So... I specced Spider-man today...

[exploding_brain]

The system wasn't designed with supers in mind, so we shouldn't be surprised that it can't handle all the specifics quite right.  My point is that it comes astonishingly close without very much tweaking.  My quick version of Superman looked a little like this.  Not cannon compliant, but quite playable, I think.

Fantastic: Might, Endurance
Epic: Alertness, Athletics
Superb: Conviction, Discipline
Great: Presence...

[-0] Human Guise
[-6] Mythic Strength
[-6] Mythic Speed
[-6] Mythic Toughness
[-6] Mythic Recovery
[+4] Catches: Kryptonite and Magic
[+1] Feeding Dependency: Yellow Sunlight
[-1] Wings
[-3] Breath Weapon (Heat Vision and Cold Breath)
[-3] Supernatural senses, up to a dozen or so

That's -26, which is more that I remember the last time I thought about this.  Maybe there's another trick for getting back a point or two that I'm forgetting.  Technically, the radiation and vacuum of space or the heat of earth's molten core could eventually hurt him, but how often is he going to fail the endurance check?

[exploding_brain]

Link to my older hulk writeup. http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,17625.msg794250.html#msg794250

[finnmckool]

Physical Immunity. That's pretty much Superman all day. You can drop a building on him and he doesn't just shake it off...his hair's barely out of place. I've never seen him get "hurt." Pushed back? Sure. Delayed? Alright. Knocked down? He's never actually injured, bruised, cut, broken boned, etc. There never seems to be any actual damage to heal. I mean there is the exception of the time he died, but that was the only time I've ever actually seen him hurt when other external factors (no yellow sun, kryptonite, etc) were in play.

[MijRai]

Physical Immunity. That's pretty much Superman all day. You can drop a building on him and he doesn't just shake it off...his hair's barely out of place. I've never seen him get "hurt." Pushed back? Sure. Delayed? Alright. Knocked down? He's never actually injured, bruised, cut, broken boned, etc. There never seems to be any actual damage to heal. I mean there is the exception of the time he died, but that was the only time I've ever actually seen him hurt when other external factors (no yellow sun, kryptonite, etc) were in play.

I've never seen a broken bone, but I have seen bruises and cuts. The occassional clutching the gut after someone his own strength punched it. It isn't physical immunity, although some would probably play it that way.

[finnmckool]

That's fair. I've never really seen cuts and bruises. Not recently anyway. Back in silver age some times...

[lankyogre]

So far I think most of these are a little over the top for Spiderman. Though he has been part of the Avengers, and fought with some of the bigger guys, in and of himself he is fairly low powered. Most of his abilities are at the inhuman level. Frequently he fights mundane people or other very minor bad guys, and so his abilities seem magnified, but inhuman speed and supernatural sense can give enough of a bonus to alertness and athletics that he always seems to go much faster than most of the guys he is fighting. His web shooters were not anything inherent to him, nor are they really something that should come up as an item of power. Most of the time they are a function of an aspect being invoked for a maneuver or description to his attack. Actually, since there are frequently times when he can't afford to make the adhesive for the web shooters it would be more appropriate not to be an item of power.

Somebody like Quicksilver would have mythic speed, but not much else. Wolverine would have mythic recovery and/or toughness and the claws power. Daredevil would have a bunch of stunts and maybe supernatural senses. Even Captain America would fit pretty well at 10-15 refresh.

I think a lot of people want superheroes to be SUPER OMG!!!! KILL YOU ARGH!!!!, but many of the marvel heroes at least, are well within the bounds of the Dresden Files. We have seen Thomas do enough to go toe to toe with any of the Marvel Knights and some of the Avengers. Harry suffers at least as much of a beating as most comic book heroes and comes out on top with nothing more than Wizards Constitution.

I think that Dresden Files might actually model a lot of superheroes better than some superhero games because of the way powers are split up. In DC Heroes or Necessary Evil, for example, something like Luke Cages physical immunity or Wolverines healing are not possible as player character without building up to it.


Now DC comics are a completely different beast and play complete havoc with anything resembling consistency or playable concepts. Superman would have an ability called:
 Yes! (-100) - When under the effects of a yellow sun superman has whatever abilities he wants. When his player asks if he can do something the answer is always "Yes!"
Human guise (+1)
The Catch (+?) Kryptonite: Superman loses his Yes! ability.

[Belial666]

Actually, most comic characters have this ability;



[-8] Plot Armor: The hero (or villain) is tied to a plot; they are immune to attacks that, if they affected him, would ruin that plot. Such attacks the hero manages to endure through heroic willpower or they somehow fail through contrived coincidence, the villain is inexplicably prepared against them or is just too powerful for them to affect.
[+0] Catch: plot armor does NOT make a hero invulnerable. As long as the end result is in accordance to the plot, the hero can be beaten, taken out or even killed normally.

[Doc Nova]

Nice Spidey build, but I thought of two things:  first, I didn't see anyone give him the Intimidation stunt of Infuriate, which he clearly demonstrates against foes all the time; second...why not just count his webbing as a variant of channeling to allow for blasts, grapples, and blocks?