tt6, please re-read post #7.

I didn't mean to quote you. Sorry, meant to get the first post when he mentioned the 24 rolls in a row.

Each critical hit would add one to the damage dealt, which is not capped by the rule of 3. In theory, you can get an infinite amount of damage out of a HSS#2 attack... as long as you keep hitting. It should also be noted that unless you are using the And Stay Down! feat the chance of rolling a critical hit is equal to the one of rolling a critical miss...

I agree with the damage part of what you are saying. However, with each successful attack (successful means you roll high enough to hit, no damage even has to be done) and you add 1 to the attackee's (may have just made that word up) defense. This is a modification of a dial's value, hence, the rule of 3 would stop you after 4 (at most) attacks.

Hit (add 1 def) Hit (add 2nd def) Hit (add 3rd def) Hit (can no longer add numbers due to the rule of 3) no further attack can be made because you cannot add to their defense thus ending the attack.

The example in the FAQ (or errata, I forgot which) explaining HSS #2 by using Flash and Gorilla Grodd pretty much says you can keep attacking, though whoever wrote it seems to think it pointless because you can't do any more damage. Clearly they weren't being devious enough! There's nothing to say you have to stop the attack.

This is untrue. The Rule of Three does not stop you from taking an action that might further modify a value beyond +/-3 of its original value, but instead stops those further modifiers from actually changing the value.

For example, it is completely legal to Perplex a figure's damage value +1 four times (with four different Perplex pieces, of course). However, the Rule of Three prevents all four of the +1s from taking effect, and will cap the effective value at +3.

Also note that all modifiers are taken into account, so if you Perplex down your opponent's defense before HSSoption2-ing him, he can get +4 from the HSS... -1+4= +3.

Honestly, I was pretty certain that it changed... and after checking the PACs, it does look like it was in Universe.

Wow... oh, so clunky.

It is no longer a "combat action" but instead a "power action." Several other things changed (this is where Ro3 came in, too, so the defense was capped... but the damage wasn't) but the relevant bit is bolded.

This is where the knockback part of the clause was removed. Also, barring a ruling that I'm not sure existed at the time, the defense value was still capped at +3 and the damage dealt was (theoretically) infinite. It wasn't until the Icons PAC that the "damage value is reduced to 1" was brought back, and increased by +1 for each further successful attack.


A trip down memory lane and typing practice at the same time...