Suddenly... a new and better you

[Hermit]

A bit of a weird topic I suppose, but my mind is meandering anyways...

 

One of the common 'orgins' is a sudden change in not just powers, but characterestics and appearance. This often seems double for Champions and other super RPGs, where there is a tendency to have your scientist with reflexes faster than his lifestyle would indicate ("Hey, suddenly I have a speed 5 to go with these laswer bolts!"), "Err, why would my mousy mystic suddenly have the CON of a marathon runner? It's magic!"). Etc. I really don't mind these myself, especially if one makes an attempt to explain why.

 

These are based on comic books after all.

However, the point is, sometimes gaining powers just seems to set the stage for being over all 'better' than your average joe. A lot of energy projectors could take out a street thug barehanded in their secret ID.

 

When someone gets turned into a 'freak' or 'monster' (In the vein of the Thing's self descrptions), well, it's pretty obvious that beside the super strength, or what have you, they have problems. A trade off as you will.

 

However, what goes on in the mind of the character who didn't just gain powers, he/she is stronger, faster, and even better looking (Often MUCH better looking, COM being such cheap stuff and easy to rationalize for more athletic bods). I know the basic answer is "depends on the character" but that's almost too easy. As Players, How do you folks play it? Does your character suddenly have new confidence? Do they feel self concious? Do they get giddy crazy for a bit? Does it cause them to change their life style even out of costume? ("You know something Bill, I Think I WILL try out for the company softball team")

 

As a GM, do you have NPCs notice the changes? ("Ralph, did you go to a spa? You look great!") ("Betty, not to be fussy, but how the heck did you run up that flight of steps like that, it nearly kills me, but you're not even winded") or do you allow them to hide it easily?

Does it affect relationships if/when it is noticed?

 

"Come on Gertrude, I love you, but ever since you became this super babe with legs out to here and a body that won't stop, well, I see the way those super guys on that team you're on look at you.. GOOD looking super guys and you seem to like it. I'm still plain Martin, how am I supposed to compete with... I'm... feeling a bit insecure here."

 

I was just wondering about how many folks incorporate the role playing aspects of 'suddenly being better' in their games?

[Chuckg]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

Usually, I don't -- but usually, I don't have a Secret ID.

 

For example -- Starguard, my current character, has a COM of 20 defined as 'cuteness bordering on anime magical girl'. *Before* her transformation, she had a COM of 12, defined as 'fairly cute looking high school student'.

 

However, since she hasn't been back to her old life once since the game started (amnesiac... it took some time to find out even just who she was, and now that she's found out, she's hesitating on going back there because she /still/ can't remember, or feel any emotional resonance, about these people -- plus, superhero stuff keeps getting in the way...), I'm not really roleplaying the effects of the change, as she's currently in an existence completely away from the confines of her old life.

 

On the rest of the team -- we have a sun god, an alien princess visiting Earth, an android, an alien general who's a refugee from his people, and our only guy with Secret ID -- who's as rich as Bruce Wayne, and was born good-looking.

 

So I don't think any of us really have this problem...

[ArgentLupe]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

My players typically have normal characteristics amoung their super ones. Just last game we had our brick mugged by a normal armed with a taser (Secret IDs are a disad for a reason). Another character playing a "returned from the dead" hero has a Dex of 11 and a Spd of 2 (The dead have a tendency to be a little stiff )

 

-ArgentLupe

[Hermit]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

*Stands there akwardly for a moment*

 

So, just me then eh?

[Publius]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

No actually it is a good idea, something I really should put into my games. So many times the little things get left out, heck stuff I have done in the past with very great results I have stopped doing as my gaming becomes less and less frequent.

 

In fact, this weekend I am playing for the first time with a new player so this might be something of an "origin" session; and I might very well integrate this sort of thing into my game. In my game world supers (Elites) do suddenly manifest powers, and it is noted (at least in the background) that it makes them more physically and mentally capable people. Having the NPCs notice it as well is a definite plus.

[Hermit]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

Thanks, Publius (both for the compliment, and making me feel like I'm not the only one who might find this useful)

 

I've used it before somewhat, though there is a danger of suddenly turning someone's Secret ID disad into a 20 pointer instead of a 15 one.

 

Credit where credit is due, my players do a fine job of showing their characters enjoying their new powers and other 'gifts'. Kind of the "Whahooo" moment so many rookie heroes have in comics (and some film). A few portray a bit of embarrasment about it. I give extra XP for good roleplaying like that, so it's not like they're unmotivated, but...still, they do inspire me to thinking along these lines.

[Jinx999]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

One series of Internet stories I've been reading have a power called Exemplar, which means that you are just generally better than human over the whole spectrum. Essentially, you change to match your idealised body template.

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

It rarely if ever really comes into play for us. The occaisional "how'd you do that?" in SID.

 

I generally consider supers to be "infused with power" that often gives them benefits like having better reflexes and being sturdier than normal aside from their "real" powers.

 

On the other hand, I do really enjoy the comic bits (usually in X-men & Avengers) that showed training & exercise sessions, and implied or outright said that they pretty constantly work out - makes it more believable to me, and I try to incorporate some of that into my playing & GM'ing.

[nexus]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

I like to play around with this idea. For example, one of my current PCs Valkeyrie was a skinny, bookish librarian before she got her powers. Not she's a 6+ foot Amazonian stunner with 20 Com. And doesn't realize it yet. She's quiet, mousy, dresses much like a spinster and is incredibly soft spoken, often hiding behind others on the team from cameras and the like.

[Speedball]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

I wonder if this might be one of those areas where out of game journaling is tool for the job. I played a game with RDUNeil for a while in which my character was a homeless junky that acquired powers and his life, obviously, changed tremendously. We didn't really spend much time figuring out just *how* those changes filtered through to his regular life until after we switched to a PBEM game with additional journaling on the side.

 

Many of these kinds of topics (the slice-of-life stuff that Kurt Busiek does so well in Astro City, for example) aren't particularly interesting for the other players to sit around and listen to, but can be a fascinating for a player to explore if character development is what he or she (or the GM) craves.

 

On the other hand, I'll admit that some things of this nature can be a lot of fun to listen to--there's nothing like watching a fellow player squirm when confronted about hanging around scantily clad women other than his girlfriend. But only once in a while are players going to prefer that to "real" superhero gaming. After all, this is Champions, not Dr. Phil!

 

So the short version--the topics you raise are great. I'd recommend journaling.

[Hermit]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

So the short version--the topics you raise are great. I'd recommend journaling.

 

Excellent points, it does suit better to small groups, solo, or blue booking.

 

Still, even in bigger groups it amuses me when I see a player incorporate things like the nervousness you mention in RP

[Lanith]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

In one of my favorite all time games, two players would bring in "journals" from the previous game. One guy did a PoV sort of write up; "I watched as Cricket threw..." and another player did an underground newspaper; banner across the top, odd little stories from around town, the occasional reference to what the hero's had done.

 

Very funny journals to read back to back, the stories were about the same thing, but totally different.

[Beetle]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

The closest I had to this problem was with my speedster character, Bolt. Prior to gaining his powers he had been a professional athlete (a pitcher for the Orioles) who was in a horrendous car crash that should've left him with permanent disabilities. During his 6-month coma, somebody (the campaign didn't last long enough to find out) experimented on him and he got super powers, and the super physique to go with it.

 

So in his regular ID he had to pretend to still be affected by his accident (even then it was considered a "miraculous" recovery). He also had to go to great lengths to fool his physical therapist, who was starting to get suspicious. Not to mention that he was bitter over the loss of his baseball career and the incorrect belief that he had been driving drunk at the time of his crash (due to falsified medical records). I think he had the best origin of all my champs characters.

 

(also it was fun to see how long it took the rest of the team to realize that you should never make a character team leader if it has the disads of "arrogant", "overconfident" and "impulsive" even if the player has more experience in the game than all the other players combined... good times )

[Hermit]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

I generally consider supers to be "infused with power" that often gives them benefits like having better reflexes and being sturdier than normal aside from their "real" powers.

 

On the other hand, I do really enjoy the comic bits (usually in X-men & Avengers) that showed training & exercise sessions, and implied or outright said that they pretty constantly work out - makes it more believable to me, and I try to incorporate some of that into my playing & GM'ing.

 

Actually, one of the fun things I've seen done is the 'self made hero' martial artist glancing at the energy projector. Both are having lunch.

 

The Martial Artist is having Tofu and health foods, part of the regimen of honing his body to peek perfection, the price he pays for becoming a living weapon in his war on crime.

 

The Energy Projector is chowing down on greasy fries and a burger with everything... and a milk shake.

 

both are nearly equal in many areas stat wise, and ICly, it's clear that the EP is getting no paunch despite bad diet and over eatting. The logic is, all that END he uses does indeed 'burn calories'.

 

The Martial Artist takes an unsatisfying bite of his tofu.

 

The EP chews and tears at the red meat... making mmm sounds.

 

Finally, the MA simply states, "I hate you."

 

To which, the EP smirks, and munches a fry.

 

 

I imagine that sort of thing happening a lot between those who must work for it, and those that just 'got it for free'

[teh bunneh]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

I had a powered-armor character who, outside of his armor, had pretty normal stats (nothing above a 13 or so). As we gained XPs, I started buying up my stats slowly, under the idea that this guy was working hard underneath his armor, getting stronger and healthier, more self-confident and better looking.

 

At one point, the GM had my character's students (he was a junior college professor) start asking him if he was working out, what gym he went to, if he had cut his hair or gotten new glasses, and so forth. It was a lot of fun.

 

Bill.

[Guest Champsguy]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

My superspeedster was a Heisman-trophy winning quarterback before he got his powers, so he's always had great stats.

 

Personally, my explanation for why supers have better stats has 3 parts:

1) Supers were never really completely ordinary people. Joe the janitor doesn't get super-powers. You've almost got to have something that places you outside the norm to begin with. You're the main character, and as such, you've always had better stats.

2) There's some rubber-science explanation for why you're better. Energy projectors are gonna have some pretty funky metabolisms. You get a 30 Con because you have a nuclear furnace in your colon.

3) You get higher stats because you're fighting supercriminals. You learn to dodge real good when Captain Obliterate fires his disintigrate-everything beam at your face.

[Chuckg]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

> 1) Supers were never really completely ordinary people. Joe the janitor

> doesn't get super-powers. You've almost got to have something that places

> you outside the norm to begin with. You're the main character, and as such,

> you've always had better stats.

 

Like Marvel mutants.

 

> 2) There's some rubber-science explanation for why you're better. Energy

> projectors are gonna have some pretty funky metabolisms. You get a 30

> Con because you have a nuclear furnace in your colon.

 

Aberrant uses precisely this explanation for novas.

 

That is to say, that the mere act of having nova powers at all revs your metabolism way up, to handle the increased metabolic stress of channelling quantum energy and/or superhuman physical attributes. So /all/ novas, by default, had body-fat percentages only barely above the minimum to maintain health... i.e., all cut like diamonds.

 

> 3) You get higher stats because you're fighting supercriminals. You learn

> to dodge real good when Captain Obliterate fires his disintigrate-everything

> beam at your face.

 

Seen in many team superhero comics -- the team martial artist/leader is always nagging people to join fitness programs, even if their powers are flight or energy blast. Captain America does it, Nightwing did it, pretty much every team title I've read except the JLA(*) at least mentioned it once.

 

 

 

 

(*) Who either have people who have metabolisms that are way in the metahuman range (Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, etc), and/or people who train like mad bastards (Batman, Green Arrow, etc).

 

Well, there are the Green Lanterns. But even they learn early that working out regularly helps avoid pain.

[OddHat]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

I usually go the Wild Cards / Aberrant route. If your phyical stats change, your body has changed, often drastically. There's a faux-article in the back of one of the Wild Cards books (II or III) that mentions that most Aces/Supers tend to develop high energy metabolisms leaving them far leaner and with improved health and recuperative abilities as compared to before gaining their powers.

 

This means that people will notice that Mighty Maiden lost forty pounds in less than a week, as well as her skin clearing up and her hair growing out a good six inches. Anyone who knew her at that time will likely guess that something drastic has happened, and maybe even guess that she has "drawn the Wild Card / Erupted / gained a Talent / whatever". If she wants to maintain a Secret ID, a move and a change of jobs would be a good call, or at least feigning an extended illness. On the other hand, if a player wants to say that his extra 15 points of DEX and CON and 60 points of STR have made no change to the way he looks, I don't worry about it. At that level, it's all role playing decisions, and a short chubby energy projector in spandex has a certain charm of its own.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

To be honest, 99 percent of my characters were never completely normal ... they were aliens ("We all look like this."), created beings ("If you're going to make an artificial life form, might as well make it look good."), or that sort of thing. Basically, looking as they do is their standard form, so they don't have a 'damn, I look good' moment ... despite the fact that I can't remember the last time I played a character who could pass for human in a dark room. I almost *always* have Distinctive Features.

[Kristopher]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

Just because I have Omega Girl on the brain right now...all of her superhuman physical stats are the result of her energy-saturated form, and didn't really change her appearance that much. What she has to deal with now is that she's never grow old, never age, never get fat no matter how much she stuffs herself, and so on (actually, she doesn't need to eat, but anything she consumes is just broken down to the quantum level). In fact, when the universe is cold and dead, when the stars have all gone out, when the presence of all other living things is a distant memory, when even the gods themselves grow old and weary...there will still be Omega Girl.

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

Hrm.

 

Robot was designed to look exactly as he did before.

Wraith changed countries, and was kinda born with his powers anyway.

 

Estatua and Rook have Public ID's.

 

 

Flippant, OTOH...

We have a fun side 'bit' where he fakes a debilitating injury (that he SHOULD have been stuck with forever)... but since apart from that he already had the physique of a superb athlete...

 

I need more PCs who were 'normal' at some point... well, I don't really.

[nexus]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

Just because I have Omega Girl on the brain right now...all of her superhuman physical stats are the result of her energy-saturated form' date=' and didn't really change her appearance that much. What she has to deal with now is that she's never grow old, never age, never get fat no matter how much she stuffs herself, and so on (actually, she doesn't need to eat, but anything she consumes is just broken down to the quantum level). In fact, when the universe is cold and dead, when the stars have all gone out, when the presence of all other living things is a distant memory, when even the gods themselves grow old and weary...there will still be Omega Girl.[/quote']

 

OTOH by that time she might be able to solve the problem with a single pronoucement: "Let there be light."

 

Just imagine the exp.

[mattingly]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

"Let there be light."

Just imagine the exp.

 

Yeah, but who'd award it to her?

[Blue Jogger]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

Yeah' date=' but who'd award it to her?[/quote']

 

Posthumously from Alpha Girl, obviously, who must have died to free up the XP neccessary to create Omega Girl, who will eventually become the next Alpha Girl ("Let there be light") and eventually die, thus indirectly creating the next Omega Girl.

 

Of course, this assumes conservation of XP, which otherwise, each next universe is built with more points.

[Red Knight]

Re: Suddenly... a new and better you

 

I generally have a different approach to the entire you're a super hero approach.

 

Most of the characters I play are normal humans that augment themselves. I have played a power armored hero (Iron Man) and also a "Green Lantern-esque" character. I bought normal human stats with a few higher ones ... then I bought enhancements through their powers.

 

I think a classic question of "sudden change, sudden difference" is Fairchild from the Gen 13 comicbook.... she went from mousy to megababe and EVERYBODY noticed it... Her clothes ripped and such... The problem is that the type of change determines the appearance. A friend of mine played a character that subconsciously used TK to give him flight and superhuman STR. He would try to lift a car and the TK would do it..... this allowed a normal kid to have incredible powers.

All the previous points are valid and IMHO, the GM can make the effect as big or as small as he/she wants. If it is important for story, then they notice it... if not... then no..