How Are You Tweaking Your Cloned NPCs (or PCs)?

[zornwil]

The cloning of established supers thread made me think...not just who do you clone as a rule, but more specifically, out of notable NPCs or PCs who are based, however loosely, on established characters, how did you change them, at least in those cases where you did tweak them?

 

For my current campaign, here's a few:

 

Red Amazon - very briefly, as I've mentioned her before, she was basically a Bob Burden villain for Flaming Carrot (originally the non-Politically Correct "Red Dyke"), rather stereotypical Russian commie brick/weapon villain, I made her a noble warrior, now estranged from her changed homeland (but still a rather active lesbian)

 

Punisher - former government agent turned rogue crime-fighter; he's similar in dishing out wanton damage though and being a killing machine, just not the same background; he actually hasn't come into play yet, he's just a background character for now, but he sticks in my head for some reason, so I'm sure he'll come up in some reasonably significant role sometime

 

Namor - not terribly dissimilar although a mish-mash of some of the incarnations; the only notable difference I can think of is that he's one of the character's father-in-law (it was a Mystery Disad that really stood out for the player, he liked that one quite a bit - he found out this in fact only after preparing to face Namor and die in combat, long story); notably he was briefly known as "Speedo Man" and was too distant from certain American/Western customs to recognize that was not really such an honorable way to be known

 

Spiderman - the longest-established hero of the world, dating back nearly to the very first metahuman (Superman) in the late 40s; he hasn't aged that quickly thanks to his mutation, but is slowing down and is semi-retired; a little cynical now, but not in a way that affects his heroism, he just tends to do a little kvetching now and again; he also carouses a little bit, primarily to forget; otherwise still pretty easy-going, fun guy

 

Magneto - not really different, but I would just add that he's more viewed as a terrorist among much of the "straight" public and in fact HAS been linked to terrorism so they're not unjust in it - in fact he was linked to 9/11 (again, long story) in a circuitous but real way

 

X-Men - much weaker than in the comics, they're just starting out even though the senior members are no longer teenagers; the team is Cyclops, Storm, Iceman, Beast, and Phoenix (she goes by that name even though she hasn't manifested as the comic book Phoenix, she's more like Marvel Girl, I just thought that was a stupid name), along with of course Professor X mentoring/leading; Professor X is a little different, he has a horrible naivete at times and tries to reform super-villains who clearly are just going to entrap him (yes, it's a plot device/disad - one of the characters has the disad "Alumnus of New School for the Gifted", the school he runs in our world); there are some younger people who aren't in the X-Men yet, including Wolverine who is 19 and a cocky teenager (and his background is totally different, more "normal") and the earlier in teen years Rogue; it should be noted the women of the X-Men continually refer to it as the "X-People"; also interesting, Professor X coopted the term from Magneto's recent and bold declaration of the "X-Man", as part of his manifesto of mutant independence

 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - really not that different except for some reason I made her black-haired and wearing a bit more black - most likely since she's in Detroit and grew up in a suburb of that area she's just a little more influenced by industrial/rocker fashion trends

 

 

Dr. Doom - actually Ivan Domovitch, Russian nationalist, recently became the world's first super to run a major power - Russia - and running it in a modern way (so far), but he does wear the iron suit and cape; he's known to Russians as Dr. Hope; to the West, which sees him as a mysterious and potentially terrifying figure, he's Dr. Doom

 

That's pretty much it for the current run. I have used/am using several others but they're even closer to the comics so didn't name them.

[Hermit]

Well, like others on the other thread mentioned they did, I tend to mix and match. For example, I might give a guy who has powers/abilities like Batman a personality more like Spider-Man (And oddly, you do this... you get Batman Beyond But I did it before that , I swear).

[zornwil]

Originally posted by Hermit

Well, like others on the other thread mentioned they did, I tend to mix and match. For example, I might give a guy who has powers/abilities like Batman a personality more like Spider-Man (And oddly, you do this... you get Batman Beyond But I did it before that , I swear).

 

Whoops, hope I'm not duping too much, I did peruse that thread a bit but rushed through it so may have missed the finer points.

 

(Tonight's psych lim is apparently - "must reply to all of Hermit's posts!" )

[MoonHunter]

Mirror Characters

 

This is an article I had just been tinkering with for the http://www.silven.com ezine.

 

If you are a GM you will frequently find yourself in need of quality allies and enemies for your campaign and find yourself pressed for time. Any old NPC will often not do. You want someone with a full conceptions and some history.

 

In a super heroic campaign, the additional mechanics require make "throwing together" an NPC at the last moment much, much, more difficult. There is an entire layer of mechanics beyond the conventional stats/ skill/ archetype-class bit. It can be quite daunting and one of the reasons many super heroic GMs are very rigid about their "encounters".

 

Yet the solutions presents itself from the source material: Mirror characters. The best example is X-men 137 to be exact, when we got the Imperial Guard who were mirrors of the Legion of Super Heroes. You could immediately identify which character was based on which Legionaire. Through their cameos and later appearances, we readers have known what to expect from the because of who they were based on. It is a great writers tool for readers in the know. The Squadron Supreme was a mirror of the mighty Justice League for most of its incarnations, though less so as time has gone on.

 

So you are asking yourself... "SO!?! What is he ramblling about and how is this applicable to gaming?"

 

You can mirror comic books characters and use them in your game. By using a character you know well, it saves you time and effort on filling in the blanks and you have a template for the type of powers the character should have.

 

Mirror characters come in three true variations: Reflections, Dark Reflections, and Distored.

 

Reflection characters are characters based on existing character. You change one or two thing, and you have a brand new character. The Night: An acrobat with a radar sense who is a blind judge by day and a vigilantee for justice at night, basically DareDevil. Quantum, Blond Mega-Hero from another planet, fighting for truth justice and peace... basically Superman (or the Martian Manhunter) with a different costume and different weakness. Chance, a beautiful red headed mutant probability shifter with an evil villian for a father (speedster) and brother (sonics)... the Scarlet Witch with the serial numbers filed off and stuffed in a new costume. You should see how this make things much easier. You know the characters, their powers, and their stories. You can adapt ever aspect you need for your game, and ignore the rest of their continuity. If any questions come up, think about their original´s continuity and make a decision based on it. These adaptions allow you to ignore the problems you will have if you copy the characters directly.

 

Copies are the most blatent mirror characters, you directly rip off the character and slap it in your game. The problem with copies, besides being lame most of the time, is other players arguing with you about what are the "true" stats/ skills/ level/ class/ etc AND HISTORY of each character. If your players are comic fans, you will have the old adage, "Get three comic fans dicussing comics and you will have four opinions". Copies character cause problems, where reflections allow you most of the advantages and none of the drawbacks.

 

Dark mirror characters are just that, they are darker reflections... usually turning heroes into villians (and visa versa). The hero´s conception becomes twisted so he become a villian. Blaster- political activist, master of tactics with an optical blast- Cyclops. You can adapt the entire x-team if you need villians. The BlackWidow, a female acrobat with the propotional strength of a spider, who does what ever she wants without responsability for her actions- a female spiderman. And this does work in reverse. The Punster, his sanity snaps after being dunked in chemicals to be permanently turned into a clown, and he fights crime with gadgets and a punch line, is a heroic version of the Joker. His Nemesis is obviously The Bat, a psychotic killer who kills those who offend his sense of justice. Dark mirror characters work well when you need a villian team in a pinch.

 

Distorted characters are much like the Amalgom characters, taking one or two heroes and villians and creating a mixed reflection based on both of them. Or you can take an idea and mash it into an existing character to make a new character. Imagine SuperMan as a mutant or Namor as an alien. Imagine a Flash like character that shoots arrows like Green Arrow. You see where this can be handy, but it is more time consuming as there are more decisions to be made.

 

You can do this all with non-super character and make them into supers. Imagine the characters like the ones from CSI, developing/ being given powersuits and became superheroes. Imagine if a few of the Sopranos developed powers after being exposed to toxic waste.. bidda boom.. bidda bing... super mafiosos.

 

And you can do this for fantasy and other genre characters as well. I was had pressed for a heroic pirate and crew in a fantasy game, so I pulled the Star Trek Original crew and Came up with Captain Tibereous (handsome womanizing adventurer), Vullan- Logical Half Elven Mage and first officer, Helmsman Su- An Samurai-esk adventurer from far awy, SKA-Ti- a highlander half orc as master of the sails, and The Bones, the creepy old medic. With one or two quick decisions, I had a full crew, with a deep history, in a faction of the time it would of taken for me to do it from scratch.

 

All in all, mirror characters are good tools for the busy GM.

 

MoonHunter

Sage, Gamer, Mystic, Wit

"The road less traveled is less traveled for a reason."

Now posting 1300+ RPG tips @ http://www.openroleplaying.org

Contributor http://www.silven.com

[Hermit]

Originally posted by zornwil

Whoops, hope I'm not duping too much, I did peruse that thread a bit but rushed through it so may have missed the finer points.

 

(Tonight's psych lim is apparently - "must reply to all of Hermit's posts!" )

(Let's test that theory, shall we? )

 

No worries, and I think Moonhunter has an excellent post on the variety of ways you can 'clone' characters. I do tend to Amalgam/distorted variety. Especially if I feel a particular archetype is lacking something. I once made a VERY aggressive strecher. His powers were comical, he was not. ALmost wolverine like in his roughness, though mind, it would be logan as his violent but not so lethal stage.

[lemming]

Re: How Are You Tweaking Your Cloned NPCs (or PCs)?

 

Originally posted by zornwil

For my current campaign, here's a few:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - really not that different except for some reason I made her black-haired and wearing a bit more black - most likely since she's in Detroit and grew up in a suburb of that area she's just a little more influenced by industrial/rocker fashion trends

 

Black haired!!! That does it. I'm quiting your campaign. Though I have to ask "Why?" Not like it changes much. Spectrum has been interfacing with Willow more anyway. (She's still a red head though right?)

 

In my campaign, we're all unique.

Well, I might start importing some characters, but I'm filing the serial numbers off first.

[Supreme Serpent]

I don't have people come over complete with original names and such, except sometimes as part of the past background that PC's won't interact with (ie golden age/silver age heroes that are now dead/retired).

 

I do rip off like hell though. Powers/basic conceptions are most common, sometimes tweaked origins and personalities. But it's a mish-mash - you won't see a rocky brick that acts like Ben Grimm who got his powers from a cosmic-ray rocket-ride. Might see a rocky brick that acts like Colossus who got his powers from a freak lab accident.

[Chuckg]

In the current campaign I'm in...

 

Well, we're not really 'clones', we're just 'inspired by archetype'.

 

But I'll list the differences...

 

The 'Superman' clone -- Horus-Re -- is now an immortal warrior/champion of the Turakian/Valdorian sun god, who has slept down the centuries and arisen over and over again to face great evils, and has millennia of experience and wisdom to draw upon. However, he's also grown somewhat remote from the concerns of ordinary life, and his eternal opposition to the forces of Nama have rendered him both extremely skilled at penetrating deception, and slightly obsessed with countering it.

 

IOW, we mixed in elements of both Batman and Nuada of the Silver Hand.

 

 

The 'Batman' clone -- Streethawk -- is now a wisecracking acrobatic type, in addition to being a Millennium City PD officer (assigned to a special sub-branch of the MARS unit known as 'the place we stuck the guy who developed superpowers on the job'). In addition to his detective functions, he's also a talented manga artist in his spare time, and lives happily with his fiance.

 

Mix . -- we mixed in elements of Spider-Man and Kyle Rayner, and stripped out /all/ of the obsessive and brooding elements and mailed them to Horus-Re's address. (After Green Dragon threatened his fiance recently, though, Streethawk's been getting grimmer...)

 

 

The 'Green Lantern' role -- Starguard -- got youthened to age 18, got a gender swap, got an entirely different origin, and a personality that would make Chihiro's from 'Spirited Away' (as of the end of the movie) look like her personality from the /beginning/ of the movie.

 

Mix -- Well, actually, don't start with Kyle. Start with *Jenny* (Jade), up the versatility all the way to Cosmic Power Pool, shift from green energy to white energy, and stir in elements of Belldandy.

 

 

The 'Atom' clone -- MicroMan II -- is actually the android "son"/designated successor of the CU's canonical Atom 'clone', Dr. Daniel Collins (aka 'Microman'). Only the android's player has chosen to make him a cross between the Atom... and Commander Data.

 

 

Our last player... well, he's *trying* to clone the Gray Lensman, but to be quite frank, he just ain't getting it.

[TheEmerged]

Depends partially on the mood I'm in when I build the character. What follows are a couple of examples.

 

The Neo-Champion Universe character Victory -- NO relation to the Champion Universe Victory -- is built as a Wonder Woman "parody" who is nonetheless a serious threat to the PC's. I went with the TV/Lynda Carter WW when it came to her limitations -- she's practically a senior-level course on Foci and Hero ID. I gave her a cheerleader motif -- so she has pom poms. Instead of a lasso she entangles people with loose strands of her pom poms... But I went modern/post-Crisis on power level (80 STR, 43 DEX, 9 SPD, "Combat Luck"-based DEF of 40, and her main attack is an 11d6 HA-NND).

 

I kept the Superpatriot aspect, and established a quirk that she does substantial volunteer work for verterans' groups. I added a psych limit to reflect her "Perky Cheerleader" mentality, and added CVK as a genre bit (it wouldn't be appropriate for a true conversion of WW).

 

=========================================================

 

Another conversion I made was Baethan Electrum -- intended as a one-off of Booster Gold. However, I went with BG's *original*, more diverse powerset (including the Mass Dispersal Field and Mass Absorption Field).

 

I also gave her... a power that could end up being important to the campaign, so that's all I'm saying there.

 

The "one off" aspect -- aside from the gender change -- is that BE is savvier than BG. BE is still a glory hog for example, but she's smart enough to try and act humble. She'd sell her team out for the "greater good". She has CVK at Ego, to reflect the fact that her heart isn't in it but she realizes it's an important aspect of her image.

[zornwil]

Re: Re: How Are You Tweaking Your Cloned NPCs (or PCs)?

 

Originally posted by lemming

Black haired!!! That does it. I'm quiting your campaign. Though I have to ask "Why?" Not like it changes much. Spectrum has been interfacing with Willow more anyway. (She's still a red head though right?)

 

In my campaign, we're all unique.

Well, I might start importing some characters, but I'm filing the serial numbers off first.

 

Yup, Willow's still redheaded, I tihnk I only changed Buffy to symbolize the shift from sunny California to industrial Detroit, but I really don't remember for sure.

 

[zornwil]

Originally posted by TheEmerged

(snip) ...added CVK as a genre bit (it wouldn't be appropriate for a true conversion of WW).

 

Excuse me ofr the tangent, but why is CVK not appropriate for Wonder Woman? Just wondering.

[TheEmerged]

Originally posted by zornwil

Excuse me ofr the tangent, but why is CVK not appropriate for Wonder Woman? Just wondering.

 

The modern, post-crisis Wonder Woman is a killer -- and I'm not talking about her presence or COM score In the Valhalla issue of Superman for example she kills a monster while cussing it out, and then talks calmly to Superman about why it was justified while covered in its blood. She's not on the Punisher's level but even a Moderate level of CVK would be unjustifiable IMO.

[Agent Escafarc]

Originally posted by TheEmerged

The modern, post-crisis Wonder Woman is a killer -- and I'm not talking about her presence or COM score In the Valhalla issue of Superman for example she kills a monster while cussing it out, and then talks calmly to Superman about why it was justified while covered in its blood. She's not on the Punisher's level but even a Moderate level of CVK would be unjustifiable IMO.

 

I like that character better compared with the PC/New Age speaking/vegan/we are the world: WW in the cuurent run:(

[Chuckg]

Actually, the modern WW has no problem with killing demons and mythological creatures, but shares Superman's code when it comes to killing humans.

 

Superman, however, extends his code to pretty much everything short of outright machines... hence his argument with Diana.