[Social Engineering] Can you use "Cutting Out" with Empathy?

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by NineDaysDead

I haven't suggested anything about turning empathy into a power.

I didn't define it as either psionic or a power.

Yep, the instant you put in a skill to base it off you made it a power as defined in the book. Could be magic or psi (which I think you used as an example) but while it may be possible to give it a skill roll and not call it a power...
A) Almost anyone would assume your intending it to be a power since that's the way the skill substitution goes.
B) I cant think of a situation where you would have empathy with a skill substitution and it NOT be a power. Probably one out there but science, magical and psi all seem to be power special effects that would fit certain situations.
EDIT( Saw the mod note) My tone might have come across adversarial and even if normally it wouldn't be perceived that way I think today there is enough going on that people are more sensitive. So I was supporting the point of view that what you described was changing it to a power rather then making an attack.
Mind I already think of Empathy as kind of a power but can see a marginal set of situations where its not really subconscious psi or hyper analysis or something else.
But it wont take much to push it into the realm of a full blown power becasue it already (in my mind) is so darn close.