Post by JazzyRagdoll on Jul 17, 2012 0:06:16 GMT -5
Okay ladies and germs, something I have noticed here and on other roleplays is an abundance of difficulty balancing powers.
Everybody has trouble with it; Not surprising, it's difficult as hell. Often I find in a realistic setting attempting to avoid unrealistic powers, people fret over this aspect the most.
WELL NEVER FEAR KIDDIES; I have read the vast annals of comic book lore and I know the ins and outs of character creation quite well, seeing as it's really all I ever do. In this post I will show you the JazzyRagdoll Patented Scale of Superpowers.
LEVEL 1- Basic Human
Well, pretty bread 'n butter- Basic Human is the level attributed to Peak Human Fitness. A Level 1 superpower attribute usually means your character is at peak human fitness, giving them about 800 pounds to throw around. This attribute is usually coupled with intense physical training and/or martial arts mastery.
At this level, your character is punching dents in steel, OH-KOing strong men, and fighting bears for fun. Batman falls under this category, as do most powerless human superheroes. A character may have Level 1 Strength, but Level 5 Telepathy- See what I'm getting at? Most characters do not have several attributes high up on the scale- Rarely do we come across a fireball-generating supernova guy who can ALSO lift a truck. Get me?
LEVEL 2- Minor Super Strength/Powers
Okay, so your character has slipped in some radioactive goop and had to wash their clothes with JUSTICE. Long story short, your character finds that they can now lift twice that of Basic Human- AKA about three quarters of a ton. We're looking at lifting cars, punching holes in steel, and a super-jump of maybe twenty feet or so. Generally, durability is going to slooowly increase by now.
Any elemental abilities are minor at best- Maybe the character can generate short gouts of flame, has limited control over a certain element, or can fly with the help of some natural propulsion system (Read: Wings).
Captain America falls under this category, as does Angel (Due to his wings) and anybody with physical abnormalities that contribute to their abilities- Nightcrawler, for example.
LEVEL 3- Normal Super Strength/Power
Your character is headed for the big leagues now- Lifting in excess of one ton, your character is serious business and can probably beat the crap out of pretty much anybody without superpowers with ease. Your character's durability factor is going to start becoming significant around here- Minor healing factors also show up.
At this level, we're looking at most superpowered metas- They're formidable, to be sure, but ain't nothin' special. The generation and control of flames, the ability to fly at an advanced speed, super-speed, most run-of-the-mill superpowers fall in this category. Take Impulse, Iceman, Spiderman, Cannonball, Sunspot, a majority of the New Mutants, Hellboy, etc. etc.
LEVEL 4- Advanced Super Strength/Power
Hot damn, your character is pretty badass. Lifting large amounts of weight, your character can now probably lift a city bus. Your character is now throwing people through several walls and is probably leaping a couple stories into the air at a time. Bullets are probably bouncing off of your character, and he or she laughs in the face of thugs with pipes.
Superpowers under this category are abnormally powerful- Which usually is bookended by not being very physically formidable, or having one glaring weakness. Jean Grey, for example, is an extremely powerful telepath (Not in Phoenix form, but we'll get to that), but she is not peak human fitness. She is mentally very vulnerable to psychic attack. This includes Cyclops for his eyebeams, Wolverine's healing factor, Iron Man's suit, Green Lantern's power ring, Wonder Woman's super-everything...
LEVEL 5- Hyper Super Strength/Power
Your character can lift a car in each hand. Metal pipes bend when they get struck by goons. They can jump high enough to land on the roof of small buildings. When the city needs a building demolished, your character says 'Chill out guys, I got this' and promptly goes to work with a long I-beam. Without proper balancing, we're looking at the beginnings of a Mary Sue.
Superpowers are highly powerful at this level- Beyond anything a majority of superheroes possess. However, we're also looking at a singular superpower, not many. Also, many people who fall under this category have some sort of debilitating injury or disability- Take Professor Xavier for example. World-class telepath, able to shut down pretty much anybody from Mystique to Juggernaut- Stuck in a wheelchair. Also, there may be consequences for using the full extent of one's powers at this level.
A notable exception comes in the form of villains- Oftentimes a Big Bad will show up with powers far outclassing those of any normal person. This is so that a character has to strain themselves to think of a way to beat them- It's not an easy fight or a stalemate when going in on brawn alone, usually.
Examples include the aforementioned Professor Xavier, Magneto, Captain Marvel, Black Adam, Henry Pym, The Scarlet Witch, Vision. The Flash qualifies here because he can break the speed of light.
LEVEL 6- God-Tier Super Strength/Powers
Shit has officially gotten real. Your character ain't nuttin' ta fuck wit at this level. Probably a Mary Sue, your character retaliates by dropping buildings on people, diverting missiles mid-flight, and using their immense superstrength to turn the world backwards and reverse time (Bonus points for whoever gets that reference). Probably, your character's not even human at this point.
Oftentimes, characters in this category defy the rules of 'one superpower' because they ARE gods- Or, the facsimile of one, at least. Weather, fire, super-speed, a combination of pretty much all those things, your character is probably a Mary Sue if there is not a damn good reason for these abilities and a suitable scale-balancer. Powers often are completely ridiculous, such as the ability to become COMPLETELY unstoppable if they gain even a little bit of movement going for them.
Examples include Superman, Darkseid, Apocalypse, Doomsday, pretty much any Superman villain worth his salt, really...
Thor, The Hulk, Juggernaut, and The Thing.
LEVEL 7- Creators and Destroyers
Your character probably created or consumed a few worlds when he or she was little and didn't know any better. Usually damn near omniscient, omnipresent, and all-powerful, your character is probably larger than a planet. May require large amounts of power attained by way of world devouring- Usually has several cults dedicated to raising them. Your character is probably a big-time god or demon from the twelfth plane of torment. Somebody better back the fuck up if they make your character mad. Ritual sacrifices usually help cool situations down, and they may refer to themselves in third person. May be older than the universe- Or at least claim to be. May have their own little dimension to piss around in.
Thanos, Galactus, any 'Old God' or 'Old Demon', Dormammu, Shuma-Gorath, Odin, Zeus, etc. etc.
There you have it kids! Hope this helped a little.
Everybody has trouble with it; Not surprising, it's difficult as hell. Often I find in a realistic setting attempting to avoid unrealistic powers, people fret over this aspect the most.
WELL NEVER FEAR KIDDIES; I have read the vast annals of comic book lore and I know the ins and outs of character creation quite well, seeing as it's really all I ever do. In this post I will show you the JazzyRagdoll Patented Scale of Superpowers.
LEVEL 1- Basic Human
Well, pretty bread 'n butter- Basic Human is the level attributed to Peak Human Fitness. A Level 1 superpower attribute usually means your character is at peak human fitness, giving them about 800 pounds to throw around. This attribute is usually coupled with intense physical training and/or martial arts mastery.
At this level, your character is punching dents in steel, OH-KOing strong men, and fighting bears for fun. Batman falls under this category, as do most powerless human superheroes. A character may have Level 1 Strength, but Level 5 Telepathy- See what I'm getting at? Most characters do not have several attributes high up on the scale- Rarely do we come across a fireball-generating supernova guy who can ALSO lift a truck. Get me?
LEVEL 2- Minor Super Strength/Powers
Okay, so your character has slipped in some radioactive goop and had to wash their clothes with JUSTICE. Long story short, your character finds that they can now lift twice that of Basic Human- AKA about three quarters of a ton. We're looking at lifting cars, punching holes in steel, and a super-jump of maybe twenty feet or so. Generally, durability is going to slooowly increase by now.
Any elemental abilities are minor at best- Maybe the character can generate short gouts of flame, has limited control over a certain element, or can fly with the help of some natural propulsion system (Read: Wings).
Captain America falls under this category, as does Angel (Due to his wings) and anybody with physical abnormalities that contribute to their abilities- Nightcrawler, for example.
LEVEL 3- Normal Super Strength/Power
Your character is headed for the big leagues now- Lifting in excess of one ton, your character is serious business and can probably beat the crap out of pretty much anybody without superpowers with ease. Your character's durability factor is going to start becoming significant around here- Minor healing factors also show up.
At this level, we're looking at most superpowered metas- They're formidable, to be sure, but ain't nothin' special. The generation and control of flames, the ability to fly at an advanced speed, super-speed, most run-of-the-mill superpowers fall in this category. Take Impulse, Iceman, Spiderman, Cannonball, Sunspot, a majority of the New Mutants, Hellboy, etc. etc.
LEVEL 4- Advanced Super Strength/Power
Hot damn, your character is pretty badass. Lifting large amounts of weight, your character can now probably lift a city bus. Your character is now throwing people through several walls and is probably leaping a couple stories into the air at a time. Bullets are probably bouncing off of your character, and he or she laughs in the face of thugs with pipes.
Superpowers under this category are abnormally powerful- Which usually is bookended by not being very physically formidable, or having one glaring weakness. Jean Grey, for example, is an extremely powerful telepath (Not in Phoenix form, but we'll get to that), but she is not peak human fitness. She is mentally very vulnerable to psychic attack. This includes Cyclops for his eyebeams, Wolverine's healing factor, Iron Man's suit, Green Lantern's power ring, Wonder Woman's super-everything...
LEVEL 5- Hyper Super Strength/Power
Your character can lift a car in each hand. Metal pipes bend when they get struck by goons. They can jump high enough to land on the roof of small buildings. When the city needs a building demolished, your character says 'Chill out guys, I got this' and promptly goes to work with a long I-beam. Without proper balancing, we're looking at the beginnings of a Mary Sue.
Superpowers are highly powerful at this level- Beyond anything a majority of superheroes possess. However, we're also looking at a singular superpower, not many. Also, many people who fall under this category have some sort of debilitating injury or disability- Take Professor Xavier for example. World-class telepath, able to shut down pretty much anybody from Mystique to Juggernaut- Stuck in a wheelchair. Also, there may be consequences for using the full extent of one's powers at this level.
A notable exception comes in the form of villains- Oftentimes a Big Bad will show up with powers far outclassing those of any normal person. This is so that a character has to strain themselves to think of a way to beat them- It's not an easy fight or a stalemate when going in on brawn alone, usually.
Examples include the aforementioned Professor Xavier, Magneto, Captain Marvel, Black Adam, Henry Pym, The Scarlet Witch, Vision. The Flash qualifies here because he can break the speed of light.
LEVEL 6- God-Tier Super Strength/Powers
Shit has officially gotten real. Your character ain't nuttin' ta fuck wit at this level. Probably a Mary Sue, your character retaliates by dropping buildings on people, diverting missiles mid-flight, and using their immense superstrength to turn the world backwards and reverse time (Bonus points for whoever gets that reference). Probably, your character's not even human at this point.
Oftentimes, characters in this category defy the rules of 'one superpower' because they ARE gods- Or, the facsimile of one, at least. Weather, fire, super-speed, a combination of pretty much all those things, your character is probably a Mary Sue if there is not a damn good reason for these abilities and a suitable scale-balancer. Powers often are completely ridiculous, such as the ability to become COMPLETELY unstoppable if they gain even a little bit of movement going for them.
Examples include Superman, Darkseid, Apocalypse, Doomsday, pretty much any Superman villain worth his salt, really...
Thor, The Hulk, Juggernaut, and The Thing.
LEVEL 7- Creators and Destroyers
Your character probably created or consumed a few worlds when he or she was little and didn't know any better. Usually damn near omniscient, omnipresent, and all-powerful, your character is probably larger than a planet. May require large amounts of power attained by way of world devouring- Usually has several cults dedicated to raising them. Your character is probably a big-time god or demon from the twelfth plane of torment. Somebody better back the fuck up if they make your character mad. Ritual sacrifices usually help cool situations down, and they may refer to themselves in third person. May be older than the universe- Or at least claim to be. May have their own little dimension to piss around in.
Thanos, Galactus, any 'Old God' or 'Old Demon', Dormammu, Shuma-Gorath, Odin, Zeus, etc. etc.
There you have it kids! Hope this helped a little.