My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

To the Entangling Blast, consider a damaging slot with Uncontrolled and Constant in your Multipower, plus a Linked Entangle outside the Multipower.

[gojira]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

You can link powers in a framework to powers in the same framework _IF_ both powers are in the same slot. I don't have my book in front of me to cite page #'s though.

 

 

Ahhhh, OK, I'll look that up then. Thanks for the pointer.

[PamelaIsley]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

I think Bluebird is largely done. The changes are all reflected on the last post of her. I'm pretty satisfied with her. A review of the combat rules suggests she might trend towards glass cannon, but that fits with my conception anyway.

 

Thanks for all the help everyone. I might do a second character shortly, but if I ever get to use Bluebird (seems unlikely), I'll certainly post about it.

[Panpiper]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

I think Bluebird is largely done. The changes are all reflected on the last post of her. I'm pretty satisfied with her. A review of the combat rules suggests she might trend towards glass cannon' date=' but that fits with my conception anyway.[/quote']

She is not a glass cannon. A glass cannon would describe a character that has an unusually powerful attack and relatively low defenses. That combination invites attack and usually cannot handle being attacked due to the low defenses. Your character on the other hand has a PD/ED of 28 (which is actually a rather high defense), at least until the the protection has ablated somewhat. The first few attacks that actually hit Bluebird however will very likely be subject to the full defense. A standard attack is 12 dice of damage, averaging 42 stun. Subtract 28 defense from that and the 14 that are left will not stun her. Of course these are average rolls, and if she gets hit several times, her defense will go down due to the ablation of her ice defenses. But she can take a few hits, unlike a 'glass cannon'. (That said, one of the first things I would do with experience is boost her Con a bit.)

 

Also, her attacks are well within the norm, she does not have an unusually powerful attack that would make her a target, unlike the classic 'glass cannon'. What she does have is flexibility, so she can tailor her strategy for the situation. That flexibility makes her strong. Plus, her base OCV and DCV is quite decent, meaning even if she does get targeted, there is a good chance the attack will miss her. Especially if you stick her overall level on defense.

[PamelaIsley]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

I stand corrected then.

[Greywind]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

Sitting is more comfortable.

 

Just sayin'...

[Matt Holck]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

Yes, but I wanted to make it abundantly clear that it amounts to the same thing. Pamelaisley had spent 'more' than 12 points buying up skill rolls individually. I wanted for her to understand that she could get the same effect by picking up an overall skill level which was a far more useful thing than buying up each skill, and ultimately gets you the same skill rolls.

 

unless two skills are being used simultaneously

[Lucius]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

unless two skills are being used simultaneously

 

an important point, and often overlooked.

 

Sometimes you do want to Climb Stealthily or Mimic a person and Act like them at the same time, etc.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Weapon Familiarity: Palindromedary Mounted Weapons

[PamelaIsley]

Bluebird, Final

 

Bluebird

Total: 400

 

STR 13

DEX 20

CON 18

INT 18

EGO 14

PRE 20

 

OCV 9

DCV 9

OMCV 3

DMCV 3

 

SPD 6

 

PD 8

ED 8

 

REC 20

END 80

 

BODY 10

STUN 40 Total Cost: 203

 

Skills & Talents

Overall Skill Level +1 (12)

Acrobatics 13 (3)

Deduction 13 (5)

Inventor 13 (5)

Language (French, Fluent) (2)

Scientist (3)

SS: Biology 15 (4)

SS: Biochemistry 14 (3)

SS: Chemistry 14 (3)

High Society 13 (3)

Stealth 13 (3)

Eidetic Memory (5)

Striking Appearance (Attractive, 2d6) (6)

Environmental Movement, Ice (2)

 

Total Cost: 59

 

Powers

Ice Multipowers (75 points reserve, Unified -1/4, Gestures -1/4); 50

Ice Blast (Blast 12d6, Half End, +1/4); 5f

Ice Bonds (Entangle, 7d6, 7 PD / 7 ED, Vulnerable to Fire and Heat, -1); 3f

Ice Cone (Blast 10d6, Cone +1/2, No Range -1/2); 4f

Ice Blast II (Blast 10d6, End 0, +1/2); 5f

Ice Blast III (Blast 10d6, Autofire 5 shots, +1/2); 5f

Killing Ice Blast (RKA 4d6, ED); 4f

Ice Sheet (Change Environment, -6 Dex for Surface Movement, Radius 32 M, +1, Half End, +1/4); 3f

Ice Wall (Barrier, 10m long, 4m high, 1/2m thick, 15 Body, 10 PD / 10 ED, Configurable +1/4, Ablative -1/2, Vulnerable to Fire and Heat, -1); 2f

Ice Shield (Resistant Protection, 10 PD / 10 ED, Costs End -1/2, Unified, -1/4) PLUS (Resistant Protection, 10 PD / 10 ED, Costs End -1/2, Ablative -1/2, Unified -1/4); 30

Flight (23M); 23

Life Support (Immunity to Intense Cold, Longevity:2); 4

 

Total Cost: 138

 

Matching Complications

 

Secret Identity (April Isley, Frequent, Major) 15 points

Vulnerability (Fire, 1.5 Body Damage, Common) 10 points

Rivalry (Fellow Grad Student for grants) 5 points

Psychological Limitation (Overconfidence, Very Common, Moderate) 15 points

Distinctive Feature (Mutant, Not Concealable, Always Noticed, Only Detectable with Unusual Sense) 10 points

Hunted (Viper, More Powerful, NCI, Imprison/Kill) 20 points

 

Total: 75 points

 

Background: The sole daughter of a wealthy couple from New England, April Isley was a precocious child that spent her summers in France and her winters in Aspen. Treated to the best of everything and blessed with extraordinary good looks as she matured, April graduated with honors from Millennium City University. She became a research assistant in the school’s biology program and worked with the brilliant, but unstable Dr. Maxima de Winter.

De Winter was convinced that she could unlock the secrets of immortality by slowing down a person’s metabolism. Her research was condemned by her peers and even scoffed at by her skeptical assistant. As a result, de Winter ultimately decided to test her experimental procedure on April.

The injections de Winter gave April either mutated the young woman or awakened a latent mutation, because they certainly changed Isley into something new. April began to shoot streams of ice when she awoke while de Winter was conducting tests. This complication frightened de Winter, who fled, taking all of her notes with her and destroying most evidence of the procedure. April thought about going to the authorities, but decided to conceal the results. She didn’t want to be seen as a “freak” by her peers and scientists.

Eventually April realized that the transformation might be a blessing. The more she learned about her powers, the more impressed she became. Not only could she probably make an entire scientific career out of studying her own body, she realized she might be one of the most powerful superhumans in the city. As a means of testing her powers, she designed a costume and began to call herself Bluebird. Her first forays into crimefighting involved simply thwarting street thugs and the occasional robbery, but her increasing confidence led to her challenging the schemes of a local VIPER nest.

Bluebird finds herself at a crossroads. Very protective of her secret identity, she is wary of working too closely with other superheroes, but she finds herself having to admit that might be necessary to further explore the bounds of her powers safely.

 

Personality: Prior to her transformation, Bluebird was a fairly vain, confident, and cold person, capable of being charming, but usually not bothering to make the effort. If anything, the manifestation of her powers has only made her a bit icier. Although her own ideas about personal conduct would probably preclude her from ever being a supervillainess, April lacks the self-sacrificing personality that characterizes many heroes. Although not a leader, she is not a particularly effective follower and her cooperation with other heroes has not been very successful. April has always been hyper-competitive and refuses to believe that she is second best in anything. This makes her a somewhat pouty loser on the few occasions she is beaten, and it also makes her more than a little cutthroat about everything from school performance, to research grants, or even just games of chess or cards. Bluebird likes to believe that she will do whatever it takes to stop a villain or crime, but it remains to be seen whether this would ever rise to using lethal force. Her overconfidence and her desire to always appear to be in the right probably would make her think very seriously before crossing over into outright vigilantism.

 

Powers: Bluebird depends primarily on her ability to project blasts of ice. She is capable of creating ice blasts than can be lethal, freeze a target in place, or affect a wide, cone-shaped area. She also has the ability to create an ice shield for additional protection, freeze the ground to create a slippery sheet of ice, and erect ice barriers. Bluebird’s low body temperature grants her immunity to intense cold and her slowed metabolism has granted her a degree of longevity, something she has only been able to confirm in theory. Also, for reasons she hasn’t quite been able to explain, the experiment that mutated Bluebird also granted her the ability to fly. She has yet to discover any limits on this ability, but it ultimately inspired her bird-themed motif.

 

Appearance: April Isley is an attractive young woman in her early 20s with an eye-catching figure, bright blue eyes, and very light blonde hair that she usually wears pulled back in a ponytail. Since the manifestation of her powers, her skin tone remains pale and very cold to the touch year round. As Bluebird, April wears a light blue costume that appears as a long sleeved minidress with a white belt. The outfit is accented by a white scalloped cape, white heeled boots, and long white gloves. Her mask is blue, with white panes that do not reveal her eyes. While Bluebird, April also uses her powers to make her hair appear white.

[Dreamstreamer]

Re: Bluebird, Final

 

Interesting character! Kind of a cross between Spiderman and Iceman, with potential for a serious mean streak. I like the character idea, but had a few questions that weren't answered in the write up.

 

Who is the fellow student/rival? An interesting twist could be that this rival falls for the superpowered Bluebird, while hating Ms. Isley. Maybe the rival was rescued once by Bluebird? That might be an interesting juggling act!

 

Shouldn't de Winter be a complication? She might put two and two together and figure out Bluebird's secret identity. Speaking of de Winter, why would Ms. Isley have agreed to be a guinea pig in the first place? Was she kidnapped?

 

Why the name Bluebird? I understand the flight and the blue costume, but not how it correlates to the ice powers. When I hear that name, I think of Girl Scout cookies. (Mmm, Thin Mints!) While reading the description, I couldn't help but hear Batmanuel calling Captain Liberty a "Right-wing Ice Queen". Of course, that was right before passionately kissing her!

 

Great job overall. I can't wait to see what your next character will be like!

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Bluebird, Final

 

Very minor, and purely mechsanical, but you have spent 5 points increasing three of your INT skills. For the same 5 points, you could have +5 INT and enhance all your INT skill rolls, or you could buy a skill level with INT skills for less than 5 points and add one to any one INT skill at a time.

 

You should also note that a Grab or Entangle will leave the character helpless (breaking out with 13 STR is unlikely, and your other attack powers all require Gestures).

[Greywind]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

Don't get caught?

[PamelaIsley]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

Answers to some random thoughts since my last character post.

 

1. I like the gestures limitation. I can't imagine Killer Frost (DC character) being able to shoot ice if you tied up her arms. Where would it come from? I understand that it is a dangerous weak point.

 

2. There is a much longer Bluebird backstory, but I didn't think people would read it, so I shortened it to be something closer to what you would see in a Champions book. De Winter drugged Isley and conducted the experiments without April's consent. De Winter is actually the nemesis character for my Champions Online version of Bluebird, but I didn't feel including her as a hunted or a complication would be fair to a GM. If I were GM'ing or had given up my hopes of ever using Bluebird (and I'm pretty close to doing that anyway), I would changed the complications slightly and create Maxima de Winter as a different type of cold controller to be Bluebird's nemesis.

 

3. Bluebird's look is inspired by Dove (DC comics). The bird motif reflects the homage. I also just like the name. A long time ago, Bluebird was the name of a costumed avenger I created in another rule system (even pre-M&M). I wanted to keep the general look with tweaks, but switch to being more of a superhuman than a heroic character. I also love cold-themed powers, but only a few cold-themed names appeal to me. Icebird is an ok name, and is an alternative I considered.

 

4. I love the idea of weaving the grad student rivalry into something bigger. As it is, I just wanted it to illustrate the consequences of how unpleasant April can be in her day-to-day interactions with people who she sees as competitors.

[Greywind]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

Back story, if it is good, will be read. On the other hand, we won't know if it is good until we read it...

[Ice9]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

Another minor point, but if Gestures are prevented by Grab or Entangle, why are they less of a limitation than Restrainable? In fact, wouldn't Restrainable cover gestures? The point impact on this character wouldn't be huge, but if you're getting the downsides of Restrainable you may as well get the full limitation value.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

Having one hand free still allows use of one handed gestures. Two handed gestures is -1/2, the same as restrainable.

[PamelaIsley]

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird

 

Thanks.

 

I moved my build to another thread to discuss with others I might make.

 

Again, I really appreciated all the help.