Both Power and Karma measure, in game terms, your hero's potential effect
on the comic book story being told collectively by you, the GM, and the other
players. Power is your hero's raw ability- superpowers, skills, and other
abilities; Karma is more how your hero can 'break the rules' and do things
like re-roll dice and get hints and
improbable plot occurrences from the GM. To determine Power, look at the table below and
choose a level. The descriptions are just general guidelines and to add flavor.
| Level | Die Type | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | d4 | Mediocre | Easy |
| 2 | d6 | Average | Average |
| 3 | d8 | Exceptional | Challenging |
| 4 | d10 | Superhuman | Formidable |
| 5 | d12 | Incredible | Overwhelming |
| 6 | d20 | Mythical | Herculean |
| 7 | d30 | Cosmic | Inconceivable |
| - | - | - | Impossible |
The only limit is that your base Power cannot be higher than d12; it can be raised to d20 for one Style (see Styles). Cosmic is not available for starting heroes.
You should write down a few notes that tell generally what your Power lets your hero do. Power can be anything- superpowers, skills, career, special equipment, resources, whatever.
The next thing is to take the number next to the die type you chose for Power and subtract that from 7, then look at that entry on the table. That gives you the die type of your starting Karma.
The upshot of this is that very powerful heroes (high Power) will rely on their raw abilities to face challenges (like Superman), whereas lower-powered heroes will rely more on wits and determination or just plain luck (high Karma) to succeed (like Batman). The only exception is that normal people (that is, supporting characters, henchmen, and innocent bystanders, not heroes and villains) should never have Karma above Exceptional. Normal people usually don't have Power above Exceptional level either.
You get 3 Hero Points that you can use to modify your hero at creation. The way these points are spent are detailed in the next sections. Note that your hero's base Power level and Karma cannot be modified at creation by spending Hero Points (but you can change your mind and adjust them as explained above).
Heroism is a measure of your hero's determination,
resiliency, and strength of will. It determines how well your hero can
recover from damage, mind control, and other effects. It also allows your
hero to push his Power beyond its normal limits. Heroism starts out at
Average (d6) for beginning heroes; you can increase it by spending Hero
Points. It cost 1 Hero Point to raise Heroism one level. Heroism
cannot go above d12 for beginning heroes.
By the way, villains get Heroism as well, but it is called Villainy in their
case.
Actions in Larger Than Life can be divided into four types, or Styles. If you wish, you can modify your hero's Power to have different levels (and thus different die types) for different Styles by spending Hero Points. Raising the Power rating one level for one Style costs one Hero Point; to raise Power to d20 costs two Hero Points. You can also lower your hero's Power rating for a Style by one level to gain a Hero Point. The only limits are:
Modifying your hero's Power rating like this will allow you to specialize in
a specific style of problem-solving that fits your hero.
| Mayhem | Fighting, breaking things, wanton destruction, and getting what you want through brute force and intimidation. Can also cover movement like leaping or climbing. |
|---|---|
| Pizzazz | Style, grace, wit, deftness of hand, and savoir faire- whether it is escaping from bonds, acrobatics, being a hotshot pilot, being a connoisseur of the finer things in life, or entertaining a crowd with a song or jokes. Can also cover movement. |
| Wits | Logic, reasoning ability, scientific aptitude, creativity, cleverness and quick-wittedness, and perception. Can also include the more subtle psionic powers. |
| Aura | Magic, spiritual matters, and any long-term effects your hero has on the world and society as a whole. |
You can be creative with the Styles when attempting a specific action. For instance, if your hero needs to get information out of someone, he can threaten and intimidate them (Mayhem), persuade or seduce them (Pizzazz), or use a logical argument (Wits). It is really up to the GM as to which Styles can be used, but he should be lenient and flexible with player suggestions.
You can choose an aspect of your Power that your hero is particularly good at, which is called a Specialty. It can be as broad as the GM allows, and whatever you can come up with that is agreeable to the GM. A Specialty allows you to re-roll your Power die and take the better result, but only when attempting something that pertains to the Specialty. Each Specialty costs one Hero Point.
Motivation is what made your hero decide to put on a funny costume to fight crime and rescue people. It is his goal, his personality. Once per adventure, when your hero is attempting something that pertains to his Motivation, you can re-roll a die once (this is cumulative with a Specialty). Motivation is a double-edged sword, however. If something happens that your hero should respond to because of his Motivation and he does not, then the GM will assess some sort of penalty. Also, while he is performing the action, he is so focused that he is oblivious to anything else going on (like a surprise attack), and he must roll a die and take the LOWER result when reacting or dealing with such an event.
Motivation does not cost Hero Points.
Complications are things that are bad for a hero or can cause problems for him in some way. They are useful for the GM to use as plot hooks, and help reinforce the 'super-powered soap opera' aspect of comic books. Your hero MUST have at least one Complication, but you can take more to alter your hero. You can take one and ONLY ONE extra Complication to get an extra Hero Point.
What exactly qualifies as a Complication is up to the GM. Having a brother does not qualify, but having a sick old aunt or a brother who constantly gets into trouble and causes problems for your hero would. A secret identity would not qualify unless it causes problems for the hero (A reporter could explain long absences as 'tracking down a lead'; a plumber could just not take jobs; but a factory worker would have a lot of trouble explaining where he was all day yesterday when the hero was out fighting villains).
[Writer / Artist] [Origin] [Superpowers] [Motivation] [Costume] [Hero!]