M&M 3e: Power Reserve

[kreenlover]

So, I have seen this term batted around and have no idea what it is or how it works. Could someone please explain it to me, or point me in the right direction?

It seems to be a pool that you can use to boost other powers that you have, but only certain other powers? Is this right?

[Grod_The_Giant]

I consider myself more than passingly familiar with 3e and I've never heard anything approaching that term... are you sure you've got the right edition?

The only thing approaching it that I can think of are Dynamic Arrays, but those don't sound like it. Or Variable (Boosting Other Powers), which would work the way you describe, but I can't imagine is common enough to have a fancy name...

[The_Snark]

Power Reserve is something that was introduced in M&M 2E's Ultimate Power book, I believe. It wasn't actually a new power, just an Array that was used to boost other powers - so you could boost your Blast power or boost your Force Field, but not both at the same time. It had no special ability to bypass power level limits.

It would be easy to recreate the effect in 3e - it's just an Array consisting of Enhanced Trait powers.

For example: let's say you have a flying hero who shoots lasers. You want your character to be able to fly really fast, but don't think you'll need more than a couple ranks in a fight. So you give him the following powers: Blast 2, Flight 2, and Enhanced Trait (Blast) 8 with an alternate of Enhanced Trait (Flight) 8. In a fight, you have Blast 10 and Flight 2, but if you need to fly across the Atlantic in a hurry you can switch to Flight 10 and Blast 2.

That's what Power Reserve is, essentially.

[kreenlover]

Thanks guys!

And no, I wasn't sure if that was the right edition, but that is what we are playing, and someone mentioned it, so I assumed