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Liv Moore from iZombie?


Joe Walsh

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How would you create a character like Liv Moore from iZombie?  Eating brains gives her some of the memories of the person whose brain she ate, and also some random personality traits and/or skills that the person had. What she gets isn't under her control, so it would be up to the GM. Some of what she gets is helpful, some cause complications (typically, she gets one good and one bad trait per brain). The effects seem to last only until she eats another brain.

 

Would you just handle that off-character-sheet (that is, don't bother with CP), or would you use a VPP with the limitation "Character Has No Choice Regarding How Powers Change," or some other method?

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The visions are the easy part: Uncontrolled Postcognitive Clairsentience.  The skills she picks up are trickier but I'd probably do that as a combination of an Uncontrolled Skill VPP and Overall Skill Levels.  Both would be fueled by the same 24+ charge recovered by eating brains.  I'd also give her a "floating" Psychological Complication or two to handle the negative quirks she picks up.

 

Alternatively I might do a small Uncontrolled Multiform that only affects her skills and complications that's linked to the visions.

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Hmm

 

Ok powers

 

13  points

Visions:  Retrocognitive Clairsentience (Sight And Hearing Groups), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (75 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2), Precognition/Retrocognition Only (-1), Concentration (0 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -3/4), Only Through The Senses Of Others (-1/2), Limited Power Power loses about a fourth of its effectiveness (Only from the Most recent Brain; -1/4), Visible (-1/4)

 

34 points

Skills of the dead:  Variable Power Pool, 30 base + 4 control cost,  (45 Active Points); Character Has No Choice Regarding When Or How Powers Change (-1); all slots No Conscious Control (-2)

 

19 points

I A already dead!:  Healing 2 BODY, Resurrection, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (80 Active Points); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Turn (Post-Segment 12) (-1 1/4), Self Only (-1/2)

 

47 Points

Full On zombie Mode:  (Total: 55 Active Cost, 47 Real Cost) +15 STR (Real Cost: 15) <b>plus</b> +20 CON (40 Active Points); Nonpersistent (-1/4) (Real Cost: 32)

 

and limitations

 

25 Psychological Limitation:  Takes on personality traits of Last meal (Very Common, Total)

 

25 Going Full Zombie Mode:  Berserk when attacked or wounded (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 11-

 

35 Zombie Hunger:  Berserk going without brains for more than a few days (Very Common), go 14-, recover 14-

 

5 Distinctive Features:  Very Pale skin and bleach white hair (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

 

20 Distinctive Features:  Undead physiology (Not Concealable; Extreme Reaction; Detectable By Simple Tests)

 

5 Dependence:  Human brains -30 Active Points from Affected Power (Difficult To Obtain, 1 Week)

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I'm not familiar with the character, but I'll try.

 

In a point-based game, you want to be careful that when you're trying to model a specific effect, that you don't accidentally make it more expensive than it is worth.  If you are spending 50+ points on skills, you're probably not getting nearly enough utility out of it.  At that point, you could almost buy all the skills you could ever need outright and have them all the time.

 

I'd go with something like (in 5th ed):

 

KS:  Stuff the person whose brain I just ate knew

Cramming

3 Overall skill levels, no conscious control

 

So you're looking at spending 18 points, to get a "skill of the week" ability at 11- (8- for Cramming, boosted to 11- w/ the levels) as well as having Int roll level knowledge of the person's life, family, personal stuff.  For every extra level of Cramming, you get an extra skill the person knew.  Alternatively, you could buy every skill you might need, and put a no conscious control limitation on it.  That might be cheaper.

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Hmm

 

Ok powers

 

13  points

Visions:  Retrocognitive Clairsentience (Sight And Hearing Groups), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (75 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2), Precognition/Retrocognition Only (-1), Concentration (0 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -3/4), Only Through The Senses Of Others (-1/2), Limited Power Power loses about a fourth of its effectiveness (Only from the Most recent Brain; -1/4), Visible (-1/4)

 

34 points

Skills of the dead:  Variable Power Pool, 30 base + 4 control cost,  (45 Active Points); Character Has No Choice Regarding When Or How Powers Change (-1); all slots No Conscious Control (-2)

 

19 points

I A already dead!:  Healing 2 BODY, Resurrection, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (80 Active Points); Extra Time (Regeneration-Only) 1 Turn (Post-Segment 12) (-1 1/4), Self Only (-1/2)

 

47 Points

Full On zombie Mode:  (Total: 55 Active Cost, 47 Real Cost) +15 STR (Real Cost: 15) <b>plus</b> +20 CON (40 Active Points); Nonpersistent (-1/4) (Real Cost: 32)

 

and limitations

 

25 Psychological Limitation:  Takes on personality traits of Last meal (Very Common, Total)

 

25 Going Full Zombie Mode:  Berserk when attacked or wounded (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 11-

 

35 Zombie Hunger:  Berserk going without brains for more than a few days (Very Common), go 14-, recover 14-

 

5 Distinctive Features:  Very Pale skin and bleach white hair (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

 

20 Distinctive Features:  Undead physiology (Not Concealable; Extreme Reaction; Detectable By Simple Tests)

 

5 Dependence:  Human brains -30 Active Points from Affected Power (Difficult To Obtain, 1 Week)

 

 

Nice build, freakboy!  You're obviously familiar with the series. :)

I'm not sure if it was your intent, but I believe they've established loss of intelligence as a side-effect of not eating brains (like happened to the zombie in the pit). Hard to model that precisely, unless Zombie Einstein would have ended up with an Int 10 after eating no brains for a month. I'm guessing they probably intend for them all to end up with the equivalent of Int 1 or 2. What do you think?

 

 

I'm not familiar with the character, but I'll try.

 

In a point-based game, you want to be careful that when you're trying to model a specific effect, that you don't accidentally make it more expensive than it is worth.  If you are spending 50+ points on skills, you're probably not getting nearly enough utility out of it.  At that point, you could almost buy all the skills you could ever need outright and have them all the time.

 

I'd go with something like (in 5th ed):

 

KS:  Stuff the person whose brain I just ate knew

Cramming

3 Overall skill levels, no conscious control

 

So you're looking at spending 18 points, to get a "skill of the week" ability at 11- (8- for Cramming, boosted to 11- w/ the levels) as well as having Int roll level knowledge of the person's life, family, personal stuff.  For every extra level of Cramming, you get an extra skill the person knew.  Alternatively, you could buy every skill you might need, and put a no conscious control limitation on it.  That might be cheaper.

 

That's a clever take on it, Massey. I hadn't thought at all of going in that direction!

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Nice build, freakboy!  You're obviously familiar with the series. :)

I'm not sure if it was your intent, but I believe they've established loss of intelligence as a side-effect of not eating brains (like happened to the zombie in the pit). Hard to model that precisely, unless Zombie Einstein would have ended up with an Int 10 after eating no brains for a month. I'm guessing they probably intend for them all to end up with the equivalent of Int 1 or 2. What do you think?

 

I don't have my books with me, but I think there's an option with Dependence that covers things like this (a -1 to X every Y hours without fulfilling the need).

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You could link the clairsentience power and overall skill together as one power and then slap on a collective side effects limitation to cover the personality trait change. One benefit of this is that if the victims personality wasn't that far off but they had some other kind of lim, ot is easy and reasonable to change the type of side effect to match the situation. But that is coming from someone with no knowledge of the show.

 

La Rose.

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I'd go with Clairsentience, retrocognition, NCC and a few miscellaneous other limitations, such as Side Effect (discovered as a cannibal), and Side Effect Negative Trait for the memories of the ingested, and simple Transfer Skills, same limitations.. since the skill can only come from someone who has the skill, this fits within the restrictions on skill transfer.. albeit on a technicality.

 

On the whole, freakboy pegged it.. dead on.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I believe they've established loss of intelligence as a side-effect of not eating brains (like happened to the zombie in the pit).

Not only loss of intelligence, but loss of personality. Which almost makes it wounds like some kind of Transform?

 

Don't forget Does Not Bleed (Much).

 

I'd also give her +1 SPD when in full-on zombie mode.

 

Physical Limitation: "Pretty much the only way I can taste anything is if it has at least six chili peppers next to it on a menu" probably isn't worth more than Infrequently, Barely Impairing, but it's funny.

 

And of course Contact: Ravi: useful skills & resources, etc.

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Not only loss of intelligence, but loss of personality. Which almost makes it wounds like some kind of Transform?

 

Don't forget Does Not Bleed (Much).

 

I'd also give her +1 SPD when in full-on zombie mode.

 

Physical Limitation: "Pretty much the only way I can taste anything is if it has at least six chili peppers next to it on a menu" probably isn't worth more than Infrequently, Barely Impairing, but it's funny.

 

And of course Contact: Ravi: useful skills & resources, etc.

 

Excellent points, especially about the Transform.

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oh more Disads

 

DNPC Major Lillywhite

(possibly also her family and room mate) but so far Major is the only one who has been caught up in her Zomplications

Hunted The zombie Mafia ( you could just say Blaine DeBeers as he is the main antagonist)

as an aside what is it with David Anders and Playing Immortals/Undead this has to be his 4th or 5th 

watched Seattle PD

Social Limitation Under orders (she is a civil servant and can be called upon by the police or courts) 

 

Perks Licensed MD.

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watched Seattle PD

Social Limitation Under orders (she is a civil servant and can be called upon by the police or courts)

Hmmm...this doesn't actually seem to come up on the show (at least so far), so I'm not sure I'd award points for it if I were the GM. Besides, it's not like she doesn't have enough other Comps to reach her total.

 

Speaking of, what about -- Social Complication: Harmful Secret (I'm Already Dead!), Frequently, Severe.

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