Activating Multiple Powers with Concentration, Gestures and/or Incantations

[prestidigitator]

I had this assumption that someone recently pointed out might be false. Under the Concentration Limitation it states that:

5ER p. 288

...a character cannot activate or use another power with Concentration at the same time, or as long as he has to Concentrate

1.) I think this means (assume for the moment we are talking about Concentration only to activate the power) that even if the actions required to activate the powers in a Phase are available, only one power with Concentration can be activated per Phase. So if the character wanted to activate a Defense Power with Concentration as a Zero-Phase Action, and then attack with an Energy Blast with Concentration in the same Phase, that is not allowed. Is this correct?

 

2.) Now for the meat of the question: assuming I am correct in my understanding of #1, is the same true for Gestures and/or Incantations? Neither explicitly state it like the Concentration Limitation does (though they do talk about not being able to activate a power with Gestures while maintaining a Constant power that requires Gestures throughout and likewise for Incantations)? If a character has two powers with (activation only) Gestures and the actions available to activate them, can he activate them both in the same Phase? If a character has two powers with (activation only) Incantations and the actions available to activate them, can he activate them both in the same Phase?

 

3.) If for one or more of these Limitations the answer is that you can only activate one per Phase, I assume there is an exemption for Multiple Power Attacks, as compound attacks (especially those built with the Linked Limitation) are often built with multiple powers that all have the same Limitation (Concentration, Gestures, and/or Incantations). Is this correct?

 

Many thanks for your time and insight!

[Steve Long]

Re: Activating Multiple Powers with Concentration, Gestures and/or Incantations

 

1. Yes.

 

2. The rules do not forbid activating two or more “Gestures [or Incantations] only to activate” powers in the same Phase.

 

3. Moot.