X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

[Squall]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

I'm scared for my first speedster to also be my first 600 point character ("Oh Pietro Junior, you've ruined me for other speedsters!"), so between that and the (mildly funnier) issue of the sister-obsessed relationships Northstar and Quicksilver are known for, I'll be working on something else.

 

I've been at work overnight so haven't had a chance to look over the rest of the background information (in the New Avengers and New Thunderbolts games), so hopefully my backstory (so far) isn't trampling all over "canon" anywhere. I'm not sure right where official Marvel continuity cuts off and where the game picked up, so I'm trying to just wing it (aiming for a cut-off point somewhere around House of M, I guess).

 

Criminy, and now I've got that act to follow (sheesh, here I am feeling clever for thinking up a first name, and Hermit's got a whole sheet done!?).

 

Christian Alexander Summers, son of Scott "Cyclops" Summers and Emma "The White Queen" Frost.

Code Name: Rook

Other Aliases: "Slim"

Identity: Secret (as X-Men go)

Place of Birth/legal status: New York, New York; US Citizen with no criminal record

Occupation: Adventurer/Charter Pilot

Age: 23

Height: 6' 0"

Weight: 179 lbs

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Blue

Skills/Abilities: In normal human Christian Summers has the build of an athlete, and the normal strength of an adult human who engages in regular intensive physical activity. He is an accomplished pilot (having grown into the Summer's nack for it, several generations strong) that is licensed to fly, and also inherited his father's taste for fast cars (and the talent for driving them that has to come with it). He is a practiced martial artist, holding black belts in Judo and Aikido, and rounding out his studies with more traditional striking arts thanks to MEF self defense classes.

 

Appearance: Christian inherited his father's square-jawed good looks and hair, but (optic blasts notwithstanding) his mother's eyes. He's in excellent shape, exercising routinely even before joining the X-Men Next. His fashion sense tends towards practicality and comfort, but he was raised in an upper class houehold all the same -- most of his casual wear comes from an LL Bean catalog, not a thrift store. He's quite a sunglass afficianado despite being in complete control of his powers.

 

Known Mutant Powers: Rook is capable of firing concussive blasts of force from his eyes, of power rivalling his father's. His is also a metamorph capable of shifting his form to a flexible gem-like substance of near-diamond hardness (though with a ruby tint rather than the purer shimmering of his mother), and in that form his strength and durability increase to mild superhuman levels. He has impressive psionic shielding (through heredity as much as training), but shows no other psychic abilities despite promising testing.

 

In Brief: Emma Frost always wanted to be a guiding hand for the next generation of mutants. While this desire first expressed itself in unarguably negative ways -- raising her own brood of Hellfire-club sponsored supervillains and trying to corrupt the young mutant Firestar are hardly the sorts of things one puts on a resume for a teaching position -- she eventually settled in with "the other side of the street," first working alongside Banshee as an instructor for Generation X, acting as a teacher on Genosha before tragedy struck, and later even serving (briefly) as headmistress of Xavier's own academy, the School For Gifted Youngsters.

 

There was friction when she arrived, of course, old grudges and rightful mistrust causing all manner of argument and disharmony, but perhaps the largest slap on the face came when many team-mates felt she "stole" Cyclops, Scott Summers, from his long-time romantic interest, Jean Grey. Through the ups and downs of the X-Men and their extended family, it had seemed that Summers and Grey -- and the fact "Summers and Grey" went together so well -- were one of the school's only constants. The Summers/Grey marriage seemed the most natural thing in the world when they completed their vows, but several years later things fell apart. Scott accepted psychic therapy sessions from Emma, and it wasn't long before their conversations turned into a full-blown (if completely mental rather than physical) affair. The team's loyalties were split between their long-time field leader and Jean Grey, the redhead who had by many been considered the soul of the team.

 

It wasn't the smoothest start to a relationship, but it also wouldn't be the lowest point for either of them.

 

It was Emma's urge to teach, and Scott's growing sense of distance from the rest of the X-family, the Professor especially, that led to the pair of them accepting an offer from the MEF. It wasn't long after that Jean died, and many of Summer's old team-mates held it against him (Logan, especially) that he wasn't there at the end. In many ways, the final death of the Phoenix was the blade that severed the last of Scott's ties from the faculty and students of 1407 Graymalkin Lane.

 

Reaching out for a new sense of permanance, something to hold onto in those dark times, he proposed. Less than a year later, their son was born.

 

Emma kept busy with the rest of mutantkind's next generation, but Scott took to fathering with an eagerness bordering on the obsessive. He maintained an administrative position (in security) with their local MEF office, but wasn't as absorbed by his work as his wife. The White Queen seemed to barely speak to her son except for the times he was assigned to one of her classes.

 

Rumors -- later accusations -- flew from her husband that Emma wasn't as interested in their son as she should have been due to his lack of true psionic abilities, but whatever the reasons for it, Christian grew up raised quite a bit more by his father than his mother...He developed his father's nack for piloting, his father's interest in the martial arts, inherited much of his father's natural charisma...and he was weaned on his father's stories of adventures with the X-Men more than anything else.

 

Scott Summers suffered in silence, spoken to only curtly by those he once loved as family, through Charles Xavier's funeral. Emma Frost-Summers attended, but who knows where her mind was throughout the ceremony itself -- she may have been of grading papers from the astral, for all the emotion she showed. Their son spent the gloomy afternoon with a wide-eyed stare hidden behind Oakley sunglasses -- he was surrounded by his childhood heroes, the men and women he'd heard of from his father his entire life.

 

He knew it was time. He was old enough. His mother was busy enough not to care, his father would -- someday! -- approve and understand. When Hank McCoy made his announcements, Christian made his decision. He was going to be an X-Man. He was going to be the X-Man. He'd fill the boots his father had left empty, and show his mother there was more to life than stock reports and psychic powers.

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

This is to announce the creation of a new X-Men: The Next Generation game on Hero Central. It is 30 years in the future and the heroes we read about in the comics are dead or retired' date=' and their children are now stepping up to fill their shoes. This campaign will share the same universe as the Avengers: The Next Generation and New Thunderbolts campaigns on HC, which are the same general idea (characters in those campaigns are listed down below).[/quote']

 

Woot! Glad this is getting going. Good luck to all involved, look forward to reading it.

 

• Seriously. Kitty Pryde doesn’t have any children. Let it go.

 

 

 

Let us not neglect to mention that the New Thunderbolts game was run by Supreme Serpent, aka el Generalissimo Serpiente*, who had to drop out due to Real Life pressures. Whatever was good about that game is 99.9% to his credit.

 

Bill.

(*OK, technically no one actually calls him that...)

 

Awww...

 

Hope to get back to it, unless you do a really good job in which case I'll be afraid to.

 

 

Wait... we have a PbP located at Hero Games? When did this happen?

 

 

Man, I have been gone a long time.

 

Mags

 

Follow the links in first post for the specific games, or the "HeroCentral" link in the forum list here. Lots of cool stuff, and good site set up by our own Dan Simon including lots of bells and whistles like coded-in die rollers and such.

 

I've been at work overnight so haven't had a chance to look over the rest of the background information (in the New Avengers and New Thunderbolts games), so hopefully my backstory (so far) isn't trampling all over "canon" anywhere. I'm not sure right where official Marvel continuity cuts off and where the game picked up, so I'm trying to just wing it (aiming for a cut-off point somewhere around House of M, I guess).

 

• I don’t have a definite timeline in mind for what in the usual X-Men history has happened and what has not. It’s pretty open; I expect the backstories you write for your characters will fill things in and we’ll just toss the rest in as we go. Outside of the intro to the campaign written in this thread, I don’t really have anything of any sort formally planned, so we’ll just work it out as we go.

 

I'm not sure what the Milkman has in mind, and I don't think he does either. For the Avengers and T-bolts games the general idea is that the stuff that happened from the start up until about the end of the Busiek/Perez Avengers run mostly happened, and was compressed mostly into the 1970's-1980's. Mostly. Some older characters are still running around in various stages of aging or not aging, etc. Past continuity is mostly at the service of whatever works best for the story at hand. Pay no attention to the calendar behind the curtain. Also keep in mind that the continuity has to be a bit flexible in order to introduce all these kids and in some cases relationships that were never in the 'canon' stories. So while the general events of X-Men #150 probably happened, there was probably more going on behind the scenes and the various period touches like who was President, what music was popular and such can be ignored.

 

I believe most (all?) of us who are/have been involved have a general distaste for things like House of M, Civil War, etc. so I wouldn't expect those to be continuity.

 

Again, good luck all. Some interesting concepts so far!

[Squall]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Yeah, I'm not exactly a giant fan of much of their more recent offerings, myself (I've honestly switched most of my Marvel purchasing over to the Ultimate universe, in fact) -- it's just that, as I understand it, the X-Titles have been going through some pretty big changes lately.

 

Most of my information of them from the last five years or so is largely word of mouth and/or Wikipedia entries, but Nightcrawler's some sort of demon now, Angel's some sort of angel now, Iceman can regenerate from being blown up (to the point he's reduced to being a frozen head carried under someone's arm), Cyclops lost his powers and starting blasting people with pistols, Quicksilver's a bad guy again (dammit) and can make clones of himself or something instead of having super speed, and just generally all kinds of crazy stuff seems to be going on.

 

I'm concerned not so much because I want to address the modern stuff, but because some of the changes sound so outragious and important that I want to make sure it's okay not to address it, if that distinction makes sense.

 

So I'm hazily trying to draw a line somewhere (even if it's just in my head!) to define where "but it's canon!" gets overpowered by "but it's stupid."

 

For my own particular character, that line was somewhere after Frost and Cyclops started to show interest in one another, but somewhere before him losing his powers and stuff, and any other stupidity they roll up. I mostly just wanted to give Cyke some love and have someone play his next-gen offspring, without going the easy route and being yet another Cyclops/Jean Grey spawn.

[ScrewySquirrel]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

I have a couple of ideas:

 

Kyudo Kat: a mutant with no actual mutant powers, just in appearance. Not related to any previous X-man, instead a master of Zen archery, trained by Hawkeye as an archer in the Hawkeye/Green Arrow mold. Will have NCM! distrusted slightly by normal humans for being a mutant, but also looked down on by most mutants for not having powers.

 

Squirrel Girl: I posted a 350 point version with generally 30AP abilities a few months ago. Since she's a current, known mutant, she might not be appropriate for someone 30 years in the future. Basically a martial artist with the ability to command Squirrels like Aquaman commands fish, and an uncanny ability to beat the most powerful villians in the Marvel universe -- usually by spotting a weakness and exploiting it.

[MilkmanDan]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

If Comic plays that ... then I wanna play their younger brother who they don't know about and was born on an alien world. I think I might name him Romulan ...

what?

 

Go for it, all of you. I've never killed off three PCs in the first combat of a campaign before.

[Enforcer84]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

I'm currently working on the son of Maddox and Siryn.

Choir?

[OzMike]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Can I play? How's this for an idea...

 

I'd like to play the son of Justice (Vance Astrovik) and Firestar (Angelica Jones).

 

Steven Astrovik - Victory.

 

EDIT: I know that neither were X-Men, but both parents were mutants and I thought it would be nice to play the 'silver spoon/finding out about his roots' subplot as well (Mutant Guy"What do you know about being a mutant? You know nothing about persecution! Your Dad was an Avenger, your mom retired and led a normal life, and your god-father was an actual thunder god! Come back and tell me about you being a mutant when you've endured what 99% of us have had to deal with every freakin' day of our lives!")

[Querysphinx]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

I'm working on a Forge/Mystique offspring: Crucible. I will need help w/c-sheet generation as I don't own 5th ed.

[MilkmanDan]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Choir?

 

Make it the cloned offspring. Cloister!

 

Random points:

 

Just do a character and type it into Word or whatever if you don't have HD. No biggie. When you've got your backstory, throw it up here, and then once you've got it all statted out add that as well.

 

Mentor--no character concepts are outlawed thanks to the convenient "alternate realities" codicil in the character creation guidelines. It's just that if you do want to do a Colossus-Kitty Pryde spawn, it needs a very good justification in the backstory.

 

Some good stuff so far. I mean, everyone pales next to Blūd~StrΩm, of course.

[LegionZero]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

I'd love to join in. I used to be a big fan of Marvel, especially the Xmen, but it's been years. I once made a Hero System, character to play in a very similar system. Of course, that was years ago, 4th Ed., and many points less. I've revamped him to fit. The extra points came in handy.

 

Anyhow, he's the child of Rogue and Gambit. He inherited a very limited form of his mother's absorption power and some watered down version of his father's object-charging ability, as well as his athletic ability and natural charm. Nine months of close physical contact and sharing his mothers blood has allowed him to inherit (but not steal) his mother's stolen Ms. Marvel Kree physiology abilities. So he's a slightly watered down brick as well.

 

The years of being around Xmen has given him a wide variety of useful skills. I didn't munchkin him at all. I figured you gave us enough points that we wouldn't have to.

 

If you think the concept has potential, I'm on Hero Central as "Robb." Drop me a PM.

[Hermit]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Choir?

 

Well, I probably should have gone with Duet or Duo, but I went with Stereo.

[teh bunneh]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Go for it' date=' all of you. I've never killed off three PCs in the first combat of a campaign before. [/quote']

 

Not just the first combat, but the first phase of the first combat!

 

Hope to get back to it' date=' unless you do a [i']really[/i] good job in which case I'll be afraid to.

 

Oh no, my friend. You'll be back.

 

I'm not sure what the Milkman has in mind, and I don't think he does either. For the Avengers and T-bolts games the general idea is that the stuff that happened from the start up until about the end of the Busiek/Perez Avengers run mostly happened, and was compressed mostly into the 1970's-1980's. Mostly. Some older characters are still running around in various stages of aging or not aging, etc. Past continuity is mostly at the service of whatever works best for the story at hand. Pay no attention to the calendar behind the curtain. Also keep in mind that the continuity has to be a bit flexible in order to introduce all these kids and in some cases relationships that were never in the 'canon' stories. So while the general events of X-Men #150 probably happened, there was probably more going on behind the scenes and the various period touches like who was President, what music was popular and such can be ignored.

 

I believe most (all?) of us who are/have been involved have a general distaste for things like House of M, Civil War, etc. so I wouldn't expect those to be continuity.

 

Yeah, that's about right. The idea that I've been working with in Avengers: TNG is that the original events of the Marvel Universe happened more-or-less when they originally happened -- that is to say, Reed Richards and family went up in their experimental rocket sometime in the early 60s. Young Peter Parker was bitten by the radioactive spider in the mid-60s. The original Avengers were formed in the 60s, and so forth. Most of those first heroes began retiring in the 80s/early 90s, settling down and having kids. Assume that the Busiek/Perez Avengers run happened around that time. Some of the immortal/long-lived heroes and villains are still active.

 

House of M? Never happened. Avengers Disassembled? Never happened. Civil War? Never happened.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

I'm going to make Kitty Pryde's son!

 

 

 

 

[Querysphinx]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

CRUX

 

It wasn’t even a one night stand. After watching her commit a particularly callous murder, Forge confronted Mystique and called her the most loathsome thing that had ever crawled the face of the Earth.

 

Mystique just laughed at him. “You are weak. You cannot stop me. You cannot control me. You cannot even control yourself.” To prove it, she seduced him on the spot, turning all of his outrage into a twisted lust to which he finally succumbed.

 

When she found out she was pregnant, she taunted him with that as well. She would have disposed of the child except that Forge groveled before her and begged her to let him take the child off her hands. Using his unparalleled technical skills he created an artificial womb for the unborn child.

 

Mystique discarded him soon after, but left him with a chilling warning, “You are the child’s keeper, but she belongs to me. I will return for her when her powers bloom. I will take her from you like I have taken everything else, and I will make her mine.”

 

Humiliated, but not totally broken, Forge cared for the incubating fetus. While she was still in utero, he implanted her with nanomachines designed to correct any mutations in her cells so she would never develop powers.

 

Forge assisted her into the world, named her Dawn and raised her as his own. He became politically reclusive, avoiding the mutant political game and concentrating on R&D. He did contract work for the U.S. Govt., MET, and Shield, always being careful never to become too beholden to his employers.

 

Dawn moved around with him. She was a bright child, gifted with the machines she had spent her entire life around, but thanks to her father’s nanomachines, she never developed any mutant abilities. She was working her way through high-school, well on her way to earning a technical scholarship to a high powered school, when she encountered Bobby Doppler, who was funny, charming, and oh-so handsome. They began dating.

 

She took him to meet her father, who was working for Stark enterprises at the time. Forge was impressed by Bobbie and offered to give him a tour of the non-classified lab.

 

Once they were inside. Bobby revealed herself as Mystique, and she had come to claim her child. Dawn was utterly shocked, but Forge was prepared.

 

“She doesn’t have any powers,” he said.

 

“Then she is of no use to me,” Mystique said, and before Forge could stop her, she snapped Dawn’s neck.

 

Horrified forge did the only thing he could think of. While Mystique made her getaway, he rushed her into a secure part of the installation and installed Dawn in a prototype battle armor suit complete with its life support systems before her brain could die.

 

The suit’s life support systems saved her life, the also cleaned the nano-machines out of her bloodstream. Her long suppressed powers suddenly manifested. Her mother’s cell-shifting abilities and her father’s mastery of technology ran amok. Her body merged with the battle armor, absorbed it into herself. Her skin became armor plating, her muscles became hydraulic rams, her nerves became fiber optics and her bones became composite steel.

 

By the time she awoke, no flesh remained.

 

Dawn reacted badly to this transmogrification at first—The property damage ran into the millions—but eventually calmed down enough to realize that her father had done everything he could for her and being alive was better than being dead.

 

Since her life had been turned upside down, she decided to take a time out and find other mutants whose lives had been equally wrecked by their abilities. She’s also looking to have a word or two with her mother.

 

APPEARANCE:

 

Looks like a female robot with steel-gray armor and gold highlights. (Picture will be forthcoming)

 

POWERS:

 

Crux is a shapeshifting android. She can alter her own mechanical structure in the same way her mother can alter her biological one. This allows her to manifest all sorts of useful weapons/devices out of her own body mass. However she cannot manifest any parts which require materials she does not possess. For example, she can’t make chemical weapons unless she has the appropriate chemicals handy. As a result she typically relies on the weaponry the suit originally had built into it.

 

PERSONALITY:

 

Dawn is generally upbeat, and her transformation hasn’t changed that, though the trauma of it is still fresh on her mind, and her mother’s betrayal cuts like a great ragged wound across her soul.

[McCoy]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

I need more disads, and the Master List are down. Can I take a couple of GM's option hunteds?

 

Or what are some disads that have not been done to death lately?

[MilkmanDan]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Oh, I have no problem with Hunteds, particularly "let the GM make it up when it's convenient" hunteds.

 

For more background, Sabretooth and the Blob (and I know this impacts one character's backstory) are still active. There are a Pyro, Avalanche, Vanisher, and Phantazia, but those could be the originals or their children depending on how it goes. Don't believe any other X-Villains have made appearances in the campaign so far.

[teh bunneh]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Here's my first concept: the daughter of Neal Shaara, AKA Thunderbird (not John Proudstar... the new Thunderbird from X-Treme X-Men).

 

She's actually based (mostly) on my votes in Hermit's "Let's Build a Superhero" thread. I've still got a few points to spend, just in case I forgot something obvious...

 

----------

Tara

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

10 STR 0 11- Lift 100.0kg; 2d6 [1]

23 DEX 39 14- OCV: 8/DCV: 8

23 CON 26 14-

10 BODY 0 11-

20 INT 10 13- PER Roll 13-

11 EGO 2 11- ECV: 4

20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6

20 COM 5 13-

10/33 PD 8 Total: 10/33 PD (0/23 rPD)

10/33 ED 5 Total: 10/33 ED (0/23 rED)

5 SPD 17 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12

12 REC 10

46 END 0

30 STUN 3 Total Characteristic Cost: 135

 

Movement: Running: 6"/12"

Flight: 25"/200"

Leaping: 2"/4"

Swimming: 2"/4"

 

Cost Powers END

134 Powered by the Sun: Variable Power Pool, 75 base + 59 control cost, Powers Can Be Changed As A Zero-Phase Action (+1); Limited Phenomena (Electromagnetic, Heat, or Gravitic Only; -1/4)

0 1) Nova Blast: Energy Blast 15d6 Real Cost: 75 7

0 2) Solar Blast: Energy Blast 12d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) Real Cost: 75 3

0 3) Fusion Blast: Energy Blast 10d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2) Real Cost: 75 7

0 4) Solar Explosion: Energy Blast 7d6+1, Area Of Effect (4" Radius; +1) Real Cost: 74 7

0 5) Solar Mantle: Energy Blast 6d6, Damage Shield (+1/2), Continuous (+1) Real Cost: 75 7

0 6) Blinding Light: Sight Group Flash 10d6, Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2) Real Cost: 75 7

0 7) Gravitic Control: Telekinesis (50 STR) Real Cost: 75 7

0 8) Stellar Absorption: Absorption 7d6+1 (energy, END Reserve), Absorption As A Defense (x2); Limited Special Effect Electromagnetic, Heat, or Gravitic Only (-1/4) Real Cost: 59

0 9) Stellar Feeding: Transfer 4d6 (Electromagnetic, Heat, or Gravitic Energy to END Reserve), from any Electromagnetic, Heat, or Gravitic power one at a time (+1/4) Real Cost: 75 7

 

37 Power of the Stars: Elemental Control, 74-point powers

38 1) Stellar Shields: Force Field (20 PD/20 ED/10 Power Defense/10 Flash Defense: Sight Group), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) 3

38 2) Stellar Flight: Flight 25", x8 Noncombat, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) 3

 

30 Solar Powered: Endurance Reserve (200 END, 20 REC); REC: Limited Recovery (Only Recovers in Sunlight; -1)

9 Born of the Stars: Life Support (Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum)

20 Born of the Stars II: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50%; Only Works Against Electromagnetic, Heat, and Gravitic Attacks (-1/2)

12 Hears Electromagnetic Waves: High Range Radio Perception (Hearing Group)

5 Sees Heat Patterns: Infrared Perception (Sight Group)

17 Senses Gravitic Waves: Detect Gravity 13- (Unusual Group), Sense, Targeting

5 Xavier's Mental Training: Mental Defense (7 points total)

4 Padded X-Men Costume: Armor (3 PD/3 ED); OAF (-1)

 

Perks

4 Contact: Father Neal Shaara, AKA Thunderbird (Contact has useful Skills or resources, Very Good relationship with Contact) 8-

10 X-Men Vehicles & Base

 

Talents

3 Always Knows Where The Sun Is: Absolute Time Sense

3 Always Knows North: Bump Of Direction

 

Skills

10 +2 with Ranged Combat

10 +2 with DCV

3 Acrobatics 14-

3 Breakfall 14-

3 Combat Piloting 14-

3 Computer Programming 13-

3 Concealment 13-

3 Conversation 13-

5 Cramming

3 Demolitions 13-

3 Electronics 13-

0 Language: English (idiomatic)

2 Language: Hindustani (fluent conversation)

3 Language: Spanish (completely fluent)

3 Mechanics 13-

3 Persuasion 13-

3 Power: Solar Manipulation 13-

3 PS: Architect 13-

3 SS: Civil Engineering 13-

3 SS: Solar Physics 13-

3 Seduction 13-

3 Trading 13-

 

X-Men Training

0 1) TF: X-Men Blackbird

3 2) Paramedics 13-

2 3) KS: Mutants & Mutant Menaces 11-

3 4) Stealth 14-

3 5) Teamwork 14-

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 458

Total Cost: 593

 

450+ Disadvantages

10 Distinctive Features: Mutant (Not Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable Only By Technology Or Major Effort)

20 Hunted: Anti-Mutant Groups 8- (As Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Harshly Punish)

15 Hunted: MEH 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)

15 Hunted: Unknown Party (possibly her mother?) 11- (As Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Mildly Punish)

20 Psychological Limitation: Optimist; Always Thinks Things Will Turn Out For The Best (Very Common, Strong)

20 Psychological Limitation: Code Against Killing (Common, Total)

15 Psychological Limitation: Sense of Duty to Humanity (Common, Strong)

15 Social Limitation: Public ID - Lexmi "Lex" Shaara (Frequently, Major)

20 Vulnerability: 2 x Effect Drains (Common)

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 593

 

Background/History: Neal Shaara (AKA Thunderbird*) never really had what it took to be an X-Man. He was a peaceful man, not given to a life of adventure and danger despite his formidable powers. After a few years trying to fit in, he retired from the X-Men and moved to Arizona to settle down and open his own engineering company.

 

And then Lexmi came into his life. Who her mother is, he never told her, but he raised her in a stable, happy, and loving environment. It came as no surprise when, as a young teen, her powers manifested. She was thrilled to travel all the way across the country to attend her father's alma mater, Xavier's Institute, and she excelled in every aspect of her studies.

 

But good things never seem to last. Hers was the last class to graduate from the Institute before Xavier decided to close shop. She was heartbroken to see her mentor and teacher grow bitter and reclusive, but an optimist by nature, she refused to let this bring her down.

 

She attended the University of Colorado, and just recently finished a twin doctorate in Civil Engineering and Architecture. She intended to join her father's business, but then Xavier passed away. At the funeral, Hank McCoy approached Neal and asked if he would be interested in re-joining the team. Neal refused, but Lexmi overheard the whole conversation. Instead of heading home to Phoenix, she told Dr. McCoy that she would take her father's place.

 

He welcomed her with open arms.

 

(*Not John Proudstar's Thunderbird; the other one).

 

Personality/Motivation: Lexmi (Lex to her friends) is a very modern young American woman. Though she respects her father's culture and heritage, she tends to think of him as rather old-school and kind of cheesy (especially given his habit of exclaiming things like, "By the seven Vedas!" when upset or surprised). But still, she loves him with all her heart.

 

She's very proud of her mutant heritage and has never made a secret of her abilities. She doesn't wear a mask or conceal her identity. It's a lot easier now in this more enlightened age than it was when her father was young.

 

Lex is quite upbeat and optimistic, almost always smiling and cheerful. She truly believes that individuals and groups with strong motivation and clear goals can change the world, so she's thrilled that the X-Men are back.

Lex's mutant name is Tara -- a nod to her father's (and to a lesser extent, her) beliefs. Tara is the Devi (goddess) of the stars; unquenchable hunger that propels all life, flaming brightly, guardian and protector of mankind.

 

Quote:

 

Powers/Tactics: Lexmi's powers are similar to her father's, but she has considerably more power at her disposal. Her abilities are stellar in origin – they involve control of the forces that power the stars themselves (heat, light, electromagnetic energy, and gravity). She absorbs sunlight and converts it into raw energy, enabling her to do a wide variety of things. However, because her powers are solar in origin, she is considerably more limited at night or when she is unable to absorb the sun's energy. Though she can theoretically use all the powers of a star, she has the least control/understanding of her Gravitic powers – heat, fire, and light is much easier for her to manipulate and control.

 

She's a ranged fighter, flying up high and blasting her foes. Though her mutant physiology makes her tougher and quicker than an ordinary human, she has very little ability to go toe-to-toe with an enemy.

 

Campaign Use: One unexplored aspect of her background is who her mother really is. She suspects that it might be her father's one-time lover, Karima Shadampar (who later became Sentinal Prime). It could also be Betsy Braddock, who her father had a brief relationship with. She would love to meet her mother someday; she's always felt a part of her life was missing because she grew up without a mom.

 

Appearance: Lex is a beautiful young woman, 24 years old, with deep brown eyes, dark skin, and black hair (which she streaks with highlights of red). She's short, but slender and well-proportioned. When her powers manifest, her eyes glow red and smolder with stellar energy. She wreaths herself in a blazing shell of flame which protects her from harm and allows her to fly at enormous speeds.

 

In her civilian ID, she wears flattering and fashionable clothes. As an X-Man, she wears the standard X-Man uniform. She doesn't need a mask to conceal her identity.

[McCoy]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

OK, my first choice. Kinda steps on Sterio, so I will be working up my second choice.

 

Phobos & Deimos

 

Danielle Moonstar and Willie Gillis were both telepathic with animals but not with other humans. Or so they thought, until the first time their eyes met. Almost instantly their poweres created a Soul Bond between them. They married, and had twin sons, Dan and Will Moonstar-Gillis. From a very early age the boys acted as if they were one mind in two bodies, anything that one learned the other knew instantly. The boys grew up around their father's veterinary practice and helping him maintain his robot dogs (Willie was a cyberpath as well as an animal telepath). But their mother never fully trusted the Mutant Equality Foundation and the reforms they brought about. She insisted the boys spent some time on the Rez, learning the traditional ways of her people and survival skills, "just in case." When McCoy sent out the message through the M.O.N.S.T.E.R. allums that the X-Men was reforming, the boys decided to take the opportunity to meet their parent's old mentor and see if their hound abilities might be useful to the new group.

 

Will and Dan are both seven feet tall and well muscled. Their skin is mocha, slightly darker than either parent. They have no hair anywhere on their bodies, not even eyelashes. Their ears are slightly pointed, and their canine teeth larger than average, but neither enough to be distinctive. They both have a vestigial tail a few inches long that is not apparant when they are fully clothed. They both have a "birthmark" shaped like a sideways figure eight below their deltoid, Will on his left arm, Dan on his right. Those who are sensitive to such things say the "birthmarks" detect, very faintly, of Cosmic Energy.

[casualplayer]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Surprised you didn't make Hank McCoy's son, McCoy. Use a little nepotism to get you on the team.

 

Speaking of Beast, is it simian-Beast or feline-Beast in this game?

 

A lot of characters seem to have the abilities of their parents; do Mutants breed "true" in this game?

 

Dibs on the son of Dr. Strange and Illyana Rasputin.

[Enforcer84]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Oh, I have no problem with Hunteds, particularly "let the GM make it up when it's convenient" hunteds.

 

For more background, Sabretooth and the Blob (and I know this impacts one character's backstory) are still active. There are a Pyro, Avalanche, Vanisher, and Phantazia, but those could be the originals or their children depending on how it goes. Don't believe any other X-Villains have made appearances in the campaign so far.

It was a flight of fancy. Not a serious submission We're cool

[Comic]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Quickly, before the thread slips further into procreative speculation, someone set down that all mutant sex was banned in 2010, and all mutants are born as a result of cloning to prevent the Legacy virus from spreading.

 

Digital cloning.

 

Antiseptic digital cloning.

 

The parents never meet, and are never on the same continent.

 

Because I so need no more pictures of these couples in my head.

[McCoy]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Surprised you didn't make Hank McCoy's son' date=' McCoy. Use a little nepotism to get you on the team. [/quote']

Even if we presume Hank is heterosexual, and I've had my doubts for years, he has been the most uniformly unlucky in love character in the Marvel universe.

 

How may girlfriends did he have over the decades? Did any of them ever get beyond being called "girlfriend?"

 

I think Trish has been his most sucessful relationship to date, and you remember how that one ended.

[teh bunneh]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

For more background' date=' Sabretooth and the Blob (and I know this impacts one character's backstory) are still active. There are a Pyro, Avalanche, Vanisher, and Phantazia, but those could be the originals or their children depending on how it goes. Don't believe any other X-Villains have made appearances in the campaign so far.[/quote']

 

Pyro and Vanisher were intended to be the children of the originals. Phantazia is the original. Avalanche I never really decided...

 

Of course, they never really had a ton of background, so it's flexible.

[teh bunneh]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Didn't like the first writeup, so here's a second pass at it. He's more brick than absorbing brick (though I kept some of that) now. Still need to think of a good quote.

 

--------------------

ADAMANT

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

50 STR 40 19- Lift 25.6tons; 10d6 [5]

21 DEX 33 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7

23 CON 26 14-

15 BODY 10 12-

23 INT 13 14- PER Roll 14-

20 EGO 20 13- ECV: 7

20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6

16 COM 3 12-

 

10/26 PD 0 Total: 10/26 PD (0/16 rPD)

10/26 ED 5 Total: 10/26 ED (0/16 rED)

5 SPD 19 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12

20 REC 10

50 END 2

65 STUN 13 Total Characteristic Cost: 209

 

Movement: Running: 6"/12"

Leaping: 15"/30"

Swimming: 2"/4"

 

Cost Powers END

30 Invulnerability: Elemental Control, 60-point powers

30 1) Kinetic Absoption: Aid 2d6, Can Add Maximum Of 20 Points, Delayed Return Rate (points return at the rate of 5 per Minute; +1/4), any physical stat, one at a time (+1/4), Trigger (Activating the Trigger is an Action that takes no time, Trigger resets automatically, immediately after it activates; When hit; +1)

30 2) Invulnerable I: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 75%

30 3) Invulnerable II: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 75%

30 4) Invulnerable III: Armor (16 PD/16 ED), Hardened (+1/4)

 

Computer-like Mind

9 1) Calculate the Future: Precognitive Clairsentience (Sight Group); Extra Time (1 Minute, -1 1/2), Precognition/Retrocognition Only (-1), Time Modifiers (-1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV; -1/4), Requires A Deduction Roll (Active Point penalty to Skill Roll is -1 per 20 Active Points; -1/4) 4

25 2) I Know What You're Going To Do Before You Do: +5 with DCV

25 3) I See Your Flaws: Find Weakness 12- with Martial Arts

25 4) It's Not Luck; I Planned This: Luck 5d6

2 5) Will of Iron: Mental Defense (6 points total)

 

X-Men Equipment

7 1) X-Men Radio: Radio Perception/Transmission (Radio Group); IAF (-1/2)

Jujutsu Master

Maneuver OCV DCV Notes

4 Martial Block +2 +2 Block, Abort

5 Breaking Throw (Joint Break) -1 -2 Grab One Limb; HKA 1d6 +1 , Disable

4 Martial Disarm -1 +1 Disarm; 60 STR to Disarm

4 Martial Escape +0 +0 65 STR vs. Grabs

4 Joint Lock/Throw +1 +0 Grab One Limb; 1d6 NND ; Target Falls

3 Legsweep +2 -1 11d6 Strike, Target Falls

3 Takedown +1 +1 10d6 Strike; Target Falls

4 Martial Strike +0 +2 12d6 Strike

3 Slam (Martial Throw) +0 +1 10d6 +v/5, Target Falls

 

Perks

10 Money: Wealthy

10 X-Men Vehicles & Base

 

Talents

5 Eidetic Memory

3 Faster Than You Thought: Lightning Reflexes: +2 DEX to act first with All Actions

 

Skills

6 +2 with Jujutsu

3 Breakfall 13-

3 Bribery 13-

3 Bureaucratics 13-

3 Combat Piloting 13-

3 Computer Programming 14-

3 Conversation 13-

5 Cramming

3 Criminology 14-

3 Cryptography 14-

5 Deduction 15-

3 Electronics 14-

3 Forgery 14-

3 Gambling 14-

3 High Society 13-

3 KS: World of High Finance 14-

2 KS: The Hellfire Club 11-

3 Lipreading 14-

3 Oratory 13-

3 Seduction 13-

3 Shadowing 14-

3 Tactics 14-

3 Trading 13-

 

X-Men Training

0 1) TF: X-Men Blackbird

3 2) Paramedics 14-

2 3) KS: Mutants & Mutant Menaces 11-

3 4) Stealth 13-

3 5) Teamwork 13-

 

Total Powers & Skill Cost: 391

Total Cost: 600

 

450+ Disadvantages

10 Distinctive Features: Mutant (Not Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable Only By Technology Or Major Effort)

15 Hunted: Shinobi Shaw (half-brother) 8- (As Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Harshly Punish)

20 Hunted: Sebastian Shaw (Father) 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)

15 Hunted: Sage (Mother) 8- (Mo Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Mildly Punish)

15 Psychological Limitation: Noblisse Oblige; Feels a Responsibility to Help Those "Under" Him (Common, Strong)

15 Psychological Limitation: Overconfidence (Common, Strong)

15 Psychological Limitation: Code Against Killing (Common, Strong)

10 Psychological Limitation: Doesn't Take Orders Well (Common, Moderate)

10 Reputation: Scion of the Hellfire Club's Black King, 11-

10 Rivalry: Professional (Whoever is Leader of the New X-Men; Rival is As Powerful; Rival is a Player Character; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry)

15 Social Limitation: Public ID (Gabriel Dominic Shaw) (Frequently, Major)

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 600

 

Background/History: Sebastian Shaw, wealthy industrialist and powerful mutant, searched high and low to find a woman suitable to bear his child. After years of searching (and one disappointing success), he found Tessa (who later became known as Sage). Tessa's intellect was every bit a match for Shaw's physical prowess, and though they did not love one another, they bore a child together.

 

Shaw felt that Tessa was unstable and untrustworthy, and forbid her to have anything to do with their child. She spent years trying everything under her power to take Gabriel away from his father, but Shaw was as clever and ruthless a man that ever lived and rarely let the boy out of his sight. He taught young Gabriel to hate Tessa. Today, Gabriel doesn't so much hate her as pity her, and he tries to avoid her if he can.

 

The boy grew up among the best things the world has to offer – the best tutors, the best trainers, the best schools, and he grew up to be an intelligent and skilled young man. But Sebastian was never able to instill his own sense of greed and desire for power in his son. Sebastian believed that a mutant's first duty was to himself, but Gabriel was more intrigued by the teachings of one of his father's greatest enemies – Charles Xavier. Xavier thought that mutants had a duty to protect mankind, to help usher in a new era of peace and stability. Though not an idealist by any stretch, Gabriel found Xavier's argument compelling.

 

Then Xavier died, and no one was left to carry on his teachings. Until Gabriel got word (through one of his many contacts) that Henry McCoy was planning to restart the Professor's legacy. Gabriel found his way to Xavier's Institute and presented his credentials. Though McCoy had plenty of reasons to mistrust the son of the Black King, he squashed his worries and welcomed the young man to the new team.

 

Personality/Motivation: "Does an intelligent man refuse to use his intelligence to better himself? No – he invents, he creates, he discovers, and in doing so he enriches both himself and the world. Does a strong man hide his strength for fear of what others will think of him? No, his strength is a gift to be used to change the world in his favor. And so it is with mutants – should they pretend to be less than they are, or hide from their special abilities? No, they must be employed in the way best suited to their use, and the world will be a better place for it."

 

This was the philosophy on which Sebastian Shaw raised his second son, Gabriel. However, Gabriel's interpretation of this philosophy is quite different from his father's. Where Sebastian Shaw used his powers to give himself every advantage in business and politics, Gabriel is more interested in using his powers to help those less fortunate than he is.

 

Since he was born and raised among rare privilege, he has a rather patrician-like attitude and tends to (unconsciously) look down on most people. He's a good man at heart, but sometimes his attitude can grate on people. He doesn't take orders well, but he's learning how to work with a team.

 

How does he feel about the MEF? Quite frankly, Gabriel finds the MEF to be amusingly naïve in their goals and their methods (yes, even more so than the Xavier institute!)

 

Powers/Tactics: Gabriel inherited a double-dose of the mutant gene from his parents. He has his father's ability to absorb kinetic energy; every time he is hit, he grows stronger and tougher. He also inherited his mother's computer-like mind. However, his father never encouraged him to develop that aspect of his heritage, so even though he is capable of some prodigious feats of intellect, he is nowhere near the extent of his capabilities.

 

Appearance: Gabriel is a tall, well-built young man with dark brown hair and dark eyes. He is the very image of his father, but he does not share Sebastian's affectation for the 18th century. Instead he dresses in very modern, very expensive, tailored suits. He may or may not wear facial hair at any given point, but the mutton chops his father sported? No. He prefers to wear his X-Men uniform under his regular clothes (if forced to wear it at all). "Costume? What am I, in a circus? I think not."

[Korvar]

Re: X-Men: The Next Generation campaign on Hero Central

 

Dibs on the son of Dr. Strange and Illyana Rasputin.

 

Curses, that was going to be my idea...

 

I'd be tempted to go for Mimic. Son of the original Mimic (who may actually have been a Mutate, but what the heck), he has inherited his father's powers. He can change his physiology down to the cellular level, and can, in theory, have any mutant power. Unlike his father, he is not limited by proximity to other mutants; however, he has to understand an ability intimately in order to attain it. He therefore needs to study mutant abilities intensively to perfect his skills.

 

His father's rather chequered record has given him a desire to give back to the community, and to do good. He thinks the MEF's goals are good, but that the X-Men are still needed.

 

The main downside to this character is he'd probably need a honking big VPP and be somewhat of a pain to play...