function even in the absence of a normal
power supply, such as would be provided
by an electric cord, wound spring, or
miniature nuclear generator. The only
new function the hero can give a machine
is limited ground movement. Affected
Machines can travel at -2CS Power rank
speed by sliding or rocking along the
ground; see the Surface Movement table
inside the cover. If the machine already
incorporates a means of propulsion
(wheels, tracks, table legs), it can travel
at Power rank speed; see ditto.
The Power can affect any single
machine within range of the Power;
Column B of the Range Table gives the
appropriate limits. If the hero attempts to
control several machines simultaneously,
the Range decreases -1CS for each
additional Machine the hero is
controlling. For example, a hero with
Good Machine Animation can control a
single machine 10 areas away, two
machines 5 areas away, three machines
within his area, or four machines if he is
touching all of them at once (an
interesting Agility FEAT, I suppose).
The Power is primarily intended to
control normally non-sentient devices,
which are considered to have a Psyche of
zero. If the hero tries to gain control of a
Robot or the mechanical part of a
Cyborg, greater effort is needed. It
becomes a contest of wills, as the hero's
Power tries to overcome the target's
Psyche. The Psyche in question is either
that of the Robotic brain or the living mind
of a Cyborg; if the Cyborg incorporates
both living and mechanical minds, only
the Psyche of the mechanical mind is
used to determine the difficulty of the
FEAT. The latter determines what
Intensity FEAT is required.
Example: A Poor rank of Machine
Animation could seize control of a
Dreadnought's Feeble Psyche with a
green FEAT and Ultron-11's Poor Psyche
with a yellow FEAT, but couldn't begin to
touch Jocasta's Good Psyche.
Attempting to wrest control of the Iron
Man armor would require a red FEAT if
either Tony Stark or Jim Rhodes were
wearing it at the time but would
automatically succeed if the armor were,
say, hanging in a closet somewhere. To
protect against such interference, High
Technology types would need to develop
circuitry that would give the equivalent of
a desired Psyche rank to the machine.
Optional Powers include Commun-
ication with Cybernetics, Communication
with Non-Living Matter (limited to
machines only), and Matter Animation.
MC10/Micro-Environment: The hero
can alter his immediate surroundings to
create a miniature climate around
himself. The Micro-Environment always
contains fresh clean air (or water or
methane or whatever the hero breathes)
at any temperature and pressure the
hero desires. The Micro-Environment
incorporates a Force Field that protects it
from any factor that might harm or even
annoy the hero, such as rain, poisonous
gases, extreme temperatures, or the
pressure that naturally results from
having three miles of ocean over your
head. In such cases, the Micro-
Environment automatically excludes
potentially hazardous gases and liquids
and reduces the Intensity of pressure,
extreme temperature, and high gravity by
the Power rank number. Lesser or equal
Intensities are canceled out, while higher
ranks only penetrate in diminished form.
The Power automatically Collects the
desired materials into a sphere around
the hero; if no such materials are
available, the Power employs an innate
form of Matter Creation or Conversion to
produce those materials. The Force Field
maintains the desired pressure,
temperature, and gravity levels while
enclosing the desired materials and
shielding the hero from the undesired
ones. If the hero requires a surface to
stand on but none is available, the Power
provides one by solidifying a section of
the Force Field.
The Power is primarily intended to
protect the hero when he is in places
other than his home environment. It can,
be used to protect him from extreme
variations in that home environment
though, should the hero so choose.
Thus the Power can be used to protect
the hero in the middle of a house fire,
gas leak at a fertilizer plant, radiation
spill at a laboratory, a thunderstorm, or
a smog alert in Los Angeles. The Power
can be used to Resist the effects of Air
or Water Animation, Weather Control,
Heat, or Cold Generation; the Intensity
of the attack is reduced by the Power
rank number.
The Micro-Environment has a maximum
radius in-feet equal to the Power rank
number. Normally it is a sphere centered
in the hero but she can shape it or direct it
to another location if she so desires. The
maximum range at which the hero can
direct the MicroEnvironment is determined
by the Power rank; appropriate distances
are shown on Column B on the Range
Table. The maximum volume of the Micro-
Environment is the equivalent of a sphere
whose radius equals the Power rank
number. Figuring out the maximum
volume of other shapes requires a doing a
bit of geometry.
Example: A rank of Good can produce
a sphere of 3.14(10-cubed) or 3,140
cubic feet. This can be shaped into a
rectangular "tunnel" 10 feet high, 10 feet
wide, and 31 feet long. I suggest that
anyone with this Power figure out as
soon as possible how big a sphere/
hemisphere/column/tunnel/cone/etcetera
he can make with his Power rank. If you
don't, the Judge is liable to say that
mysterious changes in the. environment
prevent your hero's Power from working.
The Power only protects the hero from
environmental effects or Powers that
employ aspects of the Environment.
Beside the Powers mentioned earlier, this
Power will also provide limited protection
against Electrical Control, Electrical
Generation, Coldshaping, Gravity
Manipulation, Hard Radiation and its
Control, Thermal Control, Plague Carrier,
Geoforce, Spray, and Pheromones, but
only if the offending Power originates
outside the Micro-Environment.
As hinted at before, the Power can be
used to create any environment the hero
desires, provided it is beneficial to
whatever nature of being is inside its
protection. Of course, what is a
marvelous climate for one being could be
instantly fatal to another. Consider the
MicroEnvironments created by beings
that thrive on super-heated steam or
swim in liquid helium. Player characters
are limited to producing only those
MicroEnvironments that will help the
beings inside. Villainous and Mind-
Controlled NPC heroes are able to
pervert the Power and create toxic
MicroEnvironments. In such a case, the
Power is treated as an attack and the
intended victim is urged to Resist it in
any way he can.
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