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Old 04-02-2021, 03:29 PM   #2
Prince Charon
 
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: [Supers] A More Scientific Golden Age

Available Power Sources:
  • Biological: Less common among humans than it is among aliens and cryptids. Of the humans that do have them, some inherit them (including some decendants of those exposed to the Wold Newton meteor while it was still active), others are born with powers that don't run in the family (mutants), and still others gain them from accidents or experiments (see also Superscience, below).
  • Chi: Also written as Ki or Qi, or called Prana, Orgone, the Odic force, Vril, Élan vital, or a number of other names. The use of it is sometimes called things like 'the Esoteric Science of the Mysterious Orient' in Western countries of this era. Rather more common in Asia than in Europe, Africa, or the Americas, though traditional and modern practitioners can be found on every continent (including hidden parts of Antarctica, and lost submarine cities), even if they don't directly refer to it. Chi practices originating outside of Asia are somewhat less inclined to associate it with the martial arts, though even there, many do (and in all cases it is associated with physical health, agility, and/or fitness in some manner). Sometimes overlaps with various Psionic Powers. Active use is very rare among animals and other non-sapient beings, though all living things have Chi.
  • Psionic: Not common. Can be found as a single Power, or as individual Psionic Power Talents; Astral Projection should be treated as both a Psionic and a Spirit power (see below). Sometimes overlaps with Chi. Members of the Wold Newton Families are more likely to be natural psis than average humans are. Many active psis have some form of Autohypnosis or Meditation. Active use is uncommon among animals and other non-sapient beings.
  • Pulp: A common source of powers for 'mundane' supers. Some of them are also part of the Wold Newton Families, though certainly not all. Very rare among animals and other non-sapient beings.
  • Savant: An uncommon source of power. Most Savants have some form of Autohypnosis or Meditation. Sometimes overlaps with Chi or various Psionic Powers. Very rare among animals and other non-sapient beings.
  • Spirit: Somewhat common, as spirits and beliefs in them are everywhere. Most spiritual powers are affected by various types of Aspected Sanctity (e.g. War spirits being more powerful on famous battlefields, Forest spirits being weakened or useless in a desert, et cetra; unaspected Sanctity does not appear to exist in this setting), though to what degree should be discussed with the GM. A place may have more than one type of Sanctity (e.g. a peaceful chapel in a forest, or a fire-damaged house on riverbend where several murders took place), and Aspects may vary by time, weather, or other such factors. 'Demons' in this setting are in nearly all cases evil spirits (the rest generally being aliens, cryptids, or hoaxes; also, some evil spirits are not demons), and thus will need to be concerned about the Aspects of the location's Sanctity; powers granted by demons and very inhuman spirits will often have the 'Corrupting, -20%' limitation (the effects depend on what sort of spirit it is), though powers granted by less hostile or less inhuman spirits generally will not. 'Faeries' in this setting are mostly spirits that have a variable understanding about how humans work, though some beings that are called faeries are aliens or cryptids, or eccentric humans or ghosts of humans.
  • Superscience: This rather common source comprises nearly all technological powers, and is often related to or a cause of other power sources, particularly Biological; some mad scientists believe that it is the original source of all powers, and they may be right. A few technological powers are Psi-Tech, and thus can fall under Psionics, as well. Note that while Superscience is a power source, it is not a power modifier. The Secondary power sources below serve that role.

Pulp and Savant powers comprise most abilities of 'Super Normal' characters. The latter comes from GURPS Supers p34 (in the Power Modifiers text box), while the former might be something that I came up with, or something that I saw elsewhere and forgot. The Pulp (previously 'Cinematic') power modifier is +0%, and covers all the implausible abilities that allegedly normal-but-well-trained humans in fiction are shown to be capable of - nothing too exotic, just things that are significant exaggerations of what normal people can do: IT: Damage Reduction is reasonable at lower levels, as is Damage Resistance up to maybe 10; Regeneration (Slow) is the limit of HP Regeneration for Pulp powers (and should be rare; it's more appropriate for Savant or more exotic powers), though Regeneration (Fast) is acceptable for FP Regeneration. Luck-related advantages and Recovery mostly make more sense under Pulp than they do under Savant, though Enhanced Defences work well for both, as do Striking ST and possibly Elastic Skin; Regrowth doesn't fit either very well. IT: DR as a Pulp advantage is best justified as luck-related, IMHO: you were lucky that you didn't get as badly injured as you should have been. Note that mundane advantages don't generally need the modifier, though specific forms of them might, especially at higher levels (Will Eisner's The Spirit probably has both Hard to Kill (Pulp, +0%) and Hard to Subdue (Pulp, +0%) at 10, for example - he may also have a Superscience Unkillable advantage of some sort, or have had a single Superscience-granted Extra Life, but his main thing is that He. Will. Not. Stop.). Some Mystery Men/Women who are seen as 'Super Normal' types do have more exotic powers, but use them rather subtly.

As implied, most of these power sources do interact with each other in various ways and to various degrees: The mental discipline of a Savant is quite useful in developing or using Chi and Psionic abilities. The Astral Plane and the Plane of the Spirits are functionally the same thing, so spirits are affected by astral barriers and vice versa, but are often not impeded by other forms of Meta-Psi (e.g. Anti-Psi abilities), and do not suffer the -3 penalty that psis do when working across the natural barrier between the Outer Plane and the physical world; the Thresholds of homes and some other buildings (see Pyramid Vol 3 #58, pp4-10) do count as astral barriers, though. The Gadgeteer advantage that is the key to creating Superscience is often a Biological, Psionic, or Savant ability, while Superscience can induce Biological or Psionic abilities (or in a few cases other types), or create devices that interfere with the latter. Chi abilities are not affected directly by Meta-Psi, but do interact directly with Psionic abilities in general, and can interact with Spirit abilities, though neither Psionics nor Chi are affected by Sanctity the way Spirit abilities can be.
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Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.

Last edited by Prince Charon; 05-06-2021 at 05:00 AM.
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