What point level to you play?

[Katherine]

Just trying to get a general feel for preferences.

[JmOz]

350

[Agent X]

350-450+experience

[Guzalot]

350 mostly, but I have a 250 campaign "on hiatus"

[Supreme Serpent]

It varies. Some games we start out relatively low points, 200-250. Most have starting characters at 300 now, though some experienced characters are significantly higher with XP. I'm also starting up a high-point campaign where the PC's can be up to 750pts to start.

[Blue]

I started the players at 300, but they're closer to 350 by now. I just wanted them to be closer to each other in power level when we started. I just accelerated exp earning a tad.

[Metaphysician]

"Typical" in this case is a bit meaningless for me, since New Sentinels is my first Champions game.

In any case, our starting point values were 750 points ( Horus-Re hitting 800 with extra Hunteds ). However, between accumulated experience and very. . . "efficient" character design, I'd say my character, and the campaign in general, fits the 800-1000+ range better, which is what I selected.

[JeffreyWKramer]

I'm the GM for the Sentinels. It's a high-powered campaign, envisioned as being the Champs U equivalent of the JLA. It's been an experiment for me, because all my previous experience as a Champions GM had been at standard (vastly lower) point levels, and the one relatively high-powered campaign I'd played in previously was based on 300 pts + up to 150 in Disads. I'm pleased to say the experiment has worked out marvelously to this point, though I think that is due more to the exceptional players than any specific factor of my GMing.

This high-point level isn't what I'd recommend for most, particularly not for relatively inexperienced GMs, for lots of reasons. First of all, there are very few standard characters from the published books who present any sort of challenge to heroes in that range, which either means you have to do a lot of rebuilding/power boosting of the published characters - and this can be a problem, because some of them really don't support that power level well... does anyone really want to see an 800-point Foxbat??? - or you have to mostly build your own villains. Second of all, characters at that power level have capacities that let them blow through many sorts of standard scenarios, and have points enough for ample amounts of esoteric defenses, reducing the impact of "great leveler" sorts of villains (mentalists, Adjustment Power spcialists and AP/Find Weakness guys (who don't accomplish much at all vs. high levels of Damage Reduction). Third - to repeat a point I made on these boards and which ended up being noted in GALACTIC CHAMPIONS - because they have the points to spend and because VPPs best reflect the wide range of odd feats powerful characters occasionally pull off, characters at high point levels often have fairly substantial VPPs, which allow them a lot of flexibility within the limits of their special effects. This makes it hard to anticipate just what an smart player might throw at you. Speedsters, especially, become lethal when one combines high speed (i.e., lots of actions) with the full range of possibilities presented by a substantial "Speed Tricks" VPP in combination with a Movement Multipower and/or a Speedster Powers EC of some sort.

On the other hand, we're having a blast, so with the right bunch of people, it's clear Champions can *work* at this power level - something I'd previously doubted, personally.

[Super Squirrel]

In the game I play, I am now 407. In the one I run, those there everygame have about 354. They have a base on "loan with lease to buy" at 1 XP per game that is withheld from end game reward.

[Zed-F]

I generally prefer 250 points or less. More than 350, and I would have a good deal of trouble coming up with enough things to buy, unless I just gave up and bought a big cosmic power pool.

I'm not a fan of supers whose powers are all inherent and always work. I almost invariably will buy most or all powers with at least some limitations on them. As such, even 200-250 points tends to get magnified to a quite comfortable power level.

[Lord Mhoram]

I play/gm 350+ XP, but I never really like it until a ways in, when the characters hit 500 or so. So I voted in the 500-800 range. That is when things get really good, not just because of points, but you have done a year or two of filling in the world, and tying the characters into it, and you can really have fun with those threads, and weave them all together.

[ChuckB]

350 works great. Allows for characters to be combat heavy and have a lot of noncombat skills/talents and eclectic powers.

[OddHat]

These days, 350 with free real world equipment, office space and vehicles (defined as anything your character could get and keep based on wealth level and contacts). Contacts, favors and perks are sometimes handed out as part of an XP reward. Super-equipment (anything past real-world tech) must be paid for in points, with possible minor point breaks for incorporating real tech.

I'm thinking of trying a higher powered game soon.

[jackalope]

When I first started playing Champions, characters were built on 100 Base + 150 Disads. Anything other than that was some sort of "house rule", probably created by a "power gamer" or "monty hauler". Oh, those were the days.

I spent a month in Mexico when I was 13, and the only books I had with me that were in English were the Champions rulebook (2nd Edition), a copy of Jeff Rovin's Encyclopedia of Superheroes, and Stephan King's The Stand. Over the course of that summer, I stated out every single one of the Dial H for Heros in the appendix (based on five line descriptions no less), and four or five dozen more. That's about 100-120 Champions, about 3 or 4 a day.

Oh wow, sometimes I forget what an incredible geek I am. My, that was a vivid reminder. Anyways, that excercise taught me a lot about getting creative with points. Cause it is HARD to do a lot of concepts justice on 250 points.

Then 3rd edition came out, with the buttloads of new skills and the whole new way of doing martial arts and all these other new things, and now 250 simply does not cut it. I can build a decent character with a clear, unifying thing, who can do one or two things really well, and is otherwise okay on 250 points. Given 350 points, I can realize just about any concept (except, it seems, robots and mystics), and make it sing. It's just a matter of making a competant 250 character, and then giving it 100 points in detailing, some of the more obscure special uses of powers, a really deep skill base, or maybe a fully realized set of contacts. It's awesome.

More than 500 points, and I start to lose the feeling of limitation and the creativity that brings. Characters start to feel bloated and unreal, like little gods. It's boring, IMHO. I can see how people who were really into role-playing might like it, but I'm really into the tactical challenge aspects of superheroics and megapower characters just don't present much of interest.

[OddHat]

For me, the bigest attraction of higher point totals is finally being able to buy all of those nifty Contacts, Favors, and "useless" but cool KS, languages, AK and SS that I never seem to have enough points for. On 350 points, I can make a tough combat Mage or martial Artist, or one that is brilliant and well educated. To do both requires a level of questionable tweaking that I dislike. Batman and Doctor Strange as they are now do not fit well into 350 points.

So, next time around, 500+ Disads here we come.