Here’s how Ice/Cold interacts with other ener- gies/special effects. These rules are optional; the GM may change or ignore them as he sees fit.
ACID
Ice/Cold defenses tend to take physical form (ice shields, walls, armor, and the like) which are made of water, which neutralizes Acid. As the Acid melts through the defense, the resulting water counteracts it. In game terms, this reduces the Acid attack’s damage by -2 DC, but it weakens the Ice/Cold defense by -2 points of PD and ED until the character with that defense uses a Zero Phase Action to “renew” and strengthen the defense. Ice/ Cold attacks interact with Acid defenses normally. In some cases Acid may become totally inert when exposed to Ice/Cold... but when thawed go on to have their usual effect. The GM can handle this as he sees fit.
AIR/WIND
Generally speaking, Air/Wind has no special interaction with Ice/Cold powers; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect. However, some Ice attacks involve large chunks of ice projected or hurled at the target in some fashion; you can adju- dicate these using the rules for Air/Wind-Physical interaction (or in the case of large amounts of tiny ice crystals or shards, refer to “Earth/Stone” in the
Air/Wind section for information).
BIOLOGICAL
Biological has no special interaction with Ice/ Cold powers; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect (except as discussed under Biological for energy powers generally).
CHAOS/ENTROPY
If an Ice/Cold defense involves some physical object (ice armor, an ice shield/wall, or the like), that defense is at -1 point before being applied to a Chaos/Entropy attack. Non-physical Ice/Cold defenses interact with Chaos/Entropy normally; Ice/Cold attacks interact with Chaos/Entropy defenses normally.
CHEMICAL
In general, Chemical has no special interaction with Ice/Cold powers; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect (except as discussed above for energy powers generally). However, exposure to extreme cold may cause chemical reactions that inhibit (or, less likely, enhance) the power of a Chemical ability. At the GM’s option, when the two interact, roll 2d6. On a 2-3 the Chemical power gains +1 DC (or +1 point of defense); on a 12 it loses -1 DC (or -1 point of defense). For all other results the two interact normally.
COSMIC ENERGY
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Cosmic Energy; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect. However, if the Cosmic Energy
manifests with some other special effect (such as Fire or Sonics), use that special effect for determin- ing the results of the interaction.
DARKNESS
In general, Darkness has no special interaction with Ice/Cold; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect. However, if Darkness is associated with coldness, exposure to it may actually aug- ment some Ice/Cold abilities. For example, perhaps every Darkness attack on an Ice/Cold defense that does not succeed at getting some BODY damage through the defense to the target improves the Ice/ Cold defense by +1 ED that lasts for 1 Turn.
DIMENSIONAL MANIPULATION
Because Dimensional Manipulation attacks affect physical reality, they’re particularly effective against Ice/Cold powers with physical manifestations (such as ice armor, ice walls, ice darts, and hailstorms). A Dimensional Manipulation attack typically receives +1 DC against a physical Ice/Cold defense before that defense applies to reduce damage, while physical Ice/Cold attacks are at -1 DC against Dimensional Manipulation defenses. Ice/Cold powers involving pure “cold energy” or the like interact with Dimen- sional Manipulation powers normally.
EARTH/STONE
Earth/Stone has no special interaction with Ice/Cold; it neither gains nor loses against this spe- cial effect.
ELECTRICITY
Ice-based defenses are typically made of water ice, and water, as noted in the Electricity section, is a superb conductor. Furthermore, for at least some con- ductive materials, such as some non-ferrous metals, cooling them reduces their resistance to Electricity (drastically so, in the case of superconducting materi- als like tin, aluminum, and some ceramics). Therefore Ice/Cold defenses made of ice are reduced 25% before being applied to an Electricity attack. Ice/Cold attacks interact with Electricity defenses normally, as do Cold defenses consisting of “pure Cold energy.”
ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY
Typically Electromagnetic Energy has no special interaction with Ice/Cold; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect. However, to the extent an Ice defense is a physical thing (e.g., a shield or wall of ice), an Electromagnetic Energy attack may penetrate it more easily; reduce the Ice/Cold defense by -2 points before applying it to decrease the damage.
ENERGY MANIPULATION
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Energy Manipulation; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect.
FIRE/HEAT
Fire attacks tend to be more effective than normal against Ice/Cold defenses, which melt under the with- ering, hot barrage; reduce the Ice/Cold defense by -2 points before applying it to decrease the Fire/Heat damage. (At the GM’s option, the Fire/Heat may also
permanently weaken the Ice/Cold defense the same way Ice/Cold affects Physical; see below). Similarly, Fire/Heat defenses melt Ice/Cold attacks; add +1 to the Fire/Heat defense before applying it to reduce the Ice/Cold damage.
In either case, water is going to be a byproduct of the interaction between the two, possibly causing minor flooding or water damage to parts of the local environ- ment. (To some extent this also applies when any form of energy that emits heat contacts Ice.) Usually the Ice is just reduced to water, but in some cases the Fire/Heat may be hot enough to then instantly convert the water to steam. See the “Water” rules in the Fire/Heat section for more information, but reduce any damage caused by at least half (to 0 for 1 point damage).
FORCE MANIPULATION
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Force Manipulation; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect.
GRAVITY
Gravity has no special interaction with pure Cold energy; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect. However, against the physical manifestation of Ice, Gravity tends to be more effective than average. Ice defenses are at -1 ED before applying to reduce damage from Gravity attacks, and Gravity defenses are at +1 ED or PD against Ice attacks involving darts, chunks, blocks, or other physical manifestations of ice.
HOLY/UNHOLY
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Holy/ Unholy powers; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect.
KINETIC ENERGY
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Kinetic Energy; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect (though as noted under Kinetic
Energy, below, Kinetic Energy attacks are often
treated as Physical attacks).
LIFE FORCE ENERGY
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Life Force Energy; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect.
LIGHT
Typically Ice/Cold has no special interac- tion with Light; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect. However, the heat generated by Light may have some minor effects similar to those caused by Fire/Heat, just of much less power.
MAGIC
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Magic; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect. However, if Magic manifests with some other special effect (such as Fire or Dark- ness), use that special effect for determining the results of the interaction.
MAGNETISM
Typically Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Magnetism; it neither gains nor loses against this
special effect. But extreme might actually enhance Magnetism powers by making the Magnetism-based character into a sort of “living superconductor” or the like. A character might buy this as a power (such as Cold Weather Enhancement in the USPD), or the interaction could arise spontaneously in combat. In the latter case, as a rule of thumb, when a Magne- tism-based character is exposed to Ice/Cold powers in a way that would make him extremely cold, all his Magnetism powers gain an Aid with Active Points equal to 1/10 the Active Points in the Ice/Cold power. The gained points do not fade as long as the charac- ter remains exposed to the extreme cold. For these purposes, “exposed” typically means (a) being hit with an attack of pure Cold (not physical pieces of Ice), or (b) entering an area where the temperature has been reduced to -18o Celsius (0o F) via Change Environ-
ment or other means.
MATTER MANIPULATION
Pure Cold energy has no special interaction with Matter Manipulation; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect. But since Ice powers involve physi- cal substances, Matter Manipulation may be unusually effective against them; see the Matter Manipulation section, below, for information.
MENTAL/PSIONIC
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Mental/Psionic powers; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect.
PHYSICAL
Typically Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Physical; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect. (But see under “Physical” in the Water section regarding buoyancy.) However, extreme cold (such as that generated by Ice/Cold-using characters) can make Physical objects brittle, and thus easier to break. Characters can buy this as a power (such as Brit-tlize in the USPD) or the GM might allow Ice/Cold attacks to have this effect as a campaign ground rule. In that case, it’s suggested that for every full 50 Active Points in an Ice/Cold attack involving “pure Cold energy” (as opposed to just a piece of actual ice), reduce a Physical defense’s Physical Defense protection against future attacks by -1 PD for the next Turn. (Thus, a 100 Active Point Ice/Cold power would subtract -2 PD, and so on.)
PULSON ENERGY
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Pulson Energy; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect.
RADIATION
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Radiation; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect.
SONIC
Typically, Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Sonics; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect. However, in the GM’s judgment the vibratory nature of Sonics can weaken Ice/Cold
defenses based on actual ice. This works just like the Ice/Cold-Physical interaction described above, except that it’s the Ice/Cold defense that suffers, and the reduction applies to both PD and ED.
TELEKINETIC
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Tele- kinetic powers; it neither gains nor loses against this special effect.
TIME
Ice/Cold has no special interaction with Time