Avenger Assembled Posted January 27, 2011 Author Posted January 27, 2011 Undead Sorceror “Bela Lugosi’s Dead...†PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 12 pp STR 10 (+0) DEX 16 (+3) CON n/a (-) INT 16 (+3) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 16 (+3) Combat: 20 pp ATK: +4 (+10 Ranged) DEF: +8 (+3 flat-footed) Grapple: +4/+20 Initiative +3 Saves: 7 pp TOU +12 (+4 Protection, +8 Force Field) FORT n/a REF +6 (+3 Dex, +3) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 20 pp=80 r Bluff 7 (+10) Concentration 7 (+10) Diplomacy 7 (+10) Intimidate 12 (+15) Knowledge: Arcane Lore 12 (+15) Knowledge: History 5 (+8) Knowledge: Theology and Philosophy 12 (+15) Languages 4 (Ancient Egyptian, Arabic, Greek, Latin) Notice 13 (+15) Sense Motive 13 (+15) Feats: 14 pp Attack Focus: Ranged (6) Dodge Focus 2 Eidetic Memory, Master Plan, Move-By Action, Ritualist, Ultimate Save (Will) Uncanny Dodge (mental) Powers: 77 pp Flight 2 (25 MPH) [4 pp] Force Field 8 [8 pp] Immunity 30 (Fortitude saves) [30 pp] Magic Array [20+2=22 pp] Blast 10 ‘mystic force’ AP: Insubstantial 4 (incorporeal) 'ghost body' AP: Telekinesis 10 (12 tons) 'mage hands' Protection 4 [4 pp] Regeneration 6 (+0 Recovery Bonus, Resurrection 1/week) (PF: Regrowth) [7 pp] Super-Senses 2 (Mental Awareness (mental)) [2 pp] costs abilities 12 + combat 20 + saves 7 + skills 20/80 + feats 14 + powers 77 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: Traditionally presented as antagonists in a superhero game, here’s your Hollywood classic undead sorcerer as a PL 10 starting PC. Call him a lich if you want; it’d certainly fit. He’d be a good antagonist for a low-level character, or a perfectly viable concept on his own: perhaps a variant of the Mummy archetype I posted upthread? He’s structurally not all that dissimilar from your average mystic in that he flies around, blasts people with arcane sigils, constructs rituals, and generally can do most of the things your average comic book mystic can do. He’s just also undead, and immune to many of the usual physical concerns that can lay sometimes fragile mystics low. OTOH, he doesn’t have Impervious, so he can take a lot less punishment than those other guys can physically. So how did he come to transcend the bonds of mortality? Maybe he wants to live forever and is only halfway through the necessary magical quest (and fights bad guys because a quest for immortality doesn’t necessarily equal being a bad guy yourself), or maybe he’s the victim of a spell gone wrong? Perhaps _this_ isn’t what he studied magic for, and he’s desperately working for a cure. Or maybe the character is even older: perhaps he is a mummy sorcerer of ancient days, now walking the Earth to set right what he once set wrong, or just to battle against evil as he did in days long past. You definitely want to have a good lead on that sort of thing before you start running around casting spells, as an undead mystic may make many of your fellow heroes blast first and ask questions later. The obvious twist is to alter the immunities in some way. Or cobble together enough points to buy real Con (maybe drop the flight entirely and add it to the regen) and play a character with both a Fort Immunity and a Con score. Expensive, but that way you’re technically alive even though your body is entirely armored against some kinds of damage. Good for you! Another way to do it is change up the powers and descriptors; he’s currently a pretty generic mage outside of his immunity powers. Maybe give him a focus on necromancy to go with the fact that he’s a dead guy himself? Merge him with my Necromancer build thread for loads of good fun!
Avenger Assembled Posted January 27, 2011 Author Posted January 27, 2011 Energy Draining Paragon "Clint Eastwood was not a rogue cop. He was a maverick cop, but he was a good guy." -Charlton Heston PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 20 pp STR 30 [14] (+10/+2) DEX 10 (+0) CON 16 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 16 (+3) Combat: 18 pp ATK: +5 (+10 Melee) DEF: +10 (+2 flat-footed) Init: +0 Grapple: +25 Saves: 16 pp TOU +10 (+3 Con, +7 Protection) FORT +8 (+3 Con, +5) REF +5 (+0 Dex, +5) WILL +8 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 28 r=7 pp Bluff 3 (+6/+10) Gather Info 4 (+7) Intimidate 7 (+10) Languages 1 (French) (Base: English) Notice 6 (+8) Sense Motive 6 (+8) Feats: 16 pp Attack Focus [Melee] 5, Attractive, Dodge Focus 6, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 78 pp Drain CON 8 (Extra: Aura [+3]) [32 pp] Enhanced STR 16 (to STR 30/+10) [16 pp] Immunity 3 (own powers, suffocation) [3 pp] Flight 5 (250 MPH) [Dynamic] [10+1+2=13 pp] DAP: Super-Strength 5 (24 tons) Protection 7 (Extra: Impervious) [14 pp] costs abilities 20 + combat 18 + saves 16 + skills 7/28 + feats 11 + powers 78 = 150 pts Design Notes: A familiar and classic archetype, this lady looks like your typical paragon; she flies around, punches people through walls, lifts heavy objects, and is mostly bulletproof. At least until she takes off her gloves or removes part of her form-fitting full-body costume, at which point she can suck the life out of anyone she touches. Her Drain Con isn't quite up to caps, but since she's throwing a DC 25 Tou save and DC 18 Fort save on people she's hitting when she goes all out, it's still super-effective. It's also a serious freaking error for anyone but another paragon to try grappling her, given that her Drain is a full-fledged aura, and grappling her for more than a few rounds will leave anyone without a good Fort save completely in the dirt. That fast-talking French acrobat had better think of something clever to do before he loses a valuable body part to his romantic foibles. (Is there a message to comic book fans about the frequent stories revolving around the lethal power of touching girls? Hmm) Note that she's got a Drain rather than Damage aura, so she can still touch objects bare-handed without frying them. I haven't given her any drawbacks on her Aura, but you could easily justify the Full Power drawback for her, or something where her Drain requires direct skin-to-skin contact. Personally, I think it's more fun to treat those two as complications. (The second also lets her get by with those kicky yellow gloves as her cover). Her Aura is Sustained by default, but with a complication that it comes on whenever its going to cause a problem for her. I went with a good solid Drain Con, so her touch is potentially lethal to all but the hardiest types, particularly if she's actually power-attacking them or grappling them. Another easy way to get points for her (and maybe buy her Drain up to caps with a little tweaking elsewhere) is to put a Side-Effect flaw on her Drain where if her target passes their Fort save, she has to make a Fort or Toughness save herself to represent the backwash of power into her body. Give her a different Drain if you want different effects, obviously; drop the Aura if you want to make her even cheaper. A serious shuffle of the sheet will let you make her a straight Transferer, but given the expense of Transfer it's a much better idea to treat 'absorbing memories/skills' as plot-devices, which indeed they usually are in stories like this. Characters like this have occasionally been written as angsty types, but I prefer the classic paragon-with-a-twist version: fly around and punch bad guys and look good doing it, keeping your little secret about how your powers work to yourself. How did this unlikely set of powers come together in the first place? Well, maybe she absorbed too much from another paragon and picked up those abilities, or maybe she's a paragon whose powers went crazy. Or maybe she powers all that flight and super-strength off the energy she sucks up from others...
Avenger Assembled Posted January 28, 2011 Author Posted January 28, 2011 Iron Man “My heart is as true as steel.†-William Shakespeare Abilities: 18 pp STR: 34 [14] (+12/+2) DEX: 14 (+2) CON: 16 (+3) INT: 12 (+1) WIS: 12 (+1) CHA: 10 (+0) Combat: 26 pp ATK: +8 DEF: +5 (+2 flat-footed) Init: +7 Grapple: +26 Saves: 13 pp TOU: +15 (+3 Con, +5 Density, +7 Protection) FORT: +6 (+3 Con, +3) REF: +6 (+2 Dex, +3) WILL: +8 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 32r=8 pp Concentration 8 (+9) Intimidate 12 (+12), Knowledge (physical sciences) 4 (+5), Notice 4 (+5), Sense Motive 4 (+5) Feats: 8 pp All-Out Attack, Improved Initiative, Interpose, Luck 2, Power Attack, Startle Takedown Attack Powers: 80 pp Alternate Form 16 (Iron Body) Density 10 [30 pp] -+20 STR, Impervious TOU 5, Immovable 3, Super-Strength 3, x10 Mass (2000 lbs) Enhanced Feats 2 [second Chance (TOU Saves vs. Unarmed), Ultimate Save (Toughness)] [2 pp] Immunity 30 (Fortitude) [30 pp] Impervious TOU 5 [5 pp] Protection 7 [7 pp] Super-Strength 3 (90 tons) [6 pp] Drawbacks: -3 pp Vulnerable (Magnetic Effects) (uncommon, major) Totals: Abilities 18 + Skills 8 + Feats 8 + Powers 80 + Combat 26 + Saves 13 -Drawbacks 3= 150 --- Design Notes: Here's a somewhat reworked version of the Solid Hero archetype from the Archetype Archives. I didn't have to do much to make this a viable PC for our site: just drop his Impervious down to 10 ranks, up his Toughness all the way to PL caps, and generally try and make this guy fill the niche of "Tough sonofagun" among the ranks of powerhouses. He may not be the strongest, and he may not hit the hardest, but his solid iron body makes him nearly impervious to almost anything. He's immune to poisons, diseases, and other frailties of organic life when his powers are active. And why not? Again, he's solid iron! Even the usual bane of steel men, magnetism, here represented as a vulnerability, is going to have to work to hurt a man who can pass a damage save from a rank 19 attack with an HP. (It can still do it, though; don't forget he's also vulnerable to things like magnetic grapples and TK) Unlike almost all of my builds, he doesn't have Uncanny Dodge. He's really not going to lose much if you catch him flat-footed, given his low Defense. If his powers are up, he can probably take whatever you hit him with, and if they aren't, you're probably going to hit him if you're anywhere near his PL anyway. Why does he have such a high ranged attack bonus? Well, he's got no speed and he weighs as much as a car, so he's not very fast: he's really strong, though, so he's great at scooping up your melee guy (or a car!) and throwing something really, really far! He can also pick up a bus as a bat, stop a plane in its tracks, and generally do quite well for himself. Be careful of his weight; weighing a ton is quite a complication, particularly since he's got no Buoyant. If he falls off a bridge into the ocean, he can survive with his powers, but he'll have to walk along the ocean bottom to get out. Be careful of boats! My default assumption is that his Iron Body is sustained in duration, if only because that way he doesn't break everything all the time. Make use of Interpose to make your friends happy you're there! If you want to get technical, you can change up what kind of metal he is. Iron is close to actually being ten times as dense as human flesh, but not quite: make him the man of gold, or the man of silver! You can change up the sheet to reflect the properties of different metals or solid substances. Perhaps a hero made of stone has Permeate, or perhaps a hero made of diamond has some Penetrating Unarmed damage to reflect fingernails as sharp as knives. Just don't let people try and sell parts of your gold body! Up the Super-Strength (perhaps at the price of some of that massive Fort immunity) to be more the 'strong guy' instead of the invulnerable guy. Powerhouse is a good niche.
Avenger Assembled Posted January 28, 2011 Author Posted January 28, 2011 Nightland Hero “"I stood in one of the embrasures of the Last Redoubt—that great Pyramid of grey metal which held the last millions of this world from the Powers of the Slayers."- William Hope Hodgson PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 46 pp STR 24 (+7) DEX 16 (+3) CON 24 (+7) INT 14 (+2) WIS 16 (+3) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 28 pp ATK: +6 (+8 Diskos) DEF: +13 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +7 Grapple: +13 Saves: 7 pp TOU +7 (+7 Con) FORT +7 (+7 Con) REF +7 (+3 Dex, +4) WILL +6 (+3 Wis, +3) Skills: 72r=18 pp Acrobatics 8 (+11) Climb 4 (+11) Craft: Mechanical 8 (+10) Intimidate 12 (+13) Knowledge: Technology 8 (+10) Language 1 (English) (Base: Future English) Notice 4 (+7) Sense Motive 4 (+7) Stealth 8 (+11) Survival 8 (+11) Swim 1 (+8) Feats: 20 pp Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Specialization: Diskos Challenge (Fast Acrobatic Bluff) Dodge Focus 5, Evasion, Fearless, Hide In Plain Sight, Improved Initiative, Inventor, Luck, Power Attack, Second Chance [survival checks], Startle, Takedown Attack, Track [visual], Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 31 pp Communication 9 (anywhere on Earth) [mental] (Extra: Area) (PF: Subtle [encrypted]) [19 pp] Device 2 (Diskos) (easy to lose) (PFs: Restricted 2 [Nightland Hero]) [8 pp] -Strike 5 (PFs: Affects Insubstantial 2, Extended Reach, Improved Crit, Mighty) Immunity 1 (suffocation [low pressure]) [1 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Super-Senses 2 (Darkvision) [2 pp] costs abilities 46 + combat 28 + saves 7 + skills 18/72 + feats 20 + powers 31 = 150 pts ---- Design Notes: In a distant age at the end of history, the Sun has gone out and the Earth is lit only by the fires of vulcanism and the last remnants of Man’s technology. Human beings survive in a few isolated redoubts here and there, maintaining ancient technology they barely understand to hold back the Things in the Dark. The Earth is dying. But there are still brave people, willing to risk everything for those they love: there are still heroes. This is a build for a hero inspired by William Hope Hodgson’s 1912 The Night Land, constructed with the innate powers and technological trappings of the protagonist of the novel. The book is an interesting read: Hodgson uses very little place names or proper names, perhaps suggesting a shift in human language, and much of the overall work is written in a 17th century style as part of a framing device involving consciousnesses projected into the future. With its impersonal universe, creatures of mixed human and alien parentage, ancient beings from the darkness, and use of Deep Time, the book was a very strong influence on a young H.P. Lovecraft. The general assumption I made here is that this is the (unnamed) protagonist of the novel (or someone like him), who has learned to venture successfully into the darkness of the world, regaining some of Man’s lost technology and knowledge for his own use. His signature weapon is the diskos, “a razor-sharp spinning disk on a retractable handle. When activated the disk glows and shoots out sparks.†He can see in the dark, letting him do all he can to take back the eternal night. His high CON and Immunity to suffocation reflect the way humans have adapted to the thin atmosphere and harsh conditions of the distant future; his mental Communication is a power shared by all human beings in the new world. He’s a skilled, competent adventurer, able to handle himself in single combat against the Ab-humans of the darkness or their great, monstrous parents, as well as to understand some of the lost technology of the world left behind him. So how did this hero from the distant future make his way to our world? Maybe a time machine in the ruins activated unexpectedly, or maybe he was caught accidentally by a temporal probe from our own era. Or maybe his people have actually repaired a time machine, and are looking to escape back to an age in the unimaginably distant past. One thing to think about is time: Hodgson wrote with the best scientific knowledge available a century ago, but we know that the Earth will survive for a few billion rather than a few million years. Unless some ancient piece of super-science (in our own era) is what caused the Sun to go dark in the first place! Perhaps it was superheroes who ensured the survival of man, or perhaps it was they who doomed humanity from the beginning. Another thing to think about is the Lovecraftian influence in the world, particularly the notion of unfathomable monsters waiting outside circles of protection to fall upon and destroy the last remnants of humanity. Maybe the apocalyptic event that snuffed out the Sun and destroyed the old world of humanity was the awakening of the Great Old Ones...and maybe that awakening is due to happen sooner than we realize.
Avenger Assembled Posted January 30, 2011 Author Posted January 30, 2011 Acrobatic Arachnid “With great power, comes great responsibility.†-Stan Lee PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 22 pp STR 26 [16] (+8/+3) DEX 24 [14] (+7/+2) CON 24 [14] (+7/+2) INT 12 (+1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+12 Snare/Unarmed) DEF: +13 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +11 Grapple: +16 Saves: 4 pp TOU +7 (+7 Con) FORT +7 (+7 Con) REF +7 (+7 Dex) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 56 r=14 pp Acrobatics 8 (+15) Bluff 9 (+10) Craft: Artistic 4 (+5) Craft: Mechanical 4 (+5) Investigate 4 (+5) Knowledge: Technology 4 (+5) Medicine 3 (+4) Languages 2 (German, Latin) (Base: English) Notice 3 (+5) Search 4 (+5) Sense Motive 3 (+5) Stealth 8 (+15) Feats: 15 pp Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Specialization: Unarmed 2 Dodge Focus 5, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Takedown Attack, Taunt, Uncanny Dodge (tactile) Powers: 63 pp Enhanced CON 10 [10 pp] Enhanced DEX 10 [10 pp] Enhanced STR 10 [10 pp] Immunity 1 (own powers) [1 pp] Leaping 2 (x5) [2 pp] Snare 8 (PFs: Accurate 2) [18 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Super-Movement 4 (Slow Fall, Swinging, Wall-Crawling 2) [8 pp] Super-Senses 3 (Danger Sense (mental), Tremorsense) [3 pp] costs abilities 22 + combat 32 + saves 4 + skills 14/56 + feats 15 + powers 63 = 150 pts ---- Design Notes: OK, so this may well be a familiar character. But that’s OK. This character has many of the powers and attributes associated with comic-book arachnids. He can jump hella high, climb walls as easy as you or I climb up a flight of stairs, and he can fire restraining blasts that hold his targets in place from some part of his anatomy or other. He taunts, he cartwheels, he’s fast enough to catch a car in city traffic. Stunt off his Snare if you want him to lift really heavy loads. I came to this guy through the movies, so I’ve built him with all his powers organically rather than from inventions: I never really bought that the teenager who just happens to get a radioactive spider’s bite just happened to also be a technical genius enough to whip up a superhero-level device and take to the streets as a crime fighter. He’s a pretty good photographer and mechanic, though at fairly low untrained levels. Why build this character? Well, consider that he doesn’t have to be a spider-totem of dubious biological legality. What if he’s a gravity-controller, using gravitic powers to climb walls and entrap his enemies, with a limited ‘tactile tk’ giving him the strength he needs to break stuff with his bare hands? Or what if he’s a glue controller like my supervillain legacy upthread, firing sticky clots of glue from his limbs while climbing the walls with what he secrets from his fingers? What if he’s a Friction Controller? (Lets you get some use out of that very little used power) What if he’s an infernalist, having mortgaged his very soul for supernatural power only to bitterly repent? In short, you can take this instantly recognizable archetype and put your own spin on it. You can be your own version of a beloved comic book character. Between Tremorsense and Danger Sense, he’s very hard to sneak up on: most characters don’t have Concealment vs. mental senses, and no characters are concealed vs. Tactile. Not saying it can’t be done, but it’ll take a smart character, and maybe a specific immunity (perhaps a result of knowing this character especially well, or having once been a very close ally) to get close. He needs a good supporting cast and a good relationship to get into: my suggestion is you change it up a little, and have him be in a committed relationship with the big jerk who used to harass him in high school, but now can appreciate him as a friend and lover as adults. Or whatever, I hear this guy’s love life is an object of contention.
Avenger Assembled Posted February 1, 2011 Author Posted February 1, 2011 Beeling “A bee is never as busy as it seems; it's just that it can't buzz any slower.†-Kin Hubbard Abilities: 24 pp STR: 40 [16] (+15/+3) DEX: 10 (+0) CON: 40 [28] (+15/+9) INT: 10 (+0) WIS: 10 (+0) CHA: 10 (+0) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+5 w/size) (+4 ranged) DEF: +8 (+5 w/size) (+2 flat-footed) Init: +0 Grapple: +32 Saves: 15 pp TOU: +15 (+15 Con/+9 w/out Growth) FORT: +15 (+15 Con/+9 w/out Growth) REF: +5 (+0 Dex, +5) WILL: +10 (+0 Wis, +10) Feats: 9 pp Attack Focus: Melee Dodge Focus Interpose Luck Move-By Action Power Attack Startle Takedown Attack Uncanny Dodge (olfactory) Skills: 9 pp=36 r Intimidate 8 (+8/+12) Notice 8 (+8) Search 8 (+8) Sense Motive 4 (+4) Survival 8 (+8) Powers: 64 pp Damage 10 (Extra: Line [+1]) [20 pp] ‘fire breath’ Flight 2 (25 MPH) [4 pp] Growth 12 (Extra: Duration [Permanent] (+0), PF: Innate) [37 pp] Super-Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling) [2 pp] Super-Senses 2 (Acute Scent, Tracking [olfactory]) [2 pp] Drawback: (-3 pp) Vulnerable (aerosol effects) (Uncommon, Major) (-3 pp) --- Design Notes: This is my build for a juvenile giant dragon bee, one whose story is told eloquently on our wiki: wiki/Giant_Bees The idea is that this is a juvenile version of the giant dragon bees of Sanctuary, slower and weaker than her parents, and only about half as big. (She’s ‘only’ about thirty feet long instead of sixty) She’s left her world behind to go adventuring in the world her parents left behind, a stalwart young hero and battler for justice who just happens to be a gigantic bee. I’ve tried to give her the powers you’d expect for a honeybee cast the size of an RV: she’s got an incredibly good sense of smell which she can use to track her targets all the way across the city, she’s very strong, and her sheer size gives her a very imposing presence despite a personality that (if she’s like her counterparts) is friendly and eager to please, especially superheroes. That doesn’t apply to bad guys, though, those who threaten the sanctity of the human hive and the younglings there will be met with a fate most dire! Why no sting? Well, she can breathe fire, which is certainly a super-effective strategy. (It’s what she’s best off doing when she’s trying to goonsweep, though her sheer size means her unarmed attacks count as area attacks under the right circumstances). Plus, really, the stinger of a giant bee should do much more damage than just sticking you with some venom. Stunt off the fire breath to give her a sting, or super-strength: use the points to give her an array of Apian Might if you want to let her pull really heavy loads. As it is she’s quite strong, especially given her bulk, but the lack of super-strength means that she can and will lose grappling contests to characters at her PL who are more focused in that area than she is. I built in the aerosol vulnerability as a catch-all for various bee problems; vulnerability to smoke, pollen (delicious, delicious pollen) and the like. Note that she’s still got a massive Fort save to try and suck up that vulnerability, but she’s still vulnerable even to attacks at her PL. Clearly there are significant roleplaying challenges to playing a character that is permanently thirty feet long. Stealth concerns are very real, and maintaining a secret ID when you’re a gigantic honeybee is probably impossible. That said, play up the cultural differences between a beehive and the real world: be a little (but not _too_) dismissive of the intelligence of the boys you know, assuming they’re just after mating with your fellow bipeds. Tell great stories of the world you left behind, carefully worded so your allies aren’t let in on the secret of your people and where you’re from. And perhaps, just perhaps, think about settling down somewhere and becoming queen of your own hive, though perhaps metaphorically if you don’t want to settle down and birth a bajillion babies and get all fat and immobile. There’s adventure to be had!
Avenger Assembled Posted February 1, 2011 Author Posted February 1, 2011 Psychic Martial Artist “Masses are always breeding grounds of psychic epidemics.†-Carl Jung PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 26 pp STR 16 (+3) DEX 20 (+5) CON 16 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 28 pp ATK: +6 (+12 melee/+14 swords) DEF: +13 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +5 Grapple: +15 Saves: 10 pp TOU +7 (+3 Con, +4 Protection) FORT +6 (+3 Con, +3) REF +8 (+5 Dex, +3) WILL +10 (+2 Wis, +8) Skills: 72 r=18 pp Acrobatics 10 (+15) Bluff 4 (+5/+9) Climb 7 (+10) Intimidate 9 (+10) Knowledge: Streetwise 5 (+5) Languages 2 (Chinese, Japanese) (Base: English) Notice 8 (+10) Search 5 (+5) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 10 (+15) Survival 3 (+5) Feats: 20 pp Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Focus: Melee (6), Attack Specialization: Sword, Attractive, Dodge Focus (5), Equipment, Evasion, Luck, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (mental) Powers: 41 pp Immunity 1 (Own Powers) [1 pp] Leaping 1 (x2) [1 pp] Protection 4 [4 pp] Psi-Ninja Array [24+4=28 pp] Damage 8 (Extras: Alt. Save [Will], Autofire) 'psychic sword' AP: Concealment 10 (all senses) Extra: Affects Others, Flaw: Phantasm, PFs: Close Range, Progression 2 [5 others], Selective) AP: ESP 6 (20 miles) (visual and auditory) (PFs: Rapid 5 (x100k), Subtle) AP: Mind Control 10 (PFs: Insidious, Mental Link, Mind Blank, Subtle) AP: Mind Reading 10 (Extra: Action [standard/Move], PFs: Rapid 3 (x1000), Subtle) Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Super-Senses 5 (Acute Accurate Ranged Radius [Mental]) [5 pp] Equipment: 5 pp Sword (Strike 3) (PFs: Improved Crit, Mighty) costs abilities 30 + combat 28 + saves 13 + skills 18/72 + feats 20 + powers 41= 150 pts -- Design Notes: So you’re a psychic Asian ninja chick in a skimpy costume written by Chris Claremont, you say? Yeah, so this character’s had some issues with fetishization over the years. (You’d think of the obvious, but based on the pictures she seems to be much favored by bent-spine fetishists). All that said, it’s still a very powerful character concept. She’s incredibly stealthy and very powerful, a great sneak and hell on wheels in melee either with her sword or just her amazing psychic powers. She can stab you in the brain! Or even better, stab you in the face! She’s at caps either way, a fast, acrobatic, and lethal fighter. She doesn’t have the very high Will save of the pure mentalist, but you may not notice that given her strengths in other areas. If you get into a psychic will contest with that mentalist down the block, stab them in the face while invisible and run away cackling. One fun way to play this character is to play up her 90s roots, given that people do actually age in the Freedom City setting. Maybe she’s getting older and doesn’t fit quite as well into the costume anymore, but she’s been called out to resume her old career. An Iron Age_era_ character is very different than an Iron Age _character_, and playing up the distinction between the two will let you tie into Freedom City history without playing a Blood’N’Guts vigilante that no one wants to see. It might be nice if we could do something with Freedom City history that happened after 1981 and before 1993, if only so our ‘historical’ PCs aren’t stuck being very old or very young. There’s a rich history to tap into, assuming you don’t tap into it like a jive sucker. You can tweak her powers however you see fit, maybe giving her a Will Drain or something, but I think she really is a very competent psychic ninja. She’s got the swords so she meets her caps even when she’s fighting robots or other creatures immune to Will saves. No Sneak Attack, I prefer not to give that to characters whose business is combat. In an ideal situation, she should sneak up on someone, catch them flat-footed, then switch to her psychic sword and POWER attack, surging as necessary. She’s also got OK regular mentalist abilities if you don’t have a Jean Grey on your team. She’s obviously quite similar to our own Sage, played with great skill by Sorus, but there’s no reason why you can’t have characters with a similar powerset running around. Still, sometimes there are issues of that, and the last thing you want is to get into a territorial contest. Make her an experienced government agent for one shift. Or maybe she’s an older hero, or former villain, a World War II era psi-ninja who has recently transferred her consciousness elsewhere. (One would hope into a formerly brain-dead body...) One possible change is to make her abilities magic rather than psychic: maybe instead of a mutant, she’s a ‘real’ ninja, trained to use her chi as a weapon in ways to make her more modest bretheren (like my Ninja build upthread) blush! Either way, she’s a powerful character, and would probably be pretty fun to play.
Avenger Assembled Posted February 1, 2011 Author Posted February 1, 2011 Batman “Nananananana Batman!†-Neal Hefti PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 38 pp STR 14 (+2) DEX 24 (+7) CON 16 (+3) INT 16 (+3) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 20 pp ATK: +4 (+8 ranged/+12 Sonic Array) DEF: +12 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +11 Grapple: +6 Saves: 9 pp TOU +8 (+3 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +7 (+3 Dex, +4) REF +8 (+7 Dex, +1) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 72 r=18 pp Aerobatics 8 (+15) Climb 12 (+14) Investigate 7 (+10) Knowledge: Life Sciences 7 (+10) Medicine 8 (+10) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 8 (+15) Survival 8 (+10) Feats: 21 pp Aerobatic Bluff, Animal Empathy, Attack Focus: Ranged 4 Dodge Focus 4 Evasion 2, Favored Environment (nighttime) 2, Improved Initiative, Luck 2, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Quick Change, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 44 pp Comprehend 2 (speak to and understand animals) (Flaw: Nocturnal Only) [2 pp] Flight 2 (25 MPH) [4 pp] Protection 5 [5 pp] Sonic Array [26+1=27 pp] Blast 8 LINKED Dazzle 8 (auditory) (PFs: Accurate 2) AP: Stun 8 (Extra: Ranged) (PFs: Accurate 2) Super-Senses 6 (Darkvision, Direction Sense, Sonar [Accurate Ultrasonic Hearing) [6 pp] costs abilities 38 + combat 20 + saves 9 + skills 18/72 + feats 21 + powers 44 = 150 pp --- Design Notes: A twist on a classic comic book archetype, this is a build for a totem with a bat theme. Rather than go for the usual powerhouse types that often come with totem builds, I made this guy an acrobatic flier just like bats themselves. He doesn’t have an unarmed attack, but his sonic scream should lay out almost any opponent. I don’t know if any bats in the wild are known to use their sonar abilities to stun prey, but it seems like the sort of thing they should be able to do, especially in a comic book setting. He gets around easily at night, dominating the night skies, fighting in pitch blackness without a qualm. He can also talk to bats and other creatures of the night, but nocturnal prey species may be reluctant to talk to a gigantic bat! He’s not a terribly fast flier, given that he’s a bat, nor is he particularly sturdy. Still, he’s a skilled, canny nocturnal hunter, and not a bad scientist and detective in the bargain. My general idea for this guy is that he was a bat scientist studying in a deep cave when his harness broke and he fell in the darkness. When he woke, he made his way to the surface and found himself changed! Was it the result of a mutation in himself, the bats, or perhaps the magic of the ancient Native American shrine in the depths of the cave vault? All are perfectly viable options. I think it’s more fun if you assume he can turn his powers on and off without losing his abilities, that way he’s not ‘cursed’ with a hideous appearance and he’s got a built-in disguise when he does use his powers. He flies with wings, but I transcended the Restrainable drawback as I usually do unless completely points-starved. Much better to get that HP if someone shoots a net gun or a glue gun at your wings! One obvious way to mix it up is to give the guy some Enhanced STR; I omitted that since bats aren’t exactly known for that in the real world. Animal Control is a distinct possibility, but as I’ve mentioned in other builds that’s not actually a very good power. Stunt it off the Sonic Array if you really want it, though, along with any other bat-themed powers that seem appropriate. Summoning a swarm of bats is a classic Batman trick, and one that you can do with your superpowers rather than cheating technology, and that’s a good descriptor for everything from Blast to Obscure to Nauseate, depending exactly what it is you’re doing with those bats. Depending on what kind of bat you are, up the Intimidate, and maybe add in some Drain Con...
Avenger Assembled Posted February 2, 2011 Author Posted February 2, 2011 Alien Princess “Space cattaz!†-Adult Swim PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 16 pp STR 30 [14] (+10/+2) DEX 20 [10] (+5/+0) CON 24 [10] (+7/+0) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+4) CHA 18 (+8) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+10 Unarmed/+12 Blast) DEF: +10 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +5 Grapple: +21 Saves: 9 pp TOU +10 (+7 Con, +3 Protection) FORT +8 (+7 Con, +1) REF +8 (+5 Dex, +3) WILL +8 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 48 r=12 pp Bluff 8 (+12/+16) Diplomacy 8 (+12/+16) Intimidate 12 (+16) Knowledge: Civics 4 (+4) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 11 pp Attack Specialization: Unarmed Attack Specialization: Blast (2) Attractive, Dodge Focus (2), Move-By Action, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 70 pp Comprehend 2 (speak and understand any one language at a time) (Drawback: Must Touch Target First) [3 pp] Enhanced CON 14 [14 pp] Enhanced DEX 10 [10 pp] Enhanced STR 16 [16+1=17 pp] AP: Blast 8 'eyebeams' Flight 5 (250 MPH) [Dynamic] [10+1+2=13 pp] DAP: Super-Strength 5 (Heavy Load: 48 tons) Immunity 9 (Life Support) [9 pp] Protection 3 [3 pp] Space Flight 1 (1c) [1 pp] costs abilities 16 + combat 32 + saves 9 + skills 12/48 + feats 11 + powers 70= 150 pts --- Design Notes: She’s a beautiful visitor from another planet, a badass princess who can fly at supersonic speeds, shoot beams of plasma from her eyes, and can punch people through steel doors. She may not know much about our Earthly ways, but she knows about truth and justice! She looks like a pretty Genki Girl, or maybe like a slightly underdressed lady with strangely colored skin, until she actually enters combat and starts calling out imprecations to her battle-god while singing alien death chants and shooting beams of light out her eyes. Yeah, she’s a fun character to play, and a fun one to interact with too: pair her up with my Robin build upthread for some surprising character twists and turns. Some versions of this character have been used as fetish fuel. “Tee-hee! I don’t understand your Earthly customs of wearing clothes!†And then the fanboys say “It’s just her culture, don’t you understand? Waaaah!†Don’t do that here. Keep your basement in your basement. No one is interested in your naked space hottie online anymore than they are in real life. Play this character like a character, not as fetish fuel. She’s something of a pocket paragon, sacrificing Impervious for abilities in other areas. Stunt more of a Blast off her Flight/Super-Strength array if you’re looking for even more points for her eyebeams. She’s also a very talented social monkey, making her a great face person for your group. She could even work as a model in her spare time. In the Freedom City setting, this lady here is probably a Lor, perhaps from a planet that retains certain ceremonial posts (thus explaining why she’s free to jet around the galaxy), or maybe she’s from a planet overwhelmed by the Grue, and is here to make allies to one day retake her homeworld from their brutish tyranny. Or you could take the concept of space-going blaster royalty and mix it up a little. Maybe she’s a daughter, or a granddaughter, of Star-Khan, who has rejected her family’s aspirations...or maybe she hasn’t, and she’s here to get an education on Earth (to better learn about other cultures) before going home to take over the family business. Which is conquest. And business is good!
Avenger Assembled Posted February 2, 2011 Author Posted February 2, 2011 Force Controller “Love your neighbor, but don’t tear down your fence.†-Poor Richard PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 24 pp STR 10 (+0) DEX 16 (+3) CON 14 (+2) INT 18 (+4) WIS 16 (+3) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 18 pp ATK: +3 (+8 Ranged) DEF: +10 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +7 Grapple: +20 Saves: 10 pp TOU +10 (+2 Con, +8 Force Field) FORT +6 (+2 Con, +4) REF +6 (+3 Dex, +3) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 92 r=23 pp Concentration 11 (+3) Craft: Artistic 11 (+15) Craft: Mechanical 11 (+15) Craft: Technological 11 (+15) Drive 2 (+5) Knowledge: Physical Sciences 11 (+15) Knowledge: Technology 11 (+15) Languages 2 (Chinese, Japanese) (Base: English) Notice 7 (+10) Pilot 7 (+10) Sense Motive 7 (+10) Survival 2 (+5) Feats: 15 pp Attack Focus: Ranged 5 Dodge Focus 4, Improved Initiative, Inventor, Luck, Move-By Action, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 61 pp Force Array [24+2=26 pp] Force Constructs 10 (PFs: Precise, Progression, Selective, Subtle) AP: Blast 12 AP: Telekinesis 12 (24 tons) Flight 5 (250 MPH) [10 pp] Force Field 8 (Extra: Impervious) LINKED Immunity 9 (Life Support) [25 pp] costs abilities 24 + combat 18 + saves 10 + skills 23/92 + feats 15 + powers 61 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: This is my build for a character loosely defined around the ability to create objects out of energy, like Sue Storm and Armor from Marvel or the various Lanterns Green from DC. She flies around in a suit of force armor she makes herself, blasts her enemies with psychic blasts of energy, and generally acquits herself pretty well in most forms of combat. I’ve gone with the conceit that this is a character who specializes in ‘creations’, she’s an artist and brilliant scientist whose desire to reshape the world has manifested itself in superpowers. I’ve often felt that was a frankly brilliant conceit for a Green Lantern-type to be an artist (one reason why I’ve been left cold by post 1990s Green Lanterns like Hal Jordan), but the science angle is something I like to think is a little bit new. She’s not as smart as a regular gadgeteer, true, but she’s got high skills and she doesn’t need inventions to blast people with her superpowers. They just help! For a more Sue Storm feel, give her Platform on her Flight and drop the Immunity, maybe spending the points to pick up some Concealment. For a Green Lantern “help my friends fly in space†power, use a construction like: Create Object X (Extra: Moveable) LINKED Immunity 9 (Life Support) (Affects Only Others). That’ll cost you 12 pp for the first rank and 3 pp for each additional rank: if using the array I have above, she can afford a 30 foot bubble that’ll keep her friends inside it alive as they fly through the vacumn of space. Not a bad thing to have in the array, but you should probably work in some Telekinesis so she can lug around lots of people at once. (My assumption is that she uses TK to cover most “Fly Around Carrying People†moments; that’s one of the reasons why it’s there!) You could stick her powers in a hard-to-lose device easily enough. Another way to build a character with a Green Lantern feel is to build the power as is, then to add a Power Loss drawback for when the ring is taken away. That way you’re a little more protected against getting mugged by passing supervillains or just big jerks, when you;re unconscious. You could make her a mutant, or mutate, or say that her powers are the result of being bonded with some fallen alien artifact: if that’s the case, think about working in other abilities like Comprehend or Space Flight, or perhaps give her Enhanced Minions to reflect the fact that the source of her powers is aliiiive!
Avenger Assembled Posted February 3, 2011 Author Posted February 3, 2011 Feral Canadian “A lot of funny stuff happens in Canada.†-Samantha Bee PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 32 pp STR 26/18 (+8/+4) DEX 20 (+5) CON 18 (+4) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+12 unarmed) DEF: +12 (+3 flat-footed) Grapple: +15 Saves: 8 pp TOU +8 (+4 Con, +2 Density, +2 Protection) FORT +10 (+4 Con, +2, +4) REF +7 (+5 Dex, +2) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 52 r=13 pp Climb 2 (+10) Intimidate 14 (+15) Languages 2 (French, Japanese) (Base: English) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 10 (+15) Survival 8 (+10) Feats: 23 pp Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Attack Specialization: Unarmed 3 Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus 6, Elusive Target, Endurance, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Luck, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge (olfactory) Powers: 50 pp Density 4 (Extra: Duration (Permanent) [+0]) (PFs: Buoyant, Innate) [14 pp] Enhanced Fortitude Save 4 [4 pp] Immunity 2 (disease, poison) [2 pp] Penetrating Unarmed Damage 4 [4 pp] Protection 2 [2 pp] Regeneration 18 (Bruised 3 [no action], Injured 6 [no action], Staggered 4 [1 round], Disabled 4 (5 minutes), Resurrection 1 [1 week]) (PF: Regrowth) [19 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Super-Senses 4 (Acute Accurate Tracking Olfactory) [4 pp] costs abilities 32 + combat 24 + saves 8 + skills 13/52 + feats 23 + powers 50 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: Here’s a build for a typical citizen of the Dominion of Canada. I built him without the typical Strike you see in builds of this nature, given that our game really doesn’t reward lethal damage, and it’s something of a stretch to assume that every bad guy you fight is going to have legions of robots and undead at his command. So instead he _can_ choose to do Penetrating Damage with his unarmed strikes (i.e., pop claws) but he can also punch people and do a significant amount of damage. It’s up to you whether or not his dense body is a result of implantation of a metal endoskeleton by evil government forces looking to seize control of North Atlantic fisheries by stabbing Norwegians brutally with sharp blades, or whether or not it’s just a result of his burly Canadian musculature and overall powerful physique. He’s a really good fighter, easily capable of holding his own in combat against much more powerful superhumans thanks to his good saves and powerful Regeneration. Don’t be afraid to mix it up in combat if you are playing this guy. He doesn’t heal up as fast as, say, my Kid Hero or Martial Artist build, but he easily shrugs off minor injuries and recovers very rapidly even from the worst damage he can take. His claws mean he at least has a shot of hurting everybody, though remember that just because you _can_ force a TOU save doesn’t mean you’re actually going to hurt them. He’s a great hunter and tracker, just like all Canadians, easily capable of tracking a target through deep snow or a thick forest and laying them low in fierce combat. He’s got the Speed because it’s not fun to be a melee guy stuck at moving 30 feet per turn. One possible change to work into this character is certainly Duplication, given common properties he’s exhibited over the years. Another is to remember that your gruff, anti-social PC with the hygiene problems is a very quick route to no one liking you or wanting to talk to you here. So don’t do that. Your PCs need to be able to play well with others. But I’m confident that, in the hands of a good player, this character can function as part of a larger group and not turn himself into a ridiculous laughingstock. Seriously, it can be done! This archetype is often better with kids than you’d expect: perhaps in his secret ID he’s a tough but fair gym teacher, or an unusually aggro teacher of art?
Avenger Assembled Posted February 3, 2011 Author Posted February 3, 2011 Genius Bruiser “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.â€-Mahatma Ghandi PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 64 pp STR 30 (+10) DEX 14 (+2) CON 30 (+10) INT 20 (+5) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 16 (+3) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Unarmed) DEF: +6 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +2 Grapple: +19 Saves: 9 pp TOU +14 (+10 Con, +4 Protection) FORT +10 (+10 Con) REF +6 (+2 Dex, +4) WILL +7 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 84r=21 pp Bluff 8 (+11/+15) Craft: Electronic 10 (+15) Craft: Mechanical 10 (+15) Diplomacy 8 (+11/+15) Intimidate 12 (+15) Knowledge: Physical Sciences 10 (+15) Knowledge: Technology 10 (+15) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 10 pp Attractive, Attack Specialization: Unarmed 2 Inventor, Master Plan, Move-By Action, Startle, Power Attack, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 25 pp Impervious TOU 10 [10 pp] Leaping 4 (x25) [4 pp] Protection 4 [4 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Super-Strength 3 (Heavy Load: 6 tons) (PF: Groundstrike) [7 pp] Drawback: -3 pp Normal ID (free action) [-3 pp] costs abilities 64 + combat 24 + saves 9 + skills 21/84 + feats 10 +powers 25 -drawbacks 3= 150 pts --- Design Notes: She’s a gorgeous, brilliant inventor with a tremendous force of personality and incredible super-strength: what’s not to love? This lady has beauty, power, and brains in abundance, and makes a good addition to any superteam on those grounds. She’s not as strong as a dedicated powerhouse, as brilliant as a dedicated gadgeteer, or quite as beautiful as a dedicated facewoman, but who cares? There is something to be said for being a solid jack-of-all-trades, especially when you are good enough at everything you do. She can probably beat up the regular gadgeteers and take their cool toys, and there’s something pretty awesome to be said for that. She can’t quite take the beating a regular powerhouse can, but with her high Fort save, very good TOU, and decent Impervious, she can certainly take a good beating and dish one out in the bargain. She’s very much a genius bruiser, an archetype where a very strong hero will also be very smart in the bargain. She’s got the basic feats that melee fighters need: Takedown Attack for goon sweeping, Power Attack and Startle for setting up the big baddies for monster-sized hits, and the like. Some versions of this character will have more specialized skills, but I went with a construction that lets her be a brilliant scientist and inventor along with a tough, scary badass. Perhaps she got her powers via experiments in radiation, or even being exposed to the aftereffects of a nuclear blast? (If that’s the case, an immunity to environmental radiation might not be a bad idea.) More focused versions will have higher INT at the expense of lower physical stats, and the like. She’s a flat-out genius at INT 20 (though not as insanely high as some), and could still fill this niche even with somewhat more modest INT and a higher STR to match. She’s got Normal ID, meaning she can drop down to her mousy scientist form if she really wants to. You could also drop the relatively high Charisma and make this a big, burly character who just happens to be smart in the bargain, but I liked the idea of playing someone who at least theoretically has a claim to fitting most of the major ‘roles’ on a team. You don’t want to stretch yourself too thin and try and be everybody, but there’s nothing wrong with being able to do multiple things. That way your character can fit into multiple teams on the site, depending on what niche they’re looking to fill. And if you yourself feel bad about interfering with another player’s schtick (which you really shouldn’t) you can trust that you’ll be fine because you’ll always have some role to play in whatever setting you’re dropped into. And what happens when you reach out and try to be a really strong specialist in one particular area? Well, that’ll be something to examine in later builds.
Avenger Assembled Posted February 5, 2011 Author Posted February 5, 2011 Dark Avenger “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?†-The Shadow Abilities: 30 pp STR 14 (+2) DEX 20 (+5) CON 18 (+4) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 34 pp ATK: +9 (+13 Shadow Pistols) DEF: +13 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +9 Grapple: +11 Saves: 10 pp TOU +7 (+4 Con, +3 Protection) FORT +7 (+4 Con, +3) REF +7 (+5 Dex, +2) WILL +7 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 48 r=12 pp Gather Info 8 (+10) Intimidate 13 (+15) Knowledge: Current Events 5 (+5) Knowledge: Streetwise 5 (+5) Languages 1 (Spanish) (Base: English) Notice 6 (+8) Stealth 10 (+15) Feats: 15 pp Attack Specialization: Shadow Pistols 2, Dodge Focus 5, Elusive Target, Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Initiative, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Startle, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 49 pp Blast 7 (Extra: Autofire) ‘shadow pistols’ [21 pp] Concealment 10 (all senses) (Flaw: Blending) ‘shadow embrace’ [10 pp] Protection 3 [3 pp] Super-Senses 2 (Darkvision) [2 pp] Teleport 4 (400 ft/1 mile) (Extra: Accurate) ‘shadow step’ [12 pp] costs abilities 30 + combat 34 + saves 10 + skills 12/48 + feats 15 + powers 49 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: This is my build for the Dark Avenger, an archetype from the Archetype Archives I’ve always thought was pretty cool. The character is a modern-day version of the Shadow and similar costumed crimefighters, using shadows and psychological warfare against his opponents to great effect. The biggest problem with the sheet as written on this site is that he’s dependent on pistols: so for this version I’ve made the ‘pistols’ into a regular blast effect that he can summon or dismiss as a free action. Blazing rounds of pure shadow at their opponents, these are potent weapons that do almost as much damage as a machine gun. I also dropped his dependency on Sneak Attack: like almost all my builds, he hits his caps just fine in regular combat, but does so much _more_ damage when he can hit from ambush. And between his high Stealth, Concealment, and Darkvision, there’s really no reason why he can’t always be striking from ambush. I figure on an average night he’ll use a combination of Gather Info and Streetwise to find where a given street gang is meeting, walk there through the shadows and open fire, basically totally immune to attacks launched against him by common thugs while at the same time striking them down at will. After that, destroy their weapons and call the cops to come pick them up. You could give him some ESP to look through the shadows to save a few steps, but the character’s more fun if he has to do a little of his own legwork. Consider buying some more detective skills if you want to emphasize that part of the character, maybe by adding some more drawbacks or flaws that make him dependent on the use of shadows for his powers. As it is, not having shadows available is a complication for him rather than an actual disability: with the HP he gets for fighting outside his element, he should be able to hold his own even then. This build would work fine for a Golden Age character who got them via learning meditation in TIbet, an ex-supervillain with connections to Freedom City’s Schattenwelt, or something else entirely, or perhaps a descendant of any one of those who has inherited some version of his ancestor’s powers. He may have superpowers, and powerful ones at that, but they won’t solve crimes by themselves: he has to actually get out and do the legwork to accomplish things. He still may not get along with the Costumed Adventurers and other Badass Normals on the team, who will probably not think highly of his combination of abilities and powers! But hey, those aren’t real guns he’s carrying, and as he’d be happy to demonstrate, they certainly don’t do lethal damage. Unless he wants them to, that is.
Avenger Assembled Posted February 6, 2011 Author Posted February 6, 2011 Precog “I like men who have a future and women who have a past.†-Oscar Wilde PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 36 pp STR 20 (+5) DEX 18 (+4) CON 20 (+5) INT 10 (+0) WIS 30 [14] (+10/+2) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+11 Melee/+15 Unarmed) DEF: +15 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +4 Grapple: +16 Saves: 5 pp TOU +5 (+5 Con) FORT +7 (+5 Con, +2) REF +7 (+4 Ref, +3) WILL +10 (+10 Wis) Skills: 72 r=18 pp Acrobatics 11 (+15)* Concentration 1 (+11) Climb 1 (+6) Drive 1 (+5) Gather Info 13 (+15)* Knowledge: History 5 (+5) Knowledge: Tactics 10 (+10) Medicine 1 (+11) Languages 2 (English, German) (Base: Russian) Notice 15 (+25)* Sense Motive 15 (+25)* Stealth 1 (+5) Survival 1 (+11) Feats: 21 pp Acrobatic Bluff Attack Focus: Melee (3), Attack Specialization: Unarmed (2), Challenge 3 (Fast Acrobatic Bluff, Fast Anticipate Action 2), Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus (7), Equipment, Fearless, Jack of all Trades, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Gather Info, Notice, Sense Motive), Takedown Attack, Well-Informed, Powers: 37 pp Enhanced Feats 9 (Evasion 2, Master Plan 2, Second Chance 2 [Notice, Sense Motive], Seize Initiative, Ultimate Skill 2 [Notice, Sense Motive]) [9 pp] Enhanced Wisdom 16 (to Wis 30/+10) [16 pp] Immunity 1 (aging) [1 pp] Super-Senses 11 ([Acute Accurate Radius Ranged Mental] 'short-term precognition', Danger Sense [Mental], Precognition, Uncanny Dodge [Mental]) [11 pp] Equipment: 5 ep Grapple Gun (Speed 1 (10 MPH) and Super-Movement 2 (Slow Fall, Swinging) ) costs abilities 36 + combat 32 + saves 5 + skills 18/72 + feats 22 + powers 37 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: This is my build for a precognitive, someone with the power to see the future by means of psychic abilities. Precognition is a very powerful ability, and I’ve built this character with the idea of maximizing its potential. His abilities let him see into the future, fight and navigate blind-folded (using short-term precognition to see and fight), pick up on tiny details that’ll be important later, and always be prepared for anything. I went with the idea that he’s also used these abilities and strong physical training to become a skilled martial artist, which I think is a perfectly reasonable extrapolation from that kind of ability. Indeed, you can build in the fluff that he learned his martial arts discipline as a way of mastering the constant visions of the future in his head. I took some notes from angrydurf’s suggestions for a precognitive specialist that were quite useful, though I did actually give him the Precognition power. If a GM doesn’t want to give him visions, give him HP for the Complication, I sez! His Fearless, I should add, is because he knows he’ll get through this particular crisis, even if he doesn’t know the specifics. This guy would work well as a costumed adventurer/martial artist type. Why is he such a good detective? Because, just like Freedom City’s Foreshadow, he knows exactly what’s going to happen and when! Cheats around Bat-omniscience are fun tricks to work into a character. I’ve built him with the assumption that he’s an immortal ex-Soviet super-soldier, because shut up that’s why. Someone like this would have been an incredible asset to a military/spy agency, and may well still have considerable connections back to the world he left behind. If that’s the case, represent that with feats, or just bedevil him with a never-ending array of Complications from his old life. If you don’t like that idea, give him whatever background you want. An obvious change is to make him blind, a fairly iconic problem for this sort of character! You could actually do that with the sheet as written and just say his blindness is only a complication given his psychic abilities in other areas, but of course that’s up to you. Precognition is obviously a potentially game-breaking power. If you find it’s causing you problems, put the Uncontrollable Flaw on it so it only works when the GM wants it to work, that way you don’t cause any bad feelings or run the risk of getting shut out of fun threads. Use the points you gained to buy more things for him: he could use some Leaping or Speed to make him more mobile in combat, or maybe some more immunities. If his powers are a result of being tied into the timestream in one way or another, maybe Temporal Inertia to go with his Immunity to aging?
Avenger Assembled Posted February 8, 2011 Author Posted February 8, 2011 Druid “How glorious a greeting the Sun gives the mountains!†-John Muir PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 22 pp STR 18 (+4) DEX 12 (+1) CON 16 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 28 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Magic/Melee) DEF: +12 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +4 Grapple: +14 Saves: 13 pp TOU +8 (+3 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +6 (+3 Con, +3) REF +6 (+1 Ref, +5) WILL +6 (+1 Wis, +5) Skills: 64 r=16 pp Climb 6 (+10)* Diplomacy 4 (+5) Handle Animal 9 (+10)* Knowledge: Arcane Lore 5 (+5) Knowledge: Life Sciences 5 (+5) Knowledge: Theology and Philosophy 5 (+5) Notice 9 (+10)* Swim 6 (+10) Stealth 6 (+10) Survival 9 (+10)* Feats: 23 pp Attack Focus: Melee 4 Dodge Focus 4 Improved Initiative Luck 2 Move-By Action Power Attack Sidekick 6 (as Wonder Dog) Skill Mastery (Climb, Handle Animal, Notice, Survival) Takedown Attack Track Uncanny Dodge (auditory Powers: 50 pp Device 2 (Holy Scimitar) (Easy to Lose) [6 pp] -Strike 6 (PFs: Improved Crit 2, Precise, Mighty) Enhanced Feat 1 (Animal Empathy) [1 pp] Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison) [3 pp Magic Array [25+3=28 pp] Snare 10 (PFs: Accurate 2, Indirect 3) AP: Blast 10 (PFs: Accurate 2, Improved Crit, Variable Descriptor 2 (any elemental) AP: Comprehend 2 (speak to and understand animals) and Flight 1 (10 MPH) and Morph 4 (any animal) and Strike 6 (PF: Mighty) and Super-Senses 4 (Acute Tracking Scent, Low-Light Vision) AP: Healing 10 (PFs: Persistent, Regrowth) Protection 5 [5 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Super-Movement 4 (Permeate [full speed], Trackless) (Flaw: [Natural Terrain Only]) [4 pp] Super-Senses 1 (Communications Link; with Wonder Dog) [1 pp] costs abilities 22 + combat 28 + saves 13 + skills 16/64 + feats 23 + powers 50 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: OK, I’m not hugely happy with this build, but this is my attempt at a D&D-style druid as a PL 10 (150 pp) starting character. The big weakness with building a D&D-style mystic is that there’s not really room for the flexibility of D&D-style magic in Mutants and Masterminds, not without using Variable Powers from Warriors and Warlocks I’m not real happy with. (The book has a druid-style character with Shapeshift in an array, but I’m a little squiged out by the thought of a Variable Power inside an Array: you’re supposed to turn into animals, not cheese!) Druids are also (famously) quite powerful for D&D, and it’s not easy to make a character who can blast magic, talk to animals, turn into animals, and use an animal companion with gusto. So here’s my attempt at building a character who can do all those things: she’s not as flexible as the Jungle Lord or as powerful as the Mystic, but she can do work that at least passes in various different fields. Her wolf uses the stats of the Wonder Dog from Golden Age; not really suitable for combat in a PL 10 setting, but certainly handy to have around. The wolf can smell and track, and run for help to warn other heroes if the hero falls down a well! (Perhaps joined by Bob Dylan?) She herself can stab people with her scimitar, blast people with elemental fury, or ensnare them with vines. Her wild shape AP is a bit of a kludge, but with the right descriptors you can use it to justify just about any Medium-sized animal: which admittedly cause their own problems in an urban setting, but they’re still worth having. I figure the strike represents a magical augmenting of an animal’s biting and clawing, but still default non-lethal thanks to the way combat works in M&M. You could easily change the mechanics if you wanted a slightly better put-together look at the concept, this is strictly an attempt to build a D&D-style druid. Think about what this concept means in an urban superhero setting rather than its native high, or maybe low, fantasy. Do you protect the natural scenery of the city, defending trees and parks and rivers against the depredations of man and the human predators who prey on each other by night? Cities certainly have a natural splendor all their own. But they’re still hardly a natural environment, however ‘green’ they pretend they are. Or are you more of a hippie-type, pushing back against the city itself? I think it’s possible to be the latter and be a superhero, so long as you don’t annoy people about it. Dealing with the Green Man is a natural problem for you. Another idea is a character who actually lives over in the Wharton State Forest west of the city, and who only comes out to Freedom to get into some crazy saving the world action. As written this character has no ties to other religions, but a connection to certain strands of European-style paganism is an interesting idea.
Avenger Assembled Posted February 8, 2011 Author Posted February 8, 2011 Amoeba “Growth itself contains the germ of happiness.†-Pearl S. Buck PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 26 pp STR 12 (+1) DEX 16 (+3) CON 16 (+3) INT 14 (+2) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Melee) DEF: +10 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +7 Grapple: +13 Saves: 10 pp TOU +10 (+3 Con, +7 Protection) FORT +6 (+3 Con, +3) REF +6 (+3 Dex, +3) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 56 r=14 pp Bluff 8 (+10) Diplomacy 3 (+5) Knowledge: Life Sciences 8 (+10) Languages 3 (German, Latin, Spanish) (Base: English) Medicine 13 (+15) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 13 (+15) Feats: 12 pp Attack Focus: Melee (4) Dodge Focus (4) Improved Initiative Luck Power Attack Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 64 pp Bacteria Array [32+1=33 pp] Corrosion 10 (PFs: Incurable, Reversible) AP: Nauseate 10 (PFs: Incurable, Reversible) Immunity 8 (cold, critical hits, disease, sleep, starvation and thirst, suffocation) [8 pp] Impervious TOU 10 (Flaw: Limited [Physical Only]) [5 pp] Insubstantial 1 [5 pp] Protection 7 [7 pp] Regeneration 0 (PF: Regrowth) [1 pp] Super-Senses 4 (Darkvision, Microscopic Vision 2 [cellular]) [4 pp] costs abilities 26 + combat 24 + saves 10 + skills 14/56 + feats 12 + powers 64 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: This build is for a character whose power is being a giant amoeba, or colony of bacteria, or other such microscopic life. It’s based on the suggested archetype from Instant Superheroes, with a few additions of my own. He’s pretty powerful, easily capable of slipping his way through solid objects, dissolving them with a touch, infecting people with temporary diseases, and taking some pretty heavy punishment. I gave him Darkvision to explain how his individual parts could see while inside a body, and cellular-level Microscopic Vision so the various little bacteria and other microscopic organisms he’s made of can actually see each other. He doesn’t have the Duplication that the Instant Superheroes build had. While that was kind of funny, it was much too expensive, and put the corebook archetype way, way over cost. He also has the sort of immunities you’d expect a colony of microscopic life to have; he doesn’t have internal organs as such, so he’s immune to critical hits, and he can’t get sick, but an injection of antibiotics (at least with the poison descriptor) may make him injured indeed. My made-up origin story is that he was a doctor at a big-city free clinic before bad guys broke into the clinic looking for drugs to sell: they injected him with syringes when he tried to resist, and he didn’t just survive the subsequent hundreds of simultaneous infections, he used them to gain superpowers! You can tweak that however you want, but I like the image of a guy who is effectively made of diseases functioning as a superhero. There are a couple of low-level superheroes with a concept similar to this. He also might be an evolved colony of bacteria who never was human to begin with; a hive mind that’s united into one singular hero! A good lesson in cleaning out the refrigerator, really. This build would also work great for a former supervillain turned superhero since these are just the sort of creepy superpowers that might have driven someone to turn to crime back in the more innocent days of the Silver Age. Maybe the writers had just watched one of those cool 60s documentaries on microscopic life! Backstory is up to you, as ever. One possible tweak to this build would give him Healing as an AP off his bacteria array; perhaps by dumping a colony of cells into a given injury to knit it up superquickly? A real ‘disease’ AP would probably be something like Nauseate with the Contagious and Disease extras and the Incurable PF; giving him a much lower point value for an impressively dangerous power. I didn’t give him that in this build because making lots of people sick for a long time is not something superheroes should be doing on a regular basis! As it stands he’s got Reversible on most of his powers, giving him the ability to pull all those little bacteria and such right out of any given injury. Something like that also explains his Regen, which would also explain that Healing power-stunt. Another possible change would be to drop or alter his skills so that he’s not so knowledgeable about medical matters. One definite complication for him is his no-doubt bizarre internal anatomy. If most regular doctors, even super-doctors, have no idea how to treat you when you’re hurt, that’s definitely a complication worth some HP, particularly if that also applies to Healing and similar powers. (And another good reason for that Regen, and maybe to buy it up even higher!)
Avenger Assembled Posted February 8, 2011 Author Posted February 8, 2011 Exiled Prince A dwarf who brings a standard along with him to measure his own size, take my word, is a dwarf in more articles than one. -Laurence Sterne PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 30 pp STR 18 (+4) DEX 16 (+3) CON 22 (+6) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+14 vs. Medium-sized) DEF: +6 (+14 vs. Medium-sized) Init: +3 Grapple: -4 vs Medium Saves: 9 pp TOU +6 (+6 Con) FORT +7 (+6 Con, +1) REF +7 (+3 Dex, +4) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 56 r=14 pp Bluff 10 (+10) Climb 6 (+10) Diplomacy 10 (+10) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 10 (+13/+30) Survival 4 (+6) Feats: 9 pp Challenge (Accelerated Climb) Evasion Fearless Hide In Plain Sight Move-By-Action Power Attack Second Chance (Reflex save vs. being stepped on) Takedown Attack Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 56 pp Blast 6 ‘fireblast’ [12 pp] Device 1 (Sword of Lilliput) (Easy to Lose) (PF: Restricted [Fine Size Only]) [4 pp] Strike 2 (PF: Improved Crit, Mighty, Precise) Leaping 1 (x2) [1 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Shrinking 16 (Extras: Duration [Permanent] (+0), Normal Strength, PFs: Innate, Normal Movement, Normal Toughness) [35 pp] Super-Movement 1 (Slow Fall) (PF: Innate) [3 pp] costs abilities 30 + combat 32 + saves 9 + skills 14/56 + feats 9+ powers 56 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: He’s the exiled prince of a corrupt kingdom, the lone hero of a world that’s turned against him in every meaningful way. One day he’ll take back his birthright and bring peace and order to his people, but now he’s on the loose, fighting for justice and honor in a world he never made. His home islands are very far from here, in the middle of a long, cruel war that’s stretched on for what feels like forever. His father, a cruel despot, exiled him for speaking out against his rule, and now all he has is his twin blades and the elemental magic that his people learned to defend themselves against the most terrifying threats of all. One day, one day he'll get back what’s his and he’ll save the day, but until then he’s an angsty, brooding prince, a skilled martial artist and elemental blaster, a master combatant with blade and flame who just happens to be three and a half inches tall. That’s right, this is Avatar’s Prince Zuko if he were the exiled son of the Emperor of Liliput. Deal with it. He’s actually pretty badass. Our house rules for Shrinking, while not perfect, do make it a much more effective power than it is normally. He’s a straight PL 6 against opponents his own size, making him a badass gentleman adventurer who may need some help against a really powerful enemy, but he’s a fast, mobile swordsman and blaster versus large opponents, easily capable of holding his own in combat against opponents much much larger and more powerful than he is. He’s in serious trouble if he gets into a grapple, of course, but between those killing blades (well, about the size of a scissors if pulled apart and forged into swords) and his fire powers, hopefully that's not ever going to come up. He’s almost always going to catch Medium-sized opponents flatfooted given his ridiculous Stealth bonus and Hide in Plain Sight: don’t be afraid to Power Attack your opponents as hard as you possibly can. His Leaping and Speed let him pull off some nice wire-fu style tricks, while his Slow Fall is an innate property of his small size: little things don’t fall with the same force (given air resistance) as big things. Rock that Gulliver connection, I say! Give him ties to the floating island of Laputa and make those mind-controlling horses his enemies. Perhaps Lilliput nearly fell after its first contact with the outside so many years ago, and the grim empire that sprang up afterwards is a natural descendent of the petty-minded kingdoms that once ruled those tiny islands. He’s not the first exiled prince of an outlawed state, no indeed. He’s got that Fearless because you’d kind of have to be a superhero in a world of giants, where you’re a twelfth the size of anything else and cats are a decent threat to your personal well-being. When suitably wroth, rip off your shirt as the doves fly by and pose artfully and angstily, a brooding champion of justice in a world that forever seems inclined to give him setbacks. He’d be a natural Claremont PC, but you could easily make him an adventurer in his own right, perhaps with an NPC elderly relative following him around?
Avenger Assembled Posted February 11, 2011 Author Posted February 11, 2011 Jewel Wasp “I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created parasitic wasps with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars.†-Charles Darwin PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 32 pp STR 10 (+0) DEX 16 (+3) CON 16 (+3) INT 16 (+3) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 20 (+5) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +4 (+10 Melee) DEF: +12 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +3 Grapple: +10 Saves: 11 pp TOU +8 (+3 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +6 (+3 Con, +3) REF +7 (+3 Dex. +4) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 48 r=12 pp Bluff 5 (+10) Intimidate 15 (+20) Knowledge: Life Sciences 7 (+10) Languages 3 (Hawaiian, Japanese, Swahili) (Base: English) Notice 13 (+15) Search 2 (+5) Sense Motive 3 (+5) Survival 2 (+5) Feats: 16 pp Attack Focus: Melee 6, Challenge (Fast Startle) Dodge Focus 4, Evasion, Luck, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Startle, Uncanny Dodge (olfactory) Powers: 58 pp Comprehend 2 (speak to and understand insects) (Flaw:Limited: Bees/Wasps) [2 pp] Flight 3 (50 MPH) [6 pp] Wasp Array [42+1=43 pp] Damage 10 LINKED Drain Wisdom 10 LINKED Paralyze 10 (PFs: Incurable Reversible) AP: Mind Control 10 (Extras: Conscious, Effortless) (PFs: Mental Link, Subtle) Protection 5 [5 pp] Super-Senses 1 (Acute Scent) [1 pp] Drawbacks: -3 pp Vulnerable (aerosol effects) (uncommon, major) (-3 pp) costs abilities 32 + combat 24 + saves 11 + skills 12/48 + feats 16 + powers 58 -Drawbacks 3= 150 pts --- Notes: First, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_cockroach_wasp and read the section on ‘Reproductive Behavior and Life Cycle’ OK, you’ve done that? Holy cow, what a freaking disturbing insect! So naturally I had to build this lady, perhaps stung and infected by a radioactive jewel wasp to its native habitat. She’s pretty good at what she does; she’s a competent scientist, good flier and observer, and she can stun bad guys by growing a stinger and jabbing them with it. And then...and then...well, let’s just say she’s got some difficulties with her romantic life, okay? Sometimes you can have all the parts intact but the drives are shifted in ways that make your relationships with others difficult. Particularly if they don’t want you laying your young in their midsection so they chew their way out, which is something I’ve...opted not to stat out here. (I feel I should note that this is not something a superheroic character should do) She’s got a Mind Control effect like the Queen Bees of various DC Comics: if you don’t want her to be dependent on jabbing people, keep it as it is, but feel free to give her a flaw where she has to hurt people with her sting before she can command their bidding. (That’s part of why she’s got the Reversible, so she can un-Paralyze them and still have them as minions) Note that being an insect totem and a mind controller aren’t necessarily impossible for a superhero: it’s all in how you do it. Admittedly, this archetype does have a lot of Fridge Horror behind it, but is it really any more disturbing than a Mythos-powered hero, or a demon, or anything else? Another possible way of tweaking this character is for her to be an alien with a wasp theme. There’s quite a tradition of those in superhero comics: there actually is one from the Freedom City universe, though she’s from the distant future of the Freedom Legion era. If you go with that route, maybe this character is that species first visitor to Earth, or even a time traveler from the future? Perhaps she hopes that the Earth of the past will be more accommodating to her species than the one of the future. Or maybe she was once an agent of that future wasp monarch, and has decided to join the side of the heroes of the past so that she can protect this era from her people’s tyrannical rule? So if you do play this character, how can you make her distinctive? It’s up to you! Just be careful about how you date...
Avenger Assembled Posted February 12, 2011 Author Posted February 12, 2011 Ultra Hero "I would do anything for love...but I won't do that!" Meatloaf PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 26 pp STR 30 [14] (+10/+2) DEX 16 (+3) CON 16 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 16 (+3) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Unarmed/Healing/Snare) DEF: +12 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +7 Grapple: +10/+19 Saves: 10 pp TOU +8 (+3 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +6 (+3 Con, +3) REF +6 (+3 Ref, +3) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 48 r=12 pp Bluff 7 (+10) Diplomacy 7 (+10) Intimidate 7 (+10) Knowledge: History 5 (+5) Knowledge Pop Culture 5 (+5) Languages 1 (Spanish) (Base: English) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 16 pp Attack Specialization: Unarmed 2 Dodge Focus 6, Elusive Target, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Luck, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 62 pp League Array [32+8=40 pp] Blast 10 (Extra: Range [Perception]) (PFs: Indirect 2) 'Captain Thunder's Lightning' AP: Concealment 10 (all senses) (Extra: Affects Others) (PFs: Progression 2 [5 subjects]) 'Raven's Stealth' AP: Create Object 10 (Extra: Moveable) (PFs: Precise, Selective) 'Star Knight's Shield' AP: Enhanced STR 16 and Immunity 9 (Life Support) and Super-Strength 3 (Heavy Load: ~6 tons) 'Daedalus' Armor' AP: Flight 5 (total of Flight 10 (10000 MPH) and Quickness 20 (x2.5 million) 'Johnny Rocket's Speed' AP: Healing 10 (Extra: Ranged) (PFs: Accurate 2) 'Lady Liberty's Light' AP: Morph 10 (humanoids) and Mind Reading 10 (PFs: Rapid, Subtle) 'Pseudo's Grueness' AP: Snare 10 (Extra: Regenerating) (PFs: Accurate 2) 'Siren's Net' Flight 5 (250 MPH) [10 pp] Immunity 1 (own powers) [1 pp] Protection 5 (Extra: Impervious) [10 pp] costs abilities 26 + combat 24 + saves 10 + skills 12/48 + feats 16 + powers 62 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: Here's my build for a character like the Legion of Superheroes' Ultra-Boy, Amazo the DC villain, Marvel's Super-Adaptoid, or Argo the Ultimate Android from Freedom City: he has the powers of any of Freedom City's premier superheroes, the Freedom League, but he's only got them one at a time! (Note that the one-at-a-time thing is just for Ultra Boy, not Argo as such). Unlike Ultra Boy and similar characters, he at least always meets his defensive caps, and can always fly around and is really tough, the way a superhero should be! There are a lot of different archetypes on the Freedom League, so this guy can do a lot of things for his superteam: he can heal, turn himself and his team invisible, and generally pass for someone who has 'all the powers of the League' on a limited basis. An obvious way to change him up in-game would be to give him the powers of one of our PC superteams: the Composite Interceptor, Knight, or Young Freedomite! A couple of possible backgrounds for this guy: maybe he's a superhero fanboy who managed to copy the powers of his favorite superteam, or maybe he was an intern at the super-museum who got his powers from a horrible accident involving the secret origins of all his favorite supers? Or something else, maybe he's a superhero fanboy from the future who showed up in the past to join his favorite team, waving his new powers around to show them how awesome he is? And then, perhaps, they were a bit cool to his crazy time-travel aspirations. I'm not saying make him a bad guy or make him pathetic, just consider all the implications of a character with such a diverse power-base: that's why he's got a decent quantity of Luck, so he can pull off some big ol' power-stunts. This guy may seem powerful, but remember he doesn't have anything like the versatility of the people he's emulating. He's no Raven, Captain Thunder, or Daedalus, but he can do some of the things they can, and do them well. He's a jack of all trades and master of none, but there are worse niches to fill than that. And think of the boost you get for knowing people! It really is important to make sure your hero is meeting at least defensive caps at all times, because otherwise you will be a very sad panda indeed if Don't forget that unlike the heroes who he's emulating, all his powers do have one descriptor, so a Nullify Mutant/Magic/Psionics (or whatever his descriptors are) is going to shut down his powers even if some of them have the fluff of other descriptors.
Avenger Assembled Posted February 15, 2011 Author Posted February 15, 2011 Ex-Supervillain "You're good, but me? I'm magic." -Colin Farrel PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 22 pp STR 12 (+1) DEX 16 (+3) CON 14 (+2) INT 12 (+1) WIS 16 (+3) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+12 Blast) DEF: +14 (+4 flat-footed) Grapple: +9 Init: +7 Saves: 11 pp TOU +6 (+2 Con, +4 Protection) FORT +6 (+2 Con, +4) REF +7 (+3 Dex, +4) WILL +6 (+3 Wis, +3) Skills: 60 r=15 pp Acrobatics 12 (+15) Gather Info 9 (+10) Intimidate 14 (+15) Knowledge: Streetwise 4 (+5) Languages 1 (Spanish) (Base: English) Notice 7 (+10) Sense Motive 7 (+10) Stealth 7 (+10) Feats: 23 pp Acrobatic Bluff Attack Spec: Blast 2 Contacts, Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus 6 Equipment 2 Evasion Improved Initiative Move-By Action Power Attack Precise Shot Ranged Pin Seize Initiative Startle Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Well-Informed Powers: 47 pp Concealment 10 (all senses) (Flaw: Only While Moving) [10 pp] Immunity 2 (aging, temporal effects) [2 pp] Protection 4 [4 pp] Speed 3 (50 MPH) (PFs: Wall Run, Water Run) [5 pp] Time Array [24+2=26 pp] Blast 8 (Extra: Autofire) AP: Damage 10 (Extra: Area [Cone]) AP: Quickness 20 (2.5 million) Equipment: 10 ep Cell Phone [1 ep] Concealed Knives Blast 4 (PF: Subtle) [9 ep] costs abilities 22 + combat 32 + saves 11 + skills 15/60 + feats 23 + powers 47 = 150 pts -- Design Notes: He used to be bad, but now he's gone good. Maybe he's fresh out of stir and looking to start a new life, or maybe he's decided to reform without the benefit of paying for his crimes. (If that's the case, you should definitely make sure whatever he did was very mild; superhero, remember?) This is my build for an ex-supervillain turned good, with the conceit that he was formerly a Bullseye-type, a master of improvised ranged combat. Rather than just being a Badass Abnormal with a metal skeleton, I've gone with the idea that he's a low-level time controller who accelerates the items he throws to supersonic speed. He can hurl a bb as fast as a machine gun, or clear the room with a hurricane-force barrage of hurled objects. He can also redirect those abilities to think and work much, much faster than a normal person, and to run fast enough to outpace a car, even up walls or over water! That accounts for his other abilities, like moving so fast he turns invisible. I gave him generic throwing knives as a signature weapon, but you may prefer something a little easier to justify as non-lethal. If you like the playing card theme, thrown cards are a nice idea, or maybe jacks or BBs to go with them. It's a good idea to have something sharp handy so you can pull off Ranged Pins with them. You could give him a bow like I did with my Weapon Master build, letting his temporal damage overwrite his regular ranged, and maybe add Subtle so no one can tell he's got powers. This guy's got powers, though, and is probably pretty scary when he comes at you. That leads you to an obvious problem: murder! How many people has this character killed? Well...probably more than one, but you don't have to say that's true! He could have just knocked down security guards and such, all the while avoiding conflicts with supers. But what if you like slightly dark characters, and want to play someone with blood on their hands? Well, the way to do that is make this guy an ex-mercenary. It's not illegal to work for foreign governments and stab people on their behalf, for all that it may not be terrible ethical. A PC can have grim memories of lives they've taken (though obviously not stupid atrocities) on their minds without being faced with a court sentence that way, and have some genuine moral ambiguity to go with it. As for how to have him make his Heel Face Turn, if you don't go the ex-con route (and being on parole after outliving a 25 year sentence thanks to your time powers), my personal favorite is to take a leaf from the excellent Michael Caine story Get Carter, though perhaps a little more four-color to suit a heroic setting. Or maybe the old neighborhood is under siege by some really bad dudes, and going back to clear things up makes him realize he actually enjoys the crowd cheering him for a change.
Avenger Assembled Posted February 15, 2011 Author Posted February 15, 2011 Red Star "Baby, don't be like that." Abilities: 22 pp STR 14 (+2) DEX 10 (+0) CON 20 (+5) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Radiation Control) DEF: +10 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +4 Grapple: +8 Saves: 11 pp TOU +10 (+5 Con, +5) FORT +6 (+5 Con, +1) REF +6 (+0 Dex, +6) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 36 r=9 r Bluff 8 (+10/+14) Diplomacy 3 (+5/+9) Intimidate 8 (+10) Knowledge: History 5 (+5) Knowledge: Physical Sciences 5 (+5) Languages 2 (English, German) (Base: Russian) Notice 3 (+5) Sense Motive 3 (+5) Feats: 12 pp Attractive, Attack Spec: Radiation Control 2, Benefit (Security Clearance) Dodge Focus 4, Improved Initiative, Luck, Power Attack, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 72 pp Flight 5 (250 MPH) (PF: Move-By Action) (Drawback: Noticeable [green contrail]) [10 pp] Immunity 6 (aging, radiation damage) [6 pp] Impervious Toughness 10 (Extra: Duration [sustained] [+0]) [10 pp] Protection 5 [5 pp] Radiation Control Array [33+4=37 pp] Blast 10 (Extra: Alt. Save [Fort]) (PFs: Improved Crit, Incurable, Variable Descriptor 1) AP: Blast 10 (Extra: Autofire) (PFs: Improved Crit, Precise, Variable Descriptor 1) AP: Dazzle 10 (visual and auditory) (PFs: Longer-Lasting 3 [1 minute]) AP: Drain Physical Ability Scores 10 (Extra: Ranged) (PFs: Incurable, Slow Fade, Variable Descriptor 1) AP: Disintegration 10 (Flaws: Action [Full] (-2)) (PFs: Improved Crit, Incurable, Variable Descriptor 1) Super-Senses 4 (X-Ray Vision [blocked by lead]) [4 pp] costs abilities 22 + combat 24 + saves 9 + skills 11/44 + feats 12 + powers 72 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: Here's Red Star, aka Jacob Weissman, one of my first Mutants and Masterminds characters and my first Communist superhero. Jacob was a Volga German by birth and a Jew by religion, thus making his life very difficult indeed in the Soviet Union of the 1930s. He and his family were forced into internal exile in Siberia, and when the Great Patriotic War broke out, he volunteered for frontline service, hoping that a tremendous show of patriotism would earn better treatment for his parents and younger sister. As it happened, after a few hard months at the front, the young man was recruited for a secret military experiment, where exposure to certain materials extracted from the Tunguska object ultimately gave him tremendous abilities to control and manipulate all kinds of radiation. Jacob served with distinction at the front, acquitting himself well in battle after battle, and afterwards became one of the most valuable men in the Soviet Union: after all, he had the powers of an atomic bomb, and that was just what they wanted. Of course, his friends with less useful powers and more dangerous political views weren't so lucky, and as his fellow Peoples' Heroes began to be purged, Jacob was left with some very hard choices to make. In his own setting, he ultimately defected to the West and married an American superheroine, but their perfect 1950s suburban life was spoiled by his inability to understand that the wife and mother of his children might want something more out of life than what everyone else in America was doing. (We went with the idea that there never was a Star Knight, that the whole story of a mysterious energy-blasting armored hero from space was a cover story for explaining the mysterious new hero with no past who couldn't show his face.) You can keep that origin if you want (though, you know, tell me first), but I think he makes a perfectly fine Russian champion if you keep him in the Soviet Union, an old-lag Commie hero who still works on behalf of a state as disloyal to its citizens (at least in some ways) than the Stalinist state he once served. He has moral qualms, and who wouldn't, but there's his family at stake...if you want to make things more immediate, maybe Jacob here is the greatest hero of Belarus, having got his powers from Chernobyl, and is willing to work with that country's dictatorship in order to keep his family happy. He's basically a really powerful, really scary radiation controller. He'll fly around the battlefield peppering his enemies with a wide variety of radioactive blasts, cooking their insides, flash-frying their skin, and (if he's fighting Nazis or demons), outright poisoning them with pure radioactivity. He's really tough himself. I gave him the Protection and high Con to reflect a native Toughness, with his Impervious reflecting a 'force field' that he generates in a radioactive glow. I pictured his blasts as sounding (and looking) like the Martian death rays from the 1950s War of the Worlds, something like a cheap 50s special effect until things start frying and Geiger counters start screaming, He has issues with his X-Ray Vision popping on when he least expects it, thus discouraging him from using it for any prurient purposes with the ladies. He's not radioactive himself as such, but some of his kids were in the womb, and he's worried about what'll happen as he gets older.
Avenger Assembled Posted February 15, 2011 Author Posted February 15, 2011 Brimstone Hero "Time to give the Devil his due." -Brimstone PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 22 pp STR 14 (+2) DEX 14 (+2) CON 24 [14] (+7/+2) INT 16 (+3) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 34 pp ATK: +9 (+15 Ranged) DEF: +13 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +6 Grapple: +11 Saves: 10 pp TOU +7 (+7 Con) FORT +7 (+7 Con) REF +7 (+2 Dex, +5) WILL +7 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 56 r=14 pp Bluff 10 (+10) Drive 3 (+5) Gather Info 10 (+10) Investigate 2 (+5) Knowledge (Streetwise) 2 (+5) Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 2 (+5) Medicine 3 (+5) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 8 (+10) Feats: 20 pp Attack Focus: Ranged 6 Dodge Focus 5 Evasion Fearless Improved Crit (pistol) Improved Initiative Luck Power Attack Precise Shot 2 Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 52 pp Disintegrate 5 [26 pp] (PF: Subtle) 'service pistol' Enhanced CON 10 (to CON 24/+7) [10 pp] Enhanced Feats 3 (Directed Inspiration, Security clearance [cops], Wealth) [3 pp] Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison) [3 pp] Impervious TOU 7 [7-1=6 pp] [Drawback: Power Loss (vs. holy/unholy) [-1 pp]) Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Super-Senses 3 (Detect Infernal [mental] (Radius, Ranged), Infernal Awareness [mental]) [3 pp] costs abilities 22 + combat 34 + saves 5 + skills 14/56 + feats 20 + powers 52 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: This is my attempt at building Ezekiel Stone, the main character from the canceled Fox show Brimstone. (Yes, like so many people active in geek culture in the 90s and 00s, I too lost a beloved show to the Fox network.) For those who never saw the show, Stone was an NYPD officer in the 1980s who tracked down and murdered his wife's rapist. Killed in the line of duty some months later, he went to the place where murderers go. (It is where the Devil lives!) 15 years later, a successful escape from Hell launched 113 wicked souls into the real world, forcing the Devil (played really magnificently by John Glover) to free Stone under certain conditions. If he captured and brought back all the otherwise immortal escapees (by shooting out their eyes, the 'windows to the soul'), he might, just might, get his soul back. It was a well-acted, well-written show that excellently balanced a sympathetic protagonist with a reasonable system of theology, though given the way 90s Fox treated controversial genre shows, perhaps it's no wonder it lasted the short time that it did. So OK, here's our hero. I think it's reasonable to give him an enhanced human physiology after his time in Hell, as well as making him effectively bullet-proof. Despite what the show said about him being otherwise invulnerable, that doesn't really make sense if you translate him into a superheroic setting as such. As on the show, he wakes up every morning with a loaded gun that never runs out of bullets, a police badge and a wallet with cash in it: all the things he was carrying when he was killed back in the 1980s. Again a modest upgrade, in that his gun can't be taken from him. His Directed Inspiration refers to all the times the Devil harasses him while he's trying to go about his business. He usually benefits from it, but he has to work at it. He explicitly has Infernal rather than Divine Awareness; when he meets an angel and a devil in the same story, he can't tell them apart. He needs his gun (and needs to roll well) to fight people as tough as he is reliably. I think this guy works fairly well in a superheroic setting. His enemies are all Acceptable Targets who justify the use of lethal force against them; though sympathetic in their own way, they range from a Canaanite priestess who practiced child sacrifice to a medieval Chinese serial killer; and when you add in the fact that they're all undead souls empowered by hellfire...well, bringing them down in as harsh a way as possible is certainly justified, though it may not always be the right thing to do. He doesn't have to do lethal damage with his guns (another upgrade from the series), and think about all the mixed messages that a guy who seems like a brutal vigilante will seem to send till people know him better.
Avenger Assembled Posted February 22, 2011 Author Posted February 22, 2011 Psychic Gorilla “Watch out for that tree!†–George of the Jungle PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 30 pp STR 30 [22] (+10/+6) DEX 12 (+1) CON 20 [16] (+5/+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 20 (+5) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +5 w/Growth (+6 melee/+10 unarmed) DEF: +10 (+2 flat-footed w/Growth) Init: +1 Grapple: +20 Saves : 12 pp TOU +10 (+5 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +8 (+5 Con, +3) REF +5 (+3 Dex, +2) WILL +12 (+5 Wis, +7) Skills: 60 r=15 pp Concentration 10 (+15) Climb 9 (+15, Skill Mastery) Handle Animal 5 (+5) Language 1 (English; Base: Swahili) Notice 10 (+15, Skill Mastery) Search 10 (+10, Skill Mastery) Sense Motive 10 (+15, Skill Mastery) Survival 5 (+10) Feats: 14 pp Animal Empathy, Attack Focus: Melee 1, Attack Specialization: Unarmed 2, Dodge Focus 5, Luck, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Climb, Notice, Search, Sense Motive) Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (olfactory) Powers: 55 pp Additional Limbs 2 (prehensile feet) (PF: Innate) [3 pp] Comprehend 2 (speak to and understand simians) [2 pp] Concealment 4 (all visual) (Flaw: Phantasm) [4+1=5 pp] AP: Morph 4 (any humanoid) (Flaw: Phantasm) Growth 4 (Extra: Duration (Permanent) [+0], PF: Innate) [13 pp] Leaping 1 (x2) [1 pp] Protection 5 [5 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Super-Movement 1 (Swinging) [2 pp] Super-Senses 2 (Acute Scent, Low-Light Vision) [2 pp] Super-Senses 6 (Danger Sense [Mental], Mental Awareness 2 [mental], Precognition (Flaw: Uncontrolled), Uncanny Dodge [Mental]) [6 pp] Telepathy 6 (12PP Array, PFs: Alternate Power 4) [16PP] BP: Communication 6 (Mental, 20 miles, PFs: Rapid [x10], Subtle) [8PP] + Comprehend 1 (Languages 1 [speak Any]) [2PP] + Mind Reading 1 (Extras: Action 2 [Free], Effortless, Mental, Flaws: Duration [instant/Lasting], Limited [surface Thoughts]) [2PP] [12/12] AP: ESP 4 (1 mile, visual) (PFs: Fast Task 4 (Full Action to Search 1 Mile) [12/12] AP: Mind Control 10 (Flaw: Distracting, PFs: Mental Link, Subtle) [12/12] AP: Mind Reading 10 (Extras: Mental, Penetrating, Flaws: Duration [instant/Lasting], PF: Subtle) [11/12] AP: Move Object 3 (Heavy Load: 200 lbs), (Extras: Damaging, Range [Perception], PFsPrecise, Subtle) [11/12] costs abilities 30 + combat 24 + saves 9 + skills 15/60 + feats 14 + powers 55 = 150 pts -- Design Notes: Is she a psychic ape, surgically altered and raised in a laboratory by human scientists before she went to the outside world to learn more? A mutant from Gorilla Island, cast out by her suspicious kinfolk into a world of hairless freaks where her powers let her fit in? Or was she human once, a psychic who by design (perhaps while suffering from a terminal disease, or a fatal accident) or mischance (a failed psychic experiment, or an enemy’s wrath) was cast into the body of a damn dirty ape? Or is she an immigrant from Earth-Ape, perhaps a psychic hero in her own dimension who has opted to resettle in our own? Whatever her origin, this is my attempt at constructing a psychic gorilla, perhaps the most famous example of such in comics being the Flash rogue Gorilla Grodd. (For those wondering why the Flash fights a psychic gorilla, besides SILVER AGE, Grodd fills a definite niche in the Rogues’ Gallery: he has Perception-range abilities to bedevil the high-Defense speedster, and the sheer physical power to take high-Mach punches.) It’s an interesting archetype, and a good way to get a giant ape in your campaign. I went with albino because it’s a good look: if you go with the idea that she’s a castoff from Gorilla City, perhaps albinism is a sign of her mutant psychic heritage. I actually debated quite a bit about giving this character Growth: gorillas are not actually taller than humans. (Yes, I worried about anatomical accuracy in the mind-reading gorilla) If anything, they might qualify better for Density. But they are _larger_ than humans, certainly, even if their height doesn’t always measure up. So she’s got Growth: if you want, go ahead and specify that she really IS a giant gorilla, the sort that can convincingly go toe-to-toe with Golden Age paragons and the like. But the massive chest and solid build of your average gorilla will let her function normally too. Change up the psychic powers however you like; I tried to give her a pretty generic, useful array. The Concealment and Morph lets her get around the streets without betraying her true nature to people watching, while the TK is a surprise for people expecting a gorilla to be all hands-on. Her skills are pretty bare-bones; drop some of abilities she gets from her animal body if you want to play those up; she could use a boost to her INT and CHA in the bargain. She could be stronger, she could be a better psychic, but I think this character is a decent blend of both animalistic powerhouse and mentalist. Most people don’t expect a gorilla to read their mind, anymore than they expect a psychic to be a giant gorilla!
Avenger Assembled Posted February 23, 2011 Author Posted February 23, 2011 Gorilla Island History Lying at 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W in the South Pacific, Gorilla Island has puzzled even super-scientists for generations. How did a population of some three hundred thousand gorillas, if from a sub-species unlike any other on Earth, find itself so many tens of thousands of miles from Africa? The three hundred thousand or so hardy souls who make their home in the rugged mountains tend to be close-mouthed on the subject. (Islanders generally do not get along well with outsiders, particularly after the Greystoke expedition at the turn of the century was followed up by German conquest of the island's shoreline in 1905 and a brutal colonial rule that ended only in 1919 with Versailles) (Pictured is Der Affe, an Islander conscripted into the Imperial Army who famously battled American and British agents from 1914 until his death in 1918 at the hands of the Angel of Mons) The island was acquired by the British in 1919 after Versailles. Though Arthur Jermyn was cut from a much kinder cloth than his German predecessors (in particular, he was willing to negotiate with his 'subjects'), the British writ was still exceedingly narrow, and rarely extended further than the Royal Navy base on the coast. Despite frequent rumors of bizarre sights and strange specimens to be found inland, the rugged, mountainous terrain and high elevation meant that few Europeans who went inland with hostile intent survived. The pictures and stories of fantastic structures, machinery, and beasts that did make it to the outside world were enough to keep up the steady stream of expeditions until the famous Denham voyage of 1930. (Pictured is KK, the Islander (and secret heir to the royal family!) hired as guide and agent of the Denham crew on the Island. He ultimately had a falling-out with his employers, escaped their attempt to confine him during a visit to New York in 1932, and returned to the island a much wiser ape. A rival studio's highly-sensationalized account of the Denham voyage became immortalized on-screen in 1933.) The island was a frequent target for espionage in the 1930s, a particular favorite of Danger International and the Prophet family as well as their rivals in German and Japanese service. Too far away to be directly involved in the fighting, Islanders and their allies did repel several attempted Axis coup d'etats. In 1941, after the infamous failed attempt by the Aryan Ape to raise an army there, Gorilla Island formally declared war on the Axis powers. (The Ape was, after all, an enthusiastic Nazi, and his frequent jibes at his 'savage' hosts finally led to his near-death at the hands of his former followers when he admitted his alliance with the much-hated former masters of the island. (Pictured is American superheroine Miss Victory in hand-to-hand combat with Der Affe II, the gorilla agent recruited by the Ape during his visit to the island. Der Affe II ultimately perished by firing squad in 1946 after he was convicted for his part in the murder of Allied POWs in Italy) In 1946, following pressure from President Truman and a personal meeting with the Liberty League, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee officially granted Gorilla Island independence under the royal family that had developed afer 1905. Though officially Gorilla Island's independence was out of gratititude for their service in the Second World War, as well as the loyalty they'd shown in the years before, the truth was actually somewhat more disturbing: the ruins on the Island had been identified (by a yong American scientist named Alexander Atom) as extra-terrestrial in origin! It had been Kaykay and the Centurion who'd discovered the secret of the Island some years earlier during their battles with Nazi agents in the interior. The Preservers had moved the Islanders there some half a million years earlier, recognizing that the hominids evolving elsewhere in Africa had the power to destroy the nascent gorilla civilization that had begun in what is now the Congo. They had left artifacts behind to shield the island; the cloak had broken down earlier in the century, and much knowledge had been lost after the Imperial Germans had caught the apes off-guard and massacred much of their leadership. But now the apes had regained their old strongholds, and were eager to maintain their independence! (Pictured is Skull Harbor, the best natural harbor on the island. The famous thirty-story human screaming face there is actually a product of Preserver technology, a tactic of psychological warfare to drive off any humans who did pierce the cloak: one that was successful for generations until the beginning of the 20th century.) After Kaykay's death in 1962 following an incursion by monsters from Kaiju Island, the island's government slipped into a civil war between fascist-leaning monarchists and heroic champions of the people, or maybe American-friendly, pro-democracy members of the royal family vs. Stalinist Sovi-Apes, depending on who you ask. Prince Didikay ultimately roused his fellow islanders behind him on nationalist grounds, and the Communist guerillas were forced to flee after the long, bloody war finally came to an end in 1981 after Didikay finally defeated his long-time archnemesis, an Italian Communist in Soviet service. (Pictured is one of the many Red Gorillas who emigrated to Africa after the war, where their former leadership set up a Gorilla colony in the Congo. The Gorilla Free State has stayed largely isolated from the vicious warfare of the region, though their fighters remain popular for their work as mercenaries and soldiers. Their retaliation against bushmeat hunting is notoriously vicious.) Gorilla Island today is still a monarchy, currently under the rule of Kaykay's grandson Didikay II. Your typical Islander speaks English with an Oxonian British accent, lives in a wood-frame house that looks a little bit like a German peasant cottage, and generally wears no clothing but her own fur. The society is a parlimentary democracy, said legislative body dominated by the isolationist Silver and open-minded Mountain parties, respectively. Though women have traditionally been second-class citizens in gorilla society, the royal family has always tried to rise above those concerns, and the current king's daughter may well inherit her father's throne. (They do eat a lot of bananas, but given their ubiquity on the island, asking an Islander if he eats bananas is the equivalent of asking 21st century American if he's ever had Cheerios. He will usually say yes, and not understand the significance of the question!) Their understanding of Preserver technology is decidedly imperfect, but as they have graphically demonstrated against the Grue (and during the Terminus Invasion, when King Didikay perished in battle), the Islanders have enough command of their homeland's defenses that it is suicide to invade without the support of local agents and without a great deal of luck. As a generation of Harvard and Yale-educated elites like Didikay II assumes power on the Island, more and more gorillas are growing curious about the wider world.
Avenger Assembled Posted February 24, 2011 Author Posted February 24, 2011 Metahuman Dictatorship There's a reason why you don't hear much about the only country in the Freedom City universe with a superhuman head of state: it's not a very nice, or very hospitable, place to live. Back in 1938, Kreigsmarine Captain Alfred Ritscher commanded the Third German Antarctic Expedition, officially aiming to build a whaling station (and possible naval base) for the Third Reich in Antarctica. (Ritscher's genuine target was of course the extra-terrestrial city discovered by the ill-fated Lake Expedition of 1931). Despite the high adventure and terrifying ordeals faced by the Nazi explorers in the interior of the islands, the German sailors and soldiers posted to the secret Kriegsmarine base in New Swabia actually considered it something a punishment detail, given the length of time between resupply missions and the harsh conditions of the Antarctic coast. In 1943, American superheroes interrupted an attempt to transport a shoggoth by U-Boat, and the subsequent damage caused by the creature rendered the base uninhabited. Until 1946, when an American superhero arrived. Othello (born Paul Leroy) was a New Jersey native by birth, a Freedom City son whose mutant abilities had manifested in 1940 during his time on the Freedom City Watchmen, Freedom's Negro League baseball team that later merged with the Flags. With strength, speed, leaping, and invulnerability akin to the early Centurion's, Othello was a smart man, a former political science major at Freedom City College who recognized that his strongly left-wing political leanings would be held against him in the conservative climate after the war. He worried in particular that his superhuman abilities would make him a target by government scientists, who he felt had targeted him for particularly dangerous missions during the war so as to eliminate him as a political actor. Visiting New Swabia in secret, Othello used his speed and strength to rebuild the shattered and melted fortifications, give decent Christian burial to all the dead Nazis, and make the former German settlement fit for human habitation again. He used his connections in the OSS to cover his work, recruiting several disaffected Allied supers and inviting them to join him in his plans to build a homestead in the last frontier on Earth. By 1950, when word of their activities finally reached a distracted United States, Othello had recruited a half-dozen former American, British, and French super-agents and their families to his cause. President Truman dispatched the Patriot to deal with his old comrade, and two days before the outbreak of the Korean War, Simmons met Othello at the Schirmacher Oasis for a conversation that had unfortunately not been recorded by historians. The Patriot left Antarctica with a recommendation to his superiors that they leave the (technically-illegal) base alone, going to his own destiny alongside the Atomic Brigade later. Time passed, and the colony's population slowly grew. Several Chinese super-agents opted to resettle in Antarctica after choosing to remain in UN hands after the Korean War, while Othello made the controversial decision to accept the immigration of selected Ubersoldaten (only those who had either served their time or had not committed formal war crimes) and their families to the colony he had dubbed New Freedom. The coastal settlement was theoretically under American and UN auspices, but in practice it was something new, a colony of superhumans and the normals they loved, an independent republic under the auspices of the now-greying Othello and his family. With the weather-manipulating Hosato making the region hospitable and the teleporting Mathson providing transportation and formidable scientific expertise, the cold ice of one small corner of Antarctica gradually became habitable in shirtsleeves even by the smallest mundane child. Othello proved his desire for independence when he repelled an 'incident' carried out secretly by Soviet super-agents in 1957, and again in 1961 when he defeated an uprising against his leadership organized by agents of Dr. Sin. It was a social experiment, a colony of several hundred hardy souls whose primary goal was freedom: in New Freedom, superhumans could live without fear of discrimination (that they faced in many Third World countries), fear of conscription (that they faced in the Warsaw Pact and various dictatorships) or simply an inability to fit in with the conservative social consensus of the West. Every man and woman was equal, powered or otherwise, and everyone was valued by the community. And all of it, at least in theory, under the auspices of the American government and the United Nations. It all came to a crashing halt in 1968, when AEGIS arrived to arrest the Drifter. Peter Hopper, given powers by a secret government experiment some years earlier, had abandoned his post in South Vietnam, fleeing to Antarctica to escape desertion charges and bringing with him shocking evidence of corruption in the highest corridors of power in Washington, centered around the Golden Triangle of opium trade in Southeast Asia. When AEGIS agents showed up in force, brushing past Othello's automatic offer of sanctuary for the wanted criminals, blows were struck, and then shots were fired. When all was said and done, the AEGIS carrier was down, the Drifter was dead (by 'suicide'), and Othello had made up his mind. Though Jack Simmons showed up to personally apologize and arrest the rogue agents in New Freedom's custody, Othello had seen enough. He personally ran to Washington to deliver New Freedom's Declaration of Independence. The world's first metahuman nation was born. Things were bad after that. New Freedom had gained their dream, but at the cost of trade embargoes by the West and East, both of whom saw the new nation as a threat to their imperial destiny. There were more attacks by the Eastern Bloc, and supervillains too saw New Freedom as an egg suddenly abandoned by its mother. War came to Antarctica, a quiet, vicious war waged in the snowy outskirts and fertile fields of the small country. The defenders of New Freedom learned to kill to defend themselves, and Othello reluctantly allowed his country to become part of the non-aligned block. The superhuman nature of the early settlers meant that New Freedom had, by a huge margin, the most superpowered population on Earth. Young men and women of Antarctica became mercenaries and superagents, renting themselves to South Africa and Israel, Taiwan and Pakistan, all the 'rogue nations' of the Cold War era looking for, but lacking, superpowered protectors. New Freedom began to take in more and more disreputable elements; Portuguese from Goa and white settlers from Rhodesia, along with wealthy superhumans who liked the nation's lack of extradition treaties, and the dream looked very close to dying. Othello died in 1983, the Presidency of New Freedom inherited by Jade Harper, a Eurasian chemically-powered agent who had been one of the most lethal warriors of Southeast Asia. Jade had come of age in a New Freedom constantly under attack from within and without, and had learned her tradecraft in some of the most vicious fighting of the Cold War. She did not have the loyalty to the United States that her predecessor had maintained in his heart of hearts, nor did she want to maintain the democratic traditions he had established. By the Terminus Invasion, New Freedom was nothing of the sort. New Freedom Today Leah Harper, of mixed Vietnamese, Israeli, and Irish heritage, inherited the Presidency of New Freedom from her mother in 2010 after one of Jade's many enemies finally caught up with her. Leah presides over a nation of some 10,000 souls, a uniquely multi-ethnic melting pot recently increased by migrants from Iraq, Hong Kong, and Albania. New Freedom is a harsh place, a tightly unified dictatorial republic presided over by the President and her appointed Council. Over two-thirds of the population is superhuman in one way or another (superpowers being the only guaranteed path to legal migration), and one of the primary job tracks (as well as a good way to keep the population down and get rid of young people With Ideas) is work as a foreign mercenary in Africa and Central Asia, or as a supercriminal in the United States. New Freedomites speak English with a faint, unique accent, and look to be of no particular race. The nation is not actually a United Nations member, but their population is large enough, and powerful enough, that no one has ever worked up the resources to do anything about their government. The Harpers have written several long, didactic books of political theory justifying their rule, the sort much beloved by poorly socialized high school students and undergraduates: New Freedom's government is strictly utilitarian, and is as likely to take in North Korean super-exiles as they are to rent the services of their own citizens to the Kim family as legbreakers and goons. It's true that superhumans can live like kings in New Freedom, insulated from many of the laws restricting their activities in more civilized nations...assuming they don't mind the dark grey clothing, the political indoctrination, the cramped living conditions, and the nationwide commitment to service, order, and peace. It's not a bad way to live, if you're well-connected and can get access to the resources of the outside world that work outside the country so often brings. Leah herself worked for various American mercenary companies in the 1990s and 2000s, and she has many connections still in Washington and Baghdad. (She hopes to be able to bring over former super-agents of the various Arab dictatorships facing overthrow at the time of this writing.) People who can't, or won't live the New Freedom way leave. The ones that have seen too much die, or change their names, all trying to avoid a hit squad made up of lethal, professional ex-black ops agents with connections all over the world. Like so many new nations, New Freedom has kept its independence, but lost its soul. It's a land that needs heroes.
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