[Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

[Tonio]

I'm building this character, and need to get him down to 600 points. Rough background: he's the incarnated spirit of the proverbial North.

 

Here's what I have up to now...

 

[b]The Arctic Spirit[/b]
[b]Val  Char  Cost  Roll  Notes[/b]
20    STR     10      13-    Lift 400.0kg; 4d6 [2]
26    DEX     48      14-    OCV:  9/DCV:  9
35    CON     50      16-
20    BODY    20      13-
10    INT       0      11-    PER Roll 11-
10    EGO     0      11-    ECV:  3
20    PRE      10      13-    PRE Attack:  4d6
10    COM     0      11-

4/34    PD         0      Total:  4/34 PD (0/30 rPD)
7/32    ED         0      Total:  7/32 ED (0/25 rED)
5    SPD       14      Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
20    REC       18
70    END     0
75    STUN   27      [b]Total Characteristic Cost:  197[/b]

[b]Movement:[/b]
Running:  6"/12"
Flight:  20"/40"
Leaping:  4"/8"
Swimming:  2"/4"


[b]Cost  Powers  END[/b]
70  [i]One with the Winds and the Waves:[/i]  Flight 20", Usable Underwater (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (70 Active Points)
26  [i]Incarnation:[/i]  Life Support  (Eating: Character does not eat; Longevity: Immortal; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing; Sleeping: Character does not sleep)
83  [i]Protection of the Arctic:[/i]  Armor (30 PD/25 ED)
187  [i]Ice Storm Powers:[/i]  Multipower, 187-point reserve
5u  1)  [i]Fog Form:[/i]  Desolidification  (affected by Gaseous), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Usable Simultaneously (up to 8 people at once; +1), Area Of Effect (9" Radius; +1) (130 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Physical Only; -1), Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2) 6
18u  2)  [i]Storm:[/i]  Change Environment 8" radius, -10 to Sight Group PER Rolls, -10 OCV, -15" of Flight, Multiple Combat Effects, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (184 Active Points) 7
14u  3)  [i]Freeze:[/i]  Entangle 12d6, 12 DEF, Entangle And Character Both Take Damage (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (180 Active Points); Vulnerable (Uncommon (Fire); -1/4) 7
5u  2)  [i]Ice Patch:[/i]  Change Environment 8" radius, -12" of Running, Long-Lasting 20 Minutes (58 Active Points); Only When In Contact With The Ground (-1/4) 6
19u  5)  [i]Ice Spike:[/i]  Killing Attack - Ranged 10d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (187 Active Points) 7
18u  6)  [i]Winter Chill:[/i]  Energy Blast 11d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Affects Desolidified Any form of Desolidification (+1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), No Normal Defense (Life Support: Safe in Intense Cold; +1) (179 Active Points) 8
[b]Talents[/b]
24  Universal Translator 15-
2  Trackless Stride
[b]Skills[/b]
5  AK: The Arctic 14-
5  KS: Norse Religion 14-
5  KS: Weather 14-
2  Animal Handler (Other Arctic Animals) 13-

[b]Total Powers & Skill Cost:  488
Total Cost:  685[/b]

[b]450+ Disadvantages[/b]
150  Unspecified Disadvantages
85 Experience Points

[b]Total Disadvantage Points:  685[/b]



[b]Background/History:[/b]  

[b]Personality/Motivation:[/b]  

[b]Quote:[/b]  "..."

[b]Powers/Tactics:[/b]  

[b]Campaign Use:[/b]  

[b]Appearance:[/b]  

 

I would greatly appreciate any and all help. =)

[Tonio]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Oh yah, quick question... will Fog Form affect everybody (up to 8 people) in the area of effect? Or only those I choose? Do I need Selective Target for that? And if I take Selective Target, do I still need to roll "against" those I want to affect, even if they're friendlies?

[Spidey88]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Is this guy intended to be a PC? If he is (and isn't intended to be an uber-powerful enity lurking in the background), you could really stand to trim some points off that multipower.

 

187 points, by pretty much anyone's definition, is a lot. A LOT.

 

Seriously - that's an insane amount of points going into attack powers that eclipses any master villain I can think of, even Dr. Destroyer and Takofanes (who are built on over 2000 pts)!

 

A 10d6 RKA will kill nearly any published hero or villain in short order (and is complete overkill, IMHO) - and the 1/2 END on it will let you keep it up for a while. An 11d6 NND (AOE, affects desolid) is even worse!

 

 

Even if this guy is supposed to be an NPC force of nature, you could really stand to trim down some of that power anyway. Even a 100-point multipower is nothing to sneeze at (and allows for some pretty epic powers), and would put the point total about where it should be (about 600 points).

[Spidey88]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Oh, yeah - you will need selective effect to avoid your enemies in that radius. Otherwise, you roll simply to hit the target hex, and everyone in the radius (that doesn't dive for cover) takes the effects.

 

You might not NEED it, if it's the kind of thing you'll use before a fight - but it'll be a lot harder to help your buddies with during one.

[Corven_Ren]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Well one way you can save a few points is instead of armor maybe make it a 0 end force field and put it in an ec with his flight other than that it the mp seems powerful for a pc. I created a charcter for a game that was based on 750 points but the gm put a Active Cost cap limit a 90 active points. Or is this a npc meant for noone to really even attempt to mess with?

[Tonio]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Well... here's how it got that big:

 

I designed the "Storm" power first. Put it in the MP. Then added the rest of the powers, pumping them as high as they could go, w/o really looking at how much damage they were doing... I mean, 11d6 NND, AE: hex... kinda overpowered, too. I scaled down the Storm power a bit (reluctantly), and made the others more reasonable. Here's what I've come up with, at 600 pts (yay!).

 

Suggestions and critiques are VERY welcome and desired, whether they're "this is too powerful" or "you're lacking in this area".

 

[b]The Arctic Spirit[/b]
[b]Val  Char  Cost  Roll  Notes[/b]
20    STR     10      13-    Lift 400.0kg; 4d6 [2]
26    DEX     48      14-    OCV:  9/DCV:  9
35    CON     50      16-
20    BODY    20      13-
10    INT       0      11-    PER Roll 11-
10    EGO     0      11-    ECV:  3
20    PRE      10      13-    PRE Attack:  4d6
10    COM     0      11-

4/34    PD         0      Total:  4/34 PD (0/30 rPD)
7/32    ED         0      Total:  7/32 ED (0/25 rED)
5    SPD       14      Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
20    REC       18
70    END     0
75    STUN   27      [b]Total Characteristic Cost:  197[/b]

[b]Movement:[/b]
Running:  6"/12"
Flight:  25"/50"
Leaping:  4"/8"
Swimming:  2"/4"


[b]Cost  Powers  END[/b]
87  [i]One with the Winds and the Waves:[/i]  Flight 25", Usable Underwater (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (87 Active Points)
26  [i]Incarnation:[/i]  Life Support  (Eating: Character does not eat; Longevity: Immortal; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing; Sleeping: Character does not sleep)
83  [i]Protection of the Arctic:[/i]  Armor (30 PD/25 ED)
112  [i]Ice Storm Powers:[/i]  Multipower, 112-point reserve
4u  1)  [i]Fog Form:[/i]  Desolidification  (affected by Gaseous), Usable Simultaneously (up to 4 people at once; +3/4), Area Of Effect (7" Radius; +1) (110 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Physical Only; -1), Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2) 11
11u  2)  [i]Storm:[/i]  Change Environment 8" radius, -5 to Sight Group PER Rolls, -15" of Flight, -5 OCV, Multiple Combat Effects (107 Active Points) 11
5u  3)  [i]Ice Patch:[/i]  Change Environment 8" radius, -12" of Running, Long-Lasting 20 Minutes (58 Active Points); Only When In Contact With The Ground (-1/4) 6
10u  4)  [i]Ice Spike:[/i]  Killing Attack - Ranged 7d6 (105 Active Points) 10
10u  5)  [i]Winter Chill:[/i]  Energy Blast 6d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Affects Desolidified Any form of Desolidification (+1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), No Normal Defense (Life Support: Safe in Intense Cold; +1) (97 Active Points) 4
9u  6)  [i]Freeze:[/i]  Entangle 9d6, 9 DEF, Entangle And Character Both Take Damage (+1/4) (112 Active Points); Vulnerable (Uncommon (Fire); -1/4) 11
[b]Talents[/b]
24  Universal Translator 15-
2  Trackless Stride
[b]Skills[/b]
5  AK: The Arctic 14-
5  KS: Norse Religion 14-
5  KS: Weather 14-
2  Animal Handler (Other Arctic Animals) 13-
3  +1 with any three maneuvers or a tight group of attacks

[b]Total Powers & Skill Cost:  403
Total Cost:  600[/b]

[b]450+ Disadvantages[/b]
150  Unspecified Disadvantages

[b]Total Disadvantage Points:  600[/b]



[b]Background/History:[/b]  

[b]Personality/Motivation:[/b]  

[b]Quote:[/b]  "..."

[b]Powers/Tactics:[/b]  

[b]Campaign Use:[/b]  

[b]Appearance:[/b]  

[Tonio]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Oh, yeah - you will need selective effect to avoid your enemies in that radius. Otherwise, you roll simply to hit the target hex, and everyone in the radius (that doesn't dive for cover) takes the effects.

 

You might not NEED it, if it's the kind of thing you'll use before a fight - but it'll be a lot harder to help your buddies with during one.

 

 

Hm... wouldn't it affect villains coming INTO the area of effect after the power's been turned on, too? Looks like I need Selective Target... there'd be no roll, tho, right? Or rather, no roll against willing targets?

 

Also, does that "Up to 4 people at once" include the character? I'm guessing not, since it'd be phrased as "Up to 4 other people at once" or something like that.

[Tonio]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Ok, latest version... Selective Target on the Desolid now. Some other tweaks, and background, etc., too.

 

Oh, and yeah, he's a PC, sorry. The campaign's a high powered Cosmic/Galactic one.

 

[b]The Arctic Spirit[/b]
[b]Val  Char  Cost  Roll  Notes[/b]
20    STR     10      13-    Lift 400.0kg; 4d6 [2]
26    DEX     48      14-    OCV:  9/DCV:  9
35    CON     50      16-
20    BODY    20      13-
10    INT       0      11-    PER Roll 11-
10    EGO     0      11-    ECV:  3
20    PRE      10      13-    PRE Attack:  4d6
10    COM     0      11-

4/34    PD         0      Total:  4/34 PD (0/30 rPD)
7/32    ED         0      Total:  7/32 ED (0/25 rED)
5    SPD       14      Phases:  3, 5, 8, 10, 12
20    REC       18
70    END     0
75    STUN   27      [b]Total Characteristic Cost:  197[/b]

[b]Movement:[/b]
Running:  6"/12"
Flight:  23"/46"
Leaping:  4"/8"
Swimming:  2"/4"


[b]Cost  Powers  END[/b]
80  [i]One with the Winds and the Waves:[/i]  Flight 23", Usable Underwater (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (80 Active Points)
26  [i]Incarnation:[/i]  Life Support  (Eating: Character does not eat; Longevity: Immortal; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing; Sleeping: Character does not sleep)
83  [i]Protection of the Arctic:[/i]  Armor (30 PD/25 ED)
120  [i]Cold Storm Powers:[/i]  Multipower, 120-point reserve
12u  1)  [i]Storm:[/i]  Change Environment 8" radius, -6 to Sight Group PER Rolls, -15" of Flight, -7 OCV, Multiple Combat Effects (120 Active Points) 12
5u  2)  [i]Ice Patch:[/i]  Change Environment 8" radius, -12" of Running, Long-Lasting 20 Minutes (58 Active Points); Only When In Contact With The Ground (-1/4) 6
10u  3)  [i]Ice Spike:[/i]  Killing Attack - Ranged 7d6 (105 Active Points) 10
10u  4)  [i]Winter Chill:[/i]  Energy Blast 6d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Affects Desolidified Any form of Desolidification (+1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), No Normal Defense (Life Support: Safe in Intense Cold; +1) (97 Active Points) 4
9u  5)  [i]Freeze:[/i]  Entangle 9d6, 9 DEF, Entangle And Character Both Take Damage (+1/4) (112 Active Points); Vulnerable (Uncommon (Fire); -1/4) 11
5u  6)  [i]Fog Form:[/i]  Desolidification  (affected by Gaseous), Usable Simultaneously (up to 4 people at once; +3/4), Area Of Effect (7" Radius; +1), Selective (+1/4) (120 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Physical Only; -1), Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2) 12
[b]Talents[/b]
24  Universal Translator 15-
2  Trackless Stride
[b]Skills[/b]
5  AK: The Arctic 14-
5  KS: Norse Religion 14-
5  KS: Weather 14-
2  Animal Handler (Other Arctic Animals) 13-

[b]Total Powers & Skill Cost:  403
Total Cost:  600[/b]

[b]450+ Disadvantages[/b]
15  Physical Limitation:  Unable to Speak (Frequently, Greatly Impairing)
15  Social Limitation:  Unable to Speak (Occasionally, Severe)
15  Psychological Limitation:  Overconfident (Common, Strong)
10  Psychological Limitation:  Not very protective of humans (Common, Moderate)
15  Reputation:  Protector of the North, 14-
15  Enraged:  Stunned by Heat powers (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 14-
10  Vulnerability:  1 1/2 x BODY Heat-based powers (Common)
20  Vulnerability:  2 x STUN Heat-based powers (Common)
15  Susceptibility:  High Temperatures 1d6 damage per Turn (Common)
15  Distinctive Features:  Blue-skinned, glowie-eyed humanoid (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)
5  Rivalry:  Professional (Other Incarnations; Rival is As Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry)

[b]Total Disadvantage Points:  600[/b]



[b]Background/History:[/b]  The Arctic Spirit is literally the spirit of the North, incarnated.  It is his duty to protect the cold reaches of the North.  He co-exists with other Incarnations, with which he has a professional rivarly, since their eventual entry into their version of paradise depends on their performance of their duties.

[b]Personality/Motivation:[/b]  The Arctic Spirit is widely recognized as the Protector of the North, something which is widely misunderstood as meaning the protector of the northern peoples.  Protecting humans is one of his duties, but this only covers keeping them alive, and only from outside forces.  He has no drive to help them out or make them well.  Quite the contrary: allowing them to go through hardships is the best way to make them strong.

[b]Quote:[/b]  "..."

[b]Powers/Tactics:[/b]  His usual tactics involve Freezing targets then wearing them down with Winter Chill.  Against groups of landbound opponents, he'll lay down an Ice Patch to prevent movement.  In groups, he'll use his Storm power as he's able, but it tends to drain him fast.

[b]Campaign Use:[/b]  

[b]Appearance:[/b]  The Arctic Spirit is a blue-skinned humanoid with glowing yellow eyes.  He wears a loose robe and pants, bound at the forearms and calves with cloth.

 

Note: I decided to add "Unable to speak" as both a physical disadvantage and a social one. I believe they both reflect different aspects of the disadvantage. The Physical Disadvantage reflects his inability to communicate properly and efficiently, while the Social Disadvantage reflects the problems this causes when dealing with people.

[Spidey88]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Oh, and yeah, he's a PC, sorry. The campaign's a high powered Cosmic/Galactic one

 

Okay, then. Even for a cosmic-level campaign, he was perhaps a little too powerful with attacks before - but knowing that, he seems more reasonable now.

 

Be sure to get some idea from your GM what the benchmarks are (ie. if there's DC caps and such for the campaign) - trust me, a 7d6 killing attack should be really bad news for nearly anybody you face - if he says it's wimpy, then make sure he's taking a really close look at how PC's are created, relative to villains (and you too)! It'd suck to find out that everyone thinks 15rPD is plenty of resistant defense, when all the villains are sporting 7d6 killing attacks too.

 

In other words, make sure everyone involved is working off the same kind of standard. For example:

 

Really nasty attack = up to 110 active points/22 DCs.

 

Standard attack = around 80 active points/16 DCs.

 

Wimpy attack, sort of the bare minimum = 60 active points/12 DCs.

 

 

Maximum allowed STR: 100, maybe a little higher if your OCV stinks and there's no compensating factors.

 

 

Maximum OCV: around 12. This can go a little higher if your damage classes with attacks are on the low side.

 

DCV: about 12 as well. This is more flexible if you've got low defenses, and plan to be more of an "artful dodger" to stay alive.

 

Defenses: up to 45 PD/ED for a really tough brick, bringing it down a bit if he's got damage reduction of any kind.

 

 

 

Those aren't intended as any kind of hard numbers, just an example of the sorts of things you, the other players, and your GM should be talking about. This sort of stuff is just intended to make sure everyone's on the same page.

 

When you've got that many points to play with, it's very easy to sink enough points into one sort of things that you'll walk over any opposition without breaking a sweat, or be out of tune with the other players/NPCs.

 

Think of it like this: If you were planning on creating a super-strong guy, you might say: "70 sounds about right. With a 70 STR, I can lift a BATTLESHIP!" Your GM might be thinking: "STR is cheap. The strongest guy in the villains book is at 90 STR, and we've got way more points to play with - 150 STR sounds about right." As soon as you pit your strong guy against his strong guy, you realize you didn't have the same benchmarks in mind, and feel gypped.

 

In a nutshell: sit down with everybody and discuss, to at least some degree, roughly where the range of characteristics and powers should be, so you don't feel hosed when play starts. MY idea of powerful doesn't need to match up with yours - but it should match up roughly with the guys you play with!

 

 

One last thing - don't forget about skills! It's entirely to your taste, of course - but be sure your guy can contribute to situations outside the frozen wastes! For example, the one guy on the team without stealth tends to irritate the rest if they all have it - trust me!

 

Some good choices might be Stealth, Tracking, Survival (for others in his realm, even if he doesn't need it), and Oratory (You dare poison the land I am sworn to protect? Kneel before my awesome might, evildoers!) to name a few.

 

 

Oh - and those AOE powers will affect anyone in the radius without "selective" - so your pals might get a little annoyed by the "Storm" power if you aren't careful!

 

I think the "useable with up to 4 people" thing will work on you as well (making the total 5 people), but I'm not sure offhand.

[Comic]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

I'm curious about the Storm slot. Is it intended to be a megascale effect?

 

I'd also recommend Bump of Direction, Survival and Tracking.

 

Does he have Environmental movement for ice/glaciers?

 

If the attacks are typical, the defenses are likely too low and not diverse enough.

 

Someone with a Drain/Suppress/Transform/Mental powers on this scale would reduce your cosmic hero to slush in a heartbeat. Which may be expected in your campaign.

 

He'd do well to have some CSL's, to allow for bouncing attacks.

[Cardinal]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

There is a character in Champions Worldwide that is the spirit of the sahara desert. I think she might serve as a good basis for comparison for a "force of nature" character and very nasty in her territory without being over the top.

 

You might want to check it out.

[Tonio]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Regarding campaign guidelines... sadly, there aren't any. We (the players) keep badgering the GM to give us some, he keeps firing back with "it's 600 points, that's all you should need to know" and insists we're either dumb, crazy, refusing to decide for ourselves, or trying to elicit information about his villains. (Yes, it sucks, I know... for all I know I might be facing 30d6 energy blasts (completely conceivable with 600 pt characters), or 15d6 EBs, linked to Mind Control, linked to Flash, fired by a villain with 20 PD/ED/power defense/mental defense/flash defense. Hell, the GM even reacted this way when asked what a "good" (as opposed to a "decent", a "great", or an "average" DEX would be)... saying "You have 600 points, use them however you want... you want 15 DEX, buy 15 DEX, you want more, buy more, I'm not gonna tell you how to spend your points.) So this is why this toon (and the others I've made for this campaign) seem a little over the top in terms of power, but not as versatile as expected. I want to make sure I can actually hurt someone, while being able to defend from at least one villain.

 

Regarding skills... Oratory is out right away... since he's unable to speak. ;-)

But in general, it's a very skill-unfriendly campaign. We tend towards "arena combat", with a mostly roleplayed, no-skill-rolls plot around it. (That's not strictly true, but it leans towards that.) So mebbe one or two skills, but spending too many points on skills would cripple the character.

 

Storm is not meant for megascale. It's a sort of localized mini-hurricane of sorts. It's also not meant to be selective (mostly because I don't want to have to roll individually against opponents, but also because of SFX). Just makes it hard to fly, see, and by consequence hit things, while in there.

[Spidey88]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Regarding campaign guidelines... sadly, there aren't any. We (the players) keep badgering the GM to give us some, he keeps firing back with "it's 600 points, that's all you should need to know" and insists we're either dumb, crazy, refusing to decide for ourselves, or trying to elicit information about his villains. (Yes, it sucks, I know... for all I know I might be facing 30d6 energy blasts (completely conceivable with 600 pt characters), or 15d6 EBs, linked to Mind Control, linked to Flash, fired by a villain with 20 PD/ED/power defense/mental defense/flash defense. Hell, the GM even reacted this way when asked what a "good" (as opposed to a "decent", a "great", or an "average" DEX would be)... saying "You have 600 points, use them however you want... you want 15 DEX, buy 15 DEX, you want more, buy more, I'm not gonna tell you how to spend your points.) So this is why this toon (and the others I've made for this campaign) seem a little over the top in terms of power, but not as versatile as expected. I want to make sure I can actually hurt someone, while being able to defend from at least one villain.

 

 

Whoops! Sorry if I sounded a little preachy earlier - it seems there's good reason he was so crazy powerful before! You seem to have things well in hand on your end, at least.

 

Is your GM like this all the time? Have you played with him in other campaigns before? He honestly doesn't sound (from your brief description) like he's very fun to play with - but that's for you to decide, I guess.

 

If I was you, I think I'd want to grab him by the ears, look directly in the guy's eyes, and very loudly proclaim:

 

"WEEE NEEEEEED SOOOMME CAAAMMMPAAAIGNNN GUIIIDELLIIIINNES."

 

Seriously - what's to stop you (or him) from throwing 300 points into an energy blast, and 60 points into combat skill levels with it? There's not even a vague idea what's appropriate - in a point-buy sytsem like HERO (esp. with 600 points to work with), you've gotta be able to get feedback from the GM during character creation. Otherwise? Disaster of biblical proportions waiting to happen.

 

(Human sacrifice. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria.)

 

My two cents, anyway.

[Tonio]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

The GM is actually a VERY good GM. It's just that he doesn't have very much experience with Champions, and very little (if any) with characters at this power level. Most of our Champions experience has been 350-450 characters, which followed unspoken guidelines inherited from our previous GM, and all of this a long time ago (in this galaxy, though).

 

He's our D&D DM by default, and he's extremely good at it. He's also run a couple of Marvel and DC campaigns in the past, which ran pretty smoothly.

 

I'm sure there are some guidelines (this is obvious when he rejected a highly Advantage'd 9d6 RKA in another character I made), but I think they're mostly in the form of abstract ideas in his head, rather than concrete guidelines we can follow. Unfortunately, he appears to be having trouble with understanding we (the players) don't necessarily think the same was he does by default. By this I mean... 600 points means, in his head, means, say, "a character known for his extraordinary STR would have around 60 STR", and he feels it should mean the same to us. Telling us this would constitute, to him, giving us unwarranted information on his villains. =/

 

We've managed to get some guidelines, although through very roundabout ways (e.g. building a humongous power, noting what he suggests we take it down to), but this usually only works to get upper guidelines. Lower guidelines we've had to deduce given this.

[Spidey88]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Well, it's good to know that he's otherwise okay - I hope I didn't sound a little too accusatory there.

 

Still, that's got to be frustrating "flying blind". Sounds like he's very stubborn in respect to giving away his "secrets" - hopefully you can wear him down and convince him to give you a vague idea of his own personal standards.

 

It sounds like you've already tried convincing him in various ways to give you some guidance - perhaps, if all else fails, you can direct your GM here so we can "convince" him?

 

(cracks knuckles)

 

 

Seriously, though - if he's new at running HERO, send him our way! There's always plenty of people here who are happy to help out and answer questions, and maybe we can get you some campaign guidelines in the process.

[Tonio]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Thanks for the offer... I don't think he'll go for it, though. He's not really NEW to running HERO. It's just that he hasn't done so in a long time, and back then we didn't do a whole lot of it. Enough to learn and get comfortable with the rules, not enough for them to become so ingrained they last years w/o playing. =)

 

And yeah, he's pretty paranoid about giving away secrets, mostly due to a friend of ours who used to play with us "stealing" his villains a coupla times. (Bad not only because of lack of originality, but because it allowed him to tailor his heroes to be especially effective against the villains.)

 

Thanks for all the help, though!

[Spidey88]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

By this I mean... 600 points means, in his head, means, say, "a character known for his extraordinary STR would have around 60 STR", and he feels it should mean the same to us. Telling us this would constitute, to him, giving us unwarranted information on his villains. =/

 

 

Think of it this way:

 

You guys are packing some serious power, and probably very experienced heroes. Granted, I don't know the campaign world - but if it's one where superpowered individuals aren't brand spankin' new, and some are pretty well publicized, wouldn't it stand to reason that your characters would have at least a vague idea where they stand?

 

 

Excerpts from the Esquire interview with the Boston Blaze:

 

"Yeah, I'm strong. Not quite as strong as Captain Terrific, I think. I saw him lift a oil tanker on TV once - From the look of it, I think I might have been able to, but it'd be iffy. Still, I'm pretty good. Everyone is always saying how strong Ant-Guy is for his size - that's true, no doubt about it (I mean, look at him! He's like 140 soaking wet!) - but I know I'd cream him in a straight-up brawl. That fight against the Incorrigible Grump a few weeks ago? Ant-Guy threw a couple of cars at him, sure - but you could tell it was taking him a lot of effort. He wasn't just flicking them around like ping-pong balls, ya know - he looked like he was really putting his back into those throws, and straining to lift them as quick as he could. No offense to the guy (especially considering how he stopped the Grump's rampage and all), but I could have thrown them one-handed, easy. Heck, I could lift a dump truck one-handed (though it'd be hard to keep it steady). Man - the Grump, though? He's got us all beat. I fought him once, just to keep him offa some loud dude in a tank that was yelling at him (and was gonna get creamed). I go in, trying to be all friendly, and the Grump just won't have it. He clocks me so hard, I flew through 4 buildings before I stopped. I couldn't do that, not to somebody half my size, on my best day."

 

"I guess I'm pretty lucky, powers-wise. I got the classic suite - strength, speed, toughness, stamina - plus I can fly and shoot lasers from my hands. Sure, Bolt's a little faster than me (and his maneuverability puts me to shame), but that's fine. I don't have to worry about bullets! And Professor Beam? Man - I saw one of his fights once too. That guy blew away a gun-toting maniac through the back of a bank vault! (I still don't know how he knew where to aim.) That would have taken me, like, 10 solid minutes to burn through. Still - though I'm not top-drawer in any one category, all of my powers put together make me one mean customer."

 

 

Not necessarily award-winning writing, but I hope I've got the point across how I don't think it's metagaming or "cheating" for me to have an idea where the Boston Blaze stands, relative to the rest of the superhuman world. I mean, HE should have some idea - why shouldn't I? I have to make him fit the concept, after all. How can I possibly ensure he's close to, but a peg or two below, the STR of Captain Terrific or guys in his "weight class", without having some idea of where that imaginary standard is?

 

 

EDIT:

 

Whoops! You beat me to that last post. Best of luck with the game, and I hope you can shake the GM out of his paranoia eventually!

[Tonio]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!)

 

Oh I completely agree. Our GM recently complained when I explained to my friend how "10 DEX is an average human, 20 DEX is as high as regular humans go". He said something along the lines of "just pick how much DEX you want, don't worry about what other people have". My guess is he has serious intellectual property issues... he confuses having a baseline with copying off something. (I.e. he confuses wanting to be "stronger that most" with "stronger that most of your characters".)

 

This, of course, is not a problem with our usual game (D&D), which is not point-buy (well, it CAN be, but still), and has built-in guidelines.