Absorber

Absorber powers allow their user to drain a designated element and store it in an intangible reserve within themselves, and can exude the contents of that storage when they want. They also gain regeneration at the cost of their reserves, and have increased strength and speed while their reserves are above half.

Absorbers can commonly shift their bodies into their element at will, and expel it in projectile form. They have two unique features besides their element: the manifestations of that element (such as a paper Absorber using origami birds, or a wind Absorber throwing out a miniature tornado) and their special Trait. Absorber Traits are statistical boosts like being able to hold more than usual in their reserves, or release their element at high speeds, etc.

See also Hybrid Absorber.

## **Absorber Features**

**Absorption and Reserves:**
Absorbers can instantly absorb an element into their extradimensional reserves upon making physical contact. This can also be done at range, though the absorption rate slows down to 1 cubic foot per second within 2.5 feet, .5 ft^3/s from 2.5 to 5 feet, 0.25 ft^3/s from 5 to 10 feet, and 0.1 ft^3/s from 10 to 15 feet, which is the maximum range.

To fuel and use all of their abilities, Absorbers rely on the materials they have stored in their Reserves. An Absorber is constantly aware of their stock and how much material is in it, and once an Absorber’s stock is completely full they cannot absorb any more of their element until they make room for it. An Absorber can eject matter from their stock directly, but certain aspects of their ability may allow them to produce greater masses than they take in. For example, a rock absorber may absorb 500 pounds of rubble and then use a Manifestation to create a boulder weighing over a ton.

**Elemental shifting:**
Absorbers, like Elementals, can transform into their element at will. However, unlike Elementals they can shift their *entire* body, though their reserves are steadily drained while maintaining this form. The depth of their reserves varies depending on their element and Trait: Water Absorbers normally have room for around 25 gallons in their reserves, with Stone Absorbers having room for around 10 tons of rocks.

**Manifestations:**
Absorbers can expel their element from their bodies at will, though normally it would simply leave in the same form it was originally absorbed. However, each Absorber can have up to two unique Manifestations, specialized forms in which they can expel their element (an example would be a Metal Absorber expelling sharp spikes at high speeds). Unlike Elementals, Absorbers benefit from ‘applications’, up to two minor tweaks to each manifestation, such as a metal sword with double-ended and curved variations. These contribute to your rating, cost additional stock, and cannot be particularly potent in comparison to the base form.

**Passive boosts:**
Absorbers gain a host of passive abilities when they have some stock saved: firstly, they'll automatically burn through stock to regenerate, at a rate of 1 cubic inch/sec, and secondly, so long as their reserves are above half, they gain a 2x boost to their strength and speed. Absorber healing and stat boosts are passive, but their speed and potency can be increased by burning Reserves as fuel.

**Absorber Traits:**
Every Absorber has a unique Trait that strengthens one particular aspect of their power. This can range from further drain distance to increased expulsion strength to deeper reserves, or anything that could possibly affect their base stats.

**Absorption Sickness:**
In addition to relying on their Reserves, Absorber-type metahumans have a key weakness: if they Absorb too much material too quickly, their bodies start to collapse from the strain. An Absorber can fill up their reserves from empty to full one time without issue, but if they try to fill up two times in a row, they begin to feel nauseous and unsteady. Three times in a row can cause sharp pains, hemorrhaging, and asphyxiation, and four times in a row will lead to unconsciousness or even death. An Absorber can recover from these symptoms by resting for an hour or more, though severe cases may result in lasting injury if not properly treated. In extremely rare cases, an Absorber that dies from this sickness may become a **Broken**.

## **Absorber Terminology**

* **Reserves** (Also referred to as ‘stock’)**:** The intangible storage that holds the element absorbed.

* **Manifestation:** The shape or application of their element, ranging from blades to projectiles or anything else.

* **Application:** Minor modifications that change the shape of an absorber’s manifestations.

* **Trait:** A specialized area in which an Absorber is significantly better than the norm.

* **Drain:** The rate at which reserves are used up.

* **Absorption Sickness:** Painful symptoms affecting Absorbers who refill their Reserves too many times in a row.

## **Absorber Template**

**Absorber Template**

## **Example Power**

Element: Plant Absorber

**Manifestation 1:** Thorny whips, which are each as strong as their own arms and can be controlled at will.

**Manifestation 2:** Heavy walls of toughened wood and bark, which root themselves to the ground when placed.

**Trait:** Their absorption range is increased to 10 meters.