Comic

Re: Down but not out I've played WOD environments with the default that some extremely tough species don't stop talking until they're torn apart, or are too overcome by angst to speak. It can get carried too far. Graphic ick-factor warning.

Re: Post-Apocalyptic Hero -- What Do *You* Want To See? ..or.. that.. sure.

Re: Deep holes on Mars Hrm. Looks like a martian version of a sinkhole. Mars' lower gravity and solar heating of subsurface ice apparently cause occasional pressure venting that can fling loose strata (note the traces running from one side of the hole where residual dust seems to have settled). This appears to be a natural, relatively recent (on a cosmological scale), structure. Why does NASA have to keep talking about 'life on Mars' (the most improbable conjecture) to 'explain' otherwise exciting and interesting phenomena well worth studying and appreciating for what they actually are?

Re: Post-Apocalyptic Hero -- What Do *You* Want To See? A brief listing of other subgenres and resources in an appendix? E.g.: H.G. Wells Time Machine, Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times (industrialization, not war, as the apocalypse), George Orwell's 1984, Huxley's Brave New World, Sagal's Omega Man, Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, and not to leave out the Malthusian apocalypses: Silent Running, Make Room! Make Room!, Soylent Green, Firefly/Serenity, the 70's tv series 'The Starlost', ..

Re: Density Control Question Offhand, sounds like a possible multipower with an EB with the -1/4 limitation 'limited to throwing range' (and possibly 'object of opportunity') as well as an entangle that takes no damage.

Re: Down but not out Entangles, drains, suppresses, dispels and force walls are also great for providing the losing side with a chance to angst. There's also the possibility of appealing to the character's reason and psych. lims.: keep struggling in a losing cause, and more innocents will be endangered. This is particularly likely to happen if the villains are known for leaving the scene of the crime without killing or capturing fallen foes. Of course, if everyone always fights to negative Stun, then no one's going to have these moments.

Re: New Game: Remnants of Hope Vignette "CommanderwhatcanIsay?" The tiger-striped, crouching figure trapped in the steel net doesn't struggle, though his rapidfire patter sounds confident, belying his obvious predicament. "Youcaughtmefairan'square," the smuggler continues, without pausing for a breath, barely comprehensible. "Congratulations,mycargoofbananas,poinsettias,tequila,orchidsandcocoabeanswon'tnetmeapenny, "whatwithallthebreakingofthecratesandsuch." There's a suggestion of regret, and the commander surveys the flindered, smoking boxes, eyes and nose registering the accuracy of the offhand inventory list. "Ashame." The commander's about to shut up the miscreant, leveling his blaster toward the fast-talking figure in the net. "Iunderstandyourleaderisparticularlyfondofexoticflowers." The red dot painted on the tigerstriped mask quavers. Score one for the smuggler... is he hinting that this was an authorized activity? "Ohwell,easycome,easygo." The voice is too confident, taking advantage of the commander's hesitation to continue. "Tradedthemforafewboxesofblessedearthandholywater." So.. it could have been an authorized covert.. but why wasn't he informed, the commander wonders, at these words. "Speakingofeasygo,I'mnotreallyhere,haven'tbeenfortwentyoddseconds.Mrreow." and the net collapses, the crescent smile and green eyes lingering a moment longer than the vanishing tigerstriped form.

Re: New Game: Remnants of Hope Cash Cat - final draft for submission [b][font=Comic Sans MS][size=3]Cash Cat - Calvin Crohn, 'Gentleman Merchant'[/size][/font][/b] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [font=Courier New][size=2]|[b][u]VAL[/u] [u]CHA[/u] [u]Cost[/u] [u]Base[/u] [u]Roll[/u] [u]Notes[/u][/b][/size][/font] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 75 STR 65 10 24- HTH Damage 15d6 [4][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 29 DEX 57 10 15- OCV 10 / DCV 10[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 33 CON 46 10 16-[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 11 BODY 2 10 11-[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 13 INT 3 10 12- PER Roll 12-[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 11 EGO 2 10 11- ECV: 4[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 15 PRE 5 10 12- PRE Attack: 3d6[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 10 COM 0 10 11-[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 33 PD 18 13 39 PD (22 rPD)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 31 ED 24 7 37 ED (22 rED)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 9 SPD 10 3.9 Phases: 2,3,4, 6,7,8, 10,11,12[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 22 REC 0 22[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 66 END 0 66[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 66 STUN 0 66[/font][/size] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [font=Courier New][size=2]| 7 RUN 2 7" [1][/size][/font] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 SWIM 1 3" [1][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 15 LEAP 0 15" 15" forward, 8" upward [4][/font][/size] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2]CHA Cost: 273[/size][/font][/b] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2]|[u]Cost[/u] [u]POWERS[/u][/size][/font][/b] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 15 [b]Cats Ease[/b]: 30 STR at 0 END "[b]Temporal Acceleration[/b]" [4][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 12 12 rPD/rED Damage Resistance "[b]Defensive Deceleration[/b]" [-][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 5 [b]CatsEye[/b]: UV Vision - "[b]Frequency Shift"[/b] [-][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 2 CatsIris: 5 pts. Flash Defense, Sight Group, Acts 11- "[b]Defensive Deceleration[/b]" [-][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 10 Life Support - Immune to Age (4 pts.) & Radiation/Temperature "[b]Defensive Deceleration[/b]" [-][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 5 7 pts. Mental Defense - "Mind Lost in Time" [-][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 2 +1" Running "Fitness" total 7" [1][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 1 +1" Swimming "Fitness" total 3" [1][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 10 2 Floating Teleport Locations "[b]Temporal Nexus[/b]" [-][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 90 Multipower Temporal Pool[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3u [b]Time Whiskers: [/b]Clairsentience: Normal Vision Past & Future 0 END (+1/2) No Conscious Control (-2) 90 AP [0][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 4u [b]Timerake: [/b]2d6 HKA vs rPD, AP (+1/2), Total 4d6 w/Str. 45 AP [5][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3u [b]Feared Timeclaw: [/b]Touch Image +Sight/Smell/Sound Groups, (+1/4) 1/2 END, from near time only (-1/2) 50 AP [2][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 1u [b]Timefur:[/b] 6 rPD/6 rED Force Field "[b]Defensive Deceleration[/b]" Only Costs END to Start (+1/4), 15 AP [2][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 9u [b]Timestalk[/b]: 11" Teleport x64 Distance x16 Mass (+1/4) 1/2 END 90 AP [3][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 5u [b]Timeleap: 9[/b]" Teleport x16 Mass (+1) Megascale 1"=1000 km, (+1/4) Vary Scale to 1"=1 km, (-1/2) x2 END 85 AP [16][/font][/size] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2]POWERS Cost: 177[/size][/font][/b] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2]|[u]Cost[/u] [u]SKILLS[/u][/size][/font][/b] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 8- Acting [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 8- AK: New Destruga [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 2 11- AK: Smuggling Routes[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 15- Breakfall[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 8- Climbing [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 12- Concealment[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 12- Conversation[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 8- CK: Destruga [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 8- Deduction [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 8- KS: Seedy Hangouts [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 4 pts. LS: English [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 8- Paramedics [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 12- Persuasion[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 8- PS: Smuggler [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 8- Shadowing [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 12- Navigation[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 12- Trading[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 12- Security Systems[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 12- Streetwise[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 15- Stealth[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2]SKILLS Cost: 29[/size][/font][/b] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2]|[u]Cost[/u] [u]Talents[/u][/size][/font][/b] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 15 Danger Sense 12- (INT), Out of Combat[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 Lightning Calculator[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 3 Speed Reading[/font][/size] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2]Talents Cost: 21[/size][/font][/b] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2][u]PERKS[/u] -[/size][/font][/b][font=Courier New][size=2] Cash has had certain .. reversals. No perks. He's not actually that great a smuggler.[/size][/font] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2]|[u]Val[/u] [u]DISADVANTAGES[/u][/size][/font][/b] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 10 DNPC: Smuggling crew 8- (Much Less Powerful than the PC; Group DNPC: x4 DNPCs)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 15 Hunted: VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Mildly Punish)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 15 Hunted: Border Patrol 8- (Less Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 10 Hunted: Destrugan Paramilitary 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 10 Phys. Lim.: Accelerated Metabolism (Infrequently, Greatly Impairing) [/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 5 Phys. Lim.: Nonlinear Time Sense (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 15 Psych. Lim.: Straight Dealer//Business Ethic (Common, Strong)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 15 Psych. Lim.: Humanitarian (Very Common, Moderate)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 10 Psych. Lim.: Resents Authority (Common, Moderate)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 10 Psych. Lim.: Takes Care of His Own Above All (Uncommon, Strong)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 15 Soc. Lim.: Secret ID: Cal Crohn, Honest Underworld Merchant (Frequently, Major)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 10 Soc. Lim.: Professional Obligations, must appear to deliver on call for his employers (Occasion, Minor)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New]| 10 Soc. Lim.: Reputation as unhesitant killer if betrayed (useful, but not always)[/font][/size] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2]DISADVANTAGES Points: 150[/size][/font][/b] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2]Base Pts: 350[/size][/font][/b] [font=Courier New][size=2]+[/size][/font] [b][font=Courier New][size=2]Total Character Cost: 500[/size][/font][/b]

Re: Which is faster, Gravity or Light? Why is FTL impossible? To simplify, I'd like to replace FTL with >L. This is one of the questions that gets much harder to solve if you look at the wrong end of it. It's very hard to explain the causality issue. It's easier to explain the energy issue. In Newtonian Physics, or "the math used to explain most of the things we experience fairly well," a thing continues at the same speed until a new force acts on it to change its speed. Since theory is hard, and things we can really see are easy, let's also skip theory and stick with observations. Let's ignore forces that slow things down, since we're interested in getting to >L speeds. This means we have to move in a vacuum, to not run into friction or collide with particles. We also have to move so far away from big things that the effect of gravity is too small to matter. These are the steps most sf are willing and able to take before they try >L, though they're not really necessary in Newtonian Physics, they 'just seem to make sense'. Since they reduce the clutter, we can go with them. So, things we're talking about continue at the same speed until a force acts on them to increase their speed. In Newtonian Physics, so long as the mass of the thing does not change, the amount of force required to increase the speed by the same amount stays constant. Newton called things of this type 'M' for short, and the force, for simplicity, 'F'. The change in speed (acceleration), he called 'a'. One empirical fact observed, from Newton's time on, is that nothing (i.e. no M) was ever seen traveling past the speed of light. It became clear by experimental observation that this was not just the maximum speed of light, but the maximum speed of everything. We'll call the maximum speed of everything in vacuum 'c', because it's the first 'constant' measure that even climatologists and economists didn't dispute. Of course, the problem became 'is there no way to travel >L, or have we merely failed to find one?' After all, until it was invented, we merely failed to find a way to make a lightbulb. It does us no good to ask 'have we merely failed to find a way to travel >L' if the answer to 'is there no way to travel >L' turns out to be yes. So let's drop the second part of the question, for now. If you're tempted to come back to it, remember it's just clutter and will only confuse the issue. The speed actual light traveled in places (media) other than vacuum was lower than c, and it's known that when particles travel faster in a medium than the speed of light in that medium, a blue glow is caused and other observations happen that generally aren't expected. These observations would only clutter the discussion. They only involve things below >L speed, thus they don't matter to us now. So it's important to remember 'c' is not the same as the speed of light. It's the maximum speed of anything. If you're tempted to talk about special properties of light, remember it's just clutter and will only confuse the issue. Also observed were the facts that adding more force (F) to something (M) at the speed of light © not only didn't make it go faster, it also didn't make it disappear. This meant that we didn't merely stop seeing M going >L, we really couldn't go >L in experiments. All that happened as F was added to M was the M changed color. It had long been known that light, like sound, had wave properties. It also had particle properties. Leaping over the clutter, something new was happening near c that hadn't been noticed at lower speeds. At the speed of sound, for example, if you add more F, the sound doesn't go faster, but it also changes amplitude, not frequency or wavelength. (Depending on the media, it can generate overtones, but those are new sounds, not a change in the sound itself.) Deliberately plotting the way F affected M, and measuring changes in the speed of any M as it approached c, physicists found that the relationship between F and speed as Newton discussed it was not enough to describe this frequency change. They found that near c, they had to measure the relationship between F and a function of (speed and wavelength). Since wavelength and frequency are inverses (they're related), I could have used frequency instead of wavelength, but theres enough f's in this already. It comes down to this: the nearer you get to c, the more wavelength change dominates and the less speed changes. It seems odd to talk about the wavelength of a person, or of a ship, or of a planet, but if we don't overcome our hangups, we'll never travel >L anyway. So, as c is approached, for the same amount of F, changes in speed decrease and changes in wavelength increase. I'm skipping the numbers, since there's a lot of them, and numbers aren't really needed if you have pictures. And there are pictures, if you go look. If you chart the relationship of F and speed as you get closer to c, then you find F goes higher and higher, and the line turns and becomes parallel to a line drawn through c. Even if you add infinite F, you never touch or cross c. This is called a verticle asymptote (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymptote). The conclusion of all of this is that, for everything that has been observed, there's no way to go faster than c. Now, people talk a lot about Einstein and Relativity, and how his theory is an explanation that forbids this, or proves that. But even if you don't believe in or fully understand that particular theory, the evidence of measure and experimentation, experience and observation, add up to the more primitive conclusion: everything observed cannot pass c without using more than infinite F. Since as far as we've observed, the patterns we've seen in the distribution of matter and energy in the universe suggests that there isn't an available source for more-than-infinite forces to propel objects. Also, most things seek equilibrium (that is, if they have a lot of energy they try to get rid of it). The rate things settle to equilibrium can be charted, too. The bigger the difference in energy, the shorter the time it takes. Since we're looking for a greater-than-infinite energy difference, and the chart is also asymptotic for this rate of exchange, anything with infinite or more energy would give it off in zero time, based on observable patterns. Which traps our proposed >L travel between existing for zero time and taking more energy than there is in the universe. This means it just can't happen, unless everyone who's ever measured or observed everything happens to be wrong in exactly the same two dissimilar ways. So, no theory, no numbers, no hard math. Just lists of things people have measured, and pictures of what the measurements look like when put together. Of course, you'll have to take on faith that the measurements I say exist really exist, or go out and measure them for yourself. A good scientist wouldn't believe me.

Re: Horizon Academy (Teen Champions) Notes Just for reference.. http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com/ps238/index.htm .. er.. because.. uh.. well.. it's funny?

Re: Best ever reason to NOT be a superhero... "You know the definition of a hero? That's someone who gets other folks killed. You can look it up later." - Zoe Washburn "I'm a hero. I just have cowardly legs." - Spike Milligan. "A hero is someone who rebels or seems to rebel against the facts of existence and seems to conquer them. Obviously that can only work at moments. It can't be a lasting thing." - Jim Morrison "Hero: person in a book who does what he can't and the girl marries him for it." - Mark Twain. "No man is a hero to his valet." - Alfred Penni.. er, Friedrich Hegel. "Aspire rather to be a hero, than appear one." - Baltasar Gracian "The hero is the one who was afraid to run away." - old saw. "Hero is about the shortest-lived profession on earth." - Will Rogers.

Re: New Game: Remnants of Hope Cal Crohn - description Hair - brown, medium length, short above ears and in back. Eyes - brown Facial hair - generally clean-shaven. Infrequent appearance of 5:00 shadow that appears & disappears when observers look away and then look back. Height: 6' 1" Build: lean and wirey. Favored mode of dress: denim jeans or plain browncloth trousers with suspenders, flannel shirt over tee-shirt, brown leather jacket and boots. Outerwear typically a canvas duster and brown calfskin gloves. Broadbrimmed felt hat if conditions warrant, old but well-tended. Mode of speech: twangy drawl. Mode of combat: straight-up square-sholdered fisticuffs, leads with his jaw, flat-footed, feints right, hits left. Strong barroom code of honor and avoidance of escalation. Has been known to pull an adversary's shirt over their head as a surprise maneuver. Has a tendency toward 'friendly' bar fights with off-duty military and police of the sort no one reports. Will surrender to the authorities without resistance. Cal appears to be genteel riff-raff, a fence who receives and sells goods of questionable ownership, one of few desperate or daring enough to take on military or government issue swag. Most street-level criminals have the distinct impression that he has too many odd scrupples (no bulk arms-dealing, no hard drugs, no human traffic) and looks down on the ones in darker lines of work, but does business and doesn't rat anyone out. ---------------------------- Cash Cat - description Hair - unknown, due to mask. Eyes - green, with cat's eye slit Facial hair - unknown, due to mask. Height: uncertain, he typically crouches, slumps or sprawls. Build: lean and feline. Favored mode of dress: jumpsuit and mask, with muted tigerstripe pattern. Mode of speech: rapid. Mode of combat, as reputation has it: Opponents typically find themselves holding their own future severed heads just as they prepare to ambush Cash Cat. If still committed to fight, they generally feel a force hard enough to knock their skull into the past coming at them from a random direction. Shooting at Cash Cat is not advised. Cash Cat's image may appear in places he does not occupy. He is extremely fast, unhindered by darkness or physical barriers, and prone to vanish. Cash Cat appears to be a self-interested mercenary pragmatist who prefers to avoid combat. He will not hesitate to use lethal force if attacked, reputedly with a pathological hatred of betrayal or broken deals. Cash is willing to smuggle for pay on favorable terms, provides reliable transport service, refuses to act in capacities other than as a smuggler, and taking hostages or threatening innocents has proven an unprofitable or needless tactic against him. Cash Cat is not perceived as trustworthy enough to employ as a covert spy, nor shown interest in being a combatant or assassin for hire, allegedly because he views smuggling as his vocation and does not wish to be seen by potential customers as anything else but a provider of transportation. Typical reports place him as 'petty', 'money-grubbing', and 'unambitious.'

Re: Net and trident fighting? Retiari (net and trident gladiators) were fisherman-inspired combatants in the themed show fights of ancient Rome. Such fights were staged as much as moral lessons for the crowds -- teaching patriotism, that the state will always win, that obedience brings victory, etc. -- as entertainment. Which is to say, the fights were somewhat fixed. Retiari were the least heavily-armored (one epaulet, one padded forearm) of gladiators, though their fighting style was apparently freakishly deadly. There's a report of a retiarus going berserk and killing twelve secutors (trained gladiators with swords, helmets, medium armor and shields) after the match was over because of an unfair decision by the Emperor. I believe UMA either has a standard build for a net-style, or rules on how to build a style with martial block, disarm, legsweep and grab based on a weapon. As far as powers go, the net might give 1"-2" of stretching, and AoE 1 hex as an advantage on STR. Nets were weighted, and the weights could be used to deliver stunning blows even through a helmet or smash bones at the joint. Retiari were adept at handling multiple foes, and frequently fought outnumbered 2:1 or more. From time to time, it was popular for women to be retiari. The trident's prongs were generally used to attack vulnerable points only, while its butt-end was more dangerous for delivering damaging blows, though seldom used. Overall the trident was a showy weapon of finesse for blocking, engaging and tripping before delivering telling damage. This may be seen as an example of a Killing Attack designed to deliver more stun than body to opponents with resistant defenses. As far as I can tell, the net was usually methodically employed more heavily early in the engagement to wear down opponents and put them off-balance, until the retiarus had a tactical advantage, and also to please the crowds with flashy net maneuvers. The longer the fight lasted, the more the odds favored the net-wielders' side.

Re: Which is faster, Gravity or Light? Most current models and theories treat the "speed of light", c, not as the maximum "speed of light", but as the maximum speed of everything. Nothing in this Universe travels faster than this c. Acceleration near c (i.e. at 'relativistic' speeds) has a nonlinear relation with the amount of energy required per unit of speed. At exactly c, any increase in speed would require infinite energy, which by definition is more energy than the universe contains. Ergo, the energy must come from some strange extra-dimensional source that has more than infinite energy to contribute to the speed of an object. No interactions with anything faster than c would be possible in this Universe. In essence, the object going faster than c must leave the Universe, becoming intangible and invisible in all ways to this universe. Also, any speed higher than c would travel backwards in time, and all things traveling backwards in time would do so at a speed higher than c. So nothing that travels backwards in time exists in this Universe. Tachyons, for example, may exist. They just don't exist here, or if they do, they do in a manner that is intangible and invisible in all ways. Luckily, comic-book physics don't obey these mathematical constraints.

Re: Colossus I approached Colossus a bit differently, myself. Assume 20 STR in Piotr form, and characteristics and skills appropriate to an X-man/Russian farmboy/artist: [b]Colossus Powers[/b] [font=Courier New]22 Zero Endurance (+1/2) for 55 STR, OHID (-1/4) 27 AP - Tireless [0][/font] [font=Courier New] 9 +15 STR, OHID(-1/4), No figured Stats (-1/2) - Steel strength[/font] [font=Courier New]29 12 rPD/rED Armor, OHID(-1/4) 36 AP - Steel toughness [-][/font] [font=Courier New]40 Full Life Support, OHID (-1/4) 50 AP (or however much it costs for LS vs. everything in your campaign) [-][/font] [font=Courier New] 2 +1" Running, OHID (-1/4) [0][/font] [font=Courier New] 6 Zero Endurance (+1/2) for 7" Running, OHID (-1/4) 7 AP - Tireless [0][/font] [font=Courier New]-0 -2" Swimming, OHID (-1/4)[/font] [font=Courier New]12 2 levels Growth, +1/4 Only costs END to start [1] - Colossal Height[/font] [font=Courier New] 4 6 pts Elemental Control Osmium Alloy Body, Linked to Growth (-1/2)[/font] [font=Courier New] 4 a) 2 levels Density Increase, +1/4 Only costs END to start [1][/font] [font=Courier New] 4 5 rPD/rED Force Field, +1/4 Only costs END to start [1][/font] [font=Courier New]---[/font] [font=Courier New]134 Total Powers[/font] I'm not a huge fan of OHID, but if ever a brick deserved it, it's poor Piotr, whose big heavy form often caused him a ton of trouble, well worth the 24 points he saved. Considering the number of killing attacks that penetrated his armored form and the number of times he was knocked out, I didn't increase his CON past 20, and kept his overall DEF at 27/17. I even gave him the NCM disadvantage. Considering he was once defeated by Dazzler with a garden hose, I don't doubt he's a normally maximally disadvantaged character. Later in his career, he beefed up considerably, of course.

Re: New Game: Remnants of Hope It's a bar -- one of the seediest -- deep in the coils of the VIPER. Cal has the air of a man who doesn't remember why he's drinking, though he does remember it's awful convenient how he keeps finding himself in VIPER bars on this particular day of the year. They're staring at him. It could be something to do with the broken shards of beer mug scattered around their table. And where did his mug go? That's the thing about VIPER agents. They always stare at you before blaster fire starts blowing past your head with alarming pinpoint inaccuracy. Cal gets up, hands up, making placatory gestures. "Hey fella's. That weren't nothin' but an accident. We," he's alone, but 'we' sounds more polite, "don't want any trouble. Here. Let me buy you nice gentsh a round," he tells, swaggering less than staggering their way. Currency jangles in his pocket. Still staring. The scraping of chairs on the peanut-shell-strewn floor. All five of them standing up. One reaches for a sidearm. Another grins and waves it off, knowing that in his armored suit he's more than a match for an unarmed drunk with enough cash to think he can buy his way out of a beating. It's a long fight, all captured on the bar's surveillance system, complete with a time log on every frame. The agents get in a disproportionate number of good blows -- which being five on one is only to be expected -- before they get carried away and toss Cal out the greasy and ineffectual front window. That pretty much ends the fight, since none of them is crazy about leaving the cool of the room for the harsh conditions outside. Fighting, for them, ought to build a thirst, not a sweat. So, when at the exact same time as the security camera log reads, three hundred miles away in a secure VIPER installation a dozen prisoners disappear, Cal has an airtight alibi. Which, as it turns out, he needs to have. Of course, no one could have foreseen that they'd have needed an alibi, so Cal seems as surprised as anyone when he is picked up, questioned, and then released because one of the VIPER agents from the bar happens to recognize him. Handy things, the ability to look into the future and bring images (say, of an electronic clock in a surveillance camera) out of time. He'll have to think of something else in a year, in case VIPER notices they always lose prisoners on that same date.

Re: Golden Age Superheroes as Pulp Heroes Since heroic monsters have been mentioned, Pulp Lobo? Pulp.. Etrigan? Pulp Groo.. er, nevermind. Pulp Hulk. While we'er on strongmen, pulp Luke Cage. And how would you propose a pulp Ghostrider?

Re: Cursed Item (?) Uh... Not sure how you'd do it in Fantasy Hero, but in Champions... 20 Multipower Pool - Cursed Sword 2u +10 Ego 1u 1d6+1 HKA, (-1/2) Restrainable

Re: New Game: Remnants of Hope How do you feel about latent talents vs. spending XP on new talents with good justification? I can think of a number of talents Cal ought to learn eventually - Bump of Direction, Find Weakness, Cramming, for instance, but don't see him quite _there_ yet.

Re: New Game: Remnants of Hope Well, the thing about his physical limitation and LS: Immune to Age is.. he could be from anywhere within seventy years in either direction, and not realize it. I'll be editing the entry to fix minor things from time to time, thus encouraged.

Re: New Game: Remnants of Hope [b][size=2][font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][b]Cash Cat - Calvin Crohn, 'Gentleman Merchant'[/b][/size][/font] [/size][/b] [size=2][u][font=Courier New][b]VAL[/b][/font][/u][font=Courier New][b] [u]CHA[/u] [u]Cost[/u] [u]Base[/u] [u]Roll[/u] [u]Notes[/u][/b][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 75 STR 65 10 24- HTH Damage 15d6 [4][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 29 DEX 57 10 15- OCV 10 / DCV 10[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 33 CON 46 10 16-[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 11 BODY 2 10 11-[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 13 INT 3 10 12- PER Roll 12-[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 11 EGO 2 10 11- ECV: 4[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 15 PRE 5 10 12- PRE Attack: 3d6[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 10 COM 0 10 11-[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 33 PD 18 13 43 PD (24 rPD)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 31 ED 24 7 41 ED (24 rED)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 9 SPD 10 3.9 Phases: 2,3,4, 6,7,8, 10,11,12[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 22 REC 0 22[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 66 END 0 66[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 66 STUN 0 66[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 15 RUN 2 7" [1][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 SWIM 1 3" [1][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 15 LEAP 0 15" 15" forward, 8" upward [4][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New][b]CHA Cost: 273[/b][/font][/size] [u][size=2][font=Courier New][b]Cost[/b][/font][/size][/u][size=2][font=Courier New][b] [u]POWERS[/u][/b][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 15 [b]Cats Ease[/b]: 30 STR at 0 END "[b]Temporal Acceleration[/b]" [4][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 14 14 rPD/rED Damage Resistance "[b]Defensive Deceleration[/b]" [-][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 5 [b]CatsEye[/b]: UV Vision - "[b]Frequency Shift"[/b] [-][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 10 Life Support - Immune to Age (4 pts.) & Radiation/Temperature "[b]Defensive Deceleration[/b]" [-][/font][/size] [font=Courier New][size=2] 5 7 pts. Mental Defense - "Mind Lost in Time" [-][/size][/font] [size=2][font=Courier New] 2 +1" Running "Fitness" total 7" [1][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 1 +1" Swimming "Fitness" total 3" [1][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 10 2 Floating Teleport Locations "[b]Temporal Nexus[/b]" [-][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 90 Multipower Temporal Pool[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3u [b]Cats Whiskers: [/b]Clairsentience: Normal Vision Past & Future 0 END (+1/2) No Conscious Control (-2) 90 AP [0][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3u [b]Timeclaw: Touch Im[/b]age +Sight/Smell/Sound Groups, 'winks' if timeline avoided, (+1/4) 1/2 END, from near future only (-1/2) 50 AP [2][/font][/size] [font=Courier New][size=2] 2u [b]Timefur:[/b] 10 rPD/10 rED Force Field "Defensive Deceleration" Only Costs END to Start (+1/4), 25 AP [2][/size][/font] [size=2][font=Courier New] 4u [b]Timepaw: [/b]Missile Reflect Any - "Spot Time Reversal" 40 AP [-][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 2u [b]Timelunge: [/b]+8" Running (15" Total) (+1/2) 0 END 24 AP [1][/font][/size] [font=Courier New][size=2] 2u [b]Timestalk[/b]: 12" Teleport 24 AP [2][/size][/font] [size=2][font=Courier New] 9u [b]Timeleap: 10" T[/b]eleport x16 Mass (+3/4) Megascale 1"=100 km, (+1/4) Vary Scale down to 1"=1 km, (+1/4) 1/2 END 90 AP [3][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New][b]POWERS Cost: 177[/b][/font][/size] [u][size=2][font=Courier New][b]Cost[/b][/font][/size][/u][size=2][font=Courier New][b] [u]SKILLS[/u][/b][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 8- Acting [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 8- AK: New Destruga [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 2 11- AK: Smuggling Routes[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 15- Breakfall[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 8- Climbing [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 12- Concealment[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 12- Conversation[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 8- CK: Destruga [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 8- Deduction [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 8- KS: Seedy Hangouts [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 4 pts. LS: English [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 8- Paramedics [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 12- Persuasion[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 8- PS: Smuggler [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 8- Shadowing [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 12- Navigation[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 12- Trading[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 12- Security Systems[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 12- Streetwise[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 15- Stealth[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles [i]EM[/i][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New][b]SKILLS Cost: 29[/b][/font][/size] [u][size=2][font=Courier New][b]Cost[/b][/font][/size][/u][size=2][font=Courier New][b] [u]Talents[/u][/b][/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 15 Danger Sense 12- (INT), Out of Combat[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 Lightning Calculator[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 3 Speed Reading[/font][/size] [b][size=2][font=Courier New][b]Talents Cost: 21[/b][/font][/size] [/b] [b][size=2][font=Courier New][b][u]PERKS[/u][/b] -[/font][/size][/b][size=2][font=Courier New] Cash has had certain .. reversals. No perks. He's not actually that great a smuggler.[/font][/size] [u][b][size=2][font=Courier New][b]Val[/b][/font][/size][/b][/u][b][size=2][font=Courier New][b] [u]DISADVANTAGES[/u][/b][/font][/size] [/b][size=2][font=Courier New] 10 DNPC: Smuggling crew 8- (Much Less Powerful than the PC; Group DNPC: x4 DNPCs)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 15 Hunted: VIPER 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Mildly Punish)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 15 Hunted: Border Patrol 8- (Less Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 10 Hunted: Destrugan Paramilitary 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 10 Physical Limitation: Accelerated Metabolism (Infrequently, Greatly Impairing) [/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 5 Physical Limitation: Nonlinear Time Sense (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 15 Psychological Limitation: Straight Dealer//Business Ethic (Common, Strong)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 15 Psychological Limitation: Humanitarian (Very Common, Moderate)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 10 Psychological Limitation: Resents Authority (Common, Moderate)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 10 Psychological Limitation: Takes Care of His Own Above All (Uncommon, Strong)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 15 Social Limitation: Secret ID: Cal Crohn, Honest Underworld Merchant (Frequently, Major)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 10 Social Limitation: Professional Obligations, must appear to deliver on call for his employers (Occasion, Minor)[/font][/size] [size=2][font=Courier New] 10 Social Limitation: Reputation as unhesitant killer if betrayed (useful, but not always)[/font][/size] [size=2][b][font=Courier New]DISADVANTAGES Points: 150[/font][/b][/size] [size=2][b][font=Courier New]Base Pts: 350[/font][/b][/size] [size=2][b][font=Courier New]Total Character Cost: 500[/font][/b][/size] Character Design Notes Time effects create a Smallvillesque speedbrick with respectable frequency-shifting senses and defenses, and a trademark temporal teleportation pool. His top-end attack and CV is far below the caps, but he's got room to grow and good potential to support a team. Background The 'mercenary' known as "Cash Cat" is a teleporter-for-hire with a reputation for honorable dealing, and a nasty streak if betrayed. It's a story even despots respect, however certain they are they remain above either the reach or the ambitions of this petty money-grubbing smuggler. It's said Cash has no hesitation about using his feared Timeclaw attack to place the head of someone who is about to do him harm from the future into their own hands, as a warning not to cross him. The truth is, he'd much rather persuade a hostile party to back down and negotiate a reasonable compromise than tear them apart. There's no profit for a smuggler in tearing customers apart. It is a harsh world, where a freebooter with a talent has to watch his back and make hard choices, especially in Destruga - his suspected home base. Even if said freebooter's catseye secretly sees the shining beacons that were the liberties and rights of a dim past. Even if said freebooter's catseye secretly foresees dimly hopes for their return in a brighter future. So he skips the borders of a tyrannically divided world, cargoing what he can, buying his liberty at the price of doing occasional work for Destroyer or the Warlord or Firelord or Viper.. Well, Viper, they're not overfond of Cash right at the moment. Seems his cargo disappeared right after he delivered her to their nest, and they suspect him. Either way, they want him to pay back his fee. Suspicious lot, Viper. And she -- the cargo -- is perfectly safe. Cat's mind is so bizarrely multidimensional, few mind-readers could delve his true thoughts and sift them from out of infinite timestreams-of-consciousness. They're likely to have more success at it than he does, at any rate. His danger sense has saved him more than once from discovery and capture. Cat seems to have the nine lives of his namesake. So to the world, the mysterious Cash Cat is a teleporter who will serve the highest bidder for a price -- like any costumed supervillain might. To many who do not know it, however, the Claws of the Timewielder have rescued them from dire futures they will never realize. For all the power and insight his powers give him, Cash has not traded away his humanity. He remains, secretly, a Champion of Hope. Cal, on the other hand, is considered little more than a low-grade merchant. Some in the underworld think he thinks he's better than they are -- what with his being better than they are -- but by and large he's respected for honest business, smuggling of contraband, and fencing of items that may have fallen off of the back of a military or government convoy. Origin Cal Crohn was born with only one real superpower - engineered immunity to aging. Well, that technology is all lost now, since his community, where the engineering was developed, was wiped out. Combined with a chance encounter with an experimental tachyon weapon used against his resistance unit in one of those countless failed uprisings, it was the only reason Cal survived while all around him hundreds withered and died agonizing deaths. His brothers in arms, companions, friends all went down without a chance. But Cal.. Cal gained two things in that defeat. First, the very fabric of his being was welded to the timestream, allowing him to pluck its strings like a harp and see its many flows and lines. Second, he learned not to meet a stronger enemy head on, blindly and foolishly. He's gathered a few of the orphans of the victims of 'Tachyon Ridge' around him as his crew. They smuggle to get by. And they bide their time. Hooks The mysterious nature of time powers, the chance of extra-dimensional jaunts which seem to take no time in the real world but leave the ageless Cal as affected as if years of intensive training had taken place, side effects of that anagathic engineering he was born with.. and curious, how the symbol of the laboratory that did the engineering was a fountain and a silver cup.. as well as what would happen if Cal were dressed up in a battlesuit or learned enough physics to use power stunts and expand his temporal repertoire.. all hooks.

Re: New Game: Remnants of Hope It's just like me: start to build a teleporter, end up with a brick. [b][size=2] [b]Proteus/Peter Poteran[/b] [/b][b][font=Courier New][u]VALUE[/u] [/font][font=Courier New][u]CHA[/u] [u]Cost[/u] [u]Base[/u] [u]Roll[/u] [u]Notes [/u][/font][/b][font=Courier New] 65/90 STR 55 10 22- HTH Damage 13d6 END [3/5][/font] [font=Courier New] 14 DEX 12 10 12- OCV 5 / DCV 5[/font] [font=Courier New] 39 CON 58 10 13-[/font] [font=Courier New] 20/25 BODY 20 10 13-[/font] [font=Courier New] 13 INT 3 10 12- PER Roll 12-[/font] [font=Courier New] 29 EGO 38 10 15- ECV: 10[/font] [font=Courier New] 10 PRE 10 11- PRE Attack: 2d6[/font] [font=Courier New] 10 COM 10 11-[/font] [font=Courier New] 27/45 PD 14 13 45 PD (23 rPD)[/font] [font=Courier New] 27/44 ED 19 8 44 ED (22 rED)[/font] [font=Courier New] 4 SPD 16 2.4 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12[/font] [font=Courier New] 21 REC 0 21[/font] [font=Courier New] 78 END 0 78[/font] [font=Courier New] 73/78 STUN 0 73[/font] [font=Courier New][/font] [/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][size=2][font=Courier New] 7 RUN 2 7" END [1][/font] [font=Courier New] 5 SWIM 3 5" END [1][/font] [font=Courier New] 13 LEAP 0 13" 13" forward, 7" upward END [3][/font] [font=Courier New][/font] [/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][b][size=2][font=Courier New][b]CHA Cost: 235[/b][/font] [font=Courier New][/font] [/b][/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][u][size=2][font=Courier New][b]Cost[/b][/font][/u][font=Courier New][b] [u]POWERS [/u][/b][/font][font=Courier New] 18 EC - [b]PsychoMolecular (PM) Control[/b][/font] [font=Courier New] 19 a) 15" Flight - PM Levitation (+1/4, 1/2 END 37 AP) - 1 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 18 5 rPD/5 rED Force Field - [b]PM Containment[/b] (+1/2 Invisible, +1/4 Only Costs END to Start 17 AP) - 1 END[/font] [font=Courier New] +8 rPD/7 rED Force Field - [b]PM Reinforcement[/b] (+1/4 Only Costs END to Start 19 AP) - 1 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 9 c) Images vs Telepathy +10 - [b]PsychoMolecular 'False Mind'[/b] (+1/4 Only Costs END to Change/Start, -1/2 Limited Choice of Images, Center on Self Only -1/2 37 AP) - 3 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 13 d) 5d6 Mind Scan - [b]PM Feedback[/b] (+1/2 Invisible, Center on Self Only -1/2) - 4 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 19 e) Shapeshift, Any Form - [b]PM Rearrangement[/b] (30 AP 1/4 Only Costs END to Change Form) - 3 END[/font] [font=Courier New][/font] [/size][size=2][/size][size=2][font=Courier New] 17 [b]Psychic Strength[/b] - 35 STR at 0 END (+1/2)[/font] [font=Courier New] 10 10 rPD/rED Damage Resistance - [b]PM Residue[/b] - 0 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 27 Life Support - Age/Breath/Disease/Pressure/Temp./Rad. - [b]Mind over Body[/b][/font] [font=Courier New] 10 16 pts. Mental Defense - [b]Psychic Barrier[/b][/font] [/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][b][size=2][font=Courier New] 45 MP Shapechange Pool, ([b]Psychometabolism - [/b]Linked to Shapeshift -1/4 56 AP)[/font] [/b][font=Courier New] 2u 5d6 Aid -> Body ([b]PM Reintegration[/b] - -1/2 Normal Max Only, -1/2 Self Only) - 5 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 5m 5x DI, ([b]PM Augmentation[/b] - +1/4 Only Costs END to Start 31 AP) - 2 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 2u Desolid - not vs. AoE attacks, ([b]PM Fluidity[/b] - +1/4 Only Costs END to Start, -1/2 Not through Solids) - 5 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 5m 5x Growth, ([b]PM Amplification[/b] - +1/4 Only Costs END to Start 31 AP) - 2 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 7m [b]3[/b]d6 HKA ([b]PM Scythe[/b]) - 4 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 4u Invisibility Touch + Sight/Sound Group, ([b]PM Transparency[/b] - +1/4 Only Costs END to Start 56 AP) - 4 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 2m Missile Deflect Any ([b]PM Hardening[/b] - 15 AP) - 0 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 4u 4x Shrinking, ([b]PM Reduction[/b] - +1/4 Only Costs END to Start 50 AP) - 4 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 2m 3" Stretching ([b]PM Reach[/b] - 15 AP) - 1 END[/font] [font=Courier New] 4u 7" 14 DEF Tunneling ([b]PM Boring[/b] - 55 AP) - 5 END[/font] [font=Courier New][/font] [/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][size=2][font=Courier New][b]POWERS Cost: 242[/b][/font] [font=Courier New][/font] [/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][u][size=2][font=Courier New][b]Cost[/b][/font][/u][font=Courier New][b] [u]SKILLS [/u][/b][/font][/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][size=2][font=Courier New] 3 Acting 11- (learned from teacher, and being on set a lot)[/font] [font=Courier New] 3 Breakfall 12- (sometimes is a stunt double)[/font] [font=Courier New] Climbing 8-[/font] [font=Courier New] Concealment 8-[/font] [font=Courier New] Deduction 8-[/font] [font=Courier New] 3 Disguise 11- (learned from teacher, and make-up department)[/font] [/size][size=2][font=Courier New] KS: Theater 8-[/font] [font=Courier New] 2 LS: French & Spanish, fluent (2 pts. each)[/font] [font=Courier New] 3 Paramedics 12- (teacher insisted he learn)[/font] [font=Courier New] PS: Prop & Lighting Man 8-[/font] [/size][size=2][font=Courier New] Shadowing 8-[/font] [font=Courier New] 3 Stealth 12- (have to be quiet backstage)[/font] [font=Courier New] 3 System Operation 12- (sound/lighting/control consoles)[/font] [font=Courier New] TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles[/font] [font=Courier New] 3 WF: Theatrical Weapons[/font] [font=Courier New][/font] [/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][b][size=2][font=Courier New]SKILLS Cost: 23[/font] [font=Courier New][/font] [/b][/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][b][size=2][font=Courier New]Talents -[/font][/b][font=Courier New] Peter Poteran has no particular discovered talents, as such.[/font] [/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][b][size=2][font=Courier New]PERKS -[/font][/b][font=Courier New] Peter Poteran has no particular perks.[/font] [font=Courier New][/font] [/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][b][u][size=2][font=Courier New]Val[/font][/u][font=Courier New] [u]DISADVANTAGES [/b][/u][/font][font=Courier New] 15 Dependent NPC: Cousin, starlet Anne Potts, 8- (Normal DNPC)[/font] [font=Courier New] 15 Hunted: Local Crime Gang (as Peter) 8- (Less Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)[/font] [font=Courier New] 15 Hunted: Border Patrol 8- (Less Pow, NCI, Harshly Punish)[/font] [font=Courier New] 10 Hunted: Destrugan Paramilitary 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)[/font] [font=Courier New] 10 Physical Limitation: Powers make Modern Medical Treatment inneffective (Infrequently, Greatly Impairing)[/font] [font=Courier New] 15 Psychological Limitation: Kind-hearted (Common, Strong) will stop to do needless nice deeds[/font] [font=Courier New] 15 Psychological Limitation: 'Human'itarian (Very Common, Moderate) will protect human rights and interests where and how he can[/font] [font=Courier New] 20 Psychological Limitation: Code vs. Killing (Very Common, Strong) will avoid deaths if at all possible without dire peril[/font] [font=Courier New] 15 Social Limitation: Secret ID: Peter Poteran, Props & Lighting Man (Frequently, Major)[/font] [font=Courier New] 10 Social Limitation: Professional Obligations, must recover props for his employers (Occasionally, Minor)[/font] [font=Courier New] 10 Social Limitation: Socially awkward 'country bumpkin' - missing some EM skills, gets lost a lot, socially clueless[/font] [/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][b][size=2][font=Courier New]DISADVANTAGES Points: 150[/font] [font=Courier New][/font] [/b][/size][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][font=Courier New][size=2]Base Pts: 350 [/size][/font][font=Courier New][size=2] [/size][/font][size=2][font=Courier New]Total Character Cost: 500[/font] [/size] Background "Peter, I'm just an old teacher, near his end. I've taught you what I can, about how to handle this rare and secret gift you have for psychometabolism. I don't know how it works. It's so dangerous to research and study anything these days outside of tyrant-controlled institutions, much less about powers that could draw the attention of the despots who have been tearing the world around us apart all my life. "I've taught you some skills to help you get by, and you've been a good student. But now it's time for you to leave, and use the greatest things I hope you've learned from me, Peter. Values. Morals. Decency. Go, and seek others who can teach you to use your gifts for good, to reverse the terrible tide that has swept over the world. Go, Peter, and bring back the hope. So Peter Poteran, urged by Everett Gonth, the only human being he had shared his secret with to make use of it for good, left the tiny hamlet of Hot Springs and headed for the city (New Destruga? GM to set). Even in Hot Springs, it was rumored there were subversives, resisters and heroes still. There was also the last living member of Peter's family, his cousin Anne, who had left to become a star years before. When Peter found Anne -- not easy for a bumpkin unfamiliar with and overwhelmed by the urban jungle, still picking turnip out of his ears -- she was in trouble, trying to fend off the advances of local crime boss Len Fraser, who thought minor starlets ought to find him irresistible. Now, Anne finds herself having to protect 'helpless cousin Petey' and deal with Lounge-lizard Lenny, and keep her career afloat. Her (very limited) influence, the horrible lack of able-bodied workers, and Peter's brawn, got him a job backstage (movie/B-movie/tv/video/web? Left blank for GM) working props. It's a job that gives him plenty of time as he is sent out frequently to retrieve unusual items for the production company - knick-knacks, knock-offs, one-of-a-kind items. Naturally the sort of work a fresh-from-the farm country boy has no chance of succeeding at... but he does succeed. Which is how Proteus fell afoul of both the border patrol (which faction's patrol is open to GM) and the Destrugan paramilitary. Some items he's been sent to retrieve are quite common. Sombreroes. Ritual masks. Panels of flashing lights. Very common. On the other side of the border. You know.. the border into enemy territory. Powers Peter Poteran's mentality is innately masterful. He is a genetic or spiritual anomaly of the kind that cannot easily be discerned one from the other. His power is to be anything his will and imagination determine. He has with only the most preliminary training begun to realize the potential of his mind-body link. Now, this novice must venture into the world, and master himself, or be broken by it.

Re: Anyone running a CSI-style campaign? Part of the problem I've encountered is that players have a hard time backtracking to cope with mistakes their characters have earlier made. It's hard to let go of a theory you've become invested in. So on a botched roll, or a player misunderstanding, a new thread of misinformation being created. It can take on a life of its own. Players become vested in them. They're proudly possessive, since their characters were the ones who discovered these 'facts'. And because villains lie and mistakes can be made, it's often those later pieces of true information that are doubted and the original false ones that are believed in. To fight this, as a GM, it's often valuable to note and diagram the investigation in a 'tree' for the players. As they make discoveries and decide on paths to investigate, document and diagram the path of their investigation. That way, when they discover a mistake, you as GM can clearly communicate to them as players what the later discovery means and what has been undone from earlier by the later discoveries. I mean, I have a character who still to this day believes Mechanon was trying to save all Humanity from a terrible fate.

Re: [Heresy] Do we need Killing Attacks? Well, I did mean an advantage against Stun, of course. You could even further limit it to be against KA Stun only. Though a more directly mechanically applicable power would be Suppress KA, only for Stun, only to defend against KA. That way, you can represent someone whose physiology is so resistant to trauma as to actively counter the shock of intentional killing effects. Not sure how to build this one, exactly, either.

Re: Combat skill levels There's no end to solutions. AOE's certainly balance vs. high CV characters. So do Darkness, AOE Flashes, taking cover, disarming, hostages, disguise/surprise and ablative or short-term defenses or defenses tuned to cope just with the hero's attack (if the heroes encounter the same group repeatedly and they have resources and NCI, they have the time to prepare, though in general I dislike this approach). One thing that's been left out is CSL's also allow bouncing attacks.. but that's really not relevant, I guess. Which is why I felt compelled to mention it.