So that's what you think?

[Asperion]

Everybody knows the law in physics that states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So this is where I need your assistance. How would I go about creating a character that has only one ability: to use this law to its fullest extent. Every time that this character is hit with any power, either beneficial or detrimental, will give the opposite effect. An attack power will heal damage or grant additional body equal to the damage rolled. A healing power will harm the character by an amount equal to the amount rolled. This is where I need your help. How would I create this power? If it is a group of powers Let me know which powers to use. Would it be more efficient (costwise) to make a powersuit that has this ability than to make the power innate.

 

[ghost-angel]

Re: So that's what you think?

 

Absorption and Defenses will take care of incoming attacks healing the character. Just Absorb to the appropriate Power/Characterisitc.

 

A Physical Limitation on the character of "Healing/AID Powers cause damage" should take care of the other.

[Jaxom]

Re: So that's what you think?

 

First, an aside... I dunno whether this is intended or not, but this is a terrible misuse of the actual physics principle... What is actually meant (and is violated by HERO) is that if you deliver a blow which causes 10" of knockback you had to be braced against the same amount of force when you delivered the blow.

 

Now, regarding the actual powers... If I recall, Absorption doesn't get you the equal bit and I dunno how to fix that. You probably need to do this in a cosmic VPP in order to make it applicable to all the potential special effects and powers that can provide damage. Your GM (if this is not an NPC) is likely to get apoplectic when you try that. Taking that a step further, you'll absolutely have to violate campaign power limits in order to be able to Absorb maximum possible damage for the campaign, particularly with a +2 Advantage for Cosmis VPP.

 

Finally, I'd have some concerns about the viability of this build since I can't remember if you'd have to have an action to alter the Absorb to deal with a bullet after being hit by a fireball. You might still be subject to getting gang-banged.

[Zeropoint]

Re: So that's what you think?

 

The actual law is best understood in the mathematic form: The sum of all forces is equal to zero.

 

What this means is that if object A exerts a force of 200 pounds on object B, then object B also exerts a force of 200 pounds on object A.

 

Example: I weight about 210 pounds. The earth, through gravity, exerts a force on me with a magnitude of 210 pounds, directed along a line from my center of mass to the earth's center of mass. According to Newton's law, I therefore exert a force on the earth with a magnitude of 210 pounds in the opposite direction along the same line.

 

Note that the "opposite force" is the same type of force as the first force and acts on a different object. The contact force pushing up on my feet is NOT the "oppsite force" for my weight.

 

If I'm standing on the surface of the earth, there are other forces involved. Assuming the ground is solid, there is a contact force which pushes up on my feet with a magnitude of 210 pounds. The opposite force is a contact force which pushes down on the earth with 210 pounds.

 

Note that in this case, both I and the earth have two different forces acting on us, each of the same magnitude, but acting in exactly opposite directions (and of different types, but that doesn't matter much).

 

This brings us to Newton's second law: An object's acceleration is directly proportional to the net unbalanced force acting on it and inversely proportional to the object's mass. In formulaic notation, A = F/m, or more commonly, F = mA. Note that if force is zero, acceleration must be zero as well--this brings us to Newton's first law: an object at rest or moving in a straight line at a constant speed will continue in that state unless acted upon by an unbalanced outside force.

 

Anyway, since the sum of the forces acting on me (-210 lb. gravity + 210 lb. contact) is zero, I experience no accleration; i.e. I neither sink downward nor bounce upward. Likewise, the earth experiences a net zero force, and it doesn't go anywhere either.

 

Today's physics lesson is brought to you by

 

Zeropoint

Isaac Newton

and the number pi.

[transmetahuman]

Re: So that's what you think?

 

In formulaic notation' date=' A = m/F, or more commonly, F = mA.[/quote']

Err, rather, A = F/m. The bigger the force, the bigger the acceleration; the bigger the mass, the smaller the acceleration. I'm sure that was just a typo.

[Zeropoint]

Re: So that's what you think?

 

How embarrasing!

 

Yes, that was just a typo.

 

And now it's fixed.

 

Grr. I'm going to be kicking myself for that for the rest of the day.

[David Johnston]

Re: So that's what you think?

 

The divergence into real life physics aside, one problem here comes with the powers that don't do damage. What's the opposite of an entangle when the character's already free of entanglements? Maybe an absorb to dexterity? But what would the opposite of a controlled mind be? Still, there's a more fundamental problem with the character. His usefulness as is, is dubious.

So he's hard to hurt. But given that he doesn't actually pose a threat, why bother to try? With most people who primarily rely on absorbtion, the punch you gave him at the start powers him and makes him dangerous. Not so with this guy. He has no attack. I'd suggest giving him other more offensive paradoxical abilities to screw with people in a serious way so the player characters will actually be motivated to try to disable him. For example, how about a power which changes the laws of motion in the area so people move in the same direction as they apply force instead of the opposite direction? If they jump or fly upwards they find themselves slamming into the ground and if they try to run they have to pull their feet back to get forward momentum.

He might be able to reverse the special effects on people's powers so to protect a Vulnerable teammate or exploit someone's Vulnerability. Disable Foci by reversing the flow of force inside. Make it so people see as though they had eyes in the back of their head and not in the front. Essentially transmutation effects with bizarre special effects is what I'm thinking.

You could call him Professor Paradox.

[Lightray]

You've basically described a power that instantly undoes the effects of whatever power has just affected you: if you're hurt, it heals all the damage; it you're healed, it hurts you back to where you had been.

 

That's all a Special Effect. The power is your powers don't affect me.

 

But Desolidification, 0 END , Persistant, Always On, Fully Invisible, Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects. Then purchase Affects Material World for your STR and any other powers/attacks.

 

When you're hit by an effect, you ignore it (unless it's Affects Desolidified), and you tell everyone "my power just instantly countered that effect".

[Rapier]

Re: So that's what you think?

 

Ouch.

 

Of course, its a Cosmic Power Pool with a 0 Phase pool change.

 

Of course, I would also create 47 villains with a Drain VPP power. It's just WAY too powerful. I don't want to say Munchkin because it's totally legal, but it is HUGELY powergaming.

 

You are also going to run into a problem that Hero was not designed to handle. Damage cannot equal healing. You can Transfer or Absorb the points but the best you are most likely going to be able to handle is an even swing.

 

You take 15 points of Stun and 5 Body.

VPP kicks in and Heals 15 Stun and 5 Body.

 

You are where you started.

 

You take 15 points of Stun and 5 Body.

VPP kicks in and Heals 30 Stun and 10 Body?

 

Not a chance. WAY WAY WAY too powerful. This character is, by definition, undefeatable. That would totally make the point of combat moot.

 

If by some stretch of the imagination, I was inclined to allow this construct it would be limited by points and limitations to only heal what damage was done.

 

Keep in mind, what about a CE that does damage? It's just not a good idea.