Are abilities *always* available for use?

[Sindyr]

Are there any circumstances where, for example, the player has a character with a level 5 power that he has not yet used that page but for some reason he cannot use it?

In a related question, is the following allowable under the Capes rules:

Fred: The Captain uses his SuperStrength Power to pick up a car and throws it at Mr Evil:
(Rolls up on Goal: The Captain successfully knocks out Mr Evil. Gets a 5, keeps it)

Matt:  All Mr. Evil has for a '5' ability is his attitude "Charming", so I'll guess I use that for my reaction...
(Rolls down the 5 to a 2) ...and Mr Evil misses...

Fred: Huh?  How are you using Charming to dodge?

Matt: Cause it's my only 5...

Fred: ???

*Is Matt's play, using his ability Charming because it's his only 5 without trying to come up with some way for his ability to be relevant to the goal, is this allowable under Capes?

[Vaxalon]

Matt's just not being creative enough for Fred to understand the narration, but it doesn't matter, Fred has no recourse.  Play continues.

[TonyLB]

p. 38:  "The Ability they used must be central.  They can add anything else as well, so long as the one Ability that they used has a position of importance."

So, Matt's breaking the rules.  People can say "Matt!  Play by the rules," with or without the threat of wedgies to back it up.

Now if Matt says "Mr. Evil flashes a charming smile.  Women swoon.  Men grit their teeth with envy.  Oh, and also the car misses him," then that is fine.  There's no requirement that the ability be relevant, just that it be narrated prominently.

[Sindyr]

Thanks, that clears that up for me.

[Andrew Cooper]

Sindyr,

Just a note.  The character in question doesn't even have to be physically present in the scene to use the Ability to roll up or down the die.  This has been important in a couple of scenes I've been in.

[Sindyr]

Let me clarify this:

1) Why would a character NOT be physically present?  Can characters exit and reneter scenes?  Is there any token cost to leave a scene?  Or to re-enter it?

2) If the character were not present, and wanted to use his Charming attitude, how would he narrate that to roll down a die?  Narrate a past event's continuing effect? (As the villain tries to free himself from the ropes, he remembers the Captain's Charming smile, and is daunted) Or narrate the effect of charm in some other way? (As the villain tries to free himself from the ropes, Ultraboy charming say, "don't go anywhere" and the villain subsides. [In this case, the Captain is using his Charming ability but narrating another character using charm])

Is either of both of the above legal?  Were you thinking of some other way a character could have an effect in the scene?

I *assume* that it's completely verboten to use abilities of a character that you have not yet brought into the scene at all even once.  Otherwise, why would anyone pay the token to bring one in.

Somewhat confused.

[Hans]

1) Why would a character NOT be physically present? 
2) If the character were not present, and wanted to use his Charming attitude, how would he narrate that to roll down a die?  Somewhat confused.

Two examples I have had in play:

* Goal resolves, and mental control mastermind is arrested and taken away in handcuffs and mental restraint.  However, scene is not over.  Player of mastermind continues to affect scene, even though his character is on his way to jail, primarily through things that people he had mindcontrolled before do.  Sure, nothing mechanical prevented him from just narrating the villain escaping, but it was more fun for him, and more satisfying to his understanding of how the story was going, to figure out clever ways to use his character's abilities while the character was being carted off to the hoosgow.

* The hero, is in a bar, moping over previous failures.  Meanwhile, across town, the villains are whooping it up at an...em...establishment of ill repute, and causing trouble.  The player playing the hero narrates several times his hero thinking in the bar of some stuff, vaguely related to what the villains are doing, which gives him the entry into using his powers.  He also uses his Attitudes as things OTHER people do; for example, he uses Nervous 3 to narrate someone ELSE being nervous.  It worked for us...no popcorn was thrown.  Again, the hero's player could have narrated the hero just showing up, but had a lot more fun keeping the hero in the bar for almost the whole scene, still using the character's abilities in the action taking place at the...em...house of easy affection.

[Sindyr]

This brings up an interesting question...

If a scene starts, I bring in my hero - and on the first page I narrate him taking off.

However, depending on how legal the above stuff is, I can continue to use the hero's abilities to vie for control and narrate what is going on, even though my hero is no longer physically or dramatically apparent.

Which could lead to a player narrating the use of "superspeed" within a scene from which his hero has already departed, and the hero getting (and staking) debt, all while the hero is completely absent.

Is this completely acceptable?  Given that the ability "superspeed" is used in some creative way - such as after effects, or whatnot?

[Matthew Glover]

Completely acceptable, yes. 

Another example.  I play Spiderman.  You play Green Goblin.  Somebody else plays Uncle Ben, a character who is dead.  Uncle Ben still has an effect on the scene, if only in Spiderman's memory.

[TonyLB]

Here's an example from actual play.

Zak is imprisoned on a world off in the time-stream.  Ransom and Kettridge get together in Ransom's office, to decide whether a rescue attempt will be made.  I play Zak.  He's not there, of course, but his character vividly effects the scene.

Is it clear how that works?

[Sindyr]

So really, I could choose a character at the start of the scene, but never have him actually present.  Interesting.

The idea occurs to me to play a dead superhero, who doesn't come back as a ghost or anything, but somehow continues to affect the storyline in some unexplicable way.

[grin]

[Sindyr]

Furthermore, it just occrrued to me that this is a vivid proof that it does not matter what happens to the hero, the hero's spirit (manifested by the abilities that can win Conflicts and earn story tokens) line on.

Perhaps by playing a superhero that is dead from the start, not much worse can happen?

Heh heh.

[Sindyr]

Sorry for the multiple self replies, but I can't edit or add to the original and I keep having ideas:

What about a superhero that is dead, and exists as a super-meme? 

Major coolness.

[Glendower]

Sorry for the multiple self replies, but I can't edit or add to the original and I keep having ideas:

What about a superhero that is dead, and exists as a super-meme? 

Major coolness.

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

Though rather than pull in an actual superhero, I'd toss it in as a Thing: Memory of Guy Fawkes, with a free goal of "Overthrow Authority".  For example, of course.

[Sindyr]

Perhaps Obi-Wan's player played this way after Obi-Wan was "killed"?