... but it takes a second, and I'm only angry for a little while...). But the pricing structure makes sense.

I guess I just think there's still room for a generic power modifier that allows for relatively limited uses of a specific power, either in that it runs "out of ammo" or it's extremely fatiguing or actually damaging to use. Any of those is sufficiently limiting I'm not sure it's appropriate for just a trapping as opposed to a points break; the drug example is nicely balanced since you get multiple boosts activated simultaneously, so I'm on board there. However, aside from the obvious case of not being able to lug around an infinite supply of Mark II Really Little Boy subtactical nuclear grenades in my evil battlesuit and not being able to buy them at the corner store (hence, out of luck till I get back to the lair once I use up my supply), I could see an alchemist using the Invent power making a one shot potion, or similarly a straight mad scientist building an incredibly powerful but one-shot device ("we only get one shot at this, boys, so make that lightning bolt/teleport/whatever count), and right now there's not a good way to handle that in the SPC.

[Clint]