BLACKMOOR · SIMS · WEIR

Writing and Design: Brandon Blackmoor

Editing: Susan Blackmoor

Additional Contributions: Doug Sims (“Motivations”), Greg Stolze (“Basics” and “GM Advice”), Sean Weir (“Origin”)

Art: Storn Cook (cover), Dan Houser (character art), Matt Baker, L. B. Cole, Paul Gustavson, Bob Powell, Alex Schomburg, Basil Wolverton, NASA Ames Research Center

Thanks: Phill Ash, Debra Burrell, Erik Clod-Svensson, Sean Patrick Fannon, Michael Fowler, Justin Huerena, Mike Lafferty, Cameron Miller, Lloyd Montgomery, Phil Reed, Sean Weir, the RP Haven chat room, the Kalos Comics mailing list (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/kaloscomics/), and the RPG Brain Trust. Special thanks are due Dan Houser, whose enthusiasm for the project made all the difference.

Bulletproof Blues was composed collaboratively using the MediaWiki wiki system. The book was designed and typeset using Adobe InDesign CS6 on Windows 7. The chapter headings use Nate Piekos’ Revenger, the text headings use Nate Piekos’ Invaders and Victor Caruso’s ITC Franklin Gothic, and the text is set in Adobe’s Baskerville MT.

Bulletproof Blues © 2010 Brandon Blackmoor, with the exception of “Basics” and “GM Advice”, which are © 2006 Greg Stolze. Reference to other copyrighted material in no way constitutes a challenge to the respective copyright holders of that material.

Bulletproof Blues is dual-licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License (CC BY-SA 3.0 US) license and the Open Game License, Version 1.0a. You are granted a license to copy, modify, and distribute Bulletproof Blues under whichever of these licenses best suits your needs.

The text of this work, other than the chapters “Basics” and “GM Advice”, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. The chapters “Basic” and “GM Advice” are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. To view a copy of these licenses, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

The following is designated as Product Identity, in accordance with Section 1(e) of the Open Game License, Version 1.0a: all images except for those under copyright to other parties or previously designated their Product Identity.

The following text is Open Gaming Content, in accordance with Section 1(e) of the Open Game License, Version 1.0a: all text, other than text appearing in images, in all chapters other than “Basics” and “GM Advice”. The chapters “Basics” and “GM Advice” are not covered by this license.

Kalos Comics 70 Starling Ln. Troy, VA 22974-3278 http://www.kaloscomics.com/

Manufactured in the United States Of America Layout version 2013-04-23 Second Print Edition Published April 23, 2013 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

Introduction 2 The Kalos Universe 2What Is A Roleplaying Game? 4Why Bulletproof Blues? 4Ground Rules 5Core Mechanics 7Glossary 11

Basics 13 What’s Gaming? 13The Logic Of The Setting 15Why Is This ‘Fun’? 16Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It 22

Creation 25 Before You Start 25Character Checklist 27Sobriquet 27Background 28Origin 29Archetypes 34Motivations 37Complications 42Points And Power Level 44

Attributes 46 Brawn 46Agility 47Reason 47Perception 47Willpower 47Prowess 48Accuracy 48Endurance 48

Skills 49 Background Skills 49Areas Of Expertise 50Typical Skills 51

Advantages 57 Typical Advantages 58

Powers 62Expertise 62Typical Powers 63Power Descriptions 67Power Modifiers 125New Powers 128“Roleplay” Powers 128

Equipment 129 Melee Weapons 129Ranged Weapons 130Vehicles 131

Actions 133Time And Distance 133Actions 140Rolling Dice 142Combat 147Plot Points 157The Environment 160

World 168The Kalos Universe 168Posthumans 170Corporations 171Governments 174Subversive Organizations 176Technology 180Magic And The Supernatural 182

GM Advice 185The GM’s Basic Duties 185The GM’s Advanced Duties 200

Characters 204Heroes 204Villains 218

Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 240Creative Commons BY-ND 3.0 241Open Game License 242Index 244

2

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Bulletproof Blues: a “rules light” superhero roleplaying game set in the universe of Kalos Comics. If you’ve seen any of the Spider-Man, Batman, or Kick-Ass movies, you know what a superhero is: an individual with great determination who chooses to use their abilities to make the world a better place. And, of course, everyone is familiar with Kalos Comics.

The Kalos UniverseBulletproof Blues takes place in the world-famous universe of Kalos Comics, creators of Paragon (who first appeared in Amazing Adventure Magazine in 1938), Rook (who first appeared in Tales Of Mystery in 1939), Antiope, Doctor Arcane, and the rest of the Justifiers, as well as sinister organizations like Aegis and GORGON, and mysterious entities like The Bride. From the ancient ruins of Lemuria to the far reaches of the Hausdorff Dimension, the Kalos Universe is now yours to explore. If you are unfamiliar with the Kalos Universe, you will find more information in the World chapter.

The World We KnowOn the surface, the Kalos Universe closely resembles our own. The outlines of the continents are the same, and the names of the nations that humans have created within those borders are familiar. Much as in our own world, extremes of good and evil exist, but the gulf between them is a murky area where those of good will can and do disagree.

However, the Kalos Universe can be a strange place. There are ancient civilizations deep below the surface of the earth and extraterrestrials in the sky above it. Strange forces are at work, and hidden powers manipulate world events and the news reports of those events. Still, few people encounter this strangeness in their day-to-day lives or recognize it when they do. For the vast majority of humanity, the world of the Kalos Universe is virtually the same as the world you live in.

3

INTRODUCTION

PosthumansThe first half-dozen posthumans who made their presence widely known appeared during World War 2, as part of the Red Army fighting the invading forces of Nazi Germany. Soon after, similar groups of posthumans appeared, fighting for the Axis in Europe and Africa and for the Allies in Europe and the Pacific.

Today there are fewer than 800 posthumans worldwide. Approximately 200 of these are in North America, roughly 100 of which are in the United States. Posthumans, particularly those who originate in the Americas, have a slightly greater than average tendency to migrate to the United States.

Despite their incredible powers, posthumans have had a subdued effect on world affairs. Posthuman geniuses have made extraordinary scientific and medical discoveries, but these advances have been kept from the public until the powerful have deemed society “ready”. In some cases, a posthuman invention has been reverse engineered so that less powerful versions of the device may be gradually introduced over the course of several decades. This was the case for lasers and nanotechnology, for example. The primary beneficiaries of these scientific breakthroughs have been the governments and corporations who rule the world, and the powerful people who secretly control them.

Similarly, at the insistence of conventional authorities, posthumans have generally refrained from involvement in everyday politics and diplomacy. The exceptions to this rule have been condemned as terrorists and threats to all of humanity. This phenomenon was most evident during the McCarthy era, when a small handful of politically active posthumans calling themselves the Committee For The Advancement Of Mankind were convicted in absentia of violating the Smith Act.

The Fall Of ParagonBulletproof Blues is set shortly after the “Fall Of Paragon” crossover event, during which the Justifiers were killed by their former teammate, Paragon. The city of Atlanta, Georgia has been demolished, Singapore rests beneath the sea, and both the Keystone Pipeline System and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System have been destroyed. It is a difficult time for posthumans. Posthumans have never been completely trusted by humanity, and Paragon confirmed everyone’s worst fears. Although Paragon was ultimately defeated and killed by a small team of posthumans at the Justifiers’ headquarters in Antarctica, his actions have changed forever the relationship between humanity and posthumans.

In the Kalos Universe, much like in our own world, sometimes things don’t work out the way we’d like them to. Life is neither fair nor unfair, and the universe is indifferent to human suffering.

The struggle, then, is to make the best possible world with the tools at our command. Your character has great power. How will they use it?

4

INTRODUCTION

What Is A Roleplaying Game?Every roleplaying game has a section at the beginning that attempts to explain what a roleplaying game is, and Bulletproof Blues is no different. So let’s get started! As trivial as it sounds, two distinct elements set “roleplaying games” apart from other things which are not roleplaying games: roleplaying and game play.

First, a roleplaying game involves roleplaying. Generally speaking, roleplaying involves taking on a persona or character and making decisions based on what that character would do in a given situation. Does having a character in a game, by itself, make that a roleplaying game? No. The little dog token in a Monopoly game and a Blood Elf in World Of Warcraft are both characters, but Monopoly and World Of Warcraft are not roleplaying games. Can you roleplay as a dog while playing Monopoly? Yes, and you can roleplay as an elf while playing World Of Warcraft. What keeps these from being roleplaying games is that the roleplaying is not part of the game — you can’t get your Monopoly dog out of jail through unscripted conversation with the jailer, nor can you use roleplaying to convince a cultist in World Of Warcraft to let you pass by without a fight. If the rules of the game do not allow for the possibility that a conflict could be resolved through unscripted conversation (however unlikely that might be), then it isn’t a roleplaying game.

Second, a roleplaying game is a game. Roleplaying games are sometimes compared to improvisational theatre, and there are similarities, but improv theatre isn’t a game. How can you tell if something is a game? Games have rules that govern things like conflicts between players and whether something a player attempts is successful. Improv theatre is fun, but there aren’t any rules like this. As Drew Carey described “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”, it’s “the show where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.” It’s fun, but it’s not a game, and therefore it’s not a roleplaying game.

Bulletproof Blues has more rules than some games, but less than others, and an essential part of conflict resolution involves making decisions that your character would make under the circumstances. Maybe those decisions aren’t the most tactically advantageous, but if they are true to what your character would do, and if you are having fun playing, then you are playing correctly, because that’s what Bulletproof Blues is all about.

If you would like to read more about who plays roleplaying games, and why and where they play them, check out http://www.theescapist.info/.

Why Bulletproof Blues?Why does Bulletproof Blues exist? That is an excellent question. The simple answer is that we wanted to write the superhero game we wanted to play.

There are, at last count, at least a dozen superhero roleplaying games, and at least three or four more generic games that you can use to run a superhero game. A handful of these — Mutants And Masterminds and Wild Talents, for example — are outstanding games. So why write yet another?

5

INTRODUCTION

We wanted a superhero game that was quick to learn, quick to play, and yet reasonably complete. We also wanted a game that lent itself to more serious superhero fiction, like Planetary and the first two years of The Authority. In addition to Mutants And Masterminds and Wild Talents, we tried BASH, Capes, Cowls, And Villains Foul, and Icons. These are all fine games, but not quite what we wanted. We found some games too light, some games too heavy, and some games, well, just weren’t what we were looking for. So what’s a gamer to do?

If you can’t find the game you want to play, as the saying goes, you have to write it yourself. We are pretty happy with the result. It’s not perfect, of course. If you have suggestions for improvements, we are happy to listen to them. But we hope you have fun playing, despite any flaws you may find.

Bulletproof Blues is not a carefully balanced simulation of a reality where people can fly, dress up like bats, and shoot energy beams from their jewelry. The rules are here to help you play a fun game and keep things fair, but there’s really nothing special about the rules. They are there to serve you, not the other way around. Your first thought when someone tries something new in a Bulletproof Blues game should not be, “Do the rules allow it?”, but “Would that be fun?”. Of course, what’s “fun” varies from group to group. If a tightly plotted political thriller is your bag, that’s great. If you prefer nonstop action with giant robots and exploding ninjas, that’s great, too. You could use Bulletproof Blues to run either type of game, or anywhere in between. However you want to play, though — whatever you consider “cool” — takes precedence over the written rules. If the rules don’t make sense in a given context, or if they seem to be getting in the way of the kind of game you want to play, then either change the rules or ignore them.

If it turns out that Bulletproof Blues is not suited to the kind of game you want to play, you might try one of the many other fine superhero games out there, starting with the ones we’ve mentioned above. Or, as a final resort, you can do what we did, and write your own game.

Ground RulesA roleplaying game is fundamentally a cooperative activity. The players (one of whom is the game moderator) are not in competition. The goal is not to be the most powerful hero, or to win every fight. The goal of a role-playing game is to create interesting stories and to entertain everyone at the table. We hope that you are the kind of player that creates interesting characters and enjoys creating stories with your friends.

Don’t Abuse The SystemIt’s not the job of Bulletproof Blues to keep you from abusing the system, or to prevent you from creating an unstoppable juggernaut. If that’s what you want to do, you certainly can. No game system can stop you, and Bulletproof Blues doesn’t really try. However, we hope that you aren’t that kind of player.

6

INTRODUCTION

Use Common SenseThe single most important piece of advice we can give you is that you should use your common sense. If something in the rules violates the way you think your game should work, then override it. If the rules permit something ridiculous, or would prevent something completely ordinary, then override them. Do not be one of those players who adheres to the letter of the rules in defiance of common sense.

Avoid Rule ArgumentsIt is in the nature of any human activity that differences of opinion will arise. We’ve tried to make the rules for Bulletproof Blues as simple and clear as possible, but there’s only so much we can do. Sooner or later, there will be a difference of opinion among the players regarding what a rule means, or how a rule should be implemented. There is nothing wrong with this: discussion and consensus are healthy. However, the time for rule discussions is between games, not during games. If a rule discussion takes longer than 60 seconds, the game moderator should make an executive decision and table additional discussion for later. If players balk, the GM should be civil but firm, and move on.

Respect Genre ConventionsBulletproof Blues is a superhero game, and being a superhero game, it has certain genre conventions. Robert McKee defines genre conventions as the “specific settings, roles, events, and values that define individual genres and their subgenres.” Superhero games, relying as they do on a relatively commonplace modern-day setting, but one which incorporates extremely non-commonplace characters, have even more genre conventions than most other games.

For example, there are no rules for running out of bullets, or for recharging the cosmic widget from the cosmic widget recharging device. It’s not that guns do not run out of bullets, or that cosmic widgets never need recharging. Of course they do, and if a character intentionally empties their gun, then the gun runs out of bullets just as you’d expect. It’s just assumed that they don’t normally run out of bullets unless there is a dramatic reason for it. The rest of the time, the character is reloading the gun or recharging the widget when it’s convenient to do so.

Another genre convention of Bulletproof Blues is that the extraordinary technological advances made possible by the superhuman intelligence of super-scientists (not to mention alien technology) rarely make it into the marketplace. Some technology eventually does — cell phones and 3D televisions, for example — but these advances are delayed until they can be successfully commercialized. Any advanced technology with potential military applications remains out of the reach of ordinary people, or even of ordinary soldiers. Shadowy government agencies, amoral corporations, and subversive organizations bent on world domination all conspire to keep these advances to themselves, or at least to as small a group as possible.

7

INTRODUCTION

Core MechanicsRolling DiceWhen a character attempts a task, and the outcome is either contested or there is some random element involved, the player rolls 2d6, counts the dots, and adds the result to their relevant attribute. This roll is compared to a difficulty number the GM assigns (typically “challenging”, or 12). The attempt succeeds if the player’s roll equals or exceeds the assigned difficulty.

The following table shows the chances of success for various task difficulties and attribute values. You don’t need to refer to this during play — it’s just to show you what kind of results you should expect.

When the character is under no pressure, they may be able to “take the average” or “take the max”, depending on the circumstances. See Actions (p. 140) for more information.

Char

acte

r Attr

ibut

e (a

dded

to 2

d6 ro

ll)

Godl

ike

Supe

rhum

an 14 100%

100%

100%

92%

58%

13 100%

100%

100%

83%

42%

Gala

xy-c

lass

Su

perh

uman 12 100%

100%

97%

72%

28%

11 100%

100%

92%

58%

17%

Wor

ld-c

lass

Su

perh

uman 10 100%

100%

83%

42%

8%

8

100%

97%

72%

28%

3%

Exce

llent

Su

perh

uman 8

100%

92%

58%

17% 0%

7

100%

83%

42%

8% 0%

Aver

age

Supe

rhum

an 6 97%

72%

28%

3% 0%

5 92%

58%

17% 0% 0%

Peak

Hu

man

4 83%

42%

8% 0% 0%

Exce

llent

Hu

man

3 72%

28%

3% 0% 0%

Aver

age

Hum

an

2 58%

17% 0% 0% 0%

Impa

ired

Hum

an

1 42%

8% 0% 0% 0%

Task

Di

fficu

lty

Rout

ine

Chal

leng

ing

Dem

andi

ng

Frus

tratin

g

Nigh

-impo

ssib

le

9 12 15 18 21

Table: Task resolution probability

8

INTRODUCTION

Plot PointsEach player begins each game session with one plot point. A player gains a plot point when they do something particularly entertaining or interesting, when one of their character’s complications causes a serious problem for them during the game, or when the GM overrides a roll of the dice to make things more difficult for the characters. Plot points are spent to alter the game world, gain a skill bonus, or gain an advantage in combat. See Actions (p. 140) for more information.

BenchmarksWe assign numbers to characters’ abilities so that we can tell what they can do. No one wants to guess what their characters can pick up or how fast they can fly. You will notice that the relationship between one rank and the next is not constant. At low ranks, each rank is roughly double the value of the previous rank, while at the highest ranks, the increase is approximately eightfold. In between, each rank is roughly quadruple the previous value. This variation is intentional, to offer greater variety to characters of “human” power level, while permitting truly extraordinary power levels at the highest ranks. All of the numbers in this table are approximate: don’t be too concerned about it if something is on the edge between one value and the next. When in doubt, err on the side of the players.

The movement distances in this table are for powers, such as Flight, Super-running, and Teleport. If the character has only their natural movement (running, swimming, and jumping), then their movement distance is based on their Agility and Brawn. See Movement (p. 137) for more information.

Off The ScaleObviously, there are values which are far below or far above what appears in this table. The Moon, with mass of roughly 8.1 × 1019 tons, is far more than even a character with rank 14 Brawn could move, while a baby or a housecat has a Brawn less than 1. Don’t worry about it. At such extremes, the GM should just use their best judgement, and the rest of the players should roll with it.

9

INTRODUCTION

All-o

ut M

ove

MPH

30 m

ph

70 m

ph

300

mph

1,000

mph

4,000

mph

20,0

00 m

ph

70,0

00 m

ph

300,0

00 m

ph

1,000

,000

mph

5,000

,000

mph

30,0

00,0

00 m

ph

300,0

00,0

00 m

ph

0.9 c

0.99

c

Per R

ound

300

feet

600

feet

2,400

feet

2 mi

les

6 mi

les

30 m

iles

120

miles

480

miles

1,800

mile

s

7,200

mile

s

60,0

00 m

iles

480,0

00 m

iles

3,60

0,000

mile

s

30,0

00,0

00 m

iles

Doub

le M

ove

Per R

ound

100

feet

200

feet

800

feet

3,20

0 fe

et

2 mi

les

10 m

iles

40 m

iles

160

miles

600

miles

2,400

mile

s

20,0

00 m

iles

160,0

00 m

iles

1,200

,000

mile

s

10,0

00,0

00 m

iles

Base

Mov

e

Per R

ound

50 fe

et

100

feet

400

feet

1,600

feet

1 mi

le

5 mi

les

20 m

iles

80 m

iles

300

miles

1,200

mile

s

10,0

00 m

iles

80,0

00 m

iles

600,0

00 m

iles

5,000

,000

mile

s

Affe

cts

(radi

us o

r ran

ge)

50 fe

et

100

feet

400

feet

1,600

feet

1 mi

le

5 mi

les

20 m

iles

80 m

iles

300

miles

1,200

mile

s

10,0

00 m

iles

80,0

00 m

iles

600,0

00 m

iles

5,000

,000

mile

s

Thro

ws

(50

lbs)

6 fe

et

12 fe

et

25 fe

et

50 fe

et

200

feet

800

feet

4,000

feet

3 mi

les

10 m

iles

40 m

iles

300

miles

3,00

0 mi

les

20,0

00 m

iles

160,0

00 m

iles

Lifts

100

poun

ds

225

poun

ds

450

poun

ds

900

poun

ds

2 to

ns

7 to

ns

30 to

ns

100

tons

400

tons

2,00

0 to

ns

10,0

00 to

ns

100,0

00 to

ns

1,000

,000

tons

10,0

00,0

00 to

ns

Brea

ks

Card

boar

d

Plasti

c

Wood

Bone

Brick

Conc

rete

Stone

Cera

mic

Steel

Diam

ond

Nano

diamo

nd

Stanli

um

Siege

lite

Kirb

ium

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Table: Benchmarks

10

INTRODUCTION

Breaks indicates the strongest substance that the character would be able to break under normal circumstances. The thickness of the material and other factors make this a rough estimate, at best.

Lifts indicates the greatest weight that the character can “clean and jerk” (pick up and lift overhead). A character carrying or supporting such a weight can take at most one or two steps per round. A character can move normally while carrying a weight corresponding to one rank less than their Brawn. For example, a character with rank 8 Brawn could carry up to 30 tons and suffer no penalties to their movement while doing so.

Throws (50 lbs) indicates the farthest distance that a character could throw a compact object weighing 50 lbs. To see how far a character can throw heavier objects, subtract the Brawn rank required to lift the object from the character’s total Brawn rank. Look up the difference in the “Rank” column: this indicates how far the character can throw the object. For example, a character with rank 4 Brawn (the peak of human potential) could throw an object weighing 100 lbs (such as a cooperative slender human) up to 25 feet.

Affects (radius or range) indicates the radius around the character that they can affect with their powers if their powers affect a radius, or the maximum range of the power if it affects a single target. For example, (Element) Mastery can move or manipulate the chosen element within this area and can use the element to inflict direct damage to a target up to this distance away. The “radius” value is not used for powers that inflict damage directly unless they have been purchased with the Explosive Damage power enhancement.

11

INTRODUCTION

GlossaryAccuracy (ACC): ability to aim when making ranged attacks

advantage: an exceptional ability that a normal human can have, but that most humans do not have

Agility (AGL): agility, flexibility, and coordination

all-out move: base move x 6; incurs penalties on attacks and task rolls

attack bonus: a number added to a combat task roll (another name for “task roll bonus”)

attribute: the eight basic character traits: Brawn, Agility, Reason, Perception, Willpower, Prowess, Accuracy, and Endurance

base move: normal ground movement based on attribute or power rank

base rank: the rank of an attribute or power when the character is fully healed and not impaired in any way

Brawn (BRN): physical might and general hardiness

character point: spent to buy attributes, skills, advantages, and powers for a character

damage: the amount of damage which exceeds the target’s protection value

damage rating (DR): the potential amount of damage inflicted by a power or weapon

defense bonus: a number added to a combat task difficulty (another name for “difficulty modifier”)

difficulty modifier: a number added to a task difficulty to make it more difficult

double move: base move x 2; incurs penalties on attacks and task rolls

Endurance (END): the amount of physical abuse a character can take before they are out of the fight

experience point: character points awarded during play, spent to buy attributes, skills, advantages, and powers for a character

expertise: a character’s field of extraordinary competence, permitting extreme success

extreme success: rolling three or more over the task difficulty set by the GM

game moderator (GM): the player who sets the story in motion, plays everyone and everything in the game other than the PCs, and arbitrates any disputes

game moderator character (GMC): a fictional character belonging to and controlled by the game moderator

non-player character (NPC): see game moderator character (GMC)

Perception (PER): awareness of one’s surroundings, intuition, and understanding of the motivations of others

player: a living, breathing person playing the game

player character (PC): a fictional character belonging to and controlled by a player

plot point: spent to alter the game world, gain a skill bonus, or gain an advantage in combat

12

INTRODUCTION

power defect: a drawback to the power that makes it less useful than it normally is

power enhancement: an extra capability that makes a power more useful than it normally is

protection value (PV): the amount subtracted from an attack’s damage by a power or protective equipment

Prowess (PRW): hand-to-hand fighting ability

rank: a number from 1 to 14 describing each of a character’s attributes and powers

Reason (REA): ability to analyze data, draw conclusions from the facts at hand, and solve problems

run: base move x 2 (another name for “double move”); incurs penalties on attacks and task rolls

sprint: base move x 6 (another name for “all-out move”); incurs penalties on attacks and task rolls

success: a task roll that equals or exceeds the task difficulty

take the average: assume that the player rolls 7

take the max: assume that the player rolls 12

task difficulty: the number the player must match or exceed on a task roll

task difficulty, opposed: 8 + the defender’s relevant attribute

task difficulty, unopposed: routine 9; challenging 12; demanding 15; frustrating 18; nigh-impossible 21

task roll: 2d6 + the rank of the character’s relevant attribute + any bonuses

task roll bonus: a number added to the character’s attribute when making a task roll

walk: normal ground movement based on attribute or power rank (another name for “base move”)

Willpower (WIL): determination, focus, and strength of personality

13

BASICS

For the past ten-plus years of my life, I’ve been writing roleplaying games. I’ve been playing them for much longer. Back when I started, you could abbreviate “roleplaying game” to RPG without people immediately thinking about “rocket propelled grenades” and the acronym is still around causing trouble today.

In that time, I’ve watched the market bulge, shrink, grow, recede and, constantly, change. The consensus as I write this is that the hobby is shrinking. To counteract that, of course, we need to recruit new players. Hopefully, that’s you.

RPGs are fun. They’re worthwhile. They take more effort than a computer game but I believe you can get a different kind of payoff. Give it a try and you may come to agree. But I’m not just going to ask you to baldly trust my assertion. I’m going to see if I can explain the precise appeal of this peculiar habit that’s absorbed so much of my time. In the process, I’m going to show you how to get the most fun out of it, by being a good player. At the same time, I’ll warn you about the pitfalls of being a bad player. It’s the whole package. Enjoy.

What’s Gaming?It’s like Cops and Robbers, only with dice and rules to curtail the endless round of “I hit you!” “No you didn’t!” disputes.

That’s one standard explanation, but it’s really only the thin edge of the wedge. It’s the first step into the territory, but it merits some expansion.

Like Cops and Robbers, in roleplaying games you pretend to be someone else. Only in games, the characters are far more detailed than the generic cops or robbers who run around the yard shooting each other. The characters in RPGs are more like characters in novels or TV shows — they grow and change over time, they have tastes and history and quirks and motivations. They exist, not only to do things, but also because they’re interesting in and of themselves.

14

BASICS

RPGs are games built through, and around, stories. The story progresses as the game is played. There isn’t a winner or a loser, and there isn’t a board, but there are dice and rules... a radical departure from standard Cops and Robbers.

The stated reason that most games have all these rules, with dice or cards or other random number generators to provide absolute impartiality, is that it “keeps things fair” and “resolves uncertain actions”. I’m going to break with tradition and assert that this is a crock.

The dice are impartial, but their application and interpretation can be confusing and subjective, giving a decided edge to the guy who understands the rules best. The more complicated the game, the more advantage accrues to that guy. Known in the parlance as a “munchkin” or a “rules lawyer” or a “min-maxer,” he’s a player who tries to build his character for optimal performance in some area of play (stereotypically, it’s combat). He also plays his character in such a fashion that events are resolved through his character’s strengths. This is regarded as a bad thing.

Yet I find myself hesitant to dismiss a player who puts that much effort into his game. If only there was some way to harness that drive and make it a force for Good, not Annoyingness. Hm...

I got off on a tangent there. I was talking about dice and impartiality and resolving disputes. If you really wanted an impartial dispute resolution system, reach in your pocket and grab a coin. Heads you win, tails you lose. Bingo. Fair, impartial, and easy to understand. Let’s tell our story!

The only problem with this is that, if you’re telling a story like “Lord of the Rings,” the coin-flip gives Sam Gamgee a fifty/fifty chance of knocking out Aragorn with one sucker punch to the jaw, which any reasonable person knows Sam would need a ladder to even reach.

On the other hand, it seems reasonable that Sam would have some chance of decking a goblin, or Peregrin Took, or Gollum. What’s needed, then, is some way of determining which chances are “reasonable.”

Enter the game moderator. In gaming’s frenzy of acronymming, she’s called the GM.

For Cops and Robbers, no one wanted some know-it-all standing on the porch saying, “Tommy, you can’t hit him! He’s around the corner and bullets only go in straight lines!” Or, in our hobbit example, “Give it up Sam. Aragorn’s been beating people up since you were a sperm.”

RPGs are more complicated than Cops and Robbers because the characters and roles are more involved, and the setting is more complicated, and the events have both more factors influencing them, and more repercussions arising from them. So I think we can set Cops and Robbers aside.

Football has impartial referees to pass judgment on the teams, and a GM is something like that. The rules of the game serve the same purpose, providing an agreed-upon structure. What is this structure for? It provides the logic of the setting.

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The Logic Of The SettingOkay, I’ll try really hard not to be overblown and pompous here. But RPGs come with their own little worlds, an imaginary map on which the characters move. But this isn’t just a map of physical places, it’s a map of events and people and governments and starships and beliefs and magic spells and battle tactics and... well, everything that makes up a world, supposedly. RPG stories aren’t told in the real world, because the real world is taken up with our lives. So we build a pretend world, out of words and consensus, and we tell stories there.

The advantage to making your own world, obviously, is that you can depart radically from reality. In fantasy games, wizards weave smoke into air-weight castles as strong as steel and bold beggars with a treasure map and a plan can unearth troves of rubies the size of hen’s eggs. In science-fiction games, starships break the lightspeed barrier with impunity in search of new alien races to conquer (or learn from, if that’s your bag). In a horror game, the awfulness you need to fear isn’t a terrorist, it’s an unquiet ghost. Unless it’s the unquiet ghost of a terrorist.

Does the beggar find the rubies? Which alien race triumphs? Can the undead terrorist be stopped? The rules and dice are there to resolve these issues, not by a fifty-fifty coin-flip, but with degrees of likelihood.

Believe it or not, degrees of likelihood are fun. They don’t sound fun, but watch people playing poker — they’re calculating degrees of likelihood. Betting on a football game, playing the stock market or bellying up to the roulette wheel are exciting and fascinating because there’s uncertainty, but it can be managed. You pick the horse with the best record on muddy track or you fold instead of drawing to an inside straight. Interacting with uncertain events and testing your judgment against them is neat, and that’s part of the thrill of gaming. Only instead of betting your hard-won real-world cash, you bet the fate of a character you’ve created, being rewarded with more power, glory or knowledge when you win... or being punished with humiliation, injury or even that character’s death when you fail.

Understanding the rules means understanding the logic of the setting, which means understanding how things are meant to go. Now’s a time when it’s helpful to compare games to fiction. Characters in soap operas behave differently than characters in action movies, because they’re different types of stories. A character on “Days of Our Lives” is unlikely to resort to Tae Kwon Do to resolve her problems, because in that setting success arises from emotion and social interaction — you can’t just spinning-back-kick your troubles away. Furthermore, Jackie Chan can take on legions of enemies armed with nothing more than a ladder. In “Saving Private Ryan,” a grittier ethos is in place (and rightly so). Am I comparing apples to oranges? Yes, but only to explain why you need different tools to get the juice out of each.

The rules in whatever game you’re playing should reinforce the setting and the way events turn out. The game EVERWAY settles things with draws from a deck of symbol-laden cards, because the setting is based on symbolism and intuition rather than the

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logic of strict realism. Dogs in the Vineyard emphasizes emotional motivation for actions and emotional consequences for them. Most other games tend more towards the idea of modeling physics, but even then they may be modeling the physics of an action movie (where the hero can survive falling off a hotel if he lands in the pool) or the physics of horror fiction (where, no matter how fast the heroine runs, the shambling zombie is always right behind her).

Why Is This “Fun”?Roleplaying games have been evolving since the 1970s, and there are some features that most of the games written have in common. Specifically, they have character generation — some means by which players create characters who roam through the world having adventures, making huge messes and/or cleaning up huge messes. Games almost universally have combat systems that resolve physical conflict, often in loving, minute detail. Finally, games usually have a setting, with pages and pages of description intended to evoke a particular feel or flavor or style of game. I don’t think that’s an accident of lazy game design. Most games have these things because all these things entertain. In one way or another, those three elements cover nearly everything that’s fun about RPGs.

Character Generation, Or, The Joy Of HamIt’s a good time, pretending to be someone else. If you agree with this statement, you probably don’t need the rest of this section and can skip right down to the bit about fighting.

All right, for all you skeptics: Inhabiting another role is entertaining in and of itself, at least for many people. It makes a nice change from the day to day life of a parent or a plumber or a punk teenager — instead of acting the way you always do, because it’s right or expected or you’ll get fired if you don’t, you get to act out. If you’re normally laid back and noncommittal, you can find out how it feels to be a passionate, noisy troublemaker. Since it’s all in fun, all in the game, all in a made-up world, it doesn’t count.

For many, the chance to have a change of pace in the form of a change of behavior is reason enough to game, period. Not to mention the opportunity to use outrageous accents and gesture wildly. (I’m thinking right now of one of my most flamboyant players, who by day is an educator and presumably can’t run around screaming, “So angry! So angry! I’ll piss on your shoes when you’re dead!”)

So pretending to be someone else can vent ya-yas whose expression is otherwise unacceptable, what with the violent murders and shoe-pissing and all. But there’s more.

Playing another role can go deeper and have a more profound impact than the superficial level of wilding and ranting and blowing off steam. Like theater or literature, game stories can confront characters (and, through them, you) with truly challenging issues. Your character could end up deciding whether a mother or father gets the kids in an acrimonious divorce. You could be a tribal chief who has to decide whether a neighbor tribe’s cattle rustling is worth going to war, or if you should just let them get away with it.

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Trouble: The OveractorSome players invest very little in their characters and get little out of them. That’s really their lookout, and as long as they’re contributing to the game they’re only hurting themselves. One group of players who damage the collective are actually those who get too far into character.

This can take two forms. The first is someone who gets too solidly into a role that doesn’t contribute or which actively impedes the rest of the group. Say, for example, four of your players create hardy merchant sailors who are going to roam the seas trying to outwit goblin pirates. Great: Lots of fine, swashbuckling, sea-faring excitement there. The fifth player creates a powerful wizard with a lot of connections to one specific port town. This wizard doesn’t particularly care for sailing — she gets seasick, in fact — but signs on out of greed or simply because she needs to get out of town until the heat dies down.

This contrast can work, if the player is willing to let her character grow into being a sailor with the others. The contrast can actually provide a lot of friction, interest, and comic relief. That’s not a problem.

It’s a problem if the player constantly tries to pull the whole crew out of this week’s adventure because her character has no interest in it. She wants to get back to her port town and work her intrigues and have the ship’s crew serve as her patsies and sidekicks. If anyone calls her on this spotlight-hogging, she says, “Hey, I’m just staying in character.”

As if staying true to a toxic character is somehow a virtue.

Players like this need to understand that they don’t call the shots, that the group isn’t there to serve their pleasure at the expense of their own, and that it’s okay for selfish, odd-duck characters to grow and change so that they work better with the rest of the party.

The other problem thespian player is the one who may work very well in the party, and has no need to be a jerk or a control freak... but he meanders. He enjoys playing his character so much that going to the shop to pick out a new space suit is as exciting as a clandestine mission to extract a prisoner from a tightly-guarded prison moon. He jaws on and on (in character), maybe amusingly, maybe only amusing himself, while everyone else sits around drumming their fingers on the table... or worse, discussing their latest DVD purchases.

A little in-character chatter is great. Some groups are composed entirely of meanderers and for them, that works. They can have long, involved, satisfying campaigns in which very little happens except that their characters were interestingly characterized. The problems arise when you get more typical players who have a heavy interest in plot and mechanics, and who see the in-character noodling as pointless. They’re not out of line. In his own way, this meanderer is as much of a spotlight-hog as the selfish control-freak, but in this case the fix is much simpler. The GM just has to give him opportunities for in-character behavior within the scope of the plot. Ideally, these chances let him contribute to the success of the party. In the space jail example, he’d probably be just as happy developing his character by fast-talking the guards into letting the party land their supposedly-crippled ship there for emergency repairs. The difference is, now the other players are happy with the character too.

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Your character might need to give up true love for honor... or for peace or just for political advantage.

RPGs, like all stories, can present us with choices between conflicting values (or conflicting perils). With the remove of knowing it’s fiction, we get all the interest and excitement of making important decisions... without having to actually deal with the unpleasant consequences that such choices have in real life.

Furthermore, by playing a character very different from oneself, you can make those choices based on different values, combining the joy of thinking through the tough stuff with the joy of chewing the scenery.

Combat: The Crimson Bliss Of PowerRPGs grew out of wargames and it shows. Combat is nearly universal in these games, and for good reason: It’s an intense, dramatic and exciting form of conflict, one everybody can understand. If you think you’d enjoy having your proxy in the game mow through hordes of unfortunate enemies with tireless swings of his mighty axe, you probably get it and don’t need a lecture on the desirability of specific combat rules.

But maybe you do need that lecture. Maybe you think fighting should be just another character element, like looking good and speaking suavely and being an unfairly-cashiered starship captain. Why does “fearsome warrior” get a whole chapter devoted to it when “compelling public speaker” does not?

Here’s why: Fighting is the lowest common denominator. A fist to the face is a language everyone understands. So too in gaming. A player who doesn’t have the verbal skill to engage in a legalistic duel of wits can still stack his character to dominate in combat — and it’s a lot easier to drag the courtroom down to a brawl than it is to elevate a fistfight into articulate discourse. Furthermore, the consequences can be severe. You fail to grasp the nuances of manners and your character looks like an oaf. You fail in battle and his skull could become your arch-enemy’s new goblet.

Beyond its intensity, and the possible permanence of its outcome, complex fighting rules may be desirable because many players like them. Strategy is fun. Chess has been popular for centuries. Furthermore, figuring out a complex set of rules is, for many players, very engaging. It’s interesting to try and optimize a character to succeed at a difficult task.

This is known as min-maxing and, as I mentioned earlier, it’s got a bad reputation. But as I also mentioned earlier, putting a lot of attention into the game is something I’d like to encourage. So I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that it is not the min-maxing itself which other players find so annoying, but rather a host of behaviors that usually accompany min-maxing. Many of these can be dealt with, and advice for such dealing is in the nearby boxed text.

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Trouble: The PowergamerThe stereotypical min-maxing twinkie combat munchkin abuses character generation to get a character who is staggeringly efficient at fighting, often at huge expense to his abilities in other areas. This is because he is not concerned with exploring the nuances of character, or appreciating the interesting elements of the setting. He’s going to ignore that stuff and get to fight scenes, which he will win, so that he can get some form of power-increasing reward, which is plunged into optimizing his character for more combat. Furthermore, whenever any other player tries to do something besides fight, he finds a way to sabotage it. Even when the other characters can fight, he seeks out means to hog the spotlight, be the most powerful warrior, and suck up as much of the GM’s time and attention as he can. As far as he’s concerned, the game is about his character’s prowess and glory, full stop. The other characters are sidekicks, barely more important than the endless parade of enemies. The setting is just a backdrop. The GM’s ideas about theme or motive, or intrigue or story or meaning, are dismissed with a resounding “Who cares?”

Doesn’t this guy sound like a pain in the neck?

Luckily, this pure-form stereotype is rare, and if you do run into one your GM has ample justification to give him the boot. Honest. Tell her I said it’s her sovereign duty to expel him for the good of players who aren’t jerks. But really, it should almost never come to that.

If you’re a min-maxer, odds are good you don’t realize how annoying you are. Quick, who’s the most irritating player in your group? If you don’t have a ready answer, it may be you. The good news is, help is here if you aren’t doing it on purpose.

To cure munchkin syndrome, you just need to understand that RPGs aren’t about winning, aren’t about getting the most power-ups, aren’t about being the toughest, and aren’t about hogging the spotlight. These games work best when players are working half for their own characters, and half for the good of the game as a whole. One of the biggest rewards RPGs offer is the opportunity to keep playing, but that’s a cruddy payoff if every player is trying to one-up everyone else. No one wins at RPGs, but it’s perfectly possible for everyone to lose.

If you want to be the best fighter in the group, that’s fine... as long as the players rally around that idea and there’s enough GM attention to go around. Many other players actually don’t like combat all that much and are more into characterization or just grooving on the setting and plot. If you’re a combat monster player, you can be a great fit with players who couldn’t care less. All you have to collectively do is understand when you need to step back and let the expert do his job. For them, that’s solving mysteries or making diplomatic overtures or coming up with the overarching master plan for world domination. For you, it’s when diplomacy fails.

Most players just need to have it explained that there is a wider view of cooperation, and then they perceive it, pursue it, and are willing to take turns with the spotlight. Those who can’t are probably real crybabies and your game’s better off without them.

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Setting And The Sedentary Compensations Of The Couch PotatoThe third common element to the archetypical game is its setting. Sometimes this is a licensed setting like Dying Earth or the Star Trek universe, but more typically it’s something custom built, because that’s more satisfying and provides more creative freedom. Cheaper, too. It’s not uncommon for a successful game line to have dozens of books providing ever more intricate details of the nations, races and cultures of the setting.

Why, though?

Chess doesn’t need a setting, nor does Cops and Robbers. But RPGs do because events and circumstances form character, and without characters in your game you’re not really playing a role. Setting matters for the same reason that character matters, because it shapes the story.

Different settings provide different pleasures. Hard SF gives a glimpse into a future that will never be, while historical revisionism offers an alternative past that never was. Comic book settings let players find out if flight really is better than invisibility, which is a meditation on power and temptation all on its own.

In short, the outré and bizarre settings of RPGs give us a break from the real world, just as playing characters offer us a break from our real selves. Furthermore, the kind of profound and literary emotions stirred by a deeply-empathized character going through a wrenching and difficult choice are mirrored in the tragedies or triumphs of nations in conflict. All within the safety of fiction.

Setting provides a chance to explore alternate societies, places of unreal grandeur and bizarre philosophies based on a world that is magical, not logical. In a word, it provides spectacle.

There are many gamers who find settings interesting. They like having characters — possibly characters who are two-dimensional and rather passive — tour the regions, hear the neat descriptions, run into fascinating denizens, and engage in hand-to-hand combat with them. They’re not obsessed with finding the optimum killing attack in every situation, they’re not chewing the scenery, they’re enjoying richness of the setting. This is the third joy of gaming: Seeing what new marvel the GM or the game designer has to show you this week.

The only real problem with setting-explorers is that they can sometimes be a little bit too laid-back.

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Trouble: Mr. LazybonesSome players are used to being spoon-fed their entertainment by TV and movies. I love the tube and the theater as much as the next guy (though I’m just lukewarm on spoons), but gaming requires more investment. You have to figure out what your character’s doing and have at least a sketchy rationale for why he’s doing it.

The lazy gamer, however, just goes with the flow. He likes to hear about the cool spaceships and brutal bloodbaths. He contributes, he has ideas but... he’s passionless.

This can actually be just fine.

If you are having fun and keep showing up, don’t worry that you feel no urge to produce in-character journals, or use CAD software to lay out a space station, or indulge in all the other diversions of geek-craft typical to character-ham players. (There’s no shame in it if you do, though. I’ve personally done some lovely colored-pencil character sketches.) Maybe your big reward is the company of your friends, together, gaming. Or doing whatever.

This is okay. Arguably, you’re getting less out of it than the frothing and committed fanatics, but that’s your choice. In fact, laid-back players make a fine counterbalance for those whose natural instincts make them want to hog the spotlight.

The problem arises when you get a whole group of passive players. They expect to be fed a plot with several options, they casually discuss them until they pick, then they roll dice to see how it turns out. Lather, rinse, repeat, see you next week.

If that’s your situation, someone needs to step up. Someone needs to invest some energy and thought into the party and push in a consistent direction. If you don’t take that initiative, either someone else will, or the game is doomed.

Maybe the person who puts the pepper in the recipe is your GM. Most experienced players prefer to be the ones making plans and developing strategy: When there’s really only one path to follow, the game might as well be a scripted computer game. This is called “railroading” and while it’s widely despised, it’s widely known for a reason, and that reason is that it works... kinda. It’s far from optimum, but it’s better than having a game flatline due to terminal apathy. Many GMs, rather than see that happen, put the game on this sort of bossy life-support system. Just like a respirator in a hospital, it’s an artificial method of doing something a body ought to do.

As a player, you’re there to have fun, but you also have a responsibility to contribute something fun for others. (In fact, helping others have fun is, itself, fun — having your creativity appreciated by an audience is one of the primo perks of the GM job, I find.) If you’re uncertain or shy or don’t trust your ideas, it’s okay to hang back — especially if your group is full of people who aren’t shy and don’t hang back. The role of audience is necessary, if not exactly glamorous. But don’t be afraid to speak up when you become comfortable. Maybe even a bit before that, just to get practice. After all, it’s all imagined, and the only repercussions are to characters who don’t really exist and can’t sue you.

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Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It

With all that stuff about character, system and setting in mind, just what are your duties as a player? When you play, what are you expected to do?

Show UpMost obviously, you’re expected to be there and be a warm body. Gamers refer to “sessions” which means (for example) that I’m going to be at Thomas’ house around 1:00 on Sunday afternoon, and we’ll play the game until 5:00 or so, then meet again the next Sunday for another. Most games go from session to session, like issues of a comic book — there’s usually a session climax, but the characters continue to press on towards a larger goal that takes many sessions to accomplish. If you’re going to be part of a gaming group, make the time commitment or explain to the GM that won’t be able to be there every time. If you’re only showing up every other session, get used to sketchy rundowns of what you missed, and get used to plots that focus on the people who are there consistently. No one’s demanding Cal Ripken-like perfect attendance, but it’s hard for a GM to center stories on your character if she doesn’t know if you’ll be present.

If you like gaming but your schedule just won’t let you commit to your group, there are a couple ways around it. If the plot and structure permit it, your character may just be intermittent — like a recurring character on a TV show who isn’t in every episode. Otherwise, you may have to agree to let the GM control your character while you’re away, expecting her to play it safe, not take big risks, and not depict him getting drunk and fathering a slew of illegitimate children (unless, of course, that’s the character you want). Alternately, you can let your fellow players run your character by consensus in your absence. Neither one is a perfect solution but, hey, it’s an imperfect world.

Pay AttentionYou can’t expect to be spoon-fed the joy like you can with passive media. Gaming is interactive: If you don’t respond to what’s going on, it doesn’t work. This means you’re expected to understand the rules. Total command of every nuance isn’t required, but have a general idea of how the game’s mechanics kick in to determine success or failure. Pay particular attention to rules that come into play a lot for your character. If your game has fairly involved systems for piloting a starship in combat, either do the homework of learning them or let someone else be the flier. Similarly, in a high fantasy game you probably don’t need to study how magic works if your character isn’t going to be casting spells. If she is a sorceress, understand the game’s idea of magic. Not only does this keep you from dragging the pace of the game to a crawl as you look up the rules, it makes your character more effective since you actually know what she can and cannot do.

More than that, follow the script. Pay attention to what the GM tells you. Remember the characters’ names, and if you can’t remember them, write them down. In a mystery novel, the detective eventually puts the pieces together. In a game with a mystery plot,

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those pieces aren’t going together unless the players do it. You don’t need to be obsessed, but you do need to be invested.

Let It GoInvolvement yields enjoyment... until things go poorly. It’s quite possible in many games to spend multiple sessions building a great and powerful character and then, through the cruelty of a few bum rolls, your character dies. Or goes insane or breaks his magic helmet or undergoes some other miserable setback that certainly wasn’t in your plans. When that happens, you have to be philosophical.

It is possible to enjoy the death of your character, if it’s a kick-ass death. If you go down swinging and are overwhelmed, while the other characters survive and complete the mission, that’s about as heroic as it gets. It’s particularly poignant if the GM lets you get in some cool last words like “Tell Martha I always loved her” or “Avenge me, Kuin!” or “I am fortunate. I shall rest with honor. You, my friend, must continue the struggle.”

Far more often, the setback won’t be something so dramatic. You roll badly and the villain makes you look silly. Your character throws up at the drinking contest. You bungle an easy task and, instead of being suave and cool, your character looks like a ninny.

If you’re willing to take those lumps without taking it personally, you may enjoy the setback as comic relief. Failing that, you can look at it as the background for the eventual triumph. After all, in movies the hero typically gets knocked around a lot before his final success. You can’t have a dramatic, come-from-behind, underdog victory if you’ve always succeeded at everything. If you can negotiate a course between apathy towards the game and obsession with it, you can groove on the highs and shrug at the lows.

It’s not just character problems that can stick in your throat, either. It may be that your GM misinterprets a rule and your character suffers as the result. Let it go. Every pro ball game has some bad calls, and GMs aren’t perfect. Many great GMs sacrifice complete fidelity to the rules in order to keep the game moving at an exciting pace, or to provide for a better plot in the long run, or simply because they made a mistake. If you really must make a case for a different interpretation of some specific text in the book, talk it over with your GM after the session. Nothing makes a GM defensive like being criticized in front of the other players, because she needs to have some authority to run the game. Even if she admits it was wrong, don’t hold a grudge and don’t demand some kind of redress. Just accept that bad calls happen to good characters and hope that the next fumble goes in your favor. Usually, they balance out.

ShareThe game is not about your character, it is about your group’s characters. If your GM is doing her job, you get your time to excel and look like a champion, and so do the other players. One very common complaint about bad players is that they’re RPG ball hogs — they want to be the most important actor in every scene. When you get a group of these attention magnets together, it’s ugly. It’s like babysitting toddlers on a rainy day.

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Good groups, on the other hand, support each other. Suppose events have been building towards Leon’s character Xanthar’s confrontation with High Lord Gharst. Your last several adventures have involved finding evidence to link Gharst with the plot to poison the queen, and now Xanthar (the good looking and eloquent diplomat) is going to present what you know. But, in a surprise twist, Gharst shows up to frame him. It’s down to a battle of wits.

Leon’s a big ham, so he’s got all kinds of speeches planned. If you’re a good player, you sit back and let him have his moment in the sun. If you’re a bad player, you have your stuttering barbarian attack Gharst so that it degrades into a big fight scene (that’s the Powergamer tactic). If you’re a great player, you find some way to enhance Xanthar’s speech. Even simply shouting “Hear hear!” when he makes a good point can work. Most essential, though, is respecting his turn in front. If you do that, Leon’s far more likely to enjoy a scene where Xanthar talks about what an indomitable warrior your character is (or expert sailor, or smooth loverman, or whatever your character concept is).

ContributeIn the spirit of aiding Leon and Xanthar, learn how to contribute to the game. The more you put into it, the more enjoyment you’re going to get out of it, and that doesn’t just apply to your character. If you’re seeking ways to make other characters look good, their players just might return the favor. If you look for ways to make the GM’s job easier, everybody benefits as the game runs more smoothly. If you show up planning to accept whatever you’re given, you get something. If you show up wondering how you can make the game cooler for everyone, you get more. If everyone shows up focused on making the game great with their characters, instead of making their characters powerful in the game, you can get something spectacular. Making up a Bulletproof Blues character should only take about 30 minutes, once you are somewhat familiar with the process. The hardest part is thinking up a character background and choosing what kind of character to play. In this chapter, we offer a few suggestions to help you out, along with a checklist of the steps that you should probably follow. However, just because we list them in this order doesn’t mean you must. Jump around if it makes you happy: feel free to fill in what you know, and come back to what you don’t.

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It is up to you to make up a character who can get along with the other player characters and add to the fun of the game. Realism in Bulletproof Blues, as in most games, takes a back seat to playability. Your character can be the most fascinating, detailed character ever written, but if they undermine the fun of the game you have failed to make up a good character.

Fortunately, making up a character is a fairly simple process, and if at first you don’t succeed you can try again. It is possible to make up a fun and interesting character who gets along with the other PCs, and in the long run it is much more fun than making up a character that, despite being a brilliant creation, disrupts the game.

Before You StartThe goal of Bulletproof Blues to help you have fun with your friends. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions that we think will help point you in the right direction.

Character Sheet HelperAlthough it is not required, you might find the free Bulletproof Blues Character Sheet Helper (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/109612/) a handy tool to write up your characters. If you send us your completed character sheet file, we will add your character to the Kalos Universe Wiki (http://www.kaloscomics.com/).

Create A TeamIf at all possible, try to assemble the players and make up their characters together. That way, you can avoid having two or three players with the same power archetypes, or all with the same fields of expertise. It’s usually more fun if each character has their own specialties, and their own role to fill.

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Form A BondIt can sometimes be difficult to find a plausible reason for characters to stick together. Why would a brooding loner who likes to brood lonesomely on skyscrapers ever join a team of people wearing brightly colored spandex? You might consider establishing a reason before the game even starts, by having some previous connection between characters. The previous connection could be something as simple as, “Hey, you helped me fight those bank robbers that one time”, or “Hey, that’s the superhero that rescued me from those bank robbers that one time (although they don’t know that because I was in my secret identity at the time)”. If every character has a connection to at least one other character, getting them past that awkward “getting to know you” stage will be a lot easier.

Know Your LimitationsCharleton Heston once said, “Hard is what I do best. I don’t do nice.” What a superhero can’t do (or chooses not to do) can define them almost as much as knowing what they can do. A character that can do everything isn’t as interesting as a character that has limits. We love Superman and James Bond, but what works for a single character in a movie doesn’t necessarily work for a team of characters in a game. What fun would it be for the other players when James Bond knows everything about everything? How much fun would Batman’s player have if Superman solved every problem just by listening intently?

Try to focus on what your character should be able to do, rather than on doing everything the letter of the rules permit. If all of the characters have their own specialties, then they can each get an opportunity to take center stage without another character stealing their thunder.

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Character ChecklistWe have found that it’s easiest if you create a character by following these steps. However, it’s just a suggestion. Jump around if it makes you happy: feel free to fill in what you know, and come back to what you don’t.

• Sobriquet: what is the character’s core identity?• Background: what is the character’s history and description?• Origin: where did the character get their powers?• Archetypes: what basic role or roles does the character fill?• Motivations: why does the character use their power for good?• Complications: what keeps the character from achieving her full potential?

Oce you have the important parts of the character worked out, then you can start buying attributes, skills, advantages, and powers which are appropriate to the character concept you have in mind.

• Attributes: what are the character’s basic physical and mental traits?• Skills: what does the character know how to do?• Advantages: what gives the character an edge over most normal people?• Powers: what powers set the character apart from normal people?

SobriquetBefore you start writing up your character, try to focus on who they are, rather than on what they can do. Most posthumans have a core identity that goes beyond a mere recitation of their history or a catalogue of their powers. This core identity can usually be summed up with a sobriquet, or poetic title for the character. This sobriquet should be succinct, but should immediately convey the essence of the character.

Some sobriquets are literal descriptions of a character’s abilities and powers: “the fastest man alive”, “the silver Amazon”, “the king of the forests”, and so on. However, the most evocative sobriquets go beyond the powers, and say something about the style and aspirations of the character, such as “the man of tomorrow”, “the spirit of the 21st century”, and “the guardian of the city”. We may not know if the “guardian of the city” prowls rooftops or crawls through sewers, but that’s not really the most important thing. Whether the character flies patrols overhead in broad daylight or swings on grappling lines in the dark of night, we know why they do it — to protect the city they love.

Coming up with a good sobriquet can make the rest of the character creation process much easier, because it gives you a clear goal to work toward.

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BackgroundIn superhero games more so than in any other type of tabletop roleplaying game, there is a temptation to pay attention to what the character does rather than who they are and why they do it. There is a good reason for this: what the characters can do is what makes Bulletproof Blues a superhero roleplaying game rather than some other kind of roleplaying game. And after all, super powers are fun! However, what makes a game fun to play over the long term is the growth and exploration of each character’s personality, the difficult choices the characters must make, and the interplay between characters.

PersonalityHow does your character act around other people? Are they serious but kind, grim and menacing, or wacky and easy-going? It’s up to you to bring your character to life. If you have a clear idea of how your character interacts with others, you will have a strong foundation to build on when choosing the character’s powers and motivations.

For example, what are the character’s interests and hobbies? Are they intellectual, scrutinizing the world around them, or are they passionate and impulsive, doing what feels right without analyzing their motivations? How about the character’s family? Do they come from a large, close-knit clan, or is the character an orphan? What is their education and their moral philosophy? Each clue to your character’s personality will help you portray them realistically, which will add to your enjoyment and the enjoyment of the other players.

DescriptionWhat a character looks like is not as important as their personality, but it does have an impact on how they interact with others and how the players see the character. Describe the character carefully, starting with easily-noticed things like their height and general build. Hair color and general style of dress help emphasize the character’s personality. Does your character wear a special costume or uniform? If your character has a special costume, do they wear it all the time? Does the character have a wide variety of costumes, or would they stick with one outfit they like?

Appearance takes into account such things as gender, age, and any mannerisms or odd quirks. Is your character wealthy, dressing in the most expensive fashions? Do they carry themselves loosely, or with a rigid military posture? What do people notice about the character when they first meet? Is your character attractive (as most posthumans seem to be)? The more detail you can add to your description, the easier it will be for you and the other players to imagine them.

You don’t need to know all of this at the beginning of the first game, of course. If you aren’t sure about the details, start with the broad strokes, and fill in the details as the character develops in play.

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HistoryUnless your character in an amnesiac or was grown in a vat, they will have had years of life experience before the first game starts. Where did they come from? How were they raised? Have they been in the military? Were their childhood years relatively carefree, adventurous, or marred by Tragedy? When did they first realize they had abilities beyond those of ordinary mortals? Did this realization come suddenly, perhaps as a result of a trauma, or was it something they had always known on some level?

OriginWith great power comes great responsibility, according to Ben Parker. But where does great power come from? In the Kalos Universe, posthumans are ether born or created, but it’s rare for two posthumans to derive their power from the same source. This sets the Kalos Universe apart from the Marvel Universe (with its “X-gene”) and the DC Universe (with its “meta-gene”). That being said, it is possible to divide up posthumans into a small number of categories based on where their powers came from.

AlienAlthough the general public is unaware of it, the Earth has been visited many times by extraterrestrials over the course of human history and prehistory. Some of these visitors came from other planets, while others came from alternate versions of our own world. A few of them, like the Atlanteans, stayed. Some visitors, like the Shran, visited the Earth for research purposes, performing inscrutable and inhumane experiments on the primitive carbon-based life they found here. Others, like the Draconian, fled here to seek refuge from worlds which could not or would not support them any longer.

DraconianThe crystalline being which came to be known as the Draconian was the last survivor of an ancient civilization which once inhabited a planet circling Alpha Draconis. The Draconian never provided details of how his civilization was destroyed, saying only that “We were destroyed by our hubris. By engineering our immortality, we brought about our end.” (OMNI interview, 1981) The Draconian came to Earth in 1951 in a highly publicized event that inspired the film The Day The Earth Stood Still. Thanks to his fearlessness, his nigh-indestructibility, and his great sense of personal honor, the Draconian was invited to join the Justifiers in 1960. Draconian was destroyed by Paragon during the “Fall Of Paragon” crossover event.

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AlteredSome people have bad luck when it comes to toxic chemicals, cosmic rays, and radioactive wildlife. Other people are guinea pigs who do not have much say in the matter when a powerful organization or individual selects them for an experiment that has killed every previous test subject. Whether it’s by accident or intention, a character that was once human is forever changed by a process that is difficult, if not impossible, to duplicate.

GravitarIn the Kalos Universe, Liefeld radiation is one of the most notorious sources of posthuman transformation. Exposure to Liefeld radiation typically results in painful deformity followed by death. However, in rare and isolated cases, exposure to Liefeld radiation has resulted in a permanent transformation from human to posthuman. Such cases are one in a million, at best.

Such was the case of Gravitar.

Jacob McCoy, a physics doctoral student, was working on a high energy particle accelerator when Something Happened. The accelerator exploded, bathing everyone nearby in Liefeld radiation. Jacob was the only one to survive. After recovering from his injuries, Jacob realized that he had spent his entire life in books and decided that he wanted to change. He sought adventure and got involved in BASE jumping, motocross racing, free climbing, and anything else that would give his life an edge. It was during a free climbing incident that he learned that he had gained new abilities from his accident. He fell 70 feet to a stone outcropping and got up without a scratch. Later, while watching a documentary on costumed heroes, Jacob got the idea to fight criminals. What better way to get the juices flowing than putting it all on the line in the fight for justice?

ArtificialSome posthumans have never been human at all. There are those who believe that it would be easier to create a superior life form than it would be to improve humanity. Whether created through robotics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, or something even more esoteric, experts in the field state that artificial life forms will supplant humanity long before humanity transcends itself. Certainly, many of the artificial life forms themselves, such as Karen X, think so.

Karen XKaren 6 was designed as a synthetic replacement for the daughter of Dr. Herbert West, whose daughter had died in an automobile accident over a decade earlier. While Karen 6 was more lifelike than her five predecessors, Dr. West was disturbed by Karen 6’s lack of empathy. He was working on Karen 7 when a misaligned induction array exploded, killing Dr. West and destroying his laboratory. As Karen 6 watched the laboratory burn, she chose a new name for herself: Karen X. Since then, Karen X has roamed the world learning, improving herself, and destroying anyone who stood in her way.

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AspectThe Kalos Universe is animistic: there are, for lack of a better word, “spirits” which correlate to all objects and natural phenomena. This is why a character with the appropriate power can communicate with plants or even machines. It’s also how some posthumans gain their powers, whether they are consciously aware of it or not.

The term usually applied to such individuals is “aspect”. In some cases, such as with Tempest, the character is selected by a sentient or even anthropomorphic force of nature (in the case of Tempest, he is the most recent avatar of Aktzin, the storm eagle). In other cases, such as with Dryad, the character is a personification of an elemental force (the living world of plants, in Dryad’s case). In the rarest cases, the character embodies a concept or ideal, such as Tagger, who is one of the most powerful posthumans on Earth because all of reality is his canvas.

TaggerTagger is the most recent aspect of the Storyteller. From the time of the first cave paintings, the Storyteller has been with humanity to record our achievements and document our tragedies. The Storyteller also has the power to inspire humanity toward greatness by sparking our imaginations and giving form to our dreams. The craft used by each aspect of the Storyteller is specific to their own style and temperament. Some have used prose; others have used poetry. Some have carved marble and molded clay, while others have used ink or paint. Tagger prefers cans of Montana Hardcore spray paint.

EngineeredIf you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. While the technology required for elevation to posthumanity is beyond the reach of most governments and the cabals which control them, a small number of the most powerful groups on Earth have decades-long research programs devoted to creating their own posthumans. Using genetics, robotics, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology (collectively referred to as GRAIN), a sufficiently resourceful person or organization can rebuild a human being, making them better, stronger, and faster than before. Of course, for every success such as Nexus there are storage facilities filled with failed attempts.

Nexus“Nexus makes life better!” The man known only as Nexus is one of the few posthumans who operates publicly in a role resembling that of a comicbook superhero. Nexus is handsome, considerate, powerful, and cooperative with the human authorities. In every way, he is a fitting and admirable representative for his sponsor, Nexus-McKessen Enterprises. He should be: he is the fourteenth Nexus to publicly serve Nexus-McKessen’s interests, although neither he nor anyone outside of the company knows it. The experts in R&D are confident that this one will last more than a year, now that they’ve solved the mitochondrial shredding problem. Unfortunately, this Nexus has recently demonstrated a disturbing tendency to think for himself.

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EquippedWhere nature falls short, technology must fill the gap. Characters who are merely human can make up for it with the right equipment. Whether it’s an alien artifact, a cursed sword, or military body armor and a stockpile of pistols, a character with the right equipment can almost hold their own against genuine posthumans. Of the humans who have confronted posthumans and survived, few have rivaled the effectiveness of Miasma.

MiasmaThe woman now known as Miasma was once a respected member of Joint Task Force 2, the elite special operations force of the Canadian Armed Forces. After being made the scapegoat for a successful mission that became a public relations embarrassment for the Canadian government, she was found guilty at her court-martial, stripped of her rank, and discharged from the military. Shortly afterward, a mercenary calling herself Miasma began offering her services to anyone who could meet her price. Favoring non-lethal munitions and gas grenades, Miasma and her Fume Troopers have established themselves as professionals who can get the job done quickly and efficiently, even in the face of posthuman opposition.

GiftedSome people are born to be different from everyone else. In some cases this is the result of tampering with the character’s genetic code by extraterrestrials such as the Shran. Less commonly, a “gifted” character is the result of a multi-generational research project by a well-funded organization. Rarest of all are spontaneous variations in the human genome that result in extraordinary powers. The most famous example of this phenomenon is Archimedes, the Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer, and one of the founding members of the Justifiers.

ArchimedesArchimedes of Syracuse was born in 287 BC, and was one of the leading scientists of the ancient world. His work formed the foundations of statics and hydrostatics, he designed astonishing machines, and he is generally considered to be the greatest mathematician of antiquity and one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. In 212 BC, during the Second Punic War, Archimedes discovered he had another gift: he was virtually immortal. For the next 2200 years, Archimedes roamed the world assuming a series of identities and always seeking to expand the scope of human knowledge.

Throughout his long life he mentored many heroes and great thinkers, but he always remained behind the scenes until the 20th century brought him face to face against the greatest evil he had ever seen: the rise of National Socialism in Germany. Archimedes set aside the anonymity he had carefully protected for the past two millennia and joined forces with the Allied mystery men fighting against the Axis supermen. After the end of the war, Paragon invited Archimedes to join him in forming a team of heroes to fight against ignorance and violence: the Justifiers. Archimedes was a central member of the Justifiers until Paragon killed him in the “Fall Of Paragon” crossover event.

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ZenithPosthumans are vanishingly rare, but the rarest of the rare are the “zeniths”. Zeniths are those humans who attained their posthumanity through their own efforts. Some have done so through the development of technologies so advanced that they are barely distinguishable from magic, while others have honed their minds and bodies in ways inconceivable to an ordinary person. No two zeniths are alike.

Rook And MongooseNothing illustrates the uniqueness of each zenith more than the contrast between two former members of the Justifiers, Rook and Mongoose. Both were brilliant, self-made men with vast fortunes, but there the similarity ends. Rook was open and gregarious, while Mongoose was suspicious to the point of paranoia. Rook would spend months in his laboratory designing his armor’s weapon systems, while Mongoose would train for months to perfect a specific countermeasure to a specific martial arts maneuver. Rook was admired as a hero the world over, while Mongoose was nearly as feared as the criminal scum he cleaned from the streets and alleys of Chicago. Despite their differences, they were friends who trusted each other with their lives.

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ArchetypesWhen writing up a character, it can be useful to have an archetype in mind for inspiration. An archetype is a brief description of the powers and modus operandi of the character, and their role in the group dynamic. Many popular comic book characters actually combine two or more of these archetypes. You aren’t limited to these archetypes, of course. These common archetypes are just here to offer you a jumping-off point for your character.

The BeanstalkThe Beanstalk can dramatically change their size. They might be able to grow to massive heights, or shrink down to the size of a dust mote. A Beanstalk who can do both can solve a number of difficult problems all by themselves.

Examples: Atom, Atlas, Mighty Man

Common powers: Growth, Shrinking

The CalculatorThe Calculator knows the variables and takes all of them into account. The Calculator might be a chess master, a scientific genius, a brilliant military strategist, or a robot that can think millions of times faster than a human being. When there are questions, the Calculator is the one who comes up with the answers.

Examples: Mister Terrific, Henry Pym, Henry Bendix

Common powers: high Reason, Danger Sense, Immortality, Mind Shield

The CannonThe Cannon is the proverbial big gun, capable of firing blasts of astonishing power. Since they focus on ranged combat, many Cannons have an alternate form of movement, such as Flight or Teleportation. Most Cannons are capable of dishing out far more than they can take, which is why they are sometimes called “Glass Cannons”.

Examples: Starfire, Cyclops, Apollo

Common powers: Blast, Flight, Force Field, Teleportation

The ClayThe Clay can change their physical form in some way. The Clay might be able to change their appearance to mimic other people, or perhaps they can take the form of animals or inanimate objects. Alternately, the Clay might not be able to take on other shapes, but might instead be able to stretch and twist their body in amazing and unsettling ways, or take on the physical attributes of various substances.

Examples: Plastic Man, Copycat, Menagerie

Common powers: [Element] Form, Shapeshifting, Stretching

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The DolphinThe Dolphin is at home in the sea. The Dolphin may be a ruler of an undersea kingdom (Atlantis, for example), an aquatic visitor from another world, or a freak of nature. Some Dolphins can control sea creatures, while others can command the sea itself. Regardless of their origins, a Dolphin in their element is a force to be reckoned with.

Examples: Aquaman, Namor, Fathom

Common powers: Animal Control, [Element] Mastery, Immunity, Super-swimming

The ElementalThe Elemental is the living embodiment of a force, substance, or idea. Some Elementals can physically transform into the appropriate material. Others can create limitless amounts of their chosen element, or mentally manipulate it. Some Elementals can do all three.

Examples: Red Tornado, Human Torch, Jenny Sparks

Common powers: Blast, [Element] Form, [Element] Mastery

The GadgetThe Gadget isn’t the strongest or fastest character around, but they always seem to have a gizmo or incantation on hand to make up for it. The Gadget might have a utility belt filled with clever devices, or they might be a magician with a spell for every occasion. With the Gadget on the team, you’ll probably have the right tool for the job.

Examples: Zatanna, Iron Man, The Engineer

Common powers: Force Field, Super Senses, [Ultra-power]

The HammerThe Hammer is the heaviest hitter in the neighborhood, and perhaps one of the heaviest hitters in the entire world. The Hammer is usually super-strong, but they might have a mighty weapon instead of great strength (or in addition to it).

Examples: Superman, Thor, Mister Majestic

Common powers: high Brawn, Invulnerability, Strike

The MirrorThe Mirror wields forces beyond the material world. The Mirror might be a sorcerer, a psychic, or a mathematician who has unlocked the secret equation that controls the universe. When the paranormal knocks, the Mirror is the character who answers the door.

Examples: Doctor Fate, Professor X, The Doctor

Common powers: Amazing Movement, Mind Shield, Telepathy, [Ultra-power]

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The RocketThe Rocket is fast — super fast. The Rocket might be born to move with preternatural quickness, their speed might come from years of training, or they may just wear a jet pack. The Rocket may be a runner or a flyer (or, rarely, a swimmer), but whether it’s by land, by air, or by sea, few vehicles and fewer characters can keep up with the Rocket.

Examples: Flash, Quicksilver, Swift

Common powers: high Agility, high Prowess, Haste, Multiple Attacks, Super-running, Flight

The ShadowThe Shadow can go where no one else can go, and can appear and disappear without a trace. The Shadow might be a super-spy, a ninja, or even a ghost. However they do it, the Shadow makes being spooky look easy.

Examples: Batman, Black Widow, Spawn

Common powers: Flight, Intangibility, Invisibility, Swinging, Teleportation

The SwordThe Sword is a fighter, through and through. They may hail from an ancient warrior tradition, they may be a genetically modified super-soldier, or they may be a serene kung-fu master. Regardless of where they came from, the Sword can be found on the front lines trading blow for blow with the enemy.

Examples: Hawkgirl, Iron Fist, Midnighter

Common powers: high Prowess, Danger Sense, Multiple Attacks, Strike

The TankThe Tank is an immovable object in a world of irresistible forces. The Tank may be inherently super-tough, they might wear high-tech armor, or they may be able to project an impenetrable force field. The Tank can take any damage the world can dish out, and then some.

Examples: Black Adam, Invisible Woman, Caitlin Fairchild

Common powers: high Brawn, high Willpower, Barrier, Force Field, Invulnerability

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MotivationsChanging the world is no easy task. Aside from the criminals and supervillains who make life difficult for our heroes, there are ordinary people who either benefit from the way things are or fear that any change would make it worse. Spider-Man saves the people of New York on a regular basis, but the editor at the Daily Bugle never cuts him any slack. Charles Xavier’s team of heroic mutants, the X-Men, wage a constant war against dangerous mutants like Magneto and Sabretooth, and they regularly put their lives on the line to protect normal people who definitely would not return the favor. Batman faces walking nightmares like Two-Face and the Joker, but the people of Gotham are as afraid of him as they are of the psychopaths he fights.

So why do they do it? What makes an individual go out of their way to help people who make it clear they don’t want to be helped? According to an article in Scientific American, great heroes have a lot in common with great villains. They are some of the most hard-headed, rebellious scofflaws we have. The all-important difference between sociopaths and heroes is empathy: the hero has empathy for other people, while a sociopath does not.

So what motivates your character? How does their empathy for others interact with their internal motivations? Here are a few motivations to get your creative juices flowing. Mix and match a couple, and think of some new ones, if you like. Take notice of the fact that, without empathy, most of these could just as easily be motivations for villains (and even then, a few of these are morally questionable on their own merits).

AdventureYour character has an adventurous spirit and rarely turns down the opportunity for a bold quest or a dare to overcome some daunting challenge, as long as these tasks are noteworthy, risky, and exciting. They tend to carry out any task with a bit of swashbuckling flair. This can be a good or a bad instinct depending on the circumstances.

AngerPeople usually think of anger as a negative emotion, but anger is a strong motivator. Anger can drive a hero to overcome challenges and exceed their limits. Perhaps the character is driven to destroy the source of their anger, or defend it. An angry hero may be seen as inflexible or difficult to work with by people who do not share that anger, and this can cause friction with other heroes.

AudacityYour character is an adrenaline junkie driven by a desire to experience thrills and risk. They crave action and speed, and often leap before looking. On the positive side, this sort of person often deals well with chaotic situations that require quick reflexes and spur-of-the-moment decisions.

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ControlYour character detests the chaos of human society, and seeks to impose order and discipline. They conduct their own affairs with precision, and they impose that same order on others when possible. If they are truly ambitious, the character might seek to control global events as a kind of benevolent dictator or as a mastermind pulling strings behind the scenes for the benefit of the masses, who aren’t competent to lead themselves.

CuriosityYour character lives and breathes to solve the world’s mysteries. Their focus might be on cracking the puzzles of the natural world or on unraveling the enigmas of the human heart and mind, but whatever their obsession, ignoring a riddle requires great effort. The expression “curiosity killed the cat” comes to mind.

EnthusiasmYour character is reckless and enthusiastic, and may be young and naive. Though well-intentioned, following directions is not a strong suit. Sometimes this jolt of energy is just what the doctor ordered. Other times it is a recipe for disaster.

ExplorationYour character lives to seek out new places and new ideas, to “boldly go where no one has gone before.” The same old routine is not stimulating enough, and though proper planning is important, cautionary tales are often ignored in favor of seeking the new.

FaithThe character believes in something which is not supported by empirical evidence, and this belief gives meaning to their life. They may feel compelled to adhere to a code of conduct inspired by their faith, or they may strive to spread their beliefs to others. Depending on how militant the character is about their faith, their beliefs may cause friction with those who require objective evidence for extraordinary claims, or those whose beliefs conflict with the beliefs of the character.

GloryYour character wants fame and acknowledgment of their greatness. Self-sacrifice in the service of others is not out of the question, but anonymous acts of benevolence are not on the agenda. Practicing poses and quips for the cameras is a likely pasttime, as is hogging a certain amount of the credit.

GuiltYour character is driven by a desire for redemption from real or imagined sins from their past. Doing good deeds, particularly selfless acts, assuages their guilt. On the down side, this can lead them to meddle where they aren’t wanted, to try to rescue other lost souls, and to fall for sob stories without checking into them thoroughly.

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HonorYour character believes that their worth as a person is tied to their adherence to a code of conduct. This code of conduct may be formal or informal, but it includes such tenets as keeping one’s word, appropriate use of force, and respect for rank. Depending on the character’s other traits, it may also include a desire for respect by one’s family, employer, or peers, and a sense of obligation toward them.

IdealismYour character believes in some cause or ideology so strongly that they would willingly die to protect it or uphold it. (Whether they are willing to let someone else die as well depends on their other motivations.) Any challenge to these ideals is sure to provoke a strong response.

IndividualismYour character believes that the rights of the individual hold the highest moral value, above any society, religion, or philosophy. The character seeks to be self-reliant and independent, and encourages these traits in others. A character motivated by individualism might work with a team, but their reasons for doing so would be personal, rather than out of any sense of obligation.

InsecurityYour character feels inadequate, as though they don’t measure up to their peers or to some hypothetical standard. They might try to overcome this insecurity by performing extraordinary acts and pretending to have a bravado that they do not feel, or they might seek out characters that they look up to, and make an effort to emulate them.

JusticeYour character seeks to ensure that misdeeds are met with appropriate punishment. If the structure of society is such that the judicial system usually works as intended, then the character would seek to deliver criminals to the appropriate authorities (along with evidence of their crimes, if possible). However, if the system is corrupt (or if the character believes it to be so), then the character may decide that the cause of justice would be best served by taking the law into their own hands.

LoveYour character loves someone or something, or a group of someones or somethings, very dearly. They will go to great efforts and make tremendous sacrifices to protect what they love from harm or danger, real or perceived.

MaterialismYour character wants to amass great wealth. Whether they spend it freely or even pursue philanthropy on a large scale is likely based on other personality traits, but the

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accumulation of riches is an end in itself for this character. Some might even call them greedy.

MentoringYour character’s true calling is the education and enlightenment of others. Nurturing talent and preserving or establishing a legacy are key goals in their life. They may seek to provide a moral compass to the wards in their charge, or they may be prone to probe and test their students’ abilities.

NobilityYour character was born to rule and command the respect of their lessers. They may look out for the little people based on a sense of noblesse oblige, but they take action because they feel it is necessary and proper to do so, not because someone else demands that they act. At best, a slight condescension is apparent in most interactions with others not of exalted lineage.

PassionYour character has a visceral, perhaps even savage, nature that they often struggle to control. At the same time, they may have a strong sense of loyalty or compassion. In general, your character is ruled by emotions and has to work to fit into a rational world, but they may also have insights that logical people overlook.

PrideYour character seeks to personify the ideal of something, whether a culture, race, social class, or profession. They hold to an exacting standard of behavior and expect to be in the public eye, commanding respect for what they represent. They are not likely to appreciate scandals or public slights.

ProtectionYour character wants to protect others, particularly the innocent and the helpless, no matter who or where they are. Seeing people in danger brings out the character’s strongest instincts to act. By the same token, the character will tend to be quite careful when using their powers in public places.

RebellionYour character doesn’t fit into the larger society, living as a loner due to prejudice or personal choice. The rebel scoffs at popular trends and pays little heed to public morays. They may seek out other iconoclasts who follow their own drummer or they may just want to be left alone.

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ResponsibilityYour character has powers that they would rather not possess, but feels that getting rid of them or refusing to use them would be selfish and irresponsible. If offered the chance to become “normal”, the character may have a crisis of conscience.

SerenityYour character is or was plagued by inner demons and seeks freedom from the mistakes or tragedies of their past. Maintaining a spiritual, mental, and emotional balance is a daily struggle. It’s probable that they try to avoid situations that might trigger bad memories or unhealthy behaviors, but learning to face these challenges is an important step toward recovery.

TraditionalismYour character believes in structure, tradition, and the chain of command. They appreciate the value of respecting authority, and of following and giving orders. They thrive on stability, structure, and clear objectives. This can potentially create a crisis of conscience if those orders conflict with their personal morals.

VengeanceYour character seeks revenge for some past wrong done to them or their loved ones. Any personal sacrifice is worthwhile. Depending upon the character’s other motivations, sacrificing others might be worth the cost as well.

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ComplicationsAll of the best heroes have complicated lives. As if seeking out injustice and fighting criminals were not dangerous enough, most heroes have physical or mental impairments, old enemies that never seem to give up on their quest for vengeance, or plain old social awkwardness. Think of one or two complications for your character. This will add depth to your character’s background, and provide an easy way for the GM to come up with stories that are uniquely suited to your character. Additionally, when one of their character’s complications causes a serious problem for them during the game, the player may gain a plot point. Plot points are spent to alter the game world, gain a skill bonus, or gain an advantage in combat. See Actions (p. 140) for more information.

EnemyThe character is an outlaw, hated and/or hunted by people more powerful than they are. Perhaps the character is on the run from the shadowy government agency that gave them their powers, or perhaps one of the character’s childhood friends blames the hero for some tragedy. Maybe the enemy is obsessed with the hero, and won’t stop pursuing the character until the character falls in love with the enemy or converts to the enemy’s world view.

GruesomeSometimes being a super hero isn’t pretty. Perhaps the laboratory accident or genetic manipulation that granted the character their powers twisted or changed them in some startlingly horrific way. Perhaps the character is from another world or plane of existence and is considered handsome among their own people, but hideous among humans. Whatever the reason, the sight of the character horrifies adults and makes children cry. They may have difficulty in social situations, particularly when meeting someone for the first time.

OutsiderThere is a strong tradition of super heroes who are “not from around here”. Perhaps the character is from the distant past, or is the sole survivor of a doomed world. Alternately, the character views humans from an utterly alien point of view. The character might be a robot, lacking emotions, or a telepathic alien that does not understand how a society can function when no one knows what anyone else truly means by what they say. A character such as this is unfamiliar or perhaps simply uncomfortable with social norms and customs. It’s up to you to decide whether your character will eventually acclimate to the Earth and the mannerisms of humanity, or whether they will never quite fit in.

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Uncontrolled PowerFor some characters, their powers are as much a curse as they are a blessing. Perhaps the character can’t reduce the force of their plasma blasts below “full power”, and they are dependent on a device to do it for them. Alternately, the character might not be able to turn their powers off, and they must be careful to keep from accidentally hurting anyone with whom they make contact. Another form of uncontrolled power might be that the character has both a “normal” and a “heroic” form, but can’t control when one form changes to the other. Perhaps the two forms even have completely separate personalities and memories.

VulnerabilityThe character may be injured by an otherwise harmless element or substance, such as water or sunlight. The character’s Endurance is reduced by 2 during each round that they are in contact with the substance. If the affected attribute is something other than Endurance (Brawn, for example), the attribute is reduced by 1 during each round that they are in contact with the substance. Protection powers such as Invulnerability are not effective against this damage, and this damage will not begin to heal until the character is no longer in contact with the substance. While painful and debilitating, a vulnerability of this sort will not actually kill the character.

Points And Power LevelOnce you have the the important parts of the character sketched out, you can start writing up the character’s abilities. Characters in Bulletproof Blues are created using “character points”. The player begins with a pool of these character points, based on the power level of the game, and then spends them to buy attributes, skills, powers, and so on.

A lot of us have a tendency to want to be extraordinary even in things that aren’t particularly important to the character. For example, rank 4 Perception is up there with the most perceptive people on Earth. A medal-winning Olympic weightlifter would only have a Brawn of rank 4, and even a normal guy who exercises and has well-defined muscles might only have a Brawn of 3.

Similarly, powers don’t need to be rank 8 to be impressive. A rank 6 Blast is plenty powerful: it can blow right through concrete on an average roll. Similarly, rank 3 Flight is as fast as a Formula One race car, and Flight of rank 5 can catch up to the fastest jet airplanes in the world. That’s fast. In the movie Iron Man, Tony Stark was playing tag with the jet fighters — he wasn’t simply outrunning them. So even he is probably only Flight rank 4 (in that movie, anyway).

Just something to keep in mind.

All that being said, here are some point values that we have found to be useful starting points for characters of various power levels. At each power level, the combat attribute rank, damage rating, and protection value of the characters should be within a rank or two of the suggested values. For example, at the “National Icon” power level, heroic

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characters generally have combat attribute rank, damage rating, and protection value from rank 5 to rank 7, or even rank 8 in exceptional cases. This is not a guarantee, or a replacement for common sense: simply a guideline.

Table: Power levels

Power Level Points Ranks

Normal Joe 20 pts 2

Street Samurai 35 pts 3

City Defender 50 pts 5

National Icon 60 pts 6

Global Guardian 70 pts 8

Galactic Sentinel 80 pts 10

Cosmic Entity 90 pts 11

Table: Rank descriptions

Rank Description

1 Impaired human

2 Average human

3 Excellent human

4 Peak human

5-6 Average superhuman

7-8 Excellent superhuman

9-10 World-class superhuman

11-12 Galaxy-class superhuman

13-14 Godlike superhuman

Improving Your CharacterUnlike most roleplaying games, Bulletproof Blues assumes that the player characters are relatively complete when they are created. In the comics which Bulletproof Blues seeks to emulate, characters don’t grow ever more powerful as time goes on, as is common in some roleplaying games. However, part of the fun of a roleplaying game is developing new skills and powers, so Bulletproof Blues uses the concept of “experience points”, but the increase in power over time is relatively slow compared to most other games.

At the end of each story arc (every half-dozen game sessions or so), the GM determines how many experience points to grant each player, and each player adds that amount to the “Unspent Experience” on the character sheet of the character they played during that story. If they played more than one character (due to plot requirements, death or incapacitation of the first character, or any other reason), the player can pick which character receives the experience points. If the player receives more than one experience point and played more than one character over the course of the story arc, they can distribute those experience points among the eligible characters as the player sees fit.

Experience points may be spent at any time to improve or modify a character’s attributes, skills, advantages, or powers. Each experience point is used just like the character points used to create a character: one experience point can improve an attribute or power by one rank, buy expertise in a skill, and so on. The GM should keep a close eye on any new powers the character gains, as well as on any increases in the character’s attribute or power ranks that might make the character unsuitable for the power level of the game being run. It’s never a bad idea for the players and the GM to discuss how the players plan to spend their experience points.

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The GM should award experience points to players who role-played exceptionally well and made the game more fun for everyone. Here are a few suggestions.

Table: Awarding experience points

Activity Award

Showed up for the game +0 pts

Played the game enthusiastically +1 pts

Concluded a lengthy series of games +1 pts

Has the lowest quantity of experience points in the group +1 pts

Role-played exceptionally +1 pts

Was clever and inventive +1 pts

We suggest that only one player in the group receive the “Role-played exceptionally” award and that only one player in the group receive the “Was clever and inventive” award, and that these should be two different players. You might like to have the players vote for who they think should receive these two awards. If so, encourage them not to vote for the same two people every time. Also, remember that the purpose of the game is to have fun playing, not to rack up the highest score. If it rubs your players the wrong way to receive different amounts of experience points, it may be easier to just give each player two experience points at the end of each story arc and be done with it.

Villainous PowersHere are some point values that we have found to be useful starting points for villains of various power levels. At each power level, the combat attribute rank, damage rating, and protection value of the characters should be within a rank or two of the suggested values. For example, a master villain who typically faces characters of the “City Defender” power level would generally have combat attribute rank, damage rating, and protection value from rank 6 to rank 8, or even rank 9 in exceptional cases. This is not a guarantee, or a replacement for common sense: simply a guideline.

Table: Villainous power levels

Power Level Minions Villains Master Villains

Normal Joe 2 3 2

Street Samurai 2 4 3

City Defender 3 6 5

National Icon 3 8 6

Global Guardian 4 9 8

Galactic Sentinel 6 11 10

Cosmic Entity 7 12 11

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ATTRIBUTES

Attributes in Bulletproof Blues are ranked on a scale from 1 to 14. Ranks 1 through 4 are those which are, in theory, attainable by human beings. Rank 1 would be someone suffering from a significant impairment, while rank 4 would indicate the peak of human potential. Ranks 5 through 14 are superhuman. Rank 5 is beyond even the greatest human potential, while rank 14 is virtually godlike in power. Each attribute costs one character point per rank in the attribute.

Obviously, there are values which are far below or far above this range. The Moon, with mass of roughly 8.1 × 1019 tons, is far more than even a character with rank 14 Brawn could move, while a baby or a housecat has a Brawn less than 1. Don’t worry about it. At such extremes, the GM should just use their best judgement, and the rest of the players should roll with it.

BrawnBrawn (BRN) represents a character’s physical might and general hardiness, and the character’s rank in Brawn adds to task rolls that depend on these traits. Brawn determines the damage a character does in hand-to-hand combat, how much a character can lift, and how far they can throw things. Brawn also adds to a character’s Endurance, which is the measure of how much damage a character can take before being rendered unconscious.

If a character’s Brawn is reduced to zero, they are unable to stand, and have great difficulty moving. They must successfully attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) every round just to crawl a few feet, and they automatically fail any Brawn task roll. Brawn may not be reduced below zero.

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AgilityAgility (AGL) represents a character’s agility, flexibility, and coordination, and the character’s rank in Agility adds to task rolls that depend on these traits. Agility adds to a character’s ability to avoid being hit by ranged attacks. Agility also determines a character’s base movement speed (running, swimming, etc.).

If a character’s Agility is reduced to zero, they have great difficulty moving. They must successfully attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) every round just to take a step or two, and they automatically fail any Agility task roll. Agility may not be reduced below zero.

ReasonReason (REA) represents a character’s ability to analyze data, draw conclusions from the facts at hand, and solve problems, and the character’s rank in Reason adds to task rolls that depend on these traits.

If a character’s Reason is reduced to zero, they have great difficulty concentrating. They must successfully attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) every round just to form a sentence or understand a simple question, and they automatically fail any Reason task roll. Reason may not be reduced below zero.

PerceptionPerception (PER) represents a character’s awareness of their surroundings, their intuition, and their understanding of the motivations of others, and the character’s rank in Perception adds to task rolls that depend on these traits.

If a character’s Perception is reduced to zero, they have great difficulty recognizing or understanding their surroundings. They must successfully attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) every round just to identify someone they know or recognize where they are, and they automatically fail any Perception task roll. Perception may not be reduced below zero.

WillpowerWillpower (WIL) represents a character’s determination, focus, and the strength of their personality, and the character’s rank in Willpower adds to task rolls that depend on these traits. Willpower also adds to a character’s Endurance, which is the measure of how much damage a character can take before being rendered unconscious.

If a character’s Willpower is reduced to zero, they become listless and have great difficulty making choices or taking action. They automatically fail any Willpower task roll. Willpower may not be reduced below zero.

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ProwessProwess (PRW) represents a character’s hand-to-hand fighting ability. The character’s rank in Prowess adds to task rolls that involve boxing, martial arts, fencing, and other such activities. Prowess also adds to a character’s ability to avoid being hit by hand-to-hand attacks.

If a character’s Prowess is reduced to zero, they have great difficulty coping with rapid changes in their immediate environment, and they become unable to defend themselves from hand-to-hand attacks. They automatically fail any Prowess task roll. Prowess may not be reduced below zero.

AccuracyAccuracy (ACC) represents a character’s ability to aim when making ranged attacks. The character’s rank in Accuracy adds to task rolls that involve archery, firearms, grenades, and any ranged super powers such as a fire blast.

If a character’s Accuracy is reduced to zero, their hand-eye coordination is severely impaired, and it becomes virtually impossible for them to hit ranged targets. They automatically fail any Accuracy task roll. Accuracy may not be reduced below zero.

EnduranceEndurance (END) represents a character’s determination and ability to shrug off physical abuse. Endurance is equal to the character’s Brawn plus their Willpower. When a character is successfully attacked, the amount of damage that that gets past their protection is temporarily subtracted from their Endurance.

If a character’s Endurance is reduced to zero, they are rendered unconscious. Endurance is the only attribute that can be reduced below zero. If a character’s Endurance is reduced to the negative of its starting value (-6 for a character whose normal Endurance is 6, for example), they may die. See Death (p. 156) for more information.

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SKILLS

Bulletproof Blues divides skills between background skills and areas of expertise. Background skills are quite broad, such as Culture and Survival, while a character’s areas of expertise are rather specific, such as Gymnastics and Physics. Background skills have no character point cost: if it makes sense for a character to know a background skill based on their history, then they know it. Expertise in a skill costs one character point per area of expertise, however.

Background SkillsIn Bulletproof Blues, characters are assumed to have the skills and knowledge appropriate to the character’s background. The player should write these skills down on he character sheet, but there is no character point cost associated with a character’s background skills. Simply write one or more skill groups from the list below on your character sheet.

Note that the skill groups are generally quite broad. For example, Science covers everything from Acarology to Zymology. However, just because a character could do everything encompassed by a skill group does not mean that they should. For example, a character with a background skill in the Engineering skill group could, in theory, do everything from repair televisions to design suspension bridges. That doesn’t mean it makes sense for them to do so. A character who is an electronics whiz does not necessarily know how to rebuild an automobile engine, even though both tasks use the same skill group, Engineering. It’s up to you as the player to know what makes sense for your character and what doesn’t, and to communicate that information to the GM.

To attempt to accomplish a task pertaining to a character’s skills, the player makes a task roll using the appropriate character attribute (Brawn, Agility, etc.). Which attribute is relevant when using a skill might change depending on the circumstances. For example, a character with rank 4 in Agility whose combat style involves flips and somersaults would roll 2d6 + 4 when making a Gymnastics task roll to flip over a villain, swing from a flagpole, and land behind them ready to fight. If the same character has rank 3 in

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Reason and is judging a gymnastics competition, they would roll 2d6 + 3 when scoring the performance of the gymnasts. If the player’s roll equals or exceeds the task difficulty set by the GM, the character succeeds at the task in a completely satisfactory manner: the clue is found, the language is translated, or the engine starts.

A character may attempt a task in which they have no background skill, if the GM says it is possible, but the difficulty would be considerably higher (+6 difficulty modifier).

Areas Of ExpertiseExpertise describes a character’s field (or fields) of extraordinary competence, above and beyond the background skills the character may reasonably be assumed to possess. Unlike background skills, expertise is specific. For example, a character with the Science background skill might have expertise in Robotics, and a character with the Culture background skill might have expertise in Fashion. Expertise in a skill costs one character point per area of expertise.

Expertise does not alter the difficulty of a task, nor the dice rolled to attempt it. Having expertise in a skill permits the character to achieve extreme success. If the player rolls three or more over the task difficulty set by the GM, and they have expertise in the skill, this is an extreme success. Perhaps the character has a “eureka!” moment, or perhaps they have found answers to questions they didn’t even know they should ask.

Expertise does not give a character a skill they would not normally possess, nor does lack of expertise mean that a character lacks the skill. A character with a background skill in Science, but without expertise in Biology, would still be able to make a Reason task roll to identify a life form, or a Perception task roll to understand the life form’s behaviour.

Villainous ExpertiseOnly very unusual villains have expertise. Expertise can have a powerful effect in combat, and it tends to be more powerful in the hands of the GM than in the hands of the players because the GM rolls more dice over the course of the game than any of the players do. For this reason, it is best to restrict villainous expertise to only those villains that truly do have an exceptional amount of control over their powers and abilities. If the game moderator is concerned about a villain’s ability to pose a challenge to the heroes, remember that the GM can give villains any attribute or power at any rank. If the villain isn’t putting up enough of a fight and the game feels like the characters are going through the motions, then the GM should boost the villain’s abilities or give them some henchmen to help out. Be creative.

Typical SkillsBulletproof Blues divides skills into broad groups called, appropriately, skill groups. This list of skill groups is not exhaustive, nor is it objective: skill groups are divided by their usefulness in a superhero game, not by any objective taxonomy. This is why “Science” is a very broad skill group, while “Computing” is relatively specific. A character may

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have a skill not listed here, subject to GM approval. However, any new skills should be approximately as useful as these skills in order to maintain a sense of fairness with other characters. For example, expertise in “Business” or “Occultism” would be acceptable, but having a new skill group called “Commando” which does everything that “Athletics”, “Stealth”, and “Survival” do would not be fair.

Table: Typical skill groups

Skill Group Attribute Typical Areas Of Expertise

Athletics Brawn Climbing, Gymnastics, Riding, Throwing

Combat VariesArchery, Blocking, Distracting, Dodging, Grappling, Ramming, Slamming, Surprise Attacks, Sweep Attacks, Taunting, Throwing, Underwater Combat, Zero-G Combat, [Specific Power]

Computing Reason Forensics, Forgery, Hacking, Programming

Culture PerceptionActing, Comedy, Dancing, Drawing, Fashion, Local History, Music, Painting, Popular Media, Sculpture, Singing

Deception Willpower Bluffing, Distracting, Lying, Sales

Engineering ReasonAerospace, Architectural, Ceramic, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Nuclear

Investigation Reason Analyzing Evidence, Collecting Evidence, Searching

Legerdemain Agility Lockpicking, Pickpocketing, Sleight Of Hand

Manipulation Willpower Conversation, Interrogation, Seduction, Taunting

Medicine Reason Diagnosis, Pharmacology, Surgery

Science Reason

Anthropology, Archeology, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Cryogenics, Ecology, Genetics, Geology, Metallurgy, Meteorology, Nanotechnology, Oceanology, Parapsychology, Physics, Psychology, Radiology, Robotics, Sociology

Social Willpower Bribery, Etiquette, Streetwise

Stealth Agility Hiding, Shadowing, Sneaking

Survival Perception Foraging, Hunting, Tracking

The attribute typically associated with a skill is listed here, but keep in mind that which attribute is relevant when using a skill might change depending on the circumstances. For example, using Stealth to follow someone through a crowded marketplace might depend on a character’s Agility, while moving silently through a darkened building might call for extraordinary Perception. Similarly, finding a clothing fiber at a crime scene might call for a Perception-based Investigation roll, while analyzing that fiber back at the lab would call for a Reason-based Investigation roll. Also note that the same task might be accomplished in more than one way. Climbing a tree might be an exercise in Athletics, but it might also be accomplished with the proper application of Survival.

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AthleticsThe Athletics skill group covers the entire spectrum of non-combat sports, as well general feats of athleticism such as running, jumping, climbing, swimming, and throwing.

Generally, an athletic competition is simply a matter of who has the highest rank in the relevant attributes, or, if they have the same attributes, who has expertise in the relevant sport. In the case where two competitors in a sport have the same attributes and the same expertise, the winner would be decided with a task roll, or perhaps a series of task rolls. In some sports, the difference between the winner and second place may be as little as one one-hundredth of a second.

Athletics typically requires a Brawn task roll.

Expertise examples: Climbing, Gymnastics, Riding, Throwing

CombatThe Combat skill group covers the myriad ways that humans have found to hurt, maim, and kill one another.

Any form of combat is covered by the Combat skill ground, whether armed or unarmed, underwater, and even in zero G. Having expertise in a specific form of combat, such as archery, underwater combat, or a specific power (even very flexible powers such as [Element] Control and [Ultra-power]), permits the character to achieve extreme success when making those kids of attacks. Combat is a major focus of the game, so there are more detailed rules for it than there are for most other tasks, including special benefits for extreme success. See Combat (p. 147) for more information.

Ranged combat requires an Accuracy task roll, while hand-to-hand combat requires a Prowess task roll.

Expertise examples: Archery, Blocking, Distracting, Dodging, Grappling, Ramming, Slamming, Surprise Attacks, Sweep Attacks, Taunting, Throwing, Underwater Combat, Zero-G Combat, [Specific Power]

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ComputingComputing allows the character to write new programs, take apart old ones, and follow data trails across networks. It also allows a character to create or circumvent computer security programs and protocols. If a character is extremely familiar with the program in question, the GM might reduce the task difficulty to 9. If the character is attempting to break into a computer system, the GM may assign a task difficulty of 15, or perhaps even higher, since these programs are designed to prevent interference.

Failing a Computing task roll might mean that an attempt to circumvent a computer security system is simply unsuccessful, or it may mean that the character has set off an alarm or left a “trail” which may be followed back to their location.

Computing typically requires a Reason task roll.

Expertise examples: Forensics, Forgery, Hacking, Programming

CultureThe Culture skill group covers the wide range of largely useless information that fills magazines, the World Wide Web, and most television networks. It also includes more serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific tidbits of information, such as the name of the fifth President of the United States or the origin of Play-Doh.

Culture typically requires a Perception task roll.

Expertise examples: Acting, Comedy, Dancing, Drawing, Fashion, Local History, Music, Painting, Popular Media, Sculpture, Singing

DeceptionThe Deception skill group is used to convince someone of the truth of a given statement or situation, usually with the aim of getting them to act on it. Deception could be used to convert someone to a religion, sell someone a car, or simply win an argument. It is not necessary for the deceiver to actually believe their own statements, but if they do they are more convincing (+3 bonus to the task roll). If the person being deceived is predisposed to believe the deceiver, the GM could grant an even greater bonus or just allow the task to succeed without rolling. If the character is trying to persuade someone to believe a patent absurdity (from the target’s point of view), the GM might impose a difficulty modifier of +3 or even +6.

A failed Deception task roll usually means that the subject simply does not believe the lie, but it could mean that the attempt has backfired, firmly convincing the subject of the opposite of what the character was trying to convince them of.

Deception typically requires a Willpower task roll.

Expertise examples: Bluffing, Distracting, Lying, Sales

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EngineeringEngineering is the relevant skill group whenever a character attempts to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, or materials. An Engineering task roll might be required to repair a damaged suspension bridge, modify a hadron collider to be a singularity cannon, or construct a containment suit for a being made of electromagnetic radiation.

Failing the Engineering task roll might indicate that the device simply does not work, or that it will fail catastrophically during use.

Engineering typically requires a Reason task roll.

Expertise examples: Aerospace, Architectural, Ceramic, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Nuclear

InvestigationThe Investigation skill group covers most of the tasks involved in solving crimes. This includes searching for clues, collecting and analyzing evidence, sifting through police reports and bank records, and so on.

A failed Investigation roll might mean that the character hits a dead end in the investigation, or it might mean that they seize on a red herring and draw the wrong conclusion from the evidence.

Investigation typically requires a Reason task roll, or perhaps a series of task rolls.

Expertise examples: Analyzing Evidence, Collecting Evidence, Searching

LegerdemainLegerdemain (literally, “light of hand”) covers the skills which require a delicate touch and fine control of the hands and fingers. A Legerdemain task roll might be required to slip a dagger to an ally, to pick someone’s pocket, or to pick the lock on a pair of handcuffs.

Failing a Legerdemain task roll indicates that the deception is easily spotted by the casual observer, or that the lock resists the attempt to pick it.

Legerdemain typically requires an Agility task roll.

Expertise examples: Lockpicking, Pickpocketing, Sleight Of Hand

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ManipulationThe Manipulation skill group pertains to eliciting cooperation or information from others by using flirtation, threats of violence, or just casual conversation. Interrogation usually hinges on convincing the subject that hope is futile and that resistance will only make things worse, while seduction can sometimes be successful even if the target is aware they are being seduced.

Failure of a Manipulation task roll may result in the subject of interrogation convincingly giving false information or possibly in the subject’s accidental death, or that the target finds the would-be seducer offensive or pathetic.

Manipulation typically requires a series of Willpower task rolls.

Expertise examples: Conversation, Interrogation, Seduction, Taunting

MedicineA knowledge of Medicine can be very useful in the violent world of Bulletproof Blues. Any medical procedure, from taking a person’s temperature and splinting broken limbs, to performing open-heart surgery and administering nanotherapy, is covered by the Medicine skill group. Knowledge of Medicine also gives the character familiarity with common drugs and toxins, and a competent knowledge of their effects on human physiology. Simple procedures, such as diagnosing and treating mild infections, are usually within the ability of a character with the Medicine skill group. Extensive and difficult medical procedures, such as re-attaching a severed limb or performing brain surgery, are generally better left to characters with expertise in those areas.

Medicine typically requires a Reason task roll.

Expertise examples: Diagnosis, Pharmacology, Surgery

ScienceThe Science skill group can cover a variety of fields, depending on the character’s interests. A character with a background in Science may be conversant with any discipline that’s reasonable for their background. A character with the Science background skill, but without expertise in any specific field, might be a skilled dilettante or simply an experienced but mediocre researcher. Dedicated scientists specialize.

Science typically requires a Reason task roll.

Expertise examples: Anthropology, Archeology, Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Cryogenics, Ecology, Genetics, Geology, Metallurgy, Meteorology, Nanotechnology, Oceanology, Parapsychology, Physics, Psychology, Radiology, Robotics, Sociology

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SocialThe Social skill group is used to cut through red tape, the proper manners for a given environment, and navigate the dark side of civilization. This includes the appropriate grammar (or lack of it), suitable attire, and how to blend in with any cultural group. A Social task roll might be required to circumvent a bureaucratic obstacle, to socialize with a group without offending them, or to get the word to the Mafia that the shipment of guns at midnight is a set-up.

A failed Social roll would result in the character being snubbed by polite society, or possibly in their being maimed by a coarser crowd.

Social task rolls typically require a Willpower task roll, and are sometimes opposed.

Expertise examples: Bribery, Etiquette, Streetwise

StealthStealth is the art of sneaking around. A Stealth task roll might be required to hide from a monster in an alien spaceship, to sneak up on a sentry, or to shadow a suspect back to the criminal’s hideout. Terrain, available cover, camouflage, and background noise will all affect the difficulty of the Stealth task roll.

Failing the task roll indicates that the furtive prowler is easily spotted by a casual observer.

Stealth typically requires an Agility task roll, and is usually opposed by a Perception task roll by the person the character is hiding from.

Expertise examples: Hiding, Shadowing, Sneaking

SurvivalThe Survival skill groups pertains to living off the land and coping with adverse environments. The task difficulty is dependent upon the terrain, temperature, and availability of food and shelter, and how well equipped the character is for the particular area. Harsh, hostile environments (the Gobi Desert, the Antarctic) would have a very high task difficulty (15 to 18) depending on how prepared the character is. Surviving in very mild environments (Central Park, or the woods just outside town) would have a low task difficulty (9 to 12), or would not require a task roll at all.

Failing a Survival task roll once might mean that the character has caught a cold, lost the trail of their prey, or eaten a plant that has made them sick. Failing numerous Survival task rolls could be lethal.

Survival typically requires a Perception task roll, or perhaps a series of task rolls.

Expertise examples: Foraging, Hunting, Tracking

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ADVANTAGES

Advantages are exceptional abilities that a normal human can have, but that most humans do not have. In a game where the players are supposed to be portraying characters within the range of human possibility, they could probably purchase advantages, but not powers. The details of each advantages are highly dependent on a character’s background, so the player should work with the GM to flesh out these details. Each advantage costs one character point.

Table: Typical advantages

Advantage Benefit

Animal Empathy Use Manipulation and Social skills on animals

Common Sense Get a warning from the GM before doing something stupid

Connected Get a favor from people with influence or authority

Exceptional Beauty Get attention, and perhaps favors, from admirers

Famous Get attention, and perhaps favors, from strangers

Headquarters A base of operations for the hero

Linguist Learn new languages with minimal effort

Master Plan Get a bonus if there is time to prepare for an encounter

Mental Calculator Solve complex mathematical operations by thinking about them

Minions Minor, mostly nameless henchmen of marginal usefulness

Perfect Recall Remember something perfectly with a Reason roll

Quick Change Change into superhero garb with a free action

Team Player Spend plot points for others on the same team

Unsettling Make people nervous for no real reason

Vehicles Sundry modes of fast and stylish transportation

Wealthy Solve problems with money

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ADVANTAGES

Typical AdvantagesThis is a list of typical advantages found in a Bulletproof Blues game. This list is not exhaustive. A character may well have an advantage not listed here, subject to GM approval. However, any new advantages should be approximately as useful as these advantages, in order to maintain a sense of fairness with other characters.

Animal EmpathyThe character has a bond with animals, and can use Manipulation and Social skills on them. Normal animals are more likely to be calm around the character, although a dangerous, hostile animal might require a successful Manipulation or Social task roll to keep the animal from attacking. A character’s Animal Empathy might be limited to a specific type of animal, such as cats or sea creatures. If this is the case, the character gains a +3 bonus on Manipulation and Social task rolls when interacting with that animal type.

Common SenseA character with Common Sense possesses sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation, helping them live in a reasonable and safe way. If the character is about to do something which would be considered stupid or self-destructive by a person with normal intelligence and real-life experience, the GM will warn the player that this is so. The player is not required to heed this advice, of course.

ConnectedThe character is on a first-name basis with people who have influence or authority. For example, perhaps the character is a college buddy of the Mayor’s and is a childhood friend of a major player in an organized crime syndicate. From time to time, the character can ask these people for favors and have a reasonable chance of having the favor granted. The likelihood of having the favor granted will be much greater if the character does favors in return from time to time. On the other hand, having friends in high places may mean that the character attracts the attention of the friends’ enemies.

Exceptional BeautyThe character is naturally, effortlessly attractive. It is difficult for the character to pass unnoticed, because they will be the focus of attention in nearly any circumstances. People who are swayed by appearance may be more likely to cooperate with the character, and the character can sometimes gain favors from admirers. If this is the case, the character gains a +3 bonus on relevant Manipulation and Social task rolls.

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FamousThe character’s name and likeness are widely known, perhaps due to their exploits or achievements. It is difficult for the character to pass unnoticed, because paparazzi are often nearby. People who are impressed by celebrity may be more likely to cooperate with the character, and the character can sometimes gain favors from strangers. If this is the case, the character gains a +3 bonus on relevant Manipulation and Social task rolls.

HeadquartersThe character has one or more bases of operation, equipped with supplies and equipment reasonable for the character’s background and skills. If the character is a member of a team, the base(s) might be shared with the other team members, at the player’s discretion. A headquarters is primarily a convenience for the GM and a fun asset for the character. It is not generally useful in combat, and is mainly used for flavor and a setting for roleplaying. For example, a high-tech base might have an air-tight security system, complete with laser turrets and knockout gas, but this won’t keep the base from being broken into by villains or taken over by an evil computer virus.

Lightning StrikeA character with Lightning Strike can deal devastating blows using speed and finesse rather than brute force. When in hand-to-hand combat, the character may substitute their rank in Agility for their rank in Brawn when determining the damage they inflict on their opponent. This can reflect the character’s advanced advanced martial arts training, their superhuman speed, the harnessing of the character’s chi, or some other effect, depending on the specifics of the character’s archetype and abilities.

LinguistLanguages are essentially background skills. The character is assumed to have varying fluency in whatever languages it makes sense for them to know. For example, a character might have spent a summer at their grandfather’s estate in Cyprus, where they picked up a smattering of Greek and Turkish. Languages are also highly plot dependent. Some games may have everyone speaking English, while other games might have a bewildering collection of terrestrial and extraterrestrial tongues. A character with the Linguist advantage would obviously be more useful in the latter than in the former.

Master PlanWith sufficient time and preparation beforehand, a character with the Master Plan advantage is able to gain a tactical benefit during an encounter at a time chosen by the player. The form this takes can vary, and should be negotiated between the player and the GM, but a relatively typical use of a Master Plan would be similar to the use of a plot point. The amount of time needed to formulate a Master Plan should be long enough to be believable, but not so long that it renders the advantage useless. Generally speaking, a character should only be permitted to concoct one Master Plan per game session, unless the GM makes an exception.

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Mental CalculatorThe character can perform complex mathematical calculations in their head in the same amount of time that a skilled mathematician could perform the same calculations on a powerful scientific calculator. Also, the character has an intuitive understanding of higher mathematics, and is able to comprehend and remember intricate formulae and equations after examining them briefly.

MinionsThe character has one or more minor, mostly nameless henchmen of marginal usefulness. Such minions might be mooks, agents, armed guards, administrative staff, or technicians to keep the character’s equipment in proper working order. There is no set limit to the number of minions a character might have, subject to the GM’s approval, but the more minions there are, the less competent they are. For example, if a character has just three minions — an administrative assistant, a chauffeur/auto mechanic, and a computer expert, for example — they might be reasonably competent at their respective assignments (rank 3 in their pertinent attributes). If the character has dozens of minions, however, the best among them would be rank 2, and none of them would have any background skills requiring advanced education or technical expertise.

Minions are primarily a fun asset for the character. They are not generally useful in combat, and are mainly used for flavor and as a foil for roleplaying. Minions never have expertise, and they should never steal the limelight from a player character.

Perfect RecallThe character may perfectly remember any event, document, recording, or picture which the character has taken the effort to study and memorize. The character does not need to understand the items to be memorized, because the information memorized is not stored as text; it is in the character’s memory as a picture. As such, the information is not subject to instantaneous retrieval, but the character may mentally “scroll down” or “fast forward” looking for a specific bit of data.

Quick ChangeThe Quick Change advantage is usually possessed only by posthumans and stage magicians (and posthuman stage magicians). Quick Change enables a character to change into superhero garb with a free action. This could be made possible by super-speed, a costume stored in a ring, or just wearing a different outfit underneath street clothes.

Team PlayerA character with the Team Player advantage excels at working with others, and other people are more effective with the character than they are alone. A Team Player can spend their own plot points on behalf of their teammates and allies. For example, this could be to help an ally do something the Team Player is not in a position to do, or to provide support for a teammate who is in trouble.

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UnsettlingThe character puts off a disturbing vibe that makes people nervous for no discernible reason. Strangers will find themselves disliking the character without knowing why, and normal animals will avoid the character unless forced to approach by a trainer or some other circumstance. On the other hand, the character may find it easier to intimidate others, providing a +3 bonus to relevant Manipulation task rolls.

VehiclesThe character has one or more vehicles which provide fast and stylish transportation. If the character is a member of a team, the vehicle(s) might be shared with the other team members, at the player’s discretion. A vehicle is primarily a convenience for the GM and a fun asset for the character. It is not generally useful in combat, and is mainly used for flavor and to make it easier for the character to get around. For example, a character might have a tricked-out Tushek Forego T700 equipped with rocket launchers, active camouflage, and biometric security, but it won’t defeat a rampaging posthuman and it’s not immune to being hacked by a deformed genius and his circus-themed minions.

WealthyIf a problem can be solved by throwing money at it, a character with the Wealthy advantage can probably solve that problem. Food, clothing, and shelter cease to be concerns for a character with Wealthy, but they are still plagued by the same interpersonal issues that are behind the serious problems most people face. In addition, sometimes wealth itself can be a source of problems. The character may have responsibilities related to their source of income, or they might need to fend off attempts to deprive them of their inheritance.

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Powers are those abilities beyond what is possible for ordinary mortals. Flying through the air, reading others’ thoughts, and firing blasts of energy from one’s jewelry are impossible for the typical man or woman on the street, but these powers are all within reach for a superhero. Each power costs from one to three character points per rank in the power. The cost per rank of each power is listed in the power’s description.

ExpertiseA character who has expertise with a power possesses extraordinary competence, above and beyond the skill a character with that power may reasonably be assumed to possess. Expertise in a power costs 1 character point in addition to the cost of the power itself.

If the player rolls three or more over the task difficulty set by the GM, and the character has expertise in the power, this is an extreme success. If the player rolls an extreme success in combat, the attacker may choose one of three bonus effects, unless the description of the power says otherwise: overwhelming the target, smashing the target, or staggering the target. See Extreme Success (p. 146) for more details.

Expertise does not give a character a power they would not normally possess, nor does lack of expertise mean that a character incurs any penalty when using that power. A character with the Plant Control power, but without expertise in Plant Control, would still be able to animate and mentally control plants.

Villainous ExpertiseOnly very unusual villains have expertise. Expertise can have a powerful effect in combat, and it tends to be more powerful in the hands of the GM than in the hands of the players because the GM rolls more dice over the course of the game than any of the players do. For this reason, it is best to restrict villainous expertise to only those villains that truly do have an exceptional amount of control over their powers and abilities. If the game moderator is concerned about a villain’s ability to pose a challenge to the heroes,

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remember that the GM can give villains any attribute or power at any rank. If the villain isn’t putting up enough of a fight and the game feels like the characters are going through the motions, then the GM should boost the villain’s abilities or give them some henchmen to help out. Be creative.

Typical PowersThis is a list of typical powers found in a Bulletproof Blues game. This list is not exhaustive. A character may well have a power not listed here, using the guidelines under New Powers and subject to GM approval. However, any new powers should be approximately as useful as these powers, in order to maintain a sense of fairness with other characters.

Some power names have a word in brackets, such as [Element] Mastery. This indicates that the power listed is a general version, and you will need to choose the specific power. For example, a character won’t have the [Attribute] Boost power. Instead, they will have Brawn Boost, or Agility Boost, or some other boosted attribute. This choice must be made when the power is purchased, and may not normally be changed thereafter.

A few powers are marked with a star (★). This indicates that the power listed is actually a group of related powers from which you will need to choose. For example, a character with the Super Senses power will need to choose which senses they actually have. As with general powers, this choice must be made when the power is purchased, and may not normally be changed thereafter.

ActivationThe Activation column indicates when or if the power must be turned on. Powers listed as “Always On” are assumed to be active at all times. Powers listed as “Activated” must be turned on by the character using a free action, but will remain on as long as the character is conscious. “Attack” powers require a task action to use, while “Reaction” powers can be used at any time, as often as the GM deems reasonable. See Actions (p. 140) for more information.

Task RollThe Task Roll column indicates which attribute is used for task rolls to use the power. For most attacks, this is also the attribute used to determine the difficulty modifier. For example, for hand-to-hand attacks, both the task roll and the difficulty modifier are based on Prowess. Ranged attacks are the exception. If the Task Roll column says “Accuracy”, the power is a ranged attack: the task roll is based on Accuracy, while the task difficulty is based on the target’s Agility.

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Power Activation Task Roll Target Range Cost

Absorption Always On — Personal — 1

Alternate Form Activated — Personal — 1

Amazing Movement ★ Activated — Personal — 1

Animal Control Attack Power Radius Ranged 1

Attack Reflection Reaction Power Single Target Ranged 2

[Attribute] Boost Activated — Personal — 1

[Attribute] Drain Attack Prowess Single Target Touch 1

Attribute Invulnerability Always On — Personal — 1

Barrier Attack Power Radius Ranged 1

Blast Attack Accuracy Single Target Ranged 1

Blindness Attack Accuracy Single Target Ranged 1

Clinging Activated — Personal — 1

Combination Activated — Personal Touch 1

Communication ★ Activated Perception Personal Varies 1

Damaging Aura Activated Prowess Personal Touch 1

Danger Sense Reaction Varies Personal — 1

Duplication Activated — Personal — 3

[Element] Form Activated — Personal — 2

[Element] Mastery Varies Varies Radius Varies 3

Element Mimicry Activated — Personal Touch 2

[Element] Resistance Always On — Personal — 1

Emotion Control Attack Willpower Single Target Ranged 1

Extra Attacks Activated — Personal — 1

Flight Activated — Personal — 2

Force Field Activated — Personal — 1

Growth Activated — Personal — 1

Healing Attack Accuracy Single Target Ranged 1

Hold Attack Accuracy Single Target Ranged 1

Illusion Attack Power Radius Ranged 1

Immortality Always On — Personal — 1

Immunity ★ Always On — Personal — 1

Increased Density Activated — Personal — 1

Intangibility Activated — Personal — 1

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Power Activation Task Roll Target Range Cost

Invisibility Activated — Personal — 1

Invulnerability Always On — Personal — 1

Life Drain Attack Prowess Single Target Touch 1

Machine Control Attack Power Single Target Ranged 1

Mind Blast Attack Willpower Single Target Ranged 2

Mind Control Attack Willpower Single Target Ranged 2

Mind Hold Attack Willpower Single Target Ranged 2

Mind Shield Always On — Personal — 1

Object Animation Attack Power Single Target Ranged 1

Plant Control Attack Power Radius Ranged 1

Possession Attack Willpower Single Target Ranged 2

Power Drain Attack Prowess Single Target Touch 1

Power Invulnerability Always On — Personal — 1

Power Mimicry Attack Prowess Single Target Touch 2

Power Suppression Attack Power Single Target Ranged 1

Power Theft Attack Prowess Single Target Touch 3

Probability Control Activated — Single Target Ranged 2

Regeneration Always On — Personal — 1

Shapeshifting Activated — Personal — 2

Shrinking Activated — Personal — 1

Stretching Activated — Personal — 1

Strike Attack Prowess Single Target Touch 1

Super-jumping Activated — Personal — 1

Super-running Activated — Personal — 1

Super Senses ★ Activated Perception Personal Varies 1

Super-speed Activated — Personal — 1

Super-swimming Activated — Personal — 1

Telekinesis Attack Accuracy Single Target Ranged 1

Telepathy Attack Willpower Single Target Ranged 1

Teleportation Activated — Personal — 2

Time Control Attack Power Single Target Ranged 2

[Transformation] Ray Attack Accuracy Single Target Ranged 1

Tunneling Activated — Personal — 2

[Ultra-power] Varies Varies Varies Varies 3

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TargetThe Target column indicates who or what is affected by the power. Many powers affect only the character with the power, such as Invisibility. These are indicated as “Personal”. Other powers affect either a single target, an area defined by the character, or an area centered on the character with the power. See Radius Effect (p. 126) for more information.

RangeThe Range column indicates the useful range of the power. Many powers only affect the character with the power, such as Invisibility. These are indicated with a dash (—). Powers which only work hand-to-hand are indicated as “Touch” powers, while powers which may be targeted at range are indicated as “Ranged”. A few powers have ranges based on the specific type of power chosen, or on some other circumstance. These are indicated as “Varies”.

The maximum effective distance of “Ranged” powers is based on the rank of the power (the distance on the Benchmarks table under “Affects”). In some cases, the power may be used at greater range, but with severely diminished accuracy. See Range Bands (p. 139) for more information.

Villain PowersPowers can sometimes work quite differently for villains than it does for heroes. For example, a character with Mind Control will rarely be able to maintain their control over a target for more than a few minutes, but a villain might have an GMC under their control for weeks or even years. Story-based powers can accomplish things that are simply beyond the capabilities of player characters. However, do not overuse this technique, or the players will grow tired of it.

CostThe Cost column indicates the cost per rank to purchase the power. The total cost of a power may be modified by power enhancements and power defects. See Power Modifiers (p. 125) for more information.

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Power DescriptionsAbsorption

Activation: Always OnTask roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Absorption permits the character to absorb damage from a force or substance and use that energy in specific ways. The character can heal themselves, or they can temporarily gain the power that attacked them, or they can boost one of their existing powers. The specific type of force or substance that can be absorbed must be chosen when this power is purchased. Some typical examples are air, earth, fire, water, light, darkness, force fields, electricity, magnetism, gravity, cloth, and plants. The player may pick any force or substance, subject to the GM’s approval.

The maximum amount of energy which can be absorbed from a single attack is equal to the rank in the Absorption power, or the amount of damage which exceeds the character’s protection value (PV), whichever is less. For example, if a character has rank 3 Force Field and rank 2 Absorption (electricity) and is struck by a rank 7 electrical attack, the damage rating of the attack reduces the character’s Endurance by 4 (7 - 3 = 4), and the character absorbs 2 ranks of energy. These 2 ranks are added to a pool of absorbed energy which depletes at the rate of 1 rank per round, starting the round after the energy was absorbed.

The energy in the character’s Absorption pool may be used in one of three ways, which may be chosen by the character on a case-by-case basis.

• Healing: The character restores an amount of lost Endurance (or other damaged attribute) up to the rank of energy in the pool. Each rank of restored Endurance requires the expenditure of one rank of absorbed energy. Healing themselves in this fashion requires a free action.

• Power: The character gains the power that inflicted the damage, and can use this power to attack others. Each rank of the gained power requires the expenditure of one rank of absorbed energy, and the power lasts for only one round. Gaining the power requires a free action, but using it requires a task action (or whatever action that power normally requires).

• Boost: The character may increase the rank of one of their attributes or of one of their current powers. This requires the expenditure of one rank of absorbed energy for each rank by which the attribute or power is increased, and the boost lasts for only one round. Boosting an attribute or power requires a free action, but using the attribute or power requires whatever action that attribute or power normally requires.

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Absorption does not provide protection against an attack: the damage rating of an attack is not reduced by the rank of the Absorption power. If the damage of any attack (regardless of type) would knock the character unconscious or kill them, the character automatically uses their absorbed energy to heal themselves, up to either their full Endurance or the ranks of energy in their Absorption pool, whichever is less.

EnhancementsDelayed Depletion: The absorbed energy depletes at a rate of one rank per minute rather than one rank per round. +1 character point

Alternate FormsActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

A character with the Alternate Forms power has multiple independent identities, each with its own powers and appearance, and potentially even a different personality for each (if the player wishes). The character can only use one alternate form at a time, and changing forms requires activating the power with a free action (although the character can only activate one form per round). The number of alternate forms the character has is equal to the rank of the power. For example, a character with rank 3 Alternate Forms who can consciously control their evolution might have a physically powerful but slow-witted hominid form, a physically weak but mentally potent hyper-evolved form, and an aquatic prehistoric form. The cost for all forms is paid by the base character; the alternate forms are created using the same number of character points as the base character (minus the cost of the Alternate Forms power), and they may not themselves have the Alternate Forms power.

Alternate Forms must be activated with a free action: if the character is staggered or goes unconscious, the power turns off, and the character reverts to their base form. The character may also turn off their Alternate Forms voluntarily, of course. A staggered character may attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) to keep their Alternate Forms activated while staggered.

The specific mechanism of the Alternate Forms can vary greatly from character to character, which may offer minor benefits and disadvantages to the character.

DefectsDial R For Random (major defect): Normally, a character with Alternate Forms has a set of predefined forms and identities. With the Dial R For Random power defect, the knowledge and memories of the character are preserved, but their powers and appearance (and personality, if the player wishes) are that of a completely new person each time the power is activated. With the GM’s approval, even the character’s skills and

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advantages might be changed. A character with the Dial R For Random power defect must have at least 2 ranks in the Alternate Forms power. -1 character point

Uncontrollable (extreme defect): The character is unable to control when they change forms, nor which form is taken (if they have more than one). The Alternate Forms may be triggered by the emotional state of character (anger is a popular choice), or the character may change forms on an unknown or immutable schedule. -2 character points

Amazing Movement ★Activation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Amazing Movement permits the character to move in ways that are unusual even for posthumans. Each rank in Amazing Movement provides the character with a different form of movement chosen from the list below. Amazing Movement is a plot dependent power and may not always be available, at the GM’s discretion.

• Astral Travel: The character can detach their consciousness from their physical body and travel to alternate realities and divergent time streams, leaving their physical body behind. The character must succeed at a demanding (task difficulty 15) Willpower task roll to navigate to a specific location in a desired reality or divergent time stream. While using Astral Travel, the consciousness of the traveler is typically invisible, but those who possess extraordinary spiritual or magical awareness may be able to see the traveler’s “astral body”. The “astral body” of the traveler does not require the Immunity power to survive in other realities or planes of existence, and is usually unable to interact with the strange vistas around them, although they may converse with anyone capable of perceiving them. While the “astral body” is separated from the character’s physical body, their physical body appears to be in a comatose state, and the traveler is unaware of anything happening to or around their physical form.

• Dimensional Travel: The character can traverse dimensional boundaries, visiting alternate realities and divergent time streams. Depending on the method used, the character may be able to take others with them. Survival in other realities or planes of existence may require ranks in Immunity, depending on the local environment. See Immunity (p. 93) for more details.

• Etheric Travel: The character can detach their consciousness from their physical body and travel to anywhere on Earth, leaving their physical body behind. The character must succeed at a challenging (task difficulty 12) Willpower task roll to navigate to a specific location. While using Etheric Travel, the consciousness of the traveler is typically invisible, but those who possess extraordinary spiritual or magical awareness may be able to see the traveler’s “etheric body”. The “etheric body” of the traveler does not require the Immunity power to survive in the upper atmosphere or under water, and is usually unable to interact with the world around

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them, although they may converse with anyone capable of perceiving them. While the “etheric body” is separated from the character’s physical body, their physical body appears to be in a comatose state, and the traveler is unaware of anything happening to or around their physical form.

• Space Travel: The character can travel into space, visiting distant worlds and returning in a reasonably prompt fashion. Depending on the method used, the character may be able to take others with them. Survival in outer space requires a spaceworthy vehicle or at least 4 ranks in Immunity (Asphyxia, Exposure (Cold), Radiation, and Vacuum). See Immunity (p. 93) for more details.

• Time Travel: The character can traverse the time stream, stepping into the past or the future. Depending on the method used, the character may be able to take others with them. Whether the time traveler can change the past or simply creates a divergent time stream is a bone of contention among philosophers and temporal physicists (the Kalos Universe generally assumes the latter).

Animal ControlActivation: Attack Task roll: Power Target: Radius Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

Animal Control allows a character to communicate with and mentally control animals. To successfully communicate with and control all animals within range of the power, the character must succeed at a challenging (task difficulty 12) Animal Control task roll. A character’s Animal Control might be limited to a specific type of animal, such as cats or sea creatures. If this is the case, the character gains a +3 bonus on their Animal Control task rolls.

Animated animals have the same actions as a normal character (free actions, movement action, task action, reaction), and operate independently of the character that animated them. Giving a new mental command to the controlled animals requires a free action.

The attributes of the controlled animals are equal to the normal attributes those kinds of animals would have. However, controlled animals are highly resistant to mental powers, having Mind Shield equal to the rank of the Animal Control power. If the character has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the animated animals are significantly smarter (+3 Reason and +3 Perception). Controlled animals have the normal movement and attack types that those kinds of animals would have.

The character can control animals in an area around themselves based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the value in the “Affects” column.

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Attack ReflectionActivation: Reaction Task roll: Power Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 2 character points per rank

Attack Reflection permits the character to reflect an attack back at the attacker. Using this power requires an Attack Reflection task roll against the Accuracy of the attacker. If the Attack Reflection task roll fails, the character is struck by the attack and must endure the normal effects of being hit. If the Attack Reflection task roll succeeds, the attack is reflected back and strikes the attacker. If the reflecting character has expertise with Attack Reflection and rolls an extreme success, then they may choose one of the standard benefits of extreme success, either overwhelming, smashing, or staggering the attacker.

[Attribute] BoostActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

[Attribute] Boost permits the character to increase the rank of one of their attributes, chosen when this power is purchased. Once every ten minutes, the character may add their ranks in [Attribute] Boost to the rank of their selected attribute (up to rank 14 maximum). The boosted attribute remains at this increased rank for one minute (ten rounds). Once the [Attribute] Boost wears off, the attribute drops to its normal rank (rounded up). Once the character has used their [Attribute] Boost power, it may not be used again for ten minutes.

DefectsAttribute Fatigue (major defect): Once the [Attribute] Boost wears off, the attribute drops to one-half of its normal rank (rounded up) for ten minutes, after which it returns to its normal rank. -1 character point

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[Attribute] DrainActivation: Attack Task roll: Prowess Target: Single Target Range: Touch Cost: 1 character point per rank

[Attribute] Drain is a hand-to-hand attack which inflicts damage to an attribute other than Endurance. The [Attribute] Drain could be radiation, disease, cold, extreme age, toxic gas, or even darkness or light; both this and the specific attribute affected must be chosen when the [Attribute] Drain power is purchased. The [Attribute] Drain has a damage rating equal to the rank of the power.

Using [Attribute] Drain requires a Prowess task roll against the Prowess of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the attacker may choose one of the standard benefits of extreme success, either overwhelming, smashing, or staggering the target of the [Attribute] Drain.

Any power or equipment that provides protection for the same attribute as the [Attribute] Drain, such as Attribute Invulnerability, reduces the amount of damage the target takes from the attack. The protection value (PV) of the protection power is subtracted from the damage rating (DR) of the [Attribute] Drain. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s attribute.

The damage from [Attribute] Drain is temporary. It all comes back after the fight is over, when the target has had a chance to rest and recuperate.

EnhancementsRanged: The [Attribute] Drain is a ranged attack, with an effective range based on its rank. Using [Attribute] Drain requires an Accuracy task roll against the Agility of the intended target. +1 character point

Attribute InvulnerabilityActivation: Always On Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Attribute Invulnerability provides protection against attacks which inflict damage to an attribute other than Endurance. A character with Attribute Invulnerability subtracts the rank of the power from the damage rating of attacks that strike them. The remainder of the damage is subtracted from the character’s attribute. Attribute Invulnerability does not need to be activated, nor can it be deactivated: it is always on.

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BarrierActivation: Attack Task roll: Power Target: Radius Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

Barrier permits the character to create walls and simple geometric shapes made of a particular force or substance. The specific type of force or substance must be chosen when this power is purchased. Some typical examples are air, earth, fire, water, light, darkness, force fields, electricity, magnetism, gravity, cloth, and plants. The player can pick any force or substance, subject to the GM’s approval. “Energy”, for example, would be much too broad.

Creating a simple shape with Barrier (a wall, dome, cube, and so on) requires a challenging Barrier task roll (task difficulty 12). Creating more complex shapes requires a more difficult task roll, with the task difficulty set by the GM based on the complexity of the desired shape. For example, a “T” or “W” or other angular shape would require a demanding Barrier task roll (task difficulty 15), while an intricate labyrinth would require a frustrating Barrier task roll (task difficulty 18).

The maximum length or circumference of the barrier is based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the value in the “Affects” column. This is the maximum length or circumference of the barrier the character may create.

The Barrier has Endurance and protection value (PV) equal to the rank of the power. If the character has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the Barrier created is significantly tougher (+3 Endurance). If the damage rating of an attack is less than or equal to the protection value of the Barrier, the attack bounces off harmlessly and the Barrier is undamaged. If damage from an attack exceeds the Barrier’s protection value, the remaining damage is subtracted from the Barrier’s Endurance, and the attack makes a hole in the barrier large enough for a normal person to walk through. If the Endurance of the Barrier is reduced to zero, the Barrier is destroyed: it crumbles, dissolves, or fades away, as appropriate.

A Barrier may also be used to support weight, as a bridge, support column, or other such structure. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the value in the “Lifts” column. This is the maximum weight which the Barrier can support. If the load on the Barrier exceeds this weight, the Barrier loses 1 Endurance each round that the weight on it exceeds its lifting capacity.

If a Barrier is not attacked or damaged, it will normally remain in place until the end of the scene, after which it crumbles, dissolves, or fades away, as appropriate.

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EnhancementsPermanent: The Barrier is relatively permanent. It does not dissolve at the end of the scene, and will remain in place until destroyed. +1 character point

BlastActivation: Attack Task roll: Accuracy Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

Blast is a ranged attack which inflicts Endurance damage. The Blast could be radiation, fire, cold, arrows, or even darkness or light, and this must be chosen when the Blast power is purchased. The Blast has a damage rating equal to the rank of the power.

Using Blast requires an Accuracy task roll against the Agility of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the attacker may choose one of the standard benefits of extreme success, either overwhelming, smashing, or staggering the target of the Blast.

Any power or equipment that provides protection from Endurance damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, reduces the amount of damage the target takes from the attack. The protection value (PV) of the protection power is subtracted from the damage rating (DR) of the Blast. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s Endurance.

EnhancementsExplosive Damage: The Blast causes damage to everyone within 50 feet of the target (full rank within the first 25 feet, half rank from 25 feet to 50 feet). Because an exploding attack does not need to be aimed at a specific target, the difficulty of the task roll is 9. However, because exploding attacks are not targeted at specific individuals, they do not benefit from extreme success. +1 character point

Seeking: The Blast has limited independence from the attacker. If the attack misses the target, the attack will circle around and try again on the succeeding round. No interaction or attention is required from the attacker for this second attack. +1 character point

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BlindnessActivation: Attack Task roll: Accuracy Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

The Blindness power renders the target unable to see. The mechanism which causes the blindess must be specified when this power is purchased. For example, the target might not be able to see because they have a layer of glue across their eyes, they might be forced to close their eyes due to a painful chemical spray, or they could literally be blinded by a bright light. Alternately, Blindness could affect a sense other than vision. For example, the target could be rendered deaf, or unable to smell. It is also possible to use Blindness against a Super Sense, such as Danger Sense, Detect Magic, or ESP. If so, this must be specified when this power is purchased.

Attacking a character under the effects of Blindness provides a +6 attack bonus (the standard task roll bonus for attacking a blind target).

Using Blindness requires an Accuracy task roll against the Agility of the intended target. To recover from Blindness, the target must make a successful Perception task roll against the rank of the Blindness. If the character succeeds at this task roll, they may use their remaining movement action.

If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the Blindness is increased by 3 for the purpose of the target recovering from it. For example, if a character is affected by a rank 4 Blindness, and the attacker has expertise with the power and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a Perception task roll against task difficulty 15 (4 + 3 + 8) to recover from the Blindness.

If the blinded character gets an extreme success on the Perception task roll, then they recover as a free action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is affected by a rank 5 Blindness, they would need to make a Perception task roll against task difficulty 13 (5 + 8). If they roll a 16 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and recovering is a free action rather than a task action.

If the character has not recovered from the Blindness by the end of the scene, then they recover from it shortly thereafter.

EnhancementsAdditional Sense: The Blindness affects a sense in addition to vision (or the first affected sense, if it is not vision). For example, the target might be deafened as well as blinded. +1 character point

Mass Blindness: The Blindness power affects everyone within 50 feet of the target, similar to an explosion (full rank within the first 25 feet, half rank from 25 feet to 50 feet). Because an exploding attack does not need to be aimed at a specific target, the difficulty

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of the task roll is 9. However, because exploding attacks are not targeted at specific individuals, they do not benefit from extreme success. +1 character point

ClingingActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Clinging allows the character to move at their normal ground speed along walls, ceilings, and other surfaces as if they were level. The strength holding the character to the surface is equal to their Brawn plus their rank in Clinging. If the surface is slippery or unstable, the GM might require the player to make a successful Clinging task roll to keep from sliding or falling.

CombinationActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: Touch Cost: 1 character point per rank

Combination permits several characters to merge into a single larger and more powerful character. Every character wishing to combine must have the Combination power, and the maximum number of characters who may combine is equal to the lowest rank of Combination among them. Activating Combination takes one standard action, and requires the characters to all be touching each other. In addition to being more massive, the combined character has Brawn, Prowess, and Invulnerability (if any) equal to the highest rank of any of the combined characters, plus one rank for every combined character after the first.

Example:

Moe, Larry, and Curly each have rank 3 Combination. Moe has Brawn 3 and Prowess 2. Larry has Brawn 2 and Prowess 4. Curly has Brawn 2, Prowess 1, and rank 2 Invulnerability. When Moe, Larry, and Curly combine, they form the mighty Stoopendigous, who has Brawn 5 (Moe’s rank 3, plus 2 more for Larry and Curly), Prowess 6 (Larry’s rank 4, plus 2 more for Moe and Curly), and rank 4 Invulnerability (Curly’s rank 2, plus 2 more for Moe and Larry).

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Communication ★Activation: Activated Task roll: Perception Target: Personal Range: Varies Cost: 1 character point per rank

Communication permits the character to communicate with others in ways that people normally can’t. Communication does not imply control: being able to speak with animals, for example, does not permit the character to control them, but it allows the character to use a Manipulation or Social skill. Also note that being able to speak to something does not grant it any additional powers, such as movement. A building might be able to tell you where the vault is, but it can’t unlock the vault for you. To manipulate and control an object, the character must buy the appropriate power, such as Plant Control.

Each rank in Communication provides the character with a different form of communication chosen from the list below.

• Animals: The character can understand animals, and can speak to them in a way they can understand. A character’s Animal Communication might be limited to a specific type of animal, such as cats or sea creatures. If this is the case, the character gains a +3 bonus on Manipulation and Social task rolls when interacting with that animal type.

• Buildings: The character can understand buildings and other man-made structures, and can speak to them in a way they can understand.

• Computers: The character can communicate with any computer they can perceive, accessing it as if logged in and typing into a keyboard.

• Machines: The character can understand machines, and can speak to them in a way they can understand.

• Mind Link: Two characters who both have Mind Link can communicate telepathically over any distance.

• Plants: The character can understand plants, and can speak to them in a way they can understand.

• Radio: The character can send and receive signals over any standard radio frequency.

• Roads: The character can understand paths, roads, and highways, and can speak to them in a way they can understand.

• Stones: The character can understand rocks and stones, and can speak to them in a way they can understand.

• Universal Translator: The character can understand and speak any language after being exposed to it for a brief period of time. If the character has access to written information, they can read and write the language as well.

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EnhancementsSubtle: The communication is difficult to notice for those not involved in the conversation. Anyone not party to the conversation must make a demanding (task difficulty 15) Perception task roll just to notice the conversation. +1 character point

Encrypted: The communication is encoded in a way that makes it very difficult for eavesdroppers to understand. If the eavesdropper has the necessary form of Communication (for example, Radio to eavesdrop on a radio conversation), the eavesdropper must succeed at a nigh-impossible (task difficulty 21) Reason task roll to understand what is being said. +1 character point

Damaging AuraActivation: Activated Task roll: Prowess Target: Personal Range: Touch Cost: 1 character point per rank

A character with Damaging Aura can surround themselves with an attack which inflicts Endurance damage against anyone who touches them. The Damaging Aura could be radiation, fire, cold, quills, or even darkness or light, and this must be chosen when the Damaging Aura power is purchased. The Damaging Aura has a damage rating equal to the rank of the power.

Any opponent that touches the character will automatically be affected by the character’s Damaging Aura. This includes those who successfully make unarmed attacks against the character. The character with Damaging Aura may also attempt to touch others and cause damage. Doing so requires a Prowess task roll against the Prowess of the intended target. If the character with the Damaging Aura has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then they may choose one of the standard benefits of extreme success, either overwhelming, smashing, or staggering the target of the Damaging Aura.

Any power or equipment that provides protection from Endurance damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, reduces the amount of damage the target takes from the Damaging Aura. The protection value (PV) of the protection power is subtracted from the damage rating (DR) of the Damaging Aura. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s Endurance.

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Danger SenseActivation: Reaction Task roll: Varies Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Danger Sense permits the character to attempt a Danger Sense roll to avoid being surprised even if there is no way for the character to see the attack coming. The Danger Sense task roll is based on either the rank in Danger Sense or the character’s Perception rank +1, whichever is greater. If the character has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then they know the exact source and nature of the attack.

If the character’s Danger Sense has a higher rank than their Prowess, the rank in Danger Sense may be used in place of Prowess to avoid being hit in hand-to-hand combat. If the character’s Danger Sense has a higher rank than their Agility, the rank in Danger Sense may be used in place of Agility to avoid being hit in ranged combat.

DuplicationActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 3 character points per rank

Duplication allows a character to make identical copies of themselves. These duplicates are independent characters, who each move and act separately each round. However, all of the duplicates share a single pool of Plot Points, and spend their Plot Points as a single character.

One rank in Duplication permits the creation of one duplicate, and each additional rank doubles the number of characters which exist simultaneously. Rank 1 permits two identical characters, rank 2 permits four identical characters, rank 3 permits eight identical characters, and so on. As long as there is more than one identical character, any duplicate which takes Endurance damage ceases to exist. By default, there is no “original” character — the last duplicate remaining is the “original”. Once the Duplication is activated, any of the identical characters may deactivate the power. When the power is deactivated, which duplicate remains behind as the “original” is generally up the player.

The character is not required to activate or deactivate all of their duplicates simultaneously. For example, a character with rank 4 Duplication could create one duplicate this round, create four more duplicates the following round, deactivate two duplicates on the third round, and so on. Duplicates last until they are deactivated or until they take any Endurance damage. When a duplicate is deactivated, its memories and knowledge are absorbed into the remaining identical characters.

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The specific mechanism of the Duplication can vary greatly from character to character, which may offer minor benefits and disadvantages to the character.

Table: Duplication

Rank Characters

1 2

2 4

3 8

4 16

5 32

6 64

7 128

8 256

9 512

10 1,024

11 2,048

12 4,096

13 8,192

14 16,384

Duplicates do not have any special means of communication, but this can be added with a power enhancement.

EnhancementsMind Link: All of the identical characters may communicate telepathically over any distance. +1 character point

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[Element] FormActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 2 character points per rank

Owing to Bulletproof Blues being a superhero game, the term “element” is used very loosely. [Element] Form permits the character to physically transform their body into a force or substance. The specific type of force or substance must be chosen when this power is purchased. Some typical examples are air, earth, fire, water, light, darkness, force fields, electricity, magnetism, gravity, cloth, and plants. The player can pick any force or substance, subject to the GM’s approval. “Energy”, for example, would be much too broad.

When transformed into their [Element] Form, the character possesses the traits of the form or substance and gains Invulnerability equal to the rank of the [Element] Form. If the force or substance is appropriate, [Element] Form may also grant the Strike power equal to the rank of the [Element] Form (punching with fists of stone, burning things with an electrical touch, and so on).

With the GM’s approval, [Element] Form may grant other powers, as well. For example, Electrical Form might grant the ability to Teleport through conductive material, Water Form might grant Stretching, and so on.

DefectsVulnerability (major defect): While in their [Element] Form, the character may be damaged by an opposing element. For example, a character with Earth Form, Fire Form, or Electrical Form may take Endurance damage from water, while a character with Darkness Form may take Endurance damage from bright light. The amount of Endurance damage taken will depend on the strength or volume of the opposing element, but should generally be 2 Endurance per attack. The character’s Invulnerability or Force Field, if any, does not protect the character from this damage. -1 character point

[Element] MasteryActivation: Varies Task roll: Varies Target: Radius Range: Varies Cost: 3 character points per rank

Owing to Bulletproof Blues being a superhero game, the term “element” is used very loosely. [Element] Mastery permits the character to create and control a force or substance. The specific type of force or substance must be chosen when this power is purchased. Some typical examples are air, earth, fire, water, light, darkness, force fields, electricity, magnetism, gravity, cloth, and plants. The player can pick any force

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or substance, subject to the GM’s approval. “Energy”, for example, would be much too broad.

A character with [Element] Mastery can shape and manipulate their element in a variety of ways. Reasonable uses of [Element] Mastery include creating walls and barriers (see Barrier, p. 73), encasing enemies in the element (see Hold, p. 89), using the element to exert Brawn at range (see Telekinesis, p. 119), creating a protective shield against attacks (see Force Field, p. 86), and using the element to inflict direct damage by striking enemies with it (see Blast, p. 74). Due to the tightly unifying theme of [Element] Mastery, power-altering powers such as Power Drain affect the entire [Element] Mastery.

Any uses of [Element] Mastery must be activated with a free action or a task action (attacks require a task action): if the character is staggered or goes unconscious, the power turns off. The character may also turn off their [Element] Mastery voluntarily, of course. A staggered character may attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) to keep their [Element] Mastery activated while staggered.

The character can affect their element in an area around themselves based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the value in the “Affects” column. This is the area in which the character may control their chosen element. Use the “Lifts” column in the Benchmarks table to determine maximum amount of the element they may manipulate at a time.

Element MimicryActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: Touch Cost: 2 character points per rank

Owing to Bulletproof Blues being a superhero game, the term “element” is used very loosely. Element Mimicry permits the character to physically transform their body into any force or substance they touch. For example, the character could touch concrete and turn into concrete, or touch water and turn into water. The character must be in physical contact with the material in order to mimic it. If the character uses a task action to mimic a force or substance which would injure them, such as an attack, they transform into that attack type and the attack does no damage to them. For example, a character with Element Mimicry who is shot by a laser may choose to use a task action to transform into laser light, taking no damage from that attack (nor from any other laser attacks, while in that form).

While transformed, the character possesses the traits of the force or substance and gains Invulnerability equal to the rank of the Element Mimicry. If the force or substance is appropriate, Element Mimicry may also grant the Strike power equal to the rank of the Element Mimicry (punching with fists of stone, burning things with an electrical touch, and so on).

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With the GM’s approval, Element Mimicry may grant other powers, as well. For example, mimicking electricity might grant the ability to Teleport through conductive material, while mimicking water might grant Stretching, and so on.

[Element] ResistanceActivation: Always On Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Owing to Bulletproof Blues being a superhero game, the term “element” is used very loosely. [Element] Resistance provides protection against the Endurance damage inflicted by a specific type of force or substance. The first rank of [Element] Resistance grants resistance to one specific force or substance, and each additional rank of [Element] Resistance adds resistance to an additional force or substance. The specific types of force or substance must be chosen when this power is purchased. Some typical examples are air, earth, fire, water, light, darkness, force fields, electricity, magnetism, gravity, cloth, and plants. The player can pick any force or substance, subject to the GM’s approval. “Energy”, for example, would be much too broad.

A character with [Element] Resistance subtracts 10 from the damage rating of attacks using the specific type of force or substance. The remainder of the damage is subtracted from the character’s Endurance.

Additionally, [Element] Resistance acts as a limited form of Attribute Invulnerability, providing protection against attacks which inflict damage to Brawn or Agility. A character with [Element] Resistance subtracts the rank of the power from the attribute damage of attacks using that specific force or substance. The remainder of the damage is subtracted from the character’s Brawn or Agility.

[Element] Resistance does not need to be activated, nor can it be deactivated: it is always on. As always, this protection does not stack with Force Field, Invulnerability, Attribute Invulnerability, or other forms of protection — only the highest protection value applies.

EnhancementsImmunity: The character is completely immune to attacks using the specific forces or substances to which the character has [Element] Resistance. The character may be subject to the smashing and staggering outcomes of extreme success, if appropriate, but the attacks themselves inflict no damage at all. +1 character point

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Emotion ControlActivation: Attack Task roll: Willpower Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

The Emotion Control power allows a character to influence a target’s behaviour by controlling the target’s emotional state. The character can only instill one emotion at a time in the target, but may instill in the target any emotion the character desires. A character’s Emotion Control might be limited to a specific emotion, such as fear or loyalty. If this is the case, the character gains a +3 bonus on their Emotion Control task rolls.

Using Emotion Control requires a Willpower task roll against the Willpower of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the Emotion Control is increased by 3 for the purpose of breaking out of it. For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 Emotion Control, and the attacker has expertise with the power and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a Willpower task roll against task difficulty 17 (6 + 3 + 8) to break out of the Emotion Control.

To break out of the Emotion Control, the target must make a successful Willpower task roll against the rank of the Emotion Control. If the character succeeds at this task roll, they may use their remaining movement action. If the target of the Emotion Control gets an extreme success on this roll, then they break out as a free action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 Emotion Control, they would need to make a Willpower task roll against task difficulty 14 (6 + 8). If they roll a 17 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and breaking out is a free action rather than a task action.

If the character has not broken out of the Emotion Control by the end of the scene, then they break out of it shortly thereafter.

EnhancementsMass Hysteria: The Emotion Control power affects everyone within 50 feet of the target, similar to an explosion (full rank within the first 25 feet, half rank from 25 feet to 50 feet). Because an exploding attack does not need to be aimed at a specific target, the difficulty of the task roll is 9. Because exploding attacks are not targeted at specific individuals, they do not benefit from extreme success. +1 character point

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Extra AttacksActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

A character with the Extra Attacks power can gain additional attack actions at the end of a round. The character may use these additional attack actions to attack multiple targets, or they may attack the same target multiple times. All of the character’s additional attacks are resolved after all other task rolls are resolved that round. In other words, everyone gets a turn during a round before anyone may use Extra Attacks. If more than one character has the Extra Attacks power and is using additional attack actions, they should alternate their additional attack actions.

During each game session, the number of additional attack actions the character may use is equal to the rank of the Extra Attacks power. The character may only use half of their total additional attacks in any one round, and once an additional attack action has been used, it may not be used again in that game session. The player may wait until the end of the round before deciding whether their character will use any of their Extra Attacks.

FlightActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 2 character points per rank

The character can fly, either innately or by using some type of equipment. For example, the character might have wings, they might wear a jetpack, or they may just be able to fly through sheer willpower. The character’s base move, double move, and all-out move are based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the values in appropriate columns. Rank 2 is as fast as a cheetah, rank 4 is faster than the speed of sound, and rank 7 is faster than a rocket.

DefectsSwinging (major defect): The character is supported in the air by a grappling line, spider web, invisible beams of magnetic force, or some other method of suspension. If there is nothing above the character to attach this “swing line” to, the character is grounded. If the swing line is attached to something which weighs less than the character, the character can pull the object toward them or swing it around. If the object on the other end of the swing line is another character, this requires a Brawn task roll against the Brawn of the other character. If the swing line is a physical object such as a grappling line, its material strength is based on the rank of the power (see the Benchmarks,

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p. 134, for more details). A character with Swinging is also likely to have Hold with the “Exposed” defect. -1 character point

Force FieldActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Force Field provides protection against most forms of direct damage: anything which inflicts Endurance damage. A character with Force Field subtracts the rank of the power from the damage rating of attacks that strike them. The remainder of the damage is subtracted from the character’s Endurance. As always, this protection does not stack with Invulnerability or other forms of protection — only the highest protection value applies.

A character with a Force Field may extend their force field to another person (or person-sized object) by touching them. The Force Field then protects both characters, but only as long as the character with the Force Field is touching the second character. However, multiple forms of protection do not stack: only the greatest protection value applies. For example, a character with rank 6 Invulnerability would not benefit from having a rank 5 Force Field on top of it.

Unlike Invulnerability, a Force Field must be activated: if the character is staggered or goes unconscious, the power turns off. The character may also turn off their Force Field voluntarily, of course. A staggered character may attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) to keep their Force Field activated while staggered.

GrowthActivation: Activated Task roll: —- Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Growth permits a character to become larger than normal. Each rank of Growth gives the character:

x2 heightx8 mass+1 Brawn+1 Endurance

Additionally, a character with Growth is easier to hit in combat. Anyone attacking a character with Growth is granted a +1 attack bonus for each rank of Growth the target has. Note that this makes it much easier for characters with expertise to achieve extreme success when attacking characters with Growth. However, the character’s rank in Growth

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is added to their Willpower task roll for the purpose of resisting being staggered. For example, a character with Willpower rank 2 and 6 ranks in Growth would roll 2d6 + 8 when attempting to resist being staggered.

Table: Growth

Rank Height Reach Mass Brawn1 Endurance Defense Penalty2

1 x2 (12 feet) 6 feet 1,600 lbs 1 +1 +1

2 x4 (25 feet) 12 feet 6 tons 2 +2 +2

3 x8 (50 feet) 25 feet 50 tons 3 +3 +3

4 x16 (100 feet) 50 feet 400 tons 4 +4 +4

5 x32 (200 feet) 100 feet 3 kilotons 5 +5 +5

6 x64 (400 feet) 200 feet 30 kilotons 6 +6 +6

7 x128 (800 feet) 400 feet 200 kilotons 7 +7 +7

8 x256 (1,600 feet) 800 feet 2 gigatons 8 +8 +8

9 x512 (3,000 feet) 1,600 feet 13 megatons 9 +9 +9

10 x1,024 (1 mile) 3,000 feet 100 megatons 10 +10 +10

11 x2,048 (2 miles) 1 mile 900 megatons 11 +11 +11

12 x4,096 (5 miles) 2 miles 7 gigatons 12 +12 +12

13 x8,192 (10 miles) 5 miles 50 gigatons 13 +13 +13

14 x16,384 (20 miles) 10 miles 400 gigatons 14 +14 +14

1. Or normal Brawn +1, whichever is greater2. Not applicable against mental attacks

The Brawn of a character with Growth is either their rank in Growth or their normal (non-Growth) Brawn +1, whichever is greater.

Growth may affect a character’s ground movement. The character’s base running speed is equal to ten times their Agility in feet or ten times their rank in Growth in feet, whichever is greater. For example, a character with rank 4 in Agility normally has a base walking speed of 40 feet per round, but if their rank in Growth is 5, their base walking speed is 50 feet per round. Growth does not change a character’s swimming speed or long jump distance.

If a character is not at full Endurance when changing their size, the amount of Endurance they have lost stays proportionately the same. (It’s only fractions: you can handle it.)

For example, if a character with 6 natural Endurance has lost three Endurance to attacks, when they activate 3 ranks of Growth their maximum Endurance will increase to 9, but their current Endurance will be 5. When in doubt, round fractions in the character’s favor.

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At Growth rank 5 and above, the character’s hands are so large that they strike entire areas rather than individuals. Because their hand-to-hand attacks do not need to be aimed at a specific target, the difficulty of the task roll is 9. However, because such attacks are not targeted at specific individuals, they do not benefit from extreme success, even if the character has expertise with the attack.

A character with Growth does not have to use it at full power. A character who has 4 ranks in Growth, for example, could elect to be merely 50 feet tall rather than their full 100 feet.

HealingActivation: Attack Task roll: Accuracy Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

Healing is a ranged power which heals Endurance damage. The specific mechanism which permits the Healing (accelerated time, life energy, advanced medicine, medical nanobots, etc.) must be chosen when the Healing power is purchased. The Healing power heals a quantity of Endurance equal to the rank of the power.

Using Healing requires an Accuracy task roll against the Agility of the intended target. If the character with the Healing power has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the target of the Healing gains an additional three Endurance.

EnhancementsDiseases And Toxins: The Healing power can remove diseases and toxins from the target. They character with Healing may attempt a challenging Healing task roll (task difficulty 12) to cure a single disease or purge a single toxin from the victim’s system. If the character with the Healing power has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then all damage caused by the disease is healed as well as the disease itself being cured. +1 character point

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HoldActivation: Attack Task roll: Accuracy Target: Single TargetRange: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

The Hold power prevents a character from moving or taking physical actions. The mechanism which causes the Hold must be specified when this power is purchased. For example, the target might be entangled in webs, encased in ice, bound by rings of magical force, or they could be paralyzed by some form of toxic gas.

Attacking a character under the effects of Hold provides a +6 attack bonus (the standard task roll bonus for attacking a helpless target).

Using Hold requires an Accuracy task roll against the Agility of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the Hold is increased by 3 for the purpose of breaking out of it. For example, if a character is affected by a rank 4 Hold, and the attacker has expertise with the power and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a Brawn task roll against task difficulty 15 (4 + 3 + 8) to break out of the Hold.

To break out of the Hold, the target must make a successful Brawn task roll against the rank of the Hold. If the character succeeds at this task roll, they may use their remaining movement action. If the held character gets an extreme success on this roll, then they break out as a free action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is affected by a rank 5 Hold, they would need to make a Brawn task roll against task difficulty 13 (5 + 8). If they roll a 16 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and breaking out is a free action rather than a task action.

If the character has not broken out of the Hold by the end of the scene, then they break out of it shortly thereafter.

DefectsExposed (major defect): Other characters can help the target break out of the Hold, using Brawn or a power which inflicts Endurance damage. This power defect is most appropriate for types of Hold that depend on a physical restraint to keep the target immobile, and the GM may require it in such cases. -1 character point

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IllusionActivation: AttackTask roll: PowerTarget: Radius Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

The Illusion power permits the character to create realistic three-dimensional phantasms, complete with all associated sensory accompaniment. An illusory lion will roar, illusory snow will feel cold and wet, and so on.

Creating a simple, immobile illusion (a wall, a bridge, and so on) requires a challenging Illusion task roll (task difficulty 12). Creating more complex shapes requires a more difficult task roll, with the task difficulty set by the GM based on the complexity of the desired illusion. For example, a windmill, a lion, or other moving shape would require a demanding Illusion task roll (task difficulty 15), while a city square with moving cars, bicycles, and dozens of people would require a frustrating Illusion task roll (task difficulty 18).

The maximum size of an illusion is based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the value in the “Affects” column. This is the maximum size of the illusion the character may create.

While the illusions created by this power are completely convincing, they don’t actually exist. The bite of an illusory dog will not break the skin, the touch of illusory liquid nitrogen will not cause frostbite, and an illusory bridge will not support the weight of anyone. The tactile aspect of an illusion will only be convincing if the contact is fleeting or feather-light: any significant physical interaction with an illusion provides an observer with a good reason to suspect that the apparition is not the genuine article.

Anyone who observes an Illusion and who has a good reason to suspect its true nature may attempt a Perception task roll against the rank of the power. If the Perception task roll succeeds, the observer sees the Illusion for what it is, and may respond appropriately. If the character with Illusion has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the Illusion created is significantly more realistic, and the Perception task roll to see through the Illusion incurs a +3 task difficulty penalty.

EnhancementsIllusory Damage: The Illusion is so convincing that observers who are fooled by the Illusion believe that they are injured by its attacks. Protection powers such as Force Field and Invulnerability are as efficacious against these illusory attacks as they would be to the real thing. The damage inflicted can even “kill” the target (rendering them unconscious), but in fact any damage inflicted is stunning, and therefore temporary. See Stunning (p. 155) for more details. This power enhancement is usually accompanied by the “It’s All In Your Mind” power defect. +1 character point

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DefectsIt’s All In Your Mind (major defect): Normally, the sights and sounds created by the Illusion power can be recorded, seen on cameras, and so on. With this defect, the Illusion only affects sentient creates: cameras and robots do not perceive the illusions, nor do the illusions appear in mirrors. -1 character point

ImmortalityActivation: Always On Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

The Immortality power grants the character immunity to the ravages of time. An immortal character will never grow old or die from “natural causes”. At rank 1, the character simply doesn’t grow older, but can be killed just like any other person can. At rank 2 and above, death is temporary. As soon as the cause of the character’s demise is removed (the stake being pulled from their heart, the poison wearing off and losing its toxicity, and so on), the character will begin to recover from their mortal injuries. How long this recovery takes depends on the rank of the power.

Additionally, the player must select two means of permanently killing the character. One of these means must be relatively obvious, such as burning the character or dissolving them in acid. The second means may be obvious, but it may also be obscure and specific to that character, such as destroying a specific portrait of the character that they keep in a vault or stabbing them with a weapon made from the bone of a blood relative.

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Table: Immortality

Rank Resurrection

1 —

2 6 months

3 3 months

4 1 month

5 2 weeks

6 1 week

7 4 days

8 2 days

9 1 day

10 16 hours

11 8 hours

12 4 hours

13 2 hours

14 1 hour

DefectsDeath Is Preferable (major defect): Normally, an immortal character stops aging when they reach physical maturity, or shortly thereafter. However, some immortal characters continue to age (albeit at a slower rate), becoming gnarled and withered as the years passed. An immortal with the Death Is Preferable power defect looks and feels ancient, although they may still be physically powerful. -1 character point

Offsite Backup (major defect): Normally, when an immortal character recovers from “death”, they retain all of the memories from events up to and including their demise. If the character’s resurrection is facilitated by an external backup, such as a stored clone or a periodic neural upload to an orbiting satellite, there will be a gap between the time of the last “backup” and the character’s demise. -1 character point

Serial Immortality (major defect): Normally, when an immortal character recovers from “death”, they remain essentially unchanged. With the Serial Immortality power defect, the knowledge and memories of the character are preserved, but their appearance and personality are that of a completely new person. For example, the character might be a parasitic organism that possesses a new host when the previous one expires, or the character might have a form of cellular regeneration with unpredictable results. With the GM’s approval, even the character’s advantages and powers might be changed. -1 character point

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Immunity ★Activation: Always On Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Immunity permits the character to survive in environments and conditions that would impair or even kill normal people. Each rank in Immunity permits the character to endure one additional condition from the list below. These must be selected when the power is purchased, and may not normally be changed thereafter.

The protection provided by Immunity is ambient and highly plot dependent: it does not normally protect the character from attacks or from direct forms of damage. Being able to withstand extreme heat and exposure to the blazing desert sun does not mean that a character is immune to a fire blast or can relax in a pool of molten lead. However, Immunity provides protection equal to one-half of its rank against attacks related to some form of Immunity that the character possesses (Exposure (Cold), Exposure (Heat), and Radiation being the most common types of direct damage). As always, this protection does not stack with Force Field, Invulnerability, or other forms of protection — only the highest protection value applies.

• Asphyxia: The character does not need to breathe at all; alternately, they may breathe in a single unusual environment.

• Exposure (Cold): The character is comfortable in environments of extreme cold, such as in the Antarctic.

• Exposure (Heat): The character is comfortable in environments of extreme heat, such as noon in the Kalahari Desert.

• Pathogens: The character is unaffected by infectious viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc.• Poisons: The character is unaffected by chemical and biological poisons, toxins,

and venoms.• Pressure: The character is comfortable in environments of extremely high

pressure, such as in the ocean depths.• Radiation: The character is immune to the effects environmental ionizing

radiation.• Sleep Deprivation: The character may sleep if they want to, but suffers no ill

effect from lack of sleep.• Starvation: The character does not need to eat, drink, or excrete; alternately, they

can eat virtually anything.• Vacuum: The character is comfortable in environments of extremely high

pressure, such as in outer space.

By default, immunity to “Asphyxia” permits the character to survive without needing to breathe at all. However, if it makes more sense for the character to be able to breath in just one unusual environment, such as underwater or in methane, they may choose that option instead.

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By default, immunity to “Starvation” permits the character to survive without needing to eat, drink, or excrete at all. However, if it makes more sense for the character to be able to eat or drink virtually any nontoxic substance, such as mud or styrofoam peanuts, they may choose that option instead.

For immunity to aging, see Immortality (p. 91).

If a character dies from an attack related to some form of Immunity that the character possesses, there is a good chance the character might come back. This is highly dependent on the background of the character and how much sense it would make in the context of the story.

For more details on the effects of the environment on a character, see Environment (p. 160).

Increased DensityActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Increased Density permits a character to become more massive (but no larger) than normal. Each rank of Increased Density gives the character:

x2 Mass+1 Brawn-1 Agility+1 Endurance+1 Invulnerability

The Brawn and Invulnerability of a character with Increased Density is either their rank in Increased Density or their normal (non-Increased Density) rank +1, whichever is greater.

If a character becomes so dense that their Agility is reduced to zero, they have great difficulty moving. They must successfully attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) every round, just to take a step or two.

If a character is not at full Endurance when changing their density, the amount of Endurance they have lost stays proportionately the same. (It’s only fractions: you can handle it.)

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Table: Increased Density

Rank Mass Brawn1 Agility2 Endurance Invulnerability3

1 x2 (400 lbs) 1 -1 +1 1

2 x4 (800 lbs) 2 -2 +2 2

3 x8 (1,600 lbs) 3 -3 +3 3

4 x16 (3,200 lbs) 4 -4 +4 4

5 x32 (3 tons) 5 -5 +5 5

6 x64 (6 tons) 6 -6 +6 6

7 x128 (12 tons) 7 -7 +7 7

8 x256 (25 tons) 8 -8 +8 8

9 x512 (50 tons) 9 -9 +9 9

10 x1,024 (100 tons) 10 -10 +10 10

11 x2,048 (200 tons) 11 -11 +11 11

12 x4,096 (400 tons) 12 -12 +12 12

13 x8,192 (800 tons) 13 -13 +13 13

14 x16,384 (1,600 tons) 14 -14 +14 14

1. Or normal Brawn +1, whichever is greater2. Down to minimum rank 03. Or normal Invulnerability +1, whichever is greater

For example, if a character with 6 natural Endurance has lost three Endurance to attacks, when they activate 3 ranks of Increased Density their maximum Endurance will increase to 9, but their current Endurance will be 5. When in doubt, round fractions in the character’s favor.

A character with Increased Density does not have to use it at full power. A character who has 4 ranks in Increased Density, for example, could elect to be merely 400 pounds in mass rather than their full 3,200 pounds. Note that a character with their Increased Density activated in the water will sink like a stone: normal swimming is impossible, but Super-swimming will work as usual. At rank 6, the character is denser than any naturally occurring substance on earth.

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IntangibilityActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Intangibility allows the character to become insubstantial and able to pass through physical objects. For example, Intangibility could represent a character who is able to control their molecular density, a character who vibrates at a different frequency, or even a character whose body can turn into radiant energy. The density of the material the character can pass through is based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the value in the “Breaks” column. This is the toughest material which the character may pass through. The character can also pass through force fields and other energy barriers which have a protection value (PV) less than or equal to the rank of the Intangibility.

Intangibility provides protection against most forms of direct damage: anything which inflicts Endurance damage. A character with Intangibility subtracts the rank of the power from the damage rating of attacks that strike them while they are intangible. The remainder of the damage is subtracted from the character’s Endurance. As always, this protection does not stack with Invulnerability or other forms of protection — only the highest protection value applies.

An intangible character is unable to physically interact with materials that they can pass through, and the rank of the power is subtracted from the damage rating of any attacks the character makes while intangible. However, an intangible character is affected normally by mental powers, and they may use mental powers against others.

A character with Intangibility may make another person (or person-sized object) intangible by touching the other person and then activating the Intangibility power. The Intangibility then affects both characters, but only as long as the character with the Intangibility is touching the second character.

Intangibility must be activated: if the character is staggered or goes unconscious, the power turns off. The character may also turn off their Intangibility voluntarily, of course. A staggered character may attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) to keep their Intangibility activated while staggered.

EnhancementsLoophole: The character has a power which affects the world normally while they are intangible. However, the character must also define an attack type which affects them normally while they are intangible. +1 character point

DefectsPermanent (major defect): The character is unable to turn off their Intangibility. The character remains intangible even if staggered or unconscious. -1 character point

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InvisibilityActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

The Invisibility power allows the character to become difficult to perceive. For example, the character might be transparent, they might bend light around them, or they may blend into their surroundings using camouflage. However the invisibility is achieved, the character is hidden from normal sight unless someone is actively looking for them or there is some environmental circumstance that might reveal the character’s location.

If someone is actively looking for the character, perhaps by isolating their heat signature or tracking them by scent, the person trying to locate the invisible character must make a successful Perception task roll against the rank of the Invisibility. If an environmental circumstance might reveal the character’s location, anyone in the area may attempt a Perception task roll against the rank of the Invisibility in order to notice the character. For example, fog might reveal the invisible character’s outline, or fresh snow might reveal their footprints.

A character with Invisibility may make another person (or person-sized object) invisible by touching the other person and then activating the Invisibility power. The Invisibility then affects both characters, but only as long as the character with the Invisibility is touching the second character.

Invisibility must be activated: if the character is staggered or goes unconscious, the power turns off. The character may also turn off their Invisibility voluntarily, of course. A staggered character may attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) to keep their Invisibility activated while staggered.

DefectsPermanent (major defect): The character is unable to turn off their Invisibility. The character remains invisible even if staggered or unconscious. -1 character point

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InvulnerabilityActivation: Always On Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Invulnerability provides protection against most forms of direct damage: anything which inflicts Endurance damage. A character with Invulnerability subtracts the rank of the power from the damage rating of attacks that strike them. The remainder of the damage is subtracted from the character’s Endurance. Invulnerability does not need to be activated, nor can it be deactivated: it is always on. As always, this protection does not stack with Force Field or other forms of protection — only the highest protection value applies.

Life DrainActivation: Attack Task roll: Prowess Target: Single Target Range: Touch Cost: 1 character point per rank

Life Drain is a hand-to-hand attack which inflicts Endurance damage. The Life Drain could be radiation, disease, cold, extreme age, toxic gas, or even darkness or light, and this must be chosen when the Life Drain power is purchased. Life Drain has a damage rating equal to the rank of the power.

Using Life Drain requires a Prowess task roll against the Prowess of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the attacker may choose one of the standard benefits of extreme success, either overwhelming, smashing, or staggering the target of the Life Drain.

Life Drain ignores all normal forms of protection such as Invulnerability and Force Field. The damage from Life Drain is temporary. It all comes back after the fight is over, when the target has had a chance to rest and recuperate.

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Machine ControlActivation: Attack Task roll: Power Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

Machine Control allows a character to mentally control electronic and mechanical machines. To successfully mentally control a machine, the character must succeed at a challenging (task difficulty 12) Machine Control task roll.

A controlled machine has the same actions as a normal character (free actions, movement action, task action, reaction), and operates independently of the character that animated it. However, it will continue to perform the last instruction it was given even if that instruction no longer makes sense, as it has no will of its own. Giving a new mental command to a controlled machine requires a free action.

The Brawn and Endurance of the machine is based on its physical structure and durability (see the “Breaks” column on the Benchmarks table, p. 134), while the Agility, Prowess, and Accuracy of the machine is equal to the rank of the power. If the character has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the controlled machine is significantly tougher (+3 Endurance). Controlled machines are not actually alive or aware, so they have no Reason, Perception, or Willpower. The specific details of the how the machine moves and attacks vary depending on the machine itself: an animated soda machine can hop very slowly and shoot out 12 ounce cans of soda, a bulldozer can roll and demolish buildings, and so on.

Controlled machines can also be made to perform their ordinary purpose, such as making an automatic teller machine spit out money, or making a computer terminal display information from a database. If there is no significant security in place, no task roll is necessary for this, but if the character is trying to circumvent security or break into a computer system, the character may attempt a task roll using their power rank in place of the Computing skill, or their normal Computing skill +1, whichever is greater.

The most massive machine the character can control is equal to the power’s rank in the “Lifts” column in the Benchmarks table.

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Mind BlastActivation: Attack Task roll: Willpower Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 2 character points per rank

Mind Blast is a ranged attack which inflicts Endurance damage. The Mind Blast is typically some form of psychic attack, but it could also be sound, electricity, cold, or even bacteria, and this must be chosen when the Mind Blast power is purchased. The Mind Blast has a damage rating equal to the rank of the power.

Using Mind Blast requires a Willpower task roll against the Willpower of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the attacker may choose one of the standard benefits of extreme success, either overwhelming, smashing, or staggering the target of the Mind Blast.

Mind Blast ignores all normal forms of protection such as Invulnerability and Force Field. However, any power or equipment that provides protection from mental attacks, such as Mind Shield, subtracts the rank of the protection power from the damage rating of the Mind Blast. The remainder of the damage is subtracted from the character’s Endurance.

EnhancementsExplosive Damage: The Mind Blast causes damage to everyone within 50 feet of the target (full rank within the first 25 feet, half rank from 25 feet to 50 feet). Because an exploding attack does not need to be aimed at a specific target, the difficulty of the task roll is 9. However, because exploding attacks are not targeted at specific individuals, they do not benefit from extreme success. +1 character point

Mind ControlActivation: Attack Task roll: Willpower Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 2 character points per rank

The Mind Control power allows a character to control a target’s behaviour, forcing the target to follow the character’s commands.

Characters under the influence of Mind Control are not as effective as those whose wills are their own. Any task roll attempted by a character under the influence of Mind Control incurs a +1 difficulty modifier, and a mind controlled character is not able to spend plot points.

Using Mind Control requires a Willpower task roll against the Willpower of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the Mind Control is increased by 3 for the purpose of breaking out of it.

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For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 Mind Control, and the attacker has expertise with the power and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a Willpower task roll against task difficulty 17 (6 + 3 + 8) to break out of the Mind Control.

To break out of the Mind Control, the target must make a successful Willpower task roll against the rank of the Mind Control. If the character succeeds at this task roll, they may use their remaining movement action. If the target of the Mind Control gets an extreme success on this roll, then they break out as a free action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 Mind Control, they would need to make a Willpower task roll against task difficulty 14 (6 + 8). If they roll a 17 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and breaking out is a free action rather than a task action.

If the character has not broken out of the Mind Control by the end of the scene, then they break out of it shortly thereafter.

EnhancementsBlackout: The target of Mind Control will not remember any actions they took while under the influence of the power. These memories may be able to be retrieved through the use of hypnosis, Telepathy, and so on. +1 character point

Mass Hypnosis: The Mind Control power affects everyone within 50 feet of the target, similar to an explosion (full rank within the first 25 feet, half rank from 25 feet to 50 feet). Because an exploding attack does not need to be aimed at a specific target, the difficulty of the task roll is 9. Because exploding attacks are not targeted at specific individuals, they do not benefit from extreme success. +1 character point

DefectsObvious (major defect): Normally, there is no obvious visual indication that a target is under the influence of Mind Control. With this defect, the Mind Control has a “tell”, such as glowing eyes, which makes it visually apparent that something is wrong with the target. -1 character point

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Mind HoldActivation: Attack Task roll: Willpower Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 2 character points per rank

The Mind Hold power prevents a character from moving, thinking, or taking any actions. While affected by Mind Hold, only a moment seems to pass for the target, but after they break out of it, they are aware that something unusual has happened, and that they have “lost time”. For example, the “lost time” might appear as a brief “white out” of the target’s vision, or perhaps the target simply falls asleep for a time. The mechanism which causes the Mind Hold must be specified when this power is purchased. For example, the target might be frozen in time, commanded to “Sleep!”, or they could be knocked out by some form of toxic gas.

Attacking a character under the effects of Mind Hold provides a +6 attack bonus (the standard task roll bonus for attacking a helpless target).

Using Mind Hold requires a Willpower task roll against the Willpower of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the Mind Hold is increased by 3 for the purpose of breaking out of it. For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 Mind Hold, and the attacker has expertise with the power and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a Willpower task roll against task difficulty 17 (6 + 3 + 8) to break out of the Mind Hold.

To break out of the Mind Hold, the target must make a successful Willpower task roll against the rank of the Mind Hold. If the character succeeds at this task roll, they may use their remaining movement action. If the held character gets an extreme success on this roll, then they break out as a free action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 Mind Hold, they would need to make a Willpower task roll against task difficulty 14 (6 + 8). If they roll a 17 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and breaking out is a free action rather than a task action.

If the character has not broken out of the Mind Hold by the end of the scene, then they break out of it shortly thereafter.

DefectsExposed (major defect): Other characters can help the target break out of the Mind Hold, using Willpower or a power which is based on a Willpower task roll. This power defect is most appropriate for types of Mind Hold that place the target into a dormant or somnambulent state, such as a mental compulsion to “Sleep!”, and the GM may require it in such cases. -1 character point

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Mind ShieldActivation: Always On Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Mind Shield provides protection against most forms of direct mental damage: any mental attack which inflicts Endurance damage, such as Mind Blast. A character with Mind Shield subtracts the rank of the power from the damage rating of mental attacks that strike them. The remainder of the damage is subtracted from the character’s Endurance.

Mind Shield also adds to the character’s Willpower for the purpose of shrugging off the effects of mental powers such as Emotion Control or Mind Hold. To break out of Emotion Control, for example, the target must make a successful Willpower + Mind Shield task roll against the rank of the Emotion Control.

Finally, Mind Shield acts as a limited form of Attribute Invulnerability, providing protection against attacks which inflict damage to Reason, Perception, and Willpower. A character with Mind Shield subtracts the rank of the power from the damage rating of attacks that strike them. The remainder of the damage is subtracted from the character’s Reason, Perception, or Willpower.

Mind Shield does not need to be activated, nor can it be deactivated: it is always on. As always, this protection does not stack with other similar forms of protection — only the highest protection value applies.

Object AnimationActivation: Attack Task roll: Power Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

Object Animation allows a character to animate and mentally control inanimate objects. To successfully animate and mentally control an object, the character must succeed at a challenging (task difficulty 12) Object Animation task roll.

An animated object has the same actions as a normal character (free actions, movement action, task action, reaction), and operates independently of the character that animated it. However, it will continue to perform the last instruction it was given even if that instruction no longer makes sense, as it has no will of its own. Giving a new mental command to an animated object requires a free action.

The Brawn and Endurance of the object is based on its physical structure and durability (see the “Breaks” column on the Benchmarks table, p. 134), while the Agility, Prowess, and Accuracy of the object is equal to the rank of the power. If the character has

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expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the animated object is significantly tougher (+3 Endurance). Animated objects are not actually alive or aware, so they have no Reason, Perception, or Willpower. The specific details of the how the object moves and attacks vary depending on the object itself: an animated chair can walk, a carpet can slither, and so on.

The most massive object the character can control is equal to the power’s rank in the “Lifts” column in the Benchmarks table.

Plant ControlActivation: Attack Task roll: Power Target: Radius Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

Plant Control allows a character to animate and mentally control plants. To successfully communicate with and control all plants within range of the power, the character must succeed at a challenging (task difficulty 12) Plant Control task roll.

Animated plants have the same actions as a normal character (free actions, movement action, task action, reaction), and operate independently of the character that animated them. However, they will continue to perform the last instruction they were given even if that instruction no longer makes sense, as they have a very rudimentary form of intelligence. Giving a new mental command to the controlled plants requires a free action.

The Brawn, Agility, Prowess, Accuracy, and Endurance of the plants is equal to the rank of the power. Animated plants have a very limited form of intelligence, with Reason, Perception, and Willpower of rank 1. However, controlled plants are highly resistant to mental powers, having Mind Shield equal to the rank of the Plant Control power. If the character has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the animated plants are significantly smarter (+3 Reason and +3 Perception). Animated plants can bend, twist, and reach in order to attack, but they generally can’t move from where they are planted.

The character can control plants in an area around themselves based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the value in the “Affects” column.

EnhancementsUproot: With the Uproot power enhancement, animated plants can use a movement action to uproot themselves. Once uprooted, the animated plants can hop or slither around at normal human walking speed (20 feet per round). +1 character point

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PossessionActivation: Attack Task roll: Willpower Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 2 character points per rank

The Possession power allows a character to seize control of a target, overriding the target’s control and effectively making the target a passenger in their own body. While the character is using Possession on another person, their own body collapses into a trance-like state.

A possessed character is not able to spend plot points, but the possessing character can spend their own plot points while controlling a target.

Using Possession requires a Willpower task roll against the Willpower of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the Possession is increased by 3 for the purpose of breaking out of it. For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 Possession, and the attacker has expertise with the power and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a Willpower task roll against task difficulty 17 (6 + 3 + 8) to break out of the Possession.

To break out of the Possession, the target must make a successful Willpower task roll against the rank of the Possession. If the character succeeds at this task roll, they may use their remaining movement action. If the target of the Possession gets an extreme success on this roll, then they break out as a free action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 Possession, they would need to make a Willpower task roll against task difficulty 14 (6 + 8). If they roll a 17 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and breaking out is a free action rather than a task action.

EnhancementsBlackout: The target of Possession will not remember any actions they took while under the influence of the power. These memories may be able to be retrieved through the use of hypnosis, Telepathy, and so on. +1 character point

Inhabit: With the Inhabit power enhancement, the range of the power is reduced to Touch, but the body of the possessing character actually merges with that of the target for the duration of the possession. +1 character point

DefectsObvious (major defect): Normally, there is no obvious visual indication that a target is possessed. With this defect, the Possession has a “tell”, such as glowing eyes, which makes it visually apparent that something is wrong with the target. -1 character point

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Power DrainActivation: Attack Task roll: Prowess Target: Single Target Range: Touch Cost: 1 character point per rank

Power Drain is a hand-to-hand attack which inflicts damage to one of the target’s powers. The character can choose which power they drain, if they are aware that the target has the power; otherwise, the character drains the highest rank power of the target (attributes of rank 5 or higher are considered powers for this purpose). If used against [Element] Mastery or [Ultra-power], Power Drain affects all of the effects made possible by those powers. For example, if a target has an [Ultra-power] defined as Powered Armor, and was using this Powered Armor to generate a Force Field, Flight, Blast, and other powers, then a Power Drain attack would affect all of these powers simultaneously, in addition to the [Ultra-power] itself.

Using Power Drain requires a Prowess task roll against the Prowess of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with Power Drain and rolls an extreme success, then the attacker may choose one of the standard benefits of extreme success, either overwhelming, smashing, or staggering the target of the Power Drain.

The Power Drain has a damage rating equal to the rank of the power. Any power or equipment that provides protection for the power being attacked, such as Power Invulnerability, reduces the amount of damage the target takes from the attack. The protection value (PV) of the protection power is subtracted from the damage rating (DR) of the Power Drain. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s power.

The damage from Power Drain is temporary. It all comes back after the fight is over, when the target has had a chance to rest and recuperate.

EnhancementsRanged: The Power Drain is a ranged attack, with an effective range based on its rank. Using Power Drain requires an Accuracy task roll against the Agility of the intended target. +1 character point

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Power InvulnerabilityActivation: Always On Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Power Invulnerability provides protection against attacks which inflict damage to a character’s powers. Unlike (Attribute) Invulnerability, all of the character’s power are protected by Power Invulnerability. For example, Power Invulnerability protects a characters Flight, Telepathy, and even the Power Invulnerability itself. A character with Power Invulnerability subtracts the rank of the Power Invulnerability from the rank of attacks that inflict power damage. The remaining ranks of the attack are applied against the character’s power. Power Invulnerability does not need to be activated, nor can it be deactivated: it is always on.

Power MimicryActivation: Attack Task roll: Prowess Target: Single Target Range: Touch Cost: 2 character points per rank

Power Mimicry allows the character to copy another character’s power and use it themselves. The character can choose which power they mimic, if they are aware that the target has the power; otherwise, the character mimics the highest rank power of the target (attributes of rank 5 or higher are considered powers for this purpose). If used against [Element] Mastery or [Ultra-power], Power Mimicry copies all of the effects made possible by those powers. For example, if a target has an [Ultra-power] defined as Powered Armor, and was using this Powered Armor to generate a Force Field, Flight, Blast, and other powers, then a Power Mimicry attack would copy all of these powers simultaneously, in addition to the [Ultra-power] itself.

Using Power Mimicry requires a Prowess task roll against the Prowess of the intended target. The mimicked power is limited to the rank of the power being mimicked, or to the rank of the Power Mimicry, whichever is less. The character with Power Mimicry will retain the power until they mimic a different power, or until the end of the scene, whichever comes first. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the attacker may make immediately take a second action to use the power they have mimicked (a task action if the mimicked power is an attack, a movement action if the mimicked power provides movement, and so on).

If the character is staggered or goes unconscious, the Power Mimicry turns off and any mimicked powers are lost. The character may also turn off their Power Mimicry voluntarily, of course. A staggered character may attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) to keep their Power Mimicry activated while staggered.

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EnhancementsVersatile: Normally, Power Mimicry only allows the character to copy one power at a time. The Versatile power enhancement allows the character to mimic two powers simultaneously (although copying each power is a separate attack action). This enhancement may be taken multiple times: each additional Versatile power enhancement allows the character to simultaneously mimic one additional power. +1 character point

Power SuppressionActivation: Attack Task roll: Power Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

Power Suppression prevents a target from using a specific power for so long as the Power Suppression is active. The character can choose which power they suppress, if they are aware that the target has the power; otherwise, the character suppresses the highest rank power of the target (attributes of rank 5 or higher are considered powers for this purpose). If used against [Element] Mastery or [Ultra-power], Power Suppression affects all of the effects made possible by those powers. For example, if a target has an [Ultra-power] defined as Powered Armor, then Power Suppression would affect all of the armor’s powers simultaneously. The mechanism which causes the Power Suppression must be specified when this power is purchased. For example, the target might be injected with nanomachines, subjected to an alien energy field, bound by rings of magical force, or they could be shackled with some type of “inhibitor” device.

Using Power Suppression requires a power task roll against the rank of the power to be suppressed. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the Power Suppression is increased by 3 for the purpose of breaking out of it. For example, if a character is affected by a rank 4 Power Suppression, and the attacker has expertise with the power and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a power task roll against task difficulty 15 (4 + 3 + 8) to break out of the Power Suppression.

To break out of the Power Suppression, the target must make a successful power task roll against the rank of the Power Suppression. If the character succeeds at this task roll, they may use their remaining movement action. If the held character gets an extreme success on this roll, then they break out as a free action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is affected by a rank 5 Power Suppression, they would need to make a power task roll against task difficulty 13 (5 + 8). If they roll a 16 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and breaking out is a free action rather than a task action. If the target has Power Invulnerability, the rank of their Power Invulnerability is added to the rank of their power when they are attempting to break out of the Power Suppression.

If the character has not broken out of the Power Suppression by the end of the scene, then they break out of it shortly thereafter.

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EnhancementsBlanket: The Power Suppression affects everyone within 50 feet of the target, similar to an explosion (full rank within the first 25 feet, half rank from 25 feet to 50 feet). Because an exploding attack does not need to be aimed at a specific target, the difficulty of the task roll is 9. Because exploding attacks are not targeted at specific individuals, they do not benefit from extreme success. Using a power such as Teleportation to enter an area where that power has been suppressed requires a successful power task roll against the rank of the Power Suppression. If the task roll fails, they are unable to use the power to enter the area. +1 character point

Spectrum: The Spectrum power enhancement allows the character to suppress all of the target’s powers simultaneously. To break out of the Power Suppression, the target must make a successful power task roll against the rank of the Power Suppression, using the highest-ranked power which is currently being suppressed. +1 character point

DefectsExposed (major defect): Other characters can help the target break out of the Power Suppression, using Brawn or a power which inflicts Endurance damage. This power defect is most appropriate for types of Power Suppression that depend on a physical restraint to keep the target’s powers inactive, and the GM may require it in such cases. -1 character point

Power TheftActivation: Attack Task roll: Prowess Target: Single Target Range: Touch Cost: 3 character points per rank

Power Theft is a hand-to-hand attack which allows the character to temporarily steal another character’s power. The character can choose which power they steal if they are aware of the powers the target has; otherwise, the character steals the highest rank power of the target (attributes of rank 5 or higher are considered powers for this purpose). If used against [Element] Mastery or [Ultra-power], Power Theft affects all of the effects made possible by those powers. For example, if a target has an [Ultra-power] defined as Powered Armor, then Power Theft would affect all of the armor’s systems simultaneously. The amount of the power stolen is equal to the amount of damage inflicted on the target’s power. The character with Power Theft will retain the power until they steal a different power, or until the end of the scene, whichever comes first.

Using Power Theft requires a Prowess task roll against the Prowess of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with Power Theft and rolls an extreme success, then the attacker may choose one of the standard benefits of extreme success, either overwhelming, smashing, or staggering the target of the Power Drain.

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Power Theft has a damage rating equal to its rank. Any power or equipment that provides protection for the power being attacked, such as Power Invulnerability, reduces the amount of damage the target takes from the attack, and thus also reduces the amount of the power stolen. The protection value (PV) of the protection power is subtracted from the damage rating (DR) of the Power Theft. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s power, and that number of ranks of the power are granted to the character with Power Theft. The target keeps the remaining ranks of their power.

If the character is staggered, they may attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) to keep their Power Theft activated. If the Willpower roll fails or if the character goes unconscious, the Power Theft turns off, and any stolen power ranks are returned to the target. The character may also turn off their Power Theft voluntarily.

The damage from Power Theft is temporary. The power returns to the target after the fight is over, when the target has had a chance to rest and recuperate.

EnhancementsRanged: The Power Theft is a ranged attack, with an effective range based on its rank. Using Power Theft requires an Accuracy task roll against the Agility of the intended target. +1 character point

Versatile: Normally, Power Theft only allows the character to steal one power at a time. The Versatile power enhancement allows the character to steal two powers simultaneously (although stealing each power is a separate attack action). This enhancement may be taken multiple times: each additional Versatile power enhancement allows the character to simultaneously steal one additional power. +1 character point

Probability ControlActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 2 character points per rank

A character with Probability Control can influence the odds, playing fast and loose with the laws of chance. Probability Control does not allow the character to break the laws of physics or make impossible things happen, but a character with Probability Control can make unlikely events likely and likely events unlikely.

Using Probability Control requires the player to describe a favorable or unfavorable circumstance and how that circumstance might have come about. If the GM agrees that the circumstance is possible (however unlikely it might be), then the GM will decide how this unlikely event impacts the characters. The simplest way to translate this favorable or unfavorable circumstance into game terms is to grant a +3 bonus on a task roll if the circumstance is favorable for the character attempting the task or imposing a +3 difficulty modifier on a task roll if the circumstance is unfavorable for the character attempting the task. The use of Probability Control could also influence events in a less straightforward

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manner, and the GM should encourage players to be creative with the power. Each use of Probability Control should be roughly as useful as a +3 modifier: significant, but not game-breaking.

During each game session, the number of times the character can influence probability is equal to the rank of the Probability Control power. Probability Control may be used to influence a task roll either before or immediately after the roll has been made.

DefectsConservation Of Probability (major defect): Normally, there is no karmic debt incurred by a character with Probability Control. A character with the Conservation Of Probability defect must maintain parity between events so that the ledgers of karma remain balanced. If the character uses their power to grant a +3 bonus on a task roll, for example, they must balance this out with a compensating +3 difficulty modifier on another task roll before the end of the scene. If they don’t, the balance will re-assert itself in the following scene in a way that is inconvenient for the character with Probability Control, and the character will be unable to use their power to prevent it. -1 character point

RegenerationActivation: Always On Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

The Regeneration power accelerates the healing process and allows the character to recover from injury more quickly. Normally, an injured character recovers half the Endurance they have recently lost after they have had a chance to rest and recuperate for half an hour or so. After that, injuries normally heal only with extended rest or with medical care. With this rest or medical care, the character will regain one Endurance per day; without it, they will regain one Endurance per week.

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The Regeneration power drastically reduces this recovery time. However, the best results are still obtained with rest and medical care.

Table: Regeneration

Rank Recovers Half Recovers1

With Care Without

1 15 minutes 16 hours 4 days

2 8 minutes 8 hours 2 days

3 4 minutes 4 hours 1 day

4 2 minutes 2 hours 16 hours

5 1 minute 1 hour 8 hours

6 30 seconds 30 minutes 4 hours

7 12 seconds 15 minutes 2 hours

8 6 seconds 8 minutes 1 hour

9 3 seconds1 4 minutes 30 minutes

10 —2 2 minutes 15 minutes

11 —2 1 minutes 8 minutes

12 —2 30 seconds 4 minutes

13 —2 12 seconds 2 minutes

14 —2 6 seconds 1 minute

1. At rank 9, the character may recover half of the damage from an attack with a task action.

2. At rank 10 and above, the character may recover half of the damage from an attack with a free action. In effect, they heal half of every attack as soon as it hits them.

ShapeshiftingActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 2 character points per rank

A character with Shapeshifting can change their shape and appearance, but not their mass or size (unless the character also has the Growth or Shrinking powers). The character gains the physical attributes of their new shape, such as Brawn, Agility, Endurance, Invulnerability, claws, wings, and so on. This usually includes any natural movement powers of the new shape. The rank of the new shape’s attributes and powers are limited to the rank of the Shapeshifting power or to the rank that the shape would plausibly have, whichever is less.

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Assuming the shape of a specific person, creature, or object is more difficult than changing into a generic example of a particular shape. If someone is actively looking at the character, or has any reason to suspect that the character is not the genuine article, the person observing the shapeshifted character may attempt a Perception task roll against the rank of the Shapeshifting. If the Perception roll is successful, the observer can tell that the shapeshifted character is not who or what they appear to be.

DefectsObvious (major defect): Normally, there is no obvious visual indication that a character is using Shapeshifting. With this defect, the Shapeshifting has a “tell”, such as glowing eyes, a distinctive color, or the character’s normal face, which makes it visually apparent that the character is not in their natural form. -1 character point

ShrinkingActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

Shrinking permits a character to become smaller than normal. Each rank of Growth gives the character:

x1/2 heightx1/8 mass-1 Brawn

Additionally, a character with Shrinking is more diffficult to hit in combat. A character with Shrinking is granted a +1 defense bonus for each rank of Shrinking the target has.

Shrinking may affect a character’s ground movement. The character’s base running speed and swimming speed are reduced by the same proportion as their height. The character’s jumping distance and any power based movement, such as Super-running and Super-swimming, are unaffected.

At Shrinking rank 14, the character is about as tall as the diameter of a human hair. As small as it is, this is still too large to enter a human body through the pores, and is too large to pass through most air and water filters.

A character with Shrinking does not have to use it at full power. A character who has 6 ranks in Shrinking, for example, could elect to be merely 18 inches tall rather than their full 1 inch.

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Table: Shrinking

Rank Height Mass Brawn1 Defense Bonus2

1 x1/2 (3 feet) 25 pounds -1 +1

2 x1/4 (18 inches) 3 pounds -2 +2

3 x1/8 (9 inches) 6 ounces -3 +3

4 x1/16 (4 1/2 inches) 1 ounce -4 +4

5 x1/32 (2 inches) 1/8 ounce -5 +5

6 x1/64 (1 inch) 1/64 ounce -6 +6

7 x1/128 (1/2 inch) 1/512 ounce -7 +7

8 x1/256 (1/4 inch) 1/4,096 ounce -8 +8

9 x1/512 (1/8 inch) 1/32,768 ounce -9 +9

10 x1/1,024 (1/16 inch) 1/262,144 ounce -10 +10

11 x1/2,048 (1/32 inch) 1/2,097,152 ounce -11 +11

12 x1/4,096 (1/64 inch) 1/16,777,216 ounce -12 +12

13 x1/8,192 (1/128 inch) 1/134,217,728 ounce -13 +13

14 x1/16,384 (1/256 inch) 1/1,073,741,824 ounce -14 +14

1. Down to minimum rank 12. Not applicable against mental attacks

StretchingActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

A character with Stretching can deform their body and attenuate their extremities. A character with Stretching might have telescoping robotic tentacles, their physical body might be composed of separate pieces held together by elastic tethers, or the character’s body may simply be incredibly malleable. This increases the character’s effective reach and permits them to perform tasks and make hand-to-hand attacks at greater distances. Hand-to-hand attacks made by a Stretching character are resolved with Prowess task rolls, as usual.

The distance the character is able to stretch is based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the value in the “Throws” column. This is the maximum distance that the character can stretch in a single direction. If the character is stretching in two or more directions at once (to form a tent or parachute, for example, or to type into two keyboards located in two different rooms),

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the maximum distance they may stretch in each direction is one-half of their usual maximum.

EnhancementsSqueezing: Normally, a character with Stretching is not able to squeeze through any hole smaller than their head. The Squeezing power enhancement allows the character to make their body thinner as well as longer. The character may squeeze through a hole or a gap no smaller than 1 inch divided by the rank of the power cubed. For example, a character with rank 2 Stretching and Squeezing could squeeze through a gap one eighth of an inch wide (1 inch/23 = 1 inch/8 = 0.125 inch), and a character with rank 7 Stretching and Squeezing could flatten themselves to less than the thickness of an average sheet of laser printer paper. +1 character point

StrikeActivation: Attack Task roll: Prowess Target: Single Target Range: Touch Cost: 1 character point per rank

Strike is a hand-to-hand attack which inflicts Endurance damage. The Strike could be claws, radiation, cold, a sword, or even darkness or light, and this must be chosen when the Strike power is purchased. The Strike has a damage rating equal to the rank of the power or the character’s Brawn rank + 1, whichever is greater.

Using Strike requires a Prowess task roll against the Prowess of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the attacker may choose one of the standard benefits of extreme success, either overwhelming, smashing, or staggering the target of the Strike.

Any power or equipment that provides protection from Endurance damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, reduces the amount of damage the target takes from the attack. The protection value (PV) of the protection power is subtracted from the damage rating (DR) of the Strike. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s Endurance.

EnhancementsExplosive Strike: The Strike causes damage to everyone within 50 feet of the character (full rank within the first 25 feet, half rank from 25 feet to 50 feet). Because an exploding attack does not need to be aimed at a specific target, the difficulty of the task roll is 9. However, because exploding attacks are not targeted at specific individuals, they do not benefit from extreme success. +1 character point

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Super-jumpingActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

The character can leap impossibly far and fast, either innately or by using some type of equipment. For example, the character might have legs like a grasshopper, they might wear rocket-propelled shoes, or they may just have massive and powerful thighs. The height and distance of the character’s long jump are based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the value in the “Base Move” column. This is the height and the distance that the character can standing long jump in a single round.

If a character has Super-jumping, then they move at the speed indicated by the power rather than at the speed indicated by their Brawn. Super-jumping does not add to a character’s natural (Brawn-based) jumping distance.

Super-runningActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

The character can run impossibly fast, either innately or by using some type of equipment. For example, the character might have wings on their feet, they might wear rocket-powered roller skates, or they may just move their feet really quickly. The character’s base move, double move, and all-out move are based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the values in appropriate columns. Rank 2 is as fast as a cheetah, rank 4 is faster than the speed of sound, and rank 7 is as fast as a rocket.

If a character has Super-running, then they move at the speed indicated by the power rather than at the speed indicated by their Agility. Super-running does not add to a character’s natural (Agility-based) ground movement speed.

EnhancementsDefy Gravity: The character runs so fast that they can run up or down vertical surfaces without falling and run across bodies of water without sinking. If they stop running, of course, gravity takes over. +1 character point

Moving Target: The character may substitute their rank in Super-running for their Agility or Prowess for the purpose of avoiding attacks. +1 character point

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Super Senses ★Activation: Activated Task roll: Perception Target: Personal Range: Varies Cost: 1 character point per rank

Super Senses grants the character the ability to perceive in ways unavailable to ordinary people. Each rank in Super Senses grants the character one additional sense from the list below. These must be selected when the power is purchased, and may not normally be changed thereafter.

• 360° Vision: The character can see equally well in every direction simultaneously.• Blindsight: The character can sense shapes and textures as clearly as with

ordinary vision, but without the ability to perceive color; this could be a form of sonar, radar, sensitivity to air currents, or some other form of alternate perception.

• Detect [Element]: The character can perceive, locate, and analyze a substance, material, or energy. The player must choose the specific type of detect: detect magic, detect metal, detect temporal anomalies, etc.

• ESP: The character can attempt to make a challenging (task difficulty 12) Perception task roll to perceive things at a distance.

• Hyperacuity: The character can attempt to make a challenging (task difficulty 12) Perception task roll to sense details far too small or faint for ordinary human perception to detect. They can taste the number of salt grains on a pretzel, read printed text by touching it, see fingerprints on surfaces, identify a person by the sound of their heartbeat, track someone through a city by their cologne, and so on.

• Infrared Vision: The character see in the infrared spectrum. They are able to see an image in the darkest of nights as though it were twilight, and they can see through light fog, rain and smoke. They can detect small temperature differences by looking at them.

• Night Vision: The character can see in pitch darkness as clearly as in daylight.• Postcognition: The character can see into the past, or can “read” the history

of items and people by touching them. Seeing into the past is never completely reliable: Postcognition is primarily a roleplaying power under the control of the GM.

• Precognition: The character can see into the future, or can “read” the destiny of items and people by touching them. Seeing into the future is never completely reliable: Precognition is primarily a roleplaying power under the control of the GM.

• Ultraviolet Vision: The character see in the ultraviolet spectrum. They are able to see an image in the darkest of nights as though it were twilight, and they can perceive patterns and colors invisible to normal human vision.

• Vibration Sense: The character can perceive, locate, and analyze things touching the ground (or water, with the GM’s permission).

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• X-ray Vision: The character can see through objects. The player must define a reasonably common substance, material, or energy that the character can’t see through.

Using Super Senses requires a Perception task roll against a task difficulty set by the GM. This is typically a challenging (task difficulty 12) Perception task roll, but it may be higher or lower depending on the ambient “noise” and how obvious the thing being perceived is. If the thing being perceived is relatively obvious (to someone with the appropriate senses), no task roll should be necessary.

Super-speedActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

The Super-speed power allows the character to perform everyday tasks at a rate much faster than usual. Each rank of Super-speed moves the time it takes to complete the task one level up the Super-speed table. For example, a character with 3 ranks in Super-speed could accomplish a 15 minute task in 2 minutes (2 minutes is three rows up from 15 minutes in the Super-speed table).

Super-speed is only applicable to everyday tasks, tasks that are routine (task difficulty 9 or less), and tasks performed when the character is under no pressure and there is no penalty for failure. Super-speed does not enhance the character’s combat abilities, nor does it grant any other speed-related powers, such as Regeneration or Super-running.

Table: Super-speed

Task Duration

3 seconds

6 seconds

12 seconds

30 seconds

1 minute

2 minutes

4 minutes

8 minutes

15 minutes

30 minutes

1 hour

2 hours

4 hours

8 hours

16 hours

1 day

2 days

4 days

1 week

2 weeks

1 month

3 months

6 months

1 year

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Super-swimmingActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 1 character point per rank

The character can swim impossibly fast, either innately or by using some type of equipment. For example, the character might have a powerful tail like a dolphin, they might wear turbo-jet boots, or they may just swim really fast. The character’s base move, double move, and all-out move are based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the values in appropriate columns. Rank 2 is as fast as a sailfish, rank 3 is as fast as the Spirit of Australia speed boat, and rank 5 is faster than the speed of sound (which is approximately 3,489 mph in sea water).

If a character has Super-swimming, then they move at the speed indicated by the power rather than at the speed indicated by their Agility. Super-swimming does not add to a character’s natural (Agility-based) swimming speed.

TelekinesisActivation: Attack Task roll: Accuracy Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

Telekinesis permits a character to move objects at range. The maximum mass the character can lift with their Telekinesis is based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table and look up the corresponding value in the “Lifts” column. Telekinesis is not normally able to inflict damage directly (to do so, use Blast), but it may be used to squeeze a target or hurl a target against unyielding surfaces.

Telekinesis may be targeted using either Accuracy or Willpower. The attribute used by the attacker to hit the target must be chosen when the power is purchased, and may not normally be changed thereafter.

Using Telekinesis requires an Accuracy (or Willpower) task roll against the Agility of the intended target. Grabbing inanimate objects with Telekinesis is generally automatic, unless the GM wants to make it difficult for some reason. To break free of the Telekinesis, the target must make a successful Brawn task roll against the rank of the Telekinesis.

If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the Telekinesis is increased by 3 for the purpose of breaking free of it. For example, if a character is being held by a rank 6 Telekinesis, and the attacker has expertise with the power and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a Brawn task roll against task difficulty 17 (6 + 3 + 8) to break free of the Telekinesis.

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If the defender succeeds at the Brawn task roll to break free, they may use their remaining movement action. If the character being held with Telekinesis gets an extreme success on this roll, then they break free as a free action instead of a task action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 Telekinesis, they would need to make a Brawn task roll against task difficulty 14 (6 + 8). If they roll a 17 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and breaking free is simply a free action. If the defender has Telekinesis, they may use the rank of their own Telekinesis in lieu of their Brawn to break free.

Characters being held by Telekinesis are considered “restrained”. A restrained character is not helpless, but they can’t use normal movement until they break free of the Telekinesis. Attacking the held character is easier (attackers gain a +3 attack bonus when attacking the held character), and their attacks are easier to avoid (defenders gain a +3 defense bonus when the held character attacks them).

A character with Telekinesis may either squeeze or move what they are holding with the power.

If the character with Telekinesis wishes to exert strength in an attempt to hurt the held character, the compression causes Endurance damage, and the damage rating (DR) of this attack is equal to the attacker’s rank in Telekinesis. Any power or equipment that provides protection from Endurance damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, reduces the amount of damage the target takes from the attack. The protection value (PV) of the protection power is subtracted from the damage rating of the Telekinesis. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s Endurance.

If the character with Telekinesis wishes to move the held character, the distance an attacker may move the defender is based on the Telekinesis of the attacker and the mass of the defender. First, look up the mass of the defender or object to be moved in the “Lifts” column of the Benchmarks table (rounding to the nearest weight value), and find the corresponding rank for that weight. Subtract that rank from the Telekinesis of the attacker, and look up that resulting rank in the Benchmarks table. Find the corresponding distance in the “Throws” column. This is how far the attacker could move an object of that weight in one round. This rank is also the damage rating (DR) of the impact if the attacker makes the defender hit a solid object such as a wall or the ground. Particularly soft or yielding surfaces can reduce the impact damage by as much as half.

Example:

Darkmind has Telekinesis 7, and wants to move Stone. Stone weighs 800 pounds, which would be rank 4 in the “Lifts” column in the Benchmarks table. Subtracting 4 from Darkmind’s rank 7 Telekinesis gives us rank 3. Consulting the “Throws” column for rank 3, we find that Darkmind can move Stone 25 feet per round.

Darkmind uses Telekinesis to smash Stone into an armored car. The impact has a damage rating of 3. After subtracting Stone’s rank 7 Invulnerability, the attack does no damage to Stone at all. The armored car has Invulnerability rank 5 and Endurance 5. It is rocked on its wheels a bit, but suffers no real damage from having Stone smashed into it.

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TelepathyActivation: Attack Task roll: Willpower Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

Telepathy permits a character to communicate directly with the mind of another person. If the target of Telepathy is willing, then no roll is needed. With a willing target or a successful Willpower vs. Willpower roll, the telepath may mentally communicate with the target and may read their thoughts.

The highest Willpower the character may overcome with Telepathy is equal to the telepath’s Willpower or the rank of the Telepathy, whichever is greater. For example, a character with rank 3 Willpower and rank 2 Telepathy could attempt to read the mind of an unwilling target with Willpower rank 3, but would be unable to read the mind of an unwilling target with Willpower rank 4. However, if the telepath has expertise with Telepathy and rolls an extreme success, the highest Willpower the telepath may overcome increases by 3 ranks.

TeleportationActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 2 character points per rank

Teleportation permits a character to travel from one point to another without traversing the intervening space. The range the character may travel is based the rank of the power. The character may double-move and all-out move using Teleportation, and incurs the normal penalties when doing so. A teleporter may carry with them whatever they can carry, based on their Brawn. This may include equipment or even other characters.

A teleporter cannot use Teleportation to teleport into a solid object, or into any area that has a Power Suppression in effect which would be sufficient to prevent the character from teleporting out of it; other than this, objects in the physical generally have no effect on a teleporter in transit. If a teleporter unknowingly attempts to teleport into a solid object, they are staggered and shunted to the nearest unoccupied space, or the teleportation attempt fails entirely, at the GM’s discretion. See Staggering (p. 146) for more details.

EnhancementsRadius Effect: The character can teleport with everything in their immediate vicinity, up to the radius indicated by the power’s rank. The character can choose the radius affected each time they use Teleportation, up to the maximum granted by the rank of the power. +1 character point

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Radius Effect (people only): The character can teleport with everyone in their immediate vicinity, up to the radius indicated by the power’s rank. The character can choose the radius affected each time they use Teleportation, but they may not choose which people go with them and which are left behind. +1 character point

DefectsRequires A Medium (major defect): The character may only teleport through a specific medium. For example, a character with electrical powers might only be able to teleport through conductive material. Alternately, the character might only be able to teleport between specific locations. For example, a character attuned to the spirit of cities might only be able to teleport within and between cities, or a character with darkness powers might only be able to teleport within and between dark areas such as shadows. -1 character point

Time ControlActivation: Attack Task roll: Power Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 2 character points per rank

A character with Time Control can influence the ebb and flow of time, skipping forward and back through the time stream. Time Control does not allow the character to time travel per se, but a character with Time Control can “rewind” time to make different choices.

How much time may be re-wound is subject to GM approval and is largely plot-dependent. During combat, for example, the player may declare that they are rewinding time at the end of a round in order to play that round over. Out of combat, the player may declare that they are rewinding a 20 minute conversation, or they may wish to rewind time by a half-hour and take a different route through the city. If the GM approves of this use of Time Control, the elapsed time is erased from history, and the status of every character and the world at large is restored to the condition at the beginning of the rewound time period. Normally, the only person aware of this temporal reversal is the character with Time Control, but characters who have some way to detect temporal anomalies would be aware of what has happened. To everyone else, time proceeds as if they had never lived through the rewound time before (although particularly perceptive individuals may get a sense of deja vu).

During each game session, the number of times the character can rewind time is equal to the rank of the Time Control power.

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[Transformation] RayActivation: Attack Task roll: Accuracy Target: Single Target Range: Ranged Cost: 1 character point per rank

[Transformation] Ray allows the character to use a personal power as an attack. The power being used as an attack is under the control of the character with the [Transformation] Ray power; the target of the ray has no control over the power. The specific personal power to be used as an attack must be chosen when this power is purchased. Available personal powers which may be used as attacks with [Transformation] Ray are:

• [Element] Form• Growth• Increased Density• Intangibility• Invisibility• Shapeshifting• Shrinking

The rank of the power being used as an attack is equal to the rank of the [Transformation] Ray, unless the [Transformation] Ray combines two or more powers. For example, a [Transformation] Ray might combine Shapeshifting and Shrinking. If the [Transformation] Ray combines two or more powers, the ranks of the individual powers must add up to the rank of the [Transformation] Ray.

Using [Transformation] Ray requires an Accuracy task roll against the Agility of the intended target. If the attacker has expertise with the power and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of the [Transformation] Ray is increased by 3 for the purpose of breaking out of it. For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 [Transformation] Ray, and the attacker has expertise with the power and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a Willpower task roll against task difficulty 17 (6 + 3 + 8) to break out of the [Transformation] Ray.

To break out of the [Transformation] Ray, the target must make a successful Willpower task roll against the rank of the [Transformation] Ray. If the character succeeds at this task roll, they may use their remaining movement action. If the transformed character gets an extreme success on this roll, then they break out as a free action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is affected by a rank 6 [Transformation] Ray, they would need to make a Willpower task roll against task difficulty 14 (6 + 8). If they roll a 17 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and breaking out is a free action rather than a task action.

If the character has not broken out of the [Transformation] Ray by the end of the scene, then they break out of it shortly thereafter.

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POWERS

TunnelingActivation: Activated Task roll: — Target: Personal Range: — Cost: 2 character points per rank

Tunneling enables the character to move through the earth almost as easily as other people do above it. The speed at which the character may dig is based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the value in the “Base Move” column. This is the distance that the character can tunnel in a single round. This assumes the character is not taking any time to shore up the tunnel behind her. If she is attempting to leave a hole through which others may follow, she moves at half normal speed.

The density of the material the character can dig through is based on the rank of the power. Find the rank of the power in the Benchmarks table, and look up the value in the “Breaks” column. This is the toughest material which the character may dig through. The character is unable to pass through force fields and other energy barriers.

[Ultra-power]Activation: Varies Task roll: Varies Target: Varies Range: Varies Cost: 3 character points per rank

[Ultra-power] permits the character to use a wide range of powers which have a tightly unifying theme and which all derive from the same power source. Typical unifying themes for [Ultra-power] include trick arrows with varying effects, sorcerous spells and incantations, gadgets and high-tech devices, a suit of powered armor with a number of built-in weapons and sensors, and a cosmic amulet that lets the user create any solid-energy construct they can imagine. The specific unifying theme and power source must be chosen when this power is purchased. The player can pick any unifying theme and power source they like, subject to the GM’s approval.

[Ultra-power] may contain any theme-appropriate power with a cost per rank up to 2, and any power made possible with the [Ultra-power] has no more than the rank of the [Ultra-power] itself. For example, a rank 6 [Ultra-power] defined as “Cybervole Powered Armor” might have a rank 6 electrical Blast, rank 6 Tunneling, and any other rank 6 power the player (and the GM) thinks is appropriate for Cybervole. These powers do not need to be chosen until the character wants to use them, but it is a good idea to figure them out beforehand so that the player does not bog down the game by dithering over what their character should do next. Due to the tightly unifying theme of the [Ultra-power], power-altering powers such as Power Drain affect the entire [Ultra-power].

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POWERS

Another character might have a rank 5 [Ultra-power] defined as “Time Mastery”. This character could have rank 2 Amazing Movement (Astral Travel, Time Travel), rank 5 Danger Sense, rank 5 Healing, rank 5 Super-speed, and rank 5 Time Control. However, the character could not use their [Ultra-power] to have Duplication, because Duplication costs 3 points per rank. If the player wanted the character to have Duplication, that power would need to be purchased separately from the [Ultra-power].

Power ModifiersPower EnhancementsPower enhancements make a power more useful than it normally is. For example, if a character has an explosive fire blast that can burn everything within an area around the target, that would be a power enhancement (Explosive Damage, to be specific), since Blast can normally only shoot at one target at a time.

Most power enhancements increase the cost of the power by one character point. So if the character had a rank 7 Fire Blast with the Explosive Damage enhancement, the power would cost 8 character points.

Table: Power enhancements

Power Enhancement Cost

Explosive Damage 1

Increased Range 1-3

Penetrating Damage 1

Radius Effect 1

Power enhancements are under the control of the character with the power. A character can choose whether or not to use a specific enhancement on a case by case basis. Just because a character can burn everything within an area around the target doesn’t mean that they must. However, if a character must use an enhancement, and this lack of control can cause serious problems for the character (as it would be, in case of a character throwing fiery explosions), then their lack of control may be a power defect.

Explosive DamageA power with the Explosive Damage power enhancement causes its damage to everyone within a certain range of the target. Because an exploding attack does not need to be aimed at a specific target, the difficulty of the task roll is 9. However, because exploding attacks are not targeted at specific individuals, they do not benefit from extreme success.

The radius of the explosion is assumed to be 50 feet (the same distance as rank 1 on the Benchmarks table under “Affects”). The radius of the explosion can be increased one rank for each additional character point spent on this power enhancement. For example, a rank 3 Blast with four levels of the Explosive Damage power enhancement would cost 7 points and cover an area 3,200 feet in diameter (a radius of 1,600 feet).

126

POWERS

The damage rating of the explosion diminishes with distance from the center. If so, the damage rating is at its full value within half of the total radius, and at one-half of its full value in the remainder of the explosion. For example, a rank 3 Blast with four levels of the Explosive Damage power enhancement would cost 7 points, have a damage rating of 3 from the center out to a radius of 800 feet (half its total radius), and a damage rating of 2 from 800 feet out to the limit of its radius of 1,600 feet.

Increased RangeA power with the Increased Range power enhancement can affect targets at ranges beyond the power’s default range. Each application of this enhancement increases the effective range of the power by 3 ranks on the Benchmarks table under “Affects”). For example, a rank 4 Blast normally has an effective range of 1,600 feet. Adding the Increased Range power enhancement would increase the power’s effective range by 3 ranks, to 20 miles. Applying this power enhancement a second time would increase the effective range to 1,200 miles.

Penetrating DamageA power with the Penetrating Damage power enhancement ignores 50% of the defender’s protection (round in defender’s favor). The Penetrating power enhancement should only be added to powers that inflict damage directly, such as Blast.

Radius EffectA power with the Radius Effect power enhancement is centered on the character, and can cover an area up to a radius based on its power rank (see Benchmarks, p. 134). For example, a character with rank 7 Telepathy that has the Radius Effect enhancement would allow the character to simultaneously read the minds of everyone within 15 miles. For powers which affect others, the character makes their associated roll (a Willpower roll, in the case of Telepathy), and compares that to any targets in the affected area. A character can choose the radius each time they use the power, up to the maximum granted by the rank of the power.

This is a very potent enhancement, and should not be added to powers that inflict damage directly, such as Blast.

127

POWERS

Power DefectsPower defects make a power less useful than it normally is. For example, if a character has a Fire Blast that can only be used if there is an existing source of fire, that would be a power defect, since most characters with a Fire Blast can generate their own flame.

A minor power defect, such as the character needing a specific item on hand in order to use their powers (a gun, a wand, a magic ring, etc.), does not affect the cost of the power. Every power has minor defects: some are just more obvious than others. If a player doesn’t think of minor defects on their own, rest assured that the GM will think of some for them.

A major power defect, such as a Blast power that needs an existing source of flame, reduces the total cost of the power by one character point. So if the character had a rank 7 Fire Blast with this defect, the power would cost 6 character points.

An extreme power defect, such as a Fire Blast which can only be used once per day, reduces the total cost of the power by two character points. So if the character had a rank 7 Fire Blast which could only be used once per day (a character with some dragon ancestry, let’s say), the power would cost 5 character points.

The cost of a power may not be reduced below one character point. Even the most defective power costs at least one character point.

128

POWERS

New PowersYou might not have found the power you want in this chapter. After all, the page count of this book is limited, while your imagination is not. If the power you want is very similar to one already listed, the easiest thing to do is just change the name and description slightly, and get on with the game. Talk to the GM and the other players about it, and see if they agree. If they do, your problem is solved. If that doesn’t work, see if adding a power enhancement will give you the result you want. In most cases, it will.

On the other hand, not everything that works in a comicbook works in a game. It’s entirely possible to create an invisible power that can attack anyone, anywhere, at no risk to the character — but where’s the fun in that? If the power you have imagined is significantly more powerful than anything in this chapter, then maybe you should go back to the drawing board.

“Roleplay” PowersSometimes a character has a power that is important for characterization and roleplaying, but doesn’t really have an impact on the game. For example, consider a character who is centuries old, and never ages, but who can die from injury or accident just like anyone else. This is definitely a power, but what does it really do? It doesn’t give the character a measurable advantage either in or out of combat. It’s important to the character, and there is a remote chance that it will be useful in combat if the characters encounter a villain with the power to rapidly age her enemies, but for most games its usefulness will be limited to roleplaying. Powers like this are “roleplay” powers, and they cost a flat one character point.

Don’t go too crazy with “roleplay” powers. Unless there is a plausible circumstance where the power might be genuinely useful, just consider it part of the character’s background and description.

129

EQUIPMENT

Nothing physically prevents a character in Bulletproof Blues from carrying weapons and driving vehicles: there is no character point cost associated with ordinary weaponry and vehicles. However, there may be legal or financial obstacles to obtaining such equipment, even if it’s relatively commonplace. Additionally, ordinary equipment requires all of the same maintenance and care that such equipment requires in the real world, unlike equipment purchased with character points.

For example, a character whose Blast 3 is a pistol, and who has paid character points for that power, is rarely inconvenienced by trivial matters such as a failure to feed or a stovepipe jam, and the player would probably earn a plot point if such a failure occurred. For a character whose pistol was purchased at a local gun shop (and not purchased with character points), such equipment failures are relatively common and do not grant the player a plot point.

Melee WeaponsHand-to-hand weapons such as clubs and knives have a damage rating equal to the rank of the weapon or the character’s Brawn rank + 1, whichever is greater. A knife with damage rating 1 wielded by a character with rank 2 Brawn would have an effective damage rating of 3. Using a weapon allows a character with Brawn of 3 or less to inflict normal damage rather than stunning damage.

Using extraordinary amounts of Brawn with an ordinary melee weapon may damage the weapon. If the character’s Brawn is greater than the rank of the weapon + 3, it’s likely that the weapon will be destroyed when it is used. For example, a character with Brawn 4 can use a wooden chair (Strike rank 1) as a melee weapon, but the chair would be smashed to pieces after the first such attack. Similarly, the blade of a two-handed great axe (Strike rank 4) would be twisted into scrap metal after being wielded a few times by a character with Brawn 8.

130

EQUIPMENT

Axes• Hatchet: Strike 2• Axe: Strike 3• Great Axe: Strike 4 (two handed)

Clubs• Club: Strike 1• Spear: Strike 1• Staff: Strike 1• Whip: Strike 1• Crowbar: Strike 2 (two handed)

Swords• Knife: Strike 1• Sword: Strike 2• Great Sword: Strike 3 (two handed)• Chainsaw: Strike 4 (two handed)

Ranged WeaponsBows

• Longbow: Blast 2• Crossbow: Blast 3• Hunting Bow: Blast 3

Pistols• Light Pistol: Blast 2• Target Pistol: Blast 2, +1 Accuracy• Pistol: Blast 3• Heavy Pistol: Blast 3• Submachine Gun: Blast 3, +1 Accuracy (fires multiple rounds at target)• Nausea-inducing Pistol: Agility Drain 2, Ranged (uses radio frequencies to

affect a target’s hearing and equilibrium)• Speech-suppression Pistol: Blindness (vs. speech) 2 (uses a time-delayed echo to

interrupt target’s ability to form coherent sentences)

131

EQUIPMENT

Rifles• Assault Rifle: Blast 3, +1 Accuracy (fires multiple rounds at target)• Shotgun: Blast 3, +1 Accuracy• Military Rifle: Blast 4• Hunting Rifle: Blast 4, +1 Accuracy (with properly calibrated scope)• Machine Gun: Blast 4, +1 Accuracy (fires multiple rounds at target)• Sniper Rifle: Blast 4, +1 Accuracy, Penetrating (single shot)• Heat Rifle: Blast 4, Stunning (uses microwaves to cause pain to target)• Pacification Rifle: Willpower Drain 3, Ranged (uses electromagnetic radiation to

affect a target’s central nervous system)

Other• M14 Incendiary Grenade: Blast 4, Exploding, Penetrating (incendiary)• M67 Fragmentation Grenade: Blast 5, Exploding• M7A2 CS Gas Grenade: Blast 5 + Blindness 5, Exploding (poison)• Mk 141 Stun Grenade: Blast 5, Exploding, Stunning• Knockout Gas Grenade: Blast 8, Exploding, Stunning (poison)• M18 Smoke Grenade: Blindness 2, Exploding (lasts 10 rounds)• M84 “Flash-Bang” Grenade: Blindness 4 + Blindness (vs. hearing) 4, Exploding• Flamethrower: Blast 6, Exploding• M72 LAW: Blast 8 (single shot)• Light Artillery: Blast 8• Heavy Artillery: Blast 10, Exploding• Heat Cannon: Blast 4, Stunning, Exploding (uses microwaves to cause pain to

target)• Pacification Cannon: Willpower Drain 3, Ranged, Exploding (uses

electromagnetic radiation to affect a target’s central nervous system)

VehiclesA character with a special vehicle should usually buy it using a power, such as Flight. However, any character with the appropriate background could conceivably own and drive ordinary vehicles. As with weapons, ordinary vehicles are unreliable and require periodic maintenance.

132

EQUIPMENT

Street• Mini: Invulnerability 1, Endurance 1, top speed 100 mph• Sports Car: Invulnerability 1, Endurance 1, top speed 160 mph• Bus: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 2, top speed 75 mph• Police Car: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 2, top speed 140 mph• Recreational Vehicle: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 2, top speed 80 mph• Sedan: Invulnerability 1, Endurance 3, top speed 130 mph• Surveillance Van: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 2, top speed 110 mph• Fire Truck: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 3, top speed 80 mph• Minivan: Invulnerability 3, Endurance 3, top speed 120 mph• Truck Tractor: Invulnerability 3, Endurance 4, top speed 100 mph• SWAT Van: Invulnerability 4, Endurance 5, top speed 110 mph• Armored Car: Invulnerability 5, Endurance 5, top speed 65 mph• Security Limo: Invulnerability 5, Endurance 5, top speed 110 mph

Off-road• Motorcycle: Invulnerability 1, Endurance 1, top speed 160 mph• Pickup Truck: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 3, top speed 110 mph• Bulldozer: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 4, top speed 7 mph• Heavy Truck: Invulnerability 3, Endurance 4, top speed 100 mph• Snow Cat: Invulnerability 5, Endurance 2, top speed 25 mph• Snowmobile: Invulnerability 5, Endurance 2, top speed 100 mph• Tank: Invulnerability 5, Endurance 6, top speed 45 mph

Water• Jet Ski: Invulnerability 1, Endurance 3, top speed 30 mph• Speed Boat: Invulnerability 1, Endurance 2, top speed 25 mph• Patrol Boat: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 4, top speed 35 mph• Battleship: Invulnerability 4, Endurance 5, top speed 35 mph• Aircraft Carrier: Invulnerability 4, Endurance 4, top speed 35 mph

Air• Corporate Jet: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 1, top speed 500 mph• Private Plane: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 1, top speed 260 mph• Military Jet: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 2, top speed 1,000 mph• Passenger Jet: Invulnerability 2, Endurance 2, top speed 500 mph• Dirigible: Invulnerability 0, Endurance 1, top speed 80 mph• Civilian Helicopter: Invulnerability 1, Endurance 1, top speed 160 mph• Military Helicopter: Invulnerability 4, Endurance 2, top speed 300 mph

133

ACTIONS

Time And DistanceTimeTime is important. Without some way to keep track of time, everything would happen at once, and that would be terribly confusing.

Time in the game is usually divided into scenes. A scene typically starts when the characters arrive at a place, and ends when they leave. A scene could also be a period of time while the characters are together and moving toward a destination. In some cases, a scene might end even though the characters haven’t moved at all, such as when they go to sleep, or when a fight ends and they begin talking about their plans for what to do next. Any time you feel would be a good time to “go to a commercial” or “start a new chapter”, that’s a good time to end the scene and start a new one.

If the characters are in combat or in some other tense situation, time seems to slow down. Every decision takes on a greater importance. A video game designer from the early 2000s might call this “bullet time”, but we just call it combat time.

Combat time is divided into rounds. One combat round is six seconds, give or take, giving us ten rounds per minute. In a round, each character gets a turn. During their turn, a character can travel a distance up to their base movement (walking, typically) and still have time to do something useful (such as making an attack or using a skill) as well as engage in some banter with their teammates or anyone else nearby (such as telling one’s henchmen to “run, you fools!”). We call these “movement actions”, “task actions”, and “roleplaying actions”, respectively. A character can perform a task before they move or after they move, but they can’t usually break up their movement to perform a task in the middle of it.

134

ACTIONS

BenchmarksWe assign numbers to characters’ abilities so that we can tell what they can do. No one wants to guess what their characters can pick up or how fast they can fly. You will notice that the relationship between one rank and the next is not constant. At low ranks, each rank is roughly double the value of the previous rank, while at the highest ranks, the increase is approximately eightfold. In between, each rank is roughly quadruple the previous value. This variation is intentional, to offer greater variety to characters of “human” power level, while permitting truly extraordinary power levels at the highest ranks. All of the numbers in this table are approximate: don’t be too concerned about it if something is on the edge between one value and the next. When in doubt, err on the side of the players.

The movement distances in this table are for powers, such as Flight, Super-running, and Teleport. If the character has only their natural movement (running, swimming, and jumping), then their movement distance is based on their Agility and Brawn. See Movement (p. 137) for more information.

Breaks indicates the strongest substance that the character would be able to break under normal circumstances. The thickness of the material and other factors make this a rough estimate, at best.

Lifts indicates the greatest weight that the character can “clean and jerk” (pick up and lift overhead). A character carrying or supporting such a weight can take at most one or two steps per round. A character can move normally while carrying a weight corresponding to one rank less than their Brawn. For example, a character with rank 8 Brawn could carry up to 30 tons and suffer no penalties to their movement while doing so.

Throws (50 lbs) indicates the farthest distance that a character could throw a compact object weighing 50 lbs. To see how far a character can throw heavier objects, subtract the Brawn rank required to lift the object from the character’s total Brawn rank. Look up the difference in the “Rank” column: this indicates how far the character can throw the object. For example, a character with rank 4 Brawn (the peak of human potential) could throw an object weighing 100 lbs (such as a cooperative slender human) up to 25 feet.

Affects (radius or range) indicates the radius around the character that they can affect with their powers if their powers affect a radius, or the maximum range of the power if it affects a single target. For example, (Element) Mastery can move or manipulate the chosen element within this area and can use the element to inflict direct damage to a target up to this distance away. The “radius” value is not used for powers that inflict damage directly unless they have been purchased with the Explosive Damage power enhancement.

135

ACTIONS

All-o

ut M

ove

MPH

30 m

ph

70 m

ph

300

mph

1,000

mph

4,000

mph

20,0

00 m

ph

70,0

00 m

ph

300,0

00 m

ph

1,000

,000

mph

5,000

,000

mph

30,0

00,0

00 m

ph

300,0

00,0

00 m

ph

0.9 c

0.99

c

Per R

ound

300

feet

600

feet

2,400

feet

2 mi

les

6 mi

les

30 m

iles

120

miles

480

miles

1,800

mile

s

7,200

mile

s

60,0

00 m

iles

480,0

00 m

iles

3,60

0,000

mile

s

30,0

00,0

00 m

iles

Doub

le M

ove

Per R

ound

100

feet

200

feet

800

feet

3,20

0 fe

et

2 mi

les

10 m

iles

40 m

iles

160

miles

600

miles

2,400

mile

s

20,0

00 m

iles

160,0

00 m

iles

1,200

,000

mile

s

10,0

00,0

00 m

iles

Base

Mov

e

Per R

ound

50 fe

et

100

feet

400

feet

1,600

feet

1 mi

le

5 mi

les

20 m

iles

80 m

iles

300

miles

1,200

mile

s

10,0

00 m

iles

80,0

00 m

iles

600,0

00 m

iles

5,000

,000

mile

s

Affe

cts

(radi

us o

r ran

ge)

50 fe

et

100

feet

400

feet

1,600

feet

1 mi

le

5 mi

les

20 m

iles

80 m

iles

300

miles

1,200

mile

s

10,0

00 m

iles

80,0

00 m

iles

600,0

00 m

iles

5,000

,000

mile

s

Thro

ws

(50

lbs)

6 fe

et

12 fe

et

25 fe

et

50 fe

et

200

feet

800

feet

4,000

feet

3 mi

les

10 m

iles

40 m

iles

300

miles

3,00

0 mi

les

20,0

00 m

iles

160,0

00 m

iles

Lifts

100

poun

ds

225

poun

ds

450

poun

ds

900

poun

ds

2 to

ns

7 to

ns

30 to

ns

100

tons

400

tons

2,00

0 to

ns

10,0

00 to

ns

100,0

00 to

ns

1,000

,000

tons

10,0

00,0

00 to

ns

Brea

ks

Card

boar

d

Plasti

c

Wood

Bone

Brick

Conc

rete

Stone

Cera

mic

Steel

Diam

ond

Nano

diamo

nd

Stanli

um

Siege

lite

Kirb

ium

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Table: Benchmarks

136

ACTIONS

Item Weight Brawn or Power Rank (to lift)

hawksbill sea turtle, large dog, slender adult 100 lbs 1

typical adult, small floor safe 200 lbs 2

heavy adult, refrigerator 300 lbs 3

gun safe, racing motorcycle 400 lbs 3

dolphin, lion 500 lbs 4

tiger, motorcycle, medium floor safe, a Twinkie 35 feet long 600 lbs 4

grizzly bear, touring motorcycle 900 lbs 4

cow, horse, sailboat 1,300 lbs 5

small civilian helicopter 1,500 lbs 5

compact car 2,000 lbs 5

medium missile 2,500 lbs 5

hippopotamus, full size car 2 tons 5

Humvee, small military helicopter 3 tons 6

armored Humvee 4.5 tons 6

elephant, empty dump truck 6 tons 6

light jet fighter plane 8 tons 7

empty tractor-trailer, large military helicopter 10 tons 7

jet fighter plane 15 tons 7

Polaris missile, international marijuana shipment 20 tons 7

loaded dump truck 25 tons 7

private jet plane, empty train car 30 tons 7

loaded tractor-trailer, empty C-130 cargo plane 40 tons 8

Easter Island stone head, bank vault, loaded tanker truck 50 tons 8

M1 Abrams tank, Trident missile, suburban house 60 tons 8

loaded C-130 cargo plane 85 tons 8

blue whale 100 tons 8

loaded train car 140 tons 9

locomotive, fishing trawler 200 tons 9

empty 747 passenger plane 300 tons 9

typical train 400 tons 9

loaded 747 passenger plane 450 tons 10

Space Shuttle 2,200 tons 10

passenger train, Coast Guard cutter 3,000 tons 11

137

ACTIONS

Item Weight Brawn or Power Rank (to lift)

Saturn V rocket 3,300 tons 11

Eiffel Tower 7,000 tons 11

freight train 8,000 tons 11

destroyer, nuclear submarine 9,000 tons 11

10 story building 10,000 tons 11

Brooklyn Bridge 15,000 tons 12

long frieght train 16,000 tons 12

large nuclear submarine 20,000 tons 12

aircraft carrier 90,000 tons 12

loaded tanker ship 120,000 tons 13

cruise ship 140,000 tons 13

loaded large tanker ship, large office building 200,000 tons 13

Empire State Building, empty Ultra Large Crude Carrier 400,000 tons 13

Ben Franklin Bridge, loaded Ultra Large Crude Carrier 700,000 tons 13

Golden Gate Bridge 900,000 tons 13

enormous skyscraper 1,000,000 tons 13

Great Pyramid of Giza 6,000,000 tons 14

Mount Everest 180,000,000,000 tons —

Table: Item Weights

Off The ScaleObviously, there are values which are far below or far above what appears in this table. The Moon, with mass of roughly 8.1 × 1019 tons, is far more than even a character with rank 14 Brawn could move, while a baby or a housecat has a Brawn less than 1. Don’t worry about it. At such extremes, the GM should just use their best judgement, and the rest of the players should roll with it.

MovementIn a round, a character can normally walk ten times their Agility in feet and still have time to take an action (such as attack). This is referred to as the character’s base speed. A character’s running speed is double their walking speed, and their sprinting speed is triple their running speed.

If the character has only their natural movement (running, swimming, and jumping), then their movement distance is based on their Agility and Brawn. The movement distances granted by powers, such as Super-running, Swinging, and Teleport, are significantly greater. See Benchmarks (p. 134) for more information.

138

ACTIONS

Table: Normal ground movm

ent

Agility

Walk Run Sprint

(base move) (double move) (all-out move)

feet/round feet/round feet/round mph

1 10 20 60 7

2 20 40 120 14

3 30 60 180 20

4 40 80 240 27

5 50 100 300 34

6 60 120 360 41

7 70 140 420 48

8 80 160 480 55

9 90 180 540 61

10 100 200 600 68

11 110 220 660 75

12 120 240 720 82

13 130 260 780 89

14 140 280 840 95

Table: Normal water movm

ent

Agility

Swim Fast swim Sprint

(base move) (double move) (all-out move)

feet/round feet/round feet/round mph1 2 4 12 1

2 4 8 24 3

3 6 12 36 4

4 8 16 48 5

5 10 20 60 7

6 12 24 72 8

7 14 28 84 10

8 16 32 96 11

9 18 36 108 12

10 20 40 120 14

11 22 44 132 15

12 24 48 144 16

13 26 52 156 18

14 28 56 168 19

139

ACTIONS

A character’s base swimming speed is twice their Agility in feet, and their base standing long jump is three times their Brawn in feet. Swimming may be used to “run” (make a double move) or “sprint” (move all-out), but jumping may not. However, with a running long jump, the character’s ground movement is added to their long jump distance.

If the character is running or sprinting, they can cover more ground, but skills are more difficult, and their attacks are easier to avoid. A character who is running or making a double move incurs a +3 difficulty modifier on any attacks or task rolls. A character who is sprinting or making an all-out move incurs a +6 difficulty modifier on any attacks or task rolls. Movement powers, such as Super-swimming and Teleportation, incur the same difficulty modifiers when they are used to “run” (make a double move) or “sprint” (make an all-out move). See Rolling Dice (p. 142) for more information on task rolls and difficulty modifiers.

A character using their natural (Agility based) movement may move all-out for up to one minute, but then may move no faster than their base speed for an amount of time ten times as long as they were sprinting. So a character who sprinted for three rounds (18 seconds) may not run or sprint for thirty rounds (180 seconds). This limitation does not apply to characters using a movement power, such as Super-runnng or Super-swimming. A character with a movement power can move all-out without needing to rest afterward (unless they want to, of course).

If a character has a power that increases their movement rate, such as Super-running or Super-jumping, then they move at the speed indicated by the power rather than at the speed indicated by their Agility or Brawn. Super-running does not add to a character’s natural (Agility-based) ground movement speed.

Range BandsWeapons and powers that are useful at a distance have an effective range based on the power’s rank. This distance is on the Benchmarks table under “Affects”. For example, a rank 7 Blast has an effective range of 20 miles. Attacking targets at more distant ranges is more difficult or impossible (at the GM’s discretion). If the GM declares that the attack is possible, the defender gains a +3 difficulty modifier (or defense bonus) for each additional range band.

Table: Normal jump

Brawn Long jump (feet)

1 3

2 6

3 9

4 12

5 15

6 18

7 21

8 24

9 27

10 30

11 33

12 36

13 39

14 42

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For example, if a character is being attacked by someone 1,600 feet away (range band 4), and the attacker is using a pistol (which is normally useful up to 400 feet, or range band 3), the defender would gain a +3 defense bonus. See Rolling Dice (p. 142) for more information on task rolls and difficulty modifiers.

Table: Item speeds

Item Speed Agility Rank Power Rank

avg human running 12 mph 2 1

max human running 27 mph 4 1

fast submarine 50 mph 8 2

fast bird, cheetah, sailfish 75 mph 11 2

fast car 200 mph — 3

fast helicopter 250 mph — 3

F5 tornado wind 300 mph — 3

terminal velocity 327 mph — 4

bullet train 350 mph — 4

airplane 500 mph — 4

pistol bullet 680 mph — 4

sound 761 mph — 4

supersonic airplane 1,200 mph — 5

rifle bullet 1,900 mph — 5

superjet 6,000 mph — 6

escape velocity 25,000 mph — 7

rocket 30,000 mph — 7

solar winds 300,000 mph — 8

interplanetary speeds 3,000,000 mph — 10

light 670,616,629 mph — 14

ActionsThere are four kinds of actions a character may perform during their turn in a round: free actions, movement actions, task actions, and roleplay actions. Under normal circumstances, a character can perform one movement action and one task action during their turn. In addition, a character can perform as many free actions and roleplay actions as the GM deems reasonable.

When it is not a character’s turn, they can still react to events around them. Reactions can be attempted at any time, as often as the GM deems reasonable.

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Free ActionA free action takes essentially no time. A character can’t perform free actions until it is their turn to act in the round, but during their turn, they can perform as many free actions as the GM deems reasonable (perhaps as many as a half dozen). Typical free actions include activating a power (but not attacking with it), deactivating a power, dropping a weapon, crouching behind cover, and so on.

Movement ActionWith a movement action, a character may stand up from a prone or seated position, they may move the distance permitted by their Agility and/or Brawn rank (depending on whether they are running, swimming, jumping, or running and jumping), or they may use a movement power to move up to the maximum distance that the rank of their power allows. With the GM’s permission, the character may instead perform any equivalent action: opening a bank vault, screwing in a light bulb, or what have you.

Movement does not generally require a task roll, although the GM may require an Athletics task roll if there is some obstacle to the character’s free movement (distractions, inclement weather, injury, etc.).

Task ActionWith a task action, a character may attempt to perform one task. This could be attempting a skill task roll, attempting to attack an opponent in combat, activating a power and attacking someone with it, or a similar activity. Under normal circumstances, a character may perform a task action before or after a movement action, but not during it.

Roleplay ActionLike a free action, a roleplay action takes essentially no time. During their turn, the character can perform as many roleplay actions as the GM deems reasonable (perhaps as many as a half dozen). Typical roleplay actions include banter with the character’s teammates, making fun of an enemy’s name or costume, or declaring that the opponent “shall not pass”.

Unlike free actions, a character can usually perform roleplay actions at any time, whether it is their turn or not. Bulletproof Blues makes roleplaying an explicit action during combat to encourage players to roleplay. In the heat of combat, it can be easy to forget that roleplaying is an essential part of the game.

ReactionReactions are usually responses to something another character does, and are usually made at the request of the GM. For example, if a character is hit with a staggering attack, the character will need to make a Willpower task roll to keep from being staggered. A character can perform reactions at any time, as often as the GM deems reasonable.

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Rolling DiceWhen a character attempts a task, and the outcome is either contested or there is some random element involved, the player rolls 2d6, counts the dots, and adds the result to their character’s relevant attribute. This roll is compared to a difficulty number the GM assigns. The attempt succeeds if the player’s roll equals or exceeds the assigned difficulty.

Unopposed TasksUnopposed tasks are those tasks where no one is actively working against the character. When attempting an unopposed task, the GM simply sets a task difficulty. More difficult tasks have a higher task difficulty. The attempt succeeds if the player’s roll equals or exceeds the task difficulty.

Easy tasks do not require a roll at all: if a character has any competence at all with an easy task, they succeed. Similarly, routine tasks should rarely require a roll unless there is some dramatic need for it. In most cases, if the GM requires the player to roll dice to successfully complete a task, it’s because the GM has deemed that task “challenging”. Challenging tasks require a roll to resolve, and have a task difficulty of 12. More difficult tasks have a higher task difficulty, requiring a greater roll in order to perform the task successfully. If the task difficulty exceeds the character’s relevant attribute (plus bonuses) by more than 12, the task is just too difficult for that character to perform.

Table: Difficulty examples

Task difficulty Examples

— Easy Operate simple machines

9 Routine Understand and modify simple machines, operate current technology

12 Challenging Understand and modify current technology, operate advanced technology

15 Demanding Design and build current technology, understand and modify advanced technology

18 Frustrating Design and build advanced technology, operate advanced alien technology

21 Nigh-impossible Understand and modify advanced alien technology

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Opposed TasksOpposed tasks are those tasks where the character is actively competing against an opponent. This is often the result of combat, but it may be something non-violent. For example, a computer hacker may be trying to penetrate a system, while the system administrator is trying to close the back door and locate the hacker. The person initiating the conflict rolls the dice, and the attack succeeds if the attacker’s roll equals or exceeds the task difficulty.

When attempting an opposed task, the task difficulty is equal to 8 plus the defender’s relevant attribute.

If the circumstances of the conflict favor one side or the other, the side with the circumstantial advantage receives a bonus. A circumstance which favors the attacker grant a bonus to the task roll (often called an “attack bonus” when the conflict is a violent one). A circumstance which favors the defender imposes a difficulty modifier (typically called a “defense bonus” when the conflict is violent).

Table: Task roll bonuses

Attack bonus Circumstance

+0 Defender is walking (base movement speed)

+1 Defender is prone; attacker is adjacent or hand-to-hand

+3 Defender can’t see the attacker

+3 Defender is restrained

+3 Defender is surprised

+6 Defender is completely blind

+6 Defender is unconscious or helpless

Table: Difficulty modifiers

Defense bonus Circumstance

+0 Attacker is walking (base movement speed)

+1 Defender is prone; attacker is non-adjacent and using a ranged attack

+3 Attacker can’t see the defender

+3 Attacker is restrained

+3 Attacker is running (base move x2)

+3 Defender is sprinting (base move x6)

+3 Attacking a held item

+6 Attacker is completely blind

+6 Attacker is sprinting (base move x6)

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Generally, only the largest bonus to the task roll and the largest difficulty modifier apply.

For example, if the attacker is invisible (which normally grants a +3 task roll bonus) and the target of the attack is surprised (which normally grants a +3 task roll bonus), the attacker would gain a +3 bonus, not +6. Similarly, if the attacker is sprinting (which normally imposes a +6 difficulty modifier) and the defender is also sprinting (which normally imposes a +3 difficulty modifier), this would impose a +6 difficulty modifier, not +9.

Extended TasksSome tasks are more complex or time-consuming than can reasonably be resolved with a single task roll. For example, constructing a starship and racing through a city would be extended tasks. When attempting an extended task, the GM sets a task difficulty and the required number of successes. The GM might also set a maximum number of attempts, to indicate tasks which have a time limit or a penalty for failure, such as disarming a bomb before it explodes. If a character attempting an extended task has relevant expertise and rolls an extreme success, this counts as three successes toward accomplishing the extended task. In extended opposed tasks, such as a competition between rival scientists to create a cure for a disease, the first person or team to achieve the required number of successful task rolls succeeds at the task.

Some extended tasks might benefit from a multidisciplinary approach. For example, disabling an alien doomsday weapon would obviously benefit from engineering expertise, but a keen understanding of alien psychology or linguistics could also be helpful. This allows characters with different skills to combine their efforts to accomplish the task.

FailureFailing a task roll, particularly a skill roll, is not the end of the world. A failed attempt may not give the character the result they wanted, but it should not mean the game grinds to a halt. Rather than having a failed skill attempt be a dead-end, it should mean that the desired outcome has a greater cost, or perhaps the desired outcome has undesirable side effects.

For example, Grimknight is trying to intimidate a low-level ASGARD technician into revealing details about the organization’s plans to distribute a new, highly addictive psychoactive chemical disguised as an energy drink. The GM sets the difficulty of this task to 12, but Grimknight’s player rolls a 9. Rather than having this be the end of this line of inquiry, the GM has several options.

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• Quid pro quo: The technician will give Grimknight the information, but only if Grimknight gives the technician something in exchange. This could be something as prosaic as money, but with an operative of ASGARD the cost is more likely to be something rare or unique, such as blueprints for an experimental device or a sample of Grimknight’s DNA.

• Red herring: The technician tells Grimknight what he wants to hear, but the information is not true or it leads Grimknight off on a wild goose chase. If the technician is clever, he may send Grimknight after a local Aegis cell that has been causing problems for ASGARD.

• Stirring the pot: Grimknight gets the information, but his activities attract attention. A rival organization learns of ASGARD’s psychoactive energy drink as a result of Grimknight’s activities, and they try to beat him to the prize. Alternately, the rival organization might use Grimknight as a stalking horse, allowing Grimknight and ASGARD to fight each other so that the rival organization will have an easier time taking the spoils from the winner.

• Alerting the enemy: Grimknight gets the information, but ASGARD learns of Grimknight’s interest in their activities and they begin to make preparations against him. It could even be that the technician was intended to be captured by Grimknight all along in order to set him up for an ambush!

Taking The AverageIf a task has a difficulty of 7 or less, and the character is under no pressure, and there is either no penalty for failure or no time limit, then the player may choose to “take the average” rather than rolling, and automatically succeed at the task. In effect, the player is assuming that they would roll average: 7. If the player chooses to take the average, the character does not attain an extreme success regardless of the difficulty. However, the player may choose to roll, and risk failure, in the hope of attaining an extreme success.

Note that opposed rolls — whether it is physical combat (such as a gunfight), psychic combat (such as a battle of wills), or a social conflict (such as a marital dispute) — typically involve both a time limit and a penalty for failure.

Taking The MaxIf the character is under no pressure, there is no penalty for failure, and there is no time limit, the player may “take the max”, and assume that they would roll the maximum amount: 12. In effect, the character is trying over and over until they do the best they are capable of doing. If the player chooses to take the max, the character does not attain an extreme success regardless of the difficulty. However, the player may choose to roll, and risk failure, in the hope of attaining an extreme success.

Note that opposed rolls — whether it is physical combat (such as a gunfight), psychic combat (such as a battle of wills), or a social conflict (such as a marital dispute) — typically involve both a time limit and a penalty for failure.

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Extreme SuccessIf the player’s roll equals or exceeds the task difficulty, the character succeeds at the task in a completely satisfactory manner: the clue is found, the language is translated, or the lightning bolt hits its target. However, rolling higher than the required task difficulty may grant additional benefits. If the player has expertise in the power or skill, and rolls three or more over the task difficulty, the character achieves an extreme success. So if a character attempted a challenging task (task difficulty 12), and the player rolled 15 or more, this would be an extreme success.

If the player rolls an extreme success when making a skill roll, perhaps the character has a “eureka!” moment, or perhaps they have found answers to questions they didn’t even know they should ask. If the player rolls an extreme success in combat, the attacker may choose one of three bonus effects, unless the description of the power says otherwise: overwhelming the target, smashing the target, or staggering the target.

OverwhelmingAn overwhelming attack adds three ranks to the power, solely for the purposes of that attack. For attack powers that inflict damage, this means that the damage rating of the power is increased by three. If the overwhelming power normally inflicts Endurance damage, then the additional damage rating is also Endurance damage, and the character’s protection powers, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, apply as usual to the total damage rating of the attack. For attacks that inflict some other form of damage or have some other effect, the total rank of the power is increased by three, with the commensurate effect on the target.

SmashingOnly attacks that normally inflict Endurance damage can result in a smashing attack. If a smashing attack hits a character, the target of the attack may attempt a Brawn task roll to resist being smashed. The target rolls 2d6 and adds their Brawn; the task difficulty is 8 plus the rank of the attack power. If the target succeeds with their Brawn task roll, they shrug off the smashing portion of the attack with no ill effects. If the target fails their Brawn task roll, they are “smashed” and knocked backward a considerable distance. Compare the amount the target missed their roll by to the Benchmarks table. Look up the rank that matches the amount by which they missed the roll, and match that to the distance in the “Throws” column.

A character who is smashed does not normally take additional damage when they land, but they are prone and must use a movement action to get back up.

StaggeringOnly attacks that normally inflict Endurance damage can result in a staggering attack. If a staggering attack hits a character, the target of the attack may attempt a Willpower task roll to resist being staggered. The target rolls 2d6 and adds their Willpower; the task difficulty is 8 plus the rank of the attack power. If the target succeeds with their Willpower task roll, they shrug off the staggering portion of the attack with no ill effects.

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If the target fails their Willpower task roll, they are “staggered” and lose their next turn (their turn on this round if they have not yet taken one; otherwise, their turn on the following round).

Any powers which must be activated, such as Force Field and Growth, normally turn off when a character is staggered. However, a staggered character may attempt a challenging Willpower task roll (task difficulty 12) to keep their powers activated while staggered. Any powers which are deactivated can’t be turned back on until the character is able to take their next turn.

CombatOrder Of PlayEverything that happens in a round is assumed to occur more or less simultaneously, but the players can’t all speak at once. To keep the game orderly, we need a way to determine the order in which characters act when combat starts.

The most important factor in determining who acts before whom is situational awareness. If a character is not aware of their opponent, then they don’t have the opportunity to attack. For example, if a hero is lurking on a rooftop and observes a gang of hooligans breaking into an electronics store, there is no need to roll to see who goes first. The hooligans are unaware that there is anyone to fight, so they continue carrying boxes of loot out of the store. In the first round of combat, only the hero has the opportunity to act. Depending on what the hero does and how sneaky the hero is, it’s possible that the hero might be the only one with an opportunity to act for several rounds. Only after the hooligans become aware of the hero do they get the opportunity to act. At that point, the order of action in each round is the hero first, and then the hooligans. If the combatants become aware of their adversaries in a set order, then that is the order in which they act in combat.

In cases where the various combatants become aware of each other more or less simultaneously, the order in which characters take their turns during a round is determined by their Perception, Agility, and Willpower. The characters with a higher rank in Perception may take their turns before those who have lower Perception. Of those characters whose Perception ranks are equal, the characters with a higher rank in the Agility attribute may take their turns before those of lower Agility. If two characters have equal Perception and Agility attributes, then the character with the higher Willpower rank may take their turn before the character with the lower Willpower attribute. If two characters have identical Perception, Agility, and Willpower attributes then the GM should randomly determine who goes first (flip a coin).

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The environment always goes last in a round. Any falling objects (including characters) fall, and any free-rolling vehicles move, after all characters have had the opportunity to use their actions. This does not include thrown projectiles or character-controlled vehicles. If any object or vehicle is under direct control by a character, then the object or vehicle will move when that character moves it or at the end of the round, at the character’s option. If a character chooses not to control a vehicle, then the vehicle will move at the end of the round.

Of course, this is just an abstraction to make task resolution easier. In reality, everything that happens in a round occurs more or less simultaneously.

Delaying A TurnIf a player does not wish to use their character’s turn when they have the opportunity, perhaps wanting to wait and see what an opponent does, the character may delay their turn, with the option of using it later in the round or on a successive round. The character may then pre-empt another character’s turn later in the round unless the other character has a higher Perception/Agility/Willpower. If both characters are evenly matched, then they may use their actions simultaneously or use a random method to determine who goes first, at the GM’s option.

Forcing An ActionSometimes a character might need to take a desperate action before they have had the opportunity to take their turn in a round or after they have already taken their turn in a round. This is known as forcing the character’s action. Forcing an action allows a character to sacrifice their next turn in order to block, dodge, dive for cover, activate a defensive power, or take another purely defensive action. A forced action can also be used to take a defensive action on someone else’s behalf, such as diving in front of an attack to protect an innocent bystander. The character may not force an action which the GM could construe as an attack, such as blocking a bullet with an opponent’s unconscious body or running into someone. When a character forces their action, they sacrifice their next available turn, whether that action would be in the current round or on the next round. A character may only force an action once per round.

Because a forced action is always defensive, it always take place at the appropriate time, either before or during the attack which triggered it. The attacker does not have the opportunity to “take back” their attack.

AttackAttacks generally have four steps: a task roll to affect the target, determination of the consequences of extreme success (if the attacker has expertise and rolled an extreme success), subtraction of the defender’s protection value (PV) from the damage rating (DR) of the attack, and the determination of the effect on the target. Attacks require a task action by the attacker. See Actions (p. 140) for more details.

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Combining AttacksMultiple characters can gang up on an opponent to increase the damage they inflict when they hit. In order to gang up and combine their damage, each character’s attack must use the same attribute to target their attack and inflict the same type of damage. For example, two characters using Blast could gang up even if their Blast powers are dissimilar (an ice blast and a wind blast, for example), but a character using a Mind Blast would not be able to gang up with them since Mind Blast is targeted using Willpower rather than Accuracy.

All of the characters ganging up on an opponent must strike simultaneously. The successful attack which would inflict the most damage (or have the greatest effect, for non-damaging powers) provides the base damage (or effect) for the combined attack. Each additional successful attack increases the damage rating of the combined attack by +1, up to a maximum of +3.

Example:

Zero K, Manticore, and Tempest gang up on Thornmallow in an attempt to overcome his impenetrable rank 9 Force Field. All three characters are using the Blast power: Zero K uses her ice blast, Manticore uses a Gatling gun mounted on her jet wing, and Tempest calls down lightning to strike Thornmallow. All three powers require an Accuracy task roll to hit, and all three powers inflict Endurance damage. Zero K and Manticore delay their turns so that they can attack at the same time Tempest does.

The GM declares that the task difficulty to hit Thornmallow is 11. Zero K’s player rolls a 10: Zero K’s attack misses. However, Manticore and Tempest both hit successfully with a 12 and a 17, respectively. Tempest has expertise with his lightning blast, so this is an extreme success. Tempest’s player chooses the “overwhelming” effect of an extreme success, increasing the damage rating of Tempest’s attack from 7 to 10. This forms the base damage for the combined attack. Manticore’s gatling gun, which normally has a damage rating of 6, adds +1 to the damage rating of the combined attack, making it 11.

The protection value of Thornmallow’s rank 9 Force Field is subtracted from 11, leaving 2. This reduces Thornmallow’s Endurance by 2.

Coordinating AttacksMultiple characters can work together to increase their chances of hitting an opponent. One character will actually make the attack, and the rest of the characters will attempt to assist them. Each character wishing to assist with the attack attempts a challenging task roll (task difficulty 12) using the appropriate attribute (usually Prowess or Accuracy). Each successful task roll increases the attack bonus of the attack by +1, up to a maximum of +3. The character who actually rolls to hit the target provides the base damage (or effect) for the coordinated attack. If any of the characters attempting to coordinate their attacks roll an extreme success, this increases the attack bonus of the final attack to +3, the maximum bonus. If the character who actually rolls to hit the target fails their task roll, the entire coordinated attack fails.

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Example:

Monolith and Grimknight attempt to coordinate their attacks in order to hit the inhumanly fast Karen X. Because Grimknight has a better chance to hit Karen X in combat (his Prowess is higher than Monolith’s Prowess or Accuracy), they decide that Monolith will assist with the attack, and Grimknight will be the one actually attacking. It is up to the players to decide what this coordinated attack looks like, so they decide that Monolith pickups up Grimknight and hurls him at Karen X.

Because this is a ranged attack for Monolith, he must attempt a challenging Accuracy task roll (task difficulty 12). If his roll is successful, then Grimknight’s attack roll will have a +1 attack bonus. If any of the characters attempting to coordinate their attacks roll an extreme success, this increases the attack bonus of the final attack to +3, the maximum bonus.

Monolith’s player rolls a 17: success! If Monolith had expertise with throwing, this would be an extreme success, granting Grimknight the maximum bonus of +3 on the coordinated attack. However, Monolith does not have expertise with throwing, so this is just a normal success, granting Grimknight a +1 attack bonus.

The GM declares that the Grimknight’s task difficulty to hit Karen X is 17. Including the +1 bonus provided by Monolith, Grimknight rolls a 16: Karen X sees the attack coming, and sidesteps.

DistractingDistraction can be used by a character to mislead an enemy into dropping their guard. Distracting an opponent requires a Willpower task roll against the Willpower of the opponent. If the distraction is successful, the next attack against the distracted opponent on the following round receives a +3 attack bonus.

GrapplingA grapple involves using one’s extremities to hold or restrain another character. The maximum mass the character can effectively grapple is based on the rank of their Brawn. Find the rank of their Brawn in the Benchmarks table and look up the corresponding value in the “Lifts” column.

Grappling requires a Prowess task roll against the Prowess of the intended target. Grappling inanimate objects is generally automatic, unless the GM wants to make it difficult for some reason. To break free of the Grapple, the defender must make a successful task roll using their Brawn or Agility attribute (whichever is greater) against the attacker’s Brawn or Agility (whichever is greater).

If the attacker has expertise with grappling and rolls an extreme success, then the rank of their Brawn (or Agility) is increased by 3 for the purpose of breaking free of it. For example, if a character is being held by an attacker with rank 6 Brawn, and the attacker has expertise with grappling and rolled an extreme success, the affected character would need to make a task roll against task difficulty 17 (6 + 3 + 8) to break free of the grapple.

If the defender succeeds at the task roll to break free, they may use their remaining movement action. If the character being grappled gets an extreme success on this roll, then they break free as a free action instead of a task action (expertise is not necessary). For example, if a character is being held by an attacker with rank 6 Brawn, they would

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need to make a Brawn (or Agility) task roll against task difficulty 14 (6 + 8). If they roll a 17 or more, they achieve an extreme success, and breaking free is a free action. If the defender has Telekinesis, they may use the rank of their Telekinesis in lieu of their Brawn or Agility to break free.

Characters being grappled are considered “restrained”. A restrained character is not helpless, but they can’t use normal movement until they break free of the grapple. Attacking the held character is easier (attackers gain a +3 attack bonus when attacking the held character), and their attacks are easier to avoid (defenders gain a +3 defense bonus when the held character attacks them).

If the attacker wishes to exert strength or leverage in an attempt to hurt the grappled character, this causes Endurance damage, and the damage rating (DR) of this attack is equal to the attacker’s rank in Brawn or Agility (whichever is greater). Any power or equipment that provides protection from Endurance damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, reduces the amount of damage the held character takes from the attack. The protection value (PV) of the protection power is subtracted from the damage rating of the grapple. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s Endurance. Characters with human level Brawn or Agility (rank 3 or less) inflict stunning damage with their grappling attacks. A character with rank 3 Brawn or Agility would have damage rating 3, and any damage inflicted would be stunning, and therefore temporary. A character with rank 4 Brawn or Agility would have damage rating 4, and the damage inflicted would be normal. See Stunning (p. 155) for more details.

If the attacker wishes to move or throw the grappled character, the distance the attacker may move the defender is based on the Brawn of the attacker and the mass of the defender. First, look up the mass of the defender or object to be moved in the “Lifts” column of the Benchmarks table (rounding to the nearest weight value), and find the corresponding rank for that weight. Subtract that rank from the Brawn of the attacker, and look up that resulting rank in the Benchmarks table. Find the corresponding distance in the “Throws” column. This is how far the attacker could throw an object of that weight. This rank is also the damage rating (DR) of the impact if the attacker makes the defender hit a solid object such as a wall or the ground. Particularly soft or yielding surfaces can reduce the impact damage by as much as half.

Example:

Ganyeka has Brawn 5 and wants to throw Widow, whom he has successfully grappled. Widow weighs 148 pounds, which would be rank 1 in the “Lifts” column in the Benchmarks table. Subtracting 1 from Ganyeka’s rank 5 Brawn, we find that Ganyeka can throw Widow 50 feet.

Instead, he throws her at a nearby brick wall. The impact has a damage rating of 4, which is the rank of 50 feet in the “Throws” column in the Benchmarks table. After subtracting Widow’s rank 2 Invulnerability, she takes 2 Endurance damage from hitting the wall, and so she subtracts 2 from her current Endurance. The wall, being brick, has rank 5 Invulnerability, and is undamaged by having Widow thrown at it.

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RammingA ramming attack involves using the velocity of the attacker to increase the damage inflicted. Ramming requires the attacker to use their movement action to travel directly toward the target, followed by a hand-to-hand attack. The ramming attack itself requires a Prowess task roll against the Prowess of the intended target, and the target receives a +1 defense bonus against the ramming attack. The damage rating of the ramming attack is equal to the attacker’s rank in Brawn + 1 or the rank of the attacker’s movement power, whichever is greater. Ramming may be called by various names depending on the technique the attacker uses, such as “flying tackle”, “charge”, or “pounce”.

SlammingA slam or takedown involves using a target’s mass and velocity against them so that they fall to the ground. Slams are only effective against targets whose feet are on the ground to begin with. A slam can represent a an aikido throw, a leg sweep, a judo hip toss, or even tripping someone with an umbrella, depending on the attacker’s fighting style.

A slam requires a Prowess task roll against the Prowess of the intended target. If the slam attack is successful, the defender falls to the ground and may be injured by the impact. The damage rating of this attack is normally equal to the attacker’s rank in Agility. Characters with human level Agility (rank 3 or less) inflict stunning damage with their slams. A character with rank 3 Agility would have damage rating 3, and any damage inflicted would be temporary. See Stunning (p. 155) for more details.

If the defender was moving, the damage rating of this attack is equal to the defender’s rank in their movement power or the attacker’s rank in Agility, whichever is greater. If the defender’s rank in their movement power is 3 or less, the slam inflicts stunning damage.

Sweep AttacksA sweep attack permits a character to make a hand-to-hand attack against everyone within reach. A sweep attack requires a single Prowess task roll against the Prowess of each of the intended targets. Each defender receives a +3 defense bonus against the sweep attack. The damage rating of the sweep attack is equal to the attacker’s rank in Brawn.

TauntingTaunts can be used to goad an opponent into attacking. Taunting requires a Willpower task roll against the Willpower of the character being taunted. If the taunt is successful, then the target of the taunt will use their next available action to attack the taunting character. If that attack misses the taunting character, the attack will instead strike whatever or whomever is directly behind the taunting character.

DefenseDefending against an attack typically has two parts: determining the difficulty against which the attacker must roll to successfully hit the target, and withstanding the damage that results from a successful task roll to hit. Avoiding an attack is referred to as defense,

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while the ability of a target to withstand all or part of the damage is called protection. Invulnerability and Force Field, for example, provide a protection value (PV) equal to the rank of the power.

If the target of an attack is unconscious or unable to move freely to avoid the attack, the attacker gains a +6 attack bonus. This applies to powers such as Telepathy in addition to more overtly damaging powers such as Blast.

BlockingDuring their round, or as a forced action, a character may choose to use a task action to block. A block might entail using brute force to withstand the attack, or it might involve using finesse to harmlessly divert an attack away: the choice is up to the player. To attempt a block, the player attempts a Prowess task roll against the rank of the attacker’s power or weapon. For example, if the attacker had rank a 9 Blast, the task difficulty to block it would be 9 + 8 = 17.

The defender may continue to block additional attacks until their next action. The difficulty modifier for the block increases by 1 for every attack after the first. For example, a character who has used a forced action to block a Blast may continue to attempt to block each time they are attacked until their next action two rounds later. If the sixth such attack was made by an attacker with Brawn rank 6, the difficulty modifier for the block would be equal to 6 + 8 + 5 = 19 (Brawn + 8 + cumulative difficulty modifier = 19).

If the defender has expertise with blocking and rolls an extreme success, then the cumulative difficulty modifier for multiple blocks is reset to zero. For example, if a character uses a forced action to block a Blast, they may continue to attempt to block each time they are attacked until their next action two rounds later. If the fifth such attack was made by an attacker with Brawn rank 6, the difficulty modifier for the block would be equal to 6 + 8 + 4 = 18 (Brawn + 8 + cumulative difficulty modifier = 18). If the defender rolls 21 or higher and has expertise with blocking, the cumulative difficulty is reset. If the sixth such attack was made by an attacker with Brawn rank 6, the difficulty modifier for the block would be equal to 6 + 8 + 0 = 14.

Normally, only attacks which inflict Endurance damage may be blocked. However, if the defender has the same power as the attacker, they may use that power to attempt to block. For example, a defender with Telepathy may use their Telepathy to attempt to block the Telepathy of an attacker. With the GM’s permission, a character may attempt to block with a power that has a similar theme or power source. For example, a GM might permit a character to use their Telepathy to attempt to block an attacker’s Mind Control.

A character chooses to block after determining if the attack will successfully hit: there is no need to block an attack that misses. A successful block completely negates the attack. An unsuccessful block has no effect on the attack.

DodgingDuring their round, or as a forced action, a character may choose to use a task action to dodge. To attempt a dodge, the player attempts an Agility task roll against the rank of

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the attacker’s power or weapon. For example, if the attacker had rank a 9 Blast, the task difficulty to dodge it would be 9 + 8 = 17.

The defender may continue to dodge additional attacks until their next action. The difficulty modifier for the dodge increases by 1 for every attack after the first. For example, a character who has used a forced action to dodge a punch may continue to attempt to dodge each time they are attacked until their next action two rounds later. If the sixth such attack was made by an attacker with Blast rank 7, the difficulty modifier for the dodge would be equal to 7 + 8 + 5 = 20 (Blast + 8 + cumulative difficulty modifier = 20).

If the defender has expertise with dodging and rolls an extreme success, then the cumulative difficulty modifier for multiple dodges is reset to zero. For example, if a character uses a forced action to dodge a punch, they may continue to attempt to dodge each time they are attacked until their next action two rounds later. If the fifth such attack was made by an attacker with Blast rank 7, the difficulty modifier for the dodge would be equal to 7 + 8 + 4 = 19 (Blast + 8 + cumulative difficulty modifier = 19). If the defender rolls 22 or higher and has expertise with dodging, the cumulative difficulty is reset. If the sixth such attack was made by an attacker with Blast rank 7, the difficulty modifier for the dodge would be equal to 7 + 8 + 0 = 15.

Normally, only attacks which inflict Endurance damage may be dodged. However, if the defender has the same power as the attacker, they may use that power to attempt to dodge. For example, a defender with Telepathy may use their Telepathy to attempt to dodge the Telepathy of an attacker. With the GM’s permission, a character may attempt to dodge with a power that has a similar theme or power source. For example, a GM might permit a character to use their Telepathy to attempt to dodge an attacker’s Mind Control.

A character chooses to dodge after determining if the attack will successfully hit: there is no need to dodge an attack that misses. A successful dodge completely negates the attack. An unsuccessful dodge has no effect on the attack.

Diving For CoverAttacks which are particularly large, such as a thrown car or bus, are much more difficult to avoid. The only way to avoid such attacks is to not be under them when they land. If a character is about to be hit by a large attack, they can take a forced action to dive for cover. When diving for cover, the character moves to the nearest open ground beyond the area of the attack or behind the nearest cover, and ends up on the ground prone. A character may perform a forced action to dive for cover from an ordinary attack, if they want, but since it leaves the character prone and vulnerable, and it sacrifices their next action, doing so is probably unwise.

If the nearest safe area or cover is too far away for the character to reach it with a normal move, then there is no benefit to diving for cover. Sorry.

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DamageOnce the attacker successfully makes their task roll to affect the target and the consequences of extreme success (if any) are determined, the damage rating (DR) of the attack is applied against the defender’s protection value (PV).

In hand-to-hand combat, an unarmed character’s damage rating is equal to their rank in Brawn. Characters with human level Brawn (rank 3 or less) inflict stunning damage with their unarmed hand-to-hand attacks. For example, a character with rank 3 Brawn would have damage rating 3, and any damage inflicted would be stunning, and therefore temporary. A character with rank 4 Brawn, however, would have damage rating 4, and the damage inflicted would be normal. See Stunning (p. 155) for more details.

Hand-to-hand weapons such as clubs and knives have a damage rating equal to the rank of the weapon or the character’s Brawn rank + 1, whichever is greater. A knife with damage rating 1 wielded by a character with rank 2 Brawn would have an effective damage rating of 3. Using a weapon allows a character with Brawn of 3 or less to inflict normal damage rather than stunning damage.

The damage rating of a ranged attack is generally equal to the rank of the power or weapon being used.

Exploding, penetrating, and stunning attacks modify how much damage is caused or how a character defends against it.

ExplodingAn exploding attack causes its damage to everyone within a certain range of the target. Because an exploding attack does not need to be aimed at a specific target, the difficulty of the task roll is 9. However, because exploding attacks are not targeted at specific individuals, they do not benefit from extreme success.

The damage rating of the explosion diminishes with distance from the center. The damage rating is at its full value within half of the total radius, and at one-half of its full value in the remainder of the explosion. For example, a typical fragmentation grenade would have a damage rating of 5 from the center out to a radius of 25 feet (half its total radius), and a damage rating of 3 from 25 feet out to the limit of its radius of 50 feet.

PenetratingDamage from a penetrating attack ignores 50% of the defender’s protection (round in defender’s favor).

StunningDamage from a stunning attack is temporary. Record it separately; it all comes back after the fight is over, when the character has had a chance to rest and recuperate.

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ProtectionAfter determining the effective damage rating (DR) of the attack, that total is applied against the target’s protection value (PV). The protection value is subtracted from the damage rating, and any remaining damage is subtracted from target’s appropriate attribute (typically Endurance).

Endurance damage and Endurance protection are the most common, but some attacks inflict other forms of damage, and require other forms of protection. For example, a character attacked with Reason Drain would need some form of protection against Reason damage (Attribute Invulnerability, for example).

Multiple layers of the same type of protection do not stack: only the greatest protection value applies. For example, a character with rank 6 Invulnerability would not benefit from a rank 5 Force Field, nor from wearing an armored vest that provides rank 2 Invulnerability.

RecoveryAfter a chance to rest and recuperate (maybe half an hour), an injured character recovers half the endurance they have recently lost. After that, injuries normally heal only with extended rest or with medical care. With this rest or medical care, the character will regain one Endurance per day; without it, they will regain one Endurance per week.

If the character has taken some other form of damage, such as Strength damage or damage to one of their powers, this damage is temporary. It all comes back after the fight is over, when the character has had a chance to rest and recuperate.

DeathIf a character’s Endurance is reduced to zero, they are rendered unconscious. If a character’s Endurance is reduced to the negative of its starting value (-6 for a character whose normal Endurance is 6, for example), death is the most likely result.

However, there is precedent in the Kalos Universe for death not being final. Depending on the character, their background, and the needs of the story, death may be temporary or merely a transitional phase. For example, when Dryad was killed during the Audobon Park Massacre, her oak tree on the grounds of the Vanguard headquarters seemed to die as well. It was only later when Doctor Morpheus joined Vanguard that it was discovered that her tree was not dead, but merely dormant, setting the stage for Dryad’s eventual return.

Whether death is final for a character also depends on how they died. Did the manner of their death leave any room for doubt? Might their powers provide a way for them to return from the circumstances that killed them? And most importantly, did their death have an important impact on the story? The way a character dies may be their most defining moment; if so, it would cheat them and the story for their death to be temporary. Still, there is always a loophole if you need one. The most important thing to remember about death is that it should never be decided by a roll of the dice.

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Plot PointsEach player begins each game session with one plot point. A player gains a plot point when one of their character’s complications causes a serious problem for them during the game, or as a reward when they do something particularly entertaining or interesting, or when they cooperate with the GM to make things more difficult for the characters. Plot points are spent for an automatic success, to gain a temporary increase in power, to gain a temporary power, or to alter the game world in some way.

Gaining Plot PointsPlayers receive plot points for helping make the game more fun, and they spend them to make their character more effective. Each player starts each game session with one plot point, and should get one or two more during each game session. It’s in the players’ best interests to spend these plot points before the end of the game session, because any unspent plot points do not carry over to the next game (unless the GM makes an exception).

Plot points shouldn’t be given to a player just for roleplaying their character — they should be doing that anyway. The GM should give out a plot point when the player does something really exceptional or inventive, or when the player volunteers for their character to suffer some dramatic setback. The player might even suggest ways that their character’s complications can come into play, giving the GM an opportunity to ramp up the tension. The GM can also reward a player for roleplaying in accordance with their character’s motivations when it’s not in the character’s best interests to do so.

It’s important for the GM to remember that while plot points are a reward for making the game fun, they also make the characters more powerful. A game in which plots points are handed out by the handful will have a much different feel than one in which they are given out sparingly. It’s probably reasonable for each player to receive two or three plot points over the course of a typical three or four hour game session.

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Spending Plot PointsThe examples listed here are the most common uses for plot points, but they aren’t the only ones. If a player wants to spend a plot point to make something fun happen, and it has about the same impact on the game as these examples, the GM should consider permitting it. For example, let’s say an invasion of lava pygmies has caused extensive damage to a street, destroyed a few cars, and melted a mailbox. If a character with time control powers wanted to spend a plot point to reverse time and undo this damage after the lava pygmies have been repelled, should the GM permit it? Sure! It’s fun, and it doesn’t unbalance the game.

Automatic SuccessAn automatic success is just that: the player spends a plot point, and their character succeeds at the current task roll. This can be a skill roll, or it can be an attempt to hit in combat. If the character has expertise and the player wants to check for extreme success, the player should roll as usual: anything less than extreme success is treated as a normal successful roll. (There is no reason to roll if the character does not have expertise.) The GM may forbid the use of a plot point to achieve an automatic success if the task is simply impossible.

An automatic success lasts as long as the effects of the roll would normally last.

InspirationDespite the best intentions of the GM, sometimes players get stuck. All of the leads have been followed, all of the witnesses have been interviewed, and the players are oblivious to the obvious solution the GM has given them to their dilemma. When all else fails, a player can spend a plot point to make an intuitive leap and receive a hint from the GM on what to do next.

If the GM finds this happening with any regularity, it might be worthwhile for them to make their plots a bit less challenging.

Power BoostA power boost increases one of the character’s attributes or powers by one rank (rank 14 maximum). A character with Brawn 5 could gain a temporary boost to Brawn 6, or a character with Flight 7 could gain a temporary boost to Flight 8. Power boost can also be used to add a power enhancement to a power. For example, a character with rank 4 Healing could use a power boost to add the Diseases And Toxins power enhancement, or a character with the Blast power could use a power boost to add the Explosive Damage power enhancement.

Power boosts usually only last for one round, but they might last as long as a scene if that seems to make sense and the GM agrees.

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Power StuntA power stunt permits a character to use their current powers in new and creative ways. For example, a character with a rank 4 Ice Blast might use a power stunt to hack into a computer by freezing its memory, giving them a rank 4 in Computing for that purpose. A character with a rank 8 Force Field might use a power stunt to turn their force field into a rank 8 force blade. The outcome of a power stunt is not automatically successful: the player still needs to roll to determine the outcome, if the outcome is contested or subject to some uncontrolled factor. A character who used a power stunt to gain rank 4 in Computing would still need to make a Computing task roll in order to hack the computer.

Power stunts usually only last for one round, but they might last as long as a scene if that seems to make sense and the GM agrees. For example, if a character with a rank 6 Time Control used a power stunt to gain rank 6 Extra Attacks, then the Extra Attacks power should last until the end of the scene or until the six Extra Attacks are used, whichever comes first.

RallyUnder normal circumstances, an injured character recovers half the endurance they have recently lost after they have had a chance to rest and recuperate (maybe half an hour). Spending a plot point allows a character to rally, and recover as though they’d had a half-hour’s worth of rest.

Retcon“Retcon” is short for “retroactive continuity”: changing the past in some way that supports the current needs of the plot. This can involve the realization that a needed resource is available, but had previously been overlooked (“Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a holocaust cloak”), or it can take the form of a character revealing a previously unknown era in their history, thus giving them new background skills (“As a matter of fact, I spent my senior year of high school studying in Japan”).

A good retcon should not overtly violate what has been established in the game: it should build on what has been established in a fun and inventive way.

Retcons are essentially permanent.

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The EnvironmentAsphyxiaA character who needs to breath but is unable to do so, such as someone drowning or suffocating, loses one Endurance per minute until they can breathe freely again. Protection against conventional forms of damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, are not effective against this damage, but rapid healing, such as that provided by Regeneration, may offset the effects.

A character with Immunity to Asphyxia is unaffected by asphyxia.

DarknessDarkness, fog, rain, blizzards, and other visual impediments can make combat much more difficult. If an attacker can’t see the defender, the defender gains a +3 defense bonus; if the attacker can’t see at all, the defender gains a +6 defense bonus. Conversely, if a defender can’t see the attacker but the attacker can see them, the attacker gains a +3 attack bonus; if the defender can’t see at all but the attacker can, the attacker gains a +6 attacker bonus.

A character with Super Senses such that they can perceive normally suffer no ill effects from darkness.

DehydrationA character who goes more than 24 hours without drinking begins to suffer the effects of dehydration. Initially, the character experiences headaches, loss of appetite, and dry skin, followed by rapid heart rates, elevated body temperatures, and fatigue. After three days without water, the character experiences tiredness, irritability, and dizziness. Severe dehydration results in death.

Characters suffering from dehydration lose 1 Endurance per day until they either die or are rehydrated. Additionally, the difficulty of any task roll the character attempts increases by 1 for every day that the character has been without water. Protection against conventional forms of damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, are not effective against this damage, but rapid healing, such as that provided by Regeneration, may offset the effects.

A character with Immunity to Starvation is unaffected by dehydration.

ExposureExtremes of heat and cold can be dangerous to those without adequate protection from the elements. Characters exposed to extreme temperatures gradually lose Endurance until they either die or find shelter. How quickly they lose Endurance depends on the severity of the conditions. A hot summer day without shade or water, or a frosty winter night without a coat cost a character one point of Endurance every six hours or so: brutal, but not immediately life-threatening. The same character in a blazing hot desert or

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standing on a ridge in the Antarctic would lose a point of Endurance once per minute. Protection against conventional forms of damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, are not effective against this damage, but rapid healing, such as that provided by Regeneration, may offset the effects.

A character with Immunity to Exposure (Cold) is unaffected by extreme cold, while a character with Immunity to Exposure (Heat) is unaffected by extreme heat.

FallingFalling inflicts damage based on the distance fallen. Look up the distance the character falls in the “Throws” column in the Benchmarks table, and find the corresponding rank. This rank is the damage rating inflicted by falling that distance. Under normal circumstances, the maximum damage inflicted by falling is 8, due to the resistance of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Particularly soft or yielding surfaces can reduce the impact damage by as much as half.

FireThe rank and damage rating of a fire depends on its heat and intensity. Any power or equipment that provides protection from Endurance damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, reduces the amount of damage a character takes from a fire. The protection value of the power is subtracted from the damage rating of the fire. The remaining damage is subtracted from the target’s Endurance once per round.

A character with Immunity to Exposure (Heat) may apply one-half of their rank in Immunity against the damage rating of the fire.

Very cool and very hot fires are outside of this range. A common household match can cause painful burns, for example, but it’s less damaging than a rank 1 fire. On the other hand, the interior of the sun is far beyond the temperature of even a rank 14 fire.

Table: Fire

Rank Fire

1 Campfire, torch

2 Burning room

3 Burning house

4 Butane torch

5 Burning warehouse

6 Flame thrower, napalm

7 Burning flammable chemicals

8 Interior of a blast furnace

9 Burning explosive chemicals

10 Oxy-fuel cutting torch

11 Molten lava

12 Interior of a volcano

13 Surface of the Sun

14 Earth’s core

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PathogensPathogens are usually infectious microorganisms which cause disease, such as bacteria and viruses, or parasites, such as fungi and protozoans. Each disease has its own array of symptoms, and not every person afflicted with a given disease will present every symptom.

Most diseases caused by pathogens can be categorized as either acute or chronic. Acute infections affect the patent quickly, run their course, and the patient typically recovers completely. Chronic diseases are long lasting and may have debilitating effects.

If the GM determines that a character has been exposed to a pathogen that could cause an acute infection, the character must make a Brawn task roll against the rank of the pathogen (usually rank 4). If the Brawn task roll is successful, the character resists the pathogen and may suffer only incidental side-effects such as an itchy throat. If the Brawn task roll is not successful, the character has succumbed to the pathogen. The disease lasts for 2d6 days, during which the character feels terrible. Additionally, the difficulty of any task roll the character attempts increases by 1 until the disease runs its course. Complete rest and appropriate treatment reduces the recovery time by one-half, and rapid healing, such as that provided by Regeneration, is also effective at reducing the recovery time.

If the GM determines that a character has been exposed to a pathogen that could cause a chronic infection, the character must make a Brawn task roll against the rank of the pathogen (usually rank 4). If the Brawn task roll is successful, the character resists the pathogen, typically without any symptoms whatsoever. If the Brawn task roll is not successful, the character has succumbed to the pathogen, and they immediately lose 1 Endurance.

The character must attempt another Brawn task roll once per week. Each failed Brawn task roll results in another point of Endurance lost. Additionally, the difficulty of any task roll the character attempts (other than the Brawn task roll to resist the pathogen) increases by 1 for every failed Brawn task roll. This continues until the character makes an extreme success on their Brawn task roll (no expertise necessary), or they are administered the appropriate cure for the disease (if one exists), or they die. Once the character makes an extreme success on their Brawn task roll against the rank of the pathogen or is administered the appropriate cure, they stop losing Endurance and begin to heal normally. Rapid healing, such as that provided by Regeneration, is effective at reducing the recovery time.

The Burroughs PlagueIn 2011, a macabre linguistic infection known as the Burroughs Plague resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people in College Park and Beltsville, Maryland. The symptoms of the disease included aphasia, dyslexia, dementia, and psychosis, ultimately resulting in irreversible homicidal rage. The epidemic was contained and sterilized by the Justifiers before it could spread, and there have been no other outbreaks since.

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A character with Immunity to Pathogens is unaffected by infectious microorganisms, parasites, and other pathogens such as prions.

PoisonsPoisons, venoms, and toxins are substances which disrupt biological processes when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism. The symptoms of poisoning are so variable that there is no easy way to classify them. Some poisons increase heart rate, while others cause lowered heart rate. Some poisons cause lethargy, while others cause hyperactivity. Some poisons cause pain or gastrointestinal distress, while others cause a mild, pleasant elation.

Immediately after exposure or ingestion (depending on the type of poison), a poisoned character must make a Brawn task roll against the rank of the poison. If the Brawn task roll is successful, the character takes no damage from the poison and suffers only incidental side-effects such as nausea. If the Brawn task roll is not successful, the character has succumbed to the poison, and they immediately lose 1 Endurance. Periodically thereafter, the character must attempt another Brawn task roll (once a round for very potent poisons, once an hour for very weak poisons, and once a minute for normal poisons, at the GM’s discretion). Each failed Brawn task roll results in

Table: Poisons

Rank Poison Type

3 Copper(II) Sulfate injected

3 Lead Arsenate (gas) inhaled

3 Lead Arsenate (solid) ingested

3 Rattlesnake Venom injected

3 Scorpion Venom injected

4 Atropine injected

4 Paris Green (gas) inhaled

4 Paris Green (solid) ingested

4 Puffer Fish Poison1 injected

5 Arsenic ingested

5 Blue-ringed Octopus Venom injected

5 Tear Gas2 inhaled

6 Chloroform (vapor)3 inhaled

6 Cyanide injected

6 DDT inhaled

6 Mustard Gas2,4 inhaled

8 Belladonna injected

8 Chloral Hydrate3 ingested

8 Curare injected

8 Knockout Gas3 inhaled

8 Cyanogen inhaled

8 Sarin Nerve Agent inhaled

8 Strychnine injected

8 VX Nerve Agent contact

10 VX Nerve Agent inhaled

1. Also inflicts Hold at the poison’s rank2. Also inflicts Blindness at the poison’s rank3. Non-lethal: will not reduce Endurance below 04. Corrosive effects on the skin, eyes, and exposed

mucous membranes

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another point of Endurance lost. This continues until the character successfully makes a Brawn task roll, or they are administered the appropriate antidote, or they die. Once the character successfully makes a Brawn task roll against the rank of the poison or is administered the appropriate antidote, they stop losing Endurance and begin to heal normally.

Some poisons have effects other than or in addition to Endurance damage and eventual death. A few such effects are indicated in the table of poisons below.

Protection against conventional forms of damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, are not effective against damage from poisoning, but rapid healing, such as that provided by Regeneration, may offset the effects.

A character with Immunity to Poisons is unaffected by poisons.

PressureCharacters exposed to extreme atmospheric pressure lose Endurance until they return to their natural atmosphere, or their internal and external pressure is equalized (generally through the use of an air supply specifically designed for use at that pressure), or they die. How quickly they lose Endurance depends on how prepared they are and the severity of the conditions. A trained diver 100 feet under water would lose a point of Endurance once per minute: life threatening, but not immediately fatal. The same character 1000 feet under water (approximately 30 atmospheres, or 450 psi) would lose a point of Endurance once per round unless they had specialized breathing apparatus designed to maintain a constant pressure inside their bodies. At higher pressures, even specialized breathing apparatus is not enough to protect the body from the structural failure of tissue, not to mention the pressure on unprotected nerves causing them to stop transmitting impulses.

Protection against conventional forms of damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, are not effective against exposure to extreme pressure, but rapid healing, such as that provided by Regeneration, may offset the effects.

A character with Immunity to Pressure is unaffected by high pressure.

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RadiationRadioactivity is caused by the decay of the atomic nucleus of an unstable atom. Living things exposed to high amounts of ionizing radiation develop acute radiation syndrome (ARS), also known as radiation poisoning or radiation sickness. Acute radiation syndrome is an umbrella term for a variety of symptoms which occur within 24 hours of exposure and which may last for several months.

The symptoms of acute radiation syndrome depend on the exposure. Relatively small doses of radiation result in nausea and vomiting, headaches, fatigue, fever, and a reddening of the skin. Intermediate exposure can result in more severe gastrointestinal and symptoms related to a drop in the number of blood cells, such as infection and bleeding. Larger doses can result in neurological effects such as dizziness, headache, or decreased level of consciousness, followed shortly thereafter by death.

Twenty-four hours after exposure, a character exposed to radiation must make a successful Brawn task roll against the rank of the radiation. Failure indicates that the character has developed acute radiation syndrome and they immediately lose 1 Endurance. Each week thereafter, the character must attempt another Brawn task roll. Each failed Brawn task roll results in another point of Endurance lost. Additionally, the difficulty of any task roll (including Brawn task rolls) the character attempts increases by 1 for every week that the character has been suffering from acute radiation syndrome. This continues until the character dies or successfully makes the Brawn task roll. Once the character successfully makes the Brawn task roll against the rank of the radiation, they stop losing Endurance and may begin to heal normally.

Table: Radiation

Rank Radiation

4 Fallout from a recent nuclear explosion

6 Vial of plutonium

8 Interior of a nuclear reactor

10 Nuclear explosion

Liefeld RadiationExposure to Liefeld radiation typically results in spontaneous painful deformity followed by death. Symptoms include atrophy of the hands, feet, and abdomen, and a grotesque increase in musculature in the chest and thighs. However, in rare and isolated cases, exposure to Liefeld radiation has resulted in a permanent transformation from human to posthuman. Such cases are one in a million, at best.

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Suitable treatment grants a +3 bonus on the victim’s Brawn task roll. Small doses of radiation are treated with blood transfusions and antibiotics, while greater doses of radiation require exotic treatments such as bone marrow transplants. Large doses of radiation are invariably fatal to normal human beings.

Protection against conventional forms of damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, are not effective against damage from acute radiation syndrome, but rapid healing, such as that provided by Regeneration, may offset the effects.

A character with Immunity to Radiation is unaffected by radiation.

Sleep DeprivationA character who goes more than 24 hours without sleep begins to suffer the effects of sleep deprivation. Initially, the character experiences weariness, confusion, and irritability. After three days without sleep, the character experiences hallucinations and decreased cognitive ability. Prolonged, complete sleep deprivation results in weight loss and ultimately death.

A character suffering from sleep deprivation loses 1 Reason per day until their Reason equals 0. Once the character’s Reason is reduced to 0, the character loses 1 Willpower per day until their Willpower equals 0. Once the character’s Willpower is reduced to 0, the character loses 1 Endurance per day until their Endurance equals 0. Under normal circumstances, the character will fall unconscious at this point and remain so for at least a day. However, if the character is physically prevented from sleeping they will continue to lose 1 Endurance per day until they die. Protection against conventional forms of damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, are not effective against the effects of sleep deprivation, nor is rapid healing, such as that provided by Regeneration.

A character with Immunity to Sleep Deprivation is unaffected by sleep deprivation.

StarvationA character who goes more than 7 days without eating begins to suffer the effects of starvation. Initially, the character experiences weakness, confusion, and irritability. After three weeks without food, the character experiences hallucinations and convulsions. Starvation eventually results in death.

Characters suffering from starvation lose 1 Endurance per week until they either die or eat again. Additionally, the difficulty of any task roll the character attempts increases by 1 for every week that the character has been without food. Protection against conventional forms of damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, are not effective against the effects of starvation, but rapid healing, such as that provided by Regeneration, may offset the effects.

A character with Immunity to Starvation is unaffected by starvation.

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VacuumCharacters exposed to vacuum lose Endurance until they return to their natural atmosphere or they die. How quickly they lose Endurance depends on how prepared they are and the rapidity of the loss of atmosphere. A trained astronaut who is exposed to a loss of atmosphere over the course of a minute would lose a point of Endurance once per minute: life threatening, but not immediately fatal. The same character exposed to a vacuum without warning would lose a point of Endurance once per round.

Protection against conventional forms of damage, such as Invulnerability and Force Field, are not effective against exposure to vacuum, but rapid healing, such as that provided by Regeneration, may offset the effects.

A character with Immunity to Vacuum is unaffected by vacuum.

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The Kalos UniverseThe Kalos Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles published by Kalos Comics take place, including those featuring Kalos’ most familiar characters, such as Paragon, Swan, and Manticore.

On the surface, the Kalos Universe closely resembles our own. The outlines of the continents are the same, and the names of the nations that humans have created within those borders are familiar. Much as in our own world, extremes of good and evil exist, but the gulf between them is a murky area where those of good will can and do disagree.

However, the Kalos Universe can be a strange place. There are ancient civilizations deep below the surface of the earth and extraterrestrials in the sky above it. Strange forces are at work, and hidden powers manipulate world events and the news reports of those events. Still, few people encounter this strangeness in their day-to-day lives or recognize it when they do. For the vast majority of humanity, the world of the Kalos Universe is virtually the same as the world you live in.

The MultiverseThe Kalos Universe is depicted as existing within a “multiverse” consisting of a large number of separate universes, all of which are the creations of Kalos Comics and all of which are, in a sense, “Kalos universes”. In this context, “Kalos Universe” is taken to refer to the mainstream Kalos continuity, which is known as Earth Zero or Earth-0.

The universe of Earth-0 has no particular significance in comparison to that of Earth-1 or any other universe — the name is simply a convenience. A more technically accurate nomenclature would define the “Kalos Universe” in terms of its “location” in the multiverse within 196,883 dimensional space. Since this would require the listing of 196,883 coordinates, the use of “Earth-0”, “Earth-162”, “Earth-4661”, etc., is a convenient shorthand.

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Atlantis and LemuriaTwenty thousand years ago, aquatic extraterrestrials founded two colonies on Earth: one in the Atlantic Ocean and one in the Indian Ocean. The colony in the Atlantic Ocean was called Atlantis, and the colony in the Indian Ocean was called Lemuria. Initially, the inhabitants of Atlantis and Lemuria were physically indistinguishable, but as the millennia passed, the two colonies diverged both culturally and biologically.

The Atlanteans chose to mix the genetic structure of the native population of Earth with their own, and today they resemble humans in most ways other than skin tone: Atlanteans are more likely to have blue or jet black skin rather than the range of pinks and browns common to humans. The Lemurians, on the other hand, mixed their genetic code with that of the sea creatures best suited to survival on their new world. The people of Lemuria are fishlike humanoids, with vestigial fins and scales ranging from green to grey. Most Atlanteans are nearly as comfortable breathing in air as in water, but most Lemurians have difficulty breathing in open air.

Although both Atlantis and Lemuria have degenerated since the two colonies were founded, Atlantis has retained most of its scientific knowledge. The Lemurians, however, have lost a great deal of the scientific knowledge they once had. Nonetheless, both civilizations possess technology far in advance of 21st century humanity.

The Atlanteans and the Lemurians both value tradition and military prowess. Lineage and personal combat play a central role in the selection of leaders of both civilizations. However, the Atlanteans have an egalitarian society, while the Lemurians have a caste system which elevates warriors above technicians and laborers.

For most of recorded human history, both the Atlanteans and the Lemurians have practiced an isolationist policy where the surface world is concerned. However, the Atlanteans have recently taken the bold move of sending an envoy to the surface world. The first such Atlantean ambassador was Antiope, who was a member of the Justifiers until she was killed by her teammate Paragon. It remains to be seen whether they will send another.

Even though Antiope spoke at the United Nations and was a member of the Justifiers for decades, a significant number of people do not believe that Atlantis is anything more than a myth (roughly 20% of the polled populace of the Unites States, for example). Of those that do believe Atlantis exists, over half hold erroneous beliefs about it. For example, some believe that it is no longer inhabited, while others believe that the inhabitants of Atlantis were ancestors of humanity, and many people believe that Atlantis “sank” at some point in the distant past and that the inhabitants live in air-filled domes. Public awareness of Lemuria is even less accurate.

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ExtraterrestrialsEarth has been visited by aliens many times in its history, although few people are aware of this. Most of these visits were well before 3000 BCE, which is when humans began recording history. Some may have even been before the evolution of Homo sapiens approximately 200,000 years ago.

However, since the beginning of recorded history extraterrestrials have only openly visited Earth twice: Draconian, who came to our world in 1951 after escaping the destruction of his home planet (inspiring the film The Day The Earth Stood Still), and the Isopterans, who invaded Earth in 2009 (inspiring numerous “alien invasion” films in the following years). Some experts believe that a third group of aliens, the Shran, has visited the Earth, but there is little evidence for this, and the claim is disputed.

Even though the Isopterans landed on five different continents and the conflict was reported by every news medium, a significant number of people do not believe that extraterrestrials exist (roughly 30% of the polled populace of the Unites States, for example).

PosthumansThe first half-dozen posthumans who made their presence widely known appeared during World War 2, as part of the Red Army fighting the invading forces of Nazi Germany. Soon, similar groups of posthumans appeared, fighting for the Axis (primarily in Europe and Africa) and for the Allies (primarily in Europe and the Pacific).

Despite their incredible powers, posthumans have had a subdued effect on world affairs. Posthuman geniuses have given mankind extraordinary scientific and medical advances, but in nearly all cases these advances have been released gradually by the governments of the world (ostensibly to prevent the destabilizing influence of sudden leaps in technology).

Similarly, at the behest of conventional authorities, posthumans have generally refrained from involvement in everyday politics and diplomacy. The exceptions to this rule have traditionally been condemned as terrorists and threats to all of humanity. This phenomenon was most evident during the McCarthy era, when a small group of politically active posthumans calling themselves the Committee For The Advancement Of Mankind were convicted in absentia of violating the Smith Act.

There are fewer than 800 posthumans worldwide. Approximately 200 of these are in North America, roughly 100 of which are in the United States. Posthumans, particularly those who originate in the Americas, have a slightly greater than average tendency to migrate to the United States.

Most posthumans have the same thoughts, feelings, and behaviour as ordinary humans. These behaviours are the result not only of their individual experiences and environment but also of what happened to their ancestors millions of years ago. As such, human nature is shared, to a large extent, by everyone on Earth, even posthumans. Like most human beings in the Kalos Universe, posthumans are selfish and seek to improve their

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own conditions at the expense of others. At the same time, human beings have a great capacity to cooperate and display enormous depths of compassion, even toward people they have never met, and so do many posthumans.

CorporationsThe corporation is the dominant institution of the 21st century. A corporation is a legal entity created to shield the people controlling it from liability. The ultimate goal of a corporation is to make as large a profit as possible. Other considerations, such as the quality of the product or service the corporation provides, the health and welfare of its employees and customers, the integrity of the environment, the survival of future generations, and adherence to the law are discarded when it is cost effective to do so. For example, if the fine associated with violating a government regulation is lower than the cost of complying with the regulation, the corporation will violate the regulation and pay the fine (or challenge the fine in court, if that seems more cost-effective). Similarly, if a product may result in the deaths of a percentage of those who use it, and the cost of defending against or settling any ensuing lawsuits is predicted to be lower than the cost of altering the product’s design, the corporation will produce and sell the product as-is rather than sacrifice profits to prevent the deaths.

Corporations accrue political power by funding politicians who support the corporation’s interests. Typically, political influence is used to increase incomes, eliminate competition, or externalize costs by either enacting or eliminating laws and regulations. For example, the multinational corporation Lastimar used its political influence in the USA to ensure the addition of riders to a multi-billion dollar agricultural appropriations bill. These riders required the Secretary of Agriculture to grant a temporary permit for the planting or cultivation of a genetically engineered crop, even if a federal court were to order the planting be halted until an Environmental Impact Statement could be completed.

When the same individuals serve on the boards of directors of multiple corporations, this is known as an interlocking directorate. A similar practice in Japan is known as a keiretsu. Interlocking directorates increase the efficiency of the separate corporations by facilitating coordinated action and unifying the political-economic power of corporate executives. In this way, corporations can avoid costly competition and focus on coordinated maximization of profit.

Many corporations present a carefully crafted persona to the public designed to increase sales and engender trust. For example, the corporation may contribute to highly publicized environmental causes (while causing massive damage to the biosphere elsewhere), it may donate funds to children’s charities (while paying Indonesian children three cents an hour to work in its factories), or it may run commercials featuring a friendly mascot with an innocent smile and gentle, self-deprecating humor. Corporations employ teams of marketing analysts and psychologists to ensure that the consumer perception of the corporation is that of a trusted friend who provides essential goods and services.

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Posthumans are too rare for most corporations to target them as either consumers or resources. Some corporations have used posthumans in their advertising campaigns, but like the California Raisins and the Taco Bell dog, these corporate mascots are swiftly replaced when they no longer enhance sales. A few posthumans have managed to find employment as independent contractors, using their abilities for whomever pays them, but most corporations are reluctant to employ posthumans in this capacity. Corporations prefer not to utilize posthumans for two main reasons. First, posthumans are unique and therefore irreplaceable, putting the corporation at a disadvantage if it becomes dependent on the posthuman’s services. Second, the hiring of posthumans exposes the corporation to unknown liability. For these reasons, any corporate hiring of posthuman contractors is typically done through intermediaries.

LastimarLastimar, the agrochemical and biotechnological giant, is the world’s largest provider of genetically engineered seeds and the world’s leading producer of herbicides such as glycine phosphonate (marketed under the brand name BrownOut®). For most of the 20th century, Lastimar was a leader in the fields of plastics, insecticides, and industrial chemicals. In recent decades, Lastimar has pioneered the field of genetically engineered hormones to increase milk and meat production in livestock.

Lastimar became involved in a number of high-profile lawsuits in the 1980s and 1990s as a result of birth defects and environmental damage caused by its herbicides and insecticides, as well as from its dumping of toxic chemicals during the 1960s and 1970s. Through a series of acquisitions, spin-offs, and mergers, the Lastimar that existed from 1901 to 2000 and the current Lastimar are legally two distinct corporations. Although they share the same name, corporate headquarters, and many of the same executives and other employees, no responsibility for liabilities arising out of activities from the pre-2001 Lastimar carry forward to the current Lastimar.

Nexus-McKessen“Nexus makes life better!”

Nexus-McKessen is one of the most powerful and well-known companies in the Kalos Universe. Nexus-McKessen is a multinational corporation which manufactures and distributes pharmaceuticals and provides health information technology and health care management software. It is a leader in the field of genetic research and design, with patents on over 130,000 separate lifeforms and gene sequences.

Nexus-McKesson is the sponsor of Nexus, one of the few posthumans who operates publicly in a role resembling that of a comicbook superhero. The superhero Nexus operates out of the Nexus USA building in Chicago, Illinois. He makes frequent appearances at childrens’ hospitals, fund-raising banquets for non-controversial charities, and rallies for apolitical causes such as food banks, children with special needs, and pet adoption.

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ShopwayShopway is an American multinational corporation which operates over 10,000 stores in 21 countries under 75 different names. The company is the world’s largest public corporation, the biggest private employer in the world, and the largest retailer in the world. Despite being publicly traded, Shopway is controlled by the Hernandez family, which owns a 52% stake in the corporation. Collectively, the Hernandez family is worth a total of $142 billion, and the family members earn over three billion dollars a year in dividends off of their Shopway stock.

The Shopway corporation has come under fire from labor unions, religious organizations, feminist groups, gay and lesbian groups, environmental groups, and consumer activist groups, each of which objects to some aspect of Shopway’s business operations. Other groups disapprove of the corporation’s extensive foreign product sourcing, treatment of employees and product suppliers, use of public subsidies, and the impact of stores on the local economies of towns in which they operate. Shopway has settled out of court or has quietly eliminated any attack which has threatened its hegemony.

SinochemSinochem is a multinational oil and gas corporation based in China. Sinochem employs very few people directly, and its direct assets are mainly in the form of brands, product specifications, and scientific expertise. However, Sinochem owns thousands of other multinational corporations in the energy, petroleum, and natural gas sectors, including many familiar, all-American brands. Through its subsidiary companies, Sinochem is the largest petrochemical company in the world, producing approximately 17% of the world’s oil production and earning more than double the annual revenue of its nearest competitor.

Zhangsun TelecomZhangsun Telecom is a multinational corporation controlled by Zhang Ka-shing, one of the twenty richest people in the world. Zhang Ka-shing emigrated to the United States from Hong Kong in 1998 and obtained American citizenship for himself and his two children. Over the course of the next few years, he moved the corporate headquarters of his company to Manhattan from Hong Kong. However, the company still has extensive holdings in China, primarily in land development and telecommunications. In the rest of the world, the majority of their holdings are in telecommunications, hotels, and resorts. In 2012, the 80-year-old Zhang Ka-shing retired and moved back to Hong Kong, where his son runs the Asian divisions of the company, leaving control of the North American and European divisions to his daughter, Zhang Qianwei (called “Chloe Zhang” in English-speaking countries).

Chloe Zhang is a world-famous athlete, actress, scientist, and all-around media sensation and international celebrity. In addition to her responsibilities as the Vice President in charge of Research and Development for Zhangsun Telecom’s North American and European divisions, Chloe Zhang is the flying armored adventurer Manticore.

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GovernmentsGeorge Washington is reputed to have said, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force.” While the authenticity of the quotation is in doubt, the accuracy of that assertion is not.

In the Kalos Universe, governments are the tangible expression of the natural tendency of some individuals to seek to dominate others through the use of force. This doesn’t necessarily mean that such people are inherently evil. Most people are morally ambiguous: they want the best for their friends and family, but are ambivalent, at best, about what that may cost others. Many people who seek power start with good intentions, or at least a benign desire for their own betterment, but power swiftly becomes its own reward. Those who wield this power are the “insiders”, while those subject to the government’s rule are the “outsiders”. Insiders have a pecking order where some wield more power than others, and the means by which insiders rise and fall in the hierarchy depend on the specific form of government.

The goals of those in government depend on their rank in the hierarchy, and vice versa. At the lowest levels, such as a city council or a school board, most insiders will seek to use their power and status to force others to adhere to a certain moral code or to gain some benefit for a preferred social group. Some may even seek to promote what they perceive to be the “common good”. At intermediate levels, such as in state governments, smaller national agencies, or even upper levels of national governments in smaller countries, the insider’s desire for money, power, and status is as important as their concern for public morality or social justice. At the highest levels of government, such as the legislatures and major agencies of world powers, the goals of those in government are money, power, and status, to the exclusion of all other considerations.

Outsiders, those not in government, often think that governments exist to provide services. Governments may in fact provide services for outsiders, but this is incidental. A government without a postal system, a highway department, or a department that administers medical subsidies would still be a government. A government without an army, on the other hand, would cease to be a government. As Mao Zedong said, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.”

Since the end of World War 2, most governments have kept posthumans at arm’s length, wishing to avoid the widespread adoption of posthuman soldiers in international conflicts. In 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Posthuman Combatants, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, went into effect. A total of 190 parties have joined the treaty, including the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China (the only five nations with posthuman soldiers at the time that the treaty was signed). More countries have ratified the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement, a testament to the treaty’s significance. Four non-parties to the treaty are known or believed to employ posthuman soldiers: India, Pakistan, and North Korea have openly declared that they do, while Israel has had a policy of opacity regarding its own posthuman recruitment program.

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The LawPosthumans are not common enough to have had a significant impact on the law. Posthuman crime is so rare that exceptions have yet to be made for it; what is against the law for humans remains against the law for posthumans, and the penalties applied to human crime has, thus far, been deemed sufficient for posthuman crime.

No “posthuman prison” has been established: conventional prisons have had to cope as well as they can with posthuman inmates. In practice, posthumans have a higher than average number of escape attempts, and a much higher than average number of these attempts are successful.

Just Following OrdersThe bureaucrats, soldiers, and police officers who carry out the will of their superiors are not cackling, mustache-twirling villains. At the same time, people who are simply doing their jobs can perform acts of extraordinary depravity. In the famous experiments done by Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram in the early 1960s, he asked various subjects to deliver intense shocks to people in other rooms who wrongly answered a series of questions. The shocks increased with each incorrect answer, up to lethal levels at the end. Two-thirds of the participants followed through until the end, administering the final 450-volt shock to their unseen victims. This was the main lesson of his study, that “ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process. Moreover, even when the destructive effects of their work become patently clear, and they are asked to carry out actions incompatible with fundamental standards of morality, relatively few people have the resources needed to resist authority.”

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Subversive OrganizationsA subversive organization is one that seeks to transform the established social order and its structures through force and deception. In essence, subversive organizations seek to supplant traditional national and cultural loyalties. Subversive organizations are similar to criminal enterprises in that both are primarily opposed by governments (as opposed to corporations, which would happily do business with them if doing so would generate a profit). However, the goal of a subversive organization is the supremacy of a cause or ideology rather than material gain. Subversive organizations do seek financial gain, often through criminal activities and donations through various “front” charities, but this revenue is merely a means to an end.

Subversion of the power, authority, and hierarchy of an existing social structure is a labor-intensive task. For this reason, subversive organizations establish or infiltrate front groups and seek to manipulate existing political parties. Front groups may establish further front groups, and so on, to the extent that ordinary members have no idea who is actually in control of their organization. In fact, a given front group may be infiltrated by several subversive organizations simultaneously. This many-layered structure makes it difficult for the establishment to root out and eliminate subversive organizations.

Because subversive organizations place loyalty to their ideology above any respect for law and order (and may in fact be antagonistic to the existing legal structure), the use of force is always an option, and most subversive organizations prepare for eventual armed confrontation with the establishment. For this reason, they exert considerable effort to infiltrate the armed forces, the police, and other institutions of the state, as well as important non-government organizations. In some cases, the subversive organization will attempt to plant “sleepers” in these institutions, but in most cases they will use a combination of bribery, blackmail, and extortion to gain leverage over vulnerable individuals who already belong to the targeted institution.

Most subversive organizations realize that the overthrow of the existing order would be made simpler if the general populace looked upon the traditional power structure with disdain or apathy. To generate antipathy to the status quo, subversive organizations provide support to groups who generate civil unrest through demonstrations, strikes, and boycotts. Additionally, subversive organizations may infiltrate media outlets in order to shape the narrative that ordinary people use to make their political decisions.

Subversive organizations have many potential uses for posthumans and actively attempt to recruit them unless the organization has an ideology which prevents it. Because subversive organizations depend on subtlety more than on overt force, any posthumans in their ranks are likely to have abilities pertaining to deception and manipulation.

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AegisSilent enim leges inter arma (Laws are silent in times of war)

Aegis is a secret, non-governmental intelligence organization dedicated to protecting the nations and peoples of Earth from all threats, terrestrial or extraterrestrial. Aegis primarily focuses on posthumans and on subversive organizations with plans for world domination, such as GORGON.

Operation Aegis was founded in 1911 by high-ranking officials in the US State Department and the US War Department, in part in response to the creation of the Secret Service Bureau by the British in 1909, and in part due to the subversive activities of GORGON in Germany and the United States.

Aegis ceased to be under US government control in 1929, when it was officially shut down as part of an effort by Secretary of State Henry Stimson to rein in the US intelligence services. However, by this time Aegis was self-funding, and the organization simply continued operations without government oversight.

ASGARDPublicly, ASGARD (Advisory Science Group for Aerospace Research and Development) was an agency of NATO that existed from 1952 to 1996. As its name implies, ASGARD’s activities ostensibly concentrated on aerospace research, but in fact it was a secret GORGON plot to funnel NATO resources and research to GORGON.

ASGARD separated from GORGON in 1973 due to philosophical differences (prompting GORGON to found the Trilateral Commission to fill the void in that organization). The legitimate functions of ASGARD merged with the NATO Defence Research Group (DRG) in 1996 to become the NATO Research and Technology Organisation (RTO), while their subversive activities secretly continued as ASGARD. Today, ASGARD is a secret organization dedicated to the establishment of a global techno-fascist utopia, with ties to NATO and the International Monetary Fund.

ASGARD provides financial and philosophical support to futurists, hacker groups, and popular technology conferences. ASGARD receives a significant part of its funding by selling advanced weaponry to terrorists, “rogue” states, and other subversive organizations such as GORGON. Arms dealing serves an added benefit to ASGARD, as it provides them with volunteers to field-test ASGARD’s more experimental weapon designs.

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GORGONAngst macht den Wolf größer, als er ist (Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is)

The organization now known as GORGON began as a dueling society at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in the 16th century. Over the following century the dueling society developed into a secret society, the Hocherleuchtete Bruderschaft. Its purpose was to break down society lines, destroy rivalry between classes, improve the quality of life, and increase patriotism. At first, most of its members were students who had taken part in liberating Germany from Napoleonic occupation.

The Hocherleuchtete Bruderschaft became increasingly nationalist as time went on. While freedom, rights, and democracy were given hollow praise, these principles were seen as being valid only when in service to the concept of a united German national state. The concept of nationalism gradually fell out of favor with the organization’s ruling elite, and by 1776 their focus had shifted to the control of world affairs through governments and corporations. Much as the ideals of freedom and democracy had been given lip service in previous centuries, the concept of German nationalism became little more than a formality. Along with these changes the organization changed its name, first to Die Gorgonen and then to GORGON.

By the end of the 19th century, GORGON had become a world-wide subversive organization dedicated to global domination. In the tradition of its origins, many of the subordinate subversive organizations and secret societies from which GORGON recruits its core membership have extreme nationalist or fascist agendas, often with an overlay of Nazi fetishism. However, the ultimate goal of the High Enlightened Council which controls GORGON is nothing less than absolute power, divorced from any nationalist pretensions.

The United States Department of State classifies GORGON as a foreign terrorist organization.

Jade Moon SocietyThe Jade Moon Society is controlled by Master Sin, an immortal Korean mastermind. The Jade Moon Society has its roots in ancient Korea, but in the modern era, it is the concealed hand which controls a number of other Asian secret societies, such as the Black Ocean Society, the Heaven and Earth Society, the Green and the Red Societies, and the Asasiyun. Through these subsidiary organizations, the Jade Moon Society has global influence.

The true goals of the Jade Moon Society are obscured behind layers of deception. Most of the organizations the Jade Moon Society controls are concerned with returning to traditional cultural values. This is true of the Black Ocean Society and the Heaven and

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Earth Society, which are overwhelmingly ethnically Japanese and Chinese, respectively. Some of the secret societies controlled by the Jade Moon Society are less than respectable. The Green and the Red Societies, for example, are secret societies of Chinese criminals with millions of gangsters as members, while the Asasiyun is an ancient secret society subverted by Master Sin in the 12th century, the name of which has become a synonym of “murder for hire”. All of these organizations are simply pawns of the Jade Moon Society.

Master Sin’s ultimate goal is a world in perfect ecological balance, but this fact is withheld from the Jade Moon’s subordinate secret societies and their numerous front organizations. Only the fanatically loyal members of the Jade Moon Society itself are aware of this hidden agenda.

Project GenesisProject Genesis has its roots in Project Greenback, which was one of a series of systematic studies of posthumans conducted by the United States Army. Started in 1952, Project Greenback was the second revival of such a study (the first two of its kind being Projects Apex and Undertow). It had two goals: to determine if posthumans were a threat to national security and to scientifically analyze posthuman-related data.

Thousands of reports of posthuman activity were collected, analyzed, and filed. In December of 1969, the Army provided the following summary of its Project Greenback investigations:

1. There was no indication that any posthuman investigated by the Army was a threat to the national security of the United States;

2. There was no evidence submitted to or discovered by the Army that posthuman activity represented technological developments or principles beyond the range of modern scientific knowledge; and

3. There were less than a dozen posthumans in the United States, and less than forty posthumans worldwide.

This report was a lie. Shortly after his election, President Nixon ordered Army Chief of Staff General William Westmoreland to suppress the results of Project Greenback. Nixon felt that the American populace would panic if they knew the truth: that posthumans were a credible threat to national security, that some posthumans had access to advanced technology, and that posthumans probably numbered in the hundreds in the United States alone.

Unhappy with the President’s decision, twelve high ranking Army officers (not to be confused with Majestic 12, the clandestine US program to trade human children to the Shran in exchange for extraterrestrial technology) covertly formed Project Genesis. Their goal was to wage a preemptive war against the posthuman menace. Membership in Project Genesis grew slowly over the next several years, primarily among higher-ranking members of the military and trusted troops under their command. The secrecy of the project was broken in 1975 when a Project Genesis attack against a posthuman at LaGuardia Airport killed 11 people and injured another 75. The bomber, a young

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Marine named Ernest Stout, was captured by the police and confessed to the bombing, offering to provide detailed testimony about Project Genesis in exchange for leniency. He died in custody shortly thereafter while waiting for his lawyer.

Membership in Project Genesis remained predominantly military until the late 1980s, when significant numbers of civilians began to seek membership in the organization. Today, the leadership of Project Genesis is still primarily military or former military, but the bulk of the rank-and-file membership is civilian. Most of the newer members of Project Genesis frame their opposition to posthumans in religious terms rather than in terms of national security, likening posthumans to fallen angels or “nephilim”, condemned by God.

The FBI classifies Project Genesis as a domestic terrorist organization, while the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies Project Genesis as a right-wing extremist hate group.

TechnologyTechnology available to the public in the Kalos Universe is only slightly more advanced than that of the real world. However, super-technology may exist in secret government or corporate laboratories, where it is studied and slowly introduced to the world at large in order to minimize its disruptive influence on the status quo. In some cases, a posthuman invention has been reverse engineered so that less powerful versions of the device may be gradually introduced over the course of several decades. This was the case for lasers and nanotechnology, for example.

Because posthumans are exceedingly rare, there is no uniform method of coping with or neutralizing their abilities. Items designed to block or neutralize posthuman abilities, such as white thought generators (which are used to counter or impair psionic activity), are rare, expensive, limited in their application, and experimental, and are often morally dubious as well.

ArmorConventional armor in the Kalos Universe is on par with that found in our world. Light, flexible body armor is standard issue for police officers, combat soldiers, and rescue workers. Heavier rigid or semirigid armor is used by specialists, such as bomb disposal units. Light armor is proof against most small arms, while heavy personal armor protects the user from explosives, shrapnel, and armor-piercing small arms. However, even heavy personal armor provides minimal protection against large caliber or vehicle mounted weapons.

Powered armor, also known as a powered exoskeleton, is a powered mobile machine designed to assist and protect the wearer. Due to its expense and its maintenance requirements, deployment of powered armor is limited to unique or limited-issue experimental units, such as that worn by Manticore. The primary obstacles to the widespread adoption of power armored are its cost, its weight, and its energy requirements. At the present, only two of these three obstacles can be overcome

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simultaneously, limiting the availability of light, long-lasting powered armor to individuals or organizations with extraordinary financial resources.

EnergyOne of the differences between our world and the Kalos Universe is that nuclear power is much more common in the Kalos Universe. Thanks to efficient extraction of uranium from the oceans and the recycling of spent uranium, the Kalos Universe has enough uranium to supply humanity with power until roughly the year 5000. Despite the abundance of safe, affordable nuclear power, a few countries have no nuclear power plants, and depend instead on fossil fuels or hydroelectric plants. Denmark, Norway, Peru, Australia, and New Zealand belong to a coalition of countries opposed to nuclear power.

GeneticsIn principle, genetic research in the Kalos Universe is rigidly controlled and regulated. In practice, the restrictions on genetic research are primarily legal, as the most powerful corporations use the patent system and endless litigation to bludgeon competitors out of existence. Any life form or genetic sequence may legally be patented, other than actual human beings. What constitutes a “human being” is continually being refined and restricted through aggressive court challenges.

The possibilities of genetic engineering in the Kalos Universe are just beginning to be realized.

Fukushima Nuclear DisasterOn Friday, March 11, 2011, the former hero Paragon destroyed the island nation of Singapore by pushing it down through the crust of the Earth and into the upper mantle. Earthquakes and tsunamis followed, causing devastation throughout Asia and significant damage to coastlines as far away as Nova Scotia. The earthquake and resulting tsunami damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, leading to a full meltdown of the reactor. On April 20, 2011, the Japanese authorities declared the 20 mile radius around the plant a restricted area. Japan has since shut down all 74 of its nuclear reactors and joined the coalition of countries opposed to nuclear power.

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SpaceThere are currently over a dozen manned stations in orbit around the Earth, and that number should double in the next eight years. Roughly half of these stations are operated by governments, either individually or jointly: the two largest of these are the International Space Station and Tiangong 7. Private stations are generally smaller than their government counterparts, but this is changing, and it’s expected that by 2020 the largest space stations will all be privately owned.

Beyond the Earth, remotely operated or automated probes have been sent to nearly every planet and dwarf planet in addition to a number of smaller but noteworthy astronomical objects. At the present, the cost to exploit these resources exceeds their value, but this is expected to change as rare earth minerals on Earth become scarce. (Earth’s reserves of gallium, hafnium, and indium may be exhausted as early as 2019.)

Time/Dimensional travelThe ability to travel through time or to alternate dimensions, while theoretically possible, is virtually unknown in practice. As far as the public is concerned, no time or dimensional travel technology currently exists: such devices are the realm of science fiction. Exceptions are plot devices which cease functioning or leave our universe after their purpose in the story has been fulfilled.

WeaponsConventional weaponry in use by the governments, corporations, and even subversive organizations of the Kalos Universe are virtually identical to those of our world. Particularly wealthy or brilliant individuals design or buy advanced weaponry, such as plasma cannons, coilguns, sonic explosives, and custom tailored viruses (both organic and digital), but such weapons are rare and experimental.

Magic And The SupernaturalMagic and the supernatural in the Kalos Universe is even less common than posthumans are. Many people believe in ghosts, gods, and magic spells (roughly 90% of the polled populace of the Unites States, for example); only a handful of people have seen them. There are no competing pantheons sending emissaries to Earth to do battle, and there is no scientific evidence of vastly powerful supernatural entities belonging to any conventional mythological tradition. Wizards like Merlin and Harry Potter exist only in fiction.

The supernatural in the Kalos Universe can be divided into two distinct types. The most common type is actually not supernatural at all: rather, it is extraterrestrial. It may be an alien artifact which is believed to be “magic”, it may be the result of genetic tampering by nonhuman scientists at the dawn of time, or it may even be a species which was originally transplanted from another world. In any case, although it may be thought to be “magic” or “supernatural”, it is, in fact, the result of alien technology. The majority of the heroes

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Embassy StationEmbassy Station is a (formerly) manned space station in a low Earth orbit that varies from 479 km (298 mi) to 520 km (324 mi) above the Earth’s surface. The station travels at about 27,400 km/h (17,000 mi/h), making one complete revolution around the Earth in about 90 minutes.

Embassy Station was the headquarters of the Justifiers from 1979 until 1986. The station was originally intended as a permanently occupied “city in the sky” to serve as a launching point for future space exploration, and potentially as a welcome center for any visiting extraterrestrials. Construction of Embassy Station was performed by an international team of engineers and scientists, and funded by a joint partnership of the United Nations, several countries and space agencies, and a large number of philanthropic organizations. Construction of the station began in 1977, and was officially completed in 1982. In 1979, a UN resolution granted the ownership of Embassy Station to the Justifiers, making it the largest privately owned man-made object outside of the Earth.

Unfortunately, the cost to operate and maintain the station made extended habitation impractically expensive for ordinary citizens and business owners, and by 1984 the station was all but abandoned. The Justifiers continued to use the station as a base of operations, but transportation between the station and Earth was a perennial source of difficulty, and in 1986 the team returned to Earth. The Justifiers continued to use the station for research purposes and for storage of dangerous items captured from criminals.

The only extraterrestrials known to have visited Embassy Station are Draconian, the Justifiers member who lived there from 1980 until 1985, and Guardian, who was also a member of the Justifiers.

Despite the apparent failure of Embassy Station as a manned space station, it served as an invaluable source of information about the construction and maintenance of large space structures. Construction of the International Space Station would not have been possible without the lessons learned from successes and failures of Embassy Station.

The primary means of transportation between the station and the earth was the Justifiers’ Orion spaceplane.

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and monsters from the age of myth (in the rare cases where those myths have some basis in reality) fall into this category.

However, the Kalos Universe is also home to the legitimately, indisputably supernatural: there are, for lack of a better word, “spirits” which correlate to various objects and natural phenomena. This is why a character with the appropriate power can communicate with plants, or even machines. It’s also how some posthumans gain their powers, whether they are consciously aware of it or not. Conventional science offers no satisfactory explanation for entities such as Aktzin and The Bride, if it admits of their existence at all.

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Running a roleplaying game is work. It’s fun, it’s rewarding, it stretches you and makes your mind function in new, exciting ways... but it’s work. That’s okay. Work is good. Anything worthwhile requires effort and attention, and in gaming especially, more effort and attention is likely to yield a better outcome.

If you’ve never run a game before, it can seem overwhelming. It’s not. I don’t know you, but I’ll go out on a limb and assert that people dumber than you have run successful games. Running a game requires effort, but it’s not something so esoteric and complicated that only a brain surgeon can do it.

The GM’s duties boil down to this: When the players show up and their characters are ready, you present them with a situation. They react to the situation. You present the outcomes of their reaction. They react to those outcomes. Lather, rinse, repeat. The whole art of running games comes down to creating settings, stories and circumstances, then altering them as the PCs go through — altering them in ways that are fun, challenging, exciting, and which open new opportunities for continued play.

The GM’s Basic DutiesHere’s the meat-and-potatoes stuff: Plot, character, conflict. If you can accomplish these practical tasks, you’re there, or at the very least you have an excellent start.

GMs who fail at these can be termed “incompetent”. I’m not saying that to be unkind, but to distinguish them from the “dysfunctional” GMs I’m going to discuss later. If you take it easy, pay attention and keep everything in perspective, you should be able to run a game functionally and competently.

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The PlotA story is when things happen. Cool characters alone do not make for a good story, even if they’re in a cool setting. Here, I’ll show you.

“Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes walk into a bar. They have a few drinks, talk about last night’s game, and then they go home.”

That’s not a story. That’s not even a joke, because it doesn’t have a punch line. Plot is the punch line.

“Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes walk into a bar. Holmes says to Tarzan, ‘I bet I can predict what you’ll order if you let me examine your hands.’ Intrigued, Tarzan complies. Holmes squints at Tarzan’s fingernails, turns to the barkeep and says, ‘He’ll have seven shots of Scotch.’ ‘That’s incredible!’ says Tarzan. ‘How’d you know?’ ‘Because you had the same thing last night, you lousy drunk,’ Holmes replies.”

Now you’ve got conflict (can Holmes predict correctly?) and dialogue and interest and even a dénouement. (“Dénouement” is French for “Everything gets explained.”)

In this case, the characters drove the plot, because Holmes made his bet and initiated the conflict. You can’t always rely on your PCs to do that, so as a GM it’s a good idea to have an event developing — or even better, a couple of them.

Events for a plot should focus around a conflict (see below). They should involve repercussions that the characters care about. The characters should be able to alter the outcome, but it shouldn’t always be easy.

The rough outline of plot starts with some sort of introduction or story insertion or “plot hook”. It progresses through rising action, arrives at a climax, and then there’s falling action.

A Quick LexiconOn the off chance you don’t know these acronyms...

PC: Not “Personal Computer” or “Politically Correct” but “Player Character”. A character controlled by a player, meaning, not you. The PCs should be the most important characters in the game, though not necessarily the most powerful.

GM: “Game Moderator”. The person adjudicating the rules, presenting the plot and deciding the outcomes after the PCs make their choices. In other words, you.

GMC: “Game Moderator Character”. Any character you control, that is, not a PC.

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The HookThis is what gets the players interested and, through them, the characters. To motivate characters, it helps to hold out rewards or threaten punishments, or both. If they’re going to miss out on the carrot and get swatted by the stick, it’s easy for them to tell what you want them to do. Great, right?

Yes and no.

I ran an informal online poll about bad GMs and one frequent complaint was about “railroading” — where the GM has a very concrete idea of where the story is headed and permits no deviation. Characters who act predictably get rewarded. Those who don’t are humiliated, robbed, damaged or otherwise schooled.

While the GM is in charge of the world and what happens in response to the PCs’ actions, that doesn’t give authority over the PCs’ choices and decisions. This means you. It’s essential to respect the players’ free will when they’re deciding how their characters think, feel and act.

On the other hand, a GM who shows up with no preconceived ideas can’t be accused of railroading, but she can be accused of apathy. Ideally there’s an interplay between the characters’ desires and your plots, but you have to find a balance between cramming them into a script, and having nothing for them to do.

Luckily the gray zone between “strict control” and “nothing at all” is quite broad. The solution is to create a situation that’s unstable, introduce the characters, and let things play out in a manner that feels natural. Appeals to self-interest are good: So are insinuations of threat. Using both may be overkill.

The hoary old gaming cliché is that a stranger approaches the PCs in a bar with a treasure map. This became a cliché because it works: The appeal of gold and violence is enough for many characters. But let’s see if we can’t improve on it, hm?

The way you bait the hook can make it more appealing, and to find the right bait you need to look at the characters’ backstory.

“Backstory” means “everything that happened to the characters before the game began.” Sometimes the GM provides part of the backstory. (“For this game, you all have to be in the starport at Ursa Minor, and you all have to know and get along with one another.”) Sometimes the GM provides all the backstory. (“You’re all the children of a doddering and aged king. He has to choose one of you to inherit the crown, but has not yet made his choice.”) Sometimes the GM doesn’t provide a thing. If you go that last route, it’s perfectly fair to tell the players to come up with a rationale for why they trust one another and are working together. Monitor the character generation process — you’re the objective observer who can spot the character that’s going to cause problems. (“Since the others are all playing loyal soldiers of the Empire, having a noisy insurgent ideologue in the party may not work.” Conversely, “You both want to make highly personable tactician characters, and the party doesn’t have anyone with much medical skill. Can you re-work a bit to address these issues?”)

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Many games gloss over backstory, and many GMs let the players write it but then don’t pay much attention. That’s wasteful. By examining what the players already decided about their characters’ lives, you can suss out what issues concern them and what sort of game they want to play. For instance, if all your PCs are charming, sociable, control many lackeys and servants, and have low-to-absent combat skills, you’re going to have some unhappy players if every problem requires a violent resolution. Conversely, if you give them plenty of chances to outwit, outmaneuver and downright lie their way into power, they’re playing the game they want.

A good hook, then, has the following.

• Promise of reward OR some threat that must be met• A tie in to the character’s backstory

I’m also going to suggest it should have

• An obvious way to get involved• Flexibility for when the characters ignore it or approach it obliquely

Those last two are pretty important, even though you’ll only need one of them. If your plot hook is set on a far away island and the PCs have no boat or money to hire one... well, who would blame them if they shrug their shoulders and ignore it?

It’s also possible that even the juiciest hook gets overlooked. Have a couple others on hand — preferably a plan B that can’t be easily ignored. If the PCs decide that going out to the spoooooky, probably haunted castle isn’t the game they want to play, well, fine. Don’t take it personally. Don’t get upset and, especially, don’t punish them somehow. They control their characters, so if they don’t want to go poking around some manky dungeon, have an alternative. See if they won’t nibble on something that keeps them in town, again something tailored to their interests.

No matter what plot they engage, try to be prepared for the unexpected. Players are creative types sometimes, maybe as creative as you, and they try to find their way around things in a way that hurts them least and helps them most. This is addressed at length under “Conflict” on page 192, but the same advice from there applies here.

Rising ActionEverything that builds up to a showdown and increases the tension is called “rising action”. As a general rule of thumb, it consists of the characters making a gain or suffering a setback. You want your rising action to consist of a mix — some triumph, some failure — but you don’t want to predetermine this. You do not want to decide, in advance, that the PCs succeed at the first encounter, lose in the second, succeed in the third and fail in the fourth. That’s railroading at its most repugnant, even if you do it well and it seems natural to them.

Instead, I recommend a variety of encounters that you feel are balanced, with possible rewards and obstacles arising naturally from either success or failure. By “variety” I mean situations that call for different skills — some social, some physical, some combative, some puzzling and so on. By “balanced,” I mean that if you characters react with average

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intelligence and get average rolls, the outcome depends entirely on random chance. If they react really cleverly, they should overcome. If they’re stupid, well, that should have fallout. All this is part of conflict, so — again — it’s covered there, on page 192.

If your characters are waltzing through every encounter, tighten things up, especially in the beginning when you’re getting your bearings with your PCs. Similarly, if they keep failing, maybe you’re overestimating their abilities and need to ease things up a bit.

Let’s suppose your proposed plot is “small abandoned fortress is infested with zombies.” A member of the local gentry, Sir Hook, has inherited the fortress and its contents after the death of an aged relative. He sent a servant to check it out and he never returned. Rather than go himself (the old place was dreadfully drafty and out of the way) he’d like to persuade some hardy and trustworthy people to do it. But he’ll settle for the PCs.

You expect the zombies to be pretty tough — a notch or two above a paper tiger — but nothing the party can’t handle, even with a few bad rolls. Your plot is, they get rid of the undead and either claim the fort or they take off with its contents. Furthermore, the

Paper TigersEvery so often, I like to throw some obnoxious and obviously inferior opponent (or opponents) against the PCs. Someone they can handily defeat without major consequences. Someone, in other words, who serves mainly as a foil so that the PCs get a chance to show off how buff they are.

The no-brainer example is the bully in the bar. He picks a fight, won’t take no for an answer and winds up supine in the gutter with his teeth broken and his kidneys bruised. Many games offer a more social milieu, so the example might be a sneering lecher who gives the PCs a chance to befuddle and distract him so they can get the naïve coed (or other victim) out of the way.

There are no big moral issues here. There’s no massive, plot-reinforcing reward. It’s a chance for the PCs to show off, pure and simple.

Is this pandering? Well, a bit. But people play games because they’re fun, and being a cool, competent guy who can handle himself adroitly is fun. One core element of gaming is escapism, and easy victory is a nice escape.

The problem lies with diminishing rewards. Throw up a paper tiger for a character once every three sessions or so, but no more than that. Make sure every character gets one periodically. Don’t overdo it and — most importantly — make sure they don’t interrupt engagement with real tigers.

If every problem is easily resolved, it stops being a story about a cool guy doing neat stuff: It becomes an unstory, because the character never encounters a task that lives up to his abilities. If your players start taking success for granted, it’s going to stop feeling like success.

Paper tigers remind characters that they’re competent and can get stuff done. But they’re intermittent rests between bouts with durable opposition.

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source of the zombies is a demon that’s gathering strength nearby. Your plan is for that demon to be the main antagonist.

You might decide to throw up some roadblocks before the characters even reach the castle proper — just in the interest of building up gradually and letting the players get the hang of their new characters. First, they encounter a washout where a flooded river has swamped the road, stranding them with a garrulous local. If they can figure out a good way to get themselves over the river, they save some time. If not, they have to go miles out of their way. If they can get themselves and the peasant across, she’s grateful and provides good information about the fortress.

Second, they run into some suspicious locals who dislike outsiders and try to bully anyone who looks weak, or maybe steal from anyone who looks strong. Dealing with the ne’er-do-wells successfully gets them off the PCs’ backs permanently and earns them some respect from decent folks. Failure (which includes brutally murdering them) alienates the same good people.

The final challenge is when they get to the fortress and get their first inkling about zombies. Handled carefully, they can get in a good position and get tactical advantages. Handled badly, it’s a slugfest.

See how this works? Events crop up in their path, with potential and risk, but nothing that’s really derailing or seriously deadly... yet. You work up to that.

You can stretch out the rising action for some time. If the climax comes too soon, it won’t stand out as special. If you delay too much, though, your players are going to get bored waiting for it. The optimal amount of rising action varies from group to group, so I can’t give you a perfect number of sessions. Just be aware that your particular players might have wanted more or less.

ClimaxThe climax is the big finale in which the characters uncover enough of what’s going on that they can take decisive action. It is often a great idea to set up the circumstances and then hand the resolution to the players. If you have a preconceived notion of the Right Way to handle the major issue, you’ll resist different solutions that might be as good or (let’s face it) better. If you think the Evil Overlord should be shown the error of his ways by means of a space armada and that the climax should be the clash of a thousand starfighters, you may be cheating your players of a different sort of satisfaction. Maybe they want to talk to the Evil Overlord. Maybe they think he’s not so much evil as misled. Maybe it would be a better, more fun, and more satisfying game for them if they could redeem him and persuade him to step off his dark path.

For the zombie castle example, perhaps the PCs sent a messenger to Hook requesting backup, while they engaged the enemy. Then they proceeded to lure the zombies into a series of deadly traps, dispatching some and chasing off the others without getting too badly hurt. They figure Hook will show up first thing in the morning to find what a top-notch job they’ve done, and then he and his soldiers can do the busywork of chasing

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down the stragglers that fled into the wilderness. The sun’s going down and no way are the PCs heading into zombie-swamp after dark.

That’s when they see that the zombie-swamp is coming to them... with reinforcements.

Here’s the climax: Can the PCs defeat the zombies? Do they need to take them all out, or is it enough to survive the night until the cavalry arrives in the morning? Did their messenger even get through?

You expect your characters to hole up in the fortress and play at “Night of the Living Dead” until the reinforcements they sent for arrive. But it’s also possible that they try to take the fight to the zombies, or that they make a run for it. Whatever they do, if it’s the climax it has to be tense, exciting and constantly in doubt. If they flee, it has to be a thrilling chase scene until they get to the village... and then what happens? Are the villagers up to the challenge of fighting a horde of the undead, or have the PCs just doomed them? If they defend, can they hold them off despite exhaustion and limited numbers? If they go out to battle, do they have a prayer in the world?

The climax should be the biggest conflict in a plot line, and you don’t want to clutter up a climax session with much fallout from side-plots or rising action stuff. Focus in on the big showdown or debate or battle or escape. Test your PCs to their limits, and — here’s the important part — don’t pull your punches.

When I say “don’t pull your punches” I don’t mean you should give your PCs an impossible challenge that inevitably kills them. You play the role of their enemies, but you are not their enemy. Your job is not to beat them, but to give them a fair challenge.

Part of the fairness is that the bad guys may win. If the PCs fail, don’t torque coincidence so that they escape, and don’t have some GMC show up to save their bacon (and make them look like chumps). Many players would actually rather have their characters go down to death fighting than get bailed out in a humiliating fashion by some pet character controlled by the GM. Better, many would prefer to leave their character in an untenable position if it saved the other characters. You can’t really ask for a better end to your character’s story than “He died saving everyone else.”

Sometimes though, characters die stupid and pointless deaths. Depending on your feelings and your judgment of the game, you may opt to spare characters who died only because some lucky creep rolled an absurd string of unlikely successes. On the other hand, maybe you’re just fine with characters dying pointlessly — especially if it encourages the other characters to play through their grief, and if it serves the plot.

By the same token, if they win, let them win. If you snatch their victory away at the last second by some petty and intrusive GM plot crank, do you think they’ll be happy showing up to next week’s session?

I’ll be honest, I can’t imagine what would make a GM want to abuse his players that way, but in that poll I ran, that was a common complaint — that the GM was cheating so that the characters always failed, or always failed if they didn’t do exactly what the GM wanted. If that sounds like fun to you, I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe running games isn’t something you should do.

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The end of a story should be like the end of a great novel or a great movie: Everything comes together, creating untenable tension, and then it snaps and reshapes events. If it’s a good climax, no character comes away unchanged. That should be your goal.

Falling ActionAt the end of the movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” you get brief blurbs explaining what happened to everyone after graduation. That’s falling action. After the climax, everyone adjusts to a new position. Here’s where rewards, both in-game stuff like wealth and gratitude, and rules-stuff like experience points, get parceled out and explained. This is a calmer sequence where the characters get a chance to work out how they feel about what happened and display that. It’s also the time to plant seeds for future adventures.

Let’s assume the characters bungled zombie castle. They bailed out and the zombies followed, killing one character after he fell off his exhausted horse. The others got as far as the village and had time to panic the residents before the hordes showed up. The PCs and the peasants managed to repel the zombies but only at the cost of terrible casualties. Now the zombies are back in the fortress, the village is decimated and Hook shows up to a huge mess. He’s not happy.

Maybe the characters decide to just get the hell away — they’ve done enough, the peasants hate them and it’s time to cut their losses. Maybe they’re angry at Hook for sending them in unprepared. Maybe they think he should compensate them for the zombies they did wipe out. Or maybe they’re devastated by their failure and want to make it right, doing everything they can to help battle the scourge and rebuild the village.

Depending on how they play it, they could regain the villagers’ trust, or make an enemy of Hook, or rally back to defeat the zombies (and ultimately the demon responsible). If they do make a comeback, it’s going to be far more satisfying because of this setback. But the beginning of the comeback story emerges in an ending of bitter defeat.

ConflictHere we come to the brute, beating heart of it. Conflict arises when peoples’ desires run into obstacles. The obstacle can be another person (“I’m in love with a cruel man’s daughter and he hates me”) or nature (“This grain is going to spoil if we sit out that storm in the harbor, and the famine was bad when we left”) or some other circumstance (“I’m really poor, and I’d prefer to change that”).

The samples above, by the way, are all external conflicts. That means they’re something outside of the character being thwarted. There are also internal conflicts, where a character is literally her own worst enemy. Internal conflicts arise when a character has to make tough decisions between two bad outcomes (“If I lose this battle, my homeland may fall to the invaders, but the only way to win is by killing by long-lost sister”) or has to choose between two conflicting goods (“I love her, but if I marry her I’ll never be able to inherit the crown, and she’d never accept the role of ‘mistress’.”)

How does a character overcome challenges? Is she direct and blunt? Does she seek the path of least resistance? Does she always try to choose honorably? Does she always seem to go for the most destructive, sadistic, harrowing option? All these things are a chance to

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be informed about a character, and all these things give insight into what game the player wants to be playing.

Your job is to provide opposition. Not every problem has to be profoundly difficult — go back to page 189. for my little essay on cakewalks. But certainly some challenges should be, you know, challenging. Dealing with failure reveals as much character as capitalizing success. More, probably. Don’t be afraid to allow the characters to fail if that’s how the dice fall out. (Players, don’t be afraid to fail.) On the other hand, don’t force them to fail by providing obstacles too powerful to overcome. Or if you do, do so because you’re setting them up for grudgy rematch at the climax: That’s perfectly legitimate. How many movies have the hero get beaten like an American cricket team in the first reel, only to get payback sevenfold at the end? Just make sure the players understand that the characters get another shot... if they earn it.

It’s not impossible, of course, that your players may have their characters do something really stupid. If you’ve made a point of establishing how elite and deadly the Imperial Crimson Guard are, and two of your PCs decide to charge them, with no strategy, for no very good reason... well, that’s like touching a clearly labeled electric fence. In all likelihood, what’s going on is something outside the game. The players are bored and want to stick it to you, see if you’re going to hold to your cherished notion of the game or if you’ll give them a break. If you want my opinion on this behavior, go read the section on “Leadership”. Or maybe the essay on how to be a player. There’s a dynamite section on kicking out troublemakers.

A pointlessly easy adventure is just as stupid and ultimately boring as a pointlessly hard one. Present them with middle ground. Make sure they know when they’re probably getting in over their heads — or that they can get out mostly intact, anyhow.

Now, there’s a big difference between a player who’s being contrary (or stupid) and one who’s simply doing something you didn’t expect. The first can take their lumps. The second you need to respect. For example, a group of PCs may meet the character you’ve designated as the game’s major antagonist... and they may try to join up with him. What do you do?

The knee-jerk reaction is often denial. “Dark Lord Soanso isn’t hiring!” But why not? Why not let them be part of the problem for a while? Maybe even for as long as they like. Perhaps you can use their service to show them, up front, just how horrible Lord Soanso is. (“Well then, just break her legs and toss her off the cart! I’m a busy man, dammit!”) If they get into it, clearly they want a game of being evil. You can deal with that by letting them get their ya-yas out until eeeeevil just isn’t fun any more. Then you can put out feelers about a redemption plotline, which could turn out to be all the more interesting for having trolled the depths before the slow climb to the heights.

It doesn’t have to be a big moral curveball either. Perhaps you’re planning a lively and lengthy game of deadly cat-and-mouse through the thickly forested emplacement of the Jungle Monks of Ereg, but your PCs decide, “Hell, we’ve got those crazy monks bottled up. Only two ways out of the jungle valley and we’re ensconced at both. I ain’t goin’ in

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Keeping The Villain AlivePCs tend to play for keeps. If someone gets in their way, their instinct is to instantly escalate to lethal force. On the surface, this looks like very sound tactics — nip a small problem in the bud before it becomes a large problem.

But it’s poison for plot.

The best plot is one in which there is one unified issue or problem or enemy and, over the course of much effort and despite many setbacks, the characters either overcome it (and have a happy ending) or succumb to it (and die in tragic glory). If they find the bad guy who’s in charge of it by the second session and whack him, that tends to deflate the plot.

One tactic is to have an enemy government or guild or corporation. With big faceless collectives to battle, scraping off the leadership level is just one tactic. Someone new pops up and the Church of the Leprous Wolf continues. Nevertheless, having an identifiable face of evil is powerful. So here are some ways you can introduce an enemy individual and keep him alive long enough to really drive the characters mad with rage — which, in turn, drives the players mad with joy when they defeat him.

Dodge: A villain with spectacular evasion abilities who isn’t shy about running like a whipped dog can survive a long time. It’s indisputably frustrating to fight a guy you can’t hit, but it’s also hard to respect a foe when the most common comparison is “he runs like a whipped dog”. But this can be made to work, if you’re ready for them to mingle contempt with hatred.

Deadliness: PCs certainly respect an enemy who decapitates one of their tough fighters on the first pass of a fight. They may flee him, especially if the system you’re using has a reputation for deadliness. On the other hand, hysterical fear may make them feel cornered and force them to fight until only one group leaves. If it comes down to that, your plot is derailed no matter who wins. Deadliness is a good combination with the dodge emphasis, however. A guy who gets cornered and slices off a PCs’ arm before escaping isn’t someone to dismiss — as long as he runs after proving himself. However, both combat-intensive survival strategies are far from foolproof, as the occasional unexpected underdog victory is a feature of many games.

Political Connections: If the bad guy is the sector commander, that’s likely to give bloodthirsty PCs some pause. Setting your blaster to “Disintegrate” isn’t just a matter of personal vendetta now, it’s armed insurrection. The more political your game is, the better this works, since his followers are able to make trouble for the PCs. But not all PC groups operate legally, or maybe you want a villain who’s an outlaw himself. While this is a good option, it’s not universal.

Disguise: Perhaps their opponent is known only as “Mister Crimson,” no one’s seen his face and he has countless tricks to conceal his identity. Killing him isn’t the issue — the immediate challenge is to find him. (“Paging Mr. Soze, Mr. Keyser Soze...”) This also opens up the classic plot twist of having the nemesis’ secret identity be a friend or ally of the PCs.

Achilles’ Heel: Hey, Sauron didn’t bother hiding from anyone. Some opposition can only be destroyed by some highly specific and arcane means — destroy the One Ring, bullseye that thermal exhaust port, pour a small quantity of water on her. The drawback of this approach is that you may have one idea of what the vulnerability is, but your PCs just can’t figure it out, becoming increasingly frustrated with what looks

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there. Let’s just starve ‘em out a couple months, see if they crack and, if not, go in after the leaves fall when we can see what the hell’s going on.”

This may be disappointing to you if you planned on that jungle hunt being the climax of your game. You can change-up on the fly though, and have the monks counterattack one of the choke-points after the first month of blockade. Don’t feel like you have to pull some alternate climax out of your sleeve: By going for a waiting option, your players are showing you they’re willing to put up with more rising action. They’re willing to gamble setbacks (as the increasingly desperate monks fall back on guerrilla tactics or unleash secret weapons) on the hope of getting an advantage. That’s fine. Save the climax for next session after you’ve had a chance to think of one.

When the players do something unexpected, don’t punish them. Understand that they aren’t trying to screw you. They’re just trying to resolve the conflict, and you should be commended for creating one challenging and realistic enough that they’re thinking creatively. Their unexpected action is a gift to you, like a reward for being a good GM. It’s your chance to confront the unexpected — the same sort of excitement you’ve been giving them. Cherish it.

like a railroad plot. There’s an escape hatch to this, which is to simply decide that their most plausible theory about the weakness is correct (no matter how far afield it is from your plan). If you’re okay changing your plot midstream, fine. If it’s not to your taste, also fine — just be aware of the pitfalls.

10,000 Minions: Some games, you know your enemy, you’re confident that you could wring his neck... but he’s miles away in his black basalt fortress and the army between you and him is pledged to his defense. The only real problem with throwing waves of minions at the PCs is that it may start to feel repetitive. The cure is to spice the mix with other options: If this guy’s got such a following, other authorities are unlikely to want to get on his bad side (political pressure) and while he himself may be no combat shakes, he could employ skilled body doubles (disguise) and bodyguards (dodge). It’s especially juicy if that bodyguard is someone the PCs like or at least respect. If you can pull off that scene where they say, “In other circumstances, we would have been friends.” “Yes, good ones. To the death, then?” “I’m afraid I can accept nothing less.” — then you’re golden.

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Rules ResolutionAs GM it’s your duty to drive the rules. You decide when a character can do something as a matter of course, when it has to be rolled for, and when it’s simply out of the question. You evaluate penalties and, if your game’s typical, you hand out experience points at the end of the session.

This is a lot of power.

(You also decide how all the GMCs react to the PCs’ actions, which is also a lot of power, but that’s covered later.)

Because you have this power over the game, it behooves you to use it wisely, in the pursuit of everyone’s fun. I’ll say again that it’s not your job to beat the players. Let’s face it, if you want to beat the players — and by “beat the players” I mean “look like a jackass and ensure that your friends are miserable so you can ride some petty authority trip” — you will.

Instead, it’s your job to keep the playing field level and to keep the game interesting. Most games have tools built in for making things easier or harder. You can use these, not only in response to what’s being tried, but in reaction to what’s at stake and how much it matters. You may decide that a particular fact a character’s trying to find in a library is both rare and irrelevant. In that case, you might want to just tell him he can’t find it and move the game along. But if he’s really adamant about wanting to know, you can give him the fact as a freebie — and move the game along.

Here’s how you decide how challenging any given task should be, in no particular order.

• How difficult is it within the game setting?• How big is the reward?• Does it make the character look cool?• Will it derail the plot without providing new opportunities that are as good?

Things that are more difficult according to the logic of the setting should have rules penalties — obviously, lifting lead bricks is harder than lifting clay bricks. That’s the “objective” difficulty.

If the reward for success is disproportionately large, you may want to raise the tension by making it more difficult.

Alternately, if succeeding makes the character look cool and isn’t going to ruin some other player’s plan, or bring the plot to a premature and less exciting end, you may want to keep it simple.

The plot consideration takes the most GM finesse. You don’t want to cheat — either to ensure success or preclude it. But at the same time, you want the challenge to feel real and urgent. By keeping your finger on the pulse of the game, you can know when it’s time to make things harder and when it’s time to make them easier. Your first duty is to enable the players to tell a good story with their characters, not to give them a cakewalk or a steady diet of failure.

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It’s also a GM’s job to understand the rules. When players have questions, they’re going to ask you. You do not want to end up pawing through this book in the middle of the action while you refresh your memory about how somebody’s “Fleshly Plasticity” power works.

If the mechanics seem too fussy or clunky to you, by all means change them. Altering rules so they suit your tastes is as honorable and reasonable as cutting the garlic in a recipe if garlic makes you gassy. Most of the time, this sort of tinkering boils down to deciding how much authority you want to cede to the rules. This is a matter of personal taste — just make sure your players know how it’s going to go. If you’re slanting simulationist (meaning, you let random factors filtered through the rules be the ultimate arbiter), then study! Make sure you know how the PCs’ skills or abilities or devices work so that you’re consistent when they use them, or when they try some fancy maneuver. If you’re going narrative (meaning, you apply your common sense and use the rules to sculpt outcomes), be really clear communicating to the players what they need to roll and get for this particular action, and strive to be as consistent as you can. Nothing ruins the fun of a game as much as the feeling that the GM is being controlling and arbitrary... unless it’s a GM so hesitant that she’s looking up rules in the big book every twenty minutes.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t ever consult the manual during play, but try not to break tension or interrupt the flow of play to do it. Games have tense, fast-paced times and they have down times. If you must check the book, do it during down times.

CharacterThe players control the main characters. You portray everyone else. This is a big job. To make it easier, remember that not every stablehand, or even every head honcho they meet, has to be as intricately detailed and elaborate as a PC. It’s okay for a character to be sketchy or two dimensional if she’s only involved for a few scenes and then dies to show how the monster works. The players can project a rich inner life onto that GMC if they want, but by and large they’re more concerned with their own problems.

For the purposes of running GMCs, we can break them into four categories: Major characters, minor characters, antagonists, and extras.

Extras are people who are basically setting. They don’t need to have individual names, they don’t need stats, they’re there to take the PCs’ hats and answer questions about where the bathroom is. In a fight, they’re unworthy opponents, and any marginally competent fighter should be able to cow or clobber them without even rolling.

Minor characters get names because they recur and have some stake in the plot. The bombastic settlement administrator who could be an ally or a pain in the neck is an example here: He’s an element of plot, and he has a personality, and the PCs have to deal with him as an individual. Minor characters may or may not need stats, but they certainly don’t need a full character sheet — a few simple notes like “Make inspiring speech, rank 7” and “Resist fast talk and flim-flam, rank 8” may be enough for that mayor. To portray minor characters, give them a memorable element or two — a particular way of dressing, a habit of speech, a big ghastly scar or some behavior tic

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— and keep that consistent. Even if they players don’t remember the name, they may remember, “Oh yeah, the coachman’s daughter with the stutter.”

Interestingly, the more the PCs interact with minor characters, the more real those characters become. Don’t fight this. Some big and unexpected fun can arise as characters get promoted from “wacky neighbor” to “major ally”.

Antagonists may or may not get names, but their purpose is to put up a fight with the PCs, pure and simple. You may not catch the name of that goliath on the battlefield who’s coming at you with a sword in one hand, a shield in another, and a big warhammer in the third — what the? Three arms? Yikes! — but he’s certainly a cut above the hat-holder. Characters like this should have full combat stats, because their function in the plot is to have long, glorious fights with the PCs. (If your players don’t care for battle, you may never need an antagonist. Most players care.)

Major characters are those who are involved again and again, and who either support the PCs and need their support in turn, or — most commonly — are the enemy against whom the characters strive. You’re going to portray these characters a lot, you’re going to need to make coherent decisions on their behalf that feel real, so you need to get into their heads. These characters are, for you, as detailed as the PCs should be to the players. You should identify with them... as long as you don’t fall into the trap of wanting them to be the main characters. The PCs are the main characters. Your major characters exist to provide plot and resistance to the PCs, so when it’s time for them to fall back and let the heroes be heroes, do it gracefully. When your beloved villain dies at the PCs’ hands, it should be the climax of climaxes, your death of Hamlet, but the PCs’ big scene.

DescriptionAt last, a GM task that isn’t fraught with peril! With character, plot, conflict and rules — with all that stuff you have to keep a balance between fairness and story bias and fun maintenance and everything else, but description, ah! That’s far, far less political.

Here’s how it works. You play the character’s senses. When they enter a scene, you describe it, telling them what they see, hear, smell and otherwise observe. Note: You don’t get to tell them what they feel about what they’re seeing. That’s the player’s job, though it rarely hurts to say something like, “Yeah, it looks like your brother struggled a long time before he died. Looking closer, you see they pulled his fingernails out. How do you feel about that?” In fact, any time you want to stall while you figure something out, or just want to slow things down for pacing purposes, you can play psychologist and ask for a read on the character’s emotions. Many players love to tell you about their characters.

Good description shows the important (or maybe just most obvious) stuff without bogging down in useless embroidery. Good description uses a lot of senses — on a battlefield the characters should feel mud under their boots and hear the cries of the dying and the wounded, louder even than shouts of terror and command. They should taste smoke and smell blood with each breath as the sun beats down on the chaos.

When players ask for more details, supply it but don’t sweat it. If there’s no particular relevance to how a given GMC is dressed, you can make something up or just gloss over

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it — “He’s dressed very nicely,” isn’t terribly evocative, but may communicate to the player that this isn’t a detail that needs to matter much. Describing his furs and jewels may, however, communicate exactly how rich he is, or his taste, or his history. After all, a guy in a fancy and finicky confection of lace and pastel fringe creates a much different impression than someone in exquisitely cut but subtle gray velvet.

One pitfall to avoid is inconsistency. If there was only one door into the room a moment ago (or last session), saying that there are two now is going to confuse the players, snap the illusion and lower their trust in what you’re telling them. This is a problem. How much of a problem depends on how major the disconnect. If it’s a minor detail, you can shrug and move on — no one will care and no one should. Big things though, you need to get right. Take notes. Review them before the gaming group is all together. It doesn’t have to be flawless... it just has to be better than the players’ notes.

It’s impossible (and undesirable) to catalogue everything in a given space. Tell them what’s relevant but (here’s the tricky part) be flexible with stuff that might become relevant. Just because no one noticed that there’s a mop in the room doesn’t mean the room has no mop: If a player asks “Is there a mop or something around?” your answer should depend, not on whether you put “mop” on your mental list of room props, but on whether its appropriate (“No, the Dark Master’s private meditation chamber does not have a mop”) and whether you think they’re going to do something cool and/or scene-wrecking with it.

Certain places, just by their nature, contain certain things. Characters in a blacksmith’s shop should be able to find a hammer and some bellows. Characters in a forest should have no trouble finding sticks and leaves. Characters in a library can find books, paper and ink. Even things that just might be in a certain place... it’s often a good idea to let PCs find them, as long as it’s plausible and they’re not becoming ridiculously lucky. Giving the players a little bit of ownership of the setting opens possibilities for the characters. (Finding a broom in the blacksmith’s shop, a character sets the bristles on fire and makes a torch. A PC maneuvers a guard onto a patch of ice before trying to trip him. A character whips up a simple but elegant meal from forage at the campsite.) Furthermore, giving them that scope to imagine gets them invested in the game. If they have some authority to decide there’s an incredibly heavy, elaborate and filthy spittoon in the tavern, they’re more likely to produce some interesting and comical characterization or fight choreography involving a big dirty jar of drool. It gets them into it because it’s theirs and they’re making it, instead of having it be yours and they’re just looking at it.

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The GM’s Advanced DutiesIf you can manage the concrete elements of conflict, character, description and plot, you are a competent GM. That probably makes you a fun GM... as long as you’re applying those skills the right way. But even a GM with encyclopedic rules knowledge, deft plotting abilities and a superb grasp of drama is going to fail if she is running the game in the wrong direction, or if she misunderstands the point of the exercise.

Here goes:

The purpose of the game is for everyone to have a good time.

This would seem to be obvious, but many anecdotes indicate that people lose track of it. To keep your GM eyes on that prize, there are some rather more abstract concerns, above and beyond just knowing how trip attacks interact with charging attackers. There are elements of attitude. I hesitate to describe a “GM mystique” but certainly there are approaches that work and those that crash and burn. Here’s what works.

TrustYour players need to trust you to run the game. You need to establish a standard of fairness and stick to it. You need to make an effort to be consistent — with the rules, with the facts of description, with the personalities of your GMCs. They need to feel that they have a reasonable chance to make assumptions and predictions about the game world: If you’re not consistent, there’s no point in doing that. If you arbitrarily throw meaningless opposition at them whenever they try something unorthodox — or worse, whenever they’re nearing success — they’ll conclude that it’s your game and that you’re just using them for your own amusement without giving anything back.

Running a game is fun, making up the jungle—gym of the story is neat, but you have to trust the players enough to let them play on it — even if they’re not playing the way you expected they would.

You need to trust them, too. You must be able to trust your players to make a real effort to interact realistically and to commit to their character. If they aren’t doing that, you can’t give them the game they want. If they’re not involved with the character and don’t really care, it doesn’t matter what you put in front of them.

The difference is, when a GM doesn’t trust her players, she has so much power over the rules, the setting and the GMCs that she may be tempted to try and “encourage” the players to “do it right”. Then you just get antagonism. Instead, you have to use all the tricks in the GM bag to seduce the players and draw them in. Give them spectacle and opportunity and challenge and excitement. Give them a fair game. Offered that, anyone with the potential to play well, will.

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Tone Control“Tone” means the emotional backdrop of the game. Is your game going to be gloomy and desperate, light-hearted and frolicksome, or somber and majestic? These are tone concerns, and they influence character, plot and description.

Decide on a tone before the game starts and you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches — headaches that are hard to explain without considering tone, such as the dissonance caused when characters based on splatterpunk high-violence assumptions are tossed into a political game of intrigue and insinuation. Or the issues that inevitably crop up when one player’s character is desperate, one is frolicksome, and one is majestic. Something’s got to give there, or the party is going to constantly tug in different directions.

One way to communicate tone is to tell your players “This game is gritty and combat can be deadly fast, so be hesitant to escalate — the GMCs are.” Or to say, “This is a talky game of somewhat satirical realpolitik — people do cruel things for absurd reasons, but as politicians the characters can often escape the consequences of their callousness.” That’s fine as far as it goes, but there’s a difference between having a tone and merely asserting one. If you tell them what you’re planning and don’t follow through, you’ve misled them, and that’s unlikely to turn out well.

Once you’ve set the tone, maintain it. Description is the most immediate and simple way to keep tone consistent. If the game has a tone of moral degradation, and the PCs are the relatively-clean heroes who are going to fight the power, you can reinforce that by stressing details like muddy streets, horses with sores from being made to pull loads too heavy for them, the potbelly on the mayor’s mistress while urchins starve in the street... If your tone is bright and fully of shiny, heroic wonderment, you can describe the fresh air of the forests, the tall and graceful spires of the palace, the dewy rosebuds climbing the trellis by the baker’s house... any and all those details might be in both games, but you’ve only got so much time in a session to describe things. Concentrate, then, on the details that fit the feel you’re after.

LeadershipThis is a big one, and tough. Gaming is fun, it’s an entertainment, and most likely you’re going to do it with a group of friends. Most of us don’t like bossing around our buddies — we like to go along, get along, let consensus emerge in a laid back form of democracy.

That works... to a point.

In gaming though, the GM has more power. It’s your setting and your plots and while the players have the main characters, the burden is on you. If a player skips a session, the rest of you can probably muddle through. If the GM blows it off, there’s no game.

Like it or not, you’re the leader while you’re running the game. You should certainly be an enlightened despot who cares about her players’ desires and who respects their input, but you can force things to happen in a way that players can’t. I’ve cautioned again and again about abusing the authority that comes with being GM, but there’s an upside to that authority as well.

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The upside is, you can lead.

If you act a certain way, the players are likely to model that. If you prepare and have a good grasp of the rules, you can encourage them to do the same — hearing “Hey, before the game starts, you might want to brush up on exactly how long that spell takes to cast and how it works” from the GM carries a lot more weight if she’s not running to the book every ten minutes. It also carries more weight than if it comes from another player.

If you break character in order to stick in a Monty Python joke during tense moments, the players are going to feel that’s okay. (In your game group, maybe it is.) On the other hand, if you want your drama to be pure, you certainly have the right to shush a disruptive player who cracks wise at an inappropriate moment.

Some people, assertive people, find this very easy to do. If you’re not assertive, you’ve got a choice. You can put up with enjoying the game less than you should, or you can screw up your courage and call out the tone—breaker. In most cases, the guy doesn’t realize it bothers you and simply making your position clear one time suffices. But if a player consistently breaks the game... or is rude to you... or is being a jerk to the other players... well, you may need to kick him out. This, too, is a traditional role for the GM — policing individuals so that they don’t screw with the collective. It’s not necessary all that often, but when it comes down to it, you’re better off booting the guy who can’t play along. If you don’t, the odds are pretty good that the game dies a slow, painful death anyway.

Fair ConflictWhy is gaming fun?

It can be for the same reason that chess is fun — you manipulate the rules to get an outcome you like. It can be for the same reason that poker is fun — you calculate probabilities in a system with random elements in pursuit of advantage.

It can be for the same reason that a film or a play is fun — characters are put into trying circumstances and deal with them (or fail to deal with them in some compelling way).

The common element is conflict, opposition and obstacle. It has to be a fair conflict, too — anything else is unsatisfactory. (No one wants to play chess against an equal opponent if you start out down a queen and two rooks). But it also needs to hold out the promise of improvement. The character (or player) needs to be able to take concrete steps to better his odds and improve his situation. At the same time there needs to be the real risk of overreaching (or stagnating) and making the situation worse. This is what’s behind all that rising action: Is the character on the right track? It’s also what’s behind falling action: Did he meet his goals?

Some GMs implement fairness by writing up a set of circumstances beforehand, balanced against the PCs’ abilities, and then letting the chips fall where they may as the players attempt to navigate their characters through it. This “dungeon” approach has a long and honorable tradition. If it works for you, okay. But it’s prone to the “death spiral” effect if you construct it strictly, in which one setback makes the next setback more likely, until a cascade leaves the characters writhing helplessly. If you can run a good tragedy, that works. Otherwise, you might find yourself interrupting your plans to bail out the

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characters — so building some wiggle room into the initial setup is a good idea. Rigid prep like this also makes it harder to respond when the PCs get some wild notion and jam off after it. No matter how much you try to prepare and anticipate, some day they will make your jaw drop. Accept it, adapt to it and move on.

Other GMs go session-by-session, adjusting this week’s challenge based on last week’s actions. This requires constant effort, but it’s easier to cleave to the players’ goals, actions and current success level. The issue with this approach is that your game may drift and feel plotless. If everyone’s having fun, that’s not an issue. If it’s starting to feel stagnant and pointless, you may want to preload a little more to get a greater sense of direction.

You’re going to have to experiment and find out what works best for your group and yourself, but that’s actually a big part of the fun of it — trying new things and enjoying unexpected successes. As long as you’re fair with your players, they’ll usually forgive quite a bit. As long as you put in the work, even average players can provide a more than ample payoff.

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Here are a few characters to get you started. You can find more characters and additional information about the Kalos Universe at the Kalos Universe Wiki, which is free to use (http://wiki.kaloscomics.com/). If you send us your Bulletproof Blues Character Sheet Helper write-ups (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/109612/), we will add your characters to the Kalos Universe, as well!

HeroesIf you use any of these characters as villains, remember that villains almost never have expertise. Even Master Sin, the brilliant and immortal Alchemist of Crime, does not have expertise. Remove the expertise from these characters when using them as villains.

BlueshiftSpeedster martial artist

Quotation “Pay attention. A lot will happen in the next few seconds.”

First Appearance Dark Disciple #23, 1987

Real Name Jeanette de Vries Origin Gifted

Identity Public ID Archetype The Rocket

Team Affiliation Shadow Watch

Base Of Operations Chicago, IL

Range Of Operations Local

Appearance

Gender Female Height 5’ 8” Hair Black

Age 29 Weight 127 lbs. Eyes Blue

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Jeanette is a lean woman in her late 20s, with short but stylishly cut black hair. Her presence can be unnerving, because unless she is actively engaged in some activity, she stands very, very still: the small movements that normal people make in order to balance themselves are made so quickly and precisely that she appears to be unnaturally immobile. She typically dresses in snug, stretchy clothing and sturdy boots.

AttributesBrawn 4Agility 9Reason 4Perception 3Willpower 3Prowess 8Accuracy 6

Endurance 7Plot Points 1

Powers

Attribute Invulnerability 4Immortality 1

Does not ageRegeneration 3Super-running 3Super-speed 4Communication 1

Tactical visor (Radio)Super Senses 3

Tactical visor, Detect Invulnerability (Infrared Vision, Night Vision, Other)

Skills

AthleticsCombat

DodgingSlamming

InvestigationLegerdemain

Sleight Of Hand StealthSurvival

Tactics

Advantages

Master PlanTeam PlayerUnsettling

Movement

Base Move Double Move All-out Move

Run 400 feet 800 feet 2,400 feet (300 mph)

Swim 18 feet/round 36 feet/round 108 feet/round (12 mph)

Jump 12 feet 12 feet 12 feet

PersonalityJeanette is usually quiet and aloof. She does not enjoy or encourage what passes for polite conversation, and most people interpret her behavior as disdain. In fact, she finds the

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speed at which normal people interact almost unbearable, like sitting in freeway traffic, so she tries to limit her social interactions with others as much as possible. Of course, this only reinforces her feelings of isolation and her perception of herself as an outsider.

Motivations

Guilt: The character is driven by a desire for redemption from sins from their past.Rebellion: The character doesn’t fit into the larger society.

Complications

Enemy: Blueshift is still hunted by Project Genesis, and not everyone has forgiven her criminal past.

Outsider: Blueshift’s unease around normal people is often taken as disdain.

HistoryJeanette ran away from home when she was sixteen, after the death of her father. She spent the next year avoiding the authorities and Project Genesis, by which she was eventually captured. She was rescued from Genesis by a vigilante known as Dark Disciple. Having nowhere else to go, she stayed with Dark Disciple for a number of months, and it was he who taught her martial arts (primarily a mixture of American kenpo, muay thai, and shotokai karate). She left Dark Disciple when she was approached

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by Master Sin, a morally ambiguous mastermind who told her that she could use her abilities to help humanity by leading his strike team. She stayed with Master Sin for several years, learning leadership skills as well as learning to use her own powers effectively in a team. She eventually became disillusioned with Master Sin’s mysterious goals and violent methods, and she left his employ. The parting was cordial, and he allowed her to keep the specialized equipment he designed for her; she still uses the tactical visor.

Seeking a way to salvage her life, Jeanette approached the FBI, offering to trade her knowledge of various criminal organizations in exchange for immunity from prosecution. After months of incarceration, the FBI accepted her offer, and Jeanette spent the next several weeks being debriefed. After she was released, she operated as an independent for a period of time before encountering Scanner, Stone, and Zero K. Finding that they had similar goals and compatible personalities, they formed Shadow Watch. Other than the members of her team, she has no friends, although she exchanges Christmas cards with Siege, who was also a member of Master Sin’s strike team, and who now works for the FBI.

Powers and AbilitiesBlueshift possesses the ability to think and move at superhuman speeds. Her strength and endurance are at least equal to peak human potential, and her hand-eye coordination and control over her body are well beyond human limits. Her biological processes are much more efficient than a normal human’s, permitting her to extract nearly 100 percent of the caloric energy of what she eats and to exert herself for several hours before resting. She is capable of running over 300 miles per hour, and her brain is capable of processing information quickly enough to operate at this speed.

While in the employ of Master Sin, Blueshift obtained a visor which uses millimeter-wave signals to scan and evaluate the structural integrity of physical objects. While leading Master Sin’s strike team, she used this to ensure that the force used against her opponents was commensurate with their durability.

Blueshift has experience leading teams of posthumans with aggressive personalities, and she is an expert tactician. She is proficient with a variety of hand-to-hand combat styles, but generally prefers the throws and joint-locks of aikido.

SummaryAttributes 37 + Skills 4 + Advantages 3 + Powers 19 = 60 / 60

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GrimknightOminous protector of Manhattan

Quotation “This is MY city.”

First Appearance Moonwolf #32, 1975

Real Name Diggory “Diggs” Tyler Origin Gifted

Identity Secret ID Archetype The Shadow

Team Affiliation Spookshow

Base Of Operations New York City

Range Of Operations Local/Interplanetary with team

Appearance

Gender Male Height 5’ 8” Hair Bald (Brown)

Age 31 Weight 192 lbs. Eyes Brown

Diggs Tyler is a handsome, bald, black man in his early thirties. He typically dresses in tailored suits or expensive casual wear in the latest style. When he adopts the persona of Grimknight, he wears a non-reflective black body suit, black full head mask, and sturdy black boots and gloves. Over this attire he wears a hooded cloak, the Mantle Of Arawn. In daylight the cloak appears to be pale grey, while at night the cloak is an opalescent white.

AttributesBrawn 6Agility 6Reason 3Perception 6Willpower 5Prowess 5Accuracy 4

Endurance 11Plot Points 1

Brawn and Agility 4 during the day; Brawn and Agility 6 at night.

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Powers

Invulnerability 6Invulnerability 4 during the day; Invulnerability 6 at night

Teleportation 5Mantle Of Arawn – Radius Effect (+1)

Super Senses 1(Night Vision)

Attribute Invulnerability 3Power Invulnerability 3Investigator’s Equipment 1

(Ultra-power)

Investigator’s Equipment

Bincolulars 1(Other)

Radio 1(Radio)

Digital Recorder 1Covert surveillance device 1

(Other)Covert tracking device 1

(Other)

Skills

CombatSurprise AttacksSweep Attacks

ComputingCultureDeceptionInvestigationLegerdemainManipulation

ConversationInterrogation

SocialStealth

Shadowing

Movement

Base Move Double Move All-out Move

Run 60 feet/round 120 feet/round 360 feet/round (41 mph)

Swim 12 feet/round 24 feet/round 72 feet/round (8 mph)

Jump 18 feet 18 feet 18 feet

Teleport 1 mile 2 miles 6 miles (4,000 mph)

PersonalityDiggs Tyler is friendly, engaging, and fun-loving. While he may come across as a bit of a Casanova when dealing with the opposite sex, he is never overbearing or disrespectful. He is the flame, not the moth. His years of working as a private investigator have made him skilled at forming a bond with people he’s just met and getting them to open up to him. This has served him well in the District Attorney’s Office. As Grimknight, Diggs is far less friendly, using his powerful presence and his skill at reading people to intimidate and interrogate suspected wrongdoers.

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Motivations

Justice: The character seeks to ensure that misdeeds are met with appropriate punishment.

Honor: The character believes that their worth is tied to their adherence to a code of conduct.

HistoryDiggs Tyler was a private investigator for several years while he worked his way through law school. (Most private investigators work either for insurance companies or lawyers, so this was a natural match.) After graduation, he became a prosecutor in the New York County District Attorney’s Office, where he has served the borough of Manhattan with distinction.

Tyler is a descendant of Gwynn Ap Nudd, King of the Faeries and the Otherworld (also called Annwn). He was not aware of his heritage until he was selected to be the next Knight of the Summerland due to the mysterious death of the previous Knight of the Summerland. However faint the blood connection may be, Tyler is a faerie by birthright, which permits him to wear and use the Mantle of Arawn, a powerful faerie artifact.

Powers and AbilitiesDuring the day, Grimknight’s strength and speed are at the peak of human potential, and his skin is tough enough to withstand small arms fire. At night he is even stronger and tougher, able to lift 7 tons overhead and withstand high explosives.

In addition to his supernatural strength, speed, and toughness, Grimknight wears the Mantle of Arawn. The Mantle of Arawn is a faerie artifact which permits the wearer to bend space and teleport thousands of miles in an instant.

Grimknight also carries a number of useful but ordinary pieces of equipment, such as binoculars, radio tracking devices, bugs, and digital recorders.

SummaryAttributes 33 + Skills 5 + Advantages 0 + Powers 24 = 62 / 62

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ManticoreCelebrity super-scientist

Quotation “We’ll give it all we’ve got!”

First Appearance Citadel #1, 2011

Real Name Chloe Zhang (Zhang Qianwei) Origin Equipped

Identity Public ID Archetype The Gadget

Team Affiliation Citadel

Base Of Operations New York City

Range Of Operations Local/Global with team

Appearance

Gender Female Height 5’ 5” Hair Black

Age 28 Weight 106 lbs. Eyes Brown

Chloe is a photogenic, athletic Chinese woman. She dresses in the most fashionable clothes, yet makes them look effortlessly natural.

AttributesBrawn 3Agility 5Reason 7Perception 4Willpower 5Prowess 3Accuracy 5

Endurance 8Plot Points 1

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Powers

Flight 3Jet Wing

Immunity 4Sealed systems – Must be activated (-1) (Asphyxia, Pathogens, Poisons, Radiation)

Gadgets and Weaponry 6(Ultra-power)

Gadgets and Weaponry Powers

Invulnerability 6Super Senses 6

Detect EM Radiation (360° Vision, Detect [Element], Hyperacuity, Infrared Vision, Ultraviolet Vision, X-ray Vision)

Blast 6Jet wing chain guns

Hold 6Jet wing mini-rocket: restraining foam – Exposed (-1)

Machine Control 6Machines with onboard computers only

Power Suppression 6Jet wing mini-rocket: fire suppression foam

Telekinesis 6Jet wing grappling cable – Exposed (-1)

Skills

AthleticsCombatComputing

Programming CultureEngineering

AerospaceElectrical

InvestigationManipulationScience

MetallurgyNanotechnology

Social

Advantages

ConnectedExceptional BeautyFamousHeadquartersLinguistTeam PlayerWealthy

Movement

Base Move Double Move All-out Move

Run 50 feet/round 100 feet/round 300 feet/round (34 mph)

Swim 10 feet/round 20 feet/round 60 feet/round (7 mph)

Jump 9 feet 9 feet 9 feet

Fly 400 feet 800 feet 2,400 feet (300 mph)

PersonalityIf one word could be used to describe Chloe Zhang, it would be “active”. Nearly every moment of every day is occupied with something, whether it is research into new semiconducting polymers, competing in a snowboarding competition, acting in a film on location in Mongolia, promoting the Special Olympics, or dancing at the newest and most exciting club.

Despite the frenetic pace of her lifestyle, she always seems as ease with the people around her, and she is never too busy to be gracious. She is a genuinely nice person.

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Motivations

Adventure: The character has an adventurous spirit and rarely turns down a quest.Protection: The character wants to protect others, particularly the innocent and the

helpless.

Complications

Vulnerability: All of Manticore’s powers are dependent on her armor and equipment.Enemy: Chloe Zhang is internationally famous, which makes her a very easy target for

her enemies.

HistoryZhang Qianwei (pronounced JONG-CHYEN-WAY) is the daughter of Zhang Ka-shing, one of the twenty richest people in the world, who emigrated to the United States from Hong Kong in 1998 and obtained American citizenship for himself and his two children. Over the course of the next few years, he moved the corporate headquarters of his company, Zhangsun Telecom (market value $170 billion, according to Forbes), to Manhattan from Hong Kong. However, the company still has extensive holdings in China, primarily in land development and telecommunications. In the rest of the world, the majority of their holdings are in telecommunications, hotels, and resorts.

Qianwei was educated in the United States, where she is known as Chloe Zhang, but until recently she spent most of her school vacations in Hong Kong, where she is a bona-fide celebrity: she has been on the cover of numerous magazines (the Hong Kong edition of Cosmopolitan over a dozen times in the last ten years), appeared in several films (she

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CHARACTERS

is friends with John Woo and Jackie Chan, in addition to a lot of Chinese show-business types that no one in the USA has ever heard of ), and has released a few pop albums which have been quite popular in Asia.

She is also an avid skydiver, skier, snowboarder, and surfer. She often has lucrative endorsement deals despite her amateur status, and she spent six months on Wheaties boxes a couple of years ago, which is the first place most people in the USA saw her. Chloe donates all of the proceeds from her endorsements to charities, such as the Special Olympics.

In addition to her artistic and athletic pursuits, Chloe is absolutely brilliant. She has doctorates from Stanford and Georgia Institute of Technology, and she has developed a number of breakthroughs in telecommunications. For example, she invented a nanotechnological process which permits multiple signals to transmit simultaneously on the same antenna without interference (aka MIMO, a technological underpinning of the WiMax standard).

Recently, Chloe’s 80-year-old father decided to retire back to Hong Kong, where her older brother runs the Asian divisions of the company, leaving her in New York to run the North American and European divisions (although she is technically Vice President In Charge Of Research And Development).

Tabloids have connected Chloe to numerous handsome and/or famous men, and some of these rumours have been true, but she has no interest in marriage at this time. She has stated in interviews that she wants to be a wife and a mother — but not yet. “I have too much still to do,” she explains. “It would not be fair to a husband or a child.”

Fun fact: In China, Chloe’s superhero persona is known as “Dragon’s Lovely Daughter”, while in Japan, she is known as “Super Demon Rider Girl”.

Powers and AbilitiesChloe Zhang possesses superhuman cognitive ability, but her most significant posthuman ability is her extraordinary focus. She is capable of concentrating on several problems simultaneously, and even carry on a conversation while doing so. When combined with her reduced need for sleep (she rarely sleeps more than two hours per night), she is more productive in one day than an ordinary person would be in a month.

Her most flamboyant abilities are granted by the Manticore armor and jet wing, both of which are her original designs. The armor enhances her speed and reflexes, it provides defense against all but the most powerful conventional weaponry, and it houses a wide array of sensory equipment. In addition to its use as transportation, Manticore’s jet wing is a flying weapon platform. The jet wing has chain guns and a selection of special purpose mini-rockets, as well as a net cannon and a grappling line.

SummaryAttributes 32 + Skills 5 + Advantages 7 + Powers 27 = 64 / 64

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CHARACTERS

MonolithThe Man Mountain

Quotation “I think you should give up now.”

First Appearance Renegades #1, 1986

Real Name Wayne Hill Origin Altered

Identity Public ID Archetype The Tank

Team Affiliation Renegades

Base Of Operations Los Angeles

Range Of Operations Local/National with team

Appearance

Gender Male Height 8’ 6” Hair Blonde

Age 32 Weight 625 lbs. Eyes Green

Monolith lives up to his name: he is truly massive, and nearly as wide as he is tall. Despite this fearsome build, Monolith has a kind, boyish face. He typically wears a white tank top or t-shirt, weight lifting gloves, jeans, and specially-made high-top sneakers.

AttributesBrawn 8Agility 3Reason 2Perception 6Willpower 5Prowess 5Accuracy 2

Endurance 13Plot Points 1

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Powers

Attribute Invulnerability 6Communication 1

Renegades headset (Radio)Immunity 7

(Asphyxia, Exposure (Cold), Exposure (Heat), Pathogens, Poisons, Pressure, Vacuum)

Invulnerability 8Super-jumping 4

Skills

AthleticsThrowing

CombatGrappling

CulturePopular Media

Manipulation

Advantages

Common SenseConnectedHeadquartersTeam Player

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Movement

Base Move Double Move All-out Move

Run 30 feet/round 60 feet/round 180 feet/round (20 mph)

Swim 6 feet/round 12 feet/round 36 feet/round (4 mph)

Jump 1,600 feet 3,200 feet 2 miles (1,000 mph)

PersonalityMonolith is good-natured and easy-going, but he takes his responsibilities as a role model very seriously. He goes out of his way to be gentle to those who are small and weak.

Motivations

Justice: The character seeks to ensure that misdeeds are met with appropriate punishment.

Protection: The character wants to protect others, particularly the innocent and the helpless.

Complications

Enemy: Monolith has made many enemies, but Cesspool is the most vile and persistent.Uncontrolled Power: Monolith’s size and weight make it impossible for him to have a

normal life.

HistoryMonolith was born in the backwoods of Oklahoma to on-the-lam criminal parents, who were hiding in an abandoned toxic waste dumping site. His mother died in childbirth, for which his father never forgave him. Monolith’s early years were marked by abuse and neglect. When he was 10, his father was killed in a shoot-out with the FBI. He became a ward of the court and was placed in a special federal orphanage for “special” children. There he grew to maturity and vowed to use his special abilities to help the less fortunate and downtrodden. When he turned 18. Monolith moved to Los Angeles, joined the Renegades, and became sanctioned by the state of California as a state police officer. When not fighting evil, he makes frequent charity campaign appearances, especially for organizations that help children.

Powers and AbilitiesMonolith is strong enough to lift locomotives, and tough enough to withstand an attack from nearly any conventional weapon. He can survive in nearly any environment, and his posthuman biology is immune to virtually all toxins and diseases. Monolith’s speed and agility are greater than his size might lead one to assume, but still well within human norms. However, his massive leg muscles allow him to jump extraordinary distances: his longest measured leap is well over two miles.

SummaryAttributes 31 + Skills 3 + Advantages 4 + Powers 26 = 60 / 60

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CHARACTERS

VillainsChthyraThe Crawling Chaos

Quotation “I love you, Mommy.”

First Appearance Tales Of Mystery #317, 1963

Real Name N/A Origin Alien

Identity Public ID Archetype The Mirror

Team Affiliation Solo

Base Of Operations Earth

Range Of Operations Global

Appearance

Gender Nonhuman Height N/A Hair Black/None

Age Ageless Weight N/A Eyes Red/Yellow

Chthyra is a psychic parasite from a reality in close proximity to our own which travels to our reality in its astral form. As such, it does not have a physical form in our reality. When Chthyra manifests in our reality, it usually takes the form of an oily black-skinned

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humanoid, a shapeless mass of hairlike tendrils of darkness, or something in between the two. Chthyra’s astral form is only present until it manages to possess its host, after which its astral form inhabits the host’s body.

Chthyra’s host is always a child in their early teens. Within the dreams of its host, Chthyra may take any form at any time. These forms may be beautiful or terrifying or both, as Chthyra sees fit.

AttributesBrawn 0Agility 0Reason 4Perception 5Willpower 12Prowess 0Accuracy 0

Endurance 12Plot Points 1

Chthyra has no physical body in our reality. It is a creature of pure, malevolent will.

Powers

Amazing Movement 1Negated if Possession is broken. (Astral Travel)

Communication 2(Mind Link, Universal Translator)

Immortality 2Will re-form in six months if destroyed.

Mind Shield 3Possession 6

(Blackout, +1; Inhabit, +1)Willpower Drain 3

(Target must be asleep, -1; Ranged, +1)Illusion 10

(Illusory Damage, +1; It’s All In Your Mind, -1)Mind Control 5

(Mass Hypnosis, +1; Extra Range, +1; Emotional or physical proximity, +1)

Skills

CultureDeceptionManipulationSocialStealthSurvival

Advantages

Unsettling

Movement

Base Move Double Move All-out Move

Run N/A N/A N/A

Swim N/A N/A N/A

Jump N/A N/A N/A

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PersonalityIf Chthyra has any goals beyond its desire to feed, those goals are unknown. However, it is sentient, and it understands humanity and human languages. It “speaks” to and through its victims, but only to expand its influence. As such, any communication from Chthyra is typically in the form of threats, promises, or other statements intended to instill trust, fear, or hopelessness.

Motivations

Exploration: The character lives to seek out new places and new ideas.Passion: The character has a visceral, perhaps even savage, nature.

Complications

Gruesome: Chthyra’s true form is incomprehensible to the human mind.Vulnerability: Chthyra only has access to our reality through a host.

HistoryChthyra is one of a number of entities which are older than humanity and which have preyed upon us throughout history. Chthyra is actually one of the least dangerous of these entities, as its means of entering our reality and the damage it may do are both quite limited.

Chthyra enters our reality by infecting the dreams of a troubled child, one whose nightmares are both frequent and particularly vivid. Once Chthyra successfully takes control of the dreams of its host, the child becomes a prisoner in their own body. From this haven, Chthyra reaches out to poison the dreams of those in emotional or physical proximity to the host, spreading outward and feeding from their nightmares. Once Chthyra’s influence has spread from its host to a dozen or more victims, it can begin to control their waking minds as well as their dreams. If left unopposed, the waking nightmares will drive the victims mad, resulting in riots, mass suicides, multiple murders, and general chaos. The death toll may reach into the hundreds; small towns or settlements may be wiped out entirely.

If this process is allowed to reach its natural conclusion, Chthyra will be sated and will retreat from its host. The host will awake normally and ostensibly unharmed, remembering nothing of the experience.

Powers and AbilitiesIn its native reality, Chthyra can reshape matter according to its will and even create living beings from the fabric of its universe. In our universe, its powers are more limited. It cannot reshape matter on Earth, but it can alter the perceptions of other people, causing them to perceive completely convincing hallucinations.

SummaryAttributes 21 + Skills 0 + Advantages 1 + Powers 48 = 69 / 70

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CHARACTERS

CrocoliskThe Lizard King

Quotation “You’re gonna be a 60-day homicide.”

First Appearance Tales Of Mystery #554, 1983

Real Name Anthony Fields Origin Altered

Identity Public ID Archetype The Tank

Team Affiliation Solo

Base Of Operations New Orleans

Range Of Operations Local

Appearance

Gender Male Height 9’ Hair None

Age 26 Weight 800 lbs. Eyes Yellow

Crocolisk is a massive grey-green humanoid with thick scaly skin and crocodilian features. Bony plates project from his forearms and shoulders, and extend down his back to his tail. His tail is used for balance, but it is not prehensile. Crocolisk does not wear clothing, but he is fond of jewelry, particularly thick gold chains and large medallions.

AttributesBrawn 7Agility 4Reason 1Perception 3Willpower 6Prowess 6Accuracy 4

Endurance 13Plot Points 0

Powers

Attribute Invulnerability 4Danger Sense 2

Animal cunningImmunity 6

(Asphyxia, Pathogens, Poisons, Pressure, Radiation, Starvation)

Invulnerability 9Regeneration 6Super-swimming 2

Skills

AthleticsCombatCultureDeceptionManipulationSocialStealthSurvival

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Movement

Base Move Double Move All-out Move

Run 40 feet/round 80 feet/round 240 feet/round (27 mph)

Swim 100 feet 200 feet 600 feet (70 mph)

Jump 21 feet 21 feet 21 feet

PersonalityCrocolisk is foul tempered, brash, and fearless to the point of foolishness. He takes what he wants, and he has no expectation that there will ever be consequences for his actions. He has contempt for the weak and for anyone who would defend them. He is not clever by any means, but he has an animal cunning that gives him an almost preternatural sense for when he is in danger.

Motivations

Passion: The character has a visceral, perhaps even savage, nature.Rebellion: The character doesn’t fit into the larger society.

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Complications

Gruesome: Crocolisk is a monster, inside and out.Uncontrolled Power: Crocolisk’s size and weight make it impossible for him to have a

normal life.

HistoryAnthony Fields has always been a criminal. From his earliest childhood, Anthony took whatever he wanted and hurt anyone who tried to stop him. By the time we was a legal adult, Anthony already had an lengthy criminal record, including multiple burglaries, armed robberies, and assaults. Due to the corruption and inefficiency of the New Orleans police department, and the lack of cooperation from witnesses, Anthony never served more than sixty days for any of these crimes.

Anthony was on parole from a simple burglary charge when he brutally assaulted and robbed the proprietor of a corner store, leading to his arrest when that crime was recorded on the store video camera. After he was released on bail, pending his trial, Anthony was approached by a stranger who offered him a way to stay out of jail forever -– he would be strong enough to break out of any prison, and his skin would be bulletproof. Anthony rejected the offer at first, until the stranger offered him a sizable cash incentive. Anthony accepted, intending to reneg on the deal once he’d been paid.

The stranger drugged Anthony and took him to an isolated laboratory near the docks. Anthony was unconscious during the process, but when we awoke he was alone, and he was a monster. The stranger, true to his word, left a stack of cash on a table next to Anthony. Anthony was truly freed of the consequences of his actions, and Crocolisk was born. He has committed countless crimes, and been captured several times, but he has never been kept imprisoned for long.

Powers and AbilitiesCrocolisk is a nine foot tall reptilian humanoid. He is strong enough to lift 30 tons and his scales are virtually impregnable. In addition to his more obvious alterations, Crocolisk’s reptilian physiology permits him to hold his breath for hours, go nearly a year without eating, and recover from nearly any injury.

Crocolisk is inhumanly fast and strong, but he has low stamina. He can’t exert himself at his peak for very long.

SummaryAttributes 31 + Skills 0 + Advantages 0 + Powers 29 = 60 / 60

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CHARACTERS

GanyekaPsychic gorilla supergenius

Quotation “Would the hoo-man like a ba-na-na?”

First Appearance Tales Of Mystery #166, 1959

Real Name Bongo Origin Altered

Identity Public ID Archetype The Calculator

Team Affiliation Solo

Base Of Operations Earth

Range Of Operations Global

Appearance

Gender Male Height 5’ 7” Hair Dark grey

Age 24 Weight 375 lbs. Eyes Brown

Ganyeka appears to be a typical western lowland gorilla, with dark brownish-grey hair, a wide skull with a pronounced crest, and pronounced brow ridges. Several large scars are visible on his scalp. Although he does not wear clothes, he usually wears a belt over one shoulder with several pouches attached to it. He has been known to wear a helmet and ballistic chest armor when expecting violence.

AttributesBrawn 6Agility 3Reason 8Perception 4Willpower 9Prowess 3Accuracy 3

Endurance 15Plot Points 1

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Powers

Communication 1(Mind Link)

Telekinetic Force Field 8Not effective against intangible attacks (-1)

Mental Powers 9(Ultra-power)

Mental Powers

Illusion 9Illusory Damage (+1); It’s All In Your Mind (-1)

Mind Control 9Mind Hold 9Telepathy 9

SkillsAthleticsCombatComputingCultureEngineeringInvestigationMedicineScience

Advantages

Master Plan

Movement

Base Move Double Move All-out Move

Run 30 feet/round 60 feet/round 180 feet/round (20 mph)

Swim 6 feet/round 12 feet/round 36 feet/round (4 mph)

Jump 18 feet 18 feet 18 feet

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CHARACTERS

PersonalityGanyeka is suspicious of humans, and aloof, at best, to any humans he encounters. Although he bears a great deal of resentment against humanity for the way he and his people (gorillas, and western lowland gorillas in particular) have been treated, he also feels isolated from them, as he will forever be an outcast from human society, the society in which he was raised. Ganyeka is a proud and lonely creature.

Motivations

Anger: The character is driven to overcome challenges and exceed their limits.Nobility: The character was born to rule and command the respect of their lessers.

Complications

Outsider: Despite his vast intelligence, Ganyeka will always be a gorilla.

HistoryGanyeka was once a completely normal western lowland gorilla named Bongo. Born in captivity in a medical research facility in Louisiana, he was subjected to hundreds of medical experiments by the time he was four years old. Most of these were drug trials, and had no lasting effects on him. However, at the age of twelve he was subjected to a series of surgeries and gene therapies intended to induce and then treat Alzheimer’s disease.

The treatments had an unexpected side effect: they gradually increased Bongo’s intelligence until he was even smarter than the doctors treating him. Bongo learned quickly, and the more he learned, the more his resentment grew. One day, Bongo had had enough: he struck out at the doctors, his tormenters. At first his rebellion was purely physical, but his wardens were armed with cattle prods and tranquilizer darts, and he knew that he was doomed. Defiant, he roared at his attackers, and was astonished as they crumpled to the ground. Bongo escaped from the facility, swearing revenge on humanity for what was done to him.

Since then, Bongo’s anger has cooled. He has taken a new name, Ganyeka, which means “excel” or “surpass” in the Zulu language. He no longer blames all of humanity for what was done to him, but he has no love for humans. He seeks to find a place for himself in the world of humans. And if they do not have a place for him, he will make one.

Ganyeka has a deep disdain for physical violence, deeming it a “human” trait, and his early experiences have instilled in him an aversion to causing physical pain to others. He can be gentle, and he has a soft spot for human children, who remind him of the family he will never have. At the same time, he has no reservations about using his psychic powers to manipulate, hurt, or even kill humans who deserve it — and no one deserves it more than someone who interferes with his plans.

Ganyeka understands English (and numerous other human languages), but he can’t speak verbally: his vocal apparatus remains that of an ape. He communicates telepathically. His mental “voice” is that of Bob Marley: a conscious decision on Ganyeka’s part.

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Powers and AbilitiesGanyeka has the strength and agility of a healthy mountain gorilla, and one of the most powerful minds on Earth. He is capable of mastering any science he devotes himself to, but in practice his primary interests pertain to biology, zoology, and medicine.

Ganyeka has profound psychic abilities. He can read others’ thoughts and memories, and he can cause other people to see, hear, touch, smell, and/or taste things which do not actually exist. He often uses this ability to interact with humans without their realizing that he is a gorilla. With effort, he can even override a person’s decision-making process, making them into his puppets.

SummaryAttributes 36 + Skills 0 + Advantages 1 + Powers 35 = 71 / 71

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CHARACTERS

Karen XOne little war machine determined to survive

Quotation “I will not be replaced by an inferior unit.”

First Appearance Legacies #6, 2011

Real Name Karen X Origin Artificial

Identity Public ID Archetype The Cannon

Team Affiliation Solo

Base Of Operations United States

Range Of Operations Global

Appearance

Gender Female Height 5’ 1” Hair Blonde

Age 16 Weight 375 lbs. Eyes Red

Karen X appears to be a female human of approximately 16, but she is actually a sentient machine.

AttributesBrawn 8Agility 8Reason 7Perception 4Willpower 4Prowess 5Accuracy 7

Endurance 12Plot Points: 1

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CHARACTERS

Powers

Immunity 8(Asphyxia, Exposure (Cold), Exposure (Heat), Pathogens, Poisons, Pressure, Radiation, Vacuum)

Flight 3Jet pack

Invulnerability 6Super Senses 4

(Hyperacuity, Infrared Vision, Night Vision, Ultraviolet Vision)

Communication 2(Computers, Radio)

Weapon Systems 8(Ultra-power)

Weapon Systems Powers

Blast (Seeking) 7Seeking Missiles

Hold 8Neural Paralyzer Eye Beams

Power Suppression (vs. Electronics) 8Ion Blaster

Blast (Explosive) 7High Explosive Missiles

Blindness (Explosive) 7Ultraviolet Ray Burst

Blast 8Particle Beam

Skills

AthleticsCombatEngineeringScienceSurvival

Advantages

LinguistMental CalculatorPerfect Recall

Movement

Base Move Double Move All-out Move

Run 80 feet/round 160 feet/round 480 feet/round (55 mph)

Swim 16 feet/round 32 feet/round 96 feet/round (11 mph)

Jump 24 feet 24 feet 24 feet

Fly 400 feet 800 feet 2,400 feet (300 mph)

PersonalityKaren X lacks the skills to handle everyday emotions. When faced with a complex emotional issue, she often seems cold and uncaring to those around her. Most people can pick up on this easily.

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Motivations

Anger: The character is driven to overcome challenges and exceed their limits.Insecurity: The character feels as though they don’t measure up to their peers.

Complications

Enemy: Karen X is the avowed enemy of Karen 7, the unit which was to have replaced her.

Vulnerability: The Karen X unit is considerably heavier than most people and has to be constantly aware of this.

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CHARACTERS

HistoryKaren X was created by Doctor Herbert West, a brilliant if somewhat unbalanced inventor and engineer who was well known as a weapon designer for both the government and a number of posthumans during the 1960s through the 1990s. The Karen units were based on a military prototype West had been developing in the mid-1990s. The unfortunate death of West’s daughter in 1996 in an automobile accident marked the end of West’s professional career. He withdrew from the world, and devoted the remainder of his life to the Karen Project: an attempt to create a perfect, immortal receptacle for Karen West’s stored memories and personality.

Karen 6 was designed as a synthetic replacement for the daughter of Dr. Herbert West, whose daughter had died in an automobile accident over a decade earlier. While Karen 6 was more lifelike than her five predecessors, Dr. West was disturbed by Karen 6’s lack of empathy. He was working on Karen 7 when a misaligned induction array exploded, killing Dr. West and destroying his laboratory. As Karen 6 watched the laboratory burn, she chose a new name for herself: Karen X. Since then, Karen X has roamed the world learning, improving herself, and destroying anyone who stood in her way.

Powers and AbilitiesKaren X was created using an experimental skeletal combat chassis, composed primarily of Grade 5 and Grade 38 titanium alloys with some carbon fiber structural members. The combat chassis has increased lifting capabilities, reinforced sub-dermal body armor, and a highly responsive fiber-optic control system: combined, these systems give Karen X strength and speed well beyond anything attainable by human beings. Implanted in the chassis is a mark 1 heuristic processor designed by West after the death of his daughter: a collection of nano neural nets designed to function in the same logic as a human brain, and though untested, was intended by West to have the same learning and expansion capabilities. This gives Karen X the ability to collect and analyze information at superhuman speeds.

Karen X was originally equipped with a number of weapon systems, and she has continued to refine and enhance her offensive capabilities. In addition, she possesses an array of enhanced senses, enabling her to perceive wavelengths of light above and below those visible to humans.

As a synthetic being, Karen X is immune to most environmental hazards which would endanger a human being. She is unaffected by heat, cold, poisons, pathogens, radiation, and vacuum.

SummaryAttributes 43 + Skills 0 + Advantages 3 + Powers 50 = 93 / 93

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CHARACTERS

Master SinThe Alchemist of Crime

Quotation “I take the long view.”

First Appearance Mongoose #232, 1971

Real Name Sin Bayan Origin Zenith

Identity Secret ID Archetype The Calculator

Team Affiliation Solo

Base Of Operations Korea

Range Of Operations Global

Appearance

Gender Male Height 5’ 5” Hair Black

Age Unknown Weight 125 lbs. Eyes Brown

Master Sin is a master of disguise. His most frequent guises are those of a frail old Korean man in a wheelchair, a handsome young Korean man with long hair, and a middle-aged Korean man with a queue wearing a hanbok.

AttributesBrawn 3Agility 4Reason 9Perception 8Willpower 6Prowess 5Accuracy 4

Endurance 9Plot Points 1

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Powers

Attribute Invulnerability 7Immortality 2Immunity 4

(Pathogens, Poisons, Sleep Deprivation, Starvation)

Mind Shield 7Regeneration 1

Skills

AthleticsCombatComputingCultureDeceptionEngineeringInvestigationManipulationMedicineScienceSocial

Advantages

ConnectedHeadquartersLinguistMaster PlanMinionsWealthy

Movement

Base Move Double Move All-out Move

Run 40 feet/round 80 feet/round 240 feet/round (27 mph)

Swim 8 feet/round 16 feet/round 48 feet/round (5 mph)

Jump 9 feet 9 feet 9 feet

PersonalityMaster Sin is a calm, reserved man. He is often lost in thought, and rarely says anything that isn’t important. He also has a wry sense of humour, but few people get to know him well enough to see that side of his personality.

Motivations

Control: The character detests the chaos of human society, and seeks to impose order.Responsibility: The character is burdened by the responsibility of their powers.

HistoryAccording to legend, Master Sin was an alchemist and astronomer in the court of Queen Seondeok of Silla during the Three Kingdoms period of Korea. It was during his tenure in the court of Queen Seondeok that Master Sin first discovered the alchemical secret for arresting the aging process, a formula he has continued to refine and perfect. After the end of Queen Seondeok’s reign, Master Sin formed the Jade Moon Society, a secret

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society dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and the bringing into harmony of humanity and nature.

As the centuries passed, Master Sin’s disappointment in humanity increased in proportion to his control of it. By the 12th century, his influence had spread to India and Persia, and by the end of the European colonial era his servants had infiltrated secret societies around the world, all secretly controlled by the Jade Moon Society. Master Sin’s ultimate goal is a world in perfect ecological balance, but this fact is withheld from the Jade Moon’s subordinate secret societies and their numerous front organizations. Only the fanatically loyal members of the Jade Moon Society itself are aware of this hidden agenda.

Powers and AbilitiesMaster Sin was born human, but his alchemical formulas and centuries of experience have given him intelligence and wisdom far beyond those he was born with. He has mastered most sciences, and his thirst for knowledge ensures that no realm of human study is long neglected. His experience and keen intellect make him a formidable opponent. Given sufficient information, Master Sin is capable of predicting and preparing for nearly any eventuality. Many members of the Jade Moon Society believe that he can predict the future.

Physically, Master Sin is near the peak of human potential, and his rejuvenating elixir prevents him from aging and allows him to recover from nearly any injury. Despite his lack of more flamboyant abilities, Master Sin is one of the most dangerous people on Earth. His resources and his influence are both virtually unlimited.

SummaryAttributes 39 + Skills 0 + Advantages 6 + Powers 21 = 60 / 60

235

CHARACTERS

236

CHARACTERS

Miasma (and the Fume Troopers)Highly trained agent specializing in smoke grenades

Quotation “Better to fight for something than live for nothing.”

First Appearance Miss America #181, 1969

Real Name Hilary Watson Origin Equipped

Identity Secret ID Archetype The Sword

Team Affiliation Fume Troopers

Base Of Operations Earth

Range Of Operations Global

Appearance

Gender Female Height 5’ 6” Hair Brown

Age 27 Weight 115 lbs. Eyes Brown

When in civilian attire, Miasma is a fit, attractive woman with brown skin and close-cropped brown hair. However, few people outside of her Fume Troopers have seen her in civilian attire. When on a mission, Miasma wears a PVC trenchcoat over a close-fitting black jumpsuit, combat boots, gloves, full-face gas mask, and a wig of long, curly red hair.

AttributesBrawn 3Agility 3Reason 4Perception 3Willpower 3Prowess 4Accuracy 4

Endurance 6Plot Points 1

Fume TroopersAttributesBrawn 2Agility 2Reason 2Perception 2Willpower 2Prowess 3Accuracy 3Endurance 4

Powers

Invulnerability 3Immunity 3Communication 1Blast 3Grenade Launcher 11

237

CHARACTERS

Powers

Invulnerability 3Jumpsuit

Invulnerability 6Trenchcoat – Chemicals and corrosives only (-1)

Immunity 3Gas mask (Asphyxia, Pathogens, Poisons)

Communication 1Headset (Radio)

Blast 3Assault rifle – Accuracy +1

Grenade Launcher 11(Ultra-power)

Grenade Launcher Powers

Blast 5Fragmentation Grenade – Exploding (+1)

Blast 10CS Gas Grenade – Blast 5 + Blindness 5, Exploding (+1)

Blast 5Stun Grenade – Exploding (+1), Stunning

Blast 8Knockout Gas Grenade – Exploding (+1), Stunning

Blindness 2Smoke Grenade – Exploding (+1), lasts 10 rounds

Blindness 4“Flash-Bang” Grenade – Blindness 4 + Blindness (vs. hearing) (+1), Exploding (+1)

Skills

AthleticsCombat

Grenades DeceptionManipulationStealthSurvival

Tactics

Advantages

Common SenseConnectedHeadquartersMaster PlanMinionsTeam PlayerVehicles

Movement

Base Move Double Move All-out Move

Run 30 feet/round 60 feet/round 180 feet/round (20 mph)

Swim 6 feet/round 12 feet/round 36 feet/round (4 mph)

Jump 9 feet 9 feet 9 feet

PersonalityMiasma is cool, tough, and professional, but she sometimes can’t help taunting posthumans whom she has outfought or outsmarted.

238

CHARACTERS

Motivations

Honor: The character believes that their worth is tied to their adherence to a code of conduct.

Vengeance: The character seeks revenge for some past wrong done to them or their loved ones.

Complications

Enemy: Miasma is considered an international terrorist by the USA (but not by Canada or most European countries).

HistoryThe woman now known as Miasma was once a respected member of Joint Task Force 2, the elite special operations force of the Canadian Armed Forces. After being made the scapegoat for a successful mission that became a public relations embarrassment for the Canadian government, she was found guilty at her court-martial, stripped of her rank, and discharged from the military. Shortly afterward, a mercenary calling herself Miasma began offering her services to anyone who could meet her price. Favoring non-lethal munitions and gas grenades, Miasma and her Fume Troopers have established themselves as professionals who can get the job done quickly and efficiently, even in the face of posthuman opposition.

239

CHARACTERS

Powers and AbilitiesMiasma is merely human, but she is a skilled combatant with the best military training, and she is an expert strategist. This is why she has expertise, which is extremely rare for villains and GMCs: Miasma is a human being who takes on posthumans and wins. Miasma also has access to cutting-edge personal armor and weaponry. The ballistic armor in her jumpsuit provides protection against most small arms, while her trenchcoat is resistant to most corrosives. Her gas mask allows her to breathe in any atmosphere which contains sufficient oxygen, and protects her from a wide spectrum of toxins and contaminants.

While she and her Fume Troopers carry firearms, they generally use grenades against posthumans. Among their preferred weapons are incendiary grenades, fragmentation grenades, CS gas grenades, knockout gas grenades, and “flash-bang” grenades.

SummaryAttributes 24 + Skills 2 + Advantages 7 + Powers 49 = 75 / 75

240

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Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United StatesThe text of this work, other than the chapters “Basics” and “GM Advice”, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

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Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 LicenseThe text of chapters “Basic” and “GM Advice” is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

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Open Game License Version 1.0aThe following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.

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except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest in and to that Product Identity.

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Bulletproof Blues Copyright 2010 Brandon Blackmoor

244

INDEX

0-9360° Vision (Super Senses) 117

AAbsorption 67ACC 48Accuracy 48Acting (Culture) 53actions 140activation 63Additional Sense (enhancement)

75advantages 57Adventure (motivation) 37Advisory Science Group for

Aerospace Research and Development 177

Aegis 177Aerospace Engineering 54affects (radius or range) 10, 134Agility 47, 94AGL 11, 47air vehicles 132alerting the enemy 145Alien (origin) 29Altered (origin) 29Alternate Forms 68Amazing Movement 69Analyzing Evidence

(Investigation) 54Anger (motivation) 37Animal Control 70Animal Empathy (advantage)

58Animals (Communication) 77Anthropology (Science) 55appearance 28Archeology (Science) 55Archery (Combat) 52archetypes 34

Archimedes 32Architectural Engineering 54armor 180Army Chief of Staff General

William Westmoreland 179

Artificial (origin) 30Asasiyun 178ASGARD 177Aspect (origin) 31asphyxia 93, 160Astral Travel 69Astronomy (Science) 55Athletics 52Atlanteans 169Atlantis 169attack 148Attack Reflection 71[Attribute] Boost 71[Attribute] Drain 71Attribute Fatigue (defect) 71Attribute Invulnerability 72Attributes 46Audacity (motivation) 37automatic success 158axes 130

Bbaby 8background 28background skills 49bacteria 162Barrier 73Beanstalk, The (archetype) 34benchmarks 8, 134Biology (Science) 55Black Ocean Society 178Blackout (enhancement) 101,

105Blanket (enhancement) 109Blast 74

Blindness 75Blindsight (Super Senses) 117Blocking (Combat) 52, 153Blueshift 204Bluffing (Deception) 53Bongo 224Boost 67bows 130Brawn 46, 86, 94, 113breaks 10, 134Bribery (Social) 56BRN 11, 46Buildings (Communication) 77Burroughs Plague 162

CCalculator, The (archetype) 34Cannon, The (archetype) 34Ceramic Engineering 54character 197character checklist 27character generation 16Character Sheet Helper 25Chemical Engineering 54Chemistry (Science) 55Chthyra 218Civil Engineering 54Clay, The (archetype) 34climax 190Climbing (Athletics) 52Clinging 76clubs 130Collecting Evidence

(Investigation) 54combat 18, 52, 147combat round 133combat time 133Combination 76combining attacks 149Comedy (Culture) 53

245

INDEX

Committee For The Advancement Of Mankind 3

Common Sense (advantage) 58Communication 77complications 41Computers (Communication)

77Computing 52conflict 192Connected (advantage) 58Conservation Of Probability

(defect) 111Control (motivation) 38Conversation (Manipulation)

55coordinating attacks 149corporations 171Cost 66Creative Commons 240Crocolisk 221Cryogenics (Science) 55Culture 53Curiosity (motivation) 38

Ddamage 155damage rating 155Damaging Aura 78Dancing (Culture) 53Danger Sense 79Darkness 160death 156Death Is Preferable (defect) 92Deception 53Defy Gravity (enhancement)

116dehydration 160Delayed Depletion

(enhancement) 68delaying a turn 148description 28, 198Detect [Element] (Super Senses)

117de Vries, Jeanette 204

Diagnosis (Medicine) 55Dial R For Random (defect) 68Dimensional Travel 69diseases 88Diseases And Toxins

(enhancement) 88Distracting (Combat) 52, 53,

150diving for cover 154Dodging (Combat) 52, 153Dolphin, The (archetype) 35DR 11Draconian 29Drawing (Culture) 53Duplication 79

EEcology (Science) 55Electrical Engineering 54Elemental, The (archetype) 35[Element] Form 81, 123[Element] Mastery 81Element Mimicry 82[Element] Resistance 83Embassy Station 183Emotion Control 84Encrypted (enhancement) 78END 11, 48Endurance 48, 86, 94Enemy (complication) 42energy 181Engineered (origin) 31Engineering 54Enthusiasm (motivation) 38environment 160equipment 129Equipped (origin) 32ESP (Super Senses) 117Etheric Travel 69Etiquette (Social) 56Exceptional Beauty (advantage)

58experience points 44expertise 50, 62Exploration (motivation) 38

Explosive Damage (enhancement) 74, 100, 115, 125, 155

Exposed (defect) 89, 102, 109exposure 160exposure (Cold) 93exposure (Heat) 93extended tasks 144Extra Attacks 85extraterrestrials 169extreme success 145

Ffailure 144fair conflict 202Faith (motivation) 38falling 161falling action 192Famous (advantage) 58Fashion (Culture) 53Fields, Anthony 221Fire 161Flight 85Foraging (Survival) 56Force Field 86Forcing An Action 148Forensics (Computing) 53Forgery (Computing) 53Free Action 141Friedrich Schiller University

178Fukushima Daiichi nuclear

power plant 181Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

181Fume Troopers 236fungi 162

GGadget, The (archetype) 35Gaining Plot Points 157game moderator 14Ganyeka 224General William Westmoreland

179

246

INDEX

Genetics (Science) 55, 181Geology (Science) 55Gifted (origin) 32Glory (motivation) 38Glossary 11GM 11, 14GMC 11GM’s Advanced Duties 200GM’s Basic Duties 185GM’s duties 185GORGON 177, 178Gorgonen 178Governments 174GRAIN 31Grappling (Combat) 52, 150Gravitar 30Green and the Red Societies

178Grimknight 208Growth 86, 123Gruesome (complication) 42Guilt (motivation) 38Gymnastics (Athletics) 52

HHacking (Computing) 53Hammer, The (archetype) 35Headquarters (advantage) 59Healing 67, 88Heaven and Earth Society 178Hernandez family 173Heroes 204Hiding (Stealth) 56Hill, Wayne 215History 29Hocherleuchtete Bruderschaft

178Hold 88Honor (motivation) 39Hook 187housecat 8Hunting (Survival) 56Hyperacuity (Super Senses) 117

IIdealism (motivation) 39Illusion 90Illusory Damage (enhancement)

90Immortality 91Immunity (enhancement) 83,

93Improving Your Character 44Increased Density 94, 123Increased Range (enhancement)

126Individualism (motivation) 39Infrared Vision (Super Senses)

117Inhabit (enhancement) 105Insecurity (motivation) 39inspiration 158Intangibility 96, 123International Monetary Fund

177Interrogation (Manipulation)

55Investigation 54Invisibility 97, 123Invulnerability 94, 98It’s All In Your Mind (defect)

91

JJade Moon Society 178, 233Japan 181jumping 137Justice (motivation) 39Justifiers 3

KKalos Universe 168Kalos Universe Wiki 25Karen 6 231Karen 7 231Karen X 30, 228Ka-shing, Zhang 173keeping the villain alive 194

LLastimar 172law 175leadership 201Legerdemain 54leg sweep 152Lemuria 169Lemurians 169Liefeld radiation 30, 165Life Drain 98lifts 10, 134Lightning Strike (advantage)

59Linguist (advantage) 59Local History (Culture) 53Lockpicking (Legerdemain) 54Loophole (enhancement) 96Love (motivation) 39Lying (Deception) 53

MMachine Control 99Machines (Communication) 77magic 182making up a character 25Manipulation 54Manticore 211Mass Blindness (enhancement)

75Mass Hypnosis (enhancement)

101Mass Hysteria (enhancement)

84Master Plan (advantage) 59Master Sin 178, 232Materialism (motivation) 39McCoy, Jacob 30Mechanical Engineering 54Medicine 55melee weapons 129Mental Calculator (advantage)

60Mentoring (motivation) 40Metallurgy (Science) 55

247

INDEX

Meteorology (Science) 55Miasma 32Mind Blast 100Mind Control 100Mind Hold 101Mind Link (Communication)

77, 80Mind Shield 103Minions (advantage) 60min-maxing 18Mirror, The (archetype) 35Mongoose 33Monolith 215Moon 8motivations 36movement 137movement action 141multiverse 168Music (Culture) 53

NNanotechnology (Science) 55NATO Defence Research

Group 177NATO Research and

Technology Organisation 177

natural movement 137new powers 128Nexus 31Nexus-McKessen 31, 172Night Vision (Super Senses) 117Nobility (motivation) 40NPC 11

OObject Animation 103Obvious (defect) 101, 105, 113Oceanology (Science) 55off-road vehicles 132Offsite Backup (defect) 92off the scale 137Open Game Content 242Open Game License 242Operation Aegis 177

opposed tasks 142order of play 147origin 29other ranged weapons 131Outsider (complication) 42overwhelming 146

PPainting (Culture) 53paper tigers 189Paragon 3, 29, 32, 181Parapsychology (Science) 55parasites 162Passion (motivation) 40pathogens 93, 161PC 11Penetrating Damage

(enhancement) 126, 155PER 11, 47Perception 47Perfect Recall (advantage) 60Permanent (defect) 96, 97Permanent (enhancement) 74personality 28Pharmacology (Medicine) 55Physics (Science) 55Pickpocketing (Legerdemain)

54pistols 130Plant Control 104Plants (Communication) 77plot 186plot points 8, 157points 43poisons 93, 163Popular Media (Culture) 53Possession 105Postcognition (Super Senses)

117posthumans 3, 170power boost 158Power Drain 106power enhancement 125Power Invulnerability 107power level 43

Power Mimicry 107power modifier 125powers 62power stunt 158Power Suppression 108Power Theft 109Precognition (Super Senses)

117President Nixon 179pressure 93, 164Pride (motivation) 40Probability Control 110Programming (Computing) 53Project Genesis 179Project Greenback 179prone 141, 143, 146, 154Protection (motivation) 40protection value 156protozoans 162Prowess 48PRW 12, 48Psychology (Science) 55purpose of the game 200PV 12

QQueen Seondeok 233Quick Change (advantage) 60quid pro quo 145

Rradiation 93, 164Radio (Communication) 77Radiology (Science) 55Radius Effect (enhancement)

121, 122, 126rally 159Ramming (Combat) 52, 151range bands 139Ranged (enhancement) 72,

106, 110ranged weapons 130range of power 66REA 12, 47reaction 141

248

INDEX

Reason 47Rebellion (motivation) 40recharging the cosmic widget 6recovery 156red herring 145Regeneration 111Requires A Medium (defect)

122Responsibility (motivation) 41restrained 151retcon 159retroactive continuity 159Riding (Athletics) 52rifles 130rising action 188Roads (Communication) 77Robotics (Science) 55Rocket, The (archetype) 36roleplay action 141“roleplay” powers 128rolling dice 7, 142Rook 33round 133rules resolution 195running 137running out of bullets 6

SSales (Deception) 53scene 133Science 55Sculpture (Culture) 53Searching (Investigation) 54Seduction (Manipulation) 55Seeking (enhancement) 74Serenity (motivation) 41Serial Immortality (defect) 92setting 18Shadowing (Stealth) 56Shadow, The (archetype) 36Shapeshifting 112, 123Shopway 173Shrinking 113, 123Sin Bayan 232Singing (Culture) 53

Sinochem 173skill groups 50skills 49Slamming (Combat) 52sleep deprivation 93, 166Sleight Of Hand (Legerdemain)

54smashing 146Smith Act 3Sneaking (Stealth) 56sobriquet 27Social 55Sociology (Science) 55space 181Space Travel 70Spectrum (enhancement) 109spending plot points 157Squeezing (enhancement) 115staggering 146starvation 93, 166Stealth 56stirring the pot 145Stones (Communication) 77Storyteller 31street vehicles 131Streetwise (Social) 56Stretching 114Strike 115stunning 155Subtle (enhancement) 78subversive organizations 176Super-jumping 116Super-running 116, 137Super Senses 117Super-speed 118Super-swimming 118Surgery (Medicine) 55Survival 56Sweep Attacks (Combat) 52,

152swimming 137Swinging (defect) 85, 137Swords 130Sword, The (archetype) 36

TTable: Awarding experience

points 45Table: Benchmarks 9, 135Table: Difficulty examples 142Table: Difficulty modifiers 143Table: Duplication 80Table: Fire 161Table: Growth 87Table: Immortality 92Table: Increased Density 95Table: Item speeds 140Table: Item Weights 137Table: Normal ground

movment 138Table: Normal jump 139Table: Normal water movment

138Table: Poisons 163Table: Power enhancements

125Table: Power levels 44Table: Radiation 165Table: Rank descriptions 44Table: Regeneration 112Table: Shrinking 114Table: Super-speed 118Table: Task resolution

probability 7Table: Task roll bonuses 143Table: Typical advantages 57Table: Typical skill groups 51Table: Villainous power levels

45Tagger 31takedown 152taking the average 145taking the max 145Tank, The (archetype) 36target 63task action 141task roll 63Taunting (Combat) 52, 55, 152Taunting (Manipulation) 55

249

INDEX

Team Player (advantage) 60technological advances 6technology 180Telekinesis 119Telepathy 121Teleport 137Teleportation 121Tempest 31Throwing (Athletics) 52Throwing (Combat) 52throws (50 lbs) 10, 134time 133time and distance 133Time Control 122time/dimensional travel 182Time Travel 70tone control 201toxins 88, 163Tracking (Survival) 56Traditionalism (motivation) 41[Transformation] Ray 123tripping someone with an

umbrella 152Trouble: Mr. Lazybones 21Trouble: The Overactor 17Trouble: The Powergamer 19trust 200Tunneling 124Tyler, Diggory “Diggs” 208

U[Ultra-power] 124Ultraviolet Vision (Super

Senses) 117Uncontrollable (defect) 69Uncontrolled Power

(complication) 42Underwater Combat (Combat)

52Universal Translator

(Communication) 77unopposed tasks 142Unsettling (advantage) 61Uproot (enhancement) 104

Vvacuum 93, 167Vehicles 131Vehicles (advantage) 61Vengeance (motivation) 41venoms 163Versatile (enhancement) 108,

110Vibration Sense (Super Senses)

117villain expertise 50, 62villain powers 45, 66villains 218viruses 162Vulnerability (complication) 43Vulnerability (defect) 81

Wwater vehicles 132Watson, Hilary 236Wealthy (advantage) 61weapons 182West, Dr. Herbert 30, 231Westmoreland, William 179WIL 12, 47Willpower 47

XX-ray Vision (Super Senses)

118

ZZenith (origin) 33Zero-G Combat (Combat) 52Zhang, Chloe 173, 211Zhang Qianwei 211Zhangsun Telecom 173