Professor X's Temporal Dislocation Power

[Mastermind]

How would you describe the power that Professor X manifested in X2 where he made everyone freeze except the mutants?

[Gary Ciaramella]

I think that had nothing to do with being a temporal power... It was most likely a mental paralysis type effect... I could be wrong though, I forget if the environment was frozen or not, it has been a while. A powerful area effect mind control could do it.

[OddHat]

Maybe 2d6 Entangle vs. ECV, Resisted by Ego not STR, Can not form barriers, Mental Def adds to Ego, Stops Sight, Hearing, and Unusual Sense: Passage of Time, AOE:Radius, Selective Effect, and Susceptable to Telepathy so he can let everyone go afterwards.

 

Alternatively, an AOE MC or MI with Selective Effect might do it, maybe with some kind of AOE:Transformation attack to erase everyone's memories of the event (MC could do that, but they'd eventually make their breakout roll and remember the time stop). The Transformation attack could probably do it alone.

 

Extra Dimensional Movement Useable By Others to move the team "outside of time" could work a real time stop, plus Transdimensional advantages on any senses and powers that could reach back "into" time.

 

Any of these could be massive game breakers.

[Killer Shrike]

That wasnt a time power, it was a mental freeze power. Only people were affected. A combination of Mind Control & Telepathy to "Not remember what happened", or a Mental Entangle bought opaque to all senses.

 

A little handwaving on the SFX might be called for. Also notice it wasnt a combat power; he only used it out of combat -- so maybe 1/2 DCV Con and of course under Mind Control most people would be more against stopping what they were doing during combat than outside of combat.

[Mastermind]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

That wasnt a time power, it was a mental freeze power. Only people were affected. A combination of Mind Control & Telepathy to "Not remember what happened", or a Mental Entangle bought opaque to all senses.

 

doing during combat than outside of combat.

 

I agree with OddHat, according to the rules you would have to use a Major Transformation (at at least a 3d6) to effect most normals so that they would forget what had happened.

 

I like the AOE: Mental Entangle...I wonder how much a compound power like that would cost!?

[OddHat]

Originally posted by Mastermind

I like the AOE: Mental Entangle...I wonder how much a compound power like that would cost!?

 

Here's one version. Might write this guy up as a villain; Time Stop Willy.

 

130 Telepathic Time Stop: Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF (Stops A Given Sense Group: Hearing Group, Stops A Given Sense Group: Sight Group, Stops A Given Sense: Passage of Time), Takes No Damage From Attacks Limited Group (+1/4), Works Against EGO, Not STR (+1/4), Reduced Endurance 0 END (+1/2), Based On EGO Combat Value (Mental Defense; +1), Area Of Effect (66" Radius; +1 1/2), Selective Target (+1/4) (261 Active Points); Mental Defense Adds To EGO (-1/2), Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4), Susceptible to Mental Powers Uncommon (-1/4)

 

 

The power is useless against Mentalists, overwhelming to normals and non-mentalists. VIctims lose sight, hearing and sense of time passing for a few minutes (or more), then "wake up" feeling really odd (smell/taste and tactile senses aren't shut down).

[Killer Shrike]

Mental Transform aka "Psychic Surgery", ala the sidebar power on pg 152 of FRED would certainly do the trick, but isnt necessary to make targets forget Mind Control effects; Mind Control has a built in +10 level of effect to make the target forget, and as I understand it if that level is reached the affected targets dont get breakout rolls to remember their actions thereafter. The book says on page 132 under Remembering the Control "other characters can convince the target that he was Mind Controlled" which strongly indicates that they wont remember on their own.

 

So, as an extention of the Mentalla vs Mighty Man "Freeze!" example on pg 131, adding a Selective AoE to his Mind Control, Professor X could command a large group of people to "FREEZE!", and going for the +10 level of effect make them forget it, while also not affecting those he didnt want to. It would require a lot of dice rolling for that big of a Selective AoE, but mechanically it seems a straight shot.

 

 

A BOECV Entangle with Stops a given sense (Sight Group, Hearing Group, Smell\Taste Group, Touch Group) for +40 points is also an option, but then you need an AoE Psychic Surgery Mental Transform to erase their memories.

 

It would be a toss up which one is more expensive and requires more book keeping. Either way, a power best reserved for a GM run NPC (so that its only used when appropriate and so it can be handwaved away to speed game play).

[OddHat]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

It would be a toss up which one is more expensive and requires more book keeping. Either way, a power best reserved for a GM run NPC (so that its only used when appropriate and so it can be handwaved away to speed game play).

 

So there's no place for Johnny Tick-Tock in Enforcers Inc. ?

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by OddHat

So there's no place for Johnny Tick-Tock in Enforcers Inc. ?

The Man who Makes Time for Crime? -- Go for it --

[Hugh Neilson]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

It would require a lot of dice rolling for that big of a Selective AoE, but mechanically it seems a straight shot.

 

Dice rolling is easy to get rid of. Make it standard effect. 18d6 = 54 points, so I can get +20 (even the guy who's in a hurry stops), +10 (forget it happened) and get a 24 ego.

 

The breakout roll will be the bigger issue. Even if evereyone has an 8 ego (do I'm 16 above what I needed), some of them will roll an 8- first try.

 

A mental illusion that totally dissociates its target from reality would also do it, but you still have the breakout problem.

[Killer Shrike]

Yeah, the Breakout roll really kills Mentalists. Its too easy to make in most cases. I expect the Ultimate Mentalist will have some options to help circumvent this.

[OddHat]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike

Yeah, the Breakout roll really kills Mentalists. Its too easy to make in most cases. I expect the Ultimate Mentalist will have some options to help circumvent this.

 

I'm guessing that negative skill levels vs. breakout rolls will be in.

 

-1 to breakout rolls per 5 points is roughly the equivelant of +3d6 standard effect only to counter breakout rolls (-2), so it seems like a good bet.

[Killer Shrike]

Originally posted by OddHat

I'm guessing that negative skill levels vs. breakout rolls will be in.

 

-1 to breakout rolls per 5 points is roughly the equivelant of +3d6 standard effect only to counter breakout rolls (-2), so it seems like a good bet.

Sounds reasonable to me

[Mastermind]

Originally posted by OddHat

I'm guessing that negative skill levels vs. breakout rolls will be in.

 

-1 to breakout rolls per 5 points is roughly the equivelant of +3d6 standard effect only to counter breakout rolls (-2), so it seems like a good bet.

 

So say that again?

 

You can buy negative skill levels to counter someone's breakout rolls for a particular mental attack?

[OddHat]

Originally posted by Mastermind

So say that again?

 

You can buy negative skill levels to counter someone's breakout rolls for a particular mental attack?

 

With the GM's permision, yes, at 3 points each. I overestimated at 5. Here's Steve Long's post on the subject:

 

http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6567

[Jeff]

Re: Professor X's Temporal Dislocation Power

 

Originally posted by Mastermind

How would you describe the power that Professor X manifested in X2 where he made everyone freeze except the mutants?

 

Selective AE Mental Illusions with enough on the effect roll (EGO +30)that the target isn't interacting with the real world anymore. In that case, the targets usually just stand still and aren't aware of what's going on around them - exactly the effect you want. Just what the illusion is isn't that important - I'd figure "nothing out of the ordinary is happening" would do the trick. You'd also want the +10 more to make the victim remember it as real afterward.

 

You might reasonably hope that the GM would give you a little bonus on the effect roll when the illusion is doing nothing more than feeding them the very world they expect anyway.