Superheroes can do things that other people cannot. They throw cars, blast through brick walls, leap onto speeding trains, and cobble together interdimensional gateways in a few hours. It’s tempting to say that such characters are stronger, faster, or smarter, so they should have higher Might, Speed, or Intellect Pools. However, simply bumping up stat Pools or Edge doesn’t fully represent this dramatic increase in power. Instead, consider using an optional rule called power shifts.

In the world of Vigilantes And Tragedies, all the strongest heroes of the universe are gone, or if they aren’t gone they’re busy dealing with greater issues than what a PC would be focusing on. As such, typical superhero PCs get two or three power shifts, depending on the circumstances of the campaign rather than the intended five in the core rulebook.

Power shifts are like permanent free levels of Effort that are always active. They don’t count toward a character’s maximum Effort use (nor do they count as skills or assets). They simply ease tasks that fall into specific categories, which include (but are not necessarily limited to) the following.