Alter Limbs: Mechanical Weapon Limbs

[Uncle Servo]

I have a few questions in regards to the mechanical weapons aspect of the Alter Limbs super power. All the power description gives is that for 1 HP you get 12 bullets[each doing 3d6], 2 grenades[each doing 1d6x10 to a 2ft radius], or +50% range with EE powers.

Alright, with you so far. I did notice that there was no information on the maximum range for the bullets/grenades though. Presumably they'd have roughly the same range as a typical pistol.

Shouldn't there be some sort of inherent bonus to strike or initiative? It seems like it would be easier to aim an arm than it would to aim a rifle. What would the normal range for weapon arms be? Does that range increase per level or does it depend on HP invested[the more HP, the more powerful and far reaching the created weapon]?

Not neccessarily. You don't see characters with EE powers getting a whole lot of bonuses. Also, try aiming a rifle and then try aiming a rubber band wrapped around your hand. In many areas aiming the rifle is easier... but again, with practice you should be able to accurately aim with either one (which I guess is one of the main arguments in favor of W.P. skills for super powers).

Another thing to consider is that with Alter Limbs, you are subject to the 'jack of all trades, master of none' effect -- you're more versatile with your power but not as 'good' in any one area as someone with a more narrowly-defined power. I once asked a similar question on the subject of the Alter Limbs 'modified body weapons' aspect, and that was the response I got.

Would it be fair to make damage more variable? Like instead of the grenade option doing 1d6x10 at the cost of 1 HP for 2 shots, it could do 1d4x10 at the cost of 1 HP for 3 shots? Or 6 bullets doing 6d6 damage for 1 HP instead of 12 doing 3d6?

Yes, you could do it like that... but that'd be kind of risky. Most motorized aspects of Alter Limbs shut down when the character reaches 15 Hit Points.

Hit Points should not be viewed in the same manner as PPE or ISP. When a character runs out of PPE or ISP, they simply can't power his/her spells or psi-powers and must therefore resort to other methods until his/her supply is renewed. When a character runs out of Hit Points, he/she tends to die.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend mucking with HP costs for projectiles... but as I always say, as long as you and your group are having fun with your house rules then it's all good.

[BookWyrm]

Another trick you can pull is, after the character become passibly proficient with the power, they carry clips or speedloaders of ammunition. Look at the character of Salvo in Century Station. By having a separate source of ammo, the character doesn't have to expend much-needed hit points to create ammunition for the weapon (unless he/she has an EE power).

[Borast]

I have a few questions in regards to the mechanical weapons aspect of the Alter Limbs super power. All the power description gives is that for 1 HP you get 12 bullets[each doing 3d6], 2 grenades[each doing 1d6x10 to a 2ft radius], or +50% range with EE powers.

Actually...the +50% EE range is automatic. It does not cost any HPs.

Shouldn't there be some sort of inherent bonus to strike or initiative? It seems like it would be easier to aim an arm than it would to aim a rifle. What would the normal range for weapon arms be? Does that range increase per level or does it depend on HP invested[the more HP, the more powerful and far reaching the created weapon]?

Inherent bonus...no, after all, if you're turning your arm into a rifle, you're not as able to aim as you would with a an actual weapon.

Would it be fair to make damage more variable? Like instead of the grenade option doing 1d6x10 at the cost of 1 HP for 2 shots, it could do 1d4x10 at the cost of 1 HP for 3 shots? Or 6 bullets doing 6d6 damage for 1 HP instead of 12 doing 3d6?

Probably...

[Uncle Servo]

Hit Points should not be viewed in the same manner as PPE or ISP. When a character runs out of PPE or ISP, they simply can't power his/her spells or psi-powers and must therefore resort to other methods until his/her supply is renewed. When a character runs out of Hit Points, he/she tends to die.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend mucking with HP costs for projectiles... but as I always say, as long as you and your group are having fun with your house rules then it's all good.

The character in question also possesses Invulnerability. I wasn't going to allow the combination, since there isn't a special self-inflicted injury/suicide clause in the power description for Invulnerability. Regenerating 1d6x10 MDC per minute[this is a Skraypers game, so this post should probably have been under Dimension Books, oh well] makes the Alter Limbs power a great deal more useful and isn't by any means over powered, so I gave in.

I'm going to limit the player's weapon limb maximum damage to that listed in the power description[3d6 for bullets or 1d6x10 for grenades, or lower increments to increase payload while decreasing damage] and just give a range and strike bonus equal to those from the Super Energy Expulsion powers. Hell, I'll probably even let him fire bursts.

Hmmm... if it were me GMing this character, I'd still make him keep track of Hit Points. Take the ol' "PE + 1D6 per level" rule and that's his HP pool. From there you can either do some simple math and determine the percentage of HP to MDC in order to determine how much of that regeneration is HP (say if the HP represents 10% of the overall MDC then whatever MDC is replenished 10% of that goes into the HP pool), or else you could just take the regeneration rules from the Healing Factor minor ability.

If you simply take the HP usage off his overall MDC, he could fire grenades while whizzing around on motorized 'wheel-feet' all day long with no detrimental effects. That's fine if you're fighting the Zentraedi or Invid in an all-out war for survival, but otherwise I'd say that's a bit much.