prestidigitator

I also like that Flight leaves no footprints. Claim that with Clinging, and I'd have to ask to see your Invisible Power Effects for both the Clinging and Running.

Extra Limbs: I would say it depends on when and how the character can use his feet. If he can use them for things only when flying (because otherwise he is standing or gripping with them), then it is just Special Effects. After all, I could easily just define Flight as using wings which are not connected to my arms (without even Extra Limbs because I can't do anything but fly with them). Then I could still, say, wield weapons while I am flying without Extra Limbs. However, if the feet make him harder to grapple, because he can still punch or use weapons when you grab his arms, or if he can climb and fight at the same time, Extra Limbs is a good idea for the feet. Clinging: Forget it, unless he is really fast (Running speed) at climbing, needs to make no rolls, and can climb surfaces others normally couldn't dream of tackling. I would just give him extra points (or Skill Levels) in Climbing. Use Clinging (with appropriate Limitations?) only if you really want super-climbing. A normal character could probably hang from his knees and use his arms for something, so why can't the monkey use his feet without spending extra points (perhaps some Penalty Skill Levels)? I'd probably even let him sleep that way. No big deal. I'd say going to sleep an a particular position is a heck of a lot different from staying there when you are Knocked Out. Gestures: I agree that Gestures probably aren't appropriate, because of the feet. I don't think flapping is an extremely "obvious use of unusual movements." If so, can I take Gestures for any character who can fly, whether they leave a trail of fire (THAT'S unusual!), or walk through the air (his feet aren't on the ground, and he is still walking!). Some of the unusualness factor is captured in the visibility and Special Effects of the power. I haven't seen a whole lot of appropriate uses for Gestures except in spell-casting ("Unless you have KS: Magic, his hand movements tell you nothing about the spell he is casting; must be some kind of magic, though, 'cause they sure are freaky and unusual!"). Restrainable obviously applies, however.

I think the whole argument falls apart if the Multipower is used the way a Multipower is meant to be used. If I saw a player who has a Multipower do this, I would probably think, "Hmm. Has he just not run into enough opportunities to use his powers, or did he take a Limitation which is never actually going to limit him?" If I thought it was the latter, I would probably ask him to remove the Limitation, using his next X experience points to pay for it if he can't find the points somewhere else (another Disadvantage?). I think you always have to take into consideration what has happened, and what is likely to happen, during gameplay. If my player made a pirate character who is afraid of the water, and the adventure takes a turn which will put them in the desert for a good long time, I would probably suggest he switch Disadvantages (maybe on a temporary basis), even if the original were a perfectly valid thing at the time. If a character took a Multipower which he only ever wound up using one slot of, I would eventually suggest he drop the Framework and make it a straight Power. If he never wound up switching it in combat, I would ask him to remove a Limitation which only limits its switching during combat.

Not at all! The Aid power is designed for boosting other characters' characteristics and powers (using whatever modifications and special effects they posses). Usable on Others is designed for temporarily giving other characters powers they would normally not have (well, may not have). If you are using Characteristics, which are really intented to be self only, to do exactly what the Aid power is designed for, that is wrong. I will grant that there may be circumstances that a Characteristic which is UoO makes sense, like maybe a hugh Str which you can temporarily lend to someone else, but replacing Aid just to save points is a blatant misuse of the system. Now buying extra Characteristics for yourself is different, because that's how they are intended to work. Then again, buying them as a power just to get past Normal Characteristic Maxima, and making them Cost End and be Uncontrolled I would probably also classify as something which should be done with Aid, but I think I would be less picky about it, because Aid and Characteristics can both normally benefit the character who owns the power.

Eh? How about 10 million 50-point Followers? Actually, the newbie should probably watch out for frustrated GMs who have to deal with players who buy Powers to do what other Powers are primarily intended for. At the worst, the GM might do bad things to you. At the best, the GM has read through every page of the rules (not to mention making some House Rules to boot). (S)he knows the difference between a Characteristic which is Usable by Others and an Aid in his/her campaign. Do you? You sure? What about if you are knocked unconscious, or loose Light of Sight? How many people can your Characteristic affect at a time? Who has to pay the End for it, and does the End have to payed constantly, or only when the boost is bestowed? I might even be able to poke solid holes in the example if I had the book in front of me. In any case, expect a pissed off GM to, and to exploit them for all they are worth. Maybe I shouldn't make it sound so adversarial. In all likelihood, the GM will take one look at the points you are trying to squeeze out by doing something in a non-standard way, and just say, "Nah. Redo it correctly."

Ah! But how useful is that Power Defense when you aren't being drained? Can you build a starship with it?

Re: Re: Transform Power Question Yeah. And I'd probably rule that "Banishment" (Extradimensional Travel, Usable as Attack, Only on Extraplanar Creatures) probably wouldn't work unless a Spiritual Transform had taken place....

I also view Mind Control as a relatively tricky thing to pull off. Especially if you are giving commands verbally. Sure, you can tell them what to do, but their subconscience is going to twist your exact words in whatever way it can get away with. Asking Truthbender to tell you about Dr. Rabbit's secret back door might easily result in a description of the base said villain had 15 years ago.... I regard it as much easier to get what you are really looking for through Telepathy.

How about super-cooling that metal until it is brittle? That could easily return at 5pts/turn....

In Superheroic games, I like the idea of making "critical hits" (which may, say, double the Stun result or do extra DCs) more frequent if you want this kind of effect. For example, make any attack which rolls 5 more than necessary to hit a critical (this means a 3-6, or about 5%, between characters who have equal OCV vs. DCV). In Heroic campaigns, killing attacks which hit the head (or roll x5 Stun) are already quite good at knocking people out, thank you....

I like being able to decide when my player's can roll their Luck. I usually leave it up to them to say, "Hey, we're not doing so well. Can I try my Luck?" I start off being pretty conservative about allowing it, and return to this status when players try to abuse it. Then I start to be more liberal when it turns into actual story contribution rather then people trying to power game. Sometimes I am devious, and allow players to roll as often as they like; I just start pushing temporary Unluck dice on them as well when they are abusive.

Trigger: I would probably allow the Trigger. However, it seems that, for Dispels which can work against different types of Power, you would have to specify the Power it will work against when you set up the Trigger (thus, you would have to buy it at the +2 level if you wanted it to work against the first incoming spell). Also, as Trigger says, you can buy unusual senses--such as a Detect Magic Sense--and apply a big Limitation for things you could not normally sense. Transform: It seems to me that Dispel would work. It is Dispel's job to cencel existing effects (except for the clause that it can be used defensively). Of course, Transforms tend to be pretty powerful, and there's no reason they can't take Difficult to Dispel (which pretty much settles the matter). Foci: Remember that Unbreakable ones effectively have a huge number of active points for purposes of Dispel (is it times 25? I don't know. The book isn't in front of me). Frameworks: I would think it shouldn't be as hard to Dispel a power from a Framework as it is to Adjust it. After all, you aren't denying them use of the Power (or Framework); you are only turning it off temporarily. Cost: Dispel is pretty cheap, but there are a lot of Powers, so it isn't all that powerful to buy Dispel without the Advantages that makes it work on a broader range of effects.

How about this? There are plenty of attacks which drain your stats, but how often do characters have attacks which drain (or apply negative) skill levels? Go ahead: reduce my Int to 2; you're going to have to do even better, because I'll still have a 13- on my Concealment (I've trained in it so much it is almost instinctive...). On the note of Characteristic costs, there are plenty of Int- and Pre-based skills, but how many are based on Ego or Con? Not that I will argue for actually changing their costs, mind you. It is just a thought.

Vibrations spread real easily. How about Sticky and Personal Immutity, too?

Spread that EB! Energy Blasts can be spread as part of the basic rules. Why not just give yourself a few extra dice, and spread it to hit multiple targets? If you really want the easy hex DCV and the possibility for Dive for Cover, give it a One Hex Area of Effect, and still spread it. You could probably even limit the extra dice so they can ONLY be used to spread (never provide extra damage). Then if you REALLY wanted to get restrictive, limit the original attack dice so they CANNOT be used to spread. This would give you an attack which can be used to hit from 1 to n targets (hexes), and always does the same damage to each.

d20 Skin In an effort to quash the "d20 System is easier than the Hero System" argument (although I still don't seem to have raised much enthusiasm for this beautiful system among my players), I use the following method to make characteristic, skill, and attack rolls "look like" they do in d20: 1.) There is no longer a set target number for rolls. Instead you have a bonus based on your Char, Skill, OCV, etc. This bonus applies to your actual roll, not a target number (the GM can change the difficulty based on environment and other conditions not related to your character). 2.) Characteristics give you a +Char/5 to a Char roll or related Skill roll. 3.) You want to roll HIGH (18 is good, 3 is bad). A "standard" difficulty for a roll is 12+ (exactly equivalent to 9-, which is a Char roll if the Char is 0). 3.) If a character does not have a skill (including non-familiarity with a weapon), (s)he gets -3 to -5, depending on the complexity of the task, if a roll is possible at all. 4.) Familiarity with a skill gives you only a -1 to your roll (difference between 9- and 8-). The full skill gives you a +2 for Background Skills, or your Char bonus (+Char/5) for other skills. The normal Character Point progression for skills, skill levels, Per rolls, etc. apply to skill bonuses. 5.) For combat, your OCV (plus combat levels, maneuver bonus/penalty, etc.) is the bonus to your roll. The difficulty is 10+DCV of the target (this is a 10+, equivalent to an 11-, for a DCV of 0). To summarize: Char roll: +Char/5 Standard difficulty: 12+ Unfamiliar skill: -3 to -5 (if roll even possible) Familiar skill: -1 Background Skill (proficient): +2, 1 CP for +1 Characteristic-based Skill (proficient): +Char/5, 2 CPs for +1 Standard difficulty: 12+ Attack: +OCV+maneuver (-3 if unfamiliar) Standard difficulty: 10+DCV (or 10+OCV for blocks) Opposed skill rolls: your roll+bonus must equal or exceed the other character's roll+bonus. NOTE: This does NOT change the system in the slightest. All probablilities and costs are exactly the same. It is merely a different (more familiar, I suppose) presentation.