Peril:RPG/Powers
Powers & Stunts!
[edit]The Power tells you what is possible. The Stunt tells you what you are trying right now.
Most Peril Patrol characters have one or two Powers. That is usually plenty. A Power is broad, flexible and deliberately incomplete; it tells everyone what sort of impossible things the character can do, but it does not attempt to list every legal use.
The important rule is simple:
A Power gives you permission to attempt things ordinary characters cannot attempt.
The roll tells you how well it goes. The SFX tells you what it looks like. The Stunt tells you what clever, excessive or irresponsible thing you are trying right now.
Special Effects
[edit]Every Power should have a clear Special Effect, or SFX, when that matters.
Blast — Electricity
Blast — Ice
Blast — Psychic Force
Blast — Radioactive Syrup
Mechanically, these are all the same broad Power, but their SFX make them different in the fiction. An electrical Blast can short machinery, an ice Blast can freeze water or pavement, a sonic Blast can shatter glass, and a fire Blast can ignite something flammable.
You do not buy those effects separately. If the SFX reasonably supports the idea, use it.
Stunts!
[edit]A Stunt is an inventive use of a Power, SFX, Attribute, piece of Gear or the surrounding environment.
Each Power below has a few suggested Stunts. These are examples, not a menu and not a limit. Players are expected to invent new Stunts during play.
Describe what you want to accomplish. The Editor decides whether the idea fits the Power, chooses the relevant Attribute and sets the difficulty.
A normal Stunt is usually target 10. A big Stunt is usually 12. Something genuinely ridiculous is usually 14.
If the idea fits the Power and the SFX:
try it.
The Power entry gives the basic idea. It is not a list of permitted moves.
Superhero action should be inventive, excessive and slightly irresponsible.
Blast
[edit]Blast lets the character attack at range. The SFX might be electricity, ice, fire, lasers, sonic force, psychic energy, cosmic rays or something considerably less sensible.
A basic attack usually uses Zip.
Suggested Stunts include Spread Fire to attack several nearby targets, Trick Shot to hit a weapon, control panel or other precise object, Power Effect to use the SFX on the environment, Big Blast for increased scale or destruction, and Ricochet to reach a target indirectly.
A Blast does not stop being useful when nobody needs shooting. Ice can make barriers, electricity can disable machinery and fire can create smoke, light or a much larger problem.
Super-Strength
[edit]Super-Strength allows absurd feats of lifting, throwing, bending, smashing and holding. Most uses rely on Brawn.
Suggested Stunts include Haymaker for an especially heavy blow, Sweep to hit several nearby opponents, Big Lift to exceed the character's usual scale, Human Projectile to throw one opponent into another, Hold It Up! to support something collapsing, and Improvised Weapon to turn civic infrastructure into combat equipment.
If somebody with Super-Strength wants to pick up a bus, the first question should not be how many tons the bus weighs.
The first question should be what they intend to do with it.
Flight
[edit]Flight means the character can fly. Ordinary movement through the air requires no roll; dangerous maneuvers usually use Zip.
Suggested Stunts include Power Dive to turn altitude and speed into an attack, Grab and Go to snatch someone out of danger while moving, Aerial Dodge for difficult evasive maneuvers, Ram for the straightforward solution, and Catch! to intercept someone or something falling through the air.
A flying character may also use altitude, momentum and position creatively without needing a separate rule for every maneuver.
Speed
[edit]Speed allows the character to move and react at ridiculous velocity. Most Stunts use Zip.
Suggested Stunts include Everybody Gets One to attack several nearby opponents in rapid succession, Yoink! to grab something before anyone can react, Whirlwind to create a localized blast of air, Run on Something Stupid to cross walls, water, falling debris or other unsuitable surfaces, and Rescue Run to move several people out of danger before disaster arrives.
Speed does not require counting movement rates. If the character is fast enough to do the thing and the scene allows it, describe the Stunt and roll when necessary.
Telekinesis
[edit]Telekinesis lets the character move things without touching them. Precision usually uses Brains, while feats of sheer psychic force may use Brawn if that better reflects the Stunt.
Suggested Stunts include Grab to restrain something, Throw to hurl an object or opponent, Shield to stop incoming debris or attacks, Multi-Grab to control several objects at once, Big Lift for something enormously heavy, and Fine Control for delicate work at a distance.
Telekinesis is deliberately broad. If the character could plausibly do it by grabbing, pushing, pulling, lifting or manipulating something with invisible force, it probably falls under the Power.
Armor
[edit]Armor makes the character unusually hard to hurt. The SFX may be metal plating, stone skin, scales, energy sheathing, supernatural toughness or something equally durable.
Armor normally works without a roll when it simply protects the character, but Stunts can use it actively. Suggested Stunts include Brace to resist being moved, Protect Another to intercept danger meant for someone else, Shield Wall to protect several nearby characters, Contain It! to hold back an explosion or hazardous release, and Walking Tank to push through conditions ordinary people would sensibly avoid.
Armor is not an invitation to calculate exact resistance values. It means the character is tough enough to attempt things other people cannot.
Force Field
[edit]Force Field creates a barrier of energy, psychic force, magic or some other protective effect. Depending on the SFX and the Stunt, it may use Brains, Brawn or another appropriate Attribute.
Suggested Stunts include Bubble to surround a person or object, Wall to divide a scene, Catch It to stop something moving, Protect the Crowd to cover several people, and Containment to trap something dangerous behind the barrier.
Armor and Force Field overlap on purpose. Armor is usually protection carried with the character, while a Force Field is better suited to projecting protection elsewhere.
Transform
[edit]Transform allows the character to change shape, appearance, size or form. It may represent shapeshifting, disguise, alternate bodies or similarly flexible changes.
The relevant Attribute depends on what the new form is being used to accomplish. Brains may handle a convincing imitation, Zip a quick physical transformation, and Moxie bluffing someone while disguised.
Suggested Stunts include Perfect Disguise, Useful Form to gain an immediately helpful feature, Tiny Form to slip through a narrow space, Big Form to become larger and more imposing, and Wrong Form, Right Idea to solve a problem with a transformation nobody would have predicted.
Chameleon exists largely to demonstrate that a perfectly good Transform Power can still produce a chicken.
Mental Power
[edit]Mental Power covers psychic abilities that affect minds. Depending on the character, this may include telepathy, influence, fear, confusion, psychic communication or direct mental attack.
Most uses rely on Brains or Moxie.
Suggested Stunts include Read Thoughts to learn what someone is thinking, Mind Push to make someone hesitate or retreat, Psychic Broadcast to contact several minds at once, Mental Static to confuse or distract opponents, and Brainy-Blast to turn psychic force into an attack.
Mental Power is not automatic mind control. Important characters still get resistance when the outcome matters, and the Power should not erase personalities merely because the player rolled well.
Invisibility
[edit]Invisibility means the character cannot normally be seen. Ordinary concealment simply works; difficult infiltration, evasion or deception may use Zip or Moxie.
Suggested Stunts include Slip Past to move through guarded territory, Invisible Attack to strike from concealment, Misdirection to make opponents attack the wrong place, Hidden Rescue to move something without revealing yourself, and Now You See Me to exploit dramatic appearances and disappearances.
Being invisible does not make the character silent, odorless, weightless or incapable of knocking over a lamp.
Unless the SFX says otherwise.
Teleport
[edit]Teleport lets the character disappear in one place and appear in another. Ordinary short-range use may simply work, while difficult or dangerous jumps usually use Brains or Zip.
Suggested Stunts include Blink for sudden repositioning, Escape to leave immediate danger, Grab and Jump to take someone else along, Blind Jump to reach somewhere the character cannot see, and Mass Jump to move several people or something unusually large.
A Mass Jump is often a Big or Ridiculous Stunt. Teleporting the entire team out of an exploding orbital fortress should feel different from hopping across a room.
Super-Senses
[edit]Super-Senses allows the character to perceive things ordinary people cannot. The SFX might be radar, microscopic vision, psychic awareness, scent, electronic scanning, danger sense or something stranger.
Most uses rely on Brains.
Suggested Stunts include Scan to search a broad area, Track to follow something hidden or distant, Analyze to determine what something is or how it works, See the Invisible to detect concealed targets, Danger Sense to notice trouble before it arrives, and Extremely Specific Sense for whatever deeply questionable sensory ability the character happens to possess.
Emu-sense is valid.
No further explanation is required.
Special Movement
[edit]Special Movement covers unusual ways of getting around that do not fit ordinary Flight or Speed. Examples include wall-crawling, tunneling, swinging, bouncing, clinging, underwater movement or moving through some particular kind of terrain.
Most Stunts use Zip.
Suggested Stunts include Impossible Route to reach somewhere ordinary movement cannot, Movement Attack to turn motion into an attack, Escape Route to leave through an unexpected direction, Carry Along to take another character with you, and Terrain Trick to exploit the movement mode in an unusual environment.
If the movement mode is the whole joke, name it accordingly.
Gadgetry
[edit]Gadgetry gives the character access to comic-book technology without requiring a detailed inventory. It may represent a utility belt, powered suit, laboratory, built-in robut systems or an endless supply of devices nobody remembers seeing before.
Most Gadgetry Stunts use Brains.
Suggested Stunts include Exactly the Right Tool to produce a useful gadget, Scanner to detect something unusual, Countermeasure to interfere with another device, Emergency Device to produce a one-use solution, Overload to push technology beyond safe limits, and Improvised Invention to build something questionable from whatever is nearby.
If the required gadget is extraordinarily convenient, the Editor may call for a roll or a Kaboom.
Resourceful
[edit]Resourceful is the Power for characters who compete with superhumans through absurd preparation, training, contacts, nerve and comic-book competence.
It covers the hero who always has a contingency, knows the obscure fact, packed the right tool, studied the villain's weakness or can turn an ordinary room into a tactical advantage.
Most Stunts use Brains or Moxie.
Suggested Stunts include I Expected This to reveal prior preparation, Exploit Weakness to find an opening against a stronger opponent, Contingency Plan to produce a backup after the first plan fails, Use the Room to weaponize the environment, Contact to know someone useful, and Ridiculous Competence to do something that looks suspiciously like a superpower through training alone.
Resourceful is not mundane incompetence with better branding. It is a genuine superhero Power for characters whose gimmick is that they somehow keep up without shooting lightning from their eyes.
Wizardry
[edit]Wizardry allows a character to produce a wide range of temporary supernatural, mystical or otherwise thematic effects. Instead of possessing one fixed Power, the character has an entire bag of tricks held together by a common Special Effect. Despite the name, Wizardry does not have to represent literal magic. Wizardry is essentially a themed arsenal of Powers.
A sorcerer may cast spells. A stage magician might produce impossible magical effects. A cosmic mystic may invoke strange forces. Paper Tiger uses the same Power to fold ordinary paper into weapons, creatures, tools and vehicles.
Most Wizardry Stunts use Brains, although Moxie may apply when the effect depends on force of personality, command or dramatic magical authority. Examples of Wizardry use could include:
- throwing a fireball as Blast;
- conjuring a mystical shield as Force Field;
- levitating through the air as Flight;
Using Wizardry
[edit]Describe the effect you want and explain how it fits the character's particular form of Wizardry. A straightforward effect is usually target 12. A large, unusual or particularly powerful effect is target 12. Something outrageous is usually 14 and may require a Kaboom.
A successful Wizardry Stunt may temporarily imitate another Power when that makes sense.
Wizardry and Real Powers
[edit]Wizardry is extremely flexible, but flexibility comes at the cost of reliability. When Wizardry imitates another Power, the action is one difficulty step harder than it would be for a character who actually possesses that Power.
| Effect | Actual Power | Through Wizardry |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | 10 | 12 |
| Big | 12 | 14 |
| Ridiculous | 14 | 14 + usually a Kaboom |
In an opposed action, the Wizardry user effectively suffers -2 on the roll instead.
Wizardry provides breadth. A real Power provides mastery. A wizard can throw a magical Blast, but a character whose actual Power is Blast does it more easily and reliably. A wizard can conjure magical Flight, but a character with Flight does not have to cast a spell just to fly across the street. A wizard can create Armor, but the character with actual Armor is already armored when the building falls on them.
Powers in Gear
[edit]A Power may belong to a piece of Signature Gear instead of being innate.
Battle Armor — Armor, Super-Strength
Jet Pack — Flight
Magic Umbrella — Flight, Force Field
Giant Mecha — Armor, Super-Strength
If the Gear is stolen, disabled or destroyed, access to those Powers may be temporarily lost. This should create a problem, not remove the player from the game.
Favorite Stunts
[edit]If a player invents a Stunt they particularly like, write it on the index card.
For example:
Gunbunny — Blast: Guns
Favorite Stunts:
- Two-Gun Salute
- Shoot the Thing!
- Everybody Duck!
Writing down a favorite Stunt does not make it stronger or more official. It simply establishes that the character has done this before and probably intends to do it again.
Push It!
[edit]Sometimes a player wants to do something beyond the usual scale of a Power: lift the battleship, freeze the entire intersection, teleport the whole team, hold up a collapsing skyscraper or hit every Goon in the room at once.
Good.
A large extension of the Power is usually target 12. A genuinely ridiculous one is usually 14.
If the attempt is beyond even ordinary comic-book common sense, the Editor may require the player to spend 1 Kaboom just for permission to try it.
The Kaboom does not guarantee success. It purchases the right to attempt something magnificent.
If the Stunt fails, the complication should be appropriately large.
Combining Powers
[edit]If two Powers naturally work together, use them together.
There is no combination rule, surcharge or construction system.
Flight + Super-Strength means the character can pick up something enormous and fly with it.
Blast + Speed may produce a rapid barrage.
Transform + Special Movement may let Chameleon become something deeply unsuitable and scuttle away.
Choose the Attribute that best reflects what the character is actually doing and resolve the Stunt normally.
Multiple Targets
[edit]Powers can affect several opponents when the fiction supports it.
Against ordinary Goons, one successful Stunt may affect as many nearby Goons as reasonably fit the action. Roll once.
Against important named characters, each extra target increases the difficulty by 1, to a maximum increase of +2.
Do not invent elaborate area-effect formulas. Describe what the Power does and resolve the interesting part.
Do Not Build Combos
[edit]Peril Patrol is not a Power-construction game.
Do not create chains of Advantages, Limitations, multipliers or carefully optimized interactions. If a clever use of two Powers makes sense, let the player attempt it.
The character sheet should describe a superhero, not the accounting department that licensed one.
Powers tell you what you can attempt. Attributes tell you how well you do it.
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