Rant and Rave

[phoenix240]

A player recently submitted a character background that introduced a villain duo into the game. They are named "Rant and Rave", a pair able to take a small team of moderately experienced heroes and if not defeat them, at least give them a good run for their money. The background was pretty vague about their powers (aside from being fairly destructive) and the player said she'd like to be surprised when/if they show up in game.

 

But I seem to be drawing a blank on what their two might be like. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

 

[Ockham's Spoon]

Since ranting and raving is a verbal exercise generally I would probably make one of them a sonic-based character. If you want to make both of them sonic types so you only have to write up one character sheet, then I would give them Absorption for sonic attacks (or maybe all physical attacks if you want them to be tougher). Then they would spend the first couple of phases of combat doing AoE attacks that would hit most of their opponents but also jack up their teammate at the same time.

 

If you want more distinct characters, you could let Rave take his (her?) name from the dance party and/or the idea of raving mad people being unstable. The powers could be still be sonic in nature, or they could be light-based or mental, but would mostly involve disorienting and/or debilitating targets. If you need to add more destructive powers to the mix, throw in lasers or telekinetic attacks in the multipower. Rave's primary function though would be to throw the heroes off balance while Rant pounded on them.

[Doc Samson]

Since ranting and raving is a verbal exercise generally I would probably make one of them a sonic-based character. If you want to make both of them sonic types so you only have to write up one character sheet' date=' then I would give them Absorption for sonic attacks (or maybe all physical attacks if you want them to be tougher). Then they would spend the first couple of phases of combat doing AoE attacks that would hit most of their opponents but also jack up their teammate at the same time. If you want more distinct characters, you could let Rave take his (her?) name from the dance party and/or the idea of raving mad people being unstable. The powers could be still be sonic in nature, or they could be light-based or mental, but would mostly involve disorienting and/or debilitating targets. If you need to add more destructive powers to the mix, throw in lasers or telekinetic attacks in the multipower. Rave's primary function though would be to throw the heroes off balance while Rant pounded on them.[/quote']

 

I think the above is a really good idea. I would make Rave a brick and have his sonic absorption feed into STR (by a small amount) and STUN. In return I would have Rave spend actions to block for Rant so that she is free to use her AoE Sonic attacks. I think it would add a small amount of strategy to their first appearance as the players (hopefully) realize things would go much smoother if they bring down Rant first. I would also give them high Teamwork scores and have them Coordinate when possible so that after the first player is Stunned, they know they are against a challenge meant for the whole team. This duo makes me think of a Skald and a Berserker fighting together on some Viking battlefield. Sounds (pun intended) like fun!

[Lord Liaden]

Since ranting and raving are both associated with extreme states of mind, another approach would be to make one or both of the characters primarily a mentalist. I would suggest Mind Control and/or Mental Illusions, perhaps Limited to only promoting chaotic or violent behavior (Mind Control), or disturbing or disorienting sights and sounds (Illusions). A high bonus to a Presence Attack could also fit with the character.

 

Giving one of the characters aggressive sonic-based powers, and the other mind-affecting powers, would make them more versatile and formidable as a team.