Speedster Concept and Creation Question

[Elbandit]

Howdy!

 

I hope this is the correct forum for this question. I am getting setup to run a champions game (200 plus 150 disads). One of my players have come up with a concept that I am not quite sure hwo to approach rules wise.

 

The character is a speedster. The strange thing for me is not the speedster abilities but how he achieves his power. The character gets his power from dosing up on alien drugs. The more he takes the faster he becomes. He is the kicker... too much of the alien drug in a day will kill him. Do how would you set something up like that?

 

I have toyed with the idea of using either partially limited power advantage or limited power disadvantage.

 

Thoughts?

[Vex]

Re: Speedster Concept and Creation Question

 

I would go with all the powers being purchased under continuing charges and 1 hour per use with side effects. Even the smallest side effect will do significant damage as 3d6 or 25% adds up when you get no defense against it. The charges limitation would depend on how many charges the character carries at any given time and the side effect would be +1/2 I think (+1/4 for the 25% and +1/4 for the doubling because it always happens when you activate the powers). I may even throw in an extra +1/4 since the side effect would do body damage and I don't think the base rules do body...

[RDU Neil]

Re: Speedster Concept and Creation Question

 

Howdy!

 

I hope this is the correct forum for this question. I am getting setup to run a champions game (200 plus 150 disads). One of my players have come up with a concept that I am not quite sure hwo to approach rules wise.

 

The character is a speedster. The strange thing for me is not the speedster abilities but how he achieves his power. The character gets his power from dosing up on alien drugs. The more he takes the faster he becomes. He is the kicker... too much of the alien drug in a day will kill him. Do how would you set something up like that?

 

I have toyed with the idea of using either partially limited power advantage or limited power disadvantage.

 

Thoughts?

 

I think this is done with two different parts of the character combining... the powers and disadvantages.

 

The disadvantage is the easy part. Write up a Physical Disad that basically says, "Too much of alien speed drug and Speedster man is physically disabled and could die!" This allows you, the GM, to kick in the disadvantage whenever it is dramatically appropriate "You smash the guard, but as you do so, you feel your stomach heave! You might have taken too much of drug X!"

 

This also keeps the player from quantifying "too much" so that they get around the disad by never taking "too much." Disads are story devices and plot hooks, and should be used as such.

 

The other part is the powers part, and there you just build an aid to a certain group of powers, self only, the drug is a focus, extra time to take it. Easy

 

The power stands on it 's own, easily quantified for the player to use... while the disad is a GM tool for hooking the character (pun intended ) an making the drug use a good piece of character drama.

 

My buddy Speedball should comment on this. He has a speedster character who got his powers through an addictive drug. Not the same concept, but similar.

[Asperion]

Re: Speedster Concept and Creation Question

 

As a GM I would want to ask the player some questions about the alien serum. Among these would be how easy it would be to acquire more serum. I would say that if he has an unlimited supply then it would simply be the SFX and gain no bonus. However if the components can be obtained at the local Walgreens then the character would get a minor bonus. Basically I would follow the rules for having a focus. Another question is how easy it is for someone else to get the serum from him. If for some reason it cannot or will extremely rarely be taken away then it sounds more like an OHID.

 

As for the OD portion, I agree with RDU Neil. In the real world there are scientific models that say that a person with said mass along with other modifiers should OD with this amount of drug. More often than not these models are wrong. Said person usually will be able to last longer than the model says they should or pass out earlier. As a result, in a court these models are thought of more as guidelines than actual rule. The same should be true for this character using this drug. He wuold have figured out that this amount will have this effect on him (the abilities as written), this amount most likely will cause him to OD. Just like in reality, that OD amount should not be absolute and just a ballpark figure. It will be up to the GM to determine when the actual OD amount is and any warning signs that the character is getting close to it.

[HeroGM]

Re: Speedster Concept and Creation Question

 

you could also possibly do it with different levels along with an aid.

 

Build your default "one dose" power.

Then do +xd6 Aid (minor side effect)

+xd6 more Aid (increases side effect, or does cumaltive effect)

+xd6 even more Aid (Even more side effect damage counted as a near lethal dose)

 

So you could do +2d6, +3d6, +5d6 for the 3 (or however many levels) of Aid, the more Aid he takes for his Speed Power the more side effect damage he ultimately takes.

 

Same basis as I've seen some people do on Str (Where X points is normal End, +X pts is double End, etc) just basing it around Aid with the Side Effect causing damage to the person.

[Jhereg]

Re: Speedster Concept and Creation Question

 

I like the Char Aid w/ Charges and Focus for a bit of dice randomness/ebb-and-flow in the “juiceâ€. As for the Disad, I would do it as a Susceptibility: it lets the GM determine how much is too much, and the player would have to guesstimate when he might be going too far.

[Sean]

Re: Speedster Concept and Creation Question

 

It's been mentioned before, but it'd probably help to talk more with the player to flesh out what the concrete limitations are going to be for this concept. I like the graduated idea mentioned above - base power level is safe, then next 10 pts has a minor side effect, next 10 major and last 10 extreme side effect or something similar. I'd skip using aid and just buy the extra points as the power. There's lots of permutations you could experiement with.

 

The disadvantage Dependence would also be a good thing to check out.

 

That's actually a pretty neat character conception. Imagine what a bummer it'd be to lose your intergalactic drug pusher. That or have someone steal your stash.

[HeroGM]

Re: Speedster Concept and Creation Question

 

Check out JLA: Earth-2. The Crime Syndicate's Johnny Quick shoots up in order to get his speed.

[Elbandit]

Re: Speedster Concept and Creation Question

 

Howdy!

 

I would like to think everyone for thier suggestions! Though I still need some help and want to bounce ideas off the group since you guys are far more experienced in Champions that I am.

 

I spoke to the player and learned the following:

 

A) 1 dose of the alien drug makes him radioactive and has no other major side effects. Also each dose lasts about an hour.

 

If he doubles the dose, he gains addition speed and strength and becomes "rage like focused" on the reason he doubled dosed.

 

C) The third dose also increases his speed and strength again and starts to kill him.

 

D) Anyone else who takes the alien drug also gains the abilities.

 

Here is what I have come up with:

 

Since the basic dose doesn't have any real side effects I decided to purchase the initial abilities as OHID. I think "Idependant" would be an appropiate disads as well since he has just the one large metorite of the drug.

 

Since taking the drug makes him radioactive I used Radium as a guide line and purchased Drain Con 1D6 with the disad of "Only when on Drug and not in containment suit" which I rated at -1.

 

Since I bought the majority of his speedster abilities (Entangle, Dodging Bullets, Dizzing Spin, I'll Take those Disarm and Hyper throwing) as Elemental control pool I am not sure if I should also apply the indepenant modifier to them since I cannot decide if the speedster tricks come from the speed or the creative ability of the user.

 

Now, we come to the boostable abilities of the drug. I have deteremiend that it should be done in two steps granting a bonus to speed and Strength. The first one should have the side effect of "Enradged" and the second one should be a damage. The question is, what would be the best way to build that?

 

Would two different AIDs to STR and SPD be a better way than a Partially limited power?

 

Thoughts? Questions?

[Col. Orange]

Re: Speedster Concept and Creation Question

 

"Buy" Major Side Effect as a Naked Limitation, itself having an Activation Roll.

 

Take as much as you like, but one day you'll roll 8- and be hit with an Xd6 KA.