Wise Turtle Publishing

I'm trying to work out how one could build someone with power along the lines of Rogue from X-Men. That is the power to "absorb" someone else's powers.

Seems kinda tricky unless you separate your abilities/weaknesses into those that are "supernatural" and those that are "natural". Rogue can copy someone's ability to fly but not their skill in cooking.

I'm thinking something along the lines of
Special Ability (Mimic) +5
Trigger (Touching target) -3
linked to Special Ability (Drain) +5

Any help here please?

Since you're making up the Mimic Ability anyway, I'd just include "only works on special powers" in the Ability description itself. If you must separate it, an additional trigger of "Must copy a super power" would do.

What is the "linked to Special Ability (Drain) +5" supposed to represent? I feel like I'm missing something dreadfully obvious.

Clay wrote: What is the "linked to Special Ability (Drain) +5" supposed to represent? I feel like I'm missing something dreadfully obvious.

Thanks for the input Clay helpful as usual. This is because Rogue doesn't just copy people's powers, she steals them. Or would I be better off just including it all inside one custom ability?

I'm trying to devise a rather nasty villain for our supers game.

Oh, I see. It's been a while since I've read X-Men, so I totally forgot the whole "stealing" part.

For simplicity's sake, you COULD just include it in the previous Ability. But we're getting into the point where the Ability is absurdly powerful. You're effectively giving the character Magic, Arcane +5 (Gaining up to +5 in an Ability) and Magic, Witchcraft +5 (Reducing an Ability to -3 with very poor, if not nonexistent, ability to resist.) in the same breath without so much as an Endurance cost or activation roll. So it's probably a better idea, for some semblance of balance, to keep it two separate Abilities as you have done.

I'd include one, the other, or both in the TV too. ;D

Just my two cents worth:
By including an EP cost per use (it wasn't something she felt "good" after doing) as well as an 'involuntary' flaw (she couldn't controll the powers she took) you could definatly limit the power of the ability.
'course if it's for a villian the who cares... make him as powerful as is needed for the story.