[Supers] Malice - A low-powered supers setting

[AlexanderHowl]

There is a huge difference between 1,000 CP and 2,000 CP in capabilities. For example, a 2,000 CP super can potentially purchase Duplication 10 (Construct, +60%; Duplicated Gear, +100%) [910] and Signature Gear 90 [90] for 1,000 CP, making them equal to a team of 11 1,000 CP supers.

[(E)]

The shock value (unusual background advantage) of having super powers may have a force amplifying effect, how much does the average squady know about supers? Are they feared? Are they the subject of reverance? Is there a large amount of confusing and dangerous misinformation about?

[awesomenessofme1]

Originally Posted by (E)

The shock value (unusual background advantage) of having super powers may have a force amplifying effect, how much does the average squady know about supers? Are they feared? Are they the subject of reverance? Is there a large amount of confusing and dangerous misinformation about?

I'm not giving Unusual Backgrounds despite the rarity of supers because it's just an arbitrary amount of points subtracted from a budget. That said, this is still a good point. Though there are only a few hundred supers, at least one or two more a month pop up, and not all of them are known. In addition, given the short timeframe, effective research is almost nonexistent. There isn't a general fear or dislike of supers, but ones with unidentified powers will be treated with a great deal of caution.

[Flyndaran]

Most 1000 point supers can be killed with a single rifle shot to the back of the head.
Realism doesn't make for playable classic comic book type supers, IMO.
Some genre rules need to apply.

[Fnordianslip]

One thing I really like about this setting idea is that it's only one year in to having supers in the world. Sure, since all we know about powers is comic books, some supers have formed a team, others have ridiculous names and are becoming national celebrities. But how the world is going to cope with supers over time is still up in the air. The highest level of super powers that exist are really unknown, how fast super powers improve is unknown, what happens when we stop thinking in comic book tropes is unknown. In short, there's a ton of room for the world to grow, ideally in response to PC interactions. I'd love to run this for a group at the start of the shiny new super powered world, play for a while in a traditional genre of missions and groups, and then fast forward to when stuff gets really interesting several years later.

[AlexanderHowl]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

Most 1000 point supers can be killed with a single rifle shot to the back of the head.
Realism doesn't make for playable classic comic book type supers, IMO.
Some genre rules need to apply.

That honestly depends on the superhero. Danger Sense (Cosmic, No die roll needed, +100%) prevents anyone from getting the drop on the character, and it only costs 30 CP. Basic Speed 12.00 plus Combat Reflexes and Luck gives a character a Dodge of 16 and allows them to reroll any failures (and to reroll the critical successes of their opponents), and it probably only costs the average superhero 150 CP (possibly less depending on their DX and HT). Injury Tolerance (Homogenous) plus Unkillable 1 costs 90 CP, but it transforms a 12d pi++ sniper round to the brain from an instant kill shot dealing an average of 160 HP of damage to a more survivable shot dealing 20 HP, and the average super can probably withstand a half dozen such shots before falling down. The combination would be worth 280 CP before source modifiers, but they would make their associated superhero very hard to kill.

[awesomenessofme1]

Here's Zip, another member of the Meteor Squad.

Zip

Real Name: Austin John “AJ” Taylor
Secret Identity: Yes
Costume: Stylized purple-and-black armor, black helmet with purple visor
Age: 22
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 170 lb
Sex: Male
Race: Black
Hair: Brown and clipped short
Eyes: Blue
Powers: Can speed up time to up to 5x speed for up to one subjective minute

AJ Taylor was a talented young competitive shooter until his time powers manifested ten months ago. He was the first super to be approached by the US government about the formation of Meteor Squad seven months ago. He’s learned how to use his powers very effectively, but he has issues with his temperament.

Attributes: ST 10 [0], DX 13 [60], IQ 11 [20], HT 11 [10]

Secondary Attributes: Dam 1d-2/1d, BL 20 lb, HP 10 [0], Will 11 [0], Per 12 [5], FP 12 [3], Basic Move 6.00 [0], Basic Move 6 [0]

Advantages: Altered Time Rate 4 (Maximum Duration (Variable, but never more than 30 seconds), -75%, Super, -10%) [80], Ambidexterity [5], Attractive [4], Combat Reflexes [15], Upgrade to Enhanced Time Sense (Only when sped up, -10%, Super, -10%) [24], Extra Attack 1 [25], Fit [5], Lightning Calculator [2], Signature Gear 2 [2]

Disadvantages: Duty (USEST-A1, 9 or less, Extremely Hazardous) [-10], Impulsiveness (12) [-10], Loner (12) [-5], On the Edge (15) [-7], Overconfidence (12) [-5], Secret Identity [-5], Sense of Duty (Team) [-5], Sleepwalker [-5]

Quirks: Daily Ritual (Running) [-1], Disciplined [-1], Flirtatious [-1], Hungry [-1], Vow (Teetotal) [-1]

Skills: Acrobatics-12 [2], Acting-10 [1], Area Knowledge ()-11 [1], Armoury/TL8 (Small Arms)-10 [1], Brawling-15 [4], Climbing-12 [1], Computer Operations/TL8 [1], Current Affairs (Headline News)-11 [1], Driving/TL8 (Automobile)-12 [1], Fast-Draw (Pistol)-14 [1], Fast-Draw/TL8 (Ammo)-14 [1], First-Aid/TL8-11 [1], Guns/TL8 (Pistol)-16 [8], Holdout-11 [2], Judo-13 [4], Jumping-14 [2], Knife-13 [1], Observation-12 [2], Research/TL8-10 [1], Running-10 [1], Shadowing-11 [1], Stealth-14 [4], Swimming-11 [1], Tactics-10 [2], Tracking-12 [2]

Zip’s Signature Gear includes a scoped Desert Eagle, a P11, two Very Fine .40 USPs equipped with targeting lasers, a suppressed K40, a survival knife, armor, a helmet with visor, a gas mask, and a set of electronic earplugs. His standard loadout is armor, helmet, earplugs, knife, and his two USPs in retention holsters.

[zoncxs]

I have a question, what rules are in place for players creating there characters?

It is possible to create a 250pt super that can take out 1000pt supers, it all depends on how they are made and what powers they can have. If its an anything goes for when players make there characters then you are looking at a major headache of vetoing all the munchkins and not getting any players.


I would set some limits in place, depending on total points for powers.

for example, I would change:

"There are about 150 250-point supers, about 60 500-point supers, and exactly 4 1000-point supers. The 1000-pointers are collectively known as the “Big Four”, though each is independent of the other three."

To:

There are about 150 supers with 250-points worth of powers, about 60 with 500-points powers, and exactly 4 with 1000-points powers.

That way you have players make a mundane character, without powers, using anything from 50-150 points, or even more if you want. Then you tag on the powers.

And for powers I would limit certain things depending on the "level" (250/500/1000 for what you have)

ST - 32/100/316
DR - 20/45/120
IT:DR - 2/10/100
Innate Attack or swing damage 6d/13d/35d

[AlexanderHowl]

A counter for the big guys would be the following:

Affliction 1 (Attribute Penalty, -20 DX, -20 IQ, +400%; Based on Will, +20%; Extended Duration, Permanent, Cured by Esoteric Medicine (Reiki), +150%; Link, +20%; Malediction 3, +200%; No Signature, +20%; Super, -10%) [90] plus Toxic Attack 1 point (Cyclic, 221 daily cycles, Cured by Esoteric Medicine (Reiki), +2200%; Malediction 3, +200%; Link, +20%; No Signature, +20%; Super, -10%) [26].

With a second of concentration, the super is capable of permanently disturbing the nervous system of their target, causing them to suffer from a gradual death as their muscles slowly twitch themselves into oblivion over the course of most of a year. Since ST is useless without DX or IQ to control it, their ST is meaningless. Since Malediction bypasses DR and Damage Reduction allows a minimum of one point of damage from any source, their defense are meaningless and they cannot even heal. While it takes them forever to die, they are incapable of doing anything productive during that time.

[Dustin]

I like the "blank slate" nature of the setting. I also agree that genre conventions are usually a good thing for Supers, unless your goal specifically is to do a gritty real world exploration of how superpowers would play out (which you've already indicated you're not).

It might be a good idea to call out the genre conventions as you see them. Some could be made mechanically explicit as campaign settings, and others can just be a shared understanding at the table about tone and expectations.

Regarding lethality, one approach is to not force Death Checks until -5xHP. Another is to simply declare that nobody dies unless the attacker is deliberately choosing to kill the target.

I agree with zoncxz that setting some upper limits on attacks, esp Innate Attack, is a good idea.

I wouldn't worry overmuch about this or that magic build which can Totally Defeat all your heroz LOL. You're in control of what gets statted up and played, so you'll be able to keep it fun if everyone at the table is on board.