megascale flight and running into things accidentally

[JasonPacker]

This isn't about an intentional move-through or a knockback situation, but a mistake while moving. 

 

A brand new player has a flight power that has megascale to allow him to fly at 260,000m per phase, speed 6 (works out to 290,000 miles per hour) - it's not his only flight choice, but one of three multipower slots.

 

He just now worried "what if I hit an airplane, or a building, or a mountain?

 

I know damage would be based on velocity, limited by PD and BODY of the object, but are there any other rulings for this situation to keep it relatively straightforward? Should he be buying linked proportional defenses?

[Greywind]

Buy a megascale perception so that it doesn't happen.

[Hyper-Man]

Megascale senses can work but require a wonky naked advantage build.  Because of the way that range modifiers keep doubling the distance it doesn't take that many total levels to overcome even that level of velocity.  +6 to +7 towards perception can cover a lot of velocity.  A limited desolidification power can also help here.

 

Here is how I dealt with the problems with the Flash.

http://www.herocentral.net/get/files/premium/Barry+Allen+6e+400.HTML

 

And here is Superman.

http://www.herocentral.net/get/files/premium/Clark+Kent+6e+400.HTML

 

Something else to consider...

6) Orbital Speed Running: Flight 17m, Position Shift, No Turn Mode (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), MegaScale (1m = 1 km; +1) (60 Active Points); Only In Contact With A Surface (This Limitation is primarily due to his Psychological Limitation: Fear of Flying. Flash believes that he can't properly fly without spining arms or something similar. Reduce active points down to 50 without this Limitation; -1/4) Real Cost: 40

Notes: Top Speed (with current Advantages) = 19,125mph ( ~ Mach 25) or 8.5km/s (kilometers per second). Velocity Based DCV = 17. Orbital speed at Sea Level = 7.90973km/s (This means that IF he were to lose contact with the surface while AT or ABOVE this speed he will NOT fall due to Gravity since he's travelling at ESCAPE VELOCITY!)

[Christopher]

The normal formulas for Velcoty damage (nothing else is Move-by and Impact daamge) do not work with Megascale. Hence it is disallowed to use the maneuvers with them.

Another rule is that a "character will not suffer 'logical' drawbacks of a power, unless a limitation, complication or rule explicitly says so". You don't need to worry that flying at Mach 25 would make every Moskito and grain of sand a projectile. The same way you don't kill yourself flying at that speed into the mountain.

 

If you loose control/conciousness, the character will slow down fast. Likely he will have shed all fowards velcoity before he hits the ground. If you are not actively working towards stayign at speed, wind resistance will slow you down. He will propably fly into that mountain while being out of control, so just asume he does not take more then terminal velcoty damage regardless how many hundered D6 the Velocity would imply.

 

One problem might actually be the hardness of the mountain. Those figures in 6E2 fro barriers seem geared towards heroic campaigns and are thus often too high for superheroic. If you punch superman into a mountain, chances are the mountain takes damage and not superman (for him this is only a minor knockback stop).

There are three different ways to calculate the "durability" of a pice of mountain. All are discussed in the APG, "Destroying Large Objects*"

 

*like asteroids. Or the earth.

[Vanguard]

Another thing to note is that, if I recall, it's strongly recommended, if not out-right forbidden, to place mega scaled anything in a framework.

[Hyper-Man]

Another thing to note is that, if I recall, it's strongly recommended, if not out-right forbidden, to place mega scaled anything in a framework.

 

Can you cite a source?

[Vanguard]

Can you cite a source?

 

Nope, I can't.

 

I've looked through 6th Volumes 1 & 2 as well as going through my 5th Revised and can't seem to find it.

 

I'm wondering now if I'm recalling not that you can't have a mega advantaged power in a framework but instead if they recommend not allowing megascale as part of a variable advantage . . .

 

I know I remember seeing something about that but it was years ago and the circumstances hasn't repeated again.

 

I'll look and see if I can find anything regarding the Variable Advantage thingy . . .

 

Edit: Okay, I've looked and looked and can't find it anywhere so maybe it was a house rule or in the rules faq from the old site or just somewhere that I can't find it.

[Hyper-Man]

There is a general warning about advantage stacking but it is pretty much required to build certain effects from the source material (like Flash's ultimate move-by vs. Brainiac/Luthor in Justice League Unlimited).

[Vanguard]

Yeah, I did run across that and that may have contributed to my thinking there was a rule somewhere.

 

I just recall when we were playing Champions a while back and the guy playing the power armor switched the advantage on his flight (which was not only in a multipower but also had the variable advantage on it) to MegaScale flight, the group went "Hey wait!"

 

But like I said before, I can't seem to find it now so . . .

 

My bad.

[JasonPacker]

I surely do hope you're misremembering, or it was in a prior edition, because just a quick scan through the Champions Solo Villains has at least four with movement powers in a multipower where only one slot has megascale.