Movement Powers
Powers of this stripe are generally representative of abilities that allow one to cross incredible distances in the blink of an eye. A few act to control or enhance one's natural movements, to be sure, but the rest involve rather fantastic means of getting from point a to point b. There are twenty-four known movement powers in all, though there are likely more, just waiting to be discovered!
| A | B | C | D | F | G | J | L | M | P | S | T |
A
Anchor
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: space control, temporal static.
By means of the anchor ability, a character binds themselves to their current trajectory in seven-dimensional space. What this means is that, once anchor is invoked, its wielder will continue to move as he or she was before, and cannot easily be dislodged from said movement. Typically, this is used to root a body in place, on say a floor, wall, or ceiling, to hold them steady for other purposes.
So what's all this business about trajectory? No matter where you are in the world, you're always moving. While standing motionless, your body is still on a planetary body that is rotating while orbiting a star that is itself circling a galactic core, etc. You're also continually moving through time, albeit at the same rate everyone else usually is.
Anchor merely ensures you don't stray from this path, as the ability sees it, from its point of activation. This means that upon being invoked, anchor will prevent you from being swayed from your current course, whether you were stationary or on the move. It also keeps you from being shifted in time or space - or through other dimensions. Defeating an anchor requires overwhelming its power rank.
While using anchor in a (relatively) stationary position is a simple proposition, using it while on the move can be fraught with peril, especially if you encounter items in your path. Loose objects, like water, bowling pins, or even people, will simply be shoved out of the way. But a larger object, such as a concrete bunker, will not. Resolve such collisions per a charging attack, based on the anchor power rank.
If the MS of this object or structure exceeds the rank of the anchor ability, it will disrupt the anchor and cause it to immediately fail. Either way, the anchored character is immune to the damage caused by such attacks, which allows them to (with an anchor power of high enough rank) inflict serious damage on large and inanimate objects ranging from trees to battleships.
B
Between
Type: Movement Power
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 2 points per rank
Related Powers: dimensional transit, jeopardy, quarantine, teleportation, time travel.
The seventh dimension is a bizarre place, a location that is both everywhere and between everywhere else simultaneously. At the center of the multiverse and yet seemingly outside it at the same time, this place is the undiluted source of higher principles that are distilled into distinct planes of existence. Such realms include the astral plane, the essence, and various other mindspaces both transient and permanent.
Colloquially known as the Between, this level of reality is the absolute blender of creation. One can find all things within the Between, if they look hard enough, as the seventh dimension is a realm of the mind as much as it is of the body. A mishmash of space, time, matter, energy, and thought, the Between is an ever-changing maelstrom that is never the same from one visit to the next - much less from moment to moment!
The reason for this chaotic existence is that everything that is, was, and ever will be is present in the Between in some capacity or another - since every point in lower, sixth-dimensional space is represented here. Also, as these points are all present and simultaneously occupied when in the Between, it can be used to reach a specific location in lower dimensions - assuming one has the proper abilities to do so.
Thanks to its unique properties, one can extend the range of non-adjacent movement abilities while in the Between to an infinite degree. Teleportation can reach anywhere in the universe. Time travel can visit any moment in existence. Dimensional transit can move a body to any reality that exists - and possibly some that don't yet. In this fashion, Between is something of a meta-power, enhancing others considerably.
But this infinite utility comes with infinite risk. One might find the Between a pleasant park on their first visit, and overrun with incomprehensible tentacular horrors the next. Alternately, one might be whisked away to unknown locations in the multiverse upon arriving in the Between, events there overcoming even the most seasoned traveler and stranding him or her somewhere they can't escape from before they know it.
This is where the actual power rank for this ability comes in. A successful power ACTION is required to access the Between. Then, a second ACTION roll is made - this time, by the Judge. If this supplemental power ACTION is successful, nothing directly untoward will happen to the player - or anyone he or she brought along for the ride. If it fails, however, get ready for the time of your (possibly very short) life!
This power is a doorway to endless adventure, you see, whether one wants it or not. Thus, it is the ultimate 'use at your own risk' ability - though sometimes the staggering advantages of using between almost make up for the risk such use poses to one's body and soul. Sometimes.
Bilocation
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: chaos shift, dimensional transit, teleportation, time travel.
Bilocation is the ability to appear in two locations simultaneously. This power does not involve actually splitting oneself in two so much as engaging in rapid-fire teleportation, hundreds of times each second, so that it looks like the wielder of this power is occupying two different spaces at once. This process occurs quickly enough that, like the frames of a television image, the character seems to be fully present at each.
When bilocation is activated, the character's 'other self' can initially manifest anywhere within Far distance of his or her original location. When the power is terminated, the bilocator may rest at either their original location or the area their 'other self' was last in when deactivating this ability. This makes bilocation a great power stunt off of teleportation - or vice versa, really.
A bilocated character may act in one location primarily, or alternate actions between the two, depending on the situation(s) at the time. Either way, he or she does not receive additional actions simply due to being in both areas simultaneously - there's still just one of the character. Without other abilities added to the mix, the bilocator is merely allowed the same amount of actions they would normally be allotted.
When engaging in bilocation, a character will perceive sensory input from both locations simultaneously, the two (usually) differing forms of data overlapping and allowing the character to multitask. If things are particularly hectic in one (or both) locations, a bilocator may need to pass an Intuition (alt) ACTION roll to keep events at the two different places distinct in his or her head.
Multitasking is difficult enough to begin with, even before adding the specter of deadly combat into the mix.
C
Carrier Wave
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: jelling, various energy generation and/or control powers.
Characters who can generate a carrier wave have the ability to produce a special concentration of energy that supports their weight against gravity - and allows for full movement in three dimensions! The exact form of energy the creator of a carrier wave can generate may be about anything available in the Costumed Adventurer Simulation Engine, as long as it remotely makes sense for the character wielding it.
When maintaining a carrier wave, a character can move through the air as determined by their power rank, on the air speed table. A carrier wave can automatically support the weight of its wielder, and can bring along additional mass as if it were an equivalent Strength score. A fiery carrier wave of Incredible (40) intensity, for instance, could haul ten tons of matter along with its generator - if he or she could hold it!
The energy that comprises a carrier wave is not primarily harmful, though it can be wielded as such by forcing other characters into it - often by running them over. Such instances inflict power rank damage of the appropriate type, though one's own carrier wave will never cause them harm. Unless, that is, another character with the appropriate energy control ability can take command of the energies that comprise it.
If such an individual achieves this (with a power rank ACTION against the carrier wave's intensity), they may redirect its creator's path or turn the energies that allow it to work against him or her!
Chaos Shift
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 8 points (flat cost)
Related Powers: bilocation, dimensional transit, teleportation, time travel.
Chaos shifting is a specialized movement ability one can directly use to great effect in combat. In battle, the chaos shifter can rapidly pop in and out of either space and/or time around his or her foe, depending on their power set and the player's desire. This has the practical effect of making him or her much harder to target by others, while at the same time giving them something of an advantage against their opponent.
In game terms, this translates into a +1 CS bonus to hit against the foe one chaos shifts around, while inflicting a -1 CS penalty on others' attempts to strike him or her. The former only applies to a targeting roll by the chaos shifter, while the latter applies to any ACTION made against them. This is because, after spending half of the turn outside this space-time, a chaos shifter is harder to grasp with most powers.
D
Dimensional Interface
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 2 points per rank
Related Powers: dimensional transit, intangibility, internal universe, teleportation, various matter or energy control powers (depending on the interface).
This potent ability allows a character to literally transform his or her very body into a hole in the space-time continuum. What this means is that they become a walking, talking opening between our universe and somewhere else. While the dimensional interface is active, the character using this ability is equidistant between the connected planes, and is technically resident upon both at the same time.
This allows them to perceive events on both simultaneously, and they can perform actions on one or the other, as they see fit. Furthermore, they can use this ability to naturally cross from one to the other entirely; this just involves 'leaning' into the second plane when terminating the power, even if it was initiated on the first. While this is a creative way to cross the planes, one may ask just what the benefit of this ability is, otherwise.
Its main purpose is to allow passage from one plane to another. Others can step 'through' the character maintaining a dimensional interface, as if he or she were a living, breathing doorway between the planes. Furthermore, the interfaced character can move materials and energy between the two realms they're connected to at will, doing so with an intensity equal to this ability's rank.
What this means is, a dimensionally interfaced character can channel 'stuff' from one realm to another, wielding this ability as a versatile attack. They can project whatever matter or energy is available from one side to the other, using this ability to inflict its rank in damage, of a type that is dependent on what is hurled through. This can be almost anything, depending on the nature of the dimensions interfaced.
For instance, if connected to the astral plane, a character could emit spectral flames from their very body. Alternately, if interfaced with a realm that is naught but solid matter, they can project that instead, inflicting Blunt or Edged Attack damage, depending on its shape. This action can work either way, and an interfaced character can draw things from the 'real' world into this new plane, though this requires physical contact.
An important thing to keep in mind is that a character that is interfaced between two dimensions is only 'material' on one at a time - the one they're presently acting upon. Our hero interfacing with the astral plane, above, would be intangible there (per that ability) when channeling spectral flames into the 'real' world, but would be easily touched (or attacked) in our own space-time while they're emitting said flames here.
He or she can achieve intangibility on both as a power stunt, but cannot act on either in such a state (though people and matter can pass through them still, albeit at a non-damaging velocity / intensity). Additional power stunts involve connecting to additional universes. When a character begins play, they can only interface with one other dimension to start with, and an additional dimension may be acquired with each stunt.
Dimensional Transit
Type: Movement Power
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: astral projection, between, bilocation, chaos shift, dimensional interface, jeopardy, locational sense, mind walk, nativity sense, planar control, portal, quarantine, teleportation, temporal static, time travel, vibration control.
When wielding this ability, a character may move from the universe he or she is currently occupying to another. Dimensional transit functions almost identically to teleportation, except that it utilizes more physical axes; after using this ability, a character may actually occupy the same three 'classical' dimensional coordinates, but their location in either the fifth or sixth dimension has shifted.
Changing one's 5th axis allows a character to access variant timelines, while altering their 6th axis lets them move to different universes sharing the same timeline. When a character with this ability begins play, they may initially access two universes: their home plane and another realm of their choosing. They may add further planes of existence down the line as power stunts, one for each new universe they wish to visit.
When a character is attempting a stunt to 'learn' a new universe, follow the basic procedure here. A red ACTION roll is necessary when accessing a universe intentionally for the first time, yellow ACTIONs are required when traveling to realms experienced intentionally more than once, but less than six times, and green ACTION rolls are needed to access a plane for the sixth through the tenth time.
Once a character has attempted to stunt a new universe ten times, it is considered familiar, and they only require a green ACTION to access it thereafter - as is the case with their two initial planes. On the other hand, accessing a completely random universe requires no ACTION roll; the character will appear in any other plane the Judge desires, but at least they're no longer where they were (great for emergency escapes).
A character may transit from one dimension to another with passengers and/or cargo if they wish, but is limited in how much matter he or she may move. This limit is based on the power rank, as if it were a Strength score. In other words, a hero with Excellent (20) ranked dimensional transit may carry up to 800 lbs. with them, while a villain possessing this ability at Incredible (40) rank can bring up to ten tons along for the ride.
F
Flight
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: environmental independence, resistance (or invulnerability) to cold, heat, and pressure variance, super flight, super speed, vapor animation.
Flight is the ability to move in three dimensions unaided. In defiance of gravity, the character possessing flight may move left, right, forward, backward, up, or down as he or she sees fit. How exactly this works depends on the character involved; it may be an ability granted by large wings, rocket boots, tinkering with the laws of gravity, or even something like telekinetically flinging one's body about.
Flight itself is rather flexible, and can easily be explained via any number of origins or mechanisms. This opens up the character for weak limitations if he or she desires; boot-jets can be clogged, for instance, or wings can be immobilized. Such limitations reduce the cost of the power by 1 point (in the point-based character system), or increase its power rank by +1 CS (in the random roll generation system).
Flight allows the character to move at a number of areas equal to those listed on the air speed column, though accelerating to that point may take a few turns, depending on his or her Endurance (res). A hero with Shift X (150) ranked Flight and only Poor (4) Endurance (res) can move at 50 areas per turn - but it will take them five full minutes to accelerate to top speed.
The previous involves flying through a gaseous medium. If the character with flight finds themselves underwater, they can 'only' fly according to the land/water speed column, while in a vacuum they can advance onto the space speed column. Our Shift X flier above would then be 'limited' to 180 MPH under water, whilst they'd move at .1% light speed in the inky depths of blackest space.
The ability to fly generally assumes the capability of surviving at high speeds, despite the difficulty of breathing and the friction induced by such rapid motion. Such capability can either come from equipment or bodily modifications, though having it be removable can also be grounds for a weak limitation (as described above). Moving safely under water or in space is not covered by flight alone, however.
G
Gliding
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1/2 point per rank
Related Powers: cyclone, levitation, prehensile skin, propulsion, super jumping, telekinesis, vapor animation, wings.
A limited, generally unpowered form of flight, gliding allows its possessor to soar through the sky using natural air currents for lift and/or propulsion. A glider can generally achieve a velocity determined by their power rank, depending on where it falls on the air speed table, though the trick with this form of movement is maintaining altitude; gravity has a tendency to tug a glider down at a rate of one story per turn.
As is described in the Space and Movement portion of the rules, a gliding character can maintain their altitude with a green Agility (balance) or gliding power ACTION, whichever of the two is higher, each turn. Gaining one story of altitude requires a yellow ACTION, while failing an altitude ACTION for either purpose implies a misstep, causing a loss of two stories of altitude that turn.
The gliding power can keep a character in flight regardless of their normal weight, whatever that happens to be. It can also support additional cargo if its power rank, when treated as an equivalent Strength score, is higher than its possessor's weight. A two hundred pound character with Good (10) gliding, for example, could continue to glide with up to an additional two hundred pounds of gear on his or her person.
J
Jelling
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: carrier wave, environmental independence, environmental pocket, fluid animation, invulnerability or resistance (fire, heat and/or friction), platforming, solid animation, super jumping, super running, vapor animation, various energy and matter control powers.
A peculiar movement aid, the power of jelling allows its wielder to stiffen an otherwise liquid or gaseous medium to travel upon it. Jelling works by binding material below the feet (or whatever) of its possessor with an energy matrix that makes it momentarily solid. Such a matrix can 'solidify' a plane of material within a maximum radius of this power's possessor as is determined by the Very Near range table.
The matrix created by jelling will 'roll' with its wielder, making a solid surface of new material as it comes into range and returning other matter to normal as it passes out of range. When using jelling, a character can move as fast as he or she otherwise could normally while on foot - the jeller simply has more options about where they actually do their walking.
Material jelled by this power is suspended in place with power rank ability, and can always support the weight of its possessor. Jelling, when treated as an equivalent Strength score, can support additional mass if said Strength value exceeds the weight of its wielder. A hero weighing in at one ton who possessed this power at Amazing (50) rank, for example, could support up to forty-nine additional tons!
A character with jelling can either maintain the same altitude while walking, or can climb up or down as desired. This is done by inducing an angle into the jelling process, which can have as severe a slope as one wishes. Thus, one can stroll leisurely from the ground into the sky, or even create a makeshift slide to descend to a surface incredibly fast.
Jelling can be customized in several fashions. The power may be limited such that it can only support its possessor, for one thing. This reduces its operating radius to the span of its wielder's stride (whether walking or running) as a weak limitation. Similarly, it can be curtailed such that it only works on either a liquid (such as water) or a gaseous (such as oxygen) medium as a strong limitation.
On the other hand, jelling may be enhanced by giving the possessor of this power the ability to consciously move the jelled matter. This allows him or her to 'ride' on it instead of having to manually walk wherever they are going. This is a strong enhancement to the power, and provides a velocity as determined by the air speed column - though jelling is usually capped at a maximum velocity of Remarkable (30) speed.
Unless the jelling character (and anything riding along with him or her) is sufficiently resistant to air friction and can breathe at such high speeds, that is.
L
Levitation
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1/2 point per rank
Related Powers: gliding, kinetic energy control, propulsion, telekinesis.
Levitation is a somewhat limited form of flight, in that it allows one to move their body in the vertical axis - but not the other two. This ability can be the result of any number of factors, ranging from gravity manipulation to telekinetic lifting to inertial dampening to some sort of boot thrusters. Generally, levitation isn't a way to get somewhere very fast, but it does allow one to attain otherwise unreachable heights.
The amount of weight one can carry while levitating is determined by the levitation power rank, as if it was an equivalent Strength score; for example, Incredible (40) ranked levitation could haul up to ten tons into the air with its wielder. This ability can be used to move vertically incredibly quick, doing so at its power rank in flight speed, but again, it has no ability to travel in the horizontal at all.
To achieve horizontal movement while suspended in the air by levitation, one must rely upon other super-human abilities for propulsion - or just push off the nearest building or mountain. Alternately, one can allow themselves to be moved by prevailing winds if desired (normally this power resists such at its own power rank), though when doing so a levitator has no control over their ultimate velocity or destination.
M
Mind Walk
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: dimensional transit, dream projection, telepathy.
Each sentient mind is like its very own plane of existence. Whether speaking of the conscious mind or otherwise, the totality of a sentience casts its shadow on the seventh dimension. These shadows land in a space where thought and matter meld, a realm that can be traveled to by those who know how, contracting their existence on the lower dimensions and arriving fully manifest where their mind's shadow normally rests.
This is the process of mind walking.
Once in this realm of minds, the so-called mindscape, the mind walker can travel between sentiences, experiencing the spaces created as different consciousnesses influence the mental turf around them. Almost anything can happen in these turbulent spaces, as each mind is unique - and the influences of varying minds on a given point in space can shape it in curious and distressing fashions, depending on their strengths.
But why would one want to visit such a strange space-time, you ask? Primarily, one can travel to the shadow of a sentient mind, and then re-materialize in the 'real' world next to its possessor. This makes a mind walk a great way to travel anywhere, with no range limits. Assuming that a mind walker can find a sentient being where they'd like to travel, they can use this ability to literally go anywhere!
Alternately, at the heart of one's mental shadow, a mind walker can directly enter the consciousness of its owner. This requires a mind walk ACTION roll against the Psyche rank of the person whose mind is to be accessed. If this ACTION is successful, the mind walker may wield any psionics against the mind they're trespassing within at either the mind walk power rank or their normal rank +1 CS, whichever is higher.
Since they're physically interacting with their target's consciousness, a mind walker resolves combat normally. When damaged, they suffer direct, physical damage during such battles. The target, on the other hand, suffers Karmic damage from whatever harm a mind walker inflicts, and is treated for combat purposes as if they are astrally projecting. Defeat in the mindscape dumps one's body out near their assailant's location.
And that's not the only hazard while on a mind walk. In addition to the random hazards generated by the ever-changing influences of the minds that comprise the mindscape, there are entities that make use of this plane. Fellow travelers are the easiest to deal with, for they're often moving from place to place as well, and don't want the hassle of a fight. But the things that actually live here, they can be the stuff of nightmares.
Literally.
Denizens of the mindscape can be capable of absolutely anything, for they're formed of the stuff of dreams, random thoughts and urges, and even imagination - if not all of the above. They may be harmless as a butterfly or as menacing as a devil - and may shift from moment to moment, both in power and in behavior. After all, these mindscape entities are nothing if not a product of their mercurial environment.
P
Platforming
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: environmental independence, environmental pocket, invulnerability or resistance (fire, heat and/or friction), jelling, object animation, object projection, solid animation, telekinesis, topological control.
The power of platforming is a specialized form of several different ascendant abilities, depending on how one wishes to define it. In essence, platforming involves its wielder imparting momentum into matter, and subsequently riding atop it. In this fashion, a platformer can achieve flight, whether high in the sky or just above the surface, even if he or she is not the one actually flying.
A platform impelled by this power will move at power rank velocity, as is defined by the air speed table. A platformer may maintain such speeds indefinitely, though it's important to note that at higher velocities, air friction and an inability to easily breathe might become a concern. Thus, without the ability to resolve such issues, one might cap platforming at a safe top speed of Remarkable (30) - 225 miles per hour.
A platformer may automatically lift their own weight with a platform. The power can support additional mass as if the power rank were an equivalent Strength score, though this amount must also include the weight of the platform to be impelled. Thus, an Incredible (40) ranked platforming power could bear its wielder and ten tons of material, which can be up to a ten-ton platform or a light platform with a lot of cargo.
In its standard form, platforming can be used on any solid matter, though living beings could presumably attempt an Endurance (res) ACTION roll to resist its use on their person. However, the power can be limited to increasingly specific forms of matter as limitations, ranging from 'natural earth' as a weak limitation to an old hubcap with sentimental value to the power's wielder as an extreme limitation.
Portal
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 2 points per rank (before added features)
Related Powers: dimensional transit, teleportation, time travel.
A portal is a direct connection between two different locations. Matter and energy may freely pass through one end of the portal and instantaneously arrive at the other, regardless of the intervening space, time, or dimension. Portals are two-way affairs, and anything on one end of a portal can move through to the other, regardless of which side of the portal the traveling material or energy is on.
Strictly speaking, the portal ability can only link two locations within the current space-time its wielder currently occupies. However, it may do so on the Very Far range table, linking two locations that are vastly distant from each other. For example, a character wielding the portal ability at Incredible (40) rank can construct a bridge between two points that are up to 2.5 million miles apart!
This may sound similar in effect to teleportation, but the advantage over that ability is that portal allows any number of persons, things, or energies to pass through. As long as the portal is open, anything can use it to move between the two locations with ease. There is no weight limit, no fatal materialization risks, or anything else to impede the use of the portal. That and it reaches farther, too.
Furthermore, one's portals can have even more features... at additional cost. Its possessor can add the ability to make portals into other dimensions or times by adding one point per rank (or making portal count as an additional power), or they can add the ability to build portals to both by increasing the cost by two points per rank (or making portal count as two additional powers).
If traveling through time or to other planes of existence is added to the portal ability, these features function as they normally would, where capability and/or range is concerned (see dimensional transit and time travel for more on this). These variant portals function in the exact same way as a regular portal would, it's just that their destinations are (often vastly) different.
Portals can be used offensively as well as for transit. One such use involves opening up a doorway to somewhere full of hostile creatures. While this is often more than enough to dispatch an unsuspecting foe (either temporarily or permanently), the problem is that the things on the other side of the portal are not under the control of its creator, and just might come for them next!
Another offensive use of portals is to open a portal in such a manner that it will snare someone or something in the area. This requires a to-hit roll based on the wielder's Agility score (and the target may attempt a dodge if physically capable of it).
Propulsion
Type: Movement Power
Duration: maintenance
Cost: 1/2 point per rank
Related Powers: gliding, horns, kinetic energy control, levitation, missile generation, super jumping, telekinesis.
Propulsion is a counterpart to levitation, in that it allows one to move their body in either of the horizontal axes - but not the vertical one. If one also has levitation, such characters can approximate flight - though at the cost of two active powers, instead of just the one for simply having flight proper. If using a parachute or other similar means, one can also use this ability to simulate gliding (or perhaps go paragliding).
This ability itself grants a character power ranked velocity as is described on the land / sea speed table, whether it's used on the ground, in the sea, or even in the air. It can let a body run or swim very, very fast, though this can be stressful without specialized equipment or adaptations to absorb the physical shock of such rapid locomotion. Mind you, even something as simple as roller skates can bypass this 'problem'.
In addition to its wielder's mass, propulsion can carry additional weight equal to its power rank as an equivalent Strength score. For instance, Monstrous (75) ranked propulsion could bring up to 75 tons of weight along for the ride. Exceeding this reduces propulsion's speed by -2 CS for every +1 CS of weight hauled. As an example, 150 tons (a Shift X (150) weight) would reduce that Monstrous propulsion's speed by -4 CS.
S
Super Climbing
Type: Movement Power
Duration: 1d10 turns + maintenance, if desired
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: claws, clinging, hard points, prehensile tail, super jumping, tentacles.
Most characters have the inherent ability to climb, barring serious physical injuries or an anatomy that lacks the required limbs. The power of super climbing is another animal altogether, though, in that it gives its possessor the preternatural ability to climb far faster than those without it, ascending up or moving down vertical surfaces at an effective velocity that is determined on the land/sea speed table.
In addition to determining how fast a character with super climbing can climb, its power rank also showcases how effectively he or she may do so. The higher a rank in super climbing that a character possesses, the less agreeable a surface it can be used to climb. Refer to the slickness table to determine the relative difficulties inherent to climbing on certain surfaces (avoid those coated in buckyballs).
In addition to easily handling vertical surfaces, super climbing can be used to traverse inverted surfaces as well, assuming the character can keep a grip; this requires an ACTION roll against its slickness each turn to manage. Of course, this isn't necessary if the character also has clinging, in that they can rest their muscles simply by sticking to such surfaces whenever they get a bit tired.
Super Digging
Type: Movement Power
Duration: 1d10 turns + maintenance, if desired
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: claws, locational sense, solid animation, stasis.
Most characters can, with the proper equipment and a whole lot of patience, burrow through the earth or other, like substances when necessary. This is usually a painstaking process, however, requiring time and resources that may not be readily available in an emergency. Meanwhile, individuals who possess super digging can easily establish tunnels with astonishing alacrity - and may do so without external tools!
Using the power of super digging, a character can tunnel through any material of a hardness less than its power rank, and can work their way through materials that are of equal or greater MS by passing a power ACTION against the material in question each turn. Such masses of high MS material will slow a super digger down, but most can usually be worked through eventually, given enough time.
Particularly if the super digger also possesses high MS claws.
When building a tunnel simply for the sake of moving through an area, a super digger can proceed at a rate determined by their power rank, on the land/sea speed table. Tunnels built so quickly usually only last for 1d10 turns - often enough for others to hurry behind the super digger as he or she churns their way through the earth. Note that a tunnel will not generally collapse right on top of its creator unless induced to do so.
If a super digger wishes to produce a more permanent corridor, he or she must slow down considerably. Fashioning relatively permanent paths through the earth requires a lot more support work when creating them, limiting a super digger to a speed of one area per turn. This is nonetheless remarkably fast, and allows a whole lot of people to pass through the ground safely thanks to such work.
Super Flight
Type: Movement Power
Duration: 1d10 turns + maintenance, if desired
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: antigravity, environmental independence, environmental pocket, flight, resistance (or invulnerability) to cold, pressure variance and radiation, space control.
The power of super flight is the ability to cross space at speeds faster than light itself! While conventional models of physics generally restrain a body to this speed limit, super flight typically works in a fashion that satisfies the laws of relativity. This often involves shunting part or all of one's matter into another universe which does allow for faster than light travel - or otherwise negating a body's mass entirely.
Super flight in and of itself does not allow its possessor the ability to survive travel at such extreme speeds - much less in the locations such speeds require. This is because flying this fast in an atmosphere would instantly destroy an object due to the friction produced, which means it is best attempted in space... where most standard life forms have trouble finding food, water, or breathable air.
A host of additional, related powers may be required to most effectively make use of this ability. Environmental independence and resistance to cold, pressure variance, and radiation are all essential spacefaring capabilities, to survive being in space both short and long-term, while regular flight is also handy for moving in and out of a planetary atmosphere.
However a character manages to achieve super flight, he, she, or it can generally progress through space in a consistent fashion. Essentially, super flight lets its possessor traverse a number of light years equal to their power rank number each turn. Poor (4) ranked super flight would allow one to make a trip to Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our sun, in approximately one turn - which is pretty staggering to contemplate!
The speeds offered by super flight are truly fantastic in scope, but still aren't exactly instantaneous movement through the cosmos. Even with Class 5000 super flight, for instance, it would require three and a half years to cross from one side of the observable universe to the other. However, most jaunts through space don't necessarily involve such vast distances, and thus can be managed with a much smaller power rank.
Super Jumping
Type: Movement Power
Duration: 1d10 turns + maintenance, if desired
Cost: 1/2 point per additional rank of jumping ability
Related Powers: gliding, jelling, propulsion, super climbing, super running.
Barring a staggering lack of exercise, serious physical injury, or an anatomy that lacks limbs, most characters can manage at least a moderate leap. The exact distance that characters can normally leap up, forward, or down is calculated in the Space and Movement portion of the Core Rules. However, some individuals possess the ability to make logic-defying leaps and bounds, for they possess the power of super jumping!
Super jumping is a positive modifier to a character's leaping ability, boosting their 'natural' ability by its value. When using random character generation, one may automatically 'gamble' on their natural ability to determine its initial modifier, though a player may use additional gambling attempts to boost it further. With point-based character generation, simply spend one half point per +1 CS desired.
For example, a two-hundred-pound character with Typical (6) Strength (vigor) has Feeble (2) leaping naturally, which lets them bound forwards approximately two feet with relative ease. Each half point spent on super jumping would raise that value by +1 CS. If this character spent five points on super jumping, he or she would acquire Shift X (150) leaping potential, letting them cross two areas in a single bound!
Calculating the base velocity of a super jumper can be accomplished by figuring out their area movement on a turn per turn basis, on the land/sea speed table. That Shift X leaper, above, moves at two areas per turn, which translates into thirty miles per hour. Simply running across that distance may seem a lot faster, and it is in general, but super jumping does afford one the ability to avoid all manner of earth-bound hazards.
When combining super jumping with other movement powers, its utility can be increased to a staggering degree. Gliding allows a super jumper to 'hang' in the air for much longer, propulsion lets a body 'steer' while in the ballistic arc of a leap (helpful for avoiding puppies on the sidewalk), super climbing is great for leaping in urban environments, and super running dramatically boosts one's leaping speed and distance.
Super Running
Type: Movement Power
Duration: 1d10 turns + maintenance, if desired
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: jelling, resistance or invulnerability (fire, heat and/or friction), super jumping, super speed.
While almost any character can run, barring serious injuries or a physiology that lacks legs, the individual with super running takes this to a whole new level. Instead of referring to the running/acceleration rate table to determine how fast a super runner can move, upgrade to the land/water speed chart instead, using the super running power rank to showcase just how quick this power lets you move!
Super running typically includes minor adaptations to its possessor which allows them to breathe at such high velocities, resist the resultant friction, and to react fast enough to use it without killing themselves. A character's possessions and passengers (if carrying someone along) typically benefit from this as well, preventing a rescued hostage from being worn away to nothing when being carried at the speed of sound.
A super runner may run for as long as they like, even at top speed, without having to bother with fatigue. The power does not count as running for the purposes of exhaustion, which lets a body with super running cover an impressive amount of real estate with what, to them, is a simple jog. This is one reason why, when combined with super speed, super running is so astoundingly effective!
Super Swimming
Type: Movement Power
Duration: 1d10 turns + maintenance, if desired
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: dual respiration, fluid animation, super speed, tentacles, universal respiration.
The character with super swimming can tear through the water at astounding speeds. Whether on the surface or lurking below, a super swimmer may move at a speed determined by where their power rank lies on the land/speed velocity table. For example, a body with Remarkable (30) ranked super swimming would cruise through the ocean at ninety miles per hour - faster than most boats and submersibles!
By itself, super swimming does not give its possessor the ability to breathe underwater. Dealing with this issue requires additional powers, such as dual or universal respiration - or even environmental independence, to forego the need to breathe entirely! Without one of these abilities to back them up, a super swimmer should stick to the surface - or have air tanks handy for undersea voyages.
Super swimmers can readily tow an additional amount of weight, per the propulsion power. That Remarkable (30) super swimmer, above, could easily bring up to one ton of weight along for the ride. Exceeding this reduces super swimming's speed by -2 CS for every +1 CS of weight hauled. As an example, a fifty ton ship (an Amazing (50) weight) would reduce that Remarkable (30) super swimming's speed by -4 CS (to Poor (4)).
T
Teleportation
Type: Movement Power
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: aggregation, between, bilocation, chaos shift, clairvoyance, dimensional interface, dimensional transit, locational sense, planar control, portal, teleportation / others.
Using the power of teleportation, a character may move from one point in space to another without actually crossing the intervening distance. Teleportation functions on the Far range table, allowing a staggering freedom of movement for its wielder. For example, just possessing teleportation at Typical (6) rank lets its wielder cross up to ten miles in the blink of an eye!
And a teleporter can bring more than just themselves along for the ride. Teleportation allows its wielder to carry with him or her an amount of additional mass equal to their power rank number, as if it were an equivalent Strength score. The Typical (6) teleporter used as an example above could carry along two hundred bonus pounds of material - either a whole lot of gear or possibly another person if they're light enough.
Teleportation works by momentarily 'lifting' its wielder (and any cargo) out of their current space-time and 'bouncing' them off a higher dimension. Upon returning, the teleporter (and whatever they brought with them) materializes at the desired coordinates, no worse for the wear - that is, unless something was physically occupying the space that was teleported into.
Usually, gaseous and liquid matter will simply displace upon the appearance of teleported matter, but the solid stuff is where problems arise. If one teleports into a solid object, he or she must immediately roll an Endurance ACTION against the material strength of the object teleported into (or, if one manifested inside a living being, their Strength score instead). Success means the character teleported back out.
They and their cargo will return to their point of origin, rendered unconscious for 1d10 turns but otherwise all right. Should this ACTION fail, however, the teleporter will take an amount of damage equal to the object's material strength or victim's Strength score, and fall unconscious. Trapped within the object, the teleporter will begin to lose Endurance ranks as if subject to a Killing blow - which they were.
If the teleporter is helped in time, he or she may be just fine, though this may be tricky if they manifest deep within a solid object, such as a building foundation or moon. Being teleported into prompts much the same action, and if this ACTION fails the person unwittingly teleported into will suffer like damage and may potentially die as well - even if the person who teleported into them makes it to safety.
Teleportation / Others
Type: Movement Power
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 1 point per rank
Related Powers: aggregation, finding, summoning, teleportation.
The power to teleport others is the ability to move matter instantly - without it passing through the space between its origin and destination points. The power does not function on oneself, instead working on anything else in the environment, and can move a maximum amount of matter equal to its power rank as an equivalent Strength score; Excellent (20) teleportation / others, then, could move eight hundred pounds.
To teleport something, a character has to be able to perceive it somehow. This most often involves seeing the object, though any other sensory perception will do. This can be greatly aided by the use of abilities such as clairvoyance, or perhaps video cameras or other electronic aids. The ability to teleport others functions with Far range; that Excellent (20) power, above, could move things with a hundred mile range!
The power works by momentarily kicking the targeted matter out of one's current space-time, and 'bouncing' it off of a higher dimension. Upon returning, the teleported matter will materialize at the desired coordinates, no worse for the wear save for perhaps momentary disorientation as the surroundings suddenly shift. Unless, of course, something was occupying the space the matter was teleported into.
Usually, liquid and gaseous matter will simply displace upon the appearance of teleported matter, but the solid stuff is where danger arises. When transporting inanimate matter into another batch of inanimate matter, the two masses will basically merge with each other, their molecular structures overlapping and likely rendering anything active (like a robot) partially or totally inert.
If the teleported matter or the matter teleported into (or both) are alive, any living being involved must pass an Endurance ACTION roll against either the MS of the matter in question or the Strength of the offending life form. Success means the teleport was aborted in time, the teleported matter being bounced right back to its point of origin. When two life forms are involved, only one need succeed at this ACTION to escape.
The only harm done by this is inflicting a Stun for 1d10 turns on living being so teleported being the result. If any failure of such ACTIONs occur, any living being trapped within formerly external mass will immediately begin losing Endurance ranks, as if subject to a Kill result. If not rescued and treated in time, that person will die, consigned to a terrible death inside the mass of some object or another.
But how does one avoid being teleported, you ask? If unwilling, one can perform a dodge maneuver to prevent hostile teleportation, attempting to remove oneself from the power's effect - thus causing it to transport a target-shaped hole of air (or whatever). Alternately, one might have a specific resistance to teleportation as well, or perhaps some variation of the anchor ability, to effectively root themselves in place.
Time Travel
Type: Movement Power
Duration: instantaneous effect
Cost: 2 points per rank
Related Powers: between, bilocation, chaos shift, dimensional transit, jeopardy, locational sense, planar control, portal, postcognition, precognition, psychometry, quintessential variation, temporal static, time control.
Time travel is the ability to move forwards and backwards in time. This powerful ability works by pulling its wielder outside the normal space-time continuum and bouncing them off variant timelines, the angle of deflection determining how far one may travel in a single hop. The larger a power rank a character has in time travel, the greater an angular deflection they can achieve - thus trips through time that stretch even further.
Even a relatively small power rank can reach rather far into the time stream; a traveler may move through time a number of years (either forwards or backwards) equal to their power rank cubed. Thus, a Feeble (2) ranked time traveler can move eight years either way, while a Remarkable (30) ranked time traveler has a 27,000 year range - the latter allowing them to visit all of known human civilization!
This lends itself to any number of theories about how to alter the past, the present, or even the future. The problem is that whenever a body moves through time, he or she branches off a new timeline dedicated to each hop. For instance, when traveling to the past, a time traveler creates a timeline where they reached a point in history, leaving behind their original (where they didn't actually interfere with the past).
While in the 'new' timeline, the time traveler can alter 'their' past as they see fit. They can kill their grandparents, steal the Statue of Liberty, whatever. When traveling back to the present, they'll even see the results of whatever changes they have wrought - though even if they negated their own existence in this new timeline, they won't cease to exist because they are alien to it (despite being its ersatz creator).
Of course, the time traveler may not like the consequences of their actions, and might wish things to go back the way they were. Doing so is as simple as returning to one's original timeline (which has had a traveler-shaped absence in it since they left), though this requires stepping into the second temporal dimension, and is considered a power stunt, as it involves an aspect of dimensional transit.
The whole part about going to variant earths and back.
Alternately, one can hope their allies from the 'real' universe will come looking for them, in the event that this power stunt cannot be mastered. If the stunt isn't viable, and there is no likelihood of rescue, it's possible the time traveler may be out of luck. Or may have to go back into the past and stop themselves from changing things. Or perhaps try to do things differently, setting off even more divergent timelines.
While traveling to the future, you don't actually branch off a variant timeline until you return. When you do so, you immediately split off a different timeline wherein the future you traveled to has been rendered an alternate; that precise eventuality is no longer viable as a result of your present, the mere act of seeing it negating the probability of it occurring (it's one of those Schrödinger's Cat things).
Not to mention, you know, all those sleek future doo-dads you brought back with you.
Mind you, all of the above assumes you immediately return after entering the time stream. One can, as a power stunt, exit the timeline at their current point and just drift. This extends the range of time travel to an infinite degree, as the traveler may move along the timeline as far as they wish before allowing themselves to be drawn back in. The problem with this mode of time travel is the level of accuracy involved.
It's kind of hard to tell where you're going, temporally speaking, while outside of time. Roll an ACTION to determine relative accuracy. A white result means you could be at any time in any variant earth. A green ACTION means you have the timeline correct, but the time could be anywhen. A yellow ACTION gets you within a century of the desired time period, and a red ACTION gets you within about a month of where you want to be.