Retcon Punch

Retcon Punch (Major) by Senator Cybus

The impossible power to strike at an enemy’s time line, altering their history with one mighty blow!
To use this reality twisting ability, the super being must first successfully target his opponent with a punch: roll to strike as usual, and calculate punch damage normally. The additional effects of a Retcon Punch are unpredictable (see below), but whatever the result, only the super being and his target will be aware that anything has changed; for the rest of the world, the new reality is the true reality.
Roll 1D20 on the following table to determine the outcome of a successful Retcon Punch:

1. Flawed. The opponent now has vulnerabilities that he didn’t before; roll twice on the Mega Hero Achilles Heel table (HU main book, page 183) to determine what weaknesses he has in this altered time-line.

2. Inexperienced. The opponent has lived much the same life as before, but less of it - he is now 1D6 years younger and loses a corresponding number of experience levels (e.g. becoming two years younger means losing two experience levels). Reduce skill/power bonuses accordingly.

Note: If this loss of levels would take him below level one, the opponent loses all but one of his skill programs; he retains no secondary skills or Special Skills from his power category. Also, if applicable, the values of his super powers/psychic abilities/spells (range, damage, duration, the saving throw needed to resist an effect, etc.) are reduced to 50% of what they would be at level one, and his I.S.P./P.P.E. score is half of what it should be at the first level of experience, as is the number of psionic abilities/magic spells that he knows.

3. Public Figure. The opponent’s identity is now common knowledge; his full name, skills/powers and address are known by just about everyone.

4. Out of Ammo. In this time-line, the opponent has recently been involved in combat and has completely exhausted the ammunition or energy required by any weapons he carries. He must re-supply/recharge before he can use them again.

5. Civilian. In this reality, the opponent never gained any super powers, unusual equipment or special training and just lived an ordinary life. Skills and basic attributes are unchanged, but all extraordinary abilities are lost.

6. Instant Nemesis. The target of the punch is now confronted by some old enemy (an established foe or maybe some new creation of the G.M.), who will not hesitate to join in the attack against him.

7. Poorly Educated. For whatever reason (poor parents, bad teachers, simple lack of interest) the opponent barely had any education at all. He is now Street Schooled (see HU main book, page 44): bonuses from any former skills are lost.

8. War Weary. In the new time-line, the opponent was involved in ferocious fighting only minutes before confronting the super being. Consequently, he is already injured; reduce his S.D.C. to one half of its normal total and roll twice on the Minor Injury Table (HU main book, page 19) to determine what wounds he has incurred.

9. Mental Illness. Some past trauma has damaged the opponent’s mind; roll once on the Random Insanity Table (HU main book, page 28) to select the affliction.

10. No Back-Up. Any allies that had accompanied the target are no longer there; they are 1D6 miles away (G.M. picks a direction) and the opponent must fight alone.

11. Physical Impairment. The opponent in this time-line just isn’t that physically capable. Roll 1D4 to determine why:

1. The enemy was lazy and/or simply never had any interest in sports or exercise. He has no physical skills, including hand-to-hand combat skills (reduce bonuses and attacks per melee accordingly).

2. The opponent is a chain smoker, smoking at least forty cigarettes a day: his P.E. is reduced by 1D4+1 and he fatigues three times as fast. +10% to attempts to track the opponent by smell. If the opponent goes more than one hour without smoking a cigarette, all skills suffer a penalty of -10%.

3. The enemy is ill and suffering from a powerful fever; reduce speed and initiative by half, combat bonuses are halved, -2 attacks/actions per melee round and all skills suffer a penalty of -30%.

4. The opponent is morbidly obese: in this new time-line, his weight is increased by 200 pounds (90 kg) plus 1D4x100 lbs (45 kg). For every 100 lbs (45 kg) of weight, the opponent suffers a penalty of -2 P.P. (e.g. gaining 600 lbs reduces P.P. by 12) and speed is reduced by 15% (e.g. gaining 600 lbs reduces speed by 90%). The opponent fatigues at a rate equal to his normal rate x the increase in hundreds of pounds (e.g. gaining 600 lbs means that the opponent fatigues at 6 times his normal rate).

12. Mutated. The opponent has some strange physical deformity that makes it hard to blend in with the crowd. Roll 1D4 on the following table to select the mutation:

1. Odd skin color. See the Unusual Physical Characteristics table (HU main book, page 159) for possible choices (roll or G.M. selects).

2. Unusual eyes. See the Unusual Physical Characteristics table (HU main book, page 160) for possible choices (roll or G.M. selects).

3. Odd hair colr. See the Unusual Physical Characteristics table (HU main book, page 160) for possible choices (roll or G.M. selects).

4. Strange ears. See the Unusual Physical Characteristics table (HU main book, page 159) for possible choices (roll or G.M. selects).

13. Never Born. The opponent simply does not exist! His parents never met and so his life just never happened.

14. Far, Far Away. Instead of showing up to fight the super being, the opponent is instead somewhere else entirely. Roll 1D4 on the following table to determine where:

1. At home. The opponent just hasn’t left the house yet.

2. 1D4 miles away (G.M. picks a direction).

3. The opponent is at his local supermarket, picking up the weekly shopping.

4. The opponent is on holiday in a foreign country; roll on the Land of Origin table on page 25 of the HU main book to determine where (if the roll would place the opponent in his own country, roll again).

15. Wardrobe Malfunction. The opponent was recently involved in a fight or incident that left his clothing in tatters. Any man-made armour he was wearing is now shredded and offers no protection at all. If the opponent was wearing a protective/containment suit, that is now equally useless. If the opponent was wearing a mask, that’s gone too; so much for the secret identity…

16. Beaten Near to Death. Similar to War Weary above, but in this time-line the enemy was involved in a far more desperate and prolonged fight that nearly killed him. Reduce the opponent’s S.D.C. to 1D6+8 and roll twice on the Side Effects From Serious Damage table (HU main book, page 19).

17. Public Enemy Number One. In this new history, the opponent is wanted by the law for some terrible, high profile crime. Whether the alternate version of the opponent is actually guilty or not is up to the GM: either way, cops, federal agents and super heroes will all be on the look-out for him, and will not hesitate to use force in his capture.

18. Instant Hostage. An individual that the opponent cares deeply for (G.M.’s choice) is now present, and may provide a useful means of coercion…

19. Battle Scars. Some years ago, the opponent was involved in a fight that nearly killed him. Roll twice on the Recovery Side Effects From Near Death table (HU main book, page 19).

20. Erased. The opponent still exists, but somehow he no longer has a place in the world. His family and friends don’t recognise him, his details disappear from every file and database, and all of his property now belongs to someone else; he has nothing and no-one, other than the clothes on his back and innate skills/powers. The only person in the world who knows he ever existed is the super being who performed the retcon!

Notes:

G.M.s may wish to restrict this power to NPCs only, due to its far-reaching effects.

If an opponent loses skills or special abilities due to the punch, he will remember that he had them, but be unable to recall the specifics of how to use them.

Keep in mind that some changes will affect different characters to different degrees; an invulnerable Mega-Hero probably doesn’t care if his armour gets shredded, and a psychotic vigilante won’t give a damn if his identity is made public knowledge, but if it’s the other way around that’s a different story...

Range: Close combat/hand to hand.

Damage: Normal punch damage, plus the time-line change (see above).

Duration: The effects of the Retcon Punch persist for one hour per level of experience; after this, the altered time-line reverts to normal and all changes to reality are undone. However, the opponent will remember everything that happened, and if he was injured during this time his wounds will remain. Equally, any equipment that was lost or damaged in the other reality must be replaced or repaired through conventional means.

The opponent re-appears in the location where the punch was used against him, though time will have passed at the normal rate, i.e. fifteen hours in an alternate time line means it's fifteen hours later in the real world. The super being, on the other hand, stays wherever he is - the advantage of being the originator of the retcon rather than the target.

Attacks Per Melee: This attack can only be used once every four melee rounds (once per minute). The attack must be announced at the beginning of the melee round. All attacks are used up whether the super being hits or misses; he has no other actions for the rest of that melee round and can do nothing else. Any attacks directed at him can be parried or dodged, but at half the character’s usual bonuses. If the character opts to dodge, each attempt counts as one of his attacks/actions for the next melee round. Even if the character has automatic dodge, the Retcon Punch is so draining that the act of automatic dodging now counts as one melee attack for every two auto-dodges he attempts.

Saving Throw: Only characters with specific protection against time-altering effects may attempt to resist the change, by rolling a 12 or higher (attribute bonuses are not applicable, though bonuses granted by super powers are). Such protection also applies to individuals not directly targeted by the punch; i.e. if they successfully save against the effect, they will recognise that another being's history has been altered and recall the details of the true time-line. Most people have no way to prevent the effects of the Retcon Punch.

Bonuses: The super being is +3 to save vs. time altering effects or powers.

Penalties: If the super being is injured or loses equipment while in the alternate time-line, those losses carry over to the true reality: there's no magical re-set button for either combatant.