Tag line: 293 powers x 5 ranges x 18 power levels = 26,370 discrete powers!
Makers: TSR for Marvel Super Heroes (1986)
What is it?A complete (well, almost) listing of every super-power imaginable for your super-hero characters.
Neat stuff
-Practically every power under the sun is described in here, including the mechanics of that power (how it can be "physically possible"), including many that I wouldn't have thought of like Mental Duplication, Grafting (creating Frankenstein's Monster), Internal Limbo, Micro-Environment, Incarnation Awareness, Body Coating and Age-Shift.
-Some of the usage examples are hilarious as well: Using Collection to summon hamsters, for example, or that a Matter-Eater's blood would be poisonout to a vampire after it reverted its original pre-eaten form, or encouraging players to combine Zombie Animation with Webcasting to create mummies as a "great party gag"!
Bad stuff
-Well, the layouts and art are pretty lame.
-Some powers, like Stretching, Shrinking and Growth are totally missing. You'd have to get a couple of specific issues of Dragon magazine for the addendums. (I have them, but I can never find them when I need them.)
-The totally random character design process included is pretty unusable. It's just as likely to make you a Centaur with Weather Control and Martial Arts Supremacy as a mobile plant with Fire Generation and Clairvoyance. Some powers are listed as bonuses, optionals and nemeses, but that's about it for controling the power combos. Besides, isn't the whole point of superhero games that players wanna choose their powers? Even the examples in the book have their faux-players muttering stuff like "Great, a robot that turns into Man-Thing!"
Quote
"A hero facing a toxic cloud could leave his nose behind."
In conclusion
This is still a great tool for anyone looking for inspiration for their supers campaigns. Whether you're a player or a GM in need of villains, any of these powers could be the foundation of something classic or weirdly unique. Heck, I've often wanted to convert all the Powers to whatever system I was using (never liked Marvel Super Heroes very much) so that the crunchy options would be at my disposal.
How I used it
It's always been nearby anytime I've run a supers campaign. Though each game system has its own list of powers, I think the examples in the UPB are great inspiration for players who don't know what they want, or how to use powers with originality. When running Dream Park, whose powers list SUCKS, I pretty much converted the UPB into Dream Park stats for our select-your-options website.
And the random character design charts? Perfect for when a character needs a random power all of a sudden. In our DCHeroes campaign, we have this super-powered wrestler (with the improbable codename Gaëtan) who won his powers in a Tibetan grudge match held every decade. In his final appearance before his player left for a job in glamorous Caraquet, New Brunswick, he fought his last match. To Growth and Shrinking, he added... (rolls dice)... Water Breathing! Well, great! At least he lives in a fishing town now.
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