Originally Posted by Jason Durall
There are five separate power types presented in the core rulebook. Though they're somewhat compatible, the GM is advised to pick one power type that works for the setting and stick with it.
It isn't hard to make them play together, but they're not balanced against one another at all.
Magic Spells are from Magic World, from the Worlds of Wonder boxed set. They are handled like skills - you pick how many power points (levels) you're going to throw into a spell, roll % for success, and apply results based on the level of power points used. Levels are limited by 1/2 your character's INT. For example, if you have Blast 55% and INT 16, you can throw up to 8 levels of Blast. Roll under 55%, spend 8 power points, and you've got a 8d6 Blast attack. The more levels you throw into a spell, the slower it is, so you would go at a lower DEX rank. Magic spells increase like skills.
Mutations (based on those from Hawkmoon) are almost always either modifications to characteristics or skills, or sometimes allow other (or diminished) use of a skill. Some of them have a power, like Pheromones or Regeneration. Some are bodily modifications such as Natural Weapon or Wings, while others are cosmetic with some minor in-game effects, like Coloration or Luminescence.
Psychic Abilities are usually skill-based, or skill and POW vs. an opposing value based. They have a variable power point cost to use. They increase with experience when used successfully. It is loosely-based on the system from Elfquest.
Sorcery is the system from Elric!/Stormbringer, and doesn't require spell rolls. Spells usually have levels, equivalent to how many power points they cost to cast. Usually, they simply work. Characters can know a limited number of spell levels at any given time, but can cast the spells they know freely, assuming they have power points and some required element (like a summon elemental spell might require some element handy). Sorcery doesn't increase in experience so much as sorcery-using characters learn new spells, or more levels of already-known spells.
Super powers are based on the ones from the Super-World book from Worlds of Wonder, and the later Superworld game. They are rated in levels, and sometimes simply work, sometimes must beat an opposed characteristic on the resistance table, and sometimes use an existing or new skill to succeed. Some might increase the utility of a normal skill in a "super" way. Sometimes they augment a characteristic or other character attribute. Sometimes they grant a new ability that isn't covered by one of these factors. They can be increased through a variety of means, but not by the traditional skill/experience method.
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