Portal man! (how?)

[paul_runstedler]

Any idea how I'd create a character that had the power to remove solid objects? The concept is based around a hero similar to Doorman (Marvel's Great Lakes Avengers).

 

The Doorman uses himself as a portal. This character would have the ability to make large masses of inanimate object(s) disappear. I.e. make a hole in the wall appear when trapped in a reenforced 12" steel cell

 

The objects should return over time.

 

Another aspect of this power might be to make the ground underneath a person disappear (causing what affects I'm not sure).

 

Looked at transform a bit, but there is very little info on inanimate objects. Nor does it talk about the area that can be affected

 

Thanks in advance,

Paul

[Steve Long]

I've moved this to "HERO System Discussion," since it's a "how to" question rather than a strict rules issue.

 

What do you think, Herodom Assembled?

[Dr. Anomaly]

To me, this sounds like Tunneling, with the "Can Fill In" option applied. In order to make the wall parts, etc. return over time, you could use a Partially Limited Power: apply "Extra Time" and "Always On" to JUST the "Can Fill In" part, to simulated that (1) it takes time for things to fill back in and (2) he has no choice in the matter -- things WILL eventually reappear.

[SaintHax]

Being a Hero geek w/ Avengers MidWest/Great Lakes debuted, I came up w/ Hero "recipes" for them in my head as I read their [horrible] first issue.

 

I thought it was "Desolidification (doesn't protect from damage) usable by 1 other" power. Must maintain contact. He goes to the door, team members turn desolid 1 at a time, as soon as they are through, they are solid again. If you want to use this for other purposes, change it to "usable as an attack" and desolid some ground, a potted plant, whatever.

[paul_runstedler]

I was originally thinking this. But the oddities are hard to map out. I.e.,

Can do it at range.

Can make a portal without moving through it.

Usable by others.

 

Paul

[Uncle Shecky]

The trick with Doorman is that his body is the portal. The object doesn't go anywhere: he just becomes a sort of wormhole through it. At first, this seems like UBO Teleportation or Desolidification to me, with limitations like "can only use to travel through an object."

 

Really, he's making the wall itself desolid, so anything can pass through it. I don't recall from the comics, but I would guess an attack fired at him on one side of the wall would pass through him and the wall to the other side. You can't get that effect from Teleportation. And UBO Desolidification would make his teammates immune to attack when passing through the portal, and attacks still wouldn't pass through the object Doorman was "opening." He'd be desolid, but the wall would still be there.

 

Tunneling didn't seem right to me at first, but now I think Dr. Anomaly is on the right track. I would probably build it as a both Tunneling and Desolidifcation: he's desolid, but he can only move to the other side of the wall. The tunnel is there, but only while he is desolid and stationary. When he moves through, the tunnel is gone. This could get kind of expensive though.

 

Ultimately it depends on the finer details of the power. Is he immune to most attacks when he's acting as the door? Are people passing through him immune? And do attacks pass through him?

[Aroooo]

What about Teleportation 1" with the Gate limitation? Possibly also add Extra Time to represent Doorman must remain still while he creates the 'hole'? If not Teleport, then Extra Dimensional Movement with the Gate lim...

 

Aroooo

[paul_runstedler]

Some great ideas to be sure!

 

Never thought of the whole desolidify thing. What about desolidify, usable as an attack, only against inanimate objects?

 

I could buy it as an area of affect if I wanted big areas to be affected?

 

That way I can desolidify the ground under someone, and also make a doorway.

 

Anybody see any downfalls with this?

 

Paul

[Uncle Shecky]

Originally posted by paul_runstedler

... Never thought of the whole desolidify thing. What about desolidify, usable as an attack, only against inanimate objects? ... Anybody see any downfalls with this?

 

One downside is the cost: Desolidification is expensive. Once you add on the necessary advantages (UBO, usable as attack, increased mass, etc), it will be really costly. Desolidifying the ground under someone is a cool idea too, but it's probably cheaper to use Tunneling to do both of these tricks.

 

Also, with Desolidification, you run into a problem with wall thickness. Buy Deslodification, usable as attack, one-hex area effect, etc. and you can get through a one-hex thick wall, but that's it. AE any area or line would probably work though.

 

Aroooo mentioned the "Gate" modifier to Teleportation (on p. 149-150 of FREd). I hadn't noticed this modifier before, but I think it's the best way to go for the portal. It's got all the mechanics included: other people can see and attack through it, and the teleport range nicely determines how thick a wall would need to be in order to prevent the character from portaling through it.

 

Of course, a Teleport Gate would be a poor mechanic for removing the ground beneath someone's feet: you'd still want tunneling or desolidification for that. Throw them both in a multipower and it shouldn't be too costly.

 

It would be interesting to see the different approaches to this power written out, so I say build the power however you want, and show us what you get.

[Aroooo]

I was thinking about the 'make a hole' under someone today, and I'd do it as either a Transformation, or probably an Entangle if the purpose is to trap someone. Just make the SFX 'hole opens up underneath target.' Add a limitation like "Climbing roll can escape (-1/2)" and you're set. That way, you don't have to worry about the DEF of the floor. With Desolid, you have to think about what happens when the power goes away. Does the victim just pop back up to level ground?

 

I concur with Uncle Shecky; put various powers (Teleport, Desolid, etc.) into a multipower. It will be cost effective, and a multipower can represent a single object or power. Just look at TUV or Star Hero for examples of how DOJ built real world weapons with multiple functions.

 

Aroooo