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Light Descriptors
The following are important descriptors associated with
light powers, affecting how they appear and function.
Light Features
Potential Feature effects associated with Light Powers
include the following:
Offensive Powers
Offensive light powers take advantage of bright light to
blind or overwhelm targets, and focused light energy to
inflict direct damage.
Blinding Beam
You project a beam of blinding light into a targets eyes.
Blinding Beam: Ranged Cumulative Affliction (Resisted by
Dodge, Overcome by Fortitude; Visually Impaired, Visually
Disabled, Visually Unaware), Limited to Vision 2 points per
rank.
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Dazzling Burst
An explosion of light and color radiates out from you,
overwhelming the visual centers of nearby targets. For a
Dazzling Beam attack, replace the Burst Area modifier
with the Ranged modifier, allowing you to hit a single
target at a distance.
Dazzling Burst: Burst Area Cumulative Affliction (Resisted
by Dodge, Overcome by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned,
Incapacitated), Sight-Dependent 2 points per rank.
Hypnotic Strobe
With a pattern of flashing light and color, you place
targets into a trance where they are open to suggestion
and obedient to your commands. For a strobe affecting
multiple targets, replace Perception Ranged and SightDependent with Perception Area. Add Selective if you can
choose which targets you affect and Insidious if targets
are unaware they are being influenced.
Hypnotic Strobe: Perception Ranged Affliction (Resisted and
Overcome by Will; Entranced, Compelled), Limited Degree,
Sight-Dependent 1 point per rank.
Laser Beam
You project a coherent beam of light able to deliver a
blast of focused energy. Due to a lasers ability to travel
great distances in a straight line, Extended Range is an
appropriate extra. Penetrating is also suitable for laser
attacks.
Laser Beam: Ranged Damage (Laser) 2 points per rank.
Laser Weapon
You focus light into the shape of a melee weapon (like
a sword, although it can just as easily be a hammer or
other type of weapon). Some laser weapons may have
properties like their actual counterparts; see the Melee
Weapons table on page 165 of the Heros Handbook for
some ideas.
Energy-damage laser weapons may have the Penetrating
modifier, while laser weapons made of solid light may be
Strength-based Damage instead.
Laser Weapon: Damage (Laser) 1 point per rank.
Defensive Powers
Defensive light powers shield you from the harmful
effects of light or use light as a medium to protect you
from other effects.
Immunity to Light
Your power over light makes you immune to its harmful
effects.
Immunity to Light: Immunity 10 (Light Effects) 10 points.
Light Absorption
You can absorb energy from light and channel it to
enhance your light-based powers. You gain ranks in the
Enhanced Trait equal to the absorbed effect, then they
fade at a rate of 1 rank per round until gone or you absorb
light energy again. Traits enhanced with this power are
still subject to power level limits.
This power often has Immunity to Light in conjunction
with it, making you immune to the effects you absorb.
Light Absorption: Enhanced Trait, Fades, Limited to the lesser of
effect rank or absorbed energy rank As base trait 2 per rank.
Photonic Shield
You surround yourself with a glowing aura of hard light
able to resist attacks.
Photonic Shield: Protection, Sustained 1 point per rank.
Reflective
Like a living mirror, you can reflect light-based effects
back at their source. If you can reflect an attack onto a
target other than its source, apply the Redirect modifier
for an additional +1 point per rank.
Reflective: Deflect, Reflect, Close Range, Limited to Light Effects
1 point per 2 ranks.
Movement Powers
Given the speed of light, light powers are associated with
fast movement, and some light-powered characters are
speedsters as well. See the Speed Powers profile for additional details on super-fast movement.
Lightflight
You can fly through the air, surrounded by a glowing aura
and perhaps leaving a brightly glowing contrail of light.
Lightflight: Flight 2 points per rank.
Some charactersparticularly those with the Light Constructs power (following)fly via Light Bridge, a solid
ramp or platform of light.
Lightbridge: Flight, Platform 1 point per rank.
Lightspeed
You can move from place to place at the speed of light!
True light speed is rank 29, but speed rank 24 is sufficient to go anywhere on Earth in a single move action,
with Space Travel 1 handling any movement away from
the Earth.
Lightspeed: Flight 24, Movement 1 (Space Travel 1) 50 points.
Light Form
You transform from a physical being into a form made of
coherent light, able to pass harmlessly through transpar-
Utility Powers
Light powers have numerous other applications, including the creation of images, enhancement of the senses,
and projecting light over an area.
Banish Darkness
You can counter any darkness effect in the area around
you by radiating a clearing light. You can use this power as
a model for creating other Nullify effects using light (see
Countering under Light Descriptors).
Banish Darkness: Burst Area Nullify Darkness, Simultaneous 3
points per rank.
Healing Light
You channel a light energy that restores life-force and promotes healing. This power typically has a mystical descriptor like life or radiant (see Light Descriptors).
Healing Light: Healing 2 points per rank.
Holograms
Using projections of laser light, you can create holograms,
realistic three-dimensional images. Your holograms are
not solid and do not affect senses other than the visual.
Holograms: Visual Illusion 2 points per rank.
Illuminate
You can shed enough light to illuminate clearly over a wide
area. For 1 point per rank, your illumination is similar to indoor
lighting; for 2 points per rank, it is as bright as full daylight.
Illuminate: Environment (Light) 1 or 2 points per rank.
Laser Comm
You can project and receive pulsed, encoded laser transmissions as a form of communication. This power tends to
be restricted to rank 3 (Long Range), unless working with
a satellite network able to bounce signals around the
curvature of the Earth, and is limited to the speed of light,
so cannot achieve rank 5 (Unlimited) distance.
Laser Comm: Communication (Visual, Laser) 4 points per rank.
Light Constructs
You can create hard light constructs that function like
physical objects. Light constructs are either translucent
or opaque and generally glow softly. Apply other Create
modifiers to the power to customize it as desired (see
pages 102103 of the Heros Handbook). For animate constructs, use the Summon effect instead (and see the Summoing Powers profile).
Light Constructs: Create 2 points per rank.
Solar Sustenance
So long as you are exposed to light, you have no need to
eat or restthe light energy providing you with your essential sustenance.
Solar Sustenance: Immunity 2 (sleep and starvation), Source
(light) 1 point.
Vision Enhancement
Shaping, absorbing, and enhancing incoming light allows
you to improve your vision in a variety of ways, seeing
things others cannot.
Vision Enhancement: Senses: choose any of Vision Counters
Concealment (Invisibility), Vision Counters Illusion, Darkvision
(all requiring 2 ranks), Extended Vision, Infravision, Low-Light
Vision, Microscopic Vision, Radius Vision, and Ultravision 1
point per rank.
Warp Light
By bending and warping light, you can become invisible
to the naked eye or all wavelengths of light. If you can
also bend light to make other people and things invisible,
apply the Affects Others modifier. If you can do so against
their will, apply the Attack modifier. In either case, add the
Ranged modifier if you can make subjects invisible at a
distance.
Warp Light: Visual Concealment 2 4 points, 4 ranks (8 points) for
all visual senses.
Rather than warping visible light, you might bend just infrared (IR) light around you, allowing you to pass through
IR sensor or scanning beams without breaking them, rendering you essentially invisible to them.
Infrared Invisibility: Infravision Concealment 2 4 points.
Laser Hearing
Projecting a low-level laser against a source of vibrations
(glass, metal, water, etc.), you can hear distant sounds
causing those vibrations, such as a voice on the other side of
a pane of one-way glass or a conversation at a table in a cafe.
Laser Hearing: Senses 5 (Extended Hearing, Hearing Penetrates
Concealment) 5 points +1 point per additional rank of Extended
Hearing.
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Light Complications
In spite of the name, light powers are not always easy, and
can come with their own complications.
Disability
Given lights association with vision, it can be an interesting twist to consider the concept of a character gaining
light-based powers but also going permanently blind as a
result of exposure to such intense light! Perhaps the character gains some compensatory accurate sense, limiting
this complication to an occasional problem rather than a
constant disability.
Enemy
Given the connection between light and higher powers,
light controllers often have enemies. Light and darkness
are naturally-opposed, so a foe with darkness powers is
one possibility (see the Darkness Powers profile for some
ideas) but the Enemy could just as easily be the characters
equal, with similar light-based powers, or a living manifestation of the characters shadow (physical, psychological,
spiritual, or all of these), given an independent identity
and powers of its own.
If light is associated with life-force, then predators that
feed on such energy may hunt those with an abundance
of inner light. Similarly, a light-wielder could threaten
(and earn the enmity) of darkness-loving creatures like
the undead and others which fear the light.
Fame
It is difficult indeed for those with light-based powers to
hide their light under a bushel and the spotlight truly
does seem to follow them wherever they may go. Whether
Phobia
Fear of the dark is a common phobia for those strongly tied
to the light, especially if darkness has the potential to sap
their strength or take away their powers (see Power Loss).
Related to a fear of darkness is claustrophobia, the fear of
small, enclosed spaces, which are themselves often dark.
Power Loss
Those with the power to control light may also depend
upon it; in complete darkness, they lose all of their lightbased powers! In lower light-levels, the character may
retain a fraction of normal power, until exposed to full
daylight or the equivalent.
Weakened by darkness or not, light powers might need
periodic recharging (like a solar battery), leading to instances where characters run low on power, usually at
the least convenient times, an opportunity for the GM to
impose a complication and award a hero point.
Light controllers who draw their power from some higher
source, such as a divine or otherworldly patron, may also
lose the them if they fail to live up to their responsibilities
and codes of conduct.
Responsibility
When light powers come from an outside source, their
wielder is generally responsible to use them in a particular way, whether it is protecting the world from a certain
type of menace or fulfilling an ancient prophecy. These
responsibilities can be a heavy burden to bear, and
sometimes they clash with what the character would
prefer to do.
Weakness
Light-wielders might suffer more from darkness than just
losing use of their powers (described under Power Loss).
A lack of sufficient light might cause other conditions,
ranging from the character being dazed to eventually
dying, if deprived of life-giving light for long enough.
Light characters may be vulnerable to darkness effects,
suffering at least an additional degree of effect, or even to
other light effects, if they somehow overload the character. Perhaps different spectra of light powers are vulnerable to each other, depending on how they are related.
Rather than darkness, other types of light can be weaknesses: for example, light controllers might suffer ill
effects from ultra-violent or infrared light, outside of the
visible spectrum, or other types of radiation.
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