Superpower (Power)
EFFECT
Cost 6 JP per level
Activate 2 PP per Dupe; standard action
Sustain 2 PP per round per Dupe; free
Range self; Power Resistance no
DESCRIPTION
For every level of this power, the superhero can spontaneously generate a perfect genetic Duplicate of himself. They appear wearing his clothes but do not have any gear, either weapons or armor. Dupes do not have any powers, power points, or MP. They have his total HDs, but have only half his total hit points. They retain most skills and feats.
Dupes appear at the end of the action in which the superhero created them, standing in a square adjacent to him, flat-footed and unarmed. They act directly after the superhero in the initiative order. The superhero cannot make a Dupe appear in a square that he does not have physical contact with, for example behind a door or on the other side of a wall, but if he can reach some part of his body into that space—by putting his hand through a mail slot or kicking through a wall—then he can have a Dupe appear there. The superhero can cancel any one of his Dupes at any time as a free action. They simply disappear without a trace.
His Dupes have his personality and think just like him. They happily obey his orders, but they also have their own sense of self-preservation and, just as the superhero would, will refuse to go on a suicide mission unless the circumstances are dire.
The superhero should have a couple of shortened character sheets with his Dupes’ stats on-hand for games. They need the following information: Hit Dice, Hit Points, Initiative, Speed, AC, Attacks, Damage, Saving Throws, Ability Scores, Skills, Feats, and Proficiencies, as well as Power Points and Powers, if the superhero takes the appropriate enhancements.
Enhancements and limitations
- Enhancement: Blind Loyalty (Cost: 3 JP): His Dupes follow his orders blindly, including suicide missions or unethical acts.
- Enhancement: Dupe Power Points (Cost: 2 JP): The superhero and his Dupes divide his Power Points among themselves in separate pools. The superhero divides his PPs equally and gives himself the remainder. Dupes do not regenerate PPs and their potential PP total is half of his PP total.
- Enhancement: Dupe Powers (Cost: 3 JP): His Dupes have his powers, including Gadgets and Iconic Items but not including this power, Esoteric Items or any mundane equipment. Prerequisites: The superhero must have the Dupe Traits and Dupe Power Points enhancements to buy this enhancement.
- Enhancement: Dupe Traits (Cost: 3 JP): His Dupes have his traits.
- Enhancement: Empathy (Cost: 3 JP): Range: 50 miles. The superhero and his Dupes can sense each other’s basic emotions. At any time, the superhero or his Dupe can actively scan the other members of the group, including one of the Dupes scanning the superhero. This takes a swift action. The superhero/they will read one of the following emotional states: afraid, angry, confused, happy, sad. Physical barriers do not normally block this communication, though Powered fields potentially can.
- Enhancement: Memory Retention (Cost: 2 JP): When the superhero cancels his Dupes, their memories and experiences automatically transfer into his mind. The superhero can send one to watch a subject and it doesn’t have to report back, for example. Just cancel it and its memories flood into him. This can lead to a sense of split personality because even though the superhero logically knows which memories are his and which are the Dupe’s, subjectively, there’s no way to tell the difference.
- Enhancement: Reduced Drain (Cost: 2 JP): Sustain: 2 PP per round/hour. His sustain cost changes from per minute to per hour when not in combat.
- Enhancement: Robust Dupe (Cost: 3 JP): His Dupes have a number of HPs equal to his total.
- Enhancement: Telepathy (Cost: 3 JP): Range: 50 miles. The superhero and his Dupes can communicate mentally, in real-time, exactly as if he was talking. Physical barriers do not normally block this communication, though Powered fields potentially can. Prerequisite: The superhero must have the Empathy enhancement to buy this enhancement.
- Enhancement: Unity (Cost: 5 JP): Range: 50 miles. The superhero and his Dupes are fully aware of each other to such an extent that he is effectively one controlling intelligence that happens to be split into two or more bodies. The whole group automatically knows everything that any one member knows. The superhero works in perfect harmony and constantly creep other people out by finishing each other’s sentences. In combat, the superhero effectively gains the Cooperative Attack feat, but only when Aiding each other. This does not grant a prerequisite for the Improved Cooperative Attack feat. Prerequisite: The superhero must have the Empathy and Telepathy enhancements to buy this enhancement.
- Enhancement: Versatile Dupes (5 JP): A superhero with this enhancement can apply a different powerset, stats, and traits to his dupes. Prerequisite: The superhero must have Dupe Powers and Dupe Traits enhancements to buy this enhancement.
- Limitation: Argumentative (Value: 3 JP): His Dupes feel no natural loyalty to him past their own sense of ethics (which means that if he is a bastard, so are his Dupes). If his Dupes have access to his powers, they might even argue about who is the original.
- Limitation: Contact Cancellation (Value: 3 JP): The superhero has to physically absorb his Dupes back into his body in order to cancel them, which requires that he moves into one’s square. Absorbing a Dupe is a free action. If it’s in a grapple or otherwise being held by someone who’s moving, the superhero needs to make a touch attack against the Dupe to cancel it, but a normal or Blindly Loyal Dupe won’t try to dodge his touch. An Argumentative Dupe could very well try to avoid being cancelled, especially if it thinks it’s real and perceives the superhero as a threat. Until the superhero cancels his Dupes, they continue to consume PPs, whether he wants them to or not. They disappear only once the superhero runs out of PPs.