MM 3 Skills
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Inspiration
Presence * Interaction
(This skill completely replaces the Inspire advantage, and makes Presence worth its cost as an attribute.)
Inspiration is the ability to lead, to boost morale, to stir feelings of bravery and duty, and to make short-but-impassioned speeches. A master of Inspiration can convince others to stand up to a threat or situation, not because they feel obligated to him personally (that's Persuasion), are misled about how difficult it will be (Deception), or feel like they have no other options (Intimidation) -- but because it's a worthy cause. As such, some of the DCs below (for morale and leadership) are modified not only by the interaction rules, but also by whether this is a worthy cause.
While the examples and phrasing below assume that the heroic PCs are using this skill, there is nothing restricting this skill to the good guys. Some of the best supervillains are those who can motivate their underlings to fight for their "glorious" mission.
Crowd Control
When noncombatant NPCs are panicking, Inspiration can help calm them and convince them to get to safety with minimal casualties. Make an Inspiration roll against DC 10 for a minor threat, 15 for a major one, or 20 for a terrifying menace. In a fight, this requires a standard action; if the fighting has not yet begun, and you can deliver a longer speech in advance of the danger, the DC is at -5. The GM may also adjust the DC based on the situation; e.g., +5 DC if the crowd has a reason to be particularly spooked.
Success avoids hysteria, mob mentality, and outright looting. The crowd will more-or-less follow the hero's evacuation plan, though some people are likely to stray or stick around long enough to get hurt, and certain riffraff will take advantage of the situation (e.g., snatching purses or stealing a few things on the way out). Additional degrees of success reduce casualties and minimize criminal behavior commensurately. In all cases, the GM determines the specifics.
Improve Morale
When NPCs are reluctant to stand up for themselves, you can convince them to fight the good fight alongside you. In a fight, this requires a standard action and an Inspiration roll.
It can usually be attempted with a given person or group only once per scene, though the GM may allow you to try again if circumstances change. Success improves the subjects' morale by one step on the chart below; every additional two degrees of success move it up another step. Failure means no change, but failure by 2+ degrees actually demoralizes them down a step!
Leadership
As a standard action, you can attempt to rally and encourage your team. Roll against the same DC as for "Improve Morale," above, but at +5 DC the second time you use this in a given scene, +10 the third time, +15 the fourth, and so on. Failure has no effect, but success grants those allies who can clearly hear you a situational bonus equal to your degree of success (maximum +5) on all checks until the start of your next round.
Success also means that, until the start of your next round, your allies may use the higher of their Insight, their Will, or your Inspiration to resist the Demoralize maneuver.
This is not a team check. The Teamwork advantage does not help, and you cannot provide leadership while assisting a team check; choose one or the other. On the upside, the bonus from leadership does stack with that from a team check, as they are situational bonuses from two different sources. If multiple people on the same side provide leadership, use the highest bonus; it does not stack.
Intimidation
A Size difference makes it easier or harder to intimidate people. A difference of 1 rank gives a ±2 circumstance modifier; one of 2+ ranks gives ±5.
Perception
The following rules, inspired by those in Power Profiles: Sensory Powers, replace the usual -1 per 10'.
The default Perception roll to sense a subject assumes a human-sized subject (Mass 2 and Size -2) at Distance 0 or less. Changing either or both necessitates a skill modifier.
Huge Subjects: Every +1 rank of Size gives +6 to most Perception rolls to sense a subject. If Mass scales with Size (as it does for Growth and Shrinking) -- or the sense is based more on weight than displacement (e.g., hearing) -- this can be expressed instead as each +1 rank of Mass giving +2 to Perception rolls.
Tiny Subjects: Every -1 rank of Size gives -3 to most Perception rolls, or every -1 rank of Mass gives -1. Yes, this is intentionally half the effect of the above, due to the much smaller absolute change. That is, a man gaining a rank of Size is adding 6' of height, while a man lowering his Size one rank is only losing 3' of height. This bottoms out at Size -5 which gives a net -9 penalty; but remember that for tiny creatures, almost anything can provide cover. Detecting something of Size -13 to -15 requires Microscopic 1; of Size -16 or smaller requires Microscopic 2.
Distant Subjects: Every rank of Distance past 0 (30') applies a -2 penalty. However, each rank of the Extended extra on that sense offsets up to 4 points of this penalty. For example, with Extended 2 Vision, you could see up to Distance rank 4 away at no penalty, rank 5 at -2, rank 6 at -4, and so on.
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