This is a bit frustrating, really.
I know for a fact that A Few Seconds Ahead obviates oodles of character concepts. I've built a lot of characters, and I've frequently run into situations where it or a variant of it would be mandatory if I were optimizing.
That's bad!
Powers shouldn't be mandatory like that!
(The issue is especially clear to me because I was presented with more or less that exact situation with
one of my first PCs.
And then people try to dispute the validity of my experiences, using nothing except poorly-reasoned theory. It's tiresome.
Anyway, let's look at some practical examples.
OW isn't exactly lacking in characters that should (from an optimization perspective) have A Few Seconds Ahead. Essentially all of its spellcasters are in that position. Many of them would remain in that position even if they weren't as incredibly un-optimized as they are.
If you consider non-Lore-based Powers along the same lines, then the list of OW characters who are fools not to have such a Power grows. Charity comes to mind.
And if you also consider Stunts like the ones Lavecki is proposing, then the list expands to include a whole bunch of mortals. Some of those cops could really use a better physical defence skill.
"See it Comming" You are good at predicting what people are about to do. You may defend against physical attacks with alertness as long as you can see them
"Honeyed Words" Most of your conversations lead people to believe you are honest. You may use deceit as a defense in social conflicts when incorporating lies into your conversation.
"Acrobat" You are skilled at moving your body in ways people dont expect. You may use performance to defend against physical attacks as long as you narate it colorfully.
Honeyed Words might be workable. The other two are too strong.
I remember I used to allow this sort of nonsense. But I saw the error of my ways eventually. You will too, if you keep fiddling with mechanics. Eventually stuff like this just becomes obvious.
