Superpowers (Gameplay)

Powers
When playing a metahuman, one must first determine what sort of powers they want. Do you want to fly? Run faster than a speeding bullet? Do you want to read minds, control fire, turn into animals or control shadow itself? You can do that.

This game allows you to create any character you want, using a point-buy system. At character creation, you receive a certain number of points with which you are able to purchase powers and upgrades (known as mutations). These points are separate from Merit points and are not dependent or modified by ability scores. Each power costs a certain number of points depending on potency. Most cost 5 points, though some cost as low as 2 and others as much as 10. Mutations always cost 2 points to buy.

At Advancement Level 1 (character creation), you start with 12 points to purchase powers and mutations. There are certain advantages to having power versus two and vice versa. With one power, you have a lot more points to purchase mutations and customize the ability. With two powers, you have two potentially useful abilities for different scenarios. It's power versus versatility. There is no right answer for every player; decide what kind of character you want and work with your GM to figure out what's best for you.

Every Advancement after Level 1, you gain 1 mutation point. This usually adds up to new mutations being made available every other advancement level. You do not have to spend all or even any of your mutation points. Any you don't spend can be saved, but note that once you finish advancing your character, points cannot be spend until you advance again. You cannot have more ranks in a power than you have advancement levels.

Every power gives you a small suite of default abilities, usually useful but relatively weak. All users of this power have access to these default abilities. Additional upgrades to the power are purches with mutation points. You only have access to mutations equal to your rank in that power or less. So, a character with 5 ranks in Pyrokinesis can purchase any mutation from the Rank 5 category, as well as the Rank 3 and Rank 1 categories, but not the Rank 7 and Rank 9. All powers start at Rank 1 when purchased. Every advancement level, you must select one of your powers to raise by 1 rank.

Ranks and Power Points
Most powers cannot be used indefinitely. Eventually, even the strongest heroes tire out and need to rest. This is reflected in "Power Points". Using default abilities is usually free, but using advanced techniques you purchased wth mutation points costs a fee. The more powerful the mutation, the more focus and effort is required to use it, thus the higher the cost to use that ability. It's run down as follows:
 * Rank 1: A Rank 1 ability costs 1 PP to use.
 * Rank 3: A Rank 3 ability costs 2 PP to use.
 * Rank 5: A Rank 5 ability costs 3 PP to use.
 * Rank 7: A Rank 7 ability costs 4 PP to use.
 * Rank 9: A Rank 9 ability costs 5 PP to use.

Power Bonuses and DCs
To use a power, you have to know the Power Bonus modifier and the Power Save DC. To calculate both numbers, you first must determine your '''Primary Ability Score. '''Every power is associated with one (sometimes more) ability scores. You can have only one primary ability score, so if your power offers two, you must choose one of the two available options. You cannot change this choice later.
 * The Power Bonus modifier indicates your overall skill and power with the ability.
 * The Power Save DC indicates how likely you are to resist a power.
 * Power Bonus = [Ability Score Modifier + Ranks in the Power]
 * Power Save DC = [8 + Ability Score Modifier + Ranks in the Power]

Example: Morty is going to select Teleportation as his power. Teleportation has a choice of two primary ability scores that govern it: Dexterity and Wisdom. Morty is built as a faster, more agile character so he goes with Dexterity. He cannot change that choice later, even if his Wisdom score becomes higher than his Dexterity.

Morty's Dexterity is 17, with a modifier of +3. He wants to determine his Power Bonus, so he adds his ability score (his +3 to Dexterity, in this case) and his Ranks in Teleportation (1 right now), giving him a total power bonus of +4. For his Power Save DC, he adds 8 + his ability score (+3) plus his ranks in Teleportation ( +1), for a total of 12. So, anybody wanting to avoid Morty's teleporting antics must roll a 12 or higher on their saving throws.

If he were to get an advancement and raise his Teleportation to rank 2, his Power Bonys would be +5 and his Power Save DC would be 13.

List of Super Powers
The following is a list of all known superhuman powers at the beginning of the Paragons campaign:


 * Absorption, Elemental (5): The ability to absorb various forms of elemental energy, such as fire, electricity and sonic energy and redirect it in some way.
 * Absorption, Energy (5): The ability to absorb radioactive energy, kinetic energy and other forms of physical energy and redirect it in some way.
 * Acid Generation (5): The power to secret highly corrosive acid from one's pours or through saliva. Can sometimes be hardened into a sort of mucus membrane and used as a whip or leash.
 * Adaptation (10): The ability to physically adapt to any environment.
 * Adoptive Muscle Memory (5): The ability to perfectly copy a skill simply by observing it.
 * Aerokinesis (5): The ability to mentally control winds and air.
 * Alternate Form (10): The ability to physically change form, usually into a stronger and more brutal one, that is usually inhuman in appearance.
 * Animal Communication (5): The ability to speak with animals.
 * Animal Mimicry (5): The ability to magically copy traits from various totem animals.
 * Animal Physiology (5): Possessing the physiology of an anthropomorphic animal.
 * Animation (5): The ability to animate and control inanimate and inorganic matter.
 * Armor Growth (5): The ability transform one's skin into incredibly durable and thick armor (which can appear to be bone, a chitonous rock, organic metal and the like).
 * Artistic Animation (5): The ability to grant sentience to anything you personally draw.
 * Biokinesis (5): The ability to control the bodily systems of others and yourself, healing wounds, curing disease and even taking away blindness or deafness. Of course, the inverse is also true.
 * Bone Manipulation (5): The ability to cause exponential bone growth, using your own bones as weapons and even makeshift armor.
 * Breath (5): Possessing some kind of paranormal breath ability, such as acid, cold, fire, hurricane, shock, smoke or toxic breath.
 * Centrifugal Force Manipulation (5): The ability to spin really, really fast and exert a small amount of control over the centrifugal forces around you.
 * Chaos Manipulation (10): A strange ability that is not always the same between two people. Often deals with theoreticals and potentially dimensional travel. Very close to withcraft.
 * Chronokinesis (10): The power to exert a small amount of control over your personal timeline.
 * Clairvoyance  (5): The ability to throw one's senses somewhere their body isn't and sometimes even through the eyes of another.
 * Concussive Blast (2): The ability to generate an intense blast of hard light.
 * Contagion (5): The ability to generate diseases and bacteria.
 * Cryokinesis (5): The ability to generate and control ice/snow/frigid temperatures.
 * Density Control (5): The ability to manipulate your personal density, becoming incredibly light or an immovable wall.
 * Dream Manipulation (5): The ability to alter and control the dreams of others.
 * Duplication (5): The ability to create a copy of yourself, though this copy has a different personality.
 * Elasticity (5): The ability to stretch your body beyond any natural length or form.
 * Elemental Mimicry (5): The ability to take on the form of anything you touch, such as stone or steel.
 * Electrokinesis (5): The ability to generate electrical pulses capable of shutting down electrical devices within a certain radius.  Terrakinesis.gif
 * Empathic Manipulation (5): The ability to alter the emotional state of others.
 * Enhances Senses (2): Physical senses well beyond the range exhibited by normal humans.
 * Explosive Touch (5): The ability to kinetically charge an object by touch to the point of exploding on impact.
 * Fear Inducement (5): The ability to manipulate and weaponize the fears of others.


 * Flight (5): The ability to affect one's personal field of gravity and propel through the air by force of will.
 * Florakinesis (5): The ability to control and speak to plant life.
 * Force Fields (5): The ability to psionically generate a protective shield.
 * Friction Manipulation (5): The ability to increase or decrease the amount of friction in your general area.
 * Gaseous Form (5): The ability to turn into some kind of gas.
 * Granulation (5): The ability to turn into a sand-like, silicon based form.
 * Gravity Manipulation (5):  The ability to affect gravitons, increasing or decreasing it to achieve a variety of effects.
 * Growth (5): The ability to greatly increase your size.
 * Hair Manipulation (2): The ability to grow your hair at will and animate it.
 * Hydrokinesis (5): The ability to control water with your mind.


 * Hyper Adrenal (5): Utilize fight or flight response at will to gain heightened physical attributes at the expense of another.


 * Hyper Intelligence (5): Increased cognitive function, bestowing superhuman intellect on the user.
 * Hypnotic Voice (5): The ability to hypnotize others, increasing their suggestibility, simply by talking.
 * Illusions (5): The ability to trick the minds of others' into experiencing sensations that aren't really there. Also called Hallucination Inducement.
 * Immortality (12): Various abilities that allow the user to stay alive indefinitely, such as Reincarnation, Resurrection, etc.
 * Invisibility (5): The ability to bend light and become invisible to the human eye.
 * Kinetic Charge (5): The ability to trigger a bio-chemical reaction and launch yourself like a cannonball.
 * Leaping (5): The ability to jump around far past what humans should be able to do.
 * Leech (12): The ability to absorb and copy the powers of others. Usually has severe limitations.


 * Magnetism (10): The ability to manipulate the magnetic field of an object, thereby allowing the user to control any metallic objects nearby.
 * Mind Control (5): The ability to exert your will onto the mind of another, forcing them to obey your will.
 * Negate Powers (12): The ability to suppress the metagene of others.
 * Omnilinguism (2): The ability to speak and understand any spoken or written language or code.
 * Ooze (5): The ability to assume a clay-like form or a puddle-like liquid form.
 * Phasing (5): The ability to walk through solid matter.


 * Pheromone Control (5): Can manipulate pheromones to control other people's minds or to induce an emotion.
 * Photokinesis (5): The ability to generate and manipulate light particles.
 * Portals (5): The ability to generate tears in reality/miniature black holes to allow a doorway between two distant locations.
 * Possession (5): The ability to mentally override the body of another person, though your original body remains unconscious.
 * Power Transferral (12): The ability to take the power from one person, hold onto it and give it to someone else, sometimes to disastrous consequences.


 * Precognition (5): The ability to see glimpses of the future through various means.
 * Prehensile Tongue/Tail (2): The ability to use one's tongue or tail (or similar appendage, like a tentacle if you have one) like another hand.
 * Psionic Constructs (5): The ability to generate weapons and other objects out of psionic energy.
 * Psychometry (2): The ability to view the history of an object or even an area  you are touching.


 * Pyrokinesis (5): Produce binary chemicals which react at different points of excretion on the body to produce a violent thermal reaction capable of starting intense conflagrations.
 * Radiation Control (5): The ability to control various forms of radioactive energy.
 * Regeneration (10): The ability to near-instantaneously heal from injuries and even regrow lost limbs/bodily organs.
 * Shadow Manipulation (5): The ability to extinguish photons and control shaodws.
 * Shapeshifting, Animals (5): The ability to change shape into an animal you have observed firsthand.
 * Shapeshifting, Human (5): The ability to change your shape into another human you have observed firsthand.
 * Shrinking (5): The ability reduce your size (down to half an inch!) though you retain your mass, making you into a sort of human bullet.
 * Sonic Control (5): The ability to control and produce intense sound waves. In some cases, this power allows limited flight capability.
 * Suffocation (2): The ability to create a vacuum in a limited area.
 * Superhuman Agility (5): Possessing agility and hand-eye coordination far beyond that of any human being, allowing the user to perform near-impossible physical tasks of athleticism.
 * Superhuman Durability (5): Possessing durability and resistance to physical harm surpassing that of any other person, to the point of being bullet-proof and near impossible to harm.
 * Superhuman Movement (5): The ability to get around in a non-traditional way, such as  burrowing, swimming, crawling on walls or swinging via webs or other threads.


 * Superhuman Speed (5): The ability to run faster than other Paragons, moving faster than the human eye can perceive.
 * Superhuman Strength (5): Possessing strength far surpassing a human being, such as being able to pick up cars, knock down walls, bend steel and other incredible feats.
 * Technopath (5): The ability to mentally communicate with and control technology.
 * Telekinesis (5): The ability to affect your surroundings through force of will.
 * Telepathy (5): The ability to read and effect the thoughts and memories of others.
 * Teleportation (5): The ability to transdimensionally "jump" from one location to another without occupying the space in between.
 * Tephrakinesis (5): The ability to control ash and smoke, as well as taking its form. Also allows you to control ambient heat and generate intense heat from your hands.
 * Terrakinesis (5): The ability to send shockwaves into the earth, enabling the user to control stone, dirt and earth in their immediate vicinity.
 * Transmutation (5): The ability to alter the physical and chemical composition of something, as well as turning an object or creature into something else.
 * Vision (2): The ability to visually perceive the world in paranormal ways, such as X-Ray vision or the ability to view the elctromagnetic spectrum, or to emit peculiar energy from one's eyes, such as heat vision or cold vision.
 * Weather Control (5): The ability directly influence and control the weather through force of will.