Armor

The Mighty Protectors Armor ability is fairly straightforward: spend some CPs and get protection from damaging attacks. But if you dive down into the rules you’ll find that there are some nuances to the ability. Coupled with some of the Ability Modifiers shown in section 2.2.4, a player or GM can simulate a wide range of armored heroes or villains.

First off, Armor is a Continual ability (see 2.2.2), meaning that it is 'always on' and can never be 'deactivated', but it can be 'held back' (see 4.14.6). The best example I can think of for 'holding back' Armor is Iron-Man's armor: he can raise his face-plate, or take off a gauntlet, exposing his skin.

Secondly, Armor, like all MP Abilities, is obvious. According to the Unobvious (see p. 95) modifier: "By default, using an Ability generates bright lights, loud sounds, distinctive smells, gestures, etc. (pick two effects that can be detected by default senses -- see Heightened Senses) when used, automatically alerting everyone in the immediate vicinity unless they lack the necessary sense."

For Armor, this means that it is obvious to at least two default senses. For example, the Thing who is orange and rocky, has Armor that is both visually and tactilely obvious.

Lastly, by applying one or more modifiers to Armor, you can simulate a large number of comic book characters. These modifiers include: Requires Activation, Can’t Hold Back, Gear, Partial Coverage, and Unobvious.

Detailed below are several examples of armored superheroes, each of whom have a slightly different, modified version of Armor.

Example #1: The Thing has Armor that is Continual with the Can’t Hold Back modifier. His armor is also obvious: anyone can see that it is orange and rocky and if touched feels different than human skin.

Example #2: Iron-Man has Armor with the Activation Required modifier, turning his Armor from a Continual Ability into a Persistent Ability (and also requiring 1” of movement to activate as well as preventing him from resting while the Armor is active). His armor is also obvious: everyone can see that he’s wearing a suit of armor and if it is touched, it feels like metal and not like human skin. He can also 'hold back' some of his armor, should the need arise.

Example #3: The Punisher has Armor that is Continual, with the Gear and Partial Coverage modifiers. In other words: he wears a “bullet-proof” vest. One could, depending upon the source material, also make his armor Unobvious: detectable only by Touch (+2.5). This is for those times when he wears his vest underneath a jacket or shirt.

Example #4: Superman has Armor that is Continual, with the Can’t Hold Back modifier. If Superman ever needed an operation to save his life, it would take a kryptonite-coated saw to cut into his skin. His armor also has the Unobvious modifier: you can’t tell by looking at him, or touching him, that he has armored skin.

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