Difference between revisions of "Rules:Power Statistics"

Latest revision as of 10:00, 9 April 2014

Power is that essence which AltDBZ revolves around. Those who have it decide the affairs of the world, and those who do not have it must find their own way beneath their heels. In combat, while speed can dazzle, it is power that brings finality. All power statistics use a "power" number, rather than a "speed" number or a power level, which, though all are just plain numbers, are not compatible with one another -- comparing apples and avocados, so to speak.

Charges

These stats with "charge" in the name describe the capacity of a character to produce energy for an effort. They can be changed across the entire character (through passive bonus techniques or with temporary boost techniques) or specifically in a technique -- the latter obviously being more expensive to do. Their base values are usually set in the power level definitions (Characters with Physical power make up their own charge stats based on a power level template).

Natural Charge

A character's natural charge describes how much energy they can create on the spot with a single power level in a single post, without any actual charging. If a character is charging something, the first post pools the natural charge(s), and each post afterward adds the charge rate. Different power types have different ways of dealing the the natural charge to produce the post's actions. Psions effectively get multiple natural charges every post, but in this situation they are more often called slot charges.

Natural charges determine many things for a character, including the general potency and stamina drain of techniques that do not do damage.

It is important to understand that while your natural charge for doing gimme actions can be increased through techniques (whether passively or actively), the natural charge value that determines a technique's starting point and base stamina cost cannot be modified outside of the power level template. Thus, if a Ki fighter gets one level of Enhanced Natural Charge, they will have 40% KiPL to do things with every post, but their active techniques will always start with 30% KiPL and charge at least 30% KiPL in stamina.

Charging Rate

The charge rate, simply enough, determines how fast a character charges. Applied broadly to a character, it cannot be changed, but describes the base rate of charging for techniques and gimmes. Applied to a technique, it describes how quickly a specific technique charges, and can be changed through upgrades.

Charging Capacity

The charging capacity, or charge cap as it is more commonly called, broadly determines the maximum amount of power a gimme or technique can generate after charging, if charging is possible. It cannot be changed on a character basis, but a specific technique's charging capacity can be expanded through upgrades.

Strength

Strength is the most obvious application of power. Strength is power exerted upon something. Strength is generally split into three categories, which describe how that strength affects its target. In order for any form of strength to be effective, it must strike a target somehow, often involving a comparison of speed. Strength is a function of Natural Charge, and is limited as above.

Damage

Damage is the most common kind of strength. In this way of using the word, damage actually refers to potential harm and destruction that some event or action can cause -- when damage is actually inflicted upon something, it is actually considered to reduce durability. Thus, "reducing damage" refers to making an attack do less harm, rather than healing (which would be "restoring durability").

Just because a particular action has a given damage score does not necessarily mean that entire damage amount is reduced from the struck target's durability. This is generally only the case if an attack directly hits the target. A glancing or grazing blow, for instance, would not do the full amount of damage. In addition, certain effects can give a target damage reduction, which reduces the actual amount of damage delivered before it reaches durability. In some cases, damage reduction can cause zero damage to reach durability, but not below zero. To note, damage reduction is different from having additional durability because damage reduction usually refreshes itself at least once per post, whereas durability depleted stays gone until it is healed/repaired. As such, damage reduction is an expensive trait to adopt.

A force of damage can be used to counteract another force of damage. Some forms of damage automatically incur an equal amount of concussive force, depending on their nature.

Damage is considered a "primary" form of power, and thus, unlike some forms of concussive force and subdual force, attempting to cause damage drains that amount of power from the character's stamina pool(s). See Stamina for details.

Concussive Force

The next most common type of strength is concussive force, which has a variety of nicknames -- pushing, pulling, shoving, and even just "strength". This power does not seek to reduce any statistic specifically. Instead, it moves things, or stops them from moving, depending on how it is applied. Grabbing, dragging, rushing, and any other physical offense that doesn't directly harm is concussive force. Concussive force can cause harm if it causes its target to be slammed into something solid enough to accept the force -- in which case the concussive force is converted to one third as much damage at impact. Because concussive force has little other use than pushing things around, it is generally cheaper to get it in techniques than damage.

Concussive force is most often countered or resisted by opposing concussive force or damage. When on the ground or bracing against an object, physical strength can resist concussive force. When in the air, aerial speed can resist concussive force -- one of the very few instances where a form of speed can oppose a form of power.

Subdual Force

Subdual force, sometimes called subdual damage or draining power, is a kind of strength that cannot be normally generated without technique assistance. It represents a drain upon another entity's stamina, which is often considered a way to "subdue" a character without causing them any real harm. Many attacks that are intended to be used safely in a public environment tend to use subdual force. In combination with an opponent's own efforts draining their own stamina, subdual force can bring an opponent down quickly.

Subdual force lacks a physically resistable form, and as such, is always considered a secondary effect.

Durability

Durability is a crucial score that determines how much damage something can take before it is destroyed or defeated. Destruction or defeat is typically reached when an unfortunate entity reaches zero durability. The extent of destruction or defeat is determined by how far beyond zero the durability of the entity is brought, though this is usually simply played off the cuff, rather than according to any specific charts about damage and survivability. An entity's maximum durability usually determines how badly or well an entity can take a given hit, even if their current durability is low. A source of durability may never have more durability than its maximum, but a character can have multiple sources of durability at once.

Durability can be upgraded through upgrades and passive bonus techniques, depending on the source. Durability given automatically by a power type automatically replenishes itself every day, unless a character becomes incapacitated.

Stamina

Stamina is another crucial score that determines how much effort a character can exert from a power type over the course of a battle. Most actions aside from simple movement drain some amount of stamina. Additionally, subdual force taken by a character can reduce stamina. No power type's stamina pool can exceed its maximum. A lack of stamina represents fatigue and weariness, and having no stamina in any power type results in a character falling unconscious. Losing stamina never directly causes any permanent harm to befall something.

Stamina is limited by a Hard cap of 1300%PL. A character's available stamina may never exceed 1300%PL in stamina. As well, a character may never utilize more than 1300%PL in stamina in a single scene. A character who has spent 1300%PL in stamina is treated the same as a character who has 0%PL in stamina, they are too tired to continue fighting or fall unconscious.

Concentration Threshold

A character's concentration threshold begins as equal to 10% of his/her total power level, and determines at what point pain and damage causes a character to become distracted from whatever they are doing. Taking equal to or more than the concentration value of a character in damage by any single attack causes charging to fail (resulting in the loss of all invested energy), as well as the failure of special actions called focus actions -- one-post actions that require concentration to succeed but may or may not require stamina.

A character's concentration threshold can be upgraded through passive bonus techniques.

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