Quote:
Originally Posted by cvannrederode
A single individual standing against anything on the decade scale (or higher), whether it be by magic or something else (psi, raw strength) is very "four-color". A look through GURPS Supers (the 4E version) shows some mechanics that should allow a high powered individual stand toe-toe which bigger forces, using such mechanics as Super-effort. Or by buying their magic as powers, allowing power level and skill to be decoupled. I'm not familiar enough with the new Supers rules in 4E, but I'm sure that power levels aren't tied to skill.
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No, they're not. Power levels in 4e supers are basically following the Psionics rules in the
Basic Set and expanded in
Powers: power level is set by the Advantages, and you have the option to replace straight Stat (commonly DX, IQ, HT, Will, Per) rolls called for by those Advantages with Stat/H Skills.
Supers for 4e is about 80% genre book, 15% worked examples of existing crunch, and 5% new crunch.
From what I can tell, the magic systems that fit best in a four-color superhero game are Realm magic and Sorcery (a magic-as-powers approach); Realm works best for "sorcerers supreme" like Doctor Strange and Dr. Fate, while Sorcery fits better for "limited trick" magicians like Hellstorm and Amethyst; a grittier "Trenchcoat Brigade" feel for magic, as personified by Constantine, would probably be RPM. Using any variation of
Magic-magic in that kind of game doesn't really fit.
It's a case of "know your intended power levels" and "don't be stupid about it". If something
looks unbalanced, over-thought, or just plain wrong, it probably
is.
In regards to ST scores, remember that in 4e, ST is quadratic, where a +10 to the ST score is x4 in effective real world strength. This is a big change from 3e where ST scores were linear, and a +10 change to ST was a x2 to effective real world strength. Super ST makes the curve parabolic or hyperbolic (I haven't graphed it yet to be sure), where a slight change in ST is a much larger increase in real world strength. At Super ST +17/+1500, 680 points, one can start bench-pressing
kilotons, which is getting into late-Silver/early-Bronze Age (~1970-1985) Superman levels of strength. Be extremely careful!