Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

[nexus]

The basic idea is that character is aware that she lives in a fictional universe and use the knowledge to her advantage. I was wondering sorts of powers list member could suggest for this character. I came up with a few

 

Stepping between panel/pages: Teleport

Precognition/Clairsentience: Look into other panels/pages

Currying favor with the writer: Luck with requires a skill roll: Persusasion

Reading Thought Bubbles: Telepathy

Reading Captions: High Deduction or a Detect: Major plot points.

Protected by the comics code authorty: Instant change, trigger: Clothing takes damage only to restore/maintain costume in to appropriate coverae or CE to create convenient shadows, scenery to keep her decent.

 

Disdvantage might include

DF: talks to herself (Actually talking to the reader)

Psych: Hard time talking anything seriously, even death ("We didn't see the body!")

Psych: Beleives she must act according to genre conventions.

Rep: Completely insane.

 

 

Any other suggestions?

[OddHat]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

Yes, don't use this. Even in a comedy campaign, it will disrupt your immersion in the game.

 

OK, if you're not going to take that suggestion, I'd go with lots of absurdly high KS, using the rules from Ultimate Skill, rather than powers to reflect her knowledge of the world. Otherwise adjustment powers etc. can protect against her own abilities, which leaves you with multiple characters who can break the fourth wall. Go for Deduction, Conversation, maybe even Persuasion 25-, KS:Superhuman World 35- (becomes about 15- for very specific information like Villains Secret IDs and exact plans), Stealth, Concealment and Shadowing 25- so she can wander around in other characters plots, etc.

 

Oh, and in combat, physically attack the players, explaining that the character can reach out of her world to strike at them.

[nexus]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

Yes, don't use this. Even in a comedy campaign, it will disrupt your immersion in the game.

 

 

Oh, and in combat, physically attack the players, explaining that the character can reach out of her world to strike at them.

 

If you don't like the idea, that's cool but that's no call to rain on my parade. Frankly, what most gamers seem to refer to when they say "immersion" isn't a big deal to me, when they can even explain what its supposed to mean. Its an imaginary character with a weird schtick.

[OddHat]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

If you don't like the idea' date=' that's cool but that's no call to rain on my parade. Frankly, what most gamers seem to refer to when they say "immersion" isn't a big deal to me, when they can even explain what its supposed to mean. Its an imaginary character with a weird schtick.[/quote']

 

Sorry to have come off excessively negative. It may be that I'm posting too early (that was about 5:00 am form my point of view). You will note that I did list some abilities that might go with that concept.

 

As to immersion, I can explain what it means to me well enough. Judging from your post, I doubt that would be a productive conversation at the moment.

[Lucius]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

And here I thought we'd be talking about a female foxbat.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary snorts, and kicks the fourth wall just for the heck of it.

[Osprey]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

Sounds fun and fascinating to me.

 

The skills use does make sense.

I'm afraid I can't think of other abilities. (Yours are great)

 

Would she have to visit the editor's bullpen to get her luck or just yell at the reader and hope the writer hears it too?

[Bloodstone]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

Any other suggestions?

 

Have you read John Byrne's Sensational She-Hulk run from the 90's? Cause this idea definitly seems inspired by it. And if not, there are probably plenty of inspirations to be found in it

 

Animal Man and Deadpool also have a breaking the 4th wall thing going, but I don't think either of them used it the way She-Hulk and Louise did

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

I'd have to agree with Oddhat to a point.

 

In a solo game, yeah sure go for it.

 

If for a team campaign, especially if the other characters are more serious types, it could cause some serious problems. I enjoyed the fourth-wall breaking She-Hulk. It worked well in her own title, but she didn't carry those abilities and mindset over when she appeared in Avengers, etc.

 

Imagine a meeting between HeroGirl and say, Batman run by another player.

 

BM: "So...you're looking for the Penguin? I'll start combing the underworld and see what comes up..."

 

HG: "Oh, nevermind that. I saw a few panels back that he's hiding out under the zoo. Bring your Bat-Polar-Bear-Tranquilizers. And afterwards you can take me dancing! Oh, after you change back to Bruce Wayne of course."

 

BM: "How did you..."

 

HG: "Oh, saw your thought bubble while you were brooding as you approached. Too bad about your parents...but they had to die horribly like that to really spice up your origin story."

 

BM: "..."

 

 

Aside from the toe-stepping on regular detectives and such, the big issue is that other characters who take the world seriously will see this character not doing so - and being successful at it. Foxbat's fun in a regular Champions campaign because he's a loon like that but has no actual powers to that effect - he's the one who's nuts. If a character like this, who has real fourth-wall breaking powers, can talk to the writers, etc. is introduced, then they're the ONLY ONE who is sane, the rest are clueless at best and in serious denial at worst.

 

If you want to do something like this with a team campaign, I'd suggest instead of making it one character's abilities, make it part of "how the world works" and let all the characters get in on it. Set aside some points for each hero for a "I'm a comic book character" VPP, or let them make similar effects with "editing chits" or something like that.

 

As for other powers:

 

"It'll be retconned or no-prized out later, don't worry" - best represented as part of a VPP probably, the character suddenly has an ability never before seen and probably makes no sense given their origin, etc. Once used, the same ability can never be used again. Anything too reasonable and logical should be vetoed by the GM. Example: Human Torch pulling out a magical charm to break a curse.

[Superskrull]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

This is just a pointless quibble with your character concept.

 

She's wrong, y'know. Herogirl (or whatever her name winds up) isn't actually in a comic book. She's in an RPG.

 

 

Hmm, wonder what you could do to sim that?

[wrestlinggeek]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

Before you do this, clear it not only with the GM, but with every other player. If I was in a serious Champions game, and somebody pulled this, I would go ballistic. It is one thing for a character to think they are in a comic book (that's just good, old fashioned insanity). But to actually be a comic-book character who realises it, and gets powers from it... in most games I would run or play in, that's just wrong. Unless it's a full-out comedy campaign. Just my $0.02

[nexus]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

The character is for a comedic game very similar to "The Tick" in tone if not slightly siller. Her orgin involves a seemingly endless series of comic/action movie cliches interferring in her life until she became enlighted IE: Probably lost her mind and started to go with it...

 

The question of if she is actually "right" or not will likely never be addressed.

 

For an example of the kind of characters this game is going to feature another player is rolling around the idea of playing a guy who's only power is products work as advertised for him. EXACTLY as advertised. Ax body spray is a woman magnet, Ginsu knive can cut through anything, etc.

[nexus]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

This is just a pointless quibble with your character concept.

 

She's wrong, y'know. Herogirl (or whatever her name winds up) isn't actually in a comic book. She's in an RPG.

 

 

Hmm, wonder what you could do to sim that?

 

Of course she's in a rpg, to beleive otherwise is the height of insanity...or so says her Hunted....

[Cancer]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

The "appears across panels" thing can also become a limited Duplication form.

 

IF you can find them ... and they are extraordinarily difficult to come by ... Sam Hurt's old Eyebeam strip had a few sequences involving this sort of thing.

 

Allow me to suggest a sidekick, a figment of her imagination, to really confuse the level-of-reality game.

 

Eyebeam had a number of running gags involving Hank the Hallucination, originally a boredom-induced hallucination of Eyebeam's (Eyebeam, obviously, is the title character); Hank is, obviously, a second-order fictional character (that is, one that does not really exist even in the framework of the fictional story in which he appears). He also, at times, is a strict literalist, which can lead to logical contradictions on several levels. Originally only Eyebeam saw him, but later on he appeared to a number of other characters, including the robot.

[BoneDaddy]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

Hunted: Inker, More Powerful, NCI, 14-

 

Duck Amok!

[Kristopher]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

The character is for a comedic game very similar to "The Tick" in tone if not slightly siller. Her orgin involves a seemingly endless series of comic/action movie cliches interferring in her life until she became enlighted IE: Probably lost her mind and started to go with it...

 

The question of if she is actually "right" or not will likely never be addressed.

 

For an example of the kind of characters this game is going to feature another player is rolling around the idea of playing a guy who's only power is products work as advertised for him. EXACTLY as advertised. Ax body spray is a woman magnet, Ginsu knive can cut through anything, etc.

 

If everyone is in on the gag, so to speak, this sounds like a fun game.

[BoneDaddy]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

Multipower - Guest Artist. All powers have side effects.

Leifeld - STR+ 30, side effect (Distinctive features, Phys. Lim. - Gigantic breasts, grotesque musculature)

McFarlaine -

Ross - PRE + 30

etc.

[BoneDaddy]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

Cosmic VPP - What If?

 

Summon Superhero - 1 shot crossover

 

Duplication - Multiple Titles (See Spiderman, Batman. If Ultimate Spiderman, Amazing Spiderman, Web of Spiderman, Incredible Spiderman, and Avengers Spiderman all got together, that's a hell of a lot of webs.

[nexus]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

Thanks everyone. These are great!

[nexus]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

Another Idea I had was

 

"You didn't see the Body" Regeneration with Resserection Only if killed, requires a Reputation roll and Extra time.

 

If she's popular enough, she comes back.

[Osprey]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

The She-Hulk reference made me remember, a secretary she hired that had been in a comic decade earlier.

She wanted to be in a comic again so she would stop aging so fast!

 

Life Support: Reduced aging, Only while regularly appearing in a comic book.

[PhaseKitty]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

The character is for a comedic game very similar to "The Tick" in tone if not slightly siller. Her orgin involves a seemingly endless series of comic/action movie cliches interferring in her life until she became enlighted IE: Probably lost her mind and started to go with it...

 

The question of if she is actually "right" or not will likely never be addressed.

 

For an example of the kind of characters this game is going to feature another player is rolling around the idea of playing a guy who's only power is products work as advertised for him. EXACTLY as advertised. Ax body spray is a woman magnet, Ginsu knive can cut through anything, etc.

 

Oh! Now this sounds different than your first post. That sounded like the charrie really did have contact with the real world. This sounds like someone like Boxed-Fat, but with powers to back up her claim, even though she's as wack as him.

 

That's a fun idea, but yeah, only in a silly campaign.

 

[nexus]

Re: Help with a character: She knows she's in a comic book

 

She might be right and actually have contact with "reality" but I don't expect the answer will be ever concretely proven or disproven. Even AsAdveristedMan's magic 8 ball says "Signs are Unclear"