Forums of the Megaverse®

I did the math a long time ago, but ultimately as G.M. when I was making pre-gens I favored the math that was most beneficial to the amount that could be lifted.

Ah, I found it. What I did was, for every 5 points above 30, I added the percentages together, then multiplies the final percentage by the final weight limit. So for example, a character with a P.S. of 45 would be able to carry 1,710 lbs and deadlift double that amount.

P.S. 45 × 20 lbs = 900 lbs
30% = 0.3
(45 - 30)/5 = 3
(0.3 × 3) = 0.9

900 lbs × 1.9 = 1,710 lbs

The way I see/read what is said is that the % is added in after the base L/C calculations (pounds per Score) are made.


I also as a GM would consider omitting or changing this rule for my game due to to looks like a M pandering rule. Partly because the C rules already doubles the c limits @ PS score 17. At very least I would make the over30 PS rule only apply only to 'Lifting'.

However, a Player Char having a normal PS of over 30 is very unlikely. So it is not a high rated concern..until a char with a PS over 30 is submitted for approval.

I remember I was specifically applying this to Heroes Unlimited and the enhanced strength categories. I didn't do it in my current game, but I did in my last game. It didn't break the game to me; it was just more work than I wanted to do in this game.

Best I can tell you on this one is to go through all the books looking at NPCs created after that rule, see if any of them list the lift/carry weight, and compare notes on them.
The way it's worded, it's a toss-up what they meant.

multiplying lift by 1.6 seems easier than 1.69

My belief is that it is 30%, 60%, 90%, and so on all of the base.
This is because the game tends to use simple formulas and principles and introducing a compounding formula would a new and unique thing. Which I personally find to be doubtful especially in something as core and unavoidable as strength. If they DID do something that novel I believe they would give it a better explanation and a demonstration, as they usually give a for example in a number of situations where a rule might be unclear. And while they do not do so for all of them, I would be surprised if they didn't do so for something as radical as utterly redoing the strength system to an entirely new form of math.

I look at it as the simplest answer is the "right" one.
there is absolutely nothing that I have ever found that says your lifting/carrying limit stops increasing at some arbitrary number just that its Strength times multiplier.
so at 45 strength I would say its 45 X20 = 900lbs base carrying capacity
to make it simple I would just add the bonus, and multiply the total
so their adjusted carry at 45 strength is 900 times 1.9 = 1710 lbs, and their lifting doubles that so 3420lbs max lifting or just under 1.75 tons.
and if it was a dogboy it would be double that, (because of the little comment in lone star and in RUE pg 146 special features #6 )
double their effective lifting and carrying weight limit, and they fatigue at 1/2 the rate of a human so a dogboy (psihound) with a 45 strength could carry 3420lbs and lift 6840lbs or 3.42 tons!

I realize this is a bit old now, but does this bonus also apply to supernatural strength? Our group had some disagreement on that.

rc_brooks wrote:I realize this is a bit old now, but does this bonus also apply to supernatural strength? Our group had some disagreement on that.

Per a strict reading, no. however i personally think it should

Let me add my 2 cents. According to the descriptors under PS once you hit 24, the carry/lift is x50/x100. Also the Maximum strength for a human is 40 (not counting cybernetics, extraordinary PS, superhuman PS, or Supernatural PS). So if you applied +30% at 35, then you would apply it one more time at 40, ergo 1.6 is correct. All other PS points after 40 (for a normal human) are dropped as that character hit the maximum possible. SO max overhead the head press at 40 = 6,400 lbs! Calculated like this: 40*100=4000*1.6=6,400. Personally I don't use the +30% option and I came up for a fix regarding Palladium's PS attributes.

If you look at a PS of 23, the maximum that person can power lift is 960 lbs. This is, of course, like an Olympic power lifter a very LARGE individual. However +1 more point and you hit 24 at that point you're a mutant because the multiplier changes to x50/x100. So someone at 24 can power lift 2,400 lbs. This individual in nearly 3x stronger than 23. I henceforth call 23 "The Threshold". In my games I do not allow players to go beyond The Threshold unless there is a part of their character that allows for it (like Extraordinary PS, Super Human PS, Supernatural PS, Cybernetics or Robotic PS, or if they rolled a 24+ on their stats). Further I fixed the multiplier problem with the PS limits making it possible to compare PS values (and I too have an excellent fully coded excel sheet).

PS 24+ Norman Human x50 / x100 MAX 40
Extraordinary PS x100 / x200 MAX 45
Superhuman PS x200 / x400 MAX 60
Supernatural PS x400 / x800 MAX 75

Remember I don't add the +30% at all. So using the above "fixes" you get a little more lift for your buck and it makes the math entirely possible.

Example: A Human Super Powerhouse with a PS of 40 is the same as Extraordinary of 20 which is the same as Superhuman of 10 and Supernatural of 5. (Understand that these values only reflect lifting and damage is still by the book as I am looking into how to do that.)