Avenger Assembled

Fusion Power Attacks the wall. She inflicts a DC 30 Tou save. Assuming that doesn't break through, she'll surge and do it again. If it does break through, she'll step into the hole she made and hold it open with her mighty tentacles. Using the Bracing feat from her Super-Strength if required, or just a straight STR vs. STR to hold it open if you'd prefer.

Backstory: This is not the sort of backstory we like to see on new builds. Too many people have brought in characters that don't really fit the tone of the setting, then hung their entire roleplay on the things that work the least in Freedom City, thus increasing the work the Refs have to do once they're in play. This way, we can fix the problems before they start: "She benefited from someone else gaming the system, but she's too sheltered to realize it" is the sort of backstory that we prefer players with more credibility to have. You have to prove your characters can work within the system of the setting before you start playing characters who work outside it. AEGIS is like Silver-Bronze Age SHIELD in this setting, it's an agency of smart, talented patriots with a commitment to defending America. It's not really a place where obnoxious uncles pull strings on behalf of the undeserving, and where sleazy super-scientists get one over on the direction. It doesn't help that we already have a character with the concept "technologically empowered AEGIS super-agent", so the moral contrast between Victory, the disabled veteran turned super-agent, and Halberd, the littlest princess of privilege, is pretty sharp. This is a setting where superheroes are genuinely heroic. Character sheet: Use actual Mutants and Masterminds 2E notation for your sheet, please. You can get a look at that by looking at some of our sample sheets. I'd recommend Ecalsneerg's Battlesuit build for that, as he took pains to make sure he wrote the sheet accurately. She's over caps offensively; having +11 ATK with +10 DMG powers at PL 10. We prefer battlesuit characters to be less inept outside their suit; given how rarely battlesuits are taken away in this game, a character with hard-to-lose Device 21 is getting a massive discount for a flaw that's really not very likely to come up. I'd recommend dropping ranks of the grossly overpowered device to actually build up the character, though again you do need to actually use the correct notation for that. You've had a lot of trouble fitting in with your character concepts, I know, but you're not dead yet. This can still be salvaged.

After great and terrible battle below the surface, finally the vampire menace was defeated. Atlantis and Freedom City could both breathe easy that night now that the heroes of the surface had helped the armies undersea defeat the terrible power of Hydra and Dagon. The heroes had the thanks of a grateful Atlantis, not to mention a somewhat abashed Nereid, who looked completely recovered from her brush with vampirism. "I must need to spend more time in the sun," she said with a rueful laugh, embracing everyone after showing off the scar left behind by her bite. "You have the thanks of all Atlantis," said Theseus warmly, "and the gratitude of a king. My family and I are forever in your debt."

Across the way, Quo-Dis caught sight of what the two other teenagers were doing as she and Corbin approached. Yes! she exulted. I'm not the only one who wants to do that! She grabbed Corbin by the collar and pulled herself up to his level, planting a firm, passionate kiss on his lips. "You beautiful man," she told him when she was done, floating up to look him challengingly in the eye. "I'm glad we talked." She grinned. "So, do your morals include paying for a lady's gelato?"

Edge Inspires again. WAnder is up.

"Wow!" said Edge, the shocked exclamation pulled from his lips as Wander absorbed the fantastic blow from the huge beast without a scratch. "That was awesome, Wander! This may be the Beast of Kililmanjaro," he cheered, "but you're the Wreck Room Wrecking Ball! Show this bad boy how we do it Freedom City style!" he added, hanging on tight. "Hey, big boy!" he yelled at the monster, getting the Beast's attention as it glared at him. "I bet you're too slow, fat, and stupid to follow us! C'mon, you big baby, your fist can't hit what your eyes can't see!" Fully confident Wander would do what he was hinting at, he gave the Beast a big ol' raspberry.

The heroes went everywhere that night: literally! Passing through thick fluffy Christmas clouds, they journeyed to the homes of children near and far to distribute toys. Here was a village in Africa where Santa's sleigh had books and food from international relief agencies for the children; there was a quiet suburban home in Cleveland that wound up with a gigantic stuffed bear that required Dragonfly and Jill to help Santa muscle it down the chimney for the children, and hundreds more. In Freedom City, they found themselves in some very familiar homes indeed, but Christmas cheer made sure they all hustled before anyone found themselves knowing too much about a secret ID. They even took a trip to the dark side of the Moon, handing out Spacemas goodies to the Farsider children! It was a good night. There were cookies and milk, ham sandwiches and 7-UP, rum and Cokes, and various other goodies to be shared that kept everyone well-fed through a trip that might have taken forever, but at the same time might have been just a few minutes. Finally, when the long, glorious Christmas night was over, the sleigh turned and headed for home, returning to polar skies with a shower of light as they came in for a smooth, perfect landing before the workshop as the elves all cheered "Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Three cheers for the heroes of Freedom City!" In their tiny voices, they all celebrated, as did the big man himself.

"I AM CARADOC!" boomed Harrier, wincing inwardly at what sounded to his ears like a clumsy lie. Miss Americana had instructed him in the ways of deceiving a crowd, but he was by no means anything like a specialist. _The less said, the better,_ he reminded himself, her words in his ears. But he had to say something, otherwise how would anyone know who he was? Lies were difficult things. "And to answer your question, I am both. And neither." There, that sounded mysterious enough. He relaxed a little, sheathing his 'sword' as the other heroes arrived, particularly relieved to see Miss Americana there. The rest he didn't know, but with his holographic disguise, he didn't need to fear! "I do not recognize your manufacture, Protectron. Are you native to this planet?"

Vatican Hero PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 24 pp STR 14 (+2) DEX 14 (+2) CON 16 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 18 (+4) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 28 pp ATK: +6 DEF: +12 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +6 Grapple: +8 Saves: 11 pp TOU +8 (+3 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +6 (+3 Con, +3) REF +6 (+2 Dex, +4) WILL +8 (+4 Wis, +4) Skills: 15 pp=60 r Bluff 4 (+5) Concentration 4 (+8) Diplomacy 12 (+13) Investigate 4 (+4) Intimidate 4 (+5) Knowledge: Current Events 6 (+6) Knowledge: Theology and Philosophy 8 (+8) Languages 2 (English, Latin) (Base: Italian) Search 4 (+4) Sense Motive 12 (+16) Feats: 10 pp Dodge Focus 4, Improved Initiative, Luck, Second Chance (Mind Control checks), Trance, Ultimate Save (Will), Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 62 pp Flight 3 (50 MPH) [6 pp] Immunity 1 (own powers) [1 pp] Protection 5 [5 pp] Voice Array [42+5=47 pp] Mind Control 10 (Extras: Conscious, Duration [sustained], Effortless) (Flaw: Sense-Dependent [auditory]) (PFs: Insidious, Subtle) 'Do what I say' AP: Damage 10 (Extras: Alt. Save [Will], Duration [Concentration], Range [Perception]) (Flaw: Sense-Dependent [auditory]) (PFs: Variable Descriptor 2 [any powers]) 'Punch yourself in the face' AP: Emotion Control 10 (Extras: Area [burst], Duration [Continuous], Selective Attack) (Flaw: Sense-Dependent [auditory]) (PFs: Insidious, Subtle) 'Love thy neighbor as thyself' AP: Mind Control 10 (Extras: Area [burst], Action [Move/Free], Selective) (Flaw: Sense-Dependent [auditory]) (PFs: Insidious, Subtle) 'Hearken to the Word' AP: Stun 10 (Extras: Area [burst], Range [Perception] (+2), Selective Attack) (Flaws: Action [Full] Sense-Dependent [auditory]) (PFs: Sedation, Subtle) 'Take a nap' costs abilities 24 + combat 28 + saves 11 + skills 15/60 + feats 10 + powers 62 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: This is a build for a mentalist specializing in mind control, in particular in using his voice to manipulate and alter the will of others. He’s a very powerful character, balanced by the fact that a good set of earplugs, or just robots, will make him pretty darn powerless if you’re sending them in to beat him up. Drawing on established comic book characters, I’ve built this guy with the assumption that he’s a Catholic priest-turned-superhero: perhaps the first superhero of Vatican City? He’s a good-hearted, noble champion of justice and a good man, balancing the temptations of fantastic, terribly tempting powers with his own moral code. (The picture is of the former Fr. Alberto Cutie, a Miami priest who had some troubles of his own recently reconciling his moral code with the strictures of his oaths). It’s tempting to say that clerical characters are off-limits in a game like this, but as long as you’re not trying to convert anyone, you’re fine. The smart player will play a character who prefers to set a positive moral example, one who prefers to show (by being a paragon of moral righteousness) rather than telling (by telling people long boring stories about theology). If you do want to play with some of the real-world issues raised by characters like this...well, be careful. People may buy comic books where Garth Ennis edgily tells off those naughty figures of monotheism, but no one wants to hear your issues with organized religion on our site. So why play a character like this? For the challenge of playing within the complications, of course, you’re bound by a stiff moral code and operating within the confines of a strong hiearchy. On the other hand, though, the power and influence that you have as a superhero means that you can change what you don’t like about the system for the better. Mix it up a little if you want to have him be from a different unpopular organization, naturally. If you want to play a different kind of Vatican superhero, you could always make a martial artist who just happens to be an Irish priest...

Add the following device to Harrier: Device 1 (Holographic Disguise Unit) (Hard to Lose) [4 pp] -Morph 10 (Caradoc) (+50 Disguise) (Flaw: Vs. Normal Vision Only) Additionally +2 STR [2 pp] +2 CON [2 pp] Doktor'd! (well, Gina'd, really)

Murdock had debated the relative morality of using his new holographic disguise for days through Christmas. Was it truly morally proper to hide his true nature from the people of Freedom City? He was actually thinking about it on the morning of the first as he sat in his apartment, windows open to allow the freezing blast of the outside to keep his overheated set of rooms livable. When he heard screaming in the street, though, as little kids ran down the street yelling "Aaah! It's a robot!" the former Omegadrone realized that his moral dilemmas were nothing before the need to save the day! Snatching up his pike and activating armor and hologram both, he flew out the window in a roar of mystic energy! He and Miss Americana had eventually figured out how to disguise his flightpack through a knight's armor: a 'dragonshead' was mounted to the rear of his false suit, its gout of flame disguising the Terminus fire that rocketed behind him as he flew out into the street. He was a shining figure of truth and justice, a knight with a double-bladed sword and jetpack as he flew towards what the kids were running from. He was also an Omegadrone, of course, but as long as no one could see through holograms, he was fine!

What followed was the work of hours, perhaps days, but under the merry influence of the North Pole it seemed to pass by in minutes. Miss Americana and Dragonfly worked their magic with Santa's sleigh, drawing on the most advanced Christmas technology to repair the damaged contraption, while Santa's hard-working elves fastened Victory and Miss America into harness as the two leading chargers in Santa's team! The other reindeer were cordial enough to the two flying heroes, Donner and Blitzen greeting them both by name. "We're big fans!" expostulated Donner, his German accent heavy. "Especially you, Miss Americana!" said Blitzen. "We've got friends who-" "Shut up, man!" said Donner, head-butting his buddy. "Don't tell superheroes' secret identities!" Across the way, Rudolph's crimson nose was transformed into a spectacular sword of pure Christmas magic in the hands of Jack of all Blades, the brilliant red light shining like a beacon as the awesome power of Christmas poured through the mighty swordsman, the taste of sugar and candy and the awesome light of the holidays infusing his every pore. Soon they were all arranged, flying heroes in front, glowing heroes aboard the stage, with Dragonfly appointed Santa's assistant, complete with keen little hat, and they were off! "On Victory and Miss Americana, on Prancer and Vixen, on Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen!" Far below in the Claus house, Avenger watched through a snow-dappled window as Santa's sleigh took off over the horizon, then turned back to Lupita and Mrs. Claus. "So, uh...let's talk about adoption..."

Quo-Dis was pensive in the car, watching the little humans going about their brief lives through the window as Corbin drove them. Maybe I should date girls, she thought. They seem easier to understand than boys. But that was a matter for another day, and she turned back to Corbin. "You have very strong values, Corbin. That's not something a lot of people our age have, even teen heroes. I admire that about you." And it was true, even if she had other things going on in her mind. "I've spent my whole life learning the values of my people through long, long hours of instruction. It's not easy to understand how other people think." She reached over and put her hand on his thigh casually. "Do you think your friends think I'm a freak? Most people do." she said frankly.

Jack Jr. gave the new arrivals a glare from beneath diaphanous baby brows, as if suspicious that all these tall people were plotting to rob him of his supper. Carefully balanced with the baby in his lap, he opted not to get up, instead waving or shaking hands as needed from his position. He got Jack Jr. to wave, but it was more that he'd pulled the baby's hand up to wave briefly. His son had his own interests! "I'm mostly here as support personnel," said the vampire with a relaxed look on his face. "Taylor's actually _in_ the wedding, and there's no way this guy is going to sit still and quiet that whole time." Especially in a church. "Assuming I can get in, I'll probably spend half the time in the nursery," he told Carson elliptically. "Somebody's got to watch the kids. Hey Lynn, Victor!" he said sociably. "Can you say hi, Jack-Jack?" - Mark was friendly to everyone, as was his wont, shaking hands and pressing the flesh just like his father had taught him. "Hi all Mark Lucas! I'm a student of bride and groom both. Huh, looks like I'm the whole Claremont contingent so far! We should see some more," he added, "Mr. Lumins is really popular, and everyone likes Ms. Madison." He adjusted the little white flower in his lapel delicately. "Man, it's warm for what I was expecting from Chicago in January!"

APPROVED

Please write your Enhanced Abilities the way they're written on other sheets; i.e. Enhanced STR 10 [10 pp], etc. You don't need to give skills you have 0 ranks in. Please add your lifting Strength (Heavy Load, etc) under your Super-Strength as appears on other sheets. You are buying 5 additional ranks of Aura with your AP, please write it correctly on your sheet. Note that this will cause you to be over your caps in melee, so you will need to adjust accordingly.

Demon PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 44 pp STR 24 (+7) DEX 12 (+1) CON 24 (+7) INT 10 (+0) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 24 (+7) Combat: 16 pp ATK: +4 (+8 Infernal Array) DEF: +8 (+2 flat-footed) Init: +1 Grapple: +11 Saves: 11 pp TOU +12 (+7 Con, +5 Protection) FORT +7 (+7 Con) REF +5 (+1 Dex, +4) WILL +8 (+1 Wis, +7) Skills: 15 pp=60 r Bluff 13 (+20, Skill Mastery) Diplomacy 3 (+10, Skill Mastery) Gather Info 8 (+15, Skill Mastery) Intimidate 13 (+20, Skill Mastery) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 5 (+5) Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 10 (+10) Notice 4 (+5) Sense Motive 4 (+5) Feats: 14 pp Distract (Bluff), Dodge Focus (4), Fearless, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Info, Intimidate) Takedown Attack, Taunt, Ultimate Check (Bluff), Uncanny Dodge (auditory), Well-Informed Powers: 55 pp Infernal Array 12 (PFs: Accurate 2, Alternate Powers 3, Precise) [28 pp] Blast 12 AP: Drain Charisma 12 (Extra: Ranged) AP: Emotion Control 10 AP: Strike 6 (Extras: Penetrating [6], Vampiric [6], PFs: Improved Crit 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Incurable, Mighty) Flight 3 (50 MPH/500 ft per round) (Drawback: Restrainable) [5 pp] Immunity 2 (aging, environmental heat) [2 pp] Impervious TOU 10 (Flaw: Not Vs. Magic/Silver/Holy) [5 pp] Protection 5 [5 pp] Super-Senses 4 (Darkvision, Divine Awareness [visual], Infernal Awareness [visual]) [4 pp] Unholy Movement Array 2 (PF: Alternate Power 1) [5 pp] Teleport 2 (200 ft) (PF: Turnabout) AP: Dimensional Movement 2 (any Hell) Drawbacks: -6 pp Vulnerable (Holy) (uncommon, major) [-3 pp] Weakness: Holy Symbols (dazed for 1 round after failed CHA check) [-3 pp] costs abilities 44 + combat 16 + saves 11 + skills 15/60 + feats 15 + powers 55 - drawbacks 6 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: I built an angel upthread, so why not a demon? I differentiated her from Ecal’s excellent demon build over in his own thread by concentrating on social manipulation through superpowers: she’s something of a ‘silver-tongued devil’, specializing in doing damage with her words rather than the blazing fireballs she can also toss around. So you want to be scary but everyone and their brother has Fearless? Buy a Charisma Drain, give it the descriptor “fiery wrath”, and let them quail before your awesome power! She can also manipulate people with her words with gusto, either with her very high Bluff score or successful deployment of Emotion Control. She can change her shape, appear and disappear in a gout of flame, fly on leathery bat wings, whip out a red-hot pitchfork, and generally do everything your average demon should be able to do. Heroic demon-infernalist is a surprisingly active trope in comics, so you’ve got a lot of potential backstories. Is she the daughter of a demon and a mortal, raised between both worlds? Give her more Arcane Lore and Ritualist if you want to make her more of an infernalist-style mage than a real demon. Or maybe she’s a damned soul who escaped Hell, permanently altered by the landscape there, and now she fights the minions of the Devil on Earth? Or for a more morally ambiguous background: maybe she’s a damned soul, or an actual demon, working to catch other escapees from Hell (various demons and the like) in the Devil’s name! (What can I say, I liked Brimstone.) That’ll give you some good moral dilemmas, not to mention your fellow heroes, and give you a chance to turn your back on Satan and all his empty promises! Some variants include more powers in the array: Hellfire is a broad descriptor, and the book has plenty of possible options for you there. You could give her Enhanced Strength and Super-Strength to make her more of a powerhouse; this is very much a blaster-style build. As long as you’re sticking with the demonic theme, you could easily build her with a variety of different body types: slithering, wall-crawling? Who know what her true form looks like? You could easily shuffle things around a bit and make this an angel build, focused more on blasting than the melee fighter angel I built upthread. Change up the drawbacks as suits your fancy, natch.

Space Ranger PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 24 pp STR 14 (+2) DEX 18 (+4) CON 16 (+3) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 10 (+0) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+13 Ranged) DEF: +14 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +8 Grapple: +10 Saves: 10 pp TOU +6 (+3 Con, +3 Protection) FORT +6 (+3 Con, +3) REF +7 (+4 Dex, +3) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 19 pp=76 r Acrobatics 10 (+14) Bluff 6 (+6) Climb 4 (+6) Craft: Mechanical 6 (+6) Craft: Electrical 6 (+6) Knowledge: Civics 5 (+5) Knowledge: Technology 5 (+5) Languages 2 (Alien, Galstandard) (Base: English) Notice 10 (+12) Pilot 10 (+14) Sense Motive 6 (+8) Survival 4 (+6) Swim 4 (+6) Feats: 33 pp Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus: Ranged 5, Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus 6, Elusive Target, Equipment 10, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Luck, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 32 pp Device 3 (Blaster Pistol) (Easy to Lose) [9 pp] -Blast 7 (PF: Precise) [15 pp] Device 5 (Space Suit) (Hard to Lose) [20 pp] -Communication 4 (radio) (1 mile) [4 pp] -Flight 3 (50 MPH) [6 pp] -Immunity 9 (Life Support) [9 pp] -Protection 3 [3 pp] -Space Flight 1 (1c) [1 pp] -Super-Senses 2 (Extended Analytical Vision) [2 pp] Super-Strength 1 (2+1=3 pp] AP: Leaping 1 (x2) [1 pp] and Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] Equipment: 50 ep Camera [1 ep] Space Fighter [49 ep] costs abilities 24 + combat 32 + saves 10 + skills 19/76 + feats 33 + powers 32 = 150 pts ---- Design Notes: So you’re an all-American astronaut stranded on an alien world, using your hi-tech equipment and knowledge of super-technology to guard and protect the people of your adopted home. It happens, particularly in the Raygun Gothic era of the Silver Age! Many characters like this actually predate the renaissance of superhero comics in the early 1960s, but wound up getting merged with superhero comics when superheroes became popular with the little kids. Adam Strange, eat your heart out! Non-superheroic variants of this kind of character include people like Charlton Heston’s hero in Planet of the Apes, and various other stories of spacegoing castaways adrift on alien worlds. Characters like this are usually ‘the space guy’ on super-teams, the human hero with alien friends who the team brings along when they need to go out into intergalactic space. What if you want to play one in our game? Well, you can say she’s like Adam Strange and popping home via some kind of intergalactic teleporter, or maybe she’s just recently returned home from time on an alien world and working on rebuilding her life on Earth. Or maybe she’s the daughter of a Silver Age human transported to an alien world, and she’s just now returning home to see what’s what! (You might want to give her a big sword and the power of an ancient castle for that one, naturally...) She’s got a generic spaceship, you can easily dress that up with more PP if you want to give her a more impressive ride. As it is her spacesuit is pretty good transportation, letting her get around in-atmosphere, send radio signals, and even do some limited interplanetary stuff. (With the speed of light, you can go most anywhere in a star-system if you can navigate your way there, but going any further is going to be much more complicated) She’s got a ray gun for blasting people, because what better than that? You can save points by merging it into the spacesuit, assuming you’re willing to cut some corners elsewhere. Her movement powers are a result of her human anatomy interacting with an alien world, natch.

The Pugilist PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 40 pp STR 22 (+6) DEX 18 (+4) CON 22 (+6) INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+14 melee) DEF: +14 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +7 Grapple: +20 Saves: 10 pp TOU +6 (+6 Con) FORT +7 (+6 Con, +1) REF +7 (+4 Dex, +3) WILL +8 (+2 Wis, +8) Skills: 19 r=76 pp Acrobatics 1 (+5) Bluff 8 (+10) Drive 1 (+5) Gather Info 8 (+10)* Intimidate 13 (+15)* Languages 5 (Chinese, Italian, German, Russian, Spanish) (Base: English) Knowledge: History 6 (+6) Medicine 3 (+5) Pilot 1 (+5) Notice 13 (+15)* Sense Motive 13 (+15)* Survival 3 (+5) Swim 1 (+7) Feats: 33 pp All-Out Attack, Attack Focus: Melee 6, Beginner’s Luck, Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus 6, Eidetic Memory, Elusive Target, Evasion 2, Fearless, Improved Initiative, Improved Throw, Improved Trip, Luck, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Skill Mastery (Gather Info, Intimidate, Notice, Sense Motive) Startle, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge (auditory), Well-Informed Powers: [12 pp] Enhanced Feats 2 (Affects Insubstantial 2 on Unarmed) [2 pp] Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison) [3 pp] Regeneration 4 (Resurrection 1/hour) (PFs: Persistent, Regrowth) [6 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] costs abilities 40 + combat 32 + saves 10 + skills 19/76 + feats 33 + powers 12 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: This is my build for the Pugilist, one of the 1st ed. M&M iconic characters. He was the iconic Martial Artist of the Meta-4 universe, and one of the most skilled, experienced heroes in the setting. An immortal champion of justice, he first appeared a century ago at the scene of a global crisis, and has made appearance after appearance since whenever the world needed saving. He’s an anti-social guy, having lost or outlived several teams, but he’s got a very good heart. I couldn’t find a picture, but he cuts a distinctive figure in black domino mask, plaid scotch cap, trunks and taped hands. The picture I used is of Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion of the world and one of the greatest boxers of the early 20th century. If you like the picture, and Johnson’s biography, maybe you can say the character IS the historical Jack Johnson, a morally ambiguous man making up for his Earthly sins with an eternity of battling for justice. He’s pretty much your standard boxer build: an effective hand-to-hand fighter, fast on his feet, with the particular Pugilist powers that let him punch ghosts (seriously, it’s a good power) and return from death. He’s scarier than my Boxing Champion build; he’s a Tyson or Frazier to my earlier Muhammed Ali. His big weaknesses are that ultimately he’s a human being, no more sturdy or stronger than any strong, powerful Badass Normal at the peak of his physical powers. Shoot him with a gun, and he’s probably going to be in a world of hurt. Granted, he’ll get _better_, but sometimes recovering from death can be more trouble than it’s worth. That’s why he comes back so fast, so he can avoid getting buried underground by his friends before he can wake up and explain the situation to them. I gave him the skills to represent a lifetime of being a two-fisted man of action, I’m sure he has plenty of good stories to tell. The Pugilist is a reserve member of the government’s superhero team in his own setting, but things may be different in Freedom City. His long career will give him a whole host of complications, depending on what backstory you do wind up assigning him. A few changes include increasing his Regeneration so he can recover from conditions besides death more quickly, adding some Protection or more Con to increase his base Toughness, or adding more skills and feats if you can find the points for it. Pick the origin story you want for him: Irish boxer who returned from the grave after his family’s murder? Jack Johnson, restoring a name tarnished by his enemies as much as his deeds? Or perhaps he’s a practitioner of a different martial art altogether, a wrestler and a rival of...EL SPECTRO!

"Oh, neat! I didn't think you guys had servitor robots yet. Hey, little guy!" He waved to Emerson, watching him work with interest. He was careful to avoid the robot, stepping back when he got too close. "He's very efficient, even without antigravs. Cute voice, too." He cocked his head, leaning over and watching Gina work. He supposed a computer genius like she obviously was could easily have built her own robot, even if in the rest of the world they weren't that common. "Do you have more like him?" he asked.

Kav, You can't turn off a Permanent power; it's always on. What's really important right now, though, is that Permanent is not a -1 Flaw. It's a +0 Extra, it costs the same as Sustained. Your Alternate Form has too many points in it for overall cost.

"Why don't you watch where you're going yourself?" Avenger shot back, working his way out from under the crazy lady who'd fallen out of the sky. "What are you, blind?" He folded his arms and gave her a hard look, one that was ameilorated quickly when Santa Claus (Santa Claus!) patted him on the arm and gave him a fatherly look. "Jack, why don't you help Mrs. Claus with Lupita," he suggested, pointing to that grand lady and the tear-streaked little girl. "You're a father yourself, and an orphan too, who better to comfort a weeping child?" Swept along by the moment, Avenger agreed, and soon was following Ms. Claus and Lupita into the big bulk of the Workshop.

From behind Tarrant came a voice. "Hi!" said the owner of it, a dashing young man in a well-fitting black suit and tie, a smile on his face as he leaned close to him and whispered, "Are you going to the wedding?" When he was, he said, "Are you a friend of the family from Freedom City?" Mark waggled his eyebrows suggestively at that, belatedly realizing he might have been sending another message. "I'm, uh, a student of theirs. From there. Mark Lucas," he said, offering his hand. Waiting for both young men at the church was an unlikely pair. "And then, Adam said to Eve, there seems to be a leaf missing..." Sitting on the church steps, a handsome fellow in a black suit and tie was reading a picture book to a half-dozing baby he had cradled in his arms. The infant, past six months if Gaian Knight was any judge, was much more focused on the semi-opaque bottle of what was obviously juice or some new formula by its color. Looking up, Jack waved to the new arrival. Parenting when his wife was busy with wedding preparations wasn't easy, especially outside a church, but it was the least he could do. He wondered if her threat had been meaningful, and if he was actually going to wind up with custody of all the kids below a certain age.

"I...I...no, I won't do it!" Lupita exclaimed, her shimmering ice robes falling off her entirely to reveal a skinny, dark-eyed girl in a loosely-hanging Freedom City University T-shirt and jeans, obvious charity castoffs on a castoff girl. She pointed her finger at Mr. Infamy, exclaiming, "All you can give me is the power to hurt other people, and I'm tired of hurting people! I reject you, Mr. Infamy, and all your empty promises!" Infamy had focused all his attentions on the girl, so he looked decidedly put-out at her refusal. Casting an angry glance at all the heroes, he exclaimed, "Feh! This is your fault with your goody-two-shoes ways! Look at us, we're the big heroes coming to rescue Santy Claus!" He spat brimstone in the snow, his form smoldering slightly. "Make no mistake, I'll get you! And you! And you!" he said, pointing to all the heroes in turn before finally pointing to Jack of all Blades and adding, "And as for you, you may be the ruler of swords, but you know _nothing_ of fashion. Fools, all of you!" And with that, the devil vanished in a puff of brimstone, leaving behind one sad-faced girl who Ms. Claus immediately bustled into her arms for a hug that was the very essence of matronly. Santa Clause himself, big as life and bustling with energy, had been consulting with his allies during Infamy's rant, and turned to the heroes with concern on his face. "My friends, I fear our job is not yet done," he said gravely, pulling out his long pipe and puffing it with worry. "My sleigh was damaged during that poor little girl's time ruling the Workshop, and several of the reindeer had their power drained by the cold spirit of that devil. As for poor Rudolph, his nose took a terrible pounding, which means someone needs to light our way! Will you all join me to save Christmas tonight?"

"I'd love dessert," said Quo-Dis with a warm smile, not taking her eyes off Corbin. Maybe a more confident boy would have taken her to bed and had something wise to say just now, but she rather liked the power she had over him this way. It was...cute, she decided, and so was he. "Do you like cherries, Corbin?" she asked him ingenously, remembering a conversation she'd overheard Zarana have with her on-again off-again boyfriend Mark. "Because I love cherries."