Help with creating a character

[Tech]

I'd like to create a character who uses sound powers. Oddly, I have never been creative with sound powers. Can you help out with suggestions, or a book that has suggestions? Thanks in advance. One more thought, if I went the way of 'song powers', throw suggestions out for that, too!

[GDShore]

I once created a character that used sonar to find and target opponents. I based it on enhanced sense package, and the character was called the "Dolphin".

[death tribble]

The villainess Howler has sonic powers and does one member of Eurostar so that is both book 2 and 3 of the villains. Hang on I'll take a look.

 

Champions Villains Volume 2. Ultrasonique has a variety of sonic blasts, normal, armour piercing, area effect and hearing group flash. He also has sonar and sound based senses.

 

Champions Villains Volume 3. Howler has a sonic blast and then a blast with variable advantage either plus one half or plus one. The latter could thus be affects desolid or armour piercing or both or area effect. The hearing flash is also present. She has flight via sonic powers and absorption which can increase the power of her sonic powers. She has what amounts to a force field from her sonic powers and 75% energy reduction from sonics. 

Edited June 30, 2023 by death tribble

[Doc Democracy]

Surely the key book is the UNTIL powers database?  Lots of powers suggested.

[Ninja-Bear]

57 minutes ago, Doc Democracy said:

Surely the key book is the UNTIL powers database?  Lots of powers suggested.

Or for 6th its called Champions Powers (iirc). And if you have access to older stuff, Howler has sonic powers-singing or at least voice and I’ll throw in Vibron because though technically his is vibration, I feel that’s close enough to sound to work.

[Duke Bushido]

At the core, "sonic powers" are the ability to project or receive vibration as carried through the air.  The more unusual or stronger the abilities, the more you can ham up the effect-  

 

His voice can project a pitch with a frequency wave so tight that it solidifies the air into a force wall (barrier, if you are a 6e player).  Perhaps he can make a noise so low or so high as to cause temporary hearing loss from over-stimulation of the target's sense of hearing--  that is a Flash versus hearing.

 

NND Stun-only attacks are common to sonic effects,but why stop there?  Opera singers strive to find the perfect resonance to shatter a champagne flute.  Perhaps your character has found a pitch and intensity suitable to shatter the crystaline structure of iron.

 

 

Here is the thing with this game:

 

There is absolutely no mandatory relationship between the special effects and the actual power.  You decide on the powers you want for this character, and then you sort of "justify" them by spitting out some rubber science for your SFX.

 

It is that easy.

[LoneWolf]

Like Duke said there nothing to prevent you from using almost any power in the game with a sonic special effect.  The marvel character Klaw was made out of solifided sound and could even create object and creatures out of solidified sound.  

 

If I were writing up a sonic based character I would probably go with a multipower with each slot representing a different way to focus sound.   Probably a normal EB, a NND, and a RKA that works against objects with a crystal structure to start with.  A hearing flash would also be an obvious sonic attack.   .  A DEX drain could be a sound that disrupts someone equilibrium.   Advantages like area of effect (cone or line) seem appropriate, as do NND or AVLD.   If the character can control sound as well as project it than things like invisibility and darkness to the hearing group also appropriate. Images vs the hearing group to represent creating specific sounds would also fit.
 

[Khymeria]

Will the character be body of sound/projector (Klaw) or projector (Songbird)? Flight, blasts (nnd), force wall, drain to DEX, RKA, images, and lots more to choose from once the basics are locked in. 

[Tech]

More like Songbird. I know there's no mandatory effect, etc etc with Hero Games system; I'm just so uncreative with sonic powers.

[Ockham's Spoon]

You can also pull some mental powers, like The Voice that the bene gessiret used in Dune.  Sound-based, but a very different flavor

[Lord Liaden]

As mentioned above, Champions Powers is the 6E book for many categories of power constructs, each broken down into Offensive, Defensive, Movement, and Miscellaneous, with variations for each construct, giving you dozens of ready-built examples for, in your case, Sonic powers.

 

BTW here is where you can download the free Index to the book.

[Ninja-Bear]

14 hours ago, Tech said:

More like Songbird. I know there's no mandatory effect, etc etc with Hero Games system; I'm just so uncreative with sonic powers.

I hear yay! I’m usually hard press when coming up with stuff on my own but when I look at other works, I’m like “that works! Why didn’t I think of it?”

Did anyone mention Missile Deflection? That’ll work. How about TK? You hit the right vibration and you can “float” it to where you want?

7 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

As mentioned above, Champions Powers is the 6E book for many categories of power constructs, each broken down into Offensive, Defensive, Movement, and Miscellaneous, with variations for each construct, giving you dozens of ready-built examples for, in your case, Sonic powers.

 

BTW here is where you can download the free Index to the book.

I bought a copy specifically for that reason!

[Ninja-Bear]

@Tech, I just thought of this idea. Look at other character’s powers and see if any tickle your fancy. Then ask “can I use sonic sfx” to the extent that your feel comfortable with. For example, Tunneling has been bought for Bricks to punch a hole in the wall or rip the door off its hinges. I really can see this as a sonic power too. But say stretching, even with Doesn’t pass through real space, maybe not so much.

[Duke Bushido]

19 hours ago, Tech said:

More like Songbird. I know there's no mandatory effect, etc etc with Hero Games system; I'm just so uncreative with sonic powers.

 

 

This being the case-- and if you are interested in a potentially fun exercise that may help you to get your juices flowing, I propose a game that I use with players new to the system.

 

You pick 12 powers or abilities that you want this character to have.  So not worry  about modifiers, cirner cases, or anything like that beyond perhaps one advantage and one limitation for each power.  Do nit worry about tying In the SFX.

 

  In turn, each if us responding Will pick one of the powers or abilities from your list and explain a potential sonic SFX for that power.  Where time and willingness allow, we will each also provide one additional power or ability _not_ on your list, and detail the sonic SFX, and leave the write up if the power to you.

 

As an example of what I mean:

Assume Blast 12d6 is on your list.  I tackle that one by stating the character produces a multitude of pitch and timbre vibrations so out-of-synch with each other and yet so tightly focused within each other that the harmonic resonance a target produces in reaction to any one of these sub and super-sonic vibrations is simultaneously disrupted by the harmonic resonance of the others, resulting in the physical breakdown of the target object due to the constantly-shifting  directions of expansion and the shear limits of the target.

 

Then, I notice that your list does not include Teleport, and offer an SFX set that the character is able to transform his entire body to vibrational waves that can be transferred through any rigid carrier medium.

 

 

 

Sound like fun?   If so, drop a list if 12 powers.

 

I will be in and out as time permits; i am currently working on modifying a motorcycle to accomodate one of the shortest adults I have ever met (no disrespect intended; currently there are no off-the-shelf solutions for a 4'4" lady wrestler, and I am enjoying the challenge)

[Tech]

Okay Duke, sounds fun. (will use 5th ed version because that's easiest but feel free to use 6th ed to answer as I have the book)

 

1) Energy Blast

2) Energy Blast, AE (any)

3) Energy Blast, AE Cone

4) Drain

5) NND

6) AVLD

7) RKA

8 ) Another Drain

9) Duplicate

10) Transfer

11) Life Support

12) Flash

[Khymeria]

22 hours ago, Tech said:

More like Songbird. I know there's no mandatory effect, etc etc with Hero Games system; I'm just so uncreative with sonic powers.

Great. I am a bit Thunderbolts fan so I dig. Resistant Protection done as a Force Field that is outside a multipower (you are going to want to be able to use this when pulling off offense or utility tricks. You will likely want Flight, for movement and it is an excellent defense, outside of a multipower for reasons previously stated. Hook yourself up with a multipower, include one blast that is pretty straightforward, against ED or possibly even PD and one to get around standard defenses, such as an NND vs Flash Defense Hearing, and a Flash vs Hearing. You can have a fair amount of slots in the multipower to really hit the tricks. You can decide whether or not to realistically have all this not work in a vacuum (-1/4) or over the top sound blast in space and such. Then you need to decide whether or not all this is Unified, or Linked or what not because if you can shut down Songbird's carapace that she uses to modulate her voice, or Siryn's voice, or Banshee's voice, or Klaw's gauntlet, all take serious dips, but not all are absolutely stopped from using any powers. You can hypnotize (Mind Control) with sonic like a harpy or siren, created hard sound constructs, echolocate like a bat with an Active Sonar that possibly targets (this is a good option because getting your only targeting sense flashed especially when you are largely a ranged characters sucks). Tunneling with sound or RKA that is hardened sound shaking things apart is another good option for putting in a multipower. I know this is all over the place but I had a bit to say. I am sure I probably have a few hdc files of sonic based character floating around for you if you want.

[Tom Cowan]

9) Duplicate

hard sound construct

 

10) Transfer

OK, that is going to be hard,

 

11) Life Support

OK, that is going to be hard too.  Maybe one of the weird powers that is not Unified, or Linked or what not.

Edited July 1, 2023 by Tom Cowan

[LoneWolf]

Transfer could siphon off other sonic based powers into your own.  

 

Life support could be linked to a sonic based force field that provides protection vs pressure; it could also be the result of being made out of solidified sound like Klaw.   
 

[Sketchpad]

6 hours ago, Tech said:

Okay Duke, sounds fun. (will use 5th ed version because that's easiest but feel free to use 6th ed to answer as I have the book)

 

1) Energy Blast

2) Energy Blast, AE (any)

3) Energy Blast, AE Cone

4) Drain

5) NND

6) AVLD

7) RKA

8 ) Another Drain

9) Duplicate

10) Transfer

11) Life Support

12) Flash

 

1) Solid Sound Punch: You focus your sound effects into a solid sound blast that takes the form of a punch. 

2) Solid Sound Seeker: You let loose with a barrage of solid sound spheres that seek out all enemies. For added bonus, add selective.

3) Sonic Scream: You emit a ear-popping scream that attacks all within the cone's area. For added bonus, add NND (Hearing Flash Def).

4) Vertigo-a-Go-Go: You use subsonics to mess with a target's vertigo, causing their DEX (and maybe DCV) to lower. 

5) Sonic Scrambler: You use a sonic beam to scramble someone's brain. The only defense is Hearing Flash Defense.

6) Thunder Cry: You have a booming cry that hits like a hammer. Defense is Hearing Flash Defense.

7) Solid Sound Needles: You let loose with a bevy of solid sound needles that shred your opponent. Add Autofire and Piercing for more fun.

8 ) Droning On: Using repetitive sounds, you cause the target to tire out via an END Drain. 

9) Solid Sound Squadron: You summon forth a squadron of solid sound decoys to confuse and attack enemies on the ground and in the sky.

10) Sound Off: You can drain sonic powers from others and add their power to your END temporarily.

11) Solid Sound Bubble: You can create a bubble from solid sound that has its own atmosphere in it. Buy Life Support with Usable by Others to make it really effective.

12) Blaring Sound: You deafen opponents with high-pitched noise.

[Duke Bushido]

4 hours ago, Tech said:

Okay Duke, sounds fun. (will use 5th ed version because that's easiest but feel free to use 6th ed to answer as I have the book)

 

1) Energy Blast

2) Energy Blast, AE (any)

3) Energy Blast, AE Cone

4) Drain

5) NND

6) AVLD

7) RKA

8 ) Another Drain

9) Duplicate

10) Transfer

11) Life Support

12) Flash

 

 

For this exercise, I have selected Drain.  If someone else has already done that, I will select "other drain." 

 

Drain DEX, AoE: Cone, no range (cone begins in hex directly in front of sonic character.

 

Using a projection of hypersonic sound vibrations, the character can disrupt the sensory centers of the target's brains (there is actual science behind this: when driving, you really,_can_ see detail better when you turn the radio down) causing unreliable visual and auditory input, with the contradictory inputs disturbing equilibrium and hand-eye coordination.

 

 

Now, for one that is not on your list:

 

illusions,(images; whatever edition you prefer).  The character can create flawless auditory inputs, creating distractions by either immitating familia cries of an opponent's comrades or even creating the sound of shrieking and tearing metal that seems to be emaniting from the skyscraper framework being erected two blocks away.

 

 

Sorry this too so long to get back; I have been making pretty good headway on the Savage for my student.

 

 

[Cloppy Clip]

It's a little bit rubber science, but there are those claims about infrasound causing hallucinations and feelings of awe/fear to play around with. That could open up Mental powers like Mind Control and Mental Illusions if the current selection isn't enough for you.

 

You could also go to the other end of the spectrum and use ultrasonic disintegration for an RKA.

[Doc Democracy]

I think things get easier and easier to justify when you think of harmonics, possibly going as fas as Tolkein and Middle Earth where the universe is a harmony and everything emerges from there.

 

I will take duplication.  The character taps into the harmonics of the universe, sees how things are built from the vibrations of tiny strings that make up sub-atomic particles and how changes to those harmonics can result in cganges to the fundamentals of the world.

 

The character knows its own harmonics absolutely and, with the expenditure of his power can re-purpose matter around them to replicate his own harmonics, resulting in multiple versions of the character that can all act independently.

 

I think I would gave an END cost for this and I might think about how long duplicates could sustain themselves if the original character is unconscious.  I think it would be impossible in a vacuum with no other material to work with.

 

Doc

[Word Sensei 515]

How about a stealthy flying, running & tunneling 'anti-sonic' anti-hero. Because sonic attacks are so sneaky & varied, his 0 END, invisible FF (armor) is hardened, it can't help but protect from everything else so it too is helpful against others, after all sonic powered opponents are rare. Everything else is a focus.

 

[Duke Bushido]

I am going to do another one, having let time go by for more replies since my last one:

 

Transfer.

 

In this case, I have selected Endurance transfer, as rubber science suggests soynd and Endurance are both energy.  The character converts the living energy of an opponent into sound, which radiates from the victim.  The sonic character easily draws the sound into his own form, where it provides energy for him as part of his own Endurance.

 

Alternatively, we could so a Transfer: Body defined as hypersonic vibrations so intense the weaken the bonds of the target's physical structure.  In keeping with the SFX, the resulting 'echo' from the target serves to increase the durability of the character, at least for a short while.

 

 

One not on your list:

 

Flight.

 

I propose two options:

 

The first is that the character actually becomes sound waves and moves effortlessly through any non-vacuum medium (consider a limitation based on increasing END costs or reduced movement for thicker or more solid mediums).

 

The Second is that he projects sound waves that echo and reflect and glance across each other in ways that create a lifting surface of vibration in the air, upon which the character rides.

 

 

 

Now the original reason I had suggeated that we do one (or maybe two) in turn was to provide the opportunity to see multiple takes on "sonic" special effects.

 

You will notice a certain "sameness" from each of us that tackled more than one entry, but that no two of us really duplicated each other as far as the concept of how the SFX work.

 

This is the point of the exercise: to demonstrate that while there a hundreds of possible options, none of them are wrong or more right than any other.

 

I will try to find time to do one more tomorrow.

 

I hope this is helping you get those ideas limbered up!

 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2023 by Duke Bushido