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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 288804" data-attributes="member: 63">Heya Forrester.The first playtest game we had involved a 16th level sorcerer against a 16th level version of spiderman.  We realized that all of the powers were over-priced, and that we were being way too conservative.  A 16th-level spiderman managed to punch the sorcerer once for 1d3+8 damage, and then failed his Reflex save against a fireball, which took him out in one hit.Well, you've got quite the list there, so let me think where to start.  Once I'm done, you're probably going to think that we didn't do enough playtesting, but I'm confident that the core powers are balanced.  Our initial balancing sessions were done to make sure things like super speed, heightened ability scores, and energy attacks were balanced.  It took us a while, but we got those pinned down finally.  The farther you stray from strict numerical powers, the more 'iffy' it can be.  Telekinesis can be great in some instances, useless in others, and we simply didn't have enough time to do as much playtesting as I would've liked.  Some powers are more clearly balanced for fantasy play (like energy resistance; in a modern setting, different types of energy are rarer, so I posted a possible solution on the Nat20 forum, which would reduce the cost of having resistance to different types of energy if you're playing a modern game), while other powers are more balanced for modern superheroes (like blindsight).  When in doubt, I had a few formulae and guidelines for converting spells into powers, and double-checking their balance that way, but yeah, there'll be a few times when things don't work out for all genres.1.  Blindsight.  We checked this primarily against invisibility and invisible creatures, but we did overlook how prevalent other illusions are in standard D&D.  I would up the cost for this enhancement to 6 (2).  This would make the total cost 10 (5). That way it usually can't be taken until 7th level, and it costs more than a whole level's worth of HrP to acquire.  Though you can't get true seeing as a spell until 9th level, this doesn't have all the nifty abilities that true seeing grants, so the cost should be fair.2.  Remember that the table should only be used in campaigns where magic items are needed to balance party strength.  You wouldn't use this table in, say, Star Wars.  However, I think you're not quite correct in your assessment that fighters get more value.  Without magic items, spellcasters have sickeningly low AC and are very fragile.  Plus, magic items like wands and staves really help out if the DM likes to throw more than a few challenges at a party each day.  Otherwise, the spellcasters run out of firepower early, and have to hide the rest of the day.  The table's actually slightly underpowered, since we wanted to make sure no one managed to find a loophole we missed and end up with a gajillion Hero Points, or somehow take a lot of small powers and end up too strong.  So I think it should work well for any class.  I might even come up with some standard super power advancements for different classes if I have the time, kind of like how the DMG lists standard magic items.3. Again, hasted spellcasters are balanced the same way that they are in core D&D, namely by the fact that they don't have enough spells for it to be too overpowered, at least as long as there are multiple challenges each day.  If you prefer to just have one or two large encounters and no small encounters each day in game time, you might want to increase the cost as high as 16.  But with that cost, it becomes very close to a worthless power.  Having to devote more than a whole level to the ability is quite a hit in power.4.  At least out of my group, only two of the playtesters ever frequent the boards, and then only rarely.  I'll see if they want to swing by and comment, but I'll give my insight.  Also, if anyone in Nemmerle or Russ's group wants to comment, they can feel free.Since I'm mostly a D&D player, my thoughts and playtests mostly turned toward fantasy style play.  I'd say that some powers might be marginally less useful in a modern setting (like heightened strength, since melee combat is rarer, and guns are more common), and the majority of the powers are balanced for fantasy.Our goal was to make sure that the Hero class (and all accompanying powers) were balanced with the other core classes.  Otherwise, there was little point using levels at all.How effective the powers are depend on how well you use them.  Taking energy attack super powers makes you more like an archer or a sorcerer than a melee fighter, so play a Fighter/Hero (blaster) as more of a fighter-mage.  If you want straight combat ability, focus on powers like super strength, heightened strength, invulnerability, and heightened defenses.  A rogue is better off having flight and super agility than energy drain and telepathic charm (though that might be a cool idea for an assassin).My advice is that once you've come up with a power set, look at the whole creature objectively.  If you just saw a monster with these abilities, and no mention of super powers, how would you use it?  Don't just put any random super power and use them the same way you always would, or else the monster will be underpowered.Also, if you're just making monsters or critters for a one-shot fight, make sure to use the Reduced Cost for NPCs rules.  It can be a little bit of a pain to have to use a different set of numbers, especially if a minor monster ends up as a main character, but the balance works better if you do.I hope that helps.  Feel free to ask me more if you want.(By the way, do you have Tournaments, Fairs, & Taverns?  I had an homage to one of your posts in there.  At least, you did have the naming your character thread, right?)</blockquote>

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