Superheroes-Genre

Eventually we will play a Superhero game. I am going to write all sorts of stuff here to try and figure out what kind of superhero game people might want to play. This even includes Dieter, he doesn't like a lot of things about superheroes as a gaming genre, but maybe there is a happy medium in there for him. Anyone who wants to comment on this stuff, or respond to comments, should do so. I am not going to necessarily integrate it all, but it is all valuable to hear.

Power Level

There are a million power levels possible. I don't think I would want to do anything too high level unless there was an overwhelming desire to have it. The most likely candidates are 'street level' and 'standard'. The power level section is more about the scope of the campaign. It would be possible for characters to be at differing power levels and still have a consistent campaign.

Street Level

This is the default for Dark Champions. The characters would be somewhere between 200-275 points. The enemies would be of the same level. The powers would be low level. Anything too crazy would be disallowed unless there was a good explanation. The enemies would be lower level than the PCs for the most part, but chapter enemies would be a little higher. The law would be an obstacle in many cases.

Typical scenarios might be dealing with crimes such as theft or serious 'dark' crime. Tragedy might be more common. Enemies would often use killing attacks (guns and knives). Some street level heroes are The Punisher, Power Man, Hellboy or the protagonists in most action movies.

Standard

These are standard superheroes like you see in most movies and comics. The characters would be 300-400 points. The enemies would generally be of the same power level as the PCs. The main enemies would be much more powerful than the PCs, but fewer in number. Virtually all powers would be allowed in most cases. The law would be little more than a nuisance as long as the PCs make an effort to be on the right side.

Typical scenarios deal with crime of all type, leading to a crescendo of the scale the enemies determine with their overall goals. Killing attacks would be rare and potentially regulated.

Mixed

One idea I have had is that the group might not be homogeneous. Maybe there are 1-2 actual 'heroes' and more supporting characters, with different power levels and other important roles. The first example I saw was in Shadowman, where the main character is a true superhero, but his two supporting characters are much lower level, but still vital. One is an occultist who also understands ritual magic and what it is to be Shadowman (the guy who is Shadowman is new and doesn't know this), the other is a normal who can wield magical abilities. This is not the only possibility, but it is something to consider.

A Mixed Power Level Experiment

While on the plane back from Florida I had some ideas on how to allow everyone to have the character they really want. In a way it relates back to an idea I had for HP Lovecraft's American War of Independence. One challenge is that everyone will have a different conception of what the game means to them. Some character types might be of a lower power level, but actually cost more points. Players can choose from any of the following 'templates'.

The Superbeing: 350 points, no special requirements, no martial arts without special permission. Will have a nemesis of equal or higher level. DC limit of 14 on standard attacks, 6 for KA.
The Protector: 400 points, normal characteristic maxima (no points). Minimum 25 points in Perks. No frameworks unless they are 'gadget' based. Will have a nemesis or organizational enemy depending on origin. DC limit of 12 on standard attacks, 8 for KA.
The Street Level Vigilante: 300 points, heroic equipment rules, normal characteristic maxima (no points). No frameworks unless they are 'gadget' based. DC limit of 10 on standard attacks, 10 for KA.
The Supernatural: 350 points, all 'powers' must have magic special effect and appropriate limitations, normal characteristic maxima (no points), but can violate via powers (with limitations as appropriate). The character will have a nemesis as well as an organizational enemy all related to supernatural background. DC limit of 12 for standard attacks, 8 for KA.

Believability

This is an important question. How much suspension of disbelief is necessary, and where is it allowed and disallowed? For example, does the plot need to make sense at each turn, or are only the big things matter? Conversely, do the little things matter but not the big ones?

Player Control

Another game construct I have been contemplating a lot lately is control, namely how is control shared between the players and the GM, as well as from player to player. What I don't want to do is bog things down with rules or make the game complicated. Scott rightfully pointed out before that when you are at the table you should not be thinking about what you can and cant do, you should just be playing the game and having fun. My goal in discussing this is to see what the prevailing player opinion is so that we can produce a game people will like.

In comic book fiction there is a lot of 'deus ex' happening. The plots are often written with broad strokes, and the characters act in ways that often seem strange to an outsider, yet it works out in the end. In some ways this relates back to the believability section above. Are we immersed in a high level story, or are we crunching on sweet details?

Character Creation

Many players get much of their enjoyment from creating backgrounds and detailed histories for characters. I don't want to step on that. What follows are some specific questions that could help me understand what players want.

How much of the characters origin do you need to control? For instance, would you be ok with surprise twists (that crazy doctor you saved? He ended up inventing the AI Killbot 8000!) or connections (Allen, Rumi is actually your long lost sister!) that are revealed in game?

Speaking of origins, do you want to create them separately, or have a team origin? This can go either way in my mind.

On that same subject, do you want to be a 'team', or just be a disparate group of individuals who often work together? If you are a team, are you of your own design, do you have a benefactor, does something else bind you?

How would you feel about 'here is an origin, develop your character based on this', or something similar to that?

Game Play

Champions doesn't really have any metagame constructs or mechanics. Because of this, we have a lot of power to make changes in this realm. How much are we going to play like the fiction we are emulating? Do we want to develop a 'carrot' system, where players get stuff like chips they can use to influence decisions based on how well they 'play along'?

During the actual play of the game, how much are you willing to surrender to the GM? Is it ok for the GM to make a directive (let big baddie go and save the children from the falling building), or would you prefer it just be a suggestion?

Are you willing to act according to 'genre convention'? In other words, characters in comics don't always make the optimal decision, is that something you are willing and able to do?

How do you feel about storylines devoted to one character? Are you ok with having individual spotlight stories, or should we try to have as much team spotlight as possible?

Enemies/Nemeses

One common trope of the genre are recurring enemies. There are multiple ways to do this, and because of that player input is extremely important.

How do you feel about super-criminal organizations? In Marvel, that would be something like Hydra. Lots of agents, but also some super dudes in there for good measure. Does an organization feel like an enemy?

Would a single 'master villain' enemy for everyone be fun?

How do you feel about each (or at least most) characters having their own nemesis? Would this still work if there was a campaign master villain?