GURPS Supers Gameplay Balance

[vitruvian]

Originally Posted by Eisbaer Blitzkrieg

vitruvian, thanks so much for your response, it gave me a lot I can share with the characters.

Hopefully, the players as well ;-).

Originally Posted by Eisbaer Blitzkrieg

Also, some more idea with how the weapons should be balanced. I've had this problem with my Black Ops games as well, the PCs automatic weapons just tearing my beasties to shreds with their 7d damage. It made me blink due to most handguns, firing the same or larger caliber shells, doing ~3d. Odd, but errata showed no correction and I just didn't want to rewrite the whole damage table.

As others have noted, this is no mistake; rifles and submachine guns really are better. It is possible to fall into a 'street level' range where handguns are not a really serious threat but military grade equipment still is.

Originally Posted by Eisbaer Blitzkrieg

As for the characters, I started them with 500pts. At the level they're about 525. Highest combat character has a energy wall attack with 12d, so he's a bit of the heavy hitter, but that's not his character type.

Yeah, as of 4e, that's more street level supers than full four color. The guy with the wall might want to develop a variation (either additional enhancement with Selectivity, or more likely an Alternate Attack at 1/5 cost) that uses the Rigid option - that's a DR 36, HP 6 wall placeable between your team and the bullets when needed.

Originally Posted by Eisbaer Blitzkrieg

Another with super-dexterity and dodge, so most of the time he's fine... but if he fails his chambara dodge, which has happened twice, it can get really ugly.
He only attacks with knives and the called-shot has been his friend but I'm trying to figure out a way to up the damage on them.

If the character doesn't have Luck of any kind for those occasions, then at least pending its acquisition, you might want to consider using some of the Cinematic Combat Rules on B417, especially Flesh Wounds and TV Action Violence (spend 1 FP to convert a failed defense to a successful one). This is good for all PCs, really, not just the acrobats.

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by Ragitsu

Hm. On the flipside, .50 BMG severely injures people and .22LR kills them instantly.

That's where marksmanship comes into play, unless you pray and spray.

See those last two words in the post you quoted?

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by vitruvian

Yeah, as of 4e, that's more street level supers than full four color. The guy with the wall might want to develop a variation (either additional enhancement with Selectivity, or more likely an Alternate Attack at 1/5 cost) that uses the Rigid option - that's a DR 36, HP 6 wall placeable between your team and the bullets when needed.

500 is roughly X-men level, while 700 is right around "beat up tanks," IIRC from some notes I was making for a supers game.

[Ragitsu]

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

See those last two words in the post you quoted?

You mean "On average"?

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by vitruvian

If the character doesn't have Luck of any kind for those occasions, then at least pending its acquisition, you might want to consider using some of the Cinematic Combat Rules on B417, especially Flesh Wounds and TV Action Violence (spend 1 FP to convert a failed defense to a successful one). This is good for all PCs, really, not just the acrobats.

My character in the GURPS Supers playtest campaign, La Gata Encantada, had Dodge-16 (and could push it higher under special circumstances!). But I had her go into action wearing the best armor she could improvise on a budget: a solid helmet with a visor, a motorcycle jacket, high boots, and gloves with finger cutouts. I figured that when she eventually failed her Dodge, there was a chance those few points of DR would save her from dying.

Bill Stoddard

[satanicway]

Originally Posted by Crakkerjakk

500 is roughly X-men level, while 700 is right around "beat up tanks," IIRC from some notes I was making for a supers game.

Most Xmen characters have atlast 800pts...
Just a handful of weaker have 400-600, some of them have over 1000.

700 pts isnt enough to face an army armed with tanks and rifles.
A character that can bypass the tank DR, and still have enough defense to resist its attacks, and still have mundane skills, and some utility or background power, takes more them 700pts. (Well since its gurps, im sure someone can come with a 200pts char that can do that, using alot of reductions on powers, or itens with -80% reduction, or just some powers that armys cannot beat easly like invisibility and becoming etherial, but i'm talking about normal characters, like a simple strong super, or a fast-guy, or a pure blaster character.

[Crakkerjakk]

Originally Posted by satanicway

Most Xmen characters have atlast 800pts...
Just a handful of weaker have 400-600, some of them have over 1000.

700 pts isnt enough to face an army armed with tanks and rifles.
A character that can bypass the tank DR, and still have enough defense to resist its attacks, and still have mundane skills, and some utility or background power, takes more them 700pts. (Well since its gurps, im sure someone can come with a 200pts char that can do that, using alot of reductions on powers, or itens with -80% reduction, or just some powers that armys cannot beat easly like invisibility and becoming etherial, but i'm talking about normal characters, like a simple strong super, or a fast-guy, or a pure blaster character.

750 points lets you max out both the damage reduction and super strength with no modifiers at the decade scale with no points left over. Assuming you choose to specialize in being either really tough or really strong, and spread your points around a bit, and tack on some limitations and enhancements here and there, you can go toe-to--toe with a tank at that level. You may not be one-shotting them and they may still hurt you pretty bad if you get hit with the main gun, but it's on par with two guys with swords going at it instead of a reenactment of Tienanmen Square.

If you want to be at the point where you're invulnerable to tanks and slice through them like butter, yes that costs a little more.

[satanicway]

Thats what four-color supers are about, normally.

Even some supers that cant do that, will be able to combat a tank easly.

Only Ultra-tech tanks gives a X-men character some problem.

[Maz]

Originally Posted by Eisbaer Blitzkrieg

Also, as a side question, can anyone suggest an advantage that states a character has a small army in their employ? Ally Group caps at 100 people.

Allies are people willing to freely help you simply because they like you, for no reward.

Employing a small army is covered by really high Cost of Living, and as such a high Wealth level.
Otherwise you could simply have a high Military Rank.

[Maz]

Originally Posted by Eisbaer Blitzkrieg

He only attacks with knives and the called-shot has been his friend but I'm trying to figure out a way to up the damage on them.

There are many ways to do this.
One is to give him special ultra-tech or magical knives that he buy as sgnature gear or design as a gadget. I would advice focusing on high Armour Divisor instead of high base damage, as that soudns like it would fit him better.
Antoher is to increase his Striking ST, maybe put a -20% limitation on that says "only with knives". Weapon master or Preassure points/preassure secret, could also do the job.
Finally you could also just design them as a melee innate attack and simply rule that the fact that they are knives are a special visual modifier.

Originally Posted by Eisbaer Blitzkrieg

I just feel like I'm doing something wrong if I have to dumb down the rules, or if I make a 700pt villain that a handful of 500pt heroes can't take down.

Remember that points do NOT equal power level. (Others have already metioned but I do it again: You need to compare Skill, DR and Damage.) Also consider that the villain is probably has 100% combat abiltities, where the PC's have probably spend a lot of poitns in none-combat powers. So really they are most likely a lof less worth, when it comes to pure combat.

Btw. Take a look in Powers for combining several characters super-attacks to overcome strong DR.