M&M 3rd Edition: Parrying Bullets

[The Troubadour]

Hey there, everyone! Like the title says, I'd like to model that classic "I'm so good I can even parry bullets / energy blasts" ability from comic book swordsmen, but I was curious about something: currently, I'm going with a simple Enhanced Dodge (thought of Deflect, too, but I figured I should go for something simpler and arguably more effective), but I wanted to add a "Limited: Doesn't Work Against Area Attacks or Perception Ranged Attacks" Flaw.

My question is this: does that restriction - being unable to parry explosions and similar - merit being a Flaw, or is the situation uncommon enough that it should be a Complication instead? What do you folks think?

[Scots Dragon]

I wouldn't even include the flaw at all.

The perception-ranged and explosion effects don't actually target dodge. You can roll dodge as a sort of reflex save to cut an area-effect's damage in half, but someone with the speed to deflect bullets almost certainly has the equivalent of a high reflex save, and perception-ranged effects bypass active defences entirely.

I'd also include an enhanced parry because you can probably deflect melee attacks as easily as ranged attacks.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Oh, it's a flaw. It's a borderline fatal flaw, actually. You should not, under any circumstances, have a character with one or more tradeoffs below their cap. That's a one-way ticket to incapacitation.

But perhaps more importantly, Enhanced Dodge won't make you look super-dodgey, because you'll still wind up in the same numerical range as everyone else at the table. Instead, can I suggest something along the lines of Immunity 30 (ranged attacks), Unreliable (5 uses/interval)?

[Scots Dragon]

In that case;

Defensive Stance: Immunity 30 (targeted attacks), Concentration Duration, Quirk (requires sword, -1pt) • 14 points


This allows you to enter a combat stance that deflects all incoming attacks, but you cannot attack during it unless you use a surge via extra effort.

[The Troubadour]

Hey there! First of all, thanks for replying! Now, I'm sorry, but there seems to be some sort of dissonance between what I asked and what you're proposing. I'm not asking for full-blown immunity; I want the PC to be able to parry arrows and bullets fired by simple mooks, not someone like, say, Hawkeye, Green Arrow, or Taskmaster. I'm OK with him being especially vulnerable to a certain attack type; that's actually thrilling, as long as the GM isn't a jerk about it - and I trust mine to not be. :-)

So, within the parameters delineated, should I consider "doesn't work against area and Perception ranged attacks" a Flaw or a Complication?


I'd also include an enhanced parry because you can probably deflect melee attacks as easily as ranged attacks.

Oh, he already has Enhanced Parry, don't worry! :-) I'm wondering specifically about Dodge only, and exactly because it can be used as a resistance check against Area attacks and some Perception ranged ones. I don't want him to be able to use his super-parrying skills as a saving throw against explosions or similar - you can't parry an explosion, after all!

[Scots Dragon]

It's generally just making your character underpowered in that case.

The average mook probably won't be able to hit you much anyway. Just take defensive attack to adjust that further.

[The Troubadour]

"Underpowered" how? He will have the appropriate Dodge defence for his Power Level when wielding a meee weapon (which is basically always, since he creates them); the *only* exception will be for attacks that require a Dodge resistance check.

ETA: As an aside, "All targeted attacks" seems to be much broader than the book's examples for 30 ranks of Immunity. I could use Immunity to all effects resisted by Dodge, perhaps, but then I'd run in the same issue: is "except against Area and Personal ranged attacks" a Limited Flaw or a Complication?

[Grod_The_Giant]

Hey there! First of all, thanks for replying! Now, I'm sorry, but there seems to be some sort of dissonance between what I asked and what you're proposing. I'm not asking for full-blown immunity; I want the PC to be able to parry arrows and bullets fired by simple mooks, not someone like, say, Hawkeye, Green Arrow, or Taskmaster. I'm OK with him being especially vulnerable to a certain attack type; that's actually thrilling, as long as the GM isn't a jerk about it - and I trust mine to not be. :-)
I mean... for the most part that just sounds like a re-flavor of your normal Dodge defense. Maybe Impervious Dodge? That would let you auto-parry mooks while still being vulnerable to real threats.


is "except against Area and Personal ranged attacks" a Limited Flaw or a Complication?
I'd probably call it a two-point Quirk, but I don't think there's a good RAW answer-- you'll have to ask your GM.

[The Troubadour]

I mean... for the most part that just sounds like a re-flavor of your normal Dodge defense.

Well... Yes. That's what I've been saying from the beginning. :-)
(As an aside, isn't Impervious usually reserved for Toughness? I understand the thought process, but I wouldn't set that precedent, myself.)


I'd probably call it a two-point Quirk, but I don't think there's a good RAW answer-- you'll have to ask your GM.

Oh, a Quirk might work! Thanks!

[Grod_The_Giant]

(As an aside, isn't Impervious usually reserved for Toughness? I understand the thought process, but I wouldn't set that precedent, myself.)
"Impervious is primarily intended for Toughness resistance checks...but it can be applied to other defenses with the GM’s permission, to reflect characters with certain reliable capabilities in terms of resisting particular effects or hazards."

It's worth asking, it sounds like it would be perfect for what you're looking for.