Magical Champions Universe: Eidolon Morphs

[Steve]

My current Champions campaign is entering a new phase after a timeline rewrite caused by pastward actions of the heroes, one of which was saving the life of the Archmage during one of their time jumps. His survival subtly altered the flows of magic in the world and changed the Superhuman Age when it began. The Champions Universe as written in the various sourcebooks is now altered in my campaign into one where all superpowers only come from overtly magical sources. I'm using this change to also inject some transhumanism themes into my campaign for dramatic exploration.

 

The inspiration for Eidolon Morphs and companies selling them like NuYu, Inc. came from a series of rpg.net articles that can be found here: The Body Shop.

 

A fair number of people have existed in the Superhuman Age that utilize Multiform to attain their empowered state (such as how DC's Captain Marvel operates-SHAZAM!), and an enterprising group of young mystics a few years back came up with a means to grant tailored artificial bodies to ordinary humans, bodies that have now become known as Eidolon Morphs or Eidolons. Thus was born NuYu, Inc. and its ever-growing number of competitors in an industry that is rapidly changing the world.

 

While such companies are generally unable to grant full superhuman status to their customers due to a variety of reasons, for a price starting in the high four figures, a person can acquire one (or more!) Eidolon Morphs ranging in ability from that of a Competent Normal to a Very High-Powered Hero. There are rumors that some people are able to acquire even more powerful forms for ludicrous amounts of money, but nothing has ever been proven. Even so, the least powerful commercially-available forms can still be engineered to have a few low point cost enhanced abilities such as one or more levels of Striking Appearance or certain types of Life Support.

 

In Hero terms, a basic Eidolon Morph is written up this way:

 

Eidolon Morph Type N-100:  Multiform (100 Character Points in the most expensive form), Separate Physical State (+1/2) (30 Active Points); Delayed Use (5 Minutes) (-1), Affects Body Only (-1/2), Incantations (-1/4), Time Limit (1 Day; -1/4), Extra Time (Delayed Phase, -1/4), Restrainable (certain drugs; -1/4). Real Cost: 8 points.

 

Activation is caused by a spoken coded phrase decided at the time of purchase and used whenever the person desires to change. The change can also be stopped by certain drugs that hinder the person from having the correct mental focus to change. The transformation only lasts for a single day and then there is a cooldown/recharge period lasting five minutes before it can be reactivated. More expensive forms can have longer durations (as long as a week). The Separate Physical State Advantage is from the APG, and it means that any damage done to the Eidolon Morph does not carry over to the normal human form and vice-versa.

[PhantomGM2602]

Sort Of Like SHAZAM or Miracle man am I right?

[Steve]

Sort Of Like SHAZAM or Miracle man am I right?

Yes, that's right.

[Durzan Malakim]

Another possible magic multi-form might be golem clones as described in David Brin's book Kiln People. Essentially the golem clones have lifespans from one-day to one-week and the original source human has the option to incorporate or discard the golem's memories. Perhaps disposal goelms are the discount option for the masses and the Eidolon avatars are for the wealthy and powerful.

[Steve]

Another possible magic multi-form might be golem clones as described in David Brin's book Kiln People. Essentially the golem clones have lifespans from one-day to one-week and the original source human has the option to incorporate or discard the golem's memories. Perhaps disposal goelms are the discount option for the masses and the Eidolon avatars are for the wealthy and powerful.

I think the ditto duplicates from this book might be better described as a type of fetch, which is also a commercially available product for purchase in my campaign world that comes with its own set of dramatic possibilities. A person could acquire or create fetch duplicates of themselves and use them for various tasks, and perhaps a form of magical telepathy could copy their experiences back to the original.

 

Since fetches are semi-permanent magical clones, the various governments of the world have been grappling with how to treat them, and they currently don't have any rights in most countries of the world. The purchase of fetches of famous or attractive people is another region where there is a lot of area to explore for dramatic possibility.