Energetics Vs. Attacks

[Florin]

So as not to give a non-dev answer in the Ask a Dev thread, I'm starting this one.

How is Energetics 1 (Conversion) intended to function against attacks? It only uses the mechanical language of indirect damage like environmental effects (“levels of damage”). If you were to apply those mechanics to direct attacks it would be an incredibly powerful defense because it wouldn’t block attack successes like soft armor it would block purchases of inflict injury and critical. Even a starting character focused on Energetics could shrug off higher scale attacks, basically turn an aberrant’s scale 3 laser blast into a “womp womp womp” sad horn noise. Hilarious, but seems broken.

You are correct that Energetics will neutralize Mode/2 number of injury conditions from an attack. There are a couple of limitations to that. First, Energetics only protects against one type of energy per use. So, if you're protecting against fire, it won't protect against sonic damage. Having attacks with multiple energy types works around this defense. Second, it costs 1 psi point per defense action. That gives you a practical limit to the number of rounds you can use it in a combat. Third, in your example you may not be taking into account the fact higher Scale attacks can buy extra Inflict Injury stunts equal to the difference between scales. So, a Scale 3 blast vs. a scale 1 psion would mean it could do upwards of 4 injury conditions (3 Inflict Injury and 1 Critical Hit stunts.) A starting psion who only put dots into that mode would still risk taking up to 2 injury conditions, the equivalent of a critical hit.

Now that I read the rules again today, the above is not correct. I would still interpret it as reducing injury conditions (one per success on your roll) since damage levels of indirect damage not resisted translate into injury conditions. So, a starting psion could negate a scale 3 blast since they're rolling Psi+Energetics. And they can block up to Mode/2 types of energy. So, you'd need at least 4 types of energy to work around the defenses of someone with Energetics 5. Also, it only costs 1 Psi to activate it for the scene.

So, basically, Conversion is a really good 1 dot defensive power. Of course, so are Alertness (which just adds its dots to your Defense,) Equilibrium (which reduces damage from heat and cold attacks by Mode/2 + successes rolled,) Kinetic Shield (which adds Mode dots to soft armor,) and Blink (which lets you roll your Psi+Translocation and add successes to your soft armor.) I don't think Conversion is much more powerful than any of those. It is broader than Equilibrium, but it also isn't as powerful.

[Mateus Luz]

The power description don’t say anything about canceling inflict damage... it actually don’t say how it works against direct attacks. Level of damage is not an injury, it is nothing actually, but I understand it as damage rating, what is strictly from indirect damage. Probably, what they truly mean is more like a Soft armor than canceling injuries completely.

[Florin]

Wow, I read that system yesterday, and it made perfect sense to me. Reading it again today, it doesn't say what I thought it said. I need to edit my original post.

[Bunyip]

So as not to give a non-dev answer in the Ask a Dev thread, I'm starting this one.

I missed seeing the question in the Dev thread. Will take a look tonight.

[Florin]

I missed seeing the question in the Dev thread. Will take a look tonight.

Cool. I'll be interested to read it since I'm sure I have a player who will notice this power and take it at some point.

[werlynn]

I missed seeing the question in the Dev thread. Will take a look tonight.

Thank you. I’m curious what was intended. I’m equally curious about my second question: Errata or FAQ like Scion?

[Bunyip]

Thank you. I’m curious what was intended. I’m equally curious about my second question: Errata or FAQ like Scion?

Ian has answered the FAQ/Errata question and I’ve answered the power intention in the Dev thread.

If you’re a member of the Trinity:Continuum Discord server, at least one of the members maintains an unofficial FAQ as questions arise.

[Mateus Luz]

I like the way QK works, it’s imprecise, affect area, while others can make lasers or fire projectiles they can only irradiate an area. Same way for defense, affect Avery attack of that type in the area.

Increasing the defense is ok to understand, but the part of affecting every attack in radius is definitely not in the text. Anyway, thanks for the answer.

[Florin]

I like the way QK works, it’s imprecise, affect area, while others can make lasers or fire projectiles they can only irradiate an area. Same way for defense, affect Avery attack of that type in the area.

Increasing the defense is ok to understand, but the part of affecting every attack in radius is definitely not in the text. Anyway, thanks for the answer.

See quote below:

System: If successful, the character can transform one type of energy within her Radius into an equivalent amount of another.

So, it's effective over their entire Radius and says nothing about targeting specific attacks.

[Bunyip]

The first sentence of the System tells you the power applies within the psion’s Radius. Nothing in the ‘Used defensively’ part says otherwise. The final sentence under System tells us it lasts for a scene.

Edit: Ninja’d by Florin, thanks.

[Mateus Luz]

So, it's effective over their entire Radius and says nothing about targeting specific attacks.

Indeed. It’s all there.

[werlynn]

After rolling to activate the power (and spending 1 Psi point if activating reflexively) the psion selects up to Mode dots/2 types of energy (or attack ‘energies’ from the power description) and spends successes up to Mode dots/2 (per energy type) to subtract that number of successes from attacks of that type - in effect, increasing the Difficulty/Defense against those attack types.

This is substantially different from the text in the book—worthy of either errata or actual revision of the PDF.

Having to spend successes per energy type isn’t suggested by the text to me.

[werlynn]

Ian has answered the FAQ/Errata question and I’ve answered the power intention in the Dev thread.

If you’re a member of the Trinity:Continuum Discord server, at least one of the members maintains an unofficial FAQ as questions arise.

Is it pinned somewhere? I didn’t see any pinned posts in the iPad app. Searching for FAQ or errata in a Discord chat is almost as bad as having to find your FFG Star Wars errata and FAQ answers by finding and listening to the correct episode of a third party’s 90 minute podcast (which doesn’t have time stamps).

[Bunyip]

Is it pinned somewhere?

I don’t believe so, no.

[werlynn]

I don’t believe so, no.

That’s difficult