There will come a time in your Heroes’ adventures that they will need to defend themselves from enemy attacks or other sources of danger.
Basic Defenses
As a free action – that is, an action that takes no time at all to perform – your Hero can either attempt Dodge or ‘tough out’ incoming danger with a Block.
If you choose to Dodge, you roll your Dodge dice (+ any powers if applicable) against the strength of the incoming damage. You are hit if your roll was not high enough.
Similarly, if you choose to Block, you roll your Toughness dice (+any powers if applicable) against the same attack strength. This gives you, the player, a choice in how your Hero responds to threats. A wall-crawling Spider-Hero might Dodge almost everything, but an alien Ubermench might try to Block.
Super-Defenses
If your Hero has enough time to use a Twitch Action before the attack completes, he or she can attempt a Super-Dodge or a Super-Block. Your character might have other options, too, depending on his or her Powers, but ALL Heroes have these two options available.
A Super-Dodge allows you to add a a number of dice equal to HALF of your Hero’s Movement score to your Dodge roll. However, you Hero must move Half of his or her Movement as part of the Super-Dodge. This is a good way to avoid attacks that fill an area.
A Super-Block allows you to add your Strength to your Toughness for the attack. However, if the attack is a ‘exotic’ energy type, (see below) you only get 2 dice for your Toughness, regardless of how high it might normally be. More on that on the next page: Energy Types and Damage.