Aberrant

Aberrant

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Intro

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There is at least one known case of Eruption changing a person's biological sex, and the M-R node has manifested across a broad range of ages.  You may choose either for no cost.

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Location (Roll 1d8)

1 - New York
UN, Utopia, patchwork of lots of Novas

2- Los Angeles


3 - Venice, Italy
Headquarters of T2M Europe

4 - Karachi, Pakistan

5 - Tokyo
tech center, nova worship, Kamisama Buddhist cult

6 - Amp Room, Ibiza
Party hard

7 - Addis Ababa
T2M Central Headquarters, arcology, slums just outside

8 - Free Choice

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Affiliation

DeVries Agency (Drop-in)
You arrive in this world as you are, with no knowledge or memories of it.  You're holding a fresh contract with the DeVries Agency, a sort of super-powered temp agency.  Skilled Novas are in extremely high demand, and even just standing around and looking pretty for an evening can bring in a five-figure paycheck.  You aren't required to work for DeVries exclusively, but the more the more work you take on, the more and better offers you will receive...so long as you continually perform to their expectations.

Project Utopia
When the first Novas began to Erupt, the overwhelmed UN and WHO accepted the aid of the Aeon Society, a respected group with more than 80 years of diplomatic and philanthropic work behind them.  In turn Aeon and the UN created Project Utopia to gather, study, and turn the power of Novas towards creating a better future for the world.  In many ways, it has succeeded beyond anyone's expectations.  But incredible political influence and massive public support has not prevented questionable decisions from being made or resentment from forming due to Utopia's far-reaching and often intrusive international activities.  While seemingly unassailable, cracks have begun to show as the novelty wears thin, uncomfortable questions are asked, scandals mount...and the theories that there are far less ethical elements working behind the scenes become more and more plausible.

The Teragen
Marvels, monsters, and portents, the Teragen is composed of those Novas who see themselves as a new species distinct from baseline humanity that must develop its own identity.  Doing so may be painful, but change often is.  Old habits, modes of thought, and even moral codes may be left behind in the transformation.  Taint may be the catalyst, but Terats know to treat it with caution and understand it in ways that no one else can.  Though some Terats may fall into the trap of mistaking the freedom to engage in acts of pointless cruelty and self-indulgence as proof of their development, the wise Terat does not seek monstrosity for monstrosity's sake.  For while it is far better to be a monster than a slave, it is far better to be a god than a monster.  Monsters can only destroy, while gods can both destroy and create.

The Directive
Beginning in Russia, and with the aid of Great Britain, Japan, the United States, and (unofficially) Germany, an organization was formed to monitor Novas and act as a counterbalance to the growing power of Utopia.  At first ignored, then derided, the Directive has never quite attained the level of infamy and reputation of other intelligence services...which is exactly how they like it.  With only a few low-powered Novas in their employ, the Directive is distrustful of Novas in general and Tainted Novas specifically, but this is out of pragmatic concern for the power that they wield, and not a question of ideology.  In the few years since the beginning of the Nova Age, there have been too many incidents of even single Novas re-shaping the world on a selfish whim.  Countermeasures must be in place.

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Perks:

Undiscounted

100cp - Registered alter-ego
More than one fight has erupted over a particular name or costume design.  One forward-thinking man stepped up and formed Appellate Lexington Enterprises to create a worldwide codename registry, and with this perk your identity will be similarly protected in future jumps.  Any original persona you present yourself as will always be considered copyrighted, and a modest percentage of any profits made off your image will be automatically transferred to you.  Appellate Lexington does not support persona-squatting, and you may only profit from a single registered identity which may be changed once every ten years.

200cp - Cipher
Upon entering a new jump, you may choose to have all physical records of your existence erased.  This unpersoning cannot be selective in what information is destroyed, it is an all-or-nothing choice.  Memories are not affected, and nothing prevents new records of your actions from being created.

400cp - NovaTech
Mega-intelligence allows for scientific wonders to be built, and Nova powers can fill technological gaps.  Combined, these two factors allow for devices to be constructed that are decades ahead of the curve...even if some of those devices won't work for anyone but the Nova that made them.  While mainly the domain of Mega-intelligent scientists, you've made strides into the field of using technology that amplifies or is fueled by a Nova's innate powers.  Perhaps this is as simple as a gauntlet that helps focus and strengthen Quantum Bolts, or as complex as a massive structure that allows for a Warp-capable Nova to reach a distant star system with their power.

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DeVries Agency

100cp - Worth every penny
You are a consummate professional, and everyone knows it.  There will never be any doubts regarding your qualifications or work ethic, and you will not be required to prove your skills to a prospective employer.  You may choose to suppress this perk if you're an unqualified layabout and you don't want everyone knowing it.

200cp - Filthy Lucre
Signing up with DeVries can make a Nova obscenely rich practically overnight.  DeVries also provides Nova-powered financial services, ensuring that their employees don't lose their new fortunes to scams, fiscal inexperience, or money-grubbing bureaucrats.  Besides getting a crash course in how to handle becoming a millionaire, you and your funds are very difficult to part from each other.  Be it from a court-ordered asset freeze, robbery, or waking up on the wrong continent after a bender at the Amp Room, there's always at least one account they missed, a safe that went uncracked, or a roll of hundreds in your jacket you forgot about.

400cp - Superimposed
Acquiring a mask and a new identity is a central facet of the Elite subculture.  By adopting a new persona, your real identity becomes harder to discern.  Beyond simply hiding your face, the more effort you put into this new persona the more protection it offers.  A cheap balaclava might leave people disagreeing on the details of your voice or build, but with a full costume and the close adherence to a carefully-crafted stage persona, you and your masked identity are effectively two different people.  Even when precogs, telepaths, and more exotic senses are concerned, your new persona doesn't even exist when you aren't 'in-costume.'

600cp - DVNTS Elite
DeVries National Tactical Solutions has trained you for Nova-grade warfare, making you are one of the most dangerous people on the battlefield even without your powers.  You are infantry, specialist, commander.  Whatever role the contract requires, you can fill.  You fight and kill without hesitation or remorse, and your reputation as a professional killer is legendary and inspires equal parts confidence in your allies and terror in your enemies.  As long as you fight on the side on a legitimate authority and respect the rules of warfare, your actions on the battlefield will never be held against you.

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Project Utopia

100cp - Smile for the camera
As a Nova you are one of Utopia's most visible representatives, and you are expected to handle yourself appropriately in view of the world.  Besides whatever natural beauty or charm your eruption gifted you with, you have been carefully trained to make the most out of what you have.  You know how to use fashion, body language, and rhetoric to get the desired response out of your audience, and how to roll with the unexpected and avoid being wrong-footed by shock tactics or appear shaken by scandal.

200cp - A brighter tomorrow
People are always grateful for a hero's assistance, and will never turn down an honest offer of help from you.  Even while not actively engaged in heroic activities, you seem more trustworthy and reliable than most, and your words can carry great weight.  Your reputation won't be tarnished by the actions of even a close associate, and if you were the last person to see someone before something horrible happened it would be considered coincidence first and suspicious second.  Of course, this good reputation depends on never personally getting caught doing anything nefarious.

400cp - Quantum teamwork
Team Tomorrow serves as Utopias' poster children for Novas who use their powers to make the world a better place.  But PR aside, they are often outclassed by Novas with far more combat experience and fewer scruples in combat.  T2M members are rigorously trained to make up for any deficiencies by working as a team, both with squad tactics and a firm understanding of how powers interact with each other.  As you train and work with allies, your teamwork skills will go beyond knowing how to fight as a group, giving you insight into how your powers and abilities interact with each other for better or worse.  Some powers just don't agree with each other, while others can become stronger with a little outside help.  A few rounds of super-sparring is all it takes to learn the difference, and avoid getting blindsided by the consequences of crossing the streams.

600cp - Paraphysician
Rashoud facilities around the world are ready to take in newly-erupted Novas and teach them how to use their powers.  Training typically involves biofeedback exercises, practical lessons within shielded labs, and a crash course in quantum physics.  After joining Utopia you continued your studies and acquired several degrees, eventually becoming a licensed Paraphysician.  Through observation and testing you can develop ways to quantify and categorize the mechanics of how individuals access superhuman powers.  While you won't instantly understand the hows and whys behind a power, it's easy for you to create training methods to ease and speed the development of these powers and design chemicals and equipment to mitigate any side-effects that those powers may have.  As a side note, you've mastered the skills of Dormancy and Attunement to a degree that most Novas never will and can easily teach these skills to other Novas.

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The Teragen

100cp - Marvel
You are transforming into a living god, walking a path from the old to the new.  Challenges are the key to evolution, and 'impossible' is a word spoken only by those with limits.  You know exactly what you what, and have a boundless drive to seek it.  Those who witness the power you've earned are either cowed, or inspired.

200cp - Monster
You seek to shed the petty limitations of baseline humanity.  This is not the mindless devolution of succumbing to base instinct, but the recognition and taming of those things seek to make your choices for you.  You are in tight control of both your emotions and morality, and can prevent them from having any influence over your decisions.  These things may try to make you feel regret for your actions once you choose to feel their influence once again, but in time they will shift to the new standards you have set for yourself.

400cp - Portent
Through the very act of contemplating evolution comes advancement.  You scour yourself for flaws and dissect your own psyche in a Darwinian testing of the disparate components of your own consciousness.  This talent for exacting and merciless psychoanalysis can be turned towards both self and other, dismantling a mind piece by piece to truly understand someone.  With this knowledge can a mind be helped to grow, heal, or be reshaped into something new, even without the aid of Quantum powers.

600cp - Chrysalis
The Teragen have come to recognize that eruption is only the beginning of an ongoing process.  Though it is an instrument of evolution, Taint will destroy a Nova if it is not tamed and channeled properly.  It is a difficult process, and even your unique nature makes it only slightly easier.  By straining your powers beyond their limits to the point of injury, your body and mind will be placed in a slight state of flux.  This will temporarily weaken you, but building up enough of this potential can allow for the growth of a cocoon of quantum uncertainty that can be turned to your purposes.  In this state your hard-won lessons will guide you to purge weaknesses of form and technique, enhance your strengths and perhaps even open new avenues of growth.  Be warned, though.  The Chrysalis only rewards those who willfully push themselves to pursue a higher ideal.  It is not a safety net, and does not reward carelessness, acts of self-destruction, or rote exercise.

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The Directive

100cp - Broad discretionary powers
The Directive is a multinational agency, expected to work alongside the existing intelligence departments of the countries they operate in.  Getting such disparate and institutionally paranoid groups to work together and share information is nearly impossible.  As long as you're actually there to help solve a problem and there there's even the smallest legal framework between the employers of everyone involved, jurisdictional or inter-departmental dickwaving will never be a serious issue.

200cp - Tradecraft
Before you can graduate to field work, you'll need to demonstrate a firm grasp of all the classic spy skills.  How to lie, how to bash together a quick disguise, how to tail someone without being obvious about it or palm small objects...and how to quietly kidney-punch and garrote someone when they're not looking.  You're a generalist, not a specialist, but your repertoire is broad and the skills will only improve with experience.

400cp - Outside context solutions
When pitted against someone with abilities that no baseline human could hope to defeat...the Directive cheats.  They, and by extension you, have become very good at finding weaknesses in superhuman opponents.  Maybe super-senses are overly sensitive to a specific stimulus.  Maybe that over-muscled brute doesn't quite have the same range of motion anymore.  Or maybe it's as simple as their own flashy powers obscuring their field of vision for a few moments.  Some Novas might be too powerful to take on directly, but you're a spy.  Taking someone down indirectly is your specialty.

600cp - Mental compartmentalization
To deal with Mega-charismatic and mind-reading novas, the Directive has developed a system of hypnotic conditioning to protect their agents and secrets.  You have benefited from these techniques, and are skilled enough in their use to perform the procedure or teach them to others.  Telepaths who attempt to listen in on your thoughts will hear only nursery rhymes, mathematical equations, and other meaningless repetitive trivia.  Beneath this first barrier you can layer a false persona that can stand up to some scrutiny.  You can further hide important pieces of information even from yourself behind subliminal blocks that only lift when you experience a specific stimulus.  These techniques aren't foolproof, but have tricked many Novas who thought that a 'mere baseline' could not possibly keep secrets from them and failed to look deeper.

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Mega-Attributes:
An active M-R Node can passively reinforce a Nova's frame, making them better than baseline humanity in many ways.  Mega-attributes do not require the expenditure of energy to use.  Even a baseline who practically defines a particular attribute cannot match a Nova with even a single purchase here, and these attributes can be exercised and increased over time.

Each Mega-attribute can be purchased at the 100cp, 300cp, or 500cp level.

Physical
Strength
Raw physical power, Mega-strength follows a rough curve from lifting 1 ton with no effort at the 100cp level up to 100 tons at the 500cp level.  Oversized objects do not crumple under their own weight when lifted by a Nova.

Dexterity
Juggle knives in zero-G with your feet, or dodge bullets when you can see the trigger being pulled.  For a start.  300cp would let you move fast enough that most people won't even see you.  The most dexterous Novas can pluck bullets out of the air or act with such incredible precision that there isn't a machine in the world that can match them.

Stamina
All Novas are quite hardy by baseline standards, but you take it to another level.  At the most basic level, you can go for weeks without sleep, ignore irritants and will heal faster faster than any baseline.  At 300cp, physical torture is pretty much useless against you, and low-caliber firearms might cause painful bruising.  The most durable Novas can survive high explosives even without other defensive powers, continue fighting even after losing even large amounts of body mass, and endure toxins and exertions that would kill a baseline a dozen times over.

Mental
Perception
More than just better vision or hearing, a Nova's mind now picks up things he wasn't consciously paying attention to, and could recall every face in the crowd he just ran through.  In time, you could pick a person out of that crowd by their scent, or fake mind-reading through pure cold-reading.  Eventually you might even notice the sound that hair makes when it grows.

Intelligence
Representing quality of thought, Mega-intelligence is extremely difficult to quantify.  Baseline IQ models simply cannot be applied to these Novas.  Deductive leaps come easily, and advanced calculus can be done without even realizing it.  Novas can do the intellectual work of an auditorium full of professors faster and better.  Some can outperform even the most advanced supercomputer clusters.

Wits
Novas with Mega-wits are unmatched when it comes to the speed and clarity of their thoughts.  This attribute also governs more artistic and instinctive acts, unlike the logical and mathematics focus of Mega-intelligence.  It is easy to remain calm and make level-headed decisions during chaotic situations, and a witty retort is always at hand.  Surprise quickly becomes a foreign sensation, and even if someone outmaneuvers you you'll never let it show.  The most witty Novas, for all practical purposes, are impossible to fool or distract.

Social
Appearance
Whatever emotion the Nova inspires in each individual, his appeal is universal.  There really is no metric to measure this by.  The lowest level of this quality makes a Nova look better than any baseline, perfectly proportioned, practically airbrushed and without blemish.  The impact of a Nova's visage can only go up from there, and his ability to inspire feelings of love at first sight or even outright worship is not unheard of.

Manipulation
These Novas are master manipulators as well as being incredibly difficult to fool.  Knowing what people want and guiding them in both the short and long-term is child's play for you, and will only get easier with time.  Soon you'll be running rings around the best con-men and lawyers that baselines can produce, and making everyone think that the end result was their idea all along.

Charisma
Raw charm, poise, and the appearance of self-confidence comes easily to you.  It is very difficult for someone to not like, or at least acknowledge you.  This can range from oozing personal magnetism to a forceful personality that can force enemies to stop and consider your words.  If you ever met an truly alien race, even they might find you strangely fascinating...


Enhancements:
Many Novas specialize in particular aspects of the Mega-attributes they possess.  Some of these powers are passive and enhance a quality even further, and some must be fueled with energy to activate.

Each Enhancement costs 100cp to purchase.  You receive one enhancement free with the purchase of the matching Mega-attribute.

Strength
Crush - focus strength
Shockwave - spread out impact force
Thunderclap

Dexterity
Physical prodigy
Fast tasks - speed does not interfere
accuracy - defeat ranged penalties

Stamina
adaptability -
regeneration -
resiliency -

Perception
Quantum attunement
Analytic olfactory
Blindfighting

Intelligence
Taint resistance -
analyze weakness -
Mental prodigy -

Wits
multitasking - divide efforts without being disrupted
synergy -
Artistic prodigy -

Appearance
Mr. Nobody -
Seductive looks - become just right
Face of terror - switch mega-beauty to mega-ugliness

Manipulation
The voice - Besides a smooth and fantastic voice for singing and speaking, auditory hypnosis
Persuader - ultimate spin doctor, change opinions
Overwhelming question - inflict stress until the question is answered

Charisma
Seductive - adopt most appealing behavior
Soothe - Calm others, reduce effects of taint/alien-ness
Perfect guest - social prodigy, a pre-cog for faux pas.

Powers:

Quanta:
...simplest extensions of a Nova's innate power...

100cp - Quantum conversion
A power of surprising utility, you can convert your stores of energy into another very simple form of energy like light or heat.

100cp - Quantum regeneration
Novas normally replenish their stores of energy at a steady, predictable rate, and risk Taint by straining their Node to increase this speed.  Your Node has been carefully exercised to be more efficient than normal, allowing you to recover energy faster at no risk.  The recovery of energy is even faster when completely at rest, such as sleep or deep meditation.

200cp - Quantum leech
With a touch, you can drain the reserves of other Novas to refuel your own.  Leeching is difficult to defend against, without specialized defenses most victims can only try to resist through sheer willpower.  Overfilling one's reserves with stolen energy risks gaining Taint as well.

200cp - Quantum bolt
The simplest and most common offensive power among Novas.  You shape and release a blast of Quantum energy as fire, lightning, or any other suitably destructive form.  With training, projectiles can be made focused for additional penetrating power, spread out like a shotgun blast, or freely shaped as the Nova pleases.


Defense:
...gods should not fear mortal slings and arrows...

100cp - Sensory shield
A Nova with this power unconsciously reduces what might be debilitating levels of sensory input.  Strobe lights and high volume will be reduced in intensity, and even tear gas or similar pain-inducement powers can be blunted.

100cp - Psychic shield
A passive reinforcement of a Nova's brain and nervous system works to block outside influence.  This power will not let a Nova see through projected illusions or resist Mega-charismatic arguments, but any power that tries to directly manipulate his mind or senses with be repulsed.

200cp - Armor
Many Novas can manifest insectoid carapace, a suit of knightly armor, or display any number of fanciful effects, while other show no outward sign of this power at work.  The result is the same.  The Nova is simply tougher than others, far more resistant to any sort of physical attack.  This power is entirely passive and requires no energy to maintain.

300cp - Force field
A Nova can surround himself in a protective field, offering greater defense against harm than passive armor and blocking effects that require skin contact, but the field requires energy to activate and maintain.  With practice, the field can expand outwards to encompass others or be shaped to create walls and platforms.

400cp - Invulnerability
An extremely potent yet limited form of defence, developing this power can allow a Nova to ignore all but the most extreme examples of a single, specific form of attack.  An invulnerability applied towards heat can allow for a brisk stroll on the surface of the sun, while contempt for gravity allows for brushes with forces that would crush even the strongest of Novas without this power.  You cannot choose a broad (quantum powers) or artificial (weapons) concept to apply this power towards.


Movement:
...found among the adventurous and reclusive alike...

200cp - Hypermovement
Amplifying a Nova's ability to travel, this power can to used by itself to run or swim quickly, or work with other powers such as flight to enhance their speed further.  500km/h is the slowest that a Nova with this power has been clocked at and their speed will only increase with practice.

200cp - Flight
Iconic and inspiring envy in baselines everywhere, a Nova with flight can move in three dimensions with ease.  The presence of air is not required to fly, but air resistance and momentum must be accounted for when trying to pull off tricky maneuvers.  This power alone is somewhat slow, and most Novas might reach a top speed of 'only' 200 or 300km/h.

300cp - Teleportation
Allowing short-range hops at a moment's notice, an experienced teleporter can circumvent the World with a hop or two if they have time to concentrate.  Blind jumps can land a Nova off-course and will suffer injury if they land inside a solid object, but all teleporters automatically shunt themselves to the nearest open space in such an event, arriving battered but alive unless they were already injured or made a monumental error in transit.  Since teleportation only affects a Nova's body, they must Attune any clothing or luggage they wish to bring along.

400cp - Warp
A variant of teleportation, this power creates a meters-wide gate that anyone and anything can pass through.  It also requires time and focus to set up for long-range travel, and can forcibly transport others if they can be pushed or somehow manipulated into entering the gate.  In the future this power will allow for the Nova exodus from Earth by bridging the vast distances of interstellar space, but no one has publicly displayed this level of power.


PSI:
...emulating a future yet to be...

100cp - Empathy
A crude but useful form of manipulation, you can boost or suppress whatever emotion a target is feeling at the moment.  While you can accurately gauge whatever a subject is feeling no matter how good their poker face, you won't be aware of why they feel that way, and will have no control over how they act on their new feelings.

200cp - Esp
Displacing your senses to a distant location, you are able to perceive things as if you were present form that point using whatever natural or quantum-given senses are available to you.  This does include taste and touch, but you can only observe - quantum wonkyness prevents measurable interaction between yourself and the things observed.

200cp - Intuition
A Nova with Intuition receives a warning when something unpleasant is about to happen to him.  This sense is extremely vague, and only triggers when an event would injure a Nova's self and not his belongings or allies.  The feeling of 'something is not right' grows more precise with practice, but never more than pegging a person or object as dangerous or pointing in the general direction of the greatest cause for concern.

300cp - Telepathy
The human brain is a complex web of biochemical structures and electrical activity, and this specialized power allows for the observation, interpretation, and manipulation of those structures.   While communicating with others through telepathy is easy, and 'scanning' for a mind that meets certain criteria only slightly more difficult, manipulating a mind is best done with great care for best results.  Memories can be dug up, erased, or modified as a Novas pleases, and changing one part of a person's psyche can have secondary effects on the rest of it.


Organic Modifications:
...sing praise for the new flesh...

100cp - Bioluminescence
Considered by many to be nothing more than a parlor trick, you are able to glow softly.  You may choose the color, and over time many learn to focus this like a flashlight, display different colors and patterns, and extend the glow into the IR and UV spectrum.

100cp - Claws
With bone, flame, or no visible effect, create a focused, damaging projection of energy.

100cp - Poison
Secrete damaging substances

200cp - Healing

300cp - Size alteration

400cp - Shapeshifting

500cp - Density shifting

600cp - Clone
Create copies with all your powers, the more copies, the weaker they are.





Mastery:
...shape the world with care, or break it...

200cp - Animal/plant control
Pick one.  Both can be communicated with, though plants are extremely limited in what information they can provide.  Plants can be animated, but not to the degree of uprooting themselves and moving around.  Animals will regard you as a friend, and you may send out a telepathic call for them to come to your aid, helping in whatever way you ask unless you mistreat them.  If you purchase this power a second time, the second purchase is discounted.

200cp - Cyberkinesis
A highly specialized power, a cyberkinetic can alter computer data, feed recording devices false input, reprogram machines or scramble their functions.  This power does not require a Nova to be aware of every byte he manipulates so a knowledge of computer science is not required, but such a brute-force approach may make it easier for alterations to be discovered.

400cp - Elemental anima
Projecting Quantum energy into a specific medium like water, fire, or air, a Nova can shape it with great flexibility.  The chosen element can be strengthened or weakened, shaped and directed, or used for both offense or utility.
	While this level of power can eventually be reached with enough training, for an additional 200cp the chosen element can be created out of a Nova's own energy and manipulated with far greater intensity.  Its presence in the environment around him can be clearly sensed, and he can also attempt to wrestle control of it away from another Nova that tries using it to harm him.

400cp - Weather control
Another specialized field of study, the Nova grasps all the many variables that contribute to the functions of the world's weather and take control of them.  Unlike Elemental Anima, the range of this power can be measured in tens of kilometers but can take time to change current conditions to what the Nova desires.  When the situation is ideal, a Nova can easily level a city block with repeated lightning strikes, whip a storm into a hurricane, turn sweltering humility into nourishing rain, or bury a city under ice and snow.

400cp - Magnetic manipulation
A Nova gains power over EM fields and everything they can effect in turn.  Ferrous objects can be twisted into knots or thrown with great force, all magnetic forces in an area can be nullified, amplified, or created when there is none.  EM blasts strong enough to scramble a nervous system and punch through military-grade shielding are possible, fired with pinpoint precision or detonated over a wide area.

600cp - Molecular manipulation
Everything inanimate is within your purview.  Existing matter can be observed and its composition determined.  A Nova can use his own stores of energy to temporarily create or transmute matter.  Materials can be made to move on command, be permanently reshaped, repaired or disintegrated.  With enough mechanical and scientific knowledge, and skill with this power, a Nova can fabricate complex devices.

600cp - Gravity mastery

800cp - Entropy control
Mysterious and little understood, this power is potent within a narrow field of application.  Focused on living creatures or machines, they quickly suffer injury or breakdowns, and the more complex a thing is the more damage it seems to suffer.  Used as a barrier, projectiles shatter on impact and transfer far less energy towards the Nova then they should.  When spread out over a wide area, everything that might go wrong for those inside probably will go wrong.

800cp - Temporal mastery

800cp - Biomanipulation
heal, harm, mimic effects of drugs, reshape biology, affect microbes with great difficulty

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Items:

Eufiber tumor

Eufiber suit

Drugs

Soma, Mox, Nova-grade narcotics,

Vitrium recipe


Eclipsidol
powers fire off at random







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Companions:

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Drawbacks:

You may take a maximum of 1000cp of drawbacks.

Due to your nature as a Nova, you must track the amount of Taint you accumulate.

+X00cp/Mandatory - Taint
The bodies of first-generation Novas cannot perfectly store and channel the vast amounts of quantum energy at their disposal.  The by-product of this inefficiency is a dangerous and corruptive form of energy, acting somewhat like radiation, that Novas call 'Taint.'  The amount of Taint passively generated by an active M-R Node is so minuscule as to be harmless, but greater concentrations of Taint can warp the body and mind.

Activities such as straining your powers beyond their limits or overtaxing the M-R Node generate Temporary Taint, which if allowed to build up over time will catalyze and become Permanent.  Long periods of Dormancy can allow Temporary Taint to bleed off.  Only the Teragen chrysalis can remove Permanent Taint, but that is not an easy or perfect solution by far.

As Taint builds, Aberrations manifest.  They may be subtle or monstrous.  They may change a Nova in ways they might consider ideal, but such benefits are purely a matter of personal perspective.  There is always a cost.   Aberrations generally follow some kind of theme based on a Nova's powers and personality.   You will have at least one aberration per tier of Taint you reach.

For each Dot of Permanent Taint you begin with, you receive +100cp.  Acquiring ten Dots of Permanent Taint is a fail condition.

	1-3 dots of permanent taint - Cosmetic aberrations
	You've developed a very minor aberration, though it may become more pronounced as your Taint increases.  You may have strangely-colored eyes or hair, or an exaggerated physique.

	4-6 dots of permanent taint - Distinctive aberrations
	These traits cannot be hidden, or will permanently color your dealings with humans.  Anima banners are common, bright displays of energy that appears whenever you use your powers or lose control of your emotions.  You may uncontrollably discharge small amounts of energy at random.  A common substance or energy is now highly toxic to you and bypasses your defenses.  Inhuman physical features and personality disorders begin to manifest at this level.

	7-9 dots of permanent taint - Monstrous aberrations
	It would be difficult to consider you human anymore.  Powers such as intangibility might be impossible to turn off.  Mega-appearance becomes mega-uglyness and the mere sight of you is enough to inflict mental trauma.  Your body has withered, and you need powers like flight and telekinesis to move and interact with the world.

Taint and aberrations cannot be hidden, manipulated or prevented with out-of-jump perks or powers.  1-ups will prevent death by Taint overdose, pushing you back to nine Dots of Permanent Taint.  After your time here is done, any Taint or aberrations you've acquired will be removed and using your powers will no longer generate Taint.  Any changes to your appearance can be retained as an alt-form.

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+100cp - Costume fetish
It's a new you!  Not like the old you!  And a new you needs a new look!  Distinctive costumes are for Novas, not casual wear!  You need to look the part of a Nova, and if you don't...You'll quickly become attached to your 'Nova look' and will want to wear your costume even when socially inappropriate. You can force yourself to change clothes, but out-of-costume you'll be uncomfortable and nervous, unable to work at your best.

+100cp - Let me tell you about our cause
It's hard to ignore someone who can juggle tanks.  Novas are often outspoken about their beliefs, and it seems like all of them now have some kind of political or social issue that they just can't help but tell you all about.  If you espouse different views expect long, stubborn debates on the subject.

+100cp - Kami-samaaaaaaaaaa!
The Kamisami Buddhist Sect is a growing religious movement that near-worships Novas within Japan, though even it pales in comparison to how India sees them as incarnate deities.  Somehow you've become a popular figure of devotion, having many who closely monitor your life, record and study your every word, and pattern their clothes and daily life after your own as best they can.  In turn the media pays close attention to anything they do in your name, keeping an ear out for anything that will bring in more viewers.

+200cp - Delicious Taint
Maybe you've got bad genes, or a parent wanted a Nova baby bad enough that they employed questionable science or a high-taint sperm/egg donor.  Whatever the cause, you accrue taint far faster and easier than other Novas, and you're guaranteed to acquire at least one Dot of Permanent Taint for each decade you spend in this jump.

+200cp - Person of interest
You've landed on several watchlists.  Utopia, the Directive, the Teragen and other big names of the Nova world will have files on you that are kept up-to-date.  You'll be subjected to increased scrutiny, and once in a while someone will be sent around to chat you up with leading questions or to plant a few bugs.  Whatever information they learn or conclusions they reach will overwhelmingly color the opinions and decisions made regarding you.

+300cp - Node spark
All out-of-jump powers now need quantum energy to activate and are thus capable of generating Taint.  Any alt-form that grants benefits beyond baseline humanity also requires energy to maintain.  Active powers need more energy to use than passive powers, and any extra power sources you may have (MP, Chi) are suppressed for the duration of the jump.

+300cp - Brain squeeze
Your Node has developed, growing larger and able to safely channel quantum energy faster and in larger amounts.  But as a consequence increasing pressure has caused dysfunction in the rest of your grey matter.  You're insane - functional, but suffering from some kind of severe disorder that cannot be mitigated by any method.  Although only known to a handful of individuals, a Node will eventually develop to the point that it breaks apart, distributing the specialized cells throughout the Nova's nervous system and undoing any damage from previous Node growth.  With enough work, say eight or nine years of study into the subject, you might learn how to accomplish this.

+300cp - Node lock
All out-of-jump powers are locked.

+400cp - Breeder
You are immune to Utopia's sterility cocktail, and are extremely fertile.  Your quantum-powered gonads can't be turned off, birth control never works, and intercourse with you will heal any existing damage to your partner's reproductive organs.  Word of your status and talents will inevitably get out, and you will quickly become one of the most desired Novas on the planet.  Many groups will want to kill or control you, and you can expect Project Proteus to send out Novas of their own to assassinate you and your children.

+600cp - Aberrant war
Extend time, nuclear ultimatum

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NOTES

NovaTech
Post-jump, this perk can apply to any kind of innate, vaguely-defined 'mutant power.'  Mixing tech with magical or psionic powers is a different field of study.

Superimposed
Post-jump, this perk will work against magic and other powers used to gather information.