Super-Abilities
How They're Generated
All characters with super powers roll 1d6 and add 2 to the result to determine the number of powers they initially receive (all player characters have super powers). When this is done, they select from which of the following lists of powers they wish to receive their first power, and roll percentile dice to see which power on that list they obtain. After receiving their first power, they choose on which list they want to roll for their second super power (even the same list, if desired), and roll percentile dice again, repeating the process for each power until they've rolled one for each of their super powers. If it suggested that as each power is identified, the player should check its description, making any mandatory die rolls to determine the nature of the power, but saving any choices he/she may have about how the power works until after all his/her powers are rolled up.
If, during the course of rolling to find out what powers are received, the die rolls indicate a duplication of a power already received, the player has the option of either discarding the result and rolling again, or taking an increased ability in the same power. The GM should work with the player to come up with a reasonable way of boosting the strength of that particular ability. Range, duration, etc. could be multiplied by the number of times the character received the power, damage could be increased, or whole new abilities based on the original power could be added. Powers which simply endow the character with combat or basic ability bonuses (e.g., Natural Weaponry, Heightened Defense, Heightened Strength, Speed Bonus, etc.) become cumulative if obtained more than once, and if the bonus gained thereby is random, then roll the bonus for each dose individually (I guess so that the different bonuses can be recorded in the event that one of the powers becomes disabled, but the other doesn't. -B.).
The five lists of super powers are: Powers (innate super abilities), Devices (scientifically-synthesized powers), Magic/Psionic Items (supernaturally-synthesized powers), Training [formerly "Skills"] (extraordinary learned abilities), and Magic/Psionics (innate supernatural powers). The player should select a combination of types of powers that will create the sort of character he/she wants to play.
After all initial powers are determined, each character rolls once on the Weakness Table for a Weakness. (I have always encouraged players to roll the initial Weakness first, so as to allow them the opportunity to choose tables which have a better chance of compensating for it when rolling powers. For instance, if one rolls a Reduced Characteristic, one may be inclined to roll more abilities on the Training table, with its better chance of heightened stats. -B.)
When all powers and the weakness are determined, the player must select one of the powers to discard. It is better to drop a power which will leave the player with a remaining set of powers which are interesting and go well together, rather than simply getting rid of some ability which doesn't look very powerful.
Each player also has the option of dropping the weakness, if he/she feels that it would hinder the character too severely. However, to do so, he/she must drop a second power as described above. (I have also always allowed someone who wishes to keep all the rolled powers to do so by rolling a second Weakness. However, there's no turning back: They must accept whatever they roll. This option is, of course, mutually exclusive with the above. -B.)
When all this is finished, return to the description of each power received and make any final decisions required to determine the exact nature of the power.
The GM should allow modification of powers at his/her own whim, or by the player's request, allowing them to operate somewhat differently than described, with the following guidelines. A character with few super powers tends to be less powerful than a character with many. This being the case, the GM is encouraged to upgrade the usefulness of the powers received by a character with few powers, in order to make him/her capable of contending with more powerful characters. Also, random die rolls cannot be expected to consistently produce sets of powers which go well together (which is precisely what I love about the system--any set of powers can be made to blend harmoniously with a little creativity, and random generation helps spark that. -B.). In many cases, it is advisable to modify one or more powers, perhaps drastically, in order to create an interesting set of abilities. When modified [for this reason], powers should be made either more or less useful, except for the reasons stated above, or perhaps as a part of a give-and-take situation where one power is diminished in order to increase another.
Gauging power level for both individual powers and entire characters has been made simpler by the addition of the point-based system. In my campaigns, a player will roll randomly as usual, generating a character as described above. He/she will then purchase the final powers with as many CPs as necessary, generating an intial point total for that character. If the character is meant to be part of a super-group or campaign setting, then any individual character can be augmented with CPs or have CPs "shaved off" so as to conform to either the average CP value or maximum value of the group as a whole, depending on the GM's intended power-level for the campaign. Thanks to the quantification of CPs, these character "tweakings" can take the form of nearly anything: changed stats, added/removed powers or weaknesses, or power modifications (q.v.). -B.
Optional Rule: Choosing Your Own Powers
This rule is optional only to the extent that the GM needn't feel obliged to allow players to write their own sets of powers. However, if a player comes to the GM with a description of the powers he's like to have, the GM should consider the request, within the context of his/her own campaign, and allow those powers to be used instead of a random set, so long as they do not seem unreasonably powerful.
Historically, I personally have never allowed players to choose their own powers. However, during the augmentation process under the new point-based system, I would and do allow players who rolled weaker characters to choose a reasonable power for each 15 CPs their character falls below the group's average CP-value. And who knows? Maybe in the future I'll be inclined to experiment with a campaign that involves entirely player-generated characters. -B.
Devices and Items
Super powers gained as Devices usually (but don't always) operate on their own built-in power "battery" (requiring no Power expenditure from the character), and their parameters are usually not based on the character's Basic Characteristics. When setting parameters for a Device, instead of rolling 3d8 to determine the value of its own built-in Basic Characteristic (the old way), give it a 14 automatically. This may be adjusted up (or down) at a cost (or savings) of 1 CP per 2 Basic Characteristic points. In some instances, a description will include separate notes for handling Device-versions of the power.
To determine the number of uses a Device may have before requiring recharging, the old way was to roll 3d10 and subtract the PR for the ability, with results of less than one rerolled). Instead, subtract the power's PR from 17. Any result of 0 or less becomes 1. This is the maximum number of uses ("charges") available per recharge, and each use of the Device for which the ability requres a Power expenditure takes one charge away from the Device (some uses may take more than one charge, at GM option. -B.). Recharging is considered automatic overnight assuming a sufficient and applicable power source. The character and GM should work out the type of energy required for recharging; perhaps even a fuel.
Magic/Psionic Items may have their own power, as per Devices, or draw Power points (and effective Characteristic scores) directly from the character wielding them, just like a regular super power. The choice should be made by the character involved.
Heightened Characteristics gained as Devices or Items will give full benefits of the increased Characteristic score (includingpossible increased Hit Points, etc.) whenever in operation.
Explanation of Super Power Descriptions
Follow this link to a list of descriptions for each super power and weakness, arranged in alphabetical order. Each description explains the basic concept of the power or weakness, then details exactly how it behaves in game terms. There are several powers which require a large amount of GM and player input, due to their open-ended nature. It should be remembered, however, that even the more concise descriptions given for other powers are not law; modification is allowed and, in fact, encouraged.
In many cases, certain parameters of the powers will be determined by the Basic Characteristics of a character with that power. In such instances, an abbreviation is used to signify which Basic Characteristic to employ: S=Strength, E=Endurance, A=Agility, I=Intelligence, C=Charisma.
For example, if the Range of a certain power is expressed as A x 2", this means that the power's range is determined by multiplying the character's Agility score by two. Unless otherwise stated, all Ranges, lengths, etc. are expressed in inches, where one [game] inch equals five [real] feet, and durations are expressed in turns, where one turn equals fifteen seconds, or in phases, where one phase equals about one second (actually, more like half a second. -B.). Durations expressed in hours refer to hours of game time, not real time.
Also in the descriptions are notes on the amount of game time required to activate or utilize the ability (expressed in turns, action phases, hours, or movement) and the amount of Power the character expends in activating or utilizing the ability. This is called the ability's Power Requirement, or PR, and must be subtracted from the character's Power score as required for the particular ability.
Every Power has a CP cost. Unless otherwise specified, a power costs 15 CPs; only the special cases are listed. Powers that include multiple abilities have been broken down into their component parts. You only need to pay the CP cost of whichever parts of the power your character is capable of using.
Undefined powers, such as Bionics and Body Power and Psionics, must have their CP costs set by the GM on a case-by-case basis. As a general guideline, 5 CPs represents a trivial Power, 10 CPs represents a minor Power, 15 CPs for a Power of average strength, 20 CPs for a Power that's above average strength, etc. It is not strictly necessary to rate all power costs in increments of exactly 5 points.
The descriptions of several powers needed to be modified to work with the new combat system. These changes are included. Ignore them if you're using the old combat system.
Look for the sections labeled "Notes/Variants." In addition to some new ideas about powers, these contain information on the deviations from the rules which are likely to be active in this campaign. Several of my own special terms are common there:
- SPREAD. SPREAD stands for "Standard Power, Range, Energy, And Damage." It's an attempt to standardize changes in ranges, PRs, and damage in order to better compare one version of a power (or even different powers). SPREAD is explained more fully on the Power Modifications page.
- Opportunity. Opportunity represents the fact that certain abilities (and sometimes weaknesses) are related, often seen together in the genre, and/or simply go very well together. As such, the player may (with GM approval and subject to campaign limits) opt to choose one or more of the mentioned abilities/weaknesses, just as if they were rolled. Of course, if one is not generating a character randomly, Opportunity is superfluous.
- The 1:3:5 Principle. V&V has always had a hierarchy concept of <a single thing> --> <a group of related things> --> <all things>. It's my philosophy that if you've paid for one instance, paying three times as much should get you a group of related things, and by the time you've paid for five, you might as well have all related things. This is a way to be true to the genre without requiring hideous CP expenditures. For instance, Heightened Expertise with one attack should cost 4 CPs; with a set of related attacks (e.g., martial arts), 12 CPs, and 20 CPs for +4 to hit with all. Likewise, fluency/literacy with a language costs 4 CPs, I'd charge 12 for a group of related languages (ancient, Romance, Scandanavian, etc.); and 20 CPs is reasonable to get you some kind of Universal Translator ability (think of how much it would cost to pay for every language there was!).
