Guest Suleyman Rashid Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 What would be the best way to build Jane Doe, a serial killer and Batman foe who studies her victims, kills them, and then becomes them, assuming their lives so completely and flawlessly that most of the victim's friends, co-workers, et. al. don't catch on without something going majorly wrong for the imposter. What sort of skills and abilities (beyond Acting and Disguise... or perhaps Shapeshifting would be more appropriate) would such a character need to be effective? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topher71 Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted Shape Shifting and Psychomorphing the best way to do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pogo Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted How does she study the victim? Surveillance skills will be useful, or maybe a weak clairsentience (-1 only to follow one person around) if you're allowing powers in addition to shapeshift. She'll also need to be able to research people's backgrounds, if only to learn who the relatives are. If we assume Jane sticks to one area, or only goes after people who have recently moved, then a single AK will suffice. As for skills, she'll want mimicry to sound like the victim (or shapeshift). Cramming would be helpful to duplicate the victim's skills, or Jane could just kill people who's skills she already has. In the latter case, Jane will need a set of reasonably common professional skills. Preying on Sanskrit scholars wouldn't leave her with many targets. Depending on what powers you'll allow, a weak mind control for "everything is normal" can smooth over any rough edges in her charade. If the victim doesn't write much, forgery can be skipped over, or once Jane assumes her new identity, she "breaks her wrist" or suffers a similar injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Suleyman Rashid Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted All good ideas. I think I should have included more detail. In the book she's featured in (Arkham Asylum: Hell On Earth), she takes the place of one of Arkham's staff psychiatrists and fools the other staff doctors, Commissioner Gordon, the guards (including one with a serious romantic interest in the psychiatrist), and all the inmates into believing she is who she is pretending to be. It takes Batman several months to figure out that she's Jane Doe and not the psychiatrist. During that time, she manages to successfully (well... as successfully as anyone can) run therapy sessions with the inmates and is able to give accurate diagnoses regarding them. (She even describes herself as a psychiatrist would, at one point, when Batman asks her about herself). She literally starts thinking in the same manner as the psychiatrist. She later impersonates a guard and another inmate (in succession) during an unsuccessful escape attempt. It seemed that she managed her surveillance over the course of a couple of months in all cases. She then moves in, kills the person, reduces their bodies to easily manageable (that is... concealable) pieces, and assumes their identity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Squirrel Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted What would be the best way to build Jane Doe, a serial killer and Batman foe who studies her victims, kills them, and then becomes them, assuming their lives so completely and flawlessly that most of the victim's friends, co-workers, et. al. don't catch on without something going majorly wrong for the imposter. What sort of skills and abilities (beyond Acting and Disguise... or perhaps Shapeshifting would be more appropriate) would such a character need to be effective? I'm not going to give a write-up because this very idea is very well convered in the Ultimate Metamorph which I helped playtest. The book details everything you could ever possibly want for this idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted I'm not going to give a write-up because this very idea is very well convered in the Ultimate Metamorph which I helped playtest. The book details everything you could ever possibly want for this idea. As does the Woody Allen movie "Zelig". Cheers, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Suleyman Rashid Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted Speaking of not being helpful... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markdoc Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted So your suggestions are I wait for a book that won't be out for weeks and/or months, and watch a movie starring a man I find to be an untalented hack. Very helpful. Geez, it was a joke! Actually, even if you don't like Woody Allen, you might like Zelig - it's pretty atypical for him and also pretty funny. Anyhoo, you seem to basically have a grip on what you need, but to lay it out, here's what I'd do. Shapeshift (humanoid, or possibly even limit it to human, depending on your intent) Mimicry Acting Disguise and either: 10 x Cramming (to allow the acquistion of 10 skills at the FAM: level) or (my choice): mimic pool (30 point VPP, defined as "only skills/talents the target has") allowing up to 30 points of skills and talents to be grafted on - or more if there are limitations attached. and either: Retrocognition (defined as psychometry: can "see" the past of a person/object by touching them/it) or: Telepathy (only to read memories, -1/2) that should do the trick. cheers, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pogo Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted All good ideas. I think I should have included more detail. In the book she's featured in (Arkham Asylum: Hell On Earth), she takes the place of one of Arkham's staff psychiatrists and fools the other staff doctors, Commissioner Gordon, the guards (including one with a serious romantic interest in the psychiatrist), and all the inmates into believing she is who she is pretending to be. It takes Batman several months to figure out that she's Jane Doe and not the psychiatrist. During that time, she manages to successfully (well... as successfully as anyone can) run therapy sessions with the inmates and is able to give accurate diagnoses regarding them. (She even describes herself as a psychiatrist would, at one point, when Batman asks her about herself). She literally starts thinking in the same manner as the psychiatrist. She later impersonates a guard and another inmate (in succession) during an unsuccessful escape attempt. It seemed that she managed her surveillance over the course of a couple of months in all cases. She then moves in, kills the person, reduces their bodies to easily manageable (that is... concealable) pieces, and assumes their identity. From this she has demonstrated depth rather than breadth, but that may be a limitation of the story. Make her a recurring character and she may impersonate others. Anyway, the minimal point version of Jane Doe would have psychiatry, KS: asylum procedures, acting, and mimicry. Depending on game level, this may be enough. It's not enough to really frighten the characters though. So, what else do we have? If she has to spend months studying the victim, we can probably rule out telepathy with invisible power effects (IPE) as her primary information source. Regular telepathy to drag out any important secrets would be useful right before she kills the victim though. This not only makes her act more convincing, but also provides a whole new cast list for her next role. One question is how much does she submerge her own personality when doing this? Does she mostly become the victim, or is she constantly aware she's playing a part? You say she "starts thinking in the same manner as a psychiatrist." If that occurs early, it could be a straight power build. If that happens after a month or two of playing the part, it points more towards a skill-based character (you can, of course, simulate skills with powers). For a low to midlevel power-based Jane Doe, take Markdoc's mimic pool and telepathy. Add either 2d6 luck or mind control with IPE to smooth over any gaps. Shapeshift sight, sound, and touch make the impersonation easier, but if you're being true to the story I doubt that fits. Did dogs react differently around her, or was that not covered? If dogs didn't notice the difference between the doctor and Jane, then shapeshift scent is also required. I would probably shoot this character in a Dark Champions campaign if I had a DNPC. The risk is just too great. Of course one can argue that any DNPC in a Dark Champs campaign is asking for lots of trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Suleyman Rashid Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted From this she has demonstrated depth rather than breadth' date=' but that may be a limitation of the story. Make her a recurring character and she may impersonate others. Anyway, the minimal point version of Jane Doe would have psychiatry, KS: asylum procedures, acting, and mimicry. Depending on game level, this may be enough. It's not enough to really frighten the characters though.[/quote'] The best way to introduce this character would be to do it as they did in the comic: that is, with her already in place, having substituted herself for a known NPC (not a DNPC... but one of the regular background NPCs the players have become familiar with), then leading the story up to her being discovered. In the book, she was only discovered when she decided that she had been the psychiatrist long enough and was in the process of replacing a billionaire inmate (who plead insanity as a defense, but not because of real insanity) for whom she had arranged a transfer to a cushy "standard" prison. And she was only discovered seconds away from killing the man and taking his place. One question is how much does she submerge her own personality when doing this? Does she mostly become the victim, or is she constantly aware she's playing a part? You say she "starts thinking in the same manner as a psychiatrist." If that occurs early, it could be a straight power build. If that happens after a month or two of playing the part, it points more towards a skill-based character (you can, of course, simulate skills with powers). The specific dialog is "Jane is a complete blank slate. She believes that she has no life, so she craves the lives of others. The reason she takes the lives of others is so she can feel like a complete person." Surprisingly, this is Jane's diagnosis of herself while she's pretending to be the psychiatrist. I would probably shoot this character in a Dark Champions campaign if I had a DNPC. The risk is just too great. Of course one can argue that any DNPC in a Dark Champs campaign is asking for lots of trouble. Yeah, this character has supreme creep factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted All good ideas. I think I should have included more detail. In the book she's featured in (Arkham Asylum: Hell On Earth), she takes the place of one of Arkham's staff psychiatrists and fools the other staff doctors, Commissioner Gordon, the guards (including one with a serious romantic interest in the psychiatrist), and all the inmates into believing she is who she is pretending to be. It takes Batman several months to figure out that she's Jane Doe and not the psychiatrist. During that time, she manages to successfully (well... as successfully as anyone can) run therapy sessions with the inmates and is able to give accurate diagnoses regarding them. (She even describes herself as a psychiatrist would, at one point, when Batman asks her about herself). She literally starts thinking in the same manner as the psychiatrist. She later impersonates a guard and another inmate (in succession) during an unsuccessful escape attempt. It seemed that she managed her surveillance over the course of a couple of months in all cases. She then moves in, kills the person, reduces their bodies to easily manageable (that is... concealable) pieces, and assumes their identity. If she "becomes" her target that totally, it would IMO be best modeled as a Mutiform inside a VPP. The VPP would take limitations for Only One Power, Only Multiform, and Extra Time: (at least) One Month. I'd also make Jane Doe buy a KS with each person she targets, and a PS/SS in that person's most important PS/SS. Then give the VPP two RSR's to change. As well, Disguise and/or stuff like that might be a RSR. There'd also be restrictions on what Multiforms she could take: they'd have to be human, only "studied" persons, no "+5 to double", etc. Lump them all together as "Template Restrictions" and take on the VPP as a -0 Lim. It's a curious build, but it really lets her become the target. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Squirrel Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted Oh, I didn't mean to offend you. The book is AWESOME and definitely covers what you wanted with an approach I hadn't thought of. Unfortunately, now that I know the approach, I can't think of any other way to address the issue. And I feel it would be inappropriate for me to discuss ideas of book that is yet published. I just meant to point out that the book does have exactly what you want when you can get your hands on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pogo Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Re: Character Build Suggestions Wanted The specific dialog is "Jane is a complete blank slate. She believes that she has no life, so she craves the lives of others. The reason she takes the lives of others is so she can feel like a complete person." Surprisingly, this is Jane's diagnosis of herself while she's pretending to be the psychiatrist. OK, I'm going to do this with skills then, because it's just too creepy[1]. The caveat is that I don't have my books with me, so no point values will be given. I also made up one or two skills Disguise 13- (but she takes lots of extra time, so it works out) Mimicry 15- Acting 16- Concealment 13- Cramming x5 Fast Talk 14- Persuasion 14- Surveillance 14- (again, this works on a timescale of months) Analyze Personality 15- Jack of all Trades (still exists in 5th edition?) Scientist (I think that's a skill modifier) Master Villain 17- (stolen from Torg. She may substitute this skill once per day for any non-combat roll) 3 levels with skills OK, I lied. One power: 2d6 luck [1] I find someone who worked to get these skills more disturbing than someone who received the appropriate powers. "You wanted to do that? Ewwwwww." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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