not understanding the concept (rotor arm & othersteam po

Medieval fantasy mechs powered by steam, magic, or the labor of a thousand slaves.

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modus666
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not understanding the concept (rotor arm & othersteam po

Post by modus666 »

QUESTION 1
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i am not understanding the description of the rotor arm steam powerwith regards to how it attacks.

on pg 61 of the DM book it says "...it threatens the two corner squares in front of the character but not the square directly in front of him."

can somone make me a little diagram or something showing which squares the character threatens if wielding a rotor arm in combat?

also, "... any attacks made with a rotor arm automatically attack both corner squares in one action, at no penalty"

i am confused by the use of the term 'corner squares'. does it mean that the character simultaneously attacks two adjacent squares (say the 12 and 2 positions, in clock terms), or does it refer to the squares opposite each other (the 12 and 6 positions)

im trying to understand how it relates to the 'sidewinder flamethrower'

QUESTION 2
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how are area affect attacks generated by steam powers handled? is a 20 foot jet ( i read as line) of flame generated by a 'sidewinder flamethrower' an aoe or single target attack? what about a cone? or attacks from a lobber? do these ranged attacks prompt reflex saves or do they require attack rolls?

QUESTION 3
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a nozzle is described as having the ability to 'turn a pump off' ; is it REQUIRED to be able to turn a pump off? are pumps without nozzles always on or was this just flavor text? is a nozzle required for devices wiht multiple area of effect options? or is it only required if you want to swicth functions in mid-attack?

QUESTION 4
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some steam powers create area of effect attacks, can a user fire these aoe attacks at his full attack rate? or is it considered a standard action to activate such a potent attack? the text suggests its at the users full attack rate (rapid fire feat with a flamethrower anyone?). just wanted some confirmation there
mythfish
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Re: not understanding the concept (rotor arm & otherstea

Post by mythfish »

modus666 wrote:QUESTION 1
The rotor arm attacks the squares diagonally in front of the character, but not the square directly in front of the character. Like so, with ^ being the character facing north, and X being the squares the rotor arm attacks:

Code: Select all

     XOX
     O^O
     OOO
QUESTION 2
---------------
how are area affect attacks generated by steam powers handled? is a 20 foot jet ( i read as line) of flame generated by a 'sidewinder flamethrower' an aoe or single target attack? what about a cone? or attacks from a lobber? do these ranged attacks prompt reflex saves or do they require attack rolls?
This question has been dealt with previously in a another thread, but unfortunately I can't seem to find it. The basic answer was, if I recall, that your steam power can be designed to either require an attack roll against each target OR a reflex save from each target, but it must be decided which it's going to be when the device is built.

I'll come back and attempt to answer your other questions when I have my book handy.
Dieter Zimmerman
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walrusjester
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Re: not understanding the concept (rotor arm & otherstea

Post by walrusjester »

modus666 wrote: QUESTION 3
--------------
a nozzle is described as having the ability to 'turn a pump off' ; is it REQUIRED to be able to turn a pump off? are pumps without nozzles always on or was this just flavor text? is a nozzle required for devices wiht multiple area of effect options? or is it only required if you want to swicth functions in mid-attack?
Good questions! I would rule that you need a nozzle to turn a pump off - otherwise the item in question always launches its output at a distance. Pumps without nozzles are always on. And it is required if you want a device with multiple area-of-effect options to switch between those options. Otherwise... frankly, otherwise you can get into a mess that you and your GM will have a hard time getting out of.
modus666 wrote: QUESTION 4
---------------
some steam powers create area of effect attacks, can a user fire these aoe attacks at his full attack rate? or is it considered a standard action to activate such a potent attack? the text suggests its at the users full attack rate (rapid fire feat with a flamethrower anyone?). just wanted some confirmation there
Hmmm. As a default, I treat steam power devices the way I treat crossbows (since they're both technological weapons): they only fire once per round in the hands of most users, no matter how fast those users are in "normal" combat. If you want to get around that, come up with a combination of steam powers and/or feats that let you exceed the normal limits of technology and humanoind reflexes.

Did we answer your questions?
DragonMech line developer, freelance writer, tall guy named Matt.
modus666
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Re: not understanding the concept (rotor arm & otherstea

Post by modus666 »

walrusjester wrote: Pumps without nozzles are always on.
i dont disagree as such, but there is precedent in the examples given after i read some more that suggests that a pump doesnt require a nozzle to be turned off, most of the flamethrower examples in the dragonmech book dont indicate the requiring of a nozzle...
walrusjester wrote: Hmmm. As a default, I treat steam power devices the way I treat crossbows (since they're both technological weapons): they only fire once per round in the hands of most users, no matter how fast those users are in "normal" combat. If you want to get around that, come up with a combination of steam powers and/or feats that let you exceed the normal limits of technology and humanoind reflexes.

Did we answer your questions?
for the most part, yes... though i'd certainly like to see something more official, no offense intended to those who have answered so far.
modus666
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Re: not understanding the concept (rotor arm & otherstea

Post by modus666 »

[quote="mythfish]
The rotor arm attacks the squares diagonally in front of the character, but not the square directly in front of the character. Like so, with ^ being the character facing north, and X being the squares the rotor arm attacks:

Code: Select all

     XOX
     O^O
     OOO
[/quote]

ok, now armed with that knowledge, does the sidewinder flamethrower shoot flame in a 90degree arc or a 180degree arc to each side? or could that simply be up to the creators discretion? how is the necessity of the rotor arm justified? is it spinning the flame nozzle about? i'd see that as more of a aoe pinwheel type of effect, spewing out in all directions based on the rotor arms description, especially if you held it up over your head. if that were the case... it would logically be a 180 degree jet of flame from side to side, and also shooting up and down when the spinning rotor was held on its vertical axis. (sorry i rambled a bit there)
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Post by Ken Hart »

Yep, good questions. By getting "official" responses, do you mean more concrete "yes/no" answers? From a pure information standpoint, it's safe to say you're on solid ground when you get answers from Dieter and Matt. They've written and shaped a vast amount of the information on DragonMech. :) Steam powers were a brand-new concept when Joseph Goodman created the setting, so as people dive into DragonMech, we invariably come across a few fuzzy things in the way those powers work. We'll do our best to clear things up here.
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mythfish
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Post by mythfish »

Yeah, the way steam powers interact is often a bit vague and open to interpretation. The way they were usually handled in my campaign was that the coglayer player would come to me and say "These are the steam powers I have put together, and this is what I think they do." If what they do didn't seem unbalanced or overpowerful in any way, I let it go. If it seemed it might be a bit too powerful, I'd reinterpret the rules in a way more to my liking and then let the coglayer decide if he still wanted to make the contraption.

The truth is, in a lot of cases there isn't one clear answer about how a bunch of steam powers will act together. Though I hope to have the chance to change that a bit when we get around to doing the next edition of DM. :twisted:
Dieter Zimmerman
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