Aberrant RPG - Density Control: the question you heard 1000 times

[Rorschach]

Ok, one of the bunch of Nobel Prize winners I use to call my group of players just created the classic fantomatic girl: Density Control (Decrease) and Invisibility. He also took Attunement 5.

And now he asks me : "can I attune a guy, make him incorporeal, and then release him into concrete? Sounds like something lethal, isn't it?". Hey, hey, it DOES.

You probably had this case one time. Personnally I think novas should be allowed to do that, but I don't want this power to be too gamebreaking.

Any mechanics idea?

[Evan-Happy Scientist]

Density Decrease has the Affect Others Extra that allows him/her to do just that - putting people into solid objects. Have the character displace just like in a failed blind teleport (1d10 of lethal health levels - non soakable). Two objects can't occupy the same place at the same time.

If the player is using attunement for this, allow the target to make a simple willpower roll to resist becomeing DDed. One success and they ignore the attack. Its a freaking background after all, not a power.

Remember, first the player has to touch their target - Then they have opportunity to DD their target. The target, once touched, can react by dodging, or if they have a held action, hitting back. Touching means touching. They have to become solid enough to interact with whomever they are trying to affect, with the attendant risks. Since you can interact with things you have attuned, they can interact with you. Thus, you can be DDed and eat an attuned samwich, or a person you are touching and moving around can touch and move you around.

A slight alternate of this is to stick someone underground until they suffocate.

That's my take on it anyway.

[Chimera]

Take into consideration the time it takes to attune a subject as well. I don't have the book in front of me but if I recall it's not instantaneous. So the character would basically have to grapple her opponent, then hold on to them for however long it takes to attune, then DD and sink into the ground.

Not a very efficient way of handling it.

[Courier]

A lot depends on the target for how "gamebreaking" this will be.

A helpless baseline? Skip all the rest of the rules, the guy is clay so let the PC zap him. Ditto anything else that doesn't have a q-field including bombs and the like.

A nova? Let him make a willpower roll to avoid being attuned, and even after that there's going to be lots of ways to avoid this. Attunement isn't a weapon, Desolid also isn't a weapon, anyone trying to use them as though they are will likely be disappointed.

As I see it, you have three ways to deal with this.

Way #1: Use teleport rules for appearing inside an object. The guy appears outside the object, he takes 1d10 lethal levels of damage, soak as normal (teleport rules don't say it's unsoakable).

Way #2: He appears inside an object and takes no damage, use suffication (and Immobilize) rules for what happens next, but keep in mind that most novas are going to be able to do something at this point. Q-Bolt or a movement power come to mind.

Way #3: Force the DD nova to actually *buy* an attack power to represent what he is doing. He's using one power as the theme for another, make him buy that other. Then use what the rules say for whatever he buys. Disintegration would mean that only novas with Hardbody can prevent themselves from being turned Desolid, etc. And yes, this would mean you can "attune/destroy" things at a range.

IMHO What you should avoid is using Disin mechanics for someone who hasn't actually purchased Disin.

[SkyLion]

I believe there is a character in one of the Ab: WW Adventures that does just this effect but can't recall if she used attunement or the extra.

[Courier]

She did it against baselines. Considering she was strong enough to just rip their heads off killing them wasn't an issue.

[Mr Fox]

Another thing to consider. Even if the character manages to attune the subject, at that point it becomes a matter of whether the subject allows themselves to be pulled into the ground. Once attuned they can fight back or pull away just like the two of them were both solid since they are both in the same state. As an ST I would make the character grapple the target before being able to pull them into some object. So unless the character has some beefy fighting skills to back up that attunement, it's not going to do them a bit of good.

Example, Say Raider (my character in Bradford's game with DD5) comes up from below a bad guy and grabs hold of their ankles and tries to pull them down into the ground... that character would then get the opportunity to react and try to pull away. Unless Raider is very strong (which he isn't) he's going to be hard pressed to maintain his hold and pull the guy under the ground.

I agree with Courier though, baselines and objects should not have much if any chance against him.

[El'Jinn Uu]

"Evan-Happy Scientist's" Idea is realistic. Nova's should be alot tougher to use this effect on (The attunement version) and you may wish to express Excessive Taint and High QR as modifiers to demonstrait this.

Sometimes Sh!t happens in life and you get no "save's". In the case of the extra, this is the case.