Avenger Assembled

Late July 2011 The Lab As secret as the arrival of Entity 31966 had been kept, the fact that the Lab crew had made the initial discovery and that their ranks held some of the finest scientists in the world meant that they were in a position to both know what was coming and have something to do about it. Harrier felt uneasy as he sat in the big conference room with Miss Americana waiting for the others to arrive: for all that his experience with Terminus technology gave him insights unmatched even by Earthly scientists, he was no Earthly technician to know how to build a solution for this crisis: the Terminus solution, to evacuate valuable assets from the threatened world and leave poisons in their place, was hardly viable for an inhabited planet. Instead he studied the yellow legal pad before him, making tentative notes with the white blue-inked pen in his hand, and nervously awaited the others. "I am sure you will solve this," he said to Miss Americana. Fresh from his now-frequent visits to Antarctica, Murdock looked tired. "The heroes of this dimension are extremely capable."

Continued from >There Won't Be A Next Time June 1st, 2011. 8:05 AM Young Freedom missed graduation, but then again, so did everyone else. The ceremony had been postponed the minute the five young heroes had disappeared from view, for all that they'd reappeared only five minutes later on the other side of town with the broken chestplate of Omega's armor and a wild story to tell. There were debriefings to come, no doubt extensive ones that would exhaustively pour over every detail of the fight at the end of reality and all that had come before it: the death of the multiverse, the trip to four worlds, the appearance and disappearance of Rick Lucas, and finally the seeming destruction of the Lord of Entropy himself. But first, Bolt's speedy trip back to Freedom Hall after the reappearance of Travis, Martha, and Erin's cat on the Claremont lawn had meant the League teleporters were already working. By the time the Young Freedom kids had given their hasty explanations to the startled Captain Thunder and headed inside for their debriefing, their missing loved ones, even Quo-Dis who was holding a very familiar orange cat, were waiting for them inside. For their part, Mark and Martha took a look at each other, Mark's look confirming what Martha had already known, and they simply embraced, the moment too sharp, too painful, coming after too much overwhelming emotion even for weeping. "I'm proud of you, Mark," Martha whispered fiercely. "So very proud."

Preliminary thoughts: Lab/League: Dark Star, Supercape, Dragonfly, Doc Interceptors: Geckoman?, Fulcrum? Willow [doin' stuff], Ferros? (GMed by Doc!) Parkhurst: Rene, Equinox?, Dead Head, Revenant?, Cheshire?, Nick Claremont (Neo-Gen): Glowstar, Arcturus, Wisp, Jeena, Changeling, Lucid (Raveled GMing?) Claremont (Young Freedom 2.0): Torque, Sage, Cobalt Templar, Protectron Miscellaneous (Sanctuary?): Vanguard, Silhouette? (Cyroa: GMing?) The Moon (with a death ray!): Gossamer, Ironclad, Blueshift

Atomizer PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 20 pp STR 10 (+0) DEX 10 (+3) CON 16 (+3) INT 14 (+2) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 16 (+3) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Ranged/+12 Molecular Powers) DEF: +12 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +0 Grapple: +6 Saves: 16 pp TOU +8 (+3 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +7 (+3 Con, +4) REF +6 (+0 Ref, +6) WILL +8 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 48 r=12 pp Bluff 7 (+10) Craft (Chemical) 4 (+6) Craft (Structural) 4 (+6) Diplomacy 7 (+10) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 8 (+10) Languages 2 (French, Swahili) (Base: English) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 16 pp Attack Focus (Ranged) 4 Dodge Focus 6, Evasion, Luck, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Quick Change, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 62 pp Flight 2 (25 MPH) [4 pp] Molecular Array [51+2=53 pp] Create Object 10 (Extras: Duration [Continous], Moveable) (PFs: Innate, Precise, Progression 7, Selective, Subtle) AP: Disintegration 8 (Extra: Penetrating [4 on Damage and Drain]) (PFs: Accurate, Precise, Reversible) AP: Transform 8 (250 lbs; any inanimate to any inanimate) (Extras: Duration [Continuous], Range [Ranged]) (PFs: Accurate, Innate, Precise) Protection 5 [5 pp] costs abilities 20 + combat 24 + saves 16 + skills 12/48 + feats 16 + powers 62 = 150 pts ----- Design Notes: Here's a build for Atom Eve, a heroine of the Invincible universe and lover of the titular character. Eve is a really, really powerful character, and I've had to dial her bells and whistles down a bit for this build. My idea is that her various frills that she's demonstrated over the years, especially in the wake of Conquest's attack on Earth, are a product of PP she's accumulated in play. This is a build for Atom Eve as she appears in the first few issues of the series, a teen heroine and good friend of Mark Grayson, not quite prepared for all the bad things that are going to come her way. (But then, no one there really is.) She's a very powerful blaster, flying around on reinforced air, and blasting her enemies with powerful molecular effects that can do tremendous damage: that Penetrating Disintegration is a very powerful ability. Her signature powers are her abilities as a transformer, so I've kept them but at a level more manageable for your average PC. Outside of her powers, she's very pretty and a good scientist, as fits her comic book background. Her Create Object is very very powerful, given the tremendous power she has in her array: she can make just about anything and make it of tremendous size too. I didn't give her Impervious, I think Impervious Selective Create Object is just too powerful and makes it too easy to effectively break caps. Additionally, since the character has spent some years working for charitable organizations in the Third World, Impervious is a doubly-bad power for her since she's been making food and such: giving a sandwich with Impervious 10 to starving people is just about as mean as it is possible to be. Remember, if you have an extra on a power, you always have to use it! Her Quick Change represents turning whatever clothes she's wearing into her favored costume: this has led to her being drawn sometimes as a really blatant recolored nude, so I've gone with a slightly more attractive look for her. This sheet is fun because the character is deceptively powerful: she probably pulls her punches a lot when dealing with mundane opponents, and it's only when the chips are down and the world is in danger that she Power Attacks the world conquerors and leaves them down for the count. She could use some super-senses if you want to upgrade her abilities: perhaps some Analytical Vision or Microscopic Vision to interpret the molecular structures she's rearranging: as it is, her abilities there are largely instinctive despite her formidable scientific training. She'd fit in just fine in our game, perhaps a scientist who's gained superpowers and is ready to take back the day!

Immortal Paragon PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 56 pp STR 30 (+10) DEX 14 (+2) CON 30 (+10) INT 14 (+2) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Melee) DEF: +10 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +2 Grapple: +21/max +26 Saves: 10 pp TOU +10 (+10 Con) FORT +10 (+10 Con) REF +6 (+2 Dex, +4) WILL +8 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 60 pp=15 r Bluff 8 (+10) Diplomacy 8 (+10) Intimidate 8 (+10) Knowledge (History) 15 (+17) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 13 (+15) Feats: 16 pp Attack Focus: Melee 4 Beginner's Luck Connected Dodge Focus 4 Eidetic Memory Jack-of-All-Trades Leadership Power Attack Takedown Attack Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 27 pp Comprehend 3 (speak, read, and understand all languages simultaneously) [6 pp] Healing 1 (Extra: Total) (Flaw: Personal) [2 pp] Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison) [3 pp] Immortal Power Reserve 8 (8 pp reserve; Flight [to Flight 4], Super-Strength [to Super- Strength 4], Healing [to Healing 4]) [9 pp] Flight 1 (10 MPH) [2 pp] Regeneration 1 (Resurrection 1/week) (PFs: Persistent, Regrowth) [3 pp] Super-Strength 1 (Heavy Load: 1.5 tons) [2 pp] costs abilities 55 + combat 24 + saves 10 + skills 15/60 + feats 16 + powers 27 = 150 pts ------ Design Notes: Here's my build for the Immortal, one of the premerie superheroes of the Invincible universe. He's something of an antagonist (if heroic one) for the main character, given his resentment towards Invincible for his father's actions: it was Omni-Man, after all, whose brutal actions first divided, then tore apart the first iteration of the Guardians of the Globe. The Immortal is something of a sympathetic enemy: he genuinely cares about the Earth and its people, but they're in a great crisis these days that he's just not powerful enough to stop. It weighs on him, as it would weigh on anyone. The Immortal is interesting on multiple levels: he's basically "What if Vandal Savage was Superman?", an immortal being who doesn't even recall his own birth (a complication for his Eidetic Memory) but who was around for uncounted centuries of life. He's died many times, each time re-emerging into a new life and new world. In addition to being the setting's Golden Age Superman, the Immortal also was its Abraham Lincoln! (He is thus among the cooler characters in almost any comic book setting.) This has led to him having a very cozy relationship with the Invincible-verse's American government; perhaps a little too close. I've tried to build him as an immortal, charismatic paragon with that philosophy: he flies around, pummeling bad guys with his fists, and can also eventually recover from almost any hazard: the idea is that when killed, he recovers after a week then shifts his Immortal Reserve to healing, instantly allowing him to recover from any and all injuries. He's a decently competent leader, enough that you can see why he's headed so many superteams in the past (and been elected to office) but he is going to be outshined by the real specialists. His lack of Impervious may seem like a problem, but it does fit the backstory of a man who took fatal injuries from gunshots to the back of the head. He's not quite powerful enough to toss Bi-Plane into orbit, but that was probably a power-stunt or a descriptor for an unarmed strike that finished him. Flying immortal Abraham Lincoln would make a perfectly fine PC for just about any game: get on that! Obviously, if you're playing him for this site, you'll need to make sure you can play the character with gusto. It's not easy! If you don't like the idea of playing the Eternal Emancipator, there are plenty of historical figures this guy could be that strike your fancy. Just make sure he wasn't one of those that was secretly a jerk! You will need a long backstory for this sort of character, of course. Take a page from the Immortal and make sure he's not public about who he used to be either, keep it something the character reflects on silently rather than broadcasts everywhere...

On the other side of the rift, father and son worked together as they never had before, Rick sealing dimensional portals as fast as Mark could blast the Omegadrones coming through. But there were so many of them, coming faster and faster, the sky itself looking seamed and patched even under the influence of his father's fantastic power. "There must be millions of them!" Mark called, shouting over the howling in the air as the ground beneath his feet vibrated intermittently as millions of tons of earth settled into the pit dug by the Doom Coil behind them. "All this to try and break into Earth-Prime?" Those were the worst breaches of all, blinking open wormholes that could have led anywhere on Earth and let in thousands of drones, and those the two of them closed together as fast as they could manage. "This is the closest dimension to Earth-Prime right now. If they get a foothold here, who knows how much damage they could do!? And it's not just that! They want to bring back the armor of Omega!" called Rick, the two of them standing next to that grimly empty sentinel now empty of cosmic radiation with Omega's dispersement. "Proof that he's gone for whatever Annihilists are controlling them now that he's dead!" Another breach opened, right in front of them, and for a second Mark could see his friends standing on the steps of Freedom Hall, waiting for them, before he slammed the portal shut before drones could pour through. "Whoever gets that armor will have the power to launch their own entropic crusade across the multiverse. There's only one thing to do." Father looked at son. "Pull this entire planet into the Zero Zone. All of it. Trap these drones here where they can't do any harm, and keep the Terminus from their trophy." Edge had never done anything like that, never even dreamed it: but at his father's words, he knew they could do it. It would mean more power than he'd ever thought possible, more power than he'd ever dreamed. "All right...all right, let's do it!" He took his father's hands and both men concentrated, ignoring the swarm for a crucial instant as their mutual power lashed across the face of the Earth: across the burning remains of Freedom City, across the gone-feral continents, across dead Dakana and smoldering Ultima Thule, over every remaining square inch of the battered world that had birthed Erin White and so much carnage and that now held the corpses of so many monsters alongside so many innocents. Mark pushed as he'd never pushed before, ignoring the blasts of entropic energy all around him, and with a mighty heave of creation itself, the two men _pushed_ and reality itself gave way, Earth-EZO1 tumbling out of its orbit, the sky turning white overhead in a flash, the earth beneath them flowing and waving like the sea, buildings tumbling in an ocean of destruction that luckily never touched Rick and Mark. The portals slammed shut, on both sides, and for a moment there was no connection to Earth-Prime at all. "Mark. Mark." Rick opened his eyes, the sky above them now the fuzzy white of the Zero Zone as an orphaned planet tumbled free in its new home, only the mutual power of the Lucas men giving them an island of sanity as Terminus-poisoned Freedom City was drowned by the cleansing waters of the sea. "You know what you have to do, Mark. Someone has to stay here and keep this world in the Zone, so Omega can't use it again. It's all right. I'm not running anymore. This is where it ends." Mark nodded, accepting his father's words before he'd even spoken them. He was just so tired, and he just wanted to go home. This world was dying, but he didn't have to. No one else had to die, save a man who'd chosen to follow a dying world to its destiny so no one else could meet the same fate. "...friends to the end, Dad. Friends to the end." And together, they tore open one last portal to Earth-Prime and Mark hurled himself through as the ground beneath him gave way... --- On the other side, mere seconds after the portal to Earth-EZO1 closed, Edge appeared in a flash of light to stagger and nearly fall on the steps of Freedom Hall, clutching his friends for support. He was cold, and tired, but the world was saved, and they'd won, and that was all that mattered. "We did it...we did it. We threw that Earth where it couldn't threaten ours anymore, and he stayed to make sure the Terminus couldn't come back..." An instant later, just behind Mark, in one last flash of light, a huge black shape came crashing down to crack the steps behind them. Only the teen heroes, standing with their bodies blocking the shard from view of the street, could see what it was: the chest plane of Omega's armor, big as the front end of a small car, with the now-dead symbol of the Terminus still in the middle. And alongside that, the fist-sized hole where someone had done her best to tear out Omega's heart.

Downsizer PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 30 pp STR 22 (+6) DEX 14 (+2) CON 20 (+5) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 28 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Melee/+14 Unarmed) DEF: +12 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +6 Grapple: +16 Saves: 10 pp TOU +8 (+5 Con, +3 Protection) FORT +7 (+5 Con, +2) REF +6 (+2 Dex, +4) WILL +7 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 16 pp=64 pp Bluff 5 (+5) Concentration 8 (+10) Craft (Mechanical) 10 (+10) Disable Device 10 (+10) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 10 (+10) Knowledge (Streetwise) 5 (+5) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 14 pp Attack Focus: Melee 4 Attack Specialization: Unarmed 2, Dodge Focus 4, Evasion, Power Attack, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 52 pp Gadgets 1 (Hard to Lose) (Flaw: Action [Full] to Reallocate) [6 pp] Protection 3 [3 pp] Shrinking Array [42+1=43 pp] Concealment 10 (all senses) (PF: Close Range) and Insubstantial 4 (tiny) (PF: Subtle) AP: Dimensional Pocket 10 (50000 lbs) (Extras: Duration [sustained]) (PFs: Progression 2 (1mk)) costs abilities 30 + combat 28 + saves 10 + skills 16/64 + feats 14 + powers 52 = 150 pts --------- Design Notes: Okay, here's my take on a barely-hinted at Freedom City character: Dr. Raymond Smalley, the villainous Downsizer! What I've basically done is model him as per Hank Pym's short-lived career as a non-costumed adventurer in the 1990s. The idea is that he can shrink down anything he touches and carry it away in his pockets, or whip out any weapon he needs that he's shrunk down for just this occasion. The picture of this character (who is not described much or statted at all in any book, though he is referred to) is of Michael Douglas, circa Falling Down. Given the name and the era in which he was active, it seemed appropriate: I've gone with the idea that Smalley was a super-technician somewhere in Freedom City who took a firing in the early 1990s quite badly and went on a rampage of shrinking down and stealing whatever crossed his path. He's not terribly smart or likeable, which is probably why he lost that job in the first place: too bad he'd already discovered Smalley particles and decided to put them to good use! He's something of a thug, too, just barely meeting his caps with his fists and posing a surprise to heroes who may expect that a mad scientist would actually be a threat in hand-to-hand combat. Still, if at all possible, he's much better off fighting with his powers than he is with a good right cross. Why did I build him this way? Because Attack Shrinking is a book-keeping nightmare and I wanted to give a character with that kind of power a chance: the idea is that his Concealment and Insubstantial represents shrinking himself, while his Dimensional Pocket represents shrinking enemies or priceless jewels and sticking them in his pocket for later use. (Hopefully he's got a lining in there, so people don't try and slip out between the fibers!) A Sustained Dimensional Pocket at PL is a powerful effect, but heroes with HP should be able to make it out just fine. Similarly, if you're using him as a heroic PC, high-level bad guys should be able to get out too, assuming you're not afraid to give him an HP for Fiating. His powers do require some careful watching; i.e, that he doesn't one-hit powerful bad guys with his Dimensional Pocket, or that his Concealment fails vs. characters with Microscopic Vision (as it really should.) If you want to make a more straightforward shrinky guy, go ahead and use one of my many shrinking builds like the Tiny Titan on this very thread: I wanted to see if I could put a new spin on that power for this guy, though. I could see this as a build for Smalley himself on the loose again. 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?) It could also make a fine Downsizer legacy if you want to keep Smalley in prison as a potential hazard, the dad who you only see on visiting day and whose stupid powers you inherited!

Players Name: Angrydurf Power Level: 19 325pp/325pp Trade-Offs: -5 Attack for +5 Damage, -5 Defense for +5 Toughness Unspent PP: 0 Characters Name: Omega Lord of the Terminus Alternate Identity: none rebuild of Omega Lord of the Terminus See FC pp 214 for background etc. Stats: 114pp Str: 58 (+24) Dex: 10 (+0) Con: 50 (+20) Int: 18 (+4) Wis: 20 (+5) Cha: 18 (+4) Combat: 12+28=40pp Attack: +6 (+14 Melee, +14 Terminus Blast, +20 Disintegration) Grapple: +43 (+49 with full SS from Armor of Omega) Defense: +14 (+7 flat-footed) Knockback: -19 Initiative: +4 Saves: 22pp Toughness: +24 (14 Impervious) (+20 Con, +4 Armor of Omega{Weak Point}) Fortitude: +20 (+20 Con) Reflex: +7 (+0 Dex, +7) Will: +20 (+5 Wis, +15) Skills: 72r = 18pp Bluff 8 (+12) Intimidate 24 (+28) Knowledge(Tactics) 8 (+12) Knowledge(Technology) 8 (+12) Notice 11 (+15) Sense Motive 13 (+17) Feats: 12pp Attack Focus: Melee 8 Fearless Improved Initiative Power Attack Takedown Attack Powers: 124pp Array 29 (Cosmic Energy Control/Cosmic; 58pp/AP; PFs: Alternate Power 5) [63] BE: Damage 24 (Terminus Blast; Extras: Range: Ranged; Power Feats: Accurate 4, Homing 4, Ricochet, Split Attack) AP: Damage 19 (Terminus Eruption; Extras: Area: General (Burst) (190' Radius), Selective; Power Feats: Progression 1) AP: Dazzle 19 (Terminus Flare; Visual; Extras: Area: General (Burst) (190' Radius); Power Feats: Progression 1) AP: Disintegration 10 (Entropic Decay; Power Feats: Accurate 7, Precise) AP: Transform 9 (Shape Matter; Inanimate material to inanimate material; 5,000lbs; Extras: Range: Perception; Power Feats: Precise, Progression 3) AP: Teleport 12 (Rend Space; Extras: Accurate, Portal +2; Flaws: Long Range; Power Feats: Change Velocity, Easy, Progression 8) Device 8 (Armor of Omega; Flaws: Hard To Lose; PFs: Restricted 2; Drawbacks: Weak Point -1) [33] Immunity 12 (Lord of the Terminus/Cosmic; Aging, Life Support 9, Starvation/Thirst, Sleep) [12] Super Senses 6 (Cosmic Senses; Cosmic awareness, Accurate 2, Ranged, Radius, Extended {100' increment}) [6] Super Strength 5 [10] Drawbacks: -5pp Weakness -1 all Attributes per minute. When Armor is Breached By Critical hits. (Moderate, Uncommon) [-5] DC Block: ATTACKS: SAVE DC: DAMAGE TYPE: (Name of Attack) (Save DC/Type) (Type of Damage: Bruise/Injury, or other) Unarmed ---------- 39/Toughness ------------------ Damage Terminus Blast ---- 39/Toughness ------------------ Damage Terminus Eruption - 34/Toughness ------------------ Damage Terminus Flare ---- 29/Reflex ----------------------- Dazzle Entropic Decay --- 20/Fortitude then 25/Toughness - Drain toughness then Damage Shape Matter ----- 19/Toughness ------------------- Transform Costs: Abilities (114) + Combat (40) + Saves (22) + Skills (18) + Feats (12) + Powers (124) - Drawbacks (5) = 325pp

Djinn Abilities: 22 pp STR 10 (+0) DEX 10 (+0) CON 24 (+7) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 16 pp ATK: +4 (+5 Ranged) DEF: +5 (+2 flat-footed) Init: +4 Grapple: +4/+20 Saves: 13 pp TOU +15 (+7 Con, +8 Protection) FORT +7 (+7 Con) REF +5 (+0 Ref, +5) WILL +10 (+2 Wis, +8) Skills: 13 pp=52 r Bluff 8 (+10) Concentration 8 (+10) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 5 (+5) Knowledge (History) 5 (+5) Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 10 (+10) Languages 4 (Arabic, Hebrew, Mandarin, Persian) (Base: English) Notice 4 (+6) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 11 pp All-Out Attack Attack Focus: Ranged Dodge Focus Fearless Improved Initiative Luck 2 Move-By Action Power Attack Precise Shot Uncanny Dodge (mental) Powers: 77 pp Flight 3 (50 MPH) [6 pp] Genie Magic Array [35+5=40 pp] Blast 15 (PFs: Improved Crit 2, Precise, Variable Descriptor 2 [any magic]) AP: Create Object 10 (Extra: Continuous) (PFs: Innate, Precise, Progression 2 (10 25 ft cubes) Subtle) AP: Illusion 10 (visual and auditory) (PFs: Precise, Progression 4 (100 by 100 ft cubes) AP: Move Object 15 (Heavy Load: 180 tons) (PFs: Improved Crit 2, Precise, Variable Descriptor 2 [any magic]) AP: Teleport 9 (anywhere on Earth) (Extra: Accurate) (PFs: Easy, Progression 6 [10k lbs], Turnabout) AP: Transform 7 (500 lbs; inanimate to inanimate) (Extra: Duration [Continuous]) (Flaw: Action [Full]) Immunity 8 (aging, cold, disease, poison, sleep, starvation and thirst, suffocation) [8 pp] Insubstantial 2 (gaseous form) (Extra: Continuous) (PF: Innate) [13 pp] Protection 8 [8 pp] Super-Senses 2 (Darkvision) [2 pp] costs abilities 22+ combat 16 + saves 13 + skills 13/52 + feats 9 + powers 77 = 150 pts ---------- Design Notes: But suppose you want to play the genie alone? In that case, this build, inspired by the genie of the ring in the original Aladdin story as well as Ecal's genie build in his own thread, should give you an interesting sheet to play with. Djinn are doughty spirits of Arabic mythic lore, incorporated into the Islamic tradition rather than rejected as a demon like their animistic counterparts in the West: djinn are creations of Allah separate from humanity, and just as Muslim as any other civilized folks. While not actually invulnerable, his massive tradeoffs, immunities, and Insubstantial 2 would have made him damn near look that way in an Arabian Nights setting where only the most powerful mystics could have fought him on anything like even terms. His Strength and Dex may seem a little low but with the ability to summon mighty whirlwinds and fly, he's not going to lack for physical power or mobility. On that subject, though, his terrible Reflex save and lack of Evasion means that an Affects Insubstantial Snare or some other magical binding is going to be super-effective on keeping him sealed away in a ring or lamp or what have you for however long you need him there. No three wishes, of course, those are just about the very definition of plot devices! Perhaps that sort of power is reserved for genies bound to a master, or was the power that genies had in the ancient days of magic before cold logic and reason came to the sands of the desert and man's interest in the wastes of old became what could be pumped from beneath them. I could see this build work just fine as a fresh-out-of-the-bottle genie; with his skills and feats he could have come from just about any era where they're important. (He's got the Mandarin Chinese, by the way, as a nod to the original setting of the Aladdin story. Note, however, that the story itself is Arab, it seems to have gotten a Chinese setting to add to the exoticism of it all and showcase the power of the djinn in the story.) This could also make a build for a mutant with a genie theme easily enough, perhaps a native hero of the Middle East. Or perhaps both, and he's something of a Muslim Captain Marvel, calling on the ancient power of the djinn to battle injustice in his homeland. If you do give him a mortal identity, I do encourage you to keep him Arab or in some other way derived from the Islamic cultural world: while Cultural Appropriation Lad is a very common archetype in comics, it's not really a good sort of character to play around here. A devout Muslim hero is a good source for complications in these modern times, and no harder to play than any other member of a minority. You might get even more HP for it in a more Iron Age game where real-world concerns are going to be more common, but I think you could still get a lot of use out of them depending on how you play it. Note that devout Muslim doesn't have to mean fanatic, of course, especially if you take a page from my own portrayal of Heyzel and suggest that those with a more personal relationship with divine magic have a very different take on terrestrial religions...

The energy chasing Sage evaporated as Midnight struck Omega mortally. The rods bit deep, so deep, burying themselves into Omega's torso like bullets into a man's flesh. About to crush Wander between his two outstretched hands, he gave a startled roar like a gored bull and reached for himself to find the rods too deep to remove: with his armor gone, the rods were buried in his body and visibly absorbing the energy of all that he was, all that he had been. He howled in mortal agony as the cosmic energy that was his flesh and blood filled the rods inside him, their glow building to supernatural incandescence that burned and sizzled the flesh of the Lord of the Terminus even as he seemed to deflate before their eyes. Clutching at his chest, Omega howled to the heavens. "NO! THIS CANNOT BE! I AM THE KNIGHT OF ENTROPY! I AM THE LORD OF THE TERMINUS! I AM O-" And then, with a blinding roar and hellish white flame, the rods inside Omega ignited and the lord of the Terminus combusted to ash before the eyes of Young Freedom. Omega was dead, leaving a brilliant white glow where he'd stood that began to resolve into a window: a window to a Freedom Hall that stood intact and proud and very much alive! But the battle was by no means over: overhead, reality itself burned as entropy died, portals like the one that had summoned Omega and his drones tearing the sky open like paper burning in a fire; drones upon drones pouring out in a black wave like a horde of infinite locusts. Winds howled and the air screamed, and for a moment. the world was as a corpse overrun by maggots. And suddenly, from behind them, came an all-too-familiar voice. "You need to get your people out of this dimension right now!" barked Rick Lucas, his greying hair wild against the winds. "All of you, through the gateway to Earth-Prime! Mark and I can move through dimensions on our own," he said, clapping his son on the arm. "We can close the portals from this side and keep them from overrunning Earth-Prime, then join you! Are you with me, son?" "I'm with you," agreed Edge, the adrenaline of the moment making Omega's death Omega's death!!! something too spectacular to be dealt with just then. They'd deal with it later, when they were safe, when all this was over. "I can do this!" he told the others with reassurance. "It's what all this power is for! I'll be fine!"

Uses-style Unreliable is not a good flaw for a Variable Power. Distracting is not a good flaw for a microscope, since you are basically never going to be attacked while using it. It's not that great for the binoculars, really: there's no need to spam flaws on what's already a good power. Reinforced Duct Tape: The game is not that cartoony. Similarly, comic book characters typically don't find medipaks and regenerate. (The sort of character who runs around injecting himself with metabolic boosters is typically named 'Juicer' and gets beaten up by Spiderman in a free anti-drug comic they give away in schools). Regeneration should not be coming from a Variable Power anyway. If you want a healing effect (and your descriptors can justify it), use the Healing power.

Midnight just killed Omega Go ahead and post IC, Giz.

Holy cow, that actually worked! Okay, so Omega is injured x3, staggered, and nude. Midnight is up.

Mystic Ally PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 12 pp STR 10 (+0) DEX 14 (+2) CON 14 (+2) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Genie Magic) DEF: +10 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +2 Grapple: +6/+20 w/TK Saves: 15 pp TOU +10 (+2 Con, +8 Protection) FORT +7 (+2 Con, +5) REF +7 (+2 Dex, +5) WILL +7 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 10 pp=40 r Diplomacy 10 (+10) Gather Information 8 (+8) Languages 2 (Arabic, Ancient Egyptian) (Base: English) Knowledge: Arcane Lore 10 (+10) Knowledge: History 5 (+5) Knowledge: Pop Culture 5 (+5) Knowledge: Theology and Philosophy 10 (+10) Notice 5 (+7/+17) Sense Motive 5 (+7/+17) Feats: 10 pp Fearless Luck 3 Move-By Action Precise Shot Power Attack Ultimate Save (Will) Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Well-Informed Powers: 78 pp Container 13 (Extra: Continuous) (Genie) [78 pp] Enhanced Skills 40 (Knowledge: Arcane Lore 10, Knowledge: Theology and Philosophy 10, Notice 10, Sense Motive 10) [10] Flight 2 (25 MPH) [4] Immunity 9 (Life Support) [9] Magic Array [24+6=30] Blast 10 (PFs: Accurate 2, Improved Crit 2) 'fireballs' AP: Create Object 7 (Extra: Continuous) (PFs: Innate, Precise, Subtle) 'something from nothing' AP: Damage 10 (Extra: Targeted Area [shapeable]) (PFs: Accurate 2, Reverse Progression on Area 2) 'lightning bolts' AP: ESP 6 (20 miles) (visual and auditory) (PFs: Rapidx5 (100k), Subtle) 'searching the city' AP: Move Object 10 (Heavy Load: 12 tons) (PFs: Accurate 2, Precise, Split Attack) 'whirlwinds' AP: Teleport 6 (600 ft/20 miles) (Extra: Accurate) (PFs: Change Velocity, Easy, Progression 3 [1000 lbs], Turnabout) 'mystic passage' AP: Transform 4 (50 lbs) (inanimate to inanimate) (Extra: Duration [Continuous]) (PFs: Extended Reach, Innate, Precise, Subtle) 'shaping the world' Protection 8 [8] 'empowerment' Shield 4 [4] 'interposing' cost abilities 12 + combat 24 + saves 15 + skills 10/40 + feats 10 + powers 78 = 150 pts ---- Design Notes: Here’s my take on the Mystic Ally archetype from Hero High, whose famous comic book examples are Johnny Thunder from the Golden Age and Jakeem Thunder from the present day. (I’m a big fan of this archetype, as you can see from how I play Edge). The idea is that this character, otherwise an ordinary person, can speak a magic word and summon a powerful genie! At his command, the genie can fly him around, blast his enemies, interpose for him in battle, search the city in a flash, or perform many other amazing magical feats. (Sure, he's undercaps with his Transform: it's not an in-combat power!) The genie is also smarter and more observant than he is, able to keep an eye out in bad situations or inform him on magical matters of which he is mostly ignorant. Rather than use the complicated Summon technique, I’ve just gone ahead and given the Ally a Continuous container accessible via a magic word: this lets him keep some abilities going even while sleeping or unconscious, but at a price: his genie doesn’t relate to our world very well and can’t veer from his orders, so if his master goes to sleep suddenly he’ll have some serious issues! He definitely needs his genie to meet his combat caps. While he’s not a bystander without him, he’s in pretty serious jeopardy without him. He’s got decent saves on his own, though, particularly his Will: perhaps that’s what he needs to be the master of a powerful genie! To play this character, you have to be willing to look a little goofy: flying around while being carried, issuing commands to your buddy to blast the bad guys, but that’s part and parcel of life in the comics! This character is generally defined with being not that worldly, but he’s Fearless and he’s got Ultimate Will, so he has a lion’s heart despite his lamb’s head. He’s got Luck maxed for his PL to reflect his flexibility, since his genie should be able to do just about anything if it occurs to him to do it. He’s very much an ordinary person, or at least not a super-person, in the middle of spectacular cosmic situations. The genie’s powers are a bit generic since his buddy isn’t that imaginative: you could tweak that however you want. A lot of genies we’ve met in the Freedom City universe have Luck Control, so if you think you can afford that, go right ahead! I’ve gone with the idea that this is just a college student or window washer with access to tremendous power, but you could tweak the skills a bit: perhaps this is a military officer who became custody of a lovely genie after a launch into space! He’s got OK Diplomacy so he’s a basically personable guy, but one natural way to make him all the more valuable to his team is to kick his Charisma way up and buy him lots of Inspire so he can be the cheerleader and good luck charm that his team deserves. This is a natural for a Golden Age campaign, but I think it works equally well in a Hero High setting these days. Or it could easily be a normal adult hero. You could save some points if you made the Container Sustained, perhaps with the idea that his genie buddy has to go back to his magical or fifth dimensional home when his friend isn’t conscious: that part’s a little tough, though! I went with not having access to his container as a complication, it’s sufficiently an impediment to him that he’d rather have an HP when he can’t use it than some points at character creation. If you don’t want that, though, another way to do it would be a variety of drawbacks, ranging from a Normal ID drawback to a smaller power loss drawback. Personally, I’d be more inclined to go with the first: I’m not a big fan of lots of uses of Power Loss, I think it has the potential to look ugly on the sheet and be a little too points-shaving. Some mechanical stuff would be to give a Limited Concealment so people are tempted to shoot the (effectively invincible) genie, but as it is all of his opponents are canny enough to blast Aladdin rather than the genie. So all in all, this is a good solid character that could fill a lot of niches in your campaign, whatever setting you happen to use. Don’t be afraid to improvise!

Edge takes an HP for the Fiat. CT is up.

"I...what?!" Omega looked down at the tremendous gash in his armor and clapped his armored hands against it with what looked like genuine surprise on his face. "NO!" Energy erupted from his eyes, his hands, his mouth, and especially that great gaping gap in his chest as everything about him seemed to dissolve! His armor exploded outward in a fiery eruption that scorched all around, the cinders and ashes of the sparking Terminus steel blasting everywhere. Beneath the armor, the naked flesh of the monstrous lord of the Terminus was revealed. Sizzling translucent flesh lay over black and charred bones, Omega revealed as an naked animate skeleton with staring yellow eyes as he advanced on Wander with his fingers outstretched. "DESTROY HER!" he shouted at the drones behind him. "DESTROY THEM ALL!" The Lord of the Terminus was monumentally angry. The Lord of the Terminus was, for the first time in a very long time...afraid. At Omega's command, the Omegadrones resumed their bombardment of Wander, pouring punishing waves of cosmic energy around her. But this time, the stalwart sentinel of Freedom held up beneath the attack as she faced down the oncoming Lord of All Death with steel in her eye!

He actually made that Bluff check! Tou vs 46 27 OK, so she killed Omega in two hits. I'mma Fiat that! Omega is currently: Injured x2, Staggered, and his armor's going to fall off.

Edge uses his big Area Attack. The drone swarm is disrupted and stunned. Wander is up.

As Sage sprang into action, now wildly dodging the curving, twisting beams of energy that were cutting their way through the air above, their Furion companion did his own work. Having swooped aboard his bike, Red Falcon roared past the heroes in the air. Redbird was completely silent, even its lights dim, but the Furion himself shouted below, "Tell the story beneath the Silver Tree, my friends!" And with that, he vanished into the cloud of Omegadrones, bursting out the rear a moment later with a half-dozen clinging to him. Without hesitation, though, he plunged onward, and he plunged directly into the heart of the swirling matter stream! Red Falcon vanished in a flash, but that flash was enough: spreading like ripples through the coil, it seemed to attenunate the stream, and the rumbling and tremors beneath everyone's feet stopped. Even with the sky dark yet, the ground beneath their feet was again their ally. All they had to do now was defeat the Lord of the Terminus and a million of his finest warriors! Edge suppressed a gasp as Red Falcon vanished, distinctly hearing a familiar robotic voice from his backpack cry, "Noo!" even as the Furion's sacrifice burst out above them. Leaving the fight with Omega for a moment, trusting his allies to do their work there, he concentrated on the Omegadrones overhead and shouted "Burn with the good man that just died for you!" And sure enough, fire washed through the crowd overhead, Omegadrone after Omegadrone erupting as their internal parts suddenly heated to explosive temperatures!

Round 2: Wander: 25 (bruised, 6 HP) Red Falcon: 25 Edge: 20 (8 HP) Omegadrones: 15 Cobalt Templar: 11 (4 HP) Midnight: 9 (7 HP) Omega: 8 Sage: 7 (1 HP) Midnight's Master Plan is in effect, so everyone gets +3 on their skill checks and attack rolls this round. On Edge's turn, his Inspire will kick in, giving everyone +5 on all attack rolls, saving throws, and checks for the following round. Those things do stack!

"Foolish 'child'," spoke Omega as he advanced on the battered Wander, midnight mist boiling away around them as he glowed particularly brightly, his voice was the cold and furious promise of death made audible flesh and so much more. It was the screams of a million dying worlds; of Quo-Dis in flames, of Clarissa White as zombies tore her apart, the silent creak of an empty house and the promise of an old man's senility and death. "You and yours might have stood at my 'hand' as your world burned, sons and daughters of 'entropy' in my house. But now you are not worthy even for me to strike you down. Burn like the insignificant 'speck' you are," he pronounced, and he raised his hand. From his glowing palm came a blast of pure entropy that was to the Omegadrones' pikes as a nuclear bomb was to a match as he fired it directly at Wander!

Omega's going to go ahead and blast Wander. He shouldn't have any trouble clearing the use of midnight mist with a counter, but so he can get that done in a round, have an HP, Giz. He's got Power Attack, but he just won't bother to use it this round. 33 All right, Sage has declared her intention to Interpose. Her defense hits +41 this round, so he misses her...this time.

Edge Inspires! Forgot to mention that.

1 Million Omegadrones: ATK: +20 DMG: +22 DEF: +4 TOU: +23 They go ahead and blast Wander. A crit! Welp. Edge goes ahead and spends an HP to force a reroll. 27 OK, that'll be a DC 37 Tou save.

As the heroes engaged the Lord of the Terminus in hand-to-hand combat, Red Falcon took a step back and rapidly pressed a few buttons on his wrist computer, summoning his flying bike to his side. Moving with incredible speed and efficiency, the red-faced Furion slipped a cylindrical silver shape out of the bike and slipped it into Edge's knapsack a moment before that hero himself stepped forth to confront the monster that had lain at the center of so many nightmares. For a moment, Edge was at a loss for words. What did you say when you confronted the end of all things? Everything in him wanted to run to the depths of this dying universe, to flee space and time until he was a child in his mother's arms again. But there would be none of that here. There was only one place to go. He balled his hands into fists and did what he did best: he spoke from the heart, pouring fear and rage and power into his words as he called out, "This is it, Omega! We stopped your minions and we'll stop you. This isn't going to be like 1993 when the Centurion broke you and you ran. This time: you can't run anymore!" As Wander struck the Lord of the Terminus, he staggered back, his glowing yellow eyes widening in momentary surprise. His minions, though, had no such hesitation, and suddenly a sea of energy came roaring from the swarm over his head, blasting down on Wander like a fiery tide against a single lonely sentinel as it drove her back against the pavement beneath her feet, the very asphalt catching fire against just the reflection of the incredible bombardment she was taking. It was cold and hot at once, the burning touch of entropy eating away at body and soul as uniform charred away and the flesh beneath it heated and froze to burning!