(M&M 3e) Permanent

[Scholz]

I want to make an instant power Permanent.
Hero Lab is happy to let me raise the Duration from Instant to Concentration to Sustained to Continuous. But when I try to then bring it down to Permanent, it won't let me.
When I try to make the power Permanent (without the upgrades) it just makes it a flat -1 Modifier.
Any ideas?

[Duggan]

Which power are you trying to make Permanent? It may help us figure out context.

[Sketchpad]

I've ran into a similar problem with Insubstantial. Taking Innate, Permanent & Increased Duration - Continuous comes up with an error stating 'May not change the duration of a Permanent power.' I've taken it after and before, and get the error each time. I've looked over the rule book and don't see this referenced. Additionally, it's how they create Deadman in the DCA H&V1. Any ideas?

[Duggan]

Ah. The Deadman example makes sense. Back in 2E, that was an ad hoc thing, I think. It would probably be easy to make a new modifier that applied to powers that default to Permanent and require a free action to turn off. Would that work for you?

Still not 100% which power Scholz is working on... most of the Instant powers don't make sense as Permanent.

[Sketchpad]

Makes sense for me. I couldn't find anything in the core book hat supported the error.

[Scholz]

I was looking for a way to make a permanent area attack (like a cloud of noxious gas, flames, or similar things). Decided to make it a Reaction instead, same basic effect, and it worked with Hero Lab.