JDRook

I was going to disagree and recommend the additional cost of a Feat (like Precise or Selective) to get that kind of flexibility, but I've gone back and read the descriptions for Comprehend Languages a few times now (both Core and UP) and I can't figure out the functional difference between 2 and 3 ranks of Comprehend. However, since it's an AP off of your Magic 12, I don't think cost is a real issue as long as the GM is fully cognizant of the details.

Sorry, I finished it up and put the total on while on autopilot. I usually make PL10s, but he's definitely a 6 with 90pp. I've fixed it now.

I made some adjustments as per your suggestion, but I'm not sure how to apply the drawbacks you described to his powers, especially in a Container. I've laid out most of the numbers work. Once I fill out his background and complications I'll apply him officially. Players Name: JDRook Power Level: 6 Characters Name: Clarence Hightower Alternate Identity: none yet Height: 5' 7" up to 16' 8" Weight: 145lbs up to 2 tons Hair: Eyes: Description: History: Complications: Stats: 8pp Str: 8/32 (-1/+11) Dex: 10 (+0) Con: 12/28 (+1/+9) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha: 10 (+0) Combat: 4pp Attack: +0 (includes -2 for size. Melee Spec feat compensates for size exactly, but range goes up to -2 at full growth) Grapple: +0/+21 Defense: +0 (includes -2 for size. +0 flat-footed) -2 full size Knockback: -0/-12 Initiative: +0 Saves: 7pp Toughness: +1/+9 Fortitude: +1/+9 Reflex: +3 (+0 Dex, +3) Will: +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 44r = 11pp Skills: Climb 2 (+13/+5), Computers 4 (+6), Craft: Electronic 4 (+6), Craft: Mechanical 4 (+6), Craft: Structural 2 (+4), Craft: Tailoring 2 (+4), Disable Device 4 (+6), Drive 4 (+4), Escape Artist 4 (+4), Intimidate 2 (+6), Knowledge: Technology 4 (+6), Notice 4 (+6), Stealth 4 (-4) Feats: 9pp Beginner's Luck, Equipment 4, Improvised Tools, Interpose, Inventor, Jack-Of-All-Trades Powers: 53pp Growth Container 10 - 50pp Drawbacks: Full Power, One-Way Transformation Growth 8 (+16 STR, +8 CON, +2 size categories) 24pp Disproportionate Limbs (Elongation 2) (Elongation: 10 ft., range incr 20 ft., +2 Escape & Grapple;) 2pp Enhanced Ability 8 (+8 CON; Ability: Constitution) 8pp Enhanced Trait 5 (Feats: Improved Block 1, Improved Grab, Improved Grapple, Improved Pin, Improved Overrun) 5pp Super-Strength 4 (+20 STR carrying capacity; +4 STR to some checks, Power Feats: Groundstrike (Radius: 110 ft., DC 21) 9pp Alternate Powers: Enhanced Ability 8 [Alt] (+8 STR; Ability: Strength) +1pp Guardian (Force Field 9) (+9 Toughness; Power Feats: Selective, Drawbacks: Reduce Area Effect Radius to Reach), Extras: Area, Burst (45 ft. radius), Flaws: Feedback) 7pp Power X (name/descriptor; Extras: whatever; Flaws: whatever; PFs: whatever) [cost] example: Blast 12 (fiery bolt; PFs: 1 Alternate Power) [25] AP: Blast 8 (fireball; Extra: Explosion) Drawbacks: 0pp DC Block: ATTACKS: SAVE DC: DAMAGE TYPE: (Name of Attack) (Save DC/Type) (Type of Damage: Bruise/Injury, or other) For example: Blast 10 25/Toughness Bruise (Staged) alternatively Blast 10 --- 25/Toughness --- Bruise (Staged) Costs: Abilities (8) + Combat (4) + Saves (7) + Skills (11) + Feats (9) + Powers (56) - Drawbacks (5) = Total Cost 90

Thanks, Dr. A. I'm trying to shy away from the actual drive skill, since I basically want to make it a host of conditional powers in a container, the condition being that he's in the driver's/pilot seat of a functioning vehicle. If need be, I might AP or stunt for Enhanced Drive. I'd had the concept originally when I saw the Phantom Cab writeup, but it solidified a bit more for me after I a) saw the new Speed Racer movie and played the taxi level on Elite Beat Agents on my DS. Not an expected form of inspiration, but it does add to the feel of the character for me. I'd certainly like to get a few of the Speed Racer tricks worked into adventuring, and EBA had some speedster-style tricks (Wall Driving and Water Driving) that work well, as well as the idea of a character whose personality changes radically behind the wheel. I've also got some thoughts on a Tremorsense sensory suite that works through the vehicle.

Here's the rough text output. I'm not sure how to post the character sheets here since it won't upload pdf. Hightower STR: +11 (24/32), DEX: +0 (10), CON: +9 (20/28), INT: +0 (10), WIS: +1 (12), CHA: -1 (8) Tough: +9, Fort: +9, Ref: +4, Will: +5 Skills: Climb 4 (+7), Craft: Mechanical 4 (+4), Craft: Structural 4 (+4), Craft: Tailoring 4 (+4), Drive 4 (+4), Escape Artist 4 (+5), Intimidate 4 (+7), Notice 4 (+5), Stealth 4 (-4) Feats: All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (Melee) 2, Distract (Intimidate), Equipment 2, Fearsome Presence 1, Improved Block 1, Improved Disarm 1, Improved Grab, Improved Grapple, Improved Overrun, Improved Pin, Interpose, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown Attack 1 Powers: Growth 8 (+16 STR, +8 CON, +2 size categories; Flaws: Permanent) Body Slam ((Strength Bonus) Strike 8) (Power Feats: Progression, Decr. Area Extra 7 (-7 ranks), Extras: Area, Shapeable (40 cu. ft.), Flaws: Permanent, Notes: This is Clarence either slapping the ground with his huge hands, stomping with his equally huge feet, or coming down with knees and elbows on a large target area, hence the variable shapeable area.) Disproportionate Limbs (Elongation 1) (Elongation: 5 ft., range incr 10 ft., +1 Escape & Grapple; Flaws: Permanent) Enhanced Ability 8 (+8 CON; Ability: Constitution) Enhanced Trait 15 (Feats: Distract (Intimidate), Fearsome Presence 1, Improved Block 1, Improved Disarm 1, Improved Grab, Improved Grapple, Improved Pin, Interpose, Startle, Takedown Attack 1, Improved Overrun, All-Out Attack, Power Attack, Attack Focus (Melee) 2) Super-Strength 4 (+20 STR carrying capacity; +4 STR to some checks; Alternate Powers: Enhanced Ability 8 [Alt], Power Feats: Groundstrike (Radius: 110 ft., DC 21)) Enhanced Ability 8 [Alt] (+8 STR; Ability: Strength) Guardian (Force Field 9) (+9 Toughness; Power Feats: Selective, Drawbacks: Custom 3 (Reduce Area Effect Radius to Reach [15']), Extras: Area, Burst (45 ft. radius), Flaws: Feedback) Equipment: Vehicle: Bus Attack Bonus: +2 (Ranged: +2, Melee: +4, Grapple: +26) Attacks: Unarmed Attack, +4 (DC 23) Defense: +2 (Flat-footed: +1), Size: Huge, Knockback: -12 Initiative: +0 Drawbacks: Normal Identity - Common, Involuntary Transformation - Very Common - Major

Hey Warr, I've been MIA on the boards here for several months, but my RL situation is adjusting and I thought I might come back and actually try playing a few characters. I have 2 ideas in mind, one PL6 and one PL10, and if your offer is still open, I'd like to get your help to make them FC-worthy. The basics on each one: PL6 - Clarence Hightower - no alias yet - Hightower is a scrawny 15 year old boy who one summer day in the pool ends up turning into a two-ton, 17-foot gangly version of himself. Presumably he's inherited something from his mother Linda, the retired hero Amazon (not the one currently in the archives, but maybe they could meet up sometime ), and obviously not his father Arthur, the accountant. He is of course real powerhouse material, but I wanted to make his Growth permanent or at least heavily involuntary and hard to get rid of, to play with the growth-spurting teen idea. Would someone that difficult to hide be able to train at Claremont? PL10 - Samuel James "Jack" Walker - no alias yet - Jack is another (sort-of) obscure legacy character. Here's the quote taken directly from the Freedom City book, p25: THE PHANTOM CAB One unusual “taxi service†also shows up in Freedom City. Since colonial times, Freedonians in trouble and in desperate need of transport have found themselves confronted by a mysterious cabâ€â€be it a horse and buggy or the most modern of automobilesâ€â€which gets them quickly and safely out of harm’s way. While in the driver’s presence, folks never feel any unease, and in fact are calmed by his quiet confidence. Only afterwards do they think of him and his cab as a strange visitation. Locals refer to it as “the Phantom Cab†and to its driver as “Max.†No one knows where the Phantom Cab comes from, or where it goes. It seems to appear when and where it’s needed for reasons beyond mortal comprehension. Jack is on the classic father quest. His mother, Sara Walker, has finally told him who his real father is after discovering his abilities, and he's come to FC to find him. And what are his powers? Basically, if Jack gets in the driver's seat of any vehicle, it acts like a battlesuit with all the vehicle's abilities. To be clear, though, it doesn't become literally part of him (like Nanowire) or transform into a giant robot, it's still a car or van or motorcycle or whatever, with the same speed, toughness, carrying capacity, etc, but with the manoueverablity of a human being. He's just a preternaturally skilled driver. (With a few thematically over the top powers. ) I've gone out and bought the Hero Lab MnM edition and have been trying it out, even making a rough draft of Clarence. Let me know if these interest you and I can post or send you what I have so far.

I think I've read that novel. It sounds quite a bit like Stephen Baxter's "The Time Ships." It's written as a kind of updated sequel to Welles's "The Time Machine." I recommend it. :)

Those were useful tips, guys. Thanks. I'm still concerned about the idea of Clarence getting around, though. I kinda like the complication of him being permanently Large (I'm thinking Growth 6 with his oversized - essentially Gargantuan - hands and feet), but I'd need him to get around FC somehow without causing the "Gojiro!" effect. (At least initially. Once he's an established hero he can walk around more openly.) One idea for this was to make himself a vehicle that he can hide in. Say, gut a standard utility van and have him scrunch down in the back. He could have a driver, but I had been thinking of making him skilled as well as big (more Beast than Hulk) so maybe he also builds alternate controls into it so he can drive it himself while still being hidden. So there's a Craft: Mech skill, maybe a little contortion (is that an Escape Artist subskill?). The van would be equipment, I assume, but maybe with a few other options on it. Maybe even give him Inventor feat. Is this idea workable? What would said van look like in terms of game mechanics? What other skills or traits might be good for what I'm sketching?

That's good to know. So if I'm understanding right, a PL6 character has an Ability limit of 32, and every rank of Growth gives +2 Str, so he could conceivably have up to 11 ranks of Growth provided he got all additional Str from only Growth. Not that I'd go that high, at least to start, but Growth 8 (Huge) might be just about right to start.

I'd been thinking of which concept to try out with my PL6 character, and I thought I'd go for my teenaged giant, Clarence Hightower. I tried him in another system and rather liked him, so I thought I'd see if he'd work out for Claremont. There's a few hiccups in design, though, and I'd like to see what you guys might be able to add. Basic summary, Clarence has suddenly got a "growth" spurt that has made him a 15 year old giant. He also has even larger hands and feet (and forearms and calves) of roughly twice proportional size, so he's not only big but clumsy-looking and gawky. Questions and concerns, in no particular order: - At PL 6, Clarence can be up to Growth 6 or about 12 feet tall, and I would have his Growth increase first every time he achieved a new power level. It would definitely be Permanent, possibly Innate, although it might be interesting to have him lose his power on very rare occasions to be reminded how it felt to be "normal". So what descriptor might his growth have that would allow it to be Nullified, and how common would it be in FC? - Scanning through the other characters, I see most of the ones with Growth are only 4 ranks, with a few non-permanent suggestions. And finally reading through the Freedom City back, it seems like Claremont tries to keep the heroing kids hidden. Would that be workable with a 14 foot Freshman? - In the other system I built Clarence in (HERO), I gave him a touch-range one-hex area attack to simulate his oversized fists and feet. M&M has that effect built in to size consideration, specifically for characters 3 sizes larger than their opponents (ie Gargantuan vs Medium). So effectively Clarence would have Gargantuan hands and feet. Would it be better to simulate them with an AoE Strike, or would it be possible (or allowable) to give him 6 more ranks of Growth Flawed to only effect his hand and foot size? The second way would make it somewhat simpler for him to develop as he "grows into" his extremities. - My previous conception of Clarence also had him even taller, so I was thinking about the alternate method for giant sizing the HERO system occasionally uses (I imagine Dr. A may be familiar with it). Basically it buys aspects of Growth separately with appropriate powers, like Permanent Elongation for height and reach, Immovable to simulate mass, and abilities like STR and CON. I figured rank 2-3 Perm Elong would get him the right dimensions and then I could build up the rest. Would something like that be permitted, or do you prefer sticking with Growth to make larger characters? - Special consideration: I noticed someone had a character named Amazon with some Growth and retired her some months back. I had originally set up Clarence to be the son of an accountant and a retired Amazon hero (whether she was actually an Amazon or just named that was never explored). I'm still not caught up on all of Freedom City's history and legacies, but maybe we could retcon his mother as an Amazon legacy character. That should be plenty to chew on. Looking forward to tips and feedback.

What about using a form of elongation for the attack? Rank 6 Elong gives you a 200 foot reach and a "snap-back" as a free action. That only has a 60 foot increment though, but that might not be bad depending on what kind of range you want to have for the power.

I don't know if this has been covered, but the Alternate Powers in an Array should probably have some kind of logic to them as well. Putting TK and TP in a Psychic array makes sense, as does Flight if the Flight is also psychically based (in this case, probably a variation on TK). If the Flight power came from wings or a jetpack, that wouldn't really fit in the array, unless the wings or jetpack were created/powered by psychic energy.

At first glance I thought I saw a big problem: her left hand was on backwards. Now that I look at it closely I realize I was just looking at it wrong: I thought the fabric edge connecting to the middle finger ring was her hand edge, making her middle finger her thumb. I'm sure it'll be more obvious once there's some contrast between flesh and fabric. The little asymmetries are fascinating. The hair, the lip quirk and the shoulder/torso shift draw focus to the left hand, so I assume you'll be doing something interesting up there. The legs seem kind of long even without the boots, but that's probably standard for superhero proportions. And of course, all these comments should be taken in the context that I have no specific drawing experience, save what little I've picked up being a figure model for art classes, and reading comics.

Ok, I'm still alive. Gave a lot of thought to your suggestion. At first, the loss of range bothered me, but then I figured since his throws are all fast (automatic) and complex (ricochet), it kind of fits the juggling theme if they're also relatively close range. By that same reasoning, I should use the Power Loss limit to work when he runs out of the titanium juggling balls (I'm thinking 8 maximum), which will be his specialty. He will still be able to easily recover the balls with his TK, of course. If he wants to improvise something else to juggle, or make a good long distance throw, he could just use extra effort or hp it. I've adjusted his sheet accordingly on both those points. How does he look now?

What I missed was changing the total on the juggling array after I dropped the auto-deflect 1 rank. Numbers should work now.