The PRE Brick?

[jkwleisemann]

I've had a concept that I've been fiddling around with... but I'm not sure if it might not be horribly, terribly abusive.

Namely: A Presence "brick." A character with a Presence on roughly the same scale as the party brick's strength. A Face, for a handier term.

On the one hand, STR costs the same as PRE, and PRE doesn't have the vast number of handy Figured Characteristics that STR does.

On the other hand, an average PRE attack of, say, 42 points leaves your average normal or agent in the Cowed category, at DCV 0 and listening to your every word. And that's without the readily available modifiers for things like violent actions, superior position, or good soliloquoys.

Of course, the flipside of that is that it's easy to rack up significant *penalties* to your PRE attacks too. If the Face is being faced down by a dozen VIPER agents... he might get them to hesitate, but that's probably about the best he'll manage. The Brick clobbers one of them, racks up *bonuses* on his PRE attack, and quite possibly manages the same result.

But then we've got all those pretty little skills. Just 3 points gives you a 21- in any Interaction skill. :help:

Still... it could be an interesting character, and one who'd have potential for all manner of unusual roles in the game.

Any thoughts on whether or not this character is a hideously abusive idea?

[OddHat]

I've used these guys as NPCs, never had a Player who wanted to use one. It's similar to having a high powered mind controller on the team; sometimes he'll be insanely effective, sometimes he'll be useless.

Ultimate Skill, with its expanded rules on Interaction skills, is very useful for running this type of character.

He'll be the bane of agents and ordinary human foils unless the GM intentionally nerfs him; against super-villains, he's probably not going to be as useful as a similarly built brick.

[OddHat]

Note that a few PRE based superskills can be very useful for this type of character; armor and DCV levels defined as "Too Impressive to Harm" for starters.

[jkwleisemann]

That's the kind of thing I'd thought of a bit. *nods* That, PRE-based Mind Control for some reliable dice-levels....

One of the things that most interests me about it is the built-in Selective AoE, in a way.

Of course, something would be needed to make him reasonably effective against the Mechanon and Destroyer types who have their own sky-high PRE levels... a PRE drain (or Transfer) would seem most effective, but I'm not entirely sure how you'd justify that... of course, superpowers can justify most anything.

[JmOz]

I have made MANY mentalist that had +XX PRE in there mp, at high enough levels it is a subtle form of mind control. One article in the old digital hero suggested that the "these are not the droids you are looking for" type mind control is best modeled this way

[OddHat]

Of course, something would be needed to make him reasonably effective against the Mechanon and Destroyer types who have their own sky-high PRE levels... a PRE drain (or Transfer) would seem most effective, but I'm not entirely sure how you'd justify that... of course, superpowers can justify most anything.

As a GM, I would steer a player who wanted to find a way for a PRE based character or Mind Controller to be effective vs top tier campaign villains towards an EGO Attack (always appropriate as a PRE based super skill), PRE based Succor for the other PCs defined as "Super Encouragement", or similar. Top rank villains will generally have enough meglomania, PRE, EGO, and Power defense that someone who can successfully PRE attack them may be too powerful for the other threats along the way. It's a tricky balance.

[Certified]

Well it's 4 AM and I'm reading this thread, I like the idea of a Face man and decided to play with it a bit. here's what I came up with.


Freeborn

Alternate IDs: Diane Fielding AKA Rachael Banning AKA Esmeralda Keating
Player:
Campaign: / GameMaster:
Genre:
Value Char Base Cost Roll Notes
34 (13) STR 10 3 16- 6 1/2d6 / 2785.8kg
25 (18) DEX 10 24 14-
25 (18) CON 10 16 14-
25 (18) BODY 10 16 14-
23 INT 10 13 14- PER Roll 14-
25 EGO 10 30 14-
50 PRE 10 40 19- 10d6
18 COM 10 4 13-
7/23 PD 7 0
5/21 ED 5 0
6 SPD 3.5 25
12 REC 12 0
50 END 50 0
56 STUN 56 0

Movement
Running: 6"/12"
Swimming: 2"/4"
Leaping H: 6 1/2"
Leaping V: 3"

Basic Combat Stats
BaseOCV: 8 BaseDCV: 8 BaseECV: 8
Adjustments: Adjustments: Adjustments:
Total: Total: Total:
Levels:
Range 0-4 5-8 9-16 17-32 33-64 65-128
RMod 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10
Phases: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

7/23 PD (0/16 rPD) 5/21 ED (0/16 rED) 10 MD 0 PwrD

END: 50 STUN: 56 BODY: 25

Martial Arts
Pts. Maneuver
5 Defensive Block: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +3 DCV, Block, Abort
5 Offensive Strike: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 10 1/2d6 Strike
5 Grappling Block: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +1 DCV, Grab One Limb, Block

Skills
Pts.
3 Breakfall 14-
3 Criminology 14-
3 Deduction 14-
3 Disguise 14-
7 Gambling 16-
3 High Society 19-
3 Interrogation 19-
3 Persuasion 19-
3 Seduction 19-
3 Shadowing 14-
3 Stealth 14-
3 Streetwise 19-
3 Tracking 14-
3 SS: Criminal Psychology 14-
3 KS: Diplomacy 14-
3 KS: The Underworld 14-
3 KS: Law 14-

Perks
Pts.
2 Deep Cover
1 False Identity
5 Money: Well Off

Powers
Pts. END
17 Her Eyes, that Voice...: Mind Control 10d6 (50 Active Points); Eye Contact Required (-1/2), Extra Time (Extra Segment, -1/2), Costs END To Maintain (Half END Cost; -1/4), Requires A PRE Roll (-1/4), Subject To Range Modifier (-1/4), Stops Working If Mentalist Is Knocked Out (-1/4) SFX: Mental/Psionic. 5

8 Every Woman and no one: Shape Shift (Sight and Hearing Groups, limited group of shapes), Imitation, Makeover (38 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x4 END; -1 1/2), Extra Time (5 Minutes, Only to Activate, -1), Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2), Requires A Skill Roll (Disguise ; -1/2) SFX: Mental/Psionic. 16

22 GNOME Manipulation Serum X2: (Total: 70 Active Cost, 22 Real Cost) +21 STR (21 Active Points); Linked (DEX; Lesser Power can only be used when character uses greater Power at full value; -3/4), IAF Fragile (-3/4), 2 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Minute each (-3/4) (Real Cost: 6) plus +7 DEX (21 Active Points); 2 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Minute each (-3/4), OIF Fragile (-3/4) (Real Cost: 8) plus +7 CON (14 Active Points); Linked (DEX; Lesser Power can only be used when character uses greater Power at full value; -3/4), 2 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Minute each (-3/4), IAF Fragile (-3/4) (Real Cost: 4) plus +7 BODY (14 Active Points); Linked (DEX; Lesser Power can only be used when character uses greater Power at full value; -3/4), 2 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Minute each (-3/4), IAF Fragile (-3/4) (Real Cost: 4) [2 cc]

24 Poly-Weave Body Suit: Armor (16 PD/16 ED) (48 Active Points); OIF Expendable (Very Difficult to obtain new Focus; -1) 0

12 Bio-Feedback Gloves: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1 1/2d6 (3d6+1 w/STR), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4) (31 Active Points); OIF Expendable (Very Difficult to obtain new Focus; -1), Restrainable (-1/2) vs ED. 3

10 Glue Gernades: Entangle 2d6, 3 DEF, Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2) (37 Active Points); 2 Charges (-1 1/2), OIF (-1/2), Can Be Missile Deflected (-1/4), Range Based On Strength (-1/4) [2]

3 Night Vision Goggles: Nightvision (5 Active Points); OIF Fragile (-3/4) 0

5 Iron Will: Mental Defense (10 points total) 0

Character Information
Height: 1.85 m Hair: Black (Varies)
Weight: 72.00 kg Eyes: Green (Varies)

Appearance:

Background: Born and raised in Southern California Diane had a relatively normal childhood. That is for a spoiled brat. Her father, Karl Fielding had made his money early when cosmetic surgery went mainstream marring one of his clients Asian fashion model Qi. After multiple malpractice suits Qi filed for devoice. Because of the work done for her by Karl�s office they were able to settle out of work for an undisclosed sum.

When Diane was fifteen her life changed; while at a recruiting party for UCLA she found herself swept into a world of intrigue. A mathematician by the name of Albrecht Lancing was giving a symposium on probability manipulation and the human GNOME. Attacked by assassins from GEO, Albrecht found himself without guards and fatally wounded. With no one else to confide in he shared the prototype serum with Diane and begged her to get it to his contact within the CIA.

Narrowly escaping the campus alive, Diane found herself alone on the streets of LA. From there she made her way to Olympia, Washington for her rendezvoused with Albrecht�s contact. Betrayed she was forced to consume the serum to avoid it falling into the hands of GEO. She found herself transformed, stronger, and more agile, her consciousness expanding to the point her presence could expand even infect the minds of others.

Using her newly devolved powers she was able to escape again even locating a safe house and contact. Extracting samples of her blood the agency was only a recreate a rough version of the Albrecht serum. Six years later Diane had become one of the youngest covert operatives working for the CIA. Seven years after that and an affair with a British operative Diane was done.

The world was changing and the organization was changing with it. No longer confident with the intentions of the agency Diane arranged to go private. Although she has had to disavow her contacts with the CIA she is still open for contracts so long as they pass her scrutiny.


Personalilty: Tired of the endless internal deceptions Diane has grown cold but still wants to serve her country. Sometimes helping local authorities she often uses the name Emma Keating or Freeborn for the spandex types with local affairs.

Quote:

Tactics: The GNOME Manipulation Serum has given Freeborn expanded mental capacities. Allowing her to control the minds of others many often awed by her shear force of personality. Through her years with the CIA she has devolved a passive ability to mask her identity with her Psionic powers. In addition to her potent mental abilities Freeborn uses several additional devices including Nightvision Goggles and web grenades as well as a skin tight armor weave. Finally, a contact at the CIA has continued to supply Freeborn with capsules of the GM Serum X2 to help facilitate her freelance work.

Campaign Use:
Portrait
Disadvantages Pts.
Social Limitation: Secret Identity (Many Enemies) Frequently (11-), Severe 20

Social Limitation: Subject to Orders Very Frequently (14-), Major 20

Psychological Limitation: Stubborn (Common, Strong) 15

Social Limitation: Honor among Thieves (Frequently, Severe, Not Limiting In Some Cultures) 15

Hunted: CIA 14- (Mo Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching) 25

Hunted: G.E.O. 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 10

Hunted: G.E.M. 8- (As Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 15

Rivalry: Professional (Deekin Shaw, English Super Spy; Rival is As Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry) 5

Dependence: Alcohol Powers Gain 11- Activation Roll (Easy To Obtain, 1 Hour) 10

Distinctive Features: Extremely Attractive (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 5

Reputation: "Retired" CIA Spy (Known within the Intelligence Community), 14- (Known Only To A Small Group) 10

Skills: 55 Perks: 8
Talents: 0 Powers: 101

Base Points: 200
Disadvantages: 150
Unspent Exp: 0
Spent Exp: 0
Total: 350

[JmOz]

I bring forth a link

http://www.herogames.com/FreeStuff/dharchives/presense.htm

[Grimble]

Nice build. I'd let this character into my group. I don't think the concept of a PRE brick is too different from any other CHAR based hero. Everyone goes for STR or DEX in their hero build. I like the change to a more subtle hero. She would be very useful to any group.

Grimble

[Kenn]

I believe the proper term for this archetype is a contraction of the term PRE brick: PR'rick.

[Hermit]

I've used these guys as NPCs, never had a Player who wanted to use one. It's similar to having a high powered mind controller on the team; sometimes he'll be insanely effective, sometimes he'll be useless.

Ultimate Skill, with its expanded rules on Interaction skills, is very useful for running this type of character.

He'll be the bane of agents and ordinary human foils unless the GM intentionally nerfs him; against super-villains, he's probably not going to be as useful as a similarly built brick.

I always wanted to play one, but I admit it was usually something like 'Godly brick with Str AND PRE out the wazoo"

[OddHat]

I always wanted to play one, but I admit it was usually something like 'Godly brick with Str AND PRE out the wazoo"

The character Venus in my New Pantheon Dundracon convention game pretty much followed that build. She was pretty effective played by rjcurrie. Distracted the big bad with a PRE attack at a key moment, allowing the other pcs to get their shots in.

[Silbeg]

Seems like a pretty straight-forward template to me. Maybe not to the 50+ PRE, but I have always argued to my players that their characters should have more PRE... especially the Big Strong Bricks.

Cracks me up when the monstrous nasty looking brick (who frightens animals and small children) with a 15 PRE... I mean, really!!!

[Cancer]

He's also meat against indirect fire. I gather that's a rare enough thing in most games that's not an issue, but if there's even cotton balls soaked in sleepy gas fluid being lobbed by mooks from a couple blocks away ...

[Roter Baron]

What do you think of FACE/ PRrick from a playability point of view? I think it is all out if PRE really is the "attacking" power like STR is for a BRICK: Brick punches, agent goes down - other players are hooraying. FACE PRE-attacks, agents go packing or stand around doing nothing but wetting their uniforms - other players get bored after a dozen soliloquies and punching up the 0 DCV enemies. And if it doesn't work it's a wayste of dice rolling.

Don't get me wrong: I like high PRE characters and PRE atacks, but I think it gets stale fast if thet is the main power.

[Jaxom]

I thought about this one for a while about 4 months ago and I ran into a problem so I will ask here and see if anyone can come up with a solution for me...

If you build a PRick, what attacks do you make? "Hold it right there!" is good enough to buy you a phase or two. "You have to go through me to get to them!" is another one that is good for the genre. Obviously this is gonna be situational, but what else can you think of ahead of time that you would expect to be in your arsenal?

The reason I ask is because when I thought about building a PRick to join an existing group it dawned on me that "You have to go through me to get to them" was a death sentence... The opposition we typically faced would be able to down even a campaign-limit brick in a phase or two if they actually concentrated on him (as he just asked them to). It dawned on me that I either failed my PRE attacks, in which case I was a failure at my main schtick, or I succeeded, in which case I was lying on the floor a few segments later. Now, maybe that was enough time for my team to win but I didn't think I wanted to play the hero who always got the same line in the interviews... "I dunno what happened after that as they all ganged up on me and I was over lying on the ground."

[Roter Baron]

Hmmm, I always thought that it was best to "strike terror into the hearts of evil-doers, law-breakers and criminals" with a heroic PRE-Attack and not to invite them to steamroll over you.

I think if you want to give your team a phase or two without becoming Captain K.O. - The Superhuman Punching-Bag you should go along the lines of fear and terror:

"Don't DARE to even try it! You won't even have time to regret it if you mess with me ...!"

"In the name of Justice: Drop your weapons - NOW!" (okay less terror, more melodrama)

"Resistance is useless! Submit to my command - or else ..."

"Let the woman/man/intelligent ape of Omega 9 go - or enter a world of pain!"

Or more humouresc:
"Drop it or Mr. Fist will show you the way to Knockoutistan!" (good, if the team's Brick nome de guerre is Mr. Fist ...)

That's for starters. Any PRick should be able to work with that that and be able to at least retell the gist of the ensueing slugfest more or less as a firts-hand-report without major parts missing ...

[jkwleisemann]

My personal favorite, for the PRE-brick (I still prefer the Face, myself....):

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you do, my friends are likely to become very cross with you."

*indicate the rest of the team*

Of course, as pointed out early on, he's going to have a hard time of handling any "real" villains. The biggest problem isn't so much that they're going to resist his PRE attack entirely - it's just that they probably won't be affected for long.

Another factor to consider in balancing him: PRE (Only for Defense) is a mere -1, and I'd consider giving most *super*villains at least 10 points of it, myself. After all, unless they're notoriously weak-spined, the super-villains shouldn't be doing more than looking over and going "Look! It's Impressive Man!" even in the face of the strongest PRE attacks.

Hmm....

What would you rate "Only for Defense: Cannot reduce PRE attack below +10 (or +0) Level of Effect"?

[Roter Baron]

For that one you would get another -1/4 - and a smack on the back of your head for making things unneccessarily complicated! :D

[jkwleisemann]

Not if you were the GM. :p The players aren't likely to smack you upside the head for your own treatment of the NPC's. ;)

[jkwleisemann]

My own efforts to create a character suitable for this... The Face, an ex-televangelist who caught his sister with her fingers in the donation box and eventually decided to help people on a more personal level.

Aside from his PRE-based abilities, he's fairly weak in a fight (as he should be, given the concept). In particular, if somebody beats his PRE roll to activate his Force Field, he's in deep, deep trouble.


The Face - Albert Johnson

VAL CHA Cost Total Roll Notes
15 STR 5 15 12- HTH Damage 3d6 END [1]
18 DEX 24 18 13- OCV 6 DCV 6
14 CON 8 14 12-
13 BODY 6 13 12-
19 INT 9 19 13- PER Roll 13-
17 EGO 14 17 12- ECV: 6
20 PRE 10 20/45 13- / 18- PRE Attack: 4d6 / 9d6
16 COM 3 16 12-
8 PD 5 8/22 8/22 PD (0/11 rPD)
6 ED 3 6/20 6/20 ED (0/11 rED)
4 SPD 12 4 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12
10 REC 8 10
36 END 4 36
40 STUN 12 40
8 RUN 4 8" END [2]
5 SWIM 3 5" END [1]
5 LEAP 2 5" 5" forward, 2 1/2" upward

CHA Cost: 132

Cost POWERS
10 Armored Costume: (Total: 15 Active Cost, 10 Real Cost) Armor (3 PD/3 ED) (9 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 6) plus +3 PD (3 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 2) plus +3 ED (3 Active Points); OIF (-1/2) (Real Cost: 2) - END=0
3 Strong Willed: Mental Defense (12 points total) - END=0
- END=
20 The Face's Confidence: +25 PRE (25 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4) - END=
12 Don't Mess with Me I: +3 with DCV (15 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4) [Notes: Opponents can't really attack The Face as surely as they would other opponents.] - END=
10 Force of Personality: Elemental Control, 44-point powers, (22 Active Points); all slots Requires A PRE Roll (RSR Skill is subject to Skill vs. Skill contests; -1), Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4) [Notes: His Force of Personality Powers all (currently) rely on the confidence and attitude he has as The Face; he cannot use them as Al Johnson mostly because Al Johnson, Former Televangelist just doesn't have the same "power" behind him.] - END=
9 1) I've a stronger mind than you think!: Absorption 6d6 (Mental, PRE/EGO), PRE/EGO Simultaneously (+1/2) (45 Active Points); Requires A PRE Roll (RSR Skill is subject to Skill vs. Skill contests; -1), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4), Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4) - END=4
12 2) Do you have *any* idea who I am?: Transfer 1d6 (PRE to PRE), Can Transfer Maximum Of 15 Points, Ranged (+1/2), Based On EGO Combat Value (Mental Defense applies; +1) (49 Active Points); Requires A PRE Roll (RSR Skill is subject to Skill vs. Skill contests; -1), Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4) - END=5
10 3) Don't Mess with Me II: Force Field (8 PD/8 ED/6 Mental Defense/4 Power Defense) (Protect Carried Items), Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4) (45 Active Points); Requires A PRE Roll (RSR Skill is subject to Skill vs. Skill contests; -1), Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4) [Notes: Even when they can bring themselves to hit him, they're hard pressed to hit him as hard as they would somebody else.] - END=4
- END=
22 Battle-Staff: Multipower, 45-point reserve, (45 Active Points); all slots OAF (-1) - END=
1u 1) Collapsible Staff: Stretching 2", Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (15 Active Points); OAF (-1), Always Direct (-1/4), no Noncombat Stretching (-1/4) - END=0
1u 2) Combat Staff: Hand-To-Hand Attack +4d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (30 Active Points); OAF (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) - END=0
2u 3) Built-In Blaster: Energy Blast 9d6, 16 Charges (+0) (45 Active Points); OAF (-1) - END=[16]

POWERS Cost: 112

Cost MARTIAL ARTS
4 Atemi Strike: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, 2d6 NND
4 Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort
4 Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 25 STR to Disarm roll
4 Knifehand Strike ("Chop"): 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +0 DCV, HKA 1d6 +1
3 Legsweep: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 4d6 Strike, Target Falls
4 Punch/Snap Kick: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 5d6 Strike
5 Side/Spin Kick: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 7d6 Strike
1 Weapon Element: Staffs

MARTIAL ARTS Cost: 29

Cost SKILLS
3 WF: Handguns, Particle Guns, Staffs

3 Scholar
2 1) KS: Christianity (3 Active Points) 13-
1 2) KS: Gangs (2 Active Points) 11-
1 3) KS: Karate (2 Active Points) 11-
2 4) KS: Religion (3 Active Points) 13-

Master of Interaction
3 1) Acting 13- (18-)
3 2) Bribery 13- (18-)
3 3) Bureaucratics 13- (18-)
3 4) Conversation 13- (18-)
3 5) Disguise 13-
3 6) High Society 13- (18-)
3 7) Interrogation 13- (18-)
3 8) Oratory 13- (18-)
3 9) Persuasion 13- (18-)
3 10) Seduction 13- (18-)
1 11) Streetwise 8-

More than a Pretty Face
3 1) Acrobatics 13-
3 2) Breakfall 13-
3 3) Concealment 13-
3 4) Sleight Of Hand 13-

Everyman Skills
0 1) AK: Campaign City 8-
0 2) Climbing 8-
0 3) Deduction 8-
0 4) Native Language: English (idiomatic; Literate) (4 Active Points)
0 5) Paramedics 8-
0 6) PS: Preacher (Everyman Skill) (Custom Adder) 11-
0 7) Shadowing 8-
0 8) Stealth 8-
0 9) TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles (Custom Adder)

SKILLS Cost: 55

Cost PERKS
1 Reputation: The Face: Badass Superhero (A small to medium sized group) 8-, +1/+1d6 [Notes: Plans for advancement: Alternate improving recognition, recognition roll, and dice of effect, in that order. He is currently recognized by people in his general patrol area (a bad part of town called The Hollows).]
1 Money: Well Off

PERKS Cost: 2

Cost TALENTS
20 Universal Contact 11- [Notes: Ultimate Skill]

TALENTS Cost: 20
Value DISADVANTAGES
15 Dependence: Painkillers (old injuries and, increasingly, recent ones leave him in near-constant pain) Incompetence: -1 to Skill Rolls and related rolls per time increment (Easy To Obtain, Addiction)

15 Dependent NPC: Tonya Johnson, Wife 11- (Normal)

15 Hunted: Papparazzi/Reporters 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)

5 Reputation: Father Al Johnson; Televangelist who scammed sweet little old ladies., 8- (Extreme; Known Only To A Small Group)

15 Psychological Limitation: Code vs Killing (Common, Strong)
25 Psychological Limitation: Selfless (Very Common, Total)
10 Psychological Limitation: Must keep up The Face's "image" (Uncommon, Strong)
10 Psychological Limitation: Sucker For A Sob Story (Uncommon, Strong)

15 Social Limitation: Secret ID (Frequently, Major)
10 Social Limitation: Biggest Fan (Frequently, Minor)
15 Social Limitation: Stalker (Frequently, Major)

DISADVANTAGES Points: 150

Base Pts: 200
Exp Required: 0
Total Exp Available: 0
Exp Unspent: 0
Total Character Cost: 350

Background: Once upon a time, Al Johnson was a popular, well-known televangelist. Unfortunately, that all ended when his sister was caught embezzling from the donations. While many people believed he had *something* to do with it, his wife was right - nobody blamed him as much as he did. While he'd been duped as well, the fact that it was his own sister who'd done the duping left him feeling intensely guilty about his perceived role. He should have known, should have stopped her... should have done something differently.

He retired from television, taking his efforts to the streets. Unfortunately, he chose to do so in some of the worst neighborhoods out there, and often ended up with a beating for his efforts. The savings he and his wife had from "Father Albert" were sufficient for them to live on, so money wasn't an issue, but Tonya was more than a little unhappy to see her husband as miserable as she knew he was. That was why he started working on the Suit, and teaching himself how to fight, eventually commissioning the Toymaker to actually make his suit and weapons.

Now, he's taken the message back to the streets.

But the message has a bit less to do with universal forgiveness than with reassurance that the innocent haven't been forgotten.

Personality: Al dislikes fighting, making his current career as a superhero a little counter-intuitive. But he knows that The Face has one thing going for him that Al Johnson, Former Televangelist didn't: the spirit to use his full force of personality again. After finding out that his sister was embezzling from his church, Al blamed himself and his gift for persuasion for giving her the chance. Further, the fact that more than a few other people believed he *had* to be in on it added to the general decrease in his pull. He still has a strong personality, but not the nigh-on supernatural influence that he used to.

As The Face... he can change that. He can ignore what the past few years did to his self-confidence. He has the perfect mix of compassion, skill, and arrogance to make people believe that he's a good person... and that his confidence in his own superiority is justified.

Tonya's glad to see that he's doing something with his talents again... but she's not entirely sure about the fact that what he's doing has the potential to get him killed. More seriously, his forays back into public life as The Face have brought him a couple of additional nuisances; specifically, a fan by the name of Brad Mallion who longs to find out who it is behind that mask, reporters trying to get a shot of the increasingly well-known (and well-spoken) superhero, and an anonymous fan who writes him letters that are getting increasingly disturbing as time goes by....

Quote: "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way." *flips his battle-staff open* "The easy way means you don't go to the hospital."

Powers/Tactics: As stated above, Al *hates* having to fight. Given his druthers, every fight would end with the bad guys surrendering peacefully... and a good number of them do, to be fair. He has a Presence on roughly the same scale as most Brick's STR, and is adept at using it, as well as other tricks that make him even more imposing.

When PRE Attacks don't do the trick, he can fall back on some basic martial arts training and his Battle-Staff. Unfortunately, he knows that his growing reputation as a *successful* superhero precludes running away from a fight in all but the most dire circumstances, so retreat is one of the last things on his mind, even when obviously outclassed... it's not so much overconfidence as knowing that, more than most heroes, he *needs* to be feared and respected in order to have any positive impact.

Appearance: Al Johnson is a tall, well-built man with brown hair and hazel eyes. He keeps in good shape, and has a kind, handsome face that helps put people at ease around him.

As The Face, his posture improves and, more importantly, he adopts an entirely different attitude. He *can* be kind, but he usually reserves that friendly smile for the press or innocent bystanders. With the crooks he fights, every part of his appearance and attitude is calculated to say "I am going to hand you your tail on a silver platter if you make me, but you're really not worth the effort." His costume is a tight, navy-blue body-suit, padded and armored both to protect him and to make him look more imposing, with gold trim, boots, and gloves. He conceals his face with a mask that covers everything from the nose up.

[Jaxom]

Ok, ok... I wasn't looking for wording, per se... I'm plenty wiseass myself and can easily come up with a bunch but like Roter Baron, I could only really come up with things to "stop" them or things to make them focus on me. Both of these are eminently sensible for the genre and I have no complaints about them.

What I am looking for is *other* good PRick tricks. In rare circumstances I can imagine a "let's you and him fight" but that'd be few and far between.

See, this is a 30-40 point power (40-50 points of raw PRE)... I don't want this to be something that is used once per fight... If we're gonna make this *the* trademark, then it should be something that happens at least every other action. The problem is with it becoming less powerful the more often you use it (unless someone can suggest a value for PRE - Only to offset repeated use penalties).

[OddHat]

All kinds of tricks, really.

My Imperium Romanum thread in the Fantasy Hero forum has a few simple Summons usable as PRE tricks, from always being able to find a friend to always being able to raise an angry mob when you need one.

EGO Attack and any number of Drains can be justified as PRE tricks; make fun of the bad guy and watch him start to screw up as he loses his confidence.

Remember the scene in Zoolander where the "Blue Steel" look stops a bullet?

Justifying a full Mentalist suite with PRE powers is easy enough. Telepathy defined as getting people to open up to you, Mental Illusions defined as incredibly convincing lies, etc.

[jkwleisemann]

Everything Oddhat says applies. As for way to use your base PRE attack (after all - the Brick has his Brick Tricks, but he still uses plain vanilla punches a lot....)

"Stop what you're doing" and "look at me" have been covered. However, there's also:

"Hey! Is that an Obvious Distraction?" - Sometimes, it's not so much important that they stop doing something - it's important that they don't look at one particular person. For this character, "is your shoelace untied?" can actually work.

"Hold still" - even if you don't make them surrender, you should be able to ding their DCV significantly by just making them stop where they are. Also known as the Billy Jack Trick ("I'm going to take this left foot... kick you on the right side of your face... and there's nothing you can do to stop me!")

"Release the kitten, Crusher!" - When you need to get a hostage turned loose, it's a *lot* easier on the hostage to talk the guy into letting go than to shoot them in the knee (that trick is reserved for no PRE hacks like Keanu Reeves....)

"C'mon guys, we can take 'em!" - I'd be fine with allowing various bonuses to your allies with a large enough PRE attack - say, maybe a few phases with +1/+2 OCV or DCV bonuses, something like that? An extra DC reflected by the confidence to smack 'em around harder? Make it commensurate with the penalties by a typical PRE attack, and I wouldn't even charge points for it, honestly. Just remember that the baddies can do the same thing.

As for keeping them effective... this is where you want to be picky.

For example, I'd say that the "Surrender or we'll kick your butts" ploy could be a Persuasion roll instead of a PRE attack - saves you one mass PRE attack right there. From there on... remember that it's successive PRE attacks *against the same target.* If you spread them out, you can set guys up for attacks by your less accurate allies (like the OCV/DCV 4 Party Brick) and then move along to the next one.

[The Monster]

Lots of possible powers come to mind...
-- Inspire Confidence, from the D&D Bard, is equivalent to Aid of various kinds
Aid STUN to reflect the inspiring leadership for that "one last push"
Aid PRE (of course)
???Skill Levels, usable by others???
-- Dispel Mind Control and/or Aid Mental Defense ("c'mon, snap out of it!")
-- penalty skill levels against others
And you can get a reasonable discount on all these by making them RSR, using a PRE-based roll. At PRE 40, your basic PRE skill roll is 17-, so you can even afford a few points of penalty due to Active Point cost.

Now, of course, these are powers in and of themselves, not uses of PRE per se. The problem is that, while PRE costs the same as STR, it functions rather differently. PRE affects a whole raft of skills, while STR affects almost none (Climbing, and what else?). It's almost as if the two stats are functional opposites: STR is really useful in combat, but rarely useful otherwise; PRE is rarely all that useful in combat, but very useful in any noncombat encounter.

[jkwleisemann]

But, at the same time, you don't get *nearly* the Figured Characteristics you do from STR.

Going by standard system rules:

+5 PRE = +1d6 PRE attack, +1 to Bribery, Bureaucracy, Acting, Streetwise, Oratory, Persuasion, Interrogation, Conversation, High Society, Animal Handler, Seduction, Trading.

Now, that *does* mean that you get... 24 points of "freebie" skill levels for your 5 points in PRE, but you have to invest a minimum of 36 points in the basic skills to get those. Also, if the GM slaps a Normal Skill Maxima rule on the campaign, you rapidly reach the point where It Doesn't Matter.

Still, it *is* a factor to consider.

For +5 STR, however, you get....

+1d6 Damage, +1 Leaping, +3 STUN, +1 PD, +1 REC, +1 to Climbing, doubled lifting capacity, improved throwing range...

So for an investment of three points (for Climbing), you're pulling down 9 points of pure freebies outside of your raw STR. Also, unlike your benefits for improved PRE, you could actually sell back all the bonuses from your STR and *get points back* from buying it up in the first place.

Not trying to resurrect the "STR is too cheap!" argument here... just pointing out that it's not really all that insanely unbalanced to buy up your PRE.

Particularly not since a lot of those skills you *get* for PRE are typically only useful once in a very rare while in most Champions games (Trading... Animal Handling, others depending on tone of game).

But, yeah, it's basically the flipside of STR in terms of combat-vs-non-combat effectiveness.

[FenrisUlf]

Seems like a pretty straight-forward template to me. Maybe not to the 50+ PRE, but I have always argued to my players that their characters should have more PRE... especially the Big Strong Bricks.

Cracks me up when the monstrous nasty looking brick (who frightens animals and small children) with a 15 PRE... I mean, really!!!

Same here. I feel that a superhero (or villain) should have a PRE of at least 18-20; if you're willing to go toe-to-toe with people capable of knocking holes through mountains or handing twenty agents their heads in HtH combat all at once, then 'lack of confidence' is unlikely to be a problem.

[AmadanNaBriona]

+1d6 Damage, +1 Leaping, +3 STUN, +1 PD, +1 REC, +1 to Climbing, doubled lifting capacity, improved throwing range...

So for an investment of three points (for Climbing), you're pulling down 9 points of pure freebies outside of your raw STR. Also, unlike your benefits for improved PRE, you could actually sell back all the bonuses from your STR and *get points back* from buying it up in the first place.



*psssst*
*climbing isn't based on STR anymore. Hasn't been for a while*