Simple q re Power Defense

[cboscari]

Does the character have to specify a single power for power defense the defense is against (say drains) or does it protect against all powers listed in the book?
Thanks,
Chris

[Gary]

Originally posted by cboscari
Does the character have to specify a single power for power defense the defense is against (say drains) or does it protect against all powers listed in the book?
Thanks,
Chris

Power defense stops all adjustment powers and transforms as a default. You can save points if you want to limit it to only drains.

[nblade]

Power DEF, works against all of them. Some people tend to have a problem with that and force people to talk limitations on the power to reflect its defense vs only one type of drain/transfer.

[TheEmerged]

Officially, power defense works regardless of what power/characteristic is being targetted.

However, some people feel this allows Power Defense to counteract adjustment powers too cheaply, and therefore make a house rule that Power Defense has to be bought for each power/framework. Aaron Allston (creator of Strike Force and the author of Champions) has this in his house rules if I recall.

Personally, my experience dictates otherwise. Unlike Flash Defense and Lack of Weakness (which were too cheap in 4th Edition, IMHO anyway), there is a 5-point-per-d6 power that works against Power Defense -- Suppress. In fact, there's even a 3-point-per-d6 power that works against Power Defense -- the horribly underrated Dispel (in practice Dispel almost always has at least a +1/4 advantage on it so it's closer to 4-point-per-d6).

Now, I'll admit that my experience is probably different than most GM's but I've seen a lot more Suppresses and Dispels than Drains & Transfers from my players. I'll grant that Transform is common as the get-out, though.

Editted to add -- took the time to dig up the PDF I had downloaded off Aaron's site with his campaign rules, dated 1995. I need to make a slight clarification due to my faulty memory. Aaron requires that Power Defense be bought with one of 2 possible -2 limitations. The PowDef either defends one specific power/characteristic against any power that might affect it, or the PowDef defends against a specific power with a specific special effect (like Dispel Magic for example).