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Originally Posted by kdtipa
I just mean that if "super" is the only power source, it's a campaign feature, not something characters should get points back for. Whether or not there are things that can resist or shut down a super power is up to the GM at that point.
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And, again, I would disagree. The power limitations mean that the abilities taken with them are less useful than the same advantages without those limitations would be, so a discount is appropriate. Compare, for example, a setting where humans can be genetically modified to have wings and fly, but only in 0.5 gravity or less. If that's the only way for characters to buy the Flight advantage, they could still claim the -25% for Winged and -25% for Requires Low Gravity, and shouldn't have to pay the full 40 points for unmodified Flight. Its the same with power modifiers - someone with Super, -10% on their Flight is more limited than someone with unmodified Flight, so they should pay less.
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Originally Posted by kdtipa
It feels like the kind of thing that leads to Players vs GM very easily.
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I don't see how this is different than any other limitation, though. Limitations are explicitly supposed to be used - a limitation that doesn't limit you isn't one. Someone who buys Flight with Winged should expect there to be times when they can't fly because the space is too small for their wingspan, or to have enemies target their wings, or to not be able to fly at all because their wings have been restrained. Similarly, if someone takes Flight with Super, they should expect to run across power-dampening fields that can make them suddenly plummet, or similar hazards.
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Originally Posted by kdtipa
The characters were so powerful that really nothing was a challenge, and to challenge them I would find things to negate their abilities. Those are the things the players paid points for... negating those abilities so that their characters have a challenge is a broken way to do things that feels antagonistic to me.
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While I definitely understand the desire to not simply deny characters their powers, I don't think the answer is to avoid using the limitations inherent to power modifiers. For starters, I would say its very possible to challenge even high-point-value characters with things other than power loss - just scale up the enemies' abilities as well. If Punch-Woman can crack a battleship's armor in one hit, make sure Bunker-Lady has DR higher than a battleship. You can still use ability-negating things as a challenge too, however, without always actually negating people's powers. The key, I think, is to let the characters know ahead of time that its a possibility, and let them take it into account. If the characters are changing their behavior and not using the most optimal solutions, the limitations are still limiting them, even if their abilities aren't actually suppressed. For example, if a hero team is infiltrating the lair of Doctor Null, but they know that she has power-suppressing traps and guards with power-negating beams, they probably won't lead with Punch-Woman just knocking down the front door. Instead, they'll be forced to rely more heavily on stealth and planning. Thus, their abilities have been restricted, but still can be used.