Mastermind's Manual Design Journal: Skills
The skills chapter of the Mastermind's Manual looks at different ways to use and implement skills in your game. It provides new uses for existing skills along with some optional new skills like the Power Use skill given below. It also looks at options like narrowing or broadening the skill list, modifying skill costs to better suit the setting, skill synergy, and turning combat abilities into skills.
Ability Varies, SpecialtyPower Use
This skill covers proper and careful use of a power. It incorporates many of the functions of Concentration given in the Powers chapter of M&M. It's most useful for campaigns where you want to differentiate between a power's effectiveness (determined by its rank) and a character's skill in applying the power (determined by rank in this skill).
There is a different Power Use specialty for each power, although you can allow a single Power Use skill for an array of Alternate Powers, since they are all essentially aspects of the same power (see Alternate Powers in the Powers chapter of M&M).
Check: You may make Power Use checks for the following:
Activate Power: A Power Use check may be required to activate a power. The DC of the check is usually 10 + power ranks activated, and characters may choose to activate fewer than a power's maximum number of ranks in order to make the check easier (at the cost of making the power less effective). If a Power Use to check to activate a power fails, then the power doesn't work, but any effects on the character for activating the power (action required, fatigue, side-effects, etc.) occur.
If a Power Use check isn't normally required to activate powers, needing one is a very common, minor power drawback, worth 3 power points (enough to pick up some ranks in Power Use...).
Extra Effort: The GM may require a Power Use check in order to use extra effort with a power with a DC of 10 + power rank. A successful check means you can use extra effort, a failed check means you cannot.
Maintain Power: Power Use can take the place of the Concentration skill for maintaining powers with a Concentration or Sustained duration. Substitute a Power Use check where a Concentration check would normally be required.
Power Stunts: At the GM's option, a Power Use check can substitute for extra effort to perform a power stunt (see Extra Effort in the Characteristics chapter of M&M). The DC is usually 15 + the power's rank, although the GM can modify it depending on the desired power stunt. If the check is successful, the hero can perform that power stunt without fatigue or spending a hero point. If the check fails, the attempt to perform the power stunt fails, but the hero uses up the normal action the power stunt would have taken. Making a Power Use check to perform a power stunt takes no time in and of itself and is a free action.
A harsher option is requiring a Power Use check in addition to the extra effort normally required for a power stunt. If the check succeeds, the extra effort is successful. If it fails, the power stunt doesn't work, but the character suffers the fatigue (or spends a hero point to avoid it) normally.
Precision: You can make a Power Use check (DC 10 + power rank) to apply the benefits of the Precise power feat to the power (see Power Feats in the Powers chapter of M&M). In fact, the GM may require a Power Use check to use a power precisely, and can either ban acquisition of the Precise power feat, or have it apply a +5 bonus to the Power Use check result rather than granting automatic precision with a power. This approach makes powers less precise and controlling them less certain.
Action: A Power Use check is normally a free action associated with some other action in which a power is used.
Normal: Any of the applications of Power Use can be Concentration checks instead, if the GM prefers not to add a new skill.
Option: If you prefer, you can make Power Use checks based on a power's cost rather than rank. Where it says "power rank" in the skill's description, substitute "one-half power point cost" instead. This keeps DCs the same for powers costing 2 points per rank, but makes them slightly easier for lower-cost powers and harder for higher-cost powers.
