PamelaIsley

Re: How do you build a vampire template in 6E? This is not a common vampire drawback (I'm only familiar with it in DnD rules). Even Dracula's vampire brides in the original novel had a rebellious spirit (the blonde stands up to Dracula over Harker at one point). This also isn't really part of Anne Rice or Twilight conceptions. And yes, ghost-angel was right, my goal was to build the vampire template using the rules. As I've said a few times, I've given up.

Re: How do you build a vampire template in 6E? Strange response. "You're wrong, Hero can do a vampire transformation. What Hero can't do is a generic vampire transformation." I'm not wrong. Hero can't handle this simple mechanic without hand-waving. Transform and summon both are improperly constructed to deal with a vampire transformation, unless you substantially change what most people would consider such a transformation. If you decide that a person turned into a vampire is a completely new being, with none of their old traits, then summon can work. This is not a common vampire conception. If you decide that all of the mishmash of weaknesses that have ever been mentioned are applicable (whether in combination or not) AND a vampire condition is curable, then transform will work. At least the latter is certainly not a common (or even niche) conception of a vampire transformation. Hero IS the rule set. I shouldn't have to construct exceptions to Hero's rules in order to use Hero's rule set. If I thought it was worth it, I might bring myself to research how the bizarre transform and summon generic conditions even came about, but I've given up on Hero doing what I want it to do in this case. There simply is little else to say.

Re: How do you build a vampire template in 6E? In my mind summon is not appropriate because a vampire template must be able to be applied to any character, regardless of point value, and summon has an inherent cap. If you choose to have a vampire template replace a previous character's sheet, then you could do it that way, but that would run counter to most takes on vampires. The vampire I have in mind (and the most common depiction, I would argue), adds vampire characteristics on top of a previous character. In other words, you add powers and drawbacks; you don't replace them. Healing back from a vampire transformation is an issue. If you state "miracle" as the heal-back condition, is that really any less believable than the frog transformation heal back of "kissed by a princess"? Finding a princess in any world is going to be very, very difficult. The reality, of course, is that you don't heal back from being a vampire in most takes on the concept. Most alternatives proposed here skirt the rules, bend them, or use rule constructions that strike me as bizarre. That brings me back to the point I made before: Hero really can't do a common vampire transformation mechanically. That's a shame. This comes up in a lot of genres (fantasy, pulp, superhero) and really shouldn't be this hard to construct. Even if you use the complication-heavy religious vampire concept, you still run into the heal back problem that gives people pause. And if you try to do a more "modern" take on a vampire without all the esoteric drawbacks (like garlic, running water, religious symbols), you run into the cost issue. Also, to me, points always matter. Everything must be built according to the rules and everyone must play by the same rules. Otherwise, why use a rule set at all? I don't approve of hand waving or plot devices and any system that forces you to resort to those as a matter of course (rather than convenience) is flawed. I also don't think this idea is anathema to a point balance system. It's anathema here because of some of the strange decisions Hero makes in power construction (the transform power is simply odd for a number of reasons), but it isn't incompatible with gaming in this kind of system.

Re: How do you build a vampire template in 6E? A Twilight vampire, for example, doesn't suffer from any of the common Vampire complications like running water, religious symbols, garlic, etc. So those complications can't be used to pay for the transformation.

Re: How do you build a vampire template in 6E? This is just hand waving. You could do that with every concept.

Re: How do you build a vampire template in 6E? Making the transform power cost more by increasing the cost of having an obscure heal-back condition would only complicate making a vampire. It wouldn't help much. Transform is clearly the way to do it, but the way transform functions makes it rather hard to use. A simple concept in most horror or fantasy games (vampires can create other vampires) simply can't be modeled very well by Hero without lots of pay-fors that don't fit many non-religious vampire concepts. This happened in M&M all the time too.

Re: Pamela Isley's Character Thread Thanks!

Re: Pamela Isley's Character Thread Yes I look forward to the Crucible game. I'm a little worried about the 5ER thing, but I'm not that versed in 6E.

Re: Pamela Isley's Character Thread I have made edits to Bluebird, Flamewave, and Amethyst. Their flight speeds have been increased to be more reasonable. The only major change that resulted was Bluebird lost her autofire blast power.

Re: Pamela Isley's Character Thread Yes, I don't think coffins would come up all that often.

Re: Demo version of Champions Online available The subscribers should wake up and realize the game's population is a major concern. They should do whatever it takes to keep it going long enough to achieve its potential.

Re: How do you build a vampire template in 6E? The problem with building a Twilight vampire is they don't suffer from enough complications to pay for the transformation. The lowest gap I could come up with was about 80 points, which equates to 16 additional body (a lot). For this reason, this project shifted to the backburner. My vampire villain is completely done, but without a usable template to apply to his victims (and I think vampires would retain superpowers; in fact, in Twilight extraordinary character traits are made more powerful by the transformation, though I did not try to model this), there is little use for a vampire.

Re: Pamela Isley's Character Thread I'm going to buy off gestures if possible with each character. Updated Bluebird to reflect no gestures. Updated Amethyst to not use gestures.

Re: Pamela Isley's Character Thread I imagine most beams/blasts emanating from someone's hand and the gestures being simply the ability to point at a target and fire. If your hands are tied at your side or, even better, you are encased in something, I can't imagine a blaster being able to fire. That's just how I picture it. I've seen villains like Killer Frost tied up in the JLU cartoon before and they don't seem able to just blast away like nothing has happened. As I said, the concept in my head might not match the mechanics in play. That's something I can only learn by playing.

Re: Pamela Isley's Character Thread I'm aware of the gestures weakness. It might be crippling in play, but I do think it makes sense. I can't imagine a typical energy projector being able to shoot their blasts if they are all tied up. Those with burst abilities (like Amethyst and Flamewave) could use those. It's something I would need to play out to see if mechanics should trump concept a little. Based on my M&M experience, I think it would be hard to play a character with just one blast as their only power. That's why I went with the multipower. Bluebird and Amethyst might be relatively new heroes, but they are built with the 400 point base. I think Teen heroes, built on a smaller base, might be more indicative of heroines that have only 1-2 abilities. But you do make a really good point.

Flamewave Flamewave Total: 400 STR 15, 12-, 3d6, 200 DEX 18, 13- CON 18, 13- INT 13, 12- EGO 18, 13- PRE 18, 13-, 4d6 OCV 9 DCV 9 OMCV 3 DMCV 3 SPD 6 PD 8 ED 8 REC 15 END 80 BODY 10 STUN 40 Total Cost: 192 Skills & Talents Charm 14- (5) Conversation 13- (3) Criminology 12- (3) High Society 13- (3) Persuasion 13- (3) Stealth 13- (3) PS: Fire Multipower 13- (3) Striking Appearance (Attractive, 1d6) (3) Total Cost: 26 Powers Life Support (Immunity to Intense Heat); 2 Fire Immunity (Desolidification 40, Only to Protect Against Fire -0, Unified -1/4); 32 Fire Multipower (75 reserve points, Unified -1/4); 60 Fire Blast (Blast 12d6, ½ End +1/4); 7f Fire Burst (Blast 10d6, 8M Radius +1/2, No Range -1/2); 5f Blinding Spark (Flash 10d6, 0 End +1/2); 7f Intense Fire Blast (RKA 4d6, ½ End +1/4); 7f Fire Field (Resistant Protection 16 PD / 16 ED, Unified -1/4); 38 Fire Flight (30M, Unified -1/4); 24 Total Cost: 182 Matching Complications Psychological Limitation (Reckless, Common, Strong) (15) Psychological Limitation (Flighty, Common, Moderate) (10) Social Limitation (Secret Identity, Seraphine Byrne, Frequently, Major) (15) Distinctive Feature (Mutant, Not Concealable, Always Noticed, Only Detectable with Unusual Sense) (10) Vulnerability (Water Attacks, 1.5x Body Damage, Common) (10) Hunted (Holocaust, More Powerful, Infrequently, Harshly Punish) (15) Total: 75 points Background: Seraphine Byrne had always been the “it girl.” Her outgoing personality put her squarely in the most popular clique in high school. She was a cheerleader, prom queen during her junior year, and, through her parents connections, a fixture at country club and charity events. True, she wasn’t the best student, but did that really matter? All that changed during Seraphine’s graduation. A plot by Holocaust to gain revenge on the Florida-based hero Microwave led to a battle at the school’s graduation, when minions of the supervillain attempted to kidnap Microwave’s daughter. The battle resulted in the death of the hero, and the subsequent explosion of his body killed his daughter, one henchman, and engulfed Seraphine. Surprisingly, Seraphine was uninjured and she felt wave of power in her body. She found she could convert this new energy into fire, and used this ability to drive off the remaining super-powered thug. Afterwards, she collapsed and the authorities assumed Microwave’s sacrifice had saved most of the hostages. Seraphine did not speak up, out of a fear of what happened and also the belief that it might have been simply a fantasy born out of shock. But over the next few weeks, Seraphine found that she did, in fact, have superpowers. They were all flame-based and she, incorrectly, believed that she had absorbed some of Microwave’s power when he was destroyed. She now faced the question of what to do with her abilities. Should she hide them and go back to a normal life or should she use them to stop people like the criminals that had ruined her graduation, killing a friend and the hero that tried to save everyone? It wasn’t a choice she hesitated over. Seraphine craved excitement and loved feeling special, and superpowers now gave her the chance to experience both on a much larger scale than in her previous life. Byrne created a costume and the identity of Flamewave when she moved away to attend college in Atlanta. At first she had no intention of really focusing on her classes, but she found she really had no skill at investigating crimes. Flying around blasting street thugs with fire was fun, but it wasn’t really a challenge. She decided to focus on her studies, taking as many criminology classes as she could. Flamewave reasoned that if she could teach herself to be an investigator, she could figure out what happened at her graduation and avenge Microwave’s death. Though she learned some investigative techniques and basic criminology, studying bored her. And she ultimately learned more about the attack on her school through luck than anything else. While trying to stop a daring heist of police equipment in the heart of Atlanta, Flamewave encountered the same hireling of Holocaust that survived the battle with Microwave. After some persuasion, involving both her personal charm and, then, her flame blasts, Flamewave learned that Holocaust was behind the attack. Determined to bring the fiend to justice, Seraphine dropped out of school entirely and tracked him to Millennium City. There she found a job as a receptionist and began to operate as Flamewave, hoping to lure Holocaust out or to happen on to more clues about his organization. So far she hasn’t been so successful, though she has had some run-ins with local heroes who don’t appreciate her particular approach to crimefighting. Personality: Even prior to her transformation, Seraphine’s personality was accurately described as fiery. Charming, outgoing, and always eager to try new things, she aspired to be the center of attention wherever she was. As Flamewave, these traits are magnified to the extreme, as the heroine loves to grandstand in front of bystanders, television cameras, and, especially, other heroes. Her love of attention makes her very reckless, and Flamewave never admits to the possibility that she might be overmatched by either a situation or a criminal. Her heroic operations are rarely planned, and she depends mostly on the same good fortune that has blessed her most of her life to guide her crimefighting. Flamewave is also very fickle and her interests change from day to day. Her favorite music shifts rapidly. She rarely finishes reading a book before she moves on to an entirely different genre. One day she seems to aspire to be a great detective, only to abandon any investigations she undertakes to simply fly around the city and be seen. This flightiness infects most aspects of her personality, and can sometimes even make her somewhat indecisive. Occasionally her confident, preening persona will show darker edges, a consequence of witnessing the death of Microwave and his daughter. This incident is also the primary reason that Flamewave refuses to rule out the use of lethal force, if she thinks it is necessary to prevent the loss of innocent life. Fortunately, a situation like this has yet to arise. Powers: Despite her beliefs about the origin of her powers, Flamewave is a mutant whose latent powers as a fire controller were awakened by the shock of seeing Microwave explode in front of her. She is immune to fire damage and intense heat, and has the ability to project bursts of flame of varying intensity levels. She can shoot fire accurately at long range or emit flames from her body in all directions at short range. Flamewave can also surround herself in yellow flames and fly, which is one of her favorite pastimes. She finds soaring through the sky intoxicating, especially if she can make it seem as though she is out of control. Appearance: Seraphine Byrne is used to imagining herself the most attractive woman in any room and she has good reason. Blessed with a pleasing figure, long naturally red hair, and an almost musical voice, Seraphine rarely lacks admirers. Her exhibitionist tendencies extend to her identity as Flamewave and her costume is far from modest, drawing a raised eyebrow even among the superheroine set. Flamewave wears a very low cut yellow outfit that ends in a miniskirt. A small yellow mask covers her eyes, preserving her secret identity, and her gloves, belt, and boots are red. Notes: Ugh. This might be my worst background story ever. I couldn't get it right. Edit: Condensed it slightly.

Re: How do you build a vampire template in 6E? Thanks to Panpiper for his wonderful template. It was a great help, combined with Stalker in News of the World. Edit: Nothing else to say.

Re: Why no comprehensive list for adders/limitations? I think this is one of the biggest issues with the organization of the 6E book. The adders and limitations should all be listed together, even if that leads to some repetition of information printed elsewhere.

Re: Pamela Isley's Character Thread The handcuffs are just copied from the 6E rules, p. 219.

Re: Pamela Isley's Character Thread Thanks for all the compliments. I actually like Bluebird better, but Amethyst turned out very well. I'm in a muddled state now, with a couple of ideas in various unfinished states. I'd like to do a vampire or a paragon/patriot-type next. But I also have another projector that is closer to being done.

Re: Pamela Isley's Character Thread Thanks. I talked about whether the batarang or bolos should be limited by charges in the chatroom a bit and the consensus seemed no. I can't imagine Batgirl actually running out of batarangs during a fight. The counter-argument, of course, is that Batman and Batgirl-types don't really stand at range and fire dozens of batarangs during a typical encounter, so perhaps they are limited. A slight increase in CON might make sense. I think Batgirl primarily should be built as someone who should avoid getting punched rather than can take a hit herself.

Batgirl Batgirl Total: 175 STR 10, 11-, 2d6, 100 DEX 20, 13- CON 10, 11- INT 20, 13- EGO 13, 12- PRE 13, 12- , 3d6 OCV 5 DCV 5 OMCV 3 DMCV 3 SPD 3 PD 6 ED 6 REC 6 END 35 BODY 10 STUN 30 Total Cost: 84 Skills & Talents Combat Skill Level +1 (Ranged) (8) Acrobatics 13- (3) Breakfall 13- (3) Criminology 13- (3) Deduction 13- (3) KS: Library Science 13- (3) KS: Kung Fu 13- (3) PS: Librarian 13- (3) Shadowing 13- (3) Stealth 13- (3) Access (Gotham Library) (3) Contact (Commissioner Gordon, 11-, Limited by Identity -1, Extremely Useful +3, Good Relations +2, Access to Major Institution +1, Significant Contacts +1) (8) Contact (Batman, 11-, Extremely Useful +3, Significant Contacts +1) (6) Eidetic Memory (5) Striking Appearance (Attractive, +1d6) (3) Martial Arts Cost Maneuver OCV DCV Notes 4 Block +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 Disarm -1 +1 Disarm, +10 STR 4 Dodge +0 +5 Dodge all attacks, Abort 4 Escape +0 +0 +15 STR vs. Grabs 5 Kick -2 +1 STR +4d6 Strike 3 Legsweep +2 -1 STR +1d6, Target Falls 4 Punch +0 +2 STR +2d6 Strike 3 Throw +0 +1 STR +v/5, Target Falls Total Cost: 91 Typical Equipment Batarang (Blast 4d6, 0 Endurance +1/2, OAF -1, Real Weapon -1/4, Range Based on Strength -1/4); (12) Flashlight (Sight Group Images, +4 to PER Rolls, Area Of Effect 1m Radius +¼, OAF -1, Only To Create Light -1, No Range -½) (8) Handcuffs (Entangle 3d6, 3 BODY, 6 PD/ 6 ED, Takes No Damage From Attacks +½, OAF -1, Hands Only -1,Doesn’t Prevent Use Of Accessible Foci -1, No Range -½, Must Follow Grab Or Target Must Be Willing -½, 1 Recoverable Charge -1¼, Can Be Escaped Automatically With Modified Lockpicking Or Contortionist Roll -½) (10) Smoke Grenades (Darkness to Sight Group 6m radius,12 Charges lasting 5 Minutes each, cleared away by high winds, rain, or the like +¾, OA F -1, Ranged Based On STR -¼) (23) Lockpick (Lockpicking 12-, OAF -1) (4) Bolos (Entangle 6d6, 6 Body, 6 PD / 6 ED, OAF -1, Legs Only -1, Doesn’t Prevent Use of Accessible Foci -1); (15) Grapple Gun (Swinging 16M, OAF -1, Extra Time: Full Phase -½) (3) Matching Complications Hunted (Killer Moth, As Powerful, Infrequently, Kill/Imprison) (10) Psychological Limitation (Self-Doubt, Uncommon, Moderate) (5) Psychological Limitation (Code v. Killing, Common, Total) (20) Social Limitation (Secret Identity, Barbara Gordon, Frequently, Major) (15) Total: 50 points Notes: This is my take on Batgirl. It's mostly a blending of the Animated Series version with the presentation in Batgirl Year One. I built her mostly as an exercise for creating a heroic character based on equipment. Special thanks to cptpatriot for help in chat on this creation.

Re: My First Hero System Character: Bluebird Thanks. I moved my build to another thread to discuss with others I might make. Again, I really appreciated all the help.

Amethyst Amethyst Total: 400 STR 15, 12-, 3d6, 200 DEX 18, 13- CON 18, 13- INT 13, 12- EGO 13, 12- PRE 23, 14-, 5d6 OCV 9 DCV 9 OMCV 3 DMCV 4 SPD 6 PD 8 ED 8 REC 13 END 70 BODY 10 STUN 50 Total Cost: 195 Skills & Talents Acting 14- (3) Charm 14 -(3) Computer Programming 12- (3) Power Skill: Energy Multipower 13- (3) Striking Appearance (Attractive, +1d6) (3) Total Cost: 15 Powers Energy Burst (Blast 14d6, Radius 32M +1, Personal Immunity +1/4, No Range -1/2, 1 Charge -1, Unified -1/4); 57 Energy Multipower (60 point reserve, Unified -1/4); 48 Energy Blast (Blast 12d6); 5f Energy Blast (Blast 8d6, No End +1/2); 5f Energy Flash (Flash 8d6, No End +1/2); 5f Energy Absorption (Absorption 10 Body, Energy to End); (10) Energy Shield (Resistant Protection 20 ED / 20 PD, Costs End -1/2); 40 Flight (Flight 25 M, Unified -1/4); 20 Total Cost: 190 Matching Complications Psychological Limitation (Code v. Killing, Common, Total) (20) Psychological Limitation (Vengeful, Uncommon, Strong) (10) Social Limitation (Secret Identity, Lilith Violet, Frequently, Major) (15) Energy Aura (Not Concealable, Always Noticed, Detectable Only with Unusual Senses) (10) Hunted (NSA, Infrequently, More Powerful, NCI, Capture) (20) Total: 75 points Background: Lilith can’t remember her early childhood. Her earliest memories are of being among a group of adolescents at a special school run by the NSA. The project, run by a Major Robert Anderson, was designed to create a special team of government-backed superhumans for less than savory missions. Anderson, driven by a fear and fascination with metahumans, believed that it would be easier to control superhumans if the indoctrination began at an early age. Unfortunately for Anderson’s program, whatever method was being used to grant superpowers to the children was largely a failure. Only Lilith showed any signs of having extraordinary abilities and those were very slow to develop. The girl could project small bolts of purple energy and was capable of limited flight. The major turned his attention to recruiting existing superhumans, both heroes and villains, for his team and most of Lilith’s “classmates” were deported to various orphanages around the country. Anderson’s shadowy sponsors within the government finally lost patience when Lilith was eighteen, ordering the major to “close down operations.” Lilith knew instantly that something was wrong when several soldiers arrived at her small room. In a moment of pure panic, she was able to channel an enormous amount of energy and release it in a burst. The soldiers were incapacitated and a large section of the wall was destroyed. In an instant she escaped the facility and flew as far as she could before nearly collapsing. The next few years were a struggle for Lilith as she wandered the country, ending up in Millennium City. She had no identity and no home. Her powers grew, but they were oriented around projecting energy blasts and shields. None helped her find a job or even food to eat. As she grew more desperate becoming a criminal seemed her only option. Donning a purple jumpsuit and a mask, she reluctantly resolved on robbing a bank. It wasn’t original, but Lilith was hardly a master planner. When she arrived at her chosen target, however, it had already been taken over by a group of armed men. These robbers took hostages and threatened to kill them unless they were allowed to escape and a random was paid. This angered Lilith and she attacked the surprised robbers. They were easily defeated. Lilith fully intended to go through with her plan, but she suddenly found herself being thanked as a hero. When people began quizzing her on who she was she blurted out the name “Amethyst” based on the color of her energy blasts. Amethyst’s life changed that day. She found being a heroine suited her. But, she couldn’t be a heroine all the time and she had no regular identity. She didn’t even have a last name. So in addition to her heroic identity of Amethyst, she created the identity of Lilith Violet. Having never had a regular life before, Lilith Violet found even the most menial of jobs new and fascinating, and found herself working in a variety of temporary jobs (mostly as a courier or messenger). It was during one of these jobs that her looks attracted the attention of a stage producer. Lilith suddenly found herself working as an actress, something that seemed to come natural to her. Her appearance and presence helped to find just enough steady acting work to pay for a small apartment. All the elements of a normal life were falling into place. Despite the thrill of a regular life, Lilith couldn’t give up being a heroine. Using her powers gave her a rush and fighting criminals allowed her to vent some of the rage and frustration that had built up over the government’s treatment of her. Her Amethyst identify, however, attracted the attention of Anderson and his allies in the NSA. NSA teams tried to capture Lilith twice while she was operating as Amethyst, much to their regret. The agency’s persistence has only darkened Amethyst’s views of her early years. As a hero, Amethyst is very inexperienced. Her activities to date have been limited to fighting street crime, testing her powers against the occasional super-powered thug, and rescues. She has yet to fight a true supervillain. She also hasn’t really cooperated with other heroes in the Millennium City area and she assumes that she’s totally unknown to them. In the future, she has vowed to find out more about her past, who she really is, and where her powers come from. For now, though, Lilith is simply trying to enjoy as much of her freedom and “regular” life as she can. Personality: Lilith Violet appears to be a charming, outgoing young woman who is sometimes too serious. This is largely true, but Lilith also can be quite vengeful towards those that have wronged her or those that hurt innocents. Most of her hatred is directed towards the NSA and Major Anderson, but some of this spills over into a distrust of the government. Violet is prone to believing the worst about authority figures and always gives at least a little credence to even the wildest conspiracy theories. Because of her strange childhood, Lilith can sometimes appear awkward or at a loss in some social situations, but she usually is able to pass these moments off humorously. Although very inexperienced, Lilith is a natural actress and she is becoming very accustomed to playing different parts, both professionally and socially. When she is Amethyst, Violet’s personality and tone seem to have a harder edge. Since both her superhero and secret identities are her own creation, Lilith tends to struggle with issues related to which personality is the facade and which is her true self. Powers: Amethyst is an energy projector. Her body is capable of projecting bursts of energy in the form of blasts, flashes of light, and protective shields. The energy Amethyst projects is a bright purple color, from which she derives both her heroic name and her surname, Violet. Once per day, Amethyst is also capable of releasing a powerful burst of energy, similar to the one she used to escape from the government. Outside of energy projection, Amethyst can absorb some energy and use that to increase her endurance. She is also capable of extended flight, leaving behind a purplish trail as she moves. Appearance: Amethyst is a fairly tall, attractive brunette with a shapely figure and pale purple eyes. Her costume has changed several times during her brief crimefighting career, but she has now settled on a suit that appears to be a low cut strapless one-piece bathing suit. She wears opera gloves and knee high boots, along with a small mask. The entire outfit is a purplish blue in color and this version leaves her long hair free.

Bluebird Bluebird Total: 400 STR 13, 12-, 2½ D6, 150 DEX 18, 13- CON 18, 13- INT 18, 13- EGO 13, 12- PRE 18, 13-, 4d6 OCV 9 DCV 9 OMCV 3 DMCV 3 SPD 6 PD 8 ED 8 REC 15 END 85 BODY 10 STUN 40 Total Cost: 192 Skills & Talents Overall Skill Level +1 (12) Acrobatics 13- (3) Deduction 13- (3) Inventor 13- (3) Language (French, Fluent) (2) Scientist (3) SS: Biology 15- (4) SS: Biochemistry 14- (3) SS: Chemistry 14- (3) High Society 13- (3) Stealth 13- (3) Eidetic Memory (5) Striking Appearance (Attractive, 2d6) (6) Environmental Movement, Ice (2) Total Cost: 55 Powers Ice Multipowers (75 points reserve, Unified -1/4); 60 Ice Blast (Blast 12d6, Half End, +1/4); 6f Ice Bonds (Entangle, 7d6, 7 PD / 7 ED, Vulnerable to Fire and Heat, -1); 3f Ice Cone (Blast 10d6, Cone +1/2, No Range -1/2); 4f Ice Blast II (Blast 10d6, No End +1/2); 6f Hail Storm (Blast 6d6, Area Of Effect (16m Radius; +¾), Indirect (Source Point is always from above target +1/4, Half End +1/4); 5f Killing Ice Blast (RKA 4d6, ED); 5f Ice Sheet (Change Environment, -6 Dex for Surface Movement, Radius 32 M, +1, Half End, +1/4); 3f Ice Wall (Barrier, 10m long, 4m high, 1/2m thick, 15 Body, 10 PD / 10 ED, Configurable +1/4, Ablative -1/2, Vulnerable to Fire and Heat, -1); 3f Ice Shield (Resistant Protection, 10 PD / 10 ED, Costs End -1/2, Unified, -1/4) PLUS (Resistant Protection, 10 PD / 10 ED, Costs End -1/2, Ablative -1/2, Unified -1/4); 30 Flight (30M, Unified -1/4); 24 Life Support (Immunity to Intense Cold, Longevity:2); 4 Total Cost: 153 Matching Complications Secret Identity (April Isley, Frequent, Major) 15 points Vulnerability (Fire, 1.5 Body Damage, Common) 10 points Rivalry (Fellow Grad Student for grants) 5 points Psychological Limitation (Overconfidence, Very Common, Moderate) 15 points Distinctive Feature (Mutant, Not Concealable, Always Noticed, Only Detectable with Unusual Sense) 10 points Hunted (Viper, More Powerful, NCI, Imprison/Kill) 20 points Total: 75 points Background: The sole daughter of a wealthy couple from New England, April Isley was a precocious child that spent her summers in France and her winters in Aspen. Treated to the best of everything and blessed with extraordinary good looks as she matured, April graduated with honors from Millennium City University. She became a research assistant in the school’s biology program and worked with the brilliant, but unstable Dr. Maxima de Winter. De Winter was convinced that she could unlock the secrets of immortality by slowing down a person’s metabolism. Her research was condemned by her peers and even scoffed at by her skeptical assistant. As a result, de Winter ultimately decided to test her experimental procedure on April. The injections de Winter gave April either mutated the young woman or awakened a latent mutation, because they certainly changed Isley into something new. April began to shoot streams of ice when she awoke while de Winter was conducting tests. This complication frightened de Winter, who fled, taking all of her notes with her and destroying most evidence of the procedure. April thought about going to the authorities, but decided to conceal the results. She didn’t want to be seen as a “freak” by her peers and scientists. Eventually April realized that the transformation might be a blessing. The more she learned about her powers, the more impressed she became. Not only could she probably make an entire scientific career out of studying her own body, she realized she might be one of the most powerful superhumans in the city. As a means of testing her powers, she designed a costume and began to call herself Bluebird. Her first forays into crimefighting involved simply thwarting street thugs and the occasional robbery, but her increasing confidence led to her challenging the schemes of a local VIPER nest. Bluebird finds herself at a crossroads. Very protective of her secret identity, she is wary of working too closely with other superheroes, but she finds herself having to admit that might be necessary to further explore the bounds of her powers safely. Personality: Prior to her transformation, Bluebird was a fairly vain, confident, and cold person, capable of being charming, but usually not bothering to make the effort. If anything, the manifestation of her powers has only made her a bit icier. Although her own ideas about personal conduct would probably preclude her from ever being a supervillainess, April lacks the self-sacrificing personality that characterizes many heroes. Although not a leader, she is not a particularly effective follower and her cooperation with other heroes has not been very successful. April has always been hyper-competitive and refuses to believe that she is second best in anything. This makes her a somewhat pouty loser on the few occasions she is beaten, and it also makes her more than a little cutthroat about everything from school performance, to research grants, or even just games of chess or cards. Bluebird likes to believe that she will do whatever it takes to stop a villain or crime, but it remains to be seen whether this would ever rise to using lethal force. Her overconfidence and her desire to always appear to be in the right probably would make her think very seriously before crossing over into outright vigilantism. Powers: Bluebird depends primarily on her ability to project blasts of ice. She is capable of creating ice blasts than can be lethal, freeze a target in place, or affect a wide, cone-shaped area. She also has the ability to create an ice shield for additional protection, freeze the ground to create a slippery sheet of ice, and erect ice barriers. Bluebird’s low body temperature grants her immunity to intense cold and her slowed metabolism has granted her a degree of longevity, something she has only been able to confirm in theory. Also, for reasons she hasn’t quite been able to explain, the experiment that mutated Bluebird also granted her the ability to fly. She has yet to discover any limits on this ability, but it ultimately inspired her bird-themed motif. Appearance: April Isley is an attractive young woman in her early 20s with an eye-catching figure, bright blue eyes, and very light blonde hair that she usually wears pulled back in a ponytail. Since the manifestation of her powers, her skin tone remains pale and very cold to the touch year round. As Bluebird, April wears a light blue costume that appears as a long sleeved minidress with a white belt. The outfit is accented by a white scalloped cape, white heeled boots, and long white gloves. Her mask is blue, with white panes that do not reveal her eyes. While Bluebird, April also uses her powers to make her hair appear white. Edit: Revised characteristics and powers.