Basic Action Super Heroes!

I’ve been thinking about the Extended Duration enhancement lately. First of all, some powers are rather vague on what their established duration really is. Most attack powers, generally unsuitable for this enhancement, can be assumed to have a duration lasting but a single Page (at least in a broad sense), amounting to just “a few seconds”. Other powers can have effects which last 3 Pages (maybe a half-minute, at most), while still others have a duration where their effects endure for a whole Scene, which could be several minutes to a half-hour (or, due to the broad interpretation of this time interval, maybe even an hour or so).

Buying this enhancement to increase a power’s duration from the assumed base to “minutes” (a level 1 enhancement) is alright for a power that normally lasts 3 Pages (like Confusion), but for powers like Weaken, which already lasts for a Scene (IIRC), then there is no benefit to buying just one level of Extended Duration.

I’m proposing that each level of Extended Duration moves your power’s base term of effect one further notch up the duration track (or down in the case of the list presented below). Here is a proposal for that “Duration Track”, based upon that established in the rule book, with a little more information to help guide the general understanding of what each rank broadly defines:

Duration Track
A) NEAR INSTANT: effects last either 1 Panel or 1 Page (just a few seconds at most)
B) MOMENTS: duration is 3 Pages (or close to a half-minute)
C) MINUTES: assume effects last for 15 minutes (about 45 Pages)
D) SCENE: effects last 30 minutes to an hour (or however long the current scene lasts)
E) HOURS: the effects last 2 hours, plus 1 extra hour for each level of the power
F) DAYS: duration is 1 day for each level of the power
G) WEEKS: effects last 1 week for every level of the power
H) MONTHS: duration is 1 month, plus 1 additional month per level of the power
I) YEARS: effects last 1 year per level of the power
J) CENTURIES: duration is 1 century per level of the power
K) INDEFINITELY: effects continue to last forever

Notice that this ‘track’ shows 11 ranks of duration. You simply start at the assumed base starting rank for a given power and move down the list one rank per level of Extended Duration you buy for it. For instance, an instant effect power, if there is such a thing outside of attack powers, could buy level 1 of the Extended Duration enhancement, and see its effects last a Short duration (or 3 Pages). Illusion, with level 2 of Extended Duration would now last a Scene after it left your line-of-sight. The Transmutation power, an alternative version of Conjuring, would now last for months with Extended Duration 4 added.

Powers with a pre-defined duration variations (like Illusion which grants permanence for 3 points) supersedes this Duration Track idea. Also, any power that can be countered by Restore or Mastery powers can be ended before their duration naturally ceases (and character can naturally terminate the power’s continuance at will).

Weaken last for 3 pages (see Awesome Powers #5) but yeah, overall, interesting idea!

Sijo wrote:Weaken last for 3 pages (see Awesome Powers #5) but yeah, overall, interesting idea!

Thanks for that update, Sijo. I really couldn't remember about this one.

Very Cool! I like this quite a lot, MrJupiter!

It strikes me as being just as useful for BASH Fantasy spells. Maybe there would be a way to extend spells on the ply by paying more Energy and making a Magic Skill success. The higher the roll the longer they can be extended (at an increased energy cost, of course).

I think I may have specified something like this for a few very specific powers, like Petrification, but this ought to be the general rule for how it works. I might change up the listed durations a bit, but this sort of update definitely belongs in AP 9 which is about time and speed. Also an inverse Limitation could be added.

In essence the way it will work is, take the base duration and the desired duration and pay the difference. For a Limited duration you just get 1 point though.

As for some Speed and Time powers there will be ones that will allow you to adjust things on this track.

BASHMAN wrote:I think I may have specified something like this for a few very specific powers, like Petrification, but this ought to be the general rule for how it works. I might change up the listed durations a bit, but this sort of update definitely belongs in AP 9 which is about time and speed. Also an inverse Limitation could be added.

In essence the way it will work is, take the base duration and the desired duration and pay the difference. For a Limited duration you just get 1 point though.

As for some Speed and Time powers there will be ones that will allow you to adjust things on this track.

Yes, I would definitely love to see an improved list in Awesome Powers 9. Also, the idea of a decreased duration limitation sounds great. Perhaps extra levels of decreased duration could act like Secondary Limitations, offering an extra Hero Point(s) whenever this limitation impacts the power for the hero. Multiple levels of this decreased duration (beyond the first, if this is the main power limitation), are the number of separate times that the hero can benefit from this.

I second changing the time-keeping system. While the "comic-book time" theme has its charm (and it does keep bookkeeping down) a more realistic system is easier to keep track of (and helps with conversions.) Maybe the two should be offered as alternatives for the individual GM to choose.

Well the RAW are essentially:

Panel: 1 Second
Page: several seconds
Scene: Minutes

Because story arcs can take place over several days (with days of downtime in between) there is no reason to quantify these; so after Scene you'd just do "Hours, Days, etc.)

BASHMAN wrote:Well the RAW are essentially:

Panel: 1 Second
Page: several seconds
Scene: Minutes

Because story arcs can take place over several days (with days of downtime in between) there is no reason to quantify these; so after Scene you'd just do "Hours, Days, etc.)

I still am partial to the Panel, Page, Scene, Issue breakdown of the timekeeping structure for BASH.

[Dang! I just realized that I never really accounted for the Panel in my list. Oh well.]

Made a few edits to my original post here for: clarifications, renaming duration titles A and B (from Instant and Short to Near Instant and Moments), and also put titles into ALL CAPS.

[Also, I now find myself in complete agreement with BASHMAN's assessment of the completely subjective nature of an Issue.]

Yeah, I'm working on a RPG of my own and I realized it is best to have two types of time measurement, "action" time for things like combat and "story" time for events that last longer- even if it is subjective time it should still be kept track of in someway.