I'm on my third campaign using Dresden Files, and I'm noticing a pattern. There's an incredibly wide range of powers and abilities that a character can have, and an even larger number of ways to fluff those powers. (FATE, the core system of Dresden Files, is very encouraging of refluffing powers.) However, there are a small group of powers, collectively called "building block" powers, that my players repeatedly go for in character creation.
The building blocks are Strength, Speed, Recovery, and Toughness. Each can be rated Inhuman, Supernatural, or Mythic. Each augments and improves the basic skills/stats (What DF calls Skills are mixed in with most other game's stats) of the game. I can have Might 5 without any powers, and still out-might something with Inhuman Strength. However, they do provide a solid boost, and stack with the normal skills.
Two players in particular do everything they can to get the biggest building blocks allowed, but almost every player I've had takes a good hard look at them, and most try to grab a few Inhuman abilities if they have the room. Except for one character who was expressly built to be completely human, every character seems to use up the "spare change" of refresh on these powers. What I want to know is why.
They aren't powergaming, trying to min/max themselves. Besides the fact that I know these players and I know they don't game like that, the simple fact is these are not the most powerful abilities available and they know this. (Spellcasting, as it so often is, is the superior choice in terms of damage potential and flexibility, though not so much as to overshadow everything else.) They also aren't using these powers to create a particular themed character- Several of them go through multiple iterations of thematic design solely to find a character that I will allow to take these powers. These powers aren't the most interesting (Psychometry, flight, water breathing, cryomancy, and ghost speaker off the top of my head sound more interesting than "I hit things more") they aren't the most mechanically complex (Spellcasting again) and they aren't the most mechanically simple either (that would be Pure Mortal, no powers at all.) They also aren't particularly favored by characters in the fiction- with one or two exceptions, none of the main cast of the books has these, but some characters have them so it's not like they're looking for something deliberately different either.
I tend to outright veto anything Mythic, and try to suggest alternative options when they suggest Supernatural. I pretty much never suggest these when throwing out ideas during character generation (mainly because these are never evocative of a particularly cool idea) but even new players, flipping through the powers list, seem drawn to them. Pretty much everyone but me thinks these are the cats pajamas. In the current game, I finally relented (after many repeated requests from one player, and two sessions devoted mainly to getting access to this) and let a player take Mythic Strength.
My question- What is it in these powers that my players are attracted to, and how do I do I design adventures for a character with Mythic Strength and all but one character sporting a Supernatural level ability? These questions might need to be separated, in which case I'll be happy to split them, but I strongly get the sense that the answer to one will contain the answer to the other. If they took the ability to cross over into the NeverNever (the spirit world) then that would tell me they wanted NeverNever shenanigans, if they took Spider Walk then that would tell me they wanted scenes with opportunities for unconventional acrobatics, but for the life of my I can't think of anything to do with Mythic Strength other than "I hit things more."
Best Answer
Before you got much further, I want you to consider the possibility that you already know the answer. This is possible because you already told us the answer:
When players create characters, they are telling you what they want to do in the game. Your players might just be saying, "We want to solve our problems by tearing them apart with our bare hands!" That's OK! You can still tell interesting stories with this being what your players want!
I assume you will take the advice of others and ask your players, "Hey, is this really what you want? Or do you think that if you don't do this I will TPK you? Because that's not really what FATE, DFRPG, or my game is about."
Assuming you've done that and yes, they thought they were being pretty clear that they wanted to build physically powerful protagonists for themselves, there are a lot of tools available to you as a GM within the game for getting good stories told.
First of all, make sure that when building characters, the players make interesting, compelling Aspects. That's where your story-fuel comes from, not really their powers anyhow. Are you sure you're using the guidelines that make sure some of those Aspects cut both ways? Are you tying them to each other, the NPCs, and the setting?
Next - some of those building block powers have a Catch - A circumstance that limits the utility of those powers - but Strength does not. Lucky for you, it has it's own, implicit Catch: Amazing feats of strength attract Unwanted Attention. I capitalized "Unwanted Attention" on purpose. Mortal authorities are going to notice beings that hurl cars around and knock down walls with their bare hands. And the attention of mortal authorities is Bad News in the Dresdenverse. This Unwanted Attention can motivate them to use other solutions, and can actually lead to some interesting problems.
Also - characters that can dish out massive physical harm are expected to do so in the service and defense of those who can't. That's what makes them heroes. All of that Unwanted Attention therefore means that those who need their help will tend to seek them out. And no matter what their goals may be, if they're good guys, like Harry, they'll just have to find some way to help the helpless before (or maybe during) pursuing their own agendas. If they won't they're monsters, not heroes.
Finally, you said this:
Spare change? What? Refresh is a superpower. This is your third game, right?So your players understand that Fate Points are narrative power. Low refresh means, "Hey, Mr. GM, I'm going to get kicked around for a while at the start of the game. I'm going to make some bad rolls and just have to suck it up. I'm going to take some Compels and maybe even seek out some Compels, so I can get a pool of Fate Points built up. Use this time to get some drama accomplished - and then I can go kick ass!"
I'm not saying the players aren't operating under false assumptions. I'm not saying you might not have some stuff to work out out-of-game. I'm just saying that Trolls and White Court vampires and other super-strong good guys can totally work within the framework of the game and might just be what makes your players happy.