POWERS
Although some heroes and villains rely solely on their Skills and Edges, most are set apart by their Extraordinary or Supernatural (or Technological) Powers. Characters can fight off groups of opponents, fly through the air, summon lightning, shoot fire from their fingertips, or any number of other amazing things. Here you will find out how you can create and build your own Powers using Effects, Modifiers, and Descriptors.
POWERS THAT AREN’T
“Powers” refer to all Extraordinary or Supernatural (or Technological) traits other than Abilities, Skills, and Edges. Whether a character with Powers is Supernatural (or Technological) or not is largely a matter of opinion and the descriptors used. For example, there are lots of characters with Extraordinary traits whose amazing Effects come from talent, training, luck, self-discipline, devices, or some similar Source instead of through more magical (or Technological) Sources. They’re still Powers in game terms, but they don’t necessarily mean the character is magical or Supernatural (or Technological).
Ultimately it’s up to the GM to decide if having certain Effects are Supernatural (or Technological) or Extraordinary depending on the nature of Powers in the setting. Only Supernatural (or Technological) effects can exceed Tier Rank x 2.
EFFECTS
A Power is made up of one or more Effects, possibly with different Modifiers, which increase or decrease the cost of the Effects, and Descriptors which help define the Power. Effects can be used to create any number of different Powers. A character with the Concealment Effect could use it to create a Power called Blending, Blur, Cloak, Invisibility, Shadowmeld, or anything else appropriate to the character you wish to play. It’s all a matter of how powerful the Effect is and what Modifiers have been placed on it to increase or decrease its performance. Another way to think of it is that Effects are the foundation Powers are built upon, and Modifiers the type of materials, while Descriptors are how you decorate them.
MODIFIERS
Modifiers change how an Effect works, making it more effective (an Extra) or less effective (a Flaw). Modifiers have Ranks, just like other traits. Extras increase a Effect’s cost while Flaws decrease it. Some Modifiers increase an Effect’s cost per rank, others apply an unchanging cost to the Effect’s total; these are called flat Modifiers.
DESCRIPTORS
The above rules explain what the various Powers do, that is, what their game Effects are, but it is left up to the player and Gamemaster to apply descriptors to define exactly what a Power is and what it looks (and sounds, and feels) like to observers beyond just a collection of game Effects.
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 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
LIST OF EXTRAS
| Name | Per Rank | Flat Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accurate | 1 | - | +1 Advantage to Attack per Effect rank |
| Affects Corporeal | - | 1-2 | Affects corporeal targets at half (1) or full (2) effect |
| Affects Insubstantial | - | 1-2 | Affects insubstantial targets at half (1) or full (2) effect |
| Affects Objects | 0-1 | - | Affects objects even if it normally wouldn’t |
| Affects Others | 0-1 | - | Personal effect works on others |
| Alternate Effect | - | 1-2 | Substitute one effect for another in a power |
| Alternate Resistance | 0-1 | - | Effect uses a different resistance |
| Area | 1 | - | Effect works on an area |
| Attack | 0 | - | Personal effect works on others as an attack |
| Contagious | 1 | - | Effect works on anyone coming into contact with its target |
| Decrease Action | 1-3 | - | Decreases an effect’s required action to use |
| Dimensional | - | 1-3 | Effect works on targets in other dimensions |
| Extended Range | - | 1 | Doubles ranged effect’s distances per rank |
| Feature | - | 1 | Adds a minor capability or benefit to an effect |
| Homing | - | 1 | Attack effect gains additional chances to hit |
| Impervious | 1 | - | Resistance ignores Advantage on either Attack or Effect with a score lower than it’s own |
| Increased Duration | 1-3 | - | Improves effect’s duration |
| Increased Mass | - | 1 | Effect can affect or carry a greater amount of mass |
| Increased Range | 0-3 | - | Changes the effect’s range |
| Incurable | - | 1 | Effect cannot be countered or removed using Healing or Regeneration |
| Indirect | - | 1-4 | Effect can originate from a point other than the user |
| Innate | - | 1 | Effect cannot be Nullified |
| Insidious | - | 1 | Result of the effect is more difficult to detect |
| Linked | - | 0 | Two or more effects work together as one |
| Multiattack | 1 | - | Effect can hit multiple targets or a single target multiple times |
| Penetrating | 1 | - | Effect ignores Advantage on either Resistance or Defense with a score lower than it’s own |
| Precise | - | 1 | Effect can perform delicate and precise tasks |
| Reach | - | 1 | Extend effect’s reach by 5 feet per rank |
| Reversible | - | 1 | Effect can be removed at will as a free action |
| Ricochet | - | 1 | Attacker can bounce effect to change direction |
| Secondary Effect | 1 | - | Instant effect works on the target twice |
| Selective | 1 | - | Resistible effect works only on the targets you choose |
| Sleep | 0 | - | Effect leaves targets asleep rather than incapacitated |
| Split | - | 1 | Effect can split into multiple, smaller, effects |
| Subtle | - | 1-2 | Effect is less noticeable (1 point) or not noticeable (2 points) |
| Sustained | 0 | - | Makes a permanent effect sustained |
| Triggered | - | 1 | Effect can be set for later activation |
| Variable Descriptor | - | 1-2 | Effect can change descriptors |
LIST OF FLAWS
| Name | Per Rank | Flat Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Activation | - | -1-3 | Effect requires an action to activate |
| Check Required | - | -1-3 | Must succeed on a check to use effect |
| Decreased Duration | -1-3 | - | Decreases the duration of the Effect |
| Diminished Range | - | -1 | Reduces short, medium, and long ranges for the effect |
| Distracting | -1 | - | Vulnerable while using effect |
| Fades | -1 | - | Effect loses 1 rank each time it is used |
| Feedback | -1 | - | Suffer damage when your effect’s manifestation is damaged |
| Grab-Based | -1 | - | Effect requires a successful grab attack to use |
| Inaccurate | - | -1 | Effect is hard to control or wildly inaccurate |
| Increased Action | -1-3 | - | Increases action required to use effect |
| Limited | -1-2 | - | Effect loses about half its effectiveness or more |
| Noticeable | -1 | - | Effect is distinctly noticeable |
| Permanent | -1 | - | Effect cannot be turned off |
| Quirk | - | -1 | A minor flaw attached to an effect. The opposite of a Feature |
| Reduced Range | -1 | - | Effects double the disadvantage gained per range increment |
| Removable | - | -1-2* | Effect can be taken away from the user |
| Resistible | -1 | - | Effect gains a resistance check |
| Sense-Dependent | -1 | - | Target must be able to perceive the effect for it to work |
| Side Effect | -1-2 | - | Failing to use the effect causes a problematic side effect |
| Tiring | -1 | - | Effect causes a level of fatigue when used |
| Uncontrolled | -1 | - | You have no control over the effect |
| Unreliable | -1 | - | Effect only works about half the time (roll of 11 or more) |
