Tweaking Powers

[jolt]

I'm curious how many of you "tweak" listed powers; as in slightly changing the power to make it better or worse. And is so, what is the bonus/penaly (if any) for doing so. For example, a hero has Invulnerabilty but it only works from sunset to sunrise. Or a chratcer who has stretching, but can only elongate his arms. That's a fairly significant reduction on a major power. Would you allow that and what if any compensation would you give? What about a hero who has EE:whatever but wants to be able to do some kind of ultra-blast that does much more damage but then the hero can't use the EE for another 24 hours? Or do you just not allow tweaking at all?

jolt

[wolfsgrin]

I do this quite often. Mostly to add pazzaah to character's list of abilities. A lot of times I trade out sub abilities and knock down ranges by 25% or so. Normally for effect so I don't increase or decrease ranges and damage(and other of the ilk) by more than 25%. A lot of it just has to do with trial and error. Be carefull you can seriously screw things up and make it miserable for anybody to play with . And if you are making it to play, make sure you sit down with your gm and discuss what you want. Good luck!

[Sentinel]

I most often do it to fix any inconsistencies, or editting glitches in descriptions.
From time to time, I will determine that a power needs an added dimension, or that my idea for an existing power is less like Big Kevs', and more like a particular comic character with the same power (Intangibility, for example).
Generally, I can tweak other aspects to achieve my needs without actally re-writing the power altogether, however.
Altering the way powers inpact attributes, for example (like, combining the SPD attribute with the numeric value of Sonic Running to add a few extra M.P.H. so that each speedster is slightly different/faster than the next).

[jolt]

Well, one of the things that got me thinking about all this was Stretching.

1. Weird-costume stretchy guy: Streching powers are so developed that he has shape changing powers by virtual default. He can also mimic other powers like super leaping by turning himself into a giant spring.

2. Numbered Blue outfit stretchy guy: Versatile in his powers but nowhere near what #1 can do.

3. Not #1 but the other stretchy guy: A very distant third. Wishes he were as versatile as #2.

IMO, Stretching (by itself) as presented in HU2 seems to fit the #2 mold most closely. If I wanted to give a hero Streching like #3 (who mainly just seems to stretch his limbs), Stretching as given is way too strong. Just chop some sub-abilities off and make it a minor?

Another are the APS powers. What do you do about the guy who is always in his rock form and can never look normal? Or any of the other forms, like a hero who's always on fire.

jolt

jolt

[Sentinel]

I've done a character stuck in APS Stone form: there was a lengthy period of his being manic depressed, and subject to violent temper outbursts, but the players really connected with him, and I had him slowly come around to a more workable temperment, although he was very much a reluctant hero.

As for stretching, I like the power, although I don't use it that often: once I'd given it to one or two characters, I didn't feel the need to re-use it too often.
With the release of PUI, one can now Enlarge Limbs, or use APS Rubber to achieve similar but different effects.
I liked the idea of combining Stretching with other powers to make characters more unique as oppsed to altering the power stretching itself.
Steching and Growth, Stretching and Shapeshifting, Stretching and Animal Metamorphosis, Stretching and Body Weapons (or Alter Limbs), and so on.

[The Artist Formerly]

Like Darklord, I tend to take a situational effect on altering or expanding power concepts. The source of a character's powers and the other powers that character has affect the power(s) in question.

For example, drawing on my game, Whiteout has developed a wide array of cold weather effect, combining his APS Ice and CEF air. I give the player (Warlawk) alot of leeway in his combinations of the two. However he's had trouble generating warm weather effects. Something the player himself actually noted and described, before I even had to make a ruling on it.

Additionally, Whiteout has learned to generate Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) by mixing air prone to static electricty and his call lightning ability. He can actually create moderate zones where radio signals and their related technologies don't work or are extreamly impaired in their operations.

Raptor, from the same game, will mix her Hightened sense of awareness with her sonic speed to increase the amount of power she can hit a target with when using her high speed punches. In game terms, she can increase the damage she adds to her attacks when using super speed. That's because she has near perfect use of her movements.

The preponderance of the total powers is far greater then the lone power itself.

For example, Ithica, also from the same game, is able to apply her character's strength to situations that flat out out mass her, because the combination of SN strength and Bio-Armor give her more advantage then her mass or displacement alone would. Her armored form's ability to apply her incredible strength to differant objects is greater then either power alone.

In one game, Whiteout was able to save Canada from a nuclear weapon by using storm like conditions to draw up the Ocean and then freezing the water he pulled up over the top of the ticking bomb. He flash froze a glaicer in about four minutes.

[NMI]

In one game, Whiteout was able to save Canada from a nuclear weapon by using storm like conditions to draw up the Ocean and then freezing the water he pulled up over the top of the ticking bomb. He flash froze a glaicer in about four minutes.

You will have to post about this one.

[TJ_1976]

Got a Idea for a character, hear me out, and sorry about dredging up a old topic, but it was here, so anyway...

New Idea, ~I think anyway~ Mimic with shape change and multiple selves, The Mimic and Shape changing Abilities only work for the multiples, and the multiples can only be created if you have a target for mimic.

Example. Frostfire is seen fleeing a bank and our hero "Xerox" targets him for mimic he succeeds and a multiple copy of FrostFire is created in control of Xerox as if it was actually a copy of Xerox. Thats the plan so far.

[Incriptus]

Well i'm a bad GM

in my last heroes game I had planned on offering the players the ability to tweak there powers or create combination power stunts as they leveled up. But like I said I'm a bad GM and I lost interest in the game (and only one of the players seemed interested in his character as well, but the character wasn't designed for the campaign . . . he was looking forward to combining sonic speed and sonic power, letting off a sonicboom as he ran by) and never got around to setting up the idea.

Also what I always tell my players is don't try to make a character with heroes unlimited, try and make a heroes unlimited character. HU is not setup for you to make any type of hero, it's just not generic enough for that.

[BookWyrm]

I agree with Jolt, that HU2's Stretching is like "Hero #2" version than "Hero #1" 's. Makes it slightly more playable.

Here's a thought: my ctr. has both Alter Limbs & Stretching. What 'tweaks' could I get out of that? (And I'll thank you to keep the pornographic suggestions to yourselves--I've already thought of them )

[TJ_1976]

Huh... Despite my utter dislike for you, I must say that it "is" in fact, not such a bad take on the power combo. Good and playable. I'll give you a reluctant thumbs up.

Merow? Did I do something wrong or poke you with a stick?.....or if this is a Joke that I totally missed then yeah .....fooled me. Just curious.

[Stone Gargoyle]

I tweak powers, but the altered versions are kept seperate from the book versions and offered as variants when a player says they want a power that does This but not This... or when I want to create several NPCs with the same power but with different strengths built into it. Some of my variant versions of powers have made their way into the New Powers thread.

[TJ_1976]

APS: Magma + ME: Stone.
This character has the ability to cool their surface lava, giving a dark super hot & cracked look.

I am picturing a large stone creature with volcanoes emminating from various point of his body, like the shoulders and limbs and back and chest, giving him the appearance that his musculature are small volcanoes. Kinda scary looking, maybe a HF involved.

Another variant could be just reversing the two, APS stone, and EE Fire, would accomplish close to the same thing with out taking up a Major, which would leave you with being able to take up Geo thermal Energy, or any other complimenting power to the set.

[TJ_1976]