Looking for players for a new PBEM Champions campaign.

[Enforcer84]

Here's Skybreaker. I'm having trouble emailing hdc files.

[Agent X]

Just finished up on the background/personality/powers/quote/appearance stuff. I forgot in my E-Mail to let Dean know I'm still open to more revisions if he wants them. It will make me "no nevermind."

[Gary Ciaramella]

Hey Enforcer... hope you are not upset, but I downloaded the file for Skybreaker. Decent enough Supermanish kind of brick... but the real reason for this message is that your life support power name is wrong... the quote is "I have inside me blood of kings" not "things." Thou must keep holy the lyrics of Queen!

[Gary Ciaramella]

Here is an updated copy of my submission... a few changes to her abilities. I am aware that she has some significant areas of weakness, but if played in combat with those weaknesses in mind, I believe that she is a viable hero.

 

Touch

 

Player: Gary Ciaramella

 

Val	Char	Cost
10	STR	0
20	DEX	30
18	CON	16
10	BODY	0
13	INT	3
18	EGO	16
15	PRE	5
16	COM	3
4/30	PD	2
4/12	ED	0
4	SPD	10
6	REC	0
36	END	0
24	STUN	0

6" RUN02" SWIM027" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 85

 

Cost	Power	END
93	Active Telekinesis Powers: Multipower, 93-point reserve
9u	1) Force Wall (15 PD; 3" long and 1" tall), 1/2 END (+1/4), Backlash (+1/2), Transparent to Energy Attacks (+1/2)	4
9u	2) Missile Deflection (Bullets & Shrapnel), Reflection At Any Target, Ranged Full Range (+1)
4u	3) +50 STR, 1/2 END (+1/4); No Figured Characteristics (-1/2)	2
9u	4) Telekinesis (40 STR), Fine Manipulation, 1/2 END (+1/4)	3
8u	5) Tunneling 6" through 15 DEF material (Fill In), 1/2 END (+1/4)	3
15	Passive Telekinetic Powers: Elemental Control, 30-point powers
12	1) 50% Resistant Phyical Energy Reduction; Costs 1/2 END (-1/4) [Notes: HD wouldn't allow Reduced Endurance (1/2 End) for a power bought with Costs Endurance. But Steve said that Costs 1/2 Endurance is an allowable -1/4 limitation. I assigned Costs Endurance at the -1/4 level and changed the lable. This did not change the end cost however, which is now 1.]	3
15	2) Force Field (24 PD), 1/2 END (+1/4)	1
20	Telekinetic Movement: Multipower, 20-point reserve
2u	1) Leaping +15" (27" forward, 13 1/2" upward) (Accurate)	2
2u	2) Flight 10"	2
6	Trained Mind: +6 Mental Defense (10 points total)
5	Psionically Sensative: Mental Awareness
10	Reflective & Insulated Costume: Armor (2 PD/8 ED); OIF (-1/2)

Powers Cost: 219

 

 

Cost	Skill
3	Breakfall 13-
9	+3 with Telekinesis Attacks
3	Concealment 12-
3	KS: Art History (INT-based) 12-
1	Language: French (basic conversation)
3	Paramedics 12-
6	PS: Artist (DEX-based) 16-
3	Shadowing 12-
3	Stealth 13-
3	Teamwork 13-

Skills Cost: 37

 

Cost	Perk
5	Contact (Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Very Good relationship with Contact) 11-
4	Contact (Contact has useful Skills or resources, Good relationship with Contact) 11-

Perks Cost: 9

 

 

 

Total Character Cost: 350

 

Val	Disadvantages
20	Dependent NPC: Jessica's Family 8- (Normal; Group DNPC: x4 DNPCs)
10	Distinctive Features (Mutant): (Not Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable Only By Unusual Senses)
25	Hunted: Institute For Human Advancement 8- (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish; PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find; Extensive Non-Combat Influence)
20	Hunted: PSI 8- (Mo Pow; Harshly Punish; PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find)
10	Psychological Limitation: Afraid of Energy Attacks (Common; Moderate)
20	Psychological Limitation: Takes Her Responsibilities Seriously (Very Common; Strong)
15	Psychological Limitation: Will not "Murder" (Uncommon; Total)
10	Social Limitation: Public Identity (Occasionally (8-), Major)
20	Normal Characteristic Maxima

Disadvantage Points: 150

 

Base Points: 200

Experience Required: 0

Total Experience Available: 0

Experience Unspent: 0

[Gary Ciaramella]

Background/History:

 

Jessica Savage is the eldest of 3 children born to William and Shannon Savage, and was born 22 years before the current game year on February the 12th. She has a sister named Katherine (15 years old) and a brother named Brandon (13 years old). Both of Jessica's parents are teachers, William teaches high school, Shannon teaches elementary. Jessica was 16 when her mutant abilities manifested, and her mother did not react well to them at all, having her sent off to be a student at Claremont Academy. Since then, mother and daughter have rarely talked and when they have it has often led to heated arguments. While her father actually has very little problem with Jessica's abilities, the two have not had the chance to spend time together because of Shannon Savage and they likely will not either any time in the near future. Katherine has gradually grown to be even more hateful of Jessica than her mother and will not speak to Jessica at all. What is unspoken between the two is the fact that Katherine's 16th birthday is approaching and she fears greatly that she too will develop mutant abilities. Jessica's brother Brandon doesn’t have a problem with his oldest sister, but since she left the family when he was 7 years old, the bond between the two of them is not particularly strong.

 

Initially Jessica was resistant to being a part of the Claremont Academy, considering it a punishment by her mother for a freak act of nature that she had no control over. With time however, Jessica grew to love Academy, staying there 4 years, not leaving until she was given a full scholarship to the Freedom School for the arts. Even after being away from Claremont for more than 2 years, she maintains a good relationship with the students and faculty. Generally both Jessica and the Academy would be willing to come to the aid of the other in time of need.

 

Currently Jessica is in her 3rd year at FreeSA. She is well liked by her teachers, who generally believe that if she applies herself, Jessica should have a bright future as an artist. While she does very much want to do well, the combination of school and superhero activities have made it a struggle to keep her scholarship, much less excel in her studies. She does have the help of friend and faculty mentor, Professor Kennedy. The Professor is very interested in helping Jessica succeed, feeling quite paternal toward the young artist. So Jessica holds on by her fingertips, living in the dorms, tutoring with Professor Kennedy or associates that he drafts into duty, and living the life of a hero all at once… she is definitely a busy girl.

 

Being a young mutant psionic with a public identity has brought Jessica to the attention of both PSI and The Institute for Human Advancement. Neither organization has of yet acted to get their hands on Jessica, so she and her family has been safe up to this point.

 

Personality/Motivation:

 

Sometimes shy and quite, often angry and headstrong, Jessica is a passionate young woman. Her strong sense of duty and the demands of her hectic life often drive her to distraction. Sooner or later she will develop ulcers unless Jessica learns to relax and realizes that the world will not end if she is not at the center of it. Although it is generally agreed that Jessica means well, sometimes her point of view that she is indispensable to whatever project she is involved with rubs people the wrong way. Her big fear in life is that she will not be able to handle everything and will let down the people that count on her.

 

While otherwise fairly fearless in combat, Jessica knows full well that she is almost worthless against energy attacks, and thus has developed quite a fear of them. While she doesn’t panic when the EBs are flying, she will seriously think of turning and running if the situation gets too bad and the return is not large enough.

 

Powers/Tactics:

 

Touch is a telekinetic. Her powers are very effective against physical attacks, but useless against energy attacks. To compensate to a limited degree, she has taken to wearing a special reflective and insulated costume to supply her with some energy defense. Despite that, she is afraid of energy attacks and will do her best not to engage opponents who use them, leaving those targets for others.

 

As far as the mechanics of what her powers can do, they should be self-explanatory. She can manipulate physical objects both close up and at a distance, focusing on a single object or an area. She has practiced a great deal to be able to catch incoming attacks and reversing or redirecting their trajectory, using the oppositions attacks against them. Due to her lack of HTH combat skill, Jessica does her best to keep opponents away from her, but she can use her Telekinesis to increase her strength to amazing levels. Over time she does intend to improve her HTH skills and also improve the strength and versatility of her telekinetic powers. She already has several ideas for what she would like to try next with her powers once she figures out how to go about it.

 

Appearance:

 

Quite small when compared to many of the Amazonian women who fight crime, Jessica stands 5' 2" and weighs 105 lbs. Quite beautiful, Jessica has long red hair and green eyes and when on duty wears a skin tight silvery mirrored costume. When not on duty, Jessica wears comfortable, lightweight clothing with a definite preference for blue. The actress who most resembles her is Alicia Witt.

[Zed-F]

I would have gone with the VPP myself, but it's your character, so what's important is that you're happy with it.

[Enforcer84]

Originally posted by Gary Ciaramella

Hey Enforcer... hope you are not upset, but I downloaded the file for Skybreaker. Decent enough Supermanish kind of brick... but the real reason for this message is that your life support power name is wrong... the quote is "I have inside me blood of kings" not "things." Thou must keep holy the lyrics of Queen!

 

I know the lyrics. Its just that the things in his blood are not royalty.

[eepjr24]

Image...

 

Did a cityscape colage kind of thing for my character image, what do you think? File is attached.

 

- Ernie

[ch0wyunf47]

keen

 

What does he do?

[eepjr24]

Originally posted by ch0wyunf47 keen

 

What does he do?

Well, on good days, he beats up villains. =) On bad days, they beat him up. Broadly, he is a quasi martial artist with some brick leanings. Not that experienced, no team experience, will be interesting to see how he works on a team.

 

- Ernie

[Agent X]

What kind of base do we want?

Do we want a base with an exotic background (my vote) or one we built to our specifications?

It is possible to have really cool bases that have hunteds and mysteries: like abandoned orbiting bases, old mansions with legendary tales, magical caves, or old golden age secret bases that have been hidden away, unused for decades.

 

What do we want our base to be able to do?

 

Do we want to shell out points for personal communicators?

 

Do we want to develop team codes and attack strategies as we continue play?

[ch0wyunf47]

From my understanding, at the beginning of the frirst adventure we are not all a team. I designed my character to be someone very capable of operating on their own, but could adapt to a team environment with ease. I also kept some points aside to lend towards a base/vehicle/comms/what not as part of start-up, though not a ton (mostly b/c I had a hard time justifying more than 5 points worth of resources from a PI and a Cop. Maybe I could work out some endorsements? ). Anyhow, I think those answers will be partially determined on how we form as a team, and what the GM has in mind.

 

Personally, I really like the concept of some 'exotic' base, with it's own quirks (haunted mansion would be awesome... although it could be doomtacular for my char). Vehicles would be cool, but i think those should be secondary to a centralized location, that is unless the location is mad out of the way. Personal comms and tactics are also a good idea, and I plan on spending some points on the 'teamwork' skill, but only after an appropriate amount of time. I know my guy will be likely a support character in combat (blaster/healer) and can do a lot of detective work outside of combat. Tactics wise, I pretty much just go where I'm needed, and won't do a whole lot of 'taking the point'.

 

Anyhow, I think it's good to consider these things, but it might be a little bit early :/

[Agent X]

Originally posted by ch0wyunf47

From my understanding, at the beginning of the frirst adventure we are not all a team. I designed my character to be someone very capable of operating on their own, but could adapt to a team environment with ease. I also kept some points aside to lend towards a base/vehicle/comms/what not as part of start-up, though not a ton (mostly b/c I had a hard time justifying more than 5 points worth of resources from a PI and a Cop. Maybe I could work out some endorsements? ). Anyhow, I think those answers will be partially determined on how we form as a team, and what the GM has in mind.

 

Personally, I really like the concept of some 'exotic' base, with it's own quirks (haunted mansion would be awesome... although it could be doomtacular for my char). Vehicles would be cool, but i think those should be secondary to a centralized location, that is unless the location is mad out of the way. Personal comms and tactics are also a good idea, and I plan on spending some points on the 'teamwork' skill, but only after an appropriate amount of time. I know my guy will be likely a support character in combat (blaster/healer) and can do a lot of detective work outside of combat. Tactics wise, I pretty much just go where I'm needed, and won't do a whole lot of 'taking the point'.

 

Anyhow, I think it's good to consider these things, but it might be a little bit early :/

Maybe too early. It will take some planning though and it's good to have it in the back of everyone's mind. I didn't save any xp back because I didn't think everyone else would which means we would be waiting on them to "catch up." After looking at Dean's write-ups for Marvel/DC characters, I think he may want us to re-examine what he had to say about Contacts. He really likes a significant amount of points spent on contacts, at least in those write-ups.

[eepjr24]

Agent....

 

I would like an exotic base, and could put a few points to it, esp if he lets us loan on future xp (1 per session or whatnot).

 

I am okay with comm's or not, whichever is norm for the campaign.

 

Codes and such should wait for RP, I think.

[Enforcer84]

I think we should have matching Uniforms:D

[Zed-F]

Well, points for a base are not a problem here... though I guess we'll have to wait and see what Dean has in mind for the intro scenario before we make any decisions.

 

I'm still not sure about how much of our characters we should be posting in advance of the game, but as my character has a public ID, your characters ought to know a bit about her before the game begins. I'll put something together and post it later today or tomorrow.

[djday38]

Hi Guys,

 

As a couple of people have stated you will not be a fully formed team during the first arc and will be meeting for the first time.

This means subjects such as bases, vehicles, eqipment etc will not be around at the start but will hopefully come naturally in time with the storylines we will create together.

 

It's never really too early to think ahead a bit and it's good to see everybody enthusiastic about the team!

 

Regarding my own style of write-ups regarding contacts, yep it's true I do love the occasional contact!! For me as a GM they are wonderful story tools for me and for the players.

But I have not attempted to force people to take X amount of contacts at the start, I have just tried to ensure that the characters are intergrated into the CU in many ways.

 

I will be awarding contacts and favours naturally as a form of XP as the campaign progresses. This also applies of course to the above mentioned base/vehicle/equipment.

 

The first couple of story arcs are where a team first finds it's feet and gets to know each other and it's role in the campaign. There are strong first impressions, misunderstandings, maybe even fights between members and a t the same time the teams core arch villains are defined.

 

Its a fun era for a superhero team and I intend for the players to enjoy it.

 

rgds

Dean

[djday38]

Sorry guys, I forgot to mention that I am doing a full sweep of everyone's character revisions tomorrow and hopefully will be sending out the yahoo group invitations to everyone.

 

One other point there have been a couple of mentions regarding how much info each player should show/know regarding characters. To be honest I think it should be up to the player concerned. Some of you like others to see your characters and comment on them, others like their creations to be mysterious and be fleshed out to the other players during play. Either option is fine by me.

 

Lastly over the next couple of days I hope to put together a packet of campaign information covering things such as campaign rules, the Style of turn including amoung many things writing styles, how we will handle combat and mundane things like turn deadlines and turnaround.

 

Rgds

Dean

[Zed-F]

A quick Google search on Dynamode reveals the following bio by a local rag:

 

 

Name: Dynamode (Olivia Roberts)

Height: 3' 9"

Weight: 27kg

Hair: Brown, pig-tails

Eyes: Hazel (green-brown)

Skin: Light olive

 

Olivia is an 8-year old girl with a fairly sunny and typically innocent-looking demeanor. In public, she usually dresses in childrens fashions appropriate to her age group, including pictures of popular age-appropriate TV characters and merchandise, or designer children's dresses and jewellry to more formal occasions. In private, she prefers more practical clothes, often plain jeans and a sweater. In any case, she is always well-groomed, and a bit of a clothes-horse; she can often be seen in local malls expanding her wardrobe.

 

Olivia is quite approachable and often appears in public, either with her father Ian Roberts, a prominent political lobbyist, philanthropist, and multi-millionaire, or in her own right as protector of the city's children. In interviews she seems quite intelligent and forthright, and responds well even to unusual questions. That doesn't mean she doesn't know how to have fun, however, as if invited to a function for children she can horse around with the best of them in her souped up powered wheelchair, known by the prosaic if unimaginitive name of Wheelie. That's by no means her only conveyance, however, and area ne'er-do-wells are well-advised to remember it, as she's also the pilot of Dynamode, and one of the city's most prominent superheroes!

 

Olivia was born to Ian Roberts, then-CTO of North Star International, and his fiancee Helen Waters, winner of the prestigious Emblem award for architecture for her design of the Plymouth building in Chicago. Not much is known about her childhood before the age of five, but she first came to the attention of the public with the crash of Atlantic 452 just over 3 years ago. Olivia and her mother were on that ill-fated flight, and when lightning struck it, flying debris struck both oth them, killing Helen and severely injuring Olivia. The well-documented paralysis of the lower half of her body dates from this tragic incident, but Olivia showed true fighting spirit even at the tender age of 5 and battled back remarkably well from her injuries.

 

The following year, Olivia entered school, and she certainly made a splash once she arrived along with her unique wheelchair, which some have speculated was designed by none other than her father, who had resigned his position with North Star upon the death of his wife. It didn't take long for her to put her wheelchair through its paces either, as within a couple months of her arrival she managed to break up the attempted rape of Melissa Whiteheart by enclosing her attacker in a force bubble (see Melissa's bestselling book, "I was saved by a 6-year-old", purchasable at Amazon.com and reputable bookstores everywhere!) She went on to help the police put the cuffs on a number of other minor criminals over the course of the school year, including recapturing the notorious pedophile Frank Warren after he broke parole, and generally made the neighborhood safe for the children of Washburn Elementary. Unfortunately, tradegy struck once again when she attempted to rescue Yolanda Trudeau from the Red Panther gang in Renfrew Park, and wound up in Whitewater Creek for her troubles, electrocuted by her own wheelchair. There she witnessed Yolanda's rape and brutal murder firsthand, and testified to it, though the police were neither able to catch the gang in the act nor gather enough evidence for a formal charge. While some criticized the police for a sloppy investigation at the time, Olivia wasn't one of them; she was too busy recovering in the hospital from her electrocution.

 

It wasn't until late last year that Olivia once-again re-emerged into the public eye, with the spectacular capture of the entire Red Panther gang in the projects around Bronson and Hedges. This was the first public appearance of the Dynamode armour that she pilots, and no doubt she shocked the Red Panther gang with its capabilities. Footage from the trial clearly indicates that Olivia was using the Dynamode armour in what has since been dubbed alternately as "MechaForm" or "JediForm". This is easily determined from the bluish cast of the footage and the abilities the armour displayed, including deflecting and reflecting pistol fire from the gangers when they opened fire, a force shield that frustrated a ganger stab attempt, two gangers being grabbed and slammed together from several meters away, and a lightning attack to subdue a fleeing ganger. Subsequent footage of MechaForm in action reveals that it's also capable of projecting a force sword and a wall of force, of running at speeds approaching 90 kph and astounding leaps, and possibly more. It's clear from public opinion polls that this form is by far the favourite among the populace, likely due to apparent tie-ins with a certain popular science fiction film (rumor has it that a lawsuit may be in the works,) but that's by no means the limit of the armour's capabilities!

 

Olivia has also been seen blazing about the city in what has been christened JetMode, which is characterized by a deep red rather than blue force shell, and by flight at incredible speeds. Olivia is easily capable of outpacing the fastest military jets in this form, with the possible exception of certain experimental aircraft whose existence the military will neither confirm or deny (see "X-22, Fact or Myth?" available at Amazon.com and quality bookstores near you!) She's also demonstrated the ability to fire precision beam weapons from several kilometers away and an amazing ability to literally shake someone into submission, as she displayed against the escaped murderer Jerald Marvolo.

 

Rumors abound concerning other forms that the Dynamode armour might be able to take. One that's been fairly well-documented by paparazzi has been dubbed alternately "UrchinForm" or "SquidForm" by the media, wherein the Dynamode force field carries a ghostly white hue, and takes the form of a tentacled sphere. It's not clear what powers this form might have, but what is known about it is that Olivia rarely uses it on her missions of justice, as the only footage that exists of the armour was taken by a photographer who managed to sneak into the Roberts family estate with a videocamera and take some footage before their security staff caught up with him. Current speculation is that the form is a test mode of sorts for the armour, as the footage in question was taken while Olivia was assisting her father in some sort of diagnostic test of the armour. There are yet more rumors of even stranger forms, but nothing anyone has any evidence of.

 

Still, even with just the well-documented Dynamode forms, it's clear that Olivia is a crime-fighting force to be reckoned with, and a heroine of no small determination and courage. Currently she operates mostly as an adjunct to the local police department as a sort of one girl SWAT team, capable of reaching the scene of a crime with great speed and greater force to put a stop to almost any crime as it unfolds. Would-be criminals beware; make a move and you can be assured that Dynamode will be there!

[Gary Ciaramella]

*singing* Fighting crime, trying to save the world, she shows up just in time, It's Dynamode-Girl! DYNAMODE!

 

I love it!

[Zed-F]

Heh, well I did say it was printed by a local rag. What do you expect?

[eepjr24]

Originally posted by Zed-F

Heh, well I did say it was printed by a local rag. What do you expect?

 

Well, I am not so sure my character would have seen any of that, being a recent addition to the city. Does anyone know which city we are based in yet? My write up guessed New York. We may have to wait a bit. If anyone does a search on Nundor after we meet, I will post some things that newspapers might have reported on him.

 

- Ernie

[Gary Ciaramella]

He is using Freedom City from Mutants & Masterminds... a good book and a good city, worth the read even if you do not play M&M.

[Zed-F]

Originally posted by eepjr24

Well, I am not so sure my character would have seen any of that, being a recent addition to the city. Does anyone know which city we are based in yet? My write up guessed New York. We may have to wait a bit. If anyone does a search on Nundor after we meet, I will post some things that newspapers might have reported on him.

 

- Ernie

 

Odds are, if you've been in the city more than a week, you will have seen something printed about her. She has a Public ID, and thus gets more than her fair share of publicity.

[Zed-F]

Well, so far looks like we have a shaman checklist, a telekinetic brick, a flying brick, a martial brick, a flying sonic blaster, and a powersuit multiform. Looks like we are leaning pretty heavily toward the physical abuse end of the spectrum. If we have 8 players, that leaves 2 more unannounced; wonder what else people are bringing?