is there a way to make a power mimic

[Figleaf23]

Originally Posted by PK

"Doesn't neutralize" is not a limitation. If anything, it's a +300% Cosmic enhancement. The ability to borrow someone else's powers without any cost to them is far more useful than Power Theft, because you can do it to your teammates willingly and be far more versatile than otherwise possible.

I'm not sold on it being that much more useful than depriving an enemy of the power.

[PK]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Thing is, PK, I've been told that Neutralize (Power Theft; Cosmic: Does Not Neutralize Target) is not RAW-legal. Is that position being slowly reversed?

Absolutely not. You'll note that I started that sentence with "If anything," to indicate that we're dabbling in the realm of theoreticals here.

Originally Posted by Figleaf23

I'm not sold on it being that much more useful than depriving an enemy of the power.

I suspect that you've never actually had an intelligent, system-aware player talk you into allowing it then. I have. I've run a supers game in GURPS in which I allowed someone to call it a 0-point feature that his Neutralize didn't actually Neutralize. My rationale: "Well, you lose the fact that it's a weapon against foes, but now you can use it against friends without hurting them. Sounds balanced." I was wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. Even limited to one foe at a time, the mimic was the most powerful member of the team by far -- "anything you can do, I can do too, plus I have all of these other character points to spend on my own personal stuff!"

[The Benj]

I'm not even convinced that the ability to copy powers you've Neutralized should have a flat cost. It's vastly more powerful in a 1000 point game than in a 250 point one.

And yeah, the ability to mimic powers means you either must be yourself more powerful than your victims or that you must have a whole lot of limits on that mimicry. Trying to make it cheaper is a flat-out unbalancing proposition.
Modular Abilities are the way to go and yes, they'll be more expensive than just buying the powers, because they're more useful.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by The Benj

I'm not even convinced that the ability to copy powers you've Neutralized should have a flat cost. It's vastly more powerful in a 1000 point game than in a 250 point one.

Yea, I don't allow that one. Power theft/mimicry gives me the cold horrors.

Originally Posted by The Benj

Modular Abilities are the way to go and yes, they'll be more expensive than just buying the powers, because they're more useful.

That's my solution. Linked with Neutralize if you're doing that schtick.

[Otaku]

Most fictional examples I can think of for power mimicry are balanced because of:

- unimaginative writers
- extreme limits
- being the only thing that character does
- being a Special Effect
- Limitation on something you are buying flat out

So... I am guessing if it is literally a Special Effect where that is just that character's back story: He's got A, B, and C because (especially before character creation) he encountered Supers X, Y, and Z and copies those abilities from them... and will have those abilities until something occurs to remove them that would apply to any other similarly empowered super. Even this only works if this option for buying future abilities is balanced by having to encounter such abilities in game. Could even be the basis for a whole campaign (and effective "arms treaty" twixt players and GM).

[mehrkat]

Thanks all.

As I'm the GM and making the super powers for the players.

After consideration I will work from the concept of Mimicing only a portion of abilities.

It sounds cool and I thought it was limited enough but PC's are better than characters in the story as an author has a story to tell but the PC wants to WIN!!!! and won't be able to help themselves from using the power to its fullest even if they are good players.

1. requiring one minute of prep
2. only lasting a minute

but in the end anytime they had a minute to prep he could become any one of the other heroes (as well as any villain)

I'll just go with short term mimic after possessing and maybe even make it a little easier to access so its more useful.

Honestly I'm likely to use linked Neutralize with modular power pool after thinking about it.

Peace

[kirbwarrior]

Note, if you are using Skill for Everyone from Powers, then Power Theft has a remarkable limitation on it (since you have to learn how to use these new powers). Combined with other options in Powers, the Power Thief will be spending a lot of points on being able to use others' powers, and not get the benefits of their skills (Mind, don't allow the thief to get Modular Abilities: Skills of others' powers only).

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Mimics as PCs require serious GM foresight in setting up the Power, otherwise they quickly get out of hand.

This is badly complicated when the Mimic power costs less than what it's imitating, so the person gets more points out than they put into it, and it gets worse when the borrowed powers are kept permanently, like Rogue or Peter Petrelli.


Basically we need the power of Mimic, but you have to go into it knowing that it's going to create the potential for very powerful characters which will be out of balance to the points you think you're running the game at.

Suggestions on balance:
1. Mimic can only replicate 1/5 to 4/5 of the power being duplicated.
2. Mimic can only replicate up to 1/5 to 4/5 worth of points in the power being duplicated equal to what he has in the Mimic power.
3. Combine the two.

It could be much worse though, I remember the mechanics of the Mimic power in the old DC Heroes RPG would mean that powers resisted Mimicry by their level, so you'd get a better success and more power, by using Mimic on the low level secondary power of your teammate than you would by using it to Mimic the worldclass power of your enemy.
It was also an open roll system, so I recall at one point rolling something like a 56 on 2d10 and ending up with Superman level powers from mimicking a supporting cast character.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

This is badly complicated when the Mimic power costs less than what it's imitating, so the person gets more points out than they put into it, and it gets worse when the borrowed powers are kept permanently, like Rogue or Peter Petrelli.

In Rogue's case the only powers she seems to retain are the one's she stole from Ms. Marvel, there's some in-universe explanation for this that I've forgotten. That really just seems like the back-story explanation for Flight and ST (Super Effort). Otherwise she seems to just have Neutralize with Power Theft.

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

In Rogue's case the only powers she seems to retain are the one's she stole from Ms. Marvel, there's some in-universe explanation for this that I've forgotten. That really just seems like the back-story explanation for Flight and ST (Super Effort). Otherwise she seems to just have Neutralize with Power Theft.

It's been a while, and I don't read comics these days, but part of her plot tended to revolve around her trying not to keep anyone's powers permanently, since if she did so she also ran the risk of permanently keeping their memories which could permanently shift her personality.

http://marvel.com/universe/Rogue