Para-Watch (which includes Hero-Watch & Villain-Watch)

We've mentioned that, as technology develops and time moves on; popular culture methods of handling 'trait rankings' might appear. We've also noted that with the advent of smartphones, anyone with a camera and social media can be involved in observing and tracking heroes (and villains). Para-Watch (and its popular filtered apps Hero-Watch and Villain-Watch) is one such app creating classification through member observation and submission of evidence, creating an online database of known para's.

Here's some info on the concept:

Especially with the advent of social media and mobile technological devices, it was only a matter of time before popular culture would develop a simple system of measurement based on observation. The scientific rankings used by the mutant theorists and community are often confusing and conflicted, reliant on the presence of specific evolutionary traits not measurable outside of a lab. Three mutants who appear to do the identical thing might be differently ranked while three with significantly different capabilities have the same rank of a trait.

Strength tricks were the first to be classified, due to easy measurement. The weight of a small car, a piano, and similar such objects made it easy to class that one aspect of paranormal ability. From there, common relative measurements were grouped in ranges. Such measurements don't take into consideration the means by which the effort is achieved, only the result. So, for instance, the measurement for strength does not matter whether the paranormal lifts a weight by raw biological strength (as an Exemplar), through the extension of a PK shell, by channeling energy into their body through an Energizer trait, magickal enhancement, or a technological power frame. Their Strength Class is purely a matter of how many pounds they can lift. As such, the classes are considered an estimate at best and are often the basis of arguments between fans and serious observers of paranormal activity on web sites.

These classes are given English letters, class A being the low end. Most categories peak out for common use around class F or G. It is also common for these classes to be presented using a bar graph, with each class paired with a standard color: A – violet, B – blue, C – green, D – yellow, E – orange, F – red, G – black

Note that these classifications are not considered a scientific measure and are generally credited to the Chicago based web site and application developers called Para-Watch. This organization is run in cooperation with mutant rights and support groups, to provide a valuable resource and understanding to the global community while ensuring the rights to privacy of the paranormals who are tracked and observed by the site. The categories commonly measured using these systems follow. For more information on the specific ranges of classification for each, please refer to Appendix A. :

Strength Speed Protection Stamina
Energy Projection Energy Finesse Regeneration
Psychic Projection Pyschic Senses Psychic Defenses Spellcasting
Combat Magick Tech Development Combat Tech Martial Arts
Tactics Resources

Most paranormals who are tracked in the Para-Watch database are only rated on a handful of these categories... and the standard 'postcard' record thus looks like a photo of the paranormal, with a 4 or 5 bar graph, showing the few important abilities and their basic 'role' on the field: brick, Fire energy projector, support caster, etc.