Author Topic: Wild Talents RPG: Badass Normals > "Super Heroes"?  (Read 2191 times)

Offline Arturick

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Wild Talents RPG: Badass Normals > "Super Heroes"?
« on: April 21, 2012, 06:22:59 PM »
You ever read comics and wonder why the Flash doesn't just pick up a wrench, run at someone, and let the wrench go flying with kiloton force?  Or just hit someone a million times before they even know he's there?  Wild Talents RPG is apparently designed to make you an equally, arbitrarily limited hero.

So, after numerous shake-ups in my D&D group, one guy has started running a Wild Talents game with 250 point characters.  Now, when it comes to a supers game, I have always loved Telekinesis.  This has made me realize that Wild Talents HATES versatile powers.

So, if I want Telekinesis, I have to essentially buy it as three different powers:  an attack, a defense, and a "useful."  Telekinesis, by default has the "mass" and "range" qualities, meaning it can be used at range and can move mass.  I bought eight dice of the skill with "mass +2", so I can lift tons of matter.  Adding in the "subtle" quality put me up to 11 points per die.  For comparison, insta-killing almost anyone with your bare hands before they have a chance to react would be 4 points per die (Wiggle Dice in Brawling Hyperskill).

First session, I wanted to throw a rock at someone with my Telekinesis.  I could not, because I did not have the "speed" attribute.  I could knock something heavy over on someone, but it would be slow and they'd probably dodge.

I wanted to manipulate a keyboard at range.  Could not, because I did not have the "variable effect" attribute on my "useful" power.  So I could smush the keyboard into pieces, but not type on it.  GM let me do a work around and take "variable effect" for an additional 4 points per die, along with a weakness that partially cut the cost, at the expense of my willpower.

I wanted to grab someone and use them as cover against a ranged attack.  Nope.  Don't have "variable effect" on my "attack" power.

I'm not entirely sure how I'm actually able to hurt people with this power, since I can't accelerate them, halt their movement, lift them, or really do anything else but "damage" them, which I do fairly poorly.

With my attack, I roll my 8 d10s, and get a success based on how many of the same number I roll.  The hit location depends on what number I matched.  I've found that I can do enough damage to drop a "super" in two head shots, but that only happens if I roll multiple 10s.  I can "called shot," but then I only roll 6 dice and it only hits if at least one of them is a 10.

Most of the world can insta-kill me.  I technically have a defense power built into my Telekinesis, but I don't have "duration," so I can only attack OR defend in a given round.

My only saving grace is that, with the "subtle" ability, it's really hard to tell that these things are coming from me.  Heavy lifting, assassination, and annoying people are my real talents.

Now, if I had gone for a Badass Normal, I could have had 8 hard dice in Hyperskill Ranged (Throwing Random Crap) for 2 points per die, and be able to kill Godzilla by whipping a doorknob at his head.  Per a quirk of the rules, an attack consisting of hard dice (always 10) can only be a headshot.  I would be physically incapable of throwing the doorknob at Godzilla's tail.

If I wanted to be a Super with Harm (Fire doorknobs out of fingertips) + Range, that would be 3 points for a regular die, and 6 points for the auto-headshot dice.  Wiggle dice (any number you want) would be 12 points, versus 4 for the find your own doorknob approach.

Ultimately, it seems like Badass Normals are better than Supers in everything but flying and lifting things.