Doc Samson Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 I was recently watching the Legion of Super Hereoes cartoon (here) and saw the episode about the Legion of Substitute Heroes (here). The basic idea is the team is made up of heroes with not so good powers. I must admit, as portrayed in the show they seem pretty bad to me except for one, Stone Boy. Basically his can transform into an invulnerable (even though it appears to be stone, in the comics it seems to make him nigh invulnerable and super heavy) form, but while invulnerable he cannot move at all. I love a challenge and was thinking of creating a character with this power. I am looking for creating uses for an invulnerable but immobile form. For the base invulnerable form (granted in Champions you can't be totally invulnerable) I was thinking of Density Increase with No STR Increase, Life Support, and tons of Linked Defensive Powers with a Side Effect: Total Immobility. Here were some ideas I though of for creative uses of this form. "Leap and Crush" HA Linked to Leaping and Density Increase. "Grab and Hold" Clinging, Must Follow Grab, Linked to Density Increase "The Human Wall" Entangle, Only to Create Barriers, No Range, Linked to Density Increase (when the Barrier callpses, the character is knocked over or pushed aside). "Stuff Bounces Off" Missile Deflection, Uncontrolled, Linked to Density Increase I was also thinking maybe a Mental Sense Invisibility to simulate that the character is inanimate while in the invulnerable form. Anyone have any other ideas for creative uses of this "useless" power? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. I always liked the Death From Above maneuver with Stone Boy, where he was dropped from a great height and changes midway down. Unfortunately, rescuing him from the hole it made was sometimes problematic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Samson Posted April 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. I always liked the Death From Above maneuver with Stone Boy' date=' where he was dropped from a great height and changes midway down. Unfortunately, rescuing him from the hole it made was sometimes problematic...[/quote'] Good one, that's what I was trying to model with the "Leap and Crush". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Main Man Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Drain (anything) Self Only Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Samson Posted April 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Drain (anything) Self Only I wasn't actually looking for a useless power but thanks for the laugh (it took me minute to understand you were replying to the title and not the post). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wylodmayer Posted April 19, 2007 Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Well, I'd say Color Kid's power, but I actually made great use of this in the DC Heroes system (under the Blood of Heroes edition). All I had, aside from very slow Flight, was the power to alter the color of things. But, dude, you could Power Stunt other effects from base powers, and even then, things weren't defined by effect. If you had Matter Manipulation and turned something into a giant block of phosphorous, you don't have to buy or stunt a combustion power to set the room on fire. So, you know, I would occasionally blind people by giving a bunch of stuff around him a 100% reflectivity. I caused intense pain by temporarily turning the outer layer of skin completely transparent while outdoors under the bright sun. I disoriented people by turning everything in the room the same shade of grey with no relative contrast. I burned stuff by turning nearby billboards into giant lenses. Etc. It was fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Samson Posted April 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Well, I'd say Color Kid's power, but I actually made great use of this in the DC Heroes system (under the Blood of Heroes edition). All I had, aside from very slow Flight, was the power to alter the color of things. But, dude, you could Power Stunt other effects from base powers, and even then, things weren't defined by effect. If you had Matter Manipulation and turned something into a giant block of phosphorous, you don't have to buy or stunt a combustion power to set the room on fire. So, you know, I would occasionally blind people by giving a bunch of stuff around him a 100% reflectivity. I caused intense pain by temporarily turning the outer layer of skin completely transparent while outdoors under the bright sun. I disoriented people by turning everything in the room the same shade of grey with no relative contrast. I burned stuff by turning nearby billboards into giant lenses. Etc. It was fun. Cool idea. Turning everyone and everything in the room the same color would be a great special effect darkness. Now I think I might create the whole "useless" team to use against my players. I could have these guys audition for the player's team (and really stink it up) but then come back after training together to whip the group's butt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wylodmayer Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Well, bear in mind that the ability to change the color of an object basically means the ability to change its permittivity and permeability to electromagnetic energy. It could be amusing if no one in your group is a physicist, and some kid with color powers shows up, only to be dismissed out of hand for having a "useless" power. Then, of course, when they run into him again, they realize that he can make objects transparent or reflective to, say, x-rays, or radio waves. Or he can give something complete absorbtivity to the entire spectrum, meaning it will get real hot, real fast. Or he can make something transparent to only radio waves. This makes a great practical joke - he can make your frozen burrito unmicrowaveable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigereye Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Just some ideas... Psychometry with stones (Lady Tigereye's suggestion). Ability to communicate with corn. Really bendy thumbs. Magnetic colon. Ability to score with other superheroes' wives. Ability to beg and plead for own life from supervillains really well ("Do what you want with the girl, but please don't kill me! Oh please oh please oh pretty please!") Ability to hit other supervillains with a car- but it must be a 1958 Edsel. Never has one when he needs one. Hangs around at classic auto shows a lot just in case. Swings a mean dead cat. Ability to eat own weight in anchovies every day. Spot-on impersonation of other major superhero- or supervillain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Don't forget that the Legion of Substitute Heroes had the most dangerous woman of the 30th century in it: Infectious Lass. She could infect anyone. She just didn't have any control over what she infected them with. She was a living culture medium of every disease in the known galaxy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Ability to communicate with corn. It's El Seed! Ability to score with other superheroes' wives. I would argue that this is not useless. Suicidal, perhaps, but not useless Swings a mean dead cat. Now this I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Samson Posted April 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Great stuff and I didn't realize Infectious Lass was so powerful either. Anyone have any more power ideas for a Stone Boy type character (invulnerable form but can't move while in it)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braincraft Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. It's El Seed! So what kind of corn soldiers are those? They're kernels! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braincraft Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. As for the actual thread subject... how about the ability to count any object instantly by sight? "There are exactly 40,121 jellybeans in that barrel." You could win a lot of contests like that, but I bet you'd get really neurotic. "Waitress, you gave that guy 25 fries but I only got 23. I demand two more fries!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. You might glance through this Useless Sidekicks thread for ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Another similar old thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. I didn't read through Cancer's old thread linky above, but someone here previously talked about their character who was a pretty standard brick/density increase, but had SPD 1. And had a drain on SPD whenever his powers were used as a side effect. Basically he was really slow, and after using his powers, he'd often fall asleep. He was ... The Sloth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transmetahuman Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Great stuff and I didn't realize Infectious Lass was so powerful either. Anyone have any more power ideas for a Stone Boy type character (invulnerable form but can't move while in it)?You already nailed the applications I thought of, and more. But let this be a lesson in the importance of choosing the right thread title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Jogger Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. My favorite, shown on the Teen Titans, a little girl who could change into unbreakable, but unmovable crystal and her caveman friend who would use her as a powerful club or sword (depending on the position of her hands related to her body). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. As for the actual thread subject... how about the ability to count any object instantly by sight? "There are exactly 40,121 jellybeans in that barrel." You could win a lot of contests like that, but I bet you'd get really neurotic. "Waitress, you gave that guy 25 fries but I only got 23. I demand two more fries!" Not useless. In the Ducktales movie about Gizmoduck, Fenton Quackshell used this ability to defeat the leader of the robotic empire, saving the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Samson Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. You already nailed the applications I thought of, and more. But let this be a lesson in the importance of choosing the right thread title. Lol your not kiddin, but on the bright side the extra info inspired me to create a whole team. Thanks for all the great input everyone! I am going to have my terrible would be heroes audition to be members of the player's team (they are mid level heroes in a large team that includes many NPCs). If all goes to plan they will return to exact revenge on the heroes that rejected them. They will not only have trained in creative uses for their "useless" powers but they will have trained how to use their powers as a team. Here is the roster for The Losers. Block (Stone Boy homage, Legion of Substitute Heroes) Spectrum (Color Kid homage, Legion of Substitute Heroes) Detonator (Mr. Immortal homage with the addition of bombs, Great Lakes Avengers) Gateway (Doorman homage, Great Lakes Avengers) Excavator (Shoveler homage, Mystery Men ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
braincraft Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. Not useless. In the Ducktales movie about Gizmoduck' date=' Fenton Quackshell used this ability to defeat the leader of the robotic empire, saving the world.[/quote'] It might be less useful in a non-comedy game, particularly those not starring ducks. Plus, as Gizmoduck, he has lasers and shit. How can you say no to a duck with frickin' laser beams on his forehead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Re: Looking for ideas for a "useless" power. It might be less useful in a non-comedy game, particularly those not starring ducks. Plus, as Gizmoduck, he has lasers and shit. How can you say no to a duck with frickin' laser beams on his forehead? Gizmoduck ftw!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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