WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

[Marcus Impudite]

While raiding a mystic villain's lair, you are trapped in a room with a gilded mirror standing in the center (the doors close and lock tight, and wards have been cast upon the room to prevent more exotic means of escape such as Teleportation, Desolid, etc.). Suddenly, your reflection leaps from mirror with a wicked leer on his/her face (BTW, it's a magical mirror, so for those who might say "my character's a vampire, he/she has no reflection in mirrors" they do in this one). It is then that you are told that you must defeat your doggleganger (he/she has all the same abilities as you but is your polar opposite morally) to get free of this room and, as is often with traps like this one, if your doppleganger defeats you, you will be sealed within the mirror and your doppleganger will be set free to wreck havoc. What tactics do you use to beat your mirror self? Will the fight end with you or your doppleganger going free? WWYCD?

[AliceTheOwl]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

The Greek would challenge her double to a round of chess, presuming that would meet the criterion. She'd allow her double to go first.

 

(The Greek has spent a lot of time honing her chess skill, and actually took out an interdimensional threat by beating him at a game. She's found she plays much better when she's playing defensively.)

[Blue]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Uncle Slam once defeated his evil twin, but they'd have fought to a draw if not for the interferance of another hero. So aside from the two of them literally shredding the room with their combat, I'm not sure how to play this.

 

Anthem's fight would go on forever! No, seriously. Anthem can't do enough damage to herself to defeat her invulnerability. So in the end they would have to settle it by other means.

 

Audra blue says, "I challenge you to simple test of skill. Whoever can use these scissors and cut out this string of paper dolls the fastest will win." The trick is that since she is a mirror duplicate, she'll be opposite handed, and therefore trying to cut with the wrong hand using Audra's pair of scissors.

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Well...

 

Rook:

"This should be interesting...".

 

His powers are a) Energy Projection, Energy Absorbtion (including near invulnerability). While mechanically I know what will happen, he has no idea if it can be overloaded... but he'll find out the hard way (read: the only way).

 

(They'll reach the upper limits of the absorbtion... and still have trouble hurting each other. Battle of Attrition, slowly frying each other with the strain.)

 

If, however, it only copies powers, not experiences (I don't mean memory - I mean his powers key off what forms of energy he's absorbed), this will be easy. Just collapse chunks of the room on the doppelganger, who can't actually _use_ it's powers. (This would be swiftly confirmed or denied by the doppelganger using it's powers, or not).

 

Otherwise, the doppelganger is unlikely to be better off due to ruthlessness or whatnot, so the good Rook should win through heroic determination.

(fingers crossed).

 

 

Other PC's... I can't think of any especial edge. 'I'm the hero' only goes so far; 'I'm the evil bastich' can make up for it. Coinflip. (Although, one fun option is try this: 'You know, I hate being messed around with. What say we team up and beat the heck of the guy who made this trap instead?')

[sinanju]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Hell's Angel would have a devil of a time in this fight. Aside from her fire powers, she's got normal human stats. Her forcefield and damage reduction vs fire would make any fight between Hell's Angel and her evil twin a long (and painful) battle of attrition. Our heroine would win in the end, though--if only because she's fighting for more than just her freedom. Her evil doppleganger would torment and kill everyone she loves, and that's just not gonna happen!

 

The Black Knight would be thrilled by the chance to fight his evil twin--the perfect opponent! It would be a real gore-fest, as they hacked and chopped at one another, both healing up almost faster than they can inflict damage on one another. The real Black Knight would win because he'd be trying to kill his opponent--his evil twin would be too busy enjoying the opportunity to torment his foe to take his first opportunity(s) to end it.

[Chuckg]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Starguard -- well, given the holy nature of her powers, her moral opposite would either a) be attempting to contain angelic force in an evil soul, aka "spontaneous combustion time", or be a demonically-empowered force.

 

tends to have Vulnerabilities to Starguard's holy aura... but she don't have any Vulnerabilities to it.

 

So, purity wins again.

 

Dr. Pain -- smashes the mirror.

 

Baron von Darien -- if it's daylight outside, punches a hole in the wall and lets the daylight in... he's wearing an ancient Atlantean ring that protects vs. sunlight, but as it's an Independent Focus, the duplicate *won't* be.

 

If it's night out? Smash the mirror.

[McCoy]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Millennium *smiles* "I am the Hero With A Thousand Faces. If you are my polar opposite morally, you are a villian. You know the villian always looses. Always."

 

Cheeta *smiles* While technically a Good Guy, he cheats. His polar opposite morally would fight fair. Might be just enough of an edge.

 

Iron Will *would smile if his facial muscles were strong enough* He's a pragmitist. Willing to do whatever it takes. Will pull the plug on his opponents life support, TK grapple to keep him from reconnecting it. This one's chancy. Works only if the opponent trys to build a gadget instead of attacking with STR 10 TK. If opponent copies this tactic, whoever gets initive lives.

 

Snow Leopard having the family's anger management problem, doesn't know if releasing her polar opposite morally on the world would necessarily be a bad thing. This one is tough.

 

Dolphin "Interesting. If you have my invulnerability, I'm not strong enough to hurt you. And I presume vice versa. A physical confrotation would be pointless. Perhapse a contest of Karma, see who's teammates come to the rescue first. But being my polar opposite morally, do you even have teammates? I value my team and my friends highly, so I supose you distane yours. Or maybe we should try an indirect solution, sort of think outside --" *sucker punches mirror with pushed STR*

[Chuckg]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

... oh, the 'moral opposite' also applies to tactical POV?

 

Given that the Baron is normally one of the most ruthless SOBs in the universe, I suppose that would make his opposite # the sort of overly melodramatic, chivalrous villain who makes such a point of fighting fair that he's wide open to just being killed during his monologue.

[McCoy]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

... oh' date=' the 'moral opposite' also applies to tactical POV?[/quote']

That's what Cheeta and Iron Will are counting on. I'm sure the opposite will apply as well. Millennium and Dolphin attack only in defense of self and others, I'm sure their dopplegangers will have no problem throwing the first punch.

[DataPacRat]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Bunny raises one eyebrow at her doppel, and simply waits for a few moments.

 

She has two Psych Lims - one, a Code of Honor ("Do no harm", "Protect the weak from the strong"); the other is written as "Wants to live forever (sometimes aka Cowardice)". If the doppel is her moral opposite, than it will be a nihilist that wants to die as soon as possible - and so would bravely suicide as expeditiously as it can...

 

[ghost-angel]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Jessica - "Aww jeez, I'm a Goth. Someone's gonna pay for this." The moral oposite of Jessica probably cares about people, probably wouldn't kill and would dress like a goth-vampire. Because Jessica dresses in bright colors, like to hurt things and considers it to be a good day if she gets to rend something. The fight would be fun, but dsetructive.

 

Silence - I'm trying to figure out what her moral opposite would be, she really has no code. The only thing she can't do is kill, not out of some moral idea that it's wrong but because that's not her job and to do so would forfeit her soul to oblivion ... The two entities would probably duel for a while because sword fights bring a certain enjoyment, but after that might sit down and wait for something to happen. They would most likely both feel they had eternity and would be fine with that. Unless I can come up with a better idea of her moral opposite, what is the opposite of "none of the above, those apply to the living."

[McCoy]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Silence - I'm trying to figure out what her moral opposite would be' date=' she really has no code. The only thing she can't do is kill, not out of some moral idea that it's wrong but because that's not her job and to do so would forfeit her soul to oblivion ... The two entities would probably duel for a while because sword fights bring a certain enjoyment, but after that might sit down and wait for something to happen. They would most likely both feel they had eternity and would be fine with that. Unless I can come up with a better idea of her moral opposite, what is the opposite of "none of the above, those apply to the living."[/quote']

To me, she has a boss, she obeys her boss. Her opposite will be rebelious, seek to work against the boss or possibly set herself us as boss. And since in this context, the one who set the trap could be said to be her boss . . ..

 

Just one opinion.

[Guest daeudi_454]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

ION: IS his own evil twin, so he fights this all the time anyways (Split personality)

Firedrake:Suppress Magic FX, one power at a time. That while attacking full bore physically. At worst, the doppleganger will be suppressing the suppress. At best, goodbye Doppleganger!

Quantum Cat: "What if Schroedinger had put 2 cats in the box?" Assuming a TRUE exact duplicate of his powers= would probably wait for the doppleganger to use a wormhole ability, then cause a loop between them, trapping them both until a team mate could rescue him.

The PC: Get bored fighting himself after 10 minutes, then attempt to move to the next adventure or campaign by blowing his own brains out.

(http://www.herogames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=866053&postcount=123)

[Stormraven]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

This is a toughie for most of my superheroic characters, as they have a tendency to be pretty amoral. Not villains, but they're acting heroically for reasons far removed from altruism and fellow-feeling.

 

Checkmate, for example, is a hero primarily for two reasons. 1) There are an awful lot of megalomaniacal geniuses out there for him to pit his intelligence against, and 2) Simple logic shows that no one - not even Dr. Destroyer - has been able to avoid capture entirely, therefore it is the better path to avoid legal entanglements.

 

So his doppelganger would be one of two things. Since he doesn't let his emotions cloud his reason, his doppelganger could be emotional and mystical, or his doppelganger could be him in a situation where the greatest challenge was against the heroes.

 

In the first, Checkmate would slice his doppelganger a new one, as uncontrolled emotion and martial arts are never a good idea. In the second, Checkmate would simply point out the logic that led him to his decision, and convince the doppelganger to join him - or, possibly, to work together to break out of the room and go their separate ways so both could finally get a true challenge.

[Badger]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Badger-might have to take from some things already mentioned here. Break the mirror and join forces with doppleganger. Even if he has to fight, he is breaking the mirror. No one can go back in, if there is no more mirror. Ok, not break the mirror, atomize it. (to make sure). Rather die, than be trapped in a mirror. If they do end up fighting, it'll be interesting. Oh, and I'm not for sure who can be considered the

good guy.

 

frosty Bob- well considering bob. His doppleganger will end up being a total pacifist. Or at least get hit by a cvk. Course bob is pretty invulnerable, so get your snickers bar, cause no one is going anywhere for awhile.

[Wormhole]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Most of my characters would consider breaking the mirror as a last resort (of course, this raises the question of which would suck more, 7 years bad luck or being trapped in a magic mirror?)

 

Assuming moral opposite also includes POV...

 

Air Raider would have no problem smoking his Total Pacifist dopple.

 

Hardware is such a boy scout he may be in trouble. Will probably shot the mirror with his blaster and hope for the best.

 

Tigershark is a shade of grey, so it's a 50/50 shot. Since he isn't overly supertious, he may not have a problem with smashing the mirror unless he has a specific reason to believe something bad will happen as a result.

 

Wormhole, being a villain, probably wouldn't have got himself in this mess in the first place. If he did, he'd shot the mirror if he couldn't best his dopple.

[ghost-angel]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

To me, she has a boss, she obeys her boss. Her opposite will be rebelious, seek to work against the boss or possibly set herself us as boss. And since in this context, the one who set the trap could be said to be her boss . . ..

 

Just one opinion.

Hrmm, and a good opinion at that.

 

Assuming her opposite is rebellious (very likely as Silence is very "go along"), possibly part of that rebellion would be to commit the ultimate form of it. Thus Silence's double would be attempting to kill Silence, disregarding it's own soul in favor of showing who's who the "Better to rule in hell than serve in heaven" scenario. Silence would be defending against lethal attacks, and attempting to knock out her opponent. No healing factor, and completely tireless; given equal ability the fight could be short or go on for aeons.

 

I might actually have to tips odds in favor of the doppelganger who has intent to kill, thus trapping Silence. She would be disappointed but be resigned to her fate.

[dbsousa]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Golden Eagle would activate his "GREMLIN ray", designed to shut down technological gadgets. If he gets the drop on him, he will reconfigure his suit to take charge of his opponents armor (Mind Control, only to people in battlesuits)...

[SatinKitty]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

WICCA: Is not even sure whether SHE is real and the Doppleganger is the fake, or vice versa. She would concentrate her magic on dispelling the mirror. Makes more sense.

 

All my characters would not concentrate on the Doppelganger. They would try to destroy or dispell the mirror.

[Guest HeroPink!]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

While raiding a mystic villain's lair' date=' you are trapped in a room with a gilded mirror standing in the center (the doors close and lock tight, and wards have been cast upon the room to prevent more exotic means of escape such as Teleportation, Desolid, etc.). Suddenly, your reflection leaps from mirror with a wicked leer on his/her face (BTW, it's a [i']magical[/i] mirror, so for those who might say "my character's a vampire, he/she has no reflection in mirrors" they do in this one). It is then that you are told that you must defeat your doggleganger (he/she has all the same abilities as you but is your polar opposite morally) to get free of this room and, as is often with traps like this one, if your doppleganger defeats you, you will be sealed within the mirror and your doppleganger will be set free to wreck havoc. What tactics do you use to beat your mirror self? Will the fight end with you or your doppleganger going free? WWYCD?

 

Glarg: Punched his way out as soon as the doors shut and locked. If he was still working on it when the dopp jumped out, who's doing the explaining? Cause if the dopp is only the moral opposite, he's not smart enough to understand that bumf, and certainly can't explain it. If they fight, it's GM/dice to decide who wins; Glarg just hits, he doesn't have "tactics."

 

Panweesio: Moral opposite? Then the dopp is conflcited, cares more for others than self, will hate to use the powers, etc. Cakewalk for Panweesio.

 

Thena: Has three levels Armor Piercing and two Indirect on her Teleports, and four/three on her XDM. She wants to go, she GOES. If she acted before the dopp showed, she'd leave; if after, she'd XDM it to the one of the dimensions she knows will not allow magic.

 

Lana van Hoom: Her only power is a Multiform in a VPP, that randomly changes twice a day. It all depends on if Lana and the dopp have the same "other" (what she calls it) or not. The GM's gonna have fun with this.

[Marketeer]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Blackberry is a genuinely nice, well-adjusted person.

 

She'd be in for problems.

 

Her doppleganger would probably be wearing something highly impractical for combat, or general daily wear for that matter.

 

This would hopefully be enough to make up for the fact that while Blackberry isn't a generally violent sort, but her doppleganger most likely would be...

 

Yeah, Blackberry would be looking for a way out RIGHT AWAY.

[Yogzilla]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

When I mentioned this to one of my friends, he said, "Well, given that my character is so cool, his doppleganger would be terribly lame. So it'd be a short fight." I couldn't argue with his logic...

[Lethosos]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Hah, too true, Yog. Fortuantly we're just sticking to game stats and moral alignment. I'd hate to think of a lame Queen.

 

For the Queen of Spades... given that I haven't finalized her armor/damage output, I'll have to consider the concept of duplication. Exactly what is duplicated is the question, as it's obvious that if she has her Scepter out already, the doppelganger will have that ready, as well. Since she stores her equipment in small dimensional pockets, would that ability carry over? If she, say, has some useful stuff in at least one (I'm thinking some sort of cryo-entangle ray, at the very least once there's enough points.)

 

In any case, it's quite likely that the doppelganger is pretty much less willing to go smashy-smashy like the Queen might. So it's up to how much both are willing to risk being blindsided if either one opens up with a Scepter EB at each other. (Morally, that's no biggy for her--she doesn't have a CvK, but peffers keeping people alive anyways. She does try her best to stay within the boundaries of the law.)

[GoldenAge]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

Bastion could be in some trouble.

 

Both Bastion and his doppelganger would have intimate knowledge of the Chromo-Dial and it's abilities. They would also know that without it each is just an ordinary man (okay, as ordinary as Doc Savage).

 

Both would probably make a play to disable or deprive his opponent of his advantage (the Chromo-Dial). Unfortunately for Bastion, he has a tendency to grow in the face of adversity. Usually his size and increased density are enough to hold any villain at bay. However, being his exact opposite, it's probable that the Doppelganger opts for the shrinking option of Chromo-Dial’s chromodynamic field manipulation. As Bastion grows in response to a brutal attack the doppelganger shrinks, perhaps to his infinite smallness???

 

If the doppelganger can get onto Bastion... Well, there are a number of things he could do to hurt a giant... HOWEVER, Bastion's no fool. He would immediately counter!

 

GROW!

SHRINK!

GROW!

SHRINK!

 

It would certainly be a visually dynamic battle.

 

Conservation of the Chromo-Dial's energy could be the difference. Whoever runs out first is at a severe disadvantage.

 

Now, about that mirror... Dr. Castle (Bastion) has a driving need to discover the Microverse (which is, for now, only a theory). I'm positive that the mirror's ability to access another dimension would give him serious pause. Hopefully he'll be able to put his curiosity on hold until he's dispatched his doppelganger!

 

 

BTW: Great thread! I love reading about everyone's characters. This WWYCD gives us some good insight into the psyche of those heroes (and villains).

[Cancer]

Re: WWYCD: The Mirror, Mirror Trap

 

This would be a very interesting set-up for Mr. Terrific. He is super for a maximum of 8 minutes a day, his powers coming from "power pills" of his own making, the effects of which last 2 minutes each, and he can take one of each of the four types of pills once daily. The details of what's happened leading up to the trapping matter. Mr. Terrific is highly intelligent, but that is reduced somewhat in his alternate forms, and each of the forms has their own peculiar limitations; depending on what forms were still available that day, the contest would run differently.