JeffreyWKramer

Character #32 - ParagonThe next character is another of Istvatha V'han's superhuman operatives - this time, an uber-martial artist. Think "alien Master of Sinanju" and you've more or less got the idea behind Paragon.I hope y'all enjoy him. As always, feedback is both appreciated and welcome.ParagonPlayer: NPC (Agent of Istvatha V'han) Val Char Cost 25 STR 15 30 DEX 60 25 CON 30 15 BODY 10 23 INT 13 20 EGO 20 30 PRE 20 14 COM 2 10/18 PD 5 10/18 ED 5 8/12 SPD 40 10 REC 0 70 END 10 50 STUN 9 18" RUN02" SWIM015" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 239Cost Power END 101 Ka'Karah Mastery: Variable Power Pool, 61 base + 40 control cost, Powers Can Be Changed As A Zero-Phase Action (+1) (121 Active Points); Only Ch'i-Style Characteristic/Power Boosts, Body Control and Wuxia/Martial Arts-Related Powers/Superskills (-1/2) 0 1) Battle Trance: +4 SPD (40 Active Points); Only In Combat, Attack Actions Only (-1/2) Real Cost: 27 [Notes: With this ability, Paragon gains +4 SPD, but can use the extra segments only to perform attacks against opponents. Such attacks can be combined with movement only if the attack is part of a FMove maneuver.] 0 2) Impairing Blow I: Negative Combat Skill Levels (-6 to opponent's DCV), Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4), Attack Versus Limited Defense (Lack Of Weakness; +3/4) (60 Active Points) Real Cost: 60 [Notes: Impairing Blow II - Same, but the Negative Combat Skill Levels apply to the opponent's OCV] 5 0 3) Shattering Strike: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 4d6 (5 1/2d6 w/STR) (60 Active Points); Linked (Ka'Karah Battle Expertise; -1/4) Real Cost: 48 [Notes: As indicated by the Linked Limitation, Paragon must first Find Weakness on a target before using this ability.] 6 0 4) Devastating Blow: Hand-To-Hand Attack +12d6 (60 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x3 END; -1), Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2) Real Cost: 20 18 0 5) Stunning Blow: Drain STUN 6d6 (60 Active Points) Real Cost: 60 6 0 6) Unbalancing Blow: Drain DEX 3 1/2d6, Attack Versus Limited Defense (Lack Of Weakness; +3/4) (61 Active Points) Real Cost: 61 6 0 7) Blinding Strike: Sight Group Flash 7d6, Attack Versus Limited Defense (PD Force Field; +3/4) (61 Active Points); No Range (-1/2), Must Be Able To Strike Head (-1/4) Real Cost: 35 [Notes: This unusual Flash does not specifically target the eyes; it is a blow to the head that essentially renders the target unable to see straight.] 6 0 8) Dizzying Combat Flourish: Suppress DEX 9 1/2d6, Costs END Only To Activate (+1/4) (60 Active Points); Effects Only Apply Against Opponents Facing Paragon (-1/2), Extra Time (Full Phase, -1/2) Real Cost: 30 [Notes: Intimidating Combat Flourish - This variant functions as listed, but is a Suppress vs. PRE.] 5 0 9) The Battle Form Of Zun The Undefeated: Hand-To-Hand Attack +6d6, Area Of Effect (2" radius; +3/4), Selective (+1/4) (60 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) Real Cost: 40 [Notes: With this ability, Paragon can attack multiple opponents in adjacent hexes during the same phase, with no penalties.] 6 0 10) Defensive Body Reading: +6 with DCV (30 Active Points); Effects Apply To Only One Opponent At A Time (-1/2), Requires An Analyze Combat Roll (-1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) Real Cost: 13 3 0 11) Offensive Body Reading: +6 with HTH Combat (30 Active Points); Requires An Analyze Combat Technique Roll (-1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4), Effects Apply To Only One Opponent At A Time (-1/4) Real Cost: 15 3 0 12) Perfect Evasion: Desolidification (affected by Explosions/Area Effect Attacks), Invisible Power Effects, SFX Only (Fully Invisible; +1/2) (60 Active Points); Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2), Requires An Acrobatics Roll (-1/2) Real Cost: 30 [Notes: Paragon most often uses this technique to move across a battlefield in order to reach a chosen target or objective, ignoring all other opponents. He appears to effortlessly block or dodge most incoming attacks (special effect for the Invisible Desolidification).] 6 0 13) Draw Upon The Inner Light: Healing Target Characteristic 6d6 (60 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), -1 1/4), Self Only (-1/2), Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2) Real Cost: 18 6 0 14) Purge Disease: Life Support (Immunity All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents) (10 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Minute, Only to Activate, -3/4), Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2) Real Cost: 4 [Notes: Purge Venom works the same way, except it utilizes LS: All Toxins/Poisons. Neither effect reverses any effects already suffered; the Power simply prevents the disease (or poison) from causing further damage, and protects against further exposure while in effect.] 0 0 15) Up The Walls: Clinging (normal STR) (10 Active Points); Must Do At Least A Half Move, Lasts Only Until End Of Phase (-1/2) Real Cost: 7 [Notes: This reflects Paragon's great speed and acrobatic ability, which allows him to run along vertical surfaces - or even ceilings - for short distances, but since it does not allow true Clinging, he will fall if he ends a movement action on such surfaces.] 0 0 16) Unbreakable Clinch: Clinging (40 STR) (15 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2), Only To Cling To Opponents (-1/2) Real Cost: 7 1 0 17) Acrobatic Leaping: Leaping +10" (15" forward, 7 1/2" upward) (Accurate) (15 Active Points); Requires An Acrobatics Roll (-1/2) Real Cost: 10 1 0 18) Fast As The Wind: Running +12" (18" total), x4 Noncombat (29 Active Points) Real Cost: 29 3 35 Ka'Karah Battle Expertise: Find Weakness 14- with Martial Maneuvers 0 11 Master Blow: Hand-To-Hand Attack +3d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (22 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), Linked (Ka'Karah Battle Expertise; -1/2) 0 6 Tireless: Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (6 Active Points) applied to STR 24 Carapace: Armor (8 PD/8 ED), Inherent (+1/4) (30 Active Points); Activation Roll 15- (-1/4) 0 34 Go With The Flow: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 75% (60 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2), Not vs. Successful Find Weakness (-1/4) 0 48 Slippery Mind: Mental Damage Reduction, Resistant, 75% (60 Active Points); Not vs. Successful Find Weakness (-1/4) 0 34 Roll With The Impact: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 75% (60 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2), Not vs. Successful Find Weakness (-1/4) 0 30 Impregnable: Lack Of Weakness (-10) for Normal Defense, Mental Defense and Resistant Defenses 0 2 Physical Paragon: Life Support (Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum) (5 Active Points); Only For 5 Minutes Of Exposure At A Time (-1) 0 5 Physical Paragon: Life Support (Longevity 200 Years; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat) 0 10 Iron Will: Mental Defense (14 points total) 0 10 Unassailable Soul: Power Defense (20 points) (20 Active Points); Only Protects INT, EGO, PRE, Mental Damage Resistance and Mental Defense (-1) 0 20 Gift of Languages: Universal Translator 14- 6 Antennae: +3 PER with all Sense Groups (9 Active Points); Restrainable (-1/2) 0 37 Antennae: Danger Sense (general area, any danger, Function as a Sense) 14- 32 Antennae: Spatial Awareness (Unusual Group), Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) 0 15 Antennae: Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) with Hearing Group and Normal Smell 0 Powers Cost: 460Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 8 +2 HTH Damage Class(es) [Notes: Note - Add an additional 3d6 damage for "Master Blow" Power to all damaging Maneuvers when applied to targets against whom Paragon has Found Weakness] 3 Legsweep: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 8d6 Strike, Target Falls 4 Martial Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 Martial Escape: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 50 STR vs. Grabs 3 Martial Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 45 STR for holding on [Notes: STR 60 to hold on if Paragon is using the Unbreakable Clinch ability from his VPP.] 4 Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 9d6 Strike 3 Martial Throw: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +1 DCV, 7d6 +v/5, Target Falls 5 Offensive Strike: 1/2 Phase, -2 OCV, +1 DCV, 11d6 Strike 5 Passing Strike: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +0 DCV, 7d6 +v/5; FMove 5 Sacrifice Strike: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, -2 DCV, 11d6 Strike 5 Takeaway: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, Grab Weapon, 45 STR to take weapon away 3 Takedown: 1/2 Phase, +1 OCV, +1 DCV, 7d6 Strike; Target Falls Martial Arts Cost: 56Cost Skill 6 +2 with Martial Maneuvers 10 +2 with HTH Combat 15 +3 with DCV 20 +2 Overall 7 Acrobatics 17- 9 Analyze: Combat 17- 3 Breakfall 15- 3 Climbing 15- 3 Contortionist 15- 10 Defense Maneuver I-IV 3 AK: V'hanian Empire 14- 3 CuK: V'hanian Empire Cultures 14- 3 KS: Martial Arts 14- 6 KS: Ka'Karah 17- 3 KS: K'kari III and IV 14- 15 Power -Ka'Karah Mastery 20- 6 PS: Ka'Karah Instructor 17- 3 PS: V'Hanian Agent 14- 3 Shadowing 14- 3 Stealth 15- 5 Tactics 15- 3 Teamwork 15- Skills Cost: 142Cost Perk 6 Reputation: Master of Ka'Karah - Among The Greatest Martial Artists In All The Known Worlds (A large group - V'hanian Empire) 11-, +3/+3d6 Perks Cost: 6Cost Talent 3 Lightsleep 3 Simulate Death 4 Double Jointed Talents Cost: 10Val Disadvantages 15 Distinctive Features: Alien Appearance - Antennae, Carapace, Vaguely Insectoid Appearance, Inhuman Movement (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 20 Hunted: Dr. Destroyer 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 20 Hunted: Tyrannon 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 10 Hunted: UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching) 20 Psychological Limitation: Honorable (Common, Total) 20 Psychological Limitation: Oath-Bound To Obey Orders In Service Of The Empire (Common, Total) 20 Psychological Limitation: Will Not Use Weapons, Very Reluctant To Use Other Tools (Common, Total) 15 Reputation: Agent Of V'han, Superior Martial Artist, 11- (Extreme on Earth) 20 Social Limitation: Subject To Orders (Very Frequently, Major) Disadvantage Points: 160Base Points: 600Experience Required: 153Total Experience Available: 153Experience Unspent: 0Total Character Cost: 913 Height: 1.80 m Hair: N/A Weight: 71.00 kg Eyes: Black, Rimmed With Orange Appearance: Paragon's appearance is decidedly alien. Humans who encounter him or other K'kari, almost invariably describe their appearance as somewhat insectoid, but that really isn't very accurate. He is bipedal but only modestly humanoid in shape, as his arms and legs each have two more joints than do human limbs, allowing them to bend in ways impossible (and hard to describe) for most humanoids. Each limb ends in an appendage strongly resembling a human hand. He is extremely thin compared to a human being, with a long, spindly neck and small, nearly spherical head. He has no visible ears or nose, a vertical slit for a mouth, and two very small, lidless eyes which are set far apart, almost to the sides of his head. Four feathery, foot-long appendages (vaguely resembling moth antennae) ring his head, one above each eye and two placed at the back of his head. These appendages are his race's auditory and olfactory organs. Most of the K'kari body (everything but the joints and sensory organs) is covered with a hard, shiny carapace, covered with colored markings which vary greatly from individual to individuals; Paragon's carapace is black with gold and orange markings. He speaks softly, but with no notable accent or obviously alien inflections, reflecting the natural K'kari gift for languages.Personality: Paragon neither seeks out nor seeks to avoid combat. Despite its martial aspects and reputation as a deadly fighting art, Ka'Karah is about much more than violence, and Paragon, as a Master of Ka'Karah, embodies all of the aspects of the Way. At the same time, like most of his people and like all Ka'Karah Masters, Paragon is honorable to the core, and his oath of service to the Empire means that sometimes he is ordered to do violence. In such circumstances, he focuses all of his skill toward obeying his orders. Unlike some martial artists - but like other Ka'Karah practitioners - Paragon is not interested in proving that his art is better than another by defeating other martial artists. Ka'Karah defines superior skill in terms of self-mastery, not defeating others. He will fight other martial artists when doing so is necessary, but he takes no pride or joy from this than he does from defeating any other opponent or fulfilling any other order. His service to the Empire is one of duty, not personal gain or identification with the Empire and its goals. All K'Kiri eschew weapons and avoid unnecessary reliance on technology, and this is particularly the case with the Ka'Karah Masters. Paragon has no problem with using space vehicles to travel between the stars, but he will not use technological devices of any sort to assist him in combat, and generally avoids using all but the most basic tools. If ordered to do so, he will carry a basic communication or recording device on a mission. Note that Paragon has no problem with others using weapons and tools, and that he does not disrespect them for doing so; he recognizes that the K'Kiri way and the Way of Ka'Karah are not for everyone. However, if someone states an interest in Ka'Karah, he will clearly state that in order to grasp the Way, an individual must be willing to rely on his or her own, inner resources, rather than tools and weapons. Quote:"I understand that you intend your taunts to incite me to foolish behavior. You should understand that I am a Master of Ka'Karah. You may as well taunt the wind, the mountains and the seas." Background: The K'kari are a non-humanoid race that inhabits two worlds in one of the millions of dimensions ruled by Istvatha V'han. The K'kari were once extremely technologically advanced, but after they nearly wiped themselves out in a civil war, they turned their back on weapons and all but the most necessary technology. Very few K'kari are now technicians, and the race has made no significant technological or scientific advances in thousands of years; instead, they live a mostly agrarian existence and focus on self-mastery through mental, spiritual and physical discipline. The most advanced K'kari discipline, Ka'Karah, is both a philosophy (vaguely resembling taoism) and a martial art, and its most experienced practitioners are renowned throughout V'han's Empire for their superhuman battle prowess. Ka'Karah and the K'kari skill with environment-friendly agriculture were what drew the Empress' attention to the K'kari. While not xenophobic, the K'kari as a species are not particularly interested in other species, and they have never cared one way or another about who ruled their dimension so long as they were mostly left to themselves, but they were bothered by the Empire's insistence that they serve the greater Empire, including sending members of the race offworld to for military service and to teach their techniques. Neither side wanted a war - the K'kari are not stupid and knew even the greatest Ka'Karah Masters could not defeat the vast forces of the Empire, while even the most martial of the Empress' military commanders paled at the thought of fighting a race that could perform incredible martial arts feats such as caving in the side of a grav tank with a single blow - so an agreement was reached. Under that agreement, the Empire would send observers and trainers to learn the K'kari agricultural techniques, while six of the greatest Ka'Karah Masters of each generation would spend ten years in service to the Empire, working as guards, soldiers and instructors. This arrangement has served both sides very well - by and large, the Empire's influence in K'kari life remains unobtrusive and trivial, while the Empire receives a small but steady supply of extremely skilled and loyal minions. As it turns out, few non-K'kiri are able to master the ways of Ka'Karah (not surprising, given the K'kiri's alien mindset and that it takes even them decades to master Ka'Karah techniques), though it has spawned a small but dedicated following throughout the Empire; in contrast, K'kiri agricultural techniques have proven widely applicable throughout the Empire. K'ker Zin Karam is one of the Ka'Karah Masters currently in service to the Empire, and probably the greatest Master of the past three centuries. At an age most K'kiri were still perfecting basic techniques, he was already demonstrating skill with advanced techniques most never learn. By the time he left to serve the Empire, he'd demonstrated true mastery of techniques usually perfected by only one Master per generation, including the Battle Trance and the impressive Battle Form of Zun the Undefeated (named for the first and greatest Ka'Karah Master). His expertise was so great that upon his earning the title of Master, the other living Ka'Karah Masters bestowed upon him the title Karam the Paragon, in recognition of his true perfection of the Way of Ka'Karah. That title is the name by which he has become best-known both within and outside the Empire. Powers/Tactics: As a true Master of Ka'Karah, Paragon is among the most skilled and deadly martial artists in the multiverse. Probably his only peers within V'Han's Empire are the greatest of the Ceran Warmasters. Ka'Karah Battle Expertise (Find Weakness) is at the core of the Way's advanced martial training, and many other Ka'Karah abilities (for example, Master Blow and Shattering Strike) allow Paragon to do particularly devastating attacks to those against whom he has already succeeded with Find Weakness. Paragon's Ka'Karah Mastery VPP reflects a wide variety of powers he can draw upon, including many special attacks (often used along with Martial Maneuvers in a Multiple Power attack), various body control techniques, skill-enhanced movement techniques and the ability to anticipate an opponent's moves in order to better defend against them and penetrate the opponent's defenses. Essentially, this VPP allows Paragon to perform the kinds of wild feats common to Wuxia films and the more far-out martial arts comics and pulp fiction - think of Marvel's Iron Fist, the film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" or the fictional martial art Sinanju portrayed in the "Destroyer" novel series as a good guide to the sorts of feats allowed by this VPP. Some typical Powers drawn from the pool are explained in the notes that accompany the Power descriptions. In addition to the abilities he can draw from his VPP, so long as he can move freely, Paragon is able to roll with (and thus reduce the impact of) all but the most skillfully-aimed attacks, and his natural martial skill prevents all but the greatest warriors from identifying weak spots in his defenses. His mental discipline makes hiim all but impervious to mental attacks, while his combination of alertness training and K'kari physiology gives him exceptionally sharp senses and a sort of quasi-psychic danger sense. Paragon's alien physiology also grants him a degree of natural armor and a naturally-expanded lifespan, and makes him resistant to environments and conditions that would be extremely uncomfortable or deadly to humans. Paragon can function well in a variety of combat roles. His speed, acute senses, agility and stealth-related skills make him good for scouting, while his exceptional combat abilities make him a natural front-line fighter. His abilities allow him to single-handedly take on large groups of lesser opponents, as he can't be flanked (Defense Maneuver, 360-degree coverage on some senses) and can use his VPP to do a variety of Area Attacks (such Power Constructs simulate his moving so quickly that he can dart around and strike numerous opponents in the blink of an eye). With Find Weakness, he can also penetrate the defenses of even most extremely powerful opponents (note that he almost always uses his Overall Skill Levels on Find Weakness when he uses this ability). Paragon's greatest weakness in combat is his lack of flight, but this weakness can often be overcome through teamwork with flying allies. Paragon's substantial resistance against mental attacks results in his often being assigned to deal with mentalist opponents. Campaign Use: PCs will most likely encounter Paragon while he is taking part in some assigned mission, usually as part of a strike force including (or entirely consisting of) some of V'han's other superhuman operatives. He most often takes part in straight-forward, combat-oriented missions, aimed at either expanding the Empire or thwarting the plans of Tyrannon. He might also be sent on more espionage-oriented or intelligence-gathering missions, but his alienness makes it impossible for him to blend into humanoid cultures for any length of time unless he is closely assisted by someone able to disguise his appearance or render him invisible. Paragon won't Hunt heroes - or anyone - unless ordered to do so. As such, is might at most serve as a proxy against those Hunted by Istvatha V'han. To make Paragon less powerful, reduce his DEX and SPD and/or the size of his VPP pool, reduce or eliminate his extra damage classes and/or Master Blow ability, and reduce or eliminate his Damage Reduction. To make him more powerful, make the VPP pool larger, give him extra damage classes and a few more martial maneuvers, or drop the Linked Limitation from Master Blow, so he can use this ability whether or not he's done Find Weakness on an opponent.

Re: Character for Comment: Monkey King Good character! The only suggestion I would make is that instead of doing the Astral Sense as a Detect, you might just use the Dimensional Adder for Sense Powers, as described in THE MYSTIC WORLD. It's cheaper than buying new senses. However, if you also want to detect auras (what is the effect you're going for there?), you're as well off going with Detect.

Character #31 - Major ValorBeing busy at work has kept me from adding more characters for a few days, but I'm back again, this time with another of Istvatha V'han's super-powered operatives. This time I present the field commander for this elite force - Major Valor. As always, I hope you enjoy, and comments are always both welcome and appreciated.Major ValorPlayer: NPC (Agent of Istvatha V'han) Val Char Cost 15/45 STR 5 10/25 DEX 0 15/35 CON 10 15 BODY 10 23 INT 13 15 EGO 10 25/50 PRE 15 10 COM 0 5/31 PD 2 7/31 ED 4 3/7 SPD 10 6/16 REC 0 30/70 END 0 38/75 STUN 7 6"/15" RUN02" SWIM03"/9" LEAP0Characteristics Cost: 86Cost Power END 130 Omni-Power Weapons Array: Multipower, 65-point reserve, all slots Variable Special Effects - Any Conventional Form Of Energy (+1/4), Personal Immunity (+1/4), 4 clips of 32 Charges (+1/2), Variable Advantage (+1/2 Advantages; +1) (195 Active Points); all slots OIF (Arm-Mounted Weapon System; -1/2) 4u 1) Basic Beam Setting: Energy Blast 13d6 (65 Active Points); OIF (Arm-Mounted Weapon System; -1/2) 0 4u 2) Energy Bonds: Entangle 6d6, 7 DEF (65 Active Points); OIF (Arm-Mounted Weapon System; -1/2) 0 4u 3) Systemic Disruptor: Drain DEX 4d6+1, Ranged (+1/2) (64 Active Points); OIF (Arm-Mounted Weapon System; -1/2) 0 4u 4) High-Intensity Beam: Killing Attack - Ranged 4d6+1 (65 Active Points); OIF (Arm-Mounted Weapon System; -1/2) 0 4u 5) Energy Blade: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 4d6+1 (5d6+1 / 7d6+1 w/STR) (65 Active Points); OIF (Arm-Mounted Weapon System; -1/2) 0 18 Marauder Armor Impact Gauntlets: Hand-To-Hand Attack +5d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (37 Active Points); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2), OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 3 Marauder Armor Extended Reach Feature: Stretching 1", Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (7 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2), Always Direct (-1/4), Limited Body Parts - Arms Only (-1/4), No Noncombat Stretching (-1/4), No Velocity Damage (-1/4) 0 25 Marauder Armor Strength Enhancement System: +30 STR, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (37 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 1 30 Marauder Armor Agility Enhancement System: +15 DEX (45 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 27 Marauder Armor Enhanced Stamina System: +20 CON (40 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 17 Marauder Armor Commanding Demeanor: +25 PRE (25 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 13 Marauder Armor Protective Plating - Impact Resistance: +20 PD (20 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 13 Marauder Armor Protective Plating - Energy Deflection: +20 ED (20 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 10 Marauder Armor Protective Plating - Force Dispersal: Damage Resistance (15 PD/15 ED) (15 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 20 Marauder Armor Reaction Enhancement System: +3 SPD (30 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 8 Marauder Armor Personal Durability Enhancements: +12 STUN (12 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 19 Marauder Armor Sensory Protection Systems: Flash Defense 7 Pts For Sight, Hearing, Smell/Taste and Touch Groups (28 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 27 Marauder Armor Life Support Systems: Life Support (Eating Character only has to eat once per week; Immunity All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents; Immunity All terrestrial poisons and chemical warfare agents; Safe Environment: Zero Gravity; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing) (41 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 9 Marauder Armor Psionic Shielding: Mental Defense (16 points total) (13 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 7 Maurauder Armor General Shielding: Power Defense (10 points) (10 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 8 Marauder Armor Systems-Specific Shielding: Power Defense (20 points) (20 Active Points); Only Works Against Attacks Targeting Weapons/Armor Special Effect (Tech/Powered Items/Energy Weapons) (-1), OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 33 Maurauder Armor Personal Field Projector Systems: Multipower, 50-point reserve, (50 Active Points); all slots OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 3u 1) Wide-Spectrum Stealth Field: Invisibility to Sight, Hearing and Radio Groups , No Fringe (40 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 4 3u 2) Protective Field: Force Field (8 PD/8 ED) (Protect Carried Items), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (39 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 6m 3) Spatial Distortion Field: +10 with DCV (50 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2), Costs Endurance (Only Costs END to Activate; -1/4) 5 1u 4) Adhesion Field: Clinging (normal STR) (10 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2), OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 1 7m 5) Gravity Negation Field: Flight 20", x8 Noncombat (50 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 5 2u 6) Spotlight: Sight Group Images Increased Size (2" radius; +1/4), +/-7 to PER Rolls (39 Active Points); Only To Create Light (-1), OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 4 22 Marauder Armor Enhanced Ground Movement Systems: Running +9" (6"/15" total), x8 Noncombat (28 Active Points); Only In Heroic Identity (-1/4) 3 20 Marauder Armor Cerebro-Communications System: Mind Link , Alien and Humans classes of minds, Any Willing Target, Number of Minds (x8) (40 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Turn, Only to Establish Mind Link, -3/4), IIF (Marauder Armor ; -1/4) 0 6 Marauder Armor Enhanced Sensory Systems: +3 PER with all Sense Groups (9 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 17 Marauder Armor Communications Array: High Range Radio Perception (Radio Group), Concealed (-8 with High Range Radio Perception PER Rolls), Dimensional (V'hanian Central) (25 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 3 Marauder Armor Sensory Systems: Nightvision (5 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 23 Marauder Armor Sensory Systems: Radar (Radio Group), Concealed (-10 with Radar PER Rolls), Discriminatory, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees) (35 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) 0 31 Marauder Armor Tactical Analysis Systems: Detect Superpowers , Susceptibilities and Vulnerabilities and Weapons/Power Systems 14- (Unusual Group), Discriminatory, Analyze, Range, Rapid (x10), Sense, Targeting, Telescopic (+4 versus Range Modifier), Tracking (54 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor - Visible Green Beam, Visible Also To Energy/Radiation Sense; -1/2), Provides Limited/Minimal or No Information About Magical/Spiritual Effects; Biological/Structural Susceptibilities and Vulnerabilities Only (-1/4) 0 12 Marauder Armor Tactical/Targeting Systems: Penalty Skill Levels: +6 vs. Range Modifier with All Attacks (18 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor Scanning System (Visible Green Beam, Visible To Detect Energy/Radiation); -1/2) 11 Marauder Armor Computer System: (Total: 17 Active Cost, 11 Real Cost) Absolute Range Sense (3 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) (Real Cost: 2) plus Absolute Time Sense (3 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) (Real Cost: 2) plus Bump Of Direction (3 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) (Real Cost: 2) plus Lightning Calculator (3 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) (Real Cost: 2) plus Eidetic Memory (5 Active Points); OIF (Marauder Armor; -1/2) (Real Cost: 3) 0 23 Linguistics Cerebro-Implants: Universal Translator 17- Powers Cost: 627Cost Martial Arts Maneuver 4 Crush: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +0 DCV, 9d6 / 15d6 Crush, Must Follow Grab 3 Legsweep: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, -1 DCV, 6d6 / 12d6 Strike, Target Falls 4 Martial Block: 1/2 Phase, +2 OCV, +2 DCV, Block, Abort 4 Martial Disarm: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, +1 DCV, Disarm; 35 STR / 65 STR to Disarm 4 Martial Dodge: 1/2 Phase, -- OCV, +5 DCV, Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 3 Martial Grab: 1/2 Phase, -1 OCV, -1 DCV, Grab Two Limbs, 35 STR / 65 STR for holding on 4 Martial Strike: 1/2 Phase, +0 OCV, +2 DCV, 7d6 / 13d6 Strike 8 +2 HTH Damage Class(es) 1 Weapon Element: Armored Gauntlets Martial Arts Cost: 35Cost Skill 30 +3 Overall 6 +2 with Omni-Power Weapons Array 3 +1 with Martial Maneuvers 3 Demolitions 14- 3 Electronics 14- 3 Interrogation 14- (19-) 3 CuK: V'hanian Empire Cultures 14- 3 AK: V'hanian Empire 14- 2 AK: Other Dimensions 11- 3 Scholar 1 1) KS: Earth Military (2 Active Points) 11- 1 2) KS: Earth Superbeings (2 Active Points) 11- 2 3) KS: Military History, Extradimensional (3 Active Points) 14- 4 4) KS: Military History, V'hanian (5 Active Points) 16- 3 5) KS: Other Dimensions (4 Active Points) 15- 2 6) KS: Skarn the Shaper and His Forces/Holdings (3 Active Points) 14- 4 7) KS: Strategy Games (5 Active Points) 16- 3 8) KS: Tyrannon and His Forces/Holdings (4 Active Points) 15- 4 9) KS: V'hanian Military (5 Active Points) 16- 3 Mechanics 14- 3 Oratory 14- (19-) 3 Paramedics 14- 3 PS: Military Command 14- (19-) 5 Rapid Attack (Ranged) 3 Stealth 11- (14-) 7 Tactics 16- 5 Teamwork 12- (15-) 6 WF: Beam Weapons, Common Melee Weapons, Energy Weapons 2 Weaponsmith (Energy Weapons) 14- Skills Cost: 123Cost Perk 4 Fringe Benefit: Major 6 Reputation: Brilliant Military Commander (A large group - V'hanian Empire) 11-, +3/+3d6 Perks Cost: 10Val Disadvantages 15 Distinctive Features: Uniform/Military Markings Indicate High Rank (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 20 Hunted: Dr. Destroyer 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 20 Hunted: Tyrannon 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish) 10 Hunted: UNTIL 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching) 20 Psychological Limitation: Dedicated To Service/Following Orders (Very Common, Strong) 20 Psychological Limitation: Honorable (Common, Total) 10 Psychological Limitation: Demands Strict Adherence To Orders (Common, Strong) 15 Reputation: Agent of Istvatha V'han, 11- (Extreme on Earth) 20 Social Limitation: Subject To Orders (Very Frequently, Major) Disadvantage Points: 150Base Points: 600Experience Required: 131Total Experience Available: 131Experience Unspent: 0Total Character Cost: 881 Height: 2.47 m Hair: Bald Weight: 195.00 kg Eyes: Red Appearance: By human standards, Major Valor appears to be approximately 45 years old, but he is in fact nearly seventy years old. Like all members of his species, he is completely hairless and has grey-blue skin and red eyes. His appearance is otherwise much like that of a human. He has a solid and healthy build, but is not particularly bulky. His bearing is serious and commanding, whether in or out of the armor. In the Marauder armor, Major Valor stands a bit over 8 feet tall, though his own, natural height is just over 6 feet tall.Personality: Major Valor is the consummate professional officer: brave, intelligent, comfortable with command and dedicated to military service. He is dutiful and organized to a fault. He is also a very straight-forward and unvaryingly honest individual, and his sense of personal honor is the one thing that might cause him to disobey an order, should he regard the order as dishonorable. This aspect of his personality is also well known, and while it has kept him from rising to the upper levels of the Empire's military command (those at the top absolutely must place the needs of the Empire above matters of personal honor), it does not interfere with his competence as a warrior and field commander. The High Command is simply careful to not assign Major Valor any missions requiring duplicity, and the Empire has plenty of other operatives that perform more than adequately in those types of missions. Major Valor had dedicated himself so much to military service that he really doesn't have much of a personal life. His only real hobby is strategy gaming. He has a broad interest and expertise in games ranging from tactical wargames through chess and go. Quote:"We have a mission to complete. You stand in the way of that objective. I bear you no personal animosity, but I will not let you interfere with this mission. As I see it, your choices are to stand down or get taken down. You have seven seconds to choose."Background: Senessus Valor grew up in the military. His father served as a soldier to the Empress V'han, as had many members of his family for the six generations since their home planet, Gharos, had been annexed (along with the rest of its dimension) into the Empire. Even before that time, Gharosians had been renowned as skilled mercenary warriors; becoming part of the Empire simply meant they served a consistent ruler, rather than the highest bidder. It was only natural that Senessus continue the proud family tradition of military service. Through campaigns in a dozen dimensions, Senessus Valor earned a distinguished record even by the high standards of his race and his family, working his way from infantryman to field command. The Empire's High Command noted that he particularly excelled at coordinating diverse forces and at developing and implementing spur-of-the-moment battle strategies. He thus made the short list of potential field commanders for a very special force - the Empress' elite cadre of superhuman operatives, assigned to help conquer the most powerful and resistant worlds and to directly oppose the Empress' most dangerous foe, Tyrranon the Conquerer. Each of the four candidates was assigned a field mission, selected to test command and coordination skills and tactical flexibility. Nobody expected Valor's mission to intersect with one of Tyrranon's offensives, or for him and his small force to end up going up going against one of Tyrannon's Thrones - nonetheless to win that match. Valor's performance won him the position , a promotion (to Major) and fame and acclaim throughout the Empire. Since then, Major Valor's reputation has just continued to grow. He is currently one of the most recognized and most renowned figures in the Empire's military - quite a feat, given the power and the flashy personalities and fantastic deeds of some of those under his command. He is widely regarded as an extremely brave and competent warrior and officer, and is recognized as a man of great integrity. Powers/Tactics: Major Valor has no superhuman abilities. He was chosen to lead the Empress' superhuman operatives due to his tactical brilliance and his proven loyalty, not strange abilities. That said, the armor he wears provides him with more than enough offensive firepower and defensive capacity for him to stand toe to toe with virtually any opponent. Even outside the armor, Valor is an experienced, skilled and canny opponent and a formidable martial artist. When expecting combat, Major Valor wears a customized version of the Empire's powerful "Marauder"-class armor. The standard version of the Marauder suit is the most commonly-used heavy power armor in the Empire's arsenal, but Valor's version represents the cutting edge of Marauder engineering, and incorporates higher-powered weaponry and numerous other features not standard to the model. His armor greatly boosts his physical abilities and provides substantial protection, while the Omni-Power Weapons Array gives him a wide array offensive options, providing flexibility enough to meet the demands of any mission and allowing him to select attacks tailored to specific situations and opponents. This weapon system's variable settings allow him to fire different intensities of destructive blasts, entangling energy fields or energy calibrated to disrupt the nervous system, or to emit a shaped field of energy for lethal close-quarters combat. The Variable Special Effects (Energy) aspect of the weapon allows Major Valor to vary the blasts between forms such as lasers, particle beams, magnetism, fire, cold, light, radiation, microwaves, etc, while the Variable Advantages feature lets him calibrate the weapon for effects such as Autofire, Area 1 Hex, AP, Explosion, Affects Desolid or even Transdimensional. Major Valor's offensive capacity is greatly enhanced by the armor's Tactical Analysis Systems. This feature provides Valor with information about the nature of an opponent's powers, power and/or weapons systems, and any structural weaknesses or vulnerabilities a target might have. For example, if Major Valor encountered Feuermacher, the TAS would inform him of the extent of Feuermacher's fire abilities and that Feuermacher was particularly vulnerable to water. This system can recognize if an individual possesses mutant or psionic abilities even if they are not being used at that moment, but is not able to recognize non-active spellcasting abilities and generally can't provide much information about powers of magical or spiritual origin. It also cannot detect susceptibilities and vulnerabilities related to a target's spiritual or magical nature, such as Black Seraph's Vulnerability to holy attacks. The Marauder suit also provides enhanced sensory and movement options, cybernetic communication systems which can be calibrated to an individual's mental signature, and a field generator that can produce effects including invisibility, a force field and a distortion field that makes it difficult for opponents to target him. Although Major Valor is a formidable opponent in battle, his primary focus is always achieving a mission's goals and commanding his forces toward that end. If victory can best be achieved by him fighting alongside the front-line troops, he'll be there, but it generally makes more sense for him to hold back, observe, pass along information and coordinate others' actions while using his formidable ranged attacks, so that's usually what he does. Major Valor fights intelligently, efficiently and honorably, and while he has no problem taking advantage of surprise or using feints and distractions to gain strategic advantage, he readily accepts surrender and does not seek to cause unnecessary harm or collateral damage. If retreat is the best option in a given situation, and not forbidden by orders, he retreats readily, but he will not leave troops behind if at all possible. Campaign Use: Major Valor is most likely to be encountered while leading his troops on an assigned mission of some sort. The mission itself may be a covert one, but he's really not likely to be assigned to a long-term undercover or espionage mission, except possibly to provide a distraction, or to provide extraction support/rescue to an espionage mission gone bad. The mission may not be an attempted invasion, though. Valor and those he commands are often sent on missions to oppose Tyrannon's plans, and in such circumstances it is possible he and the PCs might end up being allies - perhaps after the obligatory "misunderstanding that leads to a fight." Major Valor isn't a particularly likely Hunted, since he puts his duty above any personal vendettas, but he could end up as a by-proxy Hunter to anyone Hunted by Istvatha V'Han, or be sent to eliminate someone who had proven a repeated obstacle to the Empress' plans. To make Major Valor less powerful, reduce or drop the Variable Advantages from his Omni-Power Multipower, reduce or eliminate his Overall Skill Levels, reduce his SPD and reduce or eliminate the Marauder Armor Tactical Analysis Systems. To make him tougher, one might up the size of his Multipower Reserve, give him heavier Armor, or give him Find Weakness with his Omni-Power Weapons Array. One might also consider giving him a Hand-To-Hand Attack slot in the Omni-Weapon Multipower, making him a bit more of an "armored brick" style of character.

Re: DEMON: Opinions (some spoilers)

Re: Champiosn Destinies -- Spoiler Request In fairness, it's really sort of both, and a mishmash of other things. As a genre book, it covers high-power superheroes in general - doing things along the lines of classic/Silver Age Green Lantern and Superman, as well as the Silver Surfer or Adam Warlock - and also high-powered/futuristic superheroes ala Legion of Superheroes/Guardians of the Galaxy. As a campaign source book, it deals with a particular subset of the Champions Universe, which fits into the high-powered-future motif. I think it does an okay job on all of these fronts, other than a few of the campaign characters being less than inspired. I also think it's fine they did it as a bit of a mishmash, as all the concepts are valid, but none in and of itself would necessarily support (or at least be financially viable) as a full supplement.

Re: DEMON: Opinions (some spoilers) Sounds like a definite must-have. The local store finally got ARCANE ADVERSARIES, which I picked up about a half-hour ago. They say their distributor doesn't know anything about DEMON, which is par for the course for whatever group of sad-sack morons they use as a distributor (if it isn't WotC, you can bet we get it a minimum of three weeks after the rest of the world. I'm betting game stores in Mozambique get stuff more on schedule. I'm looking forward to DEMON a lot. Sounds like they finally got the treatment they deserve.

Re: Champiosn Destinies -- Spoiler Request Well, the Champs 3000 setting is very explicitly connected to the mainsream CU in numerous ways (some individuals and groups are still around in one form or another, some family line of "legacy" heroes), so to me it only makes sense that GALACTIC CHAMPIONS would include information that connects the two timelines and fills in some of the gap.

Re: Superleap UAA??? If all you want to do is grab someone and hold them helpless in the air, you can cheese it even further/save points by purchasing the Flight as Levitation Only (I believe that's a -1/2).

Re: Superleap UAA???

Re: Superleap UAA???

Re: Superleap UAA??? Eh, no worries. I just wanted to point out that the "toss people into orbit" kind of motif isn't that unusual in comics. It's even more common in the Silver Age DC books, especially the Weisinger-era Superman books.

Re: Superleap UAA???

Re: Superleap UAA???

Re: Superleap UAA??? Interestingly, the megascale for KB means the *distance* gets mega'd, but not the actual velocity. You can knock a guy 10" with each 1" = 100 miles, and it does no more damage than knocking him 10" with each 1"=1". It's still abusive, and not logical, but it is fun and does mimic a certain aspect of the genre.

Re: WWYCD #122 (or so): Strange Visitor

Re: Post Your Best...and Your Worst Possibly my best-designed character - certainly the single one of which I am most proud - is Circe, from my "Sharing the Wealth" thread. That was a case in which I was able to get a 100% match between the concept in my mind and the game mechanics. Worst? I dunno. My first character for Champions was a Ghost Rider rip-off, the Wraith, who was incompetently designed mostly because I didn't really know the system and the GM wasn't very helpful. Once I realized how badly the character sucked, I bought the books myself (back then, there was just "Champs" and "Champs II", and a lot of the current Powers didn't exist). The first thing I did was redesign the Wraith. He was deadly-competent then... but I was bored with the character in short order and moved on to more fun ones.

Re: Superleap-Superpause This whole issue is just part of the larger issue of how movement in HERO doesn't really mimic reality very well. It's related to the idea that you can fly 20" in your phase, but you don't move at all during the next couple segments until it's your turn again, even though a couple people had time to fire at you in the interim. It's also why Champions vehicle combat has always been anything from headache-inducing to a total pain in the ass.

Re: How would you build Temporal Immutability? No, but when I ran into the Possum Posse I could really kick their asses.

Re: Superleap UAA???

Re: How to: Daredevil

Re: Champiosn Destinies -- Spoiler Request

Re: How would you build Temporal Immutability?

Re: Champiosn Destinies -- Spoiler Request Scenes I'm betting we don't see in a CHAMPIONS 3000 Supplement: "Dread master... here it is!" "Ah, finally! I have it... the Left Testicle of Takofanes is mine.. and with this I shall rule the world!! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!!"

Re: Champiosn Destinies -- Spoiler Request

Re: Champiosn Destinies -- Spoiler Request