the Fierce & the LintKing's Amber Bits

Top Ten Rejected Zero-Point Powers for Marius...

10. The power of...an audible personal soundtrack.

(There's an episode of "Family Guy" that describes some of the drawbacks to this.)

9. Calling the winds.

(The jokes about "breaking wind," and "Marius: also known as Storm of the X-men" just keep going on in my mind.)

8. Immunity to the jealous rage of boyfriends.

(It would be handy, the way he's only going after women involved with other men...but not game-appropriate.)

7. The power of...Snarky Comments! No, wait... Supreme Self-Importance!

(Oh wait, this IS Amber...everyone's got that! It's a survival trait. It's like eating meat. Fiona mindprobes the children at birth, and if they're shown likely to be vegetarian, she "takes care of it." Erm...)

6. Animate, mobile hair!

(Huh. Well it was a Very Popular Choice in other games I've been in...along with the spandex. Too bad he's got short hair...all he can do with it is tickle...but he's good at that.)

5. Impeccable Grooming!

Never a hair out of place, never a flake, heck, he could fool someone from that Gattaca movie!

4. There is no Uri Gellar, only Zuul: "He can bend spoons with his mind!"

(Only if we're going to the Matrix Shadow. Besides, Florimel will kill him if he tries anything with HER silverware.)

3. The power of flagrant disbelief... inverse to the Bugblatter Beast of Traal.

(His wisdom score isn't high enough. Anyway, this works best in the Toon universe. While Pattern can shape some awfully neat things, Not Looking Down doesn't mean he can walk over the edge of cliffs without harm...)

2. Elasticity!

(Another one popular with the ladies, and, heck, it's only a point in BESM... which is why we constantly consider it.)

and the number one rejected zero-point power for Marius?

Prince Charming's kiss that breaks enchantments.

Heh...I really had to think on discarding that one.