Self-Affliction

[Anthony]

Generally speaking, any affliction that grants a persistent advantage should be disallowed in alternate ability situations, and if the effect granted has a standard frequency of use, be unable to affect a target more than that frequently (this also applies to disadvantages with a period). However, neither of those is an explicit limitation on affliction, it's just that any affliction that ignores those restrictions is almost certainly abusive.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by weby

Any thing with cumulative modifier should be checked by the GM specially carefully for abuse.

Yup. Basically, any high level power with a mess o' enhancements, especially if you've got enhancements like Area Effect, Cosmic, Cyclic, or Increased Range.

OTOH, unless the player is deliberately being a jerk, the GM shouldn't say "No" outright. Eyeball the number of character points invested in the potentially abusive power and apply house rules so that it's roughly in line with other powers in the game.

For example, "Wild Talent Guy" isn't a bad character concept and is a great way to model cinematic "walking encyclopedia/database" characters who are somehow competent at whatever non-combat skill the adventurers happen to need at the moment. Adding enhancements which "maybe" give you extra uses of the advantage but at risk of screwing up, when the regular version of the advantage always works seems fair.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by weby

As others have said: The GM.

Any thing with cumulative modifier should be checked by the GM specially carefully for abuse.

And if it applies an advantage, almost certainly tossed out the window.

Affliction(Advantage) is pretty fundamentally broken. It exists because Affects Others was also pretty fundamentally broken in different ways.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Wild Eruption (+1,020%): Affliction 1 (Advantage, Wild Talent 1 (Reliable 10, +50%; Retention, +25%; Wild Ability, +50%), +500%; Cumulative, +300%; Extended Duration, 1000x, +120%; Malediction 1, +100%) [112]

What is there to prevent me from using Wild Eruption to give myself hundreds of uses of Wild Talent over the course of an hour for the next week?

I'd actually rule your reading is flawed. Wild Talent is an advantage with an instantaneous effect (albeit one that you can only use a limited number of times per session). Thus, the extended duration on the affliction is meaningless. I would also rule that Cumulative is required to allow a single character to receive the benefit of the affliction multiple times per session. Also, the advantage costs 450%, while Cumulative costs 400%.

The chief weakness of this build compared to infinity levels of Wild Talent is that it effectively has a built in requires attribute roll and takes extra time, because you need a ready to use it. Thus it is useless in most combat settings. However, because it still is an ability that requires infinite points, I'd either require it to be modified to have a -1 to skill for each repeated attempt in a session (or hour or whatever), or a very hefty Unusual Background.