An idea on how to make characters

[JmOz]

Reading the thread by Katherine on Point totals, I thought of something someone else around here posted a while ago as an idea on how to make characters:

 

You build a Heroic character (75+75) and get aproved by the GM

 

THEN you get another 125+75 to make them a super

 

This is to help make sure you are not a walking howitzer

[Hermit]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

This might be interesting for a 'Origin story waiting to happen' incident.

Run an adventure where a group of normals each, one by one, gain powers. Either in radiation accidents, through tech, etc.

Naturally, they will get suspicious at the coincidence.

 

THe GM can either have some aliens cop to it, or perhaps the Avatar of Destiny appear and confess that the 'grand design is coming together. Power will be yours. You cannot avoid it'.

 

 

Mind you, I LIKE Walking Howitzers sometimes *sheepish*

[OddHat]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

It's a workable approach.

 

My preference:

 

You must be able to answer the question of who this person would be without powers, and who he was before he had them. That requires buying the appropriate skills, and writing a decent back-story. 75+75 is a damn good police officer or world famous scientist. A normal who gained powers might have been built of 75 point or less.

[KA.]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

I generally do something similar in my campaigns.

I have the players create their characters before they got powers.

Sometimes we even play out their origin stories.

That way I tend to get more rounded individuals, instead of combat machines.

 

KA.

[Hermit]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

I don't force my players to take too many skills myself. I do inform them though that if they have almost no skills that aren't related to combat, that I'm assuming the job the character has in the secret ID may involve the phrase "Would you like any fries with that?" or some cublicle farm at best.

 

Most of us play this in part to escape, so make sure they have at least the minimum skills to get away from that sort of thing (For some of us, it hits too close to home).

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

It works, but it does tend to lead to a subset of characters - the "altered human" crowd, especially if you play out origins in-game. Harder to work in aliens, mystics, gadgeteers, martial artists, etc. Can very easily work out, and sometimes having a more "focused" type of character can be good for campaigns.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

Reading the thread by Katherine on Point totals, I thought of something someone else around here posted a while ago as an idea on how to make characters:

 

You build a Heroic character (75+75) and get aproved by the GM

 

THEN you get another 125+75 to make them a super

 

This is to help make sure you are not a walking howitzer

 

The problem is, there are plenty of valid supers who, sans powers, would not be valid Heroic level characters.

 

Beyond, that, the question would be "what sort of heroic character". The sort of character I designed for a horror campaign might well work with your approach, but the sort of character I'd develop for a military-style campain wouldn't be a good basis for the sorts of supers I like to play.

[Steve]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

Reading the thread by Katherine on Point totals, I thought of something someone else around here posted a while ago as an idea on how to make characters:

 

You build a Heroic character (75+75) and get aproved by the GM

 

THEN you get another 125+75 to make them a super

 

This is to help make sure you are not a walking howitzer

 

This is very similar to how the PRIMUS sourcebook shows how to design a character, in a series of stages:

 

1) Start with a 50 base+25 Disad human (Pre-Academy)

2) Time at the Academy adds on around another 125 points of skills and characteristics that are mandatory to take, and about 60 disadvantage points, and the player can fill in the rest to bring the character up to 100 base+100 disadvantage points.

3) If you want to make a Silver Avenger at this point, you then get another 80 points for certain characteristics and another 20 or so points of other powers, and also add on another 30 points in disadvantages. Fill in a few more disadvantage points, season to taste, and presto, you have a new Silver Avenger.

 

I think building a character in stages like this makes for a more well-rounded design. I imagine you could follow a similar pattern for heroes or villains that are created through some sort of school or program, like how the X-Men offer training.

[Enforcer84]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

But what if yer Nova?

Richard Rider was a useless high school student who got super powers. His character was worth probably 0 pts before powers. His knowledge skills were probably 8- and involved sports and cars...

[Hermit]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

But what if yer Nova?

Richard Rider was a useless high school student who got super powers. His character was worth probably 0 pts before powers. His knowledge skills were probably 8- and involved sports and cars...

 

Nova rocked. "Overpowered and Unemployed"

 

And he's a great example of a guy with skills that seem only to apply to combat or the super hero world. Heck, 'Nova Express', his money making job (his brother's idea if I recall) relied on his superpowers.

[Acroyear]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

I sometimes try to do it by this method. But sometimes I also want to be a guy in a wheelchair who's just big on reading history who can transform in the avatar of Ares!

[Metaphysician]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

Reading the thread by Katherine on Point totals, I thought of something someone else around here posted a while ago as an idea on how to make characters:

 

You build a Heroic character (75+75) and get aproved by the GM

 

THEN you get another 125+75 to make them a super

 

This is to help make sure you are not a walking howitzer

 

Problem: this would tend to force characters into taking alot of disads like Susceptibility and such, since those are the only disads that can logically show up just from getting powers.

 

It also excludes all skilled character types.

[Powerhouse]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

GURPS Supers did something very similar. You had 100 pts to create a normal character (+ 40 disadvantages). Then you recieved about 400 more pts (and more disadvantages) to go super as it were.

[Powerhouse]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

"Problem: this would tend to force characters into taking alot of disads like Susceptibility and such, since those are the only disads that can logically show up just from getting powers."

 

No necessarily. Hunted for new supers make sense as could psych limits as their power changes their personality (over confident, sense of responsiblity, etc).

[Eodin]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

Of course you COULD give the player the option to roleplay the origin as a Noteworthy (10pt), Skilled (40 point) or Compentent (75pt). At least you can have PS: Fast Food Cashier 11-

 

GM to Noteworthy Tim: "You're asking if the strange man wants fries with that, and he gets mad and blasts you. What's your ED?..."

[sinanju]

Re: An idea on how to make characters

 

I think Worldmaker's GGU campaigns have a pretty good approach--you're required to have at least 25 points of non-combat-oriented skills. Knowledge skills, professional skills, area knowledges, languages, etc. are all good places to spend those points. Deciding what skills my character would have that have nothing to do with combat or being a superhero really helps focus on the personality.