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POWER CAP
POWER CAP
Kenos is a strange world where even the humblest of people will routinely find themselves developing new abilities. Sometimes it’s from growing closer to one of the factions or other times it can happen more spontaneously (or as a reward from those factions). However, those that come to Kenos might find that their abilities from their original worlds have lessened in intensity. The theory is that because of the raw nature of the energies that empower the factions and Kenos as a whole, they can also have a dampening effect on those that already wielded a fair amount of power on their own.
Which is to say that OOC, Kenos has a game-wide power cap!
This power cap is intended to prevent power creep and to to help narrow the gap between a traditionally underpowered character and those from canons where the power scale drastically differs so that both types have equal chances to shine. This power cap applies to all abilities that a character has, including those that they may pick up via Activity Rewards. For the purposes of explanation, powers are also divided into two categories: social and combat. If your character has an ability that could be used for both, it should be considered a combat power and needs to be capped appropriately.
It's also worth noting that this is not something mods will be policing! We expect the playerbase to communicate with each other and to just play out threads using powers in a way that's fun for all participants in a thread. These are guidelines to help even things out at the base level, not hardline restrictions!
To help give you an idea of what we consider “social” powers, here are a few examples:
In the first case, imagine a scenario where Character A has some powers, but Character B is an absolute powerhouse with super strength. Character A may find their own strength increase, so long as Player B agrees to that! This can help narrow the gap between these two characters and create a more dynamic and tense fight.
In the second case, imagine Character X and Character Y who are both powerhouses in their own respects. Because Player X decided that they wanted their character to get killed by Character Y in this interaction, Character Y could have the option to tap into more of their strength to (lightly) exceed the powercap for a cool moment that Player X wants. While not required, we would request that consequences for doing so be considered, such as Character Y being exhausted by the effort. This can help create cool, unique moments where using these powerful abilities can shine better.
To reiterate from the first section on this page, the power cap is meant to be a guideline for how to even things out at a base level, not hardline restrictions. If everyone in a thread agrees and is having fun, then the spirit of the cap is absolutely being met!
Which is to say that OOC, Kenos has a game-wide power cap!
This power cap is intended to prevent power creep and to to help narrow the gap between a traditionally underpowered character and those from canons where the power scale drastically differs so that both types have equal chances to shine. This power cap applies to all abilities that a character has, including those that they may pick up via Activity Rewards. For the purposes of explanation, powers are also divided into two categories: social and combat. If your character has an ability that could be used for both, it should be considered a combat power and needs to be capped appropriately.
It's also worth noting that this is not something mods will be policing! We expect the playerbase to communicate with each other and to just play out threads using powers in a way that's fun for all participants in a thread. These are guidelines to help even things out at the base level, not hardline restrictions!
POWER CAP (SOCIAL)
Social abilities are defined as those that would have limited to no use in a fight, and as the name implies, these are abilities that would be used in a more social setting. These powers are uncapped with caveats, which are further defined below. We trust players to not use these powers in a way that would break the spirit of the power cap, but if you have questions, you’re always free to ask!To help give you an idea of what we consider “social” powers, here are a few examples:
- Using magic to levitate items, such as for redecorating
- The ability to perceive someone’s soul
- An ability that allows you to know when someone is lying
- Altering your appearance in inconsequential ways, such as clothing or hair color
- An enhanced empathy or sensitivity towards other types of creatures
☸LIMITED CREATION/CONJURING
Characters are still able to spontaneously create objects, but they should be limited in scope and size such that they aren’t able to create things that would change the balance of the factions or the game overall. For example, characters won’t be able to create anything offered as an Activity Reward, so they wouldn’t be able to create themselves a home or anything beyond basic weaponry.
☸LIMITED TELEPORTATION
A character’s ability to teleport should not exceed the abilities of the Tier 0 Teleportation. That is, teleportation powers will only work within the island that the character is currently on, and they are only able to teleport up to themselves and one other person (plus whatever both are carrying).
☸NO REALITY-ALTERING
Abilities that fundamentally change reality will not function. For example, they cannot change a horse into a person, but they would be able to change the color of its coat. Pocket dimensions such as Unlimited Blade Works similarly will not function as they do in canon. Abilities with these kinds of properties need to be capped to be lessened in their scope to what they’re able to affect.
☸NO "WORLDHOPPING"
If your character can travel between worlds/dimensions/etc. because of an ability or item, these will no longer function. Hopefully this one is obvious, but a character can’t just leave the game!
POWER CAP (COMBAT)
Combat abilities are defined as those that are combat-focused or would potentially give the user a significant advantage in a fight. These powers are capped with a special case exception, which is described further in the next section. Combat powers are capped as follows:☸COLLATERAL DAMAGE
Abilities with a wide and destructive Area of Effect (AoE) should not be so destructive that they could destroy a multi-story building with ease. Damaging it is fine, of course (though the locals may disagree)! Abilities with this kind of effect could be limited by narrowing the AoE so it’s closer to the user or by decreasing its overall destructiveness.
☸ENHANCED ABILITIES
This is a catchall category for characters with enhanced strength, speed, durability, etc. These abilities should be generally limited when at their extreme ends, such as Superman’s level of strength, the Flash’s level of speed, etc. There are several ways these abilities can be limited when at their extremes, such as only being able to use them in short bursts rather than a sustained and constant amount or having to rely on a stamina pool to use them where this may not have been necessary before. One of these kinds of limitations should be picked, but we also simply recommend communicating with your thread partner about their expectations for a fight. This category is the most likely to fall under the caveats in the section at the end of this page, so also make sure to read it!
☸HEALING
At their most powerful, healing abilities can heal the mortal wounds or reattach (but not regrow) a severed limb of a single person, to match the healing spell found in the Level 3 Spellbook. Abilities that can heal multiple people at once should be significantly less powerful than this, such as relieving surface wounds, but not necessarily a severely broken bone. As an additional note, healing should always be discussed with the player being healed as well, since they may be interested in playing out the aftermath of an injury rather than having it healed.
☸INVULNERABILITY/IMMORTALITY
No character should be completely invulnerable or immortal. They can be more difficult to take down, however! We leave the mechanism for that up to the players, but as one example, such a character may have a higher reserve of stamina/magic/whatever to pull from, and thus are able to stay in a fight longer than most.
☸REGENERATION
A character’s ability to heal themselves should never be so rapid that all injuries disappear in the same scene. Healing surface level or even moderate injuries is fine, though we also recommend discussing this with your thread partner. Essentially, the more severe the damage, the longer it may take to heal, or the process may be more difficult. Similarly, regeneration should not be able to cover extreme injuries that would otherwise be an instant kill, such as decapitation.
☸SHAPESHIFTING/TRANSFORMATION
If your character can assume an alternate form, it should be no bigger than ~20ft/6m in any dimension. It’s otherwise subject to the same power cap concepts.
☸EVERYTHING ELSE
Obviously, this list is not comprehensive and simply covers the major powersets that would brush against the cap we have in mind. In general, if an ability feels overpowered, it almost certainly is and needs to be addressed! The general idea behind the cap that should guide you is that no ability should make a fight completely unwinnable. If it could easily cause an instant kill or an instant negation of effects, it likely needs to be addressed. If your character has an ability or you’re considering purchasing an ability that you’re unsure about, feel free to ask about it.
TEMPORARILY INCREASING POWERS
If you find yourself in a combat situation where two characters have a large gap in abilities or in one where it would essentially be really cool to exceed the power cap… You have options! Because one of the themes of Kenos has to do with self-perception, characters may find themselves able to essentially power themselves up to a higher level. However, this can only be done with the explicit permission of all thread participants.In the first case, imagine a scenario where Character A has some powers, but Character B is an absolute powerhouse with super strength. Character A may find their own strength increase, so long as Player B agrees to that! This can help narrow the gap between these two characters and create a more dynamic and tense fight.
In the second case, imagine Character X and Character Y who are both powerhouses in their own respects. Because Player X decided that they wanted their character to get killed by Character Y in this interaction, Character Y could have the option to tap into more of their strength to (lightly) exceed the powercap for a cool moment that Player X wants. While not required, we would request that consequences for doing so be considered, such as Character Y being exhausted by the effort. This can help create cool, unique moments where using these powerful abilities can shine better.
To reiterate from the first section on this page, the power cap is meant to be a guideline for how to even things out at a base level, not hardline restrictions. If everyone in a thread agrees and is having fun, then the spirit of the cap is absolutely being met!