How Would You Make Green Lantern?

[maidenforce19]

I was just wondering the other day of how you would be able to portray Green Lantern (any of them) in RPG form, specifically HERO. I'm new to HERO so I don't know that much, but how would you mechanically have the ability to create anything you think by willpower alone? Are there any ways of making powers along those lines?

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Mostly it's just EB, TK, and force wall with artistic license. Tack on flight, FF and life support and you're pretty much there.

[maidenforce19]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Mostly it's just EB' date=' TK, and force wall with artistic license. Tack on flight, FF and life support and you're pretty much there.[/quote']

 

Do you use the telekinesis to control what the ring creates? And how do you determine if your willpower is strong enough?

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Do you use the telekinesis to control what the ring creates? And how do you determine if your willpower is strong enough?

 

I, personally, would do something like ...

Energy Constructs: 60pt Variable Power Pool, Cosmic, pool's maximum points = character's Ego x3 (assuming a 20 Ego character), Force Manipulation powers only

 

Along with an EC for Flight, Forcefield, and Life Support

 

Thus, if the character's willpower (Ego) is drained, the pool becomes smaller.

[Supreme Serpent]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Do you use the telekinesis to control what the ring creates? And how do you determine if your willpower is strong enough?

 

Remember to reason from effect.

 

GL creates a big energy hammer and whonks Sinestro with it. Do you need to write up a special power to create a big energy hammer? Not really. What's the effect? Sinestro takes damage and goes flying back. Just buy it as an EB. Same as forming a big green Civil War era cannon, a train to run him over, a giant wolf to bite him, etc. Build it from what the effect would be, what it looks like is just window dressing.

 

As for willpower, especially if go the VPP route could make the Power skill required be based off of EGO.

[Shoutybloke]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

I'd go with a big vpp with the physical manifestation limit on the control cost. expensive though- then again, it's an independant focus

[Hyper-Man]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Here's what I built as a stand-by PC for a game from 3 years ago:

 

Golden Gauntlet

 

Travel Bubble

 

The goal was to get the essence of the character on 350 points.

I agree that VPP is preferable but it's really only affordable with XP.

 

HM

[maidenforce19]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Remember to reason from effect.

 

GL creates a big energy hammer and whonks Sinestro with it. Do you need to write up a special power to create a big energy hammer? Not really. What's the effect? Sinestro takes damage and goes flying back. Just buy it as an EB. Same as forming a big green Civil War era cannon, a train to run him over, a giant wolf to bite him, etc. Build it from what the effect would be, what it looks like is just window dressing.

 

As for willpower, especially if go the VPP route could make the Power skill required be based off of EGO.

 

I know what you're saying, but all of the powers the GL performs are all during different times with varying power. I'm sure a giant hammer would do a different amount of damage then getting hit by a train or getting bitten. And all of these should also be determined by willpower, or EGO as you guys put it. The Green Lantern's ring can do basically anything the GL can imagine, so determining if his willpower is strong enough, he could either do something as simple as biting someone (weaker) to creating an atomic explosion (stronger), and they would all have different effects and damage. Maybe a bite could inject a poison and deal less damage than the atomic explosion that could destroy cities and cause radiation.

 

Does anyone know what I'm saying? I understand where Supreme Serpent is coming from, which is totally fine for character less powerful than the GL, but someone as powerful as the GL I think needs at least a little more thinking to get down right. I like Crosshair Collie's idea, but I don't really know what cosmic means. What exactly does that do?

[QueenOfItAll]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

"How Would You Make Green Lantern?"

 

Lana Wanna would make him with a wink, a wiggle of her hips, and a long slow lick of her lips. Perhaps with a low, throaty "Well hello there, handsome." If he's good looking, she might expend more effort to make him.

 

 

 

 

Oh, that's not what you meant. Sorry...

[CoreBrute]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Surprisingly the green Lantern is written up quite frequently in the Champions source book. There is a version of him called the Emerald Pharos in Until Superheroes database I. Here are his powers for you to look at:

 

Cost Powers END

80 Pharos Ring: Multipower, 120-point

reserve; all OIF (-½)

7m 1) Emerald Power Fields: Telekinesis

(40 STR); OIF (-½), Aff ects Whole

Object (-¼) 6

8m 2) Emerald Force Blast: Energy Blast

12d6; OIF (-½) 6

9m 3) Emerald Force Fist: Energy Blast 8d6,

Indirect (+¾); OIF (-½) 7

8m 4) Emerald Force Fusillade: Energy Blast

8d6, Autofi re (5 shots; +½); OIF (-½) 6

8m 5) Emerald Force Shackles: Entangle 4d6,

8 DEF; OIF (-½) 6

8m 6) Emerald Force Spear: RKA 4d6; OIF

(-½) 6

8m 7) Emerald Strangulation Bubble: RKA

1d6, NND (defense is Life Support [self-

Contained Breathing] or not needing to

breathe; +1), Does BODY (+1),

Continuous (+1); OIF (-½) 6

4m 8) Emerald Point Defense: Missile

Defl ection (all Ranged attacks), Range

(+1); Costs Endurance (-½), OIF (-½) 4

8m 9) Emerald Force Shield I: Force Field

(30 PD/30 ED); OIF (-½) 6

8m 10) Emerald Force Shield II: Force Field

(25 PD/25 ED); OIF (-½) plus Life

Support (Self-Contained Breathing) (10

Active Points); OIF (-½), Linked (-½) 6

8m 11) Emerald Force Shield III: Force Field

(15 PD/15 ED/Mental Defense 10/Power

Defense 10/Sight Group Flash Defense

10); OIF (-½) 6

8m 12) Emerald Force Wall: Force Wall

(10 PD/10 ED; 5” long and 2” tall);

OIF (-½) 6

8m 13) Emerald Power Flight: Flight 20”,

Reduced Endurance (0 END; +½);

OIF (-½) 0

Total cost: 180 points.

 

However, if you want a fully written character look at galctic Champions. One of the characters, Star*Shield is a complete rip off him with the same power.

 

If you are worried about willpower, you could state in advance the person needs a certain amount of EGO to actually use the weapon. let's say 20. If someone with less then 20 EGO tries to use it, it doesn't work. That simple.

 

Another line, which should jst be a plot hook, if someone else who has an incredible amount of willpower, say 50 EGO, His powers are far greater then a normal lantern.

[Maelstrom]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Y'know, I like this Emerald Pharos writeup. I hate VPPs -- partially because of the paperwork involved, and partially because they're so freaking versatile.

[pinecone]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Also look at Meteor man ...a 350 ish "homage"/"inspired by" etc.....

[Shaft]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Susano has an excellent write up for Animarted Green Lantern (525pts)

 

http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationscomic/aju/GreenLantern.HTML

 

and Comic continuity Green Lantern (1364 pts):

 

http://surbrook.devermore.net/adaptationscomic/jla/greenlantern.HTML

[Prometheus]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Does anyone know what I'm saying? I understand where Supreme Serpent is coming from' date=' which is totally fine for character [i']less [/i]powerful than the GL, but someone as powerful as the GL I think needs at least a little more thinking to get down right.

 

How many points are we talking here? At the standard starting level for a superheroic game, you're just not going to be able to squeeze in the more spectacular abilities of the more iconic and powerful characters in comics. For a 350 point version of Green Lantern, I actually think Supreme Serpent has this one down right. Everything you've described has damage as a component, and that can be simulated with a properly built attack.

 

Now, if you're trying to simulate the feats of the Green Lantern Corps in all their glory, 350 isn't going to be nearly enough. A writer has no real limits when it comes to effects, because they're the ones making it up after all. Kyle Raynor kept a small nova in check, Guy Gardner vaporized a Khund battleship, and John Stewart hit a target across huge interstellar distances, and GL lore puts them below the power levels of Hal Jordan and Sinestro! Writers have also regularly redefined the rings' abilities and limitations (often inconsistently), so you're really aiming at a moving target.

 

Don't let that discourage you though, I don't mean to come off as a wet blanket. If you want a reasonable solution (or at least what I consider reasonable), you may want to start by defining what you think a Green Lantern ring should be able to do, in the simplest game terms possible.

 

At the very least have a look at the Power skill, Variable Advantage advantage, and Variable Power Pool framework- all three are easy to track down in the index. Build a set of powers that are appropriate for the game level you want to play, particularly looking at the suggestions given above. Then try it out! You can always go back and make adjustment as you get to know the rules better. The Hero system is robust and accommodating, and that's what makes it great.

[assault]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

My approach would be to look at what Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) could do in Showcase #22, his first appearance. I would then build a character who could do that, and who could relatively easily develop extra powers with experience.

 

Basically, that means a multipower. Upgrade to a VPP with experience, if you think it is important.

 

Alan Scott was somewhat different when he began his career, so I would start with his first appearance if I was building him. If I didn't have access to that, I would use the version of his origin in the relevant issue of Secret Origins from the 80s, which just happens to be based on his original origin story. (I've read both!)

 

Building later versions is difficult, and would require applying huge amounts of points.

 

The Showcase Presents series from DC is a must for serious character builders, since it reprints a lot of early Silver Age material.

 

I regard the willpower stuff as basically an irrelevant complexity. If I wanted a character who could interfere with the function of his powers, I would build them so they could do that.

[bubba smith]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

i go with the alan scott version myself

[JmOz]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

You know, I happen to have a write up on GL Animated, based on the standard 350 point character, this write up is from december '07 or so...funny I thought it was older than that...enjoy

 

Animated Green Lantern

 

Player:

 

Val Char Cost

15 STR 5

23 DEX 39

20 CON 20

12 BODY 4

15 INT 5

23 EGO 26

15 PRE 5

12 COM 1

 

5/20 PD 2

5/20 ED 1

5 SPD 17

7 REC 0

40 END 0

30 STUN 0

 

6" RUN 0

2" SWIM 0

3" LEAP 0

Characteristics Cost: 125

 

Cost Power

167 Variable Power Pool, 90 base + 77 control cost, Cosmic (+2) (225 Active Points); all slots OIF (-1/2), Must Be recharged (-1/4)

0 1) Flight: Flight 10", Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (25 Active Points); Ring Limitations (-3/4), OIF (-1/2), Must Be recharged (-1/4) Real Cost: 10

0 2) Green Aura: Armor (15 PD/15 ED) (45 Active Points); Ring Limitations (-3/4), OIF (-1/2), Must Be recharged (-1/4) Real Cost: 18

0 3) Energy Blast Or other Power: Energy Blast 12d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (75 Active Points); Ring Limitations (-3/4), OIF (-1/2), Must Be recharged (-1/4) Real Cost: 30

0 4) Green Aura II: Life Support (Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing) (19 Active Points); Ring Limitations (-3/4), OIF (-1/2), Must Be recharged (-1/4) Real Cost: 8

Powers Cost: 167

 

 

Cost Skill

10 +2 with Ranged Combat

3 Bureaucratics 12-

3 Combat Piloting 14-

3 PS: Soldier 12-

3 Navigation (Land, Space) 12-

3 Paramedics 12-

3 Shadowing 12-

3 Stealth 14-

3 Streetwise 12-

8 Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Tropical, Desert, Urban) 12-

3 Tactics 12-

3 Teamwork 14-

2 WF: Small Arms

Skills Cost: 50

 

Cost Perk

5 Fringe Benefit: Membership in the JL

3 Fringe Benefit: Membership: GLC

Perks Cost: 8

 

 

Total Character Cost: 350

 

Pts. Disadvantage

10 Distinctive Features: Military Demaner (Stick up his uniform) (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

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

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

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

5 Hunted: Katama Tui 8- (As Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)

5 Money: Poor

15 Psychological Limitation: Military Mindset (Very Common, Moderate)

15 Psychological Limitation: Protective of Home (Common, Strong)

10 Psychological Limitation: See's self as a Role Model (Common, Moderate)

10 Psychological Limitation: Patriotic (Common, Moderate)

15 Social Limitation: Subject to Orders (Frequently, Major)

10 Social Limitation: Public ID (Occasionally, Major)

5 Social Limitation: Subject to racisim (Occasionally, Minor)

5 Unluck: 1d6

Disadvantage Points: 150

Base Points: 200

Experience Required: 0

Total Experience Available: 0

Experience Unspent: 0

[CoreBrute]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

Looks good. You might want to replace needs to be recharged with 24 Hour

Power Supply, same limitation worth, but not nescercery.

 

But Here what is this ring limitation (-3/4)?

 

And it isn't vulnerable to either wood or yellow.

[JmOz]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

This is based on the John Steward from the animated Justice League, his ring did not suffer from the yellow limitation in the show.

 

The ring limitations is a short hand for the limitations the ring itself has (Namely needs to recharge and OIF)

[Weldun]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

The ring limitations is a short hand for the limitations the ring itself has (Namely needs to recharge and OIF)

At which point, you've been double dipping. Take another look at what you posted.

Flight: Flight 10"' date=' Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (25 Active Points); [u']Ring Limitations (-3/4)[/u], OIF (-1/2), Must Be recharged (-1/4) Real Cost: 10

[JmOz]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

yup, the sample powers for the VPP are screwed up...well atleast it does not effect any totals as it a VPP

[maidenforce19]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

You know, I happen to have a write up on GL Animated, based on the standard 350 point character, this write up is from december '07 or so...funny I thought it was older than that...enjoy

 

Animated Green Lantern

 

Player:

 

Val Char Cost

15 STR 5

23 DEX 39

20 CON 20

12 BODY 4

15 INT 5

23 EGO 26

15 PRE 5

12 COM 1

 

5/20 PD 2

5/20 ED 1

5 SPD 17

7 REC 0

40 END 0

30 STUN 0

 

6" RUN 0

2" SWIM 0

3" LEAP 0

Characteristics Cost: 125

 

Cost Power

167 Variable Power Pool, 90 base + 77 control cost, Cosmic (+2) (225 Active Points); all slots OIF (-1/2), Must Be recharged (-1/4)

0 1) Flight: Flight 10", Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (25 Active Points); Ring Limitations (-3/4), OIF (-1/2), Must Be recharged (-1/4) Real Cost: 10

0 2) Green Aura: Armor (15 PD/15 ED) (45 Active Points); Ring Limitations (-3/4), OIF (-1/2), Must Be recharged (-1/4) Real Cost: 18

0 3) Energy Blast Or other Power: Energy Blast 12d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (75 Active Points); Ring Limitations (-3/4), OIF (-1/2), Must Be recharged (-1/4) Real Cost: 30

0 4) Green Aura II: Life Support (Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing) (19 Active Points); Ring Limitations (-3/4), OIF (-1/2), Must Be recharged (-1/4) Real Cost: 8

Powers Cost: 167

 

 

Cost Skill

10 +2 with Ranged Combat

3 Bureaucratics 12-

3 Combat Piloting 14-

3 PS: Soldier 12-

3 Navigation (Land, Space) 12-

3 Paramedics 12-

3 Shadowing 12-

3 Stealth 14-

3 Streetwise 12-

8 Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Tropical, Desert, Urban) 12-

3 Tactics 12-

3 Teamwork 14-

2 WF: Small Arms

Skills Cost: 50

 

Cost Perk

5 Fringe Benefit: Membership in the JL

3 Fringe Benefit: Membership: GLC

Perks Cost: 8

 

 

Total Character Cost: 350

 

Pts. Disadvantage

10 Distinctive Features: Military Demaner (Stick up his uniform) (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

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

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

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

5 Hunted: Katama Tui 8- (As Pow, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching)

5 Money: Poor

15 Psychological Limitation: Military Mindset (Very Common, Moderate)

15 Psychological Limitation: Protective of Home (Common, Strong)

10 Psychological Limitation: See's self as a Role Model (Common, Moderate)

10 Psychological Limitation: Patriotic (Common, Moderate)

15 Social Limitation: Subject to Orders (Frequently, Major)

10 Social Limitation: Public ID (Occasionally, Major)

5 Social Limitation: Subject to racisim (Occasionally, Minor)

5 Unluck: 1d6

Disadvantage Points: 150

Base Points: 200

Experience Required: 0

Total Experience Available: 0

Experience Unspent: 0

 

I like most of this writeup, but IMO the animated series version falls extremely short to the comics. The comics have a longer history and that history has that many more powers. Thanks, though.

 

But anyway, I've been looking around the core rulebook to see what would be the best option for the GL, and I think that a cosmic VPP (with a ton of points, at least 1000) would work good. It would have few limitations, based on what Green Lantern we're talking about, and would be able to do almost anything, within EGO limits. His main enemies would just be people with equal power, such as Sinestro or Black Hand. I'm also thinking about making a new rule for EGO and how it affects powers, because I'm definitely incorporating willpower, even if some of you don't like that. So if anyone has ideas for that, let me know. If it's too hard to do, would it be a good idea to just make the GL ring a new power? Even if it's possible to make the it from existing powers, I think it would just be easier to compile it into one power so everything is made exclusively for the GL instead of being generic.

 

Finally, I know we shouldn't even be getting to this yet, but how would we make a Red Lantern member or an Orange Lantern, or any of the other colors? Would it just be mostly the same except using a different ability than EGO? For example, Red is based on greed (I'm pretty sure), Purple is based on love, Black is based on Death, and Blue (or indigo) is based on hope. How would those be incorporated?

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

I know what you're saying' date=' but all of the powers the GL performs are all during different times with varying power. I'm sure a giant hammer would do a different amount of damage then getting hit by a train or getting bitten.[/quote']

 

Why are you sure an emerald green force construct giant hammer would do damage different from that done by an emerald green force construct train? In any case, a character with, say, a 12d6 Energy Blast can always choose to use only 8d6, or 6d6, if he so chooses. You can set separate descriptions for every half die if that makes you happy.

 

Or you can have different constructs for each - maybe that Hammer has less damage, but double knockback.

 

And all of these should also be determined by willpower' date=' or EGO as you guys put it. The Green Lantern's ring can do basically anything the GL can imagine, so determining if his willpower is strong enough, he could either do something as simple as biting someone (weaker) to creating an atomic explosion (stronger), and they would all have different effects and damage. Maybe a bite could inject a poison and deal less damage than the atomic explosion that could destroy cities and cause radiation.[/quote']

 

Willpower really is more an SFX, as the other posters have noted. In Hero, Foci can be universal, which GL rings reasonably are. You could simply rule that the AP of powers in the pool will equal twice the Ego score of the wearer. You want 60 AP powers? You buy a 30 EGO. Someone with a 10 Ego gets ahold of the ring, the best they can do is 20 AP. A 50 Ego character granted a ring can boost its powers up to 100 AP.

 

But if you want to buy up your character's EGO to get access to higher AP powers, you'll need to pay the freight for the increased powers, not just the increased Ego.

 

Does anyone know what I'm saying? I understand where Supreme Serpent is coming from' date=' which is totally fine for character [i']less [/i]powerful than the GL, but someone as powerful as the GL I think needs at least a little more thinking to get down right. I like Crosshair Collie's idea, but I don't really know what cosmic means. What exactly does that do?

 

A Variable Power Pool typically requires a full phase and a skill roll to change. This can be bought off with advantages. When purchased to allow change at no skill roll and no time cost, this is referred to as "cosmic". This changes as fast and easily as a Multipower.

 

To match Emerald Pharos, who has an Obvious Inaccessible focus (which can be removed from the character pretty easily out of combat and he can't just wish it back - this is appropriate to some GL incarnations and not others), and be able to have two 60 AP powers in the VPP at once, you would need:

 

80 VPP Pool

80 Control cost: 40 x 3 (+1 advantage no skill roll to change; +1 advantage no time to change)/1.5 OIF Power Ring (-1/2). Total cost 160.

 

Your GM might also allow you a limitation based on the limited effects the Ring can create, but this depends on your vision of the character, and how restricted your GM considers this. "Not vs Yellow" is another possibility to reduce the control cost.

 

Each 60 point power costs 40 of the Pool after applying the -1/2 OIF limitation.

 

Note that the above is a bit cheaper than Emerald Pharos' 180 point multipower, and considerably more versatile. So why would you take the Multipower approach? A few reasons.

 

First, the versatility of a VPP makes some GM's reluctant to allow it. It's probably appropriate to a GL ring with all the abilities displayed over the years - but that level off versatility might NOT be appropriate in your GM's game.

 

Second, that flexibility can be difficult to manage, where the defined abilities of a multipower are often easier for a player - especially a player who is less proficient with power construction - to manage in play.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

i go with the alan scott version myself

 

Which one? In his original appearance, and much of the early Golden Age, the ring infused Alan's body with power, making him invulnerable to damage from metal (eventually this became the ring being vulnerable only to wood), and maybe making him a bit stronger and faster He could then use his willpower to use that energy to fly. As time went on, he became able to use the green energy for more and more things, but it was really only in the silver age where the ring became a projector for force constructs which could not affect wood rather than a means of focusing the Lantern's energies into a human body.

[GoldenAge]

Re: How Would You Make Green Lantern?

 

In Epic City there are several Green Lantern homages... One in particular (Enigma) has a power that nicely represents the ability to make a bridge, a suit of armor for someone else, a network of communication devices, temporary walls, a computer, a sling or a medical scanning device or anything else...

 

• Force Constructs - Summon 30 pts (Four 150 pt constructs) – 140 AP

Any Type (+1), Slavishly Devoted (+1)

LIM: Solid Force Objects/Creatures are Transparent (-1/4), Always

Swirling shades of blue (-1/4). Solid Force Objects are Vulnerable

to Sonic Disruption (x2 BODY from Sonic Attacks/Sound Flashes

do Body equal to Flash total) (-1/2)

 

The fact that the user only pays END once (since Summon is an Instant Power) really helps recreate the cosmetic often associated with Green Lantern's constructs: GL has to dump willpower into making the object but, once created, the construct remains for as long as GL wishes.

 

Though it requires a little rules bending (see below) it's a nice and simple way to represent the myriad of unusual things a GL can do outside of combat (and within as well).

 

NOTE: GM's discretion allows Summon to substitute for a VPP in the case of weapons and powers that could be distributed to other PCs and should normally be purchased as individual powers with the Usable By Others advantage.