Andrew Cermak

This would actually be very poor for stealth purposes. There's a reason soldiers don't trade their camo for black for night operations; solid colors stand out against the background and draw the eye, even if the color in question is a dark black. A Vantablack coated object would probably be more visible in shadow than most dark colors. What it arguably would be good for is Concealment; the elimination of detail would make it harder to spot hidden pockets or suspicious bulges. I could also see an argument for Disguise, provided it's limited to a nonspecific "I can't tell who/what that is" effect.

Incantations, surely.

In an evenly matched scenario (same STR, even CVs), you've only got about a 25% chance of successfully disarming your opponent (about a 37% chance of making the Attack roll, due to the maneuver's -2 OCV penalty, and about a 68% chance of a win or tie in the STR vs STR). If you don't make both, you wasted your Phase. And if you pull off the maneuver, you still haven't won the fight; the weapon might be recoverable or they might have a backup weapon. That's not a reliable win button; it's actually a pretty risky maneuver unless you've got the odds stacked in your favor, and if you do then you're usually better off just beating them up.

The Agonist, both for the dual meaning (a chemical that binds to a receptor to provoke a biological response, suggestive of his bio-manipulation abilities OR a person engaged in a competition or struggle, evocative of his motivations), and the sinister, villainous sound of it.

Also, keep in mind that Joe Average has an 8 STR, not 10, per 6E1 p. 438. 10 is what PCs start at, but PCs are assumed to be Noteworthy at the very least. That puts Joe Average's Haymakers at 5 1/2 d6; he'll likely be interrupted long before he ever succeeds in kicking down a 10 PD door. In fact, I'd start levying Long Term Endurance charges if he kept at it for long.

Champions Powers has a little sidebar on page 6 talking about the difference between Origin SFX and Manifestation SFX, and how while they are usually the same they don't have to be. It specifically uses the example of a supermage's Firebolt originating with the Magic SFX and manifesting with the Fire SFX. A Magic Only VPP just means that all the powers have to originate as Magic, just as a Gadget Pool typically means they all have to originate as Technology. Magic Man can have a Fireball spell in his VPP, just as Gadget Man can build a flamethrower. Whether it's appropriate that Magic Only is pegged as a -1/4 Limitation whereas Technology Only is apparently judged to be a -0 is a separate discussion. (Now, if someone did want a VPP that only permitted Magic as both the Origin and Manifestation, I'd say that's worth at least a -1/2 Limitation instead of a -1/4).

Re: Emulating the Reversible Extra from M&M3 This just feels like a variation of the Controlled Effect Advantage from APGII. That Advantage lets you hit a target with an Attack, but not have the damage take effect until you decide to levy it later. Doing the damage upfront but reserving the right to undo it later is a similar concept with similar uses.

Re: I'm still not sure how to make a Gestalt character - 4th edition. But then you'd be paying extra points for something that is a disadvantage 99% of the time. Traveling to limbo while leaving your duplicates behind sounds like a lose-lose. A limitation on Duplication sounds more fair to the character. An alternative to Duplication is to build it in reverse: have the normals buy Multiform and split the cost evenly between the component characters. There's a Voltron-esque mecha in The Ultimate Vehicle that does it that way. EDIT: Ah, I forgot this is under 4th Edition rules; Multiform isn't legal under 4E unless the component characters are the same or higher point value as the gestalt. Duplication is definitely the way to go.

Re: Summon specific being? Yes. "Lost His Grip on Reality," page 226 of Champions Powers, is a 1 pip Major Transform.

Re: Transform Anothers OIF To me, this just looks like the special effect of a Dispel. The snake is gone after one panel in which it does nothing other than look threatening; it doesn't appear to have been an actual hazard. To make it an actual hazard, use a linked Summon as Ockham's Spoon suggests.

Re: Hero System Vehicles: Sailing Ships HSVS has writeups for a Brigantine, Caravel, Carrack, Clipper Ship, Cog, Curragh, Felucca, Flute, Frigate, Junk, Ketch, and Pinnace, as well as a modern Sailing Yacht. TUV has a writeup for a Galleon. Be aware, though, that they're planning on releasing a vehicles book for 6th Edition early next year; if past releases are an indication, it may very well include updated writeups for the vehicles in HSVS.

Re: Hero System Vehicles: Sailing Ships The Ultimate Vehicle has rules for sailing ships. There's only one sample write-up, but the Hero System Vehicle Sourcebook has quite a few more.

Re: MYTHIC HERO: What Do *You* Want To See?

Re: Is Defender the new Seeker?

Re: Champions Villains Volume Three: Solo Villains when will it be on the shelf? This isn't a customer service issue. This is a financial issue, as they've made clear repeatedly. Complaining about customer service issues is good, within reason, because it can them fixed. But you can't help them fix this by complaining. They've already exceeded their obligation to you by even telling you as much as they have; they've given you a level of insight into their day-to-day business that you don't really have a right to. All you can do by complaining about this issue is make yourself feel better, and maybe make them feel worse. If that's really your goal, hey, go for it.