A character for your perusal

[Jhereg]

I wanted to post this character to see if anyone has better ideas about power mechanics. Also, I wanted to see if my own “modifier intelligence†is working within parameters. And I just want to share it. I hoped to avoid over-muchkining.

 

He’s a GM character designed primarily to provide combat support for the PC’s, as well as a contact source, and a medium for GM info-dumps. Likewise, he’s most likely to be my character on those all-too-rare occasions when someone else GMs.

 

Upon completion I realize there’s a similarity to the Harbinger of Justice, but believe it or not, that wasn’t the intention. Actually, he’s heavily influenced by The Shadow, and Dante from Devil May Cry.

 

Also, I realize that most people would have done his weapons as a Multipower, but I wanted to be able to pick n’ mix the weapons he might be using at any given time. That is also why there’s redundancy in the weapons.

 

The Shotgun’s bought w/o Reduced Pen, simply because we don’t use it. It’s an overcomplication my players despise dealing with, and I can’t complain.

 

So without further ado, here ‘tis:

 

Reckoning

 

Alternate ID: Andre ‘Dre’ Washington

 

Appearance: ‘Dre’ is a black man of medium build. He often wears a two-piece suit with a tan trench coat, sometimes accompanied by a fedora. Reckoning is usually found in the same outer garb with a solid burgundy cloth mask.

 

Background: ‘Dre’ has always prided himself on being a good cop. So when he discovered that he was a "nexus", in tangent with another dimension and able to manipulate its energies, he saw it as an opportunity to do more. He uses his abilities to wage a one-man war on street crime, while maintaining his career as a homicide detective.

 

Powers/Tactics: Reckoning’s primary tactic is firearms, which he pulls from his ‘Pocket Dimension’ (like a bag of holding). In combat, he likes to stay airborne, attacking while on the move. He sees his mental abilities as useful supplementary skills, rather than core powers.

 

Personality/Motivation: Reckoning is possessed of a "tough cop" mentality, which guides his actions as a hero.

 

Val	Char	Cost
23	STR	13
26	DEX	48
21	CON	22
21	BODY	22
15	INT	5
14	EGO	8
18	PRE	8
18	COM	4
12	PD	7
12	ED	8
5	SPD	14
9	REC	0
42	END	0
45	STUN	1

10" RUN82" SWIM04 1/2" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 168

 

Cost	Power	END
7	Weapons: Elemental Control, 34-point powers, all slots OAF (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4)
7	1) Glock 19 C (Secret ID Sidearm): RKA 1d6+1, 4 clips of 10 Charges (+0); No Knockback (-1/4)	[10]
7	2) .45M Automag: RKA 2d6, +1 STUN Multiplier (+1/4); No Knockback (-1/4), 2 clips of 7 Charges (-1/4)	[7]
7	3) .45M Automag: RKA 2d6, +1 STUN Multiplier (+1/4); No Knockback (-1/4), 2 clips of 7 Charges (-1/4)	[7]
9	4) Uzi 9mm: RKA 1d6+1, Autofire (5 shots; +1/2), 40 Charges (+1/2); No Knockback (-1/4)	[40]
9	5) Uzi 9mm: RKA 1d6+1, Autofire (5 shots; +1/2), 40 Charges (+1/2); No Knockback (-1/4)	[40]
14	6) 12G Double-Barrel Sawed-off Shotgun: RKA 3d6, Autofire (2 shots; +1/4), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4); 4 clips of 2 Charges (-1), Reduced By Range (-1/4)	[2]
5	Dimension Tangent: Elemental Control, 10-point powers
10	1) Dimensional Pocket: Minor Transform 3d6 (standard effect: 9 points) (Store objects in pocket dimension); All Or Nothing (-1/2), Only handheld objects (-1/2), No Range (-1/2)	3
10	2) Running On Walls: Flight 10"; Only In Contact With A Surface (-1/4), No Noncombat Movement (-1/4)	2
2	3) Superleap: Leaping +3" (4 1/2"/4 1/2" forward, 2"/3 1/2" upward) (Position Shift); Upward Movement Only (-1)	1
3	4) Light As a Feather: Gliding 5", Position Shift; Costs Endurance (-1/2)	1
20	Telepathy: Multipower, 40-point reserve, all slots Limited Power: Completely negated by any Mental Defense (-1/2), Does Not Provide Mental Awareness (-1/4), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4)
2u	1) Mental Illusions 8d6	4
2u	2) Mind Control 8d6	4
2u	3) Telepathy 8d6	4

Powers Cost: 116

 

 

Cost	Skill
2	+1 with Pistols
10	Two-Weapon Fighting (Ranged)
5	Rapid Attack (Ranged)
3	Acrobatics 14-
2	CK: Millennium City 11-
3	Combat Driving 14-
3	Criminology 12-
3	Fast Draw 14-
3	Interrogation 13-
2	KS: Law 11-
0	PS: Detective 8-
3	Sleight Of Hand 14-
3	Stealth 14-

Skills Cost: 42

 

Cost	Perk
3	Contact: Millennium City PD (Contact has useful Skills or resources, Contact limited by identity), Organization Contact (x3) 8-

Perks Cost: 3

 

Cost	Talent
9	Ambidexterity (no Off Hand penalty)
12	Combat Luck (6 PD/6 ED)

Talents Cost: 21

 

 

Total Character Cost: 350

 

Val	Disadvantages
20	Enraged: when Innocents harmed (Common), go 11-, recover 11-
5	Hunted: Local Mafia 8- (As Pow, Limited Geographical Area, Harshly Punish)
25	Hunted: VIPER 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Capture)
5	Physical Limitation: Allergic to Cats (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)
10	Psychological Limitation: Arrogant (Common, Moderate)
15	Psychological Limitation: Cop Mentality (Common, Strong)
15	Psychological Limitation: Devoted to Justice (Common, Strong)
5	Reputation: Police Detective, 11- (Known Only To A Small Group)
15	Social Limitation: Secret ID: Andre "Dre" Washington (Frequently, Major)
20	Vulnerability: 2 x Effect Drains (Common)
15	Watched: Superiors 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)

Disadvantage Points: 150

Base Points: 200

Total Points: 350

 

[Mike W]

Re: A character for your perusal

 

Two things I see here.

 

First, I don't think an EC represents the special effect at all. It's cheaper, but I don't think a collection of weapons should ever be built as an EC. So I see two options.

 

1. Make it a MP with a limit that it can't be shifted in combat(i.e. you must return to base).

 

2. What this should really be(IMO) is a Variable Power Pool. It's kind of like the gadget pool example in the book except that all of the "gadgets" are guns. And he can change them in combat. I built a similar character recently that had, essentially, weapon creation as a power and that's how the GM and I both thought it should be built - a VPP.

 

Second, he needs more non-combat skills.

 

Increase his PS to at least 11 or less. Give him Investigate and a couple PRE based skills(Conversation or Persuasion) for interviewing people. Interrogation might work in the shop, but what about that reluctant witness who is scared to say what they know. You can't browbeat everyone - and that limited telepathy will let everyone you use it on know that you did something in their head. Increase his CK a bit. Streetwise would help. Every cop needs a few stoolies or at least needs to know where to look for information on the street. Add some extra knowledge skills and some other noncombat skills to flesh him out. The character has less than 20 points devoted to skills that don't have combat applications and that really needs to change.

[ChocolateMousje]

Re: A character for your perusal

 

You can save a few points by buying the duplicate weapons with the 5 point

equipment doubler. Then spend some for invisible power effects on the

telepathy multipower.

Maybe consider Beam for the weapons. Also, he seems rather lacking in non-

lethal weaponry... no nightstick or tazer, etc?

 

Low defenses... not even a bulletproof vest?

[Jhereg]

Re: A character for your perusal

 

MikeW,

 

Thanks for the input. I will indeed be fleshing out his skills.

 

I agree that the VPP would work better, but the problem is I’m building the char with the same restrictions as the players, and a VPP large enough to accommodate weapons would violate my own Maximum Active Point cap for beginning characters.

 

Choco,

 

I’ve seen people using the 5-point rule for duped equipment, but I haven’t seen (or noticed, at least) it in print. Is it in FRed?

 

I realize the need for altering the Mentalism, but I’d hate to let such a mental novice have invisible powers. I think I may revive some of the “Mentalist Skills†from The Ultimate Mentalist, like Cloak, which would give him a good chance at hiding his powers from normals, who would be his primary targets.

 

Thanks, fellas.

[Jhereg]

Re: A character for your perusal

 

The lethality of his powers will hopefully be balanced by his cop mentality and values (Bring ‘em in alive. Graduated use of force etc.) Just like real law enforcement (ideal law enforcement at any rate), he hopes his presence alone will help resolve issues. If he’s blasting away at someone, it’s probably going to be at someone who’s proven to be able to take a bullet (Supers w/ R Def).

 

I agree that a normal damage attack would be a good idea, I just don’t want to sacrifice character concept for it. As a GM character, I should be able to keep him from killing someone. And plans for future XP include Martial Arts.

[Jhereg]

Re: A character for your perusal

 

As for the DEF: I’ve considered a Kevlar Vest, but the hold-up is he relies on the Combat Luck, which, in my campaign, cannot be used in conjunction with Real Armor (A character can have both, but if Real Armor is worn, the Combat Luck is negated). So it’s kind of a cost issue at this point. Plus I think he gets added smooth-points for getting by without armor. His overall PD & ED is around 20, which so far is the norm for the campaign.

 

Regardless, I’m currently working on an update.

 

Question: How would you guys do the 5-point Duplicate Equipment in a VPP, if at all? I’m thinking, if indeed it can be used, I would only need 1 slot for “Duplicate Weapon†which could be any one of the duplicates at any given time (Hence the ‘Variable’).

 

Here are some plans for the distant future:

 

-Martial Arts

-Teleportation

-Combat Aportation

-More sophisticated Mentalism (low priority)

-Being able to pull ammo from his pocket dimension directly into the weapons (Removing Charges, and having the RKAs pull from an END Reserve or costing personal END), No more reloading.

-Cybernetics (just a maybe)

 

PS: Should I post a new update, or edit the original?

[Mike W]

Re: A character for your perusal

 

I don't see how the VPP would be all that expensive. You only need about a 35 or 40 point pool if you can switch it in combat. After all, you can only hold two guns at a time so you don't need to have more "active" than that. And with the OAF that would make it -1 on all the powers which would give you enough points to buy two at a time. Besides, it's a framework. As long as the individual powers don't exceed the max it shouldn't be a problem.

 

For example:

 

35 VPP(35 point cap)

13 CC +1 no skill roll, +1/2 half phase to change, all powers OAF -1, limited class(only

guns) -1, all powers bought as "real weapons" -1/4

 

This gives you enough to have 2, maybe 3, 35 active point guns available at a time which you can pull out/switch for a half phase action. All of them must be bought with OAF and real weapon limits. This should not unbalance any campaign.

[ChocolateMousje]

Re: A character for your perusal

 

Choco,

 

I’ve seen people using the 5-point rule for duped equipment, but I haven’t seen (or noticed, at least) it in print. Is it in FRed?

 

I realize the need for altering the Mentalism, but I’d hate to let such a mental novice have invisible powers. I think I may revive some of the “Mentalist Skills†from The Ultimate Mentalist, like Cloak, which would give him a good chance at hiding his powers from normals, who would be his primary targets.

 

Thanks, fellas.

 

FRED 309, the start of the Equipment section.

 

telepathy against normals, you could try for the +20 success level so the

target doesn't notice. Not sure if you have enough dice then though .