is there a way to make a power mimic

[whswhs]

It can go the other way. In a campaign of mine many years ago, one of the PCs was a power copier—but there were only a few supers in the world, and many of them used skills, technology, or the like. I don't think she could even copy the abilities of most of her teammates! She would have been nearly useless if I hadn't decided that her ability to scan genes enabled her to copy the abilities of animals. "I have no useful abilities unless I encounter someone else who has useful abilities" can be a serious limitation.

Bill Stoddard

[Anthony]

Possession tends to cause similar problems, it's prone to being anywhere from totally useless to grossly overpowered.

[Phantasm]

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.

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

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

Rogue's a classic Neutralize (Power Theft; Accessibility: Must Touch Target; Maximum Duration (60x time spent in contact with victim); Secondary Effect: Target Falls Unconscious For Duration). With the exception of her battle with Ms. Marvel, where the powers became permanent, her stolen powers only last for a given time - 1 second of contact means she retains them for a minute, 1 minute of contact means she retains them for an hour, etc. At least that was before she was "cured" and granted control over her powers, including being selective about what she steals and not KOing her targets.

A more relevant character for this thread would be Mimic, who reflexively gains the powers and skills - including mundane skills, not just the skills needed for the power - of anyone within a certain radius; as originally written in '66, I think he needed to be within a few yards to gain and could retain them out to a mile. (He started off as an antagonist, then later joined the team before getting kicked out and temporarily de-powered.)

The better-known alternate version in Exiles could only retain five Powers, but even then he'd have more than five "slots" as he'd have each ability in that Power that the guy he's copying would have. This might be easier to stat than the original.

[sir_pudding]

There's a reason why the Super Skrull and Amazo are terrible threats that can fight the entire Avengers or Justice League (respectively) solo.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

There's a reason why the Super Skrull and Amazo are terrible threats that can fight the entire Avengers or Justice League (respectively) solo.

Do you mean the Super Adaptoid? He is what I would call a true mimic, unlike the Super Skrull who just has abilities that mime those of the Fantastic Four. I never had a big problem with the Skrull, whose abilities were pretty much fixed, but mimics and leeches like the Adaptoid, Amazo, Rogue, and the Parasite always rubbed me the wrong way.

[kirbwarrior]

Mimics are some of my favorite characters (Megaman, Kirby, Rogue, etc), so I've tried to try and makes them balanced and still work as they are supposed to. Giving them a limit rubs me the wrong way, because then there might be a super who just is 'slightly immune' to them. If anything, maybe the enhancement should cost a percentage of starting points (or something set by the GM) such as 40% or something (which would come out to 400pts in a 1000pt supers, on top of the 50pts for Neutralize). I don't like that for multiple reasons, but it sorta lines up with the limit of 'only up to how many points I've spent into it' line of reasoning. I also don't like MA for this, because you won't ever be able to steal the powers of equal level supers (which would actually be fine, if it weren't for the fact the GM is going to throw villains of equal or higher power at you).

Mind, all three of the mimics I named steal, hurt, and sometimes kill their victims to get their powers (and I thought Kirby was a cute game!). Someone who can merely copy powers should absolutely just get MA.

I really like the limitation of Skills for Everyone to hold back Power Theft. It puts them on about the right level. Especially if you include Power Techniques, since the Power Thief won't know those. But this doesn't suit every setting.

As much as I hate to say it, they should be NPCs. Even then, I've had GMs use them wrong. They seem to sit on a level higher than time travelling (which they can do).

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by kirbwarrior

Mimics are some of my favorite characters (Megaman, Kirby, Rogue, etc), so I've tried to try and makes them balanced and still work as they are supposed to.

Those are fundamentally incompatible goals. You really can't balance mimicry except with large doses of GM Fiat.

[Leynok]

Originally Posted by kirbwarrior

(which would actually be fine, if it weren't for the fact the GM is going to throw villains of equal or higher power at you).

That "fact" depends completely on the GM and game. Are all fights going to be one on one? Chances are you'll face swarms of mooks from time to time, or squads of slightly weaker characters.

This is also why I suggested only taking a portion of their power, even if you are facing someone of equal power, or even stronger, you only need to be able to take a piece or two from them.

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by kirbwarrior

Mimics are some of my favorite characters (Megaman, Kirby, Rogue, etc)

I would not class Megaman as a mimic (Never been a fan of the Kirby games, so I don't really know about it). It's a character who has well delimited powers, that do not include mimicry. The "kill foe to get it's attack" is simply an excuse to allow him to spend his points in an alternate attack.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

I would not class Megaman as a mimic (Never been a fan of the Kirby games, so I don't really know about it). It's a character who has well delimited powers, that do not include mimicry. The "kill foe to get it's attack" is simply an excuse to allow him to spend his points in an alternate attack.

Except canonically, he doesn't seem to keep most abilities he mimics. He seems to have Modular Ability with a restriction that he has to pattern whatever he uses Modular Ability points for on another character's "attack". He doesn't have to replicate said attack perfectly, but he has to come somewhat close. In some settings, he is a "Power Thief", in others, just a Power Mimic (but beating a foe prevents them resisting).