Making your own power names, opinions?

invokethehojo · 1st July 2009, 06:30 PM

Over the years my friends and I have played a lot of different RPG’s. It seems like when we get together we frequently discuss what games we would like to see on the market vs what is actually on the market. Most of us enjoy structured games (like dungeons and dragons) but would prefer a good open ended gaming system (simlar is design to G.U.R.P.S.). When we discuss these things there is one topic that has come up several times that I would like to get everyone’s opinion on...

If you were to see a product come on the market that had very generic power names in the power entries (like fire beam or strong punch) but encouraged players to rename the powers when playing to whatever they wanted (fire beam becomes flame wave or fricasy. Strong punch becomes death touch or tiger uppercut) would that, in your opinion…
1. make the product seem original, or gimmicky and amatuerish?
2. be a good idea, or just end up being stupid once at the table?

our group is split. Opinions?

Khime · 1st July 2009, 06:56 PM

Isn't this what the Hero system already does? All of the powers have generic names (Energy Blast, Dimensional Travel, Killing Attack) and it's up to you to flavor it to suit your character (Magic Missile, Dimension Door, swing with a sword).

Edit: Meant to add that since Hero has been around for so many years, looking into reaction to how that presentation plays out for that system might be a good data point to consider.

Squizzle · 1st July 2009, 07:02 PM

HERO Games SotC SRD

invokethehojo · 2nd July 2009, 05:00 PM

Huh, I never heard of that system. I figured someone would have done it by now.

Mallus · 2nd July 2009, 05:14 PM

Games like the HERO system (which include Champions) and Mutants and Masterminds do this. Character powers are described mainly in terms of their mechanical effects and players are encouraged to provide customized descriptions of how they work and appear in-game.

For example, my Mutants and Masterminds character has the powers Suffocate, Nullify, Create Object, and Flight.

In-game, they are magical wrestling moves called the Nile-Driver, the Khonsuplex, the Cheops Drop --his object creating is limited to pyramids which he drops on foes-- and the Chariot of Ra, which is made of fire and flies.

His name is Joseirus and he the Egyptian God of Mexican Wrestlers.

Games like Spirit of the Century take this concept even further. Players create 10 traits for their character, which can be almost anything (like 'Strong As Ox' or 'Always Shoots First') which get turned into mechanical abilities during play.

invokethehojo · 2nd July 2009, 06:09 PM

We must not have played as many games as we thought, of all these mentioned I've only played mutants and masterminds and i didn't realize players were encouraged to name thier own powers in it.

Lord Mhoram · 2nd July 2009, 07:28 PM

As someone who has been playing HERO/Champions since '85, I love the idea.

To be honest when 4E hit, we immediatly started renaming the powers to fit the flavor and concept of the character.
We've been doing that for color on spells on D&D for decades as well - one caster might have a little flame around every spell he does (no game mechanical effects) because he is primarily a fire based caster, just for flavor.

One of the beauties of an "effects based system" as these things are called is that you are not held hostage by the game designer for flavor or special effect. Say you were playing in fantasy game that didn't have necromancers, and wanted to play one. You are stuck. In the other kind of system you just buy damaging effect (Energy Blast in Hero) and define it as sucking the life from the target. You buy a follower (or 4) and define them as your raised undead. You buy some defensive power (Armor or Force Field in Hero) and define it as having some bones and such that hover around you and get in the way of any attack.
Viola Necromancer, even if the game designers didn't put one in.

Ed_Laprade · 2nd July 2009, 11:23 PM

GURPS Superheroes does this specifically. Buy your basic power, add/subtract enhancements/weaknesses, then, if you want, add in a non mechanical effect for flavor, and call it whatever you want. Similar to Heroes, et. al.