Amelia

GM The German man of seeming middle age wearing the $50,000 designer suit chuckled as he watched his vampire spawn struggle to stand. "Gaetano, my friend, my son, it is so good to see you again! Oh, put the claws away, I'm not here to fight. This is a joyous reunion!" He strolled whimsically back and forth across the Gorman "roof", almost dancing. "I must say, of all the things you could have done with my gift and your misguided impulse to wash and bandage every little boo-boo on every single head of cattle in the herd, this..." his open hands moved up and down, regarding the white costume which was now torn open and drenched in blood. "...This was a surprise! You used to be such a gentle boy. The Gift has already changed you so much." He sauntered over to Mister Strix. "I had to keep my distance, you understand. Mustn't clip those wings of yours, or you'll never learn to soar! But I wouldn't miss your birthday!" He grabbed Mister Strix by the throat and pulled him in close. The whimsical tone of his voice vanished, replaced by a hateful glare. "I will never miss it," he hissed. "Do you understand? You will always have this to look forward to." The relaxed smile returned to his face, and he dropped Strix back onto the ground.

Mister Strix Talons erupted from Mister Strix's hands, almost as long as the fingers from which they sprouted. He dug them into the stone and metal around him and heaved himself up to his feet. He felt weak, dizzy and nauseated from the blood loss. Not that it makes any difference. At the height of my power...on a full stomach...on my best day...against him, I may as well still be mortal. Slowly, the realization dawned on him, and his shoulders sagged under the weight of it. ...But he isn't here to kill me. No, he thinks he can use me to replace the monster my brother sent screaming back to Hell. He still thinks he can turn me into his own reflection. I'm not his prey. I'm his pet.

GM Mister Strix's brooding was cut short by the wooden stake erupting through the back of his heart and out his chest. He choked on the dark blood spilling out of his mouth while more of it gushed from his chest. The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was a familiar, heavily German-accented voice whispering into his ear, "Happy birthday, my child." Strix gasped awake as the stake was pulled out from between his ribs. As before, he had no idea how much time had passed since the stake had driven him into that unholy slumber. The hand which had been pulling on his cape to hold him upright let go of the fabric, letting him fall face-first onto the floor. He coughed up more black blood as his blurred vision gradually sharpened and revealed the night sky around him, peeking through the half-erected skeleton of a room. He was still out in the open air, but it was metal and concrete, not dying grass, beneath his feet. One look in the right direction showed him the edge of the half-built floor which was never meant to be the roof, and a quick peek over it told him that he was in Downtown Bedlam City. He was looking down at everything and up at nothing. Johann must have dragged him to the top of the Gorman Tower.

Stuff goes here.

Mister Strix The man in white froze for those few seconds, his muscles tensing up. Does she see me? When Adriana kept walking, he relaxed. No. No. Of course not. Good for her. His widow and his sister were two of the last people he wanted to know about his unholy resurrection. He would have breathed a sigh of relief, if he still breathed. In the many months since he had returned to Bedlam City, Guy Giordano, now known to the Bedlam City underworld as "Mister Strix", had grown adept at using his hypnotic powers to cloud the minds of the mortals around him. He could stand in the middle of a crowded bar on a Saturday night and no one would see him unless he willed it. Two people at a cemetery shouldn't have been any challenge, even with the headache and the itching he'd suffered since first entering the graveyard. The crosses, the proximity to the church, and the surprisingly little but still present amount of consecrated ground inflicted significant discomfort on the young vampire. I don't know how to keep her safe. Do I keep watching, in case someone like him decides to use her to hurt me? Or do I stay away and hope they'll leave her alone if they think I don't care?

GM Doctor Adriana Aparo stood in the cemetery outside the Saint Fabian's Catholic church on Stark Hill, holding two bouquets of roses, one red, the other white. She crouched down under the moonlit sky and laid each bouquet down in front of the two tombstones resting in front of her. The white roses, she placed upon the grass in front of "Father Rafael Giordano, Beloved Son, Dear Brother, Good Shepherd". The red roses, she carefully put in front of Rafael's neighbor, "Gaetano Giordano, Beloved Son, Dear Brother, Devoted Husband". Her companion and former sister-in-law, Flora Russo, extended a hand to help her stand back up, and then rested that hand on Adriana's shoulder, squeezing it. The two women exchanged a brief conversation as they lingered over the graves for a couple more minutes. Then Flora took Adriana's hand and walked her out of the cemetery. On their way out, Adriana stopped once, turning to look back over her shoulder. After a few seconds, she turned back and resumed her exit.

You are mixing up China and Japan in that backstory. It's ignorant to the point of being offensive. Please do more research.

First of all, "The Gimp" is a name based on an ableist slur, so please don't use that here. I would just buy super-speed associated powers, like Speed, with the descriptor that he absorbs and converts kinetic energy. If you wanted, you could take a Complication or a Power Loss drawback, stating that he can't use the speed, or can't use it at full rank, unless he absorbs some kind of impact first. Separately from that, you could buy Force Field or Protection, and possibly Impervious Toughness that's Limited to physical damage (or even bludgeoning damage). You could also buy half or full Immunity to "Impact damage" (falling, knockback, slams). That's listed in the House Rules, under "Descriptor Frequencies".

We're not going to read the books to you. If you start a question with "I don't have the core rulebooks", then the only answer you're going to get is "Well, then, get the core rulebooks". We play this game. We like this game. We want the company who makes this game to keep making it. They're not going to be able to do that if we help people play their game without buying the books. "Summon equipment" could mean a lot of different things. Think about what you want the power to do. The end result you wish to achieve. If you want to be able to use Super-Senses, then don't think "I need to conjure up a pair of infrared goggles". Think "I need to be able to get Super-Senses". Depending on the variety of powers you want to have access to, you might want to build a power array, or you might want to build a Variable Power. If you don't know what those words mean, then you need to read the books, Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition and Ultimate Power.

This question is answered in the House Rules. Hover your mouse over the "Manual" tab at the top of the site, and the link will appear. https://www.freedomplaybypost.com/start/ The short answer is "No, not really". The book already says that created objects have a maximum Toughness equal to your power rank. But you're coming at this from the wrong perspective. Think about what the power you want actually does. If you want to be able to "create a sword", then don't use Create Object. Just buy a Damage power with the Mighty power feat, and use "Conjures a sword and then uses it" as the descriptor. It's not a Device or a piece of Equipment, because if you get disarmed or the sword gets destroyed, you can just create another one. Mechanically, descriptors are the only thing in this game that separate a guy who can toss fire blasts from a guy who can summon infinite guns. They're both just Ranged Damage power effects. Similarly, if you can just conjure up a suit of armor, then just take the Force Field or Protection power, with "conjured suit of armor" as the descriptor.

If there's a certain type of discussion you want, maybe an actual poll would help set those parameters? Something with options like: I would play a character who is based in Vibora Bay, and I would GM threads set there, too. I would play a character who is based in Vibora Bay, but I would probably not GM threads there. I would be open to having my character who is based in another city visit Vibora Bay to participate in other people's threads, but I would not play a character who is based there full-time. I would not play in Vibora Bay under any circumstances.

For those who don't have or can't afford the book: https://championsonline.fandom.com/wiki/Vibora_Bay

Fair enough. If you imported Vibora Bay, I probably wouldn't be interested enough to run any threads there, but I'd probably build a character who lives there.

Same. I love Vibora Bay. But I'm concerned that one or two people are going to put in a lot of time and work into setting it up, and then nobody is going to run threads set there. Emerald City and SPACE are dead, and Bedlam has been on life support since it launched. I'm particularly worried about Vibora Bay having a similar "vibe" to Bedlam, or, at least, the vibe we've (intentionally or not) been tweaking Bedlam to have. I could see it splitting the already small Bedlam demographic and killing both cities. On the other hand, Vibora Bay would, if we imported it, immediately become the most racially integrated city in our setting, so I almost feel morally obligated to support it. And as Dok pointed out, it would provide representation for what is currently an unrepresented part of the country. EDIT: The Champions setting found room for both Hudson City and Vibora Bay, so clearly it can be done. I'm more concerned about the probable lack of engagement and the potential fragmentation. Side Note #1: I suspect that part of the problem with Emerald City failing to take off is that we didn't use the Silver Storm. So not only does any prospective EC player have to ignore every third line of every EC book they read, but there's no big unifying plot element for PCs to latch onto. Why was that decision made in the first place? Side Note #2: I don't think that's true. Or, at least, I think it's an oversimplification. I can elaborate on that elsewhere if you want.

"Not a wayward club kid. Another vigilante. Fine. This town could use all the help it can get. Just...try to find more clues than you step on." The man in white turned around and went back to sniffing and sifting the rubble. "Keep your eyes open for anything that might've been used to start the fire - bomb shrapnel, gasoline residue, a matchbook staple, a half-burnt rubber band that could've held a bunch of sticks together. And look for anything the fire might've been set to hide. Bits of clothing. Body parts. Corners of paper the fire didn't quite catch."

Strix's relationship with the superhero community in a nutshell.

Did not realize the skill ranks would be an issue. I dropped 2 ranks each from Bluff and Computers, so now he's adhering to PL10 caps on skill ranks. That freed up 1PP, which I spent to get the Second Chance feat.

Turns out Goanna was one of the handful of Freedom's Most Wanted NPCs who made it into the 3rd edition Freedom City core book. I updated his sheet to include that info. FC3E dropped him from PL12 to PL11. I can do that too if you want, or leave him at his original PL12. I don't have a preference one way or the other.

The man in white was clinging to the inner wall when the woman spoke up. His face shot around to study her with his black eyes. He leapt off of the wall, landing into a kneeling crouch on the floor. His boots and hands visibly displaced the rubble below him, but the impact didn't make a sound. He rose and began walking toward her, slowly and indirectly, in half-circles. The closer he came, the colder she started to feel. His skin was so pale, it was hard to tell where it ended and his mask began. His massive cape obscured most of his body, making it difficult to follow his movements. When he replied, his deep voice was accompanied by an even deeper reverberation, some kind of unholy echo. "We could ask you the same question." The man in white stopped moving. He briefly turned to glance at the zombie. "...Like he said, he's new here. That sort of thing still surprises him." "If you're looking for Club Nowhere, you came to the wrong place. You might try further north. But please don't. You put money into the pockets of pimps and killers every time you buy a drink there. And the next time you walk into a strange place looking for a good time, the strangers you'll meet there probably won't be Good Samaritans like us. You got lucky this one time. Take that one chance, and do something better with your life, while you still have it."

This is a rebuild and update to a published NPC whom I would like to use as the Norman Osborn to Octoman's Peter Parker.

For this character's background and original statistics, see Freedom's Most Wanted, page 75, and Freedom City 3rd Edition, page 245. Character: Goanna Power Level: 12 Tradeoffs: -4 Attack / +4 Damage (Bite/Claws), -4 Defense / +4 Toughness Power Points: 259 Alternate Identity: Doctor Cooper Seidel Identity: Public Legal Status: USA citizen and fugitive Base of Operations: Freedom City, New Jersey Residence: Mobile Occupation: Former: Geneticist, Herpetologist; Current: Criminal Affiliations: Doctor Sophia Marks (former fiancée); ASTRO Labs (former employer) DESCRIPTION Gender: Male Height: 9' as Goanna, 5'10" as Seidel Weight: 750 lbs. as Goanna, 155 lbs. as Seidel Hair: None as Goanna, Brown as Seidel Eyes: Red as Goanna, Brown as Seidel UPDATES The immortal Daedalus still holds out hope for a cure to Doctor Cooper Seidel's condition. Doctor Sophia Marks has cancelled her engagement to Doctor Seidel and moved on with her life. The "Cooper Seidel" and "Goanna" personalities have meshed back together. The arrogant, entitled petulance which represented the "dark side" of Doctor Seidel's personality and had metastasized into Goanna are now the dominant forces in his psyche at all times. Goanna, while still prone to violent rage, is no longer controlled by it. The change between Seidel and Goanna is almost completely physical now, with almost no psychological changes. Doctor Seidel no longer sees his condition as something which needs to be cured, only stabilized and enhanced. He has refined his mutagenetic antivenom serum multiple times, which has granted him greater control over his transformations. He can now willingly transform from Seidel into Goanna or vice versa, and Goanna is larger and stronger than before. He retains his human form mostly for utility and convenience; he is no longer repulsed by his reptilian form. He still transforms into Goanna involuntarily sometimes, when angered or hurt. Exposure to the image or voice of Doctor Marks will sometimes still transform him back from Goanna into Seidel. Doctor Seidel refuses to face the reality that Doctor Marks has left him. Instead, he embraces the delusion that she belongs to him and they are fated to reunite. Once he thinks he's perfected his serum, he plans to kidnap and infect her. He thinks that she will love him again when he turns her into a creature like the one he's become. ABILITIES 16PP Strength: 35/10 (+12/+0), 60/10 Lifting (Heavy Load: 50 tons / 100 lbs.) Dexterity: 18/10 (+4/+0) Constitution: 34/10 (+12/+0) Intelligence: 20 (+5) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 12 (+1) COMBAT 36PP Initiative: +4 Attack: +8 (+9 Base, -1 Size), +12 Venom Damage +12 Unarmed/Thrown, +16 Claws, +12 Venom Grapple: +30 (+10 Melee Attack, +12 Strength, +4 Size, +4 Super-Strength) Defense: +8 (+9 Base, -1 Size), +4 Flat-Footed Knockback Resistance: 16 ATTACK RANGE SAVING THROW EFFECT Unarmed Touch +5ft* DC27 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Bite/Claws Touch +5ft* DC31 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical, Lethal) Venom Bite Touch +5ft* DC22 Fortitude (Staged) Slowed/Paralyzed Venom Spit Touch +30ft* DC22 Reflex Dazzle Visual DC22 Fortitude Recover *Touch-range at Size Large is 10ft. SAVING THROWS 14PP Toughness: +16 (Impervious 8, +12 Con, +4 Protection) Fortitude: +12 (+12 Con, +0PP) Reflex: +8 (+4 Dex, +4PP) Will: +12 (+2 Wis, +10PP) SKILLS 132R = 33PP Computers 10 (+15) Craft (Chemical) 15 (+20) Handle Animal 9 (+10) Intimidation 12 (+13, +15 Size) Knowledge (Life Sciences) 15 (+20) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 15 (+20) Knowledge (Technology) 5 (+10) Medicine 13 (+15) Notice 10 (+12) Search 7 (+12) Survival 13 (+15) Swim 8 (+20)Swimming FEATS 10PP All-Out Attack Animal Empathy Chokehold Environmental Adaptation (Underwater) Grapple Finesse Improved Grapple Improved Pin Improved Trip Power Attack Startle POWERS 161PP Additional Limbs 1 (+1 Limb) [1PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Tail) Concealment 4 (All Visual-type senses, Flaws: Blending, Passive) [2PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Shapeshifting) Enhanced Constitution 19 [19PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Regeneration, Super-Toughness) Enhanced Dexterity 8 [8PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Agility, Super-Reflexes) Enhanced Strength 15 [15PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Strength) Growth 5 (Size: Large, Extras: Duration [Continuous], Flaws: Permanent, Feats: Innate) [16PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Immunity 4 (Environmental 2 [Cold, Pressure], Poison, Suffocation [Underwater]) [4PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Impervious Toughness 8 [8PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Regeneration, Scales, Super-Toughness) Leaping 4 (x25, Running Long Jump: 550ft) [4PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Strength) Protection 4 [4PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Scales, Super-Toughness) Regeneration 11 (Recovery Rate: Bruised 3 [No rest], Injured 6 [No rest], Disabled 2 [1 hour], Feats: Regrowth) [12PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Reptile Power 20 (40PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 2) [42PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Base Power: [7PP] Damage 4 (Feats: Improved Critical 2 [18-20], Mighty, Variable Descriptor [Claws and/or Bite, Piercing and/or Slashing], Drawbacks: Lethal) [7PP] (Descriptors: Bite, Claws, Mutation) Alternate Power: [20PP] Dazzle 12 (Sense Types: Visual, Flaws: Range [Touch], Feats: Accurate 2 [+4 Attack], Extended Reach 4 [25ft], Improved Critical 2 [18-20]) [20PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Venomous Spit) Alternate Power: [40PP] Paralyze 12 (Extras: Alternate Save [Fortitude], Secondary Effect, Feats: Accurate 2 [+4 Attack], Improved Critical 2 [18-20]) [40PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Venomous Bite) Speed 2 (25MPH / 250ft per Move Action) [2PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Super-Movement 3 (Slithering, Wall-Crawling 2) [6PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Super-Senses 6 (Acute Tracking Smell/Taste, Danger Sense [Sense Types: Olfactory], Infra-Vision, Low-Light Vision, Uncanny Dodge [Sense Types: Olfactory]) [6PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Super-Strength 4 (Lifting Strength: 60, Heavy Load: 50 tons) [8PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Swimming 4 (25MPH / 250ft per Move Action, Can Take 10 on Swimming checks) [4PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) DRAWBACKS -11PP Involuntary Transformation (From Cooper Seidel into Goanna, triggered by anger or pain, Frequency: Very Common, Intensity: Moderate [DC10 to resist change]) [-4PP] Involuntary Transformation (From Goanna into Cooper Seidel, triggered by Doctor Sophia Marks, Frequency: Uncommon, Intensity: Minor [DC5 to resist change]) [-1PP] Normal Identity (Frequency: Common [Full Action], Intensity: Major) [-6PP] Abilities (16) + Combat (36) + Saving Throws (14) + Skills (33) + Feats (10) + Powers (161) - Drawbacks (11) = 259 Power Points

If this guy gets approved, then I'd like him to take one of my existing veteran reward slots. Hex can get archived for now, and I can bring him back out when my next reward slot opens up, which should happen either next month or the one after that.

In Brief: Guillermo del Toro shoves Miles Morales, Tim Drake, and Matt Murdock into a blender. Character: Octoman Power Level: 13 (Built as PL10) Tradeoffs: None Power Points: 202/204 PP Unspent Points: 2 Catchphrases & Nicknames: "Octo-Boy" (He does not like this one); "Señor Ocho"; "The Outrageous Octoman"; "The Crime-Fighting Kraken"; "The Loudmouth Leviathan"; "Who ordered the calamari?" Alternate Identity: Benicio Wang Identity: Secret Legal Status: USA citizen (minor) with no criminal record Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York Base of Operations: Freedom City, New Jersey Residence: An apartment in the West End Occupation: Student Affiliations: None Family: Amaya Molina Santiago (Mother), Diego Wang (Father), Sofia Santiago Vasquez (Maternal Grandmother), Benicio Molina Ramirez (Maternal Grandfather), Jasmine Guinto-Wang (Paternal Grandmother), Asher Wang (Paternal Grandfather), Several unnamed aunts, uncles, and cousins DESCRIPTION Age: 16 (Date of Birth: 2003) Apparent Age: 16 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Mother is Puerto Rican Afro-Latina. Father is half Ashkenazi Jewish, half Filipino. Height: 5'9" Weight: 150 lbs. Hair: None (Formerly Black) Eyes: Yellow (Formerly Brown) Because of his mixed ancestry, Ben's actual ethnicity is difficult for people to guess at first glance. He has big eyes and a heart-shaped face with soft features which makes him look younger than he is. His build is that of a typical semi-athletic lanky teenager. During his day-to-day life out of costume, he uses his shapeshifting power to mimic his original appearance before his mutation. He recreates the brown eyes that turned yellow, and the medium-length Afro hairstyle he wore before all his body hair fell out. He also hides the new lines and folds in his skin, which appear to be scars but are actually new orifices. He has three on each side of his neck, one each on the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet, another on each forearm, and several along the sides and back of his torso. The other changes to his body from the mutation are less visible. An x-ray would reveal his lack of a rigid skeleton, and several new organs and muscular structures. His blood is thick, like syrup, and purple, since it contains both the hemoglobin normally found in humans (which is red, since it contains iron), and the hemocyanin found in cephalopods (which is blue, since it contains copper). His blood pressure is significantly higher than that of a normal human. When he is cut, his blood is less likely to drip and more likely to spray. His blood is also slightly radioactive; not enough to be dangerous, but enough for Geiger counters to register a noticeable uptick. Ben technically walks around naked most of the time. Both his normal street clothes and his superhero "costume" are just manifestations of his ability to change the shape, texture, and color of his own flesh. When he is "in costume", the impossibly perfect way that the "fabric" clings to his skin is a clue for close observers to its true nature. His "mask" somehow adheres to his face in a manner which conveys all of his facial expressions , and the "mouth hole" never falls out of place or exposes any of the skin around it, no matter how much he moves, talks, or gets punched in the face. HISTORY Benicio Wang was born in Brooklyn to Gen-X parents. His mother, Maya, is an overworked public defender of Puerto Rican Afro-Latina descent. His father, Diego, is a half-Filipino, half-Ashkenazi overworked baker and deli cook. Ben frequently jokes that his lineage makes him the most Brooklyn guy who ever lived. If one of his parents are in earshot, they will retort that they moved to Freedom City when he was a small child, and visiting his grandparents during the holidays doesn't make him a New Yorker. Ben met Geckoman in 2010, though Gecks probably doesn't remember. The 18-year-old superhero was occupied with defending Freedom City from the third Grue invasion, and working things out with his supervillain girlfriend. But Ben will never, ever forget it. He was only seven years old when his family found themselves trapped in the Millennium Mall, huddling behind an increasingly fatigued and desperate Spellbound. Ben was impressed with her and the lightning-wand she used to zap away the invading aliens, but with her black costume and icy demeanor, she scared the boy almost as much as the Grue. When the brightly-colored, wise-cracking Geckoman dropped down through the skylight and started jumping around, tossing boomerangs, and kicking giant monsters in the face, little Ben's fear evaporated. From that day forward, Ben was a lifelong #Geckofan. Eight years later, Doctor Cooper Seidel was hard at work trying to stabilize and enhance his universal antivenom serum, and his resulting transformation into the reptile monster Goanna. He had retained a gang of hired thugs who had helped him steal the lab equipment, rare animal specimens, and radioactive materials he needed for his latest experiments. He closely monitored local law enforcement communications, so he had advance warning when the multi-agency task force finally found his hideout and moved to raid it. Seidel and his henchmen hastily loaded the irradiated animal specimens into a truck and escaped just as the tactical units broke down the door. The truck had enough of a lead that they might have escaped, if a bystander hadn't lost their grip on their dog's leash. Or if the dog hadn't then run out into the middle of the road. Or if fifteen year-old computer science prodigy Ben Wang hadn't run out into the road after the dog to scoop it up. Or if Seidel's henchman hadn't swerved at high speed to avoid Ben and lost control of the truck, flipping and crashing it. The truck and the tanks inside it broke open, spilling water and a menagerie of mutated animals into the street. Ben saved the dog, but the truck clipped him, sending him flying several feet away. He was dazed for a few moments, before the rush of cold water on the asphalt under him cleared his head. He saw a tiny yellow octopus crawling on his hand, and had just enough time to think it was cute before it bit him. Seidel ordered his henchmen to gather up the escaped test subjects, but no amount of money could convince them to pick up a bunch of radioactive venomous creatures with their bare hands. While Ben was wracked with painful muscle spasms which escalated into projectile vomiting, diarrhea, and a full-blown seizure, an enraged Seidel transformed into Goanna and slaughtered his own "cowardly and incompetent" henchmen, along with the occupants of the first couple of police cars who responded to the crash. Goanna intended to do the same to the bumbling idiot boy who had ruined everything, but when he saw that one of his test subjects had already done the work for him, he merely laughed while the boy suffocated on the pavement. Knowing that some combination of the FCPD's STAR squad, AEGIS, or one or more superheroes would show up soon, Goanna fled into the sewers. Seidel showed up at the hospital where Ben had been taken later that same night, intent on harvesting samples from the boy's corpse, since it was all the remained of his months of research. He was surprised to learn that the boy had survived. He took careful note of the boy's name, and resolved to keep him under close surveillance. Ben received prompt medical attention, and he seemed to make a full recovery, with one exception: The song he'd been listening to on his headphones when he dove out in front of that truck was the last thing he would ever hear. Hearing loss isn't a normal symptom of either vehicular collisions or tetrodotoxin poisoning, but the doctors had no other idea what else could have caused it. It wasn't until several days after he was discharged from the hospital that Ben's body began to change significantly. The changes happened gradually, over the course of several months. Ben hid them from everyone, even his parents. As his new powers slowly manifested, he learned how to use them through a combination of new instinct and trial and error. He knew immediately what he wanted to do with them. Right after his sixteenth birthday, during the summer before his sophomore year of high school, Ben put on his costume and started swinging through the streets of Freedom City as Octoman. PERSONALITY & MOTIVATION Ben is bright, inquisitive, and altruistic, but he can't keep his big mouth shut. Growing up as the latchkey-kid only child of two workaholic parents has turned him into a bit of an unconscious attention-seeker. He likes to make an entrance. He has an opinion to share about everything. If he's not rambling, he's arguing. If a joke or an insult comes to his mind, then it also comes out of his mouth. He never stops trash-talking during a competition or a fight. He's actually a pretty sensitive kid, but he never met an emotion he couldn't hide under sarcasm or just drown out with his motor-mouth. He doesn't know how to pick his battles, and his refusal to let the slightest disagreement, injustice, or insult go unchallenged gets him into trouble. But even when he's railing against injustice, he generally tries to keep things light. He'll keep making bad jokes and puns past the point where anyone is laughing (if they ever were to begin with). After his brush with death, Ben just felt lucky. But once his powers manifested, weird though they are, he felt blessed. Ben has two passions in life: Hacking, and superheroes. He maintains active accounts on both HeroHouse and TroubAlert (Username: Geckofan). He's been obsessed with Geckoman in particular (and, to a lesser extent, the rest of his Young Freedom and Interceptors teammates) since he was seven years old. He had resigned himself to, maybe, at best, using his hacking skills to play a support role for a superhero someday. But he desperately wanted to be an actual superhero, just like Gecks. His resulting disability and (slight) disfigurement have put a damper on his enthusiasm, but only a slight one. He's still having trouble adjusting, but he loves being a superhero more than he misses his hearing. POWERS & TACTICS Ben has a surprising amount of hand-to-hand combat training for a teenager. He's been wrestling since junior high, and he's been taking self-defense classes since he was seven (they weren't a hard sell for his parents after he almost died in the Grue invasion). His superhuman agility and flexibility, his bundle of sticky tentacles stretching and lashing out for dozens or hundreds of feet in every direction, his lack of response to any auditory stimuli, and his youthful recklessness and loud mouth all combine to make him a confusing and irritating opponent. He can potentially attack or evade in any direction. He can lash out with his tentacles like whips, use them to grab a foe and pull them in for a punch or a kick, or use them to pull himself in close for the same. He will wrap his tentacles around a foe, and then slam that foe into objects, terrain, or even other foes. He'll grab a faraway foe and pull them in for a punch, or pull himself to them, boot-first. His ink sprays and venomous bite make him even more unpredictable. Ben was a normal human, but an injection of radioactive octopus venom mutated him into a human-cephalopod hybrid. His body has grown several new glands, organs, and orifices. He has almost no bones left in his body. Most of them have transformed into cartilage and muscle. So while his body looks "solid" from the outside, he can bend, stretch, and compress his flesh, contorting into any position and squeezing through any crevices. His skin can secrete a clear mucous which acts as a lubricant to aid this process. The outer layers of his flesh are so flexible and malleable that he can change the texture of his skin at will. His skin cells contain pigments which can be released with muscle contractions in a virtually infinite variety of combinations, allowing him to change his coloration to anything he can imagine. These traits allow him to effectively becoming invisible in the normal visual light spectrum, or to mimic the appearance of any object or creature. This also makes it virtually impossible for foes in hand-to-hand combat to keep a grip on him. He has superhuman levels of strength, agility, stamina, and to a lesser extent, resilience. With his thick skin, powerful and flexible muscles, and lack of a rigid skeleton, he is able to absorb traumatic impact, cuts and blunt force alike, with less likelihood of real injury. He has grown several "back-up organs", which make it less likely that any wounds he suffers will be debilitating. He has three hearts, and enough brain and nervous tissue running throughout his body to act as a second brain and spinal cord. He has what would be considered a "weak healing factor" by superhuman standards (not enough for Regeneration or Impervious Toughness, but enough for a high Constitution score). His body can repair minor damage quickly, and more severe wounds are less likely to happen in the first place. He doesn't heal from serious injury much "faster" than a normal human, but he heals "better". Given time to recuperate, he will reliably make a full recovery from trauma which would cripple or kill a normal person. Like a cephalopod, his body can even regrow lost limbs. He isn't technically immune to fatigue, disease, infection, radiation, or extremes of temperature or pressure, but his body is so effective at fighting them off that sometimes it seems like he is. He has, for lack of a better term, "super-health". New orifices on his forearms and on the sides and back of his torso can deploy tentacles*, which can stretch for hundreds of feet. The same neural tissue running through the rest of his body also runs through the tentacles, allowing his brain to control all of them perfectly. (*Technically, these new limbs are "arms", rather than "tentacles", since they have suckers along their entire length, instead of just at the ends, but this distinction only matters to marine biologists.) His body contains a network of hollow tubes and bladders similar to a cephalopod siphon. He can use muscular contractions to force fluids through those tubes and out of his body, through a series of new orifices on the palms of his hands, the soles of his feet, and his lower back. The primary use of his internal siphon is locomotion. By forcing air or water through it, he creates jet propulsion, launching himself through the water or up into the air. A substantial portion of his extra brain tissue is devoted to processing visual and olfactory input, and the suckers on his tentacles act as extra noses and tongues. His senses of sight, smell, and taste are enhanced far beyond those of a normal human. His eyes can perceive a wider array of color at finer detail, and he has excellent night vision. He can distinguish fine details in scent and taste, and track them to their source like a bloodhound. His body is truly amphibious, adapted equally well to life in open air or under water. His aforementioned increased visual acuity allows him to see perfectly in the dim light of deep water. He has gills on the sides of his neck, which remain closed in open air but which allow him to breathe while he is under water. His skin acts as near-perfect insulation, keeping him from losing his body heat. His blood contains both hemoglobin and hemocyanin, so it is equally effective at keeping his tissues oxygenated in both open air and freezing water. His siphon allows him to regulate his internal fluid pressure, which, along with his flexible muscles, lets him adapt to the crushing weight of the deep sea. His internal siphon can also expel the pungent, opaque black ink produced by another one of his new organs. He can release it gradually, creating a cloud which provides cover (the gas quickly dissolves in open air, so it is equally effective under water or on dry land), or he can fire a concentrated burst of ink directly into the face of an enemy, temporarily blinding them and overwhelming their olfactory senses in a manner similar to that of tear gas or pepper spray. His head contains venom sacs, which produce a paralytic poison similar to that of the octopus who bit him. His body injects this poison with a combination of a pharyngeal jaw and a proboscis: A pair of pincers, similar to a cephalopod beak, on the end of a second tongue, hidden under his original tongue, which can telescope over a foot from his mouth, fully extending in a fraction of a second. His own body is immune to this venom, and other, similar toxins. COMPLICATIONS Accidents: Ben is inexperienced and reckless. The GM can give him a Hero Point in exchange for declaring that Ben's actions have created some sort of hazard, which he must drop his current task to deal with. Alien Blood: Ben's blood is a wildly different color and consistency from normal human blood, and it is slightly radioactive. Once it leaves his body, it is no longer subject to his Morph power, and its true nature is revealed. Since his blood pressure is so much higher than that of a normal human, when his blood does leave his body, it is usually quite obvious. It is not dangerous, but Geiger counters will register a noticeable uptick in its presence. The GM can give Ben a Hero Point if his blood causes some sort of setback. Examples include revealing his presence when it would otherwise go unnoticed, or social interaction turning hostile when he is revealed as something not quite human. Disability (Deaf): Ben permanently has the Deafened condition (Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition, page 171). He suffers a -4 penalty to Initiative, and he automatically fails auditory Notice checks (Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition, page 52). Ben has another Acute Radius sense, his normal olfactory sense, but that doesn't necessarily provide him with the same information that an auditory sense would. The GM can give him a Hero Point every time he suffers a setback due to his inability to hear. The most common example would be a failure on his part to correctly read another person's lips while they speak. According to the Masterminds Manual, page 14, in order to read lips, he must make a visual Notice check at +5DC. According to Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition, pages 51-52, this is a base DC10 check, since it is DC0 to notice something standing out in the open but DC10 to perceive fine details about it. With the +5 penalty, the Notice check for lip reading would have a base DC15, with an additional +5 DC if the GM decides that Ben is "distracted", and another +1DC for every 10ft Notice increment between Ben and the person whose lips he's trying to read. If he fails by 1-4, then he can't make out what they're saying, and if he fails by 5+, then he misinterprets their words. Enemy (Goanna): The GM can give Ben a Hero Point when Goanna shows up to make an already bad situation worse. Since Goanna knows Ben's secret identity, he could show up anywhere, at any time. Loudmouth: Ben doesn't know when to keep his big mouth shut. The GM can give Ben a Hero Point when he creates a setback for himself by mouthing off. Alternately, the GM can give another character a Hero Point when Ben creates a setback for them. If the GM doesn't feel that Ben is being sufficiently mouthy, then they can give him a Hero Point in exchange for forcing him to mouth off in a situation where doing so will create a setback for him. Alternately, the GM can give another character a Hero Point and force Ben to mouth off in a way which will create a setback for that other character. Obsession (Geckoman): The GM can give Ben a Hero Point if Ben creates a setback for himself due to his obsessive hero-worship of Geckoman, such as neglecting his responsibilities or ruining a social interaction. The GM can also give him a Hero Point in exchange for forcing him to do this. Power Loss (Ink, Venom): Ben's body produces ink and venom which he can use as weapons, but it does not produce an infinite supply, and once depleted, it takes time to replenish. The GM can give Ben a Hero Point when he tries to use one of these powers in exchange for declaring that he has run out of "ammunition". Prejudice: Ben is black, Latino, Asian, Jewish, disabled, and a mutate. The GM can give him a Hero Point when another character's ignorance of and/or prejudice against one or more of these groups creates a setback for him. Responsibilities (Family, School): The GM can give Ben a Hero Point when he faces a setback on account of obligations to his parents or his schoolwork. For example, the GM can give him a Hero Point at the start of a day or thread and declare that he is Fatigued because he didn't have time to get enough sleep. Secrets (Identity, Mutation): The GM can give Ben a Hero Point when he has a task to accomplish, but is hindered by the need to protect his identity, and/or his nature as a mutate. Sensory Overload (Olfactory, Visual): Ben has enhanced smell, taste, and vision. The GM can give him a Hero Point in exchange for increasing the effective power rank of sensory powers like Dazzle which target those sense types. Status (Minor): It's possible that Ben might face a setback on account of his legal age which even his Morph power and high Bluff score couldn't get him out of. If the GM can come up with one, then they can give him a Hero Point in exchange for inflicting it upon him. ABILITIES 32PP Strength: 30/14 (+10/+2), 50/14 Lifting (Heavy Load: 12 tons / 175 lbs.) Dexterity: 30/14 (+10/+2) Constitution: 26/14 (+8/+2) Intelligence: 20 (+5) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 20 (+5) COMBAT 16PP Initiative: +10/-2 (+10/+2 Dex, +4 Enhanced Improved Initiative, -4 Deafened) Attack: +10 Melee (+4 Base, +6 Attack Focus [Melee]), +4 Ranged (+4 Base) Grapple: +34/+12 vs one target, +30/+12 vs multiple targets (+10 Melee Attack, +10/+2 Strength/Dexterity, +4 Additional Limbs, +6 Elongation, +4 Super-Strength) Defense: +10 (+4 Base, +6 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback Resistance: 5/2, 4/1 Flat-Footed ATTACK RANGE SAVING THROW EFFECT Unarmed Touch* DC25 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Mass Tentacles Touch/Area DC20 Reflex Bound (Helpless) Ink Spray Touch +20ft DC20 Reflex Dazzle Olfactory + Visual DC20 Fortitude Recover Venomous Bite Touch DC20 Fortitude (Staged) Slowed/Paralyzed *Up to 250ft with Elongation. SAVING THROWS 10PP Toughness: +10/+4 (+8/+2 Con, +2 Defensive Roll), +8/+2 Flat-Footed Fortitude: +8/+2 (+8/+2 Con, +0PP) Reflex: +12/+4 (+10/+2 Dex, +2PP)Evasion Will: +8 (+0 Wis, +8PP) SKILLS 68R = 17PP Acrobatics 3 (+15/+5)Skill Mastery Bluff 15 (+20)Skill Mastery, Taunt Computers 15 (+20)Second Chance, Skill Mastery, Ultimate Skill Disguise 0 (+5, +10 or +50 with Morph) Escape 0 (+16/+2, Automatic with Insubstantial) Knowledge (Current Events) 5 (+10) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 2 (+7) Knowledge (Pop Culture) 10 (+15) Knowledge (Technology) 5 (+10) Knowledge (Theology & Philosophy) 1 (+6) Languages 3 (American Sign Language [ASL], English [Native], Hebrew, Spanish) Notice 5 (+15/+5)Skill Mastery, Deafened Search 0 (+15/+5) Stealth 2 (+15/+4) Swim 2 (+15/+4)Swimming FEATS 24PP Attack Focus (Melee) 6 Chokehold Defensive Roll (+2 Toughness) Dodge Focus 6 Grapple Finesse Luck 3 Online Research Second Chance (Computers) Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Bluff, Computers, Notice) Taunt Well-Informed Ultimate Skill (Computers) Enhanced: Environmental Adaptation (Underwater) Evasion Improved Initiative POWERS 103PP Concealment 2 (Normal Vision, Flaws: Blending, Passive) [1PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Shapeshifting) Enhanced Constitution 12 [12PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Redundant Organs, Regeneration, Super-Toughness) Enhanced Dexterity 16 (Feats: Evasion, Improved Initiative) [18PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Agility, Super-Reflexes) Enhanced Skills 28 (Acrobatics 2, Notice 10, Search 10, Stealth 3, Swim 3) [7PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Agility, Super-Reflexes, Super-Senses) Features 2 (Environmental Adaptation [Underwater], Internal Compartment) [2PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Shapeshifting) Immunity 4 (Environmental 2 [Cold, Pressure], Poison, Suffocation [Underwater]) [4PP] (Descriptors: Gills, Insulated Skin, Internal Network of Fluid Bladders & Siphons, Mutation, No Skeleton, Venom Glands) Morph 1 (+5 Disguise, Any Form) [3PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Shapeshifting) Octopus Movement 2 (4PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power) [5PP] Base Power: [4PP] Leaping 4 (x25, Running Long Jump: 500ft) [4PP] (Descriptors: Biological Jet Propulsion, Mutation) Alternate Power: [4PP] Swimming 4 (25MPH / 250ft per Move Action, Can Take 10 on Swim checks) [4PP] (Descriptors: Biological Jet Propulsion, Mutation) Octopus Power 16 (32PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 4) [36PP] Base Power: [5 + 3 + 16 + 8 = 32PP] Additional Limbs 4 (+10 Limbs, Extras: Duration [Sustained], Feats: Ambidexterity) [5PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Retractable Tentacles) Elongation 6 (250ft Max Elongation, Elongate 300ft per Move Action, Free action to retract, 60ft Range Increments for elongated melee attacks, Flaws: Limited [Additional Limbs]) [3PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Stretchy Tentacles) Enhanced Strength 16 [16PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Strength) Super-Strength 4 (Lifting Strength: 50, Heavy Load: 12 tons) [8PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Alternate Power: [26 + 6 = 32PP] Dazzle 10 (Sense Types: Olfactory + Visual, Flaws: Range [Touch], Feats: Extended Reach 4 [25ft], Improved Critical 2 [18-20]) [26PP] (Descriptors: Ink Spray, Mutation) Obscure 3 (Sense Types: Olfactory + Visual, Area: 25ft radius, Extras: Independent, Total Fade [6 rounds], Flaws: Limited [One Sense: Normal Vision], Range [Touch]) [6PP] (Descriptors: Ink Cloud, Mutation) Alternate Power: [6 + 24 = 30PP] Insubstantial 1 (Feats: Subtle) [6PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Shapeshifting) Morph 8 (9, +45 Disguise, Any Form) [24PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Shapeshifting) Alternate Power: [32PP] Paralyze 10 (Extras: Alternate Save [Fortitude], Secondary Effect, Feats: Improved Critical 2 [18-20]) [32PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Pharyngeal Jaw, Proboscis, Venom) Alternate Power: [32PP] Snare 10 (Extras: Area [Type: Targeted, Shape: Cone], Engulf, Selective, Flaws: Duration [Concentration], Feats: Chokehold, Progression [Area Size] 1 [25ft/rank = 250ft]) [32PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Tentacles) Regeneration 5 (Recovery 1 [+9]; Recovery Rate: Injured 2 [5 minutes], Disabled 2 [1 hour]; Feats: Regrowth) [6PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Super-Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling 2 [Full Speed, Not Flat-Footed]) [4PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Suckers) Super-Senses 5 (Acute Tracking Smell/Taste, Danger Sense [Sense Types: Olfactory], Low-Light Vision, Uncanny Dodge [Sense Types: Olfactory]) [5PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Suckers) TOTALS Abilities (32) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (10) + Skills (17) + Feats (24) + Powers (103) - Drawbacks (0) = 202/204 Power Points

"With City Hall closed indefinitely, the property records should be at the county courthouse. We can slip in there easily enough once we're done here, and find out who owns what." Mister Strix alternated between scuttling up and down what was left of the walls like a spider, and practically crawling on his hands and knees sifting through the burnt rubble on the ground. Every few inches, he would stop to stare intently at what appeared to be nothing, and to sniff at the air. It was slow work. "Whoever set the fire probably expected it to destroy all the evidence. Maybe it did. That might've been the whole point. But they also might've left some traces. Even a single spot of blood could point me in the right direction. Solving a crime is just like diagnosing an illness. Everything is relevant, until it isn't."

GM Eliza's hotel voucher turned out to include a car rental, so for the remainder of her stay, she could at least travel under her own power. Mister Strix had once again promised to meet the group at their destination, before jumping out the window of Eliza's room, climbing up the side of the building like a spider, and then jumping to another roof about a hundred feet away, all in complete silence. The sedan her firm had paid for was modest, but clean, and seemingly in good working order, with room for all four women. Their journey took them north and east, through Hardwick Park and across Wolverton. They lost count of how many obvious street gangs they passed, who eyed their car with alternating suspicion and lust. The gangs were starkly divided along racial lines; the most clear indicator of when Hardwick gave way to Wolverton was when the gangsters hanging out on porches and street corners suddenly changed from Latino to African-American. Hardwick had been a sea of apartment blocks, thrift stores, and bodegas, most of which seemed to be thriving in spite of the fact that the buildings which contained them were falling apart around them. Wolverton, meanwhile, was mostly single-story detached houses on tiny lots, broken up only by "convenience" stores and the occasional strip mall, until they reached the northern edge of the neighborhood, a six-lane deathrap signs identified as "Industrial Drive". Once they reached Industrial, they were suddenly surrounded by factories and warehouses in every direction, most of them abandoned. Eliza narrowly avoided several collisions on Industrial. It seemed to have maybe one-third as many traffic lights as it needed, and most of the other drivers treated it more like a racetrack than a road. Without leaving their car, the women could hear the dull roar of voices and music coming from the factory. But there were no signs or lights outside their destination, nothing to distinguish it from the other abandoned buildings around it, save for the two large men in black t-shirts and jeans standing on either side of the door. Their bearing, their mustaches, and their particular brand of swagger suggested less "gangster" and more "off-duty cop". They were also the first Caucasian faces the women had seen since leaving their hotel. They both had semiautomatic pistols brazenly strapped to their belts.