Re: [BNW] Strength vs. Speed

["Steve Crow" <crow_steve@hotmail.com>]

> > Well, just IMO, but for the Speedster, it isn't appropriate for him to 
>have
> > a +5 bonus to all the Speed-related skills.  Why should the Speedster 
>get a
> > +5 to Stealth?  Or Sailboating? Or Pilot?  Ditto for the Bouncer.
> > It _is_ appropriate (mostly because of the small base of skills) that 
>the
> > Goliath get a +5 strength to all such Skills.
>
>Yeah I mailed Matt and got the same response. It seems reasonable enough,
>although I still question why the Goliath is such a master at Running or
>ALL sports...
>As far as those skills go (for speed) couldn't it be argued that the
>Speedsters/Bouncers increased reflexes give him an advantage in all
>reaction based skills (his a better pilot cause he can react faster to
>shifts in the planes flight, he can shoot better because he can make last
>minute corrections to his shot as the person tries to dodge, etc...)
>The arguement for not global +5 to speed makes sense, I'm just playing
>devil's advocate.
>

*shrug* Just IMO, but that sounds more like a DC/Flash-level "super-speed" 
(i.e., an Alpha) than a delta-level BNW power.  Note also that Speedsters 
can't inherently vibrate their molecules through stuff, run across water, 
etc.

A BNW Speedster, at heart, seems to simply be a guy who runs real faster and 
has a couple of advantages that are tried to being able to run that fast.  
Kinda like Quicksilver (or how Quicksilver used to be - I don't keep up on 
Marvel much any more) over on the Marvel side.

Granted, folks can (and may very well have already done so) come up with 
Tricks that bring a Speedster closer to an Alpha level.  But that sounds 
like it can get to a pretty tricky (pardon the pun) point.  Tricks, IMO, 
shouldn't bring a Delta up to Alpha level.  Although I suppose there is some 
balance there, in so far as the Delta-Speedster has to buy the Tricks, while 
an Alpha-Speedster would have them automtically.

>This kind of leads into another question. Should the kits be balanced
>necessarily? One sorta complaint that I've had with some games (say D&D)
>is the insistance that all the classes be "equal" which results in
>pitifully weak mages that become super powerful later on.
>So should the packages be balanced? Or should we depend on players to pick
>the package they want, not the one that is most powerful.
>Incidently, I personally think that the packages are very well balanced
>overall, this is more of a hypothetical.
>

I'm not sure the Packages _are_ balanced, and apparently someone else raised 
this issue a week or so ago.

Personally, I don't buy the D&D arguement of "equality" - characters should 
potentially be balanced all across the board.  Telling your D&D Mage, "Well, 
yeah, you're character will be equal to the others in six months of game 
play, and more powerful than the others in a year" don't make much sense, 
particularly if they're dying at first level now.  :)

It's a tough call.  Superheroes in the genre tend to be inherently _not_ 
balanced.  Is Aquaman really on a par with Superman in the JLA?  Hawkeye 
with Thor in the Avengers?  The Comedian with Dr. Manhattan?  Dr. Mid-Nite 
with Dr. Fate?

My general impression is that groups tend to be balanced _if_ they are built 
or compiled from scratch (i.e., the original Teen Titans, the Thunderbolts). 
  If they're "Let's have everyone in our line form a team!" types (the JLA, 
Avengers, JSA) balance tends to go out the window.

BNW seems to be more fo the "built" level, with the Guide acting as the 
writer who sets power levels.  So ultimately it's probably up to the Guide 
to set "power levels."  Unfortunately, that's not much helping to a starting 
Guide...

>-Theo McCracken, whose thoughts and ideas are solely his own and do not,
>in any way, reflect those of Jefferson Lab or its staff. Unless of
>course there is any money to made off those ideas, in which case the lab
>says: "Gimme, gimme, gimme!"


---

Steve Crow

"Worm Can Opener Extraordinare"

Check out my website at:  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/4991/

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