I'm planning on running a one shot this coming Saturday and will be using pre-gen characters from an established canon.

I've got a few ideas about how to handle character weaknesses and limitations, and thought I'd lay them out here to see if I could get any other ideas that could work.

I'm going to have a certain couple of well known Kryptonians available for play, and Kryptonite is sure to follow.  I'm thinking of having Kryptonite be a character with an exemplar relationship, such as "Goal:  Kryptonian escapes fatal influence of Kryptonite and is no longer incapacitated."

That's begging the question, clearly, but does serve to make the introduction of Kryptonite something that can't be easily dismissed.

I've also given one character a style, "Uses Powers One At A Time".  How effective is it to list a character limitation as one of their abilities?

Character Limitations as Abilities should work fine as long as you realize it is not REALLY going to limit a player's narration at all.  It should add flavor to the narration as long as the player isn't being a total butthead and simply refusing to acknowledge the limitation.  It'd work fine for me as a player as it would give me some indication of what the character was like.  Plus, narrating around things like that is kind of fun.

I like the idea of Kryptonite as a character and the free blocking Conflict is cool.  There are a few other threads on here about blocking with Conflicts.  You need to realize that just because the Goal blocks the narration of certain things, it can't actually block the player using the character's powers.  They can narrate an *attempt* to use the powers in order to get a roll on the Conflict.  So, keep that in mind.

Yeah, I don't want to block powers, just make sure that the Kryptonite gets respect.

I'd say this is a fine way to handle Kryptonite. 

You don't necessarily need the character since you can declare the preventive goal at any time independantly.  That said, having a special character sheet for it does give it some extra oomph.

phredd wrote: I've also given one character a style, "Uses Powers One At A Time".  How effective is it to list a character limitation as one of their abilities?

TonyLB wrote:
Does that make any sense?

This is tremendously illuminating!  The Superman/Kryptonite and Ultraman/limited power examples are perfect for explaining to primarily Simulationist players why a 'weakness' for a character is a narrative strength. 
In fact, a 'weakness' is worth more to a character in Capes than it would be in hardcore Sim rules system like HERO or Mutants & Masterminds.  In those games, you take a limitation for your character, and get extra points for powers at creatioin.  That's it.  In an in-between system like Truth & Justice, a limitation earns you hero points every time it comes up in play.  But in Capes, your 'weakness' can buy you a die roll practically every time you open your mouth to narrate, if you want it to.  Now that's power!
It gives me the notion to create a character who's abilities are primarily stated as limitations... (the three powered styles are  inspired by a sample character in FATE)

GANGBUSTER  -- a hard-bitten Nick Fury / Max Payne kind of guy.  He's seen the worst on the mean streets, and he's taking his fight to the very top of the underworld.  He knows there's no way a lone man can make a difference in this hard world -- but he's not going to let that stop him from trying!   

Powers:
  Low on ammo
  Improvise a weapon
  Luck counts

Styles:
  Outnumbered (P)
  Outgunned (P)
  Still Standing (P)
  Running out of time...
  "Not while I'm still breathin', your're not."

Attitudes:
  Determined
  Desperate
  Depressed
  Remorseful

Drives: Justice 3 Truth 2 Duty 1 Hope 1 Obsession 2

Might need some fine tuning, but I actually think this guy might be fun to play...

DainXB

That guy would be an absolute blast to play.  In fact, I'm stealing him for my own game...  assuming you don't mind too much.

Wow ... that's beautiful.  That poor, poor, battered, beleaguerd ass-kicker.

OK, here's what I've got for Kryptonite

Free Goal:  Kill all Kryptonians in scene*

Powers:
Paralyzing Green Radiation
Neutralize Kryptonian Powers
Absorbed into Kryptonian Cells
Induce Incredible Pain in Kryptonians

Styles
Catches Victim Unawares
Harmless to Non-Kryptonians
Radiation Blocked By Lead
Implacable

*Balanced by an entry in the comics code to prevent the big guy from getting killed.

What if, instead of writing Kryptonite up as an inanimate object with a Free Goal, you write it up as an Exemplar?

For a Kryptonian villain (or arguably for the current Superboy) it would be a Power Exemplar. For the big S himself, it could be a Duty Exemplar. Then let anyone playing a Kryptonian help writing up the Kryptonite.

[table][tr][td]Powers[/td][td]Styles[/td][td]Attitudes[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Paralyzing Green Radiation[/td][td]Catches Victim Unawares[/td][td]Green[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Neutralize Kryptonian Powers[/td][td]Harmless to Non-Kryptonians....[/td][td]Red[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Absorbed into Kryptonian Cells[/td][td]Radiation Blocked By Lead[/td][td]Gold[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Induce Incredible Pain in Kryptonians....[/td][td]Implacable[/td][td]Blue[/td][/tr]
[/table]

I was wondering when someone would bring up the kryptonite rainbow. :)
dunlaing's idea of kryptonite as an Exemplar is interesting.  I had never thought of a non-person Exemplar before.  I need to think about that one for a while.
For kryptonite, though, I like the structure phredd created, with a Free Goal.  Kryptonite doesn't have motivations, as such.  When it appears, regardless of it's color, it's only Goal is 'Affect all Kryptonians in scene'.  Green K tries to kill them, Red K gives freedom to their baser drives (at least in the Smallville TV-version), etc.  Each kind does it's own thing, in it's own way.
---I just checked out Wikipedia's Kryptonite entry -- my mind is still reeling.  Pink Kryptonite... I never knew...---
My preference is that each color should have it's own set of powers and styles, reflecting it's differences.  Make 'em up as you need 'em just like the real comic book authors do. :) 
Side note: Gold K in particular would be very hard to work in, since it permanently removes a Kryptonian's powers.  When is anything ever 'permanent' in Capes?  (I know, I know; When it's just too cool to change.  But when is a character permanently losing his/her powers 'too cool to change'?)

DainXB wrote: But when is a character permanently losing his/her powers 'too cool to change'?

DainXB wrote:
dunlaing's idea of kryptonite as an Exemplar is interesting.  I had never thought of a non-person Exemplar before.  I need to think about that one for a while.
For kryptonite, though, I like the structure phredd created, with a Free Goal.

DainXB wrote: GANGBUSTER  -- a hard-bitten Nick Fury / Max Payne kind of guy.  He's seen the worst on the mean streets, and he's taking his fight to the very top of the underworld.  He knows there's no way a lone man can make a difference in this hard world -- but he's not going to let that stop him from trying!

Hey, Midnighter is the most dangerous man alive, of course he's going to get beaten up by the kind of half-gods Authority faces all the time! That's to be expected. Now, Swift is out of her league; she doesn't even get a broken nose to prove she matters. A sidekick at best.

... I can't believe you comics geeks succered me into participating in this discussion...

I like this thread so much.

It really got me thinking about Powers, Styles, and Personality not necessarily as a list of ways the character "wins," but as ways a character influences a scene or a conflict with their thematics.

GANGBUSTER  -- a hard-bitten Nick Fury / Max Payne kind of guy.  He's seen the worst on the mean streets, and he's taking his fight to the very top of the underworld.  He knows there's no way a lone man can make a difference in this hard world -- but he's not going to let that stop him from trying!

I'm including a version of this character in the pre-gens for Dreamation's upcoming Capes tournament.  He's fascinating.  Damn I hope somebody plays him.

Tony actually played him in my Capes game at Dreamation this weekend, and he was AWESOME. He's now one of my favorite characters from any game I've been in ever.

DainXB wrote:
Wow.  WOW!  I am incredibly flattered by that.  The author of the game thinks my character idea is cool. 

I hope somebody plays him too.  It would be interesting to see if new players 'get' the limits/flaws-are-actually-dramatic-leverage concept right off the bat.  I would be willing to bet that inexperienced players 'get it' sooner than players with a lot of mainstream RPG experience.

--DainXB