SilvercatMoonpaw wrote:Stigger wrote:That said, I do agree with the others that it certainly could be rebuilt within the current framework to work precisely the way you want it to simply by putting the term "Limited" into the mix somewhere and defining it through that with descriptors, without chucking the whole thing.
To be honest what I don't like is you either end up bypassing it entirely with "Affects Objects" thus rendering the Immunity kind of weak, or you end up going to Toughness as if that's always homogenous. (For the latter what I mean is that what do you do when an exterior armor plate shouldn't protect delicate interior systems? I don't see why it should be assumed that any robot that has a tough shell also has tough gears and electronics.)
Immunity (Fotitude) as a power, no, that's not really my target.
I think indeed that using Descriptors and Limites might solve part of your problem - it's part of the system, of how it's designed to work. Descriptors, limits and quirks are not just point-saving measures or cool ideas, they help you make a generic building block a unique element for your character.
Full immunity: Immunity Fortitude Effects
- Can be made more Limited by the Limited effect (Half Effect) or (Not against effects that affect objects)
- Can be given a [Construct] descriptor, which may have campaign related effects (see below)
- Can be fully bypassed in this case by Affects Objects
- This bypass can itself be limited by applying it only to a few ranks, and not all, of the attack effect
- Can be given some sort of Fades or Unreliable (5 charges) option to reflect ablative armor
And a host of other ways to tweak both attacks and defenses in this fashion. In your case, you present us with a construct with a tough outer plating but with delicate internal systems. So if we assume it has Immunity (Fortitude Effects) it might have a quirk 2 on it that says (Critical Hits bypass this Immunity) to represent penetration of damage through the shell.
If you'd focus on physical protection you could add Toughness and add a Side Effect (the option for selecting a Complication) that says that any Critical Hit from attacks will trigger and Affliction effect (affecting its internal systems). Normally you'd expect such a side effect to enter play when the user of an ability fails, but in this case we can easily make a case for it triggering when the attacker succeeds really well. This would be a house rule of course, but that's what they are for.
You could create a template of abilities that represent how you think constructs should work in your campaign. Anything with the [Construct] origin would then have, for instance, an Immunity to Fortitude Effects (Limited to Biological Effects) and use the Construct rules (No Stamina, uses Toughness instead and so on). This template would be relatively cheap and would govern a basic construct that is not superhumanly durable. For extra durability, you could add Toughness (possibly with the side effects or limited mention above) on a case by case basis.
Likewise, you might have [Living Constructs], say cyborgs, which do have the limited Immunity, but have normal Stamina effects otherwise.
And in this campaign, attacks that Affect Objects might specifically be tailored to target Constructs or Living Constructs, such as EMP waves, Microwave Emitters, nanite swarms or computer viruses.
The system is based on allowing people to use separate building blocks to create as close a representation of a character as they can build. For some this is shallow (taking an archetype and settling for it), it can be deep (the roll call section on this board) or even more technical (house rules designed to tweak the rules for yourself or your campaign that you find bothersome or unfitting.
Mutants & Masterminds is possibly the most comprehensive building system I have ever seen, any changes would not be all that world-shattering. It already caters to everything from Sci Fi to Fantasy to Chtulu Noire. Change it too much to bias one setting or "character type" and it would negatively impact something else.
When you post in a thread about what should be changed about the system, it's not a good thing to focus on what you want alone, but also on what others want, the player base. Make a system that works for the great common denominator, and use clever wording/combinations or house rule what remains. If you can't cope with the system, try another system. When you can't build what you want, ask the others and see if they can find a way that it does work, within the system as it stands or perhaps with a house rule.
Edit: Just thought of something else. If you don't want to go to the trouble of using Toughness for everything, there's nothing that prevents you from house ruling that for anything that has the Construct descriptor, the word "Fortitude" is replaced by "Integrity" and used for the same rolls. This is a bit of flavor change that might make the rule easier to swallow.
I believe i last saw in Mecha & Manga, where players were encouraged to take the base rules and advantages and rename them to make them more unique. Just because I buy Luck doesn't mean I can't call it Master Plan and act as if I am not lucky, but doing a Thanos Gambit.