Effect: Array (Snare, Trip)
Action: Standard (active)
Range: Perception
Duration: Instant
Saving Throw: Reflex
Cost: 3 points per rank
You can affect the friction of an area of (rank x 5) feet in radius within range. You can either increase friction, causing anyone touching the ground or floor to become stuck like a use of Snare, except you can only entangle, not bind, targets, or you can decrease friction, causing everyone in the area to slip like a Trip
effect. Choose one when you take this power. You can acquire the other use of Friction Control as an Alternate Power feat.
COUNTERING
Friction Control is primarily useful for countering itself and other friction-related effects, although it may be able to counter some heat-based effects or some Snare effects by reducing friction.
ALTERNATE POWERS
In addition to the two effects in the power description, the following are suitable Alternate Powers for a Friction Control Array:
• Blast: You increase the friction between a moving target and the surrounding air enough to cause the target to suffer heat damage. This is a Perception Range Damage effect with a concentration duration (the victim continues suffering the heat damage as long as you concentrate to maintain the effect) and Limited to moving targets. The damage equals your Friction Control rank.
• Dazzle: You cause a target’s eyelids to stick together, rendering them blind, a Perception Range Visual Dazzle effect with a concentration duration, Limited to targets that have eyelids and need to blink (and therefore ineffective against machines, many aliens, and so forth).
• Environmental Control: The hamper movement effect of Environmental Control can come from changing the friction of a surface, making it sticky or slippery and thus difficult to cross. The Environmental Control is Perception Range with a rank equal to your Friction Control rank.
• Nullify Machines: You can extend Friction Control’s ability to counter with a Perception Range Nullify effect usable against any machine with moving parts, causing them to seize up and the machine to stop working.
• Penetrating: You can reduce the friction of physical weapons, giving them greater ability to penetrate armor, allowing you to apply the Penetrating modifier
to any physical weapon in your line of sight up to your Friction Control power rank. The effect is Penetrating, Affects Others (+0), and Perception Range (+2).
ASSOCIATED EFFECTS
• Force Field: A Force Field Limited to physical damage could represent making the surface of your body so frictionless attacks simply “slide off ” without damaging you. This could also be a Deflect effect, if you want to make it a more direct deflection of attacks (and more all-or-nothing than a Toughness save bonus).
• Immunity: Immunity to friction heat (1 rank) is a common power associated with Friction Control. Higher ranks may include Immunity to heat damage (5 ranks) or Immunity to heat effects (10 ranks).
• Speed: This power could be the ability to “skate” along a near frictionless area of ground you create under your feet, although it should probably be limited to no more than a few ranks (say 2 to 3).
• Super-Movement: Super-Movement effects based on Friction Control can include: sure-footed, trackless, and wall-crawling by controlling the friction between you and a surface.