Shrinking and Growing Thread...again

Been thinking again about a way to have a functional shrinking and growing power-set in-game. The first thing I though about was how big could you go indoors and outdoors. I think it's important to make the distinction, at least for appearance, and not necessarily for the effectiveness of the set. What is the largest thing we've seen in an indoor mission (Rularuu excluded since he gets his own room). I would say a Zeus Titan or a Granite DE are pretty big and a good limit to the size one should be able to grow indoors. Now out-doors (or instanced out-door missions), gives growth a limit of a Kronos Titan or even the Crystal Titan. How small is small enough? The smallest thing in-game (other than the roaches in the sewers) as the clockwork gears. These little guys are super-small, but can still be fully rendered and I think this should be the limit of a shrinking ability.

On to the power itself.

This set should be a be a balance between single-target attack ability and large AoE attacks, as well as good defense and good resistance. At your standard size, this melee set is something of a bridge between a tank and a scrapper, or a better brute without the rage. As you grow, you begin to take on the form of a tank, with slower but heavier attacks that have a greater and greater chance for AoE and cone effects as you get to maximum height. As you get larger, you also become easier to hit, but your mass gives you greater resistance to damage as well as a large-area taunt. As you shrink, you get an opposite effect. The smaller you get, you lean more toward an effective scrapper, giving you faster single target attacks, even though your damage (numbers) don't decrease from standard, you hit much faster. being smaller also means you're harder to hit meaning a higher defense, the smaller you are, as well as a good -perception at smallest size.


So what's the catch?

The bigger or smaller you go is very taxing and can cost significant amount of endurance to maintain.

I see the set as an Epic Archetype give you the option to branch into either shrinking or growing or some aspects of both (think tri-form Kheldian).

As an actual power set, or even more an EAT, I'd say that is a LOT of powers to come up with based on shrinking or growing. Not that it is impossible, but I would believe that shrinking/growing would fit best into a power pool alongside flight/tp/stealth/etc, so lots of character concepts could use it. This set would be mostly buffs, like the stealth and leadership pools. Your limits for size are about right I'd say. So the powers for the pool, as i see most reasonable, are:

Body Mass Manipulation: Your mastery over your body mass allows you to alter your size and density for either increased defense or offense.

1- "Decrease Density" [lv 4] Self Click +Speed, +Recharge [low]
Your ability to convert some of your body mass to energy allows you to move faster and attack faster for a time.

2- "Increase Density" [lv 4] Self Click +Res(Smash, Energy, Disorient, Hold, Immobilize, Knockback), -SPD(Special)
Your ability to increase your mass gives you protection from oncoming attacks for a time.

3- "Bantam" or "Shrink" [lv 14] Self Toggle +Def [high], +Stealth [*size change small]
You can condense or dispel your body mass to an strikingly reduced amount, thereby making you harder for enemies to spot, and granting a defense bonus.

4- "Gargantuan" or "Grow" [lv 14] Self Toggle +Res(Smash,Lethal, Hold, Immobilize, Knockback), +Dmg, +ToHit [*size change large]
You can generate enough mass to expand your bodysize and grow larger than most enemies, thereby making your attacks stronger and giving your thicker skin desistance to smashing and lethal damage. You are also harder to contain, giving hold, immobilize, and knockback resistance.

optional 5- "Titanic" [lv 14] only usable outdoors, requires two other powers. Self Click +Max Health, PBAoE Foe Fear, Self -End[Delayed] You gather mass from the surrounding area to ingrease your body size beyond fathom, increasing your own hit points for a time, and striking fear in all those who see you. Doing this requires a lot of energy, and aftreward you will be exhausted and drained of endurance. Can only be used outdoors.



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that's how i see Shape Changing should be that way it could be useable by all. demonic villains growing, bug heroes shrinking, incarnates growing to godly sizes, or basic heroes receiving basic buffs. and as long as the numbers aren't TOO high, and comparable to the other power pool buffs, this wont be over powered at all.

whaddya think?

It would make for a good power pool set. Do we have the technology to make it so if you have the grow toggle up you can't have the shrink toggle up but can have other toggles up? I think we do. Is this how dark armor used to work?

Sometimes I feel like being a shrink/grow guy and simulate it by having the exact same costume on 2 costume slots with one maxed out size and one smallest possible size (via the science pack). Switching the costumes can look pretty cool and has turned a few heads.

Can't resist I love these powers so!
Since you've brought it up I will repost my own suggestion from years ago.

Growth and Shrinking are power pools where the effects are generally derived from the amount of the power the player is actively using. They are controlled by Magnitude (or M - initially set to 0). As Growth or Shrinking powers are activated, the value increases or decreases causing changes shown below. Each Growth/Shrink power enhances 1 aspect of size changing but that enhancement affects the total magnitude bonus.
If M is positive you stand 5*M + 5’ tall, if M is negative you stand 3’/M tall.
All characters get:
+(10*M)% running and jumping speed
+(3*M)’ radius for all PBAoE Taunt attacks
+(2*M)’ reach (range bonus to melee-type attacks) to both you and your foes (min 1 ft).
+(4*M)% resistance to lethal, energy, and toxic damage {enhanced by Big if M>1}
+(1*M)pt. of knockback protection
+(1*M)pt. of knockback added to all melee-based attacks {enhanced by Huge if M>1}
-(50*M)’ stealth radius {enhanced by Slight if M<1}
-(4*M)% ranged defense {enhanced by Small if M<1}
If abs(M) > 1
+(2*M)% resistance to smashing, heat, and cold damage {enhanced by Big if M>2}
-(2*M)% melee defense {enhanced by Small if M<2}
If abs(M) > 3
+(2*M)% defense debuff on target’s melee defense {enhanced by Colossal if M>3}
-(2*M)% accuracy buff {enhanced by Tiny if M<3}
Growth
Each power is interruptible while it activates (as you grow to a new height). If you try to activate a power but have no room to grow (due to a roof), nothing happens. If you are too big to fit through an opening, you must turn off growth powers until you can.
Big (self & toggle) – (+1 M). Your body mass helps you resist damage from pinpoint attacks. Enhancements: Resistance, Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge.
Huge (self & toggle) – (+1 M). Your size gives you a PBAoE taunt attack on foes within a 5’ radius, and gives you additional leverage to knock opponents down. Enhancements: Endurance, Interrupt, Knockback, Taunt, Recharge
Gigantic (self & toggle) – (+1 M). You are so much bigger than your opponents that you do an extra 10*M smashing damage with all your melee attacks. You must be level 14 and already have 1 other Growth power. Enhancement: Damage, Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge.
Colossal (self & toggle) – (+1 M). Your fists are now the size of your foes enabling you to ignore their attempts to block your melee attacks. Your size is frightening (2*M’ PBAoE fear radius). You must be level 20 and already have 2 other growth powers. Enhancement: Defense Debuff, Fear, Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge.
Shrink
Each power is interruptible while it activates (as you shrink to a new height).
Small (self & toggle) – (-1 M). Your size makes it easy to find cover and dodge attacks. Enhancements: Defense, Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge.
Slight (self & toggle) – (-1 M). Your size makes it easy to sneak and hide. Enhancements: Endurance, Interrupt, Range, Recharge
Puny (self & toggle) – (-1 M). You are so small that opponent’s have trouble tracking and targeting you; +(2*M)% to-hit debuff. You must be level 14 and already have 1 other Shrink power. Enhancement: Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge, To-hit Debuff.
Tiny (self & toggle) – (-1 M). Your foes are so much bigger than yourself, it’s ridiculously easy to tag them. You must be level 20 and already have 2 other Shrink powers. Enhancement: Accuracy, Endurance, Interrupt, Recharge.

There could of course be temp powers (magic elixirs or proton belts, etc) that enable Growth or Shrink; and new controller or corrupter powers to grow/shrink teammates. But only characters who have the power(s) have access to the enhancements, so there will probably be a noticeable difference in performance. External boosts could, in theory, grow or shrink a character by any amount, but presumable with a 1-byte control limited to numeric values makes 9 levels becomes the ceiling, which is down to 4” tall or up to 50’.
I think it would be cool for the Devs to create “The Macrocosm and The Microcosm” as new zones. A group like Portal or Crey learns how to manipulate the dimension of scale. Players could go there, (and like at the Portal Corp) use the machinery to intentionally transfer to one of these dimensions. But players could accidentally manipulate their Magnitude beyond a factor of 9 – causing them to ‘ghost out’ of our reality into one of these neighboring dimensions, from which they must find a way back (and no, it wouldn’t be as easy as just turning the powers off – cause the Magnitude byte would reset to zero – the ‘norm’ for this dimension).

As for the technology to block or force detoggles - sure it exists. You can't Hover and Fly at the same time, can you? Though this suggestion gets around that since toggling all 8 powers at the same time returns you to an M of zero. Massive endurance use for no gain.