Basic Action Super Heroes!

I like BASH. As a long time lover of Champions and recent player of Savage Worlds, I find BASH refreshing in its simpleness but flexibility. But of course everything has its tradeoffs, and I am never satisfied. So if I were revising BASH I would look at...

Stats - I really want Mental broken down into Intellect and Spirit (willpower and presence). But pointwise I don't see it happening. I like the standardization of stat points BASH has.

Normal human stat is 1 - I think it should be 2. Partly so there is a weaker number, but also the multiplier difference between 1x and 2x is huge. A 1x stat is almost crippled compared to a 2x stat in die rolls.

Advantages - I don't see why these are different than powers. It just seems an odd complication to the system.

Weapons - I don't like weapons being free in a superhero game. It always seems odd to me that if you call a 5x dmg attack a rifle it is free, but call it a fireball and you have to pay points for it.

Range - I wish the ranges were set rather than based on the power. Area is not based on the power. Short range is not based on the power. It just seems an odd complication for no real reason.

Accuracy - There needs to be a standard way of increasing accuracy of combat powers besides Special Attack. Using Boost is bad because it is in a different power group so it does not work well with multipower. An enhancement of Accuracy +1x to hit would work.

Knockback - I wish attacks did not come with knockback for free or had a choice of side effects. I don't like bundling effects in a generic system. Each effect should be chosen separately. It seems like a small thing, but if it is I'd prefer to make knockback an enhancement. Of course melee attacks might get it free, so it isn't simple.

X-ray Vision - I wish this were fit into Super Senses in some way. This odd, specific power seems a flaw in the system. It's just about the only such specific power.

Base more powers on Stats - I find it odd that damage is based on Brawn or Smarts, but continuous damage and others are not. It just seems an odd inconsistency.

Immobilize - this power is either uber or useless depending on whether the foe has a ranged attack. I'd change it to a resistance of 5 per point in immobilize - or leave it at 10 if standard stat is a 2. Or maybe first point is 10, each additional point is +5.

Daze - I would make this power have levels like Immobilize. As it stands it is uber vs foes with a Mental 1. Even if 2 is the standard stat it is hard to break out of. 5pts of resist per point in Daze seems right.

Weaken - Effects have such a long duration in the game. You use weaken once successfully and you are done for that foe. I'd change it so that there is no resistance to it, but for 1pt it only lasts one page. For +1pt it lasts the full fight, or maybe +1 for 3 panels and +2 for full fight. I'd probably also make it only affect 1 effect of a stat (damage or soak for brawn) for +1 pt it affects the full stat.

Super Speed - just seems overpowered. For 3 pts you get to move again and make another action. For 2 pts offhand shooting lets you make a second action of shooting with a -2 dice penalty to both attacks. I would make Super Speed be 3pts for an extra action but not extra movement. For a limitation you can have it only work with one power. So offhand shooting would be Super Speed with the limitation of only for shooting the offhand gun.

Boost with extra limitation - martial arts mastery and weapon technique seem to just be specific versions of boost. Except that being so specific they cost 1pt for 2pts of effect. It seems like that should be built into Boost. Basically Boost for 1pt gives you a +1 that either has only 1 effect on a stat or works only situationally, it gives you +2 if it both has only 1 effect on a stat and only works situationally.

Boost Other - this seems missing from the powers. Basically Boost, affects others, only affects others, takes an action to use. Has a duration of 1 panel, +1pt for 3 panels, +2pts for full fight.

In conclusion this looks like a lot, but really I don't think it is. The core of the game is great. This is quibbling with some powers. It's mostly that I like consistency in a system, although I note that even my suggestions are not necessarily consistent.

I agree with much of what you've said. I do have a question about one statement:

Immobilize - this power is either uber or useless depending on whether the foe has a ranged attack.

I don't understand what you mean by this. Are you talking about the user or the target of Immobilize? If it's the user, sure having range helps...if you're the target, having a ranged attack doesn't help at all if you're immobilized.

There are a lot of these so I'll only tackle a few now.

Normal human stat is 1 - I think it should be 2. Partly so there is a weaker number, but also the multiplier difference between 1x and 2x is huge. A 1x stat is almost crippled compared to a 2x stat in die rolls.

Check out BAM Issue 4, it has alternative stat rules, either introducing half stats, .5, 1, 1.5, etc. or a new stat range of 1-10.

Accuracy - There needs to be a standard way of increasing accuracy of combat powers besides Special Attack. Using Boost is bad because it is in a different power group so it does not work well with multipower. An enhancement of Accuracy +1x to hit would work.

You don't need to multi-power Boost for it to affect a power, when you take Boost you just specify what it affects. Also there is Weapon Technique, which lets you improve accuracy or damage with certain attacks. Several of the Martial Arts powers help too.

Boost Other - this seems missing from the powers. Basically Boost, affects others, only affects others, takes an action to use. Has a duration of 1 panel, +1pt for 3 panels, +2pts for full fight.

This power is in the game. Take Boost with the enhancement that it affects others, and the limitation that it only affects others.

That's all I can get to for now, I may have time during my lunch break to come back and look at the other ones.

dugfromthearth wrote: Stats - I really want Mental broken down into Intellect and Spirit (willpower and presence). But pointwise I don't see it happening. I like the standardization of stat points BASH has.

I don't see any need for this at all but to each his own

Normal human stat is 1 - I think it should be 2. Partly so there is a weaker number, but also the multiplier difference between 1x and 2x is huge. A 1x stat is almost crippled compared to a 2x stat in die rolls.

There is a lower stat it's 0, a person who is average is at a significant disadvantage against somebody who is peak. I consider myself a reasonably strong swimmer, I don't stand a chance against anybody who does it competitively.

Advantages - I don't see why these are different than powers. It just seems an odd complication to the system.

By default these can only be purchased by matching disadvantages, they are also for the most part significantly less dramatic in play than powers

Weapons - I don't like weapons being free in a superhero game. It always seems odd to me that if you call a 5x dmg attack a rifle it is free, but call it a fireball and you have to pay points for it.

You want to charge The Punisher, Deadpool, Deadshot, and The Green Arrow extra because they use weapons? That seems an unnecessary handicap for already somewhat underpowered characters, the limitation to using weapons is already inherent to using weapons.

Range - I wish the ranges were set rather than based on the power. Area is not based on the power. Short range is not based on the power. It just seems an odd complication for no real reason.

I actually agree entirely with this.

Accuracy - There needs to be a standard way of increasing accuracy of combat powers besides Special Attack. Using Boost is bad because it is in a different power group so it does not work well with multipower. An enhancement of Accuracy +1x to hit would work.

with boost or often dividing how the points are spent on the power you can already do this, You would pretty much never want Boost in a multipower anyway, since you can only use one thing from a multipower at a time anyway.

Knockback - I wish attacks did not come with knockback for free or had a choice of side effects. I don't like bundling effects in a generic system. Each effect should be chosen separately. It seems like a small thing, but if it is I'd prefer to make knockback an enhancement. Of course melee attacks might get it free, so it isn't simple.

It happens if it makes sense, otherwise it doesn't, usually it makes sense what with Newton's Three Laws of Motion.

X-ray Vision - I wish this were fit into Super Senses in some way. This odd, specific power seems a flaw in the system. It's just about the only such specific power.

I sort of agree, this seems kind of superfluous and kind of limited with scan being a variable point cost power that allows a character to duplicate much of the effect of X-ray vision even at lower point cost levels, I would probably roll those two powers together.

Base more powers on Stats - I find it odd that damage is based on Brawn or Smarts, but continuous damage and others are not. It just seems an odd inconsistency.

That's a balance issue I think, I would have reservations about adding stats into things that don't already have them added in, I think it would make those things overly good by comparison.

Immobilize - this power is either uber or useless depending on whether the foe has a ranged attack. I'd change it to a resistance of 5 per point in immobilize - or leave it at 10 if standard stat is a 2. Or maybe first point is 10, each additional point is +5.

I've used this power quite a bit and it has always worked out pretty well as written, I think it would become a sub-par power pretty quickly if altered. Your suggestion gives it a range of either 5-25 to escape, which is at the top end not even a superhuman feat or 10-30 which makes escaping say for example Wonder Woman's indestructible golden lasso of the gods a mildly heroic feat and not the nigh impossible task it is always written as. (I've only ever seen Doomsday do it, but I don't read a ton of Wonder Woman)

Daze - I would make this power have levels like Immobilize. As it stands it is uber vs foes with a Mental 1. Even if 2 is the standard stat it is hard to break out of. 5pts of resist per point in Daze seems right.

I again like daze as it is written, note it only lasts a few pages regardless of rolls.

Weaken - Effects have such a long duration in the game. You use weaken once successfully and you are done for that foe. I'd change it so that there is no resistance to it, but for 1pt it only lasts one page. For +1pt it lasts the full fight, or maybe +1 for 3 panels and +2 for full fight. I'd probably also make it only affect 1 effect of a stat (damage or soak for brawn) for +1 pt it affects the full stat.

The only change I would make to weaken is to make it a little clearer with a rewrite, people seem to read it as reducing a stat rather than applying a dice penalty to the stat. I can't think of any comic book examples of a character being weakened by this kind of power and then getting better shortly thereafter. (they probably exist but I am unaware of them)

Super Speed - just seems overpowered. For 3 pts you get to move again and make another action. For 2 pts offhand shooting lets you make a second action of shooting with a -2 dice penalty to both attacks. I would make Super Speed be 3pts for an extra action but not extra movement. For a limitation you can have it only work with one power. So offhand shooting would be Super Speed with the limitation of only for shooting the offhand gun.

There are already powers that do that, and no other powers that do what super-speed does people want the ability to create a speedster like the Flash or Quicksilver limiting Super Speed in this way would make those character's impossible to create as it stands this power is in line point/benefit wise with powers like Double Taps, Offhand Shooting, and Swift Strike.

Boost with extra limitation - martial arts mastery and weapon technique seem to just be specific versions of boost. Except that being so specific they cost 1pt for 2pts of effect. It seems like that should be built into Boost. Basically Boost for 1pt gives you a +1 that either has only 1 effect on a stat or works only situationally, it gives you +2 if it both has only 1 effect on a stat and only works situationally.

Boost, Martial Arts Mastery, and Weapon Technique are all so vastly different, I don't even understand what you are saying.

Boost Other - this seems missing from the powers. Basically Boost, affects others, only affects others, takes an action to use. Has a duration of 1 panel, +1pt for 3 panels, +2pts for full fight.

This already exists it's boost with affects others/only affects others.

BeardedDork wrote:

dugfromthearth wrote: Normal human stat is 1 - I think it should be 2. Partly so there is a weaker number, but also the multiplier difference between 1x and 2x is huge. A 1x stat is almost crippled compared to a 2x stat in die rolls.

There is a lower stat it's 0, a person who is average is at a significant disadvantage against somebody who is peak. I consider myself a reasonably strong swimmer, I don't stand a chance against anybody who does it competitively.

I'm with BeardedDork on this one. My own experience so far has shown me that, in practice, a stat of 1 is equivalent to being a cripple. The case of Daze is a good example. A person with a mind of 1 is essentially permanently helpless if caught in a Daze barring blowing a Hero Dice. With many of the modifiers and target numbers starting at 10, a x1 DM is useless.

Daze - I would make this power have levels like Immobilize. As it stands it is uber vs foes with a Mental 1. Even if 2 is the standard stat it is hard to break out of. 5pts of resist per point in Daze seems right.

I again like daze as it is written, note it only lasts a few pages regardless of rolls.

Huh? There's nothing in the description of Daze that indicates a limited duration. Reading it, a character unable to roll a 20 (such as someone with a Mind of 1) is permanently Dazed and therefore unable to do anything at all. Most unfun.

My mistake I was thinking the effect ended after three pages, I must have been thinking of something else though I can't imagine what at the moment.

If a character is dazed they can burn a hero die or never surrender to shake it off, if they don't have a hero die they can push themselves to get one, Daze is not a fight ending power, not even against a hero with a low mind.

Edit: it was confusion.

Editx2: my experience is that most damage heroes take in fights comes from pushing themselves.

Appreciate the suggestions for coming out of a Daze.

IMO, though, that doesn't contradict the position that a 1 stat is sup-par rather than normal, unless we assume normal people are weak, clumsy idiots.

Edit: And my experience so far has been that most damage characters get in combat comes from having opponents with stats 2 or more higher.

The problem is when you compare average to superhuman, when you do that yes normal means weak, clumsy, idiots. I'm forced to assume that anybody who creates a character with an attribute of 1 (or less) is aware of the repercussions of doing so, and has deemed them manageable or attempted to compensate in other ways.

Edit: How less satisfying the game would be if normal people could simply thwart our hero's every effort, because if it where so that a hero with a normal stat could do that then it means that regular people with nothing super about them at all could to.

I understand (well, at least I do now, after suffering through the situation in a game) that giving a hero a stat of 1 means he underperforms in that area, but that sort of belies establishing that value as a norm, as the charts in the book do.

Essentially if I create a character whose concept gives no reason for him to be a genius, I still need to give him a Mind stat of at least 2 just to keep him from being overwhelmed by anything that affects the stat.

So the rule mechanics end up trumping the concept. And that rubs me wrong.

Try this perspective then, let's say you have a character like The Sandman (the original JSA version) who has a gas gun that puts the bad guys to sleep (functionally a daze effect) if a character with an average mind can resist this then his whole concept is null and void as it won't work on even an average criminal.

If you choose to have an average mind then you choose to be susceptible to the things that a person with an average mind is subject to.

BeardedDork wrote:Try this perspective then, let's say you have a character like The Sandman (the original JSA version) who has a gas gun that puts the bad guys to sleep (functionally a daze effect) if a character with an average mind can resist this then his whole concept is null and void as it won't work on even an average criminal.

If you choose to have an average mind then you choose to be susceptible to the things that a person with an average mind is subject to.

That is true.

Remember- if you want to play a guy with an average mind who is stubborn as *, take Mind Shield and Never Surrender. There is a reason why the sample Behemoth build has it!

I just noticed this thread and am taking notes . I can say that the wording of "Extra Effect" will change to allow you to do other mechanical effects other than a +2 DM vs. certain group.

A +1Multiplier to Hit enhancment- not a bad idea- but boost can already do that much more efficiently. For instance, SmokeScreen has Fire Mastery 4 and Special Attack 4 (fireballs). One of his other powers is "Boost 1 Mind w/ Fire Powers". It works with BOTH of those powers, for 1 Character Point. Similarly, one could take a similar power that boosts agility. I usually do this with Archer types. I give them Boost 2 Agility w/ Bows. Why do that instead of Weapon Technique? Because Weapon Technique would only apply to "regular" bow shots- and this Boost power would work on his powers that use the bow. Tangle Arrows, Net Arrows, Boxing Glove Arrows, Ice Arrows, Flashbang Arrows, Acid Arrows, etc.

Other ways to get out of a daze (Besides pushing yourself or using a Hero Die, or Never Surrender):

-An enemy hits you
-a FRIEND hits you (for 0 damage). So if you are dazed, someone else can just snap you out of it pretty easy.

Howdy dugfromthearth!

Great post! I've tinkered with BASH UE myself and had many of the same concerns. On occasion I still entertain experimenting with the system (mostly because I enjoy doing so), but in the end I've decided to MOSTLY play it out of the box, and it's been working great. The only house rule I use is the Heightened power I developed and which appears in BAM #5. It adds a bit more granularity to the Stats without really changing anything about the core system.

Anyway, here are some of my thoughts about your thoughts and a few extra musings of my own.

dugfromthearth wrote:Stats - I really want Mental broken down into Intellect and Spirit (willpower and presence). But pointwise I don't see it happening. I like the standardization of stat points BASH has.

For a long time I struggled with this same issue. My concern wasn’t so much mechanical, but rather conceptual. I had a hard time figuring out what to do with characters with mega IQs but more mundane “willpowers” conceptually. Examples might be Tony Stark (who is a genius, but often gives in to his passions) or Mr. Fantastic (who is even more of a genius, but doesn’t necessarily posses the “spirit” of a Captain America or Doctor Strange). For a short while I replaced MIND with SMARTS and HEART (which had the fun minor consequence of having the Stat initials spell out BASH), but I found that it wasn't worth the extra hassle. In the end, MIND alone works okay for me. I usually assign the Stat based on the character’s ability to Reason and then modify with Mind Shield to represent a higher willpower. Captain America might have a MIND 2, for instance, with Mind Shield 2 to represent his iron will. The only exceptions to this rule are wizards and the like. In those cases I rate their MIND according to their “spirit” and then modify down with disadvantages. Doctor Strange, for instance, might ALSO have a MIND 5, but he might have the Unskilled disadvantage. He’s not REALLY unskilled, he just has a fewer range of skills, perhaps, than Tony Stark, Mister Fantastic, or (especially) Batman.

dugfromthearth wrote:Normal human stat is 1 - I think it should be 2. Partly so there is a weaker number, but also the multiplier difference between 1x and 2x is huge. A 1x stat is almost crippled compared to a 2x stat in die rolls.

It depends on what you mean by crippled. There IS a big difference between x1 and x2, and there should be. Sue Richards, for example, should feel dramatically weaker physically than Daredevil, Batman, or Captain America. A Brawn 1 vs. a Brawn two reflects this quite nicely. However, I usually find that characters with x1 Stats/Skills can adequately perform most mundane tasks. Perhaps this is because I assume that the Difficulty Number for “Typical” actions is not 10, but rather 1-10. (Most people, from what I gather, do this as well.) The Difficulty Number for a routine task, therefore, might be 5, which a rating of x1 can pull off pretty reasonably. This is especially true if you use the Heightened power, which grants a +3 Result Bonus to Stat checks (meaning that the average result for a Stat with a rating of x1 is 10.5). In short, a character with a Stat of x1 will seem significantly less capable that a character with a x2, but they won’t necessarily feel handicapped, depending on how you and your Narrator go about things.

That being said, I have considered going to a Stat system that ranges from x1– x10, with average humans being at x2 and peak humans being at x4. Why? One reason is that I’m used to games where super-strong characters don’t need to purchase a Special Attack to have their basic “umph!” A character with a Brawn 5 may be able to lift the Statue of Liberty, but an attack that does x5 damage isn’t all that impressive relative to what’s out there. I usually, therefore, have to buy all of my “bricks” some sort of Special Attack to model what I feel is reasonable damage for them. Instituting the change that I’ve been flirting with would allow “bricks” to do damage according to their strength. Believe it or not, I don’t envision this change affecting the damage ceiling too much. I’d explain what I envision further, but this has already gone on long enough. Besides, this isn’t a change I’m likely to institute. I’m just playing around with stuff for the sake of it.

dugfromthearth wrote:Advantages - I don't see why these are different than powers. It just seems an odd complication to the system.

I tend to agree.

dugfromthearth wrote:Weapons - I don't like weapons being free in a superhero game. It always seems odd to me that if you call a 5x dmg attack a rifle it is free, but call it a fireball and you have to pay points for it.

This doesn’t bother me too much. I simply consider normal weapons more fragile/expendable and less reliable than conventional weapons. Besides, the rules governing how much damage they do are a little different, so it works okay for me.

dugfromthearth wrote:Range - I wish the ranges were set rather than based on the power. Area is not based on the power. Short range is not based on the power. It just seems an odd complication for no real reason.

Recent discussions are converting me to this change as a preference.

dugfromthearth wrote:Accuracy - There needs to be a standard way of increasing accuracy of combat powers besides Special Attack. Using Boost is bad because it is in a different power group so it does not work well with multipower. An enhancement of Accuracy +1x to hit would work.

Hmm…I don’t get this. I think Boost works just fine. I think Bashman did, however, suggest the possibility of adding an advantage called Accurate or Accuracy. I’ll have to dig that up.

dugfromthearth wrote:Knockback - I wish attacks did not come with knockback for free or had a choice of side effects. I don't like bundling effects in a generic system. Each effect should be chosen separately. It seems like a small thing, but if it is I'd prefer to make knockback an enhancement. Of course melee attacks might get it free, so it isn't simple.

I like the discussion that I believe you raised regarding this awhile ago. I think KB should remain the default effect, but I like the idea of having different options in this regard.

dugfromthearth wrote:X-ray Vision - I wish this were fit into Super Senses in some way. This odd, specific power seems a flaw in the system. It's just about the only such specific power.

I see what you are saying here, but mechanically it works okay for me.

dugfromthearth wrote:Base more powers on Stats - I find it odd that damage is based on Brawn or Smarts, but continuous damage and others are not. It just seems an odd inconsistency.

I tend to agree with this. It also sets a weird “cap” for some powers. You can have a Special Attack that does x10 damage, but the maximum that a Continuous Damage can do is a x5 (unless I’m missing something). I’m similarly frustrated by Mind Spikes Usable on Others. Capping that attack off at x5 makes it too easy for many targets to handle. All this would change if you could add your MIND to the damage. It’s expensive enough anyway, so I don’t see how that’s unbalancing.

dugfromthearth wrote:Immobilize - this power is either uber or useless depending on whether the foe has a ranged attack. I'd change it to a resistance of 5 per point in immobilize - or leave it at 10 if standard stat is a 2. Or maybe first point is 10, each additional point is +5.

I’m not so sure about this yet. We haven’t play-tested Immobilize enough. I rule, BTW, that you can make something other than a Brawn check to escape. (A character with flame powers, for instance, could burn their way out of certain immobilize attacks, depending on special effects and the means of projection.)

dugfromthearth wrote:Daze - I would make this power have levels like Immobilize. As it stands it is uber vs foes with a Mental 1. Even if 2 is the standard stat it is hard to break out of. 5pts of resist per point in Daze seems right.

I’d also prefer if this were ranked as you suggest, although I might go with the 10 points of resist per level.

dugfromthearth wrote:Weaken - Effects have such a long duration in the game. You use weaken once successfully and you are done for that foe. I'd change it so that there is no resistance to it, but for 1pt it only lasts one page. For +1pt it lasts the full fight, or maybe +1 for 3 panels and +2 for full fight. I'd probably also make it only affect 1 effect of a stat (damage or soak for brawn) for +1 pt it affects the full stat.

Again, we haven’t play-tested this enough for me to have an opinion.

dugfromthearth wrote:Super Speed - just seems overpowered. For 3 pts you get to move again and make another action. For 2 pts offhand shooting lets you make a second action of shooting with a -2 dice penalty to both attacks. I would make Super Speed be 3pts for an extra action but not extra movement. For a limitation you can have it only work with one power. So offhand shooting would be Super Speed with the limitation of only for shooting the offhand gun.

Hmmm…I’d have to think about this one.

dugfromthearth wrote:Boost with extra limitation - martial arts mastery and weapon technique seem to just be specific versions of boost. Except that being so specific they cost 1pt for 2pts of effect. It seems like that should be built into Boost. Basically Boost for 1pt gives you a +1 that either has only 1 effect on a stat or works only situationally, it gives you +2 if it both has only 1 effect on a stat and only works situationally.

I too would prefer that sort of consistency.

dugfromthearth wrote:Boost Other - this seems missing from the powers. Basically Boost, affects others, only affects others, takes an action to use. Has a duration of 1 panel, +1pt for 3 panels, +2pts for full fight.

Someone already addressed how this can be done.

One thing I’m bothered by a little bit is that powers are broken up into such specific categories, and that these categories are restrictive with regards to multi-powers, etc. I prefer a more open approach to power classification.

That being said, I’m like you. My various quibbles with the system are minor at worst, and mostly they are a product of my insatiable desire to tinker and play with systems that I love. BASH UE is my absolute go-to game for supers, and I come from a long history of playing Champions, Mutants and Masterminds, and just about every other superhero system in between.

Anyhoo, thanks for opening up a great discussion! 

Best,

Dragonfly

thanks for the comments

Stats - my issue isn't that a 1x is weak, it is that it is half as good as a 2x. The difference is just too great. An average person with an Agility of 1 attacks a foe with an Agility of 2. The person with an Agility of 1 will almost never hit. You don't have that problem if they have an Agility of 4 and 5.

Agility 2: roll 7 you get a 14.
The agility 1 needs to roll a 14 on 2d6. Possible, but incredibly unlikely.

Agility 5: roll 7 you get a 35
The agility 4 needs to roll a 9 on 2d6. Under 50%, but much more likely.

Immobilize - I haven't pushed in game. I've seen the rule but it never occurred to me to push to break an immobilize - which of course is something it is good for. I'd still rather see immobilize scale so there are different levels.

Accuracy - I see Boost raising to hit for all powers. The reason for wanting it in a multipower is to save points. Imagine a flame multipower. One slot is burst attack - no need to roll to hit. Another slot is a continuous damage power - I want to give it a bonus to hit. With a multipower I can just use the points in the slot for an enhancement bonus to hit.

Boost Other - Yes, you can take usable on other and only usable on other - but that's all of the limitations you can take then (and get points for). I want it as its own power (or create a 0pt enhancement affects others and only others) so that you can use it with other limitations as it seems more like a basic power type than a limitation.

Weapons - I want to charge a WWII super soldier who picks up a rifle and has a 5x Dmg attack points for it, when the fiery crusader next to him has to pay points for his 5x damage attack. The rifle can be taken away or destroyed - that's already covered by the gadget limitation. No reason to give one guy a free power just because they chose the concept "rifle" over "fireball".

Super Speed - if people are buying super speed because they want to run faster that should be handled by super running. You shouldn't need a second power to make super running faster.

Sandman putting people to sleep - what is an "average" criminal? An standard criminal should have a mind of 1. 1 is the standard value for mind. Now you could say that the average world class villain has a higher mind or mental defense. That's why Daze should have levels - so it can be street level or world class.

Stats - my issue isn't that a 1x is weak, it is that it is half as good as a 2x. The difference is just too great. An average person with an Agility of 1 attacks a foe with an Agility of 2. The person with an Agility of 1 will almost never hit. You don't have that problem if they have an Agility of 4 and 5.

Use Heightened. It gives a +3 Result bonus to all rolls with the stat in question, including damage, soak, hit, defense, etc.

Using average rolls:

0 = 3.5
1 = 7
1+ = 10
2 = 14.

So this is basically a variance of +/- 3.5 for each one on average.