Amorkca

Well you could define each one as targeting something.  Like Essence is ED, Channelling is Power Defense, and Mentalism is Mental Defense.

Last week's Star Wars game featured the Battle of Endor and destruction of the second Death Star.
 
Except in this game, instead of the Ewoks being annoying midgets in teddy bear costumes, the GM turned them into terrifying CGI killbeasts who see the world as divided into into "Food" and "Things We Can Use To Kill Food." And the former category very emphatically does NOT include exceptions for sentient species. We manage to convince them not to eat us in exchange for helping them kill "The Food That Comes In White Shells" aka Stormtroopers.
 
GM: "The Ewoks start singing a battle song..."
PCs (all singing) "Yub yub, Ewok yub yub..."
GM: "Actually their battle songs sound more like recipes." (singing in a low dirge voice) "Add 2 cups butter, parsley and simmer until tender."
PCs:
 
 
Another change in this game is that Luke died blowing up the 1st Death Star, so Leia (as an NPC) became a Jedi instead; while the PCs take out the shield generator planetside, she's the one who goes up to the Death Star to watch Vader and the Emperor kill each other. Afterwards, back on Endor she readies Dad's corpse for the big Viking funeral send-off.
 
PC1: (to Leia) "Do you want to keep Lord Vader's shuttle?"
Leia: "No, you guys can have it."
PC2: "But you should at least keep his helmet. As a memento"
Leia: "That helmet is a reminder of what my father turned into, a monster who killed millions. Why would I want to be reminded of that?"
PC1: "Oh, you may not want it now. But someday your kids might want something to connect them to the grandfather they never knew."
GM: "..."
PC2: "Something to brood and obsess over..."
GM: "STOP!"

Thanks for the reply!  That's a lot of work... Thanks for your work!!

Dr. Demonica: Evelyn Diablos (her actual name. It was a source of endless amusement to her peers in college and aggravation for Evelyn) was a promising resarcher for Horizon Technologies, the bleeding edge organization dedicated to pushing the boundaries of conventional and "fringe" science in hopes of developing new technologies for a brighter, better tomorrow. Her field was physics, specifically quantum and spatial physics. She hoped to discover new, clean and inexhaustible power sources and even material resources by studying the concept of Zero Point energy and so called "dark matter". Dr. Diablos was largely consumed by her research, foregoing a normal life and interests in pursuit of her passion. 
 
In the course of her research, she came across sign of an unusual anomaly, a fold or pocket in space/time or perhaps reality itself.  The exact nature of this anomaly intrigued the doctor and she turned her considerable intellectual talents towards piercing one this Free Floating Singularity" as she dubbed it. It was fascinating, her calculations indicated that could have been as big as known Universe inside but generated nothing her instruments either conventional or the considerably more esoeteric resources avaiable to Horizon Tech could detect which only more. 
 
Evelyn was not a woman used to be stymied by anything intellectual and her curosity became as obsession. She vanished into her labs for montths. Finally, she thought she had a solution and using a somewhat unethical device that tapped into the powers of a clairvoyant subject (who endured significant discomfort but Evelyn paid her handsomely) she got her chance to see the inside of the FFS. Unfortunately for her. 
 
As it turned out it was a prison containing an entity so alien it might have been from a differnt universe completely or from some distant magical plane. It was bizarre, powerful, nearly mindless as human understood such things and malevolent. Sensing a Evelyn's intrusion, it attacked the doctor's projected awarness savagely out of pure malice and bestial instinct, trying to overtake and conquer it to have something to play with and torture. The horrifed scientist fought back with all her considerable will and intellect. The battle was intense, savage and over a few seconds. 
 
It was a draw. 
 
Evelyn's mind was left generally intact but tainted, partially merged with the malevolent alien's dark urges and mindset overwritting most of her morality and limits. Her attacker gained some of her intellect, awareness and mental nuance, became more human essentially which turned out to be someting of a curse as it was still trapped was aware of it and could feel bordome now and could only rage at it etneral confinement. One might suspect that "gift" was on purpose. Evelyn only smiles slightly at that suggesting that their battle had a victor after all. 
 
The dour, some might aloof even cold personality was replaced by an aggressively curious, amoral persona. Her sense of ethics even basic morality replaced with a ruthless drive to experiment. And she now had so many subjects. Evelyn had, deep down, always considered herself above most people, a breed apart though she didn't actively disdain them. Now most people, perhaps all people seemed like nothing more than fodder for her experiements, clever useful lab animals. Not just for simple scientific tests but for deeper exploration to jus what made and could break a person. 
 
For months, Evelyn subtly ran her tests at her place of work, quielty making her her co workers lives surrreal even Hellish. She's personally responsible for a number of the superhumans that can trace their origin to Horizon such as their corporate "Special Operatives" codenamed The Road crew. 
 
When she grew bored with subtly, Evelyn truly embraced the mad scientist persona after faking a disabling accident that forced Evelyn to "retire" and remerged as Dr. Demonica. A role that allows her to indulge her secret love of camp and meloadrama and play the cackling mad scientist to the hilt. WHich happens to cause her subjects to underestimate  even dismiss her while they'e drawn deeper and deeper into the sadistic games she calls "experiments" which are ofen layered to the point its difficult for an observer to tell what their true purpose except the Doctor's perverse amusmement. Though Demonica effects infernal trappings and often makes mention of "dark forces" she has no real ties to the nether realms. Its yet another deflection and private joke. 
 


 

For unique gems in Jolrhos I went to old Biblical translations and found the names for jewels used by Hebrews thousands of years ago most of which nobody can identify or knows to this day.  Gems are innately magical in the game world, and can greatly assist in enchanting (which is why magical items are so often crusted with gems).  Some even glow slightly in the dark, an idea I got from Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd & Gray Mouser stories.
 
ChodChod: A precious gem of two colors, always blue and white.  The blue section is rich and deep blue and transparent with bright refraction and great beauty.  It is bisected with a white section of almost quartz-like opaque crystal that is of dazzling beauty, embedded into the gem with a profile like trees or spires jutting up into the blue.   ChodChod has the innate property of granting +1 to constitution rolls and +1 to any defense used against a poison attack (rPD, power defense, etc).

Hydrax
 
Manny headman was granted the resilience of the legendary hydra he heals swiftly from even the most savage wound and any injury that causes a significant amount of damage spilt blood dismemberment etc will result in creation of perfect duplicates. (duplicates don't produce duplicates and eventually fade away)
 
his lack of offensive abilities leads him to act as the teams damage sponge blocking attacks versus other members of the team.
 
because the more he is hurt the more of him there are to defend his allies and civilians, he is often seen as completely reckless but his suicidal acts are actually highly calculated. He is not above having his team mates injure him to create duplicates when more hands are needed.

Ekō
 
Never before had Ekō ever been defeated. It was a bitter pill to swallow as the blood ran down her face. Ekō did her best to ignore her pain as she swore her revenge against Shingon. This wasn't over, it wasn't over by a longshot. As for her rival, Shingon, she just stood there with her hand extended as if offering Ekō a hand up. Intolerable. Swearing an oath, Ekō flung herself over the side of the building. Shingon lowered her hand and walked over to look over the side; there was no sign of Ekō. As she stood there looking up and down the alley a large shadow crossed her back. Power had come to stand behind her partner looking over her shoulder.
 
"She dead?" Power asked.
 
Shingon sighed a little before turning to look up in to the face of Power. "No, no I don't think so."
 
"Well as my grandma used to say the future will take care of itself. Let's get a drink."
 
The Heroines for Hire turned away from the edge making their way back to the closest bar.

Sky Marshal--Before Silver Avenger Virgil "The Verge" Jordan was recruited by PRIMUS, he was one of the best pilots in the US Air Force.  For that reason he was selected to field-test the ACAPS (Airborne Combatant Augmentation & Protection System) suit as a possible anti-supervillain weapon.  In his first outing with the suit he took on a squadron of VIPER Air Cavalry attempting to hijack an armored car convoy--and shot down all twelve of them.
 
While it was eventually deemed that the suit was too expensive for mass production, Jordan was allowed to keep the prototype ACAPS for as long as he was attached to PRIMUS.  As Sky Marshal, he adds a tremendous measure of power and experience to PRIMUS's air combat capabilities, and is hailed by other heroes as a valuable ally to the cause of justice.

Ambivalent has the power to make anybody stop caring about whatever they're doing.  He thought about becoming the third member of To Be Decided... but he hasn't made up his mind yet.
 
- - - - - - -
 
Dr. Sara Haley Ravenwood was an archaeologist working on a dig, specifically unearthing a long-buried Egyptian city,  when she found a necklace.  As soon as she touched it, however, a freak sandstorm erupted, and Dr. Ravenwood was seemingly buried along with the rest of the dig site.
 
At least, that's what everybody thought.  The mystic amulet actually turned Dr. Ravenwood into sand.  It took her several weeks to figure out how to bring her scattered particles together and reform into a humanoid form (albeit one made of sand).  Taking the name Sahara (from the first two letters of her first, middle, and last names), she decided to put her new powers to work protecting others.  (She also continues to search for the necklace, expecting that she will need it if she has any hope of returning to normal.

The first member of To Be Decided is...
 
Round tuIt, he always meant to join a team of heroes but never you know, got round to it....

The first member of To Be Decided is...
 
Round tuIt, he always meant to join a team of heroes but never you know, got round to it....

Peter Parrigew always meant to pick a hero name. At some point. In fact wherever he goes people seem to put off doing things. Why keep robbing the bank, the money will still be there tomorrow? Peter never got around to picking a name, but newsmen far away from him did. The Procrastinator. Peter is thinking of complaining about the name. At some point.

I guess it couldn't hurt to include one or two "snowball's chance in Hell" lunatic fringe orgs.

Lots of great in-character quotes this week, which of course I didn't write down and have since forgotten. But this out-of-character exchange will be remembered a long time...
 
Several of us had been having a lengthy discussion about using shields with spears, pikes, etc...
Female Player: "OK guys, are you done talking about Handling Your Spears so we can get back to the game?"

OK, this requires a little more set-up that the funny one-liners I typically post here, but it was too awesome not to share. This is a low-fantasy FH game set in 11th century Europe.
 
Dramatis Personae:
 
Thyri Torvaldsdottir: PC, Viking shieldmaiden with a mysterious past and serious anger management issues.
 
Father Edmondo: PC, Priest of Rome, the "face man." Edmondo and Thyri have an odd codependent relationship that includes an unspecified level of intimacy. (Hey, it's the 11th Century; celibacy for priests was encouraged, but not mandatory.)
 
Geralt Mac Uaid: PC, Irish warrior, also a chirurgeon (medic).
 
Jarl Calder: NPC, Thyri's nemesis. 5 years ago Calder raped and killed Thyri's mother, had her entire family declared outlaws, seized their lands, and oh yeah enslaved Thyri and tortured her for years before selling her into a pit fighting ring. (The other PCs don't know this part of her backstory.)
 
Hjortur Larsson: NPC, respected elder and neutral arbiter.
 
 
Our Heroes have returned to Thyri's native Sweden, where of course they run into Calder. Thyri goes Berserk and attacks Calder; after a lengthy fight, Thyri succeeds in beating the shit out of him, but Edmondo convinces her not to kill him.
 
Afterwards, Elder Larsson appoints himself as judge to hear their dispute and decide if Thyri should be punished for assaulting a Jarl and generally being an outlaw, or if her charges against Calder are justified. Thyri tells her emotional story, the first time the other PCs/players have heard any of it. Calder of course tells a completely different story, and several of his men are willing to back up his version of events. Edmondo on cross-examination is able to poke a few holes in their story, but nothing conclusive. And since she's been declared an Outlaw, she doesn't have the right of trial by combat so the fact that she already defeated him isn't considered conclusive. So it's basically He They Said, She Said, which of course is likely to go down in favor of the noble.
 
Geralt: [grasping at straws] "If he enslaved and tortured you for that long, do you maybe have any scars that can substantiate your story?"
 
Edmondo: [sudden realization] "Oh, is that what that's from?"
 
Thyri says nothing.
 
Edmondo walks over to Thyri and reaches towards her. Thyri shoots him a Back Off look. Edmondo returns a Trust Me look. Thyri, suddenly looking vulnerable for the first time since they've known her, nods.
 
Edmondo pulls Thyri's hair aside revealing the scar on the back of her neck that she always keeps hidden - where Calder had branded his initials into her with a hot knife.
 
Calder: "Uh..." [blank stare]
 
Elder Larsson: "...Well that seems pretty conclusive to me."
 
And Larsson rules in favor of Thyri. (Sentence TBD.)
 
 
I love it when minor bits of character backstory written months before, and which the GM had honestly forgotten about, become a big dramatic reveal and wind up being crucial to the plot!

I know nothing of the game Transistor, or the character Red.  So I hope you're not going to be irritated if I completely ignore the established character mentioned and instead use the image to create a new character (which, I believe, is the premise of this thread anyway).
 
I don't know where the giant sword came from.  Given its size, I really shouldn't even be able to wield it.  But somehow, I can.  With the circuitry motif, I doubt it's magical.  Maybe it's alien technology.  (shrug)  I don't know, and frankly I don't really care.  All I know is, with it in my hands I become almost unstoppable.
 
Some wag reporter jokingly called me Broad-Sword, but I started fighting that in the media right away.  Not that it worked 100%.  But at least some people call me by my chosen hero name of Joyeuse.  Practically nobody knows that's the name of Charlemagne's personal sword, and half of them pronounce it as "joyous," which to be fair is the English translation of Joyeuse.  But hey, practically anything's better than Broad-Sword.  Sometimes, you gotta take what you can get.
 
So, what can I do?  Well, when I have the sword in hand I'm covered in a protective field that's pretty darn bulletproof.  I'm also much stronger and faster than normal.  And it's definitely more than just a fancy Ginsu knife.  Sure, it can slice and dice like nobody's business.  But it can also generate a short-range electrical blast, create portals that I can step through to get across the room or even across town, and it even has it's own pocket dimension.  Oh, it also comes to me when I call for it.  Pretty damn cool, if I do say so myself.

You've lost your nose... don't lose the top of your head too!!!

Captain Canada!
 

Players in my campaign have only recently got their super-powers, one is water based...
 
Waking up he says, oops I wet the sheets, then turned red with embarrassment...

These are all characters who are going to be in supplements I'm writing for a different system. I might do Champions versions eventually for release (I had talked to Jason at GenCon after the private Strike Force session I played in from that KS, and he was open for setting me up with a license for HERO), but for now, I'm doing them for other game systems. I just like sharing the art on different forums, as it sometimes drums up more work for the artists who do commissions for me

I have an infrequently appearing Player who is a Vet and therefore all her characters must have Animal Friendship - she's new to the system and hasn't really been around to play with us, but when building her character I agreed that the cost was high!
 
I do like the other options your giving here and will follow this thread with interest,,,  I'm inclined to go with the +15 Pre version as it makes the most sense to me.

I was supposed to see it Wednesday as a win from a radio station - the preview - but when I arrived at the theatre, it was full so I couldn't get in - I did get passes for it though!!

The meta-gene. X-Chromosome or whatever its called isn't unique to humanity. Other species have experienced powered mutation over the decades since its appearance. Its just these anomalies have been both limited and isolated, unseen by human eyes except to fuel tall tales and legends of creatures like Drop Bears, Jackalopes and Chupacabra. Being wild animals these mutants often exist at the fringe or further in the wilderness and shy away from humanity.    That is until (Whale song sequence), who's mutation was human level and style sapience and some degree of psionic abilities and along fines that give some manipulative ability. His different mindset made him something of an outsider often wandering away from his pod to investigate things that stirred his curiosity. The odd floating islands that carried human across the surface were among them and he would linger near, testing his nascent abilities in trying to communicate with their inhabitants who seemed as curious about him most of the time. The similar minds delighted him.    Until his inevitable encounter with whalers.    The brutality of the attack he witnessed and the callous and cold emotions from the hunter enraged him. Instinctively he lashed out, bombarding them with both waves of his anger but terror and pain of their target but even more their confused sadness as to why they were being attacked for no reason they could discern. When the Greenpeace intervention ship arrived it found the entire crew stunned and nearly catatonic, mostly weeping with only a few able to murmur a single phrase: "They don't hate us, why don't they hate us?"    He retreated from investigating humans for a time both disturbed, saddened and confused. The shocking violence and amazing compassion and concern displayed by two groups of human was puzzling. He eventually decided to approach humans again, to learn to actually communicate with them and eventually bridge the gap between the species.      The whale's powers are mostly psionic including telepathy and some ability to experience the sensory input of others essentially "riding" them as a passive mental observer.. While he can exerts no direct control over the subject but can nudge them by invoking specific emotions like curiosity or fear. His ability to telepahically communicate  with human is currently limited since hid powers don't over come the figurative language barrier between the species limiting him to emotional and broad concepts. His communications usually feel like odd feelings and sometimes dreams to humans with a faint background noise of whale songs. On the more physical side, he has large flexible fore fins that can be used as limbs. His fine manipulation is limited but like his psionic abilities will grow with practice. 

Might?

One quote from the beginning that I forgot:
 
Circe:  (reading a news article about PRIMUS honoring the hero team for their hard work over the past year)  Why are they giving us an award?  Do they hate us?
 
(Player paranoia is a funny thing.  Thus far in this campaign, I don't think I've had a villain team attack the team once during an awards ceremony in their honor, and they've had several.  One heroine was even knighted by a foreign government for nearly sacrificing her life stopping a nuke from hitting their capital.  Nobody attacked or disrupted the ceremony.  I guess the takeaway is, players are never happy.)
 
On with the show.  Red shows the heroes some pictures of the people who have been flying around in the jet, from security cameras at each airport.
 
GM:  ...one guy looks young and is completely bald; one is big and bulky, with wavy black hair and a pornstache...
Maker:  Did you say 'pornstache'? 
 
Shadowboxer makes an intuitive leap.
 
Shadowboxer:  When was the jet in Montreal?
Red:  December 11.  Left the 18th.
Shadowboxer:  Was that the same time as the attack on the Mechanon base in Canada?
GM:  Maaaaaybe.
 
Looking at the notes Red found in the jet, Maker realizes that someone is modifying the same gravity lens idea that she investigated at the Mechanon base.  Which makes it very likely the people Red is trying to catch up with are the Heavy Metals. 
 
GM:  To clarify, don't confuse the Heavy Metals with Road Kill, whose lead singer is named Heavy Metal. They Heavy Metals aren't a band.
Honey Badger:  And yet, I'll bet they still sing better than Road Kill.
 
UNTIL lets the heroes know that the main thing taken from the Mechanon base is one of his repair/rebuild units.  Also that a quantity of adamantium was stolen for a metallurgy lab at Millennium City University, and the guts from an old Mechanon shell at the MC Science Museum.
 
Malarky:  So, they're going to build their own Mechanon?
Lt. Roe:  Rhodium's not stupid enough to do something like that.  Thus far, they've been pretty smart and careful.
Shadowboxer:  They'll at least make sure it has a switch, for Good and Evil. 
Lt. Roe:  Besides, they don't have access to the kind of resources Mechanon has.  We think they've already built a robot, a scaled-down version of Mechanon.  Probably programmed to be loyal to them.
Pops:  (heavy sarcasm)  Perfectly safe, I'm sure.  I don't see any way that can go wrong.
 
The heroes contact the PRIMUS base as well as UNTIL to warn both organizations.
 
Honey Badger: (to Red) I'll bet you don't want to meet the Colonel...
Red:  Why would you say that?  I've heard that Col. Hardin is a consummate professional, and I look forward to working with him.
Honey Badger:  ...
Maker:  Remember, dear.  Red doesn't have a sense of humor.  At all.
 
Meanwhile, the company Malarky works at in his secret ID is EcoOp (a clean energy, environmentally friendly company), and his work computer (specially tricked out with its own firewall and anti-hacking stuff) sends him a text that someone is trying to hack in.  Backtracking the hack, he discovers that the hacker spent most of his/her time looking at info on EcoOp's solar cells, and then started nosing around into other stuff before running into Malarky's enhanced security.
GM:  As you're tracing what the hacker did, you notice that someone just placed a relatively large order for the exact solar cells the hacker was looking at.  Are you going to interfere with it in any way?
Malarky:  Nope.  Let the sale go through.  It's more money for the people who pay my salary.  Who's paying for it, and where's it being shipped?
GM:  The order came from Montgomery International, and it's to be next-day shipped to an address in Chelsea.
Pops:  Next day delivery?  Who is this, Amazon?
 
They check out the delivery address, with is a disused warehouse.
 
GM:  There's a new looking sign out front:  Monty Haul Cartage.  "Transporting your Treasures Securely."
 
Inside, they find three hired guns (a female bodybuilder, an ex-con, and a former military guy).  Also a parked, empty refrigerated truck.  Circe reads the bodybuilder's mind. 
 
GM:  She was hired to guard the warehouse and receive a shipment.  When it arrives, they're to load it into the truck, sweep for bugs, make a call, and then leave.  They're not supposed to look into the boxes, but she's planning to.  Doesn't want to find out she signed for drugs or a dead body.'
Circe:  Why a refrigerated truck?
Honey Badger:  Camouflage.
GM:  Yep.  Everyone uses plain old panel trucks.  They're instantly suspicious.
 
Malarky:  Why did they come to Boston?  They could have ordered the solar cells and had them shipped anywhere.  What else do they need for that gravity lens idea?
GM:  Framework, electronics, the gravity manipulators...
Malarky:  The gravity manipulators - anyone in town make those?
GM:  As a matter of fact, Dyna-Tech, the company who did most of the parts for the new UNTIL Grav-SLeds, has a small factory on the west side of Boston.
Circe:  So they're probably going to break into Dyna-Tech while we're waiting across town for the shipment to arrive.
Red:  Why do that before they have the solar cells?  Why not just wait for the shipment, and then hit Dyna-Tech.  After all, a bird in the hand... damn it, now I'm doing it.
The shipment is delivered, loaded into the truck, call made, and the guards take off.  Malarky teleports into the refrigerated truck, tags a crate with a magical beacon, and teleports back out.
 
Circe:  When are they going to get here? 
Honey Badger:  Why would they all show up, just to drive a truck away?
Circe:  I don't want all of them.  Just two or three, so we can whittle down their numbers.
GM:  After an hour or so, nobody has showed up.  It appears they didn't read the script.
 
Malarky:  Maybe nobody's going to drive it off.  Maybe they'll just teleport in, and then teleport away with the goods.
GM:  Funny you should mention that.  Your magical beacon is suddenly sending a signal from somewhere other than the warehouse.
Malarky:  I hate it when the bad guys get smart.
 
They track it to another refrigerated truck, in Roxbury (several klicks away).
 
GM:  It's heading in the general direction of the airport, but not directly.  It's taking a circuitous route.
Shadowboxer:  Maybe the guy that hired the driver said, "For an extra hundred bucks, can you hit all the Pokemon Go stops in town?
Malarky:  I want a Pikachu!
 
The heroes / players don't know it, but one of the Heavy Metals spotted them tailing the truck.  Thinking they might lure the heroes out of town, Rhodium sends the pilot out to the plane after the solar cells are loaded up, with orders to take off and fly elsewhere.  But the heroes have other ideas.
Malarky:  I'm not so worried about the solar cells.  But it looks like they're drugging the pilot to get her cooperation.  So after she closes up the jet, Pops can teleport in and teleport her to the PRIMUS base for safekeeping.
Red:  Want me to stay with her at the PRIMUS base?
Malarky:  No, I think we'll need your help against the Heavy Metals.  We don't have a lot of front-line fighters.  Just Honey Badger and Shadowboxer.  The rest of us are more like support.
Pops:  Wait, I thought he was the guest star in our comic book.  Are we actually the guest stars in his comic book?
 
Shadowboxer:  How big is the Dyna-Tech factory?  Pretty big?
GM:  Well, it's not too big.  It's big enough to, say, fit on a standard battle map at a scale of one hex = 2 meters.
 
So the heroes are keeping a close eye on the Dyna-Tech facility and gearing up to take on the Heavy Metals and their Mechanon Junior, with the aid of Rhode Island Red, an UNTIL strike force, a Silver Avenger, and a PRIMUS assault team.  Plus, Dyna-Tech has four guards in sets of TURTLE Armor.  Should be a cake walk for the good guys, right? 
 
Of course, villains have Hunteds too.  Especially those who dare to steal from Mechanon, trash a base of his, and build their own lackey in his image.  Heh, heh, heh.