Vox

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central I really liked that run of Shadowpact! The art was nice, Zauriel fit the group nicely, and Doctor Gotham was an extremely memorable villain. I thought the whole thing was just generally handled well. Insider fact: when I was first tooling around with the hero machine, trying to come up with a look for Cagliostro, I kept ending up with something that looked like a young Doctor Gotham. Finally I just said, 'hell with it,' and went with that. It seemed to be the only appearance my brain wanted for him. ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central There are a few limitations that would be appropriate for Multipower pools. Extra Time, for example, would impose a very real restriction that you wouldn't also want on the powers themselves. ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central This is less of an extended background and more of a vignette. I originally intended to talk more about his modern-day lifestyle, but that slipped into narrative. Not quite what I was going for, but I think it goes a good ways towards filling out his personality. I'm spoiler-ing it to save space.

Re: New Original Wonder Woman Very nice. Why is the lasso combat-only? ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central This should look familiar. All I really did was reflavor a bit, and spend the two remaining points increasing his mental defense. Still, that bit of personalization helped. I gave him Arabic and Romanian instead of Japanese and Mandarin, because they fit the original Cagliostro's travels better. I think I'll retool his background a bit now that I have more time and a complete build for reference. [Edit: Not sure why the type went weird like this. Must be the transfer from Notepad.] Cagliostro the Alchemist VAL...CHA...Cost...Total...Roll......Notes 13....STR.....3.....13......12-.......HTH Damage 2 1/2d6 END [1] 20....DEX....30.....20......13-.......OCV 7 DCV 7 25....CON....30.....25......14- 13....BODY....6.....13......12- 23....INT....13.....23......14-.......PER Roll 14- 20....EGO....20.....20......13-.......ECV: 7 15....PRE.....5.....15......12-.......PRE Attack: 3d6 16....COM.....3.....16......12- 8.....PD......5.....8/21..............8/21 PD (0/13 rPD) 11....ED......6....11/24..............11/24 ED (0/13 rED) 5.....SPD....20......5................Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 10....REC.....4.....10 50....END.....0.....50 35....STUN....2.....35 6.....RUN.....0.....6"................END [1] 2.....SWIM....0.....2"................END [1] 3.....LEAP....0.....2 1/2"............2 1/2" forward, 1" upward CHA Cost: 147 Cost...POWERS 56.....Essential Manipulations: Multipower, 70-point reserve, (70 Active Points); all slots Gestures (-1/4) 5u.....1) Trans-Aether Surge: Energy Blast 11d6 (vs. ED), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (69 Active Points) - END=2 5u.....2) Abjure Anima: Energy Blast 5d6 (vs. ED), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Affects Desolidified (any form of Desolidification) (+1/2), Based On EGO Combat Value (Mental Defense applies; +1) (69 Active Points); Target must have a soul (-1/4) - END=3 5u.....3) Disperse Magic: Dispel 18d6, Variable Effect: Magic (one power at a time) (+1/4) (67 Active Points) - END=7 5u.....4) Aether Walk: Teleportation 10", No Relative Velocity, Position Shift, x32 Noncombat, x8 Increased Mass (70 Active Points); Incantations (-1/4) - END=7 2u.....5) True Alchemy: Major Transform 2d6+1 (anything into anything), Improved Results Group (+1) (70 Active Points); OAF (Philosopher's Stone; -1), No Range (-1/2), 12 Charges (-1/4) 1u.....6) Elixir of Life: Healing BODY 5d6, Resurrection (70 Active Points); 1 Charge which Recovers every 1 Week (-2 1/2), OAF (Elixir; -1), Must be applied within one turn of death (-1/2), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2) 3......Eyes of the Arcanist: Detect Magic 14- (Sight Group), Discriminatory (8 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), Extra Time (Extra Segment, Only to Activate, -1/4) - END=1 12.....Applied Alchemy: Elemental Control, 50-point powers, (25 Active Points); all slots Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4), Extra Time (Extra Segment, Only to Activate, -1/4), Needs potion to activate (only) (-1/4) 12.....1) Infusion of Mettle: Force Field (10 PD/10 ED/5 Power Defense), Invisible to Sight Group (+1/2), 2 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Day each (+1/2) (50 Active Points) 13.....2) Vial of Aether: Flight 13", Position Shift, x8 Noncombat, 3 Continuing Charges lasting 1 Hour each (+1/4) (51 Active Points) .......Vestments of Cagliostro, all slots IIF (Worn under clothing; -1/4) 7......1) Protective Layer: Armor (3 PD/3 ED) (9 Active Points) 8......2) Defensive Magics: +2 with DCV (10 Active Points) 3......Scholar's Focus: Mental Defense (7 points total) POWERS Cost: 135 Cost...SKILLS 10.....+1 Overall 6......Penalty Skill Levels: +2 vs. Range Modifier with All Attacks 3......Power: Alchemy (INT-based) 14- 3......Analyze: Magic 14- 3......Conversation 12- 3......Cryptography 14- 3......Deduction 14- 3......High Society 12- 3......Persuasion 12- 3......Linguist 1......1) Language: German (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points) 3......2) Language: Italian (idiomatic) (4 Active Points) 1......3) Language: Romanian (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points) 3......4) Language: Latin (idiomatic) (4 Active Points) 1......5) Language: Arabic (fluent conversation) (2 Active Points) 3......6) Language: Sanskrit (idiomatic) (4 Active Points) 3......Scholar 2......1) KS: Alchemy (INT-based) (3 Active Points) 14- 2......2) KS: Ancient History (INT-based) (3 Active Points) 14- 2......3) KS: Occult (INT-based) (3 Active Points) 14- SKILLS Cost: 61 Cost...TALENTS 5......Eidetic Memory TALENTS Cost: 5 Value..DISADVANTAGES 5......Dependence: Potions of Puissance - Weakness (Common, 6 Hours) [Notes: For every time increment without a potion: Drops STR, DEX, CON, and BODY by 3 points, to a minimum of 8. Drops PD and ED by 3 points, to a minimum of 3. Drops END and STUN by 6 points, to a minimum of 20. Drops SPD by 1 point, to a minimum of 2.] 15.....Social Limitation: Secret Identity Frequently (11-), Major 10.....Social Limitation: Oaths to the Spirits (Occasionally, Major) 15.....Dependent NPC: Layla, a student infatuated with her professor 8- (Normal; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID) 5......Distinctive Features: Smells of incense (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15.....Hunted: The Third Eye 8- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish) 15.....Hunted: Mythos 8- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish) 10.....Hunted: Mystery Supervillain 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 10.....Hunted: Mystery Supervillain 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 20.....Psychological Limitation: Oath of Life - will never kill (Common, Total) 15.....Psychological Limitation: Oath of the Lamb - will protect any innocent being that asks for his aid (Common, Strong) 15.....Psychological Limitation: Bound By Oaths - will be true to any oath he swears (Uncommon, Total) DISADVANTAGES Points: 150 Base Pts: 200 Exp Required: 0 Total Exp Available: 0 Exp Unspent: 0 Total Character Cost: 350

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central On the whole I think I prefer to use your version as a basis rather than my last attempt. As I said, I like how it emphasizes the alchemical background of the character. I think I'll alter a few of the languages (not sure Japanese really fits, but Romanian would be appropriate), the names of the powers, and probably add a sight flash AoE to the multipower. Bright explosions are pretty standard fare for an alchemist, I think. ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central That...gives me a lot to think about. I'm not even sure where to begin. I do like that it emphasizes the alchemical background of the character, but on the other hand I have had absolutely nothing to do with his creation. I don't know how I feel about that. I mean, I love the character, I just don't feel any particular ownership of him anymore. If that makes any sense. ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central I'm not much for metagaming, but I concede that you have a practical point. I like limitations and weaknesses in a character, however. They provide a great deal of interest. I won't be offended if and when Cagliostro's focus becomes a problem. That's why I included it in the first place. It's no different from Iron Man's armor or Thor's hammer. Some of the best stories are about how they deal with being depowered. I should probably give him some sort of way to escape Entangling effects, though. Would an NND Killing Attack that only affects objects work fairly well for that purpose? ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central Alright, how does this look. I didn't like the Elemental Control for thematic reasons, so I broke it apart and made the focus somewhat less accessible (and hopefully less of a liability, but every hero has a weakness). Even superhero mages have to do something with their hands (Fate and Strange are both famous for throwing up the horns), so I added gestures onto the multipower, where I think it fits perfectly. A few more options onto the multipower round out the deal. Cagliostro Characteristics: 136 10 STR 0 20 DEX 30 20 CON 20 10 BODY 0 23 INT 13 23 EGO 26 20 PRE 10 20 COM 5 5 PD 3 5 ED 1 4 SPD 10 10 REC 8 40 END 0 35 STUN 10 6" RUN 0 2" SWIM 0 2" LEAP 0 Powers: 153 20 Soul of Cagliostro: Endurance Reserve (100 END, 10 REC) (20 Active Points) 5 Scholar's Discipline: Mental Defense (10 points total) 10 Mystic's Immunity: Power Defense (10 points) 22 Charm of Protection: Force Field (20 PD/20 ED), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (50 Active Points); IIF Philosopher's Stone (Extremely Difficult to obtain new Focus -1¼). Total Cost: 22 9 Levitation: Flight 10" (20 Active Points); IIF Philosopher's Stone (Extremely Difficult to obtain new Focus -1¼). Total Cost: 9 48 Occult Magic: Multipower, 60-point reserve; Gestures (Either Hand, -¼) 5u 1) Arcane Surge: Energy Blast 12d6 (60 Active Points); Gestures (Either Hand, -¼) 5u 2) Negate Magic: Dispel Magic 20d6 (60 Active Points); Gestures (Either Hand, -¼) 2u 3) Spirit Walk I: Teleportation 10" (20 Active Points); Gestures (Either Hand, -¼) 4u 4) Spirit Walk II: Teleportation 5", x4 Increased Mass, Safe Blind Teleport (+1/4), MegaScale (1" = 100 km; +3/4), Can Be Scaled Down 1" = 1km (+1/4) (45 Active Points); Gestures (Either Hand, -¼) 5u 5) True Alchemy: Major Transform 2d6 (Anything to Anything, Dispelling the Magic or Another Application of Power), Improved Results Group (+1) (60 Active Points); Gestures (Either Hand, -¼) 4u 6) Psychic Blast: Ego Attack 6d6 (60 Active Points); Gestures (Either Hand, -¼), Visible (-¼). Total cost: 40 points. 4u 7) Reformation: Healing 5d6, Can Heal Limbs +5 (55 Active Points) Gestures (Either Hand, -¼). Total Cost: 44 10 Spell of Return: Teleportation: Floating Fixed Location (2 Locations) Skills: 59 Magic 15 (3) Analyze 15 (3 pts) Conversation 13 (3) Deduction 15 (3) Cryptography 15 (3) High Society 13 (3) Knowledge (ancient history) 15 (2) Knowledge (mystical) 20 (12) Language (Sanskrit) (4) Persuasion 13 (3) Talents: 5 points Eidetic Memory (5) Disadvantages: 150 Layla: DNPCs 11-, Normal (+5), Unaware (+5), a smart but naive student of dead languages, slightly enamored of her professor; 15 Points Smells Strongly of Incense: Distinctive Feature, Not Concealable; 15 Character Points Illuminati: Hunted 11-, More Powerful, NCI; 25 Character Points Protector of Life: Compelled to protect all living beings, human or other. (Common, Total): 20 points True to His Word: Bound by magical pact never to break confidence. (Common, Total): 20 points Succor the Innocent: Regardless of his circumstances, Cagliostro must provide aid to any innocent who asks for it. (Very Uncommon, Strong): 20 points Proud: Overconfidence (Very Common, Moderate): 15 points Secret Identity: 20 points

Re: Ultimate Initiative Has Mordo made an appearance in the Ultimate universe? He and Doom would make a pretty potent team, neither one knowing who really has the upper hand. Are you thinking of having Doom modify existing superhumans (ala 616 Apocalypse)? ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central Wow, thanks Checkmate. Providing a line by line explanation was really helpful. It would seem that many of my expectations are unrealistic. I'm going to try again, taking your advice into account. ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central Thanks for the feedback! Also good general advice when it comes to the HERO system, I suspect. Lessons learned. Here's my second go 'round of both the stats and the background. I've redesigned his magic around two types: inherent and requiring the cloak. The inherent magic is Cagliostro's own, while the focus magic is wrapped up in a multipower that requires the Cloak of Merlin. I gave him some basic superhero sorcerer powers (teleportation, energy blast, levitation), and threw in some Transformation for good measure. It's Major and To Anything, but is extremely weak, meaning that he's need a lot of accumulate Phases to change anything. I also interspersed Gestures and Incantations less liberally. Some require neither, some require one or the other, and only one requires both. His stats I've completely reworked with your advice in mind. He's a good deal faster and sturdier than before. The background I edited heavily, altering the relationship between the two halves of his soul. The modern man is now a virtuous, open-minded influence on the craggy, ambitious alchemist. I look forward to another bout of advice and revision. ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central Aha! It would seem that my little problem got fixed. The posts that I attempted earlier all seem to have appeared at the appropriate places over the last several pages of the thread. Here is the last and most relevant of them. I'm looking forward to getting some feedback. ~Gabriel

Re: Ultimate Initiative I'm interested, although I too am a bit behind on the Ultimates. I moved away from my favorite comic shop about a year ago and haven't had time to catch up since. That is to say, I'd love to run a character but am not sure how much use I'll be in world-building. ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central Alright, I just tried a short post with attachments instead of a long one with the stat and background. And, of course, the forum spam blocker ate that too. I have no idea how to get around it. I feel completely handicapped by this thing. ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central I've been trying! The forums have eaten every other post, and since I'm not sure what exactly is causing that to happen, I can't do much to prevent it. I'm going to try attaching the character information rather than posting it outright. Perhaps it's the length of my posts that the spam blocker is objecting to. What I have so far does involve a Variable Power Pool, but I don't think I'm well-versed enough to come up with a viable alternative on my own. My own solution, even before learning of your reservations, was to restrict the VPP with limitations on use and focus. Let me know what you think.

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central I don't understand. I tried to post another, updated, version of Cagliostro, and that one got eaten by the spam-blocker too. I'm cursed. ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central The post that got eaten by the forum spam blocker () is now outdated anyway, since I've done a bit of revising. If it does show up here some day, I suppose I'll just delete it. Cagliostro Every kind of power requires a sacrifice. What did Alessandro di Cagliostro pay for his? Why is there a one year gap in centuries worth of perfect memories? Living as a professor of Sanskrit, Alessandro Pizzatti leads a simple life. Other than a small number of graduate students that depend on him to edit their translations and approve their theses, he sees almost no-one, choosing to spend his time among the underground stacks of the university's libraries. Within the oldest books in the collection, he sees something that nobody else does. That no other translator could. Magic. It sings out to him across the silent rows of books, from across the room, down the halls of the university and across the city to his apartment. Power in the books, that could be his. But power has a price. Unlike his ancestor, Johann Faustus, Cagliostro avoided the power that was treacherous and dark. The price, he knew, was too high. But even the higher powers demand something in exchange for their gifts. For every piece of the great puzzle, he enters a contract. With every spell comes a burden. For the power to protect himself, he must pledge to protect others. To extend his life, he has sworn never to take another's. That is the nature of magic. Content as he is to stay hold up with his books, beholden to no-one, Alessandro Pizzatti might ignore the pain of the innocent, might keep his power only for himself. But bound by the covenants of his magic, Cagliostro must heed the call of the spirits when they come to collect their due! Characteristics: 110 STR 10 DEX 10 CON 15 (10 pts) BODY 15 (10 pts) INT 30 (20 pts) EGO 30 (40 pts) PRE 20 (10 pts) COM 30 (10 pts) PD 2 ED 2 SPD 2 REC 10 (10 pts) END 30 STUN 30 Powers: 197 Cloak of Merlin: Endurance Reserve (200 END, 5 REC)(25 Active Points); IAF (Extremely Difficult to Obtain New Focus, -1½), Limited Recovery (Ritual, -2). Total Cost: 6 Levitation: Flight 10" (10 Active Points); Reduced Endurance (0 END, +½). Total Cost: 15 Charm of Protection: Force Field (20 PD/20 ED), Protects Carried Items (+10), Half END cost (+¼)(63 Active Points); Gestures (Both Hands, -½), Incantations (-¼). Total Cost: 36 Intervention of Destiny: Luck 4d6; Total Cost: 20 Scholar's Discipline: Mental Defense (10 points plus Ego/5); Total Cost: 10 points Arcane Surge: Energy Blast 10d6, BOECV (Target Chooses Defenses, Range Applies +½) (75 Active Points); Activation 14- (-½), Gestures (Both Hands, -½), Incantations (-¼). Total Cost: 33 Sorcery: VPP 50 points (25 Control), Powers Can Be Changed As A Half-Phase Action (+½), BOECV (Target Chooses Defenses, Range Applies +½)(100 Active Points); IAF (Extremely Difficult to Obtain New Focus, -1½), Gestures (Both Hands, -½), Incantations (-¼). Total Cost: 81 Skills: 41 Magic 15 (3) Analyze 15 (3 pts) Conversation 13 (3) Cryptography 15 (3) High Society 13 (3) Knowledge (history) 15 (2) Knowledge (mystical) 20 (12) Language (Sanskrit) 15 (4) Talents: 5 points Eidetic Memory (5) Disadvantages: 150 Graduate Students: DNPCs 11-, Normal (+5), Unaware (+5), 8 smart but useless students of dead languages; 40 Character Points Smells Strongly of Incense: Distinctive Feature, Not Concealable; 15 Character Points Illuminati: Hunted 11-, More Powerful, NCI; 25 Character Points Protector of Life: Compelled to protect all living beings, human or other. (Common, Total): 20 points True to His Word: Bound by magical pact never to break confidence. (Common, Total): 20 points Proud: Overconfidence (Very Common, Moderate): 15 points Secret Identity: 15 points

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central Apparently my post required Mod approval... What exactly determines whether a post goes through right away? ~Gabriel

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central Well, I have image, fluff, and crunch (and in that order). I really hope I haven't screwed up the details too badly. If I made any gross errors, remember that this is my first time and go easy on me. Background: Also spoilered the stats to save space:

Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central If you're still accepting interest, I'd like to apply. I'm in the process of learning to use HERO 5th Edition, but I'm a quick study, and an old hand at tabletop and PbP gaming in general. My character, who's been knocking around in my head since I first looked at the rulebooks, is Cagliostro the Alchemist. He's either an amnesiac with unusual powers or the true Count di Cagliostro, master occultist of the 18th century. He spends nearly all of his time translating ancient languages as a university research professor, going by the name of Alessandro Pizzetti and maintaining a low profile. In truth, he uses his access to the university's library to continue his research into the arcane. Owing to the nature of the character, most of his psychological limitations are going to be supernatural proscriptions, obligations that he's gradually assumed in exchange for power. With every bit of arcane knowledge that he gains, he assumes a little more responsibility. I like the idea of a hero with slightly more complicated reasons for doing what he does than the typical revenge story. He's a well-meaning, amicable fellow, but without the various Powers he's made deals with over the years nagging him to take a greater interest in the world, he'd probably never get involved. Over time, of course, he'll start to see the kind of change somebody in his position can cause. I'll probably make a lot of mistakes with the crunch side of things, so even if I'm not accepted the critical process will likely be good for me. ~Gabriel