Frustrated by character creation

I'd say there are probably three things.

First, there's no one true build of a character. It's entirely likely, (and expected), that a given build won't encompass every aspect of a hero you want to build.

Second, Guided versus Constructed is a large difference. With Guided, you are somewhat discovering who your hero is and what they can do as you do through it. That's not to say that you shouldn't go in with a concept, but be prepared for it to evolve. Constructed on the other hand makes it much easier to make a given concept work... Even if it's not exactly how you expected it to go.

Third, the game is heavily narrative. Whenever you take an action in the game, you *always* narrate it first. Then, you pick what power and quality you are using in the action based on your narration. So your powers and qualities aren't mechanical to the same degree as many systems, moreso narrative tools your character has to work with. If a power or quality isn't exactly what you want, but is pretty close, rename it on your sheet. Just be ready to tell the GM what it was renamed from, to avoid table confusion when it's used.

I have to say that watching the character creation sessions for the GTRG games helped understand character creation. Before that, though, the episodes of the Letters Page where Adam and Christopher talk about character concepts and how to put them into the game were interesting and helpful, especially the times (sorry, don't have specific references, I was binging the podcast this year) when they talked about the different ways that Sentinels characters could be built. Take a look at Heritage and Legacy, and how they're basically the same overall concept, but build VERY differently. I had an iconic character from my City of Heroes days that I was able to build two different ways, with the only thing that was the same between the two builds was the personality (and powers/qualities, but even they had different values). 

I came in from Champions/HERO too.  

The element from HERO to bring here, I think, is to treat the Powers, and especially the Abilities, in SCRPG as purely mechanical bits, that can be entirely reskinned to fit the character you're creating.   In HERO, your character build might have a mechanical bit Energy Blast 12d6, but that's driven by your character having a Lightning Strike or TK Punch -- the mechanics-layer follows the fiction-layer. 

IMO, ignore the random-rolled character creation system completely unless your only goal is to create a random character.  Random character creation is an early 1980s anachronism, and really doesn't belong as a centerpice of character building in a game released in 2020.  And yes, that's blunt, but it's blunt for a reason.  If anything, the focus on the random element just makes SCRPG's creation system more obtuse and arcane. 

If you're following the constructed method, pick the elment at each stage that best provides the mechanics you need to model the character's capabilities, and then rename them ALL if that's what it takes. 

Did you try the "middle" (constructed) method?

You should definitely try the constructed method.

Guided method is quite random and not really helpful unless you're starting completely clueless.

Secret third is basically a carte blanche to completely make something up without any guidance, and at your own risk. No good for beginners :)

One good trick though is, try to forget all the names that abilities have - rather imagine what your hero would do within their capabilities to achieve that effect, and then name the ability accordingly.

Example: Calling up Minions. That might represent some drone you have decending from the sky. Or, your own shadow suddenly starts acting independently. Or, bystanders turn to follow your command. Or, tell people you foresaw this situation, and thus all service personnel suddenly drops their cover and turns out to be your personal swat team you had placed there earlier.

It's all fair game, and usually I found there are multiple slightly-different ways to build a specific character, rather than there being none.

From my solo campaign so far my player has used quite a few (i would say at least 50% if not more) basic actions and he describes his actions in a detailed way and does not try to shoe horn it into an ability.

I only have this one player to go by though.

if you're looking for a wealth of examples, there's a long thread over on rpgnet with over 80 (probably familiar) heroes, over a dozen villains (so far), and no small amount of build wisdom. take a look at MindWanderer's big thread if you wanna feel a little more confident about the combos you're putting together.

the thing to remember... is the system is extremely stretchy. not quite as full-on silly putty as Masks, but like catDreaming and der andere Jan point out, it's all about the fiction. I could probably throw together a couple of characters who are absolutely identical in terms of the ability text and dice ratings, but play dramatically different at the table simply because of which powers and qualities are chosen, and what the abilities are named.

as for the bland-looking pile of d8s... the boost that Tachyon makes with a 3d8 pool is gonna be named and applied differently than the boost that Heritage makes with the same 3d8 pool. their twists are gonna manifest differently. the way certain abilities (especially once you're in a team-at-the-table situation) cascade to a crescendo make a big difference. let all of that guide the fiction.

Your Earthworm Jim translated to SCRPG in the rpgnet thread just made my day :D 

Simply brilliant, thanks!

@DrScott, my SCRPG game is a campaign translated directly from Champions.  I haven't had the problem you've had, but I think I understand why it might be happening.  I might encourage trying to design the character in Champions, which will give you an understanding of the character's specific capabilities and benchmarks, then trying to highlight the most important parts of the character to "name" as Powers, Qualities, and Abilities in SCRPG.  The Abilities are actually narratively super-fluid once you get your head around it.

I'd be willing to share a Champions sheet and SCRPG sheet so you can see how I did it.

I'd also say that if you're *really* into the way Champions does things, this game may not work for you.

But I'm happy to help.

Quote replies haven't worked for a while.  You can use [] with the word quote in it and then end with /quote in [] but certainly more work than it used to be.  Anyways, any chance you can post links to characters you have made and explain what you wanted to do with them?