The Problem With One Punch Man (And Stories Like It)

Today let us discuss Saitama
This guy:

In case you didn't catch it...
He is from One Punch Man!
So called because...
Everything he fights only takes a single punch.

I was really excited for this story.
Really excited.

Because of things like this:

See I like a particular kind of story.
Stories like Dragonball Z with Goku:

Who eventually becomes a deity:

Hail!
Or Superman (who already is)

So when I heard about this story featuring a guy who could one punch anything...
I was intrigued.
But, more importantly I was excited for the story.

See, I have been playing a lot of role playing games recently.
And by that I mean listening and preparing for a lot of roleplaying games (still trying to get my game groups off the ground).
And the thing that I notice more than anything else...
The combat systems are pretty broken.

And by that I mean the players just waltz into caves and caverns unprotected and unmolested by the Evil Arch-Demon of Evil and proceed to lay waste to their whole crew.
Which only consists of five goblins and a big bad ogre who dies because the characters roll really good.

I thought this was just me or just a few game groups.
But, it happens all of the time.
So I started asking Why?

I realized.
The designers want all of us to be Superman.
To feel in control and powerful and awesome.
The gamemasters want us to feel that way.
So the designers give players mechanics that will let us overcome challenges and most gamemasters will give players challenges in a regimented, easy to beat progression.

Effectively, this is the equivalence of level-grinding

And in no way reflects the moments in story that I love best.
Namely, this:

For those who don't know:
Goku is the hero, he is operating at around Power level: 9000+ whereas Vageta exists in a world hovering around Power level: 20,000+
Goku is tired and worn out.
Beaten to a pulp.
Vageta in a rage decides to annihilate the whole planet with Goku.
Goku relies on his last attack to (hopefully) wipe out Vageta.
He risks his body and life to overcome Vageta's attack and barely comes out equal.
Then, he pushes it one step further only to beat Vageta for one minute.
(he comes back by the way and wrecks Goku's shit)

Why is this powerful?
Because Goku is actually weaker than Vageta in this moment.
He risks his life to overcome a superior enemy and is rewarded for his bravery by earning a reprieve.
Story protects the protagonist.
So he can recklessly endanger his life despite his mentor (King Kai) telling him it is too dangerous.
In doing so, he wounds Vageta enough to win the round and weaken him for his fellow team members (back when they were a team) to ultimately defeat Vageta.

So why bring this up?
Because too many RPG players act like Vageta.
They have all the power and go stomping through the world annihilating or saving people and places arbitrarily with no regard for who or what they do.
They are rewarded by the gamemaster for it with XP and Gold and become more powerful.
They are treated like heroes when in fact they are villains.
And nobody in the world is powerful enough to stand up to them because they are protected by the game (armor, saving throws, unconsciousness, clerics, healers, potions, mana)
All of it is to make sure that the players don't lost their health points and heaven forbid die!

How does this relate to Saitama/One Punch Man?
He is the embodiment of pretty much every character I see in RPGs these days.

• Overly powerful.
• Associated with a 'heroic' organization.

I was really excited to see how the storytellers handled Saitama's inability to face a foe that he couldn't just defeat.
I think it is one of the most important stories.
But, I think they are ruining it.

The show is centered on Saitama

Who starts off this strong.
He is a hero as a "hobby"
Why?
Because he hasn't found anyone who can put up a fight.
The basis of the first episode is this guy: the "villain" augmenting himself to be the "strongest man"
Saitama relates to him and says that it is lonely.
Right now I feel for Saitama because he seems to regret his choices and what led him to being the strongest.

Finding out more about his history reveals he just trained really hard and that is it.
Also, he has no remorse over the monsters that he kills.
And seems more interested in coupons than preserving life.

Saitama is not a hero.
He is a villain.
Terrifying.

The biggest problem that I have with the show is that they seem unable to do anything with Saitama.
He is too jaded to really care about anyone or anything.
So here is my fix:

How to write a story for your overly powerful characters

1) Let them kill everything. Seriously. Give characters in your RPGs the ability to one punch things. It makes the combat go so much more quickly. And it gives us an excuse to get on with the story!

Because we care about combat scenes like this:

And not this

2) So let them kill everything. Now, what? Honestly. I consider just letting the characters wander around a barren world with no characters because they killed everyone. Let them die of old age without conflict or adversaries or companionship or the wonderful NPCs that the gamemaster creates for their enjoyment. They would probably kill them anyway.

3) If they want story in spite of their bloodbath and mayhem, introduce it retroactively. Let the characters be the unwholesome villains that they are, let them collect rare and powerful artifacts for the evil organization that supports their mercenary lifestyle, then, have the real heroes show up to put an end to their corrupt lives. Have them kill the heroes and (hopefully) realize the errors of their ways. If not, have the evil organization overthrow them and try to murder them with the super powerful artifacts they turned in.

4) If the players complain of the lack of combat, introduce them to enemies they cannot just one punch: swarms of insects that devour them bit by bit, but cannot hit with their weaponry. It forces them to either be clever or die. If they complain that they cannot win at this, introduce them to whole villages of orc (insert your game's minority class here) adolescents that they will probably slaughter with glee and then show the grief stricken parents. Tell them how much gold their tears are worth.

The point is these characters consistently act like villains because gamemasters and storytellers allow them to get away with it.
No.
Villains die.
Wretchedly.
Look at Voldemort.

Do not let villains run free in the worlds that gamemasters take so much time to create.
Instead, introduce real conflict to their stories by illustrating the fact that they are not heroes.
Heroes do not act this way.

Now, this is not to say we could not have heroes like Saitama.

How to Play as One Punch Man

1) Value all life. Simple as that. Be like Batman. Be like Superman. Don't desire to kill, maim, and murder every sentient life form that you meet. It will make your life harder, sure, but you won't have the blood of children on your hands either so...

2) Don't use your powers. See point one. If you throw a punch...people die. It is that simple. Don't kill. That is your creed. Don't throw a punch unless you have to.

3) Give yourself a tragic backstory. See I thought Saitama was an experiment. One day he woke up with amnesia from a test tube surrounded by scientists poking at him. He defends himself only to murder everyone who came close. He is horrified by what he has done and becomes a hero in order to make amends.

Those are some of my solutions for playing a ridiculously overpowered character.
The conflict can come from the gamemaster in the form of social conflict
OR it can come from the character imposing personal limits on their power.
But, and here is the point, it is possible to do this in a fun, engaging way that does not involve murdering everything in sight.

And the other thing?
YOU CAN MURDER EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!
I don't have a problem with characters doing that if they are innately bad.
But, don't dress yourself as a hero if you are really a villain.
It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.