Effect

EFFECTS

The below are the rules describing how Effects work and how they are used to build Powers.

EFFECT COSTS
Effects are acquired in ranks, like ranks for other traits. The more ranks an Effect has, the greater its effect. Each Effect of a power has a standard cost per rank. The number of ranks you can buy in an Effect is capped at 2 x Tier Rank. Ranks from a Clan Effect are ignored when determining this cap. As long as each individual Multi Effect does not have Ranks that exceed the cap, you can have a total Rank that exceeds the cap. If you have Ranks in the Awakened Edge (or Benefit: Technology) you can exceed this cap by 2 x Ranks in the Awakened Edge (or Benefit: Technology), but these effects must be Supernatural (or Technological).

EFFECT TYPES
Effects fall into certain categories or Effect Types. Effects of the same type follow similar rules and provide descriptors for certain other Effects. This section discusses the different Effect Types and the rules governing them.

Attack
Attack Effects are used offensively in combat. They require an Attack Check and damage, hinder, or otherwise harm their target in some way. Attack Effects require a standard action to use. Their duration is usually instant although their results—whether damage or some other hindrance—may linger until the target recovers. Attack Effects always allow for a Resistance Check.

Control
Control Effects grant the user influence over something, from the environment to the ability to move objects or even create them out of thin air. Control Effects require a standard action to initiate, but can then usually be sustained. Control Effects used against unwilling targets usually require an Attack Check and allow a Resistance Check, the same for the hazards they are capable of causing, such as creating intense cold or dropping a heavy object on someone.

Defense
Defense Effects protect in various ways, typically offering a bonus to Resistance Checks, or granting outright immunity to particular Effects or conditions. Most Defense Effects work only on the user and are subtle and permanent, functioning at all times. Some are activated and sustained as a free action, meaning they can switch on or off, but can potentially leave the user unprotected.

General
General Effects don’t fit into any other particular category. They’re not governed by any special rules other than those given in the Effect’s description.

Movement
Movement Effects allow characters to get around in various ways. Some provide a speed rank with a particular form of movement—such as ground, air, or water—while others offer different modes of movement, like walking on walls or slithering along the ground like a snake. Although activating a Movement Effect is typically a free action, the character must still take a move action in order to actually move using the Effect.

Sensory
Sensory Effects enhance or alter the senses. Some Sensory Effects improve the user’s senses while others grant entirely new senses or fool the senses in some way. Sensory Effects are typically a free action to activate and sustain, or are permanent and always in effect. Senses are grouped into sense types, descriptors for how different sensory effects work. The sense types, and some of the senses included in them, are:

Visual: Normal sight, darkvision, infravision, low-light vision, microscopic vision, ultravision, X-Ray vision

Auditory: Normal hearing, sonar (accurate ultrasonic), ultrasonic hearing

Olfactory: Normal smell and taste, scent

Tactile: Normal touch, tremorsense

Mental: mental awareness, Mind Reading, Precognition, Postcognition

Special: This is the catchall for other sensory descriptors not given above, including unusual senses or exotic descriptors like cosmic, gravitic, magical, radio, and so forth.

HOW EFFECTS WORK

Using Effects is a fairly simple matter. Some Power’s Effects work automatically. Others—particularly those affecting other people—require some effort to use, like an Attack Check or a Power Check. Powers affecting others allow Resistance Checks against their effects.

Power Checks
In some cases, you may be required to make an Power Check to determine how well an Effect works. A Power Check is a Skill Check just like any other check, using the Character’s Primary Skill or some other designated Skill, plus the Effect’s rank, applied as Advantage or Disadvantage as additional modifiers, against a difficulty class set by the Effect or Gamemaster.

Routine Power Checks
Many Effects allow for routine checks involving their use, generally specified in the Effect’s description (see Routine Checks in Rules).

Opposed Power Checks
In some cases, usually when one Effect is used directly against another, or against a particular trait like a Skill or Defense, an opposed check is called for (see Opposed Checks in Rules).

EFFECT PARAMETERS

Each Effect has certain parameters that describe the time needed to use the Effect, the subject or target, the distance it works at, and so forth. The basic Effect parameters are Action, Range, and Duration.

ACTION
Using or activating an Effect requires a particular amount of time (see Actions in Rules). Modifiers may change the action needed to use an effect.

Standard: Using the Effect requires a standard action.

Move: Using the Effect requires a move action.

Quick: It requires a quick action to use or activate the Effect. Once an Effect is activated or deactivated, it remains so until your next turn.

Free: It requires a free action to use or activate the Effect. Once an Effect is activated or deactivated, it remains so until your next turn. As with all free actions, the GM may limit the total number of Effects a hero can turn on or off in a turn.

Reaction: It requires no action to use the Effect. It operates automatically in response to something else, such as an attack.

None: It requires no action to use the Effect. It is always active.

RANGE
Each Effect has a default range, which may be changed by modifiers.

Personal: The Effect works only on you, the user.

Close: The Effect can target anyone or anything you can touch. Touching an unwilling subject requires a Close Attack Check against a subject’s Defense.

Ranged: The Effect works at a distance, limited by perception and path and requiring a Ranged Attack Check against a subject’s Defense. A Ranged Effect has a starting range of Rank 0 (30 feet), but attacks can be made at futher ranges, for every additional Rank in range added, you suffer -1 Disadvantage to Attack and Damage up to a maximum of 5 ranks. In addition Ranged effects used at Close Range provoke attacks of opportunity.

Court: The Effect works at a short distance, limited by yours and the subject’s perception, and typically requires a Court Attack Check against a subject’s Defense. The subject does not necessarily need to be able to perceive the attacker or the effect depending on other modifiers. A Court Effect uses the communication ranges found under the Communication Effect, and has a range of Rank 1 (Anywhere within the immediate vicinity, or around 120 feet).

Gossip: The Effect works at a great distance, limited by an appropriate medium and knowledge of the subject, and typically requires a Gossip Attack Check against a subject’s Defense. A Gossip Effect uses the communication ranges found under the Communication Effect, and has a starting range of Rank 2 (Anywhere within the same city), but attacks can be made at futher ranges dependent on yours or the target’s tier, for every additional Rank in range added, you suffer -1 Disadvantage to Attack and Damage up to a range equal to the higher tier, or a maximum of 5 ranks. In addition Gossip effects used at a range of Rank 1 (Anywhere within the immediate vicinity, or around 120 feet) provoke attacks of opportunity.

DURATION
Each Effect lasts for a particular amount of time, which may be changed by modifiers.

Instant: When used, the Effect occurs and ends in the same turn, although its results may linger.

Concentration: You can keep a concentration Effect going by taking a standard action each round to do so. If you are incapable of taking the necessary action, or simply choose not to, the Effect ends.

Sustained: You can keep a sustained Effect going by taking a free action each round to do so. If you are incapable of taking the necessary action, or simply choose not to, the Effect ends.

Continuous: The Effect lasts as long as you wish, without any action required on your part. Once active, it stays that way until you choose to deactivate it (a free action).

Permanent: The Effect is always active and cannot be deactivated, even if you want to.

NOTICING POWER EFFECTS
Effects with a duration of instant, concentration, or sustained must be noticeable in some way. For example, a Blast effect might have a visible beam or make a loud noise or both. Some effects are quite obvious, such as Flight, Insubstantiality, Growth, or Shrinking. Effects with a continuous or permanent duration are not noticeable by default. If an instant, concentration, or sustained effect’s base duration is changed using modifiers, the effect remains noticeable. A continuous or permanent effect made instant, concentration, or sustained also becomes noticeable. The Subtle modifier can make noticeable powers difficult or impossible to detect. Conversely, the Noticeable modifier makes a normally subtle effect noticeable or a noticeable effect almost impossible not to notice.

RESISTANCE CHECK
Effects targeting other characters allow a Resistance Check. The Defense used and the difficulty class depend on the Effect and its modifiers.

Willing characters can forgo their Resistance Check against an Effect, if they wish. This includes characters who think they’re receiving a beneficial Effect, even if they’re not! You can’t forgo Toughness Checks, but you may choose to discontinue the use of effects with a duration of Continuous or Sustained that grant Advantage to Toughness in order to lower your Resistance.

The Immunity Effect allows characters to ignore certain Effects altogether, removing the need for a Resistance Check.

COUNTERING EFFECTS

In some circumstances the Effects of one power may counter another, negating it. Generally for two Effects to counter each other they must have the same or opposed descriptors. For example, light and darkness powers can counter each other as can heat and cold, water and fire, and so forth. The GM is the final arbiter as to whether or not an Effect with a particular descriptor can counter another. The Nullify Effect can counter any Effect of a particular descriptor!

HOW COUNTERING WORKS
To counter an Effect, you must take the ready action. In doing so, you wait to complete your action until your opponent tries to use a power. You may still move, since ready is a standard action.

You must be able to use the readied Effect as a standard action or less. Effects usable as a reaction do not require a ready action; you can use them to counter at any time. Effects requiring longer than a standard action cannot counter during action rounds (although they may be able to counter ongoing Effects, see the following section).

If an opponent attempts to use a power you are able to counter, use your countering Effect as your readied action. You and the opposing character make Power Checks. If you win, your two powers cancel each other out and there is no Effect from either. If the opposing character wins, your attempt to counter is unsuccessful. The opposing Effect works normally.

COUNTERING ONGOING EFFECTS
You can also use one Power to counter the ongoing Effect of another, or other lingering results of an instant Effect (like flames ignited by a fiery Damage Effect). This requires a normal use of the countering Effect and an opposed check, as above. If you are successful, you negate the Effect (although the opposing character can attempt to reestablish it normally).

INSTANT COUNTERING
You can use Surge to attempt to counter an Effect as a reaction, without the need to ready an action to do so.

LIST OF EFFECTS

Name	Type	Action	Range	Duration	Resistance	Base Cost
Affliction	Attack	Standard	Close	Instant	Fort or Will	1 per rank
Avert	Defense	Standard	Ranged	Instant	-	1 per rank
Burrow	Movement	Free	Personal	Sustained	-	1 per rank
Communication	Sensory	Free	Rank	Sustained	-	4 per rank
Comprehend	Sensory	None	Personal	Permanent	-	2 per rank
Concealment	Sensory	Quick	Personal	Sustained	-	2 per rank
Conviction	Defense	None	Personal	Permanent	-	2 per rank
Create	Control	Standard	Ranged	Sustained	-	2 per rank
Damage	Attack	Standard	Close	Instant	Toughness	1 per rank
Deflect	Defense	Standard	Ranged	Instant	-	1 per rank
Elongation	General	Quick	Personal	Sustained	-	1 per rank
Enhanced Trait	General	Free	Personal	Sustained	-	As base trait
Environment	Control	Standard	Rank	Sustained	-	1-2 per rank
Extra Limbs	General	None	Personal	Permanent	-	1 per rank
Feature	General	None	Personal	Permanent	-	1 per rank
Flight	Movement	Free	Personal	Sustained	-	2 per rank
Growth	General	Quick	Personal	Sustained	-	2 per rank
Healing	General	Standard	Close	Instant	-	2 per rank
Illusion	Control	Standard	Court	Sustained	Will	1-4 per rank
Immortality	Defense	None	Personal	Permanent	-	4 per rank
Immunity	Defense	None	Personal	Permanent	-	1 per rank
Insubstantial	Defense	Quick	Personal	Sustained	-	5 per rank
Leaping	Movement	Free	Personal	Instant	-	1 per rank
Luck Control	Control	Reaction	Court	Instant	-	2 per rank
Mind Reading	Sensory	Standard	Court	Sustained	Will	2 per rank
Morph	General	Quick	Personal	Sustained	-	5 per rank
Move Object	Control	Standard	Ranged	Concentration	Fortitude	2 per rank
Movement	Movement	Varies	Personal	Varies	-	2 per rank
Nullify	Attack	Standard	Ranged	Instant	Rank/Will	1 per rank
Protection	Defense	None	Personal	Permanent	-	2 per rank
Quickness	Movement	Free	Personal	Sustained	-	1 per rank
Regeneration	Defense	None	Personal	Permanent	-	2 per rank
Remote Sensing	Sensory	Quick	Rank	Sustained	-	1-4 per rank
Senses	Sensory	None	Personal	Permanent	-	1 per rank
Shrinking	General	Quick	Personal	Sustained	-	2 per rank
Speed	Movement	Free	Personal	Sustained	-	1 per rank
Summon	Control	Standard	Close	Sustained	-	2 per rank
Swimming	Movement	Free	Personal	Sustained	-	1 per rank
Teleport	Movement	Move	Personal	Instant	-	2 per rank
Transform	Control	Standard	Close	Sustained	-	2-5 per rank
Variable	Control	Standard	Personal	Sustained	-	7 per rank
Weaken	Attack	Standard	Close	Instant	Fort or Will	1-2 per rank
Custom	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other	-	-	-	-	-	-