House Rules

[Sacremas]

The following House Rules are in use for this game:

Power Restrictions

Skill Challenges

Extraordinary and Last-Ditch Effort

Power Surges

Lethality

Altered and New Powers

[Sacremas]

Power Restrictions

There are only four power descriptors available for this game;

Tech - Anything technological, from heavy machine guns to cybernetic implants to battle suits to viechles. 75 % of all powers should be of this descriptor.
Genetic - Powers gained from genetic enhancements, likely through cloning, radical gene therapy and the like.
PSI - psionic powers, usually gained partially from Tech with the PSI-Implant drawback. PSI powers are restricted to Power Level 6.
Training - As the name implies, 'powers' or abilities derived solely from training, these should mostly be covered by regular skills, feats and abilities, with a maximum score of 24 in any ability without Genetic or Tech additons.

Also Equipment is restricted to non-combat items mostly, any armor, weapons or other items beneficial for combat will have to be bought as Devices. Customization of devices to some degree (including cool names) is encouraged.

[Sacremas]

CHALLENGES

Challenges reflect a capable character’s ability to perform some
tasks with superior panache and efficiency. They allow heroes to
achieve greater results by making already difficult checks harder.
To take a challenge, increase a check’s Difficulty Class by 5 or
suffer a –5 penalty to the check result. In return, you gain an extra
benefit in addition to the normal effects of a successful check. If
you fail due to the penalty or increased DC, however, you suffer the
normal results of failure. Note that, if failing by more than a certain
margin imposes a particular outcome, you suffer that outcome as
normal if you fail to meet your newly increased Difficulty Class. So,
for example, a character who misses a Disable Device check by 10 or
more accidentally sets off the device. If the standard Difficulty is 20
and your challenge increases it to 25, then you accidentally set off
the device with a skill check result of 15 or less, instead of the usual
10 or less.
You can accept more than on challenge to a check. In some cases,
you can take a challenge more than once to gain its benefits multiple
times. These are noted in the challenge descriptions.
Generally, challenges allow you to gain added benefits when you
face a relatively low DC and have a high modifier. You can also use
challenges to attempt heroic actions, even when faced with a high
DC. In these cases, spending a hero point can help ensure success
with all the added benefits of the successful challenge.

STANDARD CHALLENGES
The challenges in this section apply to any ability or skill check. The
Gamemaster has final say whether a challenge applies to a specific
situation. Each challenge imposes either a +5 modifier to a check’s
DC or a –5 penalty to the check result.

• Fast Task: You reduce the time needed to complete the check.
  If the check is normally a full-round action, it becomes a standard
  action. A standard action becomes a move action, while a
  move action becomes a free action. For checks requiring time in
  rounds, minutes, or longer, reduce the time needed by 25 percent
  per challenge. You cannot make a check as a free action via
  challenges if it normally requires a standard action or longer.
• Calculated Risk: You can take a calculated risk on one check
  to make a follow-up check easier. For example, you could use
  Disable Device to overcome an initial safeguard to make disarming
  the whole trap easier. If you succeed at this challenge, you
  gain a bonus on the second check equal to the total penalty you
  accepted on the first. The two checks must be related and the
  first, penalized, check must carry some consequence for failure
  (that is, it cannot be a check where you can take 20).
• Simultaneous Tasks: You can accept a challenge in order to
  perform two checks simultaneously. To attempt simultaneous
  checks, make the challenge check, followed by a second check
  using the same or a different trait. Your secondary check suffers
  a –10 penalty or a +10 increase in Difficulty. The combined task
  requires the same time as the longest normal task, so if both
  tasks require a standard action, you accomplish the simultaneous
  use in a single standard action rather than two.

In addition to these standard challenges, various skills have specific
challenges associated with them, described in the following
section.

ACROBATICS CHALLENGES

• Accelerated Acrobatics: You can try to cross a precarious surface
  faster than normal. If you increase the Difficulty Class by 5,
  you can move your full speed as a move action. Moving twice
  your speed in a round requires the penalty plus two skill checks,
  one for each move action. You can also accept this penalty to
  charge across a precarious surface; this requires one skill check
  per multiple of your speed (or fraction thereof) that you charge.
• Perfect Balance: In return for increasing the Difficulty Class
  by 5, you move with such grace and agility that you maintain
  your dodge bonus to defense while balancing.
• Perilous Balance: You can shake or disturb the surface on
  which you are balancing (e.g., swaying on a tightrope). If your
  check succeeds after increasing the Difficulty Class by 5, you
  keep your balance and impose a +5 modifier on the Difficulty
  Classes of all Acrobatics checks that others must make on the
  surface until the next round.

CLIMB CHALLENGES

• Accelerated Climb: You can try to climb more quickly than
  normal. By accepting a +5 DC modifier to your check, you can
  move half your speed instead of one-quarter your speed while
  climbing. You can accept this challenge twice, for a total DC
  modifier of +10, to move at your normal speed while climbing.
• Fighting Climb: By accepting a +5 DC modifier to a Climb check,
  you can maintain your dodge bonus to defense while climbing.
• Secured Climb: If you take a +5 DC modifier to your Climb
  check, you do not have to make a Climb check to maintain your
  position if you take damage. You climb in such a way as to brace
  yourself for any attacks.

CRAFT CHALLENGES

• Fast Work: You may add +5 or +10 to the indicated Difficulty
  Class to craft an item. This increase allows you to make the item
  faster than usual, reducing the time to half or one-quarter normal,
  respectively.

DIPLOMACY CHALLENGES

• Combat Diplomacy: You can make a Diplomacy check in combat
  as a full-round action by accepting a +10 modifier to the
  Difficulty Class. Opponents in combat with you are considered
  hostile. An unfriendly opponent doesn’t attack you unless you
  give him reason to do so. An indifferent foe stops fighting altogether,
  while a helpful one actually joins your side, even turning
  against former allies.

DISABLE DEVICE CHALLENGES

• Hide Tampering: If you add +5 to your Difficulty Class, you can
  conceal any tampering with a device. Anyone who inspects the
  device must make a check against your Disable Device check result
  to notice your tampering. On a failed check, it goes unnoticed.

DISGUISE CHALLENGES

• Face in the Crowd: With a –5 penalty to your check result, you
  can craft a disguise that is less likely to draw attention. Only
  people who specifically single you out and try to notice your
  deception receive Notice checks to do so. Guards and other
  passive observers take no special notice of you unless you draw
  attention to yourself or interact directly with them.
• Quick Change: You can adopt a disguise as a full-round action
  by taking a –5 penalty to your check. However, anyone who
  comes within one visual range increment of you (usually 10
  feet) automatically sees through your disguise due to its hurried
  and makeshift nature.

ESCAPE ARTIST CHALLENGES

• Conceal Efforts: In exchange for a +5 to the DC, you can conceal
  your efforts to escape. Anyone who inspects your bindings
  must make a Notice check with a Difficulty Class equal to your
  Escape Artist check result. If the Notice check fails, they do not
  notice your efforts to escape. So, for example, you could leave
  your bonds seemingly intact so a villain doesn’t realize that
  you’re actually free.

DRIVE CHALLENGES

• One Hand on the Wheel: By taking a +5 Difficulty increase to
  your Drive check, you can perform a standard action in the same
  round as your Drive check with no penalty.

GATHER INFORMATION CHALLENGES

• Discrete Inquiry: While looking for news and information, you
  keep a low profile. You increase your Gather Information check
  DC by +5, but you avoid leaving any clues about the information
  you seek. If your check fails, you may be detected as normal,
  but you still avoid spreading clues about what you were trying
  to find.

INTIMIDATE CHALLENGES

• Forceful Intimidation: By taking a –5 penalty on your
  Intimidate check, you can force your subject to take an action
  that is against his interests (but not life threatening).
• Mass Intimidation: You can attempt to intimidate more than
  one subject at a time. You suffer a –2 penalty to your check per
  opponent beyond the first (instead of the usual -5 penalty for a
  skill challenge).
• Powerful Intimidation: In return for a –5 penalty to your
  Intimidate check, you can either increase the penalty you inflict
  for demoralizing a foe by –1. You can take this challenge multiple
  times to increase the demoralize penalty.

NOTICE CHALLENGES

• Accurate: In return for a –5 penalty to your Notice check, you
  can treat a normally inaccurate sense (such as hearing) as accurate
  for one round. A successful check tells you the exact spot a
  subject occupies. A failed check means you don’t notice anything.
• Lip Reading: By careful observation of the movements of someone’s
  mouth and lips, you can tell what he is saying. Lip reading
  is a +5 increase to the DC of your Notice check.
  You must be within three Notice range increments of the
  speaker and be able to accurately see him speak. You must
  also be able to understand the speaker’s language. You have to
  concentrate on reading lips for a full minute before making the
  Notice check, and can’t perform some other action during this
  time. You can move at half speed but not any faster, and must
  maintain a line of sight to the lips being read. If the check succeeds,
  you understand the general content of a minute’s worth
  of speech, but may still miss certain details.
  If the check fails, you can’t read the speaker’s lips. If the
  check fails by 5 or more, you draw some incorrect conclusion
  about the speech.
  The GM rolls the Notice check so you don’t know whether
  you succeeded or failed and therefore don’t know whether or
  not any information you picked up is accurate. You can spend a
  hero point to re-roll a lip reading attempt, but you do so “blind,”
  not knowing what the original die roll result was (and therefore
  whether or not you can do better).. You can retry a failed
  attempt at lip reading once per minute.

PILOT CHALLENGES

• One Hand on the Wheel: By taking a +5 Difficulty increase to
  your Pilot check, you can perform a standard action in the same
  round as your Pilot check with no penalty.

SENSE MOTIVE CHALLENGES

• Combat Clarity: For a –5 penalty to your skill check, you increase
  the bonuses provided by the combat sense use of Sense Motive by
  +1. You can take this challenge up to twice on a single check. The
  penalties you suffer for a failed check do not increase.
• Read Situation: For every +5 you increase the DC of your Sense
  Motive check, you learn one fact about the situation at hand
  when evaluating a situation (see Sense Motive in the Skills
  chapter of M&M). The GM may tell you things like someone’s
  apparent goal(s), the nature of an interaction, and so forth.

STEALTH CHALLENGES

• Accelerated Stealth: You can move up to your normal speed
  in exchange for a –5 penalty to your Stealth check. In return for
  a –20 penalty to your check, you can move faster than your normal
  speed, such as by running or charging.
• Slip Between Cover: You can make a Stealth check at a penalty
  to quickly cross an area lacking cover or concealment without
  automatically revealing yourself. For every 5 feet of open space
  you cross, you take a –5 penalty to your Stealth check. You also
  take the normal Stealth penalties for moving faster than half
  your normal speed and such. For example, you could slip past a
  5-foot open doorway without being seen, or duck from shadow
  to shadow. Characters with the Hide in Plain Sight feat don’t
  need cover or concealment to hide, so these rules do not apply
  to them. The same is true for characters with the Concealment
  power, since they’re capable of making their own concealment.
• Vanishing: Stealthy characters in the comics regularly “disappear”
  when no one is watching them. This is essentially a use
  of Stealth to hide when the character has some concealment
  or a distraction (no one looking directly at him, essentially). It
  requires a Stealth check with a –5 penalty, and the character
  must be within a normal move action of an exit, or some cover
  or concealment (a window, skylight, ventilation duct, etc.). A
  successful check means the character seems to disappear; an
  observer looks only to discover he is gone. Characters can use
  Bluff or Intimidate to gain the momentary distraction needed
  to vanish in this way. Those with the Hide in Plain Sight feat
  do not need this challenge, as they can already make Stealth
  checks without the need for cover or concealment.

SWIM CHALLENGES

• Accelerated Swim: For a +5 DC increase, you increase your
  swimming speed by one-quarter your normal speed. You can
  take this challenge up to three times to increase your swimming
  speed up to your normal speed. You suffer the normal effects of
  failing your Swim check.

[Sacremas]

EXTRAORDINARY EFFORT

Extra effort and hero points allow characters to accomplish a lot. However, there are those times when even extra effort isn’t enough and extraordinary effort is called for:

Once per adventure (more or less at the GM’s discretion) a player can decide to use extraordinary effort. The player may spend any or all of the character’s remaining hero points as well as up to three fatigue results (which renders a normal character unconscious). These can apply to any of their normal uses, and the benefits stack. So a hero who uses extraordinary effort, expending three hero points and suffering two fatigue results, can apply five levels of extra effort to a task. The player cannot spend hero points (if there are any remaining) to offset the fatigue from extraordinary effort.

LAST-DITCH EFFORT

This option goes beyond even extraordinary effort: in addition to all the effects of extraordinary effort, characters can also suffer damage from pushing beyond the limits of their abilities. The progression is staggered, disabled, dying, dead; each grants an additional level of extra effort. This extra effort can be combined with hero points and the expenditure of fatigue levels as desired. So a hero could gain up to five additional levels, but it means the character dies at the end of the effort. Last-ditch effort is usually reserved for truly dramatic situations where the heroes sacrifice all in order to succeed.

[Sacremas]

POWER SURGES
Sometimes superhuman powers surge out of control, often with serious
consequences. This is a new power drawback, known as a power
surge. The Power Surge drawback is generally Common and Strong,
worth 4 power points. Power surges are optional, since they’re
somewhat complex and require a separate system of tracking surge
points, outlined here.

Power Surges are restricted to PSI characters only.

WHEN POWER SURGES OCCUR
A power surge may occur when any of the following conditions are
met:

• The hero uses extra effort to enhance a power in some way,
  whether increasing the power’s rank temporarily, or gaining a
  temporary power feat. The chance of a power surge is the same
  whether or not the player spends a hero point to ignore the
  fatigue of extra effort.
• A player rolls a natural 1 on any roll involving an active use
  of a power (including attack rolls, and skill, ability, or power
  checks). This does not apply to passive uses of powers, such as
  Protection.
• The character is stunned. This may occur in combat or from other
  effects.
• When the character is under extreme emotional stress. This may
  be due to mental or psychological complications, or decided by
  roleplaying and the Gamemaster’s judgment. It’s also possible
  to goad someone into a power surge using interaction skills like
  Bluff and Intimidate, but the GM should require at least two
  successful checks against the target, and may wish to give the
  character a +2 or better bonus on checks to avoid this sort of
  manipulation.

When any of the previous conditions are met, the player makes a Will
saving throw, with a Difficulty Class of 10 plus the character’s power
level (the campaign’s power level for player character heroes or an
NPC’s calculated power level) [NOTE: Effective PL 6 for PSI powers.]
Thus as superhumans become more powerful, their powers become
more difficult to control, although their Will save bonus may also increase.
In cases where multiple conditions apply, each additional condition
increases the DC of the saving throw by +2. A character
is only required to make one Will save per round to avoid power
surges, regardless of the number of conditions, and makes only
one save per condition for as long as that condition applies. So
only one saving throw is required for a particular emotional stress
or stunned condition, for example, even if it lasts longer than a
round.
A successful Will save means no power surge but the character
gains a surge point. A failed Will save means a power surge occurs.
Players may spend hero points to improve Will saves and avoid
power surges.

POWER SURGE EFFECTS
A power surge causes the character’s powers to go out of control. It
is much like an uncontrolled use of extra effort, with results dictated
by the Gamemaster.
The character is stunned by the power surge with the usual
effects: loss of the character’s next action and loss of dodge bonus
to Defense, with an additional –2 to Defense. The player can spend
a hero point to shake off this stun condition normally, although this
does not prevent the power surge from occurring.
On the round after the power surge ends, the character is
fatigued and recovers from this fatigue normally. If the character
was already fatigued (such as from a previous use of extra effort),
then he is exhausted, if exhausted, then he becomes unconscious.
The player may also spend a hero point to ignore the fatigue of a
power surge.
For a normal power surge, apply the effects of extra effort and the
Uncontrolled flaw to one of the character’s powers. The Gamemaster
decides the exact effects of any given power surge, with input from
the players, as desired. Possible power surge effects include:

• A power is used for an immediate attack against a random target
  with a +2 bonus to power rank. The attack is rolled normally,
  using the character’s normal attack bonus.
• The character acquires a new power feat (like a normal use of
  extra effort) that activates wildly on its own. A superhuman
  with Energy Blast might suddenly acquire an area version as a
  power stunt, emitting an omni-directional blast of power, or a
  Dazzle effect as a power stunt, releasing a cascade of blinding
  light.
• One of the character’s other powers activates at random and at
  +2 power rank, such as a flying character suddenly taking off at
  full speed or a teleporter vanishing into thin air.

CONTINUOUS POWER SURGES
If a power surge involves an instant power like Energy Blast, then its
effects occur and end immediately, although the after-effects may
linger for some time. A surge involving a sustained or continuous
power may continue after the initial round. Each round after the
initial surge, the player makes another Will save for the character
with the same DC, but a +1 bonus for each round. A successful save
means the superhuman gets the surge under control and its effects
stop.
A failed save means the surge continues another round. The surge
may continue with the same effects as before, or it may change,
depending on the Gamemaster’s whim. The surge doesn’t grow any
more powerful, but an out-of-control flier may suddenly change direction,
or a character uncontrollably broadcasting his emotions may
change the feeling he’s generating.
A successful Will save to stop an ongoing power surge does not
earn a surge point, unlike a save to prevent a power surge from
occurring.

SURGE POINTS
The previous section describes the normal effects of a power surge.
Those change if the character has garnered any surge points from
resisting previous power surges. Each successful Will saving throw to
avoid a power surge causes the character to acquire a surge point.
Characters can accumulate an unlimited number of these points and
they are difficult to get rid of (see following). Surge points represent
a build-up of power; by resisting a power surge the character only
delays it, and ensures the surge will be more severe when it finally
does happen.
When a character with surge points fails a Will save to avoid a
power surge, the surge points augment the effects of the surge. The
Gamemaster applies all accumulated surge points as if they were
hero points, except surge points must be spent at all once and their
effects are cumulative. Surge points can have any of the effects hero
points do and enable a power surge to apply multiple levels of extra
effort (much like Extraordinary Effort in Chapter 6).

Some examples of the effects of surge points include:

• Applying additional increases to the affected power’s rank: +2
  per surge point. As a general rule, most powers won’t exceed
  twice their normal rank, but this is at the GM’s discretion.
• Applying additional power feats. The most common is the
  Progression feat (see Power Feats in the Powers chapter of
  M&M).
• Improving die rolls associated with the power surge. One surge
  point allows the GM to add +10 any die roll associated with
  the surge that’s 10 or less. Two surge points turn any such die
  roll into an automatic 20 (although not a natural 20). This only
  applies to rolls made by the Gamemaster for the affected power,
  not things like saving throws or other checks made against the
  power’s effects.

After a character suffers a power surge, the character’s surge point
total is reset to 0 and he begins building up surge points again from
successful Will saves until a new power surge occurs.

ELIMINATING SURGE POINTS
Naturally, characters try to avoid power surges as much as possible.
However, the more you avoid a power surge, the worse it will
be when you inevitably succumb and lose control. A character
with enough surge points built up can do considerable damage.
Therefore, character may try to find ways to “bleed off” their excess
power, developing various sorts of “pressure valves” to keep them
under control.
One means is for the character to trigger a deliberate power surge,
under controlled conditions. You can always choose not to make a
saving throw to prevent a power surge, so some may choose to go
somewhere suitably isolated, where they can trigger a power surge
with a measure of safety and “blow off steam” before they lose control.
The drawback is the unpredictable nature of power surges. The
character doesn’t have any control over how the surge manifests
and, the broader the character’s powers, the more unpredictable the
surge becomes. Since power surges can add power feats to a power
(including Alternate Powers), there’s no telling what might happen.
Therefore, it’s questionable whether or not any place is entirely
“safe” for setting off a surge. For example, a character out in an
isolated area like the Sahara Desert or Antarctica might trigger a
power surge that creates an environmental catastrophe, such as a
massive shockwave creating a desert storm or a heat pulse melting a
tremendous amount of polar ice or turning desert sand into a sheet
of glass.
Characters capable of surviving in space and leaving Earth have
an additional option: they can trigger a power surge in deep space,
with nothing nearby for millions of miles. This is the safest possible
alternative, but there’s still no way of knowing what might happen.
A space-faring character is still capable of generating energy pulses
that might affect Earth in some way, from interfering with communications
to bombarding the planet with increased levels of radiation,
for example. Bring things like mental powers into play, and almost
anything could happen.
The other drawback to deliberate power surges is a surge stuns
the character (unless the player uses a hero point to overcome
this). This means characters may be momentarily bereft of their
protective powers after they surge. So a space-faring character
must have appropriate Immunities; otherwise the cure is far worse
than the malady as the character is exposed to the vacuum of
space. An opponent may lie in wait and try to take advantage of
the character’s momentary disorientation and fatigue. There’s also
the possibility of encountering trouble on the way to an isolated
locale to safely trigger a power surge. This may cause the character
to surge prematurely.
The other means of eliminating surge points is the opposite of
a deliberate power surge. A character who refrains from using any
powers at all for a length of time can slowly “bleed off” the excess
energies leading to power surges. This takes considerable time: a
character must not use any powers for a full week to eliminate a
single surge point. This includes continuous powers, which must be
“switched off” during this time. Permanent powers still function, but
the character cannot use any other powers during this time. Use of
any power, even for a moment, means he has to start the process all
over again.
The difficulty with this approach is it renders the character an
ordinary mortal while eliminating surge points. This leaves superhumans
vulnerable to their enemies, although they don’t necessarily
advertise their vulnerability (and their enemies may not know the
character’s powers are “on hold”). It also generally keeps them from
pursing any goals or activities requiring their powers. In fact, some
superhumans simply can’t take a week off when there’s so much for
them to do. The GM may call for Will saves to resist the temptation
to use powers while trying to shed surge points.
A character trying to avoid using any powers, but forced into a
situation where power use is necessary, may be considered under the
kind of stress that can cause a power surge. So, the effort of trying
to desperately refrain from power use may actually trigger the power
surge the character is hoping to avoid in the first place!

SURGE POINT PENALTY
The default assumption is the buildup of surge points has no adverse
effects on characters until they fail a Will save and a power surge
occurs. Some Gamemasters may wish to have the buildup make characters
more prone to power surges. In this case, apply a penalty to
the Will save against power surges equal to his current surge point
total. So a character with 3 surge points suffers a –3 penalty on saves
to avoid further power surges. This means there’s a finite number of
surge points a character can build up before inevitably failing a Will
save, and it makes racking up surge points a more serious matter.

DEATH SURGES
A superhuman’s death throes can potentially unleash a catastrophe.
The default assumption is a character’s death doesn’t cause a power
surge if the superhuman dies instantly or is unconscious at the time
of death. If there’s no chance to react, there’s no chance of provoking
a power surge. On the other hand, a prolonged or painful death
almost certainly requires a Will save to prevent a surge, and some
may choose to forgo the saving throw, hoping to get a last chance at
revenge against their killers.
At the Gamemaster’s option, a power surge may occur when a
character dies under any conditions. This approach may actually
decrease the amount of violence in the campaign if Power Surge
is a common or default drawback, since superhumans won’t be so
quick to kill each other if they know each of them is essentially a
bomb waiting to go off. Better to defeat or overpower a foe and
then dispose of them somewhere relatively safe, where the resultant
power surge isn’t as dangerous, such as leaving them in a “sure-fire”
deathtrap…
Finally, there’s always the possibility of a superhuman’s dying
power surge doing something unusual. Perhaps a dying curse is
given life by the power surge, or maybe that last surge of power
creates an incorporeal “ghost” to cause more trouble in the future.
Is it really the spirit of the deceased character or just some power
construct? Only the Gamemaster knows for sure.
Death surges, if they exist, may also be far more intense than
normal power surges. Gamemasters may decide to apply additional
surge points to a death surge, using the guidelines for last-ditch
effort above; this will ensure the death of any superhuman
becomes a spectacular (and potentially cataclysmic) event.

[Sacremas]

Lethality

The default damage setting of any attacks but unarmed attacks or attacks specially designed to do nonlethal damage is LETHAL. This applies to both PC and NPC characters attacks, guns will always cause Lethal damage in other words. An unarmed attack may cause lethal damage if the attacker has more than 20 Strength, one or more ranks of Super Strength or one or more ranks of the Strike power, in the two former cases all unarmed attacks by that character are lethal, if the attacker possesses Strike s/he may choose upon attacking wether to do lethal or nonlethal damage.

Additionally any Lethal toughness save that is failed by 20 or more will result in instant death, spending a Hero Point at this point will cause the character to end up Unconcious and Dying as normal but if no hero points remain the character is irrevocably and permanently dead.

[Sacremas]

Altered and New Powers

Datalink is limited in this game to a maximum of 3 ranks for a range of approximately 1 Mile. The Machine Control power feat is unavailable, while if you have the Cyberspace power feat you can add a secondary character to your sheet, an Avatar character that's a PL 10 character with 10 power points per the base character's rank in the Computers skill.

Machine Control can instead be taken as a Mind Control power specifically targeting machines with a computer guidance system. This computer-limited Mind Control costs the same as normal Mind Control because normal Mind Control can't affect machines or computers.

Datamind is a new power without any ranks and with no cost, but with an inherent drawback weighting up for it. It's a cerebral cybernetic implant that grants the character Mental Communication in a 1 mile radius with other characters with the Datamind ability, this Communication can be upgraded to Global range by making a DC 30 Computers check and it can be made Subtle with a DC 20 Computers check. It also allows the character to recieve sends such as messages, images, videos and so on by someone with Net access such as via the Datalink power, and also provides a internal data storage capacity equal to about 10 Terabyte of memory that effectively gives the character the Eidetic Memory feat as most sensory impressions are automatically recorded onto the Datamind for later viewing. However if the character is exposed to EMP or any other effect that can compromise data storage this information is lost like that of any other computer. Also if you're within range of an 'operator' with a Datalink access and some decent computer equipment you can request to have the operator send you operation manuals, effectively constituting 5 Skill Ranks of your choice in a single skill you have 4 or less ranks in, including trained-only skills you currently have no ranks in at all, these free skill ranks lasts for the encounter and you can have only one 'operations manual' active at the same time. So for example if you don't know how to drive a helicopter you can request a operator to send you the operations manual directly into your Datamind, giving you 4 Pilot ranks for this purpose. Effectively it's a free use of the Beginner's Luck feat, as long as you have an operator within range willing to give it to you at least.

The main drawback with Datamind however is that it opens the character up to be hacked just like a regular computer by someone with the Datalink ability or some other way to access the character's datamind. A conscious actively resisting character is treated as HOSTILE for the purpose of this check while an unconcious or otherwise unresisting character is treated as INDIFFERENT, a Computer check is then made to change the character's disposition as if he were a computer system they were trying to access. At FRIENDLY disposition the hacker can access the Datamind's storage and see what the character has seen, anything else provokes a Will Save to resist. At HELPFUL disposition the hacker can start altering a character's sensory reception as if from a use of the Illusion power, and can also attempt direct control and force the character to act against his will, this provokes will saves to resist however. At this point regular memories are also available to the hacker, as if he were using the Mind Reading power. At FANATIC disposition the character's will has been completely overridden by the intruding hacker as if the character were under continuous Mind Control with no ability to break free, only another hacker can break the attacker's grip on the character's mind at this point. Also the hacked character gets no further will saves to resist control or memory reading by the hacker. All effective power uses by hackers are at the hacker's PL, so a PL 8 hacker trying to access a Helpful character's memories does so as if he had Mind Reading 8 for example.