Super Speed

The Power to Outrun the World

Some mutants are fast.

Speedsters exist on an entirely different scale.

Super Speed represents a mutation that allows the character to move, react and process information at velocities far beyond normal biological limits. At its earliest stages, a speedster can outrun vehicles and cross a battlefield before an opponent has time to react. At its greatest extremes, the mutant becomes a living blur capable of breaking the sound barrier, running across water and performing extraordinary feats in fractions of a second.

But Super Speed is not merely about running.

A true speedster thinks faster, reacts faster and experiences the world differently.

As the mutation develops, the character's perception accelerates alongside their body. Bullets appear to crawl through the air. Falling objects seem almost suspended. A conversation can feel painfully slow when your brain is capable of processing hundreds of thoughts between words.

At the highest ranks, a speedster does not simply move quickly.

They make everyone else appear almost motionless.

WHAT IS SUPER SPEED?

Super Speed refers to mutations that dramatically accelerate the character's physical movement, reflexes and neurological processing.

This can include:

  • Extreme Running Speed
  • Accelerated Reflexes
  • Enhanced Initiative
  • Rapid Perception
  • High-Speed Combat
  • Wall Running
  • Water Running
  • Vibrational Effects
  • Sonic Booms
  • Cyclone Generation
  • Rapid Task Completion
  • Accelerated Thought
  • Extreme Agility
  • High-Speed Rescue
  • Momentum Attacks

If your mutation primarily revolves around extraordinary velocity, it belongs in the Super Speed category.

COMMON TRAITS OF SPEEDSTERS

Extraordinary Mobility

Speedsters can cross enormous distances in moments and reposition themselves around a battlefield almost at will.

Lightning Reflexes

Their enhanced nervous systems allow them to respond to threats before ordinary people even realise something has happened.

Rapid Rescue

Few mutants are better suited to evacuating civilians from immediate danger.

Hit-and-Run Combat

Speedsters rarely remain in one place long enough for opponents to retaliate.

Accelerated Perception

As their Powers develop, speedsters increasingly perceive the world at their own accelerated pace.

EXAMPLE MUTANTS

Super Speed users include mutants similar to:

  • WhiteNoise
  • Quicksilver-style speedsters
  • Enhanced Reflex mutants
  • Velocity manipulators
  • Kinetic runners
  • Hyper-accelerated mutants

Not every speedster manifests their abilities identically.

One might generate electrical discharges while running.

Another could produce sonic shockwaves.

Another might possess little offensive capability at all, instead becoming an almost impossibly effective scout and rescue specialist.

ROLEPLAYING A SPEEDSTER

Super Speed creates some fascinating character possibilities beyond combat.

Consider:

  • Does everyone else seem frustratingly slow?
  • Are you naturally impatient?
  • Do you deliberately force yourself to slow down around ordinary people?
  • How much food does your accelerated metabolism require?
  • Do you enjoy running, or does constantly being expected to run become irritating?
  • Have you ever moved before thinking through the consequences?
  • Does danger feel different when you have several subjective seconds to react to something everyone else experiences instantaneously?

A speedster may be able to run away from almost anything.

That doesn't mean they should.