GURPS Supers Alternatives

[AlexanderHowl]

At TL8, Multimillionaire 4 represents personal assets of $20 billion while Independent Income 1 would represent an income of $200 million per month, or $2.4 billion per year, suggesting investments of around $80 billion, assuming a 3% return. At $100 billion of wealth between personal and investment assets, that makes him a multibillionaire, and the second wealthiest person on Earth.

What may reflect the comics better would be giving him Appearance (Handsome) [12], Corporate Rank 8 [40], Independent Income 10 [10], Reputation (+2; 10-) [5], Status 7 [5], and Multimillionaire 3 [125], for 197 CP. His rank would cover the majority of his expenses, his personal assets would be worth $2 billion, his income would be still be $200 million per month ($2.4 billion per year) and his investment assets would be $80 billion at 3%. With $82 billion in wealth, he would be the fourth wealthiest person on Earth.

He would still be a multibillionaire and nearly as wealthy as the previous build, but he would actually be more effective in interpersonal relations (he would get an extra +3 reaction from people working at his corporation and would receive at extra +1 from most people outside his corporation). He could also leverage his corporation to do more using the rules from Social Engineering, allowing him to bat even above his phenomenal wealth. Of course, it is just a matter of preference.

[Phantasm]

Actually, second wealthiest on Earth is canon for the DCU!Bruce Wayne. The only person ahead of him is Lex Luthor, and the man behind him in the number 3 spot, Steve Dayton (Mento of the Doom Patrol), is Beast Boy's adopted father. Coming in at number 10, having dropped from the #3 spot, is Loren Jupiter, one-time mentor and financier of the Teen Titans in two of their incarnations (early '70s and mid '90s).

[DreadDomain]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

Two advantages I'd permit Batman to have are Gizmos and Foresight.

Gizmos is always having the right small gadget on hand for the situation, a staple of the Bat-stories I watched/read as a kid. It fits stuff that could be in his utility belt he's carrying for this particular caper. Note that Batman generally knows who he's investigating before even hitting the streets (unless it's someone entirely new on the scene), so he'd have an item or two for dealing with either the person or helping save bystanders (a micro-laser torch for melting Mr. Freeze's ice, f'rex). This could tie in with Lucius Fox providing him with the Gizmos.

Foresight (from Pyramid #3/53) is "I planned for that". Batman is a master planner. Foresight lets a player who not as thoughtful a planner play a thoughtful planner by letting stuff happen retroactively a few times per session.

If we take each 28 to 32 page comic or hour-long television episode as a "session". Bats could have one full-on Foresight and one aspected Foresight and up to two Gizmos on his sheet without a problem. (I may go three, personally, but IME the third Gizmo rarely gets used in online play; not sure about face-to-face as it's been a while.)

Very good comment! I did not even remember about Foresight. Gee where to get the point from..

[DreadDomain]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

At TL8, Multimillionaire 4 represents personal assets of $20 billion while Independent Income 1 would represent an income of $200 million per month, or $2.4 billion per year, suggesting investments of around $80 billion, assuming a 3% return. At $100 billion of wealth between personal and investment assets, that makes him a multibillionaire, and the second wealthiest person on Earth.

What may reflect the comics better would be giving him Appearance (Handsome) [12], Corporate Rank 8 [40], Independent Income 10 [10], Reputation (+2; 10-) [5], Status 7 [5], and Multimillionaire 3 [125], for 197 CP. His rank would cover the majority of his expenses, his personal assets would be worth $2 billion, his income would be still be $200 million per month ($2.4 billion per year) and his investment assets would be $80 billion at 3%. With $82 billion in wealth, he would be the fourth wealthiest person on Earth.

He would still be a multibillionaire and nearly as wealthy as the previous build, but he would actually be more effective in interpersonal relations (he would get an extra +3 reaction from people working at his corporation and would receive at extra +1 from most people outside his corporation). He could also leverage his corporation to do more using the rules from Social Engineering, allowing him to bat even above his phenomenal wealth. Of course, it is just a matter of preference.

Well, as Phantasm pointed out, he is the second wealthiest person on the planet. Still, it's a pretty good suggestion.

[AlexanderHowl]

One thing to remember is the difference between GURPS$ and Real$. GURPS$ is probably around 2.5 Real$, as the majority of the population could not sustain a Status 0 existence in the USA on $600/month (that is less than the rent of a studio apartment in most urban and suburban areas where 80% of the US population lives). In that case, Bruce Wayne's GURPS$82B would be Real$205B, making him wealthier than Jeff Bezos.

[naloth]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

In that case, Bruce Wayne's GURPS$82B would be Real$205B, making him wealthier than Jeff Bezos.

I suspect you're a bit behind on Batman comics. Batman can somehow not only afford have moon bases and satellites the Justice League uses (they periodically get replaced). He's so wealthy, it's not even a significant line item.

As for the rest of the write-up I'll try to get back to it later today.

[AlexanderHowl]

That type of thing is probably evidence of a higher TL than higher wealth (TL9 would allow for both easily, and it would increase his wealth and earnings each by 50%). At TL8, moon bases would be a massive expenditure for the USA and would likely beggar any other nation. Of course, it could be handwaived, as comic book writers are rarely good with things like economics or science.

[Prince Charon]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

That type of thing is probably evidence of a higher TL than higher wealth (TL9 would allow for both easily, and it would increase his wealth and earnings each by 50%). At TL8, moon bases would be a massive expenditure for the USA and would likely beggar any other nation. Of course, it could be handwaived, as comic book writers are rarely good with things like economics or science.

I suspect that in large part it's that Batman is supplying the materials and some of the tech, while Superman and Green Lantern are taking it into space and assembling it, thus allowing the JLA to have an orbiting space station at TL7^.

Really, the most expensive thing about building a space station or moonbase with the technology that we have and know works in real life is launching stuff into orbit. Without that, a billionaire (or even a millionaire, perhaps) could afford to build a space station.

[naloth]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

That type of thing is probably evidence of a higher TL than higher wealth (TL9 would allow for both easily, and it would increase his wealth and earnings each by 50%). At TL8, moon bases would be a massive expenditure for the USA and would likely beggar any other nation. Of course, it could be handwaived, as comic book writers are rarely good with things like economics or science.

First off, I suspect at TL9 it may be viable for only the wealthiest, advanced nations. It won't be something billionaires just collect like cars. Second, the point wasn't that Bezos couldn't afford to bankroll something like the ISS. It was that if he did, it wouldn't be something so insignificant that he could hide it in his budget under "misc expenses" like Wayne seems to. For that matter, Batman loses a million dollar custom Batmobile fairly often. He just grimaces a bit before secretly putting the next million dollars to work replacing it.

Some of that could be evidence of high or comic book TL. Mostly, though, it establishes Batman has money on the level of our national budget.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by naloth

First off, I suspect at TL9 it may be viable for only the wealthiest, advanced nations. It won't be something billionaires just collect like cars. Second, the point wasn't that Bezos couldn't afford to bankroll something like the ISS. It was that if he did, it wouldn't be something so insignificant that he could hide it in his budget under "misc expenses" like Wayne seems to. For that matter, Batman loses a million dollar custom Batmobile fairly often. He just grimaces a bit before secretly putting the next million dollars to work replacing it.

Some of that could be evidence of high or comic book TL. Mostly, though, it establishes Batman has money on the level of our national budget.

Remember, Tim Drake/Robin hid a Batmobile getting shipped to San Francisco Titans Tower in the "batarang budget", so not even Bruce or Alfred is able to line-item every expense Batman makes.