Re: Catalyst: A Champions campaign on Hero Central
Here's a tentative history, and sheet changes to match.
Limited Physical Sense is off the Master List of Limitations. I've changed it to Slightly Impairing because she can remove the wards, and I'd be more comfortable with it as a Side Effect of those wards rather than a Phys Lim because of that- The wards can be drained, suppressed, or dispelled, while this physical limitation doesn't go away, which strikes me as a little screwy given the concept (her wards restrict her sense of touch slightly).
Of course, because the basic wards themselves changed (from Armor to basic PD/ED), it might be a moot point.
I changed the name, since that largely seems to be the problem with the character- the concept is sound, the idea is sound, really, there's very little wrong with the sheet itself. You just don't like the name, or the joke attached , which I'll admit came into your campaign like a guy in the back row of a Philaharmonic performance shouting "FREEBIRD!"
I removed Linguistics entirely, and I'll admit I was using it as a catchall for all the neat obscure languages one finds in tomes of magic. Other methods would be welcome suggestions.
The Ward
Player:
Val Char Cost
13 STR 3
17 DEX 21
15 CON 10
10 BODY 0
18 INT 8
23 EGO 26
15 PRE 5
18 COM 4
13/28 PD 0
13/28 ED 0
4 SPD 13
14 REC 16
34 END 2
25 STUN 0
6" RUN 0
2" SWIM 0
2 1/2" LEAP 0
Characteristics Cost: 108
Cost Power
18 Mr. Kite's Abjuration: Elemental Control, 36-point powers
19 1) Force Field (15 PD/15 ED), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (37 Active Points)
19 2) Flight 15", Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (37 Active Points)
5 The World Bends To My Will!: Luck 1d6
20 Basic Wards: (Total: 20 Active Cost, 20 Real Cost) +10 PD (Real Cost: 10) plus +10 ED (Real Cost: 10)
3 Mental Wards: Mental Defense (8 points total)
30 You Have No Defense: Find Weakness 13- with Magical Attacks
40 I'm not the best mage, but I'll have to do: Multipower, 40-point reserve
4u 1) Blackbird: Energy Blast 8d6 (40 Active Points)
2u 2) We Can Work It Out: Missile Deflection (Any Ranged Attack) (20 Active Points)
8m 3) Sgt. Pepper's Shield I: Force Wall (14 PD) (Alterable Size) (40 Active Points)
8m 4) Sgt. Pepper's Shield II: Force Wall (14 ED) (Alterable Size) (40 Active Points)
2u 5) It was twenty years ago today... : Cosmetic Transform 8d6 (Myself into Sgt. Pepper and back) (40 Active Points); Limited Target (Myself; -1)
15 The wonder of the Apple SpellBook- lightest digital tome on the market!: Variable Power Pool (Magic Pool), 10 base + 5 control cost, (15 Active Points)
0 1) Magical Insight- Electronic Defenses: +5 with Cryptography (10 Active Points); Gestures (-1/4) Real Cost: 8
0 2) I'll just duck out then, shall I?: Teleportation 5" (10 Active Points) Real Cost: 10
0 3) Ooh, bad tear, that: Healing BODY 1d6 (10 Active Points); Limited Power Only to Mend Clothing (-2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4) Real Cost: 3
0 4) Hm, better set the Fresh Air Rune...: Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing) (10 Active Points); Incantations (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4) Real Cost: 7
0 5) Just a moment, a bit tuckered...: Aid REC 1d6 (10 Active Points); Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2), Gestures (-1/4) Real Cost: 6
0 6) The Lighter in the Thumb Trick: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 1 point, Continuous (+1) (10 Active Points); No STR Bonus (-1/2), -2 Decreased STUN Multiplier (-1/2), Reduced Penetration (-1/4), Cannot Be Used With Multiple-Power Attacks (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4) Real Cost: 4
0 7) I'll just pick this up then, shall I? : Telekinesis (6 STR) (9 Active Points); Gestures, Requires Gestures throughout (-1/2), Limited Range (-1/4) Real Cost: 5
0 8) Let's make sure that stays there, shall we? : Entangle 1d6, 1 DEF (10 Active Points); Cannot Form Barriers (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4) Real Cost: 7
Powers Cost: 193
Cost Skill
3 Acting 12-
3 Computer Programming 13-
3 Concealment 13-
3 Conversation 12-
3 Cryptography 13-
3 Deduction 13-
3 Persuasion 12-
3 Power: Magic 13-
3 Scholar
2 1) KS: Defensive Magic (3 Active Points) 13-
1 2) KS: Magic (2 Active Points) 11-
2 3) KS: Personal Wards (3 Active Points) 13-
2 4) KS: Wards (3 Active Points) 13-
3 Scientist
1 1) SS: Archaeology 11- (2 Active Points)
1 2) SS: Chemistry 11- (2 Active Points)
1 3) SS: Electrical Engineering 11- (2 Active Points)
3 Seduction 12-
3 Stealth 12-
Skills Cost: 46
Cost Perk
1 Money: Well Off
1 Reputation: Mage Heroine (A small to medium sized group) 8-, +1/+1d6
1 Reputation: The Ward (Cartomancers) 8-, +1/+1d6
Perks Cost: 3
Total Character Cost: 350
Pts. Disadvantage
10 Dependent NPC: Arthur, Local Bookshop Owner 8- (Normal; Useful Noncombat Position or Skills; Unaware of character's adventuring career/Secret ID)
5 Distinctive Features: Could Have Been A Model (Easily Concealed; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses)
10 Physical Limitation: Limited Physical Sense (Infrequently, Greatly Impairing)
5 Distinctive Features: Always Shows Up In Tarot Divinations as THE WARD, Arcana II (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable Only By Small Group)
5 Hunted: Astronomenon 8- (As Pow, Mildly Punish)
10 Hunted: The Star Mage 8- (Mo Pow, NCI, Watching)
15 Hunted: Unknown Organization, Probably The Third Eye 8- (Mo Pow, Harshly Punish)
20 Psychological Limitation: Code Vs. Killing (Common, Total)
15 Psychological Limitation: Feels Naked Without Her Wards Up (Common, Strong) [Notes: Her Basic Wards have been up so long that she feels very uncomfortable removing them; this leads to some other nasty side effects (Limited Touch, DF).]
15 Psychological Limitation: Lonely (Very Common, Moderate)
5 Reputation: Bit of a Cold Fish, 8-
5 Rivalry: Professional (Astronomenon; Rival is As Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry)
5 Social Limitation: Fear of Commitment (Occasionally, Minor)
10 Social Limitation: House is Haunted (Frequently, Minor)
15 Social Limitation: Secret ID (Frequently, Major)
Disadvantage Points: 150
Base Points: 200
Experience Required: 0
Total Experience Available: 0
Experience Unspent: 0
From a very young age, Sara Kite was shown to have an aptitude with magic. Mischevious and full of energy, sometimes, she just made certain things vanish. Cards, small coins, on one occasion a large play ball she had caught with her face. Her luck, also, was undeniable, winning against most of the other children in Snakes and Ladders and other similar games.
You'd think this kind of thing might make her popular, or at least, make other students somewhat wary. But surprisingly, it evaded most of the kids' attentions, until early on in second grade, when the school psychologist approached her parents about putting her in an accelerated program. They agreed, and she was whisked off to another school, still public, where she didn't know anyone, felt alone, and her intelligence and perspicacity failed to impress. Still, there were those inexplicable moments where she could make things disappear, or reappear, or deal out just the way she wanted them.
And then there were the special classes. These were the ones she didn't have with anyone else. Well, there was Ryan, but he was a boy, so it didn't count really. And they were taught by the same psychologist who put them in the advanced program. They learned all kinds of neat stuff- like how people moved, and how stars aligned, and how if you worked your mind just right, amazing things happened.
It slowly dawned on Sara over the next five years that many of her peers, even in the accelerated classes, did not have this ability. She considered it odd, but really didn't set herself apart from her peers until the day she almost decided to fly home. Their gasps of shock as she started to float a foot off the ground quickly taught her that showing off what she'd learned might not be the best thing to do.
Middle school came around, and with it, a stricter social strata than elementary school. Quickly ostracized because she had to occasionally leave class for no apparent reason- to see the same psychologist!- Sara finally had the nerve to ask what, precisely they were learning.
"Magic, of course," he responded, and subsequently revealed himself as not only Dr. Collins, psychologist, but also as The Star Mage, a man whose identity Sara still does not truly know. With that, Ryan and her educations began in earnest. The Star Mage taught many things to them over middle school, but most importantly, he taught control. Tight control. When Sara's powers started to flare immensely in freshman year of high school, that tight control saved her life- and Ryan's, as well, when his powers began to spread like wildfire.
With this newfound power, Ryan started to treat their classmates like playthings- an attitude Sara objcted to. Having seen Primes on TV, Ryan took a mask and a name.
This was not something Sara was going to let pass. But when she approached the Star Mage, all he asked was:
"Well, what are you going to do about it?"
She soon set to work researching every protection the Star Mage could find for her. After several weeks' hard work, she enacted her first true ward over the school- which prevented Ryan's pranks, albeit temporarily. The feeling of triumph, of correctness, was impossible for the young girl to ignore. She wanted to use magic. She wanted to protect people. She told the Star Mage as much.
"With laws being as they are, Sara Kite can't do that," The Star Mage noted, idly.
"Then I'll make someone who can." the next few days were set towards making a transformation. A good one! One she could be proud of using! One that would have her favorite things of all! She'd wanted red hair... and green eyes... you couldn't forget the pink, of course, and a name... Something good. She looked around, trying to find an inspiration.
She happened upon her cartomancy deck. Eh, she had a moment, why not ask the cards? She shuffled the deck, flipped the first card, and got a card completely unknown to her: Her, just as she had envisioned her new identity, save with a blank, white face, and floating sigils all about her. At the top, II, taking the place of the High Priestess. At the bottom? "THE WARD".
Of course, where Magical Girls go, monsters soon follow, and Sara Kite's life became one of daring and adventure as she foiled not only Ryan, but other arcane threats to the student body, all while learning from the inscrutable Star Master at Ryan's side. Of course, they both knew, and the uneasy truce that existed between them in the classroom only served to make the battles more intense with each passing month. They even helped each other out when they weren't at each other's throats.
It all came to a head senior year, when, foiling Ryan's bid to become a god of Arcana, a greater threat appeared, which nearly destroyed them both. It took all of both their respective abilities to bring this one down, and while they didn't like each other, a sort of mutual respect emerged- they may foil one another, hurt one another, but if something outside this private little war came through, they'd both face it. And whoever won first would gloat.
The Ward and Ryan went their separate ways to college, the Star Mage releasing them from his tutelage. They'd taught each other well, and now it was time to see how they expanded into other disciplines.
Sara eventually used her knowledge of magic and defenses to become something of a trained expert at cryptography, getting a degree in the subjects from Cal Tech. As arcane threats emerged, The Ward temporarily resurfaced, and Sara realized that her time in the spotlight, albeit unwanted, was probably drawing near...
Returning to Thebes, Sara bought an old house in the northwest corner of the Market District- specifically, the one where that old kook McCreedy used to live.
How was she supposed to know his familiar had gotten around with the rats in the basement...? Needless to say, she got the job, and they pay her rent and their half of the food bill, mostly with technical writing. This allows her to live quite comfortably (though she has some problems getting them to pay up on time), and the balance is made with luck... and a little bit of playing the markets when she gets special foreknowledge.
