I just wanted to see if this would work. The rule of 3 means that no combat value can be modified beyond 3. You can Perplex a value up/down as many times as you want, but when it comes time to use that value, the rule of 3 will kick in, and the maximum modifier is +/-3. Correct so far? So does this work:

Nimrod has a range of 10. With his Pulse Wave, that Range is cut in half to 5. If I was (hypothetically speaking) able to Perplex his Range up 16x to a 26, and then Running Shot and Pulse Wave, would his Range then be cut to a 13, and thusly not be more than the rule of 3 above his printed Range of 10?

Or could I at most, Perplex his Range 6x to a 16, cut in half for the Pulse Wave to 8, making it a +3 above the 5 unmodified Range he'd normally get with PW?

Yeah, it's a bit crazy, but I am kind of bored today. (waiting to go to the Motley Crue concert tonight )

no you can only perplex plus 3, so nimrod has a 10 range, so if you perplex it can get to a 13, half when you pulse wave is 7, you always round up

I'm no rule expert but since you'd never get past 13 range the highest you can ever get is 7.

Nimrod has a 10 range.

You could perplex it as many times as you wish, but it would only be effectively a 13.

Halved range during a pulsewave means it's a 7.

It's abit off topic, but still a Pulse Wave question.

With Balder from HoT, his ability;
WARRIOR OF LIGHT: Balder can use Pulse Wave as if he had a range of 6.

Does that mean he counts as having range 6.. and as such, is halved to 3 when using Pulse Wave?
..or is it just worded funny and he can use Pulse Wave with 6 range?

I'm pretty sure you'd cut it in half.

FF PAC- Pulse Wave- Give this character a ranged combat action; halve its range value until the action has been resolved

I think the order of operations, you'd have to give him the ranged combat action, and whatever the range value is (Balder's would be 6 for purposes of pulse wave) is cut in half.

You guys may be right, but I seem to remember a thread about Lobo and his 'Bounty Hunter' SP, and the use of his Transporter Move and Attack. The question was asked if you used the 'Bounty Hunter' and MA, and you Perplexed up his Attack to a 13, what would his be after using the SP and MA ability? It was stated that he would have a 13 still, +3 for Perplex, +2 for 'Bounty Hunter' (so +5 all together) -2 for MA for a net of +3 and a 13

I'll have to do a search to see if I am remembering it correctly. I'll post a link to it if I can find it.

Im going to disagree with everyone else so far.

Rule of three only kicks in when a value is used.

You can certainly perplex a value by more than 3 points, but the second you use that value for anything, the rule of three kicks in and limits the total modifier to +3.

for example perplexing a transporters attack by +5 so that when it does a Move and Attack the -2 for that is absorbed and you still have +3 (a well established legal maneuvre).

That said- Pulsewave involves a replacement, which is not the same as a modification, and not subject to the rule of three. so your modifier counting should come from the new value.

consequently the best his pulse wave range could be is (range/2) +3 which is 8.
so perplex his range 6 times (from outside his pulsewave range) then let loose for a (16/2=8) 8 range pulsewave which is within the rule of three (5+3=8)

We posted at the same time I thought that was the case.

As for the Replacement value of PW, I wasn't sure about that. So it wouldn't be worth it really to Perplex 6 times to get an 8 Range, when you could Perplex just 3 times, and get a 7 Range, unless you really needed that extra 1 square of Range

And here is the link I spoke of. In fact, I started the thread LOL:

Lobo and 'Bounty Hunter' SP

No. You cannot perplex a value by more than +/-3...so if you modify his range to 13, it would be cut in half to 6.5, and rounded up to 7....


Yes. 6 is his unmodified range value, so his pulse wave value is 3.

Perplex is an action, a free action, but still an action...so each perplex must be done sererately, and each perplex action must be completed before the next perplex action can take place...no matter how many times you perplex a character, it can never rise above +3. For Lobo, his "Bounty Hunter" takes the place of two of these perplexers, and it still is only +3...once all perplex actions take place, his attack value is 13...once Lobo declares his action, and uses the transporter attack ability, it is now lowered by -2 bringing it to 11....note: it cannot be raised by +5 making it +3 because each perplex is an action made by a seperate character and only one character can make an action at a time.

I used to judge and had several people try that with rookie con artists...The rule of 3 doesn't "kick in", it is alway in...each time you use perplex, it is an action (free action or not)...each perplex action must be completede before any other actions can take place (free actions or not)...so the combat value must be settled, and no more than +3/-3 before the next action can take place...IF you really wanted to use 5 perplexers for the same combat value, I'm sure your opponent would let you, but the modification would go like this: +1, +2, +3, +3, +3.
Once the character makes his ranged combat action his attack value cannot be further modified because only one action can be made at a time...the power states that his range value is cut in half...it is not a modifyer or a replacement value beause it does not specify it as either, it is a requirement of the power and an exclusive occurance.

If you have a green lantern with ranged combat expert and "Trick shot" carry 8 Gotham City Detectives, he has 8 figures with enhance adjacent to him, but only 3 of them modify his combat value...he does NOT have +8 that is SUDDENLY lowered to +3...it never goes above +3.

You cannot perplex a transporter's attack value by +5, you can only perplex it by +3...after the -2 attack for his move and attack ability, his attack value is +1...it can never be modified by more period.

Did you not read the replies to this thread?
Lol. I forgot that I was the first person to reply to this thread way back when.

Nobody, you are correct that you can modify a power as many times as you can, but it is capped at +3 of the original value.

I can modify Lobo's AV to 15 and then do a transporter attack at AV 13 because that AV is +3 above the original value of 10. But if I were to perplex his AV to a 16 and do a transporter attack he would still only hit with an AV 13 because of the rule of 3.

When it comes to the pulsewave question. You could perplex Nimrod's Range 27 times, but it would be capped at a 13. Then you would replace the 13 to a 7. His range is still technically a 37 but it is effectively a 13.

In fact, the replies after yours include a ruling from nbperp stating that it works the way W.I.T. says it does. Rule of 3 isn't imposed until all modifiers are calculated, so you could, in fact, perplex Lobo up by three, add the two from bounty hunter, and then impose the -2 from Move and Attack, and then the Rule of three is irrelevant, because the total modifier is +3.

This is pretty much all incorrect.

The Perplexes have no net effect until the combat value is used, but those modifiers are not lost.

Did the character lose Perplex?
Was it defeated?
Was the target damaged or healed?
The answer to all of the above is no.



I can definitely Perplex a transporter's attack value up five times.

When I make my attack, the -2 is applied to the five +1's for a total of +3.




As to the OP's question, it will not work.

He has a 10 with 16 +1's added to it.

When the value is checked, the Rule of Three caps it at 13, then it gets halved to 7.




Now, this next part doesn't work with PW (because powers and TA's are ignored), but HSS does allow you to se the Ro3 twice.

You have a range of 10. Perplex it by +3 for a 13. When you make your attack, you will halve that to 7, but you could again boost it with SHILED members to get a 10 range.