OddHat Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Summon, any 25 point creature, amicable, arives under own power. The character is the Most Popular Girl in the World. Teleport, 1", megascale may be scaled down, 1 fxed location, only to that location. As long as she's at least 1 KM from her bed, the character can always click her heels together three times and wake up at home. Dimension travel to one dimension, Extra Time 5 Minutes, must keep walking, CK: Babylon, Perk: Citizen of Babylon, 5 points of wealth. It's a classic; the NPC is just an ordinary person, but they also have access to an alternate world where they have status and some resources. You can limit the travel even more, say only through a wardrobe or only through a mirror. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers *blink blink* I just started pondering slightluy powered sex industry workers.... best not to go there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinecone Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers +10 Com Lim: only shows on film...not very good lookin but Very telegenic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinecone Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers *blink blink* I just started pondering slightluy powered sex industry workers.... best not to go there. Detect: Eroginus zones; Sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Most of the sidekicks from Sky High are suitable for this. Able to turn into innocuous animals, puddles and so on. At least some of the characters from the Legion of Substitute Heroes: able to turn to (immobile) stone, able to change the colours of objects and so on. At the more formidable end, you could have characters that are almost adventurer grade, except their powers aren't under control, or are only occasionally available. DC's Hero Hotline series had a lot of fairly limited powered characters. Zeep the Living Sponge was quite literally a human sponge. Marie the Thunder Turtle was never shown using her powers, but basically, she was a turtle. Being a talking animal is an interesting "superpower" in general, even without other powers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmadanNaBriona Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Detect: Eroginus zones; Sense? How about a pheromone producer... 2d6 mind control, cumulative, based on con, damage sheild AOE inherent, only to cause arousal and reduction of inhibitions. Could make a mint as a party organizer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ockham's Spoon Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers My favorites for low-level powers are enhanced senses like parabolic hearing, Radio hearing, and No Conscious Control Telepathy. This allows NPCs with no crime-fighting abilities to "overhear" evil schemes, making it an easy plot hook when they have to contact the heroes for help. If they are a DNPC this is almost too easy; if they are adversarial with the heroes for some reason but suddenly need protection (now that they are a "witness") or only give the heroes partial details for their own reasons you can get some fun roleplaying out of this. On a side note, would anyone else like to see a supplement with low-level paranormals in it? I have always been slightly bothered by the idea that the majority of mutant powers seem to be tailored to crimefighting, with comparitively few minor or disadvantageous ones. To date in my campaigns this has been explained either by a major mutant creation incident or handwaving (yeah they are there, they just lay low), but I think there is a lot of possibility there. Similarly for low-level mages or technical geniuses or whatever. ________________________________________________________ "The rich scare me. They can already evade taxes." - Grim Reaper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Serpent Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Ability to open anything. Open tight jar lids, pull out stripped or rusted screws, get into car with keys locked inside, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoresLost Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers I have been toying with a shapeshifter design (using just the shape shift power, not multiform) and found that I could quickly build a person who would be able to look like any one and maintain that form indefently, but was so expensive that I could not give them any real defenses or attack ablities (note I was upto 110 points for the shape shift with all desired adders and 0 end/persistant, add inherant and the price goes up to (55 * 2.5) = 137 (approx) add bunches of social skill (acting, high socity etc) you can get the person of a thousand faces, but unable to defend themself in combat. A powerful non combatant (but could be very useful) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karmakaze Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers One of my taglines used to be "Raised in the forest by wild rhododendrons... It's Gladiola Gal!" She's an herbopath. That is, she can talk to plants, and hear their replies. She can't make them do anything a plant couldn't normally do (no entangle vines, unless you can talk someone into standing still for a couple of days), and, well, plants are not traditionally sentient and have a somewhat different perception set. Of course, it's impossible to sneak up on her anyplace with grass around. ("oof"! "oof!" says the lawn.) She got the name Gladiola Gal sitting with some (more usefully powered) friends having the "what kind of superhero could I be" conversation. When they got to her, she rolled her eyes and said "I talk to plants! What am I gonna do? Dress in pink and green and call myself Gladiola Gal?" And thus a nickname was born, much to her general annoyance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Invisibility, always on, Only vs. Mosquitoes (and other pests) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Very low strength telekinesis, perhaps with a huge END cost. Just enough to lift an ice cube out of a poolside drink and deposit it between a sunbathing woman's shoulder blades. EDIT: Hm. Blade, Steve, and McCoy had pretty much the same idea on the previous page. And AmadanNaBriona had the idea for what we have humorously call "Force Diddle" in our Star Wars campaign ... and we have arguments over whether using that gives you Dark Side points or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Way back, I had one characters DNPC gain the power to turn into a very low powered Flying Robot. Mrs. Oddhat played him as a bratty 9 year old kid. As he gained experience, he became a favorite character. Eventually we played him as a full teen superhero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lethosos Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Oooh! Oooh! Burn Body Fat: Shape Shift (Sight Group, limited group of shapes), Cellular, Usable By Other (+1/4), Difficult To Dispel (x2 Active Points; +1/4) (45 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Minute, Character May Take No Other Actions, -1 3/4), Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2), Gestures (must touch other person), Requires Gestures throughout (-1/2) Now who'd pay him a few hundred just to get rid of that unsightly love handle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandi Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Being immune to one really nasty disease-- say HIV, or Ebola-- would lead to an interesting life as an aid worker, or maybe a well-paid laboratory subject... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooligan x Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Ability to open anything. Open tight jar lids' date=' pull out stripped or rusted screws, get into car with keys locked inside, etc.[/quote'] Safes, bank vaults... Someone from GRAB is on the phone for you, sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Serpent Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Safes' date=' bank vaults... Someone from GRAB is on the phone for you, sir.[/quote'] Hey, it wouldn't be of much use in crimefighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Hmm. A variable-effect Summon useable only for small, known-to-be-nearby-but-I-don't-know-exactly-where inanimate objects would be handy. Where are my keys again? Oh, in my other hand. Fine, let's go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted December 2, 2005 Report Share Posted December 2, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers Summon' date=' any 25 point creature, amicable, arives under own power. The character is the Most Popular Girl in the World.[/quote'] This one reminds me a bit of the power with women that the Fonz from Happy Days has. He snaps his fingers, and a pretty girl comes over to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdamnhero Posted December 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers This one reminds me a bit of the power with women that the Fonz from Happy Days has. He snaps his fingers' date=' and a pretty girl comes over to him. [/quote'] And of coures, let's not forget his ability to instantly repair any non-functioning electrical device by simpy thumping it. On a side note, would anyone else like to see a supplement with low-level paranormals in it? I have always been slightly bothered by the idea that the majority of mutant powers seem to be tailored to crimefighting, with comparitively few minor or disadvantageous ones. I think it's an interesting idea, and one I'm looking to flesh out a bit in my campaign (hence this thread). But I'm not sure I'd pay money for it, to be honest. bigdamnhero “This is for ladies only!†[unzips fly] “So is *this*, ma'am, but every now and then I have to run a little water through it.†Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddHat Posted December 3, 2005 Report Share Posted December 3, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers On a side note, would anyone else like to see a supplement with low-level paranormals in it? I have always been slightly bothered by the idea that the majority of mutant powers seem to be tailored to crimefighting, with comparitively few minor or disadvantageous ones. To date in my campaigns this has been explained either by a major mutant creation incident or handwaving (yeah they are there, they just lay low), but I think there is a lot of possibility there. Similarly for low-level mages or technical geniuses or whatever. ________________________________________________________ "The rich scare me. They can already evade taxes." - Grim Reaper I once did a 50 point supers thread, but it didn't get much interet. There wa also a fairly cool 25 point Supers thread. It's interesting the sort of thing you can manage at those levels, even without seriously munchkin builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Suleyman Rashid Posted December 3, 2005 Report Share Posted December 3, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers *blink blink* I just started pondering slightluy powered sex industry workers.... best not to go there. I seem to remember a joker prostitute from the Wild Card series who appeared to her Johns to be their heart's desire. She was considered a joker because she had no control over it, and appeared as a different "heart's desire" to everyone in a room, and effectively payed the Endurance cost for every "transformation". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Suleyman Rashid Posted December 3, 2005 Report Share Posted December 3, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers For that matter, Wild Cards had others of this type: Mr. Rainbow, with the power to change the color of his skin, but only to one of the seven colors of the visible spectrum. Or Ralph Norton, the human garbage disposal... who was effectively Matter Eater Lad. And no matter what anyone says, being able to digest anything isn't a crimefighting power... The Wallcrawler. He can walk on walls. And that's all. The Librarian. If its written in a book, he can summon it to memory. Not very effective when it comes to stopping bank-robbers. I seem to remember an issue of the Defenders which featured a mutant activist whose sole power was that he could see into the infrared spectrum. And that was all. One of his fellow activist had the "power" of having seven fingers and toes on each hand and foot rather than the usual five. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted December 3, 2005 Report Share Posted December 3, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers I seem to remember an issue of the Defenders which featured a mutant activist whose sole power was that he could see into the infrared spectrum. And that was all. One of his fellow activist had the "power" of having seven fingers and toes on each hand and foot rather than the usual five. Same character, the late Adrian Castorp, who could see into the infared and had six fingers on each hand. It was in his memory that M.O.N.S.T.E.R. (Mutants Only Need Sensitivity, Tolerance, and Equal Rights) adopted the six fingered hand as their emblem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pogo Posted December 3, 2005 Report Share Posted December 3, 2005 Re: "Mostly Harmless" powers +4 speed, only to change tires. It's Pit Man! You could make a good living with this one if you don't mind left turns. 1d6 Entangle, no defense -- useful for babysitters Life support, self contained breathing, usable by others (8 targets), ranged, increased range, persistent, requires concentration (0 DCV), must concentrate throughout. Firefighters and some rescue teams would take someone with this power. flash vs. taste -- get kids to take their medicine. May also cause an outbreak of bowties. -8 str TK, fine manipulation -- Nearly everyone working with medium to high vacuum systems (1e-7 torr or lower) wants this. In grad school I would have maimed for this power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.