Power Absorption

[Metapower]

**Cost**: 12CP per rank (Origin)

**Activate**: 1PP; use-activated (touch attack)

**Sustain**: per round (special rules apply); free action

**Range**: touch

**Save**: Fortitude (negates), Constitution-based

You have the ability to temporarily "steal" the powers of other people. When you *Absorb* a power, your target temporarily lose use of one of her powers and you gain that power. This power can affect only one kind of Origin, which you chose when you buy it. Traits are immune to *Power Absorption*. You must touch your target to use this power, which in combat requires a touch attack. This touch attack requires precision and a small amount of concentration, so it cannot be an unarmed strike You must expend 1PP to activate the power before you roll your touch attack, so the PP is lost regardless of whether you hit. You can use this power only once per round.

Your target gets a **Saving Throw** to avoid the power's effects. If she fails, you *Absorb* one of her powers (randomly selected). You can randomly select by using dice, flipping a coin, etc. You can retain the power for a **maximum of 2d6 rounds** (depending on how many PPs you have left). At the end of that duration, the target is entitled to a **new Saving Throw**, although you do not need to make a fresh attack.

You can *Absorb* up to a 5CP power for each activation. If a power is worth more than 5CP, you *Absorb* only 5CP worth of the power. GMs might round off this amount, so that you employ a power without Enhancements, for example, or at a reduced rank in effectiveness. In such cases, if it's logical, the person affected by the power might retain some of it. For example, if you *Absorb* 5CP from a 8CP *Energy Attack*, the target retains a 3CP *Energy Attack*. Again, GMs will estimate *Absorbed* and depleted powers on the fly, for the sake of expediency, and exact math is not required. You can, theoretically, use this power multiple times to *Absorb* all of a target's powers.

You can also use this power to *Absorb* super abilities. In this case, you absorb 4 ranks worth of *Ability Enhancement* and the target loses 4 ranks in it.

You cannot *Absorb* any power that has a base cost greater than 5 CP. Examples of this include *Phased* and *Polymorph*. If you randomly select a power that you cannot *Absorb* for this reason, just randomly select another.

Targets cannot activate powers that you *Absorb* completely, but if they have sufficient PPs left to use those powers at reduced effectiveness, they can do so. Continuous powers cease to function for the duration of *Power Absorption*'s effects.

*Power Absorption* has no permanent effects.

## Enhancements

**Enhancement**: Enhanced Absorption

> **Cost**: 4CP per rank
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> Increase the number of CP you can *Absorb* by 5, for a total of 10 CP. This also raises your Super ability Absorption, thus it reduces the target's score by -8 and raises your corresponding score by +8. You can take up to four ranks in this enhancement, raising the amount of CPs you *Absorb* to 25 and Super ability *Absorption* to 20.
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**Enhancement**: Increased Consumption

> **Cost**: 2CP
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> If you *Absorb* a power worth less than your maximum CPs (5 normally, but potentially more if you take Enhanced Absorption), you can use the remaining CP to *Absorb* more of the target's powers. Which power you *Absorb* next is always chosen randomly. You can, conceivably, *Absorb* all of a target's power with this enhancement.
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**Enhancement**: Multiple Absorptions

> **Cost**: 4CP
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> You can now use *Power Absorption* as many times per round as you can make touch attacks.
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**Enhancement**: Precise Absorption

> **Cost**: 4CP
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> When you attempt to *Absorb* a power, you can choose which power. However, this power does not grant the ability to sense what a target's power are, so your choice is limited to those powers that you already know that the target has. If you *know* that someone has *Flight*, you can *Absorb* it, but if you don't know that she has *Energy Attack*, you cannot.
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**Enhancement**: Ranged Use

> **Cost**: 4CP
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> You can now Absorb powers at a distance, using a ranged touch attack. The power now has an effective range increment of 20 feet.
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**Enhancement**: Variable Absorption

> **Cost**: 3CP per Origin
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> You can *Absorb* another Origin type (player's choice). The power does not change in any other way. You can take this enhancement up to four times. It adds a new Origin type each time.
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