I need some.. advice, encouragement, maybe even moral.
I have a player that likes playing extremely powerful chars. Juggernaut, Ares, big super strong chars, with some stupid powers. And if he cant, he's just not into it.
I'm trying to not judge that play-style, while also having a balanced game with a system I designed. But his requests are not making it easy.
@Scofisticated There are a few games (including #FateCore) that can achieve some balance between a weakling and a semi-god around the same table, simply by giving their actions and weaknesses different weights.
For instance, if you're playing Superman, your "health bar" is typically not your own health, but that of the people you're supposed to defend.
What's the weakness/health bar of this Ares Juggernaut? Maybe it's their image in the eye of the public?
@Scofisticated Actually, in Batman v Superman, you can claim that Superman's health bar is his ability to do good. Lex Luthor successfully brings him down to zero without firing a single shot...
And then a second fight starts, this time between supers, with a different health bar.
@Yoric @Scofisticated This is a very good solution and works because it addresses what is core to the problem. It sounds like your friend's primary motivation is the fulfillment of power fantasies. The exact reason this is validating for him and the form it takes is up to personal psychology but at its root the his RP isn't an exploration but a competition. In the right context there's nothing wrong with this but in the wrong context it can be incredibly disruptive...
@Yoric @Scofisticated The "mature GM" solution is to talk to him about it directly and explain to him the type of game you're trying to run and ask him for solutions that let him be the type of character he wants without violating the structure you're trying to work within. However, if the player lacks the emotional maturity for that approach be careful to not just "hide the ball" when using alternative health bars and the like...
@Yoric @Scofisticated If you do they'll be playing the character they want but the fantasy they're trying to fulfill isn't going to be satisfied which often leads to players acting out at the table either in character or out of character.