How powerful are the heroes of your world?

[Arkham]

My current campaign is pretty darn cosmic, with

the PCs weighing in at around 800 character points

after all is said and done, and their most powerful

foes are around 1,200

 

But aside from 1 other NPC hero, they are the most

powerful heros on the plant, and in the top 10

in this section of the galaxy. ( Although a few of

their Hunted's are more powerful, most of them

are either organizations, or extra-dimensional )

[Metaphysician]

My campaign is a pretty high end Champions Universe one. My own character and those of five others players ( plus a sixth that dropped out ) are built on 750 points. Part of the campaign setup includes the working assumption that the other top tier heroes are in the same range. However, nowhere else in the world is there as much concentration of power as in our team ( the New Sentinels ).

[Badger]

Keneton I am interested in this effectiveness rating, but where is it in the Free Stuff section?

[Badger]

Never mind my dumb self found it.

[Lord Liaden]

The principles behind the Effectiveness Rating are explained in Digital Hero #3, but you can figure out the gist of it from the free ER spreadsheet, which is under "Character Sheets and Hex Maps" on the Free Stuff page:

http://www.herogames.com/FreeStuff/csheets.htm

 

I've found the ER to be quite a useful tool.

[zornwil]

There are a handful of mega-powerful supers known to the public but quite a number unknown to the public, essentially several hundred, if we scour the earth and account for what would be one-shot villains, 2000+ INEFFICIENTLY built (probably ~1000 efficiently built) points.

 

Beyond that, there's the top tier of "regular" supers, from Magneto to Spiderman to Dr. Doom (and I use those because their levels are roughly analagous to the comic book characters even if their backgrounds/histories/specifics have been altered). I tend to think of these as 750-1000 if efficiently BUT "legendarily" (at their peak, with cheese) built. The way I do them in my slapdash non-efficient way they go from 1000 to 2000. Around a few hundred of these, again including many one-shots. As you're noting, I didn't go through the exercise this time of trying to define the "1 in x,000" sort of numbering. I did that in my old campaign and since don't think it lends enough value, purely personally.

 

Anyway, the next tier down, which ranges from just below the above guys to a bit below our PCs' current level, very roughly 250-750 has a few thousand of their class around the world, a large number, but mostly known at least locally. The PCs basically started at the bottom of this rung at 265. (BTW, to the players in the game, the X-Men of my world started actually just below this range and are very rapidly growing/learning though just barely entering this range, depending on the member).

 

Below this there's a pretty huge number, certainly tens of thousands. Of course you have to bear in mind in all the above instances I'm trying to account for the appearance of so many one-shot types, one has to rationalize the frequent one-timers.

[ghost-angel]

I think the biggest thing people forget for determining power levels is it's not just how many points the character is. It's also how many active points are being put into any given power(s).

 

If you got a 1000 pt character who has a really large number of 20 Active point powers vs a 250 pt character who has a couple of 60 Active point powers you could call the playing field even. And it also depends on what powers you're talking about. There's a lot that can be factored into something as vague as "power level".

 

I'm in one campaign with 700-800 pt characters (I think mine actually comes in at the largest point value with near 800) but we don't go much over 60-80 active points (I have a 100 pt VPP but it's entirely the GMs fault and I didn't ask for it, or the baggage that came with it mind you - it's still undecided as to who is annoyed more my character or the GM, but that's the defacto "largest power" we have available in the group of PCs). NPCs that fall into the 250-350 pt range can compete with us and have a chance to do some decent damage. We simply have a vantage of versitality, but can still very much lose a fight to a well thought out attack from the "little guys".

 

I'm not saying that the total character points isn't a very good judge of power level, but that it isn't the only such way to qualify power levels.

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Well... mostly I use other peoples worlds.

 

However, the Shards Campaign (on developmental hiatus, although if I had more time or less hobbies I'd prolly push for activation), is at least half mine.

 

From memory:

 

150 million Advanced Humans. Biologically engineered to be better in every which way, and armed with technology that makes almost everything else look like stone knives and bear skins.

 

Indeterminate, but not large: The Elite Advanced Humans. Mental Powers, the more expensive and experimental gear, and the ones who came out better than the others. Only a few thousand at most, I think.

 

1 Leader of Above: Massively powerful. Unstatted for now, but 100 years of experience and more technological enhancements than anyone else on the planet... He's BAAAAAD.

 

The numbers of the Shard Changed, and the 'Magnetized'... is hazy. No one knows how many yet, (including me) but they roughly counterbalance the first lot in power.... so be very, very afraid.

 

The PC's (450) would actually be some of the most powerful. A few as powerful or a little more, but mostly weaker.

[Herolover]

I usually run a campaign that is close to the Champions standard.

 

My usuall campaign is straight out of the book, but I don't charge players for a base, team transporation, and communication devices. So they are 350, but get some free stuff.

 

In my current campaign the characters are 375 point characters. They got an extra 25 base each because they came up with a combined origin. In this one they are going to form a team and I am going to make them pay their own points for the equipment and material.

[Metaphysician]

Tried putting Microman II through that ER spreadsheet. Not entirely clear how to work it, but what I got out was ER 113.79

[Guest Champsguy]

Currently, I'm in multiple games.

 

#1: The Superboy campaign. He's the son of Superman, hailing from a universe that's a fusion of Marvel and DC. Anyway, he had trailed a villain back to his lair, when something went wrong (Superboy accidentally broke one of the hi-tech machines). He was infused with some form of dimensional energy. Now he hops randomly from world to world. It's a solo game, and he's about 1,000 points right now (though that changes from world to world--he really liked Pre-Crisis DC world).

 

#2: The Champions campaign. This game has pretty much wrapped up. One of the players moved away, most of the rest can't make it, etc. Not to mention that, eventually, we'd done all we could. This game was a 375 point 4th Edition campaign, and the GM was really liberal in what he'd allow (I caught heat on this board the other day for posting my character from that game). By the end, it was a JLA-level game (two of us absolutely trashed Eurostar). At this point, they're about the only supers left in our solar system (evil alien uber-menace appeared, transforming the solar system into a Dyson sphere, and imprisoning all superhumans in some weird energy crystals). We avoided being captured by dimension-hopping, came back and drove off the invaders. We've yet to let out any of the supervillains.

 

#3: The new Golden Age game. It's mid-January, 2004. This 2004. The Herogames.com website is running, and Gary and AgentX have had a big argument on the Dr. Destroyer vs. Takofanes thread. USC won the Rose Bowl. George W. Bush is President. There's a taco place down the street from my house with these awesome things they call "flat nachos". And superhumans have just appeared, on January 1st. We're 250 point heroes in Chicago, and appear to be the first superteam.

[Solomon]

My current campaign is basically a Fifth Edition Champions Universe, but I kept a few features from 4th Edition CU. Metahuman population runs close to CU specs, except for a slightly higher number of middle- to high-end metahumans.

[ZootSoot]

Point totals in my games can be staggeringly high, but I suspect most of the characters could not keep up with many of the Standard level campaigns elsewhere when it comes to combat. In my games you pay for everything and concept is the most important element.

[Gary]

Originally posted by Champsguy

#3: The new Golden Age game. It's mid-January, 2004. This 2004. The Herogames.com website is running, and Gary and AgentX have had a big argument on the Dr. Destroyer vs. Takofanes thread. USC won the Rose Bowl. George W. Bush is President. There's a taco place down the street from my house with these awesome things they call "flat nachos". And superhumans have just appeared, on January 1st. We're 250 point heroes in Chicago, and appear to be the first superteam.

 

I hope you gave me a good writeup. How many points am I built on?

[Vondy]

In my world there are approx. 1500 known supers, about half of whom reside in North America. There are an additional 1500 or so Trained Supernormal Operatives. I run a slightly lower DX-SPD ration than most games and the average super runs with 10-12 AP and defenses from 18-28. My game is a grittier "more realistic" game where skills and perks are very important so a character's point total may not reflect their raw power level. There are maybe 10-15 supers in the world who run in the 20DC range with commensurate defenses, though characters with 14-16DCs do make up the top 10% or so (about 150 of them).

[lemming]

In my world, supers or metas or novas depending on the mood, appeared on the scene in early 1942. History has changed quite a bit, but with enough familiarity that the players aren't totally lost. You can find out more of the demographics from my link below. I don't think I've settled on just how many supers there are, but it's probably around 5,000 with most at fairly low level. The player characters are just below the upper tier of power level, but point wise thier around 800 I think for the most. (I haven't been tracking points, but if the character wants to develop a power, we talk...)

 

NPCs range from 300-2100, though the highest point adversary fought was 1300. (Chill-out, who has many a wasted point...)

If Plastique had gone bad, then she's only 850, but she's well built.

[Enforcer84]

Well in the four campaigns run in my "CU":

Westguard: 250 supers Eventually topped out at 400+ with xp

 

Earth Force: 450 start; ended up 600+

Strongarm: 275 pts ended about 300+

(shor lived)

 

The Arc: 1000 pts start, ended at about 1150.

 

My toughest NPC's could go toe to toe with Mechanon, Destroyer is still a "team" villain, but not by much against the highest...

[zornwil]

Originally posted by lemming

In my world, supers or metas or novas depending on the mood, appeared on the scene in early 1942. History has changed quite a bit, but with enough familiarity that the players aren't totally lost. You can find out more of the demographics from my link below. I don't think I've settled on just how many supers there are, but it's probably around 5,000 with most at fairly low level. The player characters are just below the upper tier of power level, but point wise thier around 800 I think for the most. (I haven't been tracking points, but if the character wants to develop a power, we talk...)

 

NPCs range from 300-2100, though the highest point adversary fought was 1300. (Chill-out, who has many a wasted point...)

If Plastique had gone bad, then she's only 850, but she's well built.

 

Hey, I'll post this publicly - when are you and I going to do a crossover game or two? Maybe a two-parter, starting in yours and ending in mine (I don't think the PCs of your world should travel into mine until they meet the Justice Squad and get properly braced! Little unfair of them to meet the JS on their own home turf.).

[lemming]

Originally posted by zornwil

Hey, I'll post this publicly - when are you and I going to do a crossover game or two? Maybe a two-parter, starting in yours and ending in mine (I don't think the PCs of your world should travel into mine until they meet the Justice Squad and get properly braced! Little unfair of them to meet the JS on their own home turf.).

The wacky meet the paranoid. ooo boy.

 

I think we need to get running regularly again.

I want to do a test run of the Lego game this upcoming weekend.

[megaplayboy]

I'm in 3 games:

1. about 275 points, 8-10 DC, set in California.

2. about 300 points, 8-10 DC, set in a fictional city.

3. unlimited points, 20-30+ DC, set globally, but focused in a hero-heavy fictional city. This one is just starting up, and I'm the primary GM.

[zornwil]

Originally posted by lemming

The wacky meet the paranoid. ooo boy.

 

I think we need to get running regularly again.

I want to do a test run of the Lego game this upcoming weekend.

 

My workload should be less extreme a little over a week from now. This weekend will be hell.

[lemming]

Originally posted by zornwil

My workload should be less extreme a little over a week from now. This weekend will be hell.

Miq couldn't commit either. In that case, I will have to balance the GameStorm game by placing characters sheets on one end of a lever and bunches of lego on the other.