Working on a Unique Achilles' Heel

[Razorwing]

I'm currently working on a Mega Hero I hope to use in a game soon (as a possible Antagonist/Ally for my players), but I am having a little trouble figuring out the exact mechanics behind her rather unique Achilles' Heel.

Like many Titans of Greek Legend, she draws a lot of her vitality from the Earth... being in direct contact with it strengthens her (she has the Earth Empowerment minor power). I was thinking that her Achilles' Heel would play on this dependence... not unlike how the Marvel character Magma also seems to need to be in contact with the Earth in many of her depictions (gets very sick when flying in a commercial aircraft or on an ocean cruse). Another portion of the inspiration comes from the character Palladium (from the Century Station book), where she requires constant exposure to the element Palladium to maintain her health and powers.

The strength of this vulnerability will need to be roughly equivalent to the Extremely Deadly Metal from Rifter 37, where it would be the equivalent of two Achilles' Heels... to balance the Immortal Mega Power she has.

Here are some of the thoughts I have on this weakening of her abilities:

Natural environment (Forest, jungle, large city park): Full strength and abilities.
Artificial environment (Paved city streets, interior of most buildings) but still able to touch the ground or something rooted to it: Strength becomes Superhuman, -1 to all combat bonuses (including number of attacks) and -10% SDC. Healing at this point takes twice as long (20 minutes), but can't regenerate the lost SDC until back in a more natural environment. These penalties also take place when physically separated from the ground in a natural environment (though she does loose the strength bonus from Earth Empowerment in this case).
Unable to maintain connection with the Earth in an artificial environment (most vehicles; higher than 4 stories in a building, etc.): Strength drops to Extraordinary (and obviously looses the bonus from Earth Empowerment), combat bonuses (including attacks) and SDC is reduced by half; can no longer bio-regenerate. At this point, she feels incredibly sick and will slip into a coma after a number of hours equal to her PE and die if contact with the earth isn't restored within an equal number of hours. Recovery from this state is fairly quick (minutes if contact is restored with an artificial environment... melee action/attacks if contact is restored in a natural environment).

Her Immortality power can restore her to life from the most extreme case of this deprivation. Recovery time is the same as for decapitation (with the head and body in the same grave or within 20 feet of each other)... 6D6 days... if the body was placed in a natural environment (rooted to the ground; even if buried in a coffin). If kept in an artificial environment (but still rooted to the ground; most tombs and mausoleums), the recovery time is extended to years. Only if kept in an artificial environment that isn't rooted to the ground for more than 100 years, will she be unable to return to life from her Immortality power. Atomization and Incineration are also viable means of permanently killing her.

Not sure if these thoughts would be the equivalent of 2 Achilles' Heels though.

[The Artist Formerly]

Yeah, that seems about right. Question, what if she packs a bag or a small pouch with earth while out of contact with the ground? Could she line bits of her costume with dirt to offset or negate the effect?

[Razorwing]

No... it would take a lot more dirt/rock/soil than what she could reasonably carry (without it being rather obvious) to maintain her health and power. This makes it a more sever form or dependency than what Palladium has as this character can't keep it on her to maintain herself at peak power.

I'm thinking it would take roughly the amount of dirt/soil to keep a moderately sized tree (6 to 10 feet tall) healthy. An indoor solarium or similar green space could conceivably keep her at a moderate power level... even if it were above the 4 story height limit she is normally restricted to. A roof-top park (covering at least 2500 square yards... with at least 3 feet of soil) could be considered a natural environment for her if it is open to the air... 10,000 square yards with at least 6 feet of soil if enclosed (roughly enough for an indoor sports field).

This of course will make traveling a little difficult for her... since most vehicles are both artificial structures and are not rooted to the ground.

[Daniel Stoker]

That's a pretty interesting take on the Achilles heel for the character. I know that'd be really hard to play in a lot of the games I've done, but very well done there.


Daniel Stoker

[Razorwing]

I wonder if I'm over thinking things a bit... that I might be overly punishing with the Achilles' Heel for this character. Palladium's dependence on the Palladium element puts her into a coma after she is away from it for 24 hours and she dies after 48... but since she can wear Palladium to prevent this, it isn't as limiting. Since my character draws her vitality from the Earth (not just dirt and rocks), she can't exactly carry it with her to maintain her health... making her dependence a little more sever as she must make sure she remains in contact with the Earth.

Simplifying it in this manner... that if she goes without contact with the Earth for more than 24 hours, she will fall into a coma and die after 48 hours if contact isn't restored. Of course, her Immortality mega-power can revive her from this death if she is placed in contact with the Earth... though the time it takes is longer (6d6 days at least).

As for her strength levels... she will drop to Extraordinary when not in contact with the Earth regardless of where and how she looses contact... and perhaps her combat bonuses should also be hindered (reduced by 1/2 including attacks and SDC). Combined with the more streamlined dependency (including the fact she can't offset it by carrying dirt and rocks with her), should be equivalent to 2 Achilles' Heels, yes?

I think I was making it a little too complicated by making a distinction between a natural environment and an artificial one like cities. Yes, she will prefer a more natural environment, but that is a matter of preference rather than necessity.

[Daniel Stoker]

I think that will make the character much more playable especially if the game is going to be in a more urban environment.


Daniel Stoker

[Razorwing]

Yeah... trying to figure out what penalties to impose and when was just overthinking things... this streamlines it quite nicely. Now all that is needed is determining if she is touching the ground, touching a permanent structure that is grounded (including trees). If yes, then she gets her full power... if not... then she suffers the -50% penalty. The coma/death aspect isn't likely to come into effect in most situations, but still has to be watched.

Much easier to keep track of everything. Why complicate things that don't need to be?

[dragon_blaze_99]

i like i think its not equal to 2 but i think i would give the character an extra minor do to the strength of the flaw

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=77759

[Razorwing]

Let's look at this flaw's basic limitations.

1) To be at full power she must be touching the ground or a permanent structure anchored to it (building, tree or such).
2) Loosing contact with the ground greatly weakens her... her strength is reduced down to Extraordinary and looses the bonus conveyed by Earth Empowerment (+10 to PS), she looses 50% of her SDC, attacks and combat bonuses. This happens whenever she enters a structure not permanently rooted to the ground or is higher than 4 stories in such a structure. This means even something as simple as riding a bike or even jumping from one roof to another will weaken her considerably.
3) Prolonged time away from the ground (24 hours) will cause her to slip into a coma and die within another 48 if contact isn't restored.
4) she can't carry earth, dirt or stone with her to avoid either of these last 2 effects... she actually hast to be touching the ground to survive.

Yes, her Immortality power can revive her if her contact with the ground is restored, but it takes time... the same amount of time it would take if she were beheaded (as per the Immortality Mega Power description). The length of time this has to take effect is also the same. In all cases, until she is returned to the Earth, she is effectively dead.

The fact that she is so dependent on the Earth for both her powers and her very life is what makes this a particularly interesting vulnerability... and that she can't mitigate it in any way (can't carry earth, dirt or rocks with her to maintain her connection) makes it even more debilitating. It also makes it very difficult to contain her without killing her as anything that severs her contact with the Earth will kill her and giving her that contact makes her too powerful to be contained.

As for giving her an extra power... that won't be possible given her other two powers are Major in scope (Plant Control and Weather Control) and the power category she belongs to (Symbiote) is very specific in the number and theme of the powers provided.