[Character] RAD

[JimLotFP]

So here's a non-heavy metal themed character. I tackled something that the HERO system has a rep for not being able to do: pure invulnerability in a concept that I'd dare GMs to accept into their game.

 

Filling out the details after the initial design was a bit rough as I had too many points to work with. I could have just not used as many disadvantages, but instead I made him a quite competent physical specimen and put a couple of Overall Levels in there. Those things are super useful!

 

[b]RAD - Barry Jankowski[/b]

[b][u]VAL[/u]   [u]CHA[/u]   [u]Cost[/u]   [u]Total[/u]   [u]Roll[/u]      [u]Notes[/u][/b]
15    STR     5   15      12-       HTH Damage 3d6  END [1]
15    DEX     15   15      12-       OCV 5 DCV 5
20    CON     20   20      13-
20    BODY    20   20      13-
15    INT     5   15      12-       PER Roll 12-
10    EGO     0   10      11-       ECV: 3
15    PRE     5   15      12-       PRE Attack: 3d6
20    COM     5   20      13-
3    PD      0   3             3 PD (0 rPD)
4    ED      0   4             4 ED (0 rED)
4    SPD     15   4                 Phases:  3, 6, 9, 12
7    REC     0   7
40    END     0   40
38    STUN    0   38
9    RUN      6   9"                END [2]
5    SWIM     3   5"                END [1]
5    LEAP     2   5"                5" forward, 2 1/2" upward

[b]CHA Cost: 101[/b]

[b][u]Cost[/u]   [u]POWERS[/u][/b]
35     [b][i]Invulnerability[/i][/b]: Desolidification  (affected by NND/Drain/any attack which does not cause bodily damage), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2) (80 Active Points); Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2), Always On (-1/2), Limited Power Still affected by knockback (-1/4) - END=0
36     Drain END 2d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Damage Shield (+1/2), Affects Physical World (+2) (90 Active Points); Limited Power Only effective against living beings attacking RAD in hand-to-hand combat, can not be used offensively and ineffective against those wielding weapons (-1), Always On (-1/2) - END=0
48     [b][i]Knock-Out Punch![/i][/b]: Hand-To-Hand Attack +6d6, No Normal Defense (Defense is having one or more END; +1/2), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Affects Physical World (+2) (120 Active Points); Limited Power Only effective against living beings (-1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) - END=0
45     [b][i]Strength Modifer[/i][/b]: Affects Physical World (+2) for up to 15 Active Points of STR, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (45 Active Points) - END=0

[b]POWERS Cost: 164[/b]


[b][u]Cost[/u]   [u]SKILLS[/u][/b]
9      Acting 15-
3      Climbing 12-
6      +3 with any single attack
8      Computer Programming (Computer Networks, Hacking and Computer Security, Personal Computers, Mainframes and Supercomputers) 12-
3      Concealment 12-
3      Contortionist 12-
7      Criminology 14-
3      Deduction 12-
3      Disguise 12-
3      Lockpicking 12-
3      Persuasion 12-
3      Shadowing 12-
3      Stealth 12-
3      Streetwise 12-
5      PS: Comedian 14-
20      +2 Overall

[b]SKILLS Cost: 85[/b]


[b][u]Value[/u]  [u]DISADVANTAGES[/u][/b]
20     Normal Characteristic Maxima
15     Social Limitation:  Secret ID (Frequently, Major)
15     Enraged:  When the helpless are attacked (Uncommon), go 11-, recover 11-
15     Psychological Limitation:  Distrustful of Government Agencies (Common, Strong)
10     Psychological Limitation:  Keeps Up On All the Latest Fads and Fashions (Common, Moderate)
10     Reputation (in hero ID):  Wimp, 14- (Known Only To A Small Group)
20     Psychological Limitation:  Code Versus Killing (Common, Total)
10     Rivalry:  Professional (TV Variety Show Host Kevin Burman; Rival is More Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry)
15     Dependent NPC:  Daniel "Morty" Mortenstein - Manager 8- (Normal; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID)
5     Hunted:  Family and Decency Watchdog Groups and Politicians - Denouncing His "Vulgar and Offensive" Stand-Up 8- (As Pow, NCI, Watching)
15     Social Limitation:  Public ID: Famous Comedian (Frequently, Major)

[b]DISADVANTAGES Points: 150[/b]

Base Pts: 200
Exp Required: 0
Total Exp Available: 0
Exp Unspent: 0
Total Character Cost: 350

Background/History: As a child, Barry Jankowski was the worst stereotype of a geek. He'd nearly piss himself in the presence of girls (or when attention was focused on him in any way whatsoever), was terrible at sports, had the worst fashion sense in the school, a high, whiny voice, horrible acne, the thickest, most unattractive eyeglasses in the history of mankind, an interest in odd and gross things (insects, the physical properties of phlegm), but wasn't even particularly bright. He really had no redeeming qualities for anyone else trying to interact with him.

 

This led to Barry being beat up in school. Frequently. Constantly, even. His parents weren't any better, and for the first fifteen years of his life Jankowski lived a dreary, unloved existence.

 

Then everything changed.

 

Maybe it was the (quite late) onset of puberty. Maybe he unknowingly played in a puddle of radioactive slime one day. Maybe some powerful metahuman saw him one day and took pity on him. His parents say he just got good at being beat up. Whatever it was, Barry's life turned around. Getting hit no longer hurt. What's more, the people hitting him, if they were using their fists (or feet, or elbows, or...) quickly wore themselves out trying to hurt him. And when that happened, Barry was able to finish them off in short order.

 

No longer abused at home or at school, he gained more confidence and started listening to the advice of kinder souls who tried to get him to fit in a bit more. It wasn't totally successful, being odd seems to be genetic for Barry, but he at least learned basic human interaction skills. He got a girlfriend. His studies improved. He still didn't go for any sports or things like that though.

 

One evening after a movie, Barry stumbled across a mugging in progress... three men attacking an old woman. Jankowski was never the brave or self-sacrificing type, but this was too much for him. He stepped in, and found that he was even immune to knives and gunfire... and he was quickly able to incapacitate the hoods once it went to fisticuffs.

 

Barry felt good after this, better than he ever did before. He thought he could make a career out of this being invincible business. Taking his name from Muhammad Ali's famous boxing strategy (but in a way that wouldn't alert his opponents to what's going on), he designed a costume for himself and started taking to the streets to defend the city from crime!

 

Personality/Motivation: Jankowski is in many ways a normal person that has been through some tough times but is still trying to make his mark in the world. He's unsure about his chosen path, wondering if perhaps the military or law enforcement wouldn't be a better use of his peculiar talent, but he's scared of what The Authorities would do if they found out he was "special."

 

Quote: "Is that all you got?"

 

Powers/Tactics: RAD's powers manifest themselves three ways:

 

First, he can not be harmed by physical trauma. Fire, guns, knives, fists, cosmic bolts, falls, whatever. Doesn't phase him. He is not protected against gas, asphyxiation, radiation, entanglement, or any sort of non-trauma injury or attack. It looks like he's hurt, as he flinches, recoils, doubles over, gets scraped and cut and bloody lips and nose, but he's never hurt. Bones never break, teeth never come loose. All damage is purely cosmetic.

 

Second, anyone striking him directly gets tired out as they strike him.

 

Third, he has a punch that is devastating to those that are tired out.

 

Obviously when it comes to super-fights, RAD has limited options. He has to goad his opponents into entering hand-to-hand combat, get knocked around a bit, and then turn the tables with his knock-out punch. He has practiced faking being hurt though, so attackers think they're really hurting him. He's even taken a nod from professional wrestling and gotten flamboyant about getting knocked around so vain villains will enjoy beating up on him even more. He's gone so far as to stage incidents where seemlingly unassuming thugs "defeat" him in public to further his image of helplessness in a standup fight. Sometimes just his interference ruins a criminal's plans and if there are witnesses (and approaching police to apprehend the criminal anyway), he'll take a dive for criminals that have been prevented from harming people already.

 

To encourage bad guys to use bad tactics (brute force!), Jankowski has developed the art of the insult. He studies what he can about a villain (even if it's just their mannerisms in combat) and insults them as personally and viciously as he can. It helps. He's even becoming a name on the stand-up circuit where he takes the Don Rickles approach into the edgy 21st century. He's drawn attention from parent groups, media watchdog organizations, politicians, and even civil rights groups for his "vulgar, abusive, offensive" brand of comedy. He's certainly caused a stir as more than one of his routines has been interrupted by an audience member trying to punch his lights out... (and one national TV talk show host has vowed to end his career after being humilated by Jankowski on live television...)

 

His various other skills have been developed specifically to not be a useless, one-trick crimefighter, although even he knows that a few investigation skills don't make him Batman or anything.

 

 

Campaign Use: "Jim still can't make a normal super-hero." Fate is decided by the narrowest of margins when it comes to a new super powered individual deciding whether to become a hero or villain. RAD could have easily stayed bitter and used his new ability to aid him in crime, taking the good life he could never seem to earn by living straight. GMs could have a fine time describing how badly RAD's getting his butt kicked, while he never seems to go down, and the players wonder exactly how much STUN this guy has.

 

As a hero, again it will be the stories and not the action that makes or breaks the gameability of this character. An unimaginative GM will turn RAD adventures into reprints of early Hulk ("Hulk can not fight gas!" every issue...) but presenting challenges should not be difficult... RAD isn't very powerful at all, he just tends to negate the power of others is all.

 

My priority in playing this character would be for a GM to have a villain tie him up, stick him in the trunk of a car, have the car driven into a gasoline tanker and have the whole thing blow up, just so RAD can stagger out of the fiery wreckage, face the goons who did it, and utter his catchphrase. Or throw him off a skyscraper. Or out of a plane. You know, the flashy stuff.

 

Jankowski's comedy career can keep him on the road a lot, bringing variety to what at least seems to be a genre that often bases the action around one region.

 

Appearance: Jankowski trains very hard to keep a runner's physique. He wants to be in tip-top shape but he does not want to look impressive in spandex or give an impression of toughness at all. In his civilian ID, he stays sharply attired in the latest cool fashions. In his RAD ID, he has developed an obnoxious costume that's as much the visual equivalent of "kick me" as possible. Lots of little subtle crosshairs and such.

[Dreadnought]

Re: Character: RAD

 

Interesting, but I predict that someday, he'll end up facing a gadgeteer villain who figured out how Rad's invulnerability works and comes equipped with a RKA with Affects Desolidified. Splat.

[pinecone]

Re: Character: RAD

 

Yeah, or Jake Spectre will do it...this is his bread and butter (whooping on Desolid foes)

 

For a differant way try Damage reduction paired with absorbtion....there should be an old thread around some where......

[Bloodstone]

Re: Character: RAD

 

Officially, Desol with Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects does not protect you from Falling damage.

 

Strange but true.

[Greywind]

Re: Character: RAD

 

That was modeled in a couple of different books, as I recall. I distinctly remember it in an issue of Backlash before he lost the smoke power.

[Comic]

Re: Character: RAD

 

For a differant way try Damage reduction paired with absorbtion....there should be an old thread around some where......

 

I used to love that build.

 

Had a mentalist who absorbed damage to telepathy.

 

The world's most powerful unconscious psychic.

[JimLotFP]

Re: Character: RAD

 

Officially, Desol with Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects does not protect you from Falling damage.

 

Strange but true.

 

Odd!

 

What is bizarre is that the "does not protect against damage" limitation doesn't mitigate the need for the "usable against physical world" advantage on his own attacks. I'm stating right now in my game if you choose "does not protect against damage" AND "can not pass through solid objects" on your desolidification, you don't need to buy anything special to attack physical things.

 

Anyway... as for this "affects Desolids" attack, maybe taking some of those excess throwaway points and buying up some armor with the limitation "only vs. attacks that affect Desolid"...

[Checkmate]

Re: [Character] RAD

 

You also haven't taken invisible effects so everyone knows you're desolid just by looking at you.

[JimLotFP]

Re: [Character] RAD

 

You also haven't taken invisible effects so everyone knows you're desolid just by looking at you.

 

This is exactly why I'm making these threads... to see what I'm overlooking when executing concepts.

 

This adds 18 points to the power, so the Overall Skill Levels go bye-bye... fair enough.