Another Unleashed Combo Question

[Supplanter]

Magnitude has a Shutdown SFX that lets him turn off Growth or Shrinking and step up another Body Control power trait by +1. e.g. Shut down Superhuman Growth; step up Superhuman Reflexes to Godlike Reflexes.

He also has Unleashed!

If Magnitude does the Shutdown and then invokes the doubling version of Unleashed on the same turn, is he rolling his reflexes as 2D12 or 1D12+1D10. And,

1. If the answer is 2D12, if the action fails does he add a D12 to the doom pool, or a D10 (his base trait)?
2. Same question, if the answer to the original question is D12+D10.

Thanks,


Jim

[EldritchFire]

Technically, I would say 1d10+1d12, since the die is still 1d10. You step it up once to get the d12, than you double it for the d10. However, I would let my player add 2d12 since that's cooler!

Either way, you add d10 to the doom pool if they fail, since unleashed adds a die "equal to the normal rating" which is d10 (OM91).

-EF

[gforce1985]

I think it would be the other way. If you activate Shutdown first and up one of your power traits from, say, d10 to d12, that trait is now at d12 for all purposes until you "recover" from the shutdown SFX. If you then double it using Unleashed, it becomes two dice at that trait level, or 2d12. Consequently, if the action failed you'd add a d12 to the doom pool.

[Supplanter]

I think it would be the other way. If you activate Shutdown first and up one of your power traits from, say, d10 to d12, that trait is now at d12 for all purposes until you "recover" from the shutdown SFX. If you then double it using Unleashed, it becomes two dice at that trait level, or 2d12. Consequently, if the action failed you'd add a d12 to the doom pool.

I like your thinking!

One wrinkle: it was explained to me that with a Shutdown SFX, the shutdown itself lasts until recovered, but the step-up only lasts for one action. I know: sounds unfair! But I'm sure Cam said this on Twitter or some such place. It just makes the trade-off more acute.

Happily, that's immaterial to the situation, though.

Thanks,


Jim

[ClausLars]

Wait, when you use an SFX to "double" a trait you roll two dice the size of the Trait? I thought doubling worked essentially like Versatile or Specialties (1d12 becomes 2d10).

[Supplanter]

Wait, when you use an SFX to "double" a trait you roll two dice the size of the Trait? I thought doubling worked essentially like Versatile or Specialties (1d12 becomes 2d10).

No, there's no stepping back with Unleashed specifically. The downside risk is the potential of adding a die to the Doom Pool if you fail. That risk is absent from Versatile.


Jim

[ClausLars]

Good to know. There are several mentions of Double (Energy Absorption and Unleashed at least) but I could never find it specifically mentioned what it did. When I saw how Specialties worked I assumed that was Doubling.

That makes Unleashed that much better for my character.

[Supplanter]

Good to know. There are several mentions of Double (Energy Absorption and Unleashed at least) but I could never find it specifically mentioned what it did. When I saw how Specialties worked I assumed that was Doubling.

That makes Unleashed that much better for my character.

Unleashed is cool in many ways. It turns the game's apparent three power levels of D8-D10-D12 into six power levels, for one thing. And what I've found playing an Unleashed character is that the downside risk runs with the grain of the story. If I'm doubling a D10 or D12 power trait with Unleashed, and I know that if I fail my roll it means adding a D10 or D12 to the Doom Pool, I am going to make damn sure I succeed! Which, hello, the SFX is called Unleashed. I'd look kind of silly being "Unleashed" and still losing.

Point being, I only invoke it when I can arrange circumstances that it's very likely to tip the balance in my favor. It's not something you have a character do casually.


Jim

[ClausLars]

I've been stepping up my d10 to d12, but have only failed once so far. And that was when a die pool 8 deep with nothing lower than a d8 dropped 5 opportunities (1s and 2s count as ops for me). Needless to say the Doom Pool got BIG. Which sucks cause I also have Sentry's Void Limit.

[Supplanter]

I've been stepping up my d10 to d12, but have only failed once so far. And that was when a die pool 8 deep with nothing lower than a d8 dropped 5 opportunities (1s and 2s count as ops for me). Needless to say the Doom Pool got BIG. Which sucks cause I also have Sentry's Void Limit.

Apparently you never read one of Jim's "Never take Growing Doom if you're a player-hero" advice columns.

(They date from before the post-pub changes to how 2s are handled in Growing Doom, mind you. I like to think there's a connection there . . . )


Jim