Personality Taglines, Catchphrases or Battle Cries
This is an old school game, but the predecessor of FASERIP and also some other older games had some interesting ideas as far as Fortune and Subplots go. New school games like to have characters with direct story tie-ins as part of character creation, such as Aspects in FATE games or Hooks in 12 Degrees games to name a couple.
Consider the use of these in FASERIP to add to the flavour and fun. Superheroes have always gone by flamboyant subtitles to start with, whether Orphan Child of Cryptworld, Speediest Woman Alive, Sunshine Sleuth. You can use those directly, as well as any Subplot style ideas or as Fate style Troubles or handicaps, disadvantages, quirks or whatever else other game systems might consider naming them.
You can just have one, being the main subtitle or moniker of the hero, from Atlantean Princess, to Woman of Tomorrow or Strongest Robot There Is.
You could handle this a couple of ways. Allow the hero to invoke this particular line a small number of times per session to gain +1 RS to their results. Or you could give them a Fortune award to bank if they forgo the automatic +1 CS and roll anyway. Perhaps 40 at low level hero games and 30 for standard mutant level, 20 at defenders of the planet level and 10 for Cosmic level.
The flipside to this is the hero’s tagline getting them into trouble, or taking them away from where they need to be. Shadowy Secret Agents may be out all night tailing a suspect, missing dinner with their mum, walking the dog and training the staff, getting them penalised. Still true to their own particular idiosyncratic heroic nature, however. If the player does it themselves, award them. You can however suggest it to them, dangling the Karma points like carrots to get them into both nogoodnik conflict and subplot trouble.
Fun and games
Gaming tables, whether physical or virtual should be entertaining for a FASERIP game. You should definitely award Fortune for being entertained, for funny jokes, amusing stuff, etc. If it is completely character appropriate and roleplaying, then double it.
Good roleplaying should also get some Karma awards.
Then have the aliens invade to let them spend some.
Opposition
The rules suggest awards based on the threat level faced. However, not all threats are equal. One giant robot or radioactive lizard stomping your city with their Amazing ability is not as bad as three, from the character’s point of view. Consider adding to this awards based on the power levels of the opposition, if significant. VanDemon taking out 27 Wallaby bikie gang hoodlums is no big deal in that sense. If he fights 5 mutant ninja crocodile women it certainly is. The same applies to the Justice Squadron stopping a megalomaniac supervillain. If he has six superpowered flunkies they have to deal with as well, that is harder and worth more Fortune.
General Advice
Don’t be stingy and the players will be happy to call on their Karma when they need it, as heroes will. If you skimp they won’t want to use any for playing and possibly try and save it all for advancement. If you are playing where lots of Fortune is flowing the games should be more fun anyway, more problems, more desperate ations.
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