Superpower ideas.
Start from a brief, not a blank page. Each Idea Set is a small group of Powers picked for a kind of story, with what each one costs and what stops it.
For villains · 5 Powers
Powers for villains
Abilities that read as a threat the moment they appear on the page.
- Mind ControldraftWorld-Class · MindMake other people do what you say, whether they want to or not.Drawback · You never know if anyone around you means it.Weakness · Strong will, distance, or a target who cannot hear you.
- NecromancydraftWorld-Class · Life & DeathRaise the dead and bend them to your will.Drawback · Each servant you raise ties a piece of your life to it.Weakness · Fire, holy ground and destroying the caster.
- Blood ManipulationMajor · Life & DeathControl over blood: shape your own into blades and bullets, or seize the blood inside someone else.Drawback · Using the user's own blood as ammunition means blood loss: dizziness, pallor and eventually collapse if they fight too long.Weakness · Some versions only work under special conditions, such as a full moon, so the right night of the month decides who wins.
- IllusiondraftMajor · PerceptionMake people see, hear or feel things that are not there.Drawback · You have to hold every detail of the illusion in your head.Weakness · Pain, cameras and anyone who knows the trick.
- Darkness ManipulationdraftMajor · EnergySummon and shape living darkness and shadow.Drawback · The dark has moods of its own and does not always obey.Weakness · Bright light that leaves no shadow to work with.
For pairs · 5 Powers
Powers for twins
Mirrored opposites that clash on their own and click together.
- PyrokinesisMajor · ElementalCommand over fire: ignite it, shape it, throw it, and sometimes become living flame yourself.Drawback · The user's own body is not always fireproof. Pushing past their limit burns them, scarring skin and shortening every fight.Weakness · No oxygen, no fire. A vacuum, smothering foam or enough water puts the flames out, at least until air comes back.
- CryokinesisMajor · ElementalCommand over cold: pull heat out of things, freeze water into ice, and shape frost into walls or weapons.Drawback · Overusing the power chills the user's own body, from numb fingers up to frostbite, so long fights have a built-in clock.Weakness · Fire, magma and intense heat melt constructs faster than they can be rebuilt, and they make a natural rival power.
- Light ManipulationdraftMajor · EnergyBend, focus and fire light as beams or blinding flashes.Drawback · Weak in the dark, where there is little light to use.Weakness · Mirrors, smoke and total darkness.
- Darkness ManipulationdraftMajor · EnergySummon and shape living darkness and shadow.Drawback · The dark has moods of its own and does not always obey.Weakness · Bright light that leaves no shadow to work with.
- TelepathydraftMajor · MindRead thoughts and speak straight into other minds.Drawback · Crowds become a roar of voices you cannot mute.Weakness · Psychic shielding and minds that are not human.
Underdogs · 5 Powers
Weak Powers that are secretly strong
Low on the Tier scale, dangerous in the hands of a clever Holder.
- InvisibilitydraftMinor · PerceptionBecome impossible to see.Drawback · You cannot see your own hands either.Weakness · Thermal vision, flour, rain and footprints.
- Animal CommunicationdraftMinor · MindTalk with animals and understand their answers.Weakness · Places without animals, and animals with nothing useful to say.
- EmpathydraftMinor · MindSense and sometimes nudge what other people feel.Drawback · Other people's pain lands on you as if it were yours.Weakness · Beings with no emotions to read.
- ElasticitydraftMinor · BodyStretch, bend and bounce your body like rubber.Weakness · Sharp blades and extreme cold that make you brittle.
- X-Ray VisiondraftMinor · PerceptionSee through walls, clothes and skin.Drawback · You see more of people than you ever wanted to.Weakness · Lead, and anything too dense to look through.
Costly · 5 Powers
Powers with a terrible price
Every use takes something back, which gives each scene real stakes.
- Blood ManipulationMajor · Life & DeathControl over blood: shape your own into blades and bullets, or seize the blood inside someone else.Drawback · Using the user's own blood as ammunition means blood loss: dizziness, pallor and eventually collapse if they fight too long.Weakness · Some versions only work under special conditions, such as a full moon, so the right night of the month decides who wins.
- ChronokinesisCosmic · TimeBend the flow of time: freeze a moment, slow a fight to a crawl, or rewind a mistake before it sticks.Drawback · Heavy use punishes the body: nosebleeds, fainting and headaches that grow with every rewind.Weakness · Another time-bender can step into the frozen moment too, cancelling the user's biggest advantage.
- Wish GrantingdraftCosmic · RealityMake another person's wish come true, more or less as worded.Drawback · Wishes come with rules and a price nobody reads first.Weakness · A carefully worded wish that frees or binds the granter.
- ImmortalitydraftWorld-Class · Life & DeathStop aging and come back from wounds that should be fatal.Drawback · You outlive everyone you love, again and again.Weakness · Being trapped, sealed away or buried forever.
- NecromancydraftWorld-Class · Life & DeathRaise the dead and bend them to your will.Drawback · Each servant you raise ties a piece of your life to it.Weakness · Fire, holy ground and destroying the caster.
Starter pack · 6 Powers
Elemental starter pack
The classic six: fire, ice, water, earth, air and the weather itself.
- PyrokinesisMajor · ElementalCommand over fire: ignite it, shape it, throw it, and sometimes become living flame yourself.Drawback · The user's own body is not always fireproof. Pushing past their limit burns them, scarring skin and shortening every fight.Weakness · No oxygen, no fire. A vacuum, smothering foam or enough water puts the flames out, at least until air comes back.
- CryokinesisMajor · ElementalCommand over cold: pull heat out of things, freeze water into ice, and shape frost into walls or weapons.Drawback · Overusing the power chills the user's own body, from numb fingers up to frostbite, so long fights have a built-in clock.Weakness · Fire, magma and intense heat melt constructs faster than they can be rebuilt, and they make a natural rival power.
- HydrokinesisMajor · ElementalCommand over water: lift it, shape it, throw it as a wave, or turn your own body into liquid.Drawback · Darker techniques can come with a moral cost. Controlling the water inside someone's body is effective and horrifying, and using it can change how others see the user.Weakness · No water, no power. A desert, a sealed room or a dry battlefield leaves the user with little or nothing to shape.
- Earth ManipulationdraftMajor · ElementalMove rock, soil and sand as if they were clay.Drawback · You need solid ground under your feet to fight well.Weakness · Being in the air, on water or on a metal floor.
- Air ManipulationdraftMajor · ElementalShape wind into gusts, cushions and cutting blades.Drawback · Hard to land a heavy blow; air pushes more than it hits.Weakness · Vacuum and fighting in tight, closed spaces.
- Weather ManipulationdraftWorld-Class · ElementalCall rain, wind, lightning and storms across a whole region.Drawback · Your emotions change the sky whether you mean them to or not.Weakness · Sealed rooms and underground fights.