Quote:
Originally Posted by soltakss
The way around this is to make certain tasks harder.
In HeroQuest terms:
Look through underwear or look through a normal wall - resistance 14.
Look through a lead-lined box - resistance 10M.
Look through something far away 20M
Look through several walls at once 20M
Search a building from outside and read something stored in a cupboard 20M2
or whatever.
In BRP terms, you'd assign a penalty depending on how difficult the task was.
Look through underwear or look through a normal wall -0%
Look through a lead-lined box -40%
Look through something far away -40%
Look through several walls at once -60%
Search a building from outside and read something stored in a cupboard -100%
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That's only a facor if power levels are equal. While that is typical of RPGs, it isn't typical of four color comics. Some characters can do things like that. So if you are running in a preexisting setting, then you have to accept that some characterscan do stuff like that. Changing the difficulty doesn't help, since all that happens is that the hero's stats get upped to account for what he can do. If Superman can see through a building, then he needs a stat score high enough to allow for it. In the comics, Superman can act stupid around the JSA and JLA, and let other characters shine. With an RPG, there is little to keep Superman from flying off at superspeed, taking out all the bad guys, and solving the adventure by the RPG equivalent to page 2.
Some hero RPGs address this sort of thing, and it is where RPG theory concepts help. But for the "simulationist" approach it is a big problem. A "nuts & bolts" approach doesn't hold up well for the genre.