The Dread Chaos of Normal Life

I'm finally able to return to playtesting after a short hiatus due to Australian Flu (has there ever been a British Flu, or American Flu?), university work and family commitments. I'm trying to get the balance of individual powers right.

There are few enough combat powers beyond the "cantrips" mentioned in previous articles.
Many seem somewhat utility with a few buffs and temp hit points.
I'm allowing higher level characters to boost the powers by spending multiple influence on individual powers.

So far, the balance seems fair, but this might come down to player comfort with the power level.

For the next two sessions, I'll be doing "shopping episodes", to test out the utility aspects, with the occasional head-to-head with equal level opponents, to see how things stack.