Should PCs Be Exceptional?

aramis erak said:

Most WEG d6 system games have 12d for normies, 18d for PCs, for sum of attributes plus force/psi first die. Not all allow for improvement in attributes, either.
...
WEG clearly aims for "Exceptional, eventually spectacular"... but actual NPC types range from 2d per att through 3.5d per att...

Click to expand...

Scribe said:

This is why I prefer a nice binary.

Anyway, what do folks think is the more important lesson to impart?

1. Some people are just born special.
2. With effort, you can make yourself into whatever you want.

Click to expand...

Micah Sweet said:

Everyone in a comic book has those powers. It's generally not worth thinking about.

Click to expand...

Deset Gled said:

I can't really argue with you; I was going completely by many years old memory on this. Also, during a recent discussion of WEG D6, one of the complaints that came up on the first page was people were disappointed it was practically impossible for PCs to level up to be equals with heroes from the media. Thread: Grade The D6 System

Also, just for kicks, I looked up a couple of random stats. In the Imperial Sourcebook, Stormtroopers are 12d, but TIE pilots are 17d. In the Jedi Academy Sourcebook, every NPC I see is 18d or higher, even the ones that are tertiary, non-heroic characters.

So...

Click to expand...

doctorbadwolf said:

If I want to play a mutant, I’ll play a supers rpg. PCs are supposed to be people, not some completely different kind of being. An elf PC is an elf, and so should have quite a lot in common with…elfs.

So no, they shouldn’t be exceptional, IMO. They should be people, and do exceptional things and maybe become exceptional.

Click to expand...

Reynard said:

Whether characters are exceptional has no bearing over whether they are recognizably people.

Click to expand...

doctorbadwolf said:

Yes, it does. If the PCs are mechanically very distinct from NPCs of the same species, then they aren’t recognizably people, they’re some other type of being entirely. If “elf” means something totally different for a PC and an NPC, PC elfs aren’t really elves.

Click to expand...

Thomas Shey said:

I'd suggest that's less a question about how powerful the PCs are, and more a question how their power matches up with their opponents.

Click to expand...

aramis erak said:

Batman has to have at least two... rapid healing and massive pain tolerance. Otherwise, someone would notice that Bats got a broken arm the same time Bruce did...

Click to expand...

Ralif Redhammer said:

And maybe that's the crux of it for me. I'd say it's also about allies, in addition to opponents. Because it's important to me to square the ecosystem of the game world.

Click to expand...