Designing Characters

[Cassandra]

This Thread will be my thoughts on designing characters.

[Cassandra]

Superman

Val Char Cost
30 STR 20
18 DEX 24
25 CON 30
12 BODY 4
13 INT 3
11 EGO 2
20 PRE 10
18 COM 5
12 PD 6
8 ED 3
4 SPD 12
15 REC 8
50 END 0
50 STUN 10
Total Characteristics Cost: 136

Cost Skills
2 CK: Metropolis 11-
1 FB: Press Pass
2 PS: Newspaper Reporter 11-
Total Skills Cost: 5

Cost Powers
24 Armor +12 rPD +8 rED, Does Not Work During Green Kryptonite or Red Solar Radiation Exposure (-1/4)
12 EC (Yellow Sun Energy)-15 Points, Does Not Work During Green Kryptonite or Red Solar Radiation Exposure (-1/4)
23 1) EB 8d6, Variable Special Effects [Heat Vision] or [Cold Breath] (-1/4), Variable Limitations [Beam Attack and No Knockback for Heat Vision] or [Must Spread Attack and Not in a Vacuum for Cold Breath] (-1/4)
10 2) Flight 10", Variable Advantages (+1/2) [Megascale, Reduced END, or Usable Underwater Only (-1/4)
13 3) STR +30, No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), 1/2 END (+1/4)
7 ES: N-Ray Sight [Not Throught Lead], Cost END (-1/2)
9 ES: Telescopic Hearing +2, Telescopic Sight +2, Ultrasonics Hearing
11 LS: Extended Breathing [1 END/Minute], High Pressure, High Radiation, Intense Cold, Intense Heat, Low Pressure/Vacuum
Total Powers Cost: 109

Total Cost: 250

150+ Disadvantages
10 DNPC: Jimmy Olsen (Normal/Useful Skills/Unaware Secret Identity) 8-
5 DNPC: Lois Lane (Normal/Useful Skills) 8-
10 Hunted: Lex Luthor (As Powerful) 8-
20 PsyL: Code Against Killing (Common/Total)
20 PsyL: Heroic (Very Common/Strong)
15 SocL: Secret Identity [Kal-El/Clark Kent] (Frequently/Major)
10 Suscept: Green Kryptonite, 1d6 STUN/Turn (Uncommon)
5 Vuln: Magic, 1 1/2x STUN (Uncommon)
5 Vuln: Red Kryptonite, 1 1/2x Effect (Uncommon)
Total Disadvantages Cost: 250


This Superman is my own concept of the character and the nature of his powers. His characterics are based on the fact that Krypton had heavier gravity then Earth, making him naturally stronger and tougher. Being in excellent physical condition only enhances his strength beyond a normal human.

Superman's skills are based on Clark Kent. I originally had more skills that reflected the character's background but they didn't enhance his abilities. I see his Newspaper Reporter skills as acting like conversation and streetwise in specific situations. They allow Superman to anticipate when trouble is coming or allow him to be on the scene before it happens with a successful roll.

Designing Superman's powers was a long evolution of trial and error. One good thing was that they were so well known, so all I had to do was find a way to simulate them economically. Here they are one by one.

1) Invulnerability: This was simulated by Armor and Life Support. The Armor is heavier toward the Physical Defense then Energy Defense which reflects Superman's concept. The Life Support allows him to survive in any environment and he can hold his breath with minimum activity for almost an hour.

2) Super Strength: Superman can lift 1.6t with his characteristic STR alone, and adding his EC (Yellow Sun Energy) it goes up to 100t. I've made this the limit of all my character designs.

3) Super Speed: Superman using Megascale Flight can reach a top speed of 7440mph.

4) Super Senses: Telescopic Hearing and Sight, Ultrasonic Hearing, and N-Ray Sight [X-Ray Vision]. The Cost END for the N-Ray Sight was a way to save points.

5) Heat Vision and Cold Breath: I used a Variable Special Effect EB to simulate both powers. The Variable Limitations were a way to save points, and reflect the nature of each power.

Regarding the Green Kryptonite/Red Solar Radiation Limitation, it's only at -1/4 because Red Solar Radiation negates the effects of Green Kryptonite. The vulnerablity to Red Kryptonite is based on the fact that it effects Superman in unpreditable ways. Transformation is the usually means of simulating it, but Entangle or Mind Control could be used as well.

All in all I'm happy with the way the Man of Steel turned out. I believe him to be playable, and to have all the options that the Superman we all know and love has.

[Hyper-Man]

Have you considered using the Totaling Options in Hero Designer to show any Limited Characteristics or Defensive Powers as a secondary stat under the Characteristic section?

example:

[Cassandra]

To Hyper-Man,

I'll use it as soon as I figure out how.

[Cassandra]

Wonder Woman

Val Char Cost
50 STR 40 [1]
18 DEX 24
25 CON 30
12 BODY 4
13 INT 3
18 EGO 16 [1]
15 PRE 5
20 COM 5 [1]
10 PD 0
10 ED 5
4 SPD 12
15 REC 0
50 END 0
50 STUN 0
Total Characteristics Cost: 144

Cost Skills [2]
2 AK: Washington, D.C. 11-
5 CSL: HTH Combat +1
2 PS: Amazon Princess 11-
2 PS: U.S. Military Intelligence Operative 11-
Total Skills Cost: 11

Cost Powers
18 Armor +10 rPD +10 rED, DEX +5 [No Figured Characteristics (-1/2)], Nonpersistent (-1/4), Restrainable (-1/2), OIF: Bracelets (-1/2) [3]
13 EB 6d6, Range Based on STR (-1/4), OAF: Tiara (-1) [4)
20 Multipower (20 Points)
2 u) Flight 10" [5]
1 u) Flight 8km, Megascale (-1/4), IIF[Bulky]: Invisible Plane (-3/4) [5]
1 u) Mind Link with Any One Mind of a Specific Group with Mind Link (-1), No LOS [6]
1 u) Running +5, 4x NCM [7]
1 u) Swimming +10", 4x NCM [7]
1 u) Transform: Instant Change [Any Clothes], Gestures (-1/4) [8]
13 LS: Extended Breathing [1 END/Turn], High Pressure, High Radiation, Intense Cold, Intense Heat, Longevity [Immortal] [9]
10 EC (Magic Lasso)-25 Points, [1c/Duration 1 Minute/Recoverable] (-1/2), OAF: Magic Lasso (-1) [10]
7 1) Mind Control 10d6, Set Effect ["Tell The Truth"] (-1/2), No Range (-1/2)
7 2) Stretching 10", Always Direct (-1/4), No Noncombat (-1/4), Only to Grab (-1)
Total Powers Cost: 94

Total Cost: 250

150+ Disadvantages
5 DNPC: Queen Hippolyta (Slightly Less Powerful) 8-
10 DNPC: Steve Trevor (Normal/Useful Skills/Unaware Secret Identity) 8-
5 DNPC: Wonder Girl [Donna Troy] (Slightly Less Powerful) 8-
5 Enraged: When Bracelets are Removed (Uncommon) 8-, Recover 14- [1]
10 PhyL: STR 25 When Bracelets are Chained Together by a Man (Infrequently/Greatly) [1]
10 Hunted: Ares (As Powerful) 8- [11]
20 PsyL: Amazon Code (Common/Total) [12]
20 PsyL: Honorable (Very Common/Strong) [12]
15 SocL: Secret Identity [Diana, Princess of Themyscira/Diana Prince] (Frequently/Major)
Total Disadvantages Cost: 250



Wonder Woman is my favorite character of all time. For those interested I even has a Wonder Woman costume.

Notes
[1] "Strength of Hercules", lost when her bracelets are chained Together by a man. This is right out of the comic book. Note that is you remove her Bracelets she doesn't lose her STR but might become Enraged. Her EGO is the Wisdom of Athena and allows her to use her Magic Lasso more effectively. Her COM is the Beauty of Aphrodite.
[2] I had to compromise on her skills a bit to save points for her characteristics and powers. CSL: HTH Combat is her Amazon Combat Training. PS: Amazon Princess allows her to know about Amazon Culture and History, the Olympians, etc.. PS: U.S. Military Intelligence Operative allows her to find out where she is needed most.
[3] My design of her Bracelets is based on the fact that she uses them not only for combat against ranged attacks, but also in hand to hand combat. Toward that end I made them Armor, with DEX +5 [No Figured Characteristics]. This simulates both her ability to avoid damage (deflecting bullets) and also the "Speed of Mercury". I originally had her bracelets as CSL: DCV +2 (same cost) but DEX is better because is can be used offensively as well as for defense, and makes her faster. The Bracelets are Nonpersistent and Restrainable, which reflects there nature (She had to be conscious and able to move her arms to use them.)
[4] The Tiara is a back up weapon. The range based on STR is a minor limitation given her STR.
[5] Wonder Woman can fly on her own. I made the Invisible Plane available for Supersonic Flight. Maximum Speed 5952mph.
[6] This is her Mental Radio ability. She can communicate with Queen Hippolyta, Steve Trevor, and Wonder Girl [Donna Troy] with No LOS.
[7] Her Running and Swimming are a combination of Amazon Training and "The Speed of Mercury".
[8] Wonder Woman seems to be able to change into any clothes. Thank you, Lynda Carter.
[9] Wonder Woman is immortal and can survive in any Earth based environment. She can hold her breath for up to ten minutes if prepared. She can not survive in space and can be caught off guard with chloroform or sleep gas (Again, thank you Lynda Carter).
[10] I made the Tiara a [1c/Duration 1 Minute/Recoverable] to avoid any END cost while she uses it. The Duration is somewhat arbitary but one minute is plenty of time in game term. Wonder Woman can do Grab damage to a target and then question them afterwards.
[11] While Wonder Woman has a large Rogue's Gallery, I think that Ares is her greatest foe. She is dedicated to fighting for peace, while he is dedicated to fighting for war.
[12] The Amazon Code is to fight fair, keep you word, help others, respect authority, use the minimum force necessary, and defend equality. Wonder Woman is also Honorable and expects that of others.

[Hyper-Man]

To Hyper-Man,

I'll use it as soon as I figure out how.

See the HDv3 screen shot I attached to my last post.

Specifically the area I circled in red.
There are 3 options from the pull down menu:


Add to Primary
Add to Secondary
Do Not Add to Totals

All of your examples appear to be using option 3.

:)

[Cassandra]

Iron Man

Val Char Cost [1]
15 STR 5
18 DEX 24
18 CON 16
11 BODY 2
18 INT 8
11 EGO 2
15 PRE 5
16 COM 3
6 PD 3
4 ED 0
4 SPD 12
7 REC 0
36 END 0
28 STUN 0
Total Characteristics Cost: 80

Cost Skills
2 Bump of Direction, OIF: Powered Armor (-1/2) [2]
3 Computer Programming 13-
3 Electronics 13-
3 High Society 13-
3 Inventor 13-
3 Mechanics 13-
15 Money: Filthy Rich
3 PS[INT]: Corporate Chief Executive Officer 13-
3 Systems Operation 13-
Total Skills Cost: 38

Cost Powers
20 Armor +12 rPD +8 rED, OIF: Powered Armor (-1/2)
40 Multipower (60 Points) OIF: Powered Armor (-1/2)
4 u) EB 12d6, [16c] (-0) [3]
4 u) EB 8d6, No Range Modifer (+1/2), [16c] (-0) [4]
4 u) EB 6d6, Double Knockback (+3/4), [32c] (+1/4) [5]
2 u) Force Field +12 rPD +8 rED, No END (+1/2) [6]
1 u) STR +20, No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), No END (+1/2) [6]
18 ES: High Range Radio Perception, Radar, OIF: Powered Armor (-1/2)
10 EC (Powered Armor)-15 Points, OIF: Powered Armor (-1/2)
9 1) Flight 10", Variable Advantages (+1/2) [Megascale, Reduced END, or Usable Underwater Only (-1/4) [7]
7 2) STR +20, No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), No END (+1/2)
13 LS: High Pressure, High Radiation, Intense Cold, Intense Heat, Low Pressure/Vacuum, Self Contained Breathing, OIF: Powered Armor (-1/2)
Total Powers Cost: 132

Total Cost: 250

150+ Disadvantages
5 DNPC: Pepper Potts (Normal/Useful Skills) 8-
5 DNPC: War Machine [Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes, USAF) (Slightly Less Powerful) 8-
15 Hunted: Iron Monger (As Powerful/NCI) 8-
20 Normal Characteristics Maxima
20 PsyL: Heroic (Very Common/Strong)
20 PsyL: Patriotic (Very Common/Strong)
15 SocL: Secret Identity [Tony Stark] (Frequently/Major)
Total Disadvantages Cost: 250



Notes
[1] Tony Stark is Athletic outside of the Armor.
[2] Navigation System.
[3] Laser.
[4] Missiles.
[5] Repulsors.
[6] The Force Field and STR can be used at the same time.
[7] Maximum Sustained Speed [END Expended in Megascale Flight Matched by Recover] is 5208mph.

I based this on the Iron Man movie version.

[Doctor Agenda]

I have a bit of a different take on Superman, not your write-up, but why Kryptonians have all of these powers: sure they need some super-strength to handle Kryptonian gravity but not THAT much, and all the rest...it must be super-advanced genetic engineering! Not just of Kryptonians, but Daxamites, too. They were probably created by related progenitors. Think aout it, individually, both species are nearly invincible with a similar array of vast super-powers. They differ mainly in their weaknesses. They are a form of biological weapon with built-in restraints and kill-switches to keep them from getting out of hand. Maybe they were meant to be proxies in some grand battle...maybe they were supposed to fight each other!

True, it's entirely speculation BUT it does add up!

[Steve]

It is my understanding from current DC continuity that Daxamites were Kryptonian colonists that left Krypton ages ago.

Wikipedia has an article on Daxam here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daxam).

[Doctor Agenda]

Darn official timeline stepping on my neat theory! At least some genetic engineering was involved that explains the Daxamites peculiar susceptibility to a common (albeit poisonous to us, too) metal, so I am content.

[Angelalex242]

You realize that version of Superman can't do his usual trick of catching a Boeing 747, right?

A Boeing 747 is 3.2 Kilotons. It weighs as much as a loaded freighter, by the way. It's STR 85 minimum to catch one of those.

Lifting up an Aircraft Carrier? That's 100 kilotons. Str 110.

Ya gotta remember exactly what Superman has been shown lifting before you put a STR total on him.

[Hyper-Man]

You realize that version of Superman can't do his usual trick of catching a Boeing 747, right?

A Boeing 747 is 3.2 Kilotons. It weighs as much as a loaded freighter, by the way. It's STR 85 minimum to catch one of those.

Lifting up an Aircraft Carrier? That's 100 kilotons. Str 110.

Ya gotta remember exactly what Superman has been shown lifting before you put a STR total on him.

What constitutes a 'usual trick' depends on what era you are referring to.

Remember that Superman couldn't even fly when he first appeared. Instead he LEAPED tall buildings with a single bound.

Cassandra has presented several low powered examples of classic characters built on extremely limited points.


If you want to examine a more modern version of Superman built on 350 points follow this link (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1714441&postcount=2).

[SuperJerry]

Superman has also been around a long time too. i.e. he's gotten lots of exp to bolster his strength up 747 scale.

[Cassandra]

Most of the time Superman is helping keep the jet up because it's lost an engine or two. So it wouldn't be dead weight.

Iron Man also helped a 747 in trouble in The Ultimate Avengers Animated movie and he is no where near as strong as Superman.

[Hyper-Man]

Most of the time Superman is helping keep the jet up because it's lost an engine or two. So it wouldn't be dead weight.

Iron Man also helped a 747 in trouble in The Ultimate Avengers Animated movie and he is no where near as strong as Superman.


A 50 STR character* with enough Flight to reach the plane's current velocity would just barely be able to account for the loss of 1 or 2 engines on a 747 assuming no damage to the plane's control surfaces.

*50 STR can lift 25,000 kg

from: http://www.meriweather.com/fd/fyi_747.html


Engine thrust has grown from 43,500 pounds (19,730 kg) per engine on the early 747s to 62,100 pounds (27,490 kg) on the current model.

So the Air Force One rescue scene from Superman: The Movie where he is just replacing a lost engine is possible. Of course the loss of just 1 engine out of 4 shouldn't be a life threating problem. I believe a 747 and most other 4 engine transatlantic capable aircraft are designed to be able to survive the loss of 1 or 2 engines (possibly even 3) in the middle of the Atlantic.

However, the space plane rescue from the 1st episode of Superman The Animated Series probably not. Same for the similar shuttle/747 scene from Superman Returns. He is shown to be having an effect on the near total mass of the planes in the process of slowing them down in both scenes.

[Kenn]

Excuse me, I have a plane to catch: +30 STR, no figured characteristics, only when trying to move very large vehicles (-1).

[assault]

Excuse me, I have a plane to catch: +30 STR, no figured characteristics, only when trying to move very large vehicles (-1).

More generally, "Only to lift".

I weaseled my 60s Teen Titans version of Wonder Girl this way. Multipower slots are cheap.

Good name for the power, BTW. Repping attempted, but impossible at the moment.

[Hyper-Man]

Excuse me, I have a plane to catch: +30 STR, no figured characteristics, only when trying to move very large vehicles (-1).

Cassandra's Superman already has a +30 STR multipower slot and Flight is part of the same multipower. While using Flight the character only has a 30 STR. Considering that the character is a tight fit as is on 250 points what would you change?

[Cassandra]

Regarding Superman

My STR +30 is in an Elemental Control in this version and he can use up to STR 60 plus flight.

I created a "Generic" Kryptonian with a multipower for their heat vision, cold breath, flight, and STR +20, a 200 point character for villains or others with simular powers, like Bizarro. You can see Bizarro in the Legion of Doom in Classic Comic Book Groups.

[Hyper-Man]

Regarding Superman

My STR +30 is in an Elemental Control in this version and he can use up to STR 60 plus flight.



Oops.

My Bad.
:ugly: