Limiting a Power to a Power

[Lord Fell]

Specific to a current build I'm working on...

I have a character with groovy super hair powers. He has a 4pp array of tricks he can do with his hair, and I wanted to write up an AP thusly...

AP: Speed 4 (Flaw: Limited to Swinging) [2] + Super Movement: Swinging [2]

To my thinking, this is legitimate because in any instance that I can't Swing (Lake, Open Field, or Indoors) I'm limited to normal speed. If the Speed were not limited to the Swinging, I'd just revert to ground speed, which is still 100mph.

A similar question about elongation for the same build. The character isn't stretchy, but his hair is. Can I buy elongation limited to his hair? Again, I think this is a legitimate limitation, in that he will lose a lot of the inherent bonuses of Elongation if only part of him is stretchy.

[Dr Archeville]

A similar question about elongation for the same build. The character isn't stretchy, but his hair is. Can I buy elongation limited to his hair? Again, I think this is a legitimate limitation, in that he will lose a lot of the inherent bonuses of Elongation if only part of him is stretchy.

What do you imagine you'd lose out on?

[Lord Fell]

re: Elongation,

The Grapple bonus specifically. I'd gain no bonus because I can't just stretch myself out of a hold, or wrap around someone like a rubber band. Also, a thoroughly stretchy person could use their head (or just their eyeball!) to sneak a peek around a corner or as a periscope. There's also the general (but much more nebulous in terms of point value) benefit of being able to use hands or feet in a stretchy way.

[Dr Archeville]

re: Elongation,

The Grapple bonus specifically. I'd gain no bonus because I can't... wrap around someone like a rubber band.

He couldn't stretch his hair to ensnare someone, like Medusa of the Inhumans, because....?

[Lord Fell]

Well, he could do that... but he couldn't "stretch out" of grapples, in any case.

[Dr Archeville]

I don't see why he couldn't use his animate hair to pry himself out of someone's grasp. Just work the hair in between their fingers/hands, then pull back.

[Lord Fell]

I guess I can accept that.

To be honest, I was more concerned or curious with limiting Speed to a Super Movement.

[Dr Archeville]

Yeah, I can see that as a viable flaw. Just don't use your elongated hair like Doc Ock to run around on hair-legs. ;)

[Lord Fell]

Ah... I was sure I read something like this... and here it is...

Elongation: Additional Limbs often take the form of tentacles, pseudopods, or prehensile hair with unusual stretching properties, making Elongation an appropriate additional effect. It is often Limited solely to the Additional Limbs, the rest of the character’s body unable to elongate.

The capitalization on Limited is straight from the book, which suggests to me it's referring to the actual Flaw. Further reading in Additional Limbs also suggests other Alternate Powers which can be Limited to the additional Limb.

[Lord Fell]

Heritage pointed out to me the Prehensile Hair power from Ultimate Powers (p184). This seems to be an array that adds levels of elongation or additional limbs to a characters hair, at 1pp per level. Clearly, it's intended that the additional limbs and elongation are limited to hair, but it's also clear that the array is not providing any points break for the Limitation.

Which brings us back to... while it seems book legal to take the Limitation, how limiting is it really? In any case, I shuffled some points and bought it without flaws. Only being able to stretch my hair is now just a descriptor.