Absorbing attacks and reflecting them back

[Doctor Negaton]

Hi everyone. My friends and I are going to start a new superhero campaign using Hero System. Now, one of the characters wants to create a hero who absorbs and reflect attacks and enemies. For example, he bites into an electrical cable and can then fire an electricity bolt, he is shot with bullets and can then send bullets back.

 

Are all of these just Reflection or should it be created by linking the attacks to absorption?

[Spence]

Before anyone can give a really good answer you may need to clarify your question.

 

I get hit by and electrical bolt and immediately reflect an electrical bolt back at my attacker.

 

Is very different than

 

I grab onto a power source, absorb energy and then convert it into an electrical bolt to shoot at someone.

 

 

[Doctor Negaton]

It is the latter, but has to be of that type. "I grab onto a power source, absorb energy and then convert it into an electrical bolt to shoot at someone."

Edited January 6, 2022 by Doctor Negaton

[Christopher R Taylor]

There are several ways to do this.

 

1 - One is Reflection: it instantly is fired back at them 

2 - Another is just blast with the Variable Special Effect advantage with a limitation that they can only use it after they have been exposed to that special effect (within x time period) (probably a -¼ at most)

3 - You can do a variant with that gives them absorption that gives them END which they can only use to fire off the #2 option, so that they literally are only able to use it with an absorb.  This would negate the limitation (since they already cannot use it without the absorb) and I'd build with an END Reserve that has no recovery, just a potential power source for the blast.

4 - You could build a multipower with various blasts in it with the "only after having been exposed to a special effect" limitation on it, with each slot a different kind of attack.  This gives you options that the #2 does not such as a KA, a drain, etc.  This could work the same way as #3, drawing only from the non-recovering END Reserve.

 

There are others, I'm sure

 

[Doctor Negaton]

Thank you!

[unclevlad]

Hello, Vince Reynolds....

 

This might be easiest to approximate with 2 sets of Absorption...one physical, one energy.  They go to separate END reserves.  Then they power, let's say, a 2-slot multipower, for PD and ED based Blasts with Variable SFX (only matching what's been absorbed).  I'd call that a +0 advantage myself.  SO a punch, a bullet...they're PD, they're kinetic pulses.  Or alternately, of course, HAs...so maybe 4 slots.  All of em are powered off the END reserve.

 

The kicker might be that Absorption has a fade rate, which makes "storing" tricky.

[dsatow]

A few questions

1) When hit with the attack, do you immediately(same segment) launch the attack?  Or do you have to initiate the attack?

2) What if you are hit multiple times in a segment, does this attack defense always work?

3) What if someone punches you?  Do you absorb the attack and reflect it back on the person?

4) Does the attack always go off?  For example, a rookie soldier get presence attack and accidentally fires on the character.  Does the character absorb the attack and immediately fires back at the soldier who might not be bulletproof enough?

5) If the attack would miss, do you absorb and reflect it anyways?  (i.e. does the attack just need to be near you?)

6) If you are caught in an Area of Effect, what happens then?

[Hugh Neilson]

Could be as easy as Variable Special Effect, Focus of Opportunity.

[JackValhalla]

For bullets and beams shot at you, use Missile Reflection.

If you want to grab a live wire and shoot lightning, or grab a heat source and throw heat-bolts... hmm, naked advantage Ranged, taken with Usable as Attack so you can apply it to inanimate objects? Adding Range to 60AP would cost 30, UAA would (1+1) turn that to 60 AP, so about the same cost as just having the attack. But, it would do basically exactly what you are discussing.