[M&M 3E] October 1962 (Full)

[jmucchiello]

Unless there's a flaw saying "always full power", you can always use fewer than the maximum number of ranks of a power.

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

cool couldn't find any definitive rule in the book stating as such.

 

[tglassy]

That’s what I see him looking like once he learns his fire manipulation and his body finishes adapting to his strength.

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

Ugh, I just looked it up. And that is so wrong. To cause blindness in M&M3 requires an affliction. And this power is just so wrongly constructed. As I said above Concealment makes you invisible. I suppose one interpretation of it is that if the area is invisible people can't see. But they can still see. They would see the outside area normally. Environment is the power to inflict conditions on an area and it doesn't allow for blindness because blindness is an affliction.

I'm sorry. I just have issues with that book. Some people swear by it. I find some of its constructions sketchy. Not my game, so not my call. But to me, you want:

5 PP Affliction 5, (Impaired, Disabled), Area (cloud) 3, Limited Degree, Instant Recovery**, Limited (Sight Only)

I would probably link this to the Environment 2 -5 visibility so that people who aren't affected by the blindness are at least still subjected to some negatives for standing in darkness. (Oh, and my first impression was wrong. You don't need concealment at all because you aren't going invisible. It's just dark around you.)

**Instant Recovery isn't the exact thing here but it's close enough.

So I have been going through the rules and I think concealment is what I want for my create darkness power. In the Hero's Handbook under concealment it specifically mentions a field of darkness under the Attack extra. To be fair both builds do the same thing one just does it with several linked powers and the other does it with one power. I will defer to @Mark Chance for which he would prefer.

 

[tglassy]

Vlad’s right. Affliction doesn’t have Blindness as an option. Impaired could function, bu blindness is a Concealment affect. If you put darkness in an area as an attack, everything within is concealed. It also would mean that nothing from the outside can target the creatures that are inside, because they are concealed. Affliction won’t do that.

There also doesn’t look to be a save for this, whereas there would be for Affliction.

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

Ok so on that note here is my final sheet.

Charles (Charlie) Babitch
(Hero; PL: 1; PP: 15/20)

Strength: 0; Agility: 3; Fighting: 0; Awareness: 2
Stamina: 2; Dexterity: 3; Intellect: 2; Presence: 0

Dodge: 3, Parry: 0, Fortitude: 2, Toughness: 2, Will: 2

SKILLS: Expertise: Survival (1 Rank + Int)+3; Insight (1 Rank + Awr)+3; Perception (2 Rank + Awr)+4; Ranged Combat: Move Object (6 Rank + Dex)+9; Stealth (4 Rank + Agi)+7
ADVANTAGES: Tracking
Powers:

Shadow Meld: Concealment 4 (Visual), Limited to areas of shadow or darkness 4pts
Shadow Shroud: Close Cloud Area (60ft Rad) Visual Concealment (Darkness) 4, Attack, Activation (Move) 16pts
Control Darkness Array: 23pts

Shadow Tendrils: (Damaging Move Object 6, Affect Insubstatial 1, Split 1) 20pts
Alternate Effects:
Shadow Bind: Cumulative Ranged Affliction 6 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Will; Hindered and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Immobilized), Extra Condition, Limited Degree 18pts
Shadow Walk: Teleport 6, Medium (Shadows), Easy, Accurate, Change Velocity and Direction. 20pts
Shadow Shaping: Create 5 (Shadow), Impervious, Continuous. 20pts​

Darkvision: Sense 2 (Vision Counters Concelment - Darkness) 2pts
Shadow Shield: Protection 3 (Dark force), Sustained 3pts​

LANGUAGES: English

Gender: Male Age: 18
Eyes: Blue Hair: Black
Height: 6' Weight:185 lb.

BACKGROUND
Charlie has always been an outsider. His family is a little strange. His father believed the Reds had infiltarted the country. This was the prelude to an invasion. He had spent years and almost every dime he made outfitting a bunker in the mountains of their property. He had been teaching his son to live off the land and resist when the day finally arrived. His mom was crazy, and in this case it was not an exaggeration. She spoke to angels or that was what she said. This made it hard to have friends so Charlie didn't try. It also didn't help that his father barley held a job so Charlie had to work nights and weekends to support his family. He wished only to get away from this town but new it would never happen. He was stuck with no one but himself.

COMPLICATIONS

• Motivation: Acceptance: He might not show it but all Charlie wants is to be accepted by his peers.
• Responsibility: Charlie is the only one who supports his family. Without him they would lose everything.
• Power Loss: When direct light hits his skin he cannot use his powers.

TOTALS: Abilities: 24, Powers: 48, Advantages: 1, Skills: 7, Defenses: 0 -> 80

 

[jmucchiello]

I'm waffling on the concealment thing. Only because using concealment is consistent with Senses penetrating concealment.

 

[tglassy]

I guess we're just waiting on @Mark Chance to continue? I guess we can post our reactions to each other, first, but without knowing where this is going, that's kind of hard to do.

 

[jmucchiello]

I don't know if Mark has Power Profiles. But if he does, and I see you have you so, go to sensory powers. In there, the designers admit that Concealment, Area, Attack has issues and create an optional new power Obscure. I'll join post it here, from page 155 of Power Profiles:

Although the ability to block out one or more senses in an area is normally handled as a Concealment Attack in Mutants & Masterminds, Third Edition, earlier editions of the game dealt with it as a separate effect. For Gamemasters who prefer this option, consider the following:

Obscure is a sensory effect requiring a standard action, ranged, and sustained. Cost is based on the senses affected, similar to Illusion: A single sense for 1 point per rank, two senses for 2 points per rank, and so forth, with visual senses costing double (2 points per rank) and 5 points per rank affecting all sense types.

Obscure affects a default area with a 30 foot radius (distance rank 0). Each additional rank increases the distance rank of the area by 1. So Obscure 10 has a radius of 2 miles, while Obscure 20 has a radius of 2,000 miles!

Now, I've done some additional research and found this fan made version of obscure that I think has better point balance. It is essentially similar to above with more options and double the cost:

From the roninarmy/atomicthinktank archives:

OBSCURE
Type: Sensory
Action: Standard
Range: Ranged
Duration: Sustained
Cost: 2 to 10 points per rank

You can create total concealment in an area . Obscure costs 2 point per rank for each affected sense type or 10 points for all sense types. Visual senses count as two types, so a 6-points per rank Obscure effect could affect visual and one other sense type, for example. The GM may allow exotic forms of Obscure, such as a mental Obscure for a psychic blockade or a radio obscure as some sort of interference.

An Obscure effect can be centered on you or created at a distance as a standard action. It does not move once created, although you can reposition an existing Obscure effect as a move action. Characters suffer the effects of total concealment when unable to perceive an opponent and may suffer other hindrances as the GM sees fit.

Select one area type for your Obscure effect from the area extra. Each additional rank of Obscure adds one rank to the extension of this area. You can acquire Obscure with different areas as alternate effects

EXTRAS

• Affects Insubstantial: As a sensory effect, Obscure already affects insubstantial subjects with no need for this extra.
• Subtle: Obscure by definition cannot be Subtle for those subject to its effects; they’re automatically aware of the obscuring of their affected sense(s). However, Obscure may be Subtle for those outside its effect, such as a Visual Obscure effect that leaves everyone in the area blind, but makes it appear to anyone outside the area that there’s simply “nothing there,” obscuring the true area and its contents, but not obviously so. The GM should adjudicate any applications of Subtle to Obscure effects. 1 or 2 point flat extra
• Duration: Continuous Obscure effects remain in place until they are countered in some fashion. +1 point/rank
• Independent: The Obscure effect requires no maintenance from you, but fades by 1 rank of effectiveness per round until it is gone. You cannot turn off an Independent Obscure effect yourself unless you have the reversible extra. +0 point/rank
• Selective: You can choose who is and is not affected by your Obscure effect. Those unaffected perceive normally, as if the Obscure were not in effect. +1 point/rank

FLAWS

• Concentration: maintaining your Obscure costs you an standard action each round instead of a move action. You can still use a move action to relocate you Obscure effect
• Limited to One Sense: Obscure normally works against an entire sense type, Obscure with this flaw works only against a particular sense of that type, leaving the others unaffected. This is most common for Obscure that only affects normal vision but not other visual senses. -1 point/rank
• Partial: Your Obscure effect provides only partial rather than total concealment. -1 point/rank
• Phantasm: Your Obscure effect is mental in nature; only creatures with Intelligence 1 or greater are affected. Machines and other non-intelligent entities or devices are immune. -1 point/rank
• Resistible: Subjects in the area of your Obscure effect can overcome it (usually with Will), at DC 10 +
Obscure rank. This check is made at the end of each round. -1 point/rank
• Sense-Dependent: Obscure is already Sense-Dependent by nature and cannot have this flaw.

Personally, I'd have made the default range Close and require increased range to make it Ranged. But that's barely a quibble. Also, the OP's description of Concentration is flawed, probably coming from 2E. That Flaw should read "Maintaining your Obscure effect costs you a standard action each round instead of a free action. It still requires a move action to relocate the Obscure effect." And lastly, I would eliminate the ability to move the effect without a standard action. But that's just me.

Anyway, stuff to chew on. Best part of this kind of game.

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

I really like that version. It definitely works better than concealment. If Mark is good with it I can workup the power in place of the concealment power.