[BNW] Bomber variant...

[Mark Kilfoil <kilfoilm@nbnet.nb.ca>]

Am catching up on all my mail, and the Bomber discussion brought this 
thought-nugget to fore:

Bomber + "open" exoskeleton = Bomber who can walk away after having his leg 
blown off...

To elaborate:  if  a bomber were to have an exoskeleton made such that it 
was able to effectively replace a missing limb, they could detonate that 
limb and the explosion would be let out through the large openings in the 
suit...

Then, once they've blown up that limb, the suit acts as that limb...

For the most part, I group power packages into two groups:  those that are 
closer to "traditional" superheros, and those that are everyday folks with 
a twist.

The first group are things like the Goliath and the Blaster, whose powers 
are the central part of their appeal to players, and are also usually of 
overwhelming importance to the character as a whole.  In other words, these 
characters are *defined* in terms of the powers they have.

The other group also includes regs, something that isn't the immediate 
character goal of the game, perhaps, but are viable and important 
characters nonetheless.  However, the challenge in playing a reg (or a 
Hacker or a Charmer, etc.) isn't "how do I use my powers" but rather "how 
do I play an everyday person in a world of superheros".

It takes much more effort to define and play a reg than it does a Delta, 
and so it is less appealing for most players to play.

As to what people have argued about the "usefulness" of the second group to 
everyday missions or combat, I say the answer is what the player decides 
about the character, the depth to which the character is made.

Too often to my liking, I see people only talking about the extremes, a 
stat or skill of max, otherwise nothing...  Personally, I like characters 
which can do more than one thing well, and can accept not doing anything 
"exceptionally"..

Extremes make "one-trick ponies" which quickly become boring, unless the 
only thing the game caters to is the kind of situation in which that power 
is paramount.  In the Hacker example, it is acceptable to make the Hacker 
useful for more than Hacking;  sure, the Hacking is the Delta power, but 
that's not *all* they are...

It's late, and this is getting ranty, so I'll stop there...
---
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