Super Speedster - mechanics

[hawkfu]

Hey everybody,

 

So what tips do you suggest for writing up a super speedster? What kind of speed "tricks" can you think of?

 

Thanks,

Hawkfu

[Hermit]

If you're looking for some

 

There are some good ones in both Champions Genre book, and the Champions Universe (For Kenetik)

[Acroyear]

I've got something like 2 pages worth (in tiny font) for my speedster's VPP. Most of the attack types are low dice, autofire penetrating type things but there's a ton of stuff using vibration, airflow control/vacuum, sonic booms, just moving stuff around with speed, etc.

[Guest Worldmaker]

Lightning Reflexes: This is obvious.

 

Energy Blast – No Range: The Special effects are that the speedster hits the opponent rapidly, multiple times in a single blow.

 

Energy Blast vs. PD – Range Based on Strength: This is throwing a hyper-accelerated object.

 

Missile Deflection vs. Bullets and Shrapnel – OAF: He uses something to bat bullets out of the air.

 

The Speedster Martial Arts package

 

Overall Skill Levels: Using Overall Skill Levels, you can take levels off a time chart for the purposes of determining "how short" it takes for super-speed. Overall Levels also can be applied towards OCV and DCV as well.

 

Teleportation: 15" - ½ Endurance Cost, Only To Locations To Which The Character Can Easily Walk, Teleport Path Is Visible and 3d6 Energy Blast vs. PD - Selective Area Effect (Any 6" Area), No Range, Must Follow Path of Teleport, Linked to Teleport: This is the classic “run along and punch everybody you pass†trick.

 

Duplication – One Duplicate, Duplicate Must Remain Within A Combat Half-Move Range of the Original Character: With this, the character moves so quickly back and forth that he literally is in two places at once. This is a neat trick, but expensive.

 

Telekinesis, Area Effect: Any, Selective Effect. Needs Target Roll for each Disarm in Area of Effect -1/2. Only to Disarm in Area Character Can Reach -1/2. Must do Move-by on All Characters to Be Disarmed in AoE -1/2. No Range -1/2 (she has to go to them). Only for Disarm Maneuver -1/4: This is running around, grabbing weapons out of people’s hands.

 

Energy Blast – No Range, Nonselective Area Effect, Personal Immunity: This is quite literally hitting everywhere around the speedster. Useful for striking invisible opponents.

 

There's no particular reason why speedsters would have a higher or lower EGO in general than any other archetype, but could conceivably have mental defence or even a mental damage shield because their thought processes are even faster than the mentalists who are attacking them.

 

Entangle – Area of Effect (Radius), Must Use Objects of Opportunity (Rope, Chains, and so on)

 

Telekinesis – Can Only Push Targets Away From Character, Affects the Whole Object. This is the "spinning arm tornado" trick.

 

Skill Levels with Intelligence Skills: Reflects the fact that he thinks really fast.

 

Combat Skill Levels devoted to DCV: Call it “Why yes, I can dodge bullets…â€

 

Clairsentience: Move around so fast, it's like seeing in two or three places at the same time! (use all senses, not through locked rooms, limited range)

 

Desolidification: Move so fast you just can't be hit. Vibrate your body (ala the Flash) so that your molecules will vibrate and become intangible. (this one is stretching it, but it IS from DC comic books)

 

Flash: Dust, placing a blindfold on someone, putting a bag on thier head, pulling their shirt over their head, many more..

 

Flight: This is the best way to by truly super running. with running, you can't go up buildings (without clinging), Run across water, move across flying shards of glass on an

exploding building (the flash again...i loved this one) and all those other cool tricks. Of course running doesn't have a turn mode, so you could buy both if you wanted.

 

Gliding: When you have that much momentum, it would be nice to slow yourself down. Perhaps your speedster has reduced masss which helps explain their speed. This would allow gliding easily.

 

Images: Make after images of yourself across the room. Basically keep moving back and forth so fast, that it looks like theres two of you, or a trail of you.

 

Mind Link: Getting to the really ridiculous, running to almost anywhere in the world someone is, to relay messages only. Would take some explaining for why you can't do more than relay messages. Maybe Clairsentience + Images would be better.

 

Regeneration: "Good thing my super metabolism heals at such an extraordinairy rate"

 

Superleap: Another movement power, this can work fine. egs that can run that fast can surely jump.

 

Swimming: Movement powers rule!

 

Teleportation: Second only to flight in simulating amazing movement. Just like Invisibility, basically moving so fast no one saw you move. (No floating locations, not through locked rooms) "Damn, how'd he get out here, we left him in there"

 

Transform: Theres always uses for transform. As others mentioned, changing someones clothes MIGHT be a transform, Transform full glass to empty glass (see telekinises), empty gas tank to full gas tank: barren wall to painted wall, dirty kitchen to clean kitchen, Tall grass to mowed lawn...etc..

[Crimson Arrow]

Worldmaker has come up with some excellent stuff. Sorry if I duplicate anything in Champions of Kinetik's sheet - I haven't got any books with me.

 

Hand to Hand Attack - just a flat out hyper speed punch. This is basically what the Flash did to Zum when he ran so fast his mass increased. You could have different levels of this - level one, just a speed of sound punch which could be done from standing, levels above that extra dice of HA, but the character must be travelling at certain velocities.

 

EB or RKA - throwing edged or pointed objects would be an RKA (suitable for a villainous speedster). This could easily be an Autofire or Area of Effect attack (the speedster blankets the area in attacks). Another version would be the sonic boom attack (referenced by Acroyear). You can build this all sorts of ways, but I'd probably do it as an explosion (you might want to consider personal immunity). A hyperspeed finger snap could have a similar effect, but maybe just a 1 hex advantage (I've just read vol. 2 of "Animal Man" and Buddy Baker does something similar by imitating the pistol shrimp). Another possibility would be some kind of friction-based attack. Perhaps a line of fire erupts behind the speedster, but it could be tricky to precisely match the hexes to how far the character moves.

 

Missile Deflection - not only batting away shrapnel, but even catching bullets or just plain dodging the attacks (which would allow Deflection vs. energy attacks).

 

Flight - to simulate creating a "cushion of air", but with the limitation that the character can only move up and down, or hover. Flight usable against others could simulate the "tornado effect", where the speedster runs round the opponent and causes him to lift into the air. Change Envirnoment or Area Effect Telekinesis could represent other "tornado" effects. All of these tornadoes might require a limitation that the character must epend a half move to represent running round the area affected.

 

Aids, Drains and Transfers - the Flash has been known to steal velocity or lend others velocity. Watch out if you have two forms of "running" e.g. one is Flight, only in contact with a surface.

 

Desolidification - as described by Worldmaker. This could be usable by or even against others. You could consider some form of NND attack based on this. An extreme example is the way the Flash vibrates Amazo's brain from his body in "The Nail".

 

Invisibility - either moving so fast he cannot be seen or vibrating so he is out of phase with people's perceptions. You will want to consider whether there is a perceptible fringe.

 

Change Environment - as with Transforms, there are lots of effects that can be simulated by using this power.