Enhanced Senses: how to create Electrical sight?

[Armature]

I have a character who can see through walls but only to perceive electricity(and Bio-Electrics as well.).

 

Basicaly, he would see glowing blue lines where electricity is present(electrical wires). A computer would be a intricately woven blue glow where the parts are. A human being would be a glowing humanoid shaped haze at a distance, but up close you could see the nerve groups. (Imagine if every part of you was almost completely invisible, but all your nerve endings where glowing blue. So the Spine and Brain would be the brightest.)

Though he could tell the shape of a person, it's not likely he could know who they were braised off sight alone. (With some exceptions of course. If he's looking into a building and he knows the security guard has a fake arm, he might know who the guard is based off the missing bioelectricity where his arm should be.)

Anything that would work as shielding from EMP, would block the sense. (Really thick Metal, Fairaday cage, Led, etc.)

 

How would I define this effect using the Enhanced senses power?

[drunkonduty]

Off the top my head I'd say it's a pretty typical N-Ray Vision. N-Ray has limits such as "is blocked by X" where X is defined by the character design. (In your case electrical shielding.) I don't remember if N-Ray is targetting or not. If not then I'd buy targetting as it seems that the character will be able to target with it.

 

cheers.

[Hyper-Man]

N-Ray is just a special form of Detect that's normally included in the Sight Group.  You could go with N-Ray or a Detect vs. Electricity and end up with the same thing.

[drunkonduty]

Cool. :-)

[Armature]

How does that work though? I find the sense groups to be overwhelming. I have a heard time wrapping my head around those rules.

 

How could the power be built?

(A break down of it would be great!)

[Hyper-Man]

How does that work though? I find the sense groups to be overwhelming. I have a heard time wrapping my head around those rules.

 

How could the power be built?

(A break down of it would be great!)

 

 

10    Electrical Vision v1: Detect A Class Of Things - Electricity 11- (Sight Group), Discriminatory

[Notes: Detect is Penetrative by default. By being built as part of the Sight Group this ability also gains Sense, Range and Targeting for free.  It also is affected by Flash attacks vs. Sight.]

 

10    Electrical Vision v2: Penetrative with Sight Group (15 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about a third of its effectiveness (Only to see electricity; -1/2)

[Notes: A Fully Penetrative Sense can perceive through all types of blocking objects, substances, or phenomena, but the character must define one or more reasonably common substance(s), or a group of uncommon substance(s), he cannot perceive through.]

 

Compare these to my starting version of Superman's X-Ray Vision:

 

Kryptonian Super Senses: List, all slots Conditional Power - Not in the presence of Kryptonite or red solar radiation (-1/4)

17 7) X-Ray Vision: (Total: 35 Active Cost, 17 Real Cost) Penetrative with Sight Group (15 Active Points); Concentration (0 DCV; Only to Activate; -1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) (Real Cost: 7) PLUS Discriminatory with Sight Group - Can identify, distinguish, and analyze an object if the character makes a PER Roll. (10 Active Points); Linked (Penetrative; -1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) (Real Cost: 5) PLUS Analyze with Sight Group - Can determine an even greater range of information, with greater precision, than can a Sense with Discriminatory (10 Active Points); Linked (Penetrative; -1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) (Real Cost: 5)

[Notes: From 6e1 page 209: The Discriminatory effect provided by the Sight Group is not the full Discriminatory obtained by buying that Sense Modifier, but rather an effect of somewhat cruder degree. For example, a character can tell two people apart based on their visual appearance, but cannot always determine a person's ethnicity or religion through Sight. Characters can make Normal Sight (or the entire Sight Sense Group) fully Discriminatory by paying the usual cost.] END = 3

[Armature]

Hyper-Man,

Cool!

I think ill run with V2!

[Tasha]

Keep in mind that Electricity and Magnetism go hand in hand. Any electrical flow causes magnetic fields to form. Also crossing two magnetic fields can generate electricity.

[L. Marcus]

Also, Advantages to Enhanced Senses require GM's approval. Not much of a problem in this case since the costs come out the same after all ...

[Christopher]

The first question to ask is what game effect the sense would have. The primary jobs of senses are:

Find out wheter something is there or not (Presense)

Identification of Characters. Note that simple distance might make identification more difficulty.

Targetting at Characters

 

The second question is, wich Sense Group it belongs too (if any):

Belonging to a sense group gives you a lot of Sense Modifiers for free. It also makes that Sense fully Vulnerable to "Sense Affecting" Powers targetting that Sensegroup. Images, Shape Shift, Flash, Darkness or the like targetting the Sight Group would affect EM Vision just as well as IR Vision, N-Ray Vision and Normal Vision.

 

There is also the option not put the sense into any Sense Group (put it in the Unusual Group). It does not recieve any Sense Modifiers for free, wich makes it potentialy very costly. However it is almost impossible to fool this sense either. You have to buy a Sense affecting power vs "EM Vision in Unusual Group", that is very expensive to affect a EM Vision in the Unusual Group.

 

Regarding Question 1:

What you describe sounds like a form of Discriminatory. There are three levels to this:

No Discriminatory. You can figure out if something is there or not. You also get a sense of Magnitude. Think "differently sized radar Blip".

Partial Discriminatory. All normal Sense Group get this for Free. It allows you to identify persons, but you would not be able to differentiate identical twins with identical clothing just with your sight.

(Fully) Discriminatory. Like before, except you can totally differentiate two identical twins with identical clothing just with that sense.

 

Nothing in your description tells us if this should work as Targetting Sense. But that boils down to: Should this Sense allow him to fight in Natural Darkness? What about Darkness (the Power) vs Sight?

 

Question 2:

I could see cases for this being in the Radio Group, Touch Group and Unusual Group. It largely depends on "how hard this should be to fool".

As a player (who wants to give his GM a chance to fool the charactes senes from time to time) I would put it into the Radio Group. I think most Technological scanners work in the group. If so, Shape Shift/Image vs. Radio Group would be somewhat likely, but not used very often.

[Armature]

Christopher,

Lots of info! I like it!

 

Ok, so..

1: How I envision the effect in my minds eye, Partial Discriminatory fits best.

2: I see the effect being a sight FX. It would counter normal darkness, blind folds, etc. But the Darkness super power would block it. Same with anything that shields Electromagnetic Pulses would block it as well.

 

Right now its meant to be a new effect the character recently figured out how to do. It's more of a trick then a full fledged effect. I'd like to figure out how to make it cost END as well.

(The character stores electricity in there large END pool, then burns/uses/expels that electricity when using powers.)

 

Oh, and this is a 6th Ed character. In case I forgot to mention that.

This will be a villain.

They have a 10 REC normally, but if with in 2m of an electrical outlet they gain +15 REC.

(It "recharges there batteries" but also reinvigorates them, so it's straight REC. Recoup's STUN and END.) The FX to this is that they extend there arm towards the socket and electricity shoots out to there hand as they absorb the energy.

Hence the Villains name: SIPHON

[Armature]

Tasha,

Yeah!

I was planning to later give them a few magnetic power "tricks".

 

The character's "powers" will be minor. There's a story line aspect about being a late bloomer. By time the powers arrive they had already started down the "gadgeteer" path. There powers are underdeveloped, but use the ability to store large amounts of electricity as a means to power a few gadgets.

[Christopher]

I have to split your psot a bit up, to answer all questions:

1: How I envision the effect in my minds eye, Partial Discriminatory fits best.

2: I see the effect being a sight FX. It would counter normal darkness, blind folds, etc.

As sight has partialy Discriminatory, this would work out.

Same with the ability to see through normal blindfolds.

Note that one could still make a anti-magnetic blindfold to block even this sight. Any magnetic material would work.

 

Same with anything that shields Electromagnetic Pulses would block it as well.

By definition there most be something natural that blocks any Detect. Adding penetrative to the sense mean there is less that blocks it, but there must always be something. Wich works out nicely as you already have something.

 

Right now its meant to be a new effect the character recently figured out how to do. It's more of a trick then a full fledged effect. I'd like to figure out how to make it cost END as well.

Ehanced Senses are by design Persistent. And all the sense modifier does is prevent you from having to spend a half phase "using" the sense.

So just apply "Costs Endurance to Maintain" to the ultimative construct. That reduces the duration to Constant and means it costs endurance per phase.

 

Oh, and this is a 6th Ed character. In case I forgot to mention that.

This will be a villain.

They have a 10 REC normally, but if with in 2m of an electrical outlet they gain +15 REC.

(It "recharges there batteries" but also reinvigorates them, so it's straight REC. Recoup's STUN and END.) The FX to this is that they extend there arm towards the socket and electricity shoots out to there hand as they absorb the energy.

Hence the Villains name: SIPHON

You can only use REC if you actually take a recovery (something you cannot easily do in combat) or wait till the post Segment 12 hits.

It might be a better idea to use "Healing END" with Limitation, "only when near magnetic or electric power source".

 

If he should be able to recharge from Electric attacks against him too, there is the Power:

Absoprtion to END (Energy), Only vs Electrity and Magnetic Attacks, Counts as Defense (+1), Absoprtion as Healing (APG I)

[Cassandra]

ES: N-Ray Sight, Only to See Electrical Impulses (-1/2)

 

PhyL: Only Sees Electrical Impulses (All The Time/Greatly)

[Armature]

Christopher,

By adding Costs END... Would EanD cost be off the 15pt adder, or would you add the adder to the 25pts sight for 40AP, or 4END/Phase?

 

I know the current REC setup is limiting, but I think from a story perspective it's a more fitting choice. (Added "limited" so it must be with in proximity to an outlet, and another "limited" because the points will not provide a post segment 12 Recoup.)

It could add suspense to a scene I think.

Because it's of such limited use, I through it in a power pool as well so it won't cost to many points.

That and healing is so complicated and, honestly, week to the point of being even more useless. And AID would just make it way to complicated for what it is... A special Effect that is sometimes useful. And Absorption be rarely useful, and overkill when it was used, with to high of a points cost.

 

Cassandra and others who mentions N-Ray,

I've looked through 6E1, and Complete Champions and haven't found any mention of such a sense... Any one have a page number for it?

[Greywind]

Also, electricity traveling through lines generates heat. It could just be a minor variation of IRV.

[Hyper-Man]

N-Ray is the 5th Edition name for the ability now called Penetrative in 6th Edition (similar to Energy Blast becoming just Blast).

[Christopher]

By adding Costs END... Would EanD cost be off the 15pt adder, or would you add the adder to the 25pts sight for 40AP, or 4END/Phase?

You only have to pay end for the part you have to buy extra. Of course, you also only get the saving on the part you buy extra.

So:

Electric Sight (15 AP), Cost Endurance to Maintain (-1/2), 10 Real.

 

Would cost 1 END/Phase.

 

You should not underestime that cost. It effectively negates the SPD scores worth of REC per Turn.

[Armature]

Yeah it would reduce long term effectiveness to pay the END, but it's also a way of making it "feel" like a newly discovered trick with the powers. Later the limitation can be bought off.

 

I'll have to post the finale character when I'm done building it.