Super Power Questions

[Audrey Winter]

I'm not entirely happy with the presentation of super powers in the BRP corebook. Coming from games like ICONS and Mutants & Masterminds (and, to a small degree, Champions), I have a certain expectation of what characters should be capable of with regard to their powers. For the most part, the Superworld-derived powers are okay, but I'm not at all happy with the "travel" powers or the small range of modifiers for powers.

What I'd like to know is if the engine would break if I ported over power presentations from, say, Mutants & Masterminds. A PL 10 M&M character gets about the same base pool of "budget" as a non-random budget character at the suggested "superhuman" level (150 points) and the powers have a very similar budget cost. The M&M travel powers obviously don't take SIZ into account, as there's no such characteristic/stat in M&M, and they allow vastly greater speeds (something the powers in the BRP core don't touch on), but I really prefer their presentation. Has anyone done something like this?

[KPhan2121]

Which "travel" powers are you talking about? You can always take many levels of a power in order to increase it's effects.

As for porting something else. I recommend looking at the Unified Powers homebrew, I personally think it makes super powers more interesting while simplifying them.

Now, if you are going to port M&M. I'm not too familiar with the system, but I understand that it doesn't have an HP system and it makes it harder for characters to one shot eachother. You'd have to tweak with the dmg and hp model of the game in order to lessen the lethality of the game since you characters could be throwing 10d6 worth of dmg per attack. Or you could just play it straight and have the setting place restrictions on supers killing eachother. Thats what I did and it worked alright for my game. I just tweaked the rules a little.

The BRP system is not designed for overly powerful characters and works better for lower powered games.

[Audrey Winter]

Thanks for the file link. That does address some issues I have, and I'll have to play with it some. Since you asked, primarily I have two problems:

1.) Flight, as presented, only says that it allows you to fly 3 SIZ per level at 500 meters per round. It does not say what happens with additional levels beyond those necessary to compensate for the character's SIZ. So if I'm SIZ 12 and I take four levels of Flight, I can move 500m/rd. What if I take a fifth level of Flight? How fast am I now? Is it an additional 500m/rd? M&M's flight is much simpler and also provides more capability.

2.) Super Speed is not about super speed, it's about combat movement, affecting move actions. Super Movement also doesn't cover it; SMv is about types of unusual movement. The document you linked has a "Sprint" power that covers what I'm looking for in a manner similar to Champions would usually do it, with movement doubling. M&M simply has a Speed power that makes use of its measurement chart to provide simply-calculated, speedster-appropriate movement. Using the power as presented in the BRP corebook, am I supposed to represent Flash-type superspeed by piling on extra move actions at a cost of 20 points each? That really isn't what I'm looking for.

As for translating damage, I'm fine with the energy projection powers as they are in BRP. Those map pretty decently with how M&M does it. It's mostly the movement powers that bother me.

Edited January 12, 2018 by Audrey Winter

[KPhan2121]

In this case, it would only allow you to carry more while flying. Like if you're flying while lifting a car to drop or throw. The Sprint power can double your ground speed or be applied to your Super Movement, Flying etc.

As for the Core Rulebook, I can't find anything about it. It just says that the Flight can be conbined with Superspeed which is not what you're looking for.

Yeah... I think you'd like Unified Powers. It seems to be closer to what you're looking her.

Edited January 12, 2018 by KPhan2121

[Audrey Winter]

Again, thank you very much for pointing out Unified Powers. I will definitely take some time to play with it and see if it works for what I want. I'm still interested to hear/read if anyone else has tried something like what I asked about.

[Atgxtg]

If you can find the Superworld Boxed Set (from 1983) I think it would solve most of the problems you are having with BRP. 

 

For example in Superworld, Flight was 600m/MR (straightline) or 120m/MR (combat movement). Additional levels increased the speed. SIZ only factored into the Hero Point cost to buy the power or Energy cost to use it (both 1/2 SIZ per level).

[David Scott]

53 minutes ago, Atgxtg said:

If you can find the Superworld Boxed Set (from 1983) I think it would solve most of the problems you are having with BRP. 

Buy here https://www.chaosium.com/superworld/ it's a great game. Admittedly I last played 20 years ago :-)

 

Edited January 12, 2018 by David Scott

[clarence]

You can also check how Elder Godlike approaches superpowers: 

https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/16/16918.phtml

I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard good things about it. 

[Mankcam]

You can port in almost any subsystem to BRP with some tweaking. Even something like White Wolf’s Abberant Powers are no problem, you just determine scale for skill range and you are good to go.

I think M&M, Savage Worlds, Storyteller etc are all good to port in if you feel that the BGB Powers are lacking. 

The main issue is that the core mechanics for BRP are gritty, objective, and operate good for street level combat and such. Good for Batman, Daredevil, Watchmen, Marvel Defenders, low level X Men, etc  Not so great for stuff beyond this however.

Marvel Avengers, Fantastic Four, Justice League etc can be a bit pulpy for a system like BRP. Pulpy handwaving certainly is achievable, but it isn’t its strong point and there are other systems which can portray this flavour with less effort.

If wanting to go for Marvel Superhero style action, yet still support Chaosium, then HeroQuest is probably a much better option, you just say what you envision a character should be able to do with a power and that’s it, it’s a keyword and you can roll with that.

Lots of other systems also do high power pulpy Supers quite well.

Horses for Courses I reckon

 

Edited January 13, 2018 by Mankcam