Cost of Powers

[Grayson]

I don't want to be contentious but there is something that I have been wondering about. What was the design philosophy behind determining the cost of the various powers in the d6 Powers book (which is really nice by the way)? I mean Water Control is 8 points per rank; whereas, powers such as Time Control and Matter Manipulation are only 7. It just seems a bit odd.

[Jerry D. Grayson]

I don't want to be contentious but there is something that I have been wondering about.
Unless you start the question off with the word Jerk wad or a slur against my mother I promise I won’t consider a question contentious :)


What was the design philosophy behind determining the cost of the various powers in the d6 Powers book (which is really nice by the way)? I mean Water Control is 8 points per rank; whereas, powers such as Time Control and Matter Manipulation are only 7. It just seems a bit odd.
There is a secret formula but involved in formulating the point cost of powers and I’m sure you already know that if you want you can change it.

The reason powers are given higher point cost than others is their utility and effectiveness in a number of different situations. That’s may sound like a non answer but its true. Flight is a handy power but its way cheaper than the teleport or Spatial Warp power. Why? Because with flight you can…well, fly. With Teleport you can take people with you, teleport opponents away or if you’re really tricky bring stuff to you.

Time Manipulation is a great power but its built in such a way that it takes a lot of effort and resources to time travel. Water Manipulation can be used in a lot more situations with little effort and in almost all cases a lot more effective in play. I could give all manipulation powers a flat cost across the board with the exception of Ka Manipulation but I thought that it would be better to reflect the effectiveness of the power with the point cost. Some of the powers look weird when just reading them but the reasoning becomes clear during play. Infrared Vision is a power that looks really expensive for what it does until you realize how useful it becomes as auxiliary or enhancement to normal sight.

It makes sense to me but I have blinders on since I developed the game. I could honestly be living in a rose colored world here. What I love about theses and other forums is that suggestions and questions and be posed and talked about. I think about these questions nd go back to the book to look.

What would be your suggestion on how I price the powers?

[Grayson]

To be honest, Attis, I don't have a suggestion at all. I don't believe that I know enough about the game to make an informed opinion. Don't get me wrong, I did read the powers and the mechanics. I just don't like to make opinions without being more knowledgeable about the subject matter. I think that it would be both ignorant and irresponsible. That is why I tried to phrase my initial post carefully. I wasn't challenging your judgement. My intent was to sate my curiosity if that makes any sense.

I haven't had the opportunity to play the Godsend Agenda. I purchased both the main book and d6 Powers shortly after d6 Powers pdf came out. I was curious because of a review that I read on the main book. I just seemed different. I was familiar with the system because I own the DC Universe Roleplaying game and the Directive on Superpowers. In fact, tonight while I am at work, I have been comparing d6 Powers and the Directive on Superpowers. I favor both books for different reasons. I do think that, mechanically, the Godsend Agenda is more logical and cleaner (for lack of a better word) than the DC Universe Game. I have many game systems (an entire book case plus a crate full) and I have to say that the Godsend Agenda does one of the best jobs of balancing detail versus playability. My favorite supers game is The Blood of Heroes 2nd Edition (er. Special Edition) by Pulsar Games. I like how they expanded the original DC game by Mayfair (we'll pretend to not notice the art). Mutants and Masterminds 2nd Edition and Hero System probably tie for second place. I think that DC Universe and The Godsend Agenda does a better job of scaling low and high powered characters than the original DC Heroes game. Furthermore, I think that the Godsend Agenda has an appeal that goes beyond the superheroes genre in a way that neither the original DC Heroes game or Mutant and Masterminds 2nd Edition. I think The Godsend Agenda would work great for supernatural/modern mythic fantasy type games, perhaps even lower level urban fantasy games.

While I may never get the chance to actually play the game, I am getting some use out of it. I am using it to stat out my characters for a Yahoo Groups pbem group that I am participating. Out of all my games, this is the one that suits what I am doing the best.

By the way, where can we find some animal/creature stats?

Grayson

[Aran]

By the way, where can we find some animal/creature stats?
D6 Adventure Creatures
http://www.westendgames.com/html/catalog.html#WEG51021

[GreatBucketGod]

One thing I don't get is the Reduced Range and No Range power limitations both have a cost of -2 / rank. That doesn't make any sense to me. Shouldn't No Range give a greater number of points back?