Is Penetrating Vision a bit OP?

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Drone 5

1. You could hardly be surprised anymore, seeing through walls as you move along. In a fantasy dungeon type of game that is nice and in a modern or SciFi game that is HUGE,

It doesn't give you 360° vision, doesn't automatically negate Stealth, doesn't ignore darkness, and at Level 1 can only see through up to six inches of wall. So no, it doesn't mean you can't be surprised.

2. You can now armor your eyes. Goggles of steel because you can look through them easily.

I suppose, but then you can only see through 5.5" instead of six.

3. You can diagnose broken bones, internal injuries and such.

Not without a skill roll you can't. It probably is worth a +2 to Diagnosis since it replicates imaging equipment.

4. You can search an individual, a vehicles, a desk, or a safe just by looking at it.

This is what Superman generally uses it for. You probably still need to make a Search roll, but again at a bonus. Since there is equipment that can do this, this also is probably a +2.

Imagine what you could see through at Penetrating Vision 2?

A whole foot, which might get through one wall in a dungeon or fortress.

[Refplace]

Penetrating Vision can be considered to cheap for some games. In those if it is allowed at all an Unusual Background could be charged.
That first six inches can do a lot but as noted in the previous reply perhaps not as much as you thought. Additional levels are less useful though which is why I favor using the SSR for them.

[Boomerang]

Penetrating vision is a great advantage, two characters in my supers campaign have that advantage. The scout who also has hyperspectral vision and precognition, that character is rarely surprised. And the party Tank who also has permeation with tunnelling and infravision. The penetrating vision is so he can see where he is going when traveling through the ground.

For supers the advantage is not overpowered but I could see it being a problem in a lower power, more realistic setting.

[Yako]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

It doesn't give you 360° vision, doesn't automatically negate Stealth, doesn't ignore darkness, and at Level 1 can only see through up to six inches of wall. So no, it doesn't mean you can't be surprised.
I suppose, but then you can only see through 5.5" instead of six.
Not without a skill roll you can't. It probably is worth a +2 to Diagnosis since it replicates imaging equipment.
This is what Superman generally uses it for. You probably still need to make a Search roll, but again at a bonus. Since there is equipment that can do this, this also is probably a +2.


A whole foot, which might get through one wall in a dungeon or fortress.

This does make me rather curious.
How does Penetrating Vision deal with visibility behind the barrier it goes through?
For example, if you look through the wall into a room without any light sources, do you see anything?
And would the same scenario also apply to a closed drawer?

Do you need to add Dark Vision to achieve the sort of vision advantage most people have in mind?

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by Yako

This does make me rather curious.
How does Penetrating Vision deal with visibility behind the barrier it goes through?
For example, if you look through the wall into a room without any light sources, do you see anything?
And would the same scenario also apply to a closed drawer?

Do you need to add Dark Vision to achieve the sort of vision advantage most people have in mind?

I rule you need both dark vision and penetrating vision to look into a locked drawer. Infravision and hyperspectral vision can substitute for dark vision.