[M&M] Building a better Brick

[DanMcS]

Actually, the best house rule I've seen for Penetrating Attack (and the only I think I'm going to adopt) is that it converts powers like Protection, Force Field & Armor to an equivalent level of Amazing Save - DMG.

This takes powers that might normally stop an attack cold (like a mook with a +3L pistol with AP rounds[Penetrating Attack] vs Protection 10). With the house rule, the defender would still have to make a damage save but adding his Protection level to his save bonus to the max allowable by stacking.

That's what I was thinking, but I would only allow it to convert 2 or 3 points of protection into amazing save. A single feat taking away the entire benefit of PL 10 protection vs PL 10 amazing save (10 power points, effectively) seems a bit strong. But then they could take the feat more than once, maybe, and combine effects.

 

[Zenon]

That's what I was thinking, but I would only allow it to convert 2 or 3 points of protection into amazing save. A single feat taking away the entire benefit of PL 10 protection vs PL 10 amazing save (10 power points, effectively) seems a bit strong. But then they could take the feat more than once, maybe, and combine effects.

I don't think it's that bad. Let's look at Minotaur:

Protection 10, Damage save 5.

Shot by a mook with +3L pistol - no damage. Protection is higher than the PL of the attack so it bounces.

Shot by mook with +3L pistol with (house ruled) Penetrating Attack - Protection 10 converts to Amazing Save - Dmg 10 plus Minotaur's normal +5 Damage Save for a total +15 damage save. The mook's attack DC is 15+3 = 18L. Minotaur needs a 3 or better to ignore the attack, a 1 or 2 on the dice gives him a lethal hit, just enough to make him notice it.

Shot by mook with +3L pistol with (house ruled) Penetrating Attack and it's a Critcal (+5PL) making it a +8L attack. Attack DC 15+8=23L vs Minotaur's +15 save. 8 or better to shrug it off, 3~7 takes a lethal hit, a 1 or a 2 results in a Stun for a round. Still no chance of dying, but now the PC is paying serious attention to the attacker. (This is if the mook is able to produce a critical vs the character's Def. If not figure the above could be a Power Attack example.)

If you only converted 1 or 2 levels of protection, the first two of the examples above would be the same Protection 10 or Protection 8 would still bounce the attack before the save, while the third would produce a damage save of DC 15 vs Minotaur's +7 damage save (5 normally plus 2 converted to AS - D. 8 or better to shrug it off, 3~7 takes a lethal hit, a 1 or a 2 results in a Stun for a round.

As for multiple levels of Penetrating Attack, I was thinking that they would have no effect but to counter possible multiple levels of Impervious (the Armor and Protection extra).

Like I said, I'll have to test it out in game to see how it goes. If it's looking too much like Penetrating Attack is becoming too widespead then I'll have to rethink the house rule.

 

[tetsujin28]

The durability and toughness feats are absolute musts for a real brick.

And bad guys are never out of reach when you have Super-STR. Just pick something up and fling it at them. Works like a charm.

 

[Victim]

Penetrating attack is still useful for expensive attacks that are built with lots of extras. For example, a PL 10 Selective Area Autofire EB costs 50 points. If you build the attack at PL 6, but use Penetrating attack, then it costs 34 points. Big savings, but almost the same effect.

 

[Mark Chance]

(like how protection and amazing save: damage don't stack)

Protection and Amazing Save: Damage do stack. Combined bonuses for the two cannot exceed PL.

 

[Voneth]

Whoa, back up.

1.) GM created characters do not abide by PC creation rules, which is how PL1 mooks have +5L rifles. As a GM, you decide when the bouses stop stacking.

2.) Truthfuly we need to see what the PCs look like. MnM is such a flexible game that it can be futile to give suggestions until you know what you are facing. Besides, I don't want you to blame me when a "Water Elemental" PC hit a brick with a Suffocation attack and the villian goes down in three round with blue lips because he doesn't have the Immunity which would have turned the attack into Stun damage which can then effortlessly brush off with Protection.

3.) The beauty of MnM is that you can pretty much figure out before hand what it is going to take to make a PC or Villian roll a certain number. If you know that a certain PC has feats and powers that are going to stack to give a villian a +30 DS roll, then you can figure out that a Protection of +15 and a DS of +5 will give a villian a 50/50 chance of surviving brushing off a hit and that he will last a few rounds before worring about a possible "Disabled" result.

4.) Power Sources and SFX can also give edges to a Villian or PC depending on the enviroment. Which ones are you planning on using?

 

[Neowolf]

Well, the game was actually tonight (just got back). The Brick I built was a hit (literally); he and the group's absorber/blaster duked it out for a while (the PC can absorb physical damage), until the gadgeteer pulled out an Energy Blast (gravity) gun, and sent him into orbit.

The battle was a great success though. Incidentally, this was the intro session for Time of Crisis, altered to a great extent. I wasn't really thrilled about the villains provided in the module (The Huckster? El Bolo? The Mad Maple? What the heck?), and since there are only 3 in the group right now, I just decided to build 3 villains for them to fight. Here's the run-down:

Blur - extraterrestrial speedster/leader
Scumbucket - part Toad, part Spider-Man, part the Lizard.
Granite - a none-too-bright farmboy was bathed in radiation from a mysterious meteor, granting him stoney skin and incredible strength.

The party was the aformentioned Absorber and Gadgeteer, and a ninja-type character designed to be like the G.I. Joe character Snake Eyes.