prestidigitator

Oh yeah. And,

Fine. Let's talk about Limitations to the reserve in general. Say character A takes an unmodified Power which costs x points. Say character B takes a Multipower with N ultimate slots, each of which has x active points and no Limitations of their own. If the reserve takes Limitations such that the divisor is D=1+L, then the total cost of the Multipower is: x/D + N x/10 Now, why don't we impose the condition that B's Multipower must be more expensive than A's Power: x/D + N x/10 > x 1/D + N/10 > 1 Clearly, this is satisfied (for positive D), if N>=10 or: 1/D > 1 - N/10 D < 1/(1 - N/10) = 10/(10 - N) L < 10/(10 - N) - 1 = N/(10 - N) and the condition becomes: N = 1, L < 1/9 (N/A anyway) N = 2, L < 1/4 N = 3, L < 3/7 N = 4, L < 2/3 (L < 1/2 works) N = 5, L < 1 N = 6, L < 3/2 N = 7, L < 7/3 (L < 2 works) N = 8, L < 4 N = 9, L < 9 N >= 10, L has no positive limit So yes, your trivial and inconsequential example of two equal powers as ultimate slots in a Multipower should not allow a Limitation of -1/4 for this kind of thing. I wouldn't allow such a simplistic Multipower anyway. Besides, if any individual slots took Limitations, such would not reduce the overall cost nearly so much as if a lone Power took the same value of Limitations (even a stupid -1/4; one-fifth of 50 vs. one-fifth of 5), so imposing a small Limitation on the reserve means nothing on a realistic Multipower. Non-ultimate slots make this even more obvious (5 of those slots would allow any value of Limitations).

Please see my previous post. I would allow them if they fit the concept well. That is the whole "conception" issue we are arguing about, dude. Please sidetrack the argument by picking on minor details of an example I threw together quickly to illustrate a point. Please? Hmm. Don't know. If this were a metaphysically powered martial artist, I would answer, "Perhaps by weakening his chi." You are free to use your imagination too, you know. I've never gone much for the, "Draining one power in an EC drains them all," anyway, although I guess it would depend on the circumstances. Concept and Special Effects are what the game is about. That's why the system takes care of everything else.

You can always take the traditional approah, and throw four 200 point villains at them. This is a hard one to answer. It depends as much on the ingenuity of your players and the style of your adventure as it does on raw point costs. Are you talking, "Put them all on a flat battlefield and let them duke it out?" or, "Attempting to follow someone through a crowded city, using magic, guile, and intrigue?" In the former, points might matter a great deal. In the latter, they will play a part, but probably make much less difference. Also, how suited might the PCs be to the particular threat? A single 100 point adversary who has Desolidification and an Affects Physical World attack might take them all out, if they have no way to harm it, get away from it, etc.

Why not use Desolidification with something like Only While Moving, and an attack which Affects Physical World with which you do the Move By? Expensive, but then, you are trying to do a powerful thing.

I wish I had the book in front of me. Wouldn't a BOECV EB do Body?

Who says energy projector powers are more suitable for Elemental Controls than martial arts related ones? I didn't. I base it on how well the powers fit together, and whether they match the concept of the character well or not. I wouldn't allow the Martial Arts themselves to go in an EC (they are skills--and already pretty good cost-wise), but a Martial Arts Elemental Control like, say: Missile Deflection Damage Reduction, Concentrate Leaping RKA: Shuriken wIth appropriate Advantages/Limitations, a good description, and other skills, etc., which fit well? Why not? It just so happens that a heck of a lot of Batman's powers go right into a Multipower, if not a Variable Power Pool, anyway; that is Framework enough, if you ask me.

LOL. True, on several points. You probably would have to buy Discriminatory for it. (At least if you want to be realistic) Radio is not affected much by small objects, so it would probably have to either be active, and spew out so many radio waves that nearby planes couldn't fly straight (Distinctive Features and the Visible Limitation, perhaps?), or be very sensitive (Restrainable and/or Vulnerable/Susceptible to Radio Flashes?). I guess you are right that a larger Disadvantage might be appropriate for such things as reading.

Re: Advice on building a character from this concept You could build the vehicle with Extradimensional Movement, Usable on Others or something, to put the passengers into a pocket dimension. If you really wanted to then be literal-minded, you might have to buy Clairsentience, Extradimensional (and maybe some other powers) to still allow them to interact with the real universe. I would probably just use the Extradimensional Movement, and make the rest a Special Effect of the pocket dimension. After all, if the ship got destroyed, they might just be a little stranded without some personal Extradimensional Movement or a little ingenuity (can you say story idea?). I would probably use either Multiform or Shapeshift, depending on whether the humanoid form is really a full character, or just a vehicle walking around with a different appearance for convenience. If you go with Multiform, I would subscribe to the old school of making the most powerful form the base character. Now the independent question between whether to use Vehicle with AI or Follower with Usable on Others powers I would answer using the following question: who controls events? Do the PCs fly the thing normally, using their piloting and other skills, with the vessel's intelligence helping (use Vehicle), or do the PCs normally simply ride in the thing, and ask it to do things for them (use Follower)? Incidentally, I would not use UoO for all the Follower's powers. After all, a character with enough Growth could stick a party in his pack pocket, or carry them in the palm of his hand, without making his Flight/Running UoO. The defenses, on the other hand, would definitely be UoO.

In truth, I would probably have allowed him to take it for the reserve, but not for the individual powers (since it doesn't limit how they are used once the MP is switched). This comes to 50/1.25+5+5=50, which is, truthfully, no more expensive than A's spell which is equivalent once the pool has been assigned. This is the way that best makes sense to me, given the Framework and Limitation. You are right that the Framework should still really cost more than a bare spell. Perhaps that is Wizard E's reward for creatively dealing with the headache that is a Framework. Or maybe not. After all, you are talking to a guy who did like package bonuses back when they were a reward for standard concepts or creative ideas. Er, don't get your panties too bunched up, or you could wind up making a mistake which would be just a bit embarrassing ....

What? You didn't read the "Flight, Usable as Attack," example in the book? TK, Entangle, and/or Drain Str are definitely the way to go, based on the exact effect you are trying to achieve. Entangle may well be a viable option, if the target merely needs to exert enough force upward to "break" the field, in which case (s)he is free to move.... A somewhat common four-color comic book type scenario, although one that can result in some brain pain. Eh. If the Density Increase really was meant to make them heavier (so, for example, they would fall through weak flooring), use the TK. I don't think you really want to give them extra PD, etc., and by the time you slap on Limitations to the Density Increase to take away everything you don't want to give them, it starts to look really cheesy. But then, you could very well be joking here, in which case I think you should consider Clinging, Usable as Attack, linked with RKA, Area of Effect: One Hex, Only Against Surface Target of Clinging is Sticking To....

Yeah! On a related issue, my group had a rotating-GM super hero game, and we decided on some pretty loose House Rules. One of the other players decided to give his character a power suit, with all of the powers in it Independant, just so he could buy a buttload of powers cheaply. So when I came up as GM, I scared the crap out of him, but having an NPC steal his power suit. After all, he decided to take the Limitation. The Limitation means you can permanently lose the power (which he almost did, by the way--great adventure!). Soon after, he decided to re-build the character.

I think I can state this so it makes real good sense. Let's go back to the pure Armor Piercing question, and talk about an Energy Blast vs. someone's Energy Defense. Suppose the average damage of your EB exactly equals their ED. Then an extra normal d6 of damage is (on average) going to have full effect. An extra AP d6 of damage is going to have exactly the same effect, but cost half again as much. Not quite worth it, eh? Now, suppose the average damage of your EB equals half their ED. Now an extra normal d6 of damage is going to do nothing, whereas an extra d6 of AP damage is going to have full effect. Sounds more appealing, don't you think?

LOL. Well, I certainly didn't mean to sound quite so harsh. If I saw a player do something like this and suspected it was just to save points without truely limiting the power, I would make him/her pay for it. No question. I would personally allow the Limitation on the reserve, and thus the player would be limited by it if (s)he had to switch between any of the powers. If you bought a power which never wound up needing to be used in my game, because of choices I made (or maybe even otherwise), then I would probably find a way to give you an opportunity to use the cool power you built, or apologize to you and let you sell back the power again. And then again, I might find that sonic attacks are more common then I thought they would be, so I might increase the cost of that Only Works Against Sonics power you have, though I might decide to grandfather you in, or give you a few extra Experience only for upgrading your power. They can be tough calls to make, but if you spare a thought for all of your players, and consider each of their situations and intentions as closely as you have time for, it sure does contribute to forming a great gaming group! Right on, dude!

I think EC is a way to reward characters who are really built with a consistant theme. With that in mind, I tend to be pretty strict when I see one as a GM. I will not allow an EC unless (the player can convince me) that all of the powers really do fit well together. In a real game I probably wouldn't allow some of the examples I have seen in the books, for that matter. The exception to this is if I am running an all out, four-color Superhero adventure. In this case I encourage all of my players to use ECs and MPs anywhere they might possibly make sense. Hey. If all the players are using them, and all the NPCs are using them, then what the heck? With the above in mind, I usually ignore the rules about End only powers, and even Special Powers. I'll even allow Frameworks withing Frameworks if it seems to really make sense. For example, I have a magic system in which wizards cast from a VPP. Some of the spells (shapeshifting, etc.) really make sense as VPPs or MPs. So I let a VPP spell be memorized by placing it in a VPP spell memorization pool. For heroic games, I use Frameworks to put together my specific campaign system using Hero as a meta-system. For example, my ongoing fantasy campaign is relatively low powered, but I want characters to be able to play psionicists (who have to buy each of the powers they can use separately). So I allow all psionic powers to be bought using (a single) EC pool. I even allow powers to be moved into or out of the EC as the character progresses, so that the character isn't penalized more as (s)he becomes more powerful ("I've made my EC bigger, so why is it suddenly twice as hard to learn a new power?"). If you don't let Frameworks be abused (by monitoring them pretty carefully), they can really help your game, and help you put together the setting and system that you want.

Don't even joke about that! It is the number one problem I have had trying to get people interested in the system. That this system involves complex math is completely false! It is a myth! Bad myth! Bad myth! If you got through elementary school, you can do every tiny bit of math in the system, and not break a sweat. There's some fractional multiplication, and maybe a little bit of division. There aren't many roleplaying systems in existance which don't have a little bit of that. If you want to do more than a little bit of it, you will just get more out of the system. That's all. Now if you are interested in math and physics, you will get even more jazzed about the system when you start looking at all the beautiful consistency they came up with, such as lengths, volumes and densities being consistant, the exponential growth of Characteristics and Skills, the 3d6 distribution, falling velocities.... But this is all completely optional. No player action is required; it's all done for you. By the way, I learned the system when my friend lent me the 4th edition rulebook. I picked it up and read it cover to cover. I fell instantly in love. The 5th edition may be bigger, but it snaps together better IMHO, and is actually a nicer read. Of course, I am weird. Eh.

This is silly. If you really want to get detailed, why add things to the system which have no in-game effect? If I want to get detailed, I add more paper to my character including a full English description of his/her appearance and personality, along with a one to two page history. I either write this pre-game or start from the basic description I give the GM and other players in the first game session. That is called story contribution, not game mechanics, and such things are equally important to a roleplaying adventure (as opposed to a hack-and-slash wargame on paper), if not more so. What is described here as "intangibles" has much more to do with interaction, and thus fits with Pre (how do people react to your presentation of yourself, however you look). As for the ramifications of Com, I definitely change the behavior of NPCs if I am dealing with an ugly PC, or an extremely good looking one.

I would say that having this particular sense is definitely a benefit (and thus costs points), because you can sense in any environment what a normal character could only in full daylight. As stated, this ignores most Darkness, Invisibility, Flashes, fog, lack of light, etc. Buy the power as a full Enhanced Sense. That being said, losing normal sight is not much of a problem for your character, is it? I would call "buying back" normal sight as a form of Disadvantage (even if you want to cheese it and count it as a negative cost, rather than contributing to your Disadvantage total). At most I think it would merit a Physical Disadvantage: can't see color, Uncommon, Slightly Limiting (I'm not sure those are the exact phrases; I don't have the book in front of me). As for Summon not dealing with Disadvantages (which is really what you are complaining about), well, (ask to) make a House Rule or suck it up and pay for the total points as the book says, including your Power (because that's what it is).

I agree. Think about it: you are building a character with 75% Damage Reduction vs. Energy. That kicks ass! It means every attack that gets past your defenses is going to only be 1/4 as effective; a darn good defense, if you ask me! Now, make it only effective against a limited Special Effect. There are a heck of a lot of Special Effects out there (especially for energy), and even if you are protected against fire, how many opponents aren't going to be able to say, "Oh. He's incredibly resistant to fire, apparently. Let me pull my lightning rod out of my...?"

Right. Gestures doesn't necessarily mean you can't be holding something in your hand. It means you can't do anything else useful with that hand, such as attacking or using another power with Gestures. This should not keep you from holding an item which is another requirement of the activation of the spell. However, I would say holding a shield or something not related to the activation of the power wouldn't work.

A nifty Talent, such as: Speed Change: 1d6 Cosmetic Transform: clothes into costume; Extra Time: Full Phase (-1/2); Self Only (-1/2) [5 active/2 real] You might need another d6 if the GM thinks clothes have a lot of Body.

Flashes are pointless now anyway, since you still count normal Body, and they last for a number of Segments, not Phases. I don't care if it costs half as much. They are way less than half as useful in 5th ed. My house rules still have Flash lasting a number of Phases, and use the old cost (half for non-targetting senses).

I think you're only bet is to go with Transform. A Summoned Multiform character will definitely not work. The base character for the Multiform has to be the more expensive character. Otherwise it starts costing 1 for 1, rather than 1 for 5. You really would not be gaining anything there. Besides, it is a hack. The Multiform isn't really intended to give you a more powerful form for less points. Transform, on the other hand, can 1.) Create things out of nothing, and 2.) Make a character more powerful (though maybe temporarily--this shouldn't be a problem for an NPC). For the purposes of correctness, you might use a Summon to get the basic body, then swith to a Physical Transform followed by a Mental Transform to make an exact copy, then a Spiritual Transform to make the clone really "An Exact Clone of Joe." It does sound a little bit shaky to have only a 20 point VPP clone a powerful character, though.

Re: Need some help designing two powers Are you sure Mind Scan won't work? You could buy it with Megascaled Area of Effect and No Range to know where all targets within some big area around you are. You could give it a minimum required effect to reduce the cost. You could use the Standard Effect rule to exactly locate all minds with Ego+MD less than a certain value. I'm sure Only to Detect Location would be a pretty hefty Limitation if you don't want to be able to use/be subjected to mental attacks through it. Something like: Mind Scan: 14d6 Std Effect: 42 (Ego+MD <= 22) +1 1/2 Area of Effect, Megascale: 7km radius -1/2 No Range -1/2? Minimum Effect: Ego+20, know exact location -1 1/2? Only to Detect Location 175 active, 50 real This is a bit expensive (and would be exhausting--but who cares outside of combat), but uses a power which is already designed for detecting minds.

Ooh. I like the shuffle all actions and segments idea. Here's another one, designed to introduce some randomness (because realisitcally it does happen at various points in a combat): Rather than everyone starting at 12, each character rolls 2d6, and starts on that segment (the curve still tends to start people off around the same place, but there is some randomness). If your Spd is 6 or less, and you have an action on Segment x, your next action is on x+p, where the period p=12/Spd. For Spd 5, there are a few options: Disallow this Spd. Skip it (10 pts gets you from Spd 4 to Spd 6). Treat it as Spd 6, but skip the first action in each Turn. [*] If your Spd is between 6 and 11, and you don't have an action on Segment x, you have actions each Segment until x+p, where the period p=12/(12-Spd). For example, if your Spd is 8, you will not act every 12/(12-8)=3 Segments. Treat Spd 7 similarly to Spd 5. [*] If your Spd is 12 or higher, you get an action every Segment for each 12 points of Spd, plus whatever you would get for the remaining Spd. [*] Obviously, Segment 13 becomes Segment 1 of the next Turn, 14 becomes 2, etc. (just subtract 12). [*] Optionally, certain events may cause a slowdown or speed up for a character, due to the randomness of combat. When these events occur, a character's next Phase will be 2d6 Segments after the event. Some of these events might be: Character recovers from being stunned. Character wakes up after being knocked out. Character is knocked down (or back). Oppenent pulls off a surprise Maneuver (causing hesitation, or providing an opening). [*] Optionally, characters even slower than Spd 1 can be handled by treating them as Spd 1, but making them skip 1-Spd Phases before they can act (also, perhaps these characters would be too slow to react defensively by aborting an action).