The Tale of Instant Karma

[Zed-F]

Part 1

------

 

I've had enough of living a lie. Today, I decided to come clean. Let the world know who I really am.

 

You may have heard of me. Instant Karma. Saviour of Millenium City, they called me. Judge Dredd of the Desert. Scourge of Viper and the Hunter-Patriot terrorists of Canada.

 

Well, some of it is true. I did do all those things the media says I did. Saved all those people. Defeated all those villains. But the way it happened? Not at all like the newsies would have it. And the whole Instant Karma persona? An invention.

 

That's not to say there are no superheroes. There are. Tons of them. But real superheroes like Defender and the rest of the Champions have more of what it means to be a super in their left pinky toes than I have in my whole body.

 

The other day I met Dynamode. Her power armour makes her tough enough to play catch with tank cannon shells and strong enough to play catch with the tanks themselves. She's perky and exuberant, ready and eager to face any challenge. She's also a 10-year old quadruplegic outside her power armour, and she still has more super in her than I do.

 

There's only one thing the superheroes and I have in common. When the Call came to be a hero and to go beyond the expected, whatever the circumstances or challenges they faced, they answered. So did I, I guess. But I don't have their advantages.

 

My Call came just a couple weeks ago, when the Qularr invaded Millenium City. There were probably several superheroes made that day. I wouldn't know about that, I just know that I was the person the media latched onto. But the story they told about me? Fabrication.

 

I wasn't some twisted byproduct of Argent cybertech and Teleios's biotech, come back to wreak bloody vengeance on his creators. That false history and my overly-pretentious heroic moniker were the invention of WCOC corporate executives.

 

The truth is, on the day of the invasion, I was just another student floating my way through college, aimless and adrift on a sea of complacency, like so many other residents of MC. When you live in a world where superheroes save the city, the country, and even the planet on a daily basis, it's hard to feel important in the grand scheme of things if you're not one of them. A lot of the regular people on the streets just sort of amble through life as a result, content with whatever fate the superheroic world should happen to hand them.

 

My name is Joe Citoyen. I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but I've lived in Millenium City most of my life. I was one of those regular people, until the day of the invasion, when I saw a police officer get shot by one of the Qularr. He fell down, dazed, and clearly struggling to recover his wits. He had dropped his service weapon and was fumbling about to try and recover it. I saw where it had slid to and picked it up to return it to him.

 

That was my big mistake. I got involved. No civilian ever gets involved in the superhero world, except as passive victims or audience. Only heroes actively get involved.

 

The officer, still perhaps a bit dazed, saw I had a gun and assumed I was a superhero, there to help. He directed me to Socrates, who directed me to the mayor. Everyone I met that day assumed I was a superhero, and kept sending me on a variety of superheroic tasks. Tasks which would have sent me running in fear just a few short minutes or hours earlier. I still wanted to run away. What did I know about fighting the Qularr?

 

But I found I couldn't say no. It's funny how the world works, sometimes. My Call came, and I answered without even really realizing it. Now I'm thrust into insanely dangerous situations on a daily basis, and I can't stop answering it. Destiny isn't through with me yet, I guess.

 

But if Destiny wanted me to be out there saving the world, it could have had the decency to give me a little preparation beforehand, y'know?

[Zed-F]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Instant Karma is a Challenge character. The concept -- a badass normal without any of the badassery. He uses conventional guns, i.e. Pure Munitions, and has no Talents or Superstats.

 

That means, among other things:

- No passives, defensive or otherwise

- No effective means to self-heal short of resting (stim pack on holdout shot is fairly useless)

- EDIT: No block enhancer as well

- No damage boost from superstats

- All characteristics come from equipment, so in total under half what most toons have

- Extremely limited variety of moves, since almost all munitions powers are straight-up attacks of one sort or another.

 

Hopefully the result is more tactical play and more use of crafted items/devices. So far I've had some of the former, but not much of the latter.

 

I've gotten him to level 15, and he's approaching the point where he'll be done messing with Viper in Canada (for now) and on his way back to MC.

[SvZurich]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Now you know how the Harbinger of Justice got his start. By accident. Just got involved one day.

 

John Lenon is singing your song.

[Zed-F]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Getting a little ahead of the story here, but say hello to my new little friend...

 

 

Why hello, Mr. Power Armour master villain! No, you may not shoot back.

 

 

You go ahead and keep throwing those Shuriken my way there, Redstone... go ahead and stay at range rather than closing to melee. That suits me just fine!

 

[Zed-F]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Yeah, Mr. Sword master villain, go ahead and try to get me in here...

 

[Tasha]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Bummer of a cape symbol dude!

 

Flickr account with Comic.

[SvZurich]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Coffee Cup not Available, can't see any image there.

[Tasha]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Fixed above (I hope)

 

tasha

[SvZurich]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

lol love the birthmark!

[Zed-F]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Heh, well he has reticles front and back, and reticles for eyes... he's ostensibly supposed to be part machine after all. Kinda reminiscent of the Silicates from Space Above And Beyond in that way, actually.

[Zed-F]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Part 2:

 

Most people who've read about me or have seen me on the news assume that I'm a highly-trained badass mercenary of some sort, with cyberware and bioware to boost my natural abilities and reaction times. Some expect outright superpowers. After all, that's what they've been led to believe by WCOC and their partners and affiliates.

 

The truth is I'm not exactly cut out for this line of work. When they told me to go to the Powerhouse and the guy at the desk had asked me to describe my powers, all I could do was look at him blankly. I showed him the pistol I'd used to shoot a handful of Qularr and to put a few holes in Black Talon, but really Defender had done most of the work. I just got the credit.

 

The powerhouse guy had asked a bunch of questions and done some tests. All my results came back perfectly normal for a baseline human. I didn't have any extraordinary strength or reflexes or stamina. I didn't have any special training or inborn talents. About all we were able to establish from my so-called superheroic career was that I could shoot a pistol. I mentioned that I'd once gone skeet shooting with my uncle and he made a note on the list.

 

That was it. The sum total of my superheroic abilities: able to shoot a pistol and a shotgun.

 

When he asked me how I got around the city, I told him -- I walked, drove, or took the bus. Mostly I walked. He frowned at that, muttering that I needed to be able to travel faster on my own somehow. He handed me a spare grapple gun and encouraged me to give it a try. I just about got sick trying to figure out how to flip up onto ledges... not to mention about strangling myself twice. I passed it back, shaking my head. Definitely not me.

 

He muttered and rummaged around some more and came up with a pair of old rocket boots that happened to be in my size. They aren't any less dangerous than the swingline, but at least they are simple to operate.

 

All my so-called superheroic powers and abilities are like that. My guns never seem to need reloading because I have auto-loaders on them. Nasty falls and wounds and burns hurt, sure, but thanks to a variety of mystical and mundane gewgaws, never as much or for as long as they should. Every superheroic thing I can do comes from some kind of weapon or device of some kind, much of it pretty ordinary stuff in a world full of superheroes, nearly all of it second- or third-hand castoffs from some other superhero or scavenged from some villain.

 

Even my costume itself is the product of an image transducer. When WCOC and their affiliates were making me out to be the saviour of Millenium City, they checked up with the guys at the Powerhouse to find out about my abilities. Needless to say they were horrified at the idea that any normal citizen could do what I'd done. Upset all sorts of apple carts, that did. The image transducer and the whole secret identity thing was all their idea. I was too green to do anything but go along with it, at the time.

 

But the truth is, there's nothing I can do that any average citizen couldn't do just as easily, or as well. Any average citizen who answered a Call, anyway.

 

If the press wants to label me as a hero, I guess I can't argue too much about it. But there's nothing super about me.

[Tasha]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Heh' date=' well he has reticles front and back, and reticles for eyes... he's ostensibly supposed to be part machine after all. Kinda reminiscent of the Silicates from Space Above And Beyond in that way, actually.[/quote']

 

He's pretty darned cool. His symbol just made me think of that farside Comic.

 

Tasha

[Zed-F]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Some more action shots of Instant Karma. He's up to level 18 now, and has finished most of the quests in West Side, save only for Fight Club. Enemies packs sized for a group of 3 are a bit much for him just yet, but I have some ideas....

 

First a couple of pics of Instant Karma in his alternate duds. He's also using his rocket boots in hover mode rather than at full power -- along with smoke grenade, a good way of handling single troublesome melee types.

 

 

 

Next up we have Instant Karma's latest toy -- a Pulson RF pistol. Power replaces are not really worthwhile for most characters so far, but occasionally they can be good for a character with a high hit rate... or for a munitions-based character. Munitions power replaces work differently from all other power replaces because they completely replace the attack they are based on, rather than simply adding to it as all non-munitions power replaces do. This means you lose the benefit of any advantages you might have bought on that base power, but sometimes the stats on the replace make this worthwhile. To wit: The Pulson RF does about 50% more base damage than my regular pistols do, and they add a chance to set enemies on fire to boot. My energy regeneration is considerably worse without a Recovery item in the offensive power slot, but if I'm using the pistols a lot, this is still a good deal. It might not be if I'd ranked up my pistol damage, mind, but so far I've been very sparing with my power and advantage points.

 

 

 

I expect I'll probably outgrow this weapon in a few levels, but for now it's proven a handy addition to Instant Karma's arsenal.

[Zed-F]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Finally, a couple close-ups of Instant Karma from the front. The first picture is his usual outfit; the second is mainly for when he wants to attend some function in hero ID without being so obviously menacing, e.g. if he were going to Club Caprice, for instance.

 

 

[Zed-F]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Part 3:

 

Being a superhero isn't exactly what I would have expected when I was a civilian. I mean, I knew that superheroes save the city every day from all manner of crime. What I didn't think about were the implications.

 

Now that I'm a superhero, I don't have time for anything else in my life. I'm constantly being whisked from one crisis to another by a series of well-meaning policemen, public officials, and even random passers-by with information on a crime in progress.

 

Where do all these criminals come from? Who knows? All I can say is they're a pretty brazen bunch. They often like to hang out on busy street corners, in every back alley, even on city rooftops. And they are everywhere.

 

They have reason to be brazen; they've got a lot of the same sort of devices I do that protect me from harm. I can often loot one from a defeated criminal before the cops whisk him away. Sometimes the stuff I pick up is even useful to me. There's never any blood involved in a superfight. So the criminals have to know that nothing the cops or a superhero can do is likely to actually kill them, or even do much more than sting for a while.

 

But despite how brazen the criminals of the city are when it comes to seeking a confrontation, they're surprisingly meek when I actually show up.

 

As I mentioned before, when I signed up for this superhero gig, I didn't have any more skill to my credit than the ability to shoot a shotgun and a pistol or two. I still don't, though I did manage to wheedle a caseful of smoke grenades out of one of the powerhouse guys recently. I certainly don't have any more skill with these weapons than the criminals I see commonly armed with them. And, having been shot repeatedly in the line of duty, I can certainly say that it's not really that big a deal when you've got kevlar body armour or a mystical bracelet of deflection or what have you keeping you safe.

 

Despite this, the henchmen, villains, and master villains I fight on a daily basis almost invariably go down without much fuss when I fire a few shells or a few dozen pistol rounds in their general direction.

 

Sure, they shoot back. If there's enough of them, they can even send me packing for a while. But even if they do, I just come back later, and they're still there, waiting for me. They don't bother to make themselves scarce, or even just to arm themselves better. It's like it's all some kind of big game.

 

I don't know what it is. They certainly don't seem to lack confidence, at least up until the point where they get shot at a few times. Then they're all in a big hurry to spill the beans on whatever it was they were planning so they can go to jail like good little boys and girls. They know they'll be out again soon enough.

 

And it's not just Millenium City -- it's like this everywhere. Everywhere I go, disasters abound and crime skyrockets. Yet nobody does anything about it unless I step in to clean things up, even though when I do, problems are resolved quickly and relatively easily. I don't know what it's like for other superheroes. But if it's the same for them as it is for me, I know less about the economics and day-to-day functioning of our society than I thought.

 

Maybe it's a massive conspiracy. Maybe the entire planet is caught in some kind of bizarre temporal feedback loop of some sort. I can't explain it. But sometimes it seems that the whole rest of the world exists purely so that superheroes have something to do.

[Zed-F]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Fight club: soloed!

 

 

Of course, Instant Karma did have to wait to level 20 to do it. His first attempt at level 18 didn't go so well.

 

 

Nevertheless, the deed is done!

 

(For anyone who doesn't play the game, fight club is ostensibly a 3-person mission. People with strong builds solo it all the time, but Instant Karma has anything but a strong build.)

[Zed-F]

Instant Karma Rebooted!

 

Part 4:

 

Unh. Hurts. Hurts everywhere. I don't want to wake up, especially not to this kind of pain, but it seems my mind has other ideas.

 

My body, on the other hand, seems perfectly happy to remain largely unresponsive. It's an enormous effort just to open my eyes a fraction. What happened? Where am I?

 

A blurry room, mostly white. I'm lying down in a bed. Covered in bandages. Surrounded by some kind of equipment. I manage a feeble groan.

 

"Oh good, you're awake!" A voice from the end of the bed. A perky, female voice. "This should help you feel better, for a while at least," she continues. I can barely feel the prick of a needle, lost amidst all the other pain my shrieking nerves are bombarding my brain with. It just doesn't register in comparison.

 

But she's right, the injection does help. The pain recedes to a dull ache, and I feel more alert. I manage to open my eyes and look up at her.

 

She's a young woman. Blonde, good looks, well dressed in a fashionable business suit. The very picture of a young corporate executive on her way up. Her name tag reads 'Mandy'. But it's the letters emblazoned on her jacket that tell me what I need to know -- she's from WCOC. My sponsors, at least after a fashion.

 

"I feel like I've been run over. Anyone catch the plate on the truck that hit me?" I ask, trying to make light of the situation to cover my unease. A quick glance around the room confirms I am in a hospital, but there's no sign of any doctor or nurse in the room.

 

Just Mandy. She smiles, full of false good cheer. "Someone sure did. It was R-E-T-C-O-N. And though it might not seem like it right now, it wasn't entirely a bad thing for you that it did."

 

Whatever was in that shot Mandy gave me, I still don't have the energy to do more than listen at this point. If I had, I might have started freaking out, asking a million questions. Like "how did this happen," or "where exactly am I," or "why isn't the doctor here," or "how could this not be a bad thing." Instead I just stare at her, waiting for her to explain what she can, or will.

 

Mandy sits on the edge of the bed. "I know you're in a lot of pain right now. But things could be worse. You could be dead, couldn't you? But you're not. And this tragic accident could have some benefits you perhaps haven't yet considered. For one, you know your ratings have been slipping for the past several months, right? You've been getting overshadowed by newer, younger, sexier heroes and heroines. But we can use this accident to help catapult you back into the spotlight, show how you're a real survivor! If you do your part, it will get your career back on track, I can practically guarantee it."

 

I want to interject, "what do you mean, if I do my part," but she moves on before I can get a word in edgewise. "And there's another thing. The damage was pretty severe. But when life gives us lemons, we make lemonade, right? Fixing you up meant practically reconstructing your body. We took the opportunity to fit you out with some improvements."

 

I feel my hair wanting to stand on end. Given that I am wrapped head to toe in bandages, that would have been quite a feat if I could have managed it. "Wha.." I manage to stammer before Mandy continues.

 

"Oh, nothing too extreme. We didn't want anything too bleeding edge; top-of-the-line mods tend to have more side effects. And be much costlier too. To be honest, even with a fairly standard package, you owe us more than enough already. Wired reflexes; your reaction speed and accuracy will be much improved now. Targeting computer in your skull so you can track enemies more easily, pinpoint their weak spots, and anticipate their return fire. It'll also give your nervous system a bit of a boost when you're stunned or concussed. Oh, and since you won't be able to use those old rocket boots anymore, we added the optional AG pulse generators in your legs. You can use those to hover in mid-air or leap tall buildings in a single bound, just as you used to, only they are activated your nervous impulses to your leg muscles, rather than by a switch."

 

My mind, wrapped in a cocoon of pain and drugs, struggles to keep up. The best I can manage is to latch onto part of one sentence. "Why can't I use my rocket boots?"

 

Mandy sighs. "Even the standard packages don't entirely avoid side effects all the time. It seems you're one of those rare cases that has a reaction. Those bandages aren't all from the accident. Your skin has developed a violent allergy to all kinds of common fabrics and materials. You won't need that image transducer any longer for your looks to match your heroic persona. But we have identified a few more exotic types of cloth and plastics that won't cause your skin to melt off like wax, so it's not unmanageable. There might be a few minor alterations to your costume, but nothing substantial. Oh, and you have been keeping up with those night courses on arms manufacture, right?" she queries, with a penetrating glance.

 

"Uh, yeah," I reply muzzily. I'm pretty sure I had been, anyway, before... whatever had happened had happened. I couldn't really have been hit by a truck, could I? "I'm not really that great at it though. I can at least take care of my own weapons and make basic stuff from pre-fashioned parts, but anytime I try anything really advanced, it comes apart on me."

 

Mandy sniffs. "Well you'd better keep practicing, then. You're going to have to make your own arsenal from now on, since you won't be able to keep using stuff you bum off your defeated foes. Just as well anyway, if you ask me; that wasn't helping your image any. All those mystic gewgaws. You're not supposed to be some techno-mage, you know! Give the public what they expect, and they'll love you all the more for it," she advises.

 

"Well, I think that about covers it," Mandy concludes, standing. "So rest up, get better, and I'm sure you'll be out of here in no time." She favours me with a final brilliant smile, before turning to go. "It's been a real treat for me to help you get through this. I always love it when I get a chance to observe life imitating art." And with that, she turns and walks briskly from the room, closing the door behind her.

 

I lie back, mind whirling. I have, apparently, been fundamentally altered, and I still don't really know how, or why. I only know that I used to be a normal person trapped in a superhero's job. Now I'm not sure what I am, or how I feel about it. One thing's for certain. I still don't feel very super-heroic.

[Zed-F]

Re: Instant Karma Rebooted!

 

Instant Karma's original concept was a badass normal without any of the badassery. He used conventional guns, i.e. Pure Munitions, and had no Talents or Superstats. Since Munitions didn't have a block enhancer, a useful heal, or a passive, he had none of those things, plus he had the challenge of lacking superstats and having low stats in general.

 

Nevertheless, I managed to get him to his low 20s on the strength of Two Gun Mojo, Shotgun, and Smoke Grenade, before I tired of CO and allowed my subscription to lapse. In the interim, a difficulty setting option has been added, so that any character can experience a certain amount of additional challenge. Instant Karma might never have been created if this had been available at the time.

 

Still, with the launch of F2P, I have had the opportunity to revive the character, but he will have to be an archetype. Clearly Soldier fits best, but it does alter the character's dynamic quite a bit. Soldier does have a block enhancer, a passive slotted offense, and a passive energy return power, and is forced to have superstats. Soldier also has quite a few extra attack powers that Instant Karma hadn't yet picked up.

 

So, I've had to change the rules a little in order to keep the same feel of base challenge for the character, on top of what the difficulty slider provides.

 

Instant Karma is now specced as a Soldier archetype, with the following restrictions:

- Must craft all his own gear.

- Cannot use Talents or Advantages.

 

So far he is level 22, in the Desert and dealing with Viper there. I also plan to run him through Demonflame in the near future to see how he fares there. Hopefully it'll be fun!

[FrankL]

Re: The Tale of Instant Karma

 

Bummer of a cape symbol dude!

 

I had the same thought!