Not sure I'm saving a lot of space, but I think it is a lot more accessible from a game mechanic standpoint. The last step in this draft is "sample powers". I would like as many of you as possible to submit a list of exactly 12 "must have" powers for a sample listing showing the powers and how they are constructed. I'll design them, I just need the names.

This is from a standpoint of "what is good to have in the game", "what is a good test of a power design system" and "what you would look for if making up a PC with powers". I'll probably include more than a dozen, but limiting you to a dozen makes you set priorities on what is most important to you.

Edit: Oct 20, 2011
Below is the second iteration of the current revision. It includes some value tweaks to modifiers, allowing a zero or negative modifier total, a change in the default starting modifier, and some streamlining of the "defense" modifier category, plus revision of the sample powers to match.

Edit: Dec 6, 2011
Below is the third iteration. I think the way you improve the level of powers now gives the most intuitive and flexible bang for the buck, but we shall see.

Edit: Jan 6, 2012
After a lot of soul-searching, I've decided the full power design system is too bulky for the main rules and will have to be a separate supplement. The slimmed down and mostly pre-designed powers chapter is below. The original long version is still usable with only a few revisions in terminology and scaling (each +1P on a power is now only a 25% boost), so I am leaving that file accessible for those who want it. For now.



Edit: Jan 18, 2012
I have cleaned up the slimmed-down version, added just a little bit, and thrown in some icons. This version of chapter 6 should be sufficient for most hero design needs in ASE
, and you can design powers from scratch with it rather than just editing the existing samples.

Three days, no replies. Ouch.

Fireball - a direct-damage power is always a good thing to have.
Healing - something to restore those hit points.
Stat Buff - Make you or your buddies stronger/faster/smarter/etc.
Stat Debuff - Make your enemies weaker/slower/dumber/etc.
Flight - Probably the most common movement power.
Infravision - A prototype for various "I can see stuff normal people can't" powers, as well as being common in many genres.
Invisibility - Along with flight, one of the archetypal super powers, and common as a spell or superscience gadget too.
Summon Demon - Or any other creature that can be summoned.
Armor - Or a personal force-field--something to block damage.
Wall of <something> - A barrier that either physically blocks passage, or damages anything that tries to get through.
Telepathy - Mind reading, mental communication, mind control, etc.
Telekinesis - Move stuff at a distance.

I think that's a good baseline.

For some reason I wasn't seeing new posts. I just now saw the new topic. But it's late and I'm going to go to bed instead of thinking about it...

I will try to come up with some powers for you tomorrow, though.

OK, I was trying to think of exactly a dozen, but if you want replies right now I'll try,

I'm naming things and trying to site comic examples to show the construction, hope that's Ok with you.


Super gadgeteering: The ability to make powerful devices no one else at your tech level can duplicate for whatever reason. Iron man's armor, batman's vehicles, super guns, weapons from higher tech levels like lasers, etc.

Super intelligence: Not just for making gadgets, but things like thinking at super speeds, instantly calculating things like a complex trajectory, the ability to instantly absorb and use information just by flipping thru a book, etc. Someone reads a book on electronics and within a few minutes can make a radio from scraps like they did in ww2 trenches, etc.

Ultimate gadget: Green lantern's ring.

Full metamorphopgic ability: The ability to completely reform your body into almost anything living, like "the thing" from the movies. Not so much a superhero thing but I'd love to see "the thing" statted and ruled, especially with the new movie coming.

Mental powers: Like professor X, mind reading, mind control.

Power absorption and use: The ability to absorb and use power from outside sources to power yourself, Like electro with electricity, birdman with solar power, etc.


Density control:Making yourself more or less dense, like the vision in marvel comics. Increasing your density to make yourself harder, tougher, etc, or decreasing it to make yourself intangible, pass thru walls, etc.

Emotional control: Not able to directly control a mind totally, but the ability to generate or control emotions.

Power mimic: The ability to copy other super being's powers, like Amazo or the super adaptoid.

Ninja powers: The ability to do cinematic ninja stuff written as rules. Like batman, basically.

Radical shapeshifting: like mr. fantastic.

Super gunman: The ability to make inhumanly fast and accurate shots, like shooting guns out of hands routinely, flashdrawing and making "impossible" shots like precise richochets, etc.

Thinking about sample powers I would try to make them fairly complex as to demonstrate the system

attack 1 target at range - lightning bolt - include electrical damage
Attack area at range - fireball including fire damage

Defence vs specific element or several specific elements as armour or dodge or both

Defence useable on somebody else

TK

Mind reading of some type

Clairvoyance - possibly pre- or post- cognition as well

Buffing of stats and/or abilities - making stronger and allowing infravision or magical sight. or

Flight or similar

Summoning

creation of objects - temporary / permamanet

a trigger or waiting ability ie magical rune with embedded spell

I am of course coming more from a fantasy viewpoint rather than superhero - other things could becoming insubstantial and therefore being hurt less, teleport and mind control

Here it is, the whole chapter in one file. It is a big lump to deal with, so I'm giving you an early start on the weekend to have at it. As I recommended in the sticky on the first page, you should just print opff the complete modifier list at the end of the file so you have it on hand as you slash & burn your way through the chapter.

Any and all comments appreciated, and if you regularly post to your own blog or FB site or whatever, mention that is an open call "destroy this system" playtest request. The more the merrier.

One quick point for ease of understanding: Most people understand the term "diminishing returns" so you might want to either rename "declining efficiency" as diminishing returns or add diminishing returns after it in parentheses.

I'm not at all into magic/fantasy settings and only a bit into superhero settings since I mostly prefer SF, so I plan on focusing my review on the gadgets section as I tend to use making gadgets rules. I'll likely use the rules to make a variety of gadgets and see if the system can do it.

BTW, how would you rate a phaser from TOS? I mean, what damage level does it take to utterly and instantly disintegrate someone in EABA terms?

In addition to that phasers had a lot of settings, wide beam, cutting mode, heat up a rock to keep warm, stun and set to overload and explode. That is going to one tough gadget to design, I may have a go at it to test the system.

Have to dig out one of my star trek tech manuals to get the specs first, then try to duplicate it.

A phaser is trivial to design. Not cheap, but trivial.

Single power suite
Secondary and tertiary mutability
changeable every action

main effect: damage

The mutability means you can change the damage from lethal to stun, from narrow beam to wide beam, or even toss in the old one disposable charge lethal explosion (phaser on overload).

Buying it at a gadget with enough energy and a small size will cost you a fortune in points (or cash, as a mundane gadget), but the design itself is not a problem.

Hmm, I'm still not clear on how you'd make the disintegration damage under the rules. I mean, 4d+1 damage from a bullet is one thing, dd+1 damage from disintegration would seem to be another.

Or am I just putting too much emphasis on the special effect of disintegration?