So, my husband and I are debating how many points are absorbed or reflected when a character has armor/force field.
Per the rules, the armor/force field protection is applied first and then the 1/4 damage reduction to calculate the amount of damage taken. Does the armor/force field reduce the amount that is available for the absorbed/reflected effect?
Does the armor/force field reduce the amount that is available for the absorbed/reflected effect?
Yes, though the character can choose to hold those protective abilities back, in order to maximize the amount of damage available for them to absorb or reflect, *unless* they've taken the 'Can't Hold Back' modifier on them.
-Jeff
Absorption itself can also be a little unclear, but you do Absorb the full amount before the 1/4 reduction is calculated.
Hola!
[1] In the case of the option for automatic absorption as below, does the damage that gets absorbed equal the amount that was "protected" or the amount that gets through as hits damage?
• Absorption Effect Modifier: Automatic Absorption
Absorption Effect may be added to other protection Abilities, such as Armor or Force Field, which then absorb points
automatically instead of requiring a saved action. There is no cost adjustment, simply buy a different protection Ability instead of
Absorption Protection
[2] And as Absorption Protection and Absorption Effect BOTH count as the same power for ability caps, if a character took the automatic absorption option with FORCE FIELD A: Personal Force Field then does the FF likewise count as Absorption and be paid from the same ability cap limit?
[3] In the cases of Replenishment and Absorption Effect Limit. Replenishment says you can absorb up until your total of say hits plus replenish hits (see below). So if I had Absorption effect splitting points as 5cp durability, then 10cp super speed. As the character absorbed hits and replenished their hits, took more damage replenished more we only count the "current" cp of durability towards the total absorbed with regards to the maximum absorption limit (and possible explosions)
Example: Putty-Man has 12 Hits, plus up to 30 more Hits from Absorbing to Durability. He may thus Absorb to a maximum of 42
Hits, and use Absorption to replenish his Hits up to that maximum of 42.
Cheers
Greg
Estain asked:
"[1]: In the case of the option for automatic absorption as below, does the damage that gets absorbed equal the amount that was "protected" or the amount that gets through as hits damage?"
So… there’s actually a different question about this Option, which needs to be dealt with before I can answer yours. And that is: If a character takes, say, Armor to serve as their Absorption Effect, then what is their Absorption Effect Limit?
Answer: The base CP cost of the alternate form of Absorption protection is *still* compared to the Absorption Effect Limit table, to determine the character’s limit.
To answer your question, alternate forms of Absorption Protection absorb the number of points which they *block*. The advantage is that they do this automatically, without taking an Action.
"[2]: And as Absorption Protection and Absorption Effect BOTH count as the same power for ability caps, if a character took the automatic absorption option with FORCE FIELD A: Personal Force Field then does the FF likewise count as Absorption and be paid from the same ability cap limit?"
Yes; in that case, the cost of the Force Field counts toward the character’s total CPs in Absorption.
"[3]: In the cases of Replenishment and Absorption Effect Limit. Replenishment says you can absorb up until your total of say hits plus replenish hits (see below). So if I had Absorption effect splitting points as 5cp durability, then 10cp super speed. As the character absorbed hits and replenished their hits, took more damage replenished more we only count the "current" cp of durability towards the total absorbed with regards to the maximum absorption limit (and possible explosions)"
The character can keep replenishing, as long as their *current* total doesn’t exceed that limit.
Good questions; I’ll be adding a lot of this to the Errata page.
-Jeff
Thanks @jeff ...
Further to this (because I crave knowledge in such lore) Absorption says under Absorption Effect:
If the character also has Absorption Protection, then they can Absorb the same types of damage that they’re protected against. If not, then choose whether the character can Absorb 2 damage sub-types, or one full damage type.
So in the case of the character below
Absorption Protection - 0CP
Absorption Effect Modifier: Automatic Absorption - 15CP as Force Field A
(PR 16 + action to activate, Protection 5/5/5/5, Absorbs all kinetic only)
Absorption Effect - 10CP (Effect limit 25CP)
ABSORPTION Total Cost: 25CP
So having taken 0CP of Absorption Protection they default to having 1 full damage type or 2 sub-types that get "Absorbed" via the force field (All Kinetic say). They don't pay the 10CP that a character with Absorption protection would for that and they also don't have to use a saved action to absorb. BUT also they only absorb 5pts from each kinetic hit whereas std Absorption Protection would absorb the total damage done before the 75% protection is applied.
Does the character above have an option to spend another 10CP to allow thier force field to also absorb all energy attack damage deflected by the force field AS WELL as the kinetic they already have or is it a limitation of that automatic absorption modifier that they can only have 1 full damage type being absorbed?
That's not correct. When a character is using Armor or Force Field etc. *as* their Absorption Protection, then that protection determines which types of damage they can absorb, and so they DON'T "choose whether they can Absorb 2 damage sub-types, or one full damage type".
So in your example of the character using a 5/5/5/5 Force Field as their Absorption Protection, that character can absorb Kinetic, Energy, Bio & Entropy damage. But only 5 points of each, albeit automatically.
-Jeff
Thanks for the correction Jeff.
So that makes this text is a bit confusing then ... "If not, then choose whether the character can Absorb 2 damage sub-types, or one full damage type"
Cheers
Greg
"So in your example of the character using a 5/5/5/5 Force Field as their Absorption Protection, that character can absorb Kinetic, Energy, Bio & Entropy damage. But only 5 points of each, albeit automatically."
@jeff There is no clause in Absorption Protection that states the amount that can be Absorbed is limited by the Protection Type. Only Absorption Effect has a hard limit. Why in this case is the Absorption cap determined by the Force Field numbers. Why is it capped at all?
@jeff There is no clause in Absorption Protection that states the amount that can be Absorbed is limited by the Protection Type. Only Absorption Effect has a hard limit. Why in this case is the Absorption cap determined by the Force Field numbers. Why is it capped at all?
Hazarding a guess is it because ABSORPTION requires a saved action to use, whereas automatic absorption from a protective ability does not. Standard absorption protection also offers 75% damage reduction, ie you take 1/4 of the overall damage and the other 3/4 gets absorbed. So the absorption ability has affected ALL of the damage. In the case of ARMOUR or FORCE FIELD the damage affected is only what is reduced.
@jeff the expert obviously, but it seems reasonable to me.