Re: [BNW] Goliaths and Blasters

["D. Jon Mattson" <dmattson@kermode.net>]

> Well I've always kind of assumed that the superblast has to be a
> continuous thing. So if the blaster has to spend an action to, say, dodge
> then he loses the superblast. So all you have to do is plug the guy while
> he's charging up and he's either going to lose the charge or get hurt.

I think you're right about that -- at least, that's the way I've been
running it, too.  There are still some situations where it is incredibly
nasty, though.  Ambush is the obvious one (who cares about building up in a
case like that?).  And attacking inanimate objects.  The most common case,
though, is simply when one side outnumbers the other.  A favourite tactic of
the local players is to have most of the group hold off the opposition,
stalling as much as possible, while the Blaster builds up.  Then... BAM!...
somebody almost always gets dropped.  Naturally, this doesn't always work.
If the opposition's numbers are equal or superior, or if they clue in to
what's going on and nuke the Blaster, then the plan is a bust.  Of course,
this trick is even nastier when pulled by Primers in flying armor.  In that
case, it's tough to beat unless you have a tough Flyer of your own.

Hmmm... kind of went off on a tangent there.  Anyway, my point is that the
trick is probably balanced by the build-up time in most situations; however,
I still can't help wondering if the potential damage total isn't too high,
regardless of the time frame limitation.  Maybe it should be limited to one
or two turns of build up (+5 or +10 damage).  This would still allow a
5d6+20 attack, which is nastier than pretty much anything else in BNW.  I
guess I'm not thinking just of the balance so much as the "comic physics" of
the thing -- not just in attacking live foes but in nuking inanimate
objects, as well.  Should a built up Blaster really be able to do more
damage than any other weapon in the game, including missiles, major
explosives and the like?  I'm still not sure about this one...

Cwylric