GamePhil

Quoting a similar idea to the Starts With Nothing concept, the Human template as it might look once further developed:

Originally Posted by schir1964

Well, I'm going to comment on some things and summarize on what I think would be a compromise for allowing for both methods of handling stats and so forth.

The problem of course is that to have mechanics be generic enough to build anything but still allow for the Human-Centric builds to remain easy or straight forward.

Personally I would prefer the mechanics to be more flexible and thus support the decoupling of the figured characteristics. But I also recognize that we need to make the Human-Centric builds easy which is why there would need to be mechanic to associate characteristics (I'm repeating for the benefit of new readers).

Other mechanics that would need to be created would be an actual Reach Mechanic and a Manipulation Mechanic. These two mechanics would allow for elimination of Extra Limbs as a separate power and grants more flexibility for creating Non-Human Templates.

What would need to be created whole cloth is a "Human Template" overlay that would have all those associated characteristics prefigured.

What things would make the Human Template unique?

• 2d6 Damage
• 1" Reach (Arms/Legs)
• Fine Manipulation (Hands) - This mechanic needs to be fully defined for various levels
• Rough Manipulation (Legs) - This mechanic needs to be fully defined for various levels
• Mass
• Perception (Binocular Vision 120 Degrees, Ranged)
• Perception (Binocular Aural 360 Degrees, Ranged)
• Perception (Smell ???)
• Perception (Taste)
• Perception (Touch)
• 6" Movement (Requires Manipulation: Legs And/Or Arms)
• 2" Climbing (Requires Manipulation: Hands And Arms And/Or Legs)
• Leaping (Requires Manipulation: Legs)
• Lift (Requires Manipulation: Arms And/Or Legs)
• Strength Associations: Reach, Manipulation, Leaping, Lift, Damage, Figured Characteristics
• Dexterity Associations: ...
• Constitution Associations: ...
• Body Associations: ...
• Intelligence Associations: All Perceptions, ...
• Ego Associations: ...
• Presence Associations: ...
• Comeliness (or other Appearance implementation) Associations: ...

Just a quick summary of what would need to be evaluated for the Human Template. The template would have all the costs prefigured as needed so that creating Human-Centric characters would be no more difficult that with existing system, but would allow for the extension of creating whatever is needed for other Non-Human-Centric campaigns.

Also notice that I included mass but not size. If the additional mechanics were created and detailed enough, then a Size Stat would be only be needed as Guideline to show what levels each of the other mechanics would have at different levels of size. In short, different size characters would simply be Sub-Templates off the Human Template.

Anyway, I hold no expectations that such radical changes will ever be implemented, but to remake the system from scratch, it would seem the most logical approach in order to have generic mechanics and still have the ease of Human-Centric builds.

Just My Humble Opinion

- Christopher Mullins

And continued:

Originally Posted by StGrimblefig

Let's not forget the Disadvantages of being human, that serve to balance out the cost of the basic "Human Template":

• Dependence (food)
• Dependence (water)
• Dependence (oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere)
• Dependence (sleep)
• Susceptibility (extremely high temperatures)
• Susceptibility (extremely low temperatures)
• Susceptibility (radiation)
• Susceptibility (poisons)
• Psychological Limitation (human condition) [what specific PsychLims define the "Human Condition?"]
• Physical Limitation (made of meat)
• Normal Characteristic Maxima (maybe?)
• etc...

Note that the first few of them are the inverses of the Life Support Power, and should be costed appropriately. In fact, seen from this point of view, LS is just the "buying off" of these basic human Disadvantages.

I am probably not qualified to define the specific PsychLims that should be included to define the Human Condition, but I think that there should be some -- if for no other reason than to differentiate human psychology from that of apes, or cheetas or dogs.

Are there any Physical Limitations that are necessary to define humanity? Many PhysLims are defined as the lack of something, so from this point of view, most PhysLims are just "selling back" parts of this template.
Should NCM be included? All "normal" humans have it, but including it would require supers to buy it off -- the inverse of the current philosophy.

Just some things to think about.

I'm actually assuming that some of that one is meant facetiously, but who am I to turn down a free list?