Knowing Your Own Strength

[AlexanderHowl]

It is really a problem that does not need a solution though if you just want to lift more stuff. If you want to be able to lift incredibly heavy objects, just allow your PCs to buy Lifting ST and Striking ST (up to their ST) and just allow your PCs to buy the perks of Extra Option (Godlike Extra Effort, Lifting ST), Extra Option (Godlike Extra Effort, Striking ST), Extra Option (Power Blow may replace Will for Extra Effort, see Martial Arts, p. 58), and Unusual Training (Power Blow, May not move or step while using Power Blow).

If you had a character with ST 20 [100], Lifting ST 20 [60], Striking ST 20 [100], Will 20 (assuming IQ 10) [50], FP 13 (assuming HT 10) [9], Extra Option (Godlike Extra Effort, Lifting ST) [1], Extra Option (Godlike Extra Effort, Striking ST) [1], Extra Option (Power Blow may replace Will for Extra Effort) [1], Unusual Training (Power Blow, May not move or step while using Power Blow) [1], and Power Blow (Will+15) [64], you would spend 387 points. You would have a character with BL 320 lbs and Damage 4d+1/7d-1 under normal circumstance but, in an emergency, could boost their effective Lifting ST or Striking ST to 120 by spending 1 FP and making a Power Blow-20 roll, increasing to BL 2,880 lbs and Damage 13d/15d. Alternatively, by combining the effects of Godlike Extra Effort and Power Blow, they could boost their effective Lifting ST or Striking ST to 720 (Godlike Extra Effort to increase effective Lifting ST or Striking ST to 240 and then tripling the result with Power Blow) by spending 11 FP and making two Power Blow-20 rolls, increasing to BL 103,680 lbs and a Damage 73d/75d.

[naloth]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

It is really a problem that does not need a solution though if you just want to lift more stuff. If you want to be able to lift incredibly heavy objects, just allow your PCs to buy Lifting ST and Striking ST (up to their ST) and just allow your PCs to buy the perks of Extra Option (Godlike Extra Effort, Lifting ST), Extra Option (Godlike Extra Effort, Striking ST), Extra Option (Power Blow may replace Will for Extra Effort, see Martial Arts, p. 58), and Unusual Training (Power Blow, May not move or step while using Power Blow).

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Aside from the non-trivial collection and combination of quite a few optional rules, it misses a few of the main goals:
1) It's quite a few calculations and quite a few rolls just to lift or punch something. Worse, critical failure would have pretty severe consequences. I suppose you could add more perks for automatic success on trivial rolls, though "godlike" extra effort shouldn't ever be trivial.

2) It doesn't have much consistency or granularity. Two fairly similar characters could roll like Spidey one day, benching/punching in the 10 ton arena then suddenly hit the 100 ton the next day.

3) It even further exacerbates the damage to HP ratio. What genre encourages glass cannons with tons of knockback?