Timejockey

Without going into too much detail I can tell you the upcoming Destined game will allow you to make martial artist heroes, both powered and non-powered. As a fan of heroes like Iron Fist, Daredevil, and Batman I wanted to make sure they were represented. The superpowers rules in A&E and Imperative have a few options, but the final book will have a lot more.

We're still in the writing process right now, and doing some internal playtests. That is the focus at this time so that is really all I can say at this point.

It does work pretty much the same way. Your Core Powers are always available as Loz said, so you can use them whenever you need to without paying a cost. As I said in the podcast, the idea was superheroes should always be super, so you can always fly, always shoot lasers from your eyes, etc. You also have Boosts that enhance the base power, but expend your power points to activate. They are special tricks you can't do all the time, but have available as long as you have Power Points to activate them. Limits restrict or modify the base power so it doesn't work in the normal way. So you could add a Limit that makes the base power cost Power Points to use, or the Games Master could make some Limits mandatory if he has a particular way he wants powers to work in the campaign. So if you wanted heroes that had powers that consumed a portion of their lifeforce or energy to activate, even the basic powers, you could say all heroes have the LImit that requires them to spend Power Points to use their abilities. That way you can customize the powers system as you like to make it fit your vision for the campaign.

We did create a random powers table as part of our playtests. As someone who spent a lot of time with TSR's Marvel Super Heroes in my youth, I appreciate having something like that available when someone can't think of a concept for their hero, or for when you want to be surprised. There has been some discussion about possibly including it in the appendix if space allows, but we're focused on getting the game in the best shape we can right now so that is still a consideration for the future.

Thank you! I have some more powers and systems in mind, but right now I don't know of any specific plans to do a full book. If that is something people would like to see, let me know.

I didn't fully stat them all out, just attributes and powers in a notebook to see how they would look. With the system most characters will have between two-four powers and a few power boosts and limitations, and that is what I worked with to come up with their power sets. Here are a few examples of just the powers: Luke Cage: He's basically strong, tough, and bulletproof, so he would have Enhanced Strength, Durability, and Inherent Armor with the Invulnerability boost from the pregen Torc. The show demonstrated his power limitation that his invulnerable skin makes it really difficult to perform surgery on him without the right tools or process, so treating serious or major wounds with surgery would be impossible without special equipment. Daredevil: He's a skilled fighter and very nimble, and his enhanced senses give him a radar-like special sense, so he would have Combat Expert in unarmed, melee, and thrown (for his batons), Enhanced Reactions, and Heightened Sense (hearing) with a custom boost for the radar sense (able to sense objects and movement out to half of POW in meters by spending 2 power points, lasts for the scene). Obviously his blindness would be a physical limitation that means he automatically fails any skill checks involving his sight. Jessica Jones: She is strong and tough, so she would have Enhanced Strength and Durability. In the comics she can fly, but she is generally not good at it so she would have Flight with the Limited Control limitation. Iron Fist: He is a master martial artist, very agile, and possesses the ability to focus his Chi, so he would have Combat Expert in unarmed, Enhanced Reactions, and Close Combat Attack (which is a bonus power I posted online here) with the boost that can enhance his damage and weapon size. He would also have the Activation Cost limit on that power to reflect that he can't use the iron fist all the time. In the comics he can use his chi to increase his and others healing rate, so that could be Regeneration with the limitation that it heals 1 HP per hour while meditating and a boost that lets it be used on others for 1 power point per hour used. Batman: He's a skilled fighter and the world's greatest detective, so he would have Combat Expert in unarmed and thrown weapons (all those batarangs), Enhanced Reactions, and Savant in Insight, Perception, and Track. Wolverine: He's tough, has razor sharp claws, and his healing factor, which would be Durability, Close Combat Attack with the armor piercing boost that the pregen Mortician has on his combat skills, and Regeneration with a modified boost from the villain in the adventure that allows major wounds to be healed 1 HP per hour for 3 power points per hour. He also has his enhanced senses, which could be done as Heightened Sense (Scent) with a boost that lowers the difficulty of Track checks by spending 1 power point. Also in my notes was something I didn't include in the adventure. Gaining a new power boost would cost 5 experience rolls, 3 if there is a limitation attached. Gaining a new core power would cost 15 experience rolls, 12 with a limitation to the power.

When I was developing the system, I was able to create pretty good versions of the Defenders (TV and comic versions), Batman, and Wolverine using the basic rules.

Now that Agony and Ecstasy is out, I wanted to talk a little bit about how the superpower mechanics came to be. When I was working on them, I had two primary goals in mind. Supers should always be super: You never see the panel of a comic where Superman can't use his heat vision because he fails an activation check or runs out of power points. Superheroes with powers should always have access to those powers, barring unusual circumstances or glowing green rocks from the remains of their home world. So at the core, the system had to have base abilities the characters always had access to. Superheroes also find new and inventive ways to use those powers beyond what their core abilities can do. That lead to the development of boosts, which augment or enhance the base power at the cost of power points, the system's version of magic points. For example, the Flash's base power lets him run at fantastic speeds, and he has boosts that sometimes let him vibrate through walls or create small, localized whirlwinds by running in circles. It had to fit Mythras: The game already has great magic systems, psionic powers, and mystic abilities for supernatural creatures. When designing the superpower mechanics the goal was not to reinvent the wheel, so the primary inspirations came from the traits as presented in Luther Arkwright and mysticism from the core book. With a few tweaks and adjustments, they served as a basis for what is presented in the scenario. Since the goal was low-powered, street level heroes, the powers were also designed with balance in mind so they could scale along with other aspects of the game and not be too lethal or overwhelming. That being said, certain concessions were made to maintain “comic book logic,” so that is why Tortoise can lift a car but doesn't burst criminals like ripe melons when he punches them. I hope you enjoy what we came up with and it leads to some fantastic superpowered adventures beyond what is in the book. While it was designed with Mythras in mind, the basic superpowers system in Agony and Ecstasy could be easily adapted for most d100 games. As a little bonus, here are two additional powers along with some example boosts and possible limits to use in your games. These are based on abilities the villains of the adventure possess, but I'm sure in the hands of your players they will be put to good use. CLOSE COMBAT ATTACK You possess an enhanced melee attack such as claws, a mystic blade, or weapons made of pure energy. No matter what form it takes, the Ready Weapon action must be used to draw or manifest the weapon before it can be used This attack has a Reach of Medium and you may choose one combat effect at creation, such as Bleed, Impale, or Stun Location. The base damage and size of this attack is determined by your POW, and you may add your damage bonus to the amount inflicted. With the Gamesmaster's permission, you can determine your damage bonus for this attack using POW+SIZ instead of STR+SIZ to represent a mystical or psychic melee attack. POW: 8 or less: 1d4/S, 9-12: 1d6/M, 13-15: 1d8/M, 16-18: 1d10/L, 19+: 1d12/L Spend 1 power point to change the weapon to a different type for the encounter, gaining a different combat effect, or add a weapon trait, such as Entrapping or Ranged Parry. For an additional power point you can do both. Spend 1 power point as a free action to instantly ready the weapon. Spend 2 power points to increase the weapon's base damage by one die type and the size by one step for a single attack. Limited Power: The close combat attack is always out and is obvious to onlookers. While you never need to take a Ready action to prepare it, it often hampers certain physical or social actions by its presence and inflicts a one step difficulty penalty on those actions. EMOTION CONTROL As an action you have the ability to inflict a specific emotional state on a nearby target that fails an opposed Willpower check against you. This ability has a range equal to your POW in meters and the type of emotion you are able to inflict is chosen when you take this power. The exact effects depend on what emotion you create, but the feeling is so overpowering that it severely impairs the target. At the start of the next round as an action the target can attempt an unopposed Willpower check to break free. Some example effects follow: Euphoria: The only action the target can take is Dither, but if it takes any damage it can make an immediate unopposed Willpower check to break free. Fear: The target gains a temporary passion of “Fear (person or object of your choice)” equal to your Willpower. A passion check must be made on the target's turn to avoid fleeing from the source of fear. Hate: The target gains a temporary passion of “Hate (person or object of your choice)” equal to your Willpower. A passion check must be made on the target's turn to avoid attacking whatever it now hates. Love: The target gains a temporary passion of “Love (person or object of your choice)” equal to your Willpower. A passion check must be made to take any offensive action against the beloved thing or to prevent the target from protecting it. Spend 1 power point to change the emotion you inflict to a different one when using the power. Spend 2 power points to make the target's Willpower check to resist one difficulty grade harder. Spend 2 power points per additional target you want to affect within range. Limited Power: You must make physical contact with the target to affect them with the power.