Leveled Trait Pricing

ErhnamDJ · 10-04-2012, 04:50 PM

There are two different kinds of leveled traits. Those that increase linearly with cost (such as DR), and those that increase faster than that (such as Super-ST, Enhanced Move, and Wealth).

The problem, as most people who have tried to make Bricks in supers games have noticed, is that this linear pricing gets to be incredibly expensive in comparison to other traits. Use Mind Control as an example. For fifty points, you get something awesome. For fifty points of Telekinesis, you do not. This becomes especially obvious at higher point totals. Five hundred points of ST, Telekinesis, DR, and Extra Arms do not compare favorably to an equal number of points put into stand-alone traits, such as Mind Control, Insubstantiality, Jumper, Possession, and Unkillable.

What I am proposing is repricing the leveled traits so that the price does not increase linearly with the levels. This is similar to the fix given to ST with the Super-ST enhancement, where the price is based on the size and speed/range table.

As an example, ST might be repriced to look like this:

Level - Price
1 [25]
2 [50]
3 [75]
5 [100]
7 [125]
10 [150]
15 [175]
20 [200]
30 [225]
50 [250]
70 [275]
100 [300]
150 [325]
200 [350]
300 [375]
500 [400]

This makes the higher levels of ST significantly less expensive. Remember to subtract the price of level 10, which is free. Making the difference between ST 10 and ST 20 only fifty points, which I put into the same category of 'awesome' as Mind Control. This also has the benefit of being able to scale ST nicely with Innate Attack, by pricing ST damage to only cost slightly more than a comparable amount of Innate Attack.

What about Damage Resistance? How many levels of that is equal to awesome? That one is tricky. I don't think the price is the same at different TLs, so let's go with TL 8, and call it a supers game. Is it fifty levels? Twenty-five levels? Either way, it's easy to figure out the price.

1 [5]
2 [10]
3 [15]
5 [20]
7 [25]
10 [30]
15 [35]
20 [40]
30 [45]
50 [50]
70 [55]
100 [60]
150 [65]
200 [70]
300 [75]
500 [80]
700 [85]
1000 [90]
1500 [95]
2000 [100]

I'm not arguing for that specific price level. It could easily be changed. What I'm saying is that I think something like that is the only way to make this leveled trait comparable to other means of becoming invulnerable, such as Insubstantiality, Injury Tolerance (Diffuse), or Unkillable 3.

What I'm wondering is if there are any glaring flaws that I am missing with this approach.

10-04-2012, 04:50 PM	#1
ErhnamDJ Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: OK	Leveled Trait Pricing There are two different kinds of leveled traits. Those that increase linearly with cost (such as DR), and those that increase faster than that (such as Super-ST, Enhanced Move, and Wealth). The problem, as most people who have tried to make Bricks in supers games have noticed, is that this linear pricing gets to be incredibly expensive in comparison to other traits. Use Mind Control as an example. For fifty points, you get something awesome. For fifty points of Telekinesis, you do not. This becomes especially obvious at higher point totals. Five hundred points of ST, Telekinesis, DR, and Extra Arms do not compare favorably to an equal number of points put into stand-alone traits, such as Mind Control, Insubstantiality, Jumper, Possession, and Unkillable. What I am proposing is repricing the leveled traits so that the price does not increase linearly with the levels. This is similar to the fix given to ST with the Super-ST enhancement, where the price is based on the size and speed/range table. As an example, ST might be repriced to look like this: Level - Price 1 [25] 2 [50] 3 [75] 5 [100] 7 [125] 10 [150] 15 [175] 20 [200] 30 [225] 50 [250] 70 [275] 100 [300] 150 [325] 200 [350] 300 [375] 500 [400] This makes the higher levels of ST significantly less expensive. Remember to subtract the price of level 10, which is free. Making the difference between ST 10 and ST 20 only fifty points, which I put into the same category of 'awesome' as Mind Control. This also has the benefit of being able to scale ST nicely with Innate Attack, by pricing ST damage to only cost slightly more than a comparable amount of Innate Attack. What about Damage Resistance? How many levels of that is equal to awesome? That one is tricky. I don't think the price is the same at different TLs, so let's go with TL 8, and call it a supers game. Is it fifty levels? Twenty-five levels? Either way, it's easy to figure out the price. 1 [5] 2 [10] 3 [15] 5 [20] 7 [25] 10 [30] 15 [35] 20 [40] 30 [45] 50 [50] 70 [55] 100 [60] 150 [65] 200 [70] 300 [75] 500 [80] 700 [85] 1000 [90] 1500 [95] 2000 [100] I'm not arguing for that specific price level. It could easily be changed. What I'm saying is that I think something like that is the only way to make this leveled trait comparable to other means of becoming invulnerable, such as Insubstantiality, Injury Tolerance (Diffuse), or Unkillable 3. What I'm wondering is if there are any glaring flaws that I am missing with this approach. __________________ "For the rays, to speak properly, are not colored. In them there is nothing else than a certain power and disposition to stir up a sensation of this or that color." —Isaac Newton, Optics My blog.