Splice

[CTaylor]

I started to build a character in my head one night when I ought to have been going to sleep and the idea kept building until I had to take notes and build him the next day. He looks like a GM nightmare at first blush: he has about every stop sign power in the book from transdimensional and indirect to desolidification usable by others and an AVLD attack, even damage reduction at the 75% level. Yet the way he's built the concepts all are solid and he's heavily limited and he's got an odd sliding scale of abilities that change how and what he can do. I thought I'd share him on here and see what people thought.

SPLICE

Orrin Wainwright

Player: CT

 

Val Char Cost

13 STR 3

17 DEX 21

18 CON 16

14 BODY 8

14 INT 4

11 EGO 2

17 PRE 7

10 COM 0

 

10 PD 7

11 ED 7

5 SPD 23

7 REC 0

36 END 0

30 STUN 0

 

6" RUN 0

2" SWIM 0

2 1/2" LEAP 0

Characteristics Cost: 98

 

Cost Power

26 Intangibility: Elemental Control, 52-point Powers

17 1) Damage Reduction Construct: Custom Power (Defense Power) (60 Active Points); Costs Endurance (Costs END Every Phase; -1/2), Visible (-1/4), Limited Power (Not Persistent; -1/4) [Notes: 3 levels of DR, each costing more END:

25% rPD and rED, costing 5 END per phase

50% rPD and rED, costing 4 END per phase

75% rPD and rED, costing 3 END per phase

 

48 Intangibility: Multipower, 60-point reserve, all slots: (60 Active Points); Limited Power (Items on body and held do not stay desolid without concentration (not persistent); -1/4)

5u 1) Intangible: Desolidification , Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (60 Active Points)

5u 2) Walk With Me: Desolidification , Usable Simultaneously (+1/2) (60 Active Points)

 

Splice Punch

34 1) Splice Punch: Hand-To-Hand Attack +4d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2), Attack Versus Limited Defense: tough all the way through, not wearing armor (+1 1/2) (60 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Limited Power (Can only use while at 25% DR; -1/4)

10 2) Splice Punch: Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2) (22 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Linked to ??? (-1/2), Limited Power (Can only use while at 25% DR; -1/4)

 

Intangibility Defenses

2 1) +0 PD, Hardened (+1/4) (2 Active Points) (Modifiers affect Base Characteristic) (added to Primary Value)

3 2) +0 ED, Hardened (+1/4) (3 Active Points) (Modifiers affect Base Characteristic) (added to Primary Value)

6 3) Flash Defense (7 points) (Sight Group) (7 Active Points); Limited Power (Reduces 2 points each level of DR (-6 at 25%); -1/4)

6 4) Flash Defense (7 points) (Hearing Group) (7 Active Points); Limited Power (Reduces 2 points each level of DR (-6 at 25%); -1/4)

6 5) Power Defense (7 points) (7 Active Points); Limited Power (Reduces 2 points each level of DR (-6 at 25%); -1/4)

10 6) Mental Defense (15 points total) (13 Active Points); Limited Power (Reduces 4 points each level of DR (-12 at 25%); -1/4)

6 7) Lack Of Weakness (-7) for Mental Defense (7 Active Points); Limited Power (Reduces 2 points each level of DR (-6 at 25%); -1/4)

 

10 Dimensional Sight: N-Ray Perception (blocked by high energy and dimensional barriers)

0 Solid Touch: Strength (Attack Power, Body-Affecting Power), Affects Physical World (+2)

15 Dimensional Reach: Custom Power (15 Active Points) [Notes: Gives Transdimensional and Indirect (base) to STR to any very close, "adjacent" dimension

11 Walk on Air: Flight 6" (Position Shift) (17 Active Points); Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (1/2 DCV; -1/2)

 

-13 END Cost Adjustment: Custom Power (-13 Active Points) [Notes: END Cost for movement and Strength is increased while not desolidified:

x2 (2 END) when at 75%;

x3 (3 END) when at 50%;

x4 (4 END) when at 25%

-5 Strength limited by solidity (-5 Active Points) [Notes: Loses 5 STR for each level of DR over 25% (desolidification = -15 STR)

Powers Cost: 202

 

Cost Skill

3 Climbing 12-

5 Stealth 13-

7 Tracking 14-

3 Paramedics 12-

10 Survival (Arctic/Subarctic, Desert, Mountain, Temperate/Subtropical, Tropical) 12-

10 +2 with HTH Combat

2 Guide: PS 11-

2 Fisherman: PS 11-

2 Hunter: PS 11-

3 Hiking: PS 12-

Skills Cost: 47

 

Cost Perk

3 No Trace Evidence [Notes: Splice leaves no physical evidence behind: no finger prints, no foot prints, no hair, no epithelials, no DNA

Perks Cost: 3

 

Total Character Cost: 350

 

Pts. Disadvantage

20 Accidental Change: Becomes Desolidified when unconscious or stunned, (Uncommon), Always

20 Dependent NPC: Anyone in need, (Normal, 11-, x2)

5 Distinctive Features: Afterimages and strange perspectives while desolid, (Easily Concealed, Noticed and Recognizable, Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses

10 Distinctive Features: Freaks animals out, (Concealable, Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction, Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses, Not Distinctive In Some Cultures

25 Hunted: DEMON, (Mo Pow, 8-, Harshly Punish, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find

15 Physical Limitation: Silent unless Desolidification turned off, (Frequently, Greatly Impairing [Notes: Becomes louder the lower the Damage Reduction level (normal voice at 25%)

5 Physical Limitation: Requires concentration to hold solid objects, (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing

15 Psychological Limitation: Hates his condition, (Common, Strong

15 Psychological Limitation: Curious, (Common, Strong

10 Social Limitation: Well known, public powers, (Frequently, Minor

10 Vulnerability: Spacial distortions, (Uncommon, 1 1/2 x Effect, Vulnerability Multiplier (1 1/2 x STUN)

 

Disadvantage Points: 150

Base Points: 200

Experience Required: 0

Total Experience Available: 0

Experience Unspent: 0

 

Background: Once a guide, hunter, fisherman, and hiker, Orrin found himself exposed to a powerful thunderstorm while hiking in the rocky mountains. Exposed at Medicine Wheel to the elements, Orrin was struck by a powerful strange lightning that first hit the Wheel in the center. He was ripped partly from this dimension and shunted into several at once and has ever since lived a life trying to find a cure for his strange condition.

 

Personality/Motivation: Orrin loves to explore and see new things, and has often found himself along with others on fact finding and scientific expeditions. His unique abilities make him very useful in a dangerous setting, and Orrin has discovered he likes saving lives and helping people.

 

Powers/Tactics: Splice is only partly in this dimension. As such he can only interact with the physical world with effort. He reverts to this state when unconscious or stunned, and must force himself to be solid to any degree. He can see through solid objects and in nearly any sort of lighting conditions, and can reach through into other very "close" dimensions (indeed, our dimension is "close" to him). He is also able to, when as solid as he is able to become, strike people through their defenses. The more insubstantial Splice is, the harder he is to harm with nearly any sort of attack. Splice is unable to even make audible noises while totally desolidified, but he is able to pull people into his dimension and carry them with him if they do not struggle much. Splice can walk on the air, moving as if on any ordinary surface.

 

Splice has a strange nested group of powers based on how solid he becomes. The Damage Reduction structure allows him to become more solid but doing so requires greater effort. At the same time, moving around in the world becomes more difficult as well. However, he cannot hit effectively unless mostly solid, and he is able to interact with the world much more significantly while solid. However, movement becomes more difficult in his slightly solid form, as he must concentrate to interact with the world around him. The more solid he is, the less effort it takes to move.

 

The Splice Punch does 4D6 AVLD, but all 8D6 of maximum effect is armor piercing (thus, even if you have the defense against the AVLD, it is halved; if you don't the defenses are just halved).

 

Campaign Use: This character is meant more for an exploratory seekers of the unknown campaign than a sock em up justice superhero game. More old Fantastic Four than Avengers, the kind of characters that travel the world to find out things, explore places and deal with odd problems than sitting in a city and waiting for trouble to deal with. However, he can fit into a more standard campaign, he'll just be less effective and less happy unless he can get out of the city once in a while.

As characters go he's not terribly powerful, but he'd be very effective in some ways. His N-Ray plus affects solid and indirect/transdimensional strength lets him do some strange things, like swipe a wallet through someone's body or grab someone and pull them through the wall (they have to be willing, of course - not enough points to buy it as an attack). His most powerful ability, the HTA, combines to about 70 active points although it will be effective against all but the very toughest opponents.

[Split Decision]

Re: Splice

 

He's fun! But, why Dex 17 and not the break at 18?

 

And, it seems like even though the high-end DR would be sucking END, it's still cheap. But that's a nitpick.

[CTaylor]

Re: Splice

 

Actually the low end DR sucks a lot of END, but he can't use his special attack. And I try not to completely min/max characters, 17 gives the combat value but is slightly slower than other characters, just a way to give him some distinction.

 

The only build point I'm not real sure about is the perk. I wanted him to be shifted out of dimension at least somewhat at all times, so he'd leave no trace but it's probably worth more than 3 points to leave no trace evidence: no fingerprints, no DNA, no hair, etc. I could have bought him invisibility to tracking but that's pretty expensive for what amounts to a meaningless power.