Dr Archeville

Believing that magic can do anything is akin to believing science/technology can do anything: both true and false. Think of an effect, of something you want to do, and you can probably find a handful of ways to do it, but that doesn't mean every mage/every super-scientist can do it. It's like medicine: if you've got bad heartburn, you'd see a gastroenterologist, not a dermatologist, but a dermatologist can do things for your psoriasis the GI guy can't, though both are medical doctors. Magic comes in disciplines, in styles; a student of one style can do things a student of another can't (or at least won't, not lightly). (On the other hand, most superhero seems to have as many Omnidisciplinary Mage as they do Omnidisciplinary Scientists. Though many likely started as students of one field, the various Master Mages of the FCU probably expanded their studies to cover multiple schools and disciplines, the better to safeguard reality from all manner of mystical threats.) I plan to write up a few magical disciplines here -- with most of each post being on the powers a char who is a student of that discipline might have (and, yes, I will be plundering other RPG books for inspiration) -- though they'll all be in the style of what you'd find in superhero comics (and some sword-and-sorcery comics). I am NOT trying to address any Real World mystical beliefs/systems, at least not in any more than a broad strokes, Hollywood/comic book version of them. (There are probably a few Real World magical systems that simply would not work in FCU, since so many things are objectively [and contradictorily] real in the FC Multiverse.) Also, note that even these disciplines are fairly broad in scope -- no two necromancers will fully agree on all the important issues relating to Necromancy, but all necromancers tend to agree (at least in principle) on most of the important issues of Necromancy. Many of these are also suitable for use as Mutant powers (a la Human Torch, Iceman, Terra, and other 'elemental' characters), or aliens from a Planet of Hats where a particular set of powers is common. Index Adeptus Physicus (Physical Adepts) Alchemy Anarchic/Chaos Axiomatic/Law/Order Darkness/Shadow Elementalism 101 Elementalism, Air (Aeromancy) Elementalism, Earth/Metal/Sand (Geomancy) Elementalism, Fire (Pyromancy) Elementalism, Water/Ice (Hydromancy) Light (Photomancy) Necromancy

Archeville hovered about two feet up next to Fulcrum, high enough so they could put their arms around each others shoulders without her having to stoop or kneel down. He'd been gazing up at the displays they had worked on, but for the last few seconds his gaze had fallen to a sight he found far more marvelous. "You really did excellent work there, liebchen." He reached up with one hand to gently caress her cheek and pull them closer for a kiss, but her sudden troubled look and scan of the crowd put him on alert. "What is it? Do you sense something?" He fumbled about in his pockets, looking for his Electromagnetic Screwdriver and realizing he wasn't wearing his usual labcoat, so his pockets weren't in the usual places.

Dead Head was about to say something when Avenger went on about facing Death -- "Death? I've had tea with Her plenty'a times," "Man, we've already faced a whole world'a vampires, what could be worse?," "Death? Must be Tuesday," and other irreverencies -- but when he looked right at him and called him by name, that shut him up. His antics were meant to lighten up others in the face of Finality, to dispel fears of Death, but sometimes humor was not an appropriate defense. Well, maybe one, tiny jest. "Hey, I was pushin' daisies 'fore you was, sonny!," he called out as he ran into the rift, "an' if ya think I'm lettin' you face Final Death alone, ya got another thing comin'!"

You definitely need more Defense and/or Toughness. Right now he's at +10 Defense, +2 Toughness, which pegs him at PL 6. More Attack and/or Damage would be good, too. With +10 on Attack and +3 Damage (from his Claws), he's pegged at PL 7 (well, 6.5). His Regen and Immunity to Aging should not be Innate, they're not natural to a cheetah. Deflect is a bad power, and useless at low ranks. You'll really do well to drop it. Also, using the formatting for char sheets we use here -- especially for the Powers section -- will make it easier on us to critique it. And since your finall submitted form would need to be in that format, why not start using it now so you'll get a feel for it?

"A new resilience to pathogens could be a sign of altered biochemistry, too," Archeville said as he studied the new and weird organs of the holo-Kid Cthulhu, "or at least a drastically improved immune system." "As for the wings," he turned back to the real Kid, "the difficulty with those is normal. And you are quite right -- it is a new muscle! They are essentially an entirely new set of limbs, so they alone would require extensive reworking of the human skeletal, muscular, and nervous system." Archeville glanced at KC's bag, though the glance lingered longer than he'd intended. "That book," he said at last, "what does... that is, can you tell me -- in broad strokes, please -- what the book is about?" He looked back to his patient, "what it talks about? What other 'rituals' it holds? Does it speak of... alien worlds?"

Your next post can be the final one, if you'd like.

Dead Head jabbed and jabbed his way up the corridor, until it opened to a chamber with even more of the ghouls. Bad news, they could now swarm him from many directions. Good news, he now had room to swing his shovel in wide arcs, taking out many at a time. The beast twisted under Midnight's chains, but the young hero kept a tight rein on. Sputters of flame rolled out its mouth, but Midnight kept pulling the chains tight... and it fell. Around the time the beast fell, Dead Head came back up the corridor, covered in stuff Trevor tried not to think about. The other cultists were out, and Travis, conscious and looking up at his grandson, calmly waiting to be unchained from the altar.

"You vill see, liebchen," he chuckled slyly, "you vill see." He lead her through the core of the station, and there was the first signs of people. Almost half the core was storage space for supplies, so there was a lot of activity as scientists and techies from the other labs came in for components and reagents. All were friendly to the Doktor and Fulcrum; a few approached him with forms, but when they saw his companion they quickly forgot their paperwork and welcomed them to the station. The other major part of the core was communications and sensors, both internal and external (both pointed at Earth and facing away). All of the Earth-facing ones scanned the South American rainforests the station was in geosynchronous orbit over, while the others focused on either the vastness of space (unobscured by an atmosphere), or other objects in orbit with them. From the Core she could see eight large passages, leading to the eight wings of the station. They'd come from the South (power, life support, teleporter). East was quarters and living spaces, West was hangars, repair bays, and landing/launch bays for the few ArcheTech space shuttles which came and went. The 'diagonals' contained all the laboratories and workstations ArcheTech uses (and rents out to other companies) to take advantage of the low- and zero-gravity environments. The North corridor was closed off, though, and the doors labeled 'private' (in several languages). It was to these doors Viktor was leading Mona. Passing through, to the left were VIP housing area, a handful of small but comfortable guest rooms as well as a meeting area. To the right was a huge observation deck, big enough to give a sense that one was standing in space! Beyond these Mona could see a nice dining room, and she could smell faint traces of roast vegetables and meat... but her attention was perhaps more focused on the small wooden box she saw floating at chest height (head height for Viktor) in the middle of the observation deck. "This is de first half of vhat I vished to show you, liebchen" he said after they spent some time enjoying the view. "They are replacements for de errant power dampers I had made for you," he nodded towards the noticeable but not quite clunky devices she'd been wearing on her neck, wrists, waist and ankles, "smaller, lighter, and far more fashionable." The box contained what appeared to be simple yet elegant necklace, bracelets, anklets, and belly chain, all of fine gold links. Some of the links contained tiny blue or dark yellow gemstones in them.

Doktor Archeville as a Cyborg Power Level: PL 10 (150/150 pp) Trade-Offs: -2 Defense for +2 Toughness. [floatr][/floatr] Abilities: 0 + 2 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 0 = 32pp Str 10 (+0) Dex 12 (+1) Con 20 (+5) Int 30 (+10) [20 (+5)] Wis 20 (+5) Cha 10 (+0) Combat: 12 + 12 = 24pp Initiative: +1 Attack: +6, +8 in "combat mode" Grapple: +6, +8 in "combat mode" Defense: +6 (+6 Base, +0 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed; +8 (+4 flat-footed) in "combat mode" Knockback: -11, -4 w/out Force Field Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 3 = 7pp Toughness: +12 [imp 10] (+5 Con, +3 Protection, +4 Force Field [imp 10]); +8 w/out Force Field Fortitude: +5 (+5 Con, +0) Reflex: +5 (+1 Dex, +4) Will: +8 (+5 Wis, +3) Skills: 84r = 21pp Computers 8 (+18) Craft (chemical) 8 (+18) Craft (electronics) 8 (+18) Craft (mechanical) 8 (+18) Disable Device 8 (+18) Investigate 4 (+14) Knowledge (behavioral sciences) 2 (+12) Knowledge (earth sciences) 5 (+15) Knowledge (life sciences) 6 (+16) Knowledge (physical sciences) 6 (+16) Knowledge (technology) 10 (+20) Languages 4 (English, French, Mandarin Chinese, Russian; German is native) Medicine 1 (+6) Notice 5 (+10) Sense Motive 1 (+6) Feats: 7PP Eidetic Memory Improvised Tools Inventor Jack-of-All-Trades Luck Master Plan Skill Mastery (Computers, Craft [electronic], Craft [mechanical], Disable Device) Powers: 11 + 15 + 11 + 9 + 3 + 2 + 8 = 59PP Enhanced Brain 5 (10 points; PF: Alternate Power) [11PP] BE: Enhanced Intelligence 10 (to 30/+10) [10/10pp] AP: Enhanced Attack 2 (to +8), Enhanced Defense 2 (to +8) [8/10pp] Gravitic Defensive Systems 7 (14 points; PF: Alternate Power x1) [15PP] BE: Impervious Toughness 10 (note: active Sustained effect) + Force Field 4 [14/14pp] AP: Concealment 10 (all; Flaw: Blending; PF: Close Range) [11/14pp] Gravitic Movement Systems 5 (10 points; PF: Alternate Power x1) [11PP] BE: Flight 4 (100 mph; PFs: Instant Up, Move-By Action) [10/10pp] AP: Teleport 3 (300 ft.; PFs: Change Direction, Change Velocity, Instant Up, Turnabout) [10/10pp] Immunity 9 (life support) [9PP] Protection 3 [3PP] Quickness 4 (x25; Flaw: Limited to mental tasks) [2PP] Shapeshift 1 (assorted bionic systems; 5 points) [8PP] DC Block: ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC15 Toughness (Staged) Damage Abilities (32) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (7) + Skills (21) + Feats (7) + Powers (59) - Drawbacks (0) = 150/150pp :arrow: Why is he a cyborg? Perhaps the world this one was on had a Zombie Apocalypse, and he got bit, but was able to cut off the infected limbs in time to save himself. Or perhaps there was an accident with nanites in his laboratory that fused his Gravimetric Belt and Electromagnetic Screwdriver to him. Either way, he's no longer as pretty as he once was (no Attractive!).

Dead Head ran down the other passageway, running smack into a pack of nearly a dozen ghouls. Like him, they were obviously long-dead, but their teeth were far sharper, and the exposed bones at the tips of their fingers made for very nasty talons. "C'mon, fellers, ya don't wanna be doin' this," Dead Head pleaded, trying to reason with them. "Ain't no need ta-" The ghouls hissed and sprang upon him. "Right, gotta do this tha hard way." He pressed forward, making short jabs with his trusty shovel. The corridor was too cramped for him to swing, but it was also too cramped for them to gang up more than two at a time on him. Midnight's opening blow stunned the chimera, and his hooks bit deep into it, but it was still up. Hurt, badly hurt, but up. It turned quickly and fixed the hero with burning red eyes, and breathed out a cone of fire!

"Now that is interesting!," Archeville exclaimed. "In the vast majority of cases there is a 'learning period' where one must learn to control their new abilities. But you say you were in complete control for day one? I wonder if your experience with and exposure to prior rituals is the key...." The Doktor actually blushed a bit, "that is quite flattering, but... well, you do not seem the type to be taken by scientists and technicians." He smirked, "I would think you peg you for more of a Siren fan." He looked down at his scanner, and his brow furrowed as he studied the readings. "Very interesting results here. The scan I just ran was of your internal organs, and... well, see for yourself!" He manipulated the Gadget again, causing a new image to appear on the hologram display before them. Some of it Blake recognized from his high school biology class, but most was a mystery to him. "AS you can see, the changes are more than skin-deep."

"Grimal, you magnificent boggart!," Archeville exclaimed, bolting upright from his comfy spot in Mona's arms. "Movies for metahumans, made by metahumans! Why, the savings in special effects alone would make it a huge money-maker! Get some illusionists, of course; need to make sure they are the type whose illusions can be recorded mechanically, and are not just mental phantasms. Maybe some telekinetics to replace wire-work. Meta-intellects to write stories, both to take full advantage of the new media and to make intelligent and internally consistent stories..." He glanced over to Eli, up to Mona, then back to Eli again, "movies filmed and shown at an accelerated rate for Speedsters! Oh, and maybe an arrangement with Blackstone, have the proceeds from the works go to relief funds for the victim's families."

Actually, due to Dead Head charging (-2 Defense) and his use of All-Out Attack (-2 Defense), his Defense is 11, so two of them do hit! But his Impervious will protect him from their zombie fists.

"I do have footage of your workout sessions," he said, pausing just long enough for her to wonder if he was going to say "and much more," "though of course footage can only tell so much. I have, in fact, often considered doing some training with you all. My own facilities do a good enough job, sure, and my sparring with my fellow members of the Freedom League are quite excellent-" "- but, well, saying he League and the Interceptors have different styles would be one of the Top Ten Understatements of the Decade," he chuckled. "Item creation! An excellent idea!," he exclaimed, clapping sharply. "We will need some space, though." He looked around the (somewhat cramped, even with its huge size) laboratories, "no, no... ah! The pool! This way!" He lead her down a hallway off the electronics and robotics section, from which she'd smelled chlorine and water earlier. The floors gradually shifted from linoleum to tile, and soon they were at an Olympic-sized swimming pool! On the far end of it she could see an equally large gymnasium/weight room; hallways to the right would lead off presumably to lockers & showers, or maybe to a sauna or whirlpool. "So, what is the biggest thing you have ever made?"

Dead Head cleared his throat, then proceeded to put on a stage magician's act. He showed both sides of his hands, mimed pushing up his sleeves (he never did get dressed after the scan!) and showed them again, then held his right hand out in front of him. He grabbed it with his left, and pulled once, twice, three times, at which the right hand popped off at the wrist! He then held his left hand up, palm flat, with his right hand upon it, and the severed hand popped up on its fingertips like a spider and scurried up his arm! Down his torso, down his leg, it hopped to the floor and scurried about. "So," he said, grinning, "got any explanations fer that one?" The dog cocked his head and looked at it, then bent down and wriggled his haunches, as if about to pounce on it. Briefly Gina flashed through images of the dog chasing the hand around in her lab, knocking over thousands of dollars worth of gear!

Ah, sorry! In that case, first shot, failed the Drain Toughness by 4 (Toughness reduced 4 points, from 12 to 8). And that means the Toughness ave failed by 13, so the bracers are "disabled"/badly damaged, so they're so damaged they no longer function (but can be repaired). In that case, do you want to take the second shot to try and destroy them (with those rolls, the second shot would destroy them completely), or kick him in the face? Or not take a second shot/not use Extra Effort to surge?

Still finishing up plans, but there's a lil' something. And if you'd like to see what the real opera was like, you can check it out here!

And an epic evening it was! Moments after settling down, a figure emerged from behind the curtain. It was an older gentleman, with wild white hair and beard, in a simple brown suit. When he spoke, it was in German, but the quintet of monitors set at the top of the stage transliterated his words into English. "Good evening, and welcome! I am Achim Freyer, director and designer of this innovative production, and I would like to thank you all for coming to this historic event. I would also like to think Doktor Viktor Archeville and ArcheTech, for the new real-time translation/transliteration system which is putting my words -- and will put the words of the operatic performers -- into English on the screens above me. Now, I was going to say something about the history of this opera.. but I think I will skip that and just get on to the show!" He smiled, gave a slight bow, and exited, stage left. The four minute prelude beginning with a low E flat, building in more and more elaborate figurations of the chord of E flat major, to portray the motion of the river Rhine. The curtain rose to show, at the bottom of the Rhine, the three Rhine maidens, Woglinde, Wellgunde, and Flosshilde, playing together. The key shifts to A flat as Woglinde begins an innocent song whose melody is frequently used to characterise the Rhine maidens later in the cycle. Alberich, a Nibelung dwarf, appears from a deep chasm and tries to woo them. Struck by Alberich's ugliness, the Rhine maidens mock his advances and he grows angry. As the sun begins to rise, the maidens praise the golden glow atop a nearby rock; Alberich asks what it is. The Rhine maidens tell him about the Rhine Gold, which their father has ordered them to guard: it can be made into a magic ring which will let its bearer rule the world, but only by someone who first renounces love. They think they have nothing to fear from the lustful dwarf, but Alberich, embittered by their mockery, curses love, seizes the gold and returns to his chasm, leaving them screaming in dismay.

Reflex save, DC 20 (1d20+5=14) Fails by 6, so Toughness is reduced from 12 to 6. Toughness save, DC 25; includes -1 from "injury" (1d20+5=22) Fails by 3, so one more "injury" JoaB is up!

"Oh, pshaw," he said in his normal tone. Well, normal for him as of the past month and a half or so. "I have never understood why so many fans cling so tight to one of those two huge franchises and derides the other. They both share much in common!" "Next? Well, that is entirely up to you! Object creation? Shapeshifting? Reflexes, strength, endurance?" He made a wide sweeping gesture with his arms, "I have many, many ways I can test you! I even have a combat simulator, like the one I installed at the Brownstone!"

Handy cheat-sheet for Kyri, v2! 20 -- High Cultist -- uninjured 18 -- Zombie Group 4 (5 Unharmed) 16 -- Ironclad -- uninjured, 3 HP now 16 -- Zombie Group 2 (5 Unharmed) 14 -- Zombie Group 5 (5 Unharmed) 13 -- Dragonfly -- uninjured, 3 HP 13 -- Push -- uninjured, 4 HP 9 -- Cobalt Templar -- uninjured, 3 HP 9 -- Dead Head -- uninjured, 2 HP 9 -- Mutt -- uninjured, 0 HP (minion, uses DH's HPs) 9 -- Surprise 9 -- Surprise 7 -- Surprise 2 -- Surprise 2 -- Zombie Group 1 (5 Unharmed) 2 -- Zombie Group 3 (5 Unharmed)

There really isn't. Unlike DC or Marvel, the vast majority of folks genuinely like the superheroes and are thankful for them for all the work they do, and do not assume that all superhumans are Just One Bad Day away from snapping and becoming psychopathic murder machines. However, there is a supervillain whose outfit incorporates a lot of KKK imagery: White Knight, a bigoted, misogynistic, racist thug with super-strength and flame powers. Oh, there are quite a few folks here who could stop a rampaging speedster... but we don't do PvP, so I, too, digress Those all sound like Complications, at best. Though the "poor manual dexterity" (does he not have humanoid hands?) could be reflected by not taking many ranks in Craft skills. Also, the default assumption is that all damage done is non-lethal; to do lethal damage (and have even a chance of killing someone), you, the player, must state that. Guilt: a classic motivation! It's served Spider-Man well! Remember that the speed given for the Movement powers is for normal 'walking' pace. Exerting as much effort as running doubles that, and exerting as much effort as running all out (to the point where you're not paying much attention to your surroundings) quadruples it. Speed 8 is 2,500 mph, yes, but that's "normal" speed -- running would put him at 5,000 mph, and running all-out, his top speed would actually be 10,000 mph! Speed 7 sounds like what you want: 'walking' speed of 1,000 mph (10,000 feet per Move action), 2,000 mph at a run, 4,000 mph at a full, all-out, panicked-camper-running-from-Jason-Vorhees run. Super-Senses are cheap enough that Flawing them quickly gets problematic; I'd suggest going with a Complication. Utility Belts are detailed under the Equipment section of the core book (page 137, in fact). Several heroes here (including my namesake char) have some version of a Utility Belt, so feel free to skim other char sheets for ideas. The Variable Power you're referring to (very similar to the Variable Power Pool in HERO) is something I'd advise against someone taking if they're new to M&M.

Alright, Witchfinder does get a Reflex save vs. the Drain Tougnhess on his worn Device. Reflex save, DC 20 (1d20+5=21) No effect! Toughness save, DC 25 (1d20+12=16) Fails by 9, that's an "injury" for the Device, giving it a -1 penalty on future Toughness saves. They're dinged. Want to surge for another shot? A kick in the head? Smooches with Grim?

"We jes' gonna sit 'round an' twiddle?," Dead Head exclaimed as he headed towards the ripple. "we's followin' it to the one what sent it, right?" Mutt barked at the ripple, fading into view as he did. The revenant stopped before hitting the anomaly, and turned back to the others. "Uhh... we is followin' it... right?" Man, this whole place makes my head hurt!

Well, let me see how the result of the Breaker Bullet/Disintegration did on the Bracer. you may decide to surge and shoot them again if it doesn't go particularly well. Or surge to kick him in the face.