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Page reference? The Block maneuver allows you to block both HtH and Ranged attacks aimed at you or someone adjacent to you (with an additional -2 penalty when blocking for someone else). The GM might require you to have an object to block or they may just levy a penalty. That's up to the individual GM based on the SFX and genre involved. In my own examples, I illustrated how this varies from genre to genre (see post 54). As we seem to mainly be talking about Superheroes here, I would think most reasonable GMs would allow a Block roll at a penalty rather than flat out denying a block if you don't have an object of opportunity to block with. There are many examples in superhero comics where heroes slap arrows aside and even catch bullets with their bare hands (never mind slapping aside gun barrels in close combat). However, I have stated several times that all of this is a GM call, just as the rules state. The rules do not state a hard requirement of needing an object to block with. The rules clearly place that into the realm of GM call. Feel free to post a question to the Rules Question forum to see if an object is required. I strongly suspect that Steve Long will state that it's up to the GM.

I suspect folks were thinking of the various non-champs genre books for Missile Deflection requiring a focus (Star Hero for example). I am mildly curious as to if 1e had any further differences.

That argument generally applies whether the attacks are in a Multipower or not. To the original poster, yes, Multipowers are less of a restriction if you only put attack powers in them, but there is still some reduction in flexibility as mentioned by previous posters. Theoretically, you could modify the Slot Cost for powers based on if they were Instant vs Continuous but I doubt anyone really wants to get into that level of fiddly math.

To block ranged attacks with or without a focus only costs a penalty on the Block roll (same as for blocking a HtH weapon with your bare hands). If you have an object to block with, that penalty will be less. The amount of the penalty is assessed by the GM, just like with so many other penalties to attacks and skills. If you want a power to allow you to block more reliably, you need to talk to your GM about what what would be sufficient to cancel these penalties. That's no different than asking the GM what the CV, DC or DEF ranges are for a given campaign. The option at the end of the Block rules on page 149 of CC suggests a starting penalty of -4 to block ranged attacks, so you'd want at least +4 OCV Only to Block Ranged Attacks (I'd rate that at -1 1/2 for 20 AP and 8 RC [2 CP per level, same as a CSL with Block would cost]). Now, where I do disagree with the rules is the statement that CSLs bought with Block only ever apply to HtH. I'd allow CLSs with Block to apply to both by default, just like CSLs with Dodge would apply to both, but that's a House Rule.

I'm confused. What costs 20 character points with a focus?

For folks wanting to pay points in order to reliably block ranged attacks, you can also look into Combat/Penalty Skill Levels or OCV bought specifically to counter penalties for blocking ranged attacks. Likewise for blocking armed attacks while unarmed.

Looking at my copy of Champs 3e, the Missile Defection power had the following differences: DEX roll rather than a Block roll. Thrown objects at base, with Bullets and Any as adders (no mention of where shrapnel falls in that list). Cannot deflect anything heavier than half max lift. No mention of a required focus. The write-up in Justice Inc. is similar but only allows "low-velocity projectiles like knives, arrows, spears, etc." However, it does mention getting a size-based bonus for using an object to perform the deflection. In 3e Star Hero, Missile Deflection is a Device power. It does not show up under Alien or Mental powers. I couldn't find it in Robot Warriors. So, the rules for Missile Deflection changed from book to book prior to 4e.

PMed

Which is perfectly understandable. Different people have different priorities in gaming and if a game has a rule that doesn't fit one's play style, house ruling has a long and storied tradition. Heck, I've got about three pages of rules changes of my own for a supers campaign I'm planning.

You don't necessarily need a focus; you'll just take a penalty. Same as attempting to block a sword with your bare hands.

One other thing might be to look at the Snap Shot maneuver and define the wand as providing CV bonuses only when using that maneuver.

If you require a skill roll and extra time to cast spells, you could define a wand as providing PSLs to counter 'rushed casting' penalties. Alternatively, you could define spells with a Variable Limitation: Extra Time or OAF (Wand).

Not unlike Normal Characteristics Maximum, where a character in one game pays 20 points to have a 30 STR but someone in another pays 30. Likewise for a game where a character with a 18 in INT pays 11 points into Computer Programming and do basically anything computer related at 17-, but an 18 INT character in a cyberpunk game might have to pay for all the possible sub skills and pay way more. It can also be looked at like the old 60 point lawyer debate -- do you just buy KS: Law and PS: Lawyer or do you have to buy separate KSes for each type of Law? The answer is, are you playing Law And Order, the game? There's no guarantee that points will be balanced across different campaigns. It depends on the ground rules set by the GM and the type of game being played.

I don't find it confusing. The GM assesses a penalty to the block roll based on what is being blocked, what is being used to block and genre. So, a knight using his shield to block a thrown spear in a Arthurian game would have no penalty and be -2 for an arrow. A samurai cutting an arrow with his katana in a chanbara game would only be -1. Captain Flag has no penalties to block bullets with his shield. Mike Hammer has no chance to block bullet's at all in a noir detective game. Basically, it's a campaign decision like DC limits.

As soon as someone takes any damage or uses any END, the stick becomes viable. It's just not a good first strike option.

Having rolled 7 ones on 12 dice on more than one occasion, I feel your pain. Heck, my game group one bought me new dice because they thought mine were defective. Didn't help.

Ego rolls are also used to breakout of various mental powers, which MD does not. That's one reason why a mentalist would want Ego rather than just MD. Additionally, mental power init order is based on Ego rather than Dex (might be an optional rule). As for skill levels, keep in mind that they only apply to one thing at a time, so if you find yourself doing multiple things at once (like driving while using fast draw to reload your gun), you'll definitely be better off with a higher raw stat. As for be price of Dex, during the 6e rules debate, the discussion that I recall centered more around whether or not Int should also be 2 per since Int providing PER Roll could be counted as equivalent to the Dex init bonus.

The big difference is that the odds are different. Everyone has the same odds of rolling a 3. The odds of the 8- guy succeeding by more than the 17- are much less than the converse. In fact, if the 17- guy rolls 11 or less, it's impossible for the 8- guy to succeed by more.

Area effect attacks must roll to hit the target point (DCV 3 normally but 0 in this case because it's within 2 meters). If you miss, the attack scatters. The most it can scatter by is 1/2 the distance to the target. Half of 0 is 0, therefore, in this instance, the attack roll is a formality.

BTW,the cost of Skill Levels is higher for DEX-based skills than for other types. All skill levels were repriced with 6e.

It was a multi-step process over a few different campaigns: 1) Crit on 3 is completely random and ignores character skill. We didn't care for that, as we felt it broke verisimilitude to have a rank amateur (FAM 8-) and a world-class master (17-) have exactly the same odds of a critical success. So we looked for alternative options. 2) We tried rolling half or less of what you need. At that point, max damage was coming up way too often and it made OCV much more important than DCs except at extreme differences. 3) We changed the crit effect to 1s and 2s count as 3s and found the balance much better. However, we found that computing half what you needed to roll plus the act of remembering 1s and 2s were 3s to be a bit cumbersome. 4) So, we came up with the idea that three-of-a-kind counted as a crit (success or failure) and that the effect of +4DCs both worked reasonably elegantly for our tastes as a crit-success effect.

Seems reasonable to me. I'm also in the camp of not liking max damage on crits due to how excessive it gets. One thing we tried for a while was counting all 1s and 2s as 3s on a crit but ulitmately decided on the free haymaker (+4DCs) as we found it quicker and easier in play.

I would add Reigning in the KA Stun Lotto End of DEX/SPD inflation (due to uncoupling figured chars) Unifying the different rules for how size impacts DCV Unifying the different rules for multiple attacks

What's the actual goal of the defensive t-port? Is it just supposed to make him harder to hit? If so, I'd do that with DCV Levels and just call the SFX a t-port. If it makes him basically impossible to hit, I'd build it off Desolid. If the movement is a hard requirement, then you're looking at a Triggered move.

For the random targeting I'd look at some combination of activation roll, continuous and possibly non-selective to go with the area effect. As soon as someone ends up within the field, the activation roll would determine if the t-port goes off. You may also need an advantage to make the aoe move with your character.