[BNW] New to the listserve: a question about Telekinesis

[MKirk2112@aol.com]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the listserve so I apoligize if this question has been asked 
before.

I am starting a BNW game and am really looking forward to it.  Although I'm 
not new to superhero types of games, I have a question about the Telekinetic 
power package.  This question is for anyone, not just Matt, but his input 
would be greatly appreciated as well.

It says in Ravaged Planet that the Telekinetic inflicts damage in combat by 
using her Smarts rather than her Strength when she attacks using the power.  
Okay, that makes sense and it is a nice compliment to physical combat; use Str
ength for damage with a physical attack, use Smarts for damage with a mental 
attack.  Given that nice parallel, I'm wondering why that parallel between 
physical and mental strength isn't carried over to lifting objects.  Why 
isn't Smarts used just like Strength for moving objects, rather than limiting 
the Telekinetic to moving only up to Size 3 objects as it says in Ravaged 
Planet?  In other words, why not just use the rules on page 142 of the BNW 
rulebook for carrying and lifting objects, and instead of using Strength use S
marts any time the Telekinetic hero lifts objects with her power?  It would 
still limit a starting Telekinetic hero to moving only size 8 objects at a 
maximum (maximum starting Smarts of 5d6 +3 for lifting or moving objects as 
per the rule at the bottom of page 142) which is still weaker than the 
Goliath package.  But (and I don't normally say this because I think 
telekinesis is a very "powerful" power because of the many things you can do 
with it regardless of how much you can lift) I think doing it this way makes 
more sense given how physical strength is handled in the game system.  For 
example, it seems a little odd to me that a Strength 5d6 and a Smarts 5d6 
character inflict the same average damage with their respective attacks 
(physical punch vs. telekinetic attack), but the Strength 5d6 hero can lift 
around 650 lbs. with her Strength while the Telekinetic hero can lift only 50 
lbs. with her power).  I also think that it raises the power level of the 
Telekinetic power package a bit to make it more comparable to other power 
packages, at least on a physical versus mental "brute strength" level.  

Maybe I'm missing something here.  I have not used this power package in a 
game yet, so maybe it doesn't need this "helping hand" rule modification to 
be equal to the other packages.  Maybe it's a "realism" thing in that having 
to project mental energy out from the body to the object being moved weakens 
the power of the telekinesis considerably, so therefore the hero can't lift 
as much weight.  Maybe I'm just too anal retentive and like all my rules to 
fit together into nice neat packages of consistency too much and I just need 
to lighten up <laugh>!

Any thoughts?  How does this package "work" in an actual game?  I am going to 
have at least one PC and probably several supporting characters who have this 
power, and I think it is a "must" in any superhero game, so I was just 
wondering how it works as is and if other people have modified it at all.  
Also, for those of you who have used this power package, do you think the 
modification that I am proposing is out of line and will greatly unbalance 
the game?  Yeah, yeah, I totally buy all that stuff about this being my game 
and I can do with it what I want, but I like at least some game balance, and 
I am not completely comfortable with the "ins and outs" of the system yet to 
be able to make that judgment for myself totally about whether my 
modification will greatly screw things up.

Thanks for your input.  Long live the Defiance!

Guide Matt