I love superhero games, and Wild Talents is derived from one of the most acclaimed superhero games, Godlike. I picked up the brand new Essential Edition of Wild Talents on a whim at Gen Con this weekend, so I'm giving it a shot.
The Essential Edition doesn't include any world background, so I'll be just use a generic setting. For concept, I latch onto the backstory of Charles Xavier from the X-men. I'll be making a globe-hopping mentalist mutant with a civil rights bent. To make him a little more interesting, my character will be black (the child of Haitian immigrants) and gay. His name is Marco Delacroix.
Wild Talents is (yay!) point based, and step 1 is deciding on a point total. I'll shoot for the middle of the "powerful superhuman" range and go with 300 points.
A note on the game mechanic before I get into the following steps. All traits in Wild Talents are measured as dice pools. Normal dice are rolled and grouped into sets of matching numbers. The player chooses the best set as the result of the roll. A set is rated by two factors: height and width. The height of the roll is the value of the chosen set. The width is the number of dice in the set. So, if I rolled 6 dice and got a set of 2 dice showing 7, my result would have a width of 2 and a height of 7.
There are special types of dice you can buy, however. Hard dice are not rolled; instead, they are automatically 10s. Hard dice cost twice as much as normal dice. Wiggle dice are not rolled, either; instead, after you roll the rest of your die pool, you can set wiggle dice to any value. Wiggle dice cost twice as much as hard dice, four times as much as normal dice.
Dice notation uses the format: #d+#hd+#wd, where "#d" is the number of normal dice, "#hd" is the number of hard dice, and "#wd" is the number of wiggle dice.
Step two is Statistics. Wild Talents has six, three physical (Body, Coordination, and Sense) and three mental (Charm, Command, and Mind). The normal human range for stats and skills is 1d to 5d. My character is pretty average physically, but he's very smart, with keen senses and a commanding presence. I put 3s in Body, Coordination, and Charm, 4s in Sense and Command, and a 5 in Mind. Stats cost 5 points per die, so this set of stats costs a total of 110 points.
Step three is Skills. Each stat has a number of skills associated with it. When you use a skill, you roll add your stat and skill together to get your total dice pool. I look through the list (which the book says isn't exhaustive, anyway) and pick out a few that look good: Empathy 2d+1hd, Knowledge [Psychology] 3d, Persuasion 1d+2wd, Leadership 4d, Ranged Weapon [Rifle] 2d+1hd, Language [French] 2d, and First Aid 1d. Skills cost 2 points per die, and hard and wiggle dice multiply the cost as noted above, so I spend 54 points on skills. I have 136 points left.
Step 4 is The Archetype. A character's Archetype defines several things. First is the Source (or Sources) of his powers. Second are the types of powers he can choose (his Permissions). Finally, the Archetype can include certain Intrinsic qualities that change the way the character's traits function. I choose the Mutant Archetype, giving me the Genetic Source and the Power Theme Permission. This means that I can purchase any type of power, but they must all fit into a specific theme (for this character, I choose "mental powers"). I add a second power source, Psi, bringing my Archetype to a total of 10 points. I have 126 points left.
Step five is Powers (finally). There are three types of power in Wild Talents: hyperstats, hyperskills, and miracles. Hyperstats and hyperskills are similar, simply adding dice to the appropriate stat or skill and allowing you (in most cases) to exceed human maximum. Miracles are a little more complicated; these are the powers that let you do the impossible, from firing blasts of energy to flying.
For Marco, I start with a hyperstat, raising my Mind stat by 2 wiggle dice. Hyperstats costs 4 points per die, and wiggle dice cost 4 times normal, so this power costs 32 points.
I also want Marco to have a Miracle power. Miracles are constructed of Qualities. The three Qualities are Attacks (the power can be used to attack), Defends (the power can be used to defend), and Useful (the power can be used for some other action). A power can have multiple instances of the same Quality, granting several different forms of attack, for instance.
In addition, each Quality can have a number of Extras and Flaws that help define how they work. Each modifies the cost the Quality and expands or narrows the effect.
Finally, each Quality will have one or more capacities that determine Mass (typically the ability to alter, move, create, or destroy an amount of material), Range, or Speed. Multiple Capacities on the same Quality increase the Quality's cost.
Marco has the power Telepathy that I am creating myself based off the example Telepathy power given in the rulebook. This power allows him to blast targets with a mental attack (Attacks Quality with the Non-Physical Extra and Range Capacity), detect hostile intent in time to avoid it (Defends Quality), communicate silently at great range (Useful Quality with the Booster Extra and Range Capacity), and read minds with a touch (Useful Quality with the No Capacities Flaw).
To find the cost of a power, start with a base of 2 points per Quality. Then add the values of the extras and flaws on each Quality; any given Quality will have a minimum of 1 point. This total is the cost per die of the power, multiplying accordingly for hard or wiggle dice. So, for Marco's Telepathy power, the total cost per die is 2 for the Attack Quality plus 2 for the Non-Physical extra, plus 2 for the Defends Quality, plus 2 for the first Useful Quality and another 1 for the Booster Extra, plus 2 for the second Useful Quality but minus 1 for the No Capacities, for a total of 10 points per die.
At this point, I have 94 points left to spend. I can buy Telepathy at 9d and have 4 points left over, but I think I want a few special dice. Hard dice will cost me 20 points each, and Wiggle dice will cost me 40 points each. I'll buy 1 Wiggle die, 1 hard die and 3 regular dice, giving me a pool of 3d+1hd+1wd.
Since I have two power sources, I have to choose one for each power. For Hypermind, I choose Genetic. For Telepathy, I choose Psi (naturally).
Finally, step six is Base Will and Willpower. Base Will is a special stat that represents strength of character and sense of self. It is a static value that can be spent in very rare circumstances for very powerful effects. Willpower is derived from Base Will at character creation, but it fluctuates a lot more during play as you gain and spend it to get smaller benefits. Base Will starts at the sum of your Charm and Command, so Marco has a base of 7. You can pay 3 points to raise Base Will by 1, and I will do that, giving Marco a Base Will of 8. My last point will go to buy another point of Willpower, giving me 9 points.
One last thing at this step is to choose the character's Motivations. Motivations are roleplaying tools that determine how your character gains and loses Willpower points. There are two types of Motivation: Loyalty (a devotion to a person, group, or cause) and Passion (a goal or other driving internal interest). A character must invest his Base Will into a Loyalty and a Passion (at least 1 point in each); this value determines how much Willpower you can gain in a given session for following that Motivation. As a triple minority (black, gay, and a mutant), he has a Loyalty to downtrodden minorities and will try to aid them wherever he can. He also has a Passion for exploration; he wants to see the world and discover great things. I'll split my Base Will evenly between them, 4 points each.
And that is Marco complete. Not a particularly flashy super, but he should be fun in the right game.
Marco Delacroix (300 points)
Archetype (10 points)
Mutant Psychic (Sources: Genetic, Psi; Permissions: Power Theme - "mental powers")
Stats (110 points)
Body 3d, Coordination 3d, Sense 4d
Charm 3d, Command 4d, Mind 5d+2wd
Base Will 8, Willpower 9
Motivations: Loyalty to oppressed minorities (4) and Passion for exploration (4)
Skills (54 points)
Empathy 2d+1hd (6d+1hd), First Aid 1d (6d+2wd), Knowledge [Psychology] 3d (8d+2wd), Language [French] 2d (7d+2wd), Leadership 4d (8d), Persuasion 1d+2wd (4d+2wd), Ranged Weapon [Rifle] 2d+1hd (5d+1hd)
Powers (112 points)
Hypermind 2wd (4 points per die)
Effect: Marco has an additional 2 wiggle dice on all Mind rolls.
Telepathy 3d+1hd+1wd (A D U U; 10 points per die)
Attacks Extras: Non-Physical +2. Capacities: Range.
Defends Capacities: Self.
Useful Extras: Booster +1. Capacities: Range.
Useful Flaws: No Capacities -1.
Effect: Marco is a telepath with the ability to read minds with a touch and communicate silently at a range of 1600 yards. He can also attack enemies with a mental blast that ignores armor and deals width in Shock and Killing damage.
