Incredible Cosmic Power... Itty-bitty living space.

Being a lvl 50 badass is not an issue , if your stick to your power sets , what becomes a Cosmic problem is often the “extras” they pick up on the was in terms of RP power .... and I will avoid giving any in game examples ..but it happens to a fair number of lvl 50s

however Batman is a good example ..if he was a in game toon ...near limitless cash and resources , a computer that can turn a scrap of clothing in to a plot busting clue , a vehicle for any terrain , a bat-thingy for any situation , or foe , police contacts at the highest level , best friends to all the worlds important people , a personal base with everything a crime fighter needs,a collection of helpers, sidekicks , and fodder ...

this works fine in a comic where he is the star .. in RP ..it makes other people redundant ..or filler material ...

Yeah, she's kind of Huntress-ish, now you mention it.

She does suffer from some of the 'Batman' issues. She's got access to a lot of money and can call upon some fairly extravagant resources if she wants to. Fundamentally, though, she's a girl with a pair of swords and a bad attitude.

Gunwitch is never likely to be rich. I hope she gets a bit more comfortably off than she is in the fiction so far. She could possibly put in some patents on her designs. Maybe Huntington Industries or Longstaff WarTech could employ her, but she needs to get herself out of the category of 'illegal immigrant who happens to look like a rogue hero' before she can do anything like that.

She probably would make a good 'gadgeteer' archetype: able to create just the right device for the occasion. However, I tend to be a little more realistic about that kind of thing. If she has to build a gadget, it'll take time, resources, etc. We aren't talking the A-Team here.

Okay, I'm less than happy to see that some of the stuff going back and forth in this thread is people taking exception to things that other people have said, but I guess that's just human nature.

I'm going to be mildly brave and pick my main to pieces, now, in the interests of this thread, explaining what's balanced and what's not, and generally because he's a prime example of the sort of Cosmically Powered character I think of when I talk about them (so, your Superman, your Silver Surfer. The so-called "heavy-hitters" of the "world" in which comics and this game are set).

Dr Richard Huntington the Third, PhD. Wealthy businessman (think Bruce Wayne/Tony Stark), science nerd (definitely Tony Stark), genius. Specialises in Quantum Mechanics and alternate realities.

Science accident involving an artificial black hole (massing approximately twice as much as the Earth) kills him and, through one of those peculiar twists of superhero fate, his "mind" becomes part of the energy cloud surrounding the black hole. (I'm not going to give the spoiler that explains why this incredibly heavy stellar body doesn't just swallow the planet whole. There is a reason, and a good one. EU players will have to find out in-game, US players, I'll PM you if you really want to know.)

Thanks to the "insert superhero comic book science fudge here" aspect of this whole process, and thanks to that wonderful thing called "Residual Self-Image" (go watch The Matrix for a better explanation than I'm ever going to come up with), Dr Huntington's body reforms.

But he now has superpowers. He can fly, project energy, turn invisible. He has, on numerous occasions, alluded to the ability to destroy the world (factoid: He once thought he could, but he's now figured out that he can't). He can, with concentration, sense the entire electromagnetic spectrum, as well as particles. He looks, sounds, feels, smells, tastes (seriously? I'm only including this to cover all the senses) human. He does not have blood. His body is a delicate balance of subatomic particles that seems human. When he gets cut, sparks fly out of him. He can ignore pain. He cannot be permanently killed. He will reform. He will keep coming back for more. In direct contravention to standard thinking, the more thoroughly he is hurt, the faster he comes back. Paper cuts take days, but the complete annihilation of his body will recover in about half an hour. (And he'll come back naked, with hilarious results.) An infusion of energy from "this" reality (specifically the Unionverse, for anyone keeping track) will speed the process.

Only those last couple of parts are out-of-game-mechanics fudging. So far I've not said anything particularly game-threatening, since the game mechanics actually allow recovery far faster than that.

The only ability I've given him that is game/plot-breaking, as far as I can tell, is an ability (represented by use of the Phase Shift power, in-game) to enter a particular alternate reality, in which he can pass through solid objects and is effectively invulnerable. Considering the duration of Phase Shift, I came up with an IC reason that he wouldn't want to stay in that alternate reality, which is that it scares the bejeezus out of him. He calls it "Hell" or, more commonly, "my own personal Hell". And, for interest, he can take other people with him. I am very careful about the use of this ability, usually only using it a) in my own plots when it helps move the plotline along a bit, or b) when I am confident that the use of it will not adversely affect someone else's plotline.

Okay, so that's the "power" side of him. The downsides are almost all personal, since his physical weaknesses are as negligible as anyone else's.

First, and most importantly, the fact of his true nature (come on, he's a black hole) is deeply disturbing to him. He's been angsting for years about it, and worrying about whether he's really human or not. That ain't going to change any time soon, no matter what his friends may tell him.

Secondly, the accident that "created" him killed (utterly accidentally) a dozen of his closest friends, but he still feels guilty over it. That's something that some inroads have been made on, because the more time passes, the more he realises that it wasn't something anyone could have done anything about, and borrowing guilt is a waste of time.

Third, he is as physically vulnerable as a normal human being. While he can ignore pain, delivering enough damage to cripple a normal human will cripple him. The fact that he can fly through the power of thought alone means that it's not overly limiting, in many respects, but if he loses an arm, he's lost an arm, until it grows back (an hour or so). Also, just because he can ignore pain, doesn't mean he ignores it all the time. Case in point: Two events, recently at the Galaxy Girl RP meet. First, a police detective needs an effective demonstration of Richard's persistence. So he quite consciously focuses and takes a headshot. Boom. Bye-bye skull. Cascade of energy, but he just keeps on functioning. In a limited fashion, yes, until he heals up, but the fact that his head has been blown half off does not directly disadvantage him. Second, a new meta-human's powers manifest, to the surprise of everyone, and he gets a set of metal claws punched through his chest. It hurts. His breathing goes to pot. He's in serious pain, even though it's not life-threatening, because he didn't have the chance to prepare himself for the damage. Because it takes an effort of will for him to ignore pain, he tends to do it before entering a combat situation, but he can be hurt.

Now, other downsides to the character as an RP toon include his wealth and resources, since I know that many people frown on the "super-rich superhero" model. He owns a big house, has several cars, and a big technology company. He's loaded. The most frequent time this impacts on RP is if someone needs a place to stay. He's got a flat in Galaxy City that he lets people stay in when they need to. But not everyone. His personality quirks come into play in that decision-making process. I also fudge nigh-constant recording of everything going on around him (oh, hello chat logging).

And that's the point - most of his abilities are covered by game-mechanics. Things I can use to explain why he interacts with the game-world in particular ways. The one significant diversion from that is the other reality he can enter, and I have taken great pains to ensure that I will never use it as a "get out of jail free card".

And that's the point of this thread - I have put very specific limitations on my character, through his own motivations, in an attempt to ensure that the one game-breaking ability he's got can't be used to wreck plots run by other people.

Thank you. I'm quite sure you have, if only personal experience.

Shadowe's original idea behind this thread was to put forward 'guidelines' for successfully roleplaying characters like his.

I actually think there's very little you can do with such characters and that Shadowe (the character) is about as far up the scale as you can get and still make them 'worth something.' As he's indicated, Shadowe isn't half as powerful as he likes to make people think he is. Nitoichi actually knows how to make him go away on at least a semi-permanent basis. (She thinks she knows, but isn't positive, and may get to find out if she's right in the near future. I've actually discussed it with the player and know her plan will work, if she has to implement it.) She has always been capable of hurting him horribly, simply by talking to him. He can be a real emotional basketcase at times.

Beyond that kind of character, however, you tend to end up with toons which are just that: toons. They'd be NPCs in a PnP game; plot devices. I would, and have, retired any character that got to that level of power.

Reading the debat here I can't help but think it's come down to, Game Mechanics VS Imagination. Which leads to, I Want To Win VS You Want To Win.

First off even the game says NPCs can do stuff that they can't do with Game Mechanics.

Synapse for instance can run faster than 99mph.

Those who argue using Game Mechanics likely don't always use game mechanics anyways for RP.

And using Game Mechanics is kinda broken to solve thing because quite frankly, game mechanics are broken. Face it...I can have made plenty a AV/GM soloing toons that when they go into a PvP zone everything magically changes.

I just beat [insert in game cannon character here] yet I can't beat this [insert player here] when he can't go a single mission without dying.

And for all those Game Mechanic, I've seen more than a couple fight in the D. A place where it says in cannon, can't be fought in. You can't use most of your powers in it, without being kicked out.

Game Mechanic wise, you really couldn't even go long term RP, as the story isnt setup to repeat content.

Handwaving is needed.

This is why I don't tend to RP in the D. Not because of god-modders or any such thing. But with your SG/Coaltion you tend to know what's acceptable. Meet strangers to RP with and it can turn into "Waaaa...you can't do that."

My favorite example...game mechanic wise, a Blaster can be made to never be fully mezzed.

/em I hold you in a block of ice

/em I shoot you anyways AGAIN and AGAIN

/em I try to [insert mez here] you

/em I'm willpower and have the ability to resist all mez's including teleport, and even with your end drain, I have so much +END I cant be drained easily! Whoooot!

See...RP is give and take without hard numbers to rely on like you do in Pen and Paper. That's something a lot of people don't understand or don't want to accept.