Aberrant RPG - Density Control and Movement

[Zandro]

How do folks around here tend to handle the sticky situation of exactly how anyone using Density Control at a level less than five moves anywhere? I have a player who took this recently, and I just can't seem to give her a decent ruling on how to handle it if she does something like sink through a floor, or the ground. Can she get back out? How does she even do something like walk if she passes through physical objects, thus negating her ability to push against the ground? Heck, how does she NOT just sink uselessly into the ground when she turns intangible if she's still subject to gravity?

I know, I'm trying to use real physics in a superhuman world. Bad idea. If she were already at 5 dots with it it wouldn't even be an issue. But I need something to tell her or it's just gonna continue being a giant headache. Help!

[SkyLion]

I usually solve the conundrum by buying a dot of flight a la Kitty.

[SalmonMax]

First, forget physics. This is magic. The book calls it quantum, but that's science-ese for magic.

The Density Control ability description, when used to become intangible, doesn't state that it has any effect on movement except to make certain barriers permeable. Thus, it has no effect on movement. You can walk along the ground, or within the ground, at your normal speed. If you can fly, you can still do that. The only thing Density Control does is let you move through obstacles. It puts no further limits, or bonuses, on movement.

You'll save yourself a lot of headaches if you don't try to overthink powers. If you decide that -your concept- of your power is that your density control lets you 'walk on air,' or otherwise gain other abilities, then you need to buy those other abilities individually. Density Control won't hand them to you for free.

[SkyLion]

I know the Tolan had the same conundrum in SG...why don't they fall through the floor???

[Walkerius]

If you read up on Mega-Str, page 156, the second paragraph discusses that many of the feats novas perform using Mega-str defy physics, such as a nova lifting an oceanliner without it breaking due to poor structural integrity. Additionally if you were to actually work up the physics for the leverage and work needed to be produced by the nova in order to do the task vs. his actual mega-str you'd see that they usually cant lift it in such a crude fashion.

Point being that it's magic. Perhaps your attuning enough dirt under your feet as your walking to dissociate "footsteps" if someone noticed... perhaps.

[Walkerius]

Additional note: there is no reason to fall through the earth using Density Decrease. Once you have no density you have no mass. Gravity does not affect you any longer. That being said you should have the same inertia as the earth at the moment in which you activate your power(- rotational movement due to the earth's orbit and sun's gravity) and thusly you would quickly fly tangentially away from the earth.

[Courier]

Max is right.