schir1964

Side Note

Building a character to concept may end up with several flavor limitations that on their own don't warrant a -1/4 limitation. However, if they were combined together they might be worth that -1/4 limitation.

Hero currently tends to favor the all or nothing approach. Perhaps some sort of paragraph explaining that the GM is encouraged to group flavor limitations to grant a -1/4 which might then encourage the player to flavor their character even more.

I think we need the existing method that exists to give that consistency and guide to what various powers/advantages/limitations are worth vs one another.

But there should be freedom to combine or change those values as needed for the specific campaign.

And there are even examples of this in some GM tips stating that some genre/setting limitations may be worth more or less depending on the campaign.

Power limited Only in Darkness may be worth -3/4 in standard campaigns, but might be worth only -1/4 in a "Mole People" campaign which is an underground civilization.

The GM needs to decide this as it stands so perhaps more guidelines on how to do this effectively may be worthwhile.

I don't know if this has already been mentioned but the Well World series (Jack L. Chalker) I think is the ultimate in exposure to alien sentient/non-sentient creatures.

The genre is based on science and technology (but some of the creatures are taken from fantasy/mythology).

Of course there is the massive computer that helps with communication between species.

You have both carbon based and silicon based creatures (although the two are separated except for a common area and only a few silicon creatures ever interact with the carbon based lifeforms (as far as the story goes).

I have always wanted to run a Hero game based on that series but the amount of work would be tremendous. At least for me (8^D).

I was responding to Tech. But I think you did a better job.

I had it in the chart before but it was called Reduced Movement. I think Hinders Movement is more appropriate in this context.

Yes slower character's are less affected by this limitation But they're slow to begin with so I don't see that as a huge issue.

Faster character's (Higher Speed and/or Movement Rates) are more affected but then they are faster and will be able to travel faster (vs Slower Characters) even with this limitation and still gain the benefit of the power

.

You posted just before I did. So I made the change. (8^D)

What do you need clarification on?

Any particular column?

The Barrier Chart exists for the limitations that can be applied to Protean. 

Path/Porosity represents two ways to bypass a barrier.

Path is used for those characters that can't split their form to flow around and through a Porous barrier. The character must use a single opening to bypass the barrier (like a pipe or an opening in a wall/rock face.

Porous is used for those characters that can split their form to flow around and through a Porous barrier (like a fence or a lot of cracks/holes in a wall.

The rest of the columns are simply details concerning limitations.

I've added the Hinders Movement limitation back into the modifiers.

There is a distinct difference in how extra time on movement works in combat vs how hindered movement (percentage of normal movement) works in combat.

If that's not to your taste, just ignore it.

Desolid does not do what Protean does nor are the things that I wanted well established with Desolid.

Specifically:

Viscosity

Cannot Split

Non-pliability

Even if you were to add these to Desolid, once you start stripping away most of the base mechanics of the power with limitations I think your starting to stray from the original purpose of the power.

Just my opinion.

Addendum: I would also agree that Desolid should really be broken up into two mechanics. It's a more Heroesque way of building things.

- Christopher Mullins

Protean [ Standard Power, Constant, Self-Only ]

This power allows the character to move through porous barriers that would otherwise block them from passing (fences, pipes, wire screening).

The character may pass through the barrier as if no barrier existed at their normal movement rate.

Cost: 20 Points

Barrier Chart

Path / Porosity  Viscosity         Nonpliability  Examples (Human Height)

---------------  ----------------  -------------  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1/250 / 2%       20 Minutes                       8mm - Locked office doors (with tile floor), fan blade gaps, and old fashioned keyholes are bypassed.

1/125 / 3%       5 Minutes         -1/4           16mm (1.6cm) - Open sunroofs, large fan blade gaps, and medium pipes are bypassed.

1/64  / 6%       1 Minute          -1/2           32mm (3.2cm) - Large pipes, prison bars, and manhole covers are bypassed.

1/32  / 12%      Full Turn         -1             64mm (6.4cm) - Large mail slot and certain types of sewer entrances (not manhole covers) are bypassed.

1/16  / 25%      2 Extra Phases    -1 1/2         125mm (12.5cm) - ?

1/8   / 50%      Extra Phase       -2             250mm (25cm) - ?

1/4   / 75%      Full Phase                       500mm (50cm) - Air ducts, small windows, and sewer pipes are bypassed.

Path     - Size of a single path through the barrier (based as a fraction of the character's height).

           Applies to the character that Cannot Split their body to bypass barriers.

Porosity - How porous the barrier is (based as a percentage of empty space vs non-empty space of the barrier).

           Applies to the character that can split their body to bypass barriers.

Modifiers

---------

Viscosity (-1 for Extra Time, x2 with Cannot Split) - Character requires more and more time to bypass smaller and smaller Path/Porosity.

Cannot Split - Character's body is contiguous and Porosity of a barrier may not be used to bypass barrier.

Nonpliablity (Varies) - Character is unable to bypass barriers after a certain point (see chart).

Hinders Movement (-1/4 50% Movement, -1/2 25% Movement) - When power is active the character may only use a percentage of their normal movement rate.

With the help of Hugh I think this is a workable mechanic.

I tried this way back when. Too many balance issues.

I think that a chart with examples of properties/actions and what powers would generally be used to achieve the effect might be more helpful to the GM.

- Christopher Mullins

..."indirect in some respects", and can be used to attack someone from behind,...

Yeah, that's kind of what I remembered and I always took that as GM fiat.

The "indirect in some respects" portion means not in all respects of Indirect. So what aspects of Indirect do you get? Do they detail that?

Hitting someone from behind (Stretching or not) gives you certain bonuses and can be countered by some degree by the opponent since he can still perceive the attack.

Invisibility prevents much of that countering since perceiving the attack is difficult if not impossible. 

On "Stretching Dimensions":

I'm fairly sure this wasn't elaborated on in the 5th Edition rules (could be wrong... again).

I did a lot research in the Thesaurus before settling on Protean for the name. It best fits what the power does.

Also, the name doesn't imply any overlap with other powers (unless you already know it's definition and use it regularly).

Malleable was the next best title but implies some things that I didn't want implied about the power.

What were your thoughts on the Nonpliability limitation (I couldn't find a better word)? How should that be structured with the Barrier Chart?

I've updated the chart with first stab at values.

Hugh, is this more like you were thinking?

I was struggling but something just clicked and it started to coalesce.

Barrier Chart
Path  / Porosity  Viscosity         Nonpliability  Examples (Human Height)
----------------  ----------------  -------------  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/250 / 2%        20 Minutes                       8mm - Locked office doors (with tile floor), fan blade gaps, and old fashioned keyholes are bypassed. 
1/125 / 3%        5 Minutes         -1/4           16mm (1.6cm) - Open sunroofs, large fan blade gaps, and medium pipes are bypassed.
1/64  / 6%        1 Minute          -1/2           32mm (3.2cm) - Large pipes, prison bars, and manhole covers are bypassed.
1/32  / 12%       Full Turn         -1             64mm (6.4cm) - Large mail slot and certain type of sewer entrances (not manhole covers) are bypassed.
1/16  / 25%       2 Extra Phases    -1 1/2         125mm (12.5cm) - ?
1/8   / 50%       Extra Phase       -2             250mm (25cm) - ?
1/4   / 75%       Full Phase                       500mm (50cm) - Air ducts, small windows, and sewer pipes are bypassed.

Path     - Size of a single path through the barrier (based as a fraction of the character's height).
           Applies to the character that Cannot Split their body to bypass barriers.
Porosity - How porous the barrier is (based as a percentage of empty space vs non-empty space of the barrier).
           Applies to the character that can split their body to bypass barriers.

Modifiers
---------
Viscosity (-1 for Extra Time, x2 with Cannot Split) - Character requires more and more time to bypass smaller and smaller Path/Porosity.
Cannot Split - Character's body is contiguous and Porosity of a barrier may not may not be bypassed.

Nonpliablity (Varies) - Character is unable to to bypass barriers after a certain point (see chart).

I also wonder about how this power works in conjunction with attacks.  Does it effectively give me Indirect on any attack I make?  Can I travel through a pipe, then stick my hand out and blast somebody while the rest of my body remains safely in the wall?  Or stand on the other side of a door, poke my face through the crack, and optic blast somebody in the room?  Does it operate just like Stretching that way?

• Does not give you any Indirect on any attack by default (Advantages/Other Powers would be required).
• If you travel through a pipe and remain in the pipe (I presume), then you can fire at whoever you can perceive as normal. No different that Shrinking down, traveling through a pipe. remaining in the pipe, and attacking from the pipe. You could even get cover bonuses for that tactic. However, on the flip side, if an opponent lobs a grenade into that pipe, don't bother trying to dodge or getting away from the blast area (presuming the pipe is longer than your ability to move out of it (the blast would travel down the pipe after you, GM fiat).
• Stretching Example: Stretching simply gives you extra reach to allow you use a Hand Attack at range and doesn't give indirect or special bonuses by default (I could be wrong about that. I think the GM was given option to allow for that kind of thing but I don't recall it being intrinsic to the power). As for the Optic blast above. All you are really doing is taking advantage of the cover rules which anyone can do. That's given that there is cover to get behind which this power may give you opportunities that others might not have in that area. But the same could be said of Invisibility since it technically gives you the ability to attack from behind (depending on movement) and get bonuses for doing that. So does it operate like Stretching? I don't think so.

I think I would remove “Tunneling and Teleport are not applicable with this power. “ as an artifact of the link to a specific movement form.  Teleport bypasses obstacles in its own way, but if I had both Protean and Teleport, couldn’t I Teleport part-way down a long, narrow pipe?  If there is a chain link fence buried in the ground, a Protean could Tunnel through it even if it is higher DEF than his tunneling would permit, as long as he can tunnel through the dirt around it.

Done. I just couldn't think of any way that the powers could combine.

Perhaps the best answer is that characters who move more slowly while using Protean should be using Viscosity, although that is a pretty blunt instrument.

There's a distinct difference between full movement taking extra time vs reduced movement. The mechanics obviously work differently.

Barrier Chart
Path  / Porosity  Viscosity       
----------------  ----------------
1/500 / 1%        1 Hour            
1/250 / 2%        20 Minutes        
1/125 / 3%        5 Minutes         
1/64  / 6%        1 Minute          
1/32  / 12%       Full Turn         
1/16  / 25%       2 Extra Phases    
1/8   / 50%       Extra Phase       
1/4   / 75%       Full Phase      

Path     - Size of a single path through the barrier (based as fraction of the character's height).
Porosity - How porous the barrier is (based as a percentage of empty space vs non-empty space of the barrier).

Modifiers
---------
Viscosity (-1 for Extra Time, x2 with Cannot Split) - Character requires more and more time to bypass smaller and smaller Path/Porosity.
Cannot Split - Character's body is contiguous.

Nonpliablity (Varies) - Character is unable to to bypass barriers after a certain point (see chart).

I'm starting to get there (I think).

I fully accept that either or both of you is likely far, far more familiar with the current (or even the most recent previous) edition of the rules than I will likely ever be...

Well I've been out of it for around 8 years and I don't have 6th Edition so you should have an edge on me. (8^D)

... and that for matching thing out logically, there are few who do so as thoroughly as Hugh as always done in the past (always a pleasure, Hugh!)

Without a doubt. Hugh definitely seems to be able to compare cost/benefits much better that I can.

I'd like to pipe up and say that applying a Protean-based Limitation to the movement itself feels completely and totally wrong.  Just because you have Protean and have to slow way, way down to fly through a chain link fence does not mean that your Flight is in anyway limited.  If it does, than characters who do _not_ have Protean should get an even larger limitation on their Flight because they can't fly though a fence at all (baring brute force, of course).

Thank you! I wasn't able to nail down why I thought it was isolated to the Protean power. You expressed it much better than I could.

That was what I was thinking and makes perfect sense to me, but I do acknowledge why Hugh thinks the other approach is more appropriate. I think this is one of those rare exceptions where the power needs to handle things separately than using the more generic approach. There are other powers I believe have broken the rule in this manner but I can't think of one right now. I wish I could remember where I stored my books. (8^D)

Feels like we have a decent base cost at 20, and No Split becomes part of other limitations.

Already made those changes. I reposted the power again for easy reference.

Viscosity:  My first thought was “can I lower the penalty by 1 phase if I reduce the limitation?  But why do we need this limitation at all when we could simply apply Extra Time to the situations where time will be increased?  That one will be complex to math out if it scales based on the size of the openings, but Extra Time should reasonably form the baseline.  Maybe Extra Time is taken at full value, but reduced one time increment for each stage on the Porosity chart before the first delay kicks in, or reduced two time increments if the character can split.

So, if it will take me a full turn or so (5 SPD, -1 1/2 for Visc + 4 phases), why not make it a minute?  That’s 20 more phases, so now it’s -6 1/2?  I think Extra Time has it right that there is a point where more time needs to be a lot longer to be more limiting.

I’d say at base level, you move full movement through the obstacle (basically ignoring it as far as movement is concerned). 

You want it to delay movement a bit?  I would suggest Full Phase (-1/2) should mean you get a half move that takes a full phase (like an attack which would normally take a half phase now requiring a full phase).

Slower still?  Extra Phase is -3/4 and Full Turn is -1 1/4.  Maybe 2 extra phases could be -1.  Once we hit a full turn, will you use this in combat?  I doubt it, so moving to the slower pace of the time chart (-1 ½ for a minute, -2 for 5 minutes, etc.) feels reasonable to me.

I had to completely reset my brain. I was thinking segments instead of phases when looking at my own chart.

So to try to clarify things... 

Start with Full Phase (I had forgotten about this one).

Extra time is applied to the first level (50cm) or to all levels? All levels would seem to negate the idea of the smaller the opening the longer it takes.

How do you see the chart being structured?

Viscosity Chart
Porosity  Extra Time  Human (2m Height)  Extra Time (RAW)   Extra Time (1)       Extra Time (2)
--------  ----------  -----------------  ----------------   -------------------  -------------------
1/500     +8 Phases   4 mm               ?                                       6 Minutes      (?)
1/250     +7 Phases   8 mm               ?                                       Full Minute    (?)
1/125     +6 Phases   16 mm              ?                                       Full Turn (-1 1/4)
1/64      +5 Phases   32 mm              ?                  6 Minutes (?)        Extra Phase (-3/4)
1/32      +4 Phases   64 mm              ?                  Full Minute (?)      Full Phase  (-1/2)
1/16      +3 Phases   125 mm             ?                  Full Turn (-1 1/4)   Full Movement
1/8       +2 Phases   25 cm              ?                  Extra Phase (-3/4)   Full Movement
1/4       +1 Phase    50 cm              Full Phase (-1/2)  Full Phase (-1/2)    Full Movement

Note: My idea was that when you took the Viscosity limitation that the whole chart was applied as is. Being able to apply the limitation further up the chart (it seems that's what you are saying) would be less limiting so I'm not sure how that would work.

Note that we can also have Sandman require, say, a minute to get his sandy body into that 1 cm pipe, after which he can move at full speed through the pipe (Extra Time, 1 minute, Only to Activate, -3/4), which adds an option your model lacks at present.

Isn't the Only to Activate for activating the power itself? If so that wouldn't make a lot of sense.

Since this would be actually reducing the limitation of Viscosity wouldn't it just become a modifier to it? Only for entering opening (+1/2)

Is this where “no split” belongs?  My gut feel is no, as discussed below, although it could impact how often Limited Time (only below certain sizes) kicks in.

Perhaps No Split is the wrong term for this. My thought was to give the option for those saying their form must remain contiguous throughout and that it would cost them more time. Perhaps Extra Time with SFX (No Split).

This is an area where examples of what the character can be passed through would really help.  It seems a lot more limiting to go from “50 cm opening or 25% of space is blocked” to “25 cm or 50% of space is blocked” than to drop from an 8 mm opening to 4 mm (well over 90% of space blocked in both examples).

This kind of thing makes my head hurt. Can't really oppose or offer an opinion. (8^D)

This is where I would apply “cannot split”.  If I can only get through spaces at least 50 cm, and can split, a chain link fence is easy, but if I cannot split, it goes back to being a barrier.

Already added. This is really just SFX based limitation. I don't remember the details of that limitation.

Reduced Movement:  seems like this is a limitation which should be applied to the movement (e.g. the character can fly at 50 meters, but only 2 meters through barriers, so he should buy Protean normally, and Limit 45 meters of Flight, probably a pretty minor limitation (-1/4 is my gut feel). 

No one forces the player to limit one or more movement powers.  Someone with a lot of movement powers would be less limited if only one were reduced when using Protean, something best judged by the GM based on the specifics, and I don’t think the limitation would be very large, as I don’t envision a lot of times when moving slower in a pipe will create a huge challenge.  Maybe I should just put +20m Running in a Multipower with Protean - I can pass through barriers, but it slows me down a fixed amount.

But -1 on a 20 point power to drop, say, 12m running to 2m while using Protean seems like a lot when you can buy +10m running with the 10 points saved.  It seems a lot more limiting if the character had a 60m movement speed.  

After giving this more thought I will concede that limiting the movement powers is more in line with how the Hero System is meant to work. I'll remove the chart for this one to allow for more flexibility and to be more Heroesque. (8^D)

The one thing that does bother me about starting with 20 Points and doing limitations is that any -2 Limitation is supposed represent how useful/impactful the power is in the game.

Thanks for bearing with me.

Protean [ Standard Power, Constant, Self-Only ]
This power allows the character to move through porous barriers that would otherwise block them from passing (fences, pipes, wire screening).
The character may pass through the barrier as if no barrier existed at their normal movement rate.

Cost: 20 Points

Modifiers

Viscosity (-1/2), +1 Phase (-1/4)
The character can still move through barriers but requires additional time depending on the porosity of the barrier.
You can increase the time required for travel by an additional +1 Phase per -1/4 Limitation.
The barriers porosity is relative to the character's height.

Viscosity Chart
Porosity  Extra Time  Example Porosity (Based On 2m Height)
--------  ----------  -------------------------------------
1/500     +8 Phases   4 mm
1/250     +7 Phases   8 mm
1/125     +6 Phases   16 mm
1/64      +5 Phases   32 mm
1/32      +4 Phases   64 mm
1/16      +3 Phases   125 mm
1/8       +2 Phases   25 cm
1/4       +1 Phase    50 cm


Minimum Porosity (Varies)
The character may only bypass barriers with at least one opening/passage of a certain size or larger (Porosity).
The shape of the opening is presumed to be Diameter but the player may specify the shape of the opening with GM approval.

Porosity Chart
Porosity  Limitation  Example Porosity (Based on 2m Height)
--------  ----------  -------------------------------------
1/125+    -0          1 mm - 15 mm          
1/125     -1/4        16 mm
1/64      -1/2        32 mm
1/32      -3/4        64 mm
1/16      -1          125 mm
1/8       -1 1/4      25 cm
1/4       -1 1/2      50 cm


Cannot Split (x2 Modifier) The Character may not split their body to bypass barriers (SFX Limitation).


Reduced Movement (Varies)
The character's movement rate is considered reduced when this power is active.

Reduction Chart
-1/4 Movement Rate Halved
-1/2 Movement Rate Quartered
-1   Reduced to 1" Movement Rate

- Christopher Mullins

First off, why should this apply to a specific movement type?  If I can turn into sand, I should be able to flow through barriers, regardless of movement type.  Removing that link also removes the question of whether limitations also reduce the cost of the movement power itself.

This was part of trying to balance things out cost/benefit but I don't have my books available so I going off of memory. I forgot how much Desolid cost. However, I've always thought Desolid (isn't it a stop or warning power?) was underpriced (when simply used for movement and nothing else) since it basically gives you immunity to your average attack while moving through things. But that's just me. If we use as basis (presuming it's not underpriced) then yes it seems off. I originally had it affect all movement powers by default. Going back to that is no problem really, just a matter of cost vs benefit which as you know am not the best at evaluating.

Base Cost:  Given 40 points lets me go Desolid, move through any barrier and be immune to damage (albeit at the cost of losing the ability to affect the solid world), 40 points only to pass through fewer barriers than Desolid would allow seems substantially overpriced. 

I am a bit biased as I have always felt “Does not protect from attacks” on Desolid should remove the inability to interact with the solid world automatically.  Desolid,  does not protect against damage (-1), cannot pass through solid objects (-1/2) would then cost 16 points by RAW.  Tack on half END and it would cost 20.  If we set the base price of Protean at 20, it does the same thing at the same END cost.  That seems like a reasonable starting point.

Funny, that's where I originally started from (probably due the whole Desolid comparison thing). No problem with playing around with the base cost or anything else for that matter.

No Split: What does that mean?  On the base power, the power lets the character pass through the tiniest of openings unimpeded, so whether there is one opening or many seems to make no difference.  This only seems like an issue if the character also has or viscosity limitation.  If he does, it seems much more limiting than -1/4.  Maybe it should increase the value of those limitations.  On their base, those limitations should consider total gap on a standard character body size.  Addressed under those limitations.

As soon as I started reading this question I immediately thought it should be modifier to those other limitations and yes it is too small I think: 1/2, 3/4 limitation?

Viscosity:  My first thought was “can I lower the penalty by 1 phase if I reduce the limitation?  But why do we need this limitation at all when we could simply apply Extra Time to the situations where time will be increased?  That one will be complex to math out if it scales based on the size of the openings, but Extra Time should reasonably form the baseline.  Maybe Extra Time is taken at full value, but reduced one time increment for each stage on the Porosity chart before the first delay kicks in, or reduced two time increments if the character can split.

I based the limitation value and phase based on the first level of Porosity (1/4 the character height or 50 cm for Humans). The idea is simply allow for the concept of the smaller the opening the longer it takes to move through. I didn't want to use the base Extra Time since it scales up too quickly and would make going through smaller openings pretty useless with just a few levels even with your modifications. I wanted a more linear progression in the amount of time required. But I don't have my books available so I could be wrong.

Porosity:  The description needs to start with what a normal human could squeeze through.  He could squeeze through smaller spaces with Contortionist.  50 cm at minimal speed, (1 meter) without penalty seems reasonable (50 cm being about shoulder width, the most significant constraint) then a big limitation for only being able to move full speed through 50 cm seems reasonable.  But he already has the ability to split, which is big.  Losing the ability to split should increase the limitation considerably.

I’d say the power is highly limited if it just allows him to bypass 50 cm, no split, barriers at full speed instead of squeezing through, so that should be -2.  What if 50 cm were -1, and “cannot split” doubled the porosity limitation?

Yes, I would agree with your analysis. The rest is simply examples or how the chart is presented. I'll have to play around with numbers to see what makes sense.

He could squeeze through smaller spaces with Contortionist.  50 cm at minimal speed, (1 meter) without penalty seems reasonable (50 cm being about shoulder width, the most significant constraint).

I wanted to add something to this. The human would also be considered prone so would be extra vulnerable to attacks and would require an extra phase to stand up before using their movement at full capacity again.

There should be no limitation only where there is no restriction to the size of the openings (if water or air can get through, so can he).  So I will suggest that 1 mm or less is -1/4, at least 50 mm is -1/2 and at least 5 cm is -3/4, at least 50 cm is -1, and all are doubled for “cannot split”, which means we count only one opening instead of the effective “open to blocked” ratio.

The -0 limitation is simply giving the player an option that would describe a self imposed restriction but has no bearing on the effectiveness of the power as a whole. I was thinking that 1mm would be the absolute smallest opening that this power would allow you bypass barriers. Beyond that I think it starts overlapping the Desolid power, but that can be a GM determined thing.

Reduced Movement:  seems like this is a limitation which should be applied to the movement (e.g. the character can fly at 50 meters, but only 2 meters through barriers, so he should buy Protean normally, and Limit 45 meters of Flight, probably a pretty minor limitation (-1/4 is my gut feel). 

Well, using the same logic you presented above for the base power and movement types, any reduction in movement should automatically affect all movement types for this power. I shy away from having one power force the player to place limitations on other powers. It would be like an Clinging having options that force you place limitations on other powers in order to have the option. The best argument against this is that the Reduction is tied directly to the Protean power. If you aren't using the Protean power then movement powers are unaffected. Perhaps some form of linked would make more sense but I'm not seeing it.

- Christopher Mullins

20 minutes ago, Duke Bushido said:

Ah; I see.  So it's more about how pliable their physical form is, or rather, more in terms of "how tiny a bit of me can squeeze through" or "how narrow a cross section can I form without actually hurting myself" than it is about passing through / around small barriers, like the bars in a window (passing through all the openings at one, as it were).  

 

Am I reading that correctly?

 

Yes, the SFX are driving the barrier/movement part of this. My last example allows the character to flow through screens (through one tiny hole or all of them) just as a column of air would do.

I'm still trying to get a handle on the cost vs benefit of this so it's not feel free to change it or suggest a fix.

Are there any other movement types I missed?

I didn't get a lot from the original post on SFX but I'll do the best I can.

Wind Warrior

--------------------

Can turn into a column of air.

Protean: 20 AP / 20 Points

Oozing Man

-------------------

Ducts, Medium Pipes, and Prison Bars won't stop him.

Protean: 20 AP / 6 Points

• Minimum Porosity (-1)             125 mm
• Reduced Movement (-1 1/4)   1" Running while oozing

Solabon (from Star Trek: Enterprise)

---------------------------------------------------------

The can squeeze through just about anything.

Protean: 20 AP / 8 Points

• Minimum Porosity/No Split (-0)  4mm
• Reduced Movement (-1 1/4)       1" Running while squeezing.

T-1000 Terminator

-----------------------------

Liquid metal.

Protean: 20 AP / 7 Points

• Viscosity (-1/2)                          +1 Phase per Porosity Level
• Minimum Porosity (-0)             4mm
• Reduced Movement (-1 1/2)   1" Running/Climbing while bypassing obstacles.

Rubber Man

-------------------

Give him time and he will get there.

Protean: 20 AP / 4 Points

• Minimum Porosity/No Split (-1)            32mm
• Reduced Movement/No Split (-2 1/2)  1" Running while squeezing.

3 minutes ago, Duke Bushido said:

C'mon, Chris:

 

You've got a start.  Details, my friend!  Details!

 

How would you use this power to simulate what started this thread: the ability to ooze through extremely permeable barriers like fences, screen doors, and locked turnstiles?

 

 

Oh, you want example builds. Okay, give me a bit. I need to put the twins to bed. (8^D)

I have no idea if this is correct cost wise or otherwise.

Protean [ Standard Power, Constant, Self-Only ]
This power allows the character to move through porous barriers that would otherwise block them from passing (fences, pipes, wire screening).
The character may pass through the barrier as if no barrier existed at their normal movement rate.
Tunneling and Teleport are not applicable with this power

Cost: 20 Points

Modifiers

Viscosity (-1/2), +1 Phase (-1/4)
The character can still move through barriers but requires additional time depending on the porosity of the barrier.
You can increase the time required for travel by an additional +1 Phase per -1/4 Limitation.
The barriers porosity is relative to the character's height.

Viscosity Chart
Porosity  Extra Time  Example Porosity (Based On 2m Height)
--------  ----------  -------------------------------------
1/500     +8 Phases   4 mm
1/250     +7 Phases   8 mm
1/125     +6 Phases   16 mm
1/64      +5 Phases   32 mm
1/32      +4 Phases   64 mm
1/16      +3 Phases   125 mm
1/8       +2 Phases   25 cm
1/4       +1 Phase    50 cm

No Split (x2 Modifier/Phase) The Character may not split their body to bypass barriers (SFX Limitation) which doubles the amount of time. 


Minimum Porosity (Varies)
The character may only bypass barriers with at least one opening/passage of a certain size or larger (Porosity).
The shape of the opening is presumed to be Diameter but the player may specify the shape of the opening with GM approval.

Porosity Chart
Porosity  Limitation  Example Porosity (Based on 2m Height)
--------  ----------  -------------------------------------
1/125+    -0          1 mm - 15 mm          
1/125     -1/4        16 mm
1/64      -1/2        32 mm
1/32      -3/4        64 mm
1/16      -1          125 mm
1/8       -1 1/4      25 cm
1/4       -1 1/2      50 cm

No Split (x2 Modifier) The Character may not split their body to bypass barriers (SFX Limitation).


Reduced Movement (Varies)
The character's movement rate is reduced when this power is active.

Reduction Chart
-1/4 Movement Rate Halved
-1/2 Movement Rate Quartered
-1   Reduced to 1" Movement Rate


- Christopher Mullins

In order to keep the information close together...

That's an interesting point. After thinking about it and debating in my head. I think that limit is to reflect those characters that can't flow through/around openings due to nature of the SFX (Elastic Man, Mister Fantastic).

So this is the minimum size for a single opening. This limit wouldn't be appropriate to other types of SFX (Terminator 2, The Blob, Sandman). This measurement is considered diameter (width and height minimum).

Looks like I will be back tomorrow. I need to make some updates to this power. (8^D)

No Way!!!

That's incredible. Thanks.