Ratings and Masteries

[RaconteurX]

Do you have notes you can send me on that? I'm ordering the HQ main book and am interested in any notes to convert it over to a superhuman setting.

I do not have access to my notes, alas, as they are on a computer which is still in storage. I rated superhuman abilities like Super-strong separate from mundane abilities like Strong and, like magic in Glorantha, set their default resistance at 14. I did not see an advantage to factoring multiple Masteries into beginning characters when a simpler alternative was right there in front of me.

I never had the opportunity to test it extensively in play, but it seemed to work out well enough on paper (it was part of an email-based discussion among online acquaintances). One key element essential to this model is the determination of inherently difficult superhuman acts. For example, a hero who wishes to completely disintegrate a person or object would face a hefty resistance (D+70 or 80 at the least) because total matter-energy conversion requires immense power in Aberrant, even for novas.

Once you set those benchmarks, HeroQuest should work for almost any superhero setting without the need for ability rating escalation.

[Mike Holmes]

I rated superhuman abilities like Super-strong separate from mundane abilities like Strong and, like magic in Glorantha, set their default resistance at 14.

I like that, because I like the idea that Super strength works sorta magically. That is, in the comics super abilities don't work in a way that you can rationalize easily or even at all with RW physics. At some point the DC guys broke down and said that Superman's strength was telekinetic given that he could fly with his lifting un use, anyhow (and all the other nonsense about why buildings don't break apart, etc). It was just "zero range" telekinesis.

Took them 50 years to come up with that.

The point is that most of the time super abilities don't make sense, and I like how making them work like magic would make that true in the game.

Mike