It was mentioned earlier, but the Imperial Fists Librarians power Wave of Penance seems absurdly overpowered. It blindly spams enemies with massive damage without affecting friendlies. Its like a red "nuke that level" button, especially at higher levels. Imho it should at least be limited to combat situations / a number of targets / a clear indication how a foe is identified (or is it anybody with unfriendly feelings?). If it is not limited: what do you still need inquisitors for? Just send an IF librarian into a room full of suspects, release the power and have a drink with the good guys (the ones still standing after that's done). If you think it's not op enough, combine it with a sustained Golden Son (so probably enemies won't be able to dodge). And if you sustain Golden Son a little longer you won't even have to worry about social skills at the after-party.

Honestly, as a Librarian, I think I'd rather have bonuses to characteristics that are less easy to raise (Agility, Toughness) than something that will be less and less relevant later in the game (when Psy Hood and even Fettered manifesting gives you near-90 on your focus power test).

That said, Waves of Penance is, I'd agree, a very strong ability.

Wave of penance is really good. If your KT is in close combat you can blast out a pushed or unfettered wave and BAM. Once you get some psy rating, it looks undogeable if they are close to you. Unless they can dodge 30 meters away. You can just use it as your cc with no worries for hitting any good guys or yourself.

I know it is "really good". What I am asking is: is it too good? What fun is it to have a spell that is automatically homing on the bad guys only (with such tremendous damage potential). But what does this do to strategic fighting? Does it make the game more interesting or rather boring?

It is too good but imo the libby is too good. You can one **** master levels in a couple ranks. Wave of Penenace just makes it easier, smite is still all you need. Erryone stand back, better hope this bad cat doesnt hit you big guy etc. There are several other pyschic powers that are just plain, better think of somethin else mister gm. Sustain a force dome until the gm has to send them into you, blast with smite when in range.

The librarian as whole is uber strong imo. Wave of penenace makes easier what is already easy to do.

nolsutt said:

Doesn't do more damage against a horde, only affects more hordes perhaps. Against a Master-tier enemy, you'll probably have to push to cause damage or damage worth mentioning. Can you say perils of the warp? Anyway, against Elite enemies this is a good power. This spell is at peak efficiency if you have multiple small hordes and/or multiple elite class enemies nearby.

Alex

I have the impression that Wave of Penance is tipping the game balance in a problematic direction. Why should an IF Libby ever choose to use any other power apart from this one? It's a no-brainer. Smite is powerful but you have to take care not to hit your teammates or yourself. Force Dome is a great power but you are setting a big shimmering globe-like beacon for all enemies in the region. But Wave of Penance? I cannot see any challenges or drawbacks.

What can a GM do to make fights with a IF Libby involved interesting? Against Devastators you can have enemies try to close the distance an charge into melee. Against Stalwart Defense+Counter Attack-melee oriented PCs you can have enemies step away and shoot point blank. All strong combos have weak spots that make them challenging to use in combat situations, which is part of the fun. I guess.

Maybe Wave of Penance should simply require an opposed test to determine who is recognized as a foe before dodging the effects.

onkldoktr said:

Sorry but I think that's silly.
First the power will surely just hit ppl you see as enemies.
Not enemy undercover agents.
Second thing is if you already sustain golden son your PR gets lower and so it's ok.

Umbranus said:

In this case the power should require line of sight and a perception roll to determine how many enemies you can clearly distinguish. Max number of affected foes could be limited. Thinking about game balance is definitely not "silly".

When I said see I meant the librarian decides who is his enemy and those are hit.
If one person present is his ally but he hates him I think it yould happen that he is hit.

Excuse me for calling it silly. But I didn't talk about your try to balance something but about the idea that the psy power reads the minds of the possible targets and, based on that, decides if they are hit. If that would be the case they should get a will roll to not be affected because they block the try to have their minds read.

Umbranus said:

Thank you for your clarification. I agree that the librarian should determine who is affected. It doesn't make sense that Wave of Penance blindly targets all enemies in range regardless of clearly being an enemy, line of sight, cover etc (that's why my initial example was meant to be silly). Imho, to balance the power there should be an additional test involved. It all comes down to the question how this power actually works.The description is kind of fuzzy. If the power works on a mental level, there should be at least an opposed WP test. If it works on a plain physical level I would consider additional BS tests instead (like throwing grenades). In the latter case it should also be possible to cause friendly fire.

I think balancing is necessary. Just imagine opponents having the same power and consider the whining of your players after the unavoidable group wipe.

onkldoktr said:

Perhaps it's both physical and mental. I could agree to a opposed WP test anyway.

Alex