Help me build a power

[Mangus]

Hello all,

FYI, I am cross-posting this question here as well as RPG.net to cover as much ground as possible...

I am using Basic Rolepaying to power a supers game I will be starting in a week. The setting is a modern, gritty, kind of post-modern approach to super heroes. One of my players wants to have a power similar to Sylaire from Heroes (yeah, don't we all...), or Rogue from X-Men -- Power Absorption (Leech / Steal Power) . He wants to be able to absorb and mimic powers from other supers he meets.

In the core rules I cannot find anything similar that I can adjust to fit the bill. I want to make sure I keep the power level balanced with the other powers presented in the rulebook.

I am turning to you guys for help. What would you suggest for this kind of power? I realize it is pretty powerful in game terms, but it should have some fail-safes built in to keep it and the player in check.

Thanks ahead of time,

Mangus

[frogspawner]

Just define the 'absorption' mechanism (stand nearby, give a hug, eat their brain...) and how much SAN Loss each Power gives.

[Harvey Walters]

I am using Basic Rolepaying to power a supers game I will be starting in a week. The setting is a modern, gritty, kind of post-modern approach to super heroes. One of my players wants to have a power similar to Sylaire from Heroes (yeah, don't we all...), or Rogue from X-Men -- Power Absorption (Leech / Steal Power) . He wants to be able to absorb and mimic powers from other supers he meets.

If you get the Superworld and Superworld Companion PDFs from Chaosium's website, you can get rules for several new powers, advantages, and limitations.

There is a power in the Companion called "Siphon" that does what you want.

Michael

[Mangus]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I will try to get my hands on the Superworld PDFs.

Mangus

[Ian Absentia]

There is a power in the Companion called "Siphon" that does what you want.

I recall trying to write up Rogue using the SuperWorld rules -- using the combined powers Mimic and Reduction made her character prohibitively expensive (even moreso if you compounded this with the permanent powers of Ms. Marvel). Siphon was a bit better, but, again, it usually proved too expensive if you were trying to siphon off all of another character's powers.

!i!

[Nightshade]

I recall trying to write up Rogue using the SuperWorld rules -- using the combined powers Mimic and Reduction made her character prohibitively expensive (even moreso if you compounded this with the permanent powers of Ms. Marvel). Siphon was a bit better, but, again, it usually proved too expensive if you were trying to siphon off all of another character's powers.

!i!

Rogue is prohibitively expensive in almost any supers system, because she essentially combines a massive Mimic type power with a takeout effect, and usually gets everything or nothing.

[Ian Absentia]

The "takeout effect" is the key. Simpler mimics, like the Taskmaster or even the Super Skrull -- characters designed to fight the heroes to a standstill -- are usually more affordable. And more interesting, for that matter.

!i!

[Nightshade]

The "takeout effect" is the key. Simpler mimics, like the Taskmaster or even the Super Skrull -- characters designed to fight the heroes to a standstill -- are usually more affordable. And more interesting, for that matter.

!i!

Yes. Without that element, she's a Mimic; perhaps a somewhat big one (after all, Mimic usually has some kind of overhead on it in a game system, and she's got enough to Mimic all or almost all the powers of most targets), but not a prohibitively big one. But the fact she reliably disables those she touches is going to be very costly, as it should.