When designing ultra-tough adventures for UN class characters and above, the following
points should be kept in mind:
- Avoid always threatening the existence of the Earth or the universe. Secret Wars II did
a nice job of threatening everything there was, and saving the Earth becomes an old theme
after a time. But outer space is full of places that could challenge the abilities of any
hero or villain. Aliens could come to Earth and request aid to save their people from
extinction or conquest. A mammoth starship could enter the solar system on an unknown
mission. An alien life-force could have invaded Galactus' world-ship and placed him in
suspended animation, and Nova needs help in removing it. And the Secret Wars I model of
kidnapped heroes and villains put into an arena.
- Use a wide assortment of foes. If high-strength heroes fight only other high-strength
heroes, the Judge will see yawns from his players. Use variety when choosing villains;
magic users, mentalists, multipowered enemies. If a hero has a weak spot, hit it now and
then.
- Vary the damage done by attacks. The reason for this becomes obvious when an UN class
attack is pitted against UN armor, or any other such situation. It stands to reason that
some damage must get through sometime. One solution to this is to vary damage done by
attacks, while keeping armor values constant. One table that varies attack damage within a
range of 20% higher or lower appears below. Damage values below GD are too low to bother
with; those above CL 1000 are too high.
ATTACK POWER |
VARIABLE RATING |
GD |
2D4 +5 |
EX |
2D4 +15 |
REM |
2D6 +23 |
IN |
2D8 +31 |
AM |
2D10 +39 |
MON |
3D10 +59 |
UN |
2D20 +79 |
SH-X |
3D20 +110 |
SH-Y |
1D100 +199 |
SH-Z |
2D100 +399 |
- Spell out a powerful character's powers as completely as possible, and allow only one
character per player. If the character's powers are specific (as well as its limitations)
then the player will have a clearer idea of what sorts of things he or she can try, and
the player will have his hands full anyway figuring out what to do next.
Use mystery
and problem solving in addition to straight forward punch em out fights. Problem solving
adventures, involving careful planning, strategy, and creative thought, are always good
ways to keep even Phoenix and Molecule Man busy.
- Finally, apply limitations to CL 1000 abilities that could threaten game balance.
Applying fixed limits beyond which certain penalties come into play is a good method of
controlling the characters actions, and on the spot judgements on Karma losses and so
forth are also helpful. Any Karma loss should be considerable for powerful characters,
particularly since the PC's have a greater responsibility to check their powers. Acting
out of character may also cause a substantial Karma loss (100 pts minimum). Another
limitation for any Cl 1000 character is to prohibit the use of Karma pools; otherwise game
balance takes a walk.
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