Re: Create a Villain Theme Team!
Since the old Megavillain thread he's on is almost unreadable now due to changes in the board's posting structure, I'm just going to repost Apotheosis here. Presumably he's joined up with the Home Team for this one mission because a charismatic member of the team flattered him into helping out.
Apotheosis
Player: NPC
Val Char Cost
30 STR 20
30 DEX 60
25 CON 30
20 BODY 20
12 INT 2
30 EGO 40
25 PRE 15
10 COM 0
6/46 PD 0
5/45 ED 0
8 SPD 40
11 REC 0
100 END 25
48 STUN 0
6" RUN 0
2" SWIM 0
6" LEAP 0
Characteristics Cost: 252
Cost Power
120 I Control Reality Itself: Multipower, 120-point reserve
24m 1) I Mold Forms and Minds Like Clay: Major Transform 4d6 (Anything into Anything, A reversing Transformation, Shapeshifting, or Probability Alteration Heals), Improved Target Group (Anything; +1) (120 Active Points)
16m 2) I Can Make You Do As I Please: Mind Control 16d6 ( Human, Animals and Aliens classes of minds) (100 Active Points); Does Not Provide Mental Awareness (-1/4)
18m 3) To Hell With Subtlety: Energy Blast 12d6, Variable Special Effects (Any SFX; +1/2) (90 Active Points)
16m 4) You Can't Touch Me: Force Field (40 PD/40 ED) (80 Active Points)
17m 5) That Didn't Just Happen: Healing BODY 6d6, Can Heal Limbs, Resurrection (85 Active Points)
16m 6) Duh, Of Course I Can Fly: Flight 40" (80 Active Points)
2u 7) "Let's Make That Retroactive, Shall We?": Extra-Dimensional Movement (Related Group of Dimensions, Any Location), x2 Increased Weight, Usable As Attack (Shifts Victim (and Apothesis) into an alternate dimension where a chosen Transformation "has always been true."; +1) (80 Active Points); Extra Time (1 Turn (Post-Segment 12), Character May Take No Other Actions, -1 1/2), Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Cannot be used in front of witnesses; -1)
3u 8) Bored Now: Teleportation 5", No Relative Velocity, MegaScale (1" = 1 km; +1/4), Safe Blind Teleport (+1/4) (30 Active Points)
4u 9) I Can Even Change My Own Appearance!: Shape Shift (Sight , Hearing , Smell/Taste and Touch Groups, Any Humanoid Shape), Imitation, Instant Change (44 Active Points)
15 He Probably Won't Go Down With Just One Shot: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25%
15 He's A Mega-Villain After All: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25%
24 You Didn't Think It Was Going To Be *That* Easy, Did You?: Mental Defense (30 points total)
30 Nice Try, But He's Got This Covered: Power Defense (30 points)
45 I Can Sense The Fabric of Reality: Spatial Awareness (Unusual Group), Discriminatory, Analyze, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), Microscopic (x10), Range
Powers Cost: 365
Cost Skill
5 Cramming
2 KS:Comic Books 11-
2 AK:Littleton 11-
1 Language: Spanish (basic conversation)
0 Language: English (idiomatic) (4 Active Points)
2 Navigation (Air) 11-
3 Oratory 14-
1 PS: Farmer 8-
2 PS: Student 11-
3 Analyze: Psychological Limitations 11-
3 +1 With Multipower Attacks
Skills Cost: 24
Cost Talent
3 Absolute Range Sense
3 Absolute Time Sense
3 Lightning Calculator
Talents Cost: 9
Total Character Cost: 650
Pts. Disadvantage
30 Enraged: Berserk When Successfully Taunted (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 11-, Berserk
15 Hunted: Player Characters 8- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish)
15 Hunted: Police 11- (Less Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)
15 Physical Limitation: Bad at Physical Confrontation (-3 levels in HtH Combat) (Frequently, Greatly Impairing)
15 Psychological Limitation: Vengeful (Common, Strong)
20 Psychological Limitation: Easy to Psychologically Manipulate (Very Common, Strong)
15 Psychological Limitation: Likes To Toy With His Victims (Common, Strong)
10 Reputation: Extremely Dangerous Reality Manipulator, 8- (Extreme)
5 Social Limitation: Minor (Occasionally, Minor)
10 Unluck: 2d6
Disadvantage Points: 150
Base Points: 500
Experience Required: 0
Total Experience Available: 0
Experience Unspent: 0
Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Brown Height: 1.73 m Weight: 62.00 kg
Description: Ezekiel is a seriously scrawny sixteen-year-old with rather plain features, upgraded from his previously really ugly, and clear skin. In civilian guise, he favors expensive, trendy clothing. He's usually scowling or sneering.
In his first appearance as Apotheosis, Ezekiel wears a Littleton High letter jacket in purple and white over a bare chest, baggy jeans, expensive tennis shoes, and a purple cape with red lining that has a high collar that *should* be obstructing his peripheral vision, but doesn't actually do so. In futher appearances, Apothesis will favor crimson, purple and white as costume colors, and aim for a "regal" look.
Background: Ezekiel Mundus was born and raised in Littleton, a small rural community a couple of hours' drive from Campaign City. What seemed at the time like a poor roll of the genetic dice made young Ezekiel a scrawny, ugly child. He proved to be hopeless at sports, a huge disappointment to his athletics-obsessed father. For a few years, he was very attached to his mother, until the birth of his little sister Jenny.
Jenny was born with a congenital defect that required frequent medical treatment and often caused her to be bedridden. The already low-income family had to spend all their spare funds on her care, and Ezekiel felt neglected because Jenny got all the attention.
At school, Ezekiel's ugliness, poverty and wimpiness made him the main target of bullies. "Zeke the Freak" came in for constant teasing and pummeling. If Ezekiel told an adult, sometimes the bullies got punished, but then they beat him up even worse in revenge. Ezekiel's parents were unsympathetic, his father because "real men defend *themselves*" and his mother because her hands were full with Jenny. Ezekiel initially showed some talent for schoolwork, but every time a teacher pointed him out as a good example, the bullies would target him again.
The greatest pleasure in Ezekiel's life was comic books. By scrimping and saving every penny he could find, Ezekiel was able to buy one or two on the family trips to Campaign City for Jenny's treatments. Ezekiel knew that if somehow he ever got superpowers, he'd finally have the good life he deserved.
Puberty brought Ezekiel a severe case of acne over his already unattractive features, and a new sort of bullying when a rumor got started that he was homosexual. He wasn't, but that didn't seem to matter to his attackers, and since girls treated him like a loathsome disease, the charge was difficult to disprove.
Today began with Ezekiel learning that he was expected to take a part-time job in addition to his farm chores, the money to go to his sister's care. When he got to school, the lock on his locker was broken, and everything inside had been smeared with used tampons. And the comic books had been torn to shreds. Everyone was laughing at him. He gathered up his things to take them to the boys' room to wash, but got only two steps before someone tripped him.
"Someone" turned out to be Brent Phearson, the football team's best running back, and a seriously homophobic bully. "What's the matter, faggot? Your limp ankles finally give out? Maybe it's time someone put you out of our misery."
"P-please don't--" Ezekiel felt ill, as though something was growing in his brain.
"Oh, I know you want me, you little queer. I seen you staring at me in the showers. I know you want something rammed up your butt." And with that, Brent kicked Ezekiel in the general area of his buttocks.
Everyone laughed again.
Ezekiel felt something snap in his head. "If you can't see what's really going on, then maybe you shouldn't have eyes!" A violet glow surrounded first him, then Bryce, and when it faded, Bryce had only empty pits where his eyes used to be. "That...was cool," said Ezekiel as he stood up. "I wonder what else I can do."
The laughing stopped and the screaming began.
About an hour into Ezekiel's rampage, after he'd stopped by the school library and chosen the name "Apotheosis", the sheriff had rounded up the Mundus family, and asked them to attempt to talk the boy down.
"Boy, you get down here right now!" yelled Mr. Mundus. "I'm going to give you such a hiding!"
Mrs. Mundus shuddered. "Ixnay on the idinghay, Dear. I don't think he's in the mood."
Jenny coughed, and pleaded, "Ezekiel, I love you! Please don't do this, I'm begging you!"
Apotheosis cocked his head and smiled, but it wasn't the friendly sort of smile. "Dear, dear little Jenny. Poor, brave Jenny. Bearing up so nobly under her affliction. She's so *special.* I hate you. Oh, God it feels good to finally say it. I HATE you!" Violet light traced over his body.
Jenny cowered, and her father moved to shield her. "Don't you touch her, you little punk! I should have known, you can't possibly be my son!"
"Wrong, Pop. I'm exactly the son you deserve. And I'm not going to hurt Jenny. Much." Moving at inhuman speed, Apotheosis got behind them, and his violet rays struck Jenny. She writhed in pain as the rays played over her body.
When they stopped, however, she appeared unchanged. Jenny patted herself down, then realized, "My lungs, they don't hurt anymore! Nothing hurts!"
Apotheosis smirked. "That's right, Jenny. You're cured. You don't get to be special anymore. Now, vamoose, before I change my mind. You too, Mom and Pop. I don't want to ever see you again."
As the grateful family scrambled away, the sheriff hoped that the metahuman backup he'd called for would arrive soon.
POWERS/TACTICS: Apotheosis is able to alter the fabric of reality itself. This allows him to transform people and objects at will, control minds, project force fields and summon blasts of any desired composition. By bending space-time, he can even fly or teleport. Subconscious use of his powers prevents some forms of harm, and if wounded, Apothesis can simply cause the wound to go away as if it had never occured. He also is able to sense the realitiy around him without the use of his eyes.
Perhaps the most frightening application of Apotheosis' power is his ability to bend spacetime to make a transformation retroactive, as if it had always been the case. Fortunately, this requires him to spend several seconds to penetrate the time barrier, and the presence of other beings who remember the current timeline will cause it to fail.
Oh, and he's given himself superhuman physical prowess, just as a sideline.
For all his power, Apotheosis sucks at tactics. He prefers to track down his prey one by one, torture them with his transformations, and move on when he's had his fun. Initially, he will tend to underestimate metahuman opponents, slapping them down as quickly as possible without bothering to check on the results. If pressed, Apotheosis will use the most obvious energy blasts he can while protecting himself with a force field, or mind control an opponent into fighting for him. In dire circumstances, he'll attempt to teleport away. He will often forget useful applications of his powers, and will tend to repeat actions that succeed, even if they're now predictable.
PERSONALITY/MOTIVATION: Apotheosis feels that the world has kicked him around all his life, and now that he has power, he has the right to kick back hard. He remembers every insult, snide remark, blow and practical joke at his expense, and now he will repay tenfold. While he doesn't have any qualms about killing, dead people can't suffer, so he prefers to do things to them other than instant death. He also quite likes "poetic justice", and often tailors his transformations to match the victim's past crimes or personality.
Starved for affection and respect, Apotheosis can be easily manipulated by anyone who can sway his emotions. Insults are not as effective as they once were, since he can turn them back on their wielder, but if a barb strikes home and he's unable to avenge it, Apotheosis will fly into a destructive rage.
Campaign Use: Apotheosis is an example of a superhuman gaining powers at exactly the wrong time and place. He should be especially useful for Teen Champions campaigns, as young player characters are the most likely to empathize with his bankground.
Apotheosis will Hunt people who annoy him, but he will tend to be a bit haphazard about it. He may cooperate with other Hunters if they don't step on his nerves, but is unlikely to join a team or organization.
If Apotheosis is too powerful for your campaign, knock his Speed down a point or three, and lower the Active Points limit on his Multipower. If he's not powerful enough, move his Force Field out of his Multipower and give it Reduced END so he can attack at full strength with it on, and perhaps add a few more slots to the MP. (Eventually, he can have a Cosmic VPP.)
Plot Seeds....
Apotheosis Now: Ezekiel just gained his powers this morning, and is still rampaging through Littleton. The player characters are called in to deal with this dangerous new metahuman threat. By the time they arrive, Apotheosis has erected a four meter tall razor wire fence around the town to keep any more victims from escaping, The streets are littered with people who've obviously been transformed, many in horrific fashion; others who aren't obviously transformed but claim they have been, and some who are just acting bizarrely. There are bent lampposts, smashed automobiles, a couple of buildings are on fire, and the high school has a huge hole in its side. Civic-minded characters might try to allieviate some of the immediate suffering; cautious ones will try to gather more information about what happened.
A fight is not inevitable; a clever bunch of heroes might be able to give Apotheosis an attack of conscience and convince him to undo at least some of the damage. However, if the team includes Attitude Lad or Trigger-Happy Lass, this is unlikely.
Flow My Tears Softly, The Policeman Said: A player character that was especially obnoxious to Apotheosis the last time they met is ambushed by the reality-controller, inflicted with a humiliating transformation (including the blocking of any powers that would allow the victim to easily escape the situation), and then Apotheosis makes it retroactive. The protagonist must now make his way in a world where everyone believes that he has always been as he is now, no matter how ludicrous that seems. ("But you've always had the head of a chicken, Attitude Lad. I've seen your baby pictures.") Even if the victim manages to get the transformation reversed, the only way to restore the history he remembers is to convince Apotheosis to fix the timestream....
Golddigger: Apotheosis is back, but he seems to have changed his agenda. He's robbing banks, jewelry stores, boutiques--"He's got a girlfriend, doesn't he?" Yes, a reasonably attractive young female criminal has managed to get her claws into Apotheosis, and has convinced him to commit crimes for profit and to provide her with nice things. She's also giving him tips on tactics, making Apotheosis much more dangerous in battle, especially when she's present. Of course, she'd better not slip and reveal how she actually feels about Apotheosis where he can hear her.
Re: What Fiction Book (other than Science Fiction or Fantasy) have you recently finis "Bad Man's Gulch" by Max Brand. Actually, three long stories, only one of which appeared in magazines under the Brand name. (Coincidentally, also the one that he simultaneously sold a movie script for.) Exciting Western action, the middle story of which "Billy Angel, Trouble Lover" has the rarity of being from the woman's perspective.