Criteria

I've been thinking long and hard about a system to judge the super powers by and i think i've come up with a checklist of things that are important to me. With specific categories to hold each power up to, i think i can give them all a fair shake whether or not i would personally ever use or allow it in a game.

#1: Originality.
Not so much a gauge of how interesting or surprising a power is (although that might boost the "score" of an otherwise not-very-well-conceived power), but mostly a means to compare *new* powers with ones that already exist. I'm a big proponent of making things fit rather than creating something new... Hopefully this will become clear as i go along.

#2: Completeness.
Does the power description/rules cover all (or most) of the applications or circumstances that *should* be covered by a given superpower? Within reason of course...

#3: Universality.
The whole point (to me) of the Heroes Unlimited system of mix and match superpowers seems to be infinite variety in infinite combination. Or more to the point, two characters with the same power (or group of powers) can and should be wildly different from each other.

A good example of a universal power is Teleport. This power can apply to a super speedster, a dimensional traveler (traveling through an unknown dimension or zone to accomplish the feat), time traveler, beam or ray based character, or probability manipulator with equal ease. I REALLY like a power that can be applied to an unlimited number of characters each of whom is distinct.

#4: Continuity.
I can't decide what to call this category. I'm considering: Limited, Finite, Specific, Focused, even Balanced (loaded word that is). The point is this: Does the power let you do something or enhance something that it has no business interfering with. For example, if a Superpower was designed to, say, Make Trees Explode, it should not also include the ability to carry on a conversation with shrubs.

Another thing this category is concerned with is powers that are fundamentally the same as another power, but adds more abilities. That's the reason why we have "minor powers": to compliment, flesh out or add variety to characters that would otherwise be the same. ...As far as i'm concerned, anyway.

Again, all this will become clearer as i point out the offenders.

You know what, i just thought of one more:
#5: Name
Usually, i'm not too concerned about the names of powers. In fact, i like to change the names of powers but keeping all the stats the same, thereby making something new (like calling "Sliding" "Ectoplasmic Marbles", or something).

BUT. There are some powers that are just plain named wrong... and it irks me.