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Acid Vial: Why does it drain AP?
Topic Started: Dec 19 2014, 08:26 PM (1,020 Views)
Flamewolf9
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I was looking through scientist as a path to make a gadgeteer character and stumbled upon Acid Vial (and Explosive Vial). What's not to love about Acid and Explosives?! The I noticed their frequency: Drain 1 AP. This seemed very odd to me compared to several other crafting features and other features that grant moves as well. The only other features that drain AP either grant combat stages for the day, or heal HP. It doesn't seem like Acid Vial or Explosive Vial are quite as powerful as a full days worth combat stages for your entire team/yourself or healing members of your party. Maybe I'm wrong though. This also applies Tag Scribe and Ninja’s Arsenal.

Maybe if it was Bind 1 AP similar to Stylish Makeover or several Martial Achievements. This allows for passing the acidic/explosive love around while still burning daily resources. These features can be unbound either by using them, paying the crafting cost, or taking an extended rest.

Thoughts?
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Kairose
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binding AP really doesn't make sense for crafting an item: does the item just go away when you unbind it? Why can the creator just will it to go inert when they want to do something else that costs AP? Similarly, normal AP costs don't work because it's not much of a cost on an extended action since "scene" frequency (and AP along with it) can refresh easily within that time.

Personally, I don't think the AP cost makes sense at all, especially when you pay the monetary cost to make them last. I'd probably prefer it to be just the monetary cost rather than Drain 1 AP and it only lasts the day if you don't spend money.
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Flamewolf9
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I agree that AP doesn't really make sense for crafting, but it does offer another way to make items and pass them around to other party members without spending money. Even as a crafting feature the vials feel very weak. They grant the ability to craft one item that RAW only has one very specific effect. At least Cleanse Tags have four different effects for the one feature slot. Same with Ninja's Arsenal.

Maybe add Acid Spray to Acid Vial. I'm not sure what to add to Explosive Vial, but it seems like it could use something also like Heat Wave or Seed Bomb. This gives them at least two different (but similar) effects to work with.
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Jacquerel
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I believe it drains AP simply so that you aren't free to use literally all the acid vials you possess in every encounter, then replenish your supply when your AP is restored afterwards.
The AP is returned to you after an extended rest, which is also usually going to be when vials you did not spend money on expire. This seems pretty reasonable to me as a principle.

Personally I think it really wouldn't be so bad if the feature also just taught you the move Acid, so that the vials are for use by your party rather than yourself, because it's an At-Will move anyway, but I understand why it is how it is.
The limitation exists because you can hand them to other players and give everyone in your party Poison coverage, rather than because Acid is an exceptionally powerful attack.
Edited by Jacquerel, Dec 21 2014, 09:36 AM.
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