Let's Empower Wendy Brooks

[Hermit]

Originally posted by CrosshairCollie

Well, since this thread's wandering all over Heck's Half Acre anyways.

 

Darn it, after all this bit about Archimago's dealings, I can't get a bit from MST3K out of my head!

"Actually, Crow, you just sold your soul to *Stan*, not Satan."

 

And Mr Lee thanks you.

 

Okay, maybe Wendy sold her soul. Full circle.

[Chuckg]

"The Quest For Wendy's Soul"?

 

Cripes, hope nobody from Disney saw that one...

[Lord Liaden]

Originally posted by Chuckg

Most likely not -- Takofanes is occupying the "uber-lich" slot now, and Archimago was more suited to be the 'unstoppable uberpowerful bad guy' of a high-end Dark Champions campaign or a Mystic Masters campaign than he was a regular CU supervillain anyway.

 

Edit - belated thought. He /might/ show in 5e Mystic Masters, but if they use him then they'll probably ditch the "lich" thing and instead just make him the world's most evil and powerful /mortal/ mage, still geased to carry out the entire schedule of debts.

 

I must say that I'm seriously tempted to just graft much of Takofanes' character sheet onto Archimago. In many ways Archimago is the mystic world's version of Dr. Destroyer, and his history would certainly justify him wielding that level of power. He's far more wordly and subtle than Takofanes, making him a greater immediate threat. Besides, darn it, IMHO he's just a much more interesting character.

 

As for the subject of the thread: I think it would be interesting to see Wendy experience some type of Radiation Accident that allows her to manifest her superheroic fantasies involuntarily. Perhaps she takes on a super persona while her conscious self is asleep, or maybe she's able to project her dream image as a solid manifestation in the real world. This alter-ego could display all the impulses that Wendy normally keeps hidden, including her attraction to Defender.

 

When the Champions encounter this new heroine, they'll probably be perturbed when she demonstrates knowledge of many of their secrets. Finding out how she knows these things could lead them to discover Wendy's condition and attempt to cure it. The process can eventually lead to an integration of Wendy's normal and super personas, and her emergence as a true superheroine.

[Chuckg]

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

I must say that I'm seriously tempted to just graft much of Takofanes' character sheet onto Archimago. In many ways Archimago is the mystic world's version of Dr. Destroyer, and his history would certainly justify him wielding that level of power. He's far more wordly and subtle than Takofanes, making him a greater immediate threat. Besides, darn it, IMHO he's just a much more interesting character.

 

Yes, Takofanes is a bit of a "fixer-upper".

 

My own tentative plans, should I ever end up in a game, involve cranking the Power Pool down to about 120 or so...

 

... and adding on a Fantasy-era strategic and political skill package worthy of Second Age Sauron. i.e. -- /truly/ making him the Turakian Age Doctor Destroyer, not just the hopelessly mad and forgot-most-of-his-nonmagical-skills remnant of one.

 

And, of course, moving forward Awakening Day a bit -- to, like, the present day. i.e. -- no 16 years wasted, no rampages, no nuttin'. The first superheroes the Lord of the Ivory Throne meets when he arises from the Earth is you.

 

For high point value games only, of course. The only viable role for Takofanes in a 350-point is "Off-stage statless plot device."

 

For Archimago, you'd probably have to cut the pool even further, down to like 100... with his intimate knowledge of the present day (something that even my own proto-Takofanes wouldn't have) /and/ his wide-ranging intellect, giving him 150 Cosmic VPP is like giving Destroyer a Primary and Secondary Attack Multipowers of 200 and 150 and a Gadget Pool of 120.

 

i.e. -- roach stomp.

[Chuckg]

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

When the Champions encounter this new heroine, they'll probably be perturbed when she demonstrates knowledge of many of their secrets. Finding out how she knows these things could lead them to discover Wendy's condition and attempt to cure it. The process can eventually lead to an integration of Wendy's normal and super personas, and her emergence as a true superheroine.

 

Problem with this is that the only major delay in them figuring out what's going on is the lengthy argument between Defender and Witchcraft about which approach to use. I can think of several Lesser Witchery applications of hers... fairly common ones for the mystic genre... that will break the scenario in five minutes.

 

(The chief among them being 'Aura Sight -- i.e., 'Detect Life Energy, Ranged, Discriminatory, Analyze')

 

"I'm going to look at this new 'heroine' to try and see if she has a good aura or a bad one, as well as see if she's a magical being of any kind."

 

"She's definitely human, although the aura's got a lot of 'white' in it -- mostly a good person, only minor failings. She's younger than she looks, too... there's only maybe 20 years of lifeline on this aura, not the mid-20's she appears to be. Odd thing, though... you're pretty sure you've seen that aura before! Roll INT to remember when."

 

Addendum -- and loath as I am to give "idiot duck boy"... no, wait, that's Mousse... anyway, loath as I am to give Nighthawk credit, he /does/ have the detective skills to crack this one soon.

[Hermit]

That's right, bow down before the versitile solution symphony that is the 5th Ed Champions team. Uh huh uh huh uh huh...

 

*Does the Llama walk*

 

Sorry, I just think it's nice when they get a little credit where it's due

[Chuckg]

I never had any problems with the /point writeup/ of either character -- from the standpoint of game mechanics, they're both very well-done designs.

 

It's just their origins, backstories, personalities, and in Nighthawk's case costume that grate on my nerves like fingernails on a blackboard...

[Hermit]

*Scrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrappppe*

So, how about that cool cowl eh?

*SScccraaaaaaaaaaappppe*

 

 

Okay, fair enough....

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Originally posted by Chuckg

Yes, Takofanes is a bit of a "fixer-upper".

 

My own tentative plans, should I ever end up in a game, involve cranking the Power Pool down to about 120 or so...

 

... and adding on a Fantasy-era strategic and political skill package worthy of Second Age Sauron. i.e. -- /truly/ making him the Turakian Age Doctor Destroyer, not just the hopelessly mad and forgot-most-of-his-nonmagical-skills remnant of one.

 

And, of course, moving forward Awakening Day a bit -- to, like, the present day. i.e. -- no 16 years wasted, no rampages, no nuttin'. The first superheroes the Lord of the Ivory Throne meets when he arises from the Earth is you.

 

For high point value games only, of course. The only viable role for Takofanes in a 350-point is "Off-stage statless plot device."

 

For Archimago, you'd probably have to cut the pool even further, down to like 100... with his intimate knowledge of the present day (something that even my own proto-Takofanes wouldn't have) /and/ his wide-ranging intellect, giving him 150 Cosmic VPP is like giving Destroyer a Primary and Secondary Attack Multipowers of 200 and 150 and a Gadget Pool of 120.

 

i.e. -- roach stomp.

 

 

Yeah. Heck, I'm not sure 4th Ed Archimago would be totally outclassed vs big T (assuming that, as the second most powerful force for magic in the world, he had time to plan). I mean, he does have a big VPP, and he's is more clever.

 

But yeah. Archimago, especially after reading here, is ge-rate.

 

I gotta GM a game I can use him in...

[ParitySoul]

Originally posted by Hermit

But I'm too darn nice to do that to pert housekeepers.

 

There is always the Loki route...

[Lord Liaden]

Originally posted by Chuckg

Problem with this is that the only major delay in them figuring out what's going on is the lengthy argument between Defender and Witchcraft about which approach to use. I can think of several Lesser Witchery applications of hers... fairly common ones for the mystic genre... that will break the scenario in five minutes.

 

(The chief among them being 'Aura Sight -- i.e., 'Detect Life Energy, Ranged, Discriminatory, Analyze')

 

"I'm going to look at this new 'heroine' to try and see if she has a good aura or a bad one, as well as see if she's a magical being of any kind."

 

"She's definitely human, although the aura's got a lot of 'white' in it -- mostly a good person, only minor failings. She's younger than she looks, too... there's only maybe 20 years of lifeline on this aura, not the mid-20's she appears to be. Odd thing, though... you're pretty sure you've seen that aura before! Roll INT to remember when."

 

Addendum -- and loath as I am to give "idiot duck boy"... no, wait, that's Mousse... anyway, loath as I am to give Nighthawk credit, he /does/ have the detective skills to crack this one soon.

 

Quite right, assuming this new heroine hung around long enough for Witchcraft or Nighthawk to make their inquiries. Mystery supers in comics tend to swoop in, do their thing and then vanish. Would you expect Batman to sit still for an aura reading?

 

Anyway, you would want the Champions to crack the case eventually. It's just more fun if you don't make it easy for them.

[Chuckg]

Originally posted by Lord Liaden

Quite right, assuming this new heroine hung around long enough for Witchcraft or Nighthawk to make their inquiries. Mystery supers in comics tend to swoop in, do their thing and then vanish. Would you expect Batman to sit still for an aura reading?

 

Yes, but this isn't Batman, it's the subconscious of Wendy Brooks. She's pretty much /compelled/ to hang around for a little while, just so the Champions can finally admire how cool and heroic she is. Besides, she needs time to hit on Defender, doesn't she?

[The Watcher]

I've been watching too much Big O

 

During a super villain attack on the Champion's base Wendy is mortally injured. Her wounds are so severe that getting her to a hospital, no matter how fast, would do no good.

 

So Defender tries to save her the only way he has available. He jury-rigs a device that downloads her mind into the base computer.

 

Of course, not wanting to condemn her to a virtual existence forever, he then later on contructs an android body that simulates all the aspects of being human as closely as possible so she can experience and interact with the real world again.

Naturally, he decided to give it super attributes to enhance surviveability in the event of a future supervillain attack.

 

Thus, we get R. Wendy Brooks, superpowered maid.

 

EDIT: The above gives one the option of tailoring how much Wendy gets involved in adventures to individual taste. After all, her consciousness is actually in the computer. She's just telepresencing through the android body.

 

So if you want her to not go out much, you limit the interface range the body is capable of, from anywhere to the city to just withing a block of the base. Any farther and she loses contact, causing the body to fall down lifeless.