quindia
First Post
OK, on the energy points problem... first of all are sure you used all of the rules correctly? I've been working with the game for a long time and still find I'm forgetting things. A character starts with 12ep plus his Con and Wis bonuses. If the character is a mutant, he gets 4 bonus points. Further more, characters gain one ep per experience level. In the games we've played so far, running out of energy hasn't been a problem.
An average low-level character has around 18-20 energy points. Most powers available to a low level character only use 1ep. Many of these powers use only 1ep per duration (example... a third level hero with a Standard force field power pays 1ep per 15 rounds of utilizing the power as a defense). Special attacks that affect multiple targets might cost 2ep. Some of the more powerful abilities use more points, but since a character gains 1ep per level, this usually balances out.
As, Doom pointed out earlier, there are also feats that aid your ep expenditure and a feature that lets you push your power at the cost of taking subdual damage.
Something else to mention... if energy is your main gripe with the system as you stated in an earlier post (Horacio), simply increase the base ep's or allow an increase of 2ep's per level. Paragon, like most RPG's is meant to be a tool for creating the type of game you want to run, not a text book of the only way to do it.
As to having powers tied to levels, it's very easy in Paragon to create a character that is strong in one power and weak in another. To start with, each power has three ranks (Standard, Improved, and Ultra). Although level still influences the strength of the power (damage, saves, etc), the capabilities of the power are tied to the rank (a Standard Energy Blast does d4's, an Improved Energy Blast does d6's, and an Ultra Energy Blast does d8's for example). Second, when modeling high level characters, you can add limitations to some powers to better define their capabilities.
BTW, I'm waiting for Mutants & Masterminds too, but if the playtests of Paragon continue to go as well as they have, I don't know if I'll make the switch. The great thing about d20 is you can incorporate feats, skills, classes, etc from different games and turn the game you run at home into exactly what you want it to be.
Anyway, thanks for taking a look at Paragon and don't hesitate to post questions, gripes, etc.
An average low-level character has around 18-20 energy points. Most powers available to a low level character only use 1ep. Many of these powers use only 1ep per duration (example... a third level hero with a Standard force field power pays 1ep per 15 rounds of utilizing the power as a defense). Special attacks that affect multiple targets might cost 2ep. Some of the more powerful abilities use more points, but since a character gains 1ep per level, this usually balances out.
As, Doom pointed out earlier, there are also feats that aid your ep expenditure and a feature that lets you push your power at the cost of taking subdual damage.
Something else to mention... if energy is your main gripe with the system as you stated in an earlier post (Horacio), simply increase the base ep's or allow an increase of 2ep's per level. Paragon, like most RPG's is meant to be a tool for creating the type of game you want to run, not a text book of the only way to do it.
As to having powers tied to levels, it's very easy in Paragon to create a character that is strong in one power and weak in another. To start with, each power has three ranks (Standard, Improved, and Ultra). Although level still influences the strength of the power (damage, saves, etc), the capabilities of the power are tied to the rank (a Standard Energy Blast does d4's, an Improved Energy Blast does d6's, and an Ultra Energy Blast does d8's for example). Second, when modeling high level characters, you can add limitations to some powers to better define their capabilities.
BTW, I'm waiting for Mutants & Masterminds too, but if the playtests of Paragon continue to go as well as they have, I don't know if I'll make the switch. The great thing about d20 is you can incorporate feats, skills, classes, etc from different games and turn the game you run at home into exactly what you want it to be.
Anyway, thanks for taking a look at Paragon and don't hesitate to post questions, gripes, etc.
