Superman and Batman

[Bob McNamee]

Batman's not exactly what I would call a 'normal' human.  :)

I'd make sure that the SUPER designation was a sub-trait of the trait it applies to, myself. So that a hero isn't Super in all traits without spending additional Coins for each trait.

I think that gimmick would be fine for certain types of comics emulation. For "Four color Supers" it would be just fine.


So, Batman couldn't out physical Superman or Captain Marvel applying Strength to Strength (Super)...but there's nothing that keeps him from applying his Martial Arts, or Utility Belt Gadgets to them in order to defeat them.

It comes down to making sense during the Complication Resolution narration phase... and Challenging (and negotiating away) narrations that don't make sense.

[Valamir]

Catching up on some threads after being out of town for a week.

I think most of the angles have been covered on this one but I'd like to add one more.

The Traits don't have to actually measure physical ability.  Rather they measure story importance.  How often does Batman solve problems by raw physical strength?  How often does Superman solve problems by raw physical strength?  Your answer to that (and it may vary by personal interpretation and which "version" of the hero you're inclined to draw from) will indicate any need to make numerical differences in the Trait level.

My inclination if I were going to run a 4 color supers game (and somewhat to my chagrin I have to admit I haven't yet)...would be to use a rules gimmick similiar to the one Tony proposed, only I'd word it this way.

"Super Heroic Traits will be tiered, with Tier 0 being normal human.  A superhero cannot activate a Trait for dice in a Complication against a foe who has substantially the same Trait at a higher tier"

The Tiers would need to be established as a rough guide, but I envision them as being basically like the tiers of Amber Diceless.


If Superman gets into a fist fight with the most recent winner of the World's Strongest Man competetion...is that that really going to matter?  No, The World's Strongest Man may have Strength x4 (or whatever) but Superman has Tier 3 Super Strength x4 (or whatever).  The World's Strongest Man would get to use 4 dice worth of Strength agains Joe schlub...but against superman, he's no better off than Joe Schlub.

Similarly, Batman might have Tier 1 Super Strength x4, which would enable him to beat the bejeezus out of TWSM, but would be useless against Superman.  But that doesn't mean that Batman couldn't get all kinds of dice from other Traits.

The reverse of this...Batman's "Tier 3 Clever Idea" x3 trait would render Superman's "Tier 1 Clever Idea" trait useless...which would nicely explain the "everone gets stupid when Batman's around" effect so common in old Justice League comics.


Of course this is only necessary for Superhero "gear heads" who get all giddy when contemplating whether the Hulk is stronger than Thor.  Its entirely possible to play a completely enjoyable supers game without (as others have already suggested) needing anything other than the Challenge mechanic to deal with any "incorrect" narrations.


BTW:  Hudson, thanks for the comment.  But we have to include Mike and a goodly number of playtesters who ripped early drafts to shreds in that praise.