Betterman Energy Balst

[JohnTaber]

I was watching this cool anime show on Tech TV and I thought...hec...how would you build that in Hero? I know I know...I'm a Hero junkie...

To explain more details...

This guy on the show can shoot this energy blast that affects material of a given type only. On other material is has no effect AND does not stop the ray! In the show there were animated crash test dummies made of some polymer filling an airplane. This Betterman cat blasts the dummies turning them into dust leaving the plane completely untouched.

My first throught is indirect with some type of N-Ray vision that is only used for placing the indirect attack but I'm not sure that is the best way to do it.

Any other ideas?

[CourtFool]

Well, for the lazy you could go Transform. If you want to get really wacky, you could go Summon giving the summoned 'creature' Deslodification and Affects Physical World. I would lean to Ego Blast that Does Body and hand wave SFX or some other attack power with No Normal Defense.

[Arkham]

Woah! 4-year Necro...

But I have nothing to add...

[Captain Xenon]

Klatu verata ....*cough* Necktie! *cough*

ahem. i think you could get the mentioned effect by using a limited form of indirect. Bypassing objects in your line of fire is what indirect is for after all. then add a limitation, that you can only damage objects of type X. overall, i would call it a +1/4 adder and a lim of -0 to -1, depending on how common the target is (not a limitation in some cases).

[CourtFool]

I do not remember, does Indirect allow you to bypass Armor bought as a Focus? Of course, how would I explain the NND against Armor that is just 'tough skin'?

[Dust Raven]

I do not remember, does Indirect allow you to bypass Armor bought as a Focus? Of course, how would I explain the NND against Armor that is just 'tough skin'?

No, this Power would require Indirect and AVLD (defenses made of Material X). Add some handwaivium to say it's automatically stopped by any barrier made of Material X even if the character isn't aware the barrier is made of that (but it will then damage the barrier). Add Limitation that it's only versus Material X and you're pretty much done.

If Material X can't really provide any kind of defense, make it NND with the defense being Not Made Of Material X and reduce the Limitation by +1/2.

[Hyper-Man]

holey time-warp batman!

I don't think either AVLD or NND is necessary.

Just build an Attack-X (EB or RKA) with the Indirect Advantage (+1/4 or +1/2 ?) and an Only vs. Material-X Limitatation (-1 to -2 ?). Attack-X will bypass any other type of barrier (real wall, FoWall or Entangle) until it hits Material-X which it affects normally. You could also give Material-X a Vulnerability to Attack-X as well.

[Dust Raven]

holey time-warp batman!

I don't think either AVLD or NND is necessary.

Just build an Attack-X (EB or RKA) with the Indirect Advantage (+1/4 or +1/2 ?) and an Only vs. Material-X Limitatation (-1 to -2 ?). Attack-X will bypass any other type of barrier (real wall, FoWall or Entangle) until it hits Material-X which it affects normally. You could also give Material-X a Vulnerability to Attack-X as well.

AVLD or NND is necessary in case material X is wearing armor or has a force field that is not not made of material X. Otherwise you end up with Material X in a suit of full plate armor that might not take damage even thought it would take damage if it was just standing behind the suit of full plate armor.

[Hyper-Man]

AVLD or NND is necessary in case material X is wearing armor or has a force field that is not not made of material X. Otherwise you end up with Material X in a suit of full plate armor that might not take damage even thought it would take damage if it was just standing behind the suit of full plate armor.

Material-X isn't being definded as a character so it can't have the HERO powers Armor or Force Field*. ALVD and NND are not necessary.

A better example might be that a character has a nifty Acme light-weight bullet-proof shirt made out of Material-X that he wears under his normal bullet-proof crime fighting costume. Then the attack as described in my last post will work just fine. It will ignore the normal bullet-proof costume on the outside and the character on the inside and ONLY effect the Acme shirt.

*I suppose a vehicle or an automaton (or even a character using OIHID like Colosus) could be made of Material-X but they should then take the appropriate Disadvantages to reflect their vulnerability to such a specific attack. Not the other way around.

[Vondy]

You could use the more generic "limited power" limitation and define it as "only affects X."

Neutron Blast: Disintegrate the people, leave the buildings.

[CourtFool]

Is it time to change avatars already?

Are you suggesting that Limited Power would allow the power to bypass any armor? Or are you suggesting using Limited Power with Indirect?

[Dust Raven]

A better example might be that a character has a nifty Acme light-weight bullet-proof shirt made out of Material-X that he wears under his normal bullet-proof crime fighting costume. Then the attack as described in my last post will work just fine. It will ignore the normal bullet-proof costume on the outside and the character on the inside and ONLY effect the Acme shirt.

Um... how? You can't ignore a target's defenses unless the attack as AVLD or NND. The only other option is to force every defense other that ones made of Material X to take a Limitation "Not Versus Betterman EB".

[Hyper-Man]

Um... how? You can't ignore a target's defenses unless the attack as AVLD or NND. The only other option is to force every defense other that ones made of Material X to take a Limitation "Not Versus Betterman EB".

Please take a look at the original post of this thread.

It does not refer to a character. It refers to a material of a given type only. Since the attack only works vs. this material it can't really be considered an attack vs. a character. Therefore if a character was wearing a suit of this material under 'something else' this specific attack, even if targeted at the character, would ignore that 'something else' via Indirect alone since it just a type of barrier. In no case would the attack ever have any direct affect on the character.

[PhilFleischmann]

Since the attack only works vs. this material it can't really be considered an attack vs. a character. Therefore if a character was wearing a suit of this material under 'something else' this specific attack, even if targeted at the character, would ignore that 'something else' via Indirect alone since it just a type of barrier. In no case would the attack ever have any direct affect on the character.

Sure it can. If a character has a piece of material X in his pocket and the character is protected by Armor/Force Field, the attack does not get to bypass the Armor/Force Field and just hit the material X unless the attack has AVLD or NND. What if it's a character's Focus made of material X? You automatically get to destroy it, for a limitation?

[Vondy]

Is it time to change avatars already?

Are you suggesting that Limited Power would allow the power to bypass any armor? Or are you suggesting using Limited Power with Indirect?

I'm suggesting it was way too late (my time) to be posting. I was thinking about it from the standpoint of what it couldn't do, as opposed to what it could do. If its stopped by non-living material, then it should have a limitation, if it just bypasses living material then its probably an NND/AVLD. I have a picture in my head of a guy wearing a uniform and body-armor (with a helmet and face-plate) who gets hit and, due to non-living material covering most of him, ends up with his neck and hands getting seared off while the rest of him is left unharmed.... decapitation.