Scott Anderson

What happens to a Special Power when you put the Costs END Limitation on it? Does it become a Standard Power?

See, now that's useful! Thanks.

I wouls say, 12 levels of Microscopic. People can see things that are 10^-3 meters, so 15-3 = 12. For Normal Sight, that's 36 Active Points; for Sight Group, it's 60. At that cost, it only makes sense to plonk such a power into some sort of a Variable Power Pool; it doesn't even make sense to put it in a Multipower for most characters. This is especially true because it doesn't seem to have any strong in-game use, unless there's something juicy I'm missing.

A character can see subatomic particles. He can see cells, molecules, atoms, protons, neutrons and electrons. In my opinion, there are at least two ways to build it. The first way to build it is to brute-force it, with lots of Microscopic for Sight Group. But how much Microscopic is enough to see electrons? The second way to build it is as a Detect (Sight Group). If we were to say that the "Microverse" is a different "dimension" like it is in some comic book universes, we have a third way to build the power: Clairsentience might be the way to go. So. Question #1: Does this power have any in-game use of some great value? If so, what kinds of things is it good for? Question #2: How do you build it?

A Dex or Con Drain might have the special effect of spinning someone around until they're very dizzy or throw up. In this special effect, it seems like an obvious power to me?

In this thread, we will pose challenges to one another to build superheroes and supervillains based on only a name. 5th Edition and 6th Edition builds are fair game. While 250-350 points is the baseline, any number of points is OK if that's what you need to make a particular character work. Any origin, any motivation, any power, and any complication are fair game. To begin, I present the name of a superbeing: Terrapin. Build this character!

I based a superhero on 1938 Superman. I gave him some Life Support and some super-senses, and he came out to 350 points quite neatly. 345 points just tumbled out without any fiddling, actually. Maybe that neatness is why I like 1938 Superman. The other interesting thing is that Mr. Incredible seems to me be a modern take on 1938 Superman. A prodigious strength score, great leaping ability, but nothing out of line with Superman of that era. Probably a coincidence, but pretty interesting.

Let us assume that 1938 Superman has a SPD of 5, representing slight super-reflexes. To travel slightly greater than 126 MPH at base x2 NCV, he would need base inches of Running equal to 36"; at 60 points above base, a very point-hungry power (that's 133 mph.) to make 133 MPH at x4 NCV, he would need 18" of Running. That's 29 active points. If we assume he normally moves at rather pedestrian running speed, we can spend 16 points to give him 9" Running with a x8 NCM. He is able to leap "1/8th of a mile" (660') and "hurdle a 20-story building (about 350'). His base STR gives him a vertical hurdle of 4" (26') and a horizontal leap of 8" (52'). Staggeringly, he needs an additional 100" of leaping (!) noncombat to get to his marks! Let's bring a bit of physics to the party, and say a leap of 660' would take about five seconds to complete (a 350' hurdle, too, for the sake of system compliance). At the aforementioned SPD 5, that allows for two doublings, or a x4 NCM. Therefore the target base Leaping number is not 54, but a more manageable 26". 26 (target) - 8 (base) = 14. 14 x4 NCM costs an affordable 19 points, and makes more physical sense, too. In fact, let us use the Accurate Adder for an additional 5 points in order to make sure his leaps are "Super" accurate. 1938 Superman can also "raise great weights," and is shown lifting about six and a half tons in the story. A 35 STR would just barely be able to heft that much weight. To be sure he can pick it up and move it around, let's give him a clear superhuman STR of 40. Finally "nothing short of a bursting she'll can penetrate his skin." According to FREd, a bursting shell would deal 4d6 to 6d6 Killing damage. Therefore, let us say his invulnerability is at the bottom to middle of that range: 20rPD and 20rED. This allows him to safely bounce bullets off his chest without being utterly secure to the heaviest weapons available to Normals.

Every superhero is powerful to defeat his current enemy, The real Superman Problem is that he's a boring dork in both identities.

Well we've gotten far afield from the original concept. I take full credit for that, because I posted an incorrect subject line. At some point, I may post The Whirler, a 250 point villain to use in your Golden Age and low-powered campaigns.

It makes me feel so old that Harley is old enough to have an "old school" version

This is such a clunky idea that I still have not figured out exactly the way I want to build it. I suspect that I'll have to put it on the shelf and come back to it with fresh eyes some day.

I'm thinking of a Golden Age-style supervillain with the dubious power of spinning around at a pedestrian 120 RPM. Super-speed powers are straight out. So are the powers of The Top and the Human Top, not to mention Whirlwind's. So far, I have come up with 360 Degree Vision, Costs END (-1/2) Defense Maneuver IV, Costs END (-1/2), Linked to 360 Degree Vision (-1/2) and 25 pts Power Defense, Only to Counteract Adjustment Powers with the Special Effect of Spinning the Target (-1 1/2). There's probably something I could do with "gyroscopic balance"... a high Breakfall roll with Costs END and Linked? Maybe something with added dice with Move-By. Probably an Environmental Movement or two, Costs END. What other super (?) powers could such a villain possess?

Fun Gus is not as fun as his name would suggest.

That's exactly what I was thinking about. good deduction.

I am thinking of a device that looks like this: there is a ranged energy weapon housed in a gauntlet. The weapon's power source is housed in a belt. The power source can be set to "overload," and will then explode a short time later. If that happens, the gauntlet-housed weapon is rendered useless until the power source is replaced. There are two attacks here: the gauntlet's energy blast and the exploding belt. But the belt also has an END reserve, or possibly holds the Charges for the gauntlet. If it matters, I favor the Charges option. How do we build this contraption? This is what I have come up with. It doesn't really feel right to me: 25 Energy Blast 10d6 vs. ED (electricity). 10 Charges (-1/4), Limited Range (10", -1/4), OIF (gauntlet and belt, -1/2). Active 50, Real 25. 15 Energy Blast 8d6. Explosion (+1/2), Tine Delay (+1/4). 1 Charge (-2). Limited Power (using this power disables the use of gauntlet Energy Blast until the belt is replaced, -1), OIF (belt power cell, -1/2). 70 Active, 15 Real.

The formatting is so pretty

Sounds like overkill, but let's go ahead and do it. HKA 4d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2), Autofire-5 (+1/2). Active points: 120 OIF (-1/2), Only vs Surprised Targets (-1/2). Real points: 60. I would give Only vs Surprised Targets a (-1), which results in a Real Cost of 48. But again, hitting something with 4d6 AP 2-5 times in a row seems like overkill.

So is Striking Appearance a 6E thing?

A Magic Power: Variable Limitations of (-1) or more: (usually Gestures, Incantations, Foci, Expendable Foci and Side Effects, -1/2).

So what's the power look like as a Change Environment? As a PRE attack? Both make some sense.

So we write it like this: I Keep Snake Repellant on My Utility Belt: Mind Control 6d6, based on CON (+1), Limited Class (ophidia, -1), Limited Effect ("be repelled!", -1/2). OIF (snake repellant aerosol spray, -1/2), 4 Charges (-1), No Range (-1/2) Active: 60, Real 13.

How do you build snake repellant as a power? My first thought is that it's Animal Handler (snakes), OIF, Charges... but that seems a little slow in a tight situation. What do you think?

The car in question is a 1969 Charger. I dont know whether it has anything resembling INT. PRE and COM yes, but probably not INT.

How do you model this bona fide superpower?