Sample Oddity From Gestalt-Earth

[GestaltBennie]

While editing the neverending Gestalt manuscript today, I came upon this little odd example and thought I'd bring out to share, perhaps as an icebreaker to ask about some of the odder packages you've created.

[For the uninitiated Gestalt is a world where superpowers are manifested as archetypes. Every superhero represents a big concept, sort of like a mythological deity's portfolio.

I hope to get it into print this year, but I've said that before. :-(. In any event, I present to you, the most delicious superhero of them all, the Food Gestalt!

THE FOOD GESTALT
Quote: “My Gestalt may not win battles – but I’ll take a good meal over the ability to eviscerate someone any day.”

Description: When one thinks about the fundamental forces that shape our lives, few forces are more important than food. Food does more than just nourish us; meals provide us with an important element of our social vocabulary. From kingly feasts, to Japanese tea ceremonies to fast food restaurants, how we eat tells as much about us as what we eat, a fact that the Food Gestalt knows well. The Food Gestalt is the champion of fine cuisine and good taste (and occasionally good nutrition too).
For members of a superhero team, the Food Motif is very silly. On the other hand, there’s nothing to say a Food Gestalt can’t occasionally spend time away from the kitchen to perform his civic duty, appearing to the rest of the world as just another martial artist until it’s time to serve up the victory banquet. If a Food Gestalt does join a superhero team, the GM should tailor some of the scenarios to showcase their avocation.
Note: The Food Gestalt’s Variable Pool gives a minor boost to Stats and Defenses for anyone who eats his food, or adds Life Support against poisons and toxins, or provides low powered Aids. Evil Food Gestalts, on the other hand, can make poisons that tastes good.
Related Gestalts: Gestalt of Pleasure, Gestalt of Indulgence, Gestalt of Gluttony, Gestalt of Physical Fitness (nutritious foods only).
Sub-Types of this Gestalt: Gestalt of (Various Sub-Cooking Schools)
Opposed Gestalts: Gestalts of Poison.
Prominent Examples of this Gestalt: Andre Mattson, Hiroyuki Sakai.

Food Gestalt Package Deal

<font size=+1><b>Food Gestalt </b></font>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost </b></td><td><b>Power</b></td><td align="right"><b>END</b></td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">26 </td><td><b><i>Ego of A Chef: </i></b>(Total: 26 Active Cost, 26 Real Cost) +10 PRE (Real Cost: 10) <b>plus</b> +8 EGO (Real Cost: 16) </td><td valign="top" align="right">0</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">30 </td><td><b><i>Master of His Tools: </i></b>Find Weakness 13- with Related Group of Attacks (All Kitchen Implements) </td><td valign="top" align="right">0</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">33 </td><td><b><i>Food Imbues Powers: </i></b>Variable Power Pool, 25 base + 8 control cost, all slots Trigger (+1/4), Usable Simultaneously (up to 32 people at once; ; +1 1/2) (58 Active Points); all slots Extra Time (5 Minutes, Preparation Time; -2), Limited Power Must Follow Established Recipes (-1) </td><td valign="top" align="right"></td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">15 </td><td><b><i>Make A Great Meal: </i></b>Minor Transform 3d6 (Food Into Culinary Masterpiece, 48 Hours Without Refrigeration) (30 Active Points); Conditional Power Must Follow Established Recipes (-1) </td><td valign="top" align="right">3</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">20 </td><td><b><i>Understand Ingredient: </i></b>Detect A Large Class Of Things (Food Ingredients) 11- (Smell/Taste Group), Discriminatory, Analyze </td><td valign="top" align="right">0</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">10 </td><td><b><i>Sense What Something Tastes Like: </i></b>Range with Smell/Taste Group </td><td valign="top" align="right">0</td></tr></table><b>Powers Cost:</b> 134


<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost </b></td><td><b>Skill</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3 </td><td>Analyze: Cooking School 11- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3 </td><td>Inventor 11- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">4 </td><td>KS: Cooking 13- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">4 </td><td>KS: Food Ingredients 13- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>PS: Cook 14- </td></tr></table><b>Skills Cost: </b>19


<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost </b></td><td><b>Talent</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2 </td><td>Eidetic Memory (5 Active Points); Conditional Power: Only To Remember Food Recipes (-2) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">1 </td><td>Lightning Calculator (3 Active Points); Conditional Power: Only To Calculate Recipes (-2) </td></tr></table><b>Talents Cost:</b> 3

<b>Total Powers and Skills Cost:</b> 156

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Val </b></td><td><b>Disadvantages</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>Distinctive Features: Chef's Uniform (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>Enraged: When His Cooking Is Insulted (Uncommon), go 8-, recover 14- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">15 </td><td>Psychological Limitation: Obsessed With Food (Common, Strong) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>Psychological Limitation: Territorial About His Kitchen (Uncommon, Moderate) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>Rivalry: Professional (Other Food Gestalts), Rival is As Powerful, Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival, Rival Aware of Rivalry </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">15 </td><td>Susceptibility: When He Fails A Cooking Roll, 3d6 damage Instant (Uncommon) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x Effect Food Gestalts From Rival Cooking Schools (Uncommon) </td></tr></table>
<b>Disadvantage Points:</b> 55

Food Gestalt Scenario Hooks

The Party: An obnoxious rival superhero is holding a party at the same time the city is honoring a PC at their own affair, and because the rival has invited a famous Food Gestalt, no one’s accepting an invitation to your shindig. Sure it’s petty and beneath you, but if you could find a way to lure the Food Gestalt away from your rival, it sure would be satisfying.

Perfection: A Food Gestalt claims he’s close to finding the recipe for “the perfect food”. But just what would be the perfect food? Would it be so nutritious that it gives people perfect health? Would it give people superhuman abilities? Would it recreate the legendary ambrosia of the gods? Would it be so delicious that it kills with pleasure? Determine if the Food Gestalt is about to create a piece of heaven, or unleash hell.

[Cardinal]

Very amusing.

Quick question, what exactly do you mean by "Must follow Established Recipes." I would think that the Food Gestalt would be something like an uber-Iron Chef with the ability to make amazing and creative new dishes at the drop of a hat. ("Oto, it looks like he is making squid ink and ginger sorbet.")

[GestaltBennie]

Very amusing.

Quick question, what exactly do you mean by "Must follow Established Recipes." I would think that the Food Gestalt would be something like an uber-Iron Chef with the ability to make amazing and creative new dishes at the drop of a hat. ("Oto, it looks like he is making squid ink and ginger sorbet.")

I think I did it as a point crock, otherwise it's a rather expensive power set that'd be too expensive for most starting PCs in a competitive campaign.

It's nice to write up these weird little powers, but I like to be practical too. ;-) Although on second glance, maybe "Make a Great Meal" should be a cosmetic Transform, not minor (or it should specify that it also makes the food safe to eat as well as great tasting).

[Worldmaker]

So... the gestalt of food is the incredibly insulting and also quite mythical "Obnoxiously Arrogant Chef"? I'm insulted. But then, I'm a chef... maybe I'm just being obnoxiously arrogant.

And that thing with the "established recipes" limitation... I know of no chefs at all who follow established recipes, or use established recipes as anything other than guidelines.

[Chiba Bob]

So what constitutes a villainous Food Gestalt? Someone who promotes foods loaded with Trans Fats or a Vegan with Mental Illusions who can make soy meat substitutes taste good? Do Food Gestalts battle it out in restaurant back alleys or take a more Iron Chief approach?


:dh:

[Delthrien]

Heh... ever see the Fighting Foodon cartoon? (anime -- no idea what the original title was...). My guess is that they'd look something like that. :nonp:

[GestaltBennie]

So... the gestalt of food is the incredibly insulting and also quite mythical "Obnoxiously Arrogant Chef"? I'm insulted. But then, I'm a chef... maybe I'm just being obnoxiously arrogant.

Well, gets mad when his food is criticized isn't quite the same thing as "obnoxiously arrogant" chef, though Gestalt tends to paint the archetypes in broad strokes, particularly with the "pures" (Gestalts who manifest without first bonding to a human host).

If you're still offended, just blame Bobby Flay. :-)


And that thing with the "established recipes" limitation... I know of no chefs at all who follow established recipes, or use established recipes as anything other than guidelines.

Feel free to suggest another limitation that you think is appropriate. Though the two powers that employ the limitation are super-skill/powers, not a measure of his ability; he's a perfectly fine chef without being able to turn Grade D beef into fine cuisine, or being able to boost people's abilities to superhuman levels with his meal.

[GestaltBennie]

So what constitutes a villainous Food Gestalt? Someone who promotes foods loaded with Trans Fats or a Vegan with Mental Illusions who can make soy meat substitutes taste good? Do Food Gestalts battle it out in restaurant back alleys or take a more Iron Chief approach?

:dh:

A villainous food gestalt would probably be an assassin whose meals kill the person who eats them, but would look like natural causes in an autopsy.

[Worldmaker]

Well, gets mad when his food is criticized isn't quite the same thing as "obnoxiously arrogant" chef, though Gestalt tends to paint the archetypes in broad strokes, particularly with the "pures" (Gestalts who manifest without first bonding to a human host).

If you're still offended, just blame Bobby Flay. :-)


Oh man, that's low... to invoke that utter tool's name. :)

[Agent 13]

A villainous food gestalt would probably be an assassin whose meals kill the person who eats them, but would look like natural causes in an autopsy. I would think that a villainous food gestalt would be one who promotes a single fad, like overuse of cilantro, or vinegarettes on every salad, or hot peppers in all his food, or...

Crap, now I'm describing Bobby Flay.

[GestaltBennie]

Oh man, that's low... to invoke that utter tool's name. :)

Sorry Worldmaker. I've had a *very* bad week. :-)

[assault]

A villainous food gestalt would probably be an assassin whose meals kill the person who eats them, but would look like natural causes in an autopsy.

Master Fugu.

[Chiba Bob]

You have not only have insulted me but my chef master and my culinary school. For that you will die!"
Master Fugu.


Yes, the flavor (pun intended) of running Food Gestalts should be old (badly dubbed) martial arts flicks.


. :eg:

[steriaca]

I'm kinda think about the odd aisan martial arts crime lord who's single to his minions to beat the charaters up is to take a big bite out of a red pepper. Call him...The Iron Wok.

I'm also intrested in what Scott has created for the guy who is the Gesault of all the world's bad melodrama and silent movie villians.

[Susano]

I cannot wait to get my hands on this book. I will never run anything in it (as is), but the power constructs alone are well worth the price of admission.

[mattingly]

On Champions MUSH, we once fought BreadMaster, who had various food-based powers including an army of Gingerbread Men. When my archer (oh, and the rest of the team, I guess) finally defeated him with a (continuous) fiery arrow, he said, "Give it up, Breadmaster. You're toast."

[Brandi]

So what constitutes a villainous Food Gestalt... a Vegan with Mental Illusions who can make soy meat substitutes taste good?

Actually, that'd be a righteous talent. A much better Vegan Food Gestalt villain would be one who makes people violently allergic or sickened whenever they ingest animal protein.

Sounds harmless enough on the surface... but what about infants at the breast?

ETA: Or consider the damage done to a food web/ecosystem when the predators can no longer eat.

[GestaltBennie]

I'm kinda think about the odd aisan martial arts crime lord who's single to his minions to beat the charaters up is to take a big bite out of a red pepper. Call him...The Iron Wok.

I'm also intrested in what Scott has created for the guy who is the Gesault of all the world's bad melodrama and silent movie villians.

I hadn't really created one (though I did have a Silent Movie Heroine Gestalt in the Vancouver Gestalt Club game), but here's one I quickly whipped up.

---
MELODRAMA VILLAIN
“SHALL I FORECLOSE ON THE ORPHANAGE…”
“YOU CAD!”
“…OR BURN IT DOWN?”

Description: Villainy existed long before the Gestalt Age, or even before the comic books that inspired it. One of the most colorful villains – which (of course) is represented among Gestalts – is the Melodrama Villain. With his distinctive opera cape, stovepipe hat, and ever-twistable moustache. While often physical inept (except when he can terrorize “fragile” women), the Melodrama Villain’s sheer determination to be bad – and his astounding luck at making an unfortunate situation a reality (running into convenient saw mills, encountering a school bus full of nuns with an opening that’s just the right size into which to fit a bomb) – can make him an extremely annoying adversary.
Related Gestalts: Gestalt of Cliffhangers, Gestalt of Silver Age Villains, Gestalt of Silent Film.
Types of this Gestalt: None known.
Opposed Gestalts: Gestalt of Melodramatic Heroes
Prominent Examples of this Gestalt: Bart Casterbridge, Hardened Criminal.
Note: A couple of this Gestalt’s powers deserve further comment. The Variable Power Pool allows the Gestalt to produce cliffhanger situations appropriate to a 1920s melodramatic serial. Some movie villains could give The Hero a protracted hand-to-hand fight (though their competence varied depending on how much time was left in the picture, how many dangerous items were in the environment, and how close the damsel was to being cut in two). The most bizarre power is his “Silent Era Movie Environment” Power; within 8” of this villain, everything is black and white, everything moves with a pronounced flicker (and fight scenes play at an accelerated speed, which is typically not a problem for supers) and everyone’s dialogue appears as cue cards instead of the spoken word.

Hero System Melodrama Villain Gestalt Package Deal

Abilities
<table border="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost </b></td><td><b>Power</b></td><td align="right"><b>END</b></td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">90 </td><td><b><i>Produce Dangerous Situation (Train, Buzzsaw, Convenient Tiger Cage, Instant Sticks Of Dynamite) Out Of Nowhere: </i></b>Variable Power Pool, 60 base + 30 control cost, No Skill Roll Required (+1) (120 Active Points); Conditional Power Only To Produce Situations Which Produce A Cliffhanger (-1) </td><td valign="top" align="right"></td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">79 </td><td><b><i>Silent Movie Era Environment: </i></b>(Total: 159 Active Cost, 79 Real Cost) Cosmetic Transform 7d6 (Reversed by Leaving The Radius), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Area Of Effect (7" Radius; +1) (105 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Always On (-1/2) (Real Cost: 52) <b>plus</b> Hearing Group Images Increased Size (8" radius; +3/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (14 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Always On (-1/2) (Real Cost: 7) <b>plus</b> Change Environment 8" radius, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (40 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Always On (-1/2) (Real Cost: 20) </td><td valign="top" align="right">0</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">21 </td><td><b><i>Produce Rope Out Of Nowhere: </i></b>Entangle 3d6, 3 DEF, Entangle And Character Both Take Damage (+1/4) (37 Active Points); Conditional Power Can Be Untied With A DEX Check vs. His Knot-Tying Skill (-1/2), Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4) </td><td valign="top" align="right">4</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">8 </td><td><b><i>Flapjack: </i></b>HA +5d6 (25 Active Points); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Conditional Power Only When Catching Someone By Surprise (-1/2) </td><td valign="top" align="right">2</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">10 </td><td><b><i>Villain's Luck: </i></b>Luck 2d6 </td><td valign="top" align="right">0</td></tr></table><b>Powers Cost:</b> 208


<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost </b></td><td><b>Skill</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3 </td><td>Climbing 11- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3 </td><td>Concealment 11- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3 </td><td>Demolitions 11- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3 </td><td>Forgery 11- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>KS: Economics 14- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3 </td><td>KS: Knot-Tying 12- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3 </td><td>Power 11- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">9 </td><td>Stealth 14- </td></tr></table><b>Skills Cost: </b>32




<b>Total Character Cost:</b> 240

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Val </b></td><td><b>Disadvantages</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>Distinctive Features: Looks Nasty, Always Twists Moustache (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">25 </td><td>Hunted: A Stalwart Hero 14- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">15 </td><td>Psychological Limitation: Must Perform Melodramatically Evil Deeds (Common, Strong) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">15 </td><td>Psychological Limitation: Must Always Arrange Cliffhangers - May Never Kill Someone Directly (Common, Strong) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10 </td><td>Unluck: 2d6 </td></tr></table>
<b>Disadvantage Points:</b> 70

Melodrama Villainy Gestalt Scenario Hooks

Orphans Make Me Sick! Every orphanage and youth center in the city has been bought out by a Melodrama Villain Gestalt, who’s threatening to foreclose them all down and kick hundreds of underprivileged kids on the street! Worse, he’s gone upscale, and bought the corporation that’s running the local Children’s Hospital, and he’s threatening to shut it down unless a PC’s sweetheart marries him!
All of a sudden, a villain who seemed like he was just comedy relief has gotten a lot less funny.

Welcome to Cliffhanger Haven: All over the city, women are being tied to railroad (or subway or monorail) tracks. Everyone’s been rescued, but no one remembers how they got there and no one saw them being tied up. You’re sure that the local Melodrama Villain Gestalt is responsible, but he has an air-tight alibi. So how did he do it?

[Susano]

<B>Flapjack:</B> HA +5d6 (25 Active Points); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Conditional Power Only When Catching Someone By Surprise (-1/2)

Scott? Don't you mean a "blackjack" (or a sap)? I mean, I just don't see anyone getting knocked out by a pancake....

[starblaze]

In the comic PS328 there is a rainmaker program. This is a program for young supers who have powers that are not really powerful but more useful. There is one child who has the ability to make rocks into edible food that taste like anything he wants it to. Unfortunately he can't make it look like anything but rocks. The food is also low in fat and calories.

[GestaltBennie]

Scott? Don't you mean a "blackjack" (or a sap)? I mean, I just don't see anyone getting knocked out by a pancake....

Yeah, it was late at night, and I was malapropimg. It's supposed to be a blackjack.

Either that, or it *is* flapjack, and I forgot the sticky syrup Entangle. :-)

[Susano]

Yeah, it was late at night, and I was malapropimg. It's supposed to be a blackjack.

Either that, or it *is* flapjack, and I forgot the sticky syrup Entangle. :-)

Well, to be honest, based on things I've seen from the Gestalt setting before, it might have been right the first time.... :)

[Twilight]

So when is this setting going to be available to the general public?

*Gollum mode on*

We wants it, it's our Precious, oh yes it is. WE WANTS IT NOW!!

*End Gollum mode*

:D

[GestaltBennie]

Gestalt will be self-published. At the moment, things depend on the speed of the Superlink conversions, my ability to learn InDesign, and my ability to afford to commission artwork for it. (Unfortunately, the latter is the biggest obstacle at the moment).

[GestaltBennie]

I've been going through the Gestalt manuscript (again) and doing edits, and here's something from the cutting room floor. Hope you enjoy it; it could also serve as a template for the ability of a really odd demon/entity in a more traditional campaign.
-----

DOORS
“Open Sesame!”

Description: Doors. Sometimes they bar one’s progress, sometimes they offer welcome. They’re a thing from everyday life that has a lot of symbolic value (even though we’re not usually conscious of it), and thus they’re a symbol that will attract a Gestalt.

The Door Gestalt is an example of an odd Gestalt that a superhero might encounter (or whom a character who wants to play a Gestalt with an odder tinge and who doesn’t mind that away from doorways, the character is essentially useless). Because of the dualistic nature of doors, they can join superhero or supervillain teams, depending on their personal aptitude.

Related Gestalts: Gestalt of Mirrors, Gestalt of Windows.
Sub-Types of this Gestalt: Gestalt of Gates.
Opposing Gestalts: Gestalt of Walls.
Prominent Examples of this Gestalt: Portal.

Hero System Door Gestalt Package Deal

Abilities
<table border="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost </b></td><td><b>Power</b></td><td align="right"><b>END</b></td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">150 </td><td><b><i>Door Powers: </i></b>Multipower, 150-point reserve </td><td valign="top" align="right"></td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">4u </td><td>1) <b><i>Open Any Door: </i></b>Tunneling 1" through 29 DEF material (89 Active Points); Conditional Power Only To Go Through Doors (-1) </td><td valign="top" align="right">9</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">9u </td><td>2) (Total: 125 Active Cost, 87 Real Cost) Minor Transform 5d6 (Real Cost: 50) <b>plus</b> Aid 5d6, rPD and rED simultaneously (+1/2) (75 Active Points); Conditional Power Only Usable On Doors (-1) (Real Cost: 37) </td><td valign="top" align="right">5</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">6u </td><td>3) <b><i>Throw All Doors Open (or Shut Them): </i></b>Telekinesis (28 STR), Fine Manipulation, Area Of Effect (5" Radius; +1), Selective (+1/4) (117 Active Points); Conditional Power Only To Open And Shut Doors (-1) </td><td valign="top" align="right">12</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">2u </td><td>4) <b><i>See The Last Person To Pass Through A Door: </i></b>Retrocognitive Clairsentience (Sight Group) (40 Active Points); Conditional Power Only To See The Last Person To Pass Through A Door (-1) </td><td valign="top" align="right">4</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">7u </td><td>5) <b><i>Open A Door And Let Something In: </i></b>Summon 270-point creatures, Devoted (+3/4), Expanded Class of Beings Any Type of Being (+1) (148 Active Points); Conditional Power Requires The Gestalt to Open A Shut Doorway (-1/2), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2) </td><td valign="top" align="right">15</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">6u </td><td>6) <b><i>Open A Doorway to Somewhere: </i></b>Teleportation 18", x2 Increased Mass, Usable By Other (+1/4), MegaScale (1" = 1 km; +1/4), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), Continuous (+1) (123 Active Points); Gate (-1/2), Conditional Power Requires The Gestalt to Open A Shut Doorway (-1/2) </td><td valign="top" align="right">12</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">25 </td><td>Detect Doors A Single Thing 11- (Unusual Group), Discriminatory, Analyze, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), Range, Sense </td><td valign="top" align="right">0</td></tr><tr><td align="right" valign="top">10 </td><td><b><i>See What's Beyond A Door: </i></b>N-Ray Perception (Stopped By Any Non-Doorway) (Sight Group) </td><td valign="top" align="right">0</td></tr></table><b>Powers Cost:</b> 219

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Cost </b></td><td><b>Skill</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">3 </td><td>Lockpicking 11- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">2 </td><td>PS: Carpenter 11- </td></tr></table><b>Skills Cost: </b>5

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 224
Total Cost: 224

<table cellpadding="0" border="0"><tr><td align="right"><b>Val </b></td><td><b>Disadvantages</b></td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>Enraged: When Someone Breaks Down A Door (Uncommon), go 8-, recover 14- </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">10 </td><td>Psychological Limitation: Strong Dislike Of Open Spaces (Common, Moderate) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">15 </td><td>Susceptibility: When A Door Is Broken Within 10" of Him, 3d6 damage Instant (Uncommon) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">15 </td><td>Susceptibility: When He's Unable To Unlock Or Lock A Door, 3d6 damage Instant (Uncommon) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x BODY Anyone Whose Opened One Of Their Locked Doors Within The Last Day (Uncommon) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x STUN Anyone Whose Opened One Of Their Locked Doors Within The Last Day (Uncommon) </td></tr><tr><td valign="top" align="right">5 </td><td>Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x Effect Anyone Whose Opened One Of Their Locked Doors Within The Last Day (Uncommon) </td></tr></table>
<b>Disadvantage Points:</b> 60

Total Value of Package Disadvantages: 60

Door Gestalt Scenario Hooks

The Door That Must Not Be Opened: Archeologists have discovered an ancient sealed doorway, whose accompanying inscription reads: “This door must not be opened, or the world will end.”

Unfortunately, for a certain Door Gestalt (ie. a campaign villain), it’s an irresistible challenge.

Hold Me: A criminal Door Gestalt has been captured. Unfortunately, every time he’s been put in prison, he inevitably uses his powers to make a jailbreak. He’s a petty thief – hardly a candidate for Capital Punishment or the Orbital, and building a cell without a door (i.e. only walls) is untenable. How can he be safely held?

[steriaca]

I hadn't really created one (though I did have a Silent Movie Heroine Gestalt in the Vancouver Gestalt Club game), but here's one I quickly whipped up.



Great job on the Silent Movie Villian Gestalt. Now, will I have to wait till the book gets published before I see the Silent Movie Heroine Gestalt template?

I'm guessing one of her powers is Desolification, only to excape entangles, only at the 'last moment'. Also Summon hero, Incantations "Help!".

[GestaltBennie]

Here's another bit from the book: Gestalt slang. Hopefully the ones that refer to various heroes and villains won't be too confusing.

Action Figure: A superhero who tries too hard to drum up favorable publicity.
Aloha Boy: A would-be sidekick or teenage super.
Aloha Girl: A really vacuous (or well-built) superheroine.
Armageddon: The next fight between bitter enemies, such as Columbia/Tyranny League or the Hollywood Knights/BRK. Also, a really long fight between Gestalts.
Avon (Started) Calling: Supervillain slang for tripping an alarm.
Battle Boy: A technological super, especially someone who wears a battlesuit.
Bicep Job: A brick, or any muscle-bound Gestalt. Really big ones are called “Double Bicep Job”; recently this expression has been expanded to the cloying “triple bicep job” (no hyperbole is too exaggerated for certain members of the media).
Big Boom: A successful supervillain job, especially one involving terrorism.
The Big Ouch: The Copenhagen superhuman fighting tournament.
Black Cape: A supervillain. Also “black mask”.
Blinded by Science: Any Gestalt who’s obsessing, first applied to Reactor of Columbia.
Boo Boy: A Gestalt whose powers have mystical overtones; this epithet is never applied to the really nasty ones, such as…
The BRK: The Blood Red King.
Butthugger: An overly tight or sexually provocative superhero costume. This expression is evolving, and now often refers to all superhero costumes.
C-Force: A derogatory nickname for Columbia. Sometimes shouted with a sarcastic (“Sieg Heil”) salute. (This is a parody of the “G-Force” battlecry from the 1970s Battle of the Planets cartoon; Edge and Rex were shown using it in "Give Me Liberty" (the HBO documentary of Liberator) and it quickly came into popular usage).
Capage: The power level of a Gestalt, especially, their combat ability (“Dynamo Jack may look like he’s all show, but there’s actually a lot of capage under those tights”.) Capage is also used as slang for the aggressiveness level of a Gestalt or (more crudely) a measure of their sexual prowess.
Cape: A superhero, also a non-secretive superhero.
Capeless: A Gestalt who doesn’t become a superhero or supervillain.
Cash Register: Supervillain slang for banks.
Chain Gang: Slavery or servitude due to a chain Gestalt. (“The bank president joined Sinestrado’s Chain Gang of zombies last night.”)
Cliffhanger: A really close fight.
Closet Cape: Someone who refuses to acknowledge his or her Gestalt, also refers to a Gestalt who refuses to join the superhero/villain scene. Closet capes are sometimes “gestoutted” by the press.
Columbia Just Showed: Supervillain slang for any operation (especially robberies) that’s interrupted by a superhero team.
Commercial Spot: A court appearance, testifying in court about a crime.
A “Could Be Better” Piece: Getting smeared in the press, any unwanted article or exposé
The Crater: Washington DC. More Columbia slang; Edge’s refers to it as the Crater in Give Me Liberty “because if we aren’t careful, that’s what it’s going to become.”
Crater-maker: A haymaker or a really powerful energy blast.
Cult Case: A resurrected deity.
The Dark, Annoying Place: Being knocked out in a fight. (Another Edge-ism).
“Doing a Cromwell”: Any incredibly reckless and impulsive action by a Gestalt.
Double Masking: A super who won’t reveal his true identity to his teammates or feeds them false information.
Dragon: A supervillain. Commonly used in the early to mid-90s, this expression has fallen out of favor.
Firebritches: A battlesuit.
Fire’s Out: A Gestalt combat is over. A Columbia codeword.
Fireworks Factory: An energy projector, or any overly colorful Gestalt costume. First applied to Carnival.
First Bagging: One of the three seminal events that are considered essential to a Gestalt superhero’s baptism – the first time they ever see a corpse in the line of duty.
First Bashing: One of the three seminal events that are considered essential to a Gestalt superhero’s baptism – the first time they ever use their powers in a fight.
First Bleeding: One of the three seminal events that are considered essential to a Gestalt superhero’s baptism – the first time they ever see their own blood in a fight.
Flash-Fragging: An attack (usually from a villain) that kills many innocent bystanders at once.
Flat-Fragging: Death, originally someone dying as you’re talking with them, although sometimes applied to any time an innocent bystander dies in a hero’s presence when they weren’t “flash-fragged”.
Force Field of God: A great performance or incredible luck demonstrated by a Gestalt. “He was protected by the force field of God” describes someone who survived a powerful attack.
Fragile Alert: Columbia codeword for “protect innocent bystanders at all costs”.
FTL [fill in the blank]: Columbia codeword for “get [someone] to a hospital as quick as possible.”
Fuddling: Refusing to verbally acknowledge combat orders, or disregarding orders without informing teammates about the change in tactics.
Funeral Bait: A Thrillseeker Gestalt.
Giving Out Your Address: Having your secret ID exposed.
Glow Boy: Any Gestalt with a visible force field. Also “Glow Girl”.
“Gone moral”: A retired supervillain, also used when a supervillain hasn’t been seen for awhile.
Happyland: The Gestalt dimension.
“I’m melting”: A Columbia codeword for being hurt real bad in a fight.
Khaki Cape: A military super.
King Cheese: The winner of the Copenhagen tournament.
Last Call: A punch or a blast that puts a wobbly opponent down for the count.
Lazarus Lad: A Gestalt who comes back from the dead. One that does so in a spectacular manner is called a “flaming Lazarus”.
Leak: A wound that bleeds during a fight.
Liberator Surprise: Supervillain slang for staging an ambush.
Lost An Eye: Losing a fight to someone you should have beaten, or someone you didn’t expect to lose to (“fighting Armageddo was fun until we lost an eye.”)
Main Event: A major fight between superheroes and supervillains.
Man of the Hour: The person who gives the best performance in a (winning) fight, especially when it’s unexpected.
Mask: A superhero. Also a Gestalt who’s very secretive.
Missionary Work: Actions committed by a superhero while he’s gone AWOL from his team when he’s compelled by his Gestalt to follow the obsessions of his archetype.
Moon Man: A person with an unusual Gestalt. Also “Moon Girl”.
“Night Must Fall”: Columbia codeword for “retreat is not an option”.
Ooopsville: A battle with a lot of collateral damage. Someone who causes a lot of collateral damage is sometimes called “Ooops boy”.
Open Channel Boy: Someone who talks too much in a fight.
Ouchland: Copenhagen.
Panel Hog: Someone who shows off a lot during fights.
Photogenic: Being unconscious when the press arrive at the end of a fight.
Pink Cape: An openly gay super or a super whose flamboyance makes other supers want to avoid him. Sometimes referred to as “swishing his cape”.
Preliminary Bout: A fight between Gestalts that breaks up without a decisive winner.
Pulling Down Trevor’s Tights: A Gestalt who has made or is making a really big mistake. (“You don’t pull down Trevor’s tights” refers to making the Titan mad. The fact that Titan doesn’t wear tights is an unintended irony)
Puncture: A serious cut or wound in a fight, but not as bad as a leak.
Pure: A very noticeable pure Gestalt. (Often combined with “really” or “one hundred percent”)
Pyre: A funeral for a superhero. (“They lit Rex’s pyre last night.”)
Rabbit Job: Supervillain slang for an operation that goes terribly wrong.
Religious Experience: Being knocked out, especially when you’re badly overmatched.
Rename Yourself Shame: A joke by Edge directed at Rex and Utopia, after their costumes had been burnt off during a fight. This refers to any superhero who ends up naked or nearly nude during a fight (“you need to rename yourself Shame.”).
Rocking Chair Club: A Gestalt from the first wave, or any long active Gestalt.
The Royal Treatment: Being transformed by the Blood Red King.
Rule One: Columbia slang for “take out the telepath”.
Rule Two: Columbia slang for “take out the enemies’ delivery system”.
Rule Zero: An Edge-ism meaning, “don’t lose”. Still a Columbia in-joke.
Sensor Platform: A Gestalt with a lot of superhuman senses.
S-Humans: Early term for superhumans. Fell out of common usage by 1995 (although a derogatory derived term “schuberts” is still used in a few places, particularly in New York City).
Shokel: A local protector Gestalt, particularly one who doesn’t like prominent Gestalts from out-of-town (condensed form of local “super hero yokel”)
Shot Out of the Sky: A supervillain whose bloody career makes superheroes want to kill him (“he needs to be shot out of the sky”). A reference to deceased Tyranny League member Bloodkite. “Needs Therapy” has much the same meaning, and so does “needs to join the Devastators” (which refers to the famous team of dead supervillains).
Show Cape: A normal impersonating a Gestalt or a Gestalt with little or no combat ability.
Smear Job: A bloody Gestalt death.
Swiss Army Knife Gestalt: A Gestalt with a lot of useful skills.
Soul Man: Someone who has BODY drain powers.
Space Cape: Any Ar’Turodain with superhuman abilities.
Space Nazis: The Ar’Kayadin.
Speaking In Tongues: Using telepathy as a form of communication.
Spite Job: Supervillain slang for an operation that’s motivated solely by revenge.
Supergoose: A superhero in the employ of the government (derives from goose stepper).
Superior Boy’s Club: The Ar’Turodain (a reference to their condescending attitude to Earth).
T-Gang: The Tyranny League.
Tactically Creative: Derogatory term for a Gestalt who can’t follow orders or who always “fuddles”.
Theresa: Dr. Power Jr. Usually spoken with well-deserved trepidation or fear.
Top Cape: Leader of a superhero team. Also called (sarcastically), “Supreme Cape”, “Big Cape”. “Big Bad Cape”, or “El Cape-ola”.
Under The Hood: Telepath slang for a person’s memories. (“Let’s see what’s under the hood” means finding out someone’s secrets.)
Voodoo: Psionics, especially mind control. “Voodoo alert” is the Columbia codeword for hostile telepaths in the area; “[fill in the blank]’s a voodoo doll” is Columbia’s codeword for someone being under mind control; “[fill in the blank] sees strange voodoo” is their codeword for someone reacting to mental illusions.
W2 Club: A Gestalt who works for a major corporation.
Wackoland: The Internet, especially those sites devoted to Gestalts, and the people who frequent them. Wackoland is used in a humorous, self-deprecating way; it’s based on a one-time off-hand comment by Columbia’s Reactor. Columbia fandom has particularly embraced the term, and Columbia’s fan sites on the Internet are part of “the Wackoland Web Ring”.
Internet sites devoted to supervillains such as the Tyranny League or the Blood Red King are also referred to as “Sickoland”, especially by hard-core superhero fans.
Wall Bouncer: A Gestalt who gets knocked out frequently in fights. Also called a “Harvey Wall Banger”.
The Wet Costume Club: A Gestalt who isn’t ready to become an active superhero (“about to join the wet costume club”, referring to either blood or urine), this also refers to a Gestalt who tries too hard. Also called Wet Boy (or Wet Girl).

[Michael Hopcroft]

Scott? Don't you mean a "blackjack" (or a sap)? I mean, I just don't see anyone getting knocked out by a pancake....
If the Melodrama Villain Gestalt and the Food Gestalt join forces, you can be darn sure heroes will be getting KO'd by pancakes. And cheeseburgers. And the occasional bowl of tempura udon.

[TheQuestionMan]

LOL, great stuff Scott.

Thanks

QM

[steriaca]

Scott,

Your stuff looks great. I'm looking forward to getting Gestalt.

Just a question...what would a Gestalt of the ablum Pink Floyd's The Wall look like? I would think basicly one power based on the titel of each song on the albulm, but how would you put a power to the song Mother? Shure, The Day The Tigers Run Free, Confrbetly Numb, and Follow The Worm are easy, but what of The Trial?

Or, for what it's worth, a Gestalt based on the Beatel's Yellow Submarean albulm.

Just thinking...Stanley R. Teriaca.

[GestaltBennie]

Scott,

Your stuff looks great. I'm looking forward to getting Gestalt.

Just a question...what would a Gestalt of the ablum Pink Floyd's The Wall look like? I would think basicly one power based on the titel of each song on the albulm, but how would you put a power to the song Mother? Shure, The Day The Tigers Run Free, Confrbetly Numb, and Follow The Worm are easy, but what of The Trial?

Or, for what it's worth, a Gestalt based on the Beatel's Yellow Submarean albulm.

Just thinking...Stanley R. Teriaca.

For "Mother", a Mental Illusion of one's mother, linked to an Ego Attack (whose special effect is having mother remind you of an extremely painful memory) and maybe a Mental Transform that turns you into a guilt ridden neurotic. For "Trial", the powers would include Summon a Judge (an ultra-authoritative guy with a big gavel and a very loud voice), and possibly similar mental illusions to "Mother" (of all the people that ever tormented the PC, including dear old mom).

For "Yellow Submarine", probably Images and maybe a Change Environment to set the mood, Summon a trippy vehicle, and possibly Summon for Blue Meanies and a giant, evil Glove (which frightened the daylights out of me as a kid).

Steve Perrin had planned to do a guest GMing run in Gestalt featuring a group of villain with a Beatles' songs motif, so he might have actually worked on it. :-)

[SKJAM!]

For another example of an evil Food Gestalt: Taoist Gogyo from the manga Iron Wok Jan. His meanest trick is the meal that makes you unable to stop eating, no matter what is placed in front of you afterwards....