Tonio

Hopefully I'll finally get one right... this is for that same campaign for which I've been posting characters. Galactic-type campaign, 600 pts, no real guidelines from the GM, besides "10d6 RKA is too much", campaign style is heavily combat-oriented, noncombat skills don't see much use, if at all. Link to character sheet: http://www.mythosys.com/hero/mark42.html Same, less pretty: [b]Mark XLII[/b] [b]Val Char Cost Roll Notes[/b] 60 STR 50 21- Lift 102.4tons; 12d6 [6] 29 DEX 57 15- OCV: 10/DCV: 10 30 CON 40 15- 30 BODY 40 15- 10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11- 10 EGO 0 11- ECV: 3 10 PRE 0 11- PRE Attack: 2d6 10 COM 0 11- 30 PD 18 Total: 30 PD (30 rPD) 30 ED 24 Total: 30 ED (30 rED) 7 SPD 31 Phases: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12 25 REC 14 80 END 10 75 STUN 0 [b]Total Characteristic Cost: 320[/b] [b]Movement:[/b] Running: 20"/40" Flight: 25"/50" Leaping: 12"/24" Swimming: 10"/20" [b]Cost Powers END[/b] 25 [i]Robot Soldier Powers:[/i] Elemental Control, 50-point powers 25 1) [i]Metal Body:[/i] (Total: 50 Active Cost, 50 Real Cost) Damage Resistance (30 PD/30 ED) (Real Cost: 30) [b]plus[/b] Power Defense (20 points) (Real Cost: 20) 25 2) [i]Robot Body:[/i] Life Support (Eating: Character does not eat; Immunity All terrestrial poisons and chemical warfare agents; Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents; Longevity: Immortal; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Intense Heat; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing; Sleeping: Character does not sleep) (50 Active Points) 17 3) [i]Extensible Limbs:[/i] Stretching 10" (50 Active Points); Always Direct (-1/4), Limited Body Parts ((Arms and Legs); -1/4) 5 25 4) [i]Rocket Boosters:[/i] Flight 25" (50 Active Points) 5 25 5) Missile Deflection (Any Ranged Attack), Missile Reflection, Reflect At Any Target (50 Active Points) \tab[i]Martial Arts: [b][/i] Maneuver OCV DCV Notes[/b] 3 Legsweep +2 -1 13d6 Strike, Target Falls 4 Martial Strike +0 +2 14d6 Strike 5 Defensive Strike +1 +3 12d6 Strike 4 Charge +0 -2 14d6 +v/5 Strike, FMove 4 Fast Strike +2 +0 14d6 Strike 4 Martial Block +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 Martial Dodge -- +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 Counterstrike +2 +2 14d6 Strike, Must Follow Block [b]Perks[/b] 15 [i]UN Defender:[/i] Fringe Benefit: International Police Powers, License to Kill [b]Talents[/b] 3 Absolute Range Sense 3 Absolute Time Sense 9 Ambidexterity (no Off Hand penalty) 3 Lightning Calculator 15 Lightning Reflexes: +10 DEX to act first with All Actions 5 Eidetic Memory 6 Speed Reading (x100) 3 Bump Of Direction [b]Skills[/b] 15 +5 with Martial Arts 3 Acrobatics 15- 3 Breakfall 15- 10 Defense Maneuver I-IV 3 Electronics 11- 3 Mechanics 11- 3 Security Systems 11- 1 KS: International Law 8- 3 Stealth 15- [b]Total Powers & Skill Cost: 280 Total Cost: 600[/b] [b]450+ Disadvantages[/b] 15 Distinctive Features: Metallic-skinned robot, obvious robotic voice (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 15 Psychological Limitation: Must follow orders from superiors (Common, Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation: Uncaring, logical, lack of empathy (Uncommon, Strong) 15 Social Limitation: Cold, logical demeanor (Very Frequently, Minor) 15 Social Limitation: Public ID (Frequently, Major) 15 Reputation: Cold hearted, sadistical robot, 14- 20 Hunted: United Nations 11- (Mo Pow, NCI, PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find, Watching) 10 Vulnerability: 2 x STUN Electrical Attacks (Uncommon) 15 Susceptibility: Strong magnetic fields 1d6 damage per Phase (Uncommon) 20 Enraged: CON-Stunned by Electrical Attacks (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 11- [b]Total Disadvantage Points: 600[/b] [b]Background/History:[/b] Built by the USA's Department of Defense, Mark XLII is the latest version of a series of combat androids built on the United Nation's request to help defend the Earth from outside attack. The UN keeps a close watch on all the Defenders they've commissioned, and the Mark XLII Combat Droid is no exception. The UN also grants International Police powers to their Defenders, and impart of them a basic familiarity with International Law. [b]Personality/Motivation:[/b] Mark XLII was built to defend the Earth, and that is it's primary objective. It has free will, this beeing deemed beneficial in unexpected situations, but is still subject to orders from superiors. No emotion was built into him, though, so he's cold and calculating when it comes to making decisions, sometimes that often rubs people the wrong way. [b]Quote:[/b] "Mark 42 reporting for duty. Please instruct." [b]Powers/Tactics:[/b] The Mark XLII Combat Droid always prefers using his Martial Arts at a distance, but will not shy away from close combat unless faced with a superior threat. He overcomes his lack of ranged attacks by using his Extensible Limbs and by reflecting ranged attacks. [b]Campaign Use:[/b] [b]Appearance:[/b] The Mark XLII Combat Droid is a humanoid robot, with light golden and silver skin, with red highlights. Please critique the heck out of it. =)

Re: [Character] Yttrank Well, the GM didn't approve the END battery itself... just the placing it inside the EC. Yes, I also thought the END battery seemed way too humongous.... I assumed I was missing something, because of its cost. I mean, I thought I was missing something that was making it less powerful that it seemed, because its cost was similar to other powers there. And I guess I was too lazy to do the math, gah... Skills/Perks/Talents... our campaigns, sadly (I don't approve, but the rest of the players/gm do, so I'm overruled), tend to be combat-oriented. Noncombat skills RARELY see any use. So investing heavily in noncombat skills will put me at a disadvantage. I already know Oratory will see no use, and Persuasion and Interrogation might see some use, probably without any skill rolling, even. Well, the servants are DNPCs... is that munchkinny? I mean, they are, overall, a "nuisance", but they DO help him out; I mean they're technological geniuses and all. They can repair his gear and stuff. His attitude might be a problem, I'm not sure. The campaign idea is something along the line of "defending the Earth from an outside menace", so it might not be so bad. In any case, it's only 2 players at the moment (although we might be playing 2 characters each), so I'd only have to worry about getting along with a few people. I've been writing up a bunch of characters (it's fun, plus I need to get familiar with HERO rules again) and submitting them for review here, precisely for this reason. I'm sure I'm overlooking a lot of stuff. Not sure which I'll end up playing, but I figured worst case scenario I'll give someone ideas for future characters.

Re: [Character] Yttrank Legatus, negative criticism is just as welcome (maybe even MORE welcome) than positive, as long as it's detailed enough to help me improve the character. =) I know a "psionic with a gun" sounds odd (you seem to be implying a reference, though... I don't get it), but did you read the backstory? I'll admit to a bit (ok, a LOT) of stealing off Larry Niven (the Khybrax are basically the Thrintun, with Pak mentality regarding humans, and the Phlox are basically the Tnuctipun)... In any case, I like the concept, and so does my GM. Of course, w/o the backstory it's just weird. =) The blaster *might* be too powerful, not sure... I'm waiting for my GM to decide. Which brings me to the campaign, scope, AP limits, etc. It's a "Galactic"-type campaign, and it's 600 pts. Oh, and 10d6 RKAs are too high (not allowed). Note that this does not necessarily mean 9.5d6 RKAs are allowed. As I've mentioned in another thread, my current GM is apparently having some trouble believing that not everybody thinks exactly the same way he does, so he's been reacting badly at our (the players') questions regarding power limits, or guidelines. He insists he's given us more than enough information by telling us it's a 600pt character campaign. So we (the players) have been finding out limits the hard way (like when I tried to push a 10d6 RKA, just cuz I had the points, and was told "no"). So unfortunately I don't have a much better frame of reference than you guys do. Regarding Detect... I wasn't aware I needed to pick a sense group, I thought Detect was a sense itself? Mebbe I read the thing wrong? In any case, I originally had him invisible to just about everything, then started removing some in order to shave points off... now I'm thinking Detect doesn't really belong in there.

Comments, please? What's overboard, what's underpowered, what's missing? (This is for a Galactic-type campaign... same one for which I've posted a coupla other characters.) Note: the inflict pain and pleasure powers should've been continuous... but I hadda shave points somewhere. Note: GM has approved the END Battery in the EC, no need to point it out. =) Also, all the powers with Focus draw from the battery, the rest from personal END. Link to character sheet: http://www.mythosys.com/hero/yttrank.html If you'd rather see just the text, here on the boards: [b]Yttrank[/b] [b]Val Char Cost Roll Notes[/b] 15 STR 5 12- Lift 200.0kg; 3d6 [1] 23 DEX 39 14- OCV: 8/DCV: 8 20 CON 20 13- 15 BODY 10 12- 13 INT 3 12- PER Roll 12- 30 EGO 40 15- ECV: 10 30 PRE 20 15- PRE Attack: 6d6 10 COM 0 11- 3/28 PD 0 Total: 3/28 PD (0/25 rPD) 4/29 ED 0 Total: 4/29 ED (0/25 rED) 5 SPD 17 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 16 REC 18 56 END 8 72 STUN 39 [b]Total Characteristic Cost: 219[/b] [b]Movement:[/b] Running: 6"/12" Flight: 28"/56" Leaping: 3"/6" Swimming: 2"/4" [b]Cost Powers END[/b] 15 Mental Defense (46 points total) 9 Invisibility to Sight, Hearing, Mental, Smell/Taste and Touch Groups, Spatial Awareness and Detect (48 Active Points); Increased Endurance Cost (x10 END; -4), IIF (Phase Generator; -1/4), Bright Fringe (-1/4) 50 9 Life Support (Safe in High Radiation; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing) (16 Active Points); Costs Endurance (-1/2), IIF (Phase Generator; -1/4) 2 56 [i]Gadgets:[/i] Elemental Control, 112-point powers 28 1) [i]Blaster:[/i] Energy Blast 15d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (112 Active Points); OAF (Blaster Pistol; -1) 37 2) [i]Phase Shield:[/i] Force Field (25 PD/25 ED/25 Mental Defense/25 Power Defense/12 Flash Defense: Sight Group) (112 Active Points); OIF (Phase Generator; -1/2) 11 37 3) [i]Gravbelt:[/i] Flight 28", Invisible Power Effects (Fully Invisible; +1) (112 Active Points); OIF (Gravbelt; -1/2) 11 45 4) [i]Dark Matter Battery:[/i] Endurance Reserve (620 END, 50 REC) (112 Active Points); IIF (Battery; -1/4) 100 [i]Pain and Pleasure:[/i] Multipower, 100-point reserve 7u 1) [i]Inflict Pleasure:[/i] Entangle 4d6, 4 DEF, Takes No Damage From Attacks Limited Group (Physical Attacks; +1/4), Works Against EGO, Not STR (+1/4), Based On EGO Combat Value (Mental Defense applies; +1) (100 Active Points); Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4), Linked (Addicted to Pleasure; -1/4) 10 10u 2) [i]Inflict Pain:[/i] Ego Attack 9d6 (Alien and Human classes of minds) (100 Active Points) 10 9 [i]Addicted to Pleasure:[/i] Minor Transform 0 1/2d6 (Sentient Being into Sentient Being Addicted to Pleasure), Works against EGO, not BODY (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Penetrating (+1/2), Based On EGO Combat Value (Standard Defenses apply; +1) (16 Active Points); Linked (Inflict Pleasure; -1/2), Limited Target ([slightly Limited]; Sentient Beings; -1/4) [b]Talents[/b] 5 Eidetic Memory [b]Skills[/b] 5 [i]Blaster Mastery:[/i] +5 with any single attack with one specific weapon 3 Interrogation 15- 3 Oratory 15- 3 Persuasion 15- [b]Total Powers & Skill Cost: 381 Total Cost: 600[/b] [b]450+ Disadvantages[/b] 20 Psychological Limitation: Absolutely Protective of Humans (Common, Total) 20 Enraged: Humans are harmed (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 11- 10 Psychological Limitation: Hostile towards nonhumans (Uncommon, Strong) 15 Social Limitation: Extremely Condescending and Arrogant (Very Frequently, Minor) 10 Distinctive Features: Very pale skin, pale gray eyes, bald, odd speech (Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 20 Dependent NPC: Various Phlox slaves 8- (Normal; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills; Group DNPC: x8 DNPCs) 10 Psychological Limitation: Dependent on Slaves (Common, Moderate) [b]Notes:[/b] Yttrank is used to having his slaves do everyday actions for him, like opening doors, fetching things, etc., so it takes him a little effort to do these himself. 10 Hunted: Other Khybraxi 8- (As Pow, Harshly Punish) 20 Vulnerability: 2 x Effect Physical Entangles (Common) 10 Vulnerability: 2 x STUN Radiation Attacks (Uncommon) 5 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x BODY Radiation Attacks (Uncommon) [b]Total Disadvantage Points: 600[/b] [b]Background/History:[/b] Yttrank is a member of the Khybrax race, an ancient race of very powerful beings which enslaved a highly technologically advanced race, the Phlox, using Pavlovian techniques. The Khybraxi believe themselves to be the ancestors of humanity; they are fanatically protective of humans for this reason. Many Khybraxi believe they are the ultimate protector, though, so they continually fight, seeing the others as threats to the human race. Yttrank recently came to Earth to establish his territory, a move seen as dangerous by many Khybraxi. [b]Personality/Motivation:[/b] Yttrank is very arrogant and condescending, believing himself to be vastly superior to humans. Nonetheless, he is, as are all Khybraxi, zealously protective of humans. No Khybraxi will allow a human to be harmed at any cost. If unable to protect a human, a Khybraxi will go into a wild rage. [b]Quote:[/b] "Beware, humanx [humans]... you are in danger here. Go find xelter [shelter], you are no match for thix [this] threat. I will protect you." [b]Powers/Tactics:[/b] Yttrank usually relies on his Blaster pistol and Phase Shield for normal combat. Against particularly well-armored opponents, he'll attempt to inflict pain and therefore dominate them. If forced into combat with humans, he'll inflict pleasure to hold them at bay while he escapes. [b]Campaign Use:[/b] [b]Appearance:[/b] Yttrank appears to be a regular human, except for being completely bald and having very pale skin and pale gray eyes. He is usually seen with his blaster in hand.

I'm sorta new to 5th edition, and I haven't played Champions in ages anyway, but I remember back then when you linked two powers, you could only put Linked on the lower-cost (or was it AP?) one. Presumably that meant both powers always had to be used together, although it made more sense to have it be that the smaller power could only be used with the larger one, while the larger one could be used alone (since only the smaller one was limited). In any case, how do I make two powers that can ONLY be used together? Do I put Linked on both? Only the smaller, like before? (If so, how do I make it so that one of them can be used alone, but not the other?) I read over the Linked section on the rulebook, but I'm still not 100% clear on how it works.

Re: Building an "Inflict Pleasure" power I decided to go with Entangle, BOECV (Mental Defense applies, +1), Continuous (+1), Takes No Damage from Physical (+1/4), Works Against EGO, not STR (+1/4), Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4) for the Pleasure power, and an Ego Attack, Continuous (+1) for the Pain power. An Ego Attack for Pleasure doesn't have the effect I'm looking for, which has the target gibbering and writhing in ecstasy while the power is on. I'm also adding a Major Transform (Sentient Being into Sentient Being Addicted to Pleasure), Works Against EGO, not BODY (+1/4), BOECV (Mental Defense applies, +1), Continuous (+1), Limited Target (Sentient Beings, -1/4), Linked (Inflict Pleasure, -1/4) to make the target of the Pleasure power addicted to it over time.

Re: Building an "Inflict Pleasure" power It IS indeed exactly like a tasp. I'm leaning towards building it as a BOECV Entangle (not vs CON... it's all in the head, a beefy (high CON), subservient (low EGO) thug would be much more vulnerable than a frail (low CON), disciplined (high EGO) monk), with a small, nominal Transform (to create Addiction) linked to it. The suggestions and links were VERY helpful. No, it's not a Four Color game... he's a PC with somewhat evil origins, but who turned good. Niven fans (hi!) will (did!) recognize the tasp effect, and will recognize his backstory... he comes from a powerful race of aliens (a la Thrintun) who've enslaved (using Pavlovian methods, hence the pain and pleasure) a race of technological geniuses (a la Tnuctipun) and had them build stuff for them. Thanks for the responses, guys!

I'm currently building a character whose concept involves him being able to inflict pain or pleasure on a target. The pain part is a no-brainer: Ego Attack, Continuous (+1). I'm thinking of doing the pleasure part with Mind Control, Telepathic (+1/4), Set Effect: Writhe in Ecstasy (-1/2). Any thoughts on this? Can anybody think of a better way? I thought of using the -1 modifier "Only to generate emotions", but I felt it wouldn't have had a significant combat effect (ok, the opponent is now feeling pleasure... um, great?), so I changed it to a more useful effect, and lowered the limitation value. Mebbe another power is better suited?

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!) Oh I completely agree. Our GM recently complained when I explained to my friend how "10 DEX is an average human, 20 DEX is as high as regular humans go". He said something along the lines of "just pick how much DEX you want, don't worry about what other people have". My guess is he has serious intellectual property issues... he confuses having a baseline with copying off something. (I.e. he confuses wanting to be "stronger that most" with "stronger that most of your characters".) This, of course, is not a problem with our usual game (D&D), which is not point-buy (well, it CAN be, but still), and has built-in guidelines.

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!) Thanks for the offer... I don't think he'll go for it, though. He's not really NEW to running HERO. It's just that he hasn't done so in a long time, and back then we didn't do a whole lot of it. Enough to learn and get comfortable with the rules, not enough for them to become so ingrained they last years w/o playing. =) And yeah, he's pretty paranoid about giving away secrets, mostly due to a friend of ours who used to play with us "stealing" his villains a coupla times. (Bad not only because of lack of originality, but because it allowed him to tailor his heroes to be especially effective against the villains.) Thanks for all the help, though!

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!) The GM is actually a VERY good GM. It's just that he doesn't have very much experience with Champions, and very little (if any) with characters at this power level. Most of our Champions experience has been 350-450 characters, which followed unspoken guidelines inherited from our previous GM, and all of this a long time ago (in this galaxy, though). He's our D&D DM by default, and he's extremely good at it. He's also run a couple of Marvel and DC campaigns in the past, which ran pretty smoothly. I'm sure there are some guidelines (this is obvious when he rejected a highly Advantage'd 9d6 RKA in another character I made), but I think they're mostly in the form of abstract ideas in his head, rather than concrete guidelines we can follow. Unfortunately, he appears to be having trouble with understanding we (the players) don't necessarily think the same was he does by default. By this I mean... 600 points means, in his head, means, say, "a character known for his extraordinary STR would have around 60 STR", and he feels it should mean the same to us. Telling us this would constitute, to him, giving us unwarranted information on his villains. =/ We've managed to get some guidelines, although through very roundabout ways (e.g. building a humongous power, noting what he suggests we take it down to), but this usually only works to get upper guidelines. Lower guidelines we've had to deduce given this.

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!) Regarding campaign guidelines... sadly, there aren't any. We (the players) keep badgering the GM to give us some, he keeps firing back with "it's 600 points, that's all you should need to know" and insists we're either dumb, crazy, refusing to decide for ourselves, or trying to elicit information about his villains. (Yes, it sucks, I know... for all I know I might be facing 30d6 energy blasts (completely conceivable with 600 pt characters), or 15d6 EBs, linked to Mind Control, linked to Flash, fired by a villain with 20 PD/ED/power defense/mental defense/flash defense. Hell, the GM even reacted this way when asked what a "good" (as opposed to a "decent", a "great", or an "average" DEX would be)... saying "You have 600 points, use them however you want... you want 15 DEX, buy 15 DEX, you want more, buy more, I'm not gonna tell you how to spend your points.) So this is why this toon (and the others I've made for this campaign) seem a little over the top in terms of power, but not as versatile as expected. I want to make sure I can actually hurt someone, while being able to defend from at least one villain. Regarding skills... Oratory is out right away... since he's unable to speak. ;-) But in general, it's a very skill-unfriendly campaign. We tend towards "arena combat", with a mostly roleplayed, no-skill-rolls plot around it. (That's not strictly true, but it leans towards that.) So mebbe one or two skills, but spending too many points on skills would cripple the character. Storm is not meant for megascale. It's a sort of localized mini-hurricane of sorts. It's also not meant to be selective (mostly because I don't want to have to roll individually against opponents, but also because of SFX). Just makes it hard to fly, see, and by consequence hit things, while in there.

Re: Damage Shield question

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!) Ok, latest version... Selective Target on the Desolid now. Some other tweaks, and background, etc., too. Oh, and yeah, he's a PC, sorry. The campaign's a high powered Cosmic/Galactic one. [b]The Arctic Spirit[/b] [b]Val Char Cost Roll Notes[/b] 20 STR 10 13- Lift 400.0kg; 4d6 [2] 26 DEX 48 14- OCV: 9/DCV: 9 35 CON 50 16- 20 BODY 20 13- 10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11- 10 EGO 0 11- ECV: 3 20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 10 COM 0 11- 4/34 PD 0 Total: 4/34 PD (0/30 rPD) 7/32 ED 0 Total: 7/32 ED (0/25 rED) 5 SPD 14 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 20 REC 18 70 END 0 75 STUN 27 [b]Total Characteristic Cost: 197[/b] [b]Movement:[/b] Running: 6"/12" Flight: 23"/46" Leaping: 4"/8" Swimming: 2"/4" [b]Cost Powers END[/b] 80 [i]One with the Winds and the Waves:[/i] Flight 23", Usable Underwater (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (80 Active Points) 26 [i]Incarnation:[/i] Life Support (Eating: Character does not eat; Longevity: Immortal; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing; Sleeping: Character does not sleep) 83 [i]Protection of the Arctic:[/i] Armor (30 PD/25 ED) 120 [i]Cold Storm Powers:[/i] Multipower, 120-point reserve 12u 1) [i]Storm:[/i] Change Environment 8" radius, -6 to Sight Group PER Rolls, -15" of Flight, -7 OCV, Multiple Combat Effects (120 Active Points) 12 5u 2) [i]Ice Patch:[/i] Change Environment 8" radius, -12" of Running, Long-Lasting 20 Minutes (58 Active Points); Only When In Contact With The Ground (-1/4) 6 10u 3) [i]Ice Spike:[/i] Killing Attack - Ranged 7d6 (105 Active Points) 10 10u 4) [i]Winter Chill:[/i] Energy Blast 6d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Affects Desolidified Any form of Desolidification (+1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), No Normal Defense (Life Support: Safe in Intense Cold; +1) (97 Active Points) 4 9u 5) [i]Freeze:[/i] Entangle 9d6, 9 DEF, Entangle And Character Both Take Damage (+1/4) (112 Active Points); Vulnerable (Uncommon (Fire); -1/4) 11 5u 6) [i]Fog Form:[/i] Desolidification (affected by Gaseous), Usable Simultaneously (up to 4 people at once; +3/4), Area Of Effect (7" Radius; +1), Selective (+1/4) (120 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Physical Only; -1), Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2) 12 [b]Talents[/b] 24 Universal Translator 15- 2 Trackless Stride [b]Skills[/b] 5 AK: The Arctic 14- 5 KS: Norse Religion 14- 5 KS: Weather 14- 2 Animal Handler (Other Arctic Animals) 13- [b]Total Powers & Skill Cost: 403 Total Cost: 600[/b] [b]450+ Disadvantages[/b] 15 Physical Limitation: Unable to Speak (Frequently, Greatly Impairing) 15 Social Limitation: Unable to Speak (Occasionally, Severe) 15 Psychological Limitation: Overconfident (Common, Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation: Not very protective of humans (Common, Moderate) 15 Reputation: Protector of the North, 14- 15 Enraged: Stunned by Heat powers (Uncommon), go 14-, recover 14- 10 Vulnerability: 1 1/2 x BODY Heat-based powers (Common) 20 Vulnerability: 2 x STUN Heat-based powers (Common) 15 Susceptibility: High Temperatures 1d6 damage per Turn (Common) 15 Distinctive Features: Blue-skinned, glowie-eyed humanoid (Concealable; Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 5 Rivalry: Professional (Other Incarnations; Rival is As Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry) [b]Total Disadvantage Points: 600[/b] [b]Background/History:[/b] The Arctic Spirit is literally the spirit of the North, incarnated. It is his duty to protect the cold reaches of the North. He co-exists with other Incarnations, with which he has a professional rivarly, since their eventual entry into their version of paradise depends on their performance of their duties. [b]Personality/Motivation:[/b] The Arctic Spirit is widely recognized as the Protector of the North, something which is widely misunderstood as meaning the protector of the northern peoples. Protecting humans is one of his duties, but this only covers keeping them alive, and only from outside forces. He has no drive to help them out or make them well. Quite the contrary: allowing them to go through hardships is the best way to make them strong. [b]Quote:[/b] "..." [b]Powers/Tactics:[/b] His usual tactics involve Freezing targets then wearing them down with Winter Chill. Against groups of landbound opponents, he'll lay down an Ice Patch to prevent movement. In groups, he'll use his Storm power as he's able, but it tends to drain him fast. [b]Campaign Use:[/b] [b]Appearance:[/b] The Arctic Spirit is a blue-skinned humanoid with glowing yellow eyes. He wears a loose robe and pants, bound at the forearms and calves with cloth. Note: I decided to add "Unable to speak" as both a physical disadvantage and a social one. I believe they both reflect different aspects of the disadvantage. The Physical Disadvantage reflects his inability to communicate properly and efficiently, while the Social Disadvantage reflects the problems this causes when dealing with people.

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!) Hm... wouldn't it affect villains coming INTO the area of effect after the power's been turned on, too? Looks like I need Selective Target... there'd be no roll, tho, right? Or rather, no roll against willing targets? Also, does that "Up to 4 people at once" include the character? I'm guessing not, since it'd be phrased as "Up to 4 other people at once" or something like that.

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!) Well... here's how it got that big: I designed the "Storm" power first. Put it in the MP. Then added the rest of the powers, pumping them as high as they could go, w/o really looking at how much damage they were doing... I mean, 11d6 NND, AE: hex... kinda overpowered, too. I scaled down the Storm power a bit (reluctantly), and made the others more reasonable. Here's what I've come up with, at 600 pts (yay!). Suggestions and critiques are VERY welcome and desired, whether they're "this is too powerful" or "you're lacking in this area". [b]The Arctic Spirit[/b] [b]Val Char Cost Roll Notes[/b] 20 STR 10 13- Lift 400.0kg; 4d6 [2] 26 DEX 48 14- OCV: 9/DCV: 9 35 CON 50 16- 20 BODY 20 13- 10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11- 10 EGO 0 11- ECV: 3 20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 10 COM 0 11- 4/34 PD 0 Total: 4/34 PD (0/30 rPD) 7/32 ED 0 Total: 7/32 ED (0/25 rED) 5 SPD 14 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 20 REC 18 70 END 0 75 STUN 27 [b]Total Characteristic Cost: 197[/b] [b]Movement:[/b] Running: 6"/12" Flight: 25"/50" Leaping: 4"/8" Swimming: 2"/4" [b]Cost Powers END[/b] 87 [i]One with the Winds and the Waves:[/i] Flight 25", Usable Underwater (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (87 Active Points) 26 [i]Incarnation:[/i] Life Support (Eating: Character does not eat; Longevity: Immortal; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing; Sleeping: Character does not sleep) 83 [i]Protection of the Arctic:[/i] Armor (30 PD/25 ED) 112 [i]Ice Storm Powers:[/i] Multipower, 112-point reserve 4u 1) [i]Fog Form:[/i] Desolidification (affected by Gaseous), Usable Simultaneously (up to 4 people at once; +3/4), Area Of Effect (7" Radius; +1) (110 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Physical Only; -1), Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2) 11 11u 2) [i]Storm:[/i] Change Environment 8" radius, -5 to Sight Group PER Rolls, -15" of Flight, -5 OCV, Multiple Combat Effects (107 Active Points) 11 5u 3) [i]Ice Patch:[/i] Change Environment 8" radius, -12" of Running, Long-Lasting 20 Minutes (58 Active Points); Only When In Contact With The Ground (-1/4) 6 10u 4) [i]Ice Spike:[/i] Killing Attack - Ranged 7d6 (105 Active Points) 10 10u 5) [i]Winter Chill:[/i] Energy Blast 6d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Affects Desolidified Any form of Desolidification (+1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), No Normal Defense (Life Support: Safe in Intense Cold; +1) (97 Active Points) 4 9u 6) [i]Freeze:[/i] Entangle 9d6, 9 DEF, Entangle And Character Both Take Damage (+1/4) (112 Active Points); Vulnerable (Uncommon (Fire); -1/4) 11 [b]Talents[/b] 24 Universal Translator 15- 2 Trackless Stride [b]Skills[/b] 5 AK: The Arctic 14- 5 KS: Norse Religion 14- 5 KS: Weather 14- 2 Animal Handler (Other Arctic Animals) 13- 3 +1 with any three maneuvers or a tight group of attacks [b]Total Powers & Skill Cost: 403 Total Cost: 600[/b] [b]450+ Disadvantages[/b] 150 Unspecified Disadvantages [b]Total Disadvantage Points: 600[/b] [b]Background/History:[/b] [b]Personality/Motivation:[/b] [b]Quote:[/b] "..." [b]Powers/Tactics:[/b] [b]Campaign Use:[/b] [b]Appearance:[/b]

Re: [Character] The Arctic Spirit (HELP!) Oh yah, quick question... will Fog Form affect everybody (up to 8 people) in the area of effect? Or only those I choose? Do I need Selective Target for that? And if I take Selective Target, do I still need to roll "against" those I want to affect, even if they're friendlies?

I'm building this character, and need to get him down to 600 points. Rough background: he's the incarnated spirit of the proverbial North. Here's what I have up to now... [b]The Arctic Spirit[/b] [b]Val Char Cost Roll Notes[/b] 20 STR 10 13- Lift 400.0kg; 4d6 [2] 26 DEX 48 14- OCV: 9/DCV: 9 35 CON 50 16- 20 BODY 20 13- 10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11- 10 EGO 0 11- ECV: 3 20 PRE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 10 COM 0 11- 4/34 PD 0 Total: 4/34 PD (0/30 rPD) 7/32 ED 0 Total: 7/32 ED (0/25 rED) 5 SPD 14 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 20 REC 18 70 END 0 75 STUN 27 [b]Total Characteristic Cost: 197[/b] [b]Movement:[/b] Running: 6"/12" Flight: 20"/40" Leaping: 4"/8" Swimming: 2"/4" [b]Cost Powers END[/b] 70 [i]One with the Winds and the Waves:[/i] Flight 20", Usable Underwater (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (70 Active Points) 26 [i]Incarnation:[/i] Life Support (Eating: Character does not eat; Longevity: Immortal; Safe in High Pressure; Safe in Intense Cold; Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum; Self-Contained Breathing; Sleeping: Character does not sleep) 83 [i]Protection of the Arctic:[/i] Armor (30 PD/25 ED) 187 [i]Ice Storm Powers:[/i] Multipower, 187-point reserve 5u 1) [i]Fog Form:[/i] Desolidification (affected by Gaseous), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Usable Simultaneously (up to 8 people at once; +1), Area Of Effect (9" Radius; +1) (130 Active Points); Limited Power Power loses about half of its effectiveness (Physical Only; -1), Cannot Pass Through Solid Objects (-1/2) 6 18u 2) [i]Storm:[/i] Change Environment 8" radius, -10 to Sight Group PER Rolls, -10 OCV, -15" of Flight, Multiple Combat Effects, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (184 Active Points) 7 14u 3) [i]Freeze:[/i] Entangle 12d6, 12 DEF, Entangle And Character Both Take Damage (+1/4), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (180 Active Points); Vulnerable (Uncommon (Fire); -1/4) 7 5u 2) [i]Ice Patch:[/i] Change Environment 8" radius, -12" of Running, Long-Lasting 20 Minutes (58 Active Points); Only When In Contact With The Ground (-1/4) 6 19u 5) [i]Ice Spike:[/i] Killing Attack - Ranged 10d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (187 Active Points) 7 18u 6) [i]Winter Chill:[/i] Energy Blast 11d6, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4), Affects Desolidified Any form of Desolidification (+1/2), Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), No Normal Defense (Life Support: Safe in Intense Cold; +1) (179 Active Points) 8 [b]Talents[/b] 24 Universal Translator 15- 2 Trackless Stride [b]Skills[/b] 5 AK: The Arctic 14- 5 KS: Norse Religion 14- 5 KS: Weather 14- 2 Animal Handler (Other Arctic Animals) 13- [b]Total Powers & Skill Cost: 488 Total Cost: 685[/b] [b]450+ Disadvantages[/b] 150 Unspecified Disadvantages 85 Experience Points [b]Total Disadvantage Points: 685[/b] [b]Background/History:[/b] [b]Personality/Motivation:[/b] [b]Quote:[/b] "..." [b]Powers/Tactics:[/b] [b]Campaign Use:[/b] [b]Appearance:[/b] I would greatly appreciate any and all help. =)

Re: Damage Shield question Hrm... Looks like I misread the comment on HERO Designer. Doesn't seem as bad now, although I'm still iffy on how losing the ability to actually fire the power is balanced out by having it automatically affect those that hit me. I did check out those threads... very good ones, yes. I'd also noticed the effect mentioned in one of those, where an EB DS that follows campaign AP limits will most probably be ignored.

Re: [Character] Goldenrod Thanks!

Re: Damage Shield question Meh... I was afraid you'd say that. Unless... well, DS's automatically hit... they don't happen to, um, ignore defenses, do they?

Ok, I'm not new to Champions/HERO... but I've been away for so long it might be useful to think of me as new. I'm kinda forgetful/confused about the Damage Shield advantage, and I don't have my rulebook with me atm. HERO Designer says I can only apply Damage Shield to Persistent powers. So I'd need to buy my, say, EB to Continuous, 0 END, and Persistent before I can apply Damage Shield. Fine and dandy... but does this now mean I can fire the EB as normal, at 0 END, and have it do damage every phase... in addition to having it hurt anybody that touches me? If so, how do I make it so it ONLY works as a Damage Shield? A custom, GM-adjudicated limitation? If not, isn't Damage Shield more of a Limitation than an Advantage, then? Second, I want to build an effect where my character's mind is so, let's say, chaotic, that anybody that tries to read it, attack, or whatever, gets hurt. Naturally I thought "Ego Attack, Damage Shield". But when trying to build it, I ran into the problem above. Also, would an Ego Attack bought as Damage Shield automatically simulate that effect? Or do I need a combination of advantages and limitations to have it not affect people who physically attack him, and have it affect people who mentally attack him? Suggestions of the form "You don't want an Ego Attack Damage Shield... you want a ." are very welcome, if you think I'm way off in trying to build it that way!

Re: [Character] Goldenrod I thought about the Always On on the flight was a limitation at all... decided it was, for several reasons. First off, switching to normal ID is not necessarily an option, since he's WAY vulnerable in normal ID. Second, I believe (I could be wrong, tho) you take more knockback while flying, no? Finally, his Distinctive Features are Concealable... being forced to fly makes this harder to conceal: he can wear a full-body skin-tight suit and mask to hide his golden, glowie body... but he'd need to mimic walking while flying very close to ground, or wear a long robe and bob up and down as he flies close to ground, to make it look like he's walking. If I'm wrong about the flying knockback, I'd probably consider lowering the limitation value to -1/4, mebbe even -0. Regarding the doing no BODY... looks like you missed the Telekinesis, which is 63 STR total... 20 0 END, 43 normal END. ;-) SPD 8 is actually not as high as it sounds, sadly, since this campaign tends towards inflated SPDs and DEXs (but, oddly enough, not too high SPDs and DEXs, since the GM doesn't like them). I expect all heroes and villains to be between 6 and 9 SPD, and between 25 and 35 DEX, regardless of actual concept. No, I don't like that, but I'm not the GM. This character IS supposed to be a speedy guy... same concept as his Danger Sense: addiction to speed (the drug) makes him hyperactive. He's not limited to Glow Blast while flying around, tho. I mean, he is (apart from the Telekinesis, which is not trivial, IMO), but it doesn't just do STUN damage. It also blinds (Flash). From other comments, I'm now thinking the damage and/or Flash is too low, given the relative power levels, but the concept, I think, is sound. Someone mentioned a problem with running out of END real quick. That was my oversight... I DO need to fix that. Especially since the character concept calls for near-constant activity!

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Haven't read the rest of the thread (yet), but this reminded me of something... Back when we played Star Wars, a friend of mine, playing a bounty hunter type character, offers his hand to this guy whom we were supposed to go rescue, and says "Come with me if you wanna live." Said guy immediately proceeds to fire his blaster at (and kill) my friend's character. Unbeknownst to him, it was all a lie, the guy was actually one of the bad guys. After a couple of seconds of slack-jawed shock, much laughter ensued. None of it by my friend, though.

Re: [Character] Goldenrod Meh! I'm sorry, I'm at work, and I intended to comment directly on all/most suggestions... I must've gotten "distracted" by work and neglected to do so. Ok, the Danger Sense is there, as well as the high-ish dex (shoulda been higher, but GM dislikes too-high DEXs), as a positive side effect of his addiction to speed (as in the drug, not the stat). He's high strung and hyperactive. The suggestion to get rid of CSLs and raise DEX is something I wanted to do initially... and only ended up with CSLs and lower DEX cuz of my GM's unnatural aversion to high DEXs. The Glow Blast being weak for 600 pts... I hadn't done the math, I guess. I was assuming most villains wouldn't have power defense, and even then, I thought that against those with baseline power defense would be hit for non-trivial damage. I'm thinking the power really is underpowered. I'm not sure how I feel about a MP for attacks. I can certainly see the advantage in having multiple types of attacks, but the concept I was going for was a single attack that would affect most opponents equally (I'm thinking I should switch to NND), tied to a sight group Flash. Along the lines of "Hey, I can hurt 'em by throwing Glow at 'em, cool!" rather than "Let's see how many different ways I can use this new ability I found.". Regarding being CON stunned after being hit... I don't want him to be very strong, constitution-wise. Mebbe raise his defenses to avoid being stunned? Yes, he's unable to "land" in hero ID. Did I build it properly, though? I mean, he doesn't have to fly at 20" every Phase, right? He CAN choose to Fly at 0" (i.e. hover), he just can't turn the Flight off?