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WIP
This is messy, pulled from an interest-gathering post and will be edited and expanded.
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You know how I said that characters could die? (Even my own characters?) I wanted some sort of "game mechanic" for it, so that even as much as we'd grow attached to our own (and each others') characters, there would always be a risk that didn't depend entirely on players deciding to let their characters succumb to the fight or me/villains setting up a situation that would make it only fair that the heroes failed. But I also wanted it to be a situation where how much risk would be up to the player/character.
So, yes, there would still be situations where the player would look at a situation and say, "It's only fair if my character is injured/killed by this." and can make the decision purely on a storytelling platform.
But there would also be dice involved.
Hopefully it won't be too complicated a system, but the essential part is: in plot-relevant situations, superpowered heroes and villains roll dice based on the strength of the power they're trying to use. By "plot-relevant situations", I mean things like battles or similar circumstances, not "sitting on the toilet and using my superpowers to make the book that is out of reach fly into my hand" or "trying to flirt with the Queen by impressing her with my use of powers". Instead, the situation must be stressful and failure would mean more than being embarrassed or without reading material. xD;
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Please note:
Though your character will not have an "official" HP/PP (hit points or power points) scale, players are still expected to keep things "reasonable" on the side of fairness. The higher the power level used, the more tired they should be and the less they should be able to do after until they've had a chance to recover.
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Power Level 0
Roll: [no dice]
Very low level stuff. Things that either a normal human could do naturally (with a lot of effort) but your character can do with ease or superpowers so piddly that using them frivolously is sort of the point.
Examples:
...floating a paperback novel across the room.
...lifting something that a normal human would struggle to lift.
...having the psychic insight that something isn't quite right.
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Power Level 1
Roll: [500 sided dice]
[dice]500[/dice]
Low level stuff. Things that either a very talented and highly trained normal human could do naturally (with a lot of effort) but your character can do with ease or superpowers that a starting character might have. (Impressive to someone who can do nothing, but overall, not jaw-dropping.)
Examples:
...floating a small child across the 5 foot gap between skyscrapers.
...lifting something a professional weightlifter would struggle with.
...having the psychic insight that something dangerous is going to happen.
Here is what your rolls mean for this power level:
1 = Catastrophic backfire. Your character dies instantly. They may even cause the injuries of those around them, depending on their power.
2 = Major backfire. Your character is severely injured and near death. They will die if they can't be stabilized quickly.
3-5 = Backfire. Your character is injured enough to require hospitalization or treatment, even if they're only sent into a coma or have broken limbs.
6-30 = Minor backfire. Your character has minor injuries and/or is knocked temporarily unconscious.
31-150 = Dud. Your character's power simply did not work. At all. Maybe it'd make a little prrrft sound before failing, but otherwise, nothing happened. Oops.
151+ = Success! Your character suffers no backfire and has earned 1 point towards a new superpower.
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Power Level 2
Roll: [100 sided dice]
[dice]100[/dice]
Middle power level. Now we're getting to things that normal humans never could do, no matter how highly trained they were. Real wire-fu stuff for those people whose powers are based on natural human actions, only taken somewhere extraordinary. For those people whose powers are more magical, these powers are starting to have some oomph behind them.
Examples:
...floating an adult across the width of the Grand Canyon.
...lifting a car above your head (one-handed).
...having the psychic insight that someone was going to hurt your friend Bob.
Here is what your rolls mean for this power level:
1 = Catastrophic backfire. Your character dies instantly. They may even cause the injuries of those around them, depending on their power.
2-3 = Major backfire. Your character is severely injured and near death. They will die if they can't be stabilized quickly.
4-5 = Backfire. Your character is injured enough to require hospitalization or treatment, even if they're only sent into a coma or have broken limbs.
6-10 = Minor backfire. Your character has minor injuries and/or is knocked temporarily unconscious.
11-40 = Dud. Your character's power simply did not work. At all. Maybe it'd make a little prrrft sound before failing, but otherwise, nothing happened. Oops.
41+ = Success! Your character suffers no backfire and has earned 5 points towards a new superpower.
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Power Level 3
Roll: [50 sided dice]
[dice]50[/dice]
High power level. For those characters whose powers are based on superhero-fied versions of real abilities, this is where it stops even being wire-fu and starts getting into the "computer generated" territory. Superpowers more magical have some serious pow to them.
Examples:
...floating a car across the width of the Grand Canyon.
...lifting a tanker truck above your head (one-handed) and being able to walk with it.
...having the psychic insight that someone was going to shoot your friend Bob when he got coffee.
Here is what your rolls mean for this power level:
1 = Catastrophic backfire. Your character dies instantly. They may even cause the injuries of those around them, depending on their power.
2-5 = Major backfire. Your character is severely injured and near death. They will die if they can't be stabilized quickly.
6-10 = Backfire. Your character is injured enough to require hospitalization or treatment, even if they're only sent into a coma or have broken limbs.
11-20 = Minor backfire. Your character has minor injuries and/or is knocked temporarily unconscious.
21-25 = Dud. Your character's power simply did not work. At all. Maybe it'd make a little prrrft sound before failing, but otherwise, nothing happened. Oops.
26+ = Success! Your character suffers no backfire and has earned 10 points towards a new superpower.
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Pawns cannot use the next two power levels.
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Power Level 4
Roll: [10 sided dice]
[dice]10[/dice]
Super power level. Even for superheroes, this is starting to get into the "super" territory.... and very very dangerous.
Examples:
...being able to fly a tanker truck across the country as long as you were within a mile of the tanker.
...lifting and then launching the tanker truck a mile down the road.
...having the psychic insight that someone was going to shoot your friend Bob when he got coffee at Joe's Coffee Shop on April the 15th.
Here is what your rolls mean for this power level:
1 = Catastrophic backfire. Your character dies instantly. They may even cause the injuries of those around them, depending on their power.
2 = Major backfire. Your character is severely injured and near death. They will die if they can't be stabilized quickly.
3 = Backfire. Your character is injured enough to require hospitalization or treatment, even if they're only sent into a coma or have broken limbs.
4 = Minor backfire. Your character has minor injuries and/or is knocked temporarily unconscious.
5-6 = Dud. Your character's power simply did not work. At all. Maybe it'd make a little prrrft sound before failing, but otherwise, nothing happened. Oops.
7+ = Success! Your character suffers no backfire and has earned 20 points towards a new superpower.
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Power Level 5
Roll: [5 sided dice]
[dice]5[/dice]
Epic power level. Incredibly powerful and incredibly dangerous.
Examples:
...being able to make a tanker truck fly across the country while you sit in bed and watch cartoons.
...lifting and then launching a space shuttle into orbit.
...having the psychic insight that (all previous stuff about your poor friend Bob's assassination) and that the person who wants to do this is Sally Example and she can currently be found at Joe's Coffee Shop, working the counter as a barrista.
Here is what your rolls mean for this power level:
1 = Catastrophic backfire. Your character dies instantly. They may even cause the injuries of those around them, depending on their power.
2 = Major backfire. Your character is severely injured and near death. They will die if they can't be stabilized quickly.
3 = Backfire. Your character is injured enough to require hospitalization or treatment, even if they're only sent into a coma or have broken limbs.
4 = Minor backfire. Your character has minor injuries and/or is knocked temporarily unconscious.
5 = Success! Your character suffers no backfire and has earned a new superpower. (All the points necessary, in fact.)
