Mundane Aura

Mundane Aura (Major) by Senator Cybus

The super being projects an air of utter inconsequentiality; as far as the casual observer is concerned, he’s about as worthy of notice as the average dust particle. This ability to blend into the background grants several useful bonuses.

1. Unnoteworthy. The super being possesses the minor powers of Unnoteworthy - Forgettable (Powers Unlimited 1, page 48) and Gunrunner.

2. Aura of Irrelevance. When the super being fully focuses this power, he seems to disappear altogether, fading from the attention of all those around him. This is not true invisibility, but in some ways is actually better: as this power affects the minds of observers, the Aura renders the character undetectable by sight, hearing, smell and/or superhuman senses such as Radar or Sonar.
Technically, the super being will show up on thermo-imaging systems, CCTV and other electronic means of surveillance, but an observer using such a device will not be able to perceive this (though the character’s presence could be recorded in this manner, for later viewing).

Range: Self.

Duration: Indefinite - the effect lasts for as long as the hero maintains concentration.

Attacks Per Melee: Activating the aura takes just one melee attack/action. Sustaining it uses up two attacks/actions per melee round, due to the concentration involved.

Saving Throw: None - unless the hero performs an action prohibited by the power (see Limitations below), even psychics will be fooled by the Aura.

Limitations:

The downside of this ability is that the hero cannot do anything that might draw attention to himself, or the effect is ruined. He cannot talk to, physically interact with, move to attack or even make eye contact with those around him. Even opening a door or moving large objects will give him away, though items small enough to be palmed can still be manipulated or handled, as long as no one else is paying attention to them at the time. Mostly, all the character can do is move (at a rate no greater than 20% of his Speed) and observe. Additionally, the character cannot use this power if someone is actively watching him; he needs a few seconds of privacy to employ the ability.

The Aura does not affect machines or other automatons: robots, golems and automated defence systems can see the hero just fine.

3. Blame Thrower. So unimportant is the character in the eyes of those around him that even when caught in illicit activity, he can potentially displace the responsibility for his actions onto someone else. He simply indicates a bystander, mumbles a quick accusation and passes the buck; the super being is then ignored as an irrelevance and the target of the power must now defend himself against the unfair allegations of wrong-doing.

Range: The target must be within 10 feet (3 m) plus one foot (0.3 m) per level of experience.

Damage: None, directly, though the target of the power may end taking a whuppin’.

Duration: Instant.

Attacks Per Melee: One attack/action.

Saving Throw: 14 or higher (M.E. bonuses applicable) and it’s the accuser/accusers who must successfully save, not the actual target of the ability. If there are multiple accusers, the person with the highest M.E. must attempt to save against the power; if successful, the entire group is unaffected. At the fourth level of experience, the saving throw increases to 16 or higher (M.E. bonuses still applicable).

Limitations:

The super being must have someone to transfer blame onto, and for obvious reasons, it cannot be his accuser. Equally, the character must be given a chance to employ the ability; if his accuser has a ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ attitude and attacks on sight, the power is useless.

This ability may only buy the hero a few moments to slip away, depending on the intelligence of the accuser and the persuasiveness of the target: if anyone realises that the facts don’t quite add up, the super being might soon find himself being hunted down by an angry mob.

4. Limitations & Penalties.

The downside of this power is that the hero finds it hard to hold the attention or interest of an observer even when he wants to: reduce M.A. by 1D4+2.

This power can not be combined with either Invisibility or Cloaking.