Question: Power Stunts

[Dragonfly]

Hey folks,

I really like how broad some of the powers are in Supers! Rather than Cold Blast, you buy Cold Control, which lets you do all sorts of things (like make force fields, shoot blasts, etc.). How flexible are you guys with these powers?

Let's take Cold Control 5d.

1) How large of an ice wall would you allow a player to make with this? Me? I would say that the person could make enough of an enclosure to surround themselves only. It should have the Area boost to do more.

2) How long does that ice wall remain? Me? I would say as long as the character concentrates. If the character switches to attack with a cold blast or to freeze a tidal wave, the wall will collapse.

Here is a different, but related question. Do you think it would break the system to allow a character with Cold Control 5d to perform boost effects by reducing the dice effect. For example: do you think it would be fair and balanced to allow the character to subtract one die off of his Cold Control in order to create a wall large enough to protect himself and his companion. In this case, the character would be performing a Boost Area 1 effect, but rolling only 4d to resist damage, as opposed to his usual 5d.

What do you guys think?

Best,

Dragonfly

[Maltese Changeling]

The way I ran Powers the last time I GMed Supers! was to basically include minor stunts via the player's description of the power usage. Anything major required permanent expenditure on a Boost (which is a good way to hoover up the Competency Dice and solve the rapid XP ramp-up effect).

For this sort of stunting, I'd want to say that you had to expend some kind of resource: 1D of a relevant Resistance or a Competency Die, something like that. I sort of like the idea of giving yourself Fortitude damage to extend your ice shield to protect others or Will damage to get your Mental Blast through the bad guy's Mind Shield via temporary Armor-Piercing power.

Lowering the power 1D for the stunt seems a bit easy-going on the player, especially if they've put a Limitation on the power. Then they're getting a free Boost anytime they want off of the extra die the Limitation kicked in. I.e., they're still a 20D character on paper, but in practice they really are 21D. Or something. Math makes my head hurt.

[Dragonfly]

Hi M.C.,

Thanks for the feedback! I'll have to think on it a bit more, but at first pass I'm not certain that I agree with your suggestion that the proposed method of power stunting would give characters with a Complication a free Boost anytime they want off of the extra die the limitation kicked in. They are already getting an extra die off of the limitation, after all. They'd be sacrificing that die for the stunt. That's no different than a character without a limitation, who would ALSO be sacrificing a die for a stunt. In both cases you are trading something for something.

The question, of course, is whether or not the trade is too generous and/or game breaking. I'm not sure. Playtesting might tell me if its too generous. I'm more concerned about whether or not this approach would step on the toes of powers like Wizardry. My gut says, "not really." Someone with Wizardry 5d still seems far more versatile than someone with Cold Control 5d using this rules variant, but I'll have to think on that some more too. :-]

All that being said, I like your suggestions/solutions/approach to stunting. I too like the idea of characters taking Resistance damage in order to push their powers. I haven't played Supers! enough to detect the experience creep problem that you mentioned, but if such a problem exists, I like the fact that your approach might provide a means of curbing its effects. One could, of course, used a combined approach. You can stunt in the more freewheeling way up to one-die's worth. Beyond that, you must use competency dice and/or take damage to your resistances.

Much to think about! Much to play with!

Best,

Dragonfly