Doc Samson

Re: Looking for playability criticisms

Desolidification only vs Death?

Re: Looking for playability criticisms

Yeah. See, this is the point. Death himself SHOULD be able to kill you, and you SHOULD be able to stay dead when he does.

 

Because Death's shtick is "He can kill anything. Period." Why should Death have to pay for a huge uncontrolled, constant area effect suppress of regenerate from death? That's kind of outlandish and overpointed.

Do you think I should put a Suppress vs. (Suppress vs. Regeneration) in my Multipower?

Just kidding!

Re: Looking for playability criticisms

Thank you Hugh. I will definitely take one of your recommendations for how to handle the Distinctive Features. They all seem solid so I have to decide which will play the best for me. I made a few very small changes to his background description to represent that he is not a research scientist himself but an industrial consultant.

Re: Looking for playability criticisms

Wow, great feedback all. Thank you.

when grown

does 12d6

has -4d6 damage negation

so a 12d6 attack does 8d6 average 28 stun versus 24 defense so takes 4 stun

runs 36 m

 

when stretched

does 12d6

so a 12d6 attack does 42 stun versus 24 defense so takes 18 stun

runs 12 m

stretches 16 m

His primary combat power is meant to be Growth but I know from past experience that many situations (narrow hallways for example) don't allow it. The Stretching + STR power allows him to contribute (with less overall effectiveness) when Growth is not possible. Please note that the Damage Negation is meant to counteract the fact that his DCV is 4 when grown which makes multiple attacks, move throughs, and called shots (if allowed in the game) to be very dangerous.

This character lacks a way to get around in a hurry. Maybe the team has its own jet and that is not a problem. Otherwise you might want to address it.

 

IMO, a cool way for this character to get around would a megascale teleport only to swamps/bogs/wet lands requiring 5 minutes extra time. It would be defined as allowing is body to return to nature where he is and then reforming it somewhere else. Not sure where you would get the points to pay for power, but if you could find them it seems like it would be a good fit for this character.

This is a cool idea. Thank you.

It should be easy enough to add to the multipower.

Seconded.

Characteristics: His DEX is too low and his EGO is too high. He doesn't have the traditional mental weakness, but most agents act between 13-17. Unless he can stop every attack that comes at him from minions cold, this is a bad idea. Raise his CON to 30, so that he can actually withstand punishment from his equals. Having a DMCV of 8 is wasted on this character. Those points are better spent on his PD and ED, or a special defense, which should probably be Power Defense because it fits. OCV and DCV are too high, drop them by 1 each and put those points into his PRE or his REC. His STUN total is way too low for a brick, you also might want to consider raising that. 30 isn't unheard of for a brick as far as PD is concerned, maybe even 32 to stop cold most basic agent attacks.

 

Powers: What exactly is the special effect of his desolidification? Now, I'm a pretty strict guy and everyone knows that, but if your powers are more or less wood and vine oriented, desolidification doesn't really fit. If this were my game, I probably wouldn't allow your "Wood Character" to have that ability. Those points may, in fact, be better spent on some of the skills the character has picked up. Stretching should be bought outside the MP, this is a much better construction for both battlefield control and survivability. Some GM's hate this, because stretching is now more effective with high STR than Blast ever was, so clear it with them first. Why exactly three extra limbs? By special effect, this guy should be able to grow or remove as many vegetative appendages as he wants. The Damage Negation is meaningless at this power level, and may be too effective pound for pound. I would recommend re-spending those points on skills to justify your character's profession, life, and tactical sense.

 

Resurrection: Disallowed. It makes the Hunted disadvantage meaningless. "I'm going to kill you."

 

"Too bad, Sulfuria, I live forever."

 

The regeneration is fine, but there's no reason EVER to make a PC unkillable. Seemingly unkillable is fine, but I have big problems when I run when people create characters for whom there is no risk of death unless EVERYONE can't be killed. This has the additional possibility of ticking off your fellow players. You should watch your step with this one.

 

Skills

 

A non-military character with tactics? This needs to be justified. Does he have a KS of military history? Does he love the Civil War? Was he raised by a clone of Irwin Rommel?

 

More importantly, because your character grows to massive size, who cares about your DCV? Just buy +2 with Punch, Grab, and Haymaker instead of spending a ton of points on OCV. Your massive strength allows you to crush people with the scenery at will.

 

This guy's a quality control consultant for a biotechnology company? How about SC: Biotechnology, 11-(Minimum), Systems Operation, PS: Engineer, and a host of other skills he'd need to actually do his job. You can get those points out of Resurrection.

 

Complications:

 

Your susceptibility is meaningless if you have resurrection, as you can't actually die from it. See above. This is not a disadvantage if you have ressurrection, and is worth no points.

 

Your Distinctive Feature is also illegal, as you cannot have an easily concealed distinctive feature that is simultaneously detectable by common senses. Unless he smells like a rotting pile of muck all the time, then he's not getting any points for it.

 

Kudos to you, however, for being vulnerable to fire and taking a fire using hunted. That takes spine, that is, if you don't have resurrection.

 

Again, the public ID is kind of a wash. Everyone can find you, but in the end, so what, as you have no dependents and can't be killed. Without people you care about to maim, torture, and kidnap, the GM has no purchase to tell good stories about your character.

 

These opinions are solely the opinion of Balabanto and do not reflect your personal GM. However, as written, I would not allow this character in a game I ran.

Thank you for your time, it is much appreciated. I will take it all into consideration. I will try to answer a few concerns below.

1. When Grown his CON is 30, PD and ED are 30, PRE is 30, and STUN is 60. I am not sure my GM would allow me go higher than those values for a new character in a standard superhero game but I will ask.

2. Desolidification - He's a Man-Thing/ Swamp Thing homage. Man-Thing is made of muck and can squeeze through small spaces. That is the effect I was looking for.

3. Extra Limbs are set at 10 just because I'm not sure what I would do with more than that.

4. Resurrection - Good point. If allowed I would make it that he cannot Resurrect from fire damage.

5. Skills - I'll spare you the boring details about my job but I do compliance consulting for scientists in many different fields that I do not have a background in. IMHO a good coach doesn't need to be a player himself, he just needs to be able to identify and cultivate someone else's talent. I intended Tactics and Deduction to represent the character's problem solving abilities and not reflect military training.

6. The Distinctive Features - I was not aware the combination was illegal. I will look into it.

[edit] Distinctive Features - I am not sure what to do here. Due to past experiences playing monster characters, I wanted to make sure the character could take part in all that stuff in between combats (in our games combats tend to make up less of the game than roleplaying). I originally wanted the character to be able to return to a human, or human-like form but be scary monster when "powered-up". What would be the best way to do this? I thought an easily concealable Distinctive Features would represent that he is not as scary when not using his power. Should I be looking into an Alternate ID or Multiform instead?

Susceptibility? Am I missing something? Or are you talking about the Dependence? Just curious and confused.

 

As to the regeneration -- I'd change "only while character is touching the ground" to "only while character is touching soil/vegetation/wetlands/etc." It would be more of a Limitation (like -1/2) but it makes sense that he's not getting much regenerative bonus from, say, standing on concrete. Perhaps add a minor environmental side effect, as he pulls the "life" out of the surrounding vegetation and into himself. Just ideas, take or discard as you wish.

 

[Edit: The environmental SE would mean that he could feasibly suck the life out of an area and have to move elsewhere to keep regenerating.]

 

And regarding the resurrection, I'd have to disagree with disallowing it as long as there's a reasonable way an enemy could keep him from regenerating. Putting his ashes in a jar on a shelf, perhaps as a trophy, would do it just fine.

 

And all Hunteds aren't out to kill the target, so resurrection doesn't necessarily make the Hunted meaningless. After all, it says "Harshly Punish," not "Kill." I read a short story about someone making a deal with the devil for eternal life. And then got put in prison for life. Sure, he couldn't die, but an eternity in prison (or in Protean's case, getting constantly burned alive for Sulfuria's amusement) would truly suck.

I have a Dependence on the sheet. I think that is what he meant. As above, I will have fire disable the Resurrect. It will also make the Hunted a lot more scary. I picture a Hunted confrontation being extremely difficult when his team is not around. I need to flesh out the motivations of the Hunted. All I have so far is that she was the saboteur that created the explosion that gave him his powers and was also given powers by the same blast (what the heck was in that reactor?).

Not actually a criticism, but a query toward the whole regen/resurrection thing. Would a Suppress (a chemical agent for plot purposes, being as he is plant life, source of powers and so forth) against his regen not work to counter that? Sulfuria, tired of igniting him and then having him slither out of a swamp, uses her espionage skills to steal a super strong plant suppressant and spray him with it, noting as she does that now he is vulnerable to death? Or is that a little too cliche?

 

I play (or did play, at this point) in a supers game with a regenerating character with fire issues. How much would it compromise the character here to have reduced regen vs. Fire? Don't know how you could model it in 6th (don't have the books right now) but that makes Sulfuria a lot more threatening. And if I read your objections right Balabanto, would solve most of your problems with a non-threatening nemesis and an invincible character.

 

Merely my own thoughts on the matter. I know my character got a lot more careful after spending a few weeks slowly healing his burns, despite being able to romp through a wall of tiny demons who struggled to make a lasting mark.

Sounds good to me. It wasn't my intention to make some encounters trivial but only to represent the many times characters like the Heap, Man-Thing, Swamp Thing, and Solomon Grundy seem to survive death.

Re: Looking for playability criticisms

I like it

 

I see two themes of Limitation (only when touching ground & unified power).

 

I might build some core powers that don't have either and then have a secondary group that is essentially a 'bonus' when touching the ground.

I also tend to restrict the use of unified power to big stuff only (the opposite of Steve Long's examples) as the smaller active point abilities are arguably easier to affect with multiple-target adjustment powers anyway.

Thank you for the feedback.

I had a similar thought and wanted to leave his core stats and life support without limitations so he would not be a complete normal in situations where the team has been "de-powered".

Re: Looking for playability criticisms

I beefed up his defenses a little while grown. I had to resort to Unified Power on some powers to free up some points though from a play point of view it may be appropriate as I kind of look at his various abilities as extensions of one power.

I've been playing around more lately with Bricks who have much higher PD than ED. It doesn't quite fit the classic Champions build style' date=' but it often makes sense in context, and it can be handy when points are hard to come by.[/quote']

More good advice, thanks.

Ah' date=' hadn't thought about that. Still might be worth folding into his MP, though.[/quote']

I think I may do that and convert it to Desolidification after all to add another defensive option.

I regret that as well' date=' and you're always welcome.[/quote']

I am very flattered to hear that. I also just recently moved to Cherry Hill. I would love to play again but I am still at the mercy (or lack thereof) of a chaotic schedule. What day/ times do you get together (heck I would be thrilled just to be around other adults for a change)? (Let me know if you prefer a private message.)

Re: Looking for playability criticisms

Heya Oddhat. Thank you for the input

I agree, his defenses should be beefed up a bit when grown. I will make some adjustments.

I was actually hoping to use the Shape Shift to ooze through spaces the character could normally not fit into per Touch Group Shape Shift without having to resort to Desolidification ("alter his actual physical shape or mass distribution (though his total mass would not change), thus allowing him to, for example, slip out of bonds, radically alter his form, or within reason to fit through openings a human-shaped being cannot fit through (the classic meaning of “shifting shape”)").

On a side note, boy do I regret not being able to grab a spot in your group (my daughter had just been born). I haven't been able to get anything going since.

Re: Looking for playability criticisms

Good point. I'll make some adjustments. Thank you.

(edit) Wow, your right. My END expenditure is almost as bad even when not using Growth. I will definitely need to look into some END advantages when I get experience points.

Hi all. I am trying to get some of my friends to start up a game again and wanted to have character ready in the hopes I am successful. Please my character below and let me know what you think from a playability standpoint. While I have a lot of experience making characters (especially Bricks), it has been a long time since I have played and this will be our first 6E game. On a side note, I roughly based his power levels on the Brick's section of Champions (it was posted as a sneak peak a few months back) as I seem to make Brick's that are either too durable or not durable enough. The character is a Man-Thing/ Swamp Thing(/ Heap) homage.

We will likely be playing a 6E standard superhero game. Thank you in advance for replies.

Character Name: Protean

Alternate Identities: Eric Emmelman

CHARACTERISTICS

Val Char Base Points Total Roll Notes

30 STR 10 20 30 15- HTH Damage 6d6 END [3]

13 DEX 10 6 13 12-

20 CON 10 10 20 13-

18 INT 10 8 18 13- PER Roll 13-

20 EGO 10 10 20 13-

20 PRE 10 10 20 13- PRE Attack: 4d6

8 OCV 3 25 8

8 DCV 3 25 8

3 OMCV 3 0 3

8 DMCV 3 15 8

9 PD 2 7 9/24 9/24 PD (0/15 rPD)

9 ED 2 7 9/24 9/24 ED (0/15 rED)

5 SPD 2.0 30 5 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12

10 REC 4 6 10

60 END 20 8 60

14 BODY 10 4 14

48 STUN 20 14 48

12" Running 12 0 12m

4" Swimming 4 0 4m

4" Leaping 4 0 4m

205 Total Characteristics Points

SKILLS

Cost Name

6 +2 with a small group of attacks (Grab, Move Through, and Strike)

3 Deduction 13-

3 Science Skill: Behavioral Psychology 13-

3 +1 with any three pre-defined Skills (Deduction, SS: Psychology, Tactics)

3 Tactics 13-

7 Teamwork 14-

25 Total Skills Cost

POWERS

Cost Power END

40 Plant and Wood Powers: Multipower, 50-point reserve, (50 Active Points); all slots Unified Power (-1/4)

3f 1) Desolidification (affected by Fire Attacks), Invisible Power Effects (Inobvious to [sight Group]; +1/4) (50 Active Points); Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2), Unified Power (-1/4) 5

3f 2) Growth (+30 STR, +10 CON, +10 PRE, +6 PD, +6 ED, +6 BODY, +12 STUN, +3m Reach, +24m Running, -12m KB, 801-6,400 kg, +4 to OCV to hit, +4 to PER Rolls to perceive character, 5-8m tall, 3-4m wide) (50 Active Points); Power Only Works While Character Is Touching The Ground (-1/4), Unified Power (-1/4) 5

4f 3) Selective Growth: (Total: 50 Active Cost, 36 Real Cost) Stretching 16m (16 Active Points); Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 13) plus +30 STR (30 Active Points); Linked (Stretching; -1/4), Unified Power (-1/4) (Real Cost: 20) plus Indirect (Source Point is the same for every use, path is from Source Point to target (the ground); +1/4); Unified Power (-1/4) for up to 16 Active Points of Stretching (4 Active Points) (Real Cost: 4) 6

3f 4) Tunneling 24m through 8 PD material, Fill In (50 Active Points); Limited Medium Limited (soil and rock only) (-1/2), Unified Power (-1/4) 5

7 Rooting: Clinging (normal STR) (10 Active Points); Power Only Works While Character Is Touching The Ground (-1/4), Unified Power (-1/4) 0

20 Damage Negation (-4 DCs Physical, -4 DCs Energy) (40 Active Points); Linked (Growth; -1/2), Power Only Works While Character Is Touching The Ground (-1/4), Unified Power (-1/4) 0

3 Extra Limbs (10) (5 Active Points); Linked (Selective Growth; -1/2), Unified Power (-1/4) 0

18 Self-Contained Ecosystem: Life Support (Eating: Character does not eat; Longevity: Immortal; Self-Contained Breathing) 0

33 Regeneration (1 BODY per Turn), Can Heal Limbs, Resurrection (character can’t be Resurrected if killed by fire) (41 Active Points); Power Only Works While Character Is Touching The Ground (-1/4) 0

36 Resistant Protection (15 PD/15 ED) (45 Active Points); Unified Power (-1/4) 0

170 Total Powers Cost

400 Total Character Cost

COMPLICATIONS

Cost Complication

5 Dependence: Water Takes 3d6 Damage (Very Common; 1 Day)

15 Distinctive Features: Shambling Swamp Creature (Easily Concealed; Extreme Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

20 Hunted: Sulfuria (fire powers, industrial espionage skills) Infrequently (As Pow; NCI; PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find; Harshly Punish)

15 Social Complication: Public Identity Frequently, Major

10 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x STUN Fire (Common)

10 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x BODY Fire (Common)

75 Total Complications Cost

APPEARANCE

Hair Color: Vegetation

Eye Color: Muck

Height: 2.00 m

Weight: 100.00 kg

Description: When using his power, Protean appears as a humanoid mass of muck and vegetation.

BACKGROUND

Eric Emmelman was a compliance consultant for a biotechnical research facility that was developing a process to regenerate damaged tissue to treat wounds and heal injuries. He fell into a bioreactor after an explosive hidden by a saboteur detonated.

PERSONALITY

Eric Emmelman has a background in industrial and organizational psychology that he utilizes to aid himself in making sound decisions. He uses his analytical nature and strong common sense to support his teammates both in and out of battle.

QUOTE

Protean's voice sounds like gurgling water.

POWERS/TACTICS

Protean's primary power is the ability to turn his body into a mass of vegetation and muck. In this form he is able to flow through small openings and allow solid objects will pass through him without harm. He is also capable of absorbing flora from the environment to become super-strong and highly resistant to injury. Protean heals quickly and can recover from seemingly fatal wounds. An additional side effect of his power is that he seems to have stopped aging.

CAMPAIGN_USE

Metamorph Brick

Re: The Heap (public domain version)

A version of him has also appeared in Image (Spawn) and one of the references (marvunapp) mentions a Marvel appearance.

It also looks like Shocker Toys may be making a Heap action figure in their Golden Age collection (http://www.shockertoys.com/product/155) <--- they made it, updated link

I'm not really sure why but I like this character so here is a write-up.

Character Name: The Heap

Alternate Identities: Baron Eric von Emmelman

CHARACTERISTICS

Val Char Base Points Total Roll Notes

60 STR 10 50 60 21- HTH Damage 12d6 END [6]

10 DEX 10 0 10 11-

30 CON 10 20 30 15-

20 BODY 10 10 20

5 INT 10 -5 5 10- PER Roll 10-

20 EGO 10 10 20 13-

30 PRE 10 20 30 15- PRE Attack: 6d6

10 OCV 3 35 10

3 DCV 3 0 3

3 OMCV 3 0 3

8 DMCV 3 25 8

0 PD 2 -2 0/30 0/30 PD (0/30 rPD)

0 ED 2 -2 0/30 0/30 ED (0/30 rED)

4 SPD 2.0 20 4 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12

10 REC 4 6 10

60 END 20 8 60

60 STUN 20 20 60

12" Running 12 0 12m

4" Swimming 4 0 4m

4" Leaping 4 0 4m

205 Total Characteristics Points

SKILLS

Cost Name

13 (formerly): Combat Piloting 16-

13 Total Skills Cost

PERKS

Cost Name

2 (formerly): Positive Reputation: WWI flying ace (A small to medium sized group) 14-, +2/+2d6

2 Total Perks Cost

POWERS

Cost Power END

40 Damage Negation (-4 DCs Physical, -4 DCs Energy) 0

18 Life Support (Eating: Character does not eat; Longevity: Immortal; Self-Contained Breathing) 0

27 Regeneration (1 BODY per Week), Can Heal Limbs, Resurrection 0

90 Resistant Protection (30 PD/30 ED) 0

5 Muck Body: Shape Shift (Touch Group) 1

180 Total Powers Cost

DISADVANTAGES

Cost Disadvantage

25 Distinctive Features: Shambling Swamp Creature (Not Concealable; Extreme Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)

15 Negative Reputation: Mindless Muck Monster, Very Frequently

20 Physical Complication: Cannot Breathe and Must Consume Living Creatures to Obtain Oxygen (Infrequently; Fully Impairing)

15 Psychological Complication: Hunts Bad Guys (Very Common; Moderate)

75 Total Disadvantages Cost

Total Points: 400

APPEARANCE

Hair Color: Vegetation

Eye Color: Muck

Height: 2.00 m

Weight: 200.00 kg

Description:

BACKGROUND

Baron Eric von Emmelman was a German flying ace shot down during World War One. He landed in Wassau Swamp in Poland on October 12th, 1918. Over the course of twenty years he merged with the muck and vegetation of the swamp and rose again. He fought against the Germans and the Japanese during WWII. He then made his way to the United States to fight crime. Heap has also come into conflict with WWII aviator Skywolf, his own team, and Airboy on several occasions.

First Appearance: Air Fighters #3 (Hillman Periodicals, December, 1942)

Creators: Harry Stein (writer) and Mort Leav (artist)

Other (Golden Age) Appearances: Airboy Comics #vol. 3 #9 - vol. 10 #4

References:

http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Heap

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/h/heap.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heap

http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/heaphillmanaveng.htm

PERSONALITY

Despite his appearance and seeming mindlessness, heap is one of the good guys. While he did occasionally consume farm animals whole, he only did it because he cannot breathe and needed the oxygen in their blood. The only people he has harmed were bad guys such as Nazis and evil Japanese officers.

POWERS/TACTICS

Heap posesses superhuman strength, extreme resistance to injury, and is able to reform if destroyed. He is unable to breathe so he must digest living creatures to absorb the oxygen in their blood.

CAMPAIGN_USE

Heap is believed to have been inspired by Theordore Sturgeon's 1940 short story, "It!" and is comicdom's first shambling swamp monster. Heap is also believed to be the inspiration behind other similar comic book characters including Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, Solomon Grundy, and the Glob (Incredible Hulk villain).

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It!_(story)

http://www.toonopedia.com/heap.htm

Re: Shattered Dimensions, or An Excuse to Rebuild Spider-Man

I'm amused by your warped visions. How many more of these do you have?

A few other ideas off the top of my head...

Ghost Spider - an American Indian Medicine Man (possibly Lakota or Navajo) with the powers of the Spider Spirit from a timeline that is still in the Old West

Earth Spider - a member of the Spider Ninja Clan (Tsuchigumo) from an alternate realtity where Japan rules the world

Daddy Long Legs - an African freedom fighter who combats slavery with the powers of the Spider God (Anasi) in a cursed future

Re: No Ordinary Quiz

Super-Strength

Funny...have a rep sandwich.

Re: Shattered Dimensions, or An Excuse to Rebuild Spider-Man

Background/History: Peter "the Platypus" Parker was a photographer for the Daily Trumpet in Sydney, Australia. One day while on a shoot for a story about the effects of pollution on the platypus population he was stung by a radioactive platypus (yes, they are venomous via ankle spurs). This had no effect on Peter aside from making him angry although he was already a semi-aquatic mutant with the power of electroreception (radar, for lack of a better description). Shortly after he decided to take some martial arts classes, build himself a platypus themed costume and gadgets, and make trouble for other superhumans purely for the fun of it.

Personality/Motivation: Platypus man is seemingly insane. Only his therpaist knows for sure and he's not talking. Platypus man is a thrill seeker who enjoys confronting supervillains for fun. He will also occasionally attempt to test himself against another superhero.

Quote: If asked about his origin, Platypus man will randomly reply that:

- he was bitten by a radioactive platypus

- he was augmented by the Super Platypus Serum

- he is actually a mutant platypus

- he chose the platypus as his symbol to strike fear into the hearts of criminals

- he is the last survivor of an alien race of platypus people

- his “Platypus Sense” is tingling and then wander off

Powers/Tactics: Platypus Man's abilities come from a mish-mosh of origins (mutant, martial arts, inventor) and archetypes (quick-brick, martial artist, gadgeteer). While he is not very powerful in any single regard, combined his abilities can make him a formidable opponent. Please note that a few of his powers work deceptively well together. For example, his “eggshell grenades” do not interfere with his “electroreception” and can also be used to conceal his escape when used before clinging or tunneling.

Platypus Man

Peter "the Platypus Photographer" Parker

Char Cost

30 STR 20

20 DEX 20

30 CON 20

18 INT 8

20 EGO 10

20 PRE 10

10 OCV 35

10 DCV 35

1 OMCV -6

3 DMCV 0

6 SPD 40

10 PD 8

10 ED 8

10 REC 6

50 END 6

20 BODY 10

50 STUN 15

20m Running 8

20m Swimming 8

12m Leaping 4

Total Characteristics Cost: 265

Cost Skills, Perks, and Talents

3 Demolitions, 13-

1 KS: Platypuses, 8-

3 PS: Photographer, 13-

3 SS: Chemistry, 13-

2 Survival (Marine) 13-

2 Weaponsmith (Chemical Weapons), 13-

5 MA: Defensive Strike “Duck Bill Strike”

3 MA: Legsweep “Beaver Tail Sweep”

4 MA: Martial Strike “Platypus Strike"

5 MA: Offensive Strike “Otter Claw Strike”

30 Combat Luck: 15 PD/ 15ED

4 Environmental Movement (Aquatic Movement)

Total Skills, Perks, and Talents Cost: 65

Cost Powers and Equipment

13 Damage Negation: 2 DC/ 2 DC, OIF “Platypus Hide Costume”

15 Radar “Electroreception”

5 Life Support Extended Breathing 2, Safe Environment: High Pressure, Intense Cold “Semi-aquatic”

20 Multipower (30 APs), OIF “Claws”

- 1 Clinging

- 1 HA, 6d6 (ED), 12 Charges “Venomous Spurs”

- 1 Tunneling, 4”/ 8PD, Fill In, Limited Medium: Soil and Rock Only

12 Multipower (30 APs), 6 Continuing 1 Turn Charges, OAF “Eggshell Grenades”, Range Based on STR

- 1 Darkness, Sight Group, 6m

- 1 Flash, 4d6, Sight Group, Area of Effect 8m Radius

Total Powers Cost: 70

Total Cost: 400

Cost Complications

5 Distinctive Features: Mutant (Not Concealable, Noticed and Recognizable, Unusual Sense)

15 Hunted: Random villain or hero (As Powerful, Infrequently) “Rogues Gallery”

15 Psychological Limitation: Thrill Seeker “Adrenaline Junkie” (Very Common, Moderate)

15 Psychological Limitation: Hunts villains but also likes to test himself against other heroes (Very Common, Moderate)

15 Negative Reputation: Unpredictable “Crazy Superhero” (Very Frequently)

10 Vulnerability: Chemicals (Uncommon, x2 Effect) "Vulnerable to the effects of pollution”

Total Complications Points: 75

Re: Looking for help with a Hero name

Limelight

It is a play on both green (lime) and fire (light).

Also, being in the limelight references someone being famous or seeking attention. This could be a play on her desire to be a hero or perhaps her parents have teased her in the past about "always wanting to be in the limelight".

Re: What Do I Throw At Them?

I would combine the Cloverfield and mirror-mirror ideas and put them in a Zombie World.

Session 1: They must survive clashes with the zombie horde (I would stat the zombie horde as a single giant monster with massive regen and resurrection). The SFX of damaging attacks are zombified super heroes and villains that they recognize from other story arcs.

complication - The characters should be able to confront a horde but not completely destroy it. A defeated horde will regenerate and resurrect with the SFX of zombies shambling from everywhere until it is a horde again. Have the horde attack any time the drama stalls.

Session 2: They must save any survivors they find until they piece together what happened. Travellers from a parallel universe brought the "zombie virus" and infected everyone.

complication - Pockets of survivors they discover only have pieces of the story but eventually lead the characters to the last holdout of humanity. If the characters drag their feet, have one of them become infected and a survivor tell them there is a rumor of a cure.

Session 3: They must destroy the source of the virus so that the last holdout of survivors can use the cure they have developed. The source of the virus is zombified versions of the characters themselves.

complication - If the charcaters get stumped on what to do next, have the zombie versions of them seek them out to destroy the cure because "they like what they have done with the place."

Re: Help naming characters? (Teen Champions)

My suggestions off the top of my head.

1. Camouflage

2. Brainbuster

3. Amazon

4. Erudite

5. Tigress (seconded, jms1973)

Re: The Philadelphia Experiment (with apologies to Charles Berlitz)

My top 3 (I live there too):

The labor unions choked the entire city to death.

The MOVE organization tried to reform causing the Mayor to drop an even bigger bomb this time (yes it happened before) destroying the entire city.

The police arrested everyone affiliated with organized crime leaving noone left.

These movies took place in Jersey and Philly, maybe they can provide some inspiration.

How about an outbreak of some sort? - 12 Monkeys (Philly and Camden)

The plants killed everyone? - The Happening (and all his other movies take place in Philly)

Something cause an epidemic of indestuctable mad slashers. Jason Voorhees (named after Voorhees NJ, took place in the Pine Barrens), Micheal Myers (took place in another state based on Haddonfield NJ).

Zombies - Night of the Living Dead

A Demon did it - Fallen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_set_in_Pennsylvania

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_set_in_Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania

My actual suggestion - A secret war between the Freeasons and the Illuminati resulted in the use of an ancient artifact that destoyed the entire Philadelphia area, leaving only Old City and Camden in its wake. Noone knows who were the good guys and who were the bad. The nature of the artifact (magic, alien technology, extradimensional forces) is not known as it was never recovered.

-edit-

Just read your last post, good stuff and repped.

Re: New character idea.

We had a mentalist in a game awhile ago that had a similar ability to the first one you described. It was a continuous mental suggestion to anyone around him that they did not want to hurt him.

- Build one was a continuous AE Mind Control. Like most "toggle" powers (when they work you are invulnerable but when they fail you are one-shotted) we quickly decided it wasn't very fun.

- Build two was a DCV bonus (like LL's suggestion above. We actually built it using the self only CE option to lower attackers DCVs). While much better for me (the GM), the player didn't like it because he still had the problem that attacks that hit him often stunned or finished him (I think this a common problem when DCV is your primary defense).

- Build three lasted for the rest of our run. The power was built as Damage Reduction. The SFX was that you could attack and hit the character, but subconsciously you were being forced to pull your punch. The harder you tried to hit, the more the subconscious protection kicked in (just as DR reduces damage by a % and not a flat amount). This build worked out well for both of us. We didn't have Damage Negation when this character was played but that may have been an option we would have explored as well.

For your second power, I would build it as a Killing Attack (probably as big as the GM will allow in the game) Linked to the Grab maneuver with the Limitation that you need to hit with 4 consecutive grab attacks (the tentacles) without the victim escaping. If you want to hit with all 4 in one phase you must use the Multiple Attack maneuver, otherwise it will take multiple phases. Once all four grabs hit, the Killing attack is useable as a Linked power until the victim dies (at which point the SFX would be that his brain has been removed). I think this power should be difficult to pull off but very damaging (obviously) when it works.

I hope my suggestions are helpful.

Re: Guess the inspiration behind this superteam!

Looks like they're based on the five Chinese elements.

You are correct. I was hoping metal and wood might throw people off the elements trail.

Re: Guess the inspiration behind this superteam!

Here is another team my players faced awhile back. They are actually Golden Age heroes the characters threw down with during a time travel story arc. I think this will be easy so I will leave the descriptions very brief.

(Deadly) Nightshade - wood and plant manipulation and control

Wildfire - fire generation

Landslide - travel through earth and stone

Mettle - transformation into steel

Torrent - water absorbtion (and release)

Re: Guess the inspiration behind this superteam!

D'oh! I just got it...

Good job with rep on top .

A collection of Tall Tales:

Paul Bunion

John Henry

Pecos Bill

Johnny Appleseed

Calamity Jane

You also got it. The last character could have been Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, Slue-Foot Sue, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, or any of the other tough women of folklore/ tall tales.

Re: Guess the inspiration behind this superteam!

the justice machine?

Nope.

Re: Guess the inspiration behind this superteam!

This is a group I wrote up ages past (I kinda wished I still had the sheets) to help new players get used to the game. The founding members of the Avengers are a loose template but not the inspiration for the characters.

Big Man - Growth Brick

Hammer - a hammer wielding Weaponmaster

Twister - a whirling Speedster who can create small tornados to ride on and use mundane object to lasso enemies

Seed - an inventor with the ability to accelerate the growth of flora and direct the growth in any direction or shape he chooses.

Widow (hint: could represent one of a few different sources) - a tough and deadly lady sharpshooter

Re: Growth SFX question

Interesting. We have had similar thoughts. We usually treat it as a sense affecting power.