How it works
This random superpower generator deals three powers at a time from an original list of 269, from telekinesis to toast control. Every card has a catch written in, because a power with no cost makes a dull hero. Narrow the draw to body, mind, elements, movement, shape, nature, time and reality, or small and silly powers. Keep one and drop the rest.
Read the full guide
Draw, keep and take away
Three powers are on the page when it opens. Press Pick 3 new superpowers for three more. On a keyboard the space bar does the same. For a longer list, press Add another at its end; the ร on a row makes it shorter. To keep a power, take the others away with the ร at the end of their rows: the next press fills the gaps and leaves what you kept. No power comes back until you have seen every power in the group you chose.
Why every power has a catch
A hero who can do anything has no story. So each card has two parts: what the power does, then a catch that starts with the word 'Catch'. Invisibility leaves your clothes showing. Teleportation leaves your luggage behind. Some catches are a real weakness a villain could use and some are only a daily bother. Both give a writer or a game master something to play with. Deal three, and choosing between them becomes the game.
Eight kinds of power
The All superpowers menu under the button sorts the list by where an ability comes from: body and strength, mind and senses, elements and energy, movement and travel, shape and form, animals and nature, and time, space and reality. The eighth group, small and silly powers, holds the ones that would never save a city, such as always finding a parking space. The whole list is our own work and names no character, team or publisher, so anything you draw is free to use in your own story or game.
- Play the random power generator as a choice. Draw three, give everyone ten seconds to choose one and make them say why. The catches start more arguments than the powers do.
- Building a character? Take away all but one big power with ร, then choose Small and silly powers in the All superpowers menu and press Add another. The mix of grand and useless makes a hero people remember.
- Game masters can press the button once for each player and give the first power as a secret draw. Nothing repeats, so a table of six gets six different powers.
- For a villain, read the catch first. Draw the hero's power, then choose a villain power that turns that catch against them.
Questions and answers
How many superpowers are in the list?
There are 269: 40 body and strength powers, 39 mind and senses, 37 elements and energy, 27 movement and travel, 30 shape and form, 30 animals and nature, 32 time, space and reality and 34 small and silly powers. Every one comes with its own catch, and no two cards share the same one.
Can I turn the catches off?
No. Every card shows its catch, and Copy the list copies each power with its catch on the line under it. If you only want the names, delete the catch lines after you paste into a character sheet or a chat. You can also ignore the catch and write your own. The list is a starting point for your story.
Are these powers from comics or films?
No. The list was written for this site from the kinds of powers that turn up again and again in myths, stories and games, such as flight, strength and shapeshifting, plus plenty of made-up ones. It uses no character, team or publisher names, and every catch is our own. You are free to use any result in your own writing or game.
Is every power equally likely?
Yes. Every power in the group you chose has the same chance on every press, and the page remembers what it has dealt. Nothing repeats until you have seen the whole group or the whole list. On All superpowers, that means all 269 before any power returns.
Can I use it for a school writing lesson?
Yes. The list is clean and written in plain words. A quick prompt: press the button and let each student pick one power. They write a day in the life of someone who has it, with the catch causing the main problem. The full list sits below the tool, so you can read every card before class.