hi all,

I have two questions for you, if you wouldn't mind helping?

1) Force Blast - The Icons P&A card says that this is now a FREE action. Does this mean that (for e.g.) Blue Beetle could FB someone back and then attack them?

2) Knockback - Does knockback work with a Ranged Attack? I've always played it as happening from a Close Combat Attack, but reading the Icons rules I think it works if you role doubles on any attack, Ranged or Close?

Thanks very much in advance

The close combat part of it is free, true, but it takes a Power Action to activate. From the PAC:

FORCE BLAST (optional): Give this character a power action. As a free action it may make a close combat attack targeting a single adjacent opposing character. This attack hits automatically and deals no damage. Move the target character directly away from this character a number of squares equal to this character’s damage value. The target character automatically breaks away, may move through squares adjacent to opposing characters, and ignores the effects of
hindering terrain while being moved in this way. The target may be dealt knockback damage.

From the Icons Rule Book (page 20);
Knockback
If a player rolls doubles on the dice in a successful attack roll (except for two 1s, which is never successful), the target suffers knockback during the attack, after any damage taken from the attack is applied.

Knock back occurs whenever doubles are rolled during an attack (minus critical misses, of course). Doesn't matter if the attack is close or ranged combat. It has always been this way.

thanks normalview,

i wasnt too sure about FB's power/free actions, thanks for that.

poopy, ive always been playing knockback as only from CC attacks, thats the way i understood the IC rules. oh well, play and learn...

What if you roll doubles while doing a Force Blast attack?? Do they get a double knocked back?

You don't roll, the attack automatically succeeds. But since it *is* an attack, Super Sense can be used to avoid it.

FORCE BLAST (optional): Give this character a power action. As a free action it may make a close combat attack targeting a single adjacent opposing character. This attack hits automatically and deals no damage. Move the target character directly away from this character a number of squares equal to this character’s damage value. The target character automatically breaks away, may move through squares adjacent to opposing characters, and ignores the effects of hindering terrain while being moved in this way. The target may be dealt knockback damage.

what about Skrulls/Danger Girl? Can they roll to avoid being ForceBlasted?

Not anymore. As of Danger Room, Force Blast was reworded to NOT be an attack (the above posts are all quoting the pre-DR wording of the power). Skrull et.al. only activate upon being targeted by an attack.

FB is Skrull Infiltrator's worst nightmare.

eh? then that means super sense is no longer used against Force Blast? because I used Super Sense to avoid being forceblasted in the past few games. oh....I m in trouble, am I?

That's correct. Super Senses no longer works against Force Blast.

Force Blast is 2nd only to Pulse Wave as the most un-nerfable of powers. FEAR IT.

Not really. He has CR, so you get over it.

FB can be a hpyersonic speeder's worst nightmare if there is a convenient wall there.