New traits for DC Heroes RPG

DC Heroes RPG 2nd edition

I love the DC Heroes RPG from Mayfair Games. In fact, I'd probably put it as my favourite RPG of all time, warts and all. Is it a perfect system? Heck no, there are some rough edges here and there (I still think the Gadgetry rules are a bit clunky), but overall the game flows the way I want to and I find the APs so useful in making GM decisions in the game. Especially if other players learn and internalize the rules!

This is a game I've been playing since the 90s, even though I discovered it in its twilight years (the game went out of print not too long after I discovered it). We went on to play more of it in the Blood of Heroes RPG, but I find BoH added unrequired mechanical complexity to DC and (obviously) couldn't use the DC Universe characters, which is part of the fun of the DC Heroes RPG.

There are a few small system related house rules that my group came up with over time. With some of these I can remember which specific player suggested them with reasonable accuracy, with others they were either the zeitgeist of a concept brainstorming session or my memory is fuzzy. So for ease, I will just label them all as the brainchild of my broader playing group for DC (Dave, Helen, Scott, Paul, and myself).

I'll be releasing these over time as they occur to me to post here.

Claws

Advantage, 25 points

The character has claws or sharp attack objects as part of their person that bestow a +1 Column Shift on EV in physical attacks, and +1 Column Shift on climbing attempts. The use of these claws does not automatically constitute Killing Combat.

Deadly Claws

Advantage, 5 points

The character has claws or sharp attack objects as part of their person that bestow a +1 Column Shift on EV in physical attacks, and +1 Column Shift on climbing attempts. The use of these claws constitutes Killing Combat.

Okay, if you've played DC Heroes you are likely aware that there is a power called "Claws" that came into existence somewhere in 1st edition. That power effectively replaces the EV of a physical attack with the APs of the Claws. This is great for heroes like Wolverine in some expressions, or the villain Cheetah. But for animals and the ubiquitous Tigra-derivative catgirl heroes, Claws can represent one small problem.

Let's say this not-Tigra has a STR of 5 and Claws of 7. She is trying to push open a heavy steel door to escape a death trap and pushes her STR - and fails, reducing her STR to 0. In this situation not-Tigra can still use her Claws at full effectiveness despite the fact that they are, inherently, muscle powered in their concept. The same applies for any effects that would drain STR - if you zapped all of the STR out of a tiger, it still has Claws to hurt you with at full power.

These Advantages better represent the concept when modelling characters of "claws on the hands and/or feet that enhance attacks". The division between Deadly and regular Claws is just to keep in mind how the Claws are supposed to narratively work. If you were using these for Wolverine*, he would have Deadly Claws – when the "snikt" is heard, it means Wolverine is going to finish what you started, and damn the Hero Point penalty for Killing Combat.

Ultimately this is not about point efficiency; I'm a fan of modelling characters the players want to play (if they don't exist in the various wikis and/or publications around) over making characters on budgets. But these two Advantages better represent, mechanically, a specific kind of claw wielding character.

* Yes in many expressions of Wolverine his Adamantium Claws are treated as vorpal blades effectively, doing catastrophic damage when they're engaged. But in many comics across the X-Men run, his claws are just claws - they're unbreakable thanks to the whole "adamantium" thing, but they don't cut Sentinels in half with a single swing. Also, the whole bone claws era for Wolverine applies here.