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As I mentioned in my review of Heroes Unlimited 2nd edition, the Powers Unlimited series is an extremely useful addition to that game. I never had the chance to use these books in play (they weren’t out yet when I was really into this game) but flipping through them now, I would have loved to have them available. This is a review of the first book in the series, Powers Unlimited.

Powers Unlimited is a slim, 96 page soft cover book that contains new powers and super abilities for the Heroes Unlimited game. The book is basically all crunch, with little or no fluff material, which is a rarity for Palladium products. It’s a big catalog of super powers, and it definitely delivers what it says on the cover.

By my count, the book gives you 123 new minor abilities (simple, 1 or 2 use powers) and 45 new major abilities (more useful powers, usually with several sub-powers or stunts associated with them.) Finally, the book wraps up with 22 new psionic abilities. I would say at least 60% or more of the powers seem cool or interesting to me, which I think is about the normal ratio for a book like this… most of the powers feel fairly well balanced, but there are a few exceptions. In general, the powers that seem unbalanced feel weaker to me than other abilities, rather than “newer = better”. Overall, I am happy with the mechanics provided for the various powers.

Some stand out powers include a variety of abilities that are obviously culled directly from comic books. I’m sure any comics fan will know exactly what to do with powers like “Energy Force Constructs”, “Tentacles of Hair”, or even ‘Super Consumption” (Super Bouncing is also included, for all you Legion of Super Heroes fans out there!)

There are also some useful abilities that build off existing powers in the game, like new Alter Physical Structure powers (including Acid, Sand, Crystal, etc.), new Energy Blasts (Energy Expulsion: Force Blast, which can knock down your targets in addition to causing damage), and Energy Weapon Extensions, which allow you to create claws or blades of pure energy.

Finally, there are some very cool, and truly odd powers, such as Distort Space, which allows you to shrink the distance between any two points, or even Anatomical Independence, which lets a super being detach and control his own limbs and organs!

The book’s cover is by an artist names Ramon Perez, whom I suspect may be related to comics great George Perez (I have not been able to confirm this, but his composition and style seems similar.) Either way, it is by far the most traditional “comic book feeling” cover in the Heroes Unlimited line. I also really like the interior art. There are a few pieces recycled from other books, but most of it is new, and quite good. These books have really given me a love of black and white super hero art!

Bottom line, if you play Heroes Unlimited, get this book. Since there are no power construction rules in the game, this is the fastest and easiest way to add a bunch of fun, new powers to your campaign. In fact, I’d go so far to say that even if you play a different supers system that does include power creation rules, this could serve as a useful example of various powers and how they might work, making them easier to design and construct with your rules system of choice.

And stay tuned lovers of super-heroic daring do… my review of Powers Unlimited 2 is coming soon!