Stunts from Stunts

[Tommy Brownell]

I was never a fan of the notion that a character who gained one power as a stunt of another couldn't ever stunt off of that power...so I have an amendment to that rule:

If a hero gains a power as a stunt of another power, such as a hero with Gravity Control gaining Stun Blast and they later want to gain the Stun Wave stunt, then allow the hero to try, but raise the difficulty one higher than normal. The rulebook suggests that you eventually drop the difficulty down to averge, but under these rules a stunt off of a stunt would never go below challenging.

[ElMachinae]

We don't let the difficulty go to average until the PC buys the stunt with a character point - it remains challenging until then.

With a stunt on a stunt, maybe not letting the PC purchase it would be the way to go?

[Tommy Brownell]

Well, that's the default...and I'm not a fan of that. In some cases it does make sense to allow players to stunt off a stunt that's a power of itself.

So far, response to my house rule has been good among my players, so I'm going to run with it.

[Trakx]

When cases like this arise, why not instead revise the stunt - turning it into a hybrid stunt of the two?

[wizzer]

In my campain (i'm the narrator) something like that happened.

An hero with Darkforce Control and the stunt creating a personal Force Field (Darkforce Aura) wanted to extend this protection for his teammates. Technically, he wanted the stunt Extended Field of the Force Field power.

First, I have to say that for me a stunt giving access to a new power is treated like any other stunt: it is not a new power by itself.
So, I house-ruled that to take a stunt of a stunt power, you need to use a first response bonus to transform the stunt into a new power (keeping the level of the poser and all the limits associated with this stunt), then a second response bonus to buy the stunt you wanted.

So the hero above-mentioned obtained, with his first bonus response, Force Field at the same level that its Darkforce Control power, with the limits Personal Field and Visible Field (because it is made of Darkforce). And then, with a second bonus response, he obtained the stunt Extended Field.

[Trakx]

Uh, I'm not quite sure I understand.

Are you saying that a player could spend a response bonus to turn a stunt into its own power, enabling it to further gain its own stunts and limits, at the same intensity as the original power?

To use your example, let's say he had Darkforce Control at 11 intensity, with the stunt Darkforce Aura. To take Extended Field, you allowed him to make Darkforce Aura its own power at the intensity of Darkforce Control, with Extended Field as a stunt - all for two response bonuses (one to turn the stunt into its own power with the same intensity, and another to get the stunt for this new power/stunt)?

If so, I do have to say that is a creative and interesting approach. I would further create a limit that stated that the two powers are linked, thus if one of the powers were nullified, etc., it would affect the other.

[wizzer]

Uh, I'm not quite sure I understand.

Are you saying that a player could spend a response bonus to turn a stunt into its own power, enabling it to further gain its own stunts and limits, at the same intensity as the original power?

Yes. I only made it if the stunt says somethig like "You gains X power at intensity Y". But, on a case by case basis, this can be extended to other stunts.

To use your example, let's say he had Darkforce Control at 11 intensity, with the stunt Darkforce Aura. To take Extended Field, you allowed him to make Darkforce Aura its own power at the intensity of Darkforce Control, with Extended Field as a stunt - all for two response bonuses (one to turn the stunt into its own power with the same intensity, and another to get the stunt for this new power/stunt)?

Yes. I then use Darkforce Aura just like the Force Field power, allowing the player to by more Force Field stunts.

If so, I do have to say that is a creative and interesting approach.

Thanks!

I would further create a limit that stated that the two powers are linked, thus if one of the powers were nullified, etc., it would affect the other.

Very good idea.

Oh, and I some limits of the original power, like one-type only or masochistic, affect also the new power.

[Trakx]

I wonder how other people would feel about this approach. Personally, I like it. I do wonder how this would look on paper, though. Would it be among the stunts of the original power, but formatted as its own power?

[wizzer]

I reformated all as a new power.
So with the previous example, before the new stunt, you have:

Darkforce Control 11
- stunt: Darkforce Aura
- stunt: Darkforce Missiles

After the new stunt (with your idea of linked powers), you have:

Darkforce Control 11
- stunt: Darkforce Missiles
Darkforce Aura (Force Field) 11
- limit: Visible Field
- limit: Personal Field
- limit: linked to Darkforce Control
- stunt: Extended Field

[Trakx]

Thanks for the example - I LOVE it! The idea of making a stunt of a stunt has been talked about for years, but it has never been agreed upon as to whether it should be done or if it should, how it would look. You present a terrific case of it being successfully done.

I've been working on two extended versions of the game for a couple years now:

Version 1.5 - the same version you all know and love, but streamlining everything. Some things that I've changed or added is adding exemplars to the skills and adding a relative skill for each power, if applicable (i.e. under the power of Flight, it might say "Power Skill: Aerial Combat")

Version 2.0 - Here is where some rules have changed for what I, and some others, believe for the better. Examples include Power Codes for powers denoting how skilled one is with the power and (now) Tommy and Wizzer's Stunt of a Stunt Power rule.