Anime-ish? World

[RadSprack]

Experienced POWERS users! I look to you in this time of need! Please! Hear me out and help me!

I'm building a world for my regular group to play in that is supposed to be more of a palate cleanser from the more gritty and realistic fantasy setting two of the guys have been running. The current GM developed his world as something that was supposed to be a tic more real than most D&D settings which is still considerably lighter than the other GM who set his world as super gritty and complex. But it he current story had turned out to be almost just as complex only slightly more forgiving on magic.

What I want to do is let my players breath without worrying about every little detail. I want them to be able to take chances and risks they would never dream about in their games. I want to put them in a world similar to "One Piece", "Hunter x Hunter", or "Fairy Tail." So, the characters and players should be able to handle their own without armor or weapons should they choose not to, and they should be able to defend against and hurt those that choose to do so. I know I want to use Powers and will have to in order to keep them from having to wear armor to survive powerful blows, I just don't really know where to start or how many points to allow them to start with.

What in particular should I pay attention to or look out for in the POWERS book? What other supplementals should I search out/use? I'm thinking of starting them around 175-200. I'm only assuming that this is a decent point value for starting a powers game.

[McAllister]

GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys. You want them to breathe? This is the Book of Breathing Room. Let them take Destiny: Main Character (or you could even hand it out as a campaign feature for PCs) for a source of renewable points to influence outcomes with. They'll be set to take crazy risks between flesh wounds, buying success on defense rolls and maybe some Serendipity to to say that, when they're kicked out the window of a 100 story building, they land on a moon bounce.

Other than that, Martial Arts, Action and Powers probably all have optional rules you'll want to use. Really, you can run a cinematic campaign at any point value if there are enough ways for people to duck out of bad consequences. Turn all the switches to "reality can go **** itself".

What screams "anime" to me? Flesh wounds, extra/super-effort, Rapier Wit, and powers with variable drawbacks (like an Innate Attack that deals 2d plus 2d per FP spent). They've got to be able to get over 9000! Even if only temporarily.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by RadSprack

What in particular should I pay attention to or look out for in the POWERS book?

A pretty good place to start would be the special considerations for Chi powers on p. 175. That's the most common "color" for empowered anime, though magic and spirit aren't uncommon in more fantasy treatments.

[BattlemageBob]

look at the Supers book page 18 for power levels.

It's been a while since I've seen Hunter x Hunter, but I would guess they start off the show in the low 200s.

One Piece: Luffy is similar to the rubberman in supers 250 points + a lot of strength putting him in the 350 range at the start of the show.

Fairy Tail: Any time they have a fight they destroy a city, many of them have high levels of super strength, can fly, shrug off cannon hits and have many specialty attacks. I would guess the lowest in the fairy tail guild is around 250 and most are in the 500-900 range.

[Refplace]

GURPS Thaumatology Chinese Elemental Powers and the last Pyramid make a good model for some of those guys.
GURPS Psionic Powers probably better models Fairy tale.
Both explore certain features in GURPS Powers and provide examples that can work towards much of Animae.
IT:DR is to be highly encouraged, if not required.
I agree about GURPS Impulse Buys as well.

[RadSprack]

Originally Posted by McAllister

GURPS Power-Ups 5: Impulse Buys. You want them to breathe? This is the Book of Breathing Room. Let them take Destiny: Main Character (or you could even hand it out as a campaign feature for PCs) for a source of renewable points to influence outcomes with. They'll be set to take crazy risks between flesh wounds, buying success on defense rolls and maybe some Serendipity to to say that, when they're kicked out the window of a 100 story building, they land on a moon bounce.

Other than that, Martial Arts, Action and Powers probably all have optional rules you'll want to use. Really, you can run a cinematic campaign at any point value if there are enough ways for people to duck out of bad consequences. Turn all the switches to "reality can go **** itself".

What screams "anime" to me? Flesh wounds, extra/super-effort, Rapier Wit, and powers with variable drawbacks (like an Innate Attack that deals 2d plus 2d per FP spent). They've got to be able to get over 9000! Even if only temporarily.

I like the idea of Impulse Buys, but I feel that adding the new rules for the Powers we are going to be playing with on top of some of the house rules I will be implementing, it may very well bog things down. I will definitely consider it though if they take to this adjusted system easily. Then again, some of the older guys might think of that as going too far out of the way and creating a "Meta-Gaming" atmosphere, which I don't want.

When I say breathing room, I am talking more about letting my players be able to take some hits or something like that and not worry about having to roll up another character from a single lucky shot that wasn't really even that lucky (I managed to one-shot a character/monster that was built for taking a beating and dishing one out well above my point value. I mean this thing was built to take on the entire party plus NPCs and have some of the group walk away from it damaged, if not dead.) I mean, I know crit happens, but I don't want my players and characters to die from a random cut to the arm that gets infected. Do you know what I mean? I don't know if I'm conveying correctly what I'm trying to put out there.

Originally Posted by BattlemageBob

look at the Supers book page 18 for power levels.

It's been a while since I've seen Hunter x Hunter, but I would guess they start off the show in the low 200s.

One Piece: Luffy is similar to the rubberman in supers 250 points + a lot of strength putting him in the 350 range at the start of the show.

Fairy Tail: Any time they have a fight they destroy a city, many of them have high levels of super strength, can fly, shrug off cannon hits and have many specialty attacks. I would guess the lowest in the fairy tail guild is around 250 and most are in the 500-900 range.

This reference is super helpful. It puts it in a way that helps me get an idea for my players, and the bit that talks about not just wrangling them into the "your character HAS to be [310]" corral was super helpful.

Originally Posted by Refplace

GURPS Thaumatology Chinese Elemental Powers and the last Pyramid make a good model for some of those guys.
GURPS Psionic Powers probably better models Fairy tale.
Both explore certain features in GURPS Powers and provide examples that can work towards much of Animae.
IT:DR is to be highly encouraged, if not required.
I agree about GURPS Impulse Buys as well.

I want most of the players abilities to be more innate than them having to consciously think about them. I don't know if I'm just getting the wrong idea for Psionics though.

I do know that one player wants to run a swordsman (which I am going to give him a Swords! talent or Weapon Master (All Swords)) and each sword is going to have its own power or ability. He has given me full control over the types of the swords, and I have decided to go with a more elemental route (kinda) with them.

Another player wants to be a mage that has skills and spells mainly used for buffing and enhancing friendlies. I want his abilities to be able to work a little smoother than regular magic, so I was thinking of instead of having him work up every spell and having to memorize them, he could use a Snatcher ability to grab spell books from an alternate dimension to use them to cast his spells.

[McAllister]

Originally Posted by RadSprack

I like the idea of Impulse Buys, but I feel that adding the new rules for the Powers we are going to be playing with on top of some of the house rules I will be implementing, it may very well bog things down. I will definitely consider it though if they take to this adjusted system easily. Then again, some of the older guys might think of that as going too far out of the way and creating a "Meta-Gaming" atmosphere, which I don't want.

I'm not going to lie: PU-5 is 100% meta-game. In fact, there are two ways to increase survivability:

1. Meta-game in the form of buying success, using Flesh Wounds, using optional rules like Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy, ignoring optional rules like bleeding, using traits like Lucky and the GM designing enemies with poor offensive capabilities. I believe these all quality as Meta-Game, yes? They take place outside or describe the game?

2. Individual characters can buy defensive traits (anything from IT:DR and Unkillable to Danger Sense or Common Sense) and exercise caution when going into unknown situations, interacting with unknown people, fighting opponents with unknown capabilities, etc.

What I'm trying to say here is that you either put the burden on the player to buy defensive traits and play cautiously (I think this is not your intent), or you "meta-game" by reducing the lethality of the world with optional rules and/or campaign traits. Meta-game isn't a pejorative. Learn to love the opportunities that come from altering the game to meet your needs.

[starslayer]

Originally Posted by RadSprack

Experienced POWERS users! I look to you in this time of need! Please! Hear me out and help me!

I'm building a world for my regular group to play in that is supposed to be more of a palate cleanser from the more gritty and realistic fantasy setting two of the guys have been running. The current GM developed his world as something that was supposed to be a tic more real than most D&D settings which is still considerably lighter than the other GM who set his world as super gritty and complex. But it he current story had turned out to be almost just as complex only slightly more forgiving on magic.

What I want to do is let my players breath without worrying about every little detail. I want them to be able to take chances and risks they would never dream about in their games. I want to put them in a world similar to "One Piece", "Hunter x Hunter", or "Fairy Tail." So, the characters and players should be able to handle their own without armor or weapons should they choose not to, and they should be able to defend against and hurt those that choose to do so. I know I want to use Powers and will have to in order to keep them from having to wear armor to survive powerful blows, I just don't really know where to start or how many points to allow them to start with.

What in particular should I pay attention to or look out for in the POWERS book? What other supplementals should I search out/use? I'm thinking of starting them around 175-200. I'm only assuming that this is a decent point value for starting a powers game.

Some ideas:

1. Unkillable 1 as a free campaign feature (you never roll death checks, and you only die if you get to -5xHP)

2. Escalation of force? (I can't remember the exact rule name) in effect- grants free IT:DR/luck for being 'out of scale' with the force level of the encounter- IE take a knife to a gun fight, and you get IT:DR10 and an extra use of luck for that encounter, so bullets will only do 1/10th normal damage to you, and you get a free shot of luck, allows PCs who would be sorily outmatched by superior technology and weapons to instead have an advantage for sticking with fists, blades, or staring down a cannon's bore armed only with a toothpick. You might want to reserve this for PC/NPCs with trained by a master.

3. Make a few points in 'anime-esque' advantages free, perhaps design a few anime lenses and let players take one for free- IE: very few players would take 'turns into a girl when exposed to cold water, and back in hot' as limitations on there alternate form that grants them enhanced speed and dexterity in exchange for strength, but if they can get that for free- this will remain true for a lot of anime powers which would be awesome save for poor point mannagement in the power itself (a throwable energy blade that does 20d6 damage, but takes 15 seconds of charge up is much less effective then one that does 10d6 damage and only takes a second to activate). Players tend to optimize things in ways that are far more effective then narratively cool.

4. Consider removing all material possessions and instead replace with equivalent innate attack with gadget limitations (leads to much more 'signature' weapons rather then a grab bag of stuff that fills a budget)

5. Turn off basically all 'hard realasim' rules.

[RadSprack]

Originally Posted by starslayer

Some ideas:

1. Unkillable 1 as a free campaign feature (you never roll death checks, and you only die if you get to -5xHP)

2. Escalation of force? (I can't remember the exact rule name) in effect- grants free IT:DR/luck for being 'out of scale' with the force level of the encounter- IE take a knife to a gun fight, and you get IT:DR10 and an extra use of luck for that encounter, so bullets will only do 1/10th normal damage to you, and you get a free shot of luck, allows PCs who would be sorily outmatched by superior technology and weapons to instead have an advantage for sticking with fists, blades, or staring down a cannon's bore armed only with a toothpick. You might want to reserve this for PC/NPCs with trained by a master.

3. Make a few points in 'anime-esque' advantages free, perhaps design a few anime lenses and let players take one for free- IE: very few players would take 'turns into a girl when exposed to cold water, and back in hot' as limitations on there alternate form that grants them enhanced speed and dexterity in exchange for strength, but if they can get that for free- this will remain true for a lot of anime powers which would be awesome save for poor point mannagement in the power itself (a throwable energy blade that does 20d6 damage, but takes 15 seconds of charge up is much less effective then one that does 10d6 damage and only takes a second to activate). Players tend to optimize things in ways that are far more effective then narratively cool.

4. Consider removing all material possessions and instead replace with equivalent innate attack with gadget limitations (leads to much more 'signature' weapons rather then a grab bag of stuff that fills a budget)

5. Turn off basically all 'hard realasim' rules.

This is kind of exactly what I was looking to find when I posted this. IT:DR might be perfect for my needs and I hadn't even considered unkillable, it totally has an anime feel to it. These are the kinds of things that will allow myself and the players to step outside of our comfort zone with GURPS but still allow us to know where we are with the system. Thanks, everyone, for the input. It is defininately greatly appreciated and I welcome any additional tips and tricks to help my players and me transition into this more fantastical venture.

[Phantasm]

Would you call a shojo-mallet a Perk?