No ...But... Re: Stats of Kallyr and others

From: epweissengruber <epweissengruber_at_...>
Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 01:33:55 -0000

I don't thing fully stating superheroes really serves a function ... but it can be a bit of fun for the fan. I was looking at the old DandD, er ... um ..., Arduin Grimoire stats for the WBRM superheroes a while back and reminiscing fondly about asking myself "how would one go about killing Odin/Cthulhu/Hecate" after reading Deities and Demigods as a 10 yr old.

[snip]
> I completely disagree with the
> 2nd sentence.

("It's important to know what they can do, and what they can't.")

> It takes away their mystery and menace. And the true
> answer that they can do whatever the H**l the GM and Greg says they
> can do. Face it, giving the old AD&D Gods official powers and
levels
> was a disaster and a joke! Too many "official" powers or
limitations
> put on them in published works is a bad idea that will get Gregged.

I did like the Deadlands solution to high powered NPC/Storyarc characters: when Stone (the ueber bad undead gunslinger) was introduced as a plot device in one adventure, there was no attempt to stat him. They said, in effect,: if the PCs try something goofy, then let Stone do 10 actions per round -- and he has access to every undead power in the book, at the maximum level. But there was no way Stone was going to be killed/transformed/intimidated by the "interaction" with the PCs, so why worry about detailed stats?

The PCs got feel what its like to interact with a superheroic mover and shaker, taste the powers of the undead at their fullest (which gives them an appreciation of the Deadlands universe), and learn what all good characters learn in a drama -- the dangers of hubris ;-)

So a tentative guidline for the consequences of tussling with Harrek or Gunda might actually be a nice capper for an adventure.