Stepping outside Time power?

[Ragdoll]

I was thinking about the temporal powers from the USPD book, and I got to thinking about a neat way to make a classic stepping outside time, so that everything looks like it's stopped? But I'm not sure it would work, so I wanted some ideas on if it's good or not? :-)

 

The idea I had was the dimensional movement power to a single dimension: Outside Normal Time. So, basically the person moves to another dimension that's just outside local time, everything looks 'stopped'.

 

Now, if I bought transdimensional for the character's strength and labled it only to effect her home dimension, and only when she was outside time, could that work? Could she swing an object and suddenly hit them in local time? Or pluck a softball out of the air, and hurl it back at the thrower?

 

I'm just curious if transdimension advantage can be applied to statistics that can manipulate things, could this be done?

 

Any input is appreciated. :-)

 

Ragdoll.

[trechriron]

Yes I imagine you could simply designate parts of the characteristics to affect the home dimension, but you removed the character from their home dimension and put them out of normal time, which I could easily assume means that normal time keeps on ticking in the “real world†while your character is actually interacting with the new dimension. Then you have the trouble of senses and abilities affecting the other dimension. It is not just about Strength but seeing and hearing, etc.

 

I would suggest using X-Dim to “A place where everything else has slowed/stopped in time, except me†and then everything else would be cake. I would require Usable on Others and buy the mass up to affect a certain number of people. If the number of people exceeds the mass purchased it would not work. This is SUPER CHEESY and is SUPER POWERFUL and would only be allowed in a game I was running under the rarest of circumstances. If all parties in the game agree that this is workable, go with it. Just remember that nifty stop sign is listed on this power for a reason.

 

You have to find a way to get your character in the same dimension with everyone else where everyone else is stopped/slowed in time. It’s the only realistically priced power idea while still being able to function in or impact the new dimension. You could go the route of buying a pile of Transdimensional characteristics but it would be prohibitive. Only buying strength and senses does not accurately represent the ability to truly interact in the dimension, IMO. I mean, why is it in this dimension you require the characteristics you have and then on the new dimension you only require two?

[astralfrontier]

"Stepping outside time and affecting things" is a pretty broad range of options. If you can do ANYTHING YOU LIKE while time is frozen, up to and including stabbing people in the gut, going to the store and getting additional knives, coming back and stabbing them some more, etc., then the power has gone well beyond "standard superhero" and you are rightfully in the 500-point bracket, or higher. Put the book down and just free-form RP this godlike character's powers

 

If you don't like the EDM solution, you can approach the problem more comprehensively.

 

Simply moving yourself, people or inanimate things around without actually causing them direct harm would be Power constructs such as: Missile Reflection (At Range), Teleport UAA (Must Cross Intervening Space), Entangle, and Desolidification (only to avoid taking damage - you timestop and side-step). To freeze time and inspect a situation from all angles could be bought as limited Clairvoyance, and Rapid bought on the Sight sense group (if everything is frozen, though, you're unlikely to get much value from Hearing, though arguments could be made for taste and other senses).

 

Simply moving yourself would be Teleportation (Must Cross Intervening Space).

[Tom McCarthy]

Steve Long spent one or two Digital Hero columns building such a power. It was an exercise in high point totals; it's just too expensive to have that level of cosmic power for a typical PC.

[zornwil]

If the "stop time" dimension is sufficiently limited, that can work fine. If I were GMing such, I'd say you could not interact with the physical world without grave consequences - for example, touching something (let's stay away from walking, just like in Desol, for this) means your hand might suffer extreme damage as the ball is vibrating in place relative to you, or (better, that was off the top of my head) you can't move frozen-time objects without tremendous STR since they are still exerting force. Just because you're moving faster doesn't mean that the force has changed of the objects. In fact, because you're moving so fast everything appears to be still, you may essentially be Desolid with no "Affects Real World" abilities unless you buy them up.

 

Anyway, one way that I've seen this handled in terms of EFFECT was very simple, a character had Duplication to show his ability to do thing seemingly in two places at once. However, we did funk this up a bit, as the Duplicate became not him moving fast, but, rather, one of his future or past selves popping in. The character's time control allowed him to have a small control over a GM-imposed "paradox rule", where in this universe normally disallows oneself from affecting the singular time-line. Long story...

 

the moral just being that as GM I feel you need to construct some strict controls around time manipulation and ensure the player has bought into it.

[farik]

I've used EDM for time stopping power write ups I always use one of two rules either

A) Everything is invulnerable and imovable relative to the character (in fact I often describe everything as appearing to be covered in a sheet of chrome so you can't even spy effectively.

 

Everything is intangible and slightly hazy relative to the character.

 

With either of these limitations stepping out of time seemed like a reasonable extra dimension still allowing characters to do things like rest or come up with a plan.

 

The only way I'd see being able to allow manipulation (especially harm) during frozen time would be some kind of massive transform with variable effects on it but even then I'd be prepared to remove the power from the campaign if it started to appear to powerful.

[Ragdoll]

Originally posted by zornwil

If the "stop time" dimension is sufficiently limited, that can work fine. If I were GMing such, I'd say you could not interact with the physical world without grave consequences - for example, touching something (let's stay away from walking, just like in Desol, for this) means your hand might suffer extreme damage as the ball is vibrating in place relative to you, or (better, that was off the top of my head) you can't move frozen-time objects without tremendous STR since they are still exerting force. Just because you're moving faster doesn't mean that the force has changed of the objects. In fact, because you're moving so fast everything appears to be still, you may essentially be Desolid with no "Affects Real World" abilities unless you buy them up.

 

Anyway, one way that I've seen this handled in terms of EFFECT was very simple, a character had Duplication to show his ability to do thing seemingly in two places at once. However, we did funk this up a bit, as the Duplicate became not him moving fast, but, rather, one of his future or past selves popping in. The character's time control allowed him to have a small control over a GM-imposed "paradox rule", where in this universe normally disallows oneself from affecting the singular time-line. Long story...

 

the moral just being that as GM I feel you need to construct some strict controls around time manipulation and ensure the player has bought into it.

 

I'd kind of assumed it would be limited. Stopping time, or moving so fast, everything is effectively stopped for you, seems to be a pretty extreme application of temporal powers.

 

I'd thought maybe putting high cost on any characteristic when using transdimensional, or maybe even making the extradimensional travel power require endurance per phase at an increased cost in order to stay in that dimension?

 

But I'm not sure if special effects could just handle this time stop power with other powers, as someone suggested. Afterall, missile deflection could simply be described as stopping time, walking over to the bullet, altering it's path, and then starting time again...or just teleporting out of the way when what you really did was stop time, and casually stepped aside.

 

Maybe I'll play about with it. :-)

 

Thanks for your input. :-)

 

Ragdoll.

[Farkling]

I love the old "Girl, Gold Watch, and Everything" story by MacDonald.

 

Multipower::

 

Teleport Usable Against Others, Must Cross Intervening Space

(dragging someone from one spot to another in Time Stop)

 

Flight, Usable Against Others, Single Phase Only

(shoving something during time stop)

 

Missile Reflection

(shoving bullets and thrown objects during time stop, time stop and sidestep)

 

+x DCV, costs END

(dodging during time stop, if allowed by GM in Multipower)

 

Teleportation, +mass, Must Cross Intervening Space

(moving during timestop)

 

xd6 RKA, OIF - object of circumstance

(shoving sharp objects during timestop)

 

xd6 Major Cumulative Transform, Time Stop/Superspeed Effects (large group)

(Kind of a catch all for the small effects)

 

that should cover the basics...oh, and include this one also::

360 Degree Vision, Rapid Sight (x1000), Linked to Multipower slots

(looking around during time stop)

[Badger]

Well this got me thinking of Dragonball Z. The Ginyu Force had a member named Guldo. He could freeze time. But it was limited in that he could hold it only as long as he could hold his breath and it seemed to extract a whole lot of energy from him (so much so that he couldnt throw any energy blast after a couple of uses). If you could set a time limit (in his current time not the actual real time) it could be usable but a no limit thing would be major cheese. And I'd make this power a definite endurance drainer.