Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

[Lucius]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

Well... send 'em over then.

 

You want mistakes, cheesy builds, and awkward construction?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary kicks Lucius in the seat of the pants and tells him not to be difficult and just round up and send the good stuff.

[Susano]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

You want mistakes, cheesy builds, and awkward construction?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary kicks Lucius in the seat of the pants and tells him not to be difficult and just round up and send the good stuff.

 

Yeah, just the good stuff.

[Basil]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

I didn't think of that interpretation of the phrase. In the song' date=' it's obvious (to me) that the resistance he has squandered is his resistance to a pocket full of mumbles, such are promises. [/quote']

I read it as "I have squandered my resistance, in order to gain a pocketful of mumbles." IOW, he's lost his resistance (to what exactly isn't stated), and landed up with nothing more than halting, mumbling speech. That's why I think of being punch-drunk, or having a jaw that healed badly after being broken (perhaps repeatedly).

 

 

Of course' date=' I'm not above taking a phrase out of context to fit a skill that was not at all intended by the songwriter....[/quote']

 

But in researching this character I came across a few words Paul Simon had to say about what he had in mind, not to mention actually seeing that the lyrics are written as

 

...'til he cried out, in his anger and his shame, "I am leaving, I am leaving" - but the fighter still remains..

 

Proving that it is the fighter, the boxer, who is saying "I am leaving" and that the contrast isn't between someone who is leaving and someone who isn't but between the boxer's words and his deeds. He says "screw this, I'm fed up, I'm quitting" but he never actually stops fighting and walks away.

That's how I always took it.

 

The "Designer's Note" thing was actually written before I'd figured out how wrong I've been for decades. I could be the only person who ever interpreted the song as being about two people. Or thought that the narrator is actually going home instead of just dreaming about it - if I were as smart as I think I am' date=' I would have caught on that "laying out my winter clothes" implies not that he's packing for a trip to a warm climate, but that he's preparing for another New York City winter that he will endure.[/quote']

That, to me, is the big "give away"; plus he says "...and wishing I was gone---going home."

 

Just color me dumb. Or at least, confused- confused for twenty five years without even knowing it....

 

Should I fix the Hero Design file to get rid of that note?

Well, if it embarrasses you, sure.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary bows at both ends by deftly crossing two legs behind the other two and bending both long and graceful necks.

 

Dr. Infamous mutters as he disentangles the Bacandforthtrian who tried to follow the palindromedary's instructions. Meanwhile, the herd of llamalls chortle as they bow or curtsey, as appropriate, just to show off.

 

Dr. Infamous, the Bacandforthtrian, and the llamalls, are more fine products of Basil's Twisted Imagination, Oink.

[Lucius]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

I did the background for Merchant of Dreams

 

Here's the Hero Designer file if Susano (or anyone else) wants it.

 

[ATTACH]32047[/ATTACH]

 

 

Background/History: It started with the Weather Report. That's what mom and dad called it - Stevie would tell them over breakfast what the day would be like, especially the weather. They thought he just had a knack for it, that something in his brain could put together what the clouds looked like and which way the wind was blowing and figure out what the weather would do for that day. He thought so too, because how else did he always know? They bought him books about weather and climate and said he'd be a great meteorologist some day, and at 14 he was already making a list of colleges to consider...but he was beginning to doubt that he was born to be a weatherman. For one thing, it wasn't just weather - he predicted all kinds of things, and was right too often for it to be chance. And sometimes he remembered how he knew - he had dreamed it. But that was crazy, so mostly he ignored it and carried on with a "normal" life, going to college and studying weather and meeting a girl....and sleeping with her....and dreaming with her. And finding that if he really wanted to, he could know what she was thinking - and she was thinking it was strange that they kept having the same dreams together, even on nights they were apart. One morning he lay there clutching a pillow to his face, trying so hard to hold onto that crazy beautiful dream....and that night she found herself in the dream as soon as she lay her head on that same pillow. This was too much - she left, never to share his bed again. It was only later they found out she was already pregnant.

As for Steven, he'd reached the point where it was crazier to deny the truth than to accept it. The inside of other people's minds, especially dreaming minds, were not closed mysteries to him. Even the future - flowing and malleable as it was, changing with every chance and choice in the present - was his in glimpses. And strangest of all, he could imbue an object with the essence of a dream, his own or another's that he had shared.

A friend often dreamed of falling. Steven changed that dream one night, to one of flight, stored the dream in a figurine of a bird, and gave it as a present. "Trust me. Hold this, and close your eyes. Take a deep breath and relax. You need an open mind...ah...yes. You see it don't you?" That was the first one.

Soon he had dropped out of school. People were willing to pay for dreams made solid. Several months and many dreams later, he spent a long time staring at the IRS form. He hadn't kept such good records so he had to estimate what his income had been. And then there was the line at the bottom marked "Occupation." Steven Hicks smiled to himself and wrote in "Dream Merchant." Then he made sure that, whatever questions they had about the numbers, anyone who handled that paper would know exactly what a dream merchant was. It's very hard to make dreams stick to something as banal and soulless as a bureaucratic form, but it can be done.

 

 

Personality/Motivation: Dreams are often paradoxical, and so is the Dream Merchant. He shares the intimacy of their dreams with countless strangers, and yet he is often lonely. Some people are fascinated by his powers, but even so they are often frightened or just see him as too strange and otherworldly to really be emotionally close to. On the one hand he has no compunctions about invading the privacy of dreamers by observing their dreams, but on the other he is strictly ethical about what he reveals - dreams he sells are either carefully chosen, or edited, to keep the dreamers anonymous. On the one hand he freely manipulates the dreams of people, but on the other he is very wary of manipulating people through their dreams. Part of the reason most of his relationships are brief is that women often feel uncomfortable sleeping next to a man they know can walk right into their dreams, and another part is his own fear that if he lets someone get too close and stay too close he will unconsciously begin to bend them to his desires by controling their dreams. His first paramour would have long since vanished from his life, except that he continues to pay child support and maintains a relationship - however strained - with his only child.

 

Quote: When the rain washes you clean you'll know

 

Powers/Tactics: His psychic awareness allows him to act and react in combat far more efficiently than normal (SPD 4, Combat Luck) and he enjoys the benefits of a good diet and cardiovascular exercise (because he's had nightmares about what happens to his body if he doesn't take care of it...) but the Dream Merchant has NO training or experience in physical combat and will most likely resort to his waking dream power (Mental illusions) - if he can't simply run, hide, or talk his way out.

 

Campaign Use: Dream Merchant is far to weak to be a player character mentalist in a normal game of Champions unless his powers are considerably expanded. A good candidate for a power to add would be some form of astral projection. Changing the Psychological Limitations could make the Dream Merchant a diabolically subtle but low-points villain. Other than superhero games, he can appear in certain sorts of urban fantasy or "weird" games with a paranormal bent.

 

Although unlikely to be a combatant, it shouldn't be hard to find ways the Dream Merchant can be involved in adventures. He learns a LOT of secrets, and his "Dreamwalker's Code" of ethics aside, if he learns of some villainous plot, he may decide to warn the heroes. He may enter the dreams of the player characters to give them such warnings, thus helping them solve one mystery and creating another - "The night before the mad bomber destroyed that warehouse, we all had a dream about it. That's got to mean something - but what?!" He may also need protection if some villain decides to try to force him to use his powers for evil - say, by learning a hero's Secret ID. Which he may already know....

 

Appearance: Oddly enough, people meeting him who are unaware of his abilities often say "He looks just like a weatherman."

 

 

the song “Dreams” by Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac.

 

Character sheet by

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Copyright Palindromedary Enterprises

[Basil]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

OK, so Lucius does "The Boxer," and I, of course, pull out my cassette (yes, really!) of the "Bridge Over Troubled Water" album to listen to it. Which naturally means I listen to the rest of the album. And what's the next song?

 

Baby Driver.

 

Which lead me to decide to write him up.

 

So blame or thank (which is what I do) Lucius for the following.

 

A few notes:

I do not have Hero Designer; years ago I set up a spreadsheet "template," which this is taken from. Sorry if the format isn't what you (generic) expect.

The line "What's my number?" seems to me to have two meanings: "What's my license number, oh cop who is trying to catch me for speeding?" and "What's the number I'm carrying in this race?"

I think Baby Driver is a motorcycle racier, based on the line "Once upon a pair of wheels..." {Emphasis added}

"EveryFam" means an Everyman Familiarity left at the 8- level, while "Fam" means a Familiarity.

 

Base:	50
Disadvantages:	115
Point Total:	165
Characteristics:	76
Skills:	53
Perks:	35
Cost Total:	164

CHARACTERISTICS:
Name	Value	Cost
STR	10	0
DEX	23	39
CON	10	0
BODY	10	0
INT	8	-2
EGO	18	16
PRE	10	0
COM	10	0
PD	2	0
ED	2	0
SPD	5	17
REC	5	2
END	24	2
STUN	22
TOTAL		76

SKILLS:
Name	Roll (x-)	Cost
Fam: Acting	8-	0
EveryFam: AK: Home Area	8-	0
AK: Famous Race Tracks	15-	6
AK: Local Streets	13-	4
EveryFam: Climbing	8-	0
Combat Driving: Motorcycles "...and once upon a pair of wheels..."19- 13
EveryFam: Concealment	8-	0
EveryFam: Conversation	8-	0
CuK: The Racing World	13-	4
Fam: CuK: the Military World "My mama's in the Naval Reserve"	8- 1
EveryFam: Deduction	8-	0
Fam: Gambling	8-	1
KS: Motorcycles "...a pair of wheels..."	12-	3
KS: Motorcycle Racing "...and I'm gone..." 11-	2
KS: How to avoid the cops "...I hit the road and I'm gone..."  12-	3
KS: Street Racing "Scoot down the road..."	11-	2
Fam: KS: Music "...with music coming in my ears, in my ears..."	8-	1
EveryFam: Language: English, native	Special    0
Fam: Mechanics	8-	1
EveryFam: Paramedic	8-	0
EveryFam: Persuasion	8-	0
PS (DEX based): Professional Motorcycle Racer "...and once upon a pair of wheels, I hit the road and I'm gone..."	19-	7
PS: Street Racer "Scoot down the road..."	16-	5
Fam: PS: Bass Player "My daddy was a family base-man"	8-	1
Fam: PS: Engineering "My mama was an engineer"	8-	1
EveryFam: Shadowing	8-	0
EveryFam: Stealth	8-	0
Transport Familiarity: Motorcycles	Special	1
EveryFam: Transport Familiarity: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles	Special	0
Transport Familiarity: SCUBA "My daddy was a prominent frogman..."	Special	1
Weapon Familiarity: Small arms "When I was young, I carried a gun..."	Special	2
TOTAL:		53

PERQUISITES:
Name	Cost
Contact: Liaison for the corporation sponsoring his professional racing activities (14-, Very useful resources, Contact has access to major institution) "What's my number?"	8
Money: Well Off (~$250,000/year) "...My daddy got a big promotion, my mama got a raise in pay..."	3
Reputation: World-class Motorcycle Racer (medium-sized group (racers & fans), 14-, +3/3d6) {fading voice-over at the end of the song}		6
Vehicle: 2 extremely fast street-legal motorcycles (the Suzuki Hayabusa from HSVS, or similar)	 (base cost 65 points)	18
TOTAL:	35

DISADVANTAGES:
Name:	Points:
Distinctive Features (Concealable, Noticed&Recognized, Virtually Everyone): looks very young "They call me Baby Driver"	10
Hunted: cops who want to catch him road racing/speeding (More Powerful, NCI, 11-, Harshly Punish (He'll do major time in jail the next time he's caught)) "...Scoot down the road, what's my number?..."	25
Watched: the sponsoring company (More Pow, NCI, 8-. Watching)	10
Psychological Limitation: loves to "road race" (Common, Strong) "...I hit the road and I'm gone. What's my number?..."	15
Psychological Limitation: Lecherous (Very Common, Strong) "...I'm talking 'bout your sex appeal..."	15
Psychological Limitation: Has a "thing" for young girls, or those that dress-up like young girls (Common, Moderate) "...I'm not talkin' 'bout your pig-tails, I'm talking 'bout your sex appeal..."	10
Reputation: young egotistical "hot-shot" motorcycle racer (Freq. Limited Group) "...They call me Baby Driver..."	5
Reputation: Scoff-law and speeder with many tickets (11-, Extreme, small group (cops)) "...I hit the road and I'm gone. What's my number?..."	10
Reputation: Lech who uses some of the worst pickup lines ever (Sometimes, Extreme) "...I wonder how your engines feel..." "...Come into my room and play..." etc.	10
Social Limitation: Embarassing (Open) Secret---still lives with his parents (8-, Minor) "...There's no-one home..."	5
TOTAL:	115

 

Note that there's one point unspent; I couldn't decide what to put it toward.

This is a rather high-point character for "just a racer"---I put in everything I could excuse from the song, and if you want to lower his points, go ahead. Lowering his SPD to 4, and cutting back some of his "secondary" Skills (e.g., KS: Street Racing, AK: Famous Race Tracks, etc.) by a point or two, are good places to start.

 

History/Personality:/ Lemuel "Baby Driver" Jackson was born in, and grew up in --- well, a stretch of country anywhere within two or three dozen miles of the Ohio River, from the Mississippi River to the Ohio/WV/Kentucky border. The area is dominated by Cincinnati, with Louisville the second-rank city, and Cairo, Paducah, Evansville, Portsmouth, and Huntington being the other important cities; there are plenty of other cities with small to medium sized factories all up and down the river.

 

At first, Lemuel's folks scrambled to make a living; his dad playing base (gut-bucket, dog-house, or electric) in bands based around his "folks" (he seemed to be related to everyone), while his mom worked in "engineering"---anything related to large, powerful machinery.

 

The area Lemuel grew up in has some pretty countryside, some farms and orchards still managing to support the owners. But mostly folks there have to go to "the city" to make a living---working in factories, steel mills, foundries, that sort of thing. It's an area where the work is hard, the machines are heavy, and the juke boxes in the bars put Merle Haggard, Bob Seeger, and the latest heavy metal "sensation" side by side.

 

And it's a place where fast powerful cars (and to a lesser extent motorcycles) are an icon, a symbol of how to "get out of this town."

 

Lemuel loved music practically from birth. But that love was supplanted by another when, for his 11th birthday, he got a moped. From then on, going down the road, fast, became his greatest love. Of course, even a moped wasn't quite legal at his age, and he had to stay off the roads a lot of the time, but that sort of thing is winked at by just about everybody. Even the cops would just give you a lecture and send you on home---unless you really gave 'em s***. Most boys went in for fast cars, but Lemuel always preferred something with two wheels; mopeds and scooters when young, but quickly moving up to "real" motorcycles.

 

When he was about 15, Lem's folks moved to Louisville for and stayed there for years--his dad had taken Scuba lessons and turned out to be a natural. And there's always some work for someone who could scuba dive in the tricky waters of the middle Ohio River. His mom put in two years of a four year hitch in active service in the Navy and then went into the Naval Reserve as a "full time officer" doing personnel, training, etc.---yes, the Naval Reserve had an office in Louisville.

 

And Lem---well, he passed each year in High School; even had a 2.37 average. But that was just to keep people off his a** and show he wasn't a dummy. All he really cared about was going faster and faster on anything with two wheels. He only learned how to drive a car (and a pick 'em up truck) because it was useful.

 

The only thing that could take his mind off motorcycles was girls. He was a natural-born lech, but he seldom got anywhere with any girl who wasn't a racing fan.

 

Still, as the years went by, he got better and better, and better known, in the "racing game." His dad got into a salvaging company, and went up the "ladder of success" until he was the CEO. His mom got promoted repeatedly. Though he's embarrassed about it, and his rep is lowered by it, he's still living at home; he doesn't have to pay rent, and his folks let him have almost all the money he wants (hence his Money Perk isn't limited). He's gotten a few gals, and although he has a rep (he doesn't know about) for cheesy-issimus pick-up lines, there's a good number of women who are turned on by the whole "they're going very very very fast, and may crash and die" feel to motorcycle racing---enough that Lem can "get lucky" pretty often---though not often enough for his excessive lecherousness.

 

Quote: "He hasn't got a chance; I'll bury him in my dust!" "Hey, baby, {some dang stupid pick-up line}"

 

Powers/Abilities: He's a darn good motorcycle racer, and with a few more years experience will probably become a Word Champion (NB: the fade-out on this song on the Bridge Over Troubled Water album seems to be referring to Baby Driver as the World Champion, but this doesn't accord with his obvious youth, so I've dropped that). Although there's nothing in the song about it, I decided he should have Familiarity with Gambling: Card Games---he just seems the kind of guy who would.

 

Campaign Use: If your PC's are sports fans, especially (though not only) racing, they probably have heard of "Baby Driver"--or they soon will. He can also do a little courier work, if approached the right way, or maybe teach a PC a little bit about driving that motorcycle he's got (though he'd never teach enough to give anyone even base level Combat Driving: Motorcycles). Or maybe somebody (the Mafia, a Tong, whoever) is leaning on Lem to throw a race, and he needs the PCs' help. Of course, if any PC has a Secret ID connected, however tenuously, with motorcycle racing, that PC might get to know (of) Baby Driver.

 

Appearance: Lem is a young looking fellow in his early 20's; fairly good looking, around 5'9", a bit of muscular development in the shoulders and arms, dirty-blond short hair that doesn't stay combed but isn't too mussed. Basically, he looks like someone who does moderately hard work for a living and is more-than-passably handsome. Only his obvious egocentric attitude and lecherous smirk disturb that "wholesome but not priggish" looks.

 

"Baby Driver" lyrics by Paul Simon, performed by Simon and Garfunkel

 

Character sheet by Basil, copyright (so far as it exists) Basil dba Basil's Twisted Imagination. Anyone may use this as they wish; just include the "copyright" notice, please.

 

Oh, and Susano---if you want to put this on your site with the others, go right ahead. I'd be flattered as all get out.

 

 

 

BTW, one of my best friends many years ago was from the part of the USA I've put Lemuel in. I have based my depiction on his descriptions of the people he knew "back home" and how they acted and reacted to various situations. I mean no insult; indeed, I find much that is admirable in the people he'd tell me about, and hope to convey that admiration in what I've written.

[Lucius]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

 

BTW, one of my best friends many years ago was from the part of the USA I've put Lemuel in. I have based my depiction on his descriptions of the people he knew "back home" and how they acted and reacted to various situations. I mean no insult; indeed, I find much that is admirable in the people he'd tell me about, and hope to convey that admiration in what I've written.

 

And here I was wondering where you got my daddy's character sheet.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary says don't be silly, the Disads are wrong, and none of your grandparents were in the Navy.

[Basil]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

And here I was wondering where you got my daddy's character sheet.

 

 

I guess I have a better feel for a certain type of person than I thought.

 

 

The palindromedary says don't be silly' date=' the Disads are wrong, and none of your grandparents were in the Navy.[/quote']

Dr. Infamous contemplates how well the palindromedary knows Lucius, and resolves to be more tight-lipped around the Bacandforthtrian henceforth.

 

Meanwhile, The Mallard (crimefighting Man of Mystery) is glad of the contacts he's made with the herd of llamalls, and the supersonic telepathic mechanical penguins (with laser eyes) wonder why they haven't been mentioned in way too long.

 

Why are you reading this tiny dimly-colored type?

[Naanomi]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

Maybe someone can write up Butcher Pete as a Dark Villain?

 

BUTCHER PETE (PART 1 & 2), by Roy Brown

 

(Part I)

Hey everybody, did the news get around

About a guy named Butcher Pete

Oh, Pete just flew into this town

And he's choppin' up all the women's meat

[Chorus]

He's hackin' and wackin' and smackin'

He's hackin' and wackin' and smackin'

He's hackin' and wackin' and smackin'

He just hacks, wacks, choppin' that meat

Butcher Pete's got a long sharp knife

He starts choppin' and don't know when to stop

All you fellows gotta watch your wifes

'Cause Pete don't care who's meat he chops

Ever since Peter flew into town

He's been havin' a ball

Just cuttin' and choppin' for miles around

Single women, married women, old maids and all

Wakes up in the morning, half past five

Chops from sunrise to sunset

I don't see how he stays alive

Meat's gonna be the death of ole Pete, yeah

The police put Pete in jail

Yes, he finally met his faith

But when they came to pay his bail

They found him choppin' up his cell mate

That Butcher Pete is a crazy man

Tries to chop down the wind and the rain

Just hacks on anything he can get

Say, turn this record over, you ain't heard nothing yet

(Part II)

Well, they let ole Pete out of the jail

He went back to his store

All the women who payed his bail

Were waitin' on Pete to chop some more

There's an old woman, who's ninety-two

Lives down the street

She said, one thing more I wanna do

Is find ole Pete and let him chop my meat

Pete went to church one Sunday night

He gave the preacher a fit

That crazy Pete started a fight

When he went hackin' on the pulpit

Well, they put him in jail again

They tried to give him life

Pete beat the case, he pleaded insane

They gave him back his same ole knife

Well, he got out of jail on Sunday night

Monday he tightened his grip

He started to China to see the sites

Went nuts again and chopped up the ship

Brought ole Pete back to town

To electrocute him there

But Pete was crazy like a clown

He chopped down that electric chair

He's a maniac!

He don't do nothin' but hackin'

[Chris Goodwin]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

I think I'm going to write up Dani California at some point. That song has been haunting me.

[Naanomi]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

Witchy Woman

 

Player: NPC

 

Val Char Cost

10 STR 0

20 DEX 30

15 CON 10

10 BODY 0

10 INT 0

25 EGO 30

30 PRE 20

30 COM 10

 

2 PD 0

3 ED 0

4 SPD 10

5 REC 0

30 END 0

23 STUN 0

 

6" RUN 0

2" SWIM 0

2" LEAP 0

Characteristics Cost: 110

 

Cost Power

15 Witchy Woman: Elemental Control, 30-point powers

15 1) Sparks fly from her fingertips: Energy Blast 6d6 (30 Active Points)

15 2) Dancing Shadows: Darkness to Sight Group 3" radius (30 Active Points)

15 3) Firelight: Dispel Darkness 10d6 (30 Active Points)

18 4) See how high she flies: Flight 15", Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4) (37 Active Points); Physical Manifestation: Broom (-1/4)

20 5) She held me spellbound: Mind Control 5d6, Cumulative (120 points; +1) (50 Active Points); Eye Contact Required (-1/2), Does Not Provide Mental Awareness (-1/4)

41 6) Sleeping in the Devil's Bed: Summon 140-point Devil, Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4), Loyal (+1/2), Specific Being (+1) (77 Active Points); Requires A Skill Roll: Seduction (-1/2)

24 7) Till your skin turns red: Major Transform 4d6 (Men into Demons), Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4) (75 Active Points); Must sleep with target Power loses about two-thirds of its effectiveness (-1 1/2)

5 On and Endless Flight: Life Support (Longevity: Immortal)

Powers Cost: 168

 

 

Cost Skill

3 Acting 15-

3 Conversation 15-

5 High Society 16-

2 KS: Demonology 11-

2 Language: Demonic (fluent conversation)

3 Persuasion 15-

2 PS: Lady of the Night 11-

11 Seduction 19-

3 Shadowing 11-

3 Streetwise 15-

Skills Cost: 37

 

Cost Perk

15 Money: Filthy Rich

20 Base, Underground Lair (There is someone underground)

Perks Cost: 35

 

 

Total Character Cost: 350

 

Pts. Disadvantage

10 Restless Spirit: Counts as 'Spirit' class mind (Infrequently, Greatly Impairing)

10 Distinctive Features: Moon in her Eye: Glowing Eyes (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

25 Hunted: She's been sleeping in the Devil's Bed 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Capture)

10 Distinctive Features: Raven Hair, Ruby Lips (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

20 Susceptibility: She can rock you in the nighttime: Daylight, 2d6 damage Instant (Very Common)

10 Distinctive Features; Echoed voices, Crazy Laughter: Demonic Laughter to the Magically Sensetive (Not Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable Only By Unusual Senses)

20 Reputation: Rumors of Dark Magic use, 14- (Extreme)

15 Dependence: Sleeping in the Devil's Bed: Demonic 'Attention' -30 Active Points from Affected Power (Uncommon, 1 Day)

20 Psychological Limitation: Drove herself to Madness: (Very Common, Strong)

10 Rivalry: I know you want a lover: Romantic (Romantic Rival of the Week), Rival is As Powerful, Seek to Harm or Kill Rival, Rival Aware of Rivalry

 

 

Description:

Lorelei Butressa is the picture of a spoiled socialite. Rich, beautiful, at every major party. However, in recent months her partying has become harder, and she has been hanging out with a dark crowd. Nearly everyone has heard the rumors... she is falling heavily into practicing witchcraft. While many take it as a joke, or lies spread by jealous rivals, none can deny that something seems wrong with the long time party girl.

 

The truth is, she has begun practicing dark magic. She knows a variety of magical abilities, all gained from demonic masters. It started as a game, a diversion... but now dominates her life. She has been secretly seducing powerful men and transforming them into demonic agents for months now, and her masters have started trusting her with more powerful magics. She is beginning to show signs of her influences however, and she may have to begin acting more overtly soon...

 

Lorelei, the Witchy Woman from the Eagles song, would fit as a villain or victim in a Super Hero or Dark Champion campaign. Toned down, she might even fit in a Pulp game that incorporates some magical elements.

[Lucius]

For the New Dispensation

 

I created a character for 6th Edition

 

Rhiannon

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

10 STR 0 11- Lift 100.0kg; 2d6

13 DEX 6 12- OCV: 4/DCV: 4

11 CON 1 11-

9 BODY -1

13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12-

13 EGO 3 12- ECV: 4 - 4

20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6

 

3 PD 1 Total: 3 PD (0 rPD)

3 ED 1 Total: 3 ED (0 rED)

3 SPD 10 Phases: 4, 8, 12

5 REC 1

20 END 0

20 STUN 0 Total Characteristic Cost: 48

 

Movement: Running: 9m/18m

Leaping: 4m/8m

Swimming: 4m/8m

 

Skills

0 Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night: PS: Singer (Background Skill) 11-

3 Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night: Oratory 13-

3 Wouldn't you love to love her?: Charm 13-

3 Takes to the sky like a bird in flight: Combat Piloting 12-

3 Takes to the sky like a bird in flight: Acrobatics 12-

3 And who will be her lover?: Acting 13-

3 All your life you've never seen a woman, taken by the wind TF: Equines, Parachuting, Advanced, Parachuting, Basic, Small Motorized Ground Vehicles, Small Planes, Hang Gliders

3 Would you stay if she promised you heaven?: Persuasion 13-

2 Will you ever win?: Gambling (Sports Betting) 12-

3 She is like a cat in the dark: Stealth 12-

3 And then she is the darkness: Concealment 12-

4 She rules her life like a fine skylark: +2 with Ego Roll

4 And when the sky is starless: Navigation (Air, Land, Marine) 12-

3 Breakfall 12-

3 Riding 12-

1 Animal Handler (Equines) 8-

3 Climbing 12-

3 Paramedics 12-

Cost Powers END

6 Will you ever win?: Luck 3d6 (15 Active Points); Conditional Power Only to help win an actual wager with something at stake ((Money, a favor, etc) ; -1), Conditional Power Only if betting on herself ((The wager has to something she has an active role in - i.e. if it's a horse race, SHE must be riding the horse herself); -1/2)

She rules her life

Maneuver OCV DCV Notes

5 Like a cat in the dark -- +4 Dodge All Attacks, Abort; FMove

4 Like a bird in flight +0 +0 25 STR vs. Grabs

3 Will you ever win? +0 +1 2d6 +v/10, Target Falls

Talents

6 Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 74

Total Cost: 122

 

125+ Disadvantages

10 Distinctive Features - beautiful face, striking voice, commanding presence: Rings like a bell through the night / wouldn't you love to love her? (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

15 Distinctive Features: Short (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

5 Who will be her lover? Hunted: Would be suitors Infrequently (Less Pow; PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find; Mildly "Punish" )

20 Rules her life like a fine skylark : Psychological Complication: Must be free, like a bird in flight: resents any attempt to control or restrict her (Common; Total)

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 122

 

Background/History: Rhiannon Welsh was born the daughter of a character actor and a stuntwoman he met on a movie set, who between them managed to impose just enough discipline on her headstrong ways to keep her from plunging into the worst traps Hollywood had to offer, and taught her that most of the things she wanted she could have - if she earned them. She got her first pony only after passing her first riding lessons, and got her first riding lessons only after a summer spent working in a stable. She hasn't always gotten what she wanted - she proved to have neither the height nor the disposition for modeling for example, nor was her skill on horseback enough to make the Olympic team - but if she decides she is going to do something, it is probably a good bet that she will succeed - and on her own terms.

 

Quote: All your life you've never seen a woman, taken by the sky

 

Powers/Tactics: Good reflexes, a little self-defense training, and competence at a range of physical skills, make Rhiannon far from helpless in many emergencies, but unless played cleverly and with a little luck, she's unlikely to turn the tide of any battle either.

 

Campaign Use: Rhiannon is built as a heroic character with 75 points plus 50 pts of Complications. 3 pts are left unspent and there are several options for fleshing out the character; giving her her own light plane, a small horse farm, wealth and fame and connections as a successful singer, Streetwise plus a Knowledge of Los Angeles, or whatever else will help fit her into a campaign.

 

[ATTACH]33032[/ATTACH]

 

The song "Rhiannon" by Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac.

 

Character sheet by Lucius Alexander

 

Copyright

 

Palindromedary Enterprises

[Susano]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

Permission to post to my site?

[Lucius]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

Permission to post to my site?

Yes of course.

 

Susano the Storm God wants Rhiannon, naturally.

A woman, taken by the wind.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

A palindromedary, taken by the sky

[Basil]

Re: For the New Dispensation

 

And there was much snippage.

15 Distinctive Features: Short (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

Why short?

 

 

The supersonic telepathic mutant penguins with laser eyes are short, but don't get Distinctive Features for it, as they're no shorter than they should be.

 

The s.t.m.p.w/l.e.'s are another product of Basil's Twisted Imagination Oink. All rhymes revert. Ask about our new catalog!

[Lucius]

Re: For the New Dispensation

 

And there was much snippage.

 

Why short?

 

 

The supersonic telepathic mutant penguins with laser eyes are short, but don't get Distinctive Features for it, as they're no shorter than they should be.

 

The s.t.m.p.w/l.e.'s are another product of Basil's Twisted Imagination Oink. All rhymes revert. Ask about our new catalog!

 

Felt right.

 

I was imagining this woman who would hang-glide as a hobby, and it just seemed that she should be small and light.

 

I don't consider it a major point though. Not like the Psych Complication for instance.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Has anyone seen my palindromedary?

[Susano]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

BTW, you do know that Rhiannon is actually about a specific character, right?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhiannon_%28song%29

[Lucius]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

BTW, you do know that Rhiannon is actually about a specific character, right?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhiannon_%28song%29

 

It's my understanding that Stevie Nicks found the name in a book, fell in love with the sound of it, and was inspired by the name but wrote a song that was not really connected to the character by that name in that book.

 

And that only LATER did she find out about the name's origins in Welsh mythology.

 

Or so I've read.

 

However, I was probably influenced somewhat by my own awareness of the myth.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Have you seen my palindromedary?

[Lucius]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

Here's an old one updated to the new edition.

 

Red Horse Rider

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

15 STR 5 12- Lift 200.0kg; 3d6 [3]

13 DEX 6 12- OCV: 5/DCV: 5

18 CON 8 13-

12 BODY 2

13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12-

13 EGO 3 12- ECV: 4 - 4

20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6

 

 

5 PD 3 Total: 5 PD (0 rPD)

5 ED 3 Total: 5 ED (0 rED)

3 SPD 10 Phases: 4, 8, 12

7 REC 3

35 END 3

27 STUN 4 Total Characteristic Cost: 86

 

Movement:

Running: 9m/18m

Leaping: 4m/8m

Swimming: 4m/8m

 

Cost Powers END

6 Rapid Healing: Regeneration (1 BODY per 6 Hours)

15 Still alive, blast it. : Luck 3d6

 

Perks

6 Ruthless Avenger: Positive Reputation: I swear, she hunted down and killed every last one of them, single handed! (A large group) 14-, +2/+2d6

 

Talents

12 "What's it take to kill you?!" "I've often wondered that myself. Keep trying!" : Combat Luck (6 PD/6 ED)

 

Skills

3 Traveler

1 1) I've tried to forget the place. Don't ask about it. : AK: Homeland (Everyman) 12-

1 2) Some things I can't forget. But I don't care anymore.: CuK: What our lords deemed as good. 11-

1 3) The buzzards can see where the bodies will lie: AK: Deserts 11-

3 The short version: I killed them all. If you want to hear how, that is a long tale.: Oratory 13-

3 Find me a horse: Riding 12-

3 Find me a blade that will make their blood run: +1 with swords

3 I will ride out at dawn while the sun's in the sky: Tracking 12-

2 The buzzards can see where the bodies will lie: Survival (Desert) 12-

3 Bring me my lance: WF: Common Melee Weapons, Lances

3 No well meaning wizard: Power: Magic 12-

3 Your virtues pure don't allow what I've planned: Stealth 12-

3 Your virtues pure don't allow what I've planned: Shadowing 12-

3 Your virtues pure don't allow what I've planned: Concealment 12-

12 +1 Overall

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 87

Total Cost: 172

 

175+ Disadvantages

15 What is life to a human alone? Psychological Complication: Death wish (Very Common; Moderate)

5 My allegience is sundered apart! Social Complication: Known oathbreaker Infrequently, Major, Not Limiting among those who don't care about honor

5 Forsworn. Negative Reputation: A liar whose word can't be trusted, Infrequently

10 Your virtues pure don't allow what I plan. Psychological Complication: Seeks oblivion in drinking, brawling, or whatever else promises to make her forget what she had, and what she lost. (Common; Moderate)

10 Find me a blade that will make their blood run! Enraged: Any combat in which she thinks she has a good chance of dying. (Common), go 8-, recover 14-

5 Your damnation is your own, but we will be watching you. Always. Hunted: The wizard lords she once served. They do nothing but watch, as long as she refrains from either returning to their territory, or working magic they regard as forbidden. Infrequently (Mo Pow; NCI; Limited Geographical Area; Watching)

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 172

 

Background/History: "Oathbreaker! These folk may have business for you."

The woman looked up from her drink slowly, but her eyes were clear and her gaze direct. "Who do you want killed?"

Her prospective employers took their seats about the table.

The leader began "He called you 'Oathbreaker?'"

She shrugged as if the term were not a deadly insult. "Doesn't bother me. Those who want on my good side call me Red Horse Rider. Or just Red."

"You ride a red horse I take it."

"I used to."

"What do your friends call you?"

"I have no friends. Anymore."

"What do your enemies call you?" From the tone it is hard to know if he is jesting.

"I have no enemies - among the living. Unless you're about to pay me to make your enemies my own."

"Our enemies are dangerous."

"Good." She smiles for the first time.

 

Red Horse Rider was originally written for the Fifth Edition of Hero System.

This version both updates her to the new edition and assumes that, having completed her mission of vengeance, she is now a rootless mercenary sword for hire.

 

Personality/Motivation: Once, she lived to serve everything she saw as noble and good.

Then, she lived only for revenge against those who had shatterred her innocence and ruined her joy.

Now, she has nothing to live for. It seems a perverse fortune keeps her alive in spite of every deadly peril she gladly plunges into.

She fights for coin to pay for bread and beer, but silver and gold have little weight in the scales by which she chooses her missions. Rather she asks two questions.

Has someone wronged you? You seek revenge? Excellent!

Can this job get me killed? Even better!

 

Quote: I can kill two or three - but there are a dozen of you. How wonderful! I'm dead meat! Who wants to die first? No! Come back and kill me, you cowards!

 

Powers/Tactics: Red will usually fight with sword and shield, or with lance from horseback. Her ideal mission would involve tracking someone across a desert, sneaking up on them, and running them through with a sword. That's assuming that, by force of habit, she is fighting smart. In the grip of a self destructive mood she might charge right into a bandit ambush.

 

And if they recognize her, they might break and run.

 

Campaign Use: Built on 125 pts plus 50 pts of Complications, with a few points left for customization, Red Horse Rider fits the guidelines for a Heroic character and may be suitable as a player character in a Fantasy campaign, or as an NPC hireling. If there are no true wizards in the party, her arcane skill and knowledge may be both useful and a surprise to players that are likely to see her as merely a reckless berserker.

 

The Complications should be seen as somewhat flexible, but certain things are central to the character; she is grieving, and that should be reflected somewhere in the Complications; she has a death-wish; and she is forsworn, having broken a vow made to wizards.

 

In a long term campaign, an interesting question to consider is; what force IS it that has kept her alive despite herself?

 

Is it possible that she is in the long run fated for some kind of redemption after all?

 

Appearance: At first one thinks that grim face might be halfway attractive if she would only smile - and then she does smile, and she is scarier than ever.

 

Red Horse Rider normally scorns armor and fine clothes alike, choosing to dress in old, well worn, and travel stained clothing of a durable nature.

 

Her shield bears an image of a horse in scarlet against a tan background. Sometimes she will stare at her own shield, lost in far thoughts or in some memory she never wants to talk about.

 

[ATTACH]34240[/ATTACH]

 

The song “Temper of Revenge” by Julia Ecklar.

 

Red Horse Rider character sheet by

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Copyright Palindromedary Enterprises

[Arkham]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

Here's a song with an interesting character as subject matter...

 

Black Wings by Tom Waits

 

(Tom Waits/K. Brennan)

Take an eye for an eye

Take a tooth for a tooth

Just like they say in the Bible

Never leave a trace or forget a face

Of any man at the table

When the moon is a cold chiseled dagger

Sharp enough to draw blood from a stone

He rides through your dreams on a coach

And horses and the fence posts

In the midnight look like bones

 

Well they've stopped trying to hold him

With mortar, stone and chain

He broke out of every prison

Boots mount the staircase

The door is flung back open

He's not there for he has risen

He's not there for he has risen

 

Well he once killed a man with a guitar string

He's been seen at the table with kings

Well he once saved a baby from drowning

There are those who say beneath his coat there are wings

Some say they fear him

Others admire him

Because he steals his promise

One look in his eye

Everyone denies

Ever having met him

Ever having met him

 

He can turn himself into a stranger

Well they broke a lot of canes on his hide

he was born away in a cornfield

A fever beats in his head like a drum inside

Some say they fear him

Others admire him

Because he steals his promise

One look in his eye

Everyone denies

Ever having met him

Ever having met him

[Manic Typist]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

I CANNOT find lyrics for "Temper of Revenge."

 

I've never heard of the song, and thus I'm trying to find it. I can't even find it on YouTube.

[Lucius]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

Another one for six ed.

 

Because I'm in a perverse mood I'll make you guess what song, but it probably won't take long for someone to nail it.

 

 

Vandrei

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

15 STR 5 12- Lift 200.0kg; 3d6 [3]

13 DEX 6 12- OCV: 4/DCV: 4

10 CON 0 11-

10 BODY 0

13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12-

13 EGO 3 12- ECV: 4 - 3

8 PRE -2 11- PRE Attack: 1 1/2d6

 

 

3/6 PD 1 Total: 3/6 PD (0/3 rPD)

3/6 ED 1 Total: 3/6 ED (0/3 rED)

3 SPD 10 Phases: 4, 8, 12

4 REC 0

15 END -1

20 STUN 0 Total Characteristic Cost: 34

 

Movement:

Running: 9m/18m

Leaping: 2m/4m

Swimming: 1m/2m

 

Cost Powers END

Listen as the wind blows, from across the great divide

15 1) Voices trapped in yearning: Clairsentience (Hearing And Perceive into a related Groups), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (45 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2)

6 2) Into the sea of waking dreams I follow without pride: Extra-Dimensional Movement (Related Group of Dimensions, Any Location) (35 Active Points); Requires A Dimension Navigation Roll (Skill roll, -1 per 5 Active Points modifier; Jammed; -1 1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x4 END; -1 1/2), Side Effects (Major Side Effect: Wrong Dimension, Place, or Time; -1/2), Linked (Voices trapped in yearning; -1/2), Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Memories of prior worlds tend to fade, dreamlike; -1/2) 12

1 3) Memories trapped in time: Eidetic Memory (5 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2), Only In Alternate Reality (Will remember only the current world with much clarity; -1/4)

18 4) Trying to find an honest word, to find the truth enslaved: Telepathy 7d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (44 Active Points); Limited Power Only to detect if a person is speaking the truth or not (-1 1/2) 1

16 5) You speak to me in riddles and you speak to me in rhymes: Universal Translator 16- (24 Active Points); Linked (Trying to find an honest word, to find the truth enslaved; -1/2)

0 6) Nothing stands between us here: Usable By Other (+0), Recipient must remain close to Grantor, Grantor pays the END whenever the power is used, Recipient must be within Limited Range of the Grantor for power to be granted, Grantor can take back power at any time for up to 44 Active Points of Telepathy (0 Active Points)

20 7) So many times betrayed: Danger Sense (self only, out of combat) 12-

6 8) So many times betrayed: Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED)

 

7 Shape Shift (Sight and Touch Groups, limited group of shapes), Persistent (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (31 Active Points); No Conscious Control (-2), Affects Body Only (-1/2), Always On (-1/2), Limited Power Only when changes form when moving from one dimension to another. (-1/2)

 

25 Variable Power Pool (Requires Dimensional Skill Roll ), 20 base + 30 control cost, all slots Limited Power Power loses less than a fourth of its effectiveness (-0) (35 Active Points); all slots No Conscious Control (-2)

I will be the one

Maneuver OCV DCV Notes

5 To hold you down +0 +0 25 STR , Grab; opponent falls; you fall

5 Hit you so hard -2 +1 7d6 Strike

4 I'll take your breath away (Choke Hold) -2 +0 Grab One Limb; 2d6 NND

 

Skills

3 The night is my companion: Stealth 12-

1 Night is my companion: Concealment 12- (3 Active Points); Limited Power Only to conceal self (-1)

5 Solitude my guide: Solitude my guide Navigation (Dimensional) 15- (8 Active Points); Conditional Power Power does not work unless alone and unobserved (-1/2)

3 Another day of knowing of the path I fear to tread: KS: Other Dimensions and Interdimensional Lore 12-

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 141

Total Cost: 174

 

175+ Disadvantages

5 Would I spend forever here, and not be satisfied? Psychological Complication: Never content (Uncommon; Moderate)

15 Through this world I stumble, so many times betrayed. Unluck: 3d6

5 Your words keep me alive Dependence: Verbal interaction Takes 3d6 Damage (Very Common; 1 Day)

15 And I won't be denied Psychological Complication: Strange compulsions (Uncommon; Total)

10 Into this night I wander, it's morning that I dread. Physical Complication: Night owl ; -1 all rolls if active during daylight hours (Frequently; Barely Impairing)

(1 points unspent)

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 50

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Copyright Palindromedary Enterprises

[Greywind]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

Sarah McLachlan Possession

[Lucius]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

Sarah McLachlan Possession

 

Right you are.

 

I CANNOT find lyrics for "Temper of Revenge."

 

I've never heard of the song, and thus I'm trying to find it. I can't even find it on YouTube.

l

I'll look around. I probably have them somewhere. If nothing else, look back to the first version of the character, I think I used every single line.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Possessing a palindromedary

[薔薇語]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

I did a google search on the song and came up with a version by Evans Blue. Good song.

 

La Rose.

[Susano]

Re: Susano's Song-Based DC NPCs

 

Right you are.

 

Once again can I get the HDC file?