As I'm getting geared up for the first MSH RPG campaign that I've run in nearly 32 years, I'm taking time to go over the powers the individual PCs have in detail to avoid any problems during play. I've noticed that many of the powers in the UPB 2.5 have a duration of effect listed (i.e. effects last power rank in minutes or 1-10 turns, etc.). Some, however, do not, specifically Shapeshifting. The book states:

"Normal duration is determined by Power rank. If the hero attempts a shape that exceeds his normal size limits (i.e. not more that 150% nor less than 50% of his original size), this affects the duration, dropping it the equivalent of -3CS. This way a hero can attempt to impersonate a fly or a dinosaur; he just can't do it for long."

Is there a table somewhere that lists duration of effect for powers? I found one that lists duration of effect for magic spells. I'll use that for lack of anything else specific, but would prefer to be "official" for obvious reasons.

We've used the distance running rules (Player's Book pg. 23). It requires successively harder Endurance Feats every Endurance Rank turns to keep a power up. If you're keeping multiple powers up, just divide the turns by the number of powers. You can also give them the option of running at less than full power if they need to run for longer, e.g. using Incredible True Flight at Excellent speed for a long-distance haul.

Endurance. It's not just for keeping your character alive!

I questioned the same thing for UPB energy solidification which mentioned Psyche for the duration, but no specifics.
The options were to either use the Magic Spell duration from PHB65 or one turn per point of Psyche. The former was weak-sauce for lower levels, and the latter was way too low for higher levels (the power mentions permanent solid energy), so I went with "The higher of one turn per Psyche number or the duration on PHB65 for magic (minimum one round)" That gives the lower ranks some more time (doubles Excellent to two minutes), but allows the really high ranks to do impressive stuff, and permanent stuff with Unearthly.

It seems to be a nice balance for powers that don't limit duration explicitly (or aren't spells), but each power really needs fine tuned for duration. There's no one chart to say how long all powers should last (AM and MN spell durations are really long even if they aren't permanent)

Shift 0: 6 seconds (1 round)
FE: 12 seconds (2 rounds)
TY: 36 seconds (6 rounds)
GD: 1 minute (10 rounds)
EX: 2 minutes (20 rounds)
(Rest of Table as PHB65)
RM: 1 hour
...

Thanks for the suggestions folks!

Quote
Culture20
I questioned the same thing for UPB energy solidification which mentioned Psyche for the duration, but no specifics.
The options were to either use the Magic Spell duration from PHB65 or one turn per point of Psyche. The former was weak-sauce for lower levels, and the latter was way too low for higher levels (the power mentions permanent solid energy), so I went with "The higher of one turn per Psyche number or the duration on PHB65 for magic (minimum one round)" That gives the lower ranks some more time (doubles Excellent to two minutes), but allows the really high ranks to do impressive stuff, and permanent stuff with Unearthly.

It seems to be a nice balance for powers that don't limit duration explicitly (or aren't spells), but each power really needs fine tuned for duration. There's no one chart to say how long all powers should last (AM and MN spell durations are really long even if they aren't permanent)

Shift 0: 6 seconds (1 round)
FE: 12 seconds (2 rounds)
TY: 36 seconds (6 rounds)
GD: 1 minute (10 rounds)
EX: 2 minutes (20 rounds)
(Rest of Table as PHB65)
RM: 1 hour
...

I really like this approach...thanks!

the magic rule books have a duration which i find handy...I sub it in for some powers that even contradict this(such as life support, which is shitte as written).


Rank Duration
Feeble· 1 round
Poor 1 round
Typical 1 round
Good 1 round
Excellent 10 rounds
Remarkable 1 hour
Incredible 1 day
Amazing 1 month
Monstrous 1 year
Unearthly Permanent
Shift X Permanent
Class 1000·· Permanent

but one has to use their judgement; I think 1 2 3 5 then 10 hour, etc would be better for powers vs spells perhaps