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Creating A Superhero The Above Average Way
 
 

Step 1. For creating your superhero, please use the Heritage storytelling rules.

Step 2. Your superhero's Powers.

Every superhero has superpowers. Sounds logical, doesn't it? But the Above Average rules make a difference between superpowers and superskills.
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Superpower: a superpower is a power that is better than the best human skill or ability. Superpowers can also be powers that have no skill/ability counterpart. Examples: Superstrength, Lightning Speed, Transformation Powers. A Superpower has a Power Level between 2 and 6.

Superskill/Superability: a superskill/superability is a skill or ability that is among the best human skills or abilities. If it was better, it would be a superpower. Every Superskill/Superability has the tag "Mastery" attached to the skill/ability. Examples: Martial Arts Mastery (the character can beat a world champion in no-holds-barred fighting), Endurance Mastery (the character can run a marathon without being too exhausted). Superskills/Superabilities mustn't have a Power Level that is higher than 1.

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According to these classes, there are also two types of superheroes: Superheroes and Above Averagers.
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Superheroes have at least one superpower. They may have some superskills/superabilities, also.

Above Averagers have no superpowers, but they have a couple of superskills/superabilities instead. Usually, Above Averagers have far more Superskills than Superheroes.

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When creating a character, you have to decide whether to create a superhero or an Above Averager.

Very important: To give yourself and the other players and the GM an idea of how powerful your Superpower or Superskill/Superability is, please follow these guidelines:
The Powers are measured in so-called Power Levels. There are seven Power Levels. They measure the Range, the Damage, the Protection value, the Speed, the Weight, the Size, the Temperature and the Area Of Effect that a Power can have or affect.
You have 10 Power Levels total to spend on your hero's Powers. No single Power may have a Power Level above 5.
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You have 10 Power Levels total to spend for your hero's Powers. No single Power may have a Power Level above 5.
 

Step 2.1 Read the Above Average Uncomplete List Of Superpowers to get an idea of what your hero's Powers are like.
 
We won't give you an extensive description of superpowers and superskills. Go read some comic-books and let your imagination run wild. What superpowers do you really want to have? To give you an idea of the powers your hero could possess, read the following list:

360-Degree Vision, Absorb Attribute, Absorb Normal Skill, Absorb Super-Skill, Absorption, Adaption, Adhesion, Air Sphere , Alter Altered Time Rate , Analyze , Animal Control, Animal Metamorphosis , Animal Senses, Animal/Plant Power, Animate, Animate Shadow, Animated Servant, Anti-G, Armor, Astral Projection, Bend Light, Bind, Bionics, Blast, Blind, Body Control, Body of Air, Body of Demon, Body of Diamond, Body of Earth, Body of Fire, Body of Ice, Body of Metal, Body of Obzidean, Body of Stone , Body of Undead, Body of Water, Body transformation, Bond, Bouncing, Breath Holding, Broadcast, Call Hail, Call Lightning, Catfall, Chameleon , Chemical control, Chemical Power, Claws, Clinging, Cold, Color, Computer Brain, Confuse , Consumes all forms of matter, Continuum Control, Control Animated Object, Control Fire , Control Hell, Control Liquid , Control Temperature , Control Undead, Control Weather, Control Winds, Cosmic Awareness, Create Air , Create Darkness, Create Gas, Create Liquid, Cryokinesis, Cybernetics   , Damage Resistance, Dampen , Dark Vision , Darkness Control, Deafen , Dehydrate , Destroy Liquid, Devitalization Ray, Dimensional Travel, Disintegrate , Disintegration Ray, Displacement, Doesn't Breath , Doesn't Eat or Drink, Doesn't Sleep , Drain Attribute , Dual Brain, Duplication , Elasticity, Electrical generation/control, Electromagnetism, Emotion Control, Empathy, Energy absorption, Energy manipulation, Enhanced agility, Enhanced Attribute/Sense, Enhanced senses, Fireball, Flame generation/control, Flame Jet, Flash , Flexibility , Flight, Force blasts, Force Field, Frost , Gravity Control, Growth , Hard To Kill, Have you all read yet?, Heat generation, Homing Ability, Hyperflight, Hypnosis, Ice generation, Illuminate , Illusion , Image projection, Immortality , Immunity to Poison , Increase Gravitiy , Increased Speed , Infravision , Insubstantiality , Intuition, Invisibility, Invulnerability, Laser , Life Support, Light generation/control, Lightning Control, Luck, Machine Body, Machine control, Magic spell casting, Magnetic Powers, Martial arts mastery, Mass Variation: Other, Mass Variation: Self, Matter consumption, Matter Surfing , Mechano Link, Mental Duplication, Mental Stun, Microscopic Vision, Mimicry , Mind Control, Mold Earth, Mold Stone, Molecular control, Morph , Morph Memory, Move Through Material, Multiple Forms, Mutant Healing Factor, Neutralize Fire, Neutralize Sound , Nictating Membrane, Non-Corporealness, Odor generation, Parabolic Hearing , Paralysis Ray, Passive Denfense, Penetrating Vision, Perfect Balance , Photographic memory, Plant Control, Poison/Venom, Polarize Eyes , Power Blast, Power mimicry, Precision, Pressure Support, Probability Manipulation, PSI, Psychic, Pyrokinesis, Radar Senses, Radiation generation/control, Radio Hearing , Recovery, Reduced Sleep, Reflection , Regeneration , Regrowth, Resurrection , Revivification, See Invisible, Sensitive Touch, Seventh sense, Shadow Form , Shape-shifting, Silence, Size Change, Smoke generation/control, Sonic Powers, Sound generation/control, Speak Underwater, Spectrum Vision, Stretching Powers, Surge , Telekinesis, Telepathy, Teleportation, Temperature Tolerance , Time manipulation, Transformation , Transmutation, Tunnel , Ultrahearing, Unaging , Unstoppable, Vacuum , Vibratory Powers, Walk on Air , Walk on Liquid , Wall of Fire , Water Breathing, Weakness Detection, Weather control, Whirlwind.
 

Step 2.2 Determine your superhero's source of Power.

• Is your hero the keeper of Ancient Lore?
• Or is some kind of chemical accident involved?
• What about a chronal disruption, an irregularity in the time-space continuum that makes your Joe Sixpack a superhero?
• Maybe he is cybernetically enhanced?
• Or he comes from another dimension?
• Perhaps is is an extra-terrestrial?
• Or is he somebody who constructs his own technological wonderworks – gadgets?
• Or maybe he is a magician?
• Or your hero has found the world formula, the mathematics that make our universe work – and thus, his superpowers?
• Or he is some kind of monk or priest, gaining his powers through meditation?
• Maybe he has a genetic defect?
• Or is he a God?
• Or just a person who can handle PSI powers?
• Perhaps he has been exposed to unnatural doses of radiation?
• Or he is connected with another being, interchanging their powers and multiplying their strengths?
• Maybe it's just plain old training?

• Does it always work?
• Or is it limited in some way?
• Maybe it doesn't work everywhere?

Step 2.3 Magic is a Superpower.
A note regarding Magic:
Magic is a power that sometimes occurs in superhero comic-books. Most magicians and sorcerers in the books are able to perform tasks with their magic that are similar  to superpowers.  This leads me to the conclusion that magical powers are nothing else than superpowers. So, magic in Above Average is also a superpower. Magic comes in two forms: Karmic Magic and Universal Magic. With magic being just another Power, please don't forget to give it a Power Level.
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Karmic Magic affects only living targets. It has no effect whatsoever on targets that are lifeless, like machines or buildings. Karmic Magic is good when your  superhero wants to powerblast his enemies without toasting everything and anything that happens to stand in his way. Karmic Magic is less draining than Universal Magic - you can cast more Karmic Spells than Universal Spells.

Universal Magic affects everything, regardless of the degree of life (or non-life) it contains. Be careful when your superhero is capable of casting Universal Magic. It makes no difference between a car or an innocent bystander. Universal Magic requires a lot of endurance; much more than Karmic Magic does.  _____  Example: a Universal Spell called "Illusion" can project images and sound into anything and everything. It will work against a human being, and it will work against a camera. If it was a Karmic Spell, it would only affect living matter.

 
 
 
Step 3. Your superhero needs a name.

Another problem may be your superhero's name ... I mean, let's face it, the umpteenth version of Superguy, Greatboy and Atomic Andy are not really thrilling. So, I have included here jemidex@computerpro.com's Superhero Name Generator. I think it's a great idea to fuel your imaginative engine. The name generator consists of two lists. Pick one element of each list. These two words are the compounds of your superhero's name.
 

List 1 List 2 air archer blood arrow acid ace armor adept battle angel bio bane black beast blue blaze bone blast bright blade chain blur chaos bolt cold bone cosmic bow crimson burn cross cannon cryo child crystal cloak dagger compass dawn crest death bird demon dagger diamond demon doom dart double disc dream dragon earth eagle ebon eye electro fighter fire flame flame fire gas flare geo foe ghost force gold fury grey gate dark gaze green grip grim growl hell guardian hypno hammer hyper hawk ice horn ivory jaw iron key lava kiss life knight light knuckle mind lance mist lens moon lock nether mask night master null moon neuro nymph nova needle pain nova pale orb psycho claw plasma probe power pulse rune quake red rider rock wave skull sword shadow shield shatter shadow silver shade sky shard frost shock sonic spike spirit spectre star star hydro stalker thorn storm pyro surge psi talon time thorn wild scream wrath wall phase ward thunder warden web wolf

 
This is the way your superhero is created in Above Average.
Don't be afraid. If you feel exhausted after all this, take a little time-out. It's no problem to add a Good Thing or Bad Thing while you play. Experience has shown that most players modify their heroes' descriptions during the first couple of sessions. No problem.
This is your hero. This is your game.
 

Step 4. How To Make Above Average Cool And Exciting
What can you do to generate this unique comic-book feeling? First of all, drop your dice. Be it d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 or d100, drop them.
Our first step into the exciting world of superhero storytelling will be to take a closer look at the laws of this genre. What rules can we derive from the books?

• Superheroes are not the bad guys. Sometimes, they may forget about their good alignment, but basically, they are the good guys. Their enemies are the supervillains. Superhero comic-books are not always black-and-white masterpieces, but most of the times. There may be shades of white, and there may be shades of black, but your characters basically belong to the good side.
• Everything in the comic-books is on a large scale. No supervillain will try to poison average Mr. Sixpack living next door when he can get at the whole nation. No superhero simply punches the nefarious Frost Stalker unconscious when he can kick him to Lunar Base 1.
• Superheroes and supervillains never fight silently. Their fights are loud, ear-catching and breath-taking. And: the combattants talk a lot while fighting. ("You thought you ..." THWACKK "... could defeat me ..." THUMMMP "... but I have ..." ZA-KRAKKKK "... learned!")

The results of an ABove Average  fight are vastly different from those that occur in "realistic" games. Remember, the superhero genre is larger than life. People are flying, thrown into space by brawny superheroes, lifting buildings, and so on. The sky is the limit in superheroic fights.
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In real life, an average human being will simply collapse and die after being hit with a .45 magnum. In Above Average, average people are knocked back a couple of yards, and then they collapse and die.

In real life, an average human being hit in the face by an above-average fighter, will be knocked out and crumple to the floor. In Above Average, this human being will be knocked out of his boots, and hit the ground hundreds of meters farther away.

In real life, jumping from skyscraper top to skyscraper top while shooting at the villain will result in a serious case of asphalt poisoning (aka falling to death). In Above Average, this kind of chase is a common, every-day activity.

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Remember that characters in the superhero genre are wounded often. In most cases, these injuries don't last long. There are cases, however, when a superhero is severely wounded. These wounds are Plot turns. They serve as a major obstacle for the character in the future. Wounds are a GM's tool for telling the player that his character has done something wrong or stupid. But don't overdo it: killing a character is a very harsh thing to do. It's better to let the character have a very hard time and to throw lots of obstacles in his way. Again, take a look at the comic-books: superheroes don't die easily.

The stage plays also an important role in a combat scenario. What does the scenario look like? Where does the fight take place? In a crowded alley with lots of shoppers? In a run-down block with police far, far away? The stage is important. Hundreds of different props are lying around and wait for the characters to pick them up. Imagine a fight scene in a library. The superheroes could break shelves, or try to hide between them. Single books are very good throwing objects. Imagine the chaos and mayhem when a Power Blast explodes in there ...