3d6 Supers!

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3D6 Supers: Super Role-Play! By Scott R. Pyle Additional material and editing: Damian Mastrangelo Layout and design by Scott Pyle Interior Artwork: Joseph Dragovich, Thomas Scioli, William Lukash, Jan Annarella, Rich Yanizeski Secret Base Map: Schuyler Hernstrom Front Cover: Jan Annarella and Carrie Posing Back Cover: William Lukash and Carrie Posing Cover Assists: Joe Urban Advice and Playtesting: Dan Yauger, Stuart Surgent, Louis Reash, Tony Borzok, Jeff Yandora, Damian Mastrangelo, Enrico Nardini, Schuyler Hernstrom, Rick Hertzig, John Thomas Jessop, Caoimhe Ora Snow Publisher Four-Color Studios, 2016 Rules text © Scott R. Pyle September 2016, 2nd Printing

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Table of Contents Chapter 1: The Basic Rules Chapter 2: Character Creation Chapter 3: Action & Combat Chapter 4: Characters Chapter 5: Caper Generator Chapter 6: Secret Base Design Rules Appendix I: More Characters Appendix II: Powerhouses

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Chapter 1: The Basic Rules Introduction

3D6 Supers presents a fast-paced supers role-play game where the players take on the roles of heroes or villains in a comic book universe. We’ve written these rules with new players in mind, but old hands at supers gaming will also find a lot to like! The essence of the system underpinning character actions is simple--roll three six-sided dice, add them up, and then add a modifier from a game stat or power. That’s it! The rest of the system provides added details for special situations. We hope you enjoy playing this system as much as we did designing and testing it! Read on, true believer, comic book action awaits! What is a Role-Playing Game? Role-playing games (RPGs for short), offer a form of table-top entertainment where the players take the roles of characters in a fictional story and setting. RPGs provide a shared storytelling experience, with one player acting as the game master, or GM, and the other players each taking the roles of a player character, or PC. In addition to providing the skeleton of the story's plot, the GM also plays the role of all of the non-player characters, or NPCs, that the PCs will meet in the game. The GM has the biggest job to do in writing the framework of the story, deciding how the NPCs will behave, and generally guiding her players through the experience and seeing that everyone has a good time. The players can help by being creative, playing their characters according to their motivations, and concentrating on having fun while being respectful to each other and the GM. Chapters, Series, and Issues We think of each gaming session of ​3D6 Supers as a distinct issue of a comic book. With that in mind, each scene within an issue counts as a chapter. We use the terms ​scene and ​chapter interchangeably in these rules. A number of issues combine to make a ​series. In traditional role-play terms, that’s a campaign, but ​3D6 Supers is all about comic book action, so for us, it’s a series! We encourage the GM and her players to number each issue and create fancy titles for each story and chapter!

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Rules Introduction 3D6 Supers provides players with rules to play exciting comic book action in any four-color universe! Players can portray heroes, villains, or maybe a team that combines both! Dice 3D6 Supers uses six-sided dice (D6s) for combat and task resolution. It helps if each player has three D6s (denoted 3D6 in these rules) of his or her own to play, but in a pinch the group can share a single set of 3D6s. When a player attempts a task in the game (most often an attack or defense roll), he rolls 3D6 and adds the value of each die together for a rolled result of 3 to 18. Example: Damian’s character, Deadeye, is making an attack, he rolls 3D6 and gets a 2, 4, and 5 on his three dice. His rolled result is 11. The ​3D6 Supers rules often add a positive or negative modifier to a rolled result. Example: Deadeye attacks with a rolled result of 11, and also has Shooting +2, making his total result 13 (11 + 2). In all instances, it’s better to roll higher on your dice than lower.

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3D6 Probability For the math-minded among you, here’s the probability of each result on a 3D6: Roll 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Percentage 0.5% 1.9% 2.8% 4.6% 6.9% 9.7% 11.6% 12.5% 12.5% 11.6% 9.7% 6.9% 4.6% 2.8% 1.9% 0.5%

Your average result on 3D6 = 10.5. Once you start adding in bonuses from stats and other factors, the probabilities shift. The average result on a 3D6 + 1 = 11.5, 3D6 + 2 = 12.5, 3D6 + 3 = 13.5, 3D6 + 4 = 14.5, 3D6 + 5 = 15.5, and so on.

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Cards 3D6 Supers also uses one standard deck of 54 playing cards (Jokers included) for initiative and certain other special conditions. We discuss this further in Chapter 3. Rolling 3 Rolling triple 1s on 3D6 always results in a failure. The GM may even rule it a serious gaff or fumble and impose some other consequence should she deem it appropriate. Rolling 18 Rolling triple 6s on 3D6 always results in a success! The GM may even rule it a critical hit in combat scenarios, allowing you to double your damage for the attack. Target Numbers When performing tasks or fighting unnamed minions, characters roll against static values called target numbers, or TN for short. TN have a range based on their degree of difficulty: Easy = 5 Moderate = 9 Hard = 13 Very Hard = 17 Impossible = 21+ We call the number a character beats his TN by his ​result levels. Compare a check’s result levels to the following chart to gauge the level of success: Result Levels​ 0 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9 - 10 11+

​FX 0 (Marginal) 1 (Average) 2 (Good) 3 (Excellent) 4 (Remarkable) 5 (Amazing) 6 (Monstrous)

You can see that every two result levels generates one level of effect (or FX on the chart). In non-combat tasks this helps the GM adjudicate how well a character accomplishes a task. Example: Wildman wants to leap out a window, grab a nearby flagpole, and swing to a neighboring rooftop. The GM declares this a TN=13 Agility check. Wildman’s player rolls 3D6, adds his Agility bonus, and gets a final total of 19! That’s 6 result levels, and an FX of 3--an ​excellent feat! The amount you ​fail a check by equals ​negative result levels. These also generate FX using the same chart as above, and they often wind up hurting or penalizing you in some way.

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Success and Failure In most cases matching or beating a TN will be enough, but players and the GM can use the FX results and keywords above to better interpret the level of the success. Failing Forward When a character fails a check, the GM should consider letting him or her “fail forward.” So if Wildman tries to use his enhanced senses to follow the trail of some villains through the jungles of the Lost World and fails his Awareness check, the GM could allow him to follow the “wrong” trail for a mile or two, and perhaps run him into an ambush set up by one of the villain’s lackeys. Once Wildman defeats this lesser foe, the GM then lets the savage mutant question the beaten lackey and get enough information to put him back on the right track! Making failure interesting, and not just a dead end, makes for a more dynamic game.

Opposed Rolls When named characters face off in the game, players will often make opposed rolls to determine the outcome. The higher roll wins the contest, and in the case of combat, the attacking character uses his outcome to determine the damage. See Chapter 3 for more on combat in ​3D6 Supers!

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Quality Not all heroes and villains are the same, and some possess superior training, power, or good fortune. We rate a character’s capabilities by their ​Quality level: Abysmal (-2) Poor (-1) Normal (0) Skilled (+1) Elite (+2) Super 1 (+3) Super 2 (+4) Super 3 (+5) Super 4 (+6) Super 5 (+7) As noted above, each quality level comes with a modifier that adds to the character’s attack, defense, or task rolls. Core Stats Every named character in ​3D6 Supers possesses eight (8) ​core stats that describe his or her basic capabilities, powers, and training. These include: Fighting:​ Use ​fighting to attack in close combat with fists, kicks, melee weapons, or makeshift clubs. Shooting: ​Use ​shooting to attack foes at range. Shooting implies the possession of a standard ranged weapon like a pistol or rifle, or the ability to hurl objects at hand. The ​Blaster power allows characters to use ​shooting to attack with projected energy or other offensive forces. Agility: ​Use ​agility instead of ​toughness to evade physical attacks from ​fighting and ​shooting. Agility also determines a character’s raw athleticism, and combines with ​strength to determine speed. Strength:​ Use ​strength to measure a character’s raw physical power and his ability to deal extra damage in melee combat. It also combines with ​agility to determine speed. Toughness: ​Use ​toughness instead of ​agility to absorb physical attacks from ​fighting and ​shooting. Also use it to resist the effects of poison and disease. Mind: ​Use ​mind to resist mental attacks, and make them when you possess an appropriate power that allows you to do so. Mind also determines education, intelligence, and overall mental capabilities. Awareness: ​Use ​awareness to spot hidden aspects of your environment, penetrate disguises, and find clues. ​Super-Senses adds to ​awareness in specific instances.

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Spirit: ​Use ​spirit to resist mental and magical attacks, and to make magical attacks when an appropriate power allows you to do so. Spirit also allows you to inspire others and resist the effects of fear and stress. You’ll roll 3D6 and add the bonus (or subtract the penalty) from a core stat most times you do something in the game. Re-rolls Some resources in ​3D6 Supers give characters an edge by granting a ​re-roll on a ​failed​ attack, defense, or task check. Apply a few standard rules anytime a re-roll occurs: ♜ Re-roll only failed checks. ♜ Apply +2 to the re-roll result, along with any other bonuses you had on the original roll. ♜ Mark off the resource you spent to get the re-roll. You can never re-roll a check more than once. Karma Pool Every named character in the game begins each issue with at least one Karma Point. These represent a reservoir of good fortune, spirit, or indefinable skill that makes a character special. Spend a Karma Point to do one of the following: ♜ Gain a re-roll on ​any failed check. ♜ Gain an additional card turn on initiative. ♜ Gain a save roll vs. damage from an attack or mishap. See Chapter 3: Action & Combat for more details. ♜ Gain the use of a power or power facet you do not otherwise possess. ♜ Gain some narrative benefit, special circumstance or story element. Examples: enter a scene you were not otherwise a part of, find just the right object or element needed to complete a tricky maneuver, etc. ♜ Gain an unconventional use of a core stat, like making a physical attack with the ​Mind stat instead of ​Fighting.

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Spending Karma To Gain Temporary Powers

Supers sometimes use their powers in weird and creative ways, adding a new power facet or “morphing” them into completely new powers for a scene! This often depends on the needs of the story in the comics. In ​3D6 Supers, we model this by allowing PCs to spend their Karma points to gain a power or facet they don’t have for a scene. The player can spend multiple Karma on this. Each Karma spent grants 10 pts. worth of power. So a player who wants to pick up a 15 pt. power for a scene would need to spend two karma to get it. When the scene ends, any powers or facets gained through Karma expenditures immediately fade. This represents an extremely powerful and flexible option, and the GM and her players should work together to use it to serve the needs of the story and the spirit of the character involved. If the GM wants to limit this ability to add powers in play, she can ask her players to tie it to one of the character’s Three Things. Example: Wildman is a ​mutant. That’s his origin. While tracking some foes through the jungles of the Lost World, he wants to use Leaping to bound over an otherwise impassable canyon. Wildman does not possess Leaping, but his player, Sky, decides the weird energies of the Lost World allow him develop a temporary, secondary mutation. His GM likes the idea, so Sky spends 1 Karma and picks up 3 pts. of Leaping, bounding across the canyon and continuing his search!

Characters with fewer flashy powers tend to have more Karma points (via the Karma Boost power), and you’ll see in play that Karma points allow mostly unpowered characters to “balance” with more powerful comrades on the same team. So when a character whose abilities rely on “intense training” and a “strange visitor from another planet” with lots of powers team-up, the underpowered intense trainer is not thoroughly outclassed by the powerhouse alien.

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Knocked out or incapacitated characters can still spend Karma to gain these benefits. GM Karma Points The GM starts every session with 1 Karma Point for every player in her game. If she’s running a game with three players, she starts with 3 Karma Points, four players, 4 Karma Points, and so on. She can use these points for any of her named characters in much the same way as player characters do--re-rolls, additional card turns, damage saves, and narrative benefits. She can spend these Karma points in addition to the points possessed by her named NPCs.

That’s the basics! Now on to building your characters!

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Chapter 2: Character Creation

We’ve written these rules to help the GM and her players tell stories in any four-color comic book universe! The rules work best for low to mid-power level characters, but will scale up for more powerful heroes or villains.

Character Creation

Players follow a specific sequence when building characters in ​3D6 Supers: 1.) Build or Select Your Character 2.) Describe Three Things 3.) Buy Stats & Powers 4.) Distribute Background Levels 5.) Finishing Touches STEP 1: Select Your Character In ​3D6 Supers you can play a pre-built character from this book, or one provided by your GM, or build a character all your own! Assuming you don’t use a pre-made character, move on to Step 2. STEP 2: Describe Three Things ...about your character! These are three important keywords or phrases that help encapsulate who your character is. They include his ​origin, one ​positive thing, and one ​negative thing. The last two you get to make up based on your character’s concept and fictional history in “the comics”--exploits, victories, and defeats! Origin Your ​origin reflects who you are and why you’re a hero or villain. You can pick from this handy list we’ve provided.

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Alien: You hail from another world or another dimension, and this heritage grants you amazing powers. Altered Human: You gained your powers from a freak mishap, experiment, or other incident. Construct: You are not truly alive, yet the spark of life burns within your artificial breast! Gadgets: You rely on high-tech devices (either purchased or invented yourself) to carry the day in battle. Genetic Offshoot: You’re a member of a race related to humans, but whose differences grant them amazing abilities. Intense Training: Your “powers” come from training regimens that exceed the human norm. Mutant: You were born with your powers, and this makes you a member of a group sometimes persecuted for simply being alive. Mystical: Magical trappings or training define your powers. Super-Ape: Comic books and intelligent apes go way back! You’re an intelligent ape--gorilla, orangutan, chimpanzee, etc. You might have other powers too, but being a “Super-Ape” pretty much defines you! We feel like this list is pretty complete, but work with your GM to develop new Origin keyword options should you need them. Positive Thing Your ​positive thing should be any keyword or phrase that describes something good about you. Think about your character’s concept and history and draw from them. Here are some examples: I’m tough as nails. My rage is my armor! There’s nothing I can’t fix! Three fourths of the world is water, and I’m its master! I’ve completed contracts on seven continents.

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Negative Thing Your ​negative thing should be any keyword or phrase that describes something bad about you. Again, use your character’s concept and fictional history for this. Here’s some examples: Dumb as a stump. Unsettling appearance. I cannot accept the supernatural. Azure Angel’s hellfire scarred my soul. Money makes me crazy. Calling Out A Thing Once per scene you can ​call out your positive thing during your turn, or as a reaction to something that happens during another character’s turn, and gain a +2 bonus to an action or combat roll if you can make a good case to the GM that your thing applies. Your GM can also call out your negative thing, granting a foe a +2 against you, forcing you to do something you might not want to, or hitting you with a -2 penalty on an action. ​In exchange for this you gain 1 karma point immediately after the action gets resolved. If you want to call out positive or negative thing, you need to announce your intention to do so ​before anybody rolls any dice, adding the bonus, or applying a foe’s penalty, before you know the dice results. In some cases either you or your GM might be able to ​call out your origin keyword. For example if you’re a mutant and you’re trying to cajole members of a group of evil mutants, you can call out the fact you’re a ​mutant to gain +2 to your Spirit check to sweet talk them! All ​Things Are Known The GM and her players can always ask about and receive confirmation on a PC or NPC’s three things--they’re common knowledge unless some advantage makes one or more of them a secret. See the ​Advantage power in Chapter 2 for more on this!

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The Average Jane Any comic book universe is full of supporting cast members who often find themselves involved at the spearpoint of super-slugfests and other strange events. GMs, if you need to quickly whip up some stats for an important, named NPC select ​two ​things* and allocate five power points for stats and limited powers like ​Advantage or ​Super-Skill. Assign three Background levels too (see later in this chapter for a description of ​backgrounds). You can also select the ​Fault power to give them an appropriate limitation--i.e., Arachnid’s geriatric Uncle Martin should have the ​Fault “old” to cover his general frailty. For finishing touches, characters like these only start with Body and Psyche health tracks of 3 plus any bonuses for stats. *Only ​two ​things because normal folks don’t have fancy origin keywords like ​altered human or ​mutant. They’re just normal!

STEP 3: Buy Stats & Powers Use your power point budget to buy your core stat quality levels and powers. Powers represent special capabilities not covered by a character’s ​core stats. Based on the series power level set by the GM and her players, characters begin with a set budget of power points:

Power Level Pulp Action Heroes ➡ 10 - 15 pts. Street Level Brawlers ​➡​ 16 - 25 pts. A-List Avengers ➡ 26 - 35 pts. Worldwide Defenders ➡ 36 - 40 pts. Cosmic Cops ➡ 41+ pts.

We recommend 25 pts. for player characters in your ​3D6 Supers games. We built most of our sample characters at this level. You’ll spend these points to buy your character’s stat bonuses and acquire powers from the list below.

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BUYING STATS All of a character’s Core Stats start at +0 (human average). Each +1 in a stat costs 1 power point. No single stat can exceed a threshold based on the character’s total power points: 15 or less ➡ +4 16 - 25 ➡ +5 26 - 35 ➡ +6 36+ ➡ +7 Characters can also have negative stats, going as low as -2, and granting power points back for use on other stats, or powers. Stat Benchmarks When you purchase stats for your character, it might be helpful to compare the values you’re considering to some handy benchmarks:

Quality Rating -2 -1 +0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7

Example Your old Uncle Maynard’s Strength Your 8-year kid sister’s Toughness The average Joe’s Spirit Your family doctor’s Mind An Olympic gymnast’s Agility An animal’s Awareness Clawed mutant with an uncanny Fight stat Mouthy assassin with a legendary Shoot stat A Norse weather god’s Strength Diamond-hard android’s Toughness

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The Best Of The Best We can’t use their official names, but we’ve made a table including who we think are the best characters at each stat (i.e., a +7 quality rating) from a popular comic universe. Folks can argue these choices until the end of the world, but they should provide a useful comparison when making your own assignments. Core Stat Fighting Shooting Agility Strength Toughness Mind Awareness Spirit

+7 Rating Shield-wielding super-soldier World’s greatest bowman Arachnid inspired do-gooder The demi-god of strength Rage-fueled powerhouse Cosmically transformed scientist Radar-guided acrobat Earth’s supreme sorcerer This table does not include the sort of cosmically powerful beings that function more like plot devices than actual, fully realized game characters. These include your various toga-wearing space gods and would-be world-enders. Again, remember to subtract the points you spend on your stats from your total power point budget.

Example: Lou is building Bladesman, a weapons master ideal for street-level or slightly higher games! He’s got 25 power points to spend, and he starts with his core stats: Fighting (+3) Shooting (+2) Agility (+2) Strength (+1) Toughness (+1) Mind (+0) Awareness (+1) Spirit (+1) This costs Lou 11 pts. from his 25 pt. budget. He now has 14 pts. to spend on powers!

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Stat Cap The core stat bonuses of player characters in ​3D6 Supers games cannot total more than +20. This keeps those pesky power gamers from loading up on high quality bonuses in ​all of their key combat areas. The GM can tweak this cap up or down, or get rid of it all together for her series if she chooses. BUYING POWERS Use your remaining power points to buy your powers. Some powers have specific ​facets you can buy. These will augment or limit their utility in play. Augmenting facets make a power cost more because they make it better. Limiting facets reduce a power’s cost in exchange for some reduced capacity. You can also apply General Facets to powers. We list these at the end of the power section.

ABSORB Cost: ​15 pts. Range: ​Melee Absorb the aspects or power of any energy or substance you touch! Use a free action when you come in contact with the energy or substance and make a stat check (decide which one at character creation) vs. a TN=9. The FX bonus you generate equals the number of physical stat bonuses you get, based on the energy or substance touched. Examples include: Steel ➡ Strength & Toughness Rubber ➡ Agility & Toughness Rope ➡ Agility & Fighting Kinetic Force ➡ Fighting & Strength You cannot increase a single stat by more than +3 using this power. At the GM’s discretion, you can also swap out three points of stat bumps for an appropriate power whose cost cannot exceed 10 pts. Bonuses and powers last until the end of the scene, or until you turn them off or absorb other properties. Example: Absorbo touches a steel beam and rolls 3D6 + his Toughness vs. TN=9, getting a total of 19! That produces 5 FX. His player adds +3 Strength and +2 Toughness. Later on he touches an electrical generator! This time he scores a 21 on his check for 6 FX! After a

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quick consultation with the GM, his player assigns him +3 to Strength and a TN=16 Damage Field (a 9 pt. power). ADVANTAGE Cost: ​1 pt. You possess some minor quality or ability that provides mostly narrative benefits. Examples include attractive, likable, long-lived, rank, etc. You can also use this power to make one of your ​three things a secret, requiring a TN=13 ​Awareness check for any character to discover. You can select this power multiple times to convey different advantages. ALTER-EGO Cost: ​0 pts. You have a non-powered “normal” form you sometimes revert to. Stat out this form on the back of your character sheet using 5 power points for stats and powers. You can control your changes. Changing forms is a free action. Facets Involuntary Change: Sometimes you can’t control your changes! You and your GM decide how this works--phases of the moon, exposure to common elements, rage, etc., might trigger your change. Any time the GM decides you must revert to one form or another against your will, make a TN=13 Spirit check to resist it. (-2 pts.) ARMOR Cost: ​variable When you purchase this power choose whether it applies to Body or Psyche damage. It reduces the damage from a successful attack by one per level. You may purchase a maximum of three levels. Level 1 ➡ -1 damage (5 pts.) Example: Military grade body armor Level 2 ➡ -2 damage (10 pts.) Example: High-tech armored suit Level 3 ➡ -3 damage (20 pts.) Example: Highly advanced armored suit BARRIER Cost: ​variable Range: ​5 You can use a standard action to create an immobile wall or other shape that seals off portions of the battlefield. Work with your GM to determine the nature of your barrier at character creation. Examples include earth, ice, and vine tangles. The strength of your barrier determines its cost: TN=13 (3 pts.) TN=14 (4 pts.)

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TN=15 (5 pts.) TN=16 (6 pts.) TN=17 (7 pts.) Its dimensions start at 2 units high by 4 units long, with a thickness of 1 unit. Make a TN=13 Mind, Spirit, or Shooting check to enlarge it when you create it. Every FX you generate adds +1 unit to its height and +2 units to its length, ​or​ +1 unit to its thickness. Use the rules for Property Damage in Chapter 3 when opponents try to batter through it. BLASTER Cost: ​variable Range:​ 10 per level You project some kind of energy or projectile attack from your body (or from a weapon if you choose the Device facet). Decide what the attack’s nature is when you purchase this power. Add its damage levels to the base damage done by a successful ​Shooting attack. Level 1 ➡ +1 damage (3 pts.) Example: Advanced or large caliber firearms Level 2 ➡ +2 damage (6 pts.) Example: High-tech energy blasters Level 3 ➡ +3 damage (12 pts.) Example: Cosmic blasts A character may also use his Blaster power in melee combat, but rolls his ​Fighting instead of ​Shooting to make the attack. At the GM’s discretion, and when it makes narrative sense, you and the GM can decide that you can make a Shooting stat check to control the energy defined by your Blaster power. For example, if you project concussive energy, the GM might rule that you can roll to contain the energy from a bomb-blast. Facets Soul Blast: At the character’s discretion, the attack switches to non-physical damage and is opposed by the target’s Spirit stat. Apply any damage to the Psyche track. (+5 pts.)

BURROWING Cost: ​5 pts. You can travel underground at a rate of 6 units per move action. You may make Agility checks to burrow undetected, and while burrowing may not be attacked by conventional means. It costs only a free action to submerge and start burrowing, or stop burrowing and re-surface, but once you’ve surfaced,

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you cannot burrow again until next turn. You can burrow through anything from earth, to bedrock, to soft metals. If you have the Speed power you can apply its levels to your burrowing speed. Facets Passengers: Make a TN=11 Strength check before burrowing. You can carry 1 + FX passengers along with you. (+5 pts.)

COMBAT MASTER Cost: ​2 pts. per level The thick of battle brings out the best in you! Each level in this power allows you to ignore a -1 from the ​Harried Defender rule. So if Super-Soldier had Combat Master 2, and was attacked for the third time in a round, he would suffer no penalty to his defense! See ​Chapter 3: Action & Combat​ for more on this.

CONSTRUCT Cost: ​5 pts. You’re an android, robot, golem, or otherwise unliving being. This power carries both positive and negative aspects. Positive Aspects ♜ Invulnerable to ​Telepathy and to attacks that target the Psyche health track ♜ ​Immunity: Aging, Asphyxiation, Poison, Disease ♜ +2 to resist ​Fear,​ Sleep,​ Stun ♜ Repair: You or an ally use a standard action to attempt repairs; regain lost Health on TN=13 Mind or Spirit check, FX = restored health boxes; requires appropriate background (i.e., Science for robots, Arcane for golems) Negative Aspects ♜ Regain only 1 health on ​exact match card turns ♜ The ​Healing power does not work on you ♜ Comeback Check TN=15 instead of TN=13 ♜ Foes gain +2 on attacks or checks you might be vulnerable to (i.e., electricity for robots, water for an earth golem) DAMAGE FIELD Cost: ​variable Range:​ Melee You can surround yourself with a visible field of deadly energy. Anyone who physically attacks or touches you must roll Toughness against your field’s static TN. On a failure use the negative result levels to determine FX for damage. Determine your field’s strength at character creation. This sets its points cost:

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Level Level Level Level Level Level

1 2 3 4 5 6

➡ ➡ ➡ ➡ ➡ ➡

TN=11 TN=13 TN=15 TN=17 TN=19 TN=21

(5 pts.) (10 pts.) (15 pts.) (20 pts.) (25 pts.) (30 pts.)

If you make a successful physical attack with your field active, your target must roll to resist the field’s damage in addition to suffering damage from your blow. Example: Golem (Strength +3, Damage Field: TN=17, Always On, Only Versus Evil) strikes Evil-lord (who’s definitely evil) with a mighty punch. First they resolve the punch. Golem got a 14 on his attack and Evil-lord only totaled 11 to evade--three result levels means 2 Body damage, but adding another 1 on for Golem’s +3 Strength means Evil-lord takes 3 from the blow. Now the Damage Field. Evil-lord makes a Toughness roll against it and gets a total of 12--5 result levels equal 3 damage! That’s 6 total damage, and Evil-lord is hurting! At the GM’s discretion, any non-super objects you handle while your field remains active suffer damage, or outright destruction. Facets Explosion: You can spend a combat action to literally explode! Anyone within 5 units of you must resist damage vs. the highest level of Damage Field you possess. Anyone within the next 5 units resists vs. the next highest level, and so on. You reform at the end of your ​next turn. Until then you’re a shapeless ball of energy who cannot speak, attack, or be targeted with physical attacks. (+10 pts., or +5 pts. if all you do is explode!) Example: Volatar (Damage Field Level 4) battles Captain Starr as his sidekick Starr-Lad looks on from 15 units away. On his turn Volatar explodes! Captain Starr resists the TN=17 explosion, and Starr-Lad must resist a a TN=15 explosion. Meanwhile, Volatar will reform at the end of his next turn!

DENSITY CONTROL Cost: ​20 pts.

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You can lower or increase your density to accomplish various effects. Doing either only counts as a free action, but you must activate the power at the beginning of your turn. When you end your turn you need to let everyone at the table know what state you’re in: ghostly, super-dense, or normal. When you’re ​ghostly you can pass through solid objects as if they were not there. You cannot pick-up or manipulate solid objects in any way, and only the items directly on your person go ghostly with you. You’re also immune to physical attacks unless they possess a facet that says otherwise. You can literally walk on air, moving at your normal speed as you do. You still need to breathe while in ghostly form, so be mindful of the distance you travel through essentially airless mediums like solid rock. When you go ​super-dense add +3 to Strength and +3 to Toughness (this allows you to exceed the normal +7 quality bonus cap). You’re also immune to knockback and being knocked down. In terms of weight you count as a super-heavy object. On the downside, halve your movement when super-dense and ignore any levels you possess in the ​Speed power. After any round where you were super-dense you always take the ​lowest card dealt to you in the next initiative phase, unless the higher card is an exact match. The GM should feel free to make you fall through weak floors and generally cause plenty of damage to city streets. In the wilderness you’ll leave deep tracks. Facets Ghost Attack: Attack a foe in melee combat using Fighting while in your ghostly form. The target ​must defend with Spirit. Add +1 damage to any FX generated by the attack, and apply any damage to the target’s Body track. (+5 pts.) Ghostly or Super-Dense Only: Choose one or the other. Either way, this lowers the power’s cost to 10 pts.

DUPLICATE Cost: ​10 pts. Range: ​10 You summon a copy of yourself! You can summon your duplicate once per scene. This is you in every way, except your duplicate does not also possess the ​Duplicate power. He shows up within ten units of you. Your duplicate counts as a separate character in every respect, except he shares your card deals each round and has the same issue card you do.

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Your duplicate vanishes when he is knocked out, or when the scene ends. Facet Extras: Every time you buy this facet you gain an additional duplicate you can summon. You can summon these added doubles once per scene as normal, but you don’t have to summon them all at once. (+5 pts.) Horde: Instead of full-character duplicates you can summon a Minion-group of doubles of yourself! This is a 10-man horde with a TN=13 and any additional powers you possess. (+0 pts./+5 pts. per additional 5 members) ELASTICITY Cost: ​10 pts. Range:​ 5 You possess a rubbery body that’s resistant to injury and can stretch and re-shape itself. You gain +2 to dice checks for the following: ♜ ♜ ♜ ♜

Agility ​or ​Toughness when resisting attacks Agility when climbing or hiding Fighting when making grapple attempts Strength when leaping or when escaping grapples The power also allows you to stretch and reach up to 5 units. You can spend Karma to increase this range at a rate of 1 Karma per additional 5 units, and your increased range lasts the entire scene. Work with your GM to develop other uses for this power. Examples include gliding from great heights, rescuing comrades from falls or knockback, and slipping under doors or through other surface cracks.

ELEMENTAL CONSTRUCT Cost: ​5 pts. Range:​ 10 You can summon a large creature composed of an element from one of the following themes: air, earth, fire, water, or plants. Choose which one at character creation. The first time you use this power in a scene or chapter, make a TN=13 Mind or Spirit check; you can summon 1 + FX constructs

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during that scene. It takes a free action to summon an elemental, and it arrives within 10 units of your position. In combat it acts as a minion group would, activating on your turn, either before or after you have acted. You can summon one elemental per turn. Each of your elementals fights as a TN=11 + FX minion group. These creatures have the ​Construct power. In addition, each construct has other powers based on its elemental composition: Air ➡ Flight 3 Earth ➡ Weapon +2 Fire ➡ Damage Field (TN=13) Water ➡ Blaster +1 Plants ➡ Entangle Constructs have a base move of 5 units. It takes 5 result levels to destroy a construct in combat. The construct must remain within your line of sight or it discorporates. Example: The Green Thorn hurls some super-seeds at the ground and instantly grows a massive plant golem! His player makes a TN=13 Mind check and gets a 16--2 FX! His Golem manifests at TN=13, and he can summon two more of them on successive turns! Facets Mastery: You can summon constructs from any of the five options listed above. (+2 pts.)

ENTANGLE Cost: ​5 pts. Range: ​ 10 You attack with ​Shooting and your target defends with ​Agility. On a hit you trap your target and limit his movement. Examples include webs, energy nets, glue-guns, magical tendrils, etc. If you hit with the power, the target needs to make a TN=9 + FX Strength check to escape. Entangled characters count as ​immobilized, and cannot move or make physical attacks, but may use a free action to make one escape attempt per turn. Allies can also bust the target out by spending a combat action and rolling against the TN. Each escape or bust-out attempt beyond the first one grants a cumulative +1 to escape checks. Targets suffering from multiple entangles only ever roll against the highest TN to free themselves.

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Example: Arachnid hits Shrike with his web gun! He gets a 16 on his attack and Shrike gets 11 on his defense--that’s 3 FX for Arachnid. Shrike rolls his escape attempts vs. TN=12! On his next turn he rolls 3D6 + Strength and gets a 10--not enough! On his next check he’ll get a +1 for a second attempt. If he fails that, he’ll get a +2 on the next check, and so on. Facets Melee: Your Entangle is a melee attack you can use only in close combat with your target. Use your ​Fighting stat to hit. This version of the power costs 3 pts. Paralyze: Your entangle instead becomes a paralysis power using the Shooting, ​Mind, or ​Spirit stat (choose which one at character creation) to target either a foe’s ​Spirit or ​Toughness (again, choose at character creation). Allies cannot assist targets on this check. +2 pts. Stronger Stuff: Your entangle is made from stronger stuff. It has a base TN=13. +5 pts.

EXTRA LIMBS Cost: ​5 pts. You possess a number of extra limbs that grant you combat and narrative benefits. The 5 pts. you pay for this power covers however many extra limbs you want, but no matter how many actual extra limbs you have, the benefits of this power remain constant. Your extra limbs give you +2 to any grapple checks you make, either as the attacker or the defender in a grappling situation. Before any attack you can declare you’re going to make a multi-limb strike, granting you a second attack on your initiative card. ​All​ of your targets that turn gain a +2 to defense checks when you use this maneuver. You can combine a multi-limb strike with a grapple attempt in the same turn, but doing so costs you 1 Karma.

FAULT Cost: ​-1 pt. to -3 pts. You have some minor (or perhaps major!) issue or physical challenge that makes life harder on you. You gain 1 pt. to 3 pts. back toward the purchase of other stats or powers for this. Work with your GM to come up with one that fits your background, and to settle on how many points it returns. Here are some examples: Addicted, Blind, Delusional, Guileless, Illiterate, Intolerant, Old, Vulnerable.

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FEAR Cost: ​variable Range: ​5 You project fear that gives even the mightiest foes pause. Use a free action and target one character with your power. The target must make a Spirit check against your fear’s TN. If the target fails, he suffers a general -1 to all actions, and a -2 to any action that directly opposes you. Fear TN TN=11 TN=13 TN=15 TN=17

Cost 5 pts. 10 pts. 15 pts. 20 pts.

At the start of each new turn, affected characters may use a free action to make another Spirit check to overcome the fear. Once a foe overcomes your effect, he enjoys a +1 to resist further uses of it for the remainder of the scene. At the GM’s discretion, Fear can also induce other narrative effects--the target may not want to approach you, or may leave your vicinity entirely.

FLIGHT Cost: ​2 pts. per level You can fly at a rate based on your level in the power: Level Level Level Level Level Level

1 2 3 4 5 6

➡ ➡ ➡ ➡ ➡ ➡

25 mph / 10 units 50 mph / 20 units 100 mph / 40 units 200 mph / 80 units 400 mph / 160 units 800 mph / 320 units

You can carry passengers or objects of weights roughly equal to your Strength level, but only what you can practically hold with two arms. Facets Extra Passengers: You can carry extra passengers in your wake. This can manifest as limited telekinesis, powerful winds, magnetism, etc. (+1 pt. per extra passenger)

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Space Flight: You can reach escape velocity from any world’s atmosphere and fly at interstellar speeds while in space. This also includes immunity to the harsh void of airless vacuum. (+5 pts.)

FORCE-FIELD Cost: ​2 pts. per level Range: ​10 You wield energies that protect, and you can project them at range to shield a single ally and yourself. Use this power as a reaction to an attack against you or your chosen ally. Once you protect an ally during the course of a round, you cannot select another ally to protect until the beginning of a new round. Your Force-Field acts as a Toughness bonus independent of your own or those of allies you protect with it, but if an attack gets through it, you and/or the target you’re protecting must make normal Agility or Toughness checks against the full attack check. Each level grants +1 protection. Facets Extra Targets: You can shield more targets beyond the first--each extra target adds +1 pt. / level to the cost of the power. Reflection: You can reflect a blocked attack’s force back upon your attacker! When your Force-Field blocks a ranged or melee attack, treat the negative result levels generated as a successful counterattack. Use the original attack’s base damage as your base damage. For example, if V-Guard blocks Phaedra’s photon beam (Blaster +2) 17 to 13, that’s -4 result levels, translating to 2 FX and 4 Body loss. (+5 pts.) FORTUNE Cost: ​1 pt. Invoke this power once per scene on a round where you don’t have a suit, number, or exact match, but when your card ​color matches your issue card. For example, if you’re issue card is a 5 of Diamonds (red) and you get dealt a 6 of Hearts (red), you gain the benefits. Gain +2 on attacks, defenses, and actions for the turn when you invoke it. HEALING Cost: ​10 pts. Range: ​Melee You can heal yourself or other characters with a touch! Spend a standard action and make a TN=13 Mind or Spirit check (decide which stat at character

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creation) while in melee contact with your target. On a success you heal 1 + FX Body or Psyche health boxes.

ILLUSIONS Cost:​ 10 pts. Range: ​5 You create realistic illusions or hallucinations that bedevil your target! In combat, you make a Mind or Spirit check (decide which at character creation) versus your target’s Awareness check. If you beat your target’s total note the result--this becomes the TN your target must roll to overcome at the end of each of his turns. A target gains a cumulative +1 to each Awareness check after the first to overcome the illusion--the second check is at +1, the third is at +2, and so on. This represents advice from allies, environmental clues, and other stimuli telling him the images he is experiencing are not real. Once a target overcomes the illusions, they no longer affect him. Work with your GM to negotiate what effects an illusion might have. Illusions are not mind control, but they can make a character attack friends, run scared, or otherwise place himself in jeopardy. Example: Mysteriax (Mind +3, Illusions) and Red Scorpion battle S-Men Ice Princess and Giantess. Ice Princess acts first and traps Red Scorpion in a mutant-made ice prison! Mysteriax acts next and uses his Illusions against Giantess, projecting an image of the Menacing Minotaur standing directly in front of the imprisoned Red Scorpion. He gets a 15 on the check and Giantess only totals a 12 on her Awareness! The GM rules that Giantess attacks the “Minotaur” with a vicious punch from her enlarged fists, and actually does enough damage to shatter Red Scorpion’s icy prison! At the end of her turn, she gets a 14 on her Awareness check! She still thinks the the Menacing Minotaur is there! At the end of next turn she’ll be at +1 to overcome the effect.

IMMUNITY Cost: ​1 pt. per level You are immune (or in some cases highly resistant) to the effects of a specific threat or condition; each level of this power covers a single threat or condition. Choose from the following list, or work with your GM to create a new one. Possible threats or conditions include: aging, asphyxiation, disease, electric shock, fatigue, ocean depths, poisons, radiation, vacuum, etc.

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If you encounter an attack power based off of the condition you’re immune to, the GM can rule that it might still affect you, but you gain at least a +2 on your defense roll against it.

INVISIBILITY Cost: ​15 pts. You can use a free action to turn invisible! You gain all of the narrative benefits of being unseen--sneakiness (a +2 bonus to Agility to avoid detection), skipping out on restaurant checks, etc. You also gain significant combat benefits. When you make a physical attack, your target gets to make a TN=15 Awareness check. On a success your presence is somehow detected and you lose the element of surprise. On a failure you have total surprise and gain a +2 bonus to your attack. The GM may also decide that certain aspects of the Super-Senses power negate or reduce the bonuses Invisibility grants to attacks. When you defend characters without Super-Senses must make a TN=15 Awareness check to attack you or target you with a power. If they succeed on the check you still get a +2 bonus to your defense roll against the attack. If they fail, they cannot attack, and must choose another target! Characters with Super-Senses of any type must still make the TN=15 check, but if they succeed you don’t get the +2 bonus on defense. The GM can rule that any attacks you make without the ​Subtle facet give your foes +1 to Awareness checks to detect you until the beginning of your next turn. The defense bonus from ​Invisibility does not apply to attacks that use the Area facet.

Facets Extra Targets: You can make other persons or objects up to 5 units away invisible as well. Each extra person or roughly man-sized object you can affect costs +5 pts. Targets of your power must remain within your 5 unit power zone.

KARMA BOOST Cost: ​2 pts. per +1 Karma

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Every named character starts each issue with 1 Karma in his pool. You can trade leftover power points for extra Karma in your pool at the start of each issue. Every 2 pts. you trade gets you +1 Karma in your starting pool. This pool refreshes at the start of each issue. You cannot purchase ​Karma Boost using the ​Power Pool power. LEAPING Cost: ​1 pt. per level The greatest human trained in the high jump can leap about 8’ or so (roughly 2 units). You can exceed that! Level 1 in this power allows you to leap 10’ high and 20’ long, and each level after that doubles your distances. For example, level 2 would be 20’ high and 40’ long, level three would 40’ and 80’ long, and so on. You can also make a TN=13 Strength or Agility check to double your current leaping range for one action.

MAGICAL BLAST Cost: ​variable Range: ​10 per level

You project a magical energy blast of some kind that damages your target’s Psyche. Decide what the attack’s nature is when you purchase this power. Use ​Spirit to attack, and the target uses ​Spirit to defend.​ Add this power’s damage levels to the base damage done by a successful attack.

Level 1 ➡ +1 damage (3 pts.) Level 2 ➡ +2 damage (6 pts.) Level 3 ➡ +3 damage (12 pts.)

MASTER PLANNER Cost: ​2 pts. Once per scene you gain a free +2 bonus to a single attack roll, defense roll, or task check, or you can give this bonus to an ally for an attack, defense, or task check. You can also decide to forgo this bonus and negotiate some narrative benefit with your GM. You can describe this effect as a pre-set trap or hidden piece of equipment, or whatever else you can come up with. Finally, once per scene you can re-roll a failed ​Setup (see page 57) maneuver check without spending Karma. See Chapter 3 for more details.

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MIMIC Cost: ​20 pts. Range: ​Melee You can copy the core stats and powers of a target within melee contact of you. Unless the target is willing, this requires an attack action with an opposed stat test. On a success add his powers to your own for a duration of 1 + FX rounds (counting the one you copied them on). If you desire, also replace the core stats of your choice with the target’s. The target always resists with Spirit. Choose which stat you use at character creation: Agility, Mind, or Spirit. Facets Multiple Targets: Your power works on a number of additional targets equal to the stat bonus you choose for the mimic tests. (+5 pts.) Range: Your power has a 10 unit range. (+5 pts.) Steal: You don’t just copy the powers, you steal them! Targets also treat any positive stats stolen as +0 until returned (i.e., taking his +4 Strength makes it +0 until your power wears off). (+5 pts.)

OBSCURE Cost:​ 5 - 10 pts. Range: ​5 You can use a free action to conjure smoke or some other type of obscuring field around yourself or a nearby ally. This field moves with you or your ally. While not invisible, foes might still have a hard time pinpointing your location. Anyone trying to target you with an attack or power must first make TN=13 Awareness check or suffer a -2 on the attack or power check. For 10 pts. your obscurement rises to TN=15.

POWER ARMOR Cost: ​7 pts. You wear a special suit of armor that amplifies your Strength and provides you with ​Armor. This power is inherently a device you can don and take off as you choose, but is not easily taken. It takes a standard action to don your power armor. While wearing it, you have Strength +4 (unless your own Strength is higher, in which case you add +1 to your native Strength when wearing your armor) and Armor 1.

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The facets listed below will let you further customize your power armor. Work with your GM to add other powers to the package to better realize your vision of how your armor performs in action. Facets Blaster: Your power armor also grants you levels in the ​Blaster power. (+2/+5/+11 pts.) Extra Armor: Your power armor is even tougher--gain up to two extra levels of the ​Armor power. (+4 pts./level) Flight: Your power armor also grants you levels in the ​Flight power. (+2 pts./level) Immunity: Your power armor also grants you levels in the ​Immunity power. (+1 pt. per immunity) Strength Boost: Add up to +3 to your power armor’s Strength bonus. (+1 pt. to +3 pts.) Super-Senses: Your power armor also grants you ​Super-Senses. (+1 pt.)

POWER POOL Cost: ​2 pts. per level You are the master of some element, energy form, or power theme. Choose one of the following, or come up with your own: Air, Cosmic, Darkness, Earth, Electricity, Fire, Gravity, Infernal, Magic, Magnetism, Shape-Shifting, Technology, Water, Weather. You can use the levels in this power to mimic the effects of any other power from this list provided it makes narrative sense. For example, Electron could assign levels of his Energy Control (Electricity) to Flight, provided he has electrical power lines nearby to ride along. At the beginning of each of your turns you can use a free action to divide your levels between different powers, or decide to maintain the ones you’re currently using. ​Allocate your levels like power points to acquire the new powers​. You should build some typical power sets you can switch between ahead of time to make shifting your powers in play more efficient. If you switch away from a power that leaves a permanent effect in play (like Elemental Construct or ​Barrier) that effect normally ends, but you can spend 1 karma point to anchor it while you switch to a different power set. So Hydron could summon a few water elementals using a power set that has

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Elemental Construct, then spend 1 karma to anchor them and switch to another power set that features powers like Blaster and Force-Field. At the GM’s discretion, and when it makes narrative sense, you and she can decide that you can make a stat roll to control the energy or force defined by your power. For example, the GM might rule that Doc Shock can roll to contain raging energies of an exploding dam’s massive electric turbine.

PRECOGNITION Cost: ​5 pts. You sometimes gain flashes of possible future events. At the beginning of each scene or combat encounter roll your Awareness, Mind, or Spirit (decide which one at character creation) versus a TN=11. You gain 1 + FX card swaps for that scene. You can spend these swaps to re-assign the initiative cards of any two characters once all cards have been determined for the round. Swapping the card of another player character requires the controlling player’s permission, but you can swap cards with any NPC you choose. Use these swaps to create better initiative outcomes or to create or take away number, suit, and exact matches. Taking away a match from an opposing character costs 2 swaps. Taking away an ​exact match from an opposing character costs 3 swaps. At the GM’s discretion, and only during non-combat scenes, you can make a TN=15 Mind or Spirit check to glean insight into story events, or gain cryptic clues about future events. The GM can also just feed you tidbits of information when she chooses with no rolls needed. It’s her choice.

RAGE Cost: ​5 pts. You get more dangerous as you get angrier! Your Rage resets at the beginning of each new scene. Any time a conflict begins and you want to use this power, tell your GM that you’re raging. Starting at the beginning of your turn on round 1, you gain +1 to two physical stats. Choose two from among Agility, Fighting, Strength, or Toughness at character creation. ​At the end of each subsequent round you gain a further +1 to your selected stats until the scene ends.​ Your ​Rage bonus maxes out at +4. Any stat increases do not increase figured characteristics like your movement or your health tracks.

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Raging drains you. Add your final Rage-based stat bonus to a base TN=9 Spirit check after the scene ends. If you fail, the negative result levels generate penalty FX that affect you in the following scene. Example: Tantrum (base Strength +1 and Toughness +1) battles Aardvark on the streets of LA! She goes into a rage at the start of her turn and her Strength and Toughness increase to +2. By the end of round 4, Tantrum has Strength and Toughness +5, and Aardvark is down! She must now make a TN=13 Spirit check. Linda, her player, rolls 3D6 and gets a total of 11! The -2 result levels mean Tantrum will be stuck with a -1 penalty to all of her actions in the next scene!

REGENERATION Cost:​ 5 pts. You heal really fast! Regain one Body and one Psyche damage box at the beginning of each of your turns. You also roll 3D6 + 3 on Damage Save checks instead of the normal 3D6 + 2. Getting knocked out forces you to make a TN=17 Toughness check for your power to work. Succeed and heal damage boxes as normal; fail and your power shuts down until the beginning of the next scene.

RESURRECTION Cost:​ 15 pts. When you suffer a killing attack that reduces a health track to zero you automatically “die.” No matter how you died, you return from this “death” intact and with full health in 3 rounds. Make a TN=17 Toughness check; any FX you score reduce the number of rounds it takes you to make it back.

SERVITOR/SIDEKICK Cost: ​5 pts. A loyal bodyguard, companion, or aide accompanies you on your various missions. Any time you want the character to appear in a scene with you, pay 1 Karma. Design this character using the standard creation method, but build him using a power point budget equal to half of your own. For example, if you have 25 power points, you would build your sidekick on 13 points. Your sidekick gets an ​issue card of his own at the start of each session; the GM deals him a single card each round as he would a named NPC (see Chapter 3 for more on this). Control this character’s actions as you would your own, and work with the GM to determine his

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or her relationship to you and just how far his or her loyalty will stretch.

Facet Flip-it: Flip the points allocated between you and your sidekick, minus the 5 pts. for this power. For example, a 25 pt. character would actually have 13 points, and his sidekick would get 20!

SHAPE-SHIFT Cost: ​5 pts. You can spend a free action to assume the shape of another animal, humanoid, or thing. When you do this you can shift the bonuses in your core stats. You cannot change your Mind or Spirit using this power, and you still have to maintain any stat limits based on your total power points. When you take the shape of a beast you can take up to 3 pts. in basic powers that model its natural abilities. Examples include a bird’s ​Flight, a cheetah’s ​Speed, a monkey’s ​Super-Skill (Climbing), or a bat’s ​Super-Senses (Sonar). Changing your stats does not change figured values like Health or Movement. When in an assumed form you gain +1 to Spirit checks to fool anyone trying to penetrate your disguise. If you want more powers when in your assumed forms, buy the ​Power Pool power to go along with this one and link them with the ​Only X facet--Only While Shape-Shifting. Shape-Shift by itself lets you easily design characters who mostly copy the basic features of a character or creature, but if you want to do someone who gains a bunch of new powers when he shifts, you’ll need to add a ​Power Pool!

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SIZE CONTROL Cost: ​4 pts. per level You can grow or shrink at will! Each level of this power doubles or halves your size! Shrunken characters add their levels in Size Control to their Agility when defending against physical attacks, hiding, or sneaking. Giant characters add their levels in Size Control to their damage if they hit a foe with a Fighting attack, and add +1 to Strength for lifting for every odd level in the power (i.e., level 1 adds +1, level 3 adds +2, etc.). Foes gain a bonus to hit giant characters equal to their active levels--an enemy gains a +2 to hit a Size Control 2 giant character. Players can work with their GM to come up with other uses for Size Control so long as they make good narrative sense. Facets Growing or Shrinking Only: You only have one aspect of Size Control; pick either growing or shrinking. This reduces the power’s cost to 2 pts. / level. Microscopic: Whenever you activate your shrinking you can reduce yourself to microscopic size! This conveys mainly narrative benefits you can work out with your GM. While in this state you cannot be attacked or affect the “normal” environment in any way. You ​can interact with other characters, creatures, and objects of microscopic size. (+2 pts.)

SLEEP Cost: ​variable Range: ​5 You can put a target to sleep! Examples include gases, poisons, or psychic “short-circuits.” Target one character when you activate your power. The target must make a Spirit check against your sleep’s TN. If the target fails, he falls asleep for a number of rounds equal to the negative FX! Sleep TN TN=11 TN=13 TN=15 TN=17

Cost 5 pts. 10 pts. 15 pts. 20 pts.

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Sleeping characters count as ​immobilized, and cannot move, or make attacks of any kind. An allied character or minion group can spend its combat action to awaken him. This requires no dice roll, but does require melee contact. At the start of each new turn, affected characters may use a free action and make a Spirit check to overcome the sleep effect. Once a foe overcomes your effect, he enjoys a +1 to resist further uses of it for the remainder of the scene.

SPEED Cost: ​3 pts. per level You move at blinding speeds. By itself, your movement occurs along the ground. If you also possess the Flight power add the movement values together for the two powers to arrive at your final top speed. Level Level Level Level Level Level

1 2 3 4 5 6

➡ ➡ ➡ ➡ ➡ ➡

50 mph / 20 units 100 mph / 40 units 200 mph / 80 units 400 mph /160 units 800 mph / 320 units 1600 mph / 640 units

Work with your GM to use your speed in creative ways--attacking flying targets using vortices created by running in circles (level 3+), running up walls (level 2+), running over bodies of water (level 4+), etc. Facets Machine-Gun Punch: This involves throwing hundreds of punches at a foe in the space of a few seconds. In 3D6 Supers characters with the Speed power can do this too! The speedster can use a combat action to rush into melee range and make a Fighting attack. If the attack hits, he can pay 1 Karma point and declare he’s using this maneuver! Every two full levels in Speed that the character has add +1 to the damage of the strike--up to a maximum of +3 damage. For example, High-Gear (Speed 3) would add +1 damage to a successful attack when he uses this maneuver. (+3 pts.) Swimming: For +0 pts. this power only affects your speed while swimming; pay +3 pts. to apply it to ​both ​ground and aquatic movement.

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SPRINTER Cost:​ 1 pt. While not quite superhuman (see the Speed power earlier), you’re extremely fast in the heat of combat. Add +2 units to your movement score.

STICKY Cost: ​10 pts. Your body possesses a doughy, tar, or glue-like consistency that can trap a foe when he tries to make a physical attack against you. When you successfully defend against a melee attack, you have the option to use the FX generated on your success to entrap your foe’s limbs or weapons. The entrapped target must use Strength to escape, and uses the following chart as a guide:

FX 1 2 3 4 5 6+

​

​TN 11 12 13 14 15 16

A trapped target counts as ​immobilized, and can use a free action to make one escape-attempt per turn. You can release your trapped foe as a free action.

STUN Cost: ​5 pts. Range: ​5 You possess some ability to daze, dazzle, or otherwise slow your target. Choose which stat you use to make your attack at character creation: Shooting (opposed by Agility), Mind (opposed by Mind), or Spirit (opposed by Spirit). A successful attack affects the target until the end of his next turn. The FX generated by a successful stun attack act as a negative modifier to all of the target’s actions, and halve his movement. Multiple stuns are not cumulative; targets only ever suffer the effects of the most severe stun laid on them.

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SUPER-KNOCKBACK Cost: ​1 pt. per level Normal attacks double the Body damage done to determine knockback. Each level you purchase in this power increases the knockback multiplier of all of your attacks by +1. So level 1 is x3, level 2 is x4, and so on.

SUPER-SENSES Cost: ​2 pts. Your five senses work with superhuman acuity. Add +1 to any Awareness checks involving a specific sense. Examples include tracking someone by scent through the wilderness, reading a newspaper by touch alone, hearing a whispered conversation in the next room, seeing a target in total darkness, or detecting the faintest trace of poison on the rim of a tea cup. The 2 pt. version of this power covers all five senses--hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch. For a 1 pt. cost reduction pick only two of these five senses and the other three become normal. You can trade the normal enhanced senses for an extraordinary sense like radar, seeing dead people, or something even more esoteric! If you want both enhanced normal senses ​and​ a weird one, the power costs +2 pts., for a normal total of 4 pts. Work with your GM to determine the nature and extent of this weird sense. Example: Scott’s building Red Justice, an acrobatic hero with enhanced senses and chi-based proximity sense taught to him by the Nimba Cult. This qualifies as the 4 pt. version of Super-Senses. If Scott also wanted Red Justice to be blind (the result of a childhood accident), he could buy the Fault: Blind (-1 pt.), and agree with the GM that Red Justice automatically fails any sight-based Awareness checks. Normally, a Fault like Blind would be -2 or -3 pts., but Scott and his GM agree it will only be minor hindrance to Red Justice based on his other amazing senses!

SUPER-SKILL Cost: ​1 pt. per skill You’re really good at one particular thing--add +2 to an appropriate non-combat stat check. Examples include: Disguise, Inventing, Swimming, Tracking, etc. You can buy this power multiple times and assign it to different skills. This can also encompass minor levels of super-ability, like Super-Skill (Disguise) representing the power to change the color of your skin or your facial features.

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SWARM Cost: ​5 pts. You can spend a standard action and transform into a swarm of something! Examples include bees, beetles, cockroaches, locusts, nanites, etc. This power grants you two major benefits: a +1 damage melee attack ​and​ immunity to any physical attack that does not have the Area facet. Attacks that ​do​ have the Area facet really hurt you--they gain +2 damage against you when they hit! You can also use this power for more narrative benefits like squeezing under doors or through cracks, and hiding by dispersing your form. While in swarm form you retain your consciousness and all normal senses, but you cannot speak. You could use your form to spell out words on the ground or on a wall. Facets Flying: Your swarm form flies at your normal movement rate. (+2 pts.)

TACTICIAN Cost: ​1 pt. You possess excellent battlefield acumen born from natural instincts, a brilliant mind, or lots of training. Gain a +2 on the first Setup maneuver (see page 72) you attempt each scene.

TELEKINESIS Cost: ​2 pts. per level Range: ​2 per level You can grab and lift objects and people with the force of your mind! Each level in this power equals a +1 “Strength” bonus to determine your lifting capacity and the power of your grapples. Use the rules for Grapple in Chapter 3, but replace your Fighting stat with Mind or Spirit when you roll. Use this power to manipulate objects, pick locks, or to perform other tasks that would otherwise require your hands. You can also levitate and move yourself and anyone you can lift at your standard speed with the power of your mind. Facets

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TK Attack: Hurling objects at foes with your mind should at least be an option, right? This is a ranged attack with a +1 damage bonus. This represents you hurling a host of small objects, or a few larger ones, at your target. Use your Mind or Spirit to make the attack, but your foe uses his Agility to dodge. (+2 pts.)

TELEPATHY Cost: ​5 pts. per level You can perform any of the following amazing tasks with this power: ♜ Read and detect minds ♜ Communicate via thought speech ♜ Project your astral self across distances ♜ Attack foes you can see or detect with bolts of mental force ♜ Control a character’s actions Use your Mind or Spirit stat (opposed by your target’s Mind or Spirit) for detection attempts, mental attacks, and mind control. Successful mental attacks made with this power add +1 to damage for every 2 full levels (maximum damage bonus is +3). You can limit this power by removing the tasks you can do with it at character creation. For example, Mentat’s player decides he cannot control minds, so his version of telepathy only costs 4 pts. per level. Your power level also determines its maximum range: 1 ➡ Across the Neighborhood 2 ➡ Across the City 3 ➡ Across the State 4 ➡ Across the Country 5 ➡ Across the World 6+ ➡ Across the Galaxy

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When projecting your astral self it remains invisible to normal sight unless you allow it to be seen.

Notes On Mind Control When a telepath seizes control of a character’s mind, he guides the character’s actions on that character’s next available turn. Once that character’s turn ends, the mind control ends and the telepath must re-establish control, or seek a new target. A telepath can control a number of targets equal to his level--so a level 3 telepath can control three targets at a time, and a level 4 telepath could control four targets at a time. When attempting to control multiple targets, the telepath makes a single attack roll, and each target makes a separate defense roll with a bonus equal to the total number of targets the telepath attempts to control. So a telepath trying to control three targets makes a single attack roll, and each target rolls to defend with a an additional +3 to their checks. If you’re Telepathy only allows you to control and communicate with animals, or a specific type of animal (i.e., fish or bugs), be sure to apply the ​Only X limiter facet to it to reduce its cost and properly define it.

TELEPORT Cost: ​10 pts. You can move yourself from one place to another by sheer force of will. How you manage this varies. Examples include stepping between folds in space, thinking of a place and willing yourself there, creating spatial portals, or any

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number of other possibilities. Teleporting requires the use of a move action, and takes only seconds to reach the destination. You cannot teleport "blind" without risk. If teleporting into a space you’ve never been to or seen a picture of, you must make a TN=13 Awareness check or injure yourself in a mishap. On a mishap you suffer 2 Body damage. The distance a character can cover depends on the results of a core stat check (select Agility, Mind, or Spirit at character creation): Stat Roll 4+ ➡ 50 ft. 9+ ➡ 500 ft. 13+ ➡ 1 mile 15+ ➡ 10 miles 17+ ➡ 100 miles 19+ ➡ 1,000 miles A player may always elect to teleport a lesser distance than what he or she rolls. Without increasing the difficulty you may only teleport yourself and any items you could reasonably carry. Each passenger or extra 150 lbs. of weight carried subtracts -2 from your teleport check. This power also adds +1 to the stat check when making teleport attempts. Facets Dimensional: You can teleport between worlds or across galactic distances. Once per scene you can use your power to move between worlds on a successful TN=11 check. This adds +5 pts. to ​Teleport’s cost, but if it’s the only way you teleport, it ​lowers​ the cost by -5 pts. No Passengers: You cannot carry anyone or anything along with you beyond your own possessions--about 25 lbs. worth of stuff. Teleport with this facet costs 5 pts. instead of 10 pts.

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Gates Cost: ​+5 pts. Gates act as a facet of the basic teleport power. They’re a bit complex in play, so we’ve set-up the rules for them here to properly explain them. If you select this facet, you teleport via visible gates, holes, or doorways that you create when you activate your power. Decide what these look like at character creation. At the beginning of each scene make a TN=13 teleport stat check. You generate 2 + FX gates for that scene, and you can manifest or close them down anytime you want as a free action on your turn. You can place these gates at distances based on your teleport roll; all of the gates you manifest potentially connect to each other. This could allow you to attack a foe who is across the room by punching through a gate next to you and out of a gate placed next to your target. Any other characters or objects about man-sized or less can also pass through your gates. While you navigate with no issues through your own gates, other characters using them without your guidance must make TN=11 Awareness checks to exit out of the “proper” gate. If there’s only two in play, a failure indicates that the character exits out of the same gate he entered! Otherwise, randomly decide which one. Crafty players can also try to attack with their gates by placing them beneath a foe, and then placing a connecting gate high in the sky, or over some other dangerous environment. This requires a combat action and a teleport check opposed by the target’s ​Agility core stat. At the beginning of each turn you may reposition your gates as a free action. At the GM’s discretion, your gates may be targeted by appropriate magical or energy attacks. Resolve this as a simple opposed roll between your teleport check and the attack roll. It takes only 1 FX to disperse a gate.

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TELESCOPING LIMBS Cost:​ 1 pt. per level You have limbs that telescope out to provide super-extended reach in combat, and other narrative benefits based on the situation. Each level you purchase gives you 5 units (roughly 25 feet) worth of distance. Choose either arms or legs, or double the cost of the power to have both telescoping arms and legs. Any melee attack rolls made while telescoping your limbs are clumsy, and suffer -1 per active level of Telescoping in use.

TRANSFORM Cost: ​25 pts. Range:​ Melee You can change a target or object into another form of matter with just a touch! Designate what sort of matter you can change your targets into at character creation (i.e., stone, gold, swine, etc.). You must be in melee contact with your intended target. Make an opposed Mind or Spirit check vs. your target’s Spirit. If you beat your target’s total, every FX you generate equals 1 hour of transformation time. Inanimate objects of roughly your size or smaller require a TN=13 check to successfully transform. Anything larger than you should require a TN=15 check or higher, and the GM can rule that anything more than roughly twice your size is too large to transform. A transformed target is essentially helpless and out of the fight for the power’s duration. Apply good narrative sense when using this power. If a target gets transformed into a stone statue, and subsequently gets shattered while still in stone form, things will go badly when he reverts to flesh and blood! Facets Mastery: You can transform your targets into any sort of matter you can imagine! (+5 pts.) Range: Your power works at a range of up to 10 units (50’). All the same rules apply. (+5 pts.)

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VAMPIRE Cost: ​10 pts. Range: ​Melee You’re either a physical or psychic vampire--decide which at character creation. Either way you can use a free action to siphon the life from a foe you have successfully grappled (see Grapple in Chapter 3). Roll your Spirit versus the target’s Spirit (if you’re a psychic vampire) or Toughness (if you’re a physical vampire). Any FX you generate subtract from the target’s appropriate health track--Body for physical and Psyche for psychic. The

Armor power does not reduce damage from this attack. You can make this attack against minions as well. Just roll your stat vs. the minion group’s TN and determine FX as normal. Every health box you siphon removes two minions in the group from play. Every health box you siphon grants you a temporary stat bonus to either Agility, Strength, or Toughness. If you siphon multiple health levels in a scene, you can place the bonuses in the same or different stats, but no stat can get more than a +3 bonus in one scene. These bonuses fade at scene’s end. Facet Infection: You can pass your vampirism on to your victims. When you reduce a target to zero health in one of his tracks, you have the option to force him to make a TN=15 Spirit or Toughness check. On a failure he “dies” but returns shortly after as a vampire of your same type. At the GM’s discretion, breaking this curse is possible, but requires an appropriate TN=15 Mind or Spirit check, and might also require special apparatus or rituals. (+5 pts.)

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WALL-CRAWLING Cost: ​2 pts. You can move along vertical surfaces as easily as horizontal ones! You can also effortlessly cling in place to a wall or other vertical surface.

WEAPON Cost: ​variable Range: ​Melee You possess some sort of close combat effect that enhances the physical damage you do after you successfully strike a foe using ​Fighting. Examples include claws, chi energy, energy swords, rock-hard fists, dim mak martial training, etc. Level 1 ➡ +1 damage (2 pts.) Example: Two-handed sword Level 2 ➡ +2 damage (4 pts.) Example: Energy blade Level 3 ➡ +3 damage (8 pts.) Example: Cosmic axe

WEATHER CONTROL Cost: ​5 pts. Range: ​see below You can control the weather! You can cause it to rain, snow, hail, or blow at will! Changing the weather requires a TN=11 Mind or Spirit check and counts as a free action. Every FX you generate equals roughly 1 square mile of area you can effect. This conveys mainly narrative benefits. For combat and other applications, include ​Weather Control in packages built using ​Power Pool. So Shakti might have a 15 pt. ​Power Pool that features power sets that include ​Weather Control, ​Blaster, ​Flight, etc.

GENERAL FACETS Apply these Facets to any of the powers above to customize them to a particular character concept. Facets either ​augment or ​limit a power or power effect. Augments grant a power some extra capability in exchange for a higher cost, while limits make a power cheaper in exchange for some reduced effect. No matter what, a power always costs at least 1 pt. In cases where a limit would lower a power’s cost to zero, the power instead still costs 1 pt., but gains an additional +1 bonus when used on turns where the character has

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a ​match or ​exact match on his initiative card (see Chapter 3 for more details on this). Note:​ Players can also apply some of these facets to core stats in general, without buying a power. Activation You have to turn your power on. This requires either the use of your movement or your standard/combat action. (-1 pt.)

Affect Construct Any powers you possess that normally have no effect on targets with the ​Construct power can now affect them. (+5 pts.) Affect Ghostly Your physical attacks (​Blaster, ​Damage Field, ​Weapon, etc.) or defenses (​Barrier, ​Force-Field) can affect a density controlling character in ghostly form. You need to use a free action to make a TN=13 power control (use Agility, Mind, or Spirit for this) roll to make this work before attacking or defending. Pay +5 pts. to cover all of your physical attack powers OR defense powers, or +10 pts. for both!

Always On This facet takes powers like Density Control, Size Control, and Damage Field and makes them a nuisance by having them always be active. Once per issue you can spend 1 Karma to turn the power off for a scene or part of a scene. (-2 pts.)

Area At the character’s option, the power affects everything within an area with a radius designated by its level: Level 1 ➡ 5 ft. / 1 unit (+2 pts.) Level 2 ➡ 10 ft. / 2 units (+4 pts.) Level 3 ➡ 20 ft. / 4 units (+8 pts.)

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Attack powers with Area require all targets within its radius to make defense rolls against a single attack roll from the wielder. To control exactly which targets in the area must defend, add a further +1 pt. to the facet’s cost.

Armor Piercing Choose either Body or Psyche piercing when you purchase this facet. Each level you purchase in Armor Piercing allows you to ignore one level of the appropriate Armor power. +5 pts. per level.

Burnout Powers with this facet start each scene at full capacity, then degrade by -1 level at the end of each round. If the power has no levels, the wielder suffers a cumulative -1 penalty on its use or effect per round. (-2 pts.)

Device The power comes from a device or gadget. If the device is not easily taken or disarmable (power armor, power ring, etc.) it reduces the power’s total by 1 pt. per full 5 pts. the power costs, i.e., an 11 pt. power with this facet would cost 9 pts. If it is easily taken (energy pistol, cape of levitation, etc.) it reduces the power’s total by 2 pts. per full 5 pts. the power costs, i.e., a 9 pt. power with this effect would cost 7 pts. “So Can I Steal Super-Patriot’s Shield?” This came up in a ​3D6 Supers game after a group of four villains managed to knock the shield wielding hero Super-Patriot unconscious! One player wanted to know if he could take and use Patriot’s indestructible shield! I thought about it and said, “Sure, why not, but you owe me one Karma point each scene if you want to keep using it for this adventure.” The player agreed, and this is how we would advise running any situation where a character wants to “borrow” another character’s ​easily taken device. If the item is particularly powerful or important, you might assign an escalating Karma cost--1 Karma for the first scene, 2 for the second, and so on. Once the player can’t or won’t pay the toll, work with him to devise a way his character loses the device. In this scenario, I let him use the shield at 1 Karma per scene, and also promised him Patriot’s would be back to collect it! The Super-Patriot did just that!

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Increase Range The character increases the range on one of his ranged powers. Decide which power when purchasing this facet. (+1 pt. per 5 units) Example: Linda wants her Blaster +1 power to reach further than normal 10 units. She purchases 1 pt. of increased range, and now the power has a base range of 15 units. Lingering Buy this for an attack power that deals damage. The attack’s effects linger, dealing damage equal to its level at the beginning of each of the target’s turns until he or she makes TN=10 (+ damage level) Toughness (physical) or Spirit (mental or magical) check to overcome its effects. For example, Serpent coats his talons with a deadly poison, so his level 1 Weapon with Lingering would do an additional 1 damage each round, and require a TN=11 Toughness check to overcome. (+3 pts.) Move-By Attack You must posses Flight or Speed of Level 2 or higher to purchase this facet. You move at great speed and attack multiple foes along your path. Every two full levels in Speed or Flight that the character has add +1 target to this attack--up to a maximum of +3 targets, or four total foes engaged for the turn. Each target after the first gains a cumulative +1 to his defense check against this wild attack. So the second target gets +1, the third target gains +2, and so on. (+3 pts.) Multi-Power This allows you to combine up to three powers into one package. These powers cannot be used simultaneously; the character shifts between “modes” as a free action on his turn, or on a successful TN=13 stat check on another character’s turn. The character only pays for the highest cost power in the package, and this facet adds +1 pt. to that cost. One-Shot Powers with this limiter get one use per game session--that’s it! (-50%) Only X This limit places some condition, limit, or requirement on the power’s use. Examples include ​only while flying, ​only in water, ​only versus demons, ​only does knockback, ​only after a successful stat check, etc. The discount of this limit depends on the level of specificity, or the TN of the stat check, and should be negotiated between the player and the GM. Discounts range from -1 pt. to -4 pts. Here are some loose guidelines for determining discounts for this facet:

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-1 pt. ➡ Commonly encountered foe type (Only vs. humans), TN=11 stat check -2 pts. ➡ Limited use (Only at night), TN=13 stat check -3 pts. ➡ More limited foe type (Only vs. females), TN=15 stat check -4 pts. ➡ Rare foe type (Only vs. demons), TN=17 stat check Paralysis Your attack power also ​immobilizes your target if he fails a TN=11 + FX Toughness or Spirit check. Targets check vs. the same TN to overcome the effect at the beginning of each turn. (+5 pts.) Power Boost Once per scene gain a re-roll to any stat or power check under some specific condition. Examples include operating while immersed in water, damaging inanimate objects, making grapple checks, and battling against the supernatural. You can buy this multiple times for different conditions. (+1 pt.) Reach Buy this facet for a power or stat that normally must be used at touch or melee range. Every level purchased adds 1 unit of reach to the power. Possible powers that could benefit from Reach include ​Healing, ​Extra Limbs, and ​Weapon. You can also buy this facet for your Fighting stat. (1 pt. per level)

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Subtle By default all powers are obvious when used. This facet makes the power’s use detectable only by a successful TN=13 Awareness check. (+2 pts.) Super-Patriot’s Shield Building Super-Patriot’s unbreakable shield can show you how to get stuff done using ​3D6 Supers. Here goes! S-P’s shield acts as both armor and a ranged/melee attack option. That’s three powers: ​Armor, ​Blaster, and ​Weapon. Packaging them into one cool device requires the ​Multi-Power facet. And since S-P’s shield can often be taken away, we would also give it the ​Easily Taken Device facet. Keeping in mind that with multi-power we figure the cost based on the most expensive power in the package, here’s what we wind up with: Super-Patriot’s Shield ​(9 pts.) Multi-Power, Easily Taken Device Armor 2; Blaster +1 (Area 1, Control); Weapon +1 The most expensive of the three powers comprising this item is the Armor 2 power (10 pts.). Easily Taken subtracts 2 pts. That takes it from 10 pts. to 8 pts. The Blaster power is only level 1 (3 pts.), but we added the Area facet to model Patriot’s ability to ricochet it to additional targets, and added the control extra for +1 pt. This makes it cost 6 pts. Still less than Armor’s 8 pts. Weapon is the cheapest of the three powers in this package; it costs just 2 pts. for a +1 damage bump. So Armor at 8 pts. remains the most expensive of the three, and when we add the +1 pt. for the Multi-Power facet we’re done at 9 pts. Oh, and the fact it’s unbreakable is a narrative flourish, a sidebar to the fact that it’s heavy armor. It might come in handy during a story a time or two, but it’s not worth blowing points on.

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STEP 5: Distribute Background Levels Players select Backgrounds for their characters to describe what they did prior to starting their careers as heroes or villains. Backgrounds represent loose areas of skill and experience akin to a profession, vocation, or life experience. Players get 5 levels to divide among the suggested backgrounds listed below. Players cannot place more than 3 levels in any single background choice. Players spend backgrounds during the course of the issue to buy ​re-rolls on relevant ​core stat checks. These work just like spending a Karma point to gain a re-roll. Players should note on their character sheet when they spend a background point on a re-roll. A character’s backgrounds replenish back to their starting levels at the beginning of each new issue. Backgrounds never allow re-rolls on combat checks​; they’re purely for task checks or RPG scenes where knowledge and interaction take the forefront. To use a background the player asks the GM if the background would apply in a given instance, and the GM assesses the situation and gives her assent, or suggests that another background might be better suited to the task at hand. Backgrounds remain intentionally broad, and can sometimes be used with different core stats than the ones suggested. Each background also provides a middle-class or higher lifestyle. Player’s should use their characters’ highest rated background to figure out (roughly) their level of financial comfort. Standard TN apply when the GM sets the difficulty levels of tasks in RPG situations: Easy = 5 Moderate = 9 Hard = 13 Very Hard = 17 Impossible = 21+ We list suggested uses with each background description, but these are just suggestions, and much more can be done if the GM and her players get creative!

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Arcane You know magic and the arts arcane. Your study of esoteric writings, weird places, and strange beings from other dimensions has opened new worlds of understanding for you. Re-roll Mind checks when seeking strange knowledge, Spirit checks when casting magical rituals, and Awareness checks when trying to discern magical patterns or details.

Art You work in one or several mediums to create art of some kind. This also covers writing of all kinds, except technical writing, which would go under Scientist. Re-roll Agility checks when a fine hand is needed to make something beautiful, Spirit checks for writing poetry and other creative works, and Awareness checks when trying to detect forgeries.

Athletics You possess past experience in serious athletic endeavors. Pick one or two sports you played at a very high level. A 1 indicates lower division collegiate level. A 2 indicates Division I college athletics, or semi-pro status. A 3 indicates a serious professional athlete of some accomplishment. Re-roll Agility checks during athletic feats, and Mind checks when devising and assessing on the field strategies.

Blue Collar You’re a tradesman (carpenter, electrician, plumber, etc.) or a laborer. You work hard with your hands to make your living. A 1 rating means you’re successful practitioner of your trade. A 2 marks you as a foreman or job leader. A 3 means you’re a successful contractor. Re-roll Agility, Mind, or Strength checks when practicing your trade, or Awareness when detecting shoddy workmanship.

Business You’re a successful business person, or you were. A 1 rating means you own or owned a single, successful business. A 2 means multiple locations or businesses, and a 3 could suggest a large private or public corporation. Each level of this background suggests an appropriate level of income and financial comfort. Re-roll Mind checks when making business deals, and Spirit checks during negotiations of any kind.

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Criminal You have a criminal background as a petty crook, supervillain, or both! Maybe you’ve reformed, or maybe you still practice your villainous ways! Re-roll Mind checks for schemes and nefarious plans, Spirit checks when intimidating and bamboozling, and Agility checks when breaking and entering.

Espionage Your experience includes work in the world of clandestine operations. Secret agents, spies, and deep cover operatives can all claim benefits from this background. Re-roll Spirit checks for deception, role-playing, and seduction, and Awareness checks when spotting clues related to your work. You can also re-roll Mind when recalling facts about a given area, and Agility when attempting athletic feats and chases.

Exploration You’ve travelled the world and survived harsh climates, angry natives, and rough terrain. You know how to swing on ropes, climb mountains, and navigate trackless jungles. Exploration can also grant the ability to speak other languages (one extra language per level). Re-roll Agility checks for outdoor feats and piloting vehicles, and for Awareness and Mind checks for more cerebral exploits like map reading and plant identification.

High Society You’re rich. Each level you place in this background indicates your level of fabulous wealth and your ability to navigate the upper echelons of the rich and famous. Re-roll Spirit checks when impressing your peers at big parties, and Mind checks when recalling bits of minutiae and gossip about other members of your circle.

Medicine You know how to make sick people better. This background represents advanced medical training. A 1 makes you a nurse or medic. A 2 makes you a doctor. A 3 makes you a doctor and world renowned researcher! Re-roll Mind when understanding complex medical phenomena and Sense when recognizing symptomatic patterns. You might also even re-roll Spirit when practicing good bedside manner with patients!

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Military You are, or were, a warrior. This can include both formal and informal military service. While a 1 might make you a grunt, a 3 might mark you as a valuable officer. You know weapons appropriate to your experience and history, and might also be able to pilot or drive appropriate vehicles. Re-roll Agility when piloting military vehicles, Mind when assessing tactics and recognizing weapons, and Spirit when inspiring your fellows.

Monarch You are, or were, a potentate. Maybe you’ve been exiled, or left your kingdom of your own accord, but you still have at least some tie to your old life of royalty. Your level in this background might grant you some wealth, prestige, or temporal power. Work this out with your GM. Re-roll Spirit when commanding, inspiring, or impressing others with your regal bearing. You might also re-roll Mind for political or geographic knowledge.

Performance You have training as an actor, dancer, or performer of some type. Your level in this background could indicate your degree of accomplishment (and financial comfort) in your chosen field. For example, a 1 might indicate that you’ve acted in community theater and a few commercials, while a 3 might mean you’re a TV or movie icon. Re-roll Spirit or Agility when performing, Spirit when impressing people with your fame.

Public Safety Policemen, firemen, park rangers, and others fall into this background. Choose one of these tracks or a similar one when selecting this option. Re-roll Agility when rescuing people from peril, or Mind or Awareness when conducting an investigation.

Science You know science! Pick a discipline if you want, or keep it vague (this is comic book science after all), but this trait gives you access to all sorts of technical knowledge and jargon. If you do decide to limit to a certain discipline (biochemistry, engineering, physics) your rating in this background counts as 1 higher, so 2 would be a 3. Re-roll Mind and Awareness checks when

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analyzing and recognizing physical phenomena, and Mind when inventing cool stuff.

Social Sciences Law, politics, economics, history, education, anthropology, archaeology, and many other “soft” disciplines all fall under this background. Social sciences can also grant the ability to speak other languages (one extra language per level). Re-roll Mind and Awareness checks when understanding data, conducting research, and recognizing clues.

New And Renamed Backgrounds The GM and her players should feel free to create more backgrounds if needed, or rename existing backgrounds with more evocative language. Example: Abby decides her ​3D6 Supers game will take place around fifty years in the future and feature a lot of cybernetics and bionics. She also decides that some of the poor and disenfranchised folks in her world do not have ready knowledge or access to this tech knowledge. To reflects this divide, she creates the ​High-Tech background. Example: Sky decides he wants to change his magician’s Arcane 3 background to “Master of the Mystic Arts 3”.

STEP 6: Finishing Touches This is where you put the final elements of your character together. Movement Players calculate a character’s move capacity per round based on his Agility and Strength core stats. Add the bonus of the two stats together and compare it on the following chart: -2 ➡ 2 units -1 ➡ 3 units +0 ➡ 4 units +1 ➡ 5 units +2 ➡ 6 units +3 ➡ 7 units +4 or higher ➡ 8 units

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“Units” refers to any measure of movement per round the players want to use--five foot increments, yards, meters, grid squares, hexes. See the Flight, Speed, and Sprinter powers for more on moving faster.

Health You track your character’s health along two tracks in the game, Body (physical) and Psyche (mental). If either track hits zero during a scene, you’re knocked out until a new scene begins! You start each game session with your tracks at maximum: Body starts at 6 + Toughness Bonus/2 (round up) Psyche starts at 6 + Spirit Bonus/2 (round up) The character sheet features a slot for each track and accompanying boxes you can mark off (moving from left to right) as your character takes damage. Example: Lou checks Bladesman’s stats and sees that his Toughness +1 and Spirit +1 result in Body 7 and Psyche 7.

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Example: Scott’s building alien strong man Grannok-5. Grannok-5 has Toughness +4 and Spirit +1, so he starts each game session with Body 8 and Psyche 7. Characters who suffer a knockout and enter a subsequent scene with no narrative break or rest do so at half their starting damage capacity (round up). Example: Bladesman (Body 7) gets knocked out by a punch from Ape-Austen, but has no time to properly rest and recover before the next scene. He enters that next scene at Body 4. STRENGTH & LIFTING Characters in ​3D6 Supers can lift/press weights based on their ​Strength core stat: Abysmal (-2) ➡ 25 lbs. Poor (-1) ➡ 50 lbs. Average (0) ➡ 100 lbs. Good (+1) ➡ 250 lbs. Elite (+2) ➡ 750 lbs. Super 1 (+3) ➡ 1 ton Super 2 (+4) ➡ 10 tons Super 3 (+5) ➡ 50 tons Super 4 (+6) ➡ 100 tons Super 5 (+7) ➡ 200+ tons The levels above can represent a range of values, especially when characters reach into the Super 1 through Super 5 quality ranges. For example, if Red Scorpion has Super 3 ​Strength, he can lift anywhere between 10 tons to 50 tons. Players can place further limits on a character’s lifting capability by assigning an ​Only X limiter to it. Scott decides that Red Scorpion can actually lift/press 15 tons. He assigns the following limiter facet to Strength: ​Only Able to ​(lift/press) 15 tons. Players don’t have to do this, but it adds detail to a character’s profile, and a limiter facet like this one provides a small points reduction. When it comes down to a straight contest of Strength vs. Strength, the GM can always rule that a character with at least 2 levels higher than his competitor just flat out wins. For example, if Grannok-5 (Strength +5) is arm-wrestling Shrike (Strength +3), the GM can rule that Shrike has no real chance, and loses the contest.

Karma Pool Mark a “1” in your Karma Pool slot. If you invested any power points in the Karma Boost power, your starting pool will be higher.

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Chapter 3:​ ​Action & Combat

Although discussed in Chapter 1, this section will go into greater detail about resolving character actions in ​3D6 Supers. This chapter covers how to determine whether or not a character succeeds at an attempted action. In the previous chapters, we defined the components of characters and how they fit together. This chapter explains how those stats and powers affect a character’s chances of success at an action, whether fighting some super-foe or tracking down a clue to complete a dangerous mission. The difficulties of tasks will vary with the situation, but the better your core stat, the better your chances of getting the best results from your endeavors.

Character Actions

Each round every character gets a turn. On his turn a character can do any or all of the following: ♜ Perform any number of Free actions ♜ Move part or all of his movement allowance ♜ Perform a Combat or Standard action

Task Checks

Task checks comprise any unopposed, non-combat activity a character might need to do in the game. Roll 3D6 + Core Stat to complete a task check. It’s up to the GM to tell you which core stat to add and the difficulty level of a given situation or task.

Sample Target Numbers (TNs) Easy = 5 Moderate = 9 Hard = 13 Very Hard = 17 Impossible = 21+

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Task checks can count as either a Free or a Standard action. Check with the GM in each instance; she’ll tell you which one it will be. Result Levels Just about every action in the game that requires a dice roll produces Result Levels. These levels can be used by the GM to interpret the effectiveness of an action. Negative result levels mean failure. Zero result levels (just meeting the action’s set difficulty), usually means a marginal success. Result levels of +1 or higher equal increasing levels of success. GMs should use the Result Level chart to interpret a character’s degree of success: Result Levels​ 0 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9 - 10 11+

​FX 0 (Marginal) 1 (Average) 2 (Good) 3 (Excellent) 4 (Remarkable) 5 (Amazing) 6 (Monstrous)

Example: Dark Templar (Mind +3) tries to decipher passages from a grimoire. The GM decides this is tough, TN=15 for a man who’s never studied sorcery. Dark Templar’s player rolls 3D6 and gets a 15, and adding his +3 for Mind gives him a total of 18. That’s 3 result levels--a Good result on the table! The GM decides that Dark Templar learns some of the foul book’s darker secrets. Extended Checks Some tasks might allow or require you to collect FX over the course of several rounds. We call these extended checks, and the GM can assign a set number of FX you have to collect to achieve success. Result Levels In Combat In combat the FX your result Levels generate translate directly into damage inflicted on the target of an attack. We explain this in greater detail as we go.

Anatomy Of A Combat

In ​3D6 Supers we divide combat scenes up into rounds where every character and minion group gets a chance to act at least once. We call these individual actions within a round turns. Every combat round begins with a card-based Initiative phase. Read on, true believer!

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♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ The Issue Card ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ We like to think of our game sessions as individual issues of a great comic book series. Whenever the GM and her players sit down to start a new issue of ​3D6 Supers, she should deal each player an ​issue card from her a standard 54-card deck. She should also discretely deal each named NPC slated to appear in the issue a card as well. If an unexpected NPC arrives in the issue, the GM can simply deal him a card. Minion groups don’t get issue cards. Note the card and suit for each character in the ​issue card slot on the character sheet. If the GM deals a Joker, she should repeat the process until she deals a normal card. Example: Abby is getting ready to run a session of ​3D6 Supers. Her players are Lou (Bladesman), Dan (Mr. Heat), Linda (Tantrum), and Scott (Shrike). Abby also has three NPCs (Bast, Cat, and Stoneflower) and a minion group (Pawns of Dis) prepared as antagonists for the issue. Before play gets started she shuffles her deck and deals some cards! Here’s how it shakes out for the players: Bladesman ➡ 6 of Diamonds Mr. Heat ➡ Queen of Hearts Tantrum ➡ Ace of Spades Shrike ➡ 2 of Clubs Then Abby turns and discretely deals each of her NPCs a card: Bast ➡ Ace of Hearts Cat ➡ 10 of Clubs Stoneflower ➡ 3 of Clubs Pawns of Dis ➡ no card! Everyone notes the issue cards in the appropriate slots, and the session is ready to begin!

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Initiative: It’s In The Cards! We use a standard 54-card deck in the game to set initiative each round. Remember to deal every named character an issue card at the start of each session; record this card on the character’s record sheet. At the beginning of every round of action, the GM deals each ​player character two (2) cards from the 54-card deck. She then deals one (1) card to each named NPC in the battle. Note: ​GMs, don’t forget to deal cards to any knocked out characters! The right card deal can get them back into the battle! After seeing all of the cards dealt, players then pick which card they want to use for the round and discard the unused card. At this point the GM and players assign any minion groups to a particular character’s card; minions assigned to a character go on his card, either before or after his turn. In cases where minions make up the only foes, issue a single card to each minion group as if they were named NPCs. Set initiative from the highest card value to the lowest: Ace King Queen Jack 10 - 2 Break any ties by comparing suits in this order: Spades Hearts Diamonds Clubs Example: A villain team battles a lone hero, Grannok-5 and 10 GUARD Agents within the bowels of an underground base! Here’s the characters and their issue cards: Bladesman (6 of Spades) Shrike (2 of Spades) Devil's Knight (8 of Clubs) Grannok-5 (7 of Hearts)

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GUARD Agents (no card)

Scott, the GM for this issue, shuffles his card deck and deals each player character two cards and Grannok-5 one card: Bladesman ➡ Queen of Hearts, 6 of Clubs Devil's Knight ➡ ​8 of Clubs​, 10 of Diamonds Shrike ➡ 7 of Clubs, Ace of Diamonds Grannok-5 ➡ Jack of Hearts Number, Suit, And Exact Matches If a player character or NPC gets a card that matches the number or suit of his ​issue card it’s special. He gains +1 to all of his actions that round--this includes attacks, defense rolls, and task checks. Example: Grannok-5 got a Jack of Hearts in the initiative draw detailed above. The Jack of Hearts gives him +1 to all of his actions for the round (due to a suit match).

If he gets dealt his exact card, we call this an ​exact match and he gets a +2 to all actions for the round! Example: Devil's Knight’s two cards include a 10 of Diamonds and an 8 of Clubs--the 8 of Clubs is an ​exact match for his issue card! His player takes the 8 of Clubs for Devil's Knight’s action order, and he’ll enjoy +2 to all of his actions this round!

After sorting out matches and options in the example above, the order of the action for this round follows: Shrike ➡ Ace of Diamonds Bladesman ➡ Queen of Hearts Grannok-5 ➡ Jack of Hearts (+1 to actions) -- GUARD Agents (right before, or right after, Grannok-5) Devil's Knight ➡ 8 of Clubs

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Other Benefits Of Exact Matches Exact matches are special for characters, providing additional benefits we’ve listed here for convenience! Miraculous Comeback! When any character gets an ​exact match restore 2 lost health to ​both his Body and Psyche damage tracks. This allows knocked out (see below) characters to jump back into the fray! Karma Pool Every time a character gets dealt an exact match, he gains +1 to his Karma Pool for that issue. He can spend this point immediately or bank it for use later in the scene or issue.

The Joker Jokers don’t count for initiative, but getting dealt one is special too. The character enjoys a +1 to all actions as if he got a card of his own suit or number, and the GM deals him an additional card, increasing his chance for a number, suit, or exact match. If he’s lucky enough that one of the other cards matches his suit or number, he gets a total of +2 for the round; if the card is an ​exact match, he gets a total of +3 for the round! Example: In a subsequent round, Shrike (issue card 2 of Spades) gets dealt a Joker and a 7 of Diamonds! The GM immediately deals him a third card. It’s a 10 of Spades! Shrike enjoys +2 to all actions this round--+1 from the Joker and +1 from the suit match! In that same round, Devil's Knight gets the second Joker, and a 6 of Spades, an exact match! He enjoys +3 to all actions for the round! Re-Shuffling Once the GM deals a Joker to someone, she should re-shuffle the deck at the end of the round.

Combat Rounds Characters take their turns in initiative order, moving from highest to lowest. When a character takes his turn he can Move and take either a Standard or a Combat action, and any free actions that seem appropriate. Standard actions include any sort of non-combat activity, power use, or other endeavor.

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Unless otherwise noted, using an attack power counts as part of the character’s combat action. A combat round comprises a somewhat elastic length of time that can last anywhere from five to thirty seconds depending on the situation and the GM’s needs. Don’t sweat the details when it comes to time and combat rounds! Held Actions Characters may choose to hold their actions until later in the round, holding their card until a dramatically appropriate moment. When a character's turn comes up in a round he announces he is using a held action. If a character does not use his held action in a round, it can carry over into the next round. Held actions may be used to interrupt other characters' actions. For example, Devil's Knight could hold his action until Arachno-Man swings into view to attack him. Movement in the Combat Round During non-combat situations, knowing exactly where a character is in relation to other characters, and how far he can move, is not always critical. When combat begins, players need to know if they can reach a foe, grab a hostage, secure piece of tech, or whatever else seems important. Your character has a movement rate measured in generic units, and figured by Agility and Strength bonuses, and/or his relevant powers. You can move or attack in whichever order you want. For example, Shrike could move into melee range with Fireflight with his first action, then use his combat action to attack, or if he begins the turn next to Fireflight, he could use his combat action to attack, then use his move action to fly away. You can also split your character’s movement action between an attack action, i.e., move a bit, hit someone, then move your remainder.

Movement, Miniatures, and the Combat Grid Some players and GMs prefer the detail of tracking character movement and position using card stand-ups, counters, or 28mm miniatures and a vinyl or plastic gridded battlemat. The GM uses erasable markers to draw out the scene of conflict, and each square on the grid counts as 1 unit worth of space. Characters can move up to their full allotted move value using their move action.

Attacks Against Named Characters Resolve any melee attacks against named Characters as opposed actions. The GM rolls for the named NPC and the player rolls for his character.

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Rolling 18 No matter the final result, rolling 18 (three 6s) on an attack results in at least one 1 Body or Psyche loss on the target. The GM can also declare the attack a critical hit, doubling the total damage if she sees fit. Melee Combat Melee combat involves characters at arms reach battling each other with fists, kicks, and melee weapons. Attackers roll 3D6 + Fighting and defenders roll 3D6 + Agility or Toughness to avoid or absorb the potential attack. If the attacker ​beats the defender’s total, his result levels translate into Body loss for the target. Use the Result Level chart to determine the attack’s base damage:

Result Levels​ 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9 - 10 11+

​FX 1 (Average) 2 (Good) 3 (Excellent) 4 (Remarkable) 5 (Amazing) 6 (Monstrous)

Effects that add to the base damage done by an attack include: ♜​ Every two full levels of Strength the attacker possesses add +1 to the damage done by melee attacks. Example: Grannok-5 (Fighting +2, Strength +5) punches Tryckster (Agility +4). Grannok-5’s player rolls 3D6 and gets a 15, for a total of 17. Tryckster’s player rolls 3D6 and gets an 11, for a total of 15! Grannok-5 hits! His 17 minus Tryckster’s 15 equals 2 result levels (generating 1 FX for 1 Body damage). G-5’s Strength of +5 adds 2 more, and Tryckster takes 3 Body damage. ♜​ Powers that add extra damage to attacks.

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Example: Doc Shock (Shooting +3, ​Blaster +2) fires his electro bolts at Eagle (Agility +3). Doc’s player rolls 3D6 and gets a 12, for a total of 15. Eagle’s player rolls a 8, for a total of 11! Doc Shock hits! His 15 minus Eagle’s 11 equals 4 result levels and 2 FX (a base of 2 Body damage). The Doc’s +2 Blaster power adds 2 more Body damage for a total of 4! Ouch! ♜​ Powers combined with Strength on melee attacks. Example: Wildman (Strength +3, ​Weapon +1) deals +2 damage on his melee attacks.

The Harried Defender The more times a character gets attacked in a round, the easier he becomes to hit! Each attack a character suffers after the first one imposes a -1 penalty to his defense rolls. Example: Bast faces off against Shrike, Mr. Brain, and Devil's Knight! Devil's Knight attacks first, and Bast defends normally. Later in the round Shrike attacks, and Bast rolls her defense at -1. When Mr. Brain attacks at the end of the round, Bast has to defend at -2. It does not matter what the nature of the attack is--every attack adds to a defender’s “harried” status. Each level of the ​Combat Master power a character possesses allows him to ignore a -1 from Harried Defender. Knockback Super-attacks will often send a character flying across the battlefield! A character can declare he is trying to knock a foe back before making his physical attack. This does not affect how much damage is done, but if the attack hits, multiply the total Body damage done by two to arrive at the number of units the target travels directly away from his attacker. Example: In one of the examples above Grannok-5 inflicted 3 total Body loss on Tryckster. If his player declared beforehand he wanted to also knock her back with the attack, she would travel 6 units directly away from the alien powerhouse! Characters knocked back in this fashion don’t take additional damage from passing through hardened objects like walls and cars--we don’t sweat those sorts of details in the game. The GM can rule that passing through such

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objects subtracts 1 unit of knockback per “hard” object the character passes through. GMs who feel like a character ​should take extra damage when flying through hardened objects can add a flat +1 Body loss to the character’s damage total once he comes to a rest. Knocked back foes end up knocked down. MANEUVERS Certain special moves common to comic action deserve special attention, and we address them here. Action Stunt/Power Stunt Describe some outlandish maneuver to your GM utilizing your powers and/or the environment and gain a +1 to +3 bonus to your action or attack roll. Examples include causing a gas main to explode beneath someone and knocking him down, blinding a target by causing a curtain to fall on him, smashing into someone at hyper-velocity, using massive objects as clubs, etc. More On Super-Clubs GMs, once you decide a character can lift an object he wants to wield, grant him an attack bonus based on the size--small (+1), medium +2, and large (+3). Once you attack with a club, it’s wrecked and you need to grab a new one.

Disarm Characters using powers with the Easily Taken Device facet can be disarmed on a successful maneuver. Make an attack check against the target you want to disarm. If you generate 2+ FX on the check, the character loses his device! It lands a number of units away equal to the FX generated on the disarm. Grapple Grabbing and immobilizing a foe involves grappling. The attacker makes a Fighting check versus his target’s Agility check. He must score at least 3 result levels (2 FX) to secure a proper hold. A grappled foe counts as ​immobilized. Moving while holding a grappled foe halves the grappler’s speed. Escaping a grapple requires a successful Strength versus Strength check. Attempting to escape a grapple costs the grappled character his combat action. While grappling a foe the attacker can use his combat action to squeeze him for damage. This is

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a Strength vs. Toughness contest, and any FX generated translate directly into damage. Setup During combat you can use teamwork to aid allies against even the most implacable foes! Setup is a special maneuver that requires the use of your combat action. Make a TN=13 check with an appropriate stat and describe to the GM how your character is assisting his allies. A success grants a +2 bonus to an ally of your choice. Check your result levels to determine the FX generated from the check. If you generate 3+ FX, you can grant the +2 bonus to additional allies: 3 FX = 2 allies, 4 FX = 3 allies, and so on. Alternately, should the GM agree that it makes narrative sense, you can apply your FX as a secondary bonus to the initial ally you aided. Example: Stoneflower and Devil's Knight are villainous teammates. She picks up Devil's Knight and hurls him at the Grav-Girl (who hovers above the battlefield). The GM agrees with Stoneflower’s player that this is a Setup maneuver using Stoneflower’s Strength stat. She gets a 19 on the check, generating 3 FX on her throw. The GM rules that Devil's Knight gets a +2 on his attack check ​and +2 to his damage should he hit Grav-Girl! Example: Mr. Brain uses his amazing intellect to dispense tactical advice to his allies--Devil's Knight, Tantrum, and Shrike. He makes a Mind check and scores a 21--4 FX! He’s able to grant a +2 bonus all three of his accomplices!

A successful setup maneuver can also allow the affected character or characters to overcome some sort of obstacle. For example, when Stoneflower hurls Devil’s Knight onto a giant robot so he can attack it with this knives, he is now on top of the 30’ tall foe and can make more attacks on its head in subsequent rounds. If you perform the same setup maneuver more than once in a scene, the difficulty rises by +2 for each subsequent attempt. GMs, if Mr. Brain is shouting tactical advice to his cohorts, make his player role-play it and take note of what he’s saying. If he tries to dispense the same, or similar advice, on the next round or rounds, call him on it and raise the attempt to TN=15!

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Shockwave If you’re strong enough (you need at least Strength +5 to attempt this), you can clap your hands, stomp your foot, or sometimes even let out a gust of air and knock your foes over like tenpins! Declare you’re making a shockwave attack before rolling any dice, then roll and add your Strength stat. Your shockwave travels 5 units in a direction of your choosing, and up to three targets of your choice (and within range) must roll Agility or Toughness to oppose it. Any target who fails the check gets knocked back a number of units equal to twice the negative FX generated and also counts as knocked down. Three Things They’re not really combat maneuvers, but be sure not to forget your character’s ​three things--origin, positive, and negative. When the moment is right you can call out your positive thing once per scene to gain a +2 bonus to an action, attack, or defense check. The GM might call out your negative thing, hitting you with a -2, so be ready for that too. And either of you might call out your origin if it seems appropriate. Remember, unless a character has an ​advantage that states otherwise, his three things are always knowable by all players, PCs, and NPCs.

DAMAGE, DEATH, & HEALING A character gets knocked out when he crosses off his last Body ​or ​Psyche damage box. Knocked out characters recover half of their lost damage at the start of the next scene. If the GM deems a sufficient period of time has passed between scenes without significant exertion (a night’s rest, several hours traveling in a vehicle), she can declare characters recover their full Body and Psyche boxes. The Body and Psyche damage tracks cannot “go negative.” Ignore any damage in excess of the character’s maximum capacity. Damage Save Rolls When the chips are down and you get rocked by a hit from Thunder God’s magic hammer (or any other attack that would likely KO you!), you can spend 1 Karma to roll with the hit or otherwise mitigate its effects. You must make this call the moment you suffer the hit and know how much damage you’ll be taking. Roll 3D6 + 2 vs. TN=11, and any FX you generate subtract directly from the damage you just suffered. This represents your last-ditch attempt to avoid being knocked out of the battle.

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Example: Shrike suffers a savage attack from Ape-Austen dealing him 5 damage! His player spends 1 Karma and rolls 3D6 + 2, getting a total of 14 on the TN=11 check, generating 2 FX and saving 2 of the 5 points of Body loss!

If you succeed but don’t eliminate all of the damage you suffered you can elect to spend a further 1 Karma for a ​re-roll--gaining the normal +2 for re-rolls--making your damage save 3D6 + 4 on the second throw! Take the better of the two rolls in these instances. Example: Mr. Brain takes a vicious hit from Ox and suffers 7 damage! His player spends 1 Karma and rolls 3D6 + 2, getting only a 12! The 1 result level generates only 1 FX, and 1 saved damage. That would still leave Mr. Brain with 6 Body loss. His player decides to spend a further 1 Karma and roll again! This time he rolls 3D6 + 4 and gets a 16 for 5 result levels--that’s 3 FX and 3 damage saved! Killing Attacks While comic book attacks are often brutal, they’re not always murderous! To this end, when a character loses the last box on either of his tracks, we assume a knockout. However, an attacker can declare a ​killing attack ​before rolling his dice, and should the exchange result in his target losing his last box on either track, he has to make a TN=15 ​Toughness or ​Spirit check against death! Failure means he’s presumed dead! Anytime a character attacks a helpless foe (i.e., one who is Knocked Out, sleeping, comatose, etc.) he can declare a killing attack and force a death check. The GM can also rule certain special or environmental hazards as inherently killing attacks--nuclear bomb blasts, raging volcanoes, and falls from terminal heights all come to mind! Any character presumed dead at the end of a scene gets one card turn from a freshly shuffled deck. If the card comes up a Joker, or an ​exact match, he’s not really dead! Players should work with the GM to come up with some plot twist that explains the character’s miraculous return from the dead.

First Aid If you don’t have the Healing power, but ​do​ have a medical background, you can make a TN=15 Mind check. On a success you restore 1 Body OR Psyche health box to a patient in melee contact with you.

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Common Conditions A few conditions will come up often in the course of playing the game, so we cover them here. Immobilized: Immobilized targets cannot move or make ​fighting or shooting attacks. Foes gain +2 to hit an immobilized target with fighting or ​shooting attacks. Immobilized foes cannot use Agility to defend, but can use Toughness. Knocked Down: A knocked down character is easier to hit in melee--foes gain a +1 bonus to hit a knocked down target. Getting up costs 1 unit of movement. Knocked Out: A character goes unconscious when he crosses off his last Body ​or ​Psyche damage box. The GM still deals him cards each round, as an ​exact match will allow him a miraculous recovery. A suit or ​number match allows a Comeback Check. The Comeback Check Knocked out characters who do not have the benefit of ​Healing or Regeneration don’t just have to wait around until they get dealt an ​exact match and regain two lost health in Body and Psyche. If the knocked out character gets dealt a ​suit or number ​match during initiative, he gets to roll 3D6 + 2 versus TN=13. Characters possessing the ​Regeneration power roll 3D6 + 3 on this check. On a success he regains ​one lost health in Body and Psyche. Ranged Combat Ranged combat involves characters blasting away from distances beyond melee reach. Attackers roll 3D6 + Shooting and defenders roll 3D6 + Agility or Toughness to avoid or absorb the potential attack. We assume a character with a positive Shooting stat carries a ranged weapon or can throw objects. These attacks have a base range of 10 units. Characters with ​Blaster or other ranged powers possess either an inherent ranged attack or a super weapon. When a target’s position exceeds an attack’s base range, the attacker suffers -1 to his attack roll per 5 units (or

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partial 5 units) beyond the base. So an attack with a 10 unit base range would suffer a -2 versus a target 17 units away. A shooter without the Blaster power is by default using a “ranged weapon” with the ​easily taken device facet. If the attacker ​beats the defender’s total, his result levels translate into Body loss for the target. Use the Result Level chart to determine the attack’s base damage:

Result Levels​ 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9 - 10 11+

​FX 1 (Average) 2 (Good) 3 (Excellent) 4 (Remarkable) 5 (Amazing) 6 (Monstrous)

Powers often add extra damage to attacks. Example: Phaedra (Shooting +3, Blaster +2) blasts Bot (Toughness +4) with one of her photon bolts. She hits with a total of 18, and Bot soaks with a total of 14. That’s a base damage of 2, but her Blaster power adds 2 more, for a final total of 4! Bot is hurting!

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Weapons 3D6 Supers abstracts weaponry for ease of play. We assume a character with a positive ​Shooting stat carries some kind of firearm or ranged weapon. This is a standard item. Characters with the ​Blaster power possess either an inherent ranged attack, or some sort of super weapon. The same goes for characters with positive ​Fighting stats, but in the case of melee combat, this can also represent deadly martial arts. Buying the ​Weapon power on top of a positive ​Fighting stat means the character is super deadly in melee. Here are some rough guidelines on weapons in the game: ● ● ● ●

● ● ● ●

Positive ​Fighting stat = Accomplished fighter Positive ​Fighting stat + Weapon 1 = claws, knife, or machete Positive ​Fighting stat + Weapon 2 = big axe or sword, deadly chi attack Positive ​Fighting stat + Weapon 3 = energy blade, super-metal claws, enchanted hammer Positive ​Shooting or thrown object Positive ​Shooting Positive ​Shooting grenade Positive ​Shooting

stat = Marksman with small caliber firearm stat + Blaster 1 = High caliber firearm stat + Blaster 2 = Rocket propelled stat + Blaster 3 = Energy cannon

Mind Or Magical Combat Mind and Spirit-based attacks occur at range unless some power limit makes them a melee attack. Attackers roll 3D6 + Mind or Spirit and defenders roll 3D6 + Mind or Spirit to resist the attack. Use the same system as detailed in ranged combat above to work out damage for these sorts of attacks, and ​apply any damage done to the target’s Psyche health track​.

The Arch-Foe Comics often feature a group of heroes or villains taking on a single, deadly foe! Only through weight of numbers and teamwork can they bring such enemies to heel! But it’s often no fun in play when the GM’s best baddie gets his one activation, and then proceeds to endure a fusilade of player character attacks. One way to mitigate this is for the GM to declare a character in a given chapter of her issue the “Arch-Foe.” This character should normally act

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alone during that chapter, battling multiple villains or heroes using sheer power and bravado.

In these instances the GM deals her declared Arch-Foe two cards just as she would a player character, but the Arch-Foe gets to act on ​both​ cards during the course of the round! This includes two full turns of movement, action, and combat! Does this technically mean that the Arch-Foe moves twice as fast as he normally might? Yes! Who cares--he’s the Arch-Foe! When the Arch-Foe takes his second action of the round, the GM should hold him to a few rules: ♜ No repeat attacks! If he used his energy blasts on his first turn of the round, he has to do something different on the second turn! If he’s an Arch-Foe, he should have enough resources to do more than one thing in a round. Even if it’s a big lummox of a menace like a cosmically powered giant robot, the GM needs to come up with a new strategy for him. If the robot punched the first time he went in the round, maybe he does a Shockwave maneuver on his second action. Or uproots a tree and uses it to swat one of the player characters. Whatever. No repeats! ♜ Monologue. If he’s able, that is! Arch-foes who can talk should spout off a lot. It’s what they do. So ham it up, GM! Your players will approve! If she wants to add some spice the GM might throw in a lesser named character or gang of minions to support the Arch-Foe. This is OK so long as they are built on the same or fewer power points than the player characters.

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Minions Unnamed hoods, thugs, soldiers and other massed fighters all come under the umbrella of the minion rules. ​3D6 Supers places a lot of importance on named characters. GMs and players roll 3D6 for the actions of named characters. Unnamed characters never rely on dice rolls, but instead have a set TN associated with their overall capability, powers, and equipment. Each type of minion gets assigned a Threat rating, a TN named characters roll against in times of conflict.

Minion Mobs Minions come in mobs, groups of at least 5 individuals. They move and act as one character for purposes of initiative, and the GM or player controlling them attaches their activation to one of the named characters on their side in the conflict. If there are no characters allied to them, they get assigned a card as a named character would. We’ll go into more detail for building minion mobs in Chapter 4, but generally, the GM should eyeball the type of minion she wants for a scene, consider their training, powers, and equipment, and assign them a TN. Here’s a few examples: GUARD Tactical Team: TN=15, Ranged Blasters +1 Dr. Simian’s Plasti-Men: TN=13, Construct, Elasticity 2, Weapon +1 Unless a power dictates otherwise, all minions have a base move of 5 units.

Minion Numbers Assume a band of 5 minions when setting your horde’s base Threat TN. Every full 5 minions beyond the first gives them a +1 numbers bonus to the TN. So a TN=13, 10 minion band is effectively TN=14 until they suffer their first casualty. Attacking Minions When named characters attack minions they make an unopposed roll against the minion's Threat TN, with the result levels directly subtracting from the number of Minions in the mob. Minions with powers that would normally add to a named character’s stat instead subtract their bonuses from result levels scored against them.

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Example: Shrike sweeps in to attack a group of 10 of Plasti-Men. His attack totals 18, and when compared to the TN=14 (TN=13 + 1 for the numbers) Plasti-Men, generates 4 result levels. This would normally take out 4 of the minions, but their +2 for Elasticity cuts that number of casualties to 2. When Minions Attack When minions attack a named character, the named character rolls his most appropriate defense stat against their Threat TN. If the named character fails, use the negative result levels to generate the base damage FX. Example: Shrike continues his battle against the Plasti-Men, and now they counter attack! Shrike’s player rolls his Agility against their TN=13. He gets a total of 11 on his defense--2 result levels for the Plasti-Men! This translates into 1 damage, but the Plasti-Men also possess Weapon +1, so Shrike suffers a total of 2 Body loss from their attack. When Minions Battle Minions Every now and then groups of minions will battle each--covert agents vs. secret society thugs for example. In these cases, compare the TN (factoring in any relevant powers) of the opposing minions and then make opposed 3D6 rolls for them. If one group possesses a higher TN, it gets a bonus on the check equal to the difference between the two TNs. Any result levels scored by the winner of the check subtract minions as normal. Example: GUARD Agents (TN=14) battle Pawns of Dis (TN=12). The GM rolls 3D6 + 2 for the GUARD Agents, and one of her players rolls 3D6 for the Pawns. The GUARD Agents get a total of 15, and the Pawns wind up with a 12--they lose 3 members to GUARD’s superior training and firepower! Minions vs. TN-based Powers A lot of powers use TNs to resolve their effects. Against minions treat a power’s TN as a Minion vs. Minion conflict, but add +1 to its TN. Example: Volatar (TN=15 Damage Field with ​Explosion) explodes right next to a pack of hapless Thugs (TN=11). Volatar’s player treats his TN=15 explosion as TN=16, and rolls 3D6 + 5 vs. the Thugs’ 3D6. He gets a 17, and the Thugs get a 12--all 5 of them go boom!

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Property Damage Smashing through walls, barriers, vehicles, and other objects remains a staple action in superhero comics. Here’s how to adjudicate it in your games. The first rule is keep it simple and fast-moving. Follow these material strength guidelines to set up your object TNs:

TN=11 Glass TN=12 Drywall TN=13 Plywood TN=14 Tough Plastics TN=15 Concrete TN=16 Light Metals TN=17 Titanium TN=18+ Alien or Exotic Alloys

If a character does not possess a stat or power that makes narrative sense for penetrating a barrier of a certain type, the GM should rule the task impossible. For example, frail Aunt Mable does not get to roll to break through anything stronger than glass. She just can’t do it! But if she should get the powers of Captain Cosmic, then she has narrative license to attempt to smash through tougher stuff. Use your result levels to generate FX that describe the level of destruction on the object or barrier. An FX of 1 means you smash a man-sized hole through it, while an FX of 2 makes the hole double man-sized, and so on. For objects the GM needs to track damage on, like world-destroying devices that should take time and considerable effort to wreck, she should assign them a Body rating like a character. Base it on the plot significance of the item: Minor = Body 5 Major = Body 10 Critical = Body 15+ In these cases result levels determine damage FX just like with characters.

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Vehicles In comic books the primary role of vehicles is getting blown up, or being used as impromptu clubs! Don’t sweat the details when building vehicles for a scene. Start by assigning them a general composition TN (based on the Property Damage TNs we outlined earlier), and a transport capacity. Then assign the vehicle its Maneuverability rating: -3 (low) to +3 (high). Next assign its Velocity rating: 1 (low) to 5 (high). Also apply any other powers like Armor, Blaster, Flight, etc. Finally, vehicles should have a Body damage track commensurate with their size: Small = 5 (motorcycle) Medium = 10 (sedan) Large = 15 (flatbed truck) Huge = 20+ (passenger jet) As vehicles take damage, the GM should use good sense and apply penalties to any attempts to control them. A vehicle that’s lost more than half its damage capacity might even cease working, or worse, explode! Once a vehicle loses its last box, it shuts down and the chance for a spectacular explosion should rise dramatically! It is the comics, after all! Chases In ​3D6 Supers A chase round consists of the following: ♜ Determine the starting distance in units between the two characters or vehicles. ♜ Perform a standard Initiative draw. ♜ Participants make opposed rolls. Characters make opposed Agility checks. Characters possessing 2+ levels in ​Speed or ​Flight higher than their opponents automatically win the chase!

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Vehicles make opposed checks: Agility +/- maneuverability of vehicle + (difference of velocity between vehicles; only for the faster vehicle). ♜ Winner uses the FX generated to increase or decrease distance between the participants. ♜ According to initiative order, other characters riding in vehicles may take actions. ♜ If the distance between the participants is greater than 10 units, the chase ends and the fleeing participant escapes. If not, the chase continues to the next round.

Crashes The longer a chase goes on, the greater the chance for a crash! Starting at the end of round 2 of the chase the GM should draw a number of cards from the deck equal to the current round of the chase and compare the value to each vehicle’s chase total from the opposed rolls earlier. In these cases Aces and face cards = 1. If the card total is less or equal to either of the vehicle driver’s previous chase totals, no crash occurs, but if the card total exceeds an operator’s roll, the vehicle has crashed! All occupants in a crash check Toughness vs. TN=11 (+Velocity rating). Any negative FX equal damage from the crash.

Other Hazards A number of other dangers can bedevil characters as they adventure through the exotic locales of the four-color world. Here we present some brief rules on various dangers. Falling In ​3D6 Supers characters will sometimes fall from great heights. Here’s a quick and easy system for the GM to determine how much damage a character sustains from a fall. Toughness, and the Armor and Force-Field powers all factor into mitigating falling damage. Assume falls of less than 11 ft. result in no significant injuries. Distance Fallen​ 11' - 40' 41' - 80' 81' - 120' 121' - 160'

​Damage TN 15 16, +1 Damage 17 +2 Damage 18, +3 Damage

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161' - 200' 201’+

19, +4 Damage 20, +5 Damage

Poison A poison is any substance that if ingested in the right quantities can harm or kill you. The scientific and forensic communities painstakingly categorize various poisons, their nature, and their effects on living organisms. We just want the GM to be able to handle poisons in her game quickly and with a minimum of fuss. A poison can be ingested (eaten), inhaled (breathed), injected, or absorbed through the skin. In game terms poisons possess two primary attributes, a contact method (one of the four mentioned above) and a Strength (usually rated as a TN from 13 - 17). When resisting poison the character makes a Toughness roll versus the poison's Strength. Any negative result levels translate into damage FX to the Body track as normal. Specific poisons can create other effects that render targets immobilized or unconscious for a period of time based on the FX. In this section we provide entries for some specific poisons, and GMs can use these as a basis for designing their own. Viper Venom Contact Method: Injected (bite) Strength: TN=16 Effects:​ This powerful neurotoxin shuts down the nervous system, causing paralysis and death in minutes or hours. If the character fails the roll he is ​immobilized until medical help (usually in the form of anti-venom) arrives. If no help of any kind arrives after one hour, the character makes a second roll at -2, and if he fails this he is near death. Even if an affected character makes his Toughness roll versus the poison's effects, he suffers a -2 penalty to all actions until he receives anti-venom. Sleep Cloud Contact Method: Inhaled Strength: TN=14 Effects:​ This non-lethal cloud of gas is made from rare herbs and activated by shattering its container. If the character fails the roll he is Knocked Out for a number of hours equal to the FX generated by the result levels. For example, a character who gets a -1 on his Toughness roll would be knocked out for 1 hour. Suffocation / Drowning Characters can hold their breath one minute for every positive level of Toughness they possess. So a character with +3 Toughness can hold his breath for three minutes. Characters with Toughness +0 or lower must check

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toughness each round or suffer the effects of suffocation. See below. Once a character exceeds his limit without air, he must make a TN=13 toughness check each round. Any negative FX translate to killing body damage. Armor does not apply.

Awarding Karma In Play A GM should award her players 1 temporary Karma point at the conclusion of each scene or chapter. She can also grant additional Karma rewards in play for things like ingenious plans, inspired role-play, and daring deeds. Defeating a more powerful foe also might rate a Karma point award for the team. Players should add these points to their Karma Pools for the issue, but their pools refresh back to their normal starting levels when a new issue begins.

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Chapter 4: Characters

This chapter stats out some 25 pt. characters to give you an idea of how character generation works in this system. We wrote 3D6 Supers with low-powered characters in mind, but the rules will scale up to handle your favorite powerhouses from various popular comic books.

Making Minions When you make a minion group, assign them a base TN for a 5-member band. Bonus or level powers like Blaster and Weapon add to the TN in specific situations. For example, five Thugs (TN=11) equipped with high-tech ranged weapons (Blaster +1) would have TN=12 on the attack. We don’t really sweat counting power points when making minions, but a minion group really should not have more than 10 - 15 pts. in powers and/or extra stat bonuses. We encourage GMs and players to “eyeball” their desired capabilities for a minion group, and make the best call they can on its game stats. Here are some sample 5-member minion groups we came up with: Alien Soldiers: TN=14, Blaster +1, Strength +1 Nimba Cult Ninjas: TN=15, Weapon +1, Leaping 1, Sprinter High-tech Tactical Team: TN=15, Blaster +1 Dr. Simian’s Plasti-Men: TN=13, Construct, Elasticity, Weapon +1 Power Armor Troops: TN=14, Armor +1, Flight, Blaster +2 Groundlings: TN=11, Super-Senses (tremor sense) GUARD Agents: TN=16, Blaster +1 Unless they possess some movement power, ​Minion groups move a default of 5 units per turn​. Remember, every time you add 5 members, it increases the base TN by one. Campaign Play? 3D6 Supers works for one-off games and campaign play--where players run the same characters in each issue. We don’t subscribe to “leveling characters” in a supers RPG.

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With this in mind, the game has no experience accrual system. Characters do not “get better” from issue to issue. If players want to run an ongoing series where the same characters start in each issue, the GM can reward them with additional Karma Pool Points. She should give them an additional Karma point at the end of every third issue. So in Abby’s ongoing series that she plans to take to twelve issues, her players get +1 Karma after issues 3, 6, and 9. GMs can speed up or slow down this rate of accrual as well, granting the award after every second or fourth issue. If an event occurs during a game that might somehow substantively change a character’s abilities or power set, the GM should work with the affected player and re-shuffle the PC’s stats and powers to fit the new normal. In comic books this often occurs after the character suffers a near-death experience.

Sample ​3D6 Supers Characters

On the pages ahead we provide a ready-to-roll ​3D6 Supers team! This also gives GMs a look at how we put together characters. We built this crew on a budget of 25 power-points each.

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Chapter 5: Caper Generator

GMs and players can use the tables in this chapter to generate story ideas for villainous PCs and NPCs. GM, need ideas for what your villains are up to for a given issue? Use the tables below to sort that out! Players, running villains and need to come up with a few past capers you and your cohorts have pulled? Bust out the tables! We pulled the proper names of “victims” from the 1980s era. That’s the period where we grew up reading comics, but you can feel free to swap them out with current names and places if you like!

Incarceration Tables Roll on the following tables to determine what the character’s most recent misdeeds were that ended in them being incarcerated. In instances where players run villainous characters, they may also choose from the tables, but the GM should point out that choosing isn’t very fun!

Crime ​(roll 1D6) Result​ 1 2 3 4 5 6

​Crime Assault* Racketeering*** Kidnapping* Heist** Grand Theft Auto* Attempted Murder*

* Roll again on the Victim table below. ** Roll again on the Heist table below. *** Roll again on the Racketeering table below.

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Victim Table​ (roll 1D6) Result​ ​Victim* 1 Rich Heiress 2 The Mayor 3 Famous Actor 4 Famous Scientist 5 Famous Religious Figure 6 Subduing Hero’s Family Member/Significant Other

*Roll on the appropriate Victim sub-table.

Rich Heiress​ Sub-Table Result Heiress 1 Huguette Clark (copper mining) 2 Jean Tovereau (cattle) 3 Nica Rothschild (old money) 4 Sunny von Bülow (energy) 5 Bunny Mellon (banking) 6 Liliane Bettencourt (cosmetics)

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Mayor​ Sub-Table Result Mayor 1 Ed Koch (New York) 2 Wilson Good (Philadelphia) 3 Marion Barry (D.C.) 4 Harold Washington (Chicago) 5 Charles Royer (Seattle) 6 Starke Taylor (Dallas)

Famous Actor​ Sub-Table Result Actor 1 Meryl Streep 2 Robert De Niro 3 Sylvester Stallone 4 Jack Nicholson 5 Glenn Close 6 Sidney Poitier

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Famous Religious Figure​ Sub-Table Result Religious Figure 1 L. Ron Hubbard 2 Jimmy Swaggart 3 Dali Lama 4 Tammy Faye Baker 5 Bishop Desmond Tutu 6 Sun Myung Moon

Famous Scientist​ Sub-Table Result Famous Scientist 1 Peter Higgs (“god” particle) 2 Jacques Cousteau 3 Carl Sagan 4 Jane Goodall 5 Margaret Geller (quantum theory) 6 Stephen Hawking

Heist Table ​(roll 1D6) Result​ 1 2 3 4 5 6

​Caper Bank job Yacht Rare gems Military prototype Rare animal Radioactive isotopes

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Racketeering Table ​(roll 1D6) Result​ ​Scheme 1 Extortion 2 Gambling 3 Identity Theft 4 Smuggling 5 Influence Peddling 6 Refuse Hauling

Place of Apprehension Where did the villain commit his or her crimes, or where did the pursuit lead to?Roll first on the general table, then follow to the appropriate location subtable.

General Table Result​ 1-2 3-4 5-6

​Location City Wilderness Exotic

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City Sub-Table Result 1 2 3 4 5 6

Location The Docks Skyscraper Rooftop Main Street The Sewers Shopping Center School or University

Exotic Sub-Table Result ​ 1 2 3 4 5 6

​Location Energy Research Facility Hidden Mountain Refuge Atlantis Lost Jungle Orbital Base Moon Base

Wilderness Sub-Table Result ​ ​Location 1 Desert Canyon 2 Farm 3 Jungle 4 North Woods 5 Sea Cave 6 Mountaintop

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Chapter 6: Secret Base Design Rules The vastness of any comic book universe hides numerous hidden bases, refuges, and clandestine operations within its exotic locales. These rules will allow GMs and players to quickly whip up a hidden base. This will provide exciting locales for super teams to assault, raid, or defend! While this process has been designed to be mostly random, the GM and her players can also select specific features from each table in order customize a base to their needs. Step 1: Draw A Base Card Just as with a character’s ​Issue Card, draw a card from a 54 card deck for your base and note its value and suit. This is your B ​ ase Card. Shuffle it back into the deck. Step 2: Determine Base Owner and Purpose Base Owner Determine your base’s owner--either PCs or NPCs. In the case of an NPC owner this should usually be a significant personage or organization. Base Purpose Roll 1D6, then match your ​Base Card’s suit: D6 Result 1 - 3​ 4-6 Trove

​♠:​ Prison ​♥:​ Energy Research ​♦: ​Armory ​♣: ​Refuge ♠: ​Super-Soldier Research ​♥:​ Space Program ​♦: ​City ​♣: ​Treasure

Step 3: Determine Base Locale D6 Result 1​ City ​♠:​ Skyscraper ​♥: ​Sewers ​♦: ​School ​♣: ​Tenement 2​ Suburbs ​♠:​ Shopping Mall ​♥: ​Gated Community ​♦: ​Industrial Park ​♣: ​Park 3​ Wilderness ​♠:​ Forest ​♥: ​Jungle ​♦: ​Marine ​♣: ​Desert 4 ​Mobile ​♠:​ Teleporting ​♥: ​Tunneling ​♦: ​Deep Sea ​♣: ​Flying 5 ​Special Country ​♠:​ Island Nation ​♥: ​Old Soviet Block ​♦: ​Hidden African Enclave ​♣:​ South American Dictatorship 6​ Exotic ​♠:​ ​ ​Atlantis ​♥: ​Alternate Dimension ​♦: ​Offworld ​♣: ​Lost Jungle Step 4: Overall Construction Strength Match your ​Base Card’s suit: ♠:​ Exotic Materials, TN=18 ​♥: ​Superior Metals, TN=17 ​♦: ​Lighter Metals, TN=16 ​♣: ​Concrete, TN=15

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Step 5: Determine Base Defenses Roll 1D6, then match your ​Base Card’s suit: D6 Result 1 - 2 ​Minions* ​♠:​ TN=15 ​♥: ​TN=14 ​♦: ​TN=13 ​♣: ​TN=12 3 - 4 ​Traps* ​♠:​ TN=15 ​♥: ​TN=14 ​♦: ​TN=13 ​♣: ​TN=12 5 - 6 ​Named​ ​Characters** ​♠:​ Quartet ​♥: ​Trio ​♦: ​Duo ​♣: ​Solo * Add specific powers to Minions and Traps where appropriate. ** Choose characters based on the needs of the story. If your Base Card is an Ace, King, or Queen, roll again on the table above until you get a second, different result. Your base has two types of protection! Step 6: Determine Base Layout Use random card draws to determine your base’s layout. Each card draw represents a single room. You can start your base with an entry hall or room of your choosing, then build the rest in order by card draw. Start with five card draws for your base. If your Base Card is an Ace, add up to +2 draws. If your Base Card is King, Queen, or Jack, add up to +1 draw. Where you decide it’s applicable, use your Base Card as a size multiplier to create enlarged versions of your rooms. Base Card Room Size Multiplier Ace, King = x 5 Queen, Jack = x 4 10 - 6 = x 3 5-2=x2 Room Card Draw Joker = Portal Chamber (10 x 10) Ace = Hangar or Motor Pool (100 x 100) King = Laboratory (70 x 50) Queen = Living Area (40 x 40) Jack = Holding Cells (60 x 20, each cell is 2 x 2) 10 - 9 = Utility/Work Room (25 x 25) 8 - 2 = Corridor (5 x 10) * Measurements are in units, ceiling height is 10 units, but adjust as needed * You can make a room smaller if you desire * If you choose, red suits can denote a roughly square room; black suits denote a roughly circular room. As you lay out your base, feel free to rearrange any rooms that don’t make

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sense to you. You can also freely trade Corridors for Utility/Work rooms. Step 7: Determine Special Conditions Roll 1D6, then match your ​Base Card’s suit: D6 Result 1 - 2​ Power-Ups* ​♠:​ TN=13 ​♥: ​TN=14 ​♦: ​TN=15 ​♣: ​TN=16 3 - 4 ​Teleport Portals** ​♠:​ Dimensional ​♥: ​World ​♦: ​Country ​♣: ​City 5 - 6 ​Self-Destruct Mode*** ​♠:​ 5 rounds ​♥: ​4 rounds ​♦: ​3 rounds ​♣: ​2 rounds Pick an appropriate room where the special conditions occur. * Determine the method of the Power-Up. Examples include strength rays, gamma bombardments, mutating mists, etc. Exposed characters make a Spirit or Toughness stat check against the TN. Every 2 FX generated grant +1 to a stat of their choice for the remainder of the scene. ** Teleport portals provide easy transport to other points in the base, and to another location up to a distance determined by the Base Card’s suit. GM, assign teleport circles to appropriate rooms or chambers in your base. At your discretion, activating a circle requires a TN=13 Mind or Spirit check. *** Self-Destruct modes activate when characters trip some security measure. The rounds indicated by the Base Card suit represent a countdown to doomsday! When the base explodes, anyone inside must resist a TN=21 damage effect. If your Base Card is an Ace, King, or Queen, roll again on the table above until you get a second, different result. Example Secret Base Creation Sky decides to use the Secret Base Creation rules to make hideout for his players to assault. Step 1: Sky draws an Ace of Clubs for his ​Base Card. He then shuffles it back into the 54 card deck. Step 2: Sky decides his base will be owned by an alien warlord named Phaedra. He then rolls a 1 and applies his Clubs suit for the base’s purpose--a Refuge! The warlord must be up to something on Earth! Step 3: Sky next moves on to the location of his base. He rolls another 1--the city! His Clubs suit indicates a tenement. Step 4: Sky’s Clubs suit means his base has an overall construction strength

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of TN=15. Step 5: Base defenses come next. Sky rolls a 3--Traps! His Clubs suit means they’re only TN=12, and Sky will decide later what form they take. Since his Base Card is an Ace, he gets to roll a second time, and he rolls a 5. Coupled with his suit, this means a single named character also guards his base. He flips back to his notes and determines the Bladesman guards his base! Phaedra has chosen a human agent to secure her refuge! Step 6: Now Sky readies to do his base layout card draws. He gets five to start, and two more because of his Ace, so that’s seven all told. He draws them in this order: Queen of Clubs -- Living Area Ace of Hearts -- Hangar or Motor Pool King of Spades -- Laboratory Seven of Hearts -- Corridor Seven of Clubs -- Corridor Eight of Diamonds -- Corridor Jack of Diamonds -- Holding Cells Making his base more compact, Sky decides to trade his three corridors for work rooms. He imagines Phaedra has located a secret refuge beneath a rundown tenement in the Bronx. His hangar becomes a submarine pen. Step 7: Special conditions finish up the process. Sky gets to roll twice because of his Ace base card. He gets a Power-Ups at TN=16 and Teleport Portals with city wide range. He decides his power-ups come from a Gamma Ray Generator located in the Laboratory room. He places the primary teleport portal in one of his work rooms. Sky grabs a piece of graph paper and maps out his brand new secret alien base! Check out his work on the next page!

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Appendix I: More Characters

We’ve made a bunch of characters through the course of building and testing this game. Use them as you find them, or alter them to your taste! You can use the 25 pt. ready-made characters as PCs, or set them against your players. We’ve also thrown in a few high-powered builds to use as foes and further demonstrate character design in the system.

Constricta ​(25 pts.)

Real Name: Blanche Allred Age: mid-30s Height: 6’ 2” Weight: 250 lbs. Fighting +2 Shooting +0 Agility +1 Strength +3 Toughness +4 Mind +0 Awareness +1 Spirit +1 Move: 8 Karma Pool: ​2 Health Body (8) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things:​ Altered Human, Expert grappler, Overconfidence kills Backgrounds:​ Blue Collar 2, Criminal 3 Powers Immunity (ocean depths) Karma Boost 1 Power Boost (Grapples) Regeneration Weapon +1 (Crushing Arms) -- Reach 2

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Blow-Up ​(25 pts.)

Real Name: Wendy Campbell Age: late-20s Height: 6’ Weight: 140 lbs. Fighting +1 Shooting +4 Agility +2 Strength +0 Toughness +1 Mind +0 Awareness +2 Spirit +1 Move: 6 Karma Pool: ​4 Health Body (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things:​ Intense Training, Mad bomber, Only as good as her gear Backgrounds:​ Criminal 2, Performance 2, Athletics 1 Powers Blaster +2 (Bombs) -- Area 2, Device Karma Boost 3 Obscure (TN=13) -- Device Stun -- Device

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Bladesman ​(25 pts.)

Real Name: Davis Caldwell Age: late-20's Height: 6’ 2” Weight: 200 lbs. Fighting +3 Shooting +2 Agility +2 Strength +1 Toughness +1 Mind +0 Awareness +1 Spirit +1 Move: 9 Karma Pool: ​4 Health Body (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things:​ Intense Training, Trained by the Nimba Cult, Too eager to prove myself. Backgrounds:​ Criminal 2, Espionage 2, Athletics 1 Powers Advantage (Killer Rep) Armor 1 -- Device Karma Boost 3 Sprinter Super-Skill (Stealth) Weapon +1 (Brace of Knives) -- Device

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Electron (​ 25 pts.)

Real Name: Dillon Maxwell Age: early-30s Height: 5’ 11” Weight: 165 lbs. Fighting +2 Shooting +4 Agility +1 Strength +1 Toughness +1 Mind +0 Awareness +1 Spirit +1 Move: 6 Karma Pool: ​1 Health Body (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things: ​Altered Human, Deadly foe of Arachno-Man, I usually work alone Backgrounds:​ Criminal 3, Blue Collar 2 Powers Blaster +2 (Electric Blasts) Damage Field: TN=14 Immunity (Electric Shocks)

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Giant Alien Robot ​(65 pts.) Real Name: n/a Fighting +4 Shooting +3 Agility +0 Strength +5 Toughness +6 Mind +0 Awareness +2 Spirit +0 Move:​ 8 /320 Karma Pool: ​1 Health Body (9) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (6) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things: ​Construct, Alien technology, Glitchy programming Backgrounds: ​Exploration 3, Military 2 Powers Armor 2 Blaster +2 (Eye Beams) Regeneration Construct Flight 6 (800 mph / 320 units) -- Space Flight Size Control 2 -- Growth Only, Always On Super-Senses (Hearing, Radar, Sight)

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Mr. Brain (​ 25 pts.)

Real Name: Igor Topolov Age: mid-30s Height: 4’ 6” Weight: 145 lbs Fighting +1 Shooting +2 Agility +1 Strength +0 Toughness +1 Mind +5 Awareness +3 Spirit +2 Move: 4 Karma Pool: ​5 Health Body (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (8) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things:​ Mutant, Natural genius, Disturbing appearance Backgrounds: ​Science 3, Social Sciences 1, Espionage 1 Powers Blaster +1 (Energy Pistol) -- Easily Taken Device Karma Boost 4 Tactician

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The Siberian (​ 25 pts.)

Real Name: Gort Zukov Age: mid-80s Height: 6’ 4” Weight: 350 lbs. Fighting +4 Shooting +0 Agility +1 Strength +4 Toughness +5 Mind +0 Awareness +0 Spirit +3 Move: 8 Karma Pool: ​2 Health Body (9) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (8) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things: ​Altered Human, Tough As Nails, Slow reactions Backgrounds: ​Exploration 1, Military 3, Social Sciences 1 Powers Immunity (Aging) Karma Boost 1 Regeneration

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Blinker ​(25 pts.)

Real Name: Dr. Oscar Mendez Age: mid-30s Height: 5’ 10” Weight: 170 lbs. Fighting +1 Shooting +0 Agility +1 Strength +0 Toughness +0 Mind +3 Awareness +2 Spirit +1 Move: 4 Karma Pool: ​2 Health Body (6) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things: ​Altered Human, Intrepid physicist, Unhinged by transformation Backgrounds: ​Science 3, Criminal 2 Powers Karma Boost 1 Teleport -- Gates

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Cuculcan (​ 70 pts.)

Real Name: Cuculcan Age: unknown Height: 7’ Weight: 625 lbs. Fighting +4 Shooting +3 Agility +3 Strength +3 Toughness +3 Mind +0 Awareness +2 Spirit +2 Move: 8 Karma Pool: ​2 Health Body (8) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things: ​Arcane, Aztec avatar, Honor compels him Backgrounds: ​Arcane 3, Exploration 2 Powers Immunity: Aging, Disease, Poison Karma Boost 1 Power Pool (Elemental Transformations) 20 -- Typical Power Sets -* Elasticity, Agility +2, Fighting +2 * Damage Field: TN=13, Flight 3, Blaster +2 * Invisibility, Force-Field +2 (Extra Target 1) * Armor 2, Strength +3, Toughness +2 Shape-Shift

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Alchemo (​ 35 pts.) Age: unknown Real Name: Francois DuBois Fighting +0 Shooting +1 Agility +1 Strength +0 Toughness +1 Mind +4 Awareness +2 Spirit +2 Move:​ 6 Karma Pool: ​2 Health Body (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things: ​Mystical powers, Ageless through alchemy, Underestimates foes Backgrounds: ​Science 2, Arcane 2, Criminal 1 Powers Power Pool (Alchemy) 10 -- Typical Power Sets -* Elemental Construct (Mastery), Force-Field +1 * Elemental Construct (Mastery), Blaster +1 * Entangle * Blaster +2, Shooting +2, Force-Field +1 Immunity (Aging, Poison) Karma Boost 1

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Wendigo (​ 35 pts.) Real Name: Ivan Calderon Age: mid-20s Fighting +3 Shooting +1 Agility +1 Strength +6 Toughness +6 Mind -2 Awareness +2 Spirit +3 Move:​ 8 Karma Pool: ​1 Health Body (9) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (8) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things: ​Mystical transformation, Savagery makes him tough to control, Magical rituals can fell him Backgrounds: ​Exploration 3 Powers Armor 1 Immunity: Disease, Poisons Regeneration Super-Senses (All)

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Bounceback (​ 25 pts.) Real Name: Judd Jenson Age: mid-70s Height: 3’ 6” Weight: 225 lbs. Fighting +3 Shooting +0 Agility +4 Strength +1 Toughness +1 Mind +0 Awareness +2 Spirit +3 Move: 8 Karma Pool: ​5 Health Body (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (8) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things:​ Intense Training, Long-lived explorer, My dwarfism remains a challenge Backgrounds: ​Arcane 1, Espionage 2, Exploration 2 Powers Combat Master Karma Boost 4 Weapon (Martial Attacks) +1

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Bigfoot (​ 25 pts.) Real Name: Andrew Lewandowski Age: early-30s Height: 10’ Weight: 1 ton Fighting +3 Shooting +0 Agility +2 Strength +5 Toughness +4 Mind +2 Awareness +1 Spirit +2 Move: 8 Karma Pool: ​2 Health Body (9) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things: ​Altered Human, Man and beast are one, A darkness lurks inside Backgrounds: ​Athletics 2, Science 3 Powers Alter-Ego Karma Boost 1 Leaping 3 (40’ high / 80’ long) Size Control 1 -- Growth Only, Always On

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Medicine Man (​ 25 pts.) Real Name: Lucas Redhorse Age: late-30s Height: 5’ 10” Weight: 175 lbs. Fighting +0 Shooting +0 Agility +1 Strength +0 Toughness +1 Mind +2 Awareness +3 Spirit +4 Move: 8 Karma Pool: ​1 Health Body (7) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (8) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things: ​Mystical training, Belief equals power, Torn between two worlds Backgrounds: ​Arcane 3, Medicine 2 Powers Power Pool (Magic) 6 Flight 1

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Thunder God ​(70 pts.) Real Name: Ulli Sigmarsson Age: mid-900s Height: 6’ 6” Weight: 640 lbs. Fighting +5 Shooting +3 Agility +2 Strength +6 Toughness +4 Mind +0 Awareness +1 Spirit +4 Move: 8 Karma Pool: ​4 Health Body (8) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Psyche (8) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Three Things: ​Asgardian god, God of Thunder, Impetuous strength Backgrounds: ​Athletics 2, Exploration 2, Military 1 Powers Immunity (Aging, Poison, Disease) Karma Boost 3 Power Pool (Mystic Hammer) 20 -- Device -- Typical Power Sets -* Flight 4, Weather Control, Blaster +1 * Flight 3, Blaster +2, Weapon +3 * Flight 2, Teleportation (Dimensional Only, Gates), Weapon +2 * Blaster +3, Weapon +3 * Force-Field +5, Flight 5

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Appendix II: Powerhouses

Players and GMs can use this optional power to juice-up games that take place in comic book universes where some characters really stand out from others in terms of raw power. We’ve placed this power and its rules in this appendix because using it really changes the dynamics of the dice-rolling in the game. Try them out in a few games and see if they fit your group, and if they do, let the power flow! POWERHOUSE Cost: ​5 pts. Pick one of your stats. Whenever you make a check using that stat, you roll 4D6 and count the best three dice. This significantly increases your dice results (see sidebar), and makes you exceptional in your chosen stat. If you choose this power for Strength, double any weights you could normally lift on the strength chart. You cannot purchase this power unless your total points cost is 50+ points, not counting any points spent on Powerhouse. You must purchase this power separately for each stat. The cost of this power cannot be reduced by negative facets. Powerhouse Probabilities We introduced the Powerhouse mechanics to better model cosmic characters possessing truly awesome levels of power. Rolling 4D6 and dropping the lowest die changes the result distribution from the game’s base 3D6 mechanic. Here’s how: Result 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Percentage 0.0772% 0.3086% 0.7716% 1.62% 2.932% 4.784% 7.022% 9.414% 11.42% 13.18% 13.27% 12.35% 10.11% 7.253% 4.167% 1.620%

Your average result on 4D6 (drop lowest die) = 12.24.

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Design Notes

As the author of ​3D6 Supers! I want to take a bit of space here at the end to acknowledge some of the games and comics that influenced my work. In no particular order, here they are! Games Marvel Super-Heroes (TSR) Savage Worlds (Pinnacle) GURPS (Steve Jackson Games) Fate Core (Evil Hat) Mutants & Masterminds (Green Ronin) Age Fantasy (Green Ronin) Dungeons & Dragons (Wizards of the Coast) Comic Books Avengers (Marvel, 1970s and 1980s) Suicide Squad (DC, 1980s) Justice Machine (Comico, 1980s) Daredevil (Marvel, 1970s and 1980s)

Questions or comments?

Contact Four-Color Studios at our web site: http://www.four-colorstudios.com/contact.html

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