Comic

What's a Hollywood without a Hollywood Red Team? And a Pink Hollywood Team? Blue Hollywood is likely trouble. The point is, Hollywood went Technicolour years ago. The villains -- however shallow, however two dimensional -- need to keep up. (Oooh. A Red-Green 3D villain team-up!)

Huh.. I'd like to break in, inspired by another thread, to suggest a wedding-themed team next.

Like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y8YtrmE46g

Which is still a just no. "He tried to grab and throw me, but I was prepared (or aborted) to Dodge and he never laid a finger on me." I'm fine with that. Manufacturing a power or skill you don't have to simulate a power or skill you could have instead seems wrong, and leads to situations where guy who substitutes Dodge for Flight + Acrobatics is falling out of an aircraft and we wonder why he doesn't just "flip around and land on his feet". Even if it makes you look cooler. I could even go with "He tried to grab and throw me, but I slipped between his fingers, past his hand, hurdled his wrist like a pommel horse and landed on my feet." Unless the dodge failed to prevent the grab, in which case you need Acrobatics, Flight, Swinging, Breakfall, Stretching, Luck, circumstances or some combination of those or other appropriate rescues from the situation. Don't get me wrong, Dodge is great and all. It's just it's not Omnipower.

Uh.. what? So.. You're grabbed and thrown, and want to use Dodge after the fact, once the action has been declared and the dice rolled for the grab and throw? Just no.

That'd be mannan, the linear polymer of mannose, a sugar which comes from by coincidence bananas. It wouldn't be Grand Manan, the island in Canada.

Growth just gave me the wrong things, and none of the right things. I've partly based Amerigon on Dave Dragovan from Elementals. Looks like an entirely normal human, strong and tough as a dragon, but doesn't get the full birthright until he takes on the full mantle. So I toolkitted a size change that gave Sterne the things size gives: body mass, impressive dimension and so forth. I think the slots in the framework are balanced and express an aspect of the dragon change. Of course, it's "WIP", not "Please idolize this monstrosity and only tell me what I want to hear." He's not your typical build.

He's always got the same dragon strength and durability, and essentially the same mind and skills, so I'm not convinced multiform is right for this character. He can spend fifteen seconds dragging together enough of his massive form to manifest his dragon shape from across the dimensions to his current location, or if he needs to remain nimble and relatively unnoticed, the character is still a relatively solid brick in human shape, but he's still the same person. Just that the dragon is monumentally disturbing to witness.

Yes. It made my head explode. Fixed now. I hope. Ish. I'm definitely going to need to upgrade my HTML skill. Anyway, Amerigon is an idea that crawled into my head and wouldn't let go of me until I put it down fully statted out and as rules-legal as I could get him. What do you think? (If he's even remotely readable now?)

Amerigon The Stars and Stripes Dragon - aka Sterne Drake Val.Char.Cost.Base.Price.Roll. Notes [END] 60 STR . 50 . 10 . 1 . 21-. 12d6, Leap 12” x 6”, Lift 100 Tons [6] 18 DEX . 24 . 10 . 3 . 13-. 6 OCV/DCV 33 CON . 46 . 10 . 2 . 16-. 10 BODY. 0 . 10 . 2 . 11-. 16 w/Dragon Size [6] 13 INT . 3 . 10 . 1 . 12-. PER 12- 14 EGO . 8 . 10 . 2 . 12-. 5 ECV 10 PRE . 0 . 10 . 1 . 11-. 2d6/8d6 PRE Attack [6] 10 COM . 0 . 10 . 1/2 . 11-. 30 .PD . 18 . 12 . 1 . . 30(17r) PD(rPD) 25 .ED . 18 . 7 . 1 . . 25(17r) ED(rED) 4 SPD . 12 . 2.8 10 . . Phases: 12, 3, 6, 9 19 REC . 0 . 19 . 2 . . 56 END . -5 . 66 . 1/2 . . 57 STUN. 0 . 57 . 1 . . 63 w/Dragon Size [6] 174 Total Characteristics Skills - Acting Everyman 8- - AK: Campaign City Everyman 8- - Climbing Everyman 8- - Concealment Everyman 8- 3 Conversation 11-/17- 3 Interrogation 11-/17- - LS: English Everyman 4pts w/Literacy 3 Oratory 11-/17- 3 Persuasion 11-/17- - PS: Boy Scout Everyman 11- - Shadowing Everyman 8- - Stealth Everyman 8- - TF: Small Motorized Ground Vehicles Everyman 3 Tracking 12- Perks 3 Team Member 1 Wealth – Well Off Powers 17 Damage Resistance 17 rPD/rED 17 AP [-] 10 Enhanced Senses Scent Discriminatory Sense Tracking OIHID (Dragon Form -1/4) 12 AP [-] 4 Extra Limbs Dragon Limbs & Tail OIHID (Dragon Form -1/4) 5 AP[-] 5 Mental Defense Dragon Mind 5 pts [-] 7 Mind Link Any 1 Mind Cost 3x END Only To Start (-1.25) [4] 30 Elemental Control Dragon Powers 10ec Characteristics Dragon Form BODY +6, PRE +30, KB Resistance 6”, +2 OCV Block/Grab/Strike Cost END to Start (-1/4) Extra Time 1 Turn (-1.25) Side Effect 2” Tall x4” Wide, 6.4 Tons (-1/2) [6] 24ec EB Star Breath 12d6 OIHID (Dragon Form -1/4) [6] 17ec Flight Dragon Wings 19” x8 Ncbt 1/2 END (+1/4) OIHID (Dragon Form -1/4) Restrainable (-1/2) [3] 6ec Healing Dragon Immortality 4d6 (Regeneration 4 BODY/Hour After 1 Hour: Cost 0 END (+1/2) 60 AP Extra Time 1 Hour (-3) Gradual Effect 1 Hour (-1.25) OIHID (Dragon Form -1/4) Self Only (-1/2) )[0] 12ec Life Support Dragon Metabolism Immune: Age; Need not Eat or Sleep; Self-Contained Breathing; Safe BioWar, ChemWar, Cold, Heat, Pressure, Radiation, Vacuum & Power Defense 10 pts Cost END Only to Start (-1/4) Extra Time 1 Turn (-1.25) [6] 15ec Stretching Dragon Reach +4” Need Not Cross Intervening Space (+1/4) Reduced to 0 END (+1/2) Transdimensional (Any 'Nearby' Dimension +3/4) No Noncombat Stretching (-1/4) No Velocity Damage (-1/4) OIHID (Dragon Form -1/4) Range Modifier Applies (-1/4) [0] + Clinging 60 STR Costs END To Start Only (-1/4) OIHID (Dragon Form -1/4) [1] 176 Total Skills, Perks, Talents & Powers 350 Total Cost Disadvantages 200 Bonus 20 Distinctive Feature: Dragon (Concealable, Extreme Reaction) 5 Distinctive Feature: Young Teenager (Easily Concealable, Noticed & Recognized) 10 Enraged: Mind 'violated' (Uncommon, 11- To Go, 14- To Recover) 10 Hunted: Floating (As Powerful, NCI, PC Easy to Find, Watching Only, Infrequently) 20 Mystery A 20 Mystery B 10 Physical Limitation: Medically Impervious Skin (Infrequently, Fully) 20 Psychological Limitation: Protective of Innocents (Common, Total) 5 Psychological Limitation: Explorer's Curiosity (Infrequently, Slightly) 15 Psychological Limitation: Patriotic (Uncommon, Total) 15 Secret Identity: Sterne Drake, emancipated minor 350 Total Bonus + Disadvantages Background Sterne Drake's mother vanished shortly after he was born. His father is just a name on his birth records, so far as Sterne ever knew. His grandparents passed away, already old when his mother was a child, though hale and hearty right until the fiery plane crash Sterne toddled away from miraculously unscathed. Flames do not harm a true dragon. Well, not the small flames. Bouncing from foster home to foster home, Sterne developed an explorer's curiosity and a fierce sense of independence. He's always been patriotic, identifying with the country to an inexplicable degree; this and his silver-tongued manner tends to have made him more welcome as a child, though eventually the supernatural awe running through his veins always pushed others away from Sterne, sending him back into the foster system. The loving care of his family before they passed away seems to have been a shield for him, making him more caring and protective of others in his turn, and the foster system always had children needing to be protected. Perhaps this combination of interests drove Sterne into Scouting, a program appealing to child patriots, explorers and those who seek to protect others. And when he became separated from his group on a hike, Sterne did not panic. It was a warm, starlit night and the boy had always felt safe. He slept and dreamed. In his dreams he wandered, and came upon a cavern. In the cavern he delved, and came upon a treasure extending as far as the eye could see, galaxies of sparkling valuables and precious trinkets bright as stars with a winding path of silver coins meandering through it. Then dream Sterne fell through the silver stream into another world, a world where he was not himself. It must have been a dream. Those things could not have been real. “Real? Amerigon my son, those are the most real things you have ever known,” a voice in his head boomed. Sterne awoke, drenched in sweat. It was morning, and his campfire (.. how had he lit a fire?) had traced a finger of smoke in the sky for the searchers. In the days following, Sterne began to realize he was changing. Stronger. Tougher. He felt like he could connect to people if he just.. reached for that contact. And the dreams. Or were they nightmares? The sleepwalking, waking to find himself miles from home. And finally, the realization. Sterne Drake was Amerigon. Appearance Amerigon the Stars and Stripes dragon is a transdimensional coiled furnace of starfire breathing winged dread a human might perceive to be over eight meters from snout to tip of tail when fully extended, and with a proportionally large wingspan. Long limbs and sinewy neck, torso and prehensile whiptail furl and unfurl restlessly across the boundaries of spacetime. When a true dragon is born, their essence is linked to the land of their birth. For Amerigon, it is obvious from whence he issues. His wings are spangle-tessellated indigo from above and with red and white radial stripes below when open in all their glory. His gold-tinged snout twitches at every scent. Red eyes penetrate the borders of the soul with a searing glow. From darkest navy toward palest sky blue shot through with glimpses of white stars from far off universes glimpsed through the interexistential scales of Amerigon. His breath is a roaring fulmination of shooting stars. The dragon's golden claws so annihilate with their power that this world cannot contain them and they extend their menacing points.. Elsewhen. When he flexes his eagle-like talons, otherworldly screams can be heard leaking from the tears in the fabric of realities no sane mind could contemplate. He is not a stealthy, subtle entity. Sterne Drake, on the other hand, has the normal appearance of an ordinary healthy young blonde haired blue eyed American teenager of about fourteen years old. You would not know, unless you pierced his nigh impervious hide, that his dragon blood roils with the primordial might of wyrmkind. True dragons hide their changeling young among other races and places, to protect them from their cannibalistic kin. If he needs hide his identity, a scout kerchief across the bottom of his face will do. Sterne Drake, in Scout uniform or school clothes looks normal. Until he hoists a tank over his head, or Amerigon emerges. Powers/Tactics Sterne Drake without taking the form of Amerigon is strong and tough enough, with enough good manners and good sense to do well in most encounters in a nonthreatening way. Though that threat might be lifting a dumpster and trapping bad guys under it like bugs in a jar if they shoot at him. And there is always leaping to the rooftops and running away, if need be. If expecting violence or needing to put on a show, or if enraged, or merely if the situation demands a dragon, Amerigon soon emerges. All primordial entities can, for example, speak directly to the mind of any sentient being. Amerigon may peer past walls with his head, applying what a dragon deems judicious amounts of starfire inside a building, or use the tip of his tail to open a locked door from the inside. His flight, reach and ability to cling to rents in spacetime make him a truly versatile rescuer. Amerigon's presence is so powerful and their natural glib cunning so convincing that a display of power and well-worded command might end a situation without further conflict. Or six and a half tons of starfire breathing winged multiworldly dragon goes primordial on the bad guys. While Amerigon can pierce the dimensions, he doesn't really have a lot of know how. He lacks yet skill and knowledge of otherworldly navigation. Still, with a dragon's metabilism immune to almost any hostile environment or draining effect and a dragon's regenerative ability.. What could possibly go wrong?

How about a dimensional intrusion of a gigantic form that is essentially the huge head of your character peering in from 'The Beyond' through a dimensional gate? As such, he could be a man-sized head (perhaps with prehensile hair -- ie 'Extra Limbs') essentially floating in place, and a pair of gargantuan hands that appear (Stretching, Does Not Cross Intervening Space) and vanish at need? Justifies immense strength without the messy limitations of Growth, and definitely not like an elf. Of course, when he needs to, he can emerge entirely into your campaign universe, without that messy mass or DCV/PER penalties of Growth because he's magic.

Real World Physic version: the center of mass of an object in midair follows the initial trajectory until a new force interferes. An object in motion will tend to remain in motion. The vectors of gravity plus initial velocity describe a parabola. In some cases, air resistance amounts to a non-negligible effect, so the parabola is truncated toward the end of the arc by a small fraction. This is why we have terminal velocity on falls. If the object is spinning rapidly, spasming, throwing its limbs around, or whatnot, it might affect its orientation, which can be bad (or good) to prepare for impact. Game version: If you have acrobatics, like a cat you can orient your legs to prepare to land and absorb some of the impact to reduce some of the injury. You can also breakfall -- it turns out the human body is remarkably springy if oriented correctly toward the fall and all muscles are used toward reducing the impact in a coordinated, trainable manner. You need the (acrobatic) skill or luck to orient to employ the breakfall. Neither of these skills affects the trajectory of the center of mass. The special effects of breakfall can be anything from going completely limp to punching the ground as you hit so the force of the punch buffers your landing. You can also 'break through' multiple lesser walls/floors/ceilings/whatnot so you take a series of smaller impacts (each closer to what your PD can handle) instead of one big one. Movement or reach powers can affect the trajectory, and velocity, of the center of mass. Absent having actions available and applicable abilities, STR is pretty much useless after the thrower lets you go, unless you're throwing something really heavy to negate your forward momentum.

If the throw succeeds and the victim has an action and the appropriate power (flight, swinging, stretching, teleport, tk, barrier, entangle) there might be many options for altering course. Tk, barrier or entangle might allow putting something softer in the path of the throw to bounce off of or break through taking less damage. Stretching or swinging might provide the reach to alter trajectory, as might growth. Teleport could move a person so their landing is somewhere softer. Acrobatics can orient a person so they can use their leaping or breakfall to resist damage when they hit, as could the right adder to some movement powers. I've never regarded breakfall as automatically available just because a character is falling. It's a skill. It's affected by circumstances. You can't use it if you don't know when you'll hit, or if you're spinning out of control, etc. But, yeah, the rules for resisting throws are a pretty good place to start.

While I'm fleshing out the villains and antagonists in my Universe, I'm adding "The Smarteners" to my list of organizations. A loose-knit secret society dating back to ancient times, they've gone by many names, sometimes spinning off dummy groups to carry on the old name: The Academy, The Wise, Illumination, The Lodge.. Their role for the uninitiated and lower ranks is simple: The First Rule of the Smarteners is We Do Not Talk About The Smarteners. Masked heroes are spurious apparitions firing the public imagination, but everyone in the public knows they're like the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus: myths with no real powers. So if you happen to be bitten by something radioactive and gain its abilities scaled up to human-size and powered by atomic fission, you might go on a spree lasting a few weeks in a mask making evildoers pay before The Smarteners (the affiliation's name since the 1920's) pay you a visit, and offer you a wide range of options, none of which include you revealing that super powers are real to the general public. Lately, The Smarteners have been experimenting with other approaches. There's so much cynicism in the modern world due to camera tricks and GCI, they're laying off a bit. Also, there's been a bit of a schizm in the upper echelons, and MeritJane unleashed some rather harsh and far more ancient Ky'yr obscene artificial lifeform badness upon the Smarteners when they attempted to pay the Ky aK'rk such a visit without her Imperial leave. It's fair to say that while most of the Smarteners have no clue what hit them, they know to be more circumspect these days. Still, the old guard is tough, set in their ways, and quite capable of waging a virtually invisible stealth campaign to complicate the lives of public heroes whose displays of power are too overt for their liking.

In my world, while costumed heroes have existed as masked adventurers since the Scarlet Pimpernel and Zorro, following on the feature-hiding highwaymen and anonymity-seeking hooded mobs and secret societies, virtually none of them however well-meaning ever had what could be called super powers except in the most 'real' sense: minor hypnotists, thinkers, contortionists, sharpshooters, weapon tricksters, martial artists and gadgeteers, generally with extraordinary levels of physical fitness who found it thrilling or were compelled by other desperate urges popped up a few times a year globally, and as quickly faded away along with their effects. The Kennedy, MLK and Reagan assassinations were foiled by people in masks. Watergate was solved by the costumed characters Wordsmith and Sideburn. Ollie North's crimes were revealed by a mystery woman in a burgundy costume. Did politics change at all? Not much. The Rambo movies featured a masked Sly Stallone. Die Hard put Bruce Willis in spandex. The difference is in the suggestive impact on the imaginations. A few of these masked operators planted a seed in the public's imagination. Whereas in reality, Americans are polled about whether they believe in UFO visits and Bigfoot, in my Ky'yrian Space the polls ask how many have seen flying women or have been teleported by a strange man in tights. People are generally more open to volunteering for causes without regard for what's in it for them, and books have been written about the impact of how a good example changes the world.

What about Double Jointed and/or Contortionist? Spidey moves in unnerving and unnatural ways, slipping through spaces you wouldn't expect. We've seen Black Cat and Spiderman crawl through the ductwork in Fisk Tower, and Spiderman is not merely acrobatic: he's inhuman. This is what distinguishes Spiderman's agility, to my mind from the Flash, for example. The Flash and Superman move like their hips were welded upright; Spidey might is nearly as fluid as Sandman or Mr. Fantastic.

Uh.. where's the beer gut?

Next in the series: The typical Ky'yr (generally SPD 3, STR 40 versions of Kya with more life support and ~120 pt VPP Ky'yr technology); the typical sub-Ky'yr (slightly lower Int/Ego/Pre/SPD versions of Drake with NCC on Relaxed Containment - controlled by any nearby Ky'yr instead of Absorption) and a small VPP of Ky'yr technology; Kya's parents Merit and Jane (who combine into a powerful superintelligent AI that's slightly mentally unbalanced). Yes, they're all villains, or at least have their own agendas not entirely compatible with Metaman and Lady Paragon's virtuous ideals.

He can't even shave himself, yet, as the Heat Ray Vision came much later. I'm actually jumping the gun with the X-Ray vision by a bit, too. Though he _could_ fling himself at the ground at terminal velocity, if he really wanted to feel the rush of healing from a bad sprain. I was going for as close to a literal translation of the character as he was described in Issue #1, so perhaps he's not perfectly playable. But he looks like he could be a lot of fun.

Kya Kirk, raised a foster child by loving childless farmers Merit and Jane Kirk, never knew she was the child of the last Empress of the Ky'yr, stolen by an Imperial Cardinal and crystalised for transport through space to escape impending doom. Kya never knew the kidnapper entrusted the Imperial Heir to an artificial intelligence to preserve the bloodline, though artificial life is anathema to Ky'yr custom and law. She didn't know her tiny prison wandered space for four million years while the Ky'yr survived the destruction of their planet and moved into space to become one of its dominant species. The AI followed the sub-Ky'yr Da'wn to Earth, thinking it was the new Ky'yr homeworld, and set about engineering the Empress' reintroduction to the strange society the Ky'yr had become. It worked in secret, giving birth to Kya, forming itself into a pair of loving parental commonfolk, and guiding Kya through her upbringing as a paragon of the new world's best and brightest potential. Kya left the farm, her parents, knowing she was very special, but not knowing why. She only knows she's on a voyage of discovery, as if a strange visitor from another planet. A few years after she began her quest, using the cover identity of news reporter for access to more information sources, Kya had her first glimmer of hope for a clue to her origins. Metaman, an imitator of her own heroics, seemed so similar to her in so many ways. She was a little disappointed upon meeting him. The similarities were superficial, and the young hero seemed.. very unsophisticated and a bit juvenile. Still, his heart seems to be in the right place, and the world's a dangerous place for a superhero on her own. The pair frequently team up, though they do not share secret identities.

And another denizen of Metaman's universe: Lady Paragon, one of two heroes young Metaman looks up to .. and also ace reporter from Megalopolis, Kya Kirk, the other hero young cub reporter Drake Dean looks up to: Characteristics – Lady Paragon - Kya Kirk VAL CHA CP Base Price END Roll Notes 60 STR 65 10 1 [3] 21- Lift 100 ton, 12d6 HTH, 1/2 END 13 DEX 6 10 2 12- 35 CON 25 10 1 14- 13 INT 3 10 1 13- PER Roll 12- 10 EGO 0 10 1 11- 15 PRE 5 10 1 12- PRE Attack: 3d6 8 OCV 25 3 5 5 DCV 10 3 5 3 OMCV 0 3 3 3 DMCV 0 3 3 6 SPD 40 2 10 Phases: 12, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 30 PD 51 2 1 30(17r) Hardened Impenetrable 30 ED 51 2 1 30(17r) Hardened Impenetrable 20 REC 16 4 1 45 END 5 20 1/5 20 BODY 10 10 1 50 STUN 15 20 1/2 Meters Movement 26m LEAP 13 4 1/2 [6] 26m x 8m x8 Noncombat Accurate 3x END 16m RUN 20 12 1 [1] X8 Noncombat 1/2 END 4m SWIM 0 4 1/2 [1] x2 Noncombat 344 Characteristics & Movement Total with Advantages & Limitations Perks 0 Positive Rep.: Paragon of Truth, Justice & the American Way (Ltd Group) Talents 4 Lightning Reflexes +8 To Act Before Others [-] Powers Ky'yr Imperial Bloodline under Yellow Sun's Power CP Powers Notes [END] 15 Enhanced Perception +5 All Senses 10 Enhanced Perception Penetrative Sight [-] 3 Enhanced Perception Telescopic +6 vs. Range Modifiers Sight [-] Skills - AK: Campaign City Everyman 8- 3 Conversation 12- 3 Deduction 13- 1 KS: Farming 8- - KS: News Everyman 11- - LS: English Native Everyman – Literate - PS: Reporter Everyman 11- 1 PS: Farmer 8- - TF: Human-powered vehicles 40 Total Powers, Perks, Talents & Skills 400 Total CP Complications 10 DNPC: Floating coworkers and foster family 8- 10 Distinctive Feature: Ky'yr Empress (Easily Concealed, Extreme Reaction) 10 Hunted: Floating (As Powerful, NCI, PC Easy to Find, Watching Only, Infrequently) 15 Psych Lim: Code of The American Way 10 Psych Lim: Seeks Justice 5 Psych Lim: Upholds Truth (except where it harms others) 15 Social: Secret Identity, Reporter Kya Kirk 75 Total Complications

Not that they're particularly fitting, or particularly C-listers without tweaking, but I always thought Los Asesinos had a bit of a Colorado vibe about them. Of course, NORAD's got that base under a mountain in Colorado, too, so depends on what sort of military entanglements you want. Good luck.

The beginning version of Superman? 1938: faster than the 1937 Mallard train, with a land speed record of 126 mph; able to leap 1/8th mile and hurdle tall (20 story!) buildings in a single bound; capable of mighty feats of strength (lifting a 3,500 lb car with four armed men trapped inside one handed aka casual STR), and flesh so tough it cannot be penetrated by less than a bursting shell. Characteristics – Superman - Clark Kent VAL CHA CP Base Price END Roll Notes 60 STR 65 10 1 [3] 21- Lift 100 ton, 12d6 HTH, 1/2 END 13 DEX 6 10 2 12- 35 CON 25 10 1 16- 13 INT 3 10 1 12- PER Roll 12- 10 EGO 0 10 1 11- 15 PRE 5 10 1 12- PRE Attack: 3d6 8 OCV 25 3 5 5 DCV 10 3 5 3 OMCV 0 3 3 3 DMCV 0 3 3 6 SPD 40 2 10 Phases: 12, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 30 PD 51 2 1 30(17r) Hardened Impenetrable 30 ED 51 2 1 30(17r) Hardened Impenetrable 20 REC 16 4 1 45 END 5 20 1/5 20 BODY 10 10 1 50 STUN 15 20 1/2 Meters Movement 26m LEAP 13 4 1/2 [6] 26m x 8m x8 Noncombat Accurate 3x END 16m RUN 20 12 1 [1] X8 Noncombat 1/2 END 4m SWIM 0 4 1/2 [1] x2 Noncombat 344 Characteristics & Movement Total with Advantages & Limitations Perks 0 Positive Rep.: Beacon of Truth, Justice & the American Way (Ltd Group) Talents 4 Lightning Reflexes +8 To Act Before Others [-] Powers Kryptonian Physiology Under Yellow Sun's Power CP Powers Notes [END] 15 Enhanced Perception +5 All Senses 10 Enhanced Perception Penetrative Sight [-] 3 Enhanced Perception Telescopic +6 vs. Range Modifiers Sight [-] Skills - AK: Campaign City Everyman 8- 3 Conversation 12- 3 Deduction 13- 1 KS: Farming 8- - KS: News Everyman 11- - LS: English Native Everyman – Literate - PS: Reporter Everyman 11- 1 PS: Farmer 8- - TF: Human-powered vehicles 40 Total Powers, Perks, Talents & Skills 400 Total CP Complications 10 DNPC: Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Ma & Pa Kent 8- 10 Distinctive Feature: Alien (Easily Concealed, Major Reaction) 10 Hunted: Floating (As Powerful, NCI, PC Easy to Find, Watching Only, Infrequently) 15 Psych Lim: Code of The American Way 10 Psych Lim: Seeks Justice 5 Psych Lim: Upholds Truth (except where it harms others) 15 Social: Secret Identity, Reporter Clark Kent 75 Total Complications

I do seem to keep coming back to this topic. I believe it's because I didn't answer the original question. What would Strand do? Strand's a minor inventor, scientist and detective with enough skills to notice what's going on, and do something about it. Professor Lymer would whip up a batch of pheremone detecting drink coasters, and discretely circulate them around the room for people to find and use to alert themselves to Swain's attack. Something like, "Airborn Ruffie Alert" in color-changing letters that pop up on the face of the coaster. While half the attendees might be susceptible to the mind control, being aware of the effect and its probable intention ought increase the Ego roll of the defenders.. and then there's the other half of the attendees. Oh. And he'd post the ensuing hilarity to Twitter. Should Swain escape, well, Strand's protective of innocents, and Swain is never going to be able to go far enough or hide behind enough hostages to escape Strand's reach. Especially not with his rear axle cracked, and gorgonzola in the limo's manifold. While Lymer's only a two-bit inventor, and not the world's leading biologist, even he knows insects are attracted to human pheremones. And where to look for hornets, wasps, mosquitos, fleas and ticks. Given Swain's confidence in appearing openly to perpetrate his obvious fiendish and cowardly attack, he's likely done it before, so Strand would investigate that. Professor Polymer is almost certain to be able to brew up a nanobiology cure for Swain's Transformation, given enough samples and time. The rest is certainly up to the police and the courts. And, y'know, whatever treatment center Swain can find to cure chronic infestation by random creepy crawly things attracted to pheremones.

First off, great work. I don't see Reduced END on STR. Spidey's strong, but using his strength full out has always been depicted as tiring for him. He does his big damage by using his webs and his head to boost his attacks. That's as true for early Peter Parker as for later, I think. Due his weakness to bug spray, which wipes out his Spider Sense, Wall Crawling, and pretty much everything except his web shooters, I'd seriously consider Unified Power for most of his powers outside the webs. I'd much rather see an EGO 13/BODY 12 starting character than EGO 15/BODY 10. Peter Parker gave into a lot of his lesser urges at the start, but wow could he take a beating. Dropping his STR to 35-40, putting a simple HA into the Web Shooters (web flail, swing-assisted punch, yo-yo attack, slingshot punch..), and recognizing that there's nothing Inobvious at all about his web shooting, and you easily have the points for a 5 SPD starting Spiderman, possibly 6 SPD, which is where I'd peg him even in his early days. And maybe enough normal PD to walk away from the occassional 30 story fall. That's just me.