Character Creation

You build a hero using a "budget" of Character Points. There are also certain limits and guidelines imposed by the game's power level, chosen by the Gamemaster, but within those limits you can build a wide range of characters.

The quickest and easiest way to create your own hero is to look through the various example super heroes, choose one that fits the type of hero you want to play, and customize it to match your ideas. With just a few quick choices, you have a new hero, complete and ready for the game!

Each hero offers a complete, ready-to-play power level 10 hero, the recommended starting power level. Some of the example super heroes offer a few simple choices in terms of skills, advantages, or sets of powers to fit different themes. For example, many heroes offer a choice of an Expertise skill to round out the character's background and interests outside of superheroism.

Some heroes also offer an Options section, where you can change some of the preexisting trait choices to create a different kind of hero. For example, the Crime Fighter has an option for having a vehicle instead of 3 advantages. Other example super heroes offer similar options.

Even if the hero does not have an Options section that does not mean you cannot customize the character to suit the type of hero you want to play! The examples are just starting points: if you are more familiar with character design feel free to change any or all of your chosen example's traits. So long as you stay within the bounds of available Character points, series power level, and your Gamemaster's approval, you're fine.

Hero Design

Designing a hero from scratch follows a series of simple steps. You'll need a copy of the character sheet found in the back of the book (and also available online) and some scratch paper to design your character.

1. Hero Concept

Before you get started, consider what sort of hero you want to create. What are the hero's basic abilities? What are the hero's powers? What's the hero's origin? You may want to take a look at the example super heroes for some ideas of the different types of heroes you can create. You also can draw inspiration from your favorite characters from comic books, television, or movies. Take a look through Advantages and see if any of the powers there inspire a character idea. You may want to jot down a few notes about the sort of hero you'd prefer to play, which will help guide you through the rest of the character design process.

2. Gamemaster Guidelines

Your GM may have particular guidelines for characters in the game, such as not allowing certain powers or concepts or requiring particular descriptors. If there are no aliens in the setting, for example, then you obviously can't play an alien hero. Likewise, if your Gamemaster bans mental powers from the series, then a psychic isn't appropriate. Run your hero concept by your Gamemaster before you start working on it! You might also want to consult with your fellow players so you can design your characters together and ensure they'll make a good team.

3. Power Level

Your GM sets the starting power level for the series. Generally, this is level 10, but it may range anywhere from level 1 to level 20 or more. The power level determines the player characters' starting Character points and exactly where you can spend them. The power level is the same for all player characters however it doesn't apply to non-player characters. Such characters (including Minions, Sidekicks, Summon Minion, etc) have their own power level.

See Power Level for details. If the power level is at least 20 also see Transcendence in the Gamemaster section.

4. Abilities

Choose the ability ranks you want your character to have and pay 2 Character points for each rank. Choose defense bonuses for your character, paying 1 Character points per +1 defense over the base rank provided by your hero's abilities. To improve your hero's Toughness, see Advantages and Power.

See Abilities for details.

5. Skills

Choose the skill ranks you want your character to have and pay 1 Character point per 2 total skill ranks.

See Skills for details.

6. Advantages

Choose the advantages you want your character to have and pay 1 Character point per advantage or rank in an advantage.

See Advantages for details.

7. Powers

Create your hero's powers by choosing their desired effects and paying the effects' base cost, adjusted for any modifiers, and multiplied by the number of ranks.

See Powers for details.

8. Complications

Choose at least two complications for your hero. You can have more, if you want, and the more complications your hero faces, the greater your chances for earning victory points during the game.

See Complications for details.

9. Details

Go through the limits listed under Power Level and make sure your hero's traits all fit within them. If not, adjust the traits accordingly until they do.

Go back through and add up the costs of your hero's abilities, defenses, skills, advantages, and powers. You should end up with a figure equal to the starting Character points shown on Table: Starting Character Points. If not, double-check your math and either remove or add traits to your character to reach the starting Character point total. You are not required to spend all of your character (or equipment) points.

Figure out things like your hero's name, appearance, origin, background, and motivation. If you can, consider creating a sketch or detailed description of your hero's costume.

10. Gamemaster Approval

Show your new hero to the Gamemaster for approval. The GM should check again to make sure your Character points are spent and added up correctly, your hero follows the power level guidelines and any other guidelines set for the series, and that the character is generally complete and suited to the overall game. Once your GM has approved, your new hero is ready for play!

Background

A lot of background details go into making your hero more than just a collection of numbers. Take a moment (if you haven't already) to consider some of the following things about your character. Note that Real Name is the only required information, the rest does not need to be written down as long as you know how to play as your character and the Gamemaster allows it.

Name

What is your character's name? That is to say, what is the name the hero uses in public, that appears in one-inch type in the newspaper headlines? Most heroes adopt unique and distinctive "code names," so consider a suitable name for yours. Code names are often based on powers, theme, or style. Here are some options to consider:

Origin

A name may be based on the hero's origin, power source, nation (or even world) of birth, and such.

Powers

Choose a name based on the hero's powers: Firestarter or Blaze for a flame-controlling character, Thunder or Spark for an electrical character, and so forth.

Theme

Maybe the character has a theme or style suggesting a name: Paladin might be a medieval knight displaced into the present day, with a magical sword and armor. Madame Macabre may be all about magic and the occult.

Titles

Names may include various titles like Mister, Miss, Ms., Doctor, Sir, Lord, Lady, and Madam or even royal titles like King, Queen, Prince, Princess, Duke, Baron, Emperor and so forth. Military ranks are also popular parts of hero names, especially General, Major, and Captain.

Gender

Names often include gender designations like Man/Woman, Boy/Girl, Lad/Lass, and so forth.

Sound

Some code-names don't really have anything to do with a character's powers or background--they just sound cool: Kismet, Scion, Animus, Damask, and so forth. They may hint at the hero's powers or origin, or have nothing to do with them.

Real Name

Some heroes go by their given name, not using a code-name at all. Oftentimes these names still sound like codenames, however. They may also be nicknames, such as "Dash" for someone with the name Dashell, or "Buzz" for someone with the name Buzcinski, or whatever other nickname a character may have, such as "Stretch" or "Tiny".

Origin

What's the origin of your hero's powers? It can be anything from a character born with the potential for powers to someone granted them by an accident--exposure to a strange meteor, radiation, genetic engineering, or any of countless similar encounters. Here are some of the more common superhero origins:

Accident

Perhaps the most common origin. The hero gains powers accidentally from exposure to some force like radiation, chemicals, unleashed mystic energies, being struck by lightning, and so forth. Accidents are often one-time events, although sometimes there is an effort to recreate an accident to deliberately make super-beings. The current science of the setting tends to influence accidental origins. Golden Age heroes in the 1940s often gained their powers from chemical accidents while Silver Age heroes in the Atomic Age of the '60s got their powers from radiation and modern heroes acquire powers from accidents involving genetic engineering, nanotech, and similar cutting-edge technologies.

Alien

A hero may be a member of an alien race with unusual powers compared to humans. Either all members of the race have similar powers or particular conditions (lighter gravity, solar radiation, etc.) grant them powers while on Earth. Some "alien" races in the comics are actually super-human offshoots of humanity living isolated from the rest of the world. "Aliens" also include mystical beings from other dimensions, from angels and demons to elementals and actual gods, as well as mortal half-breeds descended from them. An alien hero's powers might even have another origin; being an alien only explains part of the character's powers or is merely a background element.

Endowment

Some outside force grants the hero powers. This might be an experimental procedure, a godlike higher power, a secret organization that hands out powerful devices, a mysterious wizard, or something similar. The patron might expect something in return from the hero for this boon, or the gift could be unconditional.

Experiment

Some heroes gain powers from a deliberate effort, such as a scientific or mystical technique for transforming someone into a super-being. Like accidents, experiments are often impossible to duplicate. The hero may be a willing volunteer or a victim chosen to test out the technique. Some heroes create their own powers, either developing the power-granting procedure or building their own devices.

Mutant

A hero may simply be born "different," with the genetic potential for super-powers. These latent powers typically emerge in a time of stress, especially the changes brought on by puberty, although they might also appear as a result of an accident (combining the accident and mutant origins).

Training

Finally, some heroes acquire powers through hard work and training, whether physical discipline, studying esoteric martial arts techniques, meditation and introspection to unlock hidden mental powers, or mastering the arts of magic. Such training is typically arduous and not everyone has what it takes to accomplish it. Heroes who gained their powers through training may have rivals or foes who trained with them (see Enemy and Rivalry complications).

Origins As Descriptors

Origins can serve as descriptors for a character's powers (see Descriptors in Powers). For example, a super-powered mutant has the "mutant" descriptor, meaning the character may be detected by mutant-detection powers, affected by mutant-specific devices, and so forth. The same is true for a mystic, an alien, or any other origin.

Origin Guidelines

Your GM may decide to limit the origins for the series you're playing for story reasons. The Gamemaster may set specific guidelines, ranging from restricting certain types of origins (no aliens or no mystics, for example) to requiring all heroes share a common type of origin, such as everyone is a mutant or the result of a unique accident. Consult with your GM before you choose a particular origin for your hero.

Age

How old is the character? Superheroes tend to hover in that indeterminate age between 20 and 40, but some heroes are younger, often teenagers, and some are older, possibly much older, depending on a hero's background. For example, the hero might have fought in World War II but ended up in the present day due to time travel or suspended animation. Heroes with Immunity to Aging are effectively immortal--they might be thousands of years old.

Consider the effects of age on your hero. Someone who fought in the Second World War is likely to have a different worldview than a modern teenager who just acquired super-powers, to say nothing of an immortal who has seen civilizations rise and fall or a godlike being from the dawn of time. A character's age may influence the choice of certain traits. Aged characters are likely to have lower physical ability ranks, for example, while younger ones may have fewer skill ranks (having had less time to train in various skills).

Appearance

What does your hero look like? Consider things like the character's race, sex, ethnicity, and other factors in appearance. Is the hero even human? Superheroes can be aliens, robots, androids, spirits, and beings of pure energy. Is the character short or tall? What about hair and eye color? Does the hero have any distinguishing marks or unique features; is his appearance unusual in any way (apart from running around in a costume, that is)? Does the hero qualify for the Attractive advantage? (See Advantages for details.) What about complications stemming from the hero's looks?

Costume

A costume is a big part of a superhero's appearance. Like code names, most heroes have a distinctive costume, usually something skin-tight and colorful, often emblazoned with a symbol or logo. Other heroes wear more military-style outfits, fatigues or body armor with numerous bandoleers and belts. A suit of armor may serve as the hero's costume: anything from ancient mail to a high-tech battlesuit. A few heroes don't wear a special costume, just ordinary street clothes (which in itself can be pretty distinctive among a group of spandex-clad heroes).

In the comics, costumes are generally immune to the kind of routine wear-and-tear a hero's powers should inflict on them. For example, heroes who can burst into flames don't usually incinerate their clothing. The same is true for heroes who change their size or shape. Although a hero's costume can be damaged or torn by attacks and other circumstances, it's usually immune to the hero's powers. This doesn't cost any points; it's just the way costumes work.

For more on costumes as equipment, see Gadgets & Gear.

Alternate Identity

Although heroes spend a lot of time fighting crime and using their powers to help others, most also try to find time to have lives of their own. Consider the hero's "normal" life, both before acquiring super-powers and since. Does the hero maintain a secret identity, hiding behind a mask or other guise in order to have a semblance of a normal life while "off duty"? Describe the hero's other identity and what the hero does while not out fighting the forces of evil.

Other heroes abandon all pretense of a "civilian" identity, revealing their true names to the world and living in the public eye. This means no juggling two separate lives, but also no refuge from the media, adoring fans, or the hero's enemies, who can all keep track of the hero more easily. Both approaches have their good and bad points. Consider which is best for your hero.

Personality

How would you describe your hero's personality? While heroes tend to share a desire to use their powers for good and uphold the law, they also show a diverse range of attitudes. One hero may be dedicated to the ideals of truth, justice, and equality while another is a vigilante willing to break the law in order to ensure justice is done. Some heroes are forthright and cheerful while others are grim and unrelenting. Consider your hero's attitudes and personality traits. Don't overlook the effect of Motivation on your hero's personality and vice versa (see Motivation, previously).

Goals

Finally, what are your hero's goals? All heroes want things like peace and justice to one degree or another, but what other things does your hero want? One hero may want to find his long-lost family while another may want to avenge a terrible wrong done to her in the past. A monstrous or alien hero may seek acceptance and a new home on Earth, while a teen hero may want to live up to the legacy of a mentor or predecessor. Giving your hero a goal beyond simply "doing good" can help give the character more depth and provide opportunities for roleplaying and complications during the game. Don't overlook it.