Can't See Me; Stealth

 You’re skilled in going unnoticed. While using Stealth, you can move at your speed rank minus 1 with no penalty. Faster than that, up to your full speed, you take a –5 circumstance penalty to your Stealth checks

Stealth Agility Skill

Hiding

If you have cover or concealment, make a Stealth check, opposed by an observer’s Perception check, to hide and go unnoticed.

If others are aware of your presence, you can’t use Stealth to remain undetected. You can run around a corner so you are out of sight and then use Stealth, but others know which way you went. You can’t hide if you have no cover or concealment since that means you are standing out in plain sight. Of course, if someone isn’t looking directly at you (you’re sneaking up from behind, for example), then you have concealment relative to that person.

A successful Deception or Intimidation check can give you the momentary distraction needed to make a Stealth check while people are aware of you. When others turn their attention from you, make a Stealth check if you can reach cover or concealment of some kind. (As a general guideline, any such cover has to be within 1 foot for every rank you have in Stealth.) This check, however, is at a –5 penalty because you have to move quickly.

Tailing

You can use Stealth to tail someone at your normal speed. This assumes you have some cover or concealment (crowds of people, shadows, fog, etc.). If the subject is worried about being followed, he can make a Perception check (opposed by your Stealth check) every time he changes course (goes around a street corner, exits a building, and so on). If he is unsuspecting, he only gets one Perception check for the scene. If the subject notices you, make a Deception check, opposed by Insight. If you succeed, you manage to pass off your presence as coincidence and can continue tailing. A failed Deception check, or being noticed a second time, means the subject knows something is up and reacts accordingly.

Watch the Lady; Slight of Hand

 You can perform dexterous feats of legerdemain such as palming small objects, picking pockets, slipping out of restraints, and so forth. Stage magicians use Sleight of Hand legitimately as a performance skill, but it is most commonly known for its criminal applications.

Slight of Hand Dexterity Skill

Concealing

You can use Sleight of Hand to conceal a small item on your person, making your check result the DC of an Investigation or Perception check to find it.

Contorting

You can use Slight of Hand to contort your body. Make a DC 30 Sleight of Hand check to fit through a tight space wide enough for your head but too narrow for the width of your shoulders, or to reach through an opening wide enough for your hand, but too narrow for your arm.

Escaping

Make a Sleight of Hand check to slip out of various restraints. This takes at least a minute per check.

You can also make a Sleight of Hand check to plant a small object on someone, slip something into their pocket, drop something into their drink, place a tiny radio tracer on them, and so forth. To plant the object, you must get a check result of 20 or higher, regardless of the opponent’s check result. The opponent notices the attempt if his check result beats yours, whether you succeed in planting the item or not.

Escaping Difficulties

DC	Sample Restraint
15	Ropes
20	Handcuffs
25	Straightjacket
15+ Rank	Power Effect

Escaping from a grab is an Acrobatics or Athletics check. See Grab in Conflict and Contorting, previously, for details.

Legerdmain

Minor feats of sleight of hand, such as making a coin or playing card “vanish,” have a DC of 10 unless an observer is focused on noticing what you are doing. When you perform this skill under observation, your check is opposed by the observer’s Perception check to see if they notice the trick.

Stealing

To covertly take something from another person make a Sleight of Hand check (DC 20). Your target makes a perception check and notices the attempt if his check result beats yours, whether you succeed in taking the object or not.

Pushing the Bounds of Normal; Peak Persuasion

 

Peak Persuasion

The power to possess peak Persuasive abilities. Sub-power of Peak Presence

Capabilities

You’re skilled in dealing with people, from etiquette and social graces to a way with words and public speaking, all of which helps to get your point across, make a good impression, negotiate, and generally win people over to your way of seeing things.

Known Users

Simon Black PL 10

Blue

Black

Medium

Humanoid

Human

Pushing the Bounds of Normal; Peak Perception

 Adapted from Peak Human Perception- Superpower Wiki

Peak Perception

The power to possess peak human perception. Sub-power of Peak Awareness, Peak Mind and Peak Senses.

Capabilities

You can tell someone’s true intentions and feelings by paying attention to things like body language, inflection, and your own intuition.

Known Users

Simon Black PL 10

Blue

Black

Medium

Humanoid

Human

Pushing the Bounds of Normal; Investigation Mastery

 Adapted from Investigation Mastery- Superpower Wiki

Investigation Mastery

The ability to possess unnaturally great and finely tuned investigative prowess. Sub-power of Peak Awareness, Enhanced Awareness, Enhanced Mind and Enhanced Perception.

Also Called

Advanced/Augmented/Heightened/Increased/Inhuman Investigation

Expert/Skilled/Master Detective/Investigator

Expert/Skilled/Master Sleuther

Mistress Detective/Investigator/Sleuther

Conspiracy Intuition/Solving

Deduction Proficiency/Mastery

Detective Intuition

Investigation Intuition/Expertise

Investigation Proficiency/Mastery

Investigative Prowess

Journalism/Journalist Intuition

Mystery Intuition

Near/Nigh/Semi-Supernatural Investigation

Riddler Intuition/Solving

Sleuth/Sleuthing Intuition

Capabilities

The user possesses unnaturally high skills in investigation and can uncover even the most elusive of secrets with enough effort. The user of this power can solve various mysteries and conspiracies that are considered almost impossible to solve under normal circumstances.

Known Users

Simon Black PL 10

Blue

Black

Medium

Humanoid

Human

Forceful Presence; Intimidation

 You know how to use threats (both real and implied) to get others to do what you want.

Intimidation Presence Skill

Coercing

Make an Intimidation check, opposed by the target’s insight or Will defense (whichever has the highest bonus). If your check succeeds, you may treat the target as friendly, but only for actions taken in your presence. That is, the target retains his normal attitude, but will talk, advise, offer limited help, or advocate on your behalf while intimidated. The target cooperates, but won’t necessarily obey your every whim or do anything that would directly endanger him.

If you perform some action that makes you more imposing, you gain a circumstance bonus on your Intimidation check. If your target clearly has a superior position, you suffer a circumstance penalty.

With more than one degree of failure on your check, the target may actually do the opposite of what you want! Succeed or fail, a target’s true attitude towards you generally becomes hostile after you attempt an Intimidation check, even if they go along with you for the moment.

Demoralizing

You can use Intimidation in combat as a standard action to undermine an opponent’s confidence. Make an Intimidation check as a standard action. If it succeeds, your target is impaired (a –2 circumstance penalty on checks) until the end of your next round. With four or more degrees of success, the target is disabled (a –5 penalty) until the end of your next round.

Intimidating Minions

You can intimidate a whole group of minions—who can all see and hear you—with a single check. If the group has you at a disadvantage, you suffer the usual circumstance penalty on your check. Compare your check result against a single resistance check made by the GM for the entire group. Your Intimidation check must have the same effect on every member of the group (that is, you cannot demoralize some and coerce others, for example).

Pushing the Bounds of Normal; Peak Insight

Peak Insight

A profound aptitude in understanding their surroundings and other people. Variation of Peak Awareness.

Capabilities

You can tell someone’s true intentions and feelings by paying attention to things like body language, inflection, and your own intuition.

Known Users

Simon Black PL 10

Blue

Black

Medium

Humanoid

Human

Pushing the Bounds of Normal; Engineering Mastery

 Adapted from Engineering Mastery- Superpower Wiki

Engineering Mastery

The ability to be a master of engineering, either innately or through training. Variation of Science Mastery.

Also Called

Engineering Aptitude/Expertise/Intuition/Knowledge/Proficiency

Expert/Master/Professional/Skilled Engineer

Capabilities

The user is a master of engineering, the process of using the answers to scientific questions to solve problems. They use knowledge of science and creativity to create various objects, structures, and machines or to make designs functional. They can dissect a new discovery to find a way to use it to resolve the current problem.

Known Users

Simon Black PL 10

Blue

Black

Medium

Humanoid

Human

The Art of Misdirection; Deception

 Deception is the skill of getting others to believe what you want them to believe. It covers things like acting, bluffing, fast-talk, trickery, and subterfuge.

Deception takes as long as it takes to spin-out your story. Uses of Deception in action rounds are generally standard actions, although you can attempt to deceive as a move action by taking a –5 penalty to your check.

Deception Presence Skill

If it’s important, you can distinguish between a deception that fails because the target doesn’t believe it and one that fails because it asks too much. For instance, if the target gets a +10 bonus to resistance because the deception demands serious risk, and the resistance check succeeds by 10 or less, then the target doesn’t so much see through the deception as prove reluctant to go along with it. If the target’s Insight check succeeds by 11 or more, he has seen through the deception, and would have refused even if it had not placed unusual demands on him (that is, even without the +10 modifier).

Deception Modifiers

Resistance Circumstance	Modifier
The target wants to believe you.	-5
The deception is believable and doesn’t affect the target much either way.	+0
The deception is a little hard to believe or puts the target at some kind of risk.	+5
The deception is difficult to believe or entails a serious risk.	+10
The deception is way out there, almost too incredible to consider.	+20

Bluffing

Make a Deception check to tell a believable lie or get someone do go along with you.

A bluff is usually opposed by the target’s Deception or Insight check. Favorable and unfavorable circumstances weigh heavily on the outcome. Two circumstances can work against you: the deception is hard to believe, or what you ask goes against the target’s self-interest, nature, or personality.

Disguise

You can use makeup, costumes, and other props to change your appearance. Your Deception check result determines the effectiveness of the disguise, opposed by others’ perception check results. The GM makes the Deception check secretly so you are not sure exactly how well your disguise holds up under scrutiny.

Disguise is heavily dependent on circumstances: favorable ones include appropriate costuming and a subject resembling your normal appearance, while unfavorable circumstances include disguising yourself as a member of a different race or sex, or not having sufficient props (which can be up to a –5 modifier). If you are impersonating a particular individual, anyone who knows that individual gets a circumstance bonus to the Perception check: regular associates get a +2, while friends get a +5 and intimate loved ones a +10.

Successfully acting like who you appear to be may also require a Deception check with a DC equal to the observer’s Insight check, modified by familiarity if the observer knows the subject well, as mentioned previously.

A disguise normally requires at least 10 minutes of preparation. The GM makes Perception checks for those who encounter you immediately upon meeting you and each hour or day thereafter, depending on circumstances.

Feinting

You can use Deception as a standard action to mislead an opponent in combat. Make a Deception check as a standard action opposed by the better of your target’s Deception or Insight. If your Deception check succeeds, the target is vulnerable against your next attack, until the end of your next round (see Vulnerable condition).

Innuendo

You can use Deception to send covert messages using word-play and double-meanings while apparently talking about other things. The DC for a basic message is 10. Complex messages or messages trying to communicate new information have DCs of 15 or 20, respectively. The recipient of the message must make a Insight check against the same DC to understand it.

Innuendo Difficulties

DC	Task
10	Basic message
15	Complex message
20	Message containing new or detailed information

Anyone listening in on your innuendo can attempt a insight check against the message DC. If successful, the eavesdropper notices a message hidden in your conversation. If the eavesdropper gets at least two degrees of success, he also understands the message. Whether trying to send or pick up on a message, more than one degree of failure on the check means the receiver misinterprets the message in some fashion.

Tricking

You can use Deception to mislead an opponent into taking a potentially unwise action, such as trying to hit you while standing in front of an electrical junction box or at the edge of a precipice. If your Deception check opposed by Deception or Insight succeeds, your opponent is heedless of the potential danger and may hit the junction box or lose his balance and fall, if his attack against you fails. (On the other hand, if the attack succeeds, it might slam you into the junction box or send you flying off the edge. You’re taking a risk.)

More than one degree of failure on the Deception check means you put yourself in a bad position; you are vulnerable against the target’s attacks until the start of your next round!