[Supers] 21st DCU Golden Age (DC Nerfed)

[naloth]

In a similar fashion to the nerfed Marvel thread, I thought it would be interesting to write up a proposal for the DC universe where the characters were more grounded and less godlike. These write ups are intended to be budget friendly (generally closer to 500 points, under 1000 points) and point effective as if players were creating them for characters to run for the first time in a game set in modern times (year 2020).

In many cases the inspiration is from much earlier incarnations (hence the Golden Age) where they were first introduced or just much weaker. The power level is *much* lower than the present DC version of these characters. For example: Superman is strong enough to pick up a car, can leap ~1/8th of a mile, outrun an express train, and is mostly bulletproof as he was depicted in this first 1938 comic. This Superman doesn't fly, see through walls, travel through time, or possess massive technology from an ancient civilization. Superman still hopelessly outclasses "normal" people, though.

Notes:
- Afflictions will use Innate Attack with Side Effect. Afflictions that work on anything will use the crushing cost. Afflictions that work only on living creatures will use the Toxic cost.
- Aging traits are mostly 0 point background information. Immunity to aging is 5 points.
- Costs fatigue will be -10% per level with a maximum limitation value of -40%.
- Objects will take double damage (not injury) unless they are encumbrance.
- Radiation will be toxic damage, not rads.
- ST! means ST without HP.
- Super-ST will not be used. Generally I don't see it as necessary when you have godlike effort for lifting. Anyone can use godlike lifting.

I'll post a few write ups later, but here is the first racial template:

Kryptonian
ST +30 (Super -10%) [270]
HP -30 (Super -10%) [-54]
Fatigue +10 (Super) [15]
DR 10 (Low Signature +10%; Super -10%) [50]
IT:DR/10 (Super -10%) [135]
Enhanced Move 2 (Running; Cosmic: Instant Acceleration +50%; Super -10%) [60]
Regeneration (Regular; Super -10%) [23]
Super Jump 6 (Super -10%; AA:Enhanced Move) [12]
Overconfidence [-5]
Unusual Biochemistry [-5]

Feature: Kryptonians can buy up to 50% more DR.

Total 508 points.

Kryptonians evolved to be strong, tough, fast, and arrogant.

With a basic speed of 5, Kryptonians would have an instant running speed of 20 (~40 mph) and jump move of 29 (~60 mph). That's slower than an express train traveling 80mph, but Superman will have higher stats as a PC version of a Kryptonian enabling him to exceed what other Kryptonians can do.

Kryptonians appear like normal humans with a height and weight proportional to humans of the same HP. Any medical examination will quickly discover oddities, though.

I added Super to separate out which abilities can be stolen or neutralized if they are reduced to being a normal "human" for any reason. The PM also covers the introduction of any weird substances that affect abilities while Unusual Biochemistry covers other odd reactions.

A write up on Superman to follow with Atlanteans, Amazons, and Martians soon.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by naloth

Kryptonian
ST! +30 [240]

I just want to go on record as hating that shorthand. So it's ST +30, HP -30? Why not just spell that out to make it clearer, rather than using the same indicator as wildcard skills?

Also, why are they that much stronger, but not that much more durable? You're not really clear on that point.

[pawsplay]

In his original appearances, Superman had a brilliant intellect, the ability to learn languages within minutes, and super-hypnotism. He could also shape his face to aid in disguises. IMO the Martian Manhunter is just a Silver Age reboot of Golden Age Superman.

[naloth]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

Also, why are they that much stronger, but not that much more durable? You're not really clear on that point.

IT:DR/10 actually makes them much, much more durable. I just went that route instead of lots of HP.

To expand on that point, HP will be used for determining weight as well. At HP40, you'd expect him to have a weight and weight effects similar to an elephant.

Originally Posted by pawsplay

In his original appearances, Superman had a brilliant intellect, the ability to learn languages within minutes, and super-hypnotism. He could also shape his face to aid in disguises. IMO the Martian Manhunter is just a Silver Age reboot of Golden Age Superman.

Random power creep is exactly the thing I'm trying to avoid. Any powers he used a few times, especially years after he appeared, wouldn't be part of this.

Originally Posted by whswhs

You seem to be missing enhanced speed. Being able to keep up with an express train seems to call for Move 30 or so.

You don't seem to have "nothing less than a bursting shell can penetrate his skin," either. That would seem to call for at least a bit of DR as well as IT.

First off, this is the Kryptonian template for a random "normal" Kryptonian. Superman will have higher stats (generally within 30% of the racial norm), since he's a PC among "normals".

I considered Enhanced Running, but with Super Jump 5 Kryptonians can already bound at Move 19 (40mph, which isn't far off the traveling rate of a 1930s locomotive). At best it's an AA worth a few points.

As for the IT:DR, I meant for it to have "cosmic: round down" to ignore fractions. He's mostly pistol proof in his first appearance. He's certainly not mortar proof until at least a year later. I'd like Kryptonians to be able to injure each other, so I wouldn't want to make the IT:DR too high that an average hit doesn't do damage.

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Just for the sake of argument, I would thing that a Golden Age Kryptonian would have the following traits:

ST +20 (Reliable 10, +50%) [300]
DR 50 (Hardened 2, +40%) [350]
Enhanced Move (Ground) 3 [60]
Injury Tolerance /10 [150]
Super Jump 3 [30]

I'd suggest a high base will rather than reliable if your goal is to take advantage of extra effort. With that DR and IT:DR, Kryptonians couldn't really hurt each other, ever. That also certainly exceed "mostly bulletproof" and is well into surviving tank/bunker busting weapons.

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

You might take a look at my old thread Statting the Golden Age Superman, particularly posts 7 & 10, for my write-up.

That looks like a valid take on the version presented towards the end of the 40s. It's way beyond what he could do in '38 and '39.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by naloth

I considered Enhanced Running, but with Super Jump 5 Kryptonians can already bound at Move 19 (40mph, which isn't far off the traveling rate of a 1930s locomotive). At best it's an AA worth a few points.

And yet it's quite clear in that first story that Superman is not travelling alongside the train in great bounds like John Carter on Mars. He's shown as running. And dramatically, I think seeing him bounce along like a kangaroo would make him look comedic rather than heroic; the gait isn't quite suited to the human physique that he shares.

I also think that, however you represent his movement, there is a strong case to be made for give him higher Basic Speed, because it seems as if Superman has superhumanly good reflexes. If you gave him Basic Speed 12, he would get Basic Move 12 for free, which would roughly double his jumping ability—and his running ability, if you go that way. And he would always be able to act faster than any normal human.

[naloth]

Originally Posted by whswhs

And yet it's quite clear in that first story that Superman is not travelling alongside the train in great bounds like John Carter on Mars. He's shown as running. And dramatically, I think seeing him bounce along like a kangaroo would make him look comedic rather than heroic; the gait isn't quite suited to the human physique that he shares.

I already went back and added EM as the primary ability with Super Jumping as an AA. The exact gait seems more like a special effect, but there is some utility in not having to follow a straight line in a 1 second jump move. Dramatically it's more a matter of taste. I don't think anyone finds the Hulk bounding at you comedic, and witnessing it in real life would be rather alarming.

I also think that, however you represent his movement, there is a strong case to be made for give him higher Basic Speed, because it seems as if Superman has superhumanly good reflexes. If you gave him Basic Speed 12, he would get Basic Move 12 for free, which would roughly double his jumping ability—and his running ability, if you go that way. And he would always be able to act faster than any normal human.

Arguably he deserves them. He just never used them in early appearances. I considered a higher basic move, but ultimately didn't put it in the racial profile. Also, we are back to a question of what all Kryptonians get vs Superman in particular.

Originally Posted by TGLS

Well, to be perfectly fair here, it wasn't "Faster than a Locomotive" it was "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!"

That's from his 1941 slogan where he was well on his way to having every power under the sun.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by naloth

Arguably he deserves them. He just never used them in early appearances. I considered a higher basic move, but ultimately didn't put it in the racial profile. Also, we are back to a question of what all Kryptonians get vs Superman in particular.

I suppose it depends on whether you think that Krypton's gravity was higher than Earth's. That was presented as a source of his powers, or some of them, in the mid-1950s, when I started reading superhero comics. But my recollection is that the original Action Comics story had his powers be the result of advanced evolution, and told us nothing about Krypton as a planet.

[naloth]

Superman (Kal-L, 1938 version)

In the last days of Krypton, the infant Kal-L was sent to earth. Kal crash landed in a remote part of Kansas and was discovered by the Kents. Although the Kents initially turned him over to an orphanage, they later returned to adopt him as their own son.

Kal was raised as Clark Kent on a farm in Kansas. His parents were careful to teach Clark to be careful of others, careful of revealing his abilities, and to do what was right. After the death of his father, Clark moved to metropolis and started a career as a journalist using his alter ego to get scoops no other journalist could get. Clark's recently was able to infiltrate, stop (as Superman), then report on a lynching during a protest turned riot. This landed him a junior role at the Daily Planet as a writer fresh out of college and has made "Superman" something of a new celebrity**.

Superman
ST 40* [0] HP 15 [10]
DX 11 [20] Will 12
IQ 12 [40] Per 12
HT 13 [30] Fatigue 25 [36]
Basic Speed 6 [0]

DR 10 (Low Signature +10%; Super -10%) [50]
Enhanced Move 2 (Ground Move 24; Cosmic: Instant Acceleration +50%; Super -10%) [56]
IT:DR/10 (Super -10%) [135]
Regeneration (Regular 1/hour; Super -10%) [23]
ST +30* (Super -10%) [270]
Super Jumping 6 (Super -10%: AA: EM) [11]

Code of Honor (Comics Code) [-15]
Overconfidence (12-) [-5]
Pacifism (Innocents) [-10]
Reduced HP -30 (Super -10%) [-54]
Quirk: Careful [-1]
Quirk: Chauvinistic [-1]
Quirk: Nosy [-1]
Secret Identity [-5]
Unusual Biochemistry [-5]

Brawling (DX+2) - 14 [4]
Farming (IQ-1) - 11 [1]
Lifting (HT+2) - 15 [4]
Research - 12 [2]
Writing - 12 [2]

Total: 606 points

*ST includes his racial bonus of ST+30.

**As a "new" hero Superman is a current hot topic. His eventual reputation has not developed yet.

Superman has a BL of 320 lbs which means he can lift and throw just over a ton without any extra effort. Using godlike effort, he can easily manage 3 tons. Superman can run ~50mph, broad jump about 1/8 of a mile without a running start, and bounce pistol bullets off his chest.

Against stuff that really can't hurt him, Superman will show off his abilities bouncing bullets and otherwise grandstanding a bit. Against more serious opponents Superman will defend normally. Superman defends others as a priority often taking hits or moving the fight away from people.

[TGLS]

Originally Posted by naloth

I considered Enhanced Running, but with Super Jump 5 Kryptonians can already bound at Move 19 (40mph, which isn't far off the traveling rate of a 1930s locomotive).

Well, to be perfectly fair here, it wasn't "Faster than a Locomotive" it was "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!"

If you take that literally, we get a peak move over 500 and a peak ST in excess of 200.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by TGLS

Well, to be perfectly fair here, it wasn't "Faster than a Locomotive" it was "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!"

Yes, but the original story showed something less impressive than that. Its Superman was faster than a locomotive and more powerful than a speeding bullet.