Echoes of the Multiverse

I wanted to get a feel on how people on here think about starting PL and Points.

Personally, I like PL 8. There's a lot of reasons; it thematically fits the sorts of characters I make who are often not that far above normal trained humans, it is mechanically great since it simplifies the calculations when adjusting effect ranks in arrays, and it gives a lot of room for growth without needing to go to ludicrous PLs.

I favor PL 9 for starting adult characters these days; PL 8 has it's points, but at least in my mind it's too associated with teenage heroes. When it comes to points, I'd generally give the characters 135 points, but be willing to go as high as 150 depending on circumstances.

I usually go from 8 to 10. I rarely, if ever condider going beyond 12.

Most games I've run for long periods of time were PL 6 rookie teenage hero-style games, but honestly, PL 10 games sound the most appealing to me, though I only ever managed to run one-shots of it.

As for Power Points, I'm usually very liberal with power point limits as long as the character doesn't have an absurd quantity of powers and doesn't, like, generally insult my inteligente or something.

Even high PL characters aren't really that far beyond normal trained humans, necessarily. Becoming 32 times stronger is only a +5 on a d20, the same as a full Power Attack. Power points and arrays are probably a better indicator of scale. I generally expect a PL 10 character to be above most individual people in combat, but not untouchable.

squirrelly-sama wrote: ↑Wed Jun 23, 2021 10:16 pm I wanted to get a feel on how people on here think about starting PL and Points.

Personally, I like PL 8. There's a lot of reasons; it thematically fits the sorts of characters I make who are often not that far above normal trained humans, it is mechanically great since it simplifies the calculations when adjusting effect ranks in arrays, and it gives a lot of room for growth without needing to go to ludicrous PLs.

Growth can be getting broader, not taller. You don't have to increase a character's Power Level automatically as they go up in points.

And... what PL is Batman? You can do him at PL 8, 10 or 12 and it'll make sense.

Strength is really the only attribute that's linked to real-world numbers for a "normal" person. The rest can reflect training, natural ability, guts, etc.

I prefer PL 10 overall. 8 is for lower-powered heroes, such as golden age ones, or teens, and very highly trained normals (Snake-Eyes from GI Joe, say?). But with more points, you can play with your concept a bit more.

I find it depends on the game. PL 10 is a good general level, for most supers games.

I also find it depends on the player. I've seen a player play a PL13 like he was a PL10; and I've seen another player play a PL 10 like it was a PL 13.

Ken wrote: ↑Tue Jul 20, 2021 6:14 pm I find it depends on the game. PL 10 is a good general level, for most supers games.

I also find it depends on the player. I've seen a player play a PL13 like he was a PL10; and I've seen another player play a PL 10 like it was a PL 13.

I'm curious. Do you mean someone playing a PL13 with the effectiveness of a PL10, or somebody playing a PL13 like they thought it was only as powerful as a PL10?

RainOnTheSun wrote: ↑Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:21 am

Ken wrote: ↑Tue Jul 20, 2021 6:14 pm I find it depends on the game. PL 10 is a good general level, for most supers games.

I also find it depends on the player. I've seen a player play a PL13 like he was a PL10; and I've seen another player play a PL 10 like it was a PL 13.

I'm curious. Do you mean someone playing a PL13 with the effectiveness of a PL10, or somebody playing a PL13 like they thought it was only as powerful as a PL10?

Both.