Quote:
Originally Posted by Fnordianslip
Really, just use whatever Strength you want. In Supers, the reason things don't break when super strong people lift them is genre convention, not type of strength. No need to sweat the details on that one.
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There are actually a range of options here. Generally, campaigns will fall neatly into either a four color or a more realistic genre, so will either be:
1) All Four Color, so characters with superstrength generally don't need to worry about
:
a) Whether large things are structurally sound enough to be lifted or will break apart, either at the point you're grabbing them (e.g., try to lift a car by the bumper and just the bumper comes off) or buckling in the middle somewhere
b) Whether they have the right leverage to lift the thing, either from the point at which they're grabbing it, or from the perspective of what lifting it in any way but vertically from directly below its center of gravity would do to *your* center of gravity and whether you could remain standing (see
https://www.wired.com/2016/09/lets-c...ixs-luke-cage/)
c) How collisions and shoving contests with larger objects work out for you, simply using your ST and HP in full for any such calculations - this is also relevant to whether you should be able to throw objects heavier than yourself in a mostly horizontal direction or would just end up throwing yourself backwards
d) Or even whether you're putting too much weight on your supporting surface, such that the floor might buckle or your feet might sink into the ground (although also having a Flight ability is the explanation for many superheroes having this issue)
OR
2) All Realistic, so in the first place human-mass characters with really high ST will probably be rare in the first place, but if any *do* exist, they're not exempted from any of the physics issues listed above, potentially limiting the applications of their ST score in some ways. One example would be the way that Golden Boy of Wild Cards fame tried to stop a jeep in its tracks, only to get flung away by the collision impact... he had more than enough ST to lift the jeep many times over, but that didn't change his mass relative to the jeep's, so he lost that particular contest (although on the other hand, he was swinging tree trunks at Swarm spawn in later appearances, so either his power didn't adhere to all the laws of physics or he just got really good at applying his ST in ways that didn't run afoul of them).
So, if it's all one way or the other, then it's just a campaign setting to reflect genre conventions... but if you've got some characters for whom it works one way, and others for whom it works the other (e.g., you have Golden Boy and the Superman of Superman III with Richard Pryor, able to freeze a lake and carry the whole thing in the air without it cracking till he drops it), then you need to decide how you handle the differences between characters. It's not just a 0 point Feature, since it has an impact on what characters can successfully do with the same ST score. I see two basic options:
1) The world is basically Four Color, and being limited to using super-high ST scores in ways that follow the laws of physics limits you in certain ways, which can be reflected with Disadvantages, Quirks, or Limitations on your ST. The individual GM will have to decide which is most appropriate and the severity of them, as well as whether 'Subject to Realistic Physics' is one thing or can be split into the four subcomponents I listed above. I personally would be inclined to consider it a small (especially if subdivided) limitation on ST, because it becomes more relevant as the ST goes higher.
2) The world is basically Realistic, and not having to follow the laws of physics in regard to using your ridiculously high ST is advantageous, so should be reflected with Advantages, Perks, or an Enhancement (probably Cosmic) on your ST (although not on other abilities you might buy such as TK). Again, I personally would be inclined to make it either a minor deal, so maybe just a Rules Exemption Perk for each subdivision of the Four Color physics described above, or if the campaign tries to stay resolutely realistic or speculative for the most part , perhaps a Cosmic +50% Uses Four Color Physics Enhancement, that would probably mostly be taken on Super-ST where you're already enhancing your ST quite a bit. (For those who have played Godlike and Wild Talents, this would be similar to the 'No Physics' Extra in Wild Talents or the separate 'No Leverage', 'No Inertia', and 'No Weight' Extras in Godlike)