Limitations

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Notes

See Also: Power Modifiers

You can apply limitations to almost any trait (although as with enhancements, skills are normally off-limits). When you apply a limitation to a disadvantage, you reduce its value as a disadvantage; e.g., a -10% limitation on a -25-point disadvantage would make it a -22.5-point trait, which rounds to -22 points. Limited disadvantages are worth fewer points because they affect you under more restricted circumstances.

Remember that no matter how many limitations you take, you cannot reduce the cost of a trait by more than 80%. That is, when totaling modifiers, treat net modifiers below -80% as -80%.

The GM should take at least a cursory look at every limitation-laden ability. See Cautions. ( symbols are not yet added onto this page.)

Optional Rule: Limited Enhancements

If the GM allows, you can add a limitation to an enhancement. This restricts the enhancement, reducing its value as an enhancement without directly affecting the underlying ability.

Apply the limitation to the percentage value of the enhancement exactly as if it were a point value. This cannot reduce the value of the enhancement below 1/5 normal. Then apply the cheaper enhancement to the cost of the ability.

Example: Your Selective Area (+20%) enhancement has the Vision-Based (-20%) limitation. You don't need eye contact to make the attack work, but you must make eye contact with someone in your area of effect in order to single him out. A -20% limitation on a +20% enhancement reduces the net enhancement to +16%.

A few limitations require a specific enhancement. For instance, Emanation always accompanies Area Effect. Such limitations affect the underlying ability. You cannot use this rule to apply them to just the enhancement.

The GM may choose not to use this option, as it requires extra bookkeeping.

Accessibility

Variable

Accessibility is a catchall limitation you can use to cover any restriction not specifically defined elsewhere. Accessibility limitations fall into two broad categories: those that limit the targets your ability can affect and those that limit the situations in which it works.

If your ability can only affect certain targets, the limitation depends on how common the target group is. "Only on women," "Only on men," or anything else that covers about half of the population is worth -20%. "Only on Electrical" or "Only on machines" is worth -20% in a technological setting. "Only on sea creatures" is worth -30% – unless the campaign is set on a world mostly covered with water, in which case it isn't worth more than -10%. "Only on aliens" is worth -30% or -40%, depending on the world. "Only on psis" is worth -50% in most settings. "Not on redheads" is identical to "On everyone but redheads," and is worth -10%.

The same yardstick applies to limitations based on the situation. "Only at day" or "Only at night" is worth -20%. "Only in direct sunlight" is worth -30%. "Only in water" is worth -30% on Earth – but more on a desert planet and less on an ocean world. "Only during full moon" or "Only during new moon" is worth -40%. And "Useless under stress" is a whopping -60%, since it makes the ability worthless in most adventuring situations!

You can also link situational Accessibility to your actions. The more unusual, difficult, or obnoxious the required action is, the greater the limitation value. Some examples: Only in altered body form (Invisible, Insubstantial, etc.): -10%. Only while playing trumpet: -20%. Only while flying, Only while swimming, Only in hypnotic trance: -30%. Only by one side of split personality: -40%.

In all cases, if the ability is only weakened (half power) instead of becoming useless, halve the value of the limitation.

The GM shouldn't allow meaningless Accessibility limitations. For instance, buying a helpful ability with the limitation "Only on friends" gives no cost break. Buying it with "Only on enemies" would be interesting, though! Likewise, the GM should reject any proposed limitation that is already implicit in the ability. For instance, "Only while flying" is not an acceptable limitation for Enhanced Move (Air).

Always On

Variable

You cannot switch your advantage off. You may only add this to an ability that can normally be switched off and that is inconvenient if you can't turn it off. It is worth -10% if the effects are social or cosmetic, -20% if they are physically inconvenient, and -40% if they are dangerous (to you!).

Always On appears as a "special limitation" for most of the traits to which it would apply. The GM can add new costs as appropriate for other abilities.

Armor Divisor

Variable

Your attack can pierce less armor than its base damage would indicate. "Divisor" is the factor by which you divide. "DR Multiplier" is an equivalent calculation – multiply your opponent's DR by this number.

Divisor	DR	Multiplier Modifier
(0.5)	2	-30%
(0.2)	5	-50%
(0.1)	10	-70%

In addition, if you have any level of this limitation, targets that have DR 0 (e.g., bare flesh) get DR 1 against your attack.

Only Innate Attacks and Afflictions can have this limitation. Armor Divisor is a "penetration modifier"; you cannot combine it with other pen- etration modifiers, such as [[Contact Agent]] and Follow-Up.

Blood Agent

-40%

Your attack must reach a mucous membrane (eyes, open mouth, nose, etc.) or an open wound to have any effect at all. DR always stops it. This limitation is intended for Afflictions, and for Innate Attacks that inflict fatigue or toxic damage. It is especially appropriate for poisonous spit or spray. In conjunction with Aura, it can also represent an attack that is delivered via intimate physical contact.

Exception: If the attack also has Area Effect or Cone, Blood Agent works as described above and also when inhaled (like Respiratory Agent). This lets it ignore all DR. Only targets with the Sealed advantage – or with one of Doesn't Breathe or Filter Lungs and one of Nictitating Membrane or Protected Vision – are immune. This powerful ability converts Blood Agent into a +100% enhancement when combined with Area Effect or Cone!

This is a "penetration modifier"; you cannot combine it with other penetration modifiers, such as Follow-Up.

Bombardment

Variable

Contact Agent

-30%

Costs Fatigue

Variable

Your ability costs FP to use. This is worth -5% per FP per use. What constitutes a "use" depends on the underlying trait.

For abilities that produce instantaneous effects (e.g., Innate Attack), you must pay this FP cost every time you trigger the ability.

For advantages that produce continuing effects (e.g., Flight), you must pay this FP cost to activate the ability for one minute. However, once you have paid this initial cost, you need only pay half as many FP (round up) per minute to keep the ability active. If an advantage that produces continuing effects only lasts one second, and you must pay the cost to maintain it every second, this doubles the value of the limitation to -10% per FP.

Damage Limitations

Variable

No Blunt Trauma (nbt)

-20%

No Knockback (nkb)

-10%

No Wounding (nw)

-50%

Dissipation

-50%

Emanation

-20%

Emergencies Only

-30%

Extra Recoil

-10% per +1 Recoil

Inaccurate

-5%/level

Limited Use

Variable

Melee Attack

Variable

Mitigator

Variable

Nuisance Effect

Variable

Onset

Variable

Pact

Variable

Preparation Required

Variable

Reduced Range

-10%/level

Resistible

Variable

Sense-Based

Variable

Takes Extra Time

-10%/level

Takes Recharge

Variable

Telepathic

-10%

The ability is a psi ability within the Telepathy power. Anything that blocks Telepathy will block it – in particular Mind Shield – but it can benefit from Telepathy Talent.

Temporary Disadvantage

Variable

Trigger

Variable

Unconscious Only

-20%

Uncontrollable

-10% or -30%

Unreliable

Variable

Untrainable

-40%

Gadget Limitations

Breakable

Variable

Can Be Stolen

Variable

Unique

-25%