M&M : Taint

Back in my Champions days, I noticed many players who felt, let's say, detached from the heroic nature of the superhero setting. Another way to put it would be that a lot of players ran thier characters as amoral, bloodthirsty bastards who saw crimefighting as a chance to kill with impunity. For reasons I needn't go into I'll call this the "damian factor".

My plans for MnM are for an idealistic silver-age game, modern characters with classic superhero traditions. The GM supplement for MnM suggests using a "taint" mechanic for characters who have to deal with corruption. I'm considering ways to incorporate this mechanic to reflect the estrangement from normal society superheroes can start to feel if they decide to use thier powers in way that violated regular social standards (killing, torture, mind control). In particular, many psychic powers will need to be used sparingly since they'll run this risk everytime they're used.

I haven't decided the specific effects yet, but basic this "alienation" will show up as social consequences when characters are acting as superheroes: civilians are more likely to be afraid or even panic in thier presence, military forces will be more confrontational, law enforcement will be more inclined to arrest vigilantes, criminals will take a greater interest, supervillians will be less likely to talk out fights, and NPC superheroes will be more likely to show up and interfere with the character's actions.