A new dilemma, my drake half(split personality of Espiritu) is an adept. I may just learn killing hands but there is a fundamental drawback. Drakes have a natural Str(M) damage which isn't stun...they have claws and teeth. To purchase Deadly Hands it takes .5 to do Light damage, 1 for Medium, 2 for Serious and 4 for Deadly.
Can I get your thoughts about how I am supposed to purchase this when right off I have to spend 1 point initially that does nothing for my damage output?

One consideration I've had is to stage up the damage a little further up then just Medium but before it's at serious. Or...just begin my damage codes at Medium and have Light be 1 more box above medium, and Medium be at Serious, and Serious be at Deadly? (Problem is now Deadly doesn't have to be purchased and conceivably could add additional power to the defenders TN.)

IIRC, you can choose not to use Killing Hands. So, just purchase it and don't activate it until you have KH(S).

Killing hands is a magical blow, just have to live with the fact that at level 1 it sucks. Adepts with bonelacing face the same problem.

I was going to go with that it was wrending claws... Same reason I have the Improved Bash(correct power?) to collapse barriers. It just seems apt to a drake/dragon template I'm making of him and that his claws were just that sharp and strong. All my Adept powers are going towards fleshing out very dragon like qualities in the character.

This character is going the long way of Rp so I'm trying to develope some method to give him above medium combat prowess(without cheesing on the Improved initiative and Skill Focus) to start just so he's not a complete pushover. The Drake form as a personality will have no skills of his own...well...I did forget about the Flame Tongue innate power..lol

Just suck up the fact that you have to buy it at S. There's absolutely no reason that you should get added bonuses because you're already a Drake! Yeesh!

You are correct BitBasher and I guess It can't hurt to suck it up the loss of a few points, it only balances out the character more since it did originate outside of Character Generation rules(IE I didn't spend anything to get here, it was placed on me.)

Combining another question inside this one.

Does the Flame Tongue Innate Spell damage of a Drake increase with Initiation?
That a lvl 3 initiate would have 9 "essense" based on Critter power rules the damage would be a Force 9 right?

I was under the impression Initiation also improved your essence rating...does it not?


And I just realized something...Killing Hands IS a magical enhancement therefore any type of underlying damage should be applicable to the enhancing factors of Killing Hands since the power is mystically based as apposed to physically...so the claws on the Drake should still be rending flesh while Killing hands does it's extra harm right? (Read the next question as it has everything to do with this entire notion.)

As I understand it Stun damage is overruled by Lethal damage...
What is the rule to Lethal damage being improved by Lethal damage?
This last question for sheer mechanics and canon is what I wish to know.

(OH and don't "Sheesh" me... I know what I'm doing. When I am taking multiple personality disorders with my metahuman half and my Drake half being seperate minds and having to use the same Karma pool to increase both and having no control over which is active at any given time... I'm taking one to the jugular for RP because that damn drake half is going to be the most skillless, unworldly SOB I've ever had to play as. ^_~)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I was telling my GM this over and over and finally folded... I knew it was borked beyond all hell. I gave him that example that Awakened could out cyber anyone anyday if that were the case.

Thus why I have "Sensitive System" to dissuade me from taking advantage of that understanding at the time.


Austere Emancipator

Quotes are always better when a little paraphrased Kung Pow: Enter The Fist is thrown in

And harlequin would have in the "upper double digits" plus 6 essence if that were the case. He could have every piece of cyber known to man and still have 50 plus essence minimum.

What the heck is "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist paraphrasing suppose to be?

That would be paraphrasing a line from the very very silly movie "Kung Pow: Enter The Fist"

Suddenly realized what movie that was...but..still have no idea how that came to pass as being something to say... Unless I've just accidently paraphrased that movie? lol

Yeah, Upper Double Digits is above "Mid Double Digits" which I would say is 40-60 or so. I personally put Harlequin's Grade anywhere in the 70-80's. Of course, if you do the math, that's only a fraction of the Karma he should have earned. It's scary really.

He also has a very high edged weapons skill, and about enough sorcery dice to fill a chateu.

That's not even touching on whatever other skills he mastered in the mean time, just looking at some skills he is shown to use.

Back to the topic, I don't really see the problem with a drake get Killing Hands: L. The drake can either use KH:L or his normal attack in drake form. Remember, that KH:L is going to be useful if someone has Immunity: Normal Weapons and isn't dual natured like a vampire.

Ok cool some reasoning.

What could possibly be immune to normal attacks and not be dual natured?

critters who are the recipients of a free spirit's Hidden Life, and any critter with the Immunity to Normal Weapons power.

Plus you can also use the killing hands power in your human form. Sometimes it is still better to appear human, than something else entirely

My drake is going to have a split personality. A different mind for both forms with no connections to the others ego, superego or ID. Espiritu my Night Elf Magician is separate from the Drake form who is yet to be named.

This angle derived the ability for the Drake to take his magic in a completely different way and thus Adept powers...unfortunately this also means he also has no personal skills and that I have to develop them separately off the same Karma pool as Espiritu. Neither form can choose to switch to the other...they just switch dominance.

Hmm...another thought. Why doesn't Killing Hands assist in Smashing Blow to penetrate Barriers?

Because, for some interesting reason beyond my understanding, only the Power of an attack is relevant for destroying barriers - damage level has no bearing at all.

For instance, a cybered up troll (Str 15) has a better chance of destroying a wall using a Spear (19L), than he has using a Panther Assault Cannon(18D). When it comes to vehicles or living beings, however, the Assault Canon is usually better.

(In fact, he has a better chance than smaller Great Dragons (like Masaru, Arleesh, Schwartzkopf) of destroying a door in one blow, and he outclasses an elephant, a rhino, or an adult dragon by just using his bare hands.)

A conversion sounds in order...something to the effect of +1 effective Power for every box of Damage the weapon is applying? Granted that is strong as hell but it's a general idea.

Hell every two boxes of weapon damage increases Power by 1?

EDIT - Well..that idea combined with Smashing Blow could be uber.

well, it's easily possible to come up with an idea on your own that someone else already thought of. just look at my new adept powers / metamagics, and compare to SOTA:64 when it comes out...