(Another) World of Superhumans

[AlexanderHowl]

I am unaware of any TL discounts by RAW to abilities.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

+17 reaction bonus is quite possible and quite realistic.

Allowed by the rules, yes. Maybe even implied by the rules. Realistic in effect, that's up for debate. I wouldn't allow a character to have that kind of combination without invoking some kind of super power.

One could argue that the full benefit of those should not normally all apply. Yes, ordinary people find famous people attractive. But generally they are either aware that the difference in social situation makes a personal connection unlikely (weakening the Appearance and Charisma impact) or they are blissfully unaware that those things matter so much (weakening the Status and Reputation impact). Someone with Delusion might get them all at full value, and could probably be taken as an Enemy by the celebrity.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

+17 reaction bonus is quite possible and quite realistic. A president could easily have +17 from Appearance, Charisma, Reputation, Status, Voice, etc.

No. He couldn't. Not in general. Appearance above Attractive only gets its full benefit from people who are into dudes (which helps explain why there have only ever been a couple of presidents who were better than Attractive), no president ever has a positive reputation that applies to everyone in the world, Status is a circumstantial bonus, and no president has ever been so globally popular that the minimum possible random reaction to him was Excellent.

[AlexanderHowl]

Anyway, not terribly relevant to the topic of the thread. So, what do you think would generally be the least valued for the majority of supers? In general, I am thinking that DR and Super ST (due to Striking ST) will be the least valued, followed by Create, Control, and Innate Attacks (Innate Attacks that have Side Effects and Symptoms, or that cause non-lethal damage, may be an exception). What abilities do you think would generally be most valued for the majority of super? In general, I am thinking that Healing, Neutralize, and Warp abilities will be among the most valued, though there are quite a few good abilities.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

I am unaware of any TL discounts by RAW to abilities.

For starters, it isn't a discount by tech level, but by the available technology (equipment), which is not quite the same thing. It could be something I horribly, horribly misread and/or a result of a corrupt memory, but here is what I can confirm, and what I can vaguely recollect:

Confirmed: Mundane - in the sense that it is readily available to someone with enough money - equipment can be written up as a Power. Seep p. P54 and p. P136-137. From quickly re-reading the surrounding text, this appears intended for things such as cyborgs or robots, not Supers. However...

Vaguley Remembered:...I seem to recall a means of discounting compatible traits based on the kind of equipment available in the world.

• Build the Ability in question. Let's call this "A".
• Determine if there is a sufficiently similar piece of equipment available for purchase.
• Model that exact piece of equipment as a Power a la the firearms in Powers. Let's call this "B".
• Calculate how much CP it would cost you to purchase the equipment using the "Trading Points for Money" rules from p.B26. Let's call this "C".
• Take the CP of the Ability and subtract the CP cost of the equipment when built as an Ability, then add the cost of purchasing the equipment through Trading Points for Money. Let's call this "D".

So A - B + C = D, but I don't believe that is the final step. For starters, if you wind up with an Ability cost of less than one (D<1), I am sure you were supposed to round up to 1. Even more vaguely, I remember there being rules to help this align with the rules for Signature Gear (p.B85) and Accessory (p. B100). Indeed, it is possible, perhaps even likely, that I was supposed to use the rules for Signature Gear instead of Trading Points for Money to calculate "C".

I do not believe this process was my own concoction, barring the chance it is derived from an inaccurate reading or recollection of RAW. Generally speaking, I think I usually just erred on the side of no discounts for when technology that could sufficiently replicate abilities was available... but with my memory, I suppose even that is suspect. ^^'

[naloth]

It really depends on how many abilities have obvious physical manifestations. Given your predication for No Sig x2 (+25%/+25%) and Reliable +10 on most abilities, I suspect drawbacks would exceedingly rare in your world.

A few points of DR may not seem like a cool power, but it would make you immune to most nicks and scrapes. DR5 puts you in a different league for CC attacks and it doesn't take much more to make you pistol proof (DR10ish bounces most pistol ammo) as well. As I stated above, this stacks with kevlar. Such a cop or soldier would be essentially rifle proof.

High ST (Super ST) is a staple of usefulness. There's always something that's screwed on too tight, too heavy to lift, or that needs carried.

Create could be useful, though it requires some creativity to use well. Control is questionable. I favor TK over most uses of Control, though Control Fire would be pretty useful in CA right now with the wildfires.

Innate Attacks are useful. Air jets could replace compressors. Water jets could replace pressure washers. A light attack that you can alter in intensity functions as flashlight, strobe, and cutting tool all in one.

I listed plenty of others that teens would naturally gravitate to in thread above.

[AlexanderHowl]

How many fights do you expect everyday supers to engage in? I have not been in a fight in twenty years, and I have the strength, speed, and training to handle myself in a fight. I doubt that most everyday supers would have more than one or two fights a year, probably barroom brawls, so DR and Innate Attacks would likely be relatively worthless. Using Innate Attacks in a normal fight could be illegal because of a number of reasons because it would be considered aggravated assault.

Even people with a reasonable risk of combat like police officers would be better served by Afflictions and Binding. Innate Attacks should be non-lethal. For example, Crushing Attack 2d (Aura, +80%; Side Effect, Incapacitation, Ecstasy, +150%; Melee, C, -30%; No Blunt Trauma, -20%; No Knockback, -10%; No Wounding, -50%; Super, -10%) [21] would be an awesome ability for a police officer. It is visible, so it serves as a deterrent, and it is non-lethal, so you can quickly grab and subdue an individual without much risk of future litigation. While some people might try to sue for forcible ecstasy, the fact that the alternative would involve lethal force would have judges praise the police officers for their restraint before tossing out the case.

[naloth]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

How many fights do you expect everyday supers to engage in? I have not been in a fight in twenty years, and I have the strength, speed, and training to handle myself in a fight. I doubt that most everyday supers would have more than one or two fights a year, probably barroom brawls, so DR and Innate Attacks would likely be relatively worthless. Using Innate Attacks in a normal fight could be illegal because of a number of reasons because it would be considered aggravated assault.

Who said anything about fighting? I've gotten a few scrapes and a soldier burn from doing plumbing. I've gotten splinters from handling wood and stabbed with a nail handling debris. Sometimes I get blisters from digging or gardening. A chef that works by an oven might appreciate being burn resistant. As for being "bulletproof" it's a yardstick which shows that you can use nail guns and blowtorches without worrying about being hurt.

I listed industrial and household uses for innate attack and ST involving cleaning and carrying respectively.

Even people with a reasonable risk of combat like police officers would be better served by Afflictions and Binding. Affliction (HT; Aura, +80%; Incapacitation, Ecstasy, +100%; Melee, C, -30%; Super, -10%) [24] would be an awesome ability for a police officer. It is visible, so it serves as a deterrent, and it is non-lethal, so you can quickly grab and subdue an individual without much risk of future litigation.

That doesn't particularly suit an officer either. It would make a better masseuse.

If I was going to work in areas where I might get shot, clubbed, pepper sprayed, or something similar I'd prefer defensive abilities.

[JulianLW]

DR 1 is enough to stop most attacks from a ST 10 person armed with a steak knife.

[AlexanderHowl]

Not really. In most situations that police find themselves attacked with something like a steak knife, the individual with the knife is going AOA (Strong), so they are dealing 1d-1 impaling damage or 1d-1 cutting damage. That end up being 2.5 damage on average before modifiers.

Of course, the attacker has an effective skill of 4 (DX 10, -2 for the improvised weapon [steak knives are not balanced for combat], and -4 for default), so they are more dangerous to themselves than the police officer, especially if the police officer is wearing armor. This is realistic, as suspects are more likely to stab themselves while flailing around than to stab the police officer (though there is always a chance for a lucky hit). At best, the individual is beaten senseless with a baton or tazed into submission, though the police officer is legally allowed to shoot in that case (and no one would really think it was improper).