Steve Long

A. There is an optional rule pertaining to “healing from being Stunned” for Healing (see 6E1 233). That rule is not applicable to Absorption, even Absorption with the optional Healing Effect Advantage (APG 80). A1. If the GM decides to apply the optional rule for “Healing from being Stunned,” he can also decide what, if anything, a suddenly un-Stunned character can do. Personally I probably wouldn’t let him do anything, though if I did, Aborting to a defensive action might be the only thing I would allow. But every GM’s different. B. OK, let’s track through this. 1. That Communist bastard does 75 STUN, 20 BODY to Our Hero. 2. Per 6E1 166, first we apply the damage to Ultra’s defenses. He has 15 + 20 = 35 defense, plus 25% Damage Reduction. 2a. NOTE: I am assuming here that CC’s attack is Physical, though it doesn’t sound like it. If it’s Energy, then the 20 PD from Absorption wouldn’t factor in. But obviously you want it to factor in for purposes of the question, so that’s what I’m doing. 2b. Pursuant to the rules for layered defenses, APG 61, Damage Reduction applies last (absent some other layering issue taking effect, but this is complicated enough already). So 75 STUN - 35 defense = 40 STUN damage taken. 2c. The Damage Reduction now applies, reducing the 40 STUN to 30 STUN damage taken. 2d. Ultra only has 30 STUN, so he is now at 0 STUN and thus Knocked Out. 2e. The Absorption now applies. Since it affects a “defensive” Characteristic, the 20 BODY of effect is halved, so only “10 Character Points” feed into Ultra’s STUN. Since STUN costs 2 points per 1 Character Point, that means it feeds 20 STUN back to Ultra temporarily. He goes from 0 STUN to 20 STUN. This brings up a point that requires its own answer: Q: If a character is Stunned or Knocked Out from an attack that he can Absorb from, but the Absorption restores enough STUN to him to that he wouldn’t be Stunned or Knocked Out, what happens? A: Absorption cannot overcome the effect of being Stunned regardless of how much STUN it “heals” the character for; he still has to recover from being Stunned normally. However, if a character is Knocked Out and then restored to positive STUN via Absorption, the effects of being Knocked Out are immediately negated. 2f. Since, as stated on 6E2 106, a character who wakes up from being Knocked Out doesn’t also have to recover from being Stunned, Ultra is awake with 20 STUN and at full DCV. If he has a Phase, he can now act... once we deal with the Knockback. 3. Ultra now hits the wall, taking 35 STUN, 10 BODY damage. 3a. Since Ultra has already Absorbed up to his maximum effect (20 BODY) for this Segment, he no longer gets any defensive effect from his Absorption (see APG2 22 and further answer below). So he has 15 PD plus 25% Damage Reduction. The 15 PD applies first, reducing the damage to 20 STUN. Then Damage Reduction applies, reducing that to 15 STUN. Since Ultra only had 20 STUN, he now only has 5 STUN — but fortunately he’s not Stunned. Q: Just to clarify, how long does the defense provided by Defensive Absorption last? A: Defensive Absorption only applies as a defense against attacks from which the character can Absorb. If the character cannot Absorb from an attack — either because he’s used his maximum Absorption that Segment, it’s an attack the Absorption doesn’t apply to, or any other reason — then the Absorption provides no further defense that Segment. 3b. Ultra still has 30 END as far as I can tell, since neither Absorption nor Damage Reduction cost END. I think that covers everything. If I missed something, or overlooked something, please post a follow-up or PM me.

Intriguing -- and for some writers of the Punisher, at least, reasonably accurate. That's part of the problem analyzing the Punisher: there are an awful lot of takes on him that aren't necessarily compatible (at least not entirely).

Ron and I continue the fun with a blog talking about the potential secret mastermind behind it all. The not so secret cabal

No, it doesn't exclude anything. That's why I often use it (or a similar term, "game elements") rather than writing out Every. Single. Type. of. Ability a character can buy in the game. Though of course, the GM is free to exclude something from that definition if he prefers. For example, some GMs might only care about Powers, not about a Duplicate's Skills or Perks.

First, let me clarify something. I don’t think you were actually asserting this, but given your choice of wording I want to make sure anyone who reads this understands. Desoldification does not “grant immunity” to other characters to the Desolidified character’s attacks. It puts the Desolidified character in a state where he’s unable to affect the solid world. The difference is so subtle as to be meaningless most of the time, but I’d prefer to forestall any further questions about “immunity.” Similarly, the solid character isn’t “ignoring” the Desolidified character’s attacks. The Desolidified character is unable to touch/affect the solid character (and vice-versa). The solid character isn’t taking any action here, or making any affirmative choices. But yes, by putting Affects Desolidified on PD, that makes it possible for the Desolidified character to touch the solid character. Since the Desolidified character can now touch the solid character, he can affect him in any way he could with STR — Move By/Through, a punch, and so on. He cannot use other powers (such as Blast) unless the GM allows him to. Per the Rules FAQ: Q: Do all Advantages on Characteristics have to be naked Advantages? A: This is a situation where I think it’s safe to rely on gamers’ general common sense. (Famous last words. ) Nearly all Advantages on Characteristics are naked Advantages, but the GM can make exceptions if desired (though in most cases it’s a meaningless distinction). Obviously the Resistant Advantage is always in effect in nearly all cases, so thinking of it as a naked Advantage in the usual way doesn’t really make much sense. So the issue of turning the Affects Desolidified on PD on/off is up to the GM. Personally I would probably rule that it’s always on, but other GMs may differ. See 6E1 124-26 re: the Perceivability of powers. Once the GM determines the specifics of the power, he can use the rules there, on 6E1 314, and from the Rules FAQ answer above to determine the naked Advantage’s perceivability.

That's a judgment I leave entirely in the hands of the sagacious GM. There are so many possible permutations of "lesser" that I don't want to dive into the quicksand pit of giving answers to specific questions; that's what GMs are for. Note, however, that the text says "less powerful abilities" (emphasis added). That rule contemplates the Less Powerful Duplicate being less powerful in a broad, general sense — not just having one or two powers built on slightly fewer points (as in your STR example). And whether a Duplicate qualifies as Less Powerful is up to the GM.

First, let me clarify: I mis-spoke. I typed “BODY” when I meant to say “PD,” and I’ve gone back and changed the prior answer. This keeps things consistent with the rules for Bases, which apply such Advantages to PD/ED to create things like cells. The GM may also require characters to buy the Advantage for ED, depending on how he conceives of Desolidification working. Second, if a character with Growth wants to apply some Advantage to the abilities he gets from it -- for example, he wants to make his PD/ED Resistant -- he buys that as a naked Advantage for that aspect of STR, using that aspect's normal cost. See, e.g., 6E1 230 re: STR; the same logic applies to Growth's other abilities.

First, let me clarify: I mis-spoke. I typed “BODY” when I meant to say “PD,” and I’ve gone back and changed the prior answer. This keeps things consistent with the rules for Bases, which apply such Advantages to PD/ED to create things like cells. The GM may also require characters to buy the Advantage for ED, depending on how he conceives of Desolidification working. That dispenses with a number of your questions, I think, but I’ll answer the remaining ones. 1. If a character applies Affects Desolidified to his PD, it has precisely the effect I stated in my previous answer: it “prevent a Desolidified character from moving through you[.]” It does not in any way, shape, or form make him immune to attacks from Desolidified characters; it simply prevents them from moving through him the way they do through ordinary walls. 2. If a Desolidified character is unable to pass through something intangibly, he can make a Move Through/By against it, using the standard rules for those Maneuvers. 3. If a character wants to apply Affects Desolidified to his PD to prevent Desolidified characters from moving through him, he must buy it for his entire PD (unless the GM rules otherwise). He can’t buy it for just 1 PD, or some other fraction of his PD. If his PD is Resistant, Hardened, and/or Impenetrable, he must apply those Advantages to the naked Affects Desolidified Advantage as well. 4. Affects Desolidified has no effect when applied to STUN. 5. Doing this sort of thing is referred to frequently in the Base rules as a way to build, for example, cells that confine characters who have Desolidification. It’s up to the GM whether you could do something like that for an entire Base.

Not sure why that's happening, N-B; they're working fine for me. Just google for "doctor xaos comics madness" and it'll take you to the blog; you can then click back through the posts to find the ones I've participated in with Ron.

No. The Affects Desolidified Advantage is meaningless when applied to DI or Growth, and thus would be a waste of points. To be able to touch or hit a Desolidified character, buy Affects Desolidified for STR; to prevent a Desolidified character from moving through you, buy Affects Desolidified for PD.

1. That depends on the specifics. Typically it’s either specified in the Limitation’s description (for example, Lockout (can’t use any other light-based power while this power is in use; -½)) or is obvious with a quick look at the character sheet. With a power in the abstract like this, I can’t really tell. But I will say this: if you don’t specify what the Lockout applies to, I will feel no pity for you when the GM rules that it covers every other power you have. 2. See 6E1 348. If you have further questions after reading that, please post again.

No worries. If you do end up with a question, just start another thread.

Our latest blog post, looking at DKR, Year One, and Year Two: In Darkest Knight

That's a fair question, and while it verges ever so slightly into game design/philosophy, I think it's worth answering. This would be a great topic for the Discussion board if you want to talk about it further with the rest of Herodom. First, let's be clear: there is no "exception" involved in all this. Running, Leaping, and Swimming aren't Characteristics. They're simply discussed in the Characteristics section because every character has them, so that's the logical place to put the relevant information. So what the rules say is consistent across the board: a character can sell back as many Characteristics as he wishes, but not to 0 unless the GM permits this. If you think you have a good case for selling one or more Characteristics back to 0, take it to your GM -- maybe he'll agree with you. In fact, assuming he's a reasonable person, I bet he will IF your reasoning is sound. For example, if you think Captain Papyrus, the Hero Made of Paper!*, should have ED 0 based on the fact his body's made of living paper, I expect most GMs would let you sell his ED back to 0. I certainly would, because you've given me a solid rationale based on your character concept and power set. In the case of OMCV specifically, personally I have never permitted a sell-back to 0 based on the argument "I don't have mental powers so I don't need it." For one thing, I dislike that sort of gamist, exploit the rules for my own benefit, sort of thinking. For another, who says you won't ever have mental powers? You might get some temporarily as part of a scenario, for example, and your OMCV represents your inherent ability with them. Thus, if you look at the hundreds of 6E characters I've written up and published, none of them sell back their OMCV without a valid reason. Re: the DCV point you raised, remember that per 6E2 37, a character can lower his DCV to 0 if he chooses. But that's an individual choice made from combat to combat; unless the GM permits otherwise, he can't sell back his DCV below 1. *: Captain Papyrus, the Hero Made of Paper!, TM 2015 The Insane Mind of Steve, Inc. All rights reserved. Tune in every Saturday morning to see more of Captain Papyrus's fantastic adventures!

I’m going to rephrase the question more generically; please let me know if I’ve misunderstood you. Q: If a character uses a power with the special effect of “changing size or density” to literally get inside another character (such as Desolidification or Enter The Microverse), what happens if the “external character” then himself changes shape/physical state, moves in some way, uses the same power, or the like? A: There are so many possible iterations of this issue that ultimately the question has to be left for the GM to answer using common sense, dramatic sense, game balance sense, and consideration for the special effects involved. Here are a couple examples of likely answers: —if a character is Desolidified and “inside” (occupying the same physical space as) another character, if that character becomes Desolidified then they’re both standing there Desolidified. If that character moves, the Desolidified character is left behind (unless he has some power that would allow him to “hold onto” that character). If the movement in question is Enter The Microverse, the Desolidified character’s left standing there while that character becomes microscopically tiny. —if a character uses Enter The Microverse to get inside a character, and that character then uses Enter The Microverse himself, they’re typically going to end up right next to one another in the Microverse. The GM might rule that the first microscopic character takes some damage from this, but it’s just as likely that the “shrinking process” somehow subconsciously “ejects” him from the other character’s shrinking body.

There’s always an official answer. 1. The Multipower reserve points allocated to a slot remain allocated to that slot until changed. They don’t “reset to zero,” “fade away,” or “turn off” — until the character changes them, they continue to allocate to that slot. They may not be of any use (you can’t fire a Blast in your sleep ), but there they stay. 2. When a character uses a slot, that counts as “allocating points to it” for rules purposes, even if he didn’t actively re-assign reserve points to it. So in your example, when the character Teleports, he has in effect allocated points to his Teleportation slot, and thus cannot change it to Blast. 3. With the GM’s permission a character could take Nonpersistent as a Limitation for a Multipower reserve, with the two of them defining at what point the Multipower resets to a completely unallocated reserve unless the character does something. However, unless their definition is likely to actually hinder the character on a regular basis, at most that Limitation’s worth -0. As always, the GM is free to change any of these rules if doing so suits his own personal views or the nature of his campaign.

The book says point-blank, "Absorption offers no defense against an attack[.]" So yes, the character takes 5 BODY damage in this example. There is, however, an optional Advantage that does give Absorption some defensive capability -- see 6E1 166 for more information.

Since this isn't a rules question, I've moved it to the Discussion board. No worries about your English; it seems pretty good to me.

No. A character can only Abort to defend himself, not to defend another character. (Though of course, the GM could allow this if he wanted to, perhaps if the character succeeds with a Power Skill roll.) A character with Barrier could Abort to protect himself, and in so doing place or shape his Barrier so that it also protects another character — but he can only Abort if he himself has immediate need of the protection. If he’s not under attack himself in a way that would allow him to Abort, he cannot Abort just to protect another character.

I’m going to rephrase this just to make sure I understand what you’re asking. If I get it wrong, please post a follow-up or PM me, and I’ll try again. Q: If a character has an Instant attack with the Limitation Requires A Roll, and he makes a Multiple Attack, does he have to succeed with his Skill Roll for each attack, or just once for the entire Phase? A: The rules for the “Rolls Each Phase” form of Requires A Roll state that, “If the Required Roll succeeds... the character can use his Power that Phase[.]” Therefore if he succeeds with his Required Roll, he can use his attack more than once as part of a Multiple Attack; he doesn’t have to make one Skill Roll per attack in that Phase.

Since there is no intonation in a post, rest assured that I am saying this humorously, not snarkily or in a mean way. That sounds like one of those yummy deserts that they wheel out to your table in a fancy restaurant and then set on fire before serving to you. Mmmm, Archmage Supreme -- with sprinkles!

Stoopid fictional Krypticon. I don't recall the Dr. Strange story you mention, Dean, but I do recall one in which an alien sorcerer from another planet -- Urthona, not to be confused with the Blake character of the same name -- attempted to usurp Dr. Strange's position and steal all his magical goodies, in the end forcing our boy Stephen to destroy said goodies rather than let them fall into evil hands. So there's certainly Marvel Universe precedent for the Sorcerer Supreme not being a Human. Nor do I recall any CU precedent to that effect. It's just that being Humans, we have more fun reading about other Humans. Maybe we need new terminology: Archmage for the wizard charged with protecting a given planet, and thus by definition from a species and culture native to that planet; and "Arch-Archmage," who protects the entire dimension (and perhaps to some extent "oversees" the Archmages). If you wanted to, you could even organize this into a mystic equivalent of the Green Lantern Corps, with other ranks, secret handshakes, special spells other wizards don't get to learn, and a secret decoder ring. We can probably do better than Arch-Archmage, though. Empyrean Epopt? Adeptus Magnificatus? The Adept?

Page 57 of The Mystic World notes that Thanoro Azoic's surname technically means "No Life," but that some mystics believe "Azoic" may be a mis-translation of some sort. I had an idea earlier this evening: what if Azoic means "Without the Zoas" ("zoic" in this case meaning "characteristic of, or pertaining to, the Zoas and their power")? This implies that he somehow rejected, overcame the need for, or transcended the Prime Avatars of Order, Chaos, Art, and Nature. That in turn suggests a very different "origin story" for our boy Thanoro and raises all sorts of questions that might be the "deep secret" at the heart of a "Mystic Masters" campaign or story arc. Definitely have to remember this the next time I run a Champions Universe-based campaign.

And here it is! Part 2 of our look at the Punisher: The Big Bang: The Punisher, 1986-Present Coming soon we've got Batman: TAS, some online quiz fun, the Vigilante, and DKR/Years 1-2. And there are still plenty of characters left on our list, so stay tuned!

No to all of those questions. Multiform would let you do that, but not Shape Shift. If you want to use Shape Shift, you'd have to buy Linked powers such as Shrinking, Growth, and Flight to also change size or gain a new movement ability.