Lord Syn
2011-04-05, 10:36 PM
Greetings, fellow Playground denizens.
I have a concept for a homebrew, possibly D20 game involving unexpectedly super-powered individuals in an otherwise normal modern world.
Unfortunately, I'm having difficulty in turning said concept into actual workable mechanics, and as such, have turned to you wonderful people for help.
Some basic background-information on the theme itself:
The concept (ignoring the unnecessary plot-details) is relatively simple: one night, fifty-two individuals within the same metropolitan area all experience the same bizarre, unintelligible (for now) dream; upon awakening from the dream, they each discover, to their surprise, a tattoo-like birthmark on their upper arm, consisting of one of four fairly well-known basic shapes (Heart, Diamond, Club, Spade), with a cut-out of either a number (2-10) or a letter (J, Q, K, A) in the center.
Yes, in case it isn't quite clear enough: each tattoo represents one of the fifty-two cards in a standard playing-card deck. This is intentional, and significant.
Over the course of the next few days, the Cards (as the bearers of these mysterious marks will eventually come to be known by the general public) begin to discover that, in addition to the unusual birthmark/tattoo, they have also gained a mysterious power, whose exact nature is unique to each Card; for example, one might have the power of flight, while another can lift several times his own weight, and a third is able to turn invisible at will.
While the reasons and methods by which these particular individuals were given these powers remains a mystery, the fact that they have them means that their lives have all gotten a great deal more interesting and dangerous, especially given the fact that, as far as anyone knows, super-powers and the like aren't supposed to even exist, leaving much of the rest of humanity to wonder just what sort of threat - or opportunity - these Cards may represent to the world as a whole.
Some details regarding the mechanics I've already determined:
While the exact ability of the individual Cards in a particular Suit may or may not be related to each other, the relative power-level of each Card is directly related to his or her card's value; I.E. a '5' is more powerful than a '4', but weaker than a '6'.
Cards of equal value to each other are relatively equal to each other in power-level, in regards to their own ability; I.E. a 5 of Hearts is about as strong in his or her field as a 5 of Clubs in his or her own.
For the 'Number' Cards (2-10), the difference in power-level is fairly moderate, in proportion to the difference in value between the two Cards; I.E. a 5 would be evenly matched to another 5, would be able to take on a 6 with some heavy effort, might be able to handle a 7 with preparation, sacrifice and a great deal of luck, and would end up being beat down by an 8 rather quickly.
For the 'Face' Cards (J-K), the difference in power-level is more a matter of degree; I.E. what a 10 is to a 5, so is a Jack to a 10, and so in turn a Queen to a Jack. Kings are not only stronger than Queens by a similar measure, but also generally have a much wider range of use for their abilities, depending on the nature of their Card's particular power.
In a class all their own, the Aces are pretty much demigods among the Cards, with powers far beyond the ken of normal men. (System-wise, the Aces are mainly intended to be used much like the Antediluveans from V:tM* - in other words, extremely rare events intended for changing the face of the entire campaign and/or game-world, and often requiring the combined efforts of multiple entire Suits working in tandem to deal with.)
Finally, there are two Jokers in the setting (known as the Jester and the Fool), whose powers are unique and mostly unrelated to those of the rest of the Cards; these two are mainly intended to be a source of chaos and are pretty much their own plotline in addition to everything else going on. In short, while they may also be Cards, they're treated separately from all the others, as befits their unique natures and abilities.
(*Vampire: the Masquerade, an RPG created by White Wolf, for those unfamilliar with the term.)
Unfortunately, here is where I have come to the end of my creative abilities, and where I now turn to my fellow forumites for aid. While I've set the basic ground-rules for the system, I'm ashamed to say that actually figuring out what fifty-two particular powers should be bestowed, and how exactly they should be ranked, is a problem which has been frustrating me for literally months now. In short, I need your help in choosing powers, and in sorting these powers into a workable, relatively balanced order. I'm willing to entertain any suggestions you all might have, and look forward to your suggestions.
One final note: Just to curtail the inevitable (or at least delay it some), I wish to state most definitely at this time that the exact powers for the Jester and Fool are already defined, and set in stone as far as I'm concerned. Just a polite heads-up on the issue.
With that stated: Ladies and Gentlemen, please let the suggestions begin.
I have a concept for a homebrew, possibly D20 game involving unexpectedly super-powered individuals in an otherwise normal modern world.
Unfortunately, I'm having difficulty in turning said concept into actual workable mechanics, and as such, have turned to you wonderful people for help.
Some basic background-information on the theme itself:
The concept (ignoring the unnecessary plot-details) is relatively simple: one night, fifty-two individuals within the same metropolitan area all experience the same bizarre, unintelligible (for now) dream; upon awakening from the dream, they each discover, to their surprise, a tattoo-like birthmark on their upper arm, consisting of one of four fairly well-known basic shapes (Heart, Diamond, Club, Spade), with a cut-out of either a number (2-10) or a letter (J, Q, K, A) in the center.
Yes, in case it isn't quite clear enough: each tattoo represents one of the fifty-two cards in a standard playing-card deck. This is intentional, and significant.
Over the course of the next few days, the Cards (as the bearers of these mysterious marks will eventually come to be known by the general public) begin to discover that, in addition to the unusual birthmark/tattoo, they have also gained a mysterious power, whose exact nature is unique to each Card; for example, one might have the power of flight, while another can lift several times his own weight, and a third is able to turn invisible at will.
While the reasons and methods by which these particular individuals were given these powers remains a mystery, the fact that they have them means that their lives have all gotten a great deal more interesting and dangerous, especially given the fact that, as far as anyone knows, super-powers and the like aren't supposed to even exist, leaving much of the rest of humanity to wonder just what sort of threat - or opportunity - these Cards may represent to the world as a whole.
Some details regarding the mechanics I've already determined:
While the exact ability of the individual Cards in a particular Suit may or may not be related to each other, the relative power-level of each Card is directly related to his or her card's value; I.E. a '5' is more powerful than a '4', but weaker than a '6'.
Cards of equal value to each other are relatively equal to each other in power-level, in regards to their own ability; I.E. a 5 of Hearts is about as strong in his or her field as a 5 of Clubs in his or her own.
For the 'Number' Cards (2-10), the difference in power-level is fairly moderate, in proportion to the difference in value between the two Cards; I.E. a 5 would be evenly matched to another 5, would be able to take on a 6 with some heavy effort, might be able to handle a 7 with preparation, sacrifice and a great deal of luck, and would end up being beat down by an 8 rather quickly.
For the 'Face' Cards (J-K), the difference in power-level is more a matter of degree; I.E. what a 10 is to a 5, so is a Jack to a 10, and so in turn a Queen to a Jack. Kings are not only stronger than Queens by a similar measure, but also generally have a much wider range of use for their abilities, depending on the nature of their Card's particular power.
In a class all their own, the Aces are pretty much demigods among the Cards, with powers far beyond the ken of normal men. (System-wise, the Aces are mainly intended to be used much like the Antediluveans from V:tM* - in other words, extremely rare events intended for changing the face of the entire campaign and/or game-world, and often requiring the combined efforts of multiple entire Suits working in tandem to deal with.)
Finally, there are two Jokers in the setting (known as the Jester and the Fool), whose powers are unique and mostly unrelated to those of the rest of the Cards; these two are mainly intended to be a source of chaos and are pretty much their own plotline in addition to everything else going on. In short, while they may also be Cards, they're treated separately from all the others, as befits their unique natures and abilities.
(*Vampire: the Masquerade, an RPG created by White Wolf, for those unfamilliar with the term.)
Unfortunately, here is where I have come to the end of my creative abilities, and where I now turn to my fellow forumites for aid. While I've set the basic ground-rules for the system, I'm ashamed to say that actually figuring out what fifty-two particular powers should be bestowed, and how exactly they should be ranked, is a problem which has been frustrating me for literally months now. In short, I need your help in choosing powers, and in sorting these powers into a workable, relatively balanced order. I'm willing to entertain any suggestions you all might have, and look forward to your suggestions.
One final note: Just to curtail the inevitable (or at least delay it some), I wish to state most definitely at this time that the exact powers for the Jester and Fool are already defined, and set in stone as far as I'm concerned. Just a polite heads-up on the issue.
With that stated: Ladies and Gentlemen, please let the suggestions begin.