Jump to content

Help with Generic Heros


JmOz

Recommended Posts

I am working on a group of generic heroes for my website.  Each character is tied to a traditional hero type that we have seen over and over again.  One goal for the group has been that they are mechanicaly simple characters that capture a feel for a type of character.  Right now I have Brick, Brain (a mentalist), Blast, "Cape", and Brawl

 

The last two characters have been giving me a bit of a problem

 

First "Cape": Sounds stupid, but all of the others have names starting with "B" I would like to keep that going...He is basically Batman (Yes the irony is not lost on me)...I am also not overly happy with some of his belt items (They are a little more complicated than I wanted)

 

Second: Brawl.  I have 20 points of complications to fill: Have Hunted (25 points), Secret ID (15), and Berserk (15).  He is basically your standard Claws/Regen type...While one of the other characters have 30 points in Psyc I am trying to keep each category to 25 or less...He also has a slightly more complicated power than I like (A compound power HA w/AP & AP on strength in a MP)

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 127
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

If you're using HA AP instead of a KA, you could either put AP directly on his STR, or buy an AP Blast No Range.

|I like the claws as an AP Hand Attack. KAs are not great for Supers in 6e, but AP is finally priced at a level where it is not crippling for a primary attack. Put AP on his STR (could be Limited to match any Limitations on the claws).  I don't see the need for a Multipower.  I'd suggest MA maneuvers as well, but for basic characters, maybe some HTH Combat Skill Levels instead.

 

If you give him a personality, 20 points of Psych Lims should do it.  A Code of Honour seems reasonable.  Or a feral, animalistic mindset.  If he's carrying an enhanced senses suite, a related Vulnerability or Susceptibility could make sense.

 

As for the belt, removing the niche modifiers seems the obvious answer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you looked at the Superhero Gallery from Champions​ (243-287), and the ​Expanded Superhero Gallery​ (available as a PDF from the Hero Games Store)? If nothing else they might provide some inspiration and guidelines for your own work.

 

The Superheroes from the Galleries are extremely simple 400 point, multiple-choice templates. Each Gallery entry includes three Characteristic sets, a couple of options for Attacks (usually including a Multipower that you choose a 3-5 slots for from a pregenerated list of about 10 options), suites of Defense, Movement, and Utility powers, several skillsets, and three suites of Complications appropriate to the concept. The beginning of the section also has a collection of generic equipment, skillsets, and complications you can use to fill out a character with if you have points left over (usually because something from the gallery entry didn't appeal to you). Between the two Galleries they cover almost every Superhero Pastiche you could ever want to build.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

|I like the claws as an AP Hand Attack. KAs are not great for Supers in 6e, but AP is finally priced at a level where it is not crippling for a primary attack. Put AP on his STR (could be Limited to match any Limitations on the claws).  I don't see the need for a Multipower.  I'd suggest MA maneuvers as well, but for basic characters, maybe some HTH Combat Skill Levels instead.

 

If you give him a personality, 20 points of Psych Lims should do it.  A Code of Honour seems reasonable.  Or a feral, animalistic mindset.  If he's carrying an enhanced senses suite, a related Vulnerability or Susceptibility could make sense.

 

As for the belt, removing the niche modifiers seems the obvious answer.

 

 

 

Slot 1: HKA Penetrating

Slot 2: HA AP / AP on Str

Slot 3: Clinging

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we're just looking for a basic character build, does he need the KA? An AP Hand Attack is going to be pretty effective carving through objects anyway as very few are Hardened. Some skill with Climbing could replace the Clinging.

 

The more we add versatile niche powers, the less "basic" the characters become, which is likely why the "gadget for every occasion" character feels like the least "basic".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Valid  point.  I have not shyed from MP's in the builds (4 of 5 have them)...maybe I should reexamine that.  While definatly needed for Belt & Brain,  I could drop Blast and Brawl to not having one and simplify Brain's

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reexamining Blast's MP.  Do you think Variable advantage would be to complicated for the goal of "easy to run" characters.  +1/2 level (so +1/4 advantage).  The power has reduced END on it already at 1/2 level so a list of: AP, AE, 0 END, Var F/X (color), and 1/2 range mods.  Would allow for the complete ditching of the MP with very little loss (no Flash or RKA)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unless the Variable Advantages are chosen from a limited list, yes I think it is too complicated for and easy-to-run character. New players are likely to suffer Analysis Paralysis as they try to figure out what they can and can't put on it; bearing in mind the new player won't have the encyclopedic knowledge of modifiers and their values that an experienced Herophile does. You should avoid Variable anything with new players (Variable Special Effects, Variable Advantage, Variable Limitation, Variable Power Pool, etc); they are all basically mental-traps that new players will fall into.

 

Besides allowing for powers other than Blast and trading dice of effect for higher value advantages, the Multipower is also superior for playability because it clearly delineates all of the players options without referencing anything but their character sheet. In this case, having 3-5 clearly defined options that require more page space is far superior than having a shorter variable power with an undefined number of permutations that requires actual system mastery to comprehend.

 

I wouldn't worry about Multipower Reserves being too complicated, the concept is generally very simple. Unless you get into a bunch of Variable Slot shenanigans, which again, you should be avoiding anything "Variable" for the moment. Almost every single one of the thirty-something Superhero Gallery entries uses a Multipower Reserve, they are simply an assumed part of the 'standard superhero' format.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The MP would be a much cleaner way to do the Variable Advantage, IMO.  Easier to present the new player what the differences are and why/when to use one over the other.  Cutting Beam, Wide Beam, Low Power Beam, Vari-Beam, Sniper Beam...

 

Chris.

 

And not too many of those options, IMHO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd definitely go with a Psych Lim for Brawl. Particularly one that might help pull him out of his Berserk under certain dramatic circumstances. 20 points is just right. Protects Innocents?

 

I doubt I would bother giving him an MP, unless it's something very basic. Perhaps a non-Armour Piercing HA as an alternative to his AP one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does Brawl actually need AP on his Strength? Couldn't you just buy AP on his HA, and adjust the DCs from his STR accordingly?

 

So you would end up with something like:

4D6, AP (8D6, AP with Strength).

 

Of course that would imply 25 Str, but I don't really see that as a problem for generic Brawl.

 

(or am I half-remembering rules?)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jmoz are you using 6th or CC? I ask because CC doesn't go into advantages on HA and STR work. For my own game using CC, I am just going to put an independent advantage on STR and call it a day. And if I ever posted a character like this I would note the why I did it that way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...