Looking for one-being-team builds

[Wanderer]

Has anyone managed to churn out good character builds for amalgam one-man-has-all-of-a-team-powers characters ? Amazo, Super-Skrull, Composite Superman, and/or their younger counterparts Kid Amazo and Xavin ? I'm specifically looking for builds that go in some more detail than one big VPP or Mimic pool.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Looking for one-being-team builds

 

Has anyone managed to churn out good character builds for amalgam one-man-has-all-of-a-team-powers characters ? Amazo' date=' Super-Skrull, Composite Superman, and/or their younger counterparts Kid Amazo and Xavin ? I'm specifically looking for builds that go in some more detail than one big VPP or Mimic pool.[/quote']

 

I doubt anyone has.

 

Amalgam characters are all about context.

 

You can't build their specific copied powers (even if they are just VPP slots) until you can see the PC team that they will be facing and copying.

[Wanderer]

Re: Looking for one-being-team builds

 

I doubt anyone has.

 

Amalgam characters are all about context.

 

You can't build their specific copied powers (even if they are just VPP slots) until you can see the PC team that they will be facing and copying.

 

Sorry, but maybe I need to specify my intention further. I wasn't looking for "mimic everything" buildups. I was looking for guys that have all the powers of a given superteams, so the power set would be fixed. Eg. the Super-Skrull has all the powers of the Fantastic Four (plus shapeshifting). Some versions of Amazo have all the powers of the original seven Justice League members. Likewise for Xavin and Kid Amazo. The Composite Superman had all the powers of the Legion of Super-heroes. They didn't copied powers per se, they replicated them.

 

I would be looking for some insights into clever integration of big sets of different powers, apart from VPP, not for a Mimic VPP buildup. That's trivial (there's even some in USPD, IIRC). I hope I made the difference clear, sorry if I was unclear before.

[Hyper-Man]

Re: Looking for one-being-team builds

 

Sorry, but maybe I need to specify my intention further. I wasn't looking for "mimic everything" buildups. I was looking for guys that have all the powers of a given superteams, so the power set would be fixed. Eg. the Super-Skrull has all the powers of the Fantastic Four (plus shapeshifting). Some versions of Amazo have all the powers of the original seven Justice League members. Likewise for Xavin and Kid Amazo. The Composite Superman had all the powers of the Legion of Super-heroes. They didn't copied powers per se, they replicated them.

 

I would be looking for some insights into clever integration of big sets of different powers, apart from VPP, not for a Mimic VPP buildup. That's trivial (there's even some in USPD, IIRC). I hope I made the difference clear, sorry if I was unclear before.

 

You still need to build the team being copied first. Otherwise there is no way to judge the character. Everything about making this type of character is about balancing it to the 'team' being copied. There is no magic formula. It ALL depends on how you would build the team characters being copied.

 

If I wanted to build Super-Skrull for example I would first start by building each member of the Fantastic Four. You can't build the one without the other (4 in this case).

 

If you have a particular team in mind already built and could post them I could certainly try my hand at building an Amalgam of them but I am not aware of any other shortcut besides what you've already mentioned that you don't want to use (mimic/vpp pool).

[Comic]

Re: Looking for one-being-team builds

 

Looked at one way, Superman has all the powers of many teams, or reasonable substitutes for them.

 

N-Ray vision and enough telescopic makes a fine substitute for clairsentience, danger sense, mind scan, detective skills, and tracking.

 

A good versatile movement multipower gives you everything the Flash, Aquaman, and Hawkman can do.

 

A VA EB can cover most of the exotic attacks, and Stretching is not unlike Tk, regardless of the special effect.

 

Enough armor, and who needs Wonder Woman's bracelets? (Though this guy certainly doesn't have enough armor.)

 

The only things missing really are that Golden Lasso, Martian Manhunter's telepathy, shape-shifting, and the Atom's Shrinking.

 

Here's a bit of a homage I've been working on, another variation in a long line of Supermen from Altered Concepts -- Kaleel of Khartoum.

 

It's a bit crammed in, to fit the 350 pt build, but Sulthan could almost fit the bill of a team amalgam.

 

Sulthan - Kaleel ibn Khurtum

+VAL CHA Cost Base Roll Notes

| 65 STR 55 10 22- HTH Damage 13d6 200 t [6]

| 17 DEX 21 10 12- OCV 6 / DCV 6

| 39 CON 58 10 17-

| 10 BODY - 10 11-

| 23 INT 13 10 14- PER Roll 14-

| 14 EGO 8 10 12- ECV: 5

| 10 PRE - 10 11- PRE Attack: 2d6

| 10 COM - 10 11-

| 13 PD - 13 23 PD (10 rPD)

| 8 ED - 8 18 ED (10 rED)

| 4 SPD 13 2.7 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12

| 21 REC - 21

| 64 END -7 78

| 63 STUN - 63

+

| 21 RUN - 6" 21"/42" [4]

| 42 SWIM - 2" 42"/84" [4]

| 38 LEAP - 13" 38"/76" forward, 19"/38" upward [9]

+CHA Cost: 167

 

+Cost POWERS

| 18 10 rED / 10 rED Armor (+1/4: Inherent; -1/2: Always On, -1/2: UEP Power Modifier) 'Inertial Latency' 37 AP []

| 5 N-Ray Vision\Heavy Metals stop (-1: 0 DCV Concentration) 'I-Ray Vision' 10 AP []

| 1 10x Microscopic Vision (-1: 0 DCV Concentration) 'I-Ray Resolution' 3 AP []

| 3 10x Rapid Vision 'I-Ray Capacity' 3 AP []

| 3 10x Rapid Hearing 'M-Wave Capacity' 3 AP []

| 3 Ultrasonic Perception 'Momentum Attenuation' 3 AP []

| 1 +6 Telescopic Vision (-1: 0 DCV Concentration) 'I-Ray Coherence' 3 AP []

| 1 +6 Telescopic Hearing (-1: 0 DCV Concentration) 'M-Wave Sharpness' 3 AP []

| 7 Adder\Touch Ranged (+1.5: Megascale 1"=100,000 km, +1/4: Scalable down to 1"=1 km; -1/2: Costs END; -1/2: Linked to Momentum Control) 'Friction Feel' 14 AP [1]

| 20 1d6+1 Healing\4 AP Std Effect (+5 pts Regrow Limbs; +1.5 Decr. Reuse Duration\1 Turn Post Segment 12, +1/4 Inherent; +1/2 Persistent, +1/2 Reduced to Zero End.; +1/2 Triggered\Characteristic Loss Auto-Reset 1 Phase; -1/2 Always On, -1.25 Extra Time\1 Turn, -1/2: Self Only) 'Retrokinesis' 76 AP [0]

| 21 Life Support: Self-Contained Breathing, Immortality, Does not need to Eat or Sleep 21 AP []

| 19 Life Support: Safe All Environments, Immune All Exposures (-1/2: Side Effect - Minor Transform to Carrier', gains Distinctive Features of Exposure) 29 AP []

| 27 Multipower Pool (-1/2: Restrainable) 'Highspeed Kinetics' 40 AP []

| 1u 65 STR Clinging 'Friction Increase' 7\10 AP []

| 1u 4d6 EB vs ED (+3/4: +1/2 VA Kinetic Effects from Eyes/Mouth; -1: O DCV Concentration, -1/2: Extra Segment, -1/2: UEP Power Modifier) 'Friction-Beam Vision & Inertial Ice Breath' 10\35 AP [3]

| 2u 5" Flight (+1.5: Mega 1"=100,000 km; +1/4: No Turn Mode; +1/4: Scale to 1"=1 km) 'Momentum' 20\30 AP [2]

| 5m 20" Flight 'Kinetic Levitation' 27\40 AP [4]

| 3u 5" Gliding x256 Ncbt 'Inertial Maneuvering' 27\40 AP []

| 3u +35" Leaping \52" Total\ (+5 pts: Accurate) 'Inertia Suppression' 27\40 AP [3]

| 3u +15" Running \21" Total\ 'Momentum Amplification' 20\30 AP [4]

| 4m 7" Stretching (-1/4: No Momemtum) 'So Fast He's 2 Places At Once!' 20\35 AP [3]

| 3u +40" Swimming \42" Total\ 'Friction Control' 27\40 AP [4]

| 1u 5" T-port\No Rel. Vel., Pos. Shift (-1/4: Must Pass Interv. Space) 'I-M Exchange' 14\25 AP [2]

| 3u 1" 13 DEF Tunneling 'Kinetic Disruption' 26\39 AP [4]

+POWERS Cost: 159

 

+Cost SKILLS

| 0 Everyman Skills

| 8- Acting

| 11- AK: Khartoum

| 8- Climbing

| 8- Concealment

| 8- Conversation

| 8- Deduction

| 5 pts LS: Arabic, Imitate Dialects

| 8- Paramedics

| 8- Persuasion

| 11- PS: Student

| 8- Shadowing

| 8- Stealth

| TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles

| 3 Skill Enhancer: Linguist

| 3 Skill Enhancer: Scholar

| 3 Skill Enhancer: Traveler

| 1 11- AK: Campaign City

| 1 11- KS: Astronomy

| 1 11- KS: Koran

| 1 11- KS: Mathematics

| 2 LS: English, Idiomatic, Native Accent, 4 AP

| 1 LS: French, Completely Fluent with Accent, 3 AP

| - LS: German, Fluent Conversation, 2 AP

| 1 LS: Hebrew, Completely Fluent with Accent, 3 AP

| 1 LS: Persian, Fluent Conversation, 2 AP

| - LS: Yiddish, Fluent Conversation, 2 AP

+SKILLS Cost: 18

 

+Cost Talents

| 3 Eidetic Memory\+3 to INT Rolls (-2: Only to Recall Memorized/Perceived Information) AP 9 []

| 3 Lightning Calculator AP 3 []

+Talents Cost: 6

 

+Cost PERKS

| 0 Home, vehicle of a normal person

+Perks Cost: 0

 

+Val DISADVANTAGES

| 15 DF: Young Adult -- "Can I see proof of age?" (Concealable, Major Reaction or Prejudice)

| 15 Mon.: Homeland Security 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watch)

| 10 Phys.: Medical-Resistant (Infreq., Great)

| 10 Phys.: Weirdness Magnet (Freq., Slight)

| 20 Psy.: Code vs Killing (Common, Total)

| 10 Psy.: Honorable (Uncommon, Strong)

| 10 Psy.: Seeks Truth -- Curious (Common, Moderate)

| 10 Psy.: Seeks Justice -- Code of Justice (Uncommon, Strong)

| 10 Riv.: Top American Hero (Professional, Significantly Superior, Unaware)

| 10 Riv.: Top Student in America (Professional, Significantly Superior, Unaware)

| 15 Soc.: Minority: Kaleel ibn Khurtum, Sudanese 2nd Generation (Very Frequently, Minor)

| 15 Soc.: Secret ID: 'Cal' Khurtum, High School Senior (Frequently, Major)

+DISADVANTAGES Points: 150

 

Base Pts: 200

 

Total Character Cost: 350

 

 

Quote

 

"I see the trouble. Let me help."

 

Motto/Creed

 

"Truth, justice, honor and reverence for all life are the real power."

 

Description

 

A powerfully muscled teenager, about 6'4" tall, appearing around 225 lbs. and favored with brilliant blue eyes lit with inner power, the long-chinned superhero appears in a turban and nondescript blue tunic without marking or motto. Behind him, a nimbus of force floats, forming a vague wing. He levitates easily on the translucently amorphous forces, and the umbra of shifting energy contained by his power corruscates eerily in the area in hues of subtle blue.

 

This thin-faced, bulky teenager is almost always stooped, slouching his approximately 6'1" frame and hunching his lean shoulders so his loose drab greyish clothes always seem ill-fitting, affected by a recent growth-spurt. His square-rimmed yellow-tinted glasses, dull dark eyes and straight, stringy black hair covered by a baseball cap convey 'perpetual outsider' without quite granting this teen the negative glamor of Emo or even Geek. He usually speaks quietly, almost a whisper; the squeaky, voice-cracking whisper of postponed puberty.

 

Origin

 

Kaleel ibn Khurtum was born in the United States, but spent much of his life in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, raised by parents who took their faith to heart, particularly the articles about generosity, charity, and respect for life.

 

Kal's father died in a terrorist ambush while on a particularly distant mission of relief for refuges. His mother was killed when an insurgent's bomb went off while she was traveling to petition for aid for starving children. Young Kaleel, a scholarly and contemplative student, has returned to America to complete his schooling.

 

And.. he has powers. Superpowers. Dramatic superpowers. He's able to lift 200 tons, and hold about 3,000 tons. He can fly at near the speed of light. Bullets bounce off his chest, and the few injuries he does sustain heal instantly.

 

The powers began to emerge in Kal very slowly when puberty hit, and he has carried on a quietly heroic struggle to uphold his values since the day he first learned he was different. Sulthan answers the call of truth, justice, honor and the reverence of life, as modestly and with as much humility as he can. He has never seen any particular need to draw attention to himself, and is virtually unknown due to the remoteness and speed of most of his deeds.

 

Powers

 

Sulthan has an innate kinetic field which makes him phenomenally strong, fast and tough, as well as extends his senses and amplifies the functions of his brain.

 

Using inertial feedback, Kal's eyes see through solids. His hearing reaches into the ultrasonic range by sensing momentum waves. Sulthan can focus these senses on objects far away. While flying, he can even anticipate physical contact through a sort of forward-feeling sense of friction.

 

Kinetic manipulation allows Kal to levitate, accelerating his movement at great speeds. He shrugs off physical impacts, in fact healing in seconds from any injury as his kinetic powers revert his body to its normal condition. Manipulating friction, inertia and momentum allows him to create blasts of heat or cold from his eyes and mouth. Biokinetics shields him from adverse environmental effects, and sustains him without the need to breath. Although he does not yet know it, Sulthan is unaffected by aging, as well.

 

Background

 

Sulthan is an unknown superhero, completely new to the world of American superhumans. He has set the mark of the world's greatest superhero to better, in all things, in Sulthan's modest way. Kaleel ibn Khurtum, humbly, also seeks to become America's most accomplished scholar.

 

Whether it is that he notices and looks for the unusual more, or that oddness is drawn to him, is difficult to say. He certainly is a bit of a nexus of improbable occurences, all seemingly perfectly random and completely explicable. It still causes him grief, as one of those people the Department of Homeland Security monitors and the general public looks at suspiciously despite his citizenship and perfect integration into society.