Can I get a little help explaining my physical stress track? + the Catch"?"

[HappyDaze]

I've got an urge to fill the brute role in my group, and with this game and setting, that hasn't really been covered by any of the starring roles (PCs) of the novels (unless I really missed it).  So the idea my friend and I have been rattling around involves a Jotun-Blooded Scion (yeah, a Norse half-giant of the frosty persuasion).  Largely (heh) the frost aspect will only show up in the Catch (the guy is still flesh and blood, not made of ice or anything of the sort).  Here is the list of powers being considered:

Hulking Size [-2]
Human Form [+1]*
Supernatural Strength [-4]
The Catch: Fire [+3]
Inhuman Recovery [-2]
Supernatural Toughness [-4]

* Supernatural Strength and Supernatural Toughness are limited to Inhuman Strength and Inhuman Toughness while in Human Form and Hulking Size is unavailable.

In his giant form, the Jotun-Blooded Scion has Endurance 4 with Hulking Size and Supernatural Toughness.  This creates the following physical stress track:

OOOOOO(OOOO)

In Human Form, this creates the following physical stress track:

OOOO(OO)

Can someone shed a little light on how stress translates across the switch from giant-size to human-size?  The book covers it a bit, but I'm not really sure I'm getting it.  Do the #5 and #6 boxes temporarily drop off and the #7 & #8 boxes now slide over?

Lastly, the value of the the Catch seems reasonable to me, but I wanted to check with what others might think.  Since this is a somewhat obscure creature but it still features in myths, I figured that the +1 for being in a library would go with the +2 for nearly everyone being able to get fire for a sum of +3.  This prices it at the same value as Cold Iron, but my own feeling is that Cold Iron should perhaps be a +4 considering how well-known the Fae weakness is and how easily available steel tends to be in the modern world, so...

And, for the optimizers out there, yes, I do realize that I gain nothing by having the Human Form reduce my Strength and Toughness levels from Supernatural to Inhuman.  This is being done for theme as well as to bypass a GM-imposed 'soft ban' on PCs having Supernatural or Mythic levels of Speed, Strength, Recovery, or Toughness.  He's OK with me having them, but only in my hulked-out 12' form since that has a number of drawbacks to go with it.

[Becq]

To my understanding, you're handling the stress boxes correctly.  As an example, if you took some hits in combat as a giant:

OOOXXO(OXXO)

Then, if you shifted back to human, you would have:

OOOX(OX)

If you then took a four stress hit, it would roll up into your Toughness track:

OOOX(XX)

And if you turned back into a giant you'd still have some bonus boxes marked off, assuming you hadn't had time to recover:

OOOXXO(XXXO)

Then, if you took a seven-stress hit from FIRE, it would ignore that last unchecked box completely, taking you out (unless you took a consequence).

Conceptually, it might help to draw a box around boxes 5-6 and 9-10, and just pretend they don't exist unless you're shapechanged.

The value of the Catch does track with what I see in the book.  One thing, however, is that my understanding of 'Human Form' is that you are supposed to be basically mundane when in human form.  Which means that you shouldn't have any strength, recovery, or toughness at all in that form.  The rules are a bit loose on this, stating that you must "Specify which of your supernatural abilities (usually most or all of them) are unavailable", so you've got the wiggle room so long as your GM OKs is, but consider that your 'average Joe' human form will be *very* inhumanly powerful (literally), enough to compete physically with many monsters, which is something of a stretch.

[wolff96]

One thing, however, is that my understanding of 'Human Form' is that you are supposed to be basically mundane when in human form.  Which means that you shouldn't have any strength, recovery, or toughness at all in that form.  The rules are a bit loose on this, stating that you must "Specify which of your supernatural abilities (usually most or all of them) are unavailable", so you've got the wiggle room so long as your GM OKs is, but consider that your 'average Joe' human form will be *very* inhumanly powerful (literally), enough to compete physically with many monsters, which is something of a stretch.

Yeah, I noticed that as well.

It's technically legal -- the +1 for Human Form only requires giving up at least -2 Refresh worth of powers -- but I would *definitely* discuss that with the GM ahead of time if I was in your shoes.  Your character is giving up -6 Refresh of powers in his "human form", but it's still definitely not human by my definition.