Superhero role playing games are intrinsically open to abuse. They’re difficult to run at the best of times and a lot of players think that the concept of being a superhero gives you carte blanche to kill anyone in the pursuit of the final villain under the impression that the ends justify the means.

The biggest problem you’ll face is the players' ingenuity when it comes to their own superpowers and how they use them, and often times the writers of the systems are thinking more about what would be cool to have as a superpower as opposed to how it could easily destroy any game or setting in front of the players.

So here’s a little guide as to some of the more abusable powers you can find in so many superhero role playing games and what you might be able to do about it when the players start getting too creative.

Telepathy / Mind Control
As used by Professor X, Martian Manhunter, Hitman, Matt Parkman

What it is: Telepathy is the ability to read other people’s minds directly rather than all of that pesky talking to them, lying, body language and micro expressions. Nope, straight into the old skull to see every tiny thought in their head.

How it can be abused: The most obvious way is to start by using it on everyone and everything that you meet. You wouldn’t have to even be that choosy, just turn it on at the start of the game and wander around the bar, the streets, the hospitals nearby and ask “Are you the bad guy?”.

Less subtle is the ability to take control of somebody else’s mind and, in essence, become them. In this way any pack of enemies can be mown down from within when one unlucky henchmen decides to unpin all of his and his team-mates' grenades. Even funnier when tanks are involved.