massey

I disagree.  That would make it more expensive than just having the extra damage all the time.

I disagree.  That would make it more expensive than just having the extra damage all the time.

You seem to suggest that it's an either/or scenario when, in reality, one can very readily create a character with an eye toward both concept AND efficiency.  This was rather the point of the Goodman School of Cost Effectiveness blurbs -- i.e. They reminded players building to concept not to forget about efficiency.

Here's my suggestion:
 
Build it with Absorption into energy blast non-persistent, attack action to maintain (probably a -1 to -2 limitation), succor (-1) but do not add the advantage absorption as a defense.  The energy blast should be outside of any multipower and should probably have an extra time limitation extra phase.  Add in a couple of levels only with the energy blast.
 
Note, this will not work exactly like the bide in the Pokemon games, as those games use different mechanics, but it should simulate the feel of the Bide maneuver.  You persevere under a couple of attacks then let loose with a bigger power.
 
Pikachu is biding.  Since he is biding, it ends his phase.  While he can allocate levels to not get hit, he can't dodge or block.
Geodude attacks with an 8d6 attack.  Pikachu is hit and absorbs 8 body.
Pikachu continues to bide ending his next phase.
Geodude attacks again with an 8d6 attack.  Pikachu absorbs another 8 body.
Pikachu is pikapissed and decides to attack.  Pikachu fires off his normal 8d6 blast in his multipower of attacks and the 1d6 outside of the multipower.  This normally would only do 9d6, but from the bide he gains another 3d6.  The lightning bolt strikes for 12d6 damage and because he stops biding, the points gained from biding fade at the end of the phase.
 
 

Alright alright alright.

This is a strange thing.  Light existing in a hex means that folk many hexes away can see what is in the hex.  The light you produce in a hex (by its nature) does not stay in place - it moves and allows you to see well outside the hex.  Producing light therefore is a special effect of something else in game mechanics.  I don't like the use of images as a way of producing light, it seems the wrong way round in HERO terms.  And because of this, it doesn't really work well.  My direct response would be that, if you buy Images, only for light, then you do indeed need to buy the entire area it covers.  If you buy your light spell with only one hex, then you will not be able to see further than the hex you bought. If you lean on SFX to say that the SFX of light allows the light to travel and you can see further away than you purchased then you are getting significant added effect on the very thing you purchased in the first place.  I would be more content with using a 1D6 STUN only blast with light SFX to provide light....that way at least the lean on SFX is to the side of the main power rather than the exact same thing...though this solution would be purchasing a completely different effect to deliver the desired result.
 
In HERO you are supposed to reason from effect.  The effect I am trying to produce is to allow everyone in an area to be able to see better (in effect, to stop them being affected by the environmental effect of being in darkness).  I much prefer to use Change Environment to provide skill levels to cancel out the effect of darkness on perception rolls and CV, providing people within that area to fight and see things.  The special effect is an area of light.  The downside of that special effect is that people in the darkness, well outside the area of effect you purchase in Change Environment, will be able to see you and target you.
 
Doc

So, with the meaningful college football season now over, Oklahoma finished 12-2. In the plus column they moved up to 38th in overall defense, up from 108th last year. Won a fifth consecutive conference championship. Made the playoffs (again). Beat texas. Third time starting QB got an invite to New York, although he didn't win this time. And even on an off year, the offense was all world again (4th in total offense).
 
On the minus column they got beat badly in the playoffs, worse than either of the last two losses by a country mile. And there is maybe 2 more years of rebuilding to fix the damage done by Mike "my brother is Bob" Stoops, the defensive talent level is that far back from other top teams. 
 
Still, none of that was shocking in a rebuilding year. If you'd asked me ahead of the season I'd probably have taken it. That's objectively a pretty good down cycle, now to see if they can keep it rolling next year. 

One possible way to model this - especially in 5e and earlier where figured stats are a thing - would be to buy additional PD/ED with the limitation - Only to prevent being stunned.
 
Since PD/ED also prevent BODY and STUN damage and the limited version wouldn't you'd probably be able to take a sizable limitation value on that (-1 to -1.5 ?).  Although, it wouldn't help at all against NND or mental attacks.

On the other hand, the Power "Cannot Be Stunned" is only like 15 points.  So really, anything over a 25 Con should arguably be free.

It made sense to me the first time I saw it, but I came to roleplaying from a wargaming background.  It made perfect sense to me that combat is broken up into sections and you might sometimes get an unrealistic result, because it's not somebody's turn to go yet.  Combat usually takes up the largest part of most rulebooks, so more complexity isn't always better.
 
In my mind, we get around this with held actions, everyone starting on segment 12, and the chance for surprise.  During the course of a fight, you aren't always ready to react at every instant.  Also, if you've got 30" of movement, you kind of are like the Flash.  Yeah, you're at the other end of a football field, but you can cover that distance in the time it takes me to get out of my chair.  One of your superpowers is moving fast.  In a comic book, you covering the distance to hit the other guy would be shown in one panel, and there would either be a streak of color behind you, or whoosh lines, or if you were a Batman type there'd be little afterimages showing you doing flips and bouncing off cars acrobatically to cover the distance.  To interrupt somebody in the middle of their panel, you need a held action.

But why is the rum gone?

Here's the way I generally see timing in combat.
 
Segment 12 -- Everyone gets to go, because everyone is generally aware that a fight is about to start.  The good guys see the bad guys, the bad guys see the good guys, everyone is ready.  Unless you're super-duper slow (Speed 1), you will get to act.  But no one has really had the chance to draw a bead on an opponent yet (i.e., holding action).  The closest you could come to representing that would just be to have the highest Dex and just going first.
 
Surprise actions -- I'm not even sure if this is in the rules, but we've played with it so long that our group does it this way.  If you really really get the drop on somebody, you can blast them outside of the normal combat sequence.  A sniper doesn't shoot on segment 12 -- he shoots before segment 12.  If people can detect you and get to you, then segment 12 will probably quickly follow.  You'll get to act again, because your first attack was outside of combat, and so it doesn't cost you a phase.  Imagine Batman leaping out of the shadows and kicking a goon in the face.  The next panel is Bats standing above this unconscious guy, posing menacingly while all the gangsters in the room react in shock.  This is a pre-segment 12 attack, and when combat begins in earnest we'll probably have Batman going first again (because he has the highest Dex).
 
Held actions -- Not everybody attacks as quickly as they can.  Particularly characters who have ranged attacks and not great movement, they may find it more helpful to wait when their action comes up rather than blazing away.  If Bob the goon has a 3 Speed and a shotgun, if he has no good targets on segment 4 (when he normally goes), he may decide to hold.  We allow people to hold generally (as opposed to something specific such as "when that guy comes around the corner").  Bob the goon can hold on phase 4, and as long as he acts before we hit segment 8 (his next phase), he's okay.  When our hero with 30" of Flight zooms over to punch a bad guy, Bob can shoot him before he gets there as long as he has a held action.  He might have to make a Dex roll-off, but he might get a bonus to that based upon why he was holding ("I'm waiting to see what Captain Meteor does, and I've got my shotgun ready").  This would allow normal people to shoot a hero who makes this giant movement.
 
 
As far as I'm concerned, as long as the game system allows you to mimic these cinematic fights, then it's doing its job.  It doesn't matter what the default setting is (if Bob can shoot Captain Meteor in mid-flight immediately, or if he has to declare he's holding action first), as long as he can do it somehow.  

It made sense to me the first time I saw it, but I came to roleplaying from a wargaming background.  It made perfect sense to me that combat is broken up into sections and you might sometimes get an unrealistic result, because it's not somebody's turn to go yet.  Combat usually takes up the largest part of most rulebooks, so more complexity isn't always better.
 
In my mind, we get around this with held actions, everyone starting on segment 12, and the chance for surprise.  During the course of a fight, you aren't always ready to react at every instant.  Also, if you've got 30" of movement, you kind of are like the Flash.  Yeah, you're at the other end of a football field, but you can cover that distance in the time it takes me to get out of my chair.  One of your superpowers is moving fast.  In a comic book, you covering the distance to hit the other guy would be shown in one panel, and there would either be a streak of color behind you, or whoosh lines, or if you were a Batman type there'd be little afterimages showing you doing flips and bouncing off cars acrobatically to cover the distance.  To interrupt somebody in the middle of their panel, you need a held action.

It must have been love, but it's over now. 

Is it bad that I'm already looking forward to an Ole Miss-Washington State bowl game? Because with those two coaches on the sidelines, it would have the potential to be incredibly entertaining.

OU was disinterested in the cotton bowl matchup, figured I'd borrow that from the SEC folks we thrashed in recent years. Good for the goose...

10D6 RKA, Area Effect.  Kill that rain dead.

Yeah, those are some rough matchups.  3 teams that were fighting for a playoff spot at the beginning of the weekend, a top 15 Notre Dame team, and the best service academy.  A bunch of really tough opponents.
 
And, you know, A&M.  Hard to take a team seriously after you've beaten them by 11 touchdowns.

It made sense to me the first time I saw it, but I came to roleplaying from a wargaming background.  It made perfect sense to me that combat is broken up into sections and you might sometimes get an unrealistic result, because it's not somebody's turn to go yet.  Combat usually takes up the largest part of most rulebooks, so more complexity isn't always better.
 
In my mind, we get around this with held actions, everyone starting on segment 12, and the chance for surprise.  During the course of a fight, you aren't always ready to react at every instant.  Also, if you've got 30" of movement, you kind of are like the Flash.  Yeah, you're at the other end of a football field, but you can cover that distance in the time it takes me to get out of my chair.  One of your superpowers is moving fast.  In a comic book, you covering the distance to hit the other guy would be shown in one panel, and there would either be a streak of color behind you, or whoosh lines, or if you were a Batman type there'd be little afterimages showing you doing flips and bouncing off cars acrobatically to cover the distance.  To interrupt somebody in the middle of their panel, you need a held action.

10D6 RKA, Area Effect.  Kill that rain dead.

But you know what my very favorite thing about this year's college football playoff discussion is?
 
That's right, it's the team we're not talking about.
 
#TrollTide 

With this defense the last two years, I think we'd be two time defending national champions.  Jalen Hurts may have great stats, but he's a turnover machine and can't consistently hit the deep ball.  Our offense this year is far more limited than the last two years.
 
With Baker and Kyler, OU's offense really was the best in the country, by a lot.  It's just that our defense was ridiculously bad at the same time.

I'm good with either Ohio State or LSU. Nice come back from the Buckeyes tonight, they are not as scary as before that game. With the new and improved defense for Oklahoma...
 

It made sense to me the first time I saw it, but I came to roleplaying from a wargaming background.  It made perfect sense to me that combat is broken up into sections and you might sometimes get an unrealistic result, because it's not somebody's turn to go yet.  Combat usually takes up the largest part of most rulebooks, so more complexity isn't always better.
 
In my mind, we get around this with held actions, everyone starting on segment 12, and the chance for surprise.  During the course of a fight, you aren't always ready to react at every instant.  Also, if you've got 30" of movement, you kind of are like the Flash.  Yeah, you're at the other end of a football field, but you can cover that distance in the time it takes me to get out of my chair.  One of your superpowers is moving fast.  In a comic book, you covering the distance to hit the other guy would be shown in one panel, and there would either be a streak of color behind you, or whoosh lines, or if you were a Batman type there'd be little afterimages showing you doing flips and bouncing off cars acrobatically to cover the distance.  To interrupt somebody in the middle of their panel, you need a held action.