Re: The Team
Well, that's awful decent of you to say, bro.
Thought I'd chime in as to my rationale for designing an "archer" character. Straight Arrow is designed to be more than the guy with the bow. When I designed him, I was shooting for two character aspects:
1. I wanted a Legacy character. Since there were few American heroes in UNITY, I went with Great Britain and its long history of heroes. Archery and swordplay seem to appear frequently in British myth and lore so an archer seemed natural. This is especially so with the background I designed where Straight Arrow's grandfather and uncle had superpowers but he did not. Not wanting to miss out on his legacy, he CREATES his powers.
2. I wanted a gadgeteer or powered armor character. These have always been my favorite "classes" of superhero to play. They tend to be very versatile with a wide array of skills and powers. Straight Arrow is very proud of his brilliant and inventive mind. He enjoys the fact that with his inventions, he can stand toe-to-toe against super-criminals that can toss around police cars or melt bank vault doors. (Also, tacking on a Focus limitation on most of a character's powers is a great way to get a lot of abilities for not as many points!)
When designed a gadgeteer, I always throw in a Multipower with a variety of standard and unusual attacks. Originally, I was going to create a gunfighter, but Bill warned me to avoid such concepts. UNITY 2010 isn't a Dark Champions game after all.
Well, a bow and trick arrows was my natural next choice. I wanted Straight Arrow to be a balance of mental and physical skill. Inventing a variety of strange trick arrows showed his mental side. And, for me anyway, archery has always felt like a very physical thing. Anyone can point a gun and shoot. But using a bow requires strength and agility. The "feel" of archery is a very physical thing (ask any BowFlex commercial!) and I liked the concept.
Lastly, the archer concept evolved from the hero code name, Straight Arrow. I knew I wanted a leader type character who's major failing was his straight-laced, by-the-book style of superheroing. It would mean he was good at his job but occasionally at odds with more freewheeling types. (And this does come up in the game! Ask Bill!) You call someone a "straight arrow" if he's a frank, honest, and rules-following person. And there you go, a hero name that matches personality and gimmick.
Oh, and super-archers are cool to me in any case. Green Arrow, Hawkeye...I just like 'em. Always have. Always will.
Straight Arrow uses his bow and trick arrows most of the time, but he's also designed a suit of powered armor that performs a variety of feats. He's extremely mobile (extra Running and Leaping), very durable (Armor and extra Constitution and Stun), very strong (extra Strength), and has an array of sensory devices (Enhanced Senses...a lot of 'em). Even outside his armor, he has a handful of generic comic-book martial arts and a wealth of skills (he's the only one who knows how to fly the team jet, for example).
Hope that helps with my motivations for creating an archer-type super character.
Mike M.
