Powers

The thing that makes LUMEN games exciting is seeing the classes use their Powers. Each class has 3-5 Powers, activated using the Resource.

Why 3-5? Speed. I’ll say it again, LUMEN games are power fantasy games with a lot of fighting. But you know what is not fun? Combat encounters that take hours to complete. A fight in a LUMEN game is over in minutes. That’s because the characters are wiping out their enemies with these Powers. And if they have just 3-5 to choose from, a player’s turn takes second rather than minutes.

Analysis paralysis is a real thing. Folks get overwhelmed when they have to sift through a laundry list of spells, feats, and other features they need to keep track of. It makes it so that planning your turn can be an impossibility. Combat in LUMEN games moves fast enough that you shouldn’t need to plan, you are just in the moment and raining hell down on your foes.

Ok, so what is a Power? A Power is something that the character activates during a fight to give them an edge. Powers usually come in two flavors:

One use powers get activated, their effect is resolved immediately, and play continues.

Ongoing powers last for some amount of time, providing bonuses, interfering with enemies, boosting allies, or any other effect you would want to stick around a bit.

Check out the example character sheets from some other LUMEN games to see what Powers might look like.

Costs

Activating Powers comes from spending the Resource. There are different approaches you can take with your design.

All Powers cost the same thing, usually 1 Resource. This is how LIGHT works, and keeps things simple. No Power feels more costly, and so all are equally exciting and enticing to use.

Powers have variable costs, so that more potent Powers cost more Resource than others. NOVA works this way, so that some Powers can be scaled up to be truly incredible compared to some others.

Using Powers

Powers may require spending the Resource to activate, but they do not require rolls. The core mechanic of the game does not apply to them. Once they are activated, they happen. This leans into the power fantasy element of the game.

Have you ever been a wizard in the world’s “most popular” RPG, spent a high level spell slot, and then only rolled for your spell to do jack shit? Wow, that really sucks.

Beyond this, you need to make an important decision about using Powers, and that’s related to the action economy of combat. We haven’t covered that yet, so we’ll come back to this question later in the doc.

Optional Character Features (Passives, Melee, Other)

Attributes, Health, Resources, and 3-5 Powers covers what you need for a LUMEN game, but you may feel like you want a little more. I have found that including a couple other features that help lean into the power fantasy and make the classes special really adds to my games.

Before you go adding this, remember: speed. If you start giving each class a bunch of feats and perks on top of their Powers, it will take that much longer for them to decide what to do on their turn, and also in resolving said action. 1-2 more things is a nice sweet spot.

What else would you add? Here are some examples of things you might add:

Passive Powers/Perks: Since Powers require the Resource to be used, you might want the class to have a small bonus that is ever present in particular situations. For example, a class that deals more damage when using a particular weapon type.

Health Alternatives: Shields that absorb damage, armor that reduces it. If you really want to make sure the characters don’t die easily, but don’t want to give them a big pile of Health, including something that boosts up Health is a nice touch.

Genre Specific: In LIGHT, the combat is mostly resolved with guns. But sometimes you get up close and personal and need to swing a fist. So I added class specific melee abilities that were representative of the class, and allowed them to do something special when fighting up close.

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