Help with Murphy's Curse character

[Mark Rand]

We've defined Murphy's Curse as a 5D6 Magor Transformation Healed by rolling 6 on all dice. My idea is that there's a character that has been casting this curse in various parts of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the campaign city, usually on bad drivers or people are rude to others while on cell phones.

From what the police and heroes have been able to discover, Murphy, for lack of a better name, doesn't wear a costume and looks normal.

Two questions. What does Murphy look like? What does he, or she, do for a living when not cursing bad drivers and rude cell phone users?

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

Murphy could simply be Joe Average with a power he doesn't even know about. Put him in a high-pressure job/family situation so he gets upset easily and curses people regularly, not realizing it's any more than a few words they'll never hear anyway. Make him a nice enough guy so the players aren't tempted to unheroically "end the problem" and away you go.

 

Maybe Murchy himself is under a curse which gives him this power, and OUr Heroes can help him find a way to be rid of the curse. If Murphy ultimately regrets the curse he lays on people, and wants to find a way to fix it, and avoid this in the future, the PC's should be willing to help him.

 

[Plus, having a normal along who needs protection in SuperCombat can make life interesting for the PC's in new and different ways...]

[Edsel]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

Sort of depends on how this curse works. Is it something he consiously casts on people? Or perhaps he is unable to keep from cursing those around him (sort of a carrier).

 

If the latter he'd be notable in a crowd as the only one not having a bad day or some sort of minor bad luck. He probably be involved in some occupation in which he can work alone otherwise his co-workers would quickly start talking about him due to their bad luck and his lack of it.

 

If he is conscious of his power and wields it with purpose, I'd take him to be a fairly arrogant person. He might be a gambler since his opponents could be cursed and he'd win. He could even curse the horses at the track to ensure he picks a winner. If he curses others then he seem to be a fairly lucky person since more bad things are happening to others than to him. His house would be average to nice whereas the neighbors might have all sorts of minor problems with their homes.

[Kirby]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

Murphy is non-descript.

 

I've done sort of a similar curse, but used 5d6 Unluck, Personal Immunity, Useable Against Others. Then just add an area effect of your chosen size (maybe 1" Megascale?) To lower the costs, you could put No Conscious Control as well.

[Guest darthvegita666]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

uh dude its like nobody knows what yuor talking about cuz you didnt give us any information

 

a 5d6 transform that heals when you roll all 6s its like what are you talking about nobody understands this roll all 6s on what dice?

 

and how are we supposed to know what this guy looks like hes in your game

[Mark Rand]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

uh dude its like nobody knows what yuor talking about cuz you didnt give us any information

 

a 5d6 transform that heals when you roll all 6s its like what are you talking about nobody understands this roll all 6s on what dice?

 

and how are we supposed to know what this guy looks like hes in your game

In the thread "Murphy's Curse" (http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28185) we discuss using Murphy's Law, "If anything can go wrong, it will", as a curse.

I came up with the idea of giving a Joe (or Jane) Average with this power, and I'm hoping my fellow board members can come up with some ideas about said person who, for lack of anything better, I'm calling Murphy. Please note, this Murphy is, probably, no relation to Thomas Murphy, our mayor.

[Mark Rand]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

The original idea I had was that Murphy was a relief bus driver that used the curse to punish the diserving, like a driver that went through a red light at way over the speed limit or one that struck a crossing guard or someone disturbing others while on a cell phone.

The carrier idea, however, is a good one, too. Murphy could, without knowing it, grant people to, also unknowingly, curse someone that offended them.

[Kirby]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

The carrier idea' date=' however, is a good one, too. Murphy could, without knowing it, grant people to, also unknowingly, curse someone that offended them.[/quote']

Heh, making it Sticky.

[Mark Rand]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

Heh' date=' making it Sticky. [/quote']

Based on the description of Sticky in the Power Advantage section, I'm not sure it would work here.

Can you give me an example of it working in this situation?

[Cancer]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

Sort of depends on how this curse works. Is it something he consiously casts on people? Or perhaps he is unable to keep from cursing those around him (sort of a carrier).

 

Here's a weird idea ... Depending on how you want to slant your universe, this could be almost an Aesop- or Brothers Grimm-like situation, sort of a cosmic justice poll by some outside entity. The curse is a sticky entity; it is transferable from one person to another, simply by the act of cursing. Someone who transfers the curse become subject to a much lesser but permanent curse, but cannot be struck again by the original curse. If someone can go 13 days without passing on the curse, then it's broken, and the breaker gets some serious bennies in addition to (unknowingly) saving the world.

 

If, on the other hand, the curse never gets broken in some considerable but not insane amount of time (13 months? 13 years?) then whatever entity started it along declares the setting to be without any truly just people, and comes down and smites the place like Yahweh smote Sodom & Gomorrah.

 

That "considerable amount of time" I'd have to think about ... if it works out that the curse becomes non-transferable because everyone has been struck by it, then the destruction might descend automatically, too.

[Superskrull]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

Based on the description of Sticky in the Power Advantage section, I'm not sure it would work here.

Can you give me an example of it working in this situation?

 

I wouldn't go with the sticky advantage. Simply have the transformation be to someone with the unluck curse and a no conscious control transform of his own.

[Mark Rand]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

I wouldn't go with the sticky advantage. Simply have the transformation be to someone with the unluck curse and a no conscious control transform of his own.

Very cool.

[Kirby]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

Based on the description of Sticky in the Power Advantage section, I'm not sure it would work here.

Can you give me an example of it working in this situation?

I'm not sure how it would work in gameplay, but could do well in the comics.

 

For however your Curse power is created, say it now has Sticky. So John Doe causes Bad Luck onto other people, perhaps the guy who ran a red light. You roll the transformation and now Red Light Man is cursed and his tire goes flat, causing him to pull over slowly to the side of the road. Angry Driver behind him is running late anyway and flips him the bird, and now RLM has subconsciously given Angry Driver the curse (since it's no conscious control) whose car starts to overheat. AD pulls into a gas station, goes to by some coolant. He shoulders past Little Old Lady with Coffee and gives her the curse. When he gets his coolant and in line behind Little Old Lady w/C, she spills her coffee at the counter (making AD even later). LOLwC gives the curse to Behind the Counter Man when he helps her clean up (while AD is griping for both of them to hurry it up). Now, AD gets up to the counter and slams his stuff down, which ticks of BtCM. For some reason BtCM can't ring up the items (scanner isn't working) and has to do price checks and manually type the prices in, but the register gets jammed upon opening when AD hands BtCM a $20 bill for $10+ of stuff.

 

OR (Bold indicates where the curse is)

 

In combat, John Doe is watching to sides battle and unknowingly gives Gentleman Caller a curse. GC is fighting Dastardly Villain and the unluck causes his normal high DCV to avoid slow punches to be reduced, letting DC hit and he punches GC into a building, smashing the wall. The building gets the curse and perhaps it's affected by struts or bolts or something coming loose and so the building has another section (ceiling or wall) fall on GC, or maybe the floor gives out. Outside, Hoochie Mama (the scantily costumed heroine) sees what happens and martial throws DV into the same building. DV may fly through the same hole GC made and lands on top of the pile of rubble that GC is under, or lands next to GC in the sunken floor. Now DV has received the curse, but decides it's time to flee. Being faster than some and with GC dazed, DV flies/runs/teleports away to his Villain Ship of Escape. Unfortunately, once DV enters VSoE , the curse is transferred again and the engines don't start (No fuel? But the gage says full? Oh, it must be stuck!) and DV goes to jail.

 

With Sticky, you could treat the curse like "tag" in that once one person comes into contact with another (or maybe a major object) the curse switches so as to not destroy a single entity. Maybe give it some charges.

 

Though, you could let the curse w/Sticky affect everyone eventually in one big area (up to the charge limit, maybe 8?) until things come crashing down.

 

Just a few thoughts.

[Kirby]

Re: Help with Murphy's Curse character

 

I wouldn't go with the sticky advantage.

Hey! It's just a suggestion.

 

It's my Scattergories....