8.8 SAVING THROWS

Spectacular Maneuvers (p. 47)
     Every so often, superheroes would like to be able to perform an amazing use of their powers or abilities that are far beyond their normal means.  Specifically we're talking about uses of powers or attributes that are not spelled out in the rulebook, but that might be possible nonetheless.  Some examples might be:

- a hero lifts his body, and all that he is carrying, straight up into the air on a telekinetic column.

- a vigilante, without direct line of sight to the villain but still able to hear him, fires his energy rifle at a reflective wall, ricocheting the blast off of two surfaces and around the corner to strike the bad guy.

- a heroine, stranded on an island and hearing a distant rescue plane (that she knows she could never fly fast enough to catch), uses the smoke that results from using her Flame Powers to make some smoke symbols.

- a mentalist, knowing that he is about to be the last hero to fall, uses his telepathic powers to send out a warning burst alerting everyone within a few mile radius that the hero team has fallen.

     Rather than being discouraged, the following chart gives some parameters to use when figuring out the chances of doing such maneuvers, as well as outlining some of the bonuses to be considered.  Keep in mind that this phenomenon should not be abused, and as such should be done no more than once by a particular hero per role-playing session.  In addition, a roll of 96-100 should cause the GM to consider some appropriately disastrous consequences.
     The main factor is experience.  Often in comic books we see a rookie hero who is not much more than a foil for villains to capture in their early years.  As they gain in maturity and experience, these same characters sometimes grow to become some of the most powerful members of their teams.  For Spectacular Maneuvers multiply the character's Level by 2.
     Next to consider should be luck.  Some PCs (or NPCs) are luckier than others.  Some just have an off day or have an amazing run of luck.  Rolling 1d4 and multiplying the result by 10 should approximate the amount of luck a person is having.  Of course, if the person has some sort of powers that deal with luck, then the GM should add in an appropriate addition or subtraction.

1      Bad Luck
2      Poor Luck
3      Moderate Luck
4      Good Luck

     Lastly, the GM will determine the difficulty.  Usually this will not be more than +/-20%, but there are times, due to circumstances, where the GM might make it more (or less).

-20      Extremely Difficult
-10      Somewhat Difficult
+10      Not Difficult
+20      Fairly Easy

Spectacular Maneuver Chance

2x Level of character     xx
Luck (1d4x10)              xx
Difficulty                      xx

Chance to succeed (on a percentile roll)