Rules for creating powered characters that can perform a wide variety of superhuman feats in the spirit of classic superhero stories.

• By Krister Svanlund

In settings where superpowers comes in a wide variety of individual expressions, dealing with these powers in a consistent way can becomes quite a hassle. Especially when comparing very flavorful powers in competitions, collaboration and progress.

This extra is meant to offer a soft outline of rules that help players and game masters to define what powers can do and in what way they can change.

These rules are written with the intent to facilitate stories about what it means for characters to to be able to surpass human abilities, it is not meant for stories about:

• The struggle to gain access to powers.
• Problems arising from loosing access to powers.
• Managing resources to afford the cost of using powers.

All of these stories can be told using these rules, but keep in mind that the rules give minimal support for it. If this doesn’t fit the tone of your game some of the rules given as suggestions at the end of this extra might be of help.

The main concepts

The main concept in this Extra is the idea that a character can have power talents that either give them some extra narrative freedoms (such as flying, shooting spider webs, shaping shadows with their mind, etc.) or allow them to perform powered actions (such as using muscle to perform superhuman feats). Powered actions also gives access to the effect rating powered that goes beyond what can be accomplished with the great effect rating.

Rules for establishing Powers

When you create a character that has a “powered detail”, that is a detail that indicates that they have access to some kind of power or superhuman feat in you setting, you also get to create a set of power talents. These talents can later be added to.

**Example of powered details:

*** *Spider powers from being bitten by a radioactive spider.

• Called by the gods to defend the righteous.
• Inhuman alien sent to earth as a baby and raised by humans.*

The GM always has the final say if a detail should allow for some kind of power talents or not and they should always be created together with the GM, and if possible the other players. The reason for this is that the rules of what is possible with superhuman powers tend to have very loosely defined edges and can be difficult to adhere to without discussions.

Power Talents

Power talents is a list of talents that runs parallel to the ordinary milestone talents. Each power talent can have one of the following formats:

• Using [action] to [accomplish a limited set of goals] is a powered action. (With one level improved position)
• Use [action] to [perform superhuman feat]. (With one level increased effect)