Dispelling Devices

[Mr. Negative]

I'm more interested in this as a survey than as a complex justification, but...

I've noticed a lot of official HERO supplements using the "Dispel Device" power to represent breaking a device (such as a motorcycle helmet in UMA). To me, this seems unnecessary and a bit finicky, as any attack capable of doing BODY damage should be capable of breaking a breakable Focus (or any other object), given enough damage.

I realize that sometimes the power may be written up to reflect an ability to rust/melt/mutate/fold/spindle/mutilate an item, but it seems often written up simply to reflect smacking something until it breaks. Do many GMs actually require their PCs to pay for this sort of power, in addition to normal attacks capable of exerting force on objects?

I mean, regardless of how often the PC breaks stuff, unless he wants to be really, really efficient at breaking things, isn't a use of an attack sufficient? It almost like requiring Teleportation (must cross intervening area) to allow PC's to open a door and walk through.

Do any GM's find that allowing PCs to simply break things with their own Strength, rather than possessing "breaking things" powers is unbalancing to their campaign? Is there some reason for writing this power up that I am not seeing (i.e., not a "breaking things" ability that doesn't depend on force, or generates more force than the PC's strength and attacks would suggest)?

[Monolith]

Part of the problem with breaking this is that the breaking Focus rules are somewhat inconsistent. In a superhero game, for example, virtually every Focus would get broken fairly easily. An +8 PD +8 ED Armored bulletproof costume would be shattered after the first hit it took. Now while that makes sense in a certain “real world” way it does not make sense in a “comic world” way. Most superhero’s bulletproof costumes do not get shattered by someone getting punched. At the very least Dispel gives you a viable SFX for destroying a Focus. While it does not make sense that getting punched by Tiger Fist would destroy your bulletproof costume it does make sense that his Vibrating Fist of Resonance would.

In general though, I am not a big fan of using obscure powers to simulate certain SFX. I am not a by-the-point type of GM. I would no more make a brick buy an entangle to wrap someone in a telephone pole than I would make a martial artist punch off someone’s motorcycle helmet. If a character wanted to destroy a Focus in one of my combats I would just try to visualize the drama of the situation and let the player do it with a standard attacking the Focus attack and damage roll. If the player rolled average or above I would just describe how the helmet was shattered. But having said all that, I can clearly understand why many GMs would require a power to be bought to simulate those effects. I think one of the oldest GMing rules is: If you give a player an inch, he will try to take a mile. :)

[Captain Obvious]

Generally speaking, if a Focus is an OAF, then it can be damaged in combat by targeting it specifically. If it's an OIF, then some sort of power for specifically taking out devices is more in line.

If the Focus is Inobvious, then obviously there's no way to take it out unless the attacker is somehow in the know....