Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

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wyrmraker
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by wyrmraker »

There is that, yes. Like I said, I wouldn't allow that minor power to go overboard this much, but an arguement for it could very easily be made.
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The Beast
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by The Beast »

Killer Cyborg wrote:
Shark_Force wrote:
wyrmraker wrote:
say652 wrote:I know slow motion control can stop or slow down detonators.

Using strictly the Rules as Written, Clock Control can easily become devastating against technology. If a person overclocks the main processor of a computer's chipset (makes it run way too fast), it will over heat withing seconds, either shutting down as a safety feature or burning out.

Today's average cellular phone uses about 8 clock co-processors, plus the main clock display. You'd only need to hit the core processor's chips. It's much the same for every piece of electronics out there. ARCHIE-3? Oh yeah. Easy. Plus you don't actually need to see the clock itself, going by the power description.

Is that overpowered? Definitely, which is why most GMs wouldn't allow it to be used in such a manner. But it's good for a laugh.

even if the GM rules the system won't overheat, if the clock stops ticking, the computer stops thinking :P


I think it comes down to how you define "Clock."


a mechanical or electrical device for measuring time, indicating hours, minutes, and sometimes seconds, typically by hands on a round dial or by displayed figures.
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Killer Cyborg
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

The Beast wrote:
Killer Cyborg wrote:I think it comes down to how you define "Clock."


a mechanical or electrical device for measuring time, indicating hours, minutes, and sometimes seconds, typically by hands on a round dial or by displayed figures.


Do you really want to get into the semantics of all this?
I mean, because I CAN... but usually that just bogs down the thread, and ultimately kills it.
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The Beast
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by The Beast »

Killer Cyborg wrote:
The Beast wrote:
Killer Cyborg wrote:I think it comes down to how you define "Clock."


a mechanical or electrical device for measuring time, indicating hours, minutes, and sometimes seconds, typically by hands on a round dial or by displayed figures.


Do you really want to get into the semantics of all this?
I mean, because I CAN... but usually that just bogs down the thread, and ultimately kills it.


Bet you won't. :P
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Tor
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by Tor »

Killer Cyborg wrote:usually that just bogs down the thread, and ultimately kills it.

Naw it brings it to a new level of awesomeness that only the elite appreciate, and on some level you must :)
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by Shark_Force »

control insects and arachnids is actually pretty good. i mean, in SDC settings, it's ludicrously good. in rifts, you use the mutant insects from mutants in orbit for the giant insect ability as far as i can tell (at least, there's a specific note referring you to that book in my copy of HU2 for use in the rifts setting), which is comparatively probably a bit less amazing than the SDC version (a couple hundred MDC is nice and all, but it's no natural AR of 16-18 with 200-400 SDC to back that up, and while supernatural strength is nice, dishing out close to 10d6 damage from a combination of attack and poison is really good in SDC settings).

so while control insects and arachnids isn't ridiculously good the way it is in SDC settings... it's still pretty danged good.
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

Rooks wrote:Probably going to go with Beastboy

Control insects arachnids
Control plants
Animal Metamorphosis

Feral
Antennae


Hm.
Well Control Insects isn't going to do any mega-damage unless you're on Mars- or unless the GM lets it work on Xiticix or Fury Beetles or such- but it still seems pretty useful.
The blinding swarm would still be effective: HF 11 isn't bad, and the combat penalties (-5 strike, -9 parry/dodge) are significant.
The itching, biting, and stinging swarms would still work on any SDC critters in partial armor (Dog Boys, for example).
As would a swarm of poisonous arachnids. Even against MDC foes, if the GM rules in favor of the optional HF of 16, that's not too shabby.
Increasing the Hit Points of insects would generally be useless in most cases.
Creating a giant insect would still work as transportation, and some of the bigger ones can sustain minor mega-damage (up to 400 SDC for a beetle). Or just general labor. A giant carpenter ant can carry up to 5 tons.
The Giant Insect feature could also be good in an ambush. Even in giant size, they have Stalking/Prowl at 70%, and a 60% chance to pin/incapacitate prey that they grab, even if their crushing damage is only SDC. If you need to take out a couple of Dead Boys or human Mercs, that'd do it for one of them with some decent rolls- just have your bug sneak up, grab one of them, and fly off at 30 mph.
Nowhere near as good on Rifts Earth as it is on HU Earth, but still seems pretty darned handy.

Control Plants is similar. If you're around some Mega-Damage plants, it could be quite powerful.
Even with SDC plants, though, it's still pretty decent:
While animated plants can't really damage any creatures in full environmental armor, the plants CAN entangle and ensnare enemies.
Actually, a MDC creature that doesn't have supernatural strength might even be able to be killed this way, since the plants can inflict strangling damage- most MDC critters still need to breathe.
But just slowing enemies down, entangling them, and keeping them tied up during combat can be pretty important.

Being able to grow plants from seeds to full maturity in 1d4 melees is nothing to sneeze at either. If nothing else, you can feed yourself for free, forever. You could feed an entire community, for that matter. That's not much use in direct combat, but it'd certainly give that community a good reason to help protect you from enemies.
Likewise, you could make an absolute mint helping regrow forests that have been devastated by mega-damage combat.

Increasing SDC is of limited usefulness. It would help slow low-level threats from breaking through walls, trees, and plant barriers and such, but not very well. Where this power would come in handy is if you team up with a mage that knows the Ironwood spell. The right partner could make all the difference.

Animal Metamorposis, depending on the form, could be very effective on Rifts Earth. If you get the version that lets you turn into ANY animal, you could turn into a T-Rex or something.
BUT this one might be the most useless of the Major powers that you picked, because of the fact that you retain your own HP/SDC when transformed. Which would mean that you might have the strength of a T-Rex, but you'd still get killed by 1-2 MD!
Furthermore, it's not really a power that you can use while wearing MDC armor, so that makes it a lot less useful.
You could do spy type work with it, turn into a rat and sneak around, that kind of thing... but I have to agree that any power that keeps you from using mega-damage protection has pretty limited usefulness.
It'd be a fine power to have with the right combo... but this is NOT the right combo. You'd need Invulnerability or some other defensive power for this to really work well in Rifts.
Not useless, but very limited.

Feral isn't a bad power. The increased vision is nice, though a MOH or other optics would be better. The bite is mostly going to be useless. The increased humping would be decent, as would the speed bonus.
The extra SDC... well, it's better to have it than to NOT have it. Might help you live through 1 MD some day, if you get enough combined SDC bonuses (plus Hit Points, plus negative HP up to your PE score).
The +1 initiative and the +1 attack per melee would be quite useful on Rifts Earth, though. And the skill bonuses would be fine, while the penalties wouldn't hurt you much.
The only way this power would be really bad would be if the GM ruled that the "can't stand being cooped up" aspect meant that you couldn't wear armor (or even not wear EBA).
But I don't think many GMs would rule that way.
Not a bad pick... but there are better options out there.

Like...
Antennae
THIS pick was pretty brilliant, because it handicaps any SDC character. Either the antenna are covered by a MDC helmet, and the character gets -2 to initiative, OR the antenna powers (which aren't that useful) are able to be used... and the character can be head-shotted.
There's still some utility, even with the helmet on, though.
The character could identify changes in air at 40%+2/Level, identify wind changes at 30%+2/level, identify common odors at 40%+2/level, and identify uncommon odors at 2%/level.
But none of that is really useful.
It's a power that you could only use in safe environments, and that you couldn't reveal in CS territory (or similar) without being labeled as a a freak, and if you don't use it, you get a combat penalty.
Nice pick.
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by Shark_Force »

i dunno KC, as far as i can tell HU2 is telling you to use the mars insects stats for giant insects on rifts earth (and if you have it, that you can use it to get more complete stats for various types of giant insects in HU as well). it doesn't explicitly tell you "use these when you make a giant insect", but it is basically telling you what the stats for giant insects in the rifts setting are... and those stats are not SDC.

(also, if you choose the right kind of creature, they could also do some construction work for you; i would expect a giant ant to be quite helpful in tunnelling, for example).
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by guardiandashi »

Shark_Force wrote:best attempt, HU2 only:

minors:

extraordinary physical beauty
heightened sense of taste
heightened sense of touch

majors

control static electricity
holographic memory projection

there's nothing particularly special about the combination, i just happen to think that most of the individual powers are rather less useful by a noticeable margin than most of their type.

for example, extraordinary PB is not completely worthless... but compare it to, say, the ability to fly, or completely change your shape (including fingerprints) at a moment's notice... it's a lot harder to make a character with this set of abilities accomplish impressive things. really, in many cases, you'd be just as well off with a character that has no super powers whatsoever.


actually I saw this and immediately had the thought that in the right campaign (which might have to be .... R+ rated) this char would be insanely powerful. as a direct combatant ya it would stink. but as a super spy, social engineering, type campaign ..... mabie even say something game of thrones esq?
minors:

extraordinary physical beauty (the char is supermodel bait definitely take seduction as a skill)
heightened sense of taste (walking chemical /poison detector)
heightened sense of touch (able to up information by just touching things, mechanical locks etc. are this persons play toys)

majors

control static electricity (not sure about this one but ...)
holographic memory projection (start playing loki games from the avengers movie or a weaker version of mystiques impersonation power)
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by say652 »

The giant insects have supernatural strength and become mdc objects. I didn't nerf or weaken the power for the Rifts universal nerfology of nonrifts things.
I also ruled the insect armor adds nonenviromental mdc protection.
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by Shark_Force »

guardiandashi wrote:actually I saw this and immediately had the thought that in the right campaign (which might have to be .... R+ rated) this char would be insanely powerful. as a direct combatant ya it would stink. but as a super spy, social engineering, type campaign ..... mabie even say something game of thrones esq?
minors:

extraordinary physical beauty (the char is supermodel bait definitely take seduction as a skill)
heightened sense of taste (walking chemical /poison detector)
heightened sense of touch (able to up information by just touching things, mechanical locks etc. are this persons play toys)

majors

control static electricity (not sure about this one but ...)
holographic memory projection (start playing loki games from the avengers movie or a weaker version of mystiques impersonation power)


like i said, extraordinary PB is not useless. it's just a lot less useful than many or even most other powers. likewise with taste and touch. as to holographic memory projection, it's only memories. you can't just make stuff up. so it's basically like having a video camera on your person at all times, without sound. useful, yes, but not *that* useful. especially for a major power.

that said, this character would be more useful in a campaign heavily focused on spying, i'll agree with that. but many of the abilities can be done easily enough without the powers. it's not so much a useless character as it is the least useful i could think of.

(as to control static electricity, in a spy campaign i would expect the ability to erase hard drives at range to be at least somewhat useful).
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Re: Least Powerful Super Power Combinations

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

Shark_Force wrote:i dunno KC, as far as i can tell HU2 is telling you to use the mars insects stats for giant insects on rifts earth (and if you have it, that you can use it to get more complete stats for various types of giant insects in HU as well). it doesn't explicitly tell you "use these when you make a giant insect", but it is basically telling you what the stats for giant insects in the rifts setting are... and those stats are not SDC.


That's how I'd run it... but since it isn't explicitly spelled out, I can see people running it the other way.

(also, if you choose the right kind of creature, they could also do some construction work for you; i would expect a giant ant to be quite helpful in tunnelling, for example).


I believe I mentioned that they'd be good for labor.
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