Earning Power Points
Characters on the FreedomVerse earn Power Points for playing in games, which can be saved or spent as the player sees fit. Game sessions earn one Power Point for every three hours of runtime, rounded. So a 2-4 hour game is worth 1 Power Point, a 5-7 hour game is worth 2 Power Points, a 8-10 hour game is worth 3 Power Points, etc. GMs may also award one additional Power Point at discretion if a game session is the capstone to an especially long-running story arc. GMs earn “GM Power Points” equal to the amount of Power Points their players earn for that session, which they can apply to any of their own characters they like. This is their reward for running the games that keep the server alive and offset the inevitability that running games means less time to play in them so their characters don’t feel behind the other PCs on the server.
Power Point Limits
Characters on the FreedomVerse may spend up to 100 Power Points past the base Power Point total for their current Power Level. (Assuming they’ve earned them, of course!) So an especially-tenured Power Level 10 character may have up to 250 Power Points spent, while a Power Level 8 character may have up to 220 Power Points spent. Power Points earned after this point are unable to be spent freely, but are still tracked and are useful for both Power Level Increases and Expanded Progression (following).
Power Level Increases
Characters on the FreedomVerse may ascend from their starting Power Level if the narratives they take part in cause their scope and place in the world to change. Most often, this is a Power Level 8 character growing to Power Level 9 (eg, a teen hero graduating from Claremont Academy and entering the next phase of their life), a Power Level 9 character growing to Power Level 10 (eg, an up-and-comer finally earning their place in the “hero community”), or a Power Level 10 character growing to Power Level 11 (eg, a hero that’s met the call to action and grown beyond the scope of Freedom City and may be on the path of world-protector). At this time, we do not allow character advancement beyond Power Level 11.
To advance in Power Level, approval must be given by an overseeing Mastermind. Contact Holman or RavenOfRazgriz on Discord to begin discussion about the process. Generally, this will be discussion of the character’s place in the world, why it’s changing, if that change is correct for both the character and the enjoyment of the player, the storylines they’ve participated in, etc. We may also contact the GMs of those storylines to get their opinions on if they feel their storylines warrant such a progression, if necessary. Characters not given approval will generally receive discussion on the steps they need or what we feel is missing to grant the approval.
As a Power Level 10-centric server, the process is also most-strict on characters seeking to advance from Power Level 10 to Power Level 11, as that approval means they are on the path of growing beyond the scale of our play-environment.
Expanded Progression
Characters on the FreedomVerse that have reached their Power Point Limit and feel their character is incomplete or that a narrative is prompting them to make further purchases may inquire about expanded progression. This option is most-often held open for:
- Concepts with unusually high Power Point burdens. Some ideas do just cost more than others.
- Concepts with unusually high complexity. Note, this is in reference to the complexity of some ideas, not “I’m an Ace Detective and a Martial Artist and an Alien and a Mutant and a Prince and a Technopath.”
- Characters who gain “plot nuggets” - GM Benefits, small Devices, a minor power mutation, etc. that does not really increase their power or scope and is emblematic of a storyline rather than an advancement.
To access Expanded Progression, approval must be given by an overseeing Mastermind. Contact Holman or RavenOfRazgriz on Discord to begin discussion about the process. When opening the discussion, please keep in mind:
- You must already know what you want for the character.
- What you want for the character must be fully built, including Power Point costs.
- The character must already have access to enough unspent Power Points make the purchase.
As part of the discussion, the character will be audited for bloat and to see if the purchase will fit within their current progression. If we feel it appropriate, we may also suggest a Power Level Increase instead of Expanded Progression. If an Expanded Progression is granted, what is purchased as part of it must be noted on the character sheet and cannot be changed without another Expanded Progression discussion.
Characters may apply for Expanded Progression whenever they feel it necessary. We reserve the right to deny further progression if we feel it is becoming a problem with certain characters and to roll-back granted progressions if we deem it necessary.