Favored of Ogun...

[ronyon]

Cross posted from here: http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42488#p911790
I'm hoping for more traffic here...
I am trying to build a character who, as the the chosen avatar of a god of the forge, can force the obedience of all metal (Complication, since so many objects have metal in them) objects by his mere presence.
Nothing, from a paper clip to a skyscraper would dare do anything other than his will.
In essence this is a mind control power that works on objects.

If I have a Perception ranged,Affect Objects Only,Selective, Reaction(Object Is Perceived),Instant Recovery Affliction[(Entrance, Compelled,Transformed(Into Animated Objects under Attackers Control)], will that allow the character to Selectively Transform any object that he can perceive,as a Reaction?

If so, is this too good?

I chose Perception range because Area:Perception wouldn't work since objects perceive nothing until they are animate(Transformed). The character will have Detect Metal(Mental), with the Accurate, Acute, Analytically, Radius,Penetrate Concealment and Ranged qualities, so not much would go unnoticed, unless it were very fast or very small(bullets anyone?)
Clearly Construct PC's get a save , and there are some optional rules about give Dodge saves to objects in the hands of characters(Not sure if this is appropriate due to the perception range...) But most objects would automatically suffer the 3rd level of Affliction.
Obviously this is dominating over Equipment users, but that is mostly henchmen.
The minions that result from the Transformation will only have the points from their Toughness,so they will pretty weak.I don't expect to use them much, as ordering minions around costs Actions in combat, but being able to command elevators, door locks,cleavers,cars and cranes seems perfect for this character.

[ursinethemadbear]

Your build, with a small change would be fine to take control of things that are already animated. If you want to animate normal objects, you need to use Summon.

Also, very cool idea.

[ronyon]

Hmm, I hear yah on the build. I can't find an example of using Affliction to Transform targets into Minions, be they living or inanimate.
So the fix you mentioned might look like this:

Perception ranged,Affect Objects Only,Metal Only,Selective, Reaction(Object Is Perceived),Instant Recovery Affliction(Entrance, Compelled, Controlled)

A cool power stunt, but it fails to keep the character from getting shot by a(non-animated) firearm.

So how about this:

Perception ranged, Reaction(Object Is Perceived),Broad(Tech), Simultaneous, Effortless and Precise,Nullify.
Complication:Tech Must Contain Metal

In this solution I ditch Selective in favor of Simultaneous and Precise.Less powerful, more flavorful, I had already envisioned this character using Escrima style machete fighting, and disdaining guns.with the power set up this way, he could suppress firearms and lasers, but if he wanted to use his own melee weapons, he could not suppress swords,axes, clubs etc.


Very pricey for what it does, and not very versatile, but it gives me another idea.

How about a Limited Move Object Effect?:

Perception ranged,Selective, Reaction(Object Is Perceived),Precise, Subtle,Objects Only,Move Object.
Complication: Must Contain Metal

This should allow both the "animating" of metal objects, and the use of Instant Countering.
Still, not cheap, but essentially its much like Machine Control, bought to Reaction.

So, would it work the way I want? Is it too powerful? For instance, how does Countering equipment work?As far as I can tell, it works as normal. Hmm, perhaps I should buff up Grab for this to work out the way I want, or maybe Disarm is what's appropriate?Dis arm seems right, though it only allows grabbing the disarmed item as a free Action, so turning guns against those who wield them would be a multi-stepped process at best...

The more I am seeing this the more tempted I am to offload the entire process onto a dedicated Insubstantial Sidekick. Arming it with this Move Objects power could simulate the mindful obedience that all metal shows the Favored of Ogun.

A good idea?Too much?Probably too much...

I might in fact buy a Summon , to represent when he turns his focus on a given object and bends it
to his will. Slapping Shapeshift and a fast Resurrection effect on the resultant minion could mean a charging rhino made of wrecked cars or a streetlight tentacle at created at a touch.I need to look into the cost of Resurrection....
Do you think requiring a "supplicant"(Controlled via the Move Object Effect) object of appropriate size and shape would count as a Flaw or is it just a Quirk or Complication? I'm leaning toward Complication, given the ubiquity of metal objects.


Btw, thanks for the positive feedback! I am really psyched to get a playable build of this guy done, even if I never play him!

[ursinethemadbear]

Reaction effects that can used to attack are very questionable. I would divide what you are wanting to build into three parts.

Part One: Metal Objects will not hurt you.

Immunity: 20, Metal Effects/Attacks

20 points

Part Two: You can Control Metal.

Move Object: Perception Ranged, Damaging, Limited [Metal Only]

3 points per rank

Part Three: Metal serves you.

Summon: Controlled, Heroic, Variable Type [Metal Objects], Quirk [Requires Metal Objects To Animate]

6 points per rank

So at rank 10, this would have a combined cost of 110 points. Expensive, but this is a powerful concept.

[ronyon]

Reaction effects that can used to attack are very questionable.

Huh. I was basically aiming for a Perception range Aura. Are auras limited to Close range only?
Would an Area Reaction(Aura) be considered questionable?

I would divide what you are wanting to build into three parts.

Part One: Metal Objects will not hurt you.

Immunity: 20, Metal Effects/Attacks

20 points

Neat, but not flexible enough.This power couldn't stop attacks against teammates or bystanders, nor could it prevent even an all metal energy weapon from doing damage.
A Perception,Ranged or Area,Reaction(Aura) Effect, usable as a Counter, would work better for me, even with the chance of failure. Perhaps an Area Transform Effect would do. It would at least be easier to adjudicate than a Move Object Aura.
I'm cool with not being totally immune if I can get more flexibility in return.
I guess the key question here is "Can a Power with Aura have a Range other than Close, or can it be built with Area, and if so, does the trigger for the Power need to be"When Touched" or could it be something like"When target enters the range/ area of the Power".

Part Two: You can Control Metal.

Move Object: Perception Ranged, Damaging, Limited [Metal Only]

3 points per rank

I would want the character to command the loyalties of more than one piece of metal at a time.Would this work?

Move Object: Close Range,Selective,Objects Only,Area(X3),5 points per rank

Maybe a Linked Transformation? I would prefer that to Damage, but it would be way more expensive...

Part Three: Metal serves you.

Summon: Controlled, Heroic, Variable Type [Metal Objects], Quirk [Requires Metal Objects To Animate[/list]

6 points per rank

This looks good, though I will drop Variable in favor of having the Summoned creature having Shapeshift. I would choose Power Loss Complication instead of the Quirk, but in practice, I can't see getting any HP for my trouble,so power points up front are probably the way to go.

Expensive, but this is a powerful concept.

True'dat. I just want to get my points worth without breaking the game.Thanks for all your help thus far!

[ronyon]

So I wanted to focus on the suitability of Reaction Auras,so I raised the question here:
http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=42669



The funny thing is, Summon seems obvious for the "Metallic Obsequiousness" power, but:
-Minions can have their own balance issues
-Minions can slow down play with their Actions(Not really a problem, if played correctly)
-I have no good ideas on how to model "taking away" objects that are other characters possession


If Area Reaction powers are just cannot be reasonably deployed, I was considering building that Area Move Objects,dropping the Reaction and giving it to a Heroic spirit Minion, that would represent all of the spirits of any metal that was encountered. This seems like a compromise, no Reaction, only one Minion to wrangle.
What do you think of this as a solution?