So, I've been building some characters I really like from other comic universes, and in some aspects I'm delighted with how refreshing it is to have such a new system, but some specific points are driving me nuts. One of them is the Health calculation: 8 + d8 roll (4) + biggest Athletic Power or Mental Quality + Red Zone Die. Man. I have several problems with this. I'll try to list them - and be civil all the while xD
1) Power and Quality dice size are dictated by Background and Power Source, and not Archetype. Witch leads to certain Backgrounds/Power Sources to generate inherently tougher heroes, while others will lead to more frail ones. This in itself wouldn’t be a problem, except that the Archetype plays no role in that whatsoever. So Physical Powerhouses, Form-Changers and Close Quarters Combatants, typically tough guys, get nothing over Sorcerors or Marksmen, typically more frail heroes. And I'm talking not only in terms of mechanics: thematically, Strong Guys, Martial Artists and Shapeshifters are indeed tough (either because they're resilient or agile), being able to take a lot of punishment/aggression and often being the last ones to fall in comics. That simply doesn't apply here. So if I want to create a Colossus or Superman I'll have to manipulate their origins so they were cursed or from a different dimension, rather than mutants or aliens, because that's what's going to make them tougher.
2) Red Zone Die is a direct reflect of Personality. It seems really bad to me that some personalities will be inherently tougher, while others more frail. I can't make a Tough Guy who's Cheerful (such as Alpha Flight's Puck or X-factor’s Strong Guy), or Distant, or Arrogant, without losing some good 20% Health? Rather, I'd have to make them Nurturing or Naive... That sounds so constricting in terms of character design!!
3) Mental Qualities affecting Health so hard generates some oddities. I mean, RPGs are supposed to be thematic, this one especially, so I just don't understand why have Creativity should affect Health - at least not why it is as important as Physical Qualities or Athletic Powers. I do get that in a game where "damage" can come from a variety of sources, such as being threatened, terrified or deceived, Mental Qualities should matter. But the reality of the outcome I've been getting is often that characters that were supposed to be tougher (overall) end up being more frail than others that are thematically less tough - such as artists or inventors. Also: if Mental Qualities affect Health (being creative or convict makes you more durable), why don't Intellectual powers help them (surely having lighting-fast reflexes should help you stay alive!).
Disclaimer: I do understand that this game / game creation process can be easily manipulated in order to get mechanically "better" characters. That's not the issue for me. Also, I don't mind having a little less HP or slightly lower dice if that fits my characters design. What I'm trying to say is, I'm not trying to manipulate the rules to make a Doctor Strange with as high a Health as possible. Rather, I just want my Colossus, theTall-Steel-Skinned-Powerhouse to have higher Health than Forge the Inventor. I want to be able to make my Muscles-of-Stone have the Background, Power Source and Personality I want, without that having a massive impact of how tough he is. I want, in turn, that the fact that he is a Physical Powerhouse and Has high Vitality and Strangth influences at least a little (ideally a lot) his durability (OK, the damage reduction ability is nice, but for me it's not thematically enough).
Anyway, just venting because of two recent characters which ended up with completely opposite Healths than I had intended. Because of their storylines and personalities, not their actual powers and role in the team. That seems odd to me. Also, I'll restate that I am enjoying a lot the system so far, I'd just like to share thoughts and hear from you guys. Thanks for hearing me out.
[edit] Just thought of a better way of expressing my insatisfaction here. I think. The game designers chose to use Health to meaure durability (in one form or another). They needn't have. They could have used a "Personal Status" system, with three green levels, two yellow ones and two red ones, for example. They didn't, they used Health - and used numbers to represent it no less. AND made it variable - for all I care, all Heroes could simply start with the same Health. So as much as Abilities and Powers might thematically represent durability to some extend, the system poses a (numeric) stat which represents some conceptual aspect of the character. And my complaint is, that stat and what it represents is the result of factors that shouldn't conceptually affect it as much, while other aspects (powers, physical qualities, archetype) don't influence it at all.