Avenger Assembled

Demoralized! Rift is up.

Gazer-Beam PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 18 pp STR: 10 (+0) DEX: 14 (+2) CON: 24 (+7) INT: 10 (+0) WIS: 10 (+0) CHA: 10 (+0) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+9 Ranged, +15 Blaster Pistol) DEF: 10 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +7 Grapple: +6 Saves: 11 pp TOU +10 (+7 Con, +3 Costume) FORT +7 (+7 Con) REF +7 (+2 Dex, +5) WILL +6 (+0 Wis, +6) Skills: 12 pp=48 r Climb 8 (+8) Knowledge: Streetwise 8 (+8) Notice 8 (+8) Search 8 (+8) Sense Motive 8 (+8) Feats: 18 pp Accurate Attack, Attack Focus: Ranged (3) Attack Specialization: Blaster (3) Fearless, Dodge Focus (4) Equipment (2) Improved Initiative, Precise Shot, Power Attack, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 68 pp Device 2 (Costume) [8 pp] -Immunity 1 (own powers) {1 pp} -Protection 3 {3 pp} -Super-Movement 3 (Slow Fall, Swinging, Wall Crawling) {6} Petrification 10 (Extra: Reaction Gaze [+3]) [60 pp] DC Block Unarmed DC 15 Toughness (bruised/injured) Blaster Pistol DC 20 Toughness (bruised/injured) Petrification DC 20 Fortitude (transformed) --- Design Notes: This guy's a familiar archetype. He can't ever look at his hot redhead girlfriend with his own eyes, barring a bizarre plot device, and must always walk around with the knowledge of the terrible power he's packing inside both eyeballs. He's a convenient source of angst, a troubled-but-cute guy who the ladies usually think is pretty hot. But you know, just blasting things is nice and all, but why not kick it up a notch? So this guy has Petrification (flesh to stone Transform) from Ultimate Power, bought all the way up to Reaction and with the Sense-Dependent flaw. Anyone who meets his eyes has to make a DC 20 Fortitude save or risk being turned to stone! His power is Sustained in Duration for cost-saving reasons, and for preventing him from zapping anyone permanently with it. That's not very heroic! He'd be really powerful if he had a Continuous Perception Range Transform! His Fort save is high because he may well have zapped himself a few times early in his career, and without his costume (which I figure is a leather bodysuit with some helpful stuff included), he's no more immune to his own powers (maybe in a mirror?) than anyone else would be. Feel free to change his powers up if you want: there's nothing to say that he HAS to be a latter-day distaff Medusa. I just think it's a cool power! If it's a cheaper Transform or Blast (even a Petrification that requires a standard action), you can buy him plenty more skills and feats: characters like this often find themselves in leadership roles. If you run into constructs or creatures immune to Fort saves, or people smart enough not to look at you, pull out your blaster pistol and shoot them! It's good to have a fallback position, especially if it's one where you're zapping folks who think they're smart.

Outside, Avenger took a moment to stare up at his house. How long had it been since he, Taylor, and Jack Jr. had all been together under one roof? Too long. Pushing past those depressed feelings, he headed up the walk in a woosh of air, making sure to announce his entrance as he arrived. The sitter was a very watchful girl, with a paranoia he found healthy and useful, so he called out "Erin! Viktor! I'm home!" He hung up his costume in a flash, then was heading up the stairs to the library. "How's my baby?" he asked, stepping into the library.

"They must be..." "...from the gender-switched Earth..." "...that my dad visited!" Mark and Marcie were staring at each other, eyes wide and huge grins on their faces. "OHMIGOD! It's like we're twins!" And sure enough they did look much like twins, closer than any outside of Shakespeare: Mark's blue shirt and slacks matched in style, if not cut and color, exactly what his feminine counterpart was wearing. God, she's cute. thought Mark irrelevantly. "And for me it was...it was my mom! I never went, though, that was way back in the 1960s." Marcie looked sad for just a second, but then shook it off. "But you came here, not us!" She pointed. "Look, there's a picture of Martin Curie on the wall! He was one of the greatest scientists ever, and I bet he'd be a girl on your world!" The two of them began...talking; throwing out a series of references that went by too fast for the others to get. "Yes, well..." The two Harcourts; a handsome black man in a natty suit and an attractive African-American woman in work clothes, began talking quickly to each other, scientific chatter that was right over the head of most of the kids there. When they were done, Ms. Harcourt said, "All right, kids, I think we can solve this, but we'd better get ourselves over to the Freedom League for help." "You too," Mr. Harcourt told Marcie, Tracie, and Aaron. "These are our guests. And it's best if we stick close to our duplicates; that way there's no risk of confusion creeping in. The last thing we need is everyone thinking that we've actually switched genders ourselves."

Furion PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 50 pp STR: 30 (+10) DEX: 16 (+3) CON: 30 (+10) INT: 10 (+0) WIS: 14 (+2) CHA: 10 (+0) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Melee) DEF: +10 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +7 Grapple: +23 Saves: 6 pp TOU +10 (+10 Con) FORT +10 (+10 Con) REF +5 (+3 Ref, +2) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 76 r=19 pp Craft: Mechanical 10 (+10) Intimidate 10 (+10) Knowledge: Tactics 10 (+10) Knowledge: Technology 10 (+10) Notice 8 (+10) Search 5 (+5) Sense Motive 3 (+5) Feats: 22 pp All-Out Attack Attack Focus: Melee (4) Challenge (Fast Startle) Dodge Focus (4) Fast Overrun Improved Initiative Improved Overrun Luck Master Plan (2) Move-By Action Power Attack Startle Takedown Attack Ultimate Save (Toughness) Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 29 pp Immunity 10 (aging, life support) [10 pp] Impervious TOU 5 [5 pp] Super-Strength 3 [6 pp] costs abilities 50 + combat 24 + saves 6 + skills 19/76 + feats 22 + powers 29 = 150 pts DC Block Unarmed DC 25 Toughness (bruised/injured) --- Design Notes: The Furions are the last children of the noble Alphians, bold, brave heroes of great power, living in a shining, silver planet. And every day, they go out and they fight the worst monsters in the universe. The Furions are the only people in the Terminus still resisting the forces of Omega on a regular basis, and it's a bloody, difficult battle. Here's an attempt at a PL 10 version of one, with the caveat that he's actually one of the weaker Furions! (The baseline Furion is actually PL 12) One possibility is that this is a baby Furion: maybe his parents have sent him to Earth to be educated about something other than the Terminus and the endless war with Omega, giving the possibility of a life beyond the struggle against the forces of Omega. Still, even a teen Furion is a wrecking machine by any rational standards, easily capable of ripping through a squad of goons and sending legions more fleeing in terror from his sheer presence. He's been trained since birth to rip it up, and he's pretty good at it. Make him more personable by shuffling points. Put him on a student team with my freed Omegadrone build for particularly exciting friction! He's probably maintaining a secret ID if he's living full-time on Earth, the last thing he needs is for his people's war with Omega to boil over to this dimension. Or maybe not; maybe he's out and proud, ready to stand with his noble allies in the greatest war that ever was and ever will be. He is no puling son of some weak, backwater world; he is a soldier of the Throne, training every day for when he returns to fight the forces of destruction and entropy personified!

Golden Knight PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 24 pp STR 24 [16] (+7/+3) DEX 14 (+2) CON 16 (+3) INT 12 (+1) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 12 (+1) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+8 Swords) DEF: +10 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +6 Grapple: max +18 Saves: 15 pp TOU +10 (+3 Con, +7 Protection) FORT +8 (+3 Con, +5) REF +6 (+2 Dex, +4) WILL +8 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 64 r=16 pp Concentration 10 (+12) Diplomacy 9 (+10) Intimidate 9 (+10) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 4 (+5) Knowledge (History) 4 (+5) Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 4 (+5) Languages 2 (English, Latin) (Base: Old English) Ride 3 (+5) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Survival 3 (+5) Feats: 9 pp All-Out Attack Attack Specialization: Swords Improved Initiative Luck Move-By Action Power Attack Second Chance (Concentration checks) Takedown Attack Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 60 pp Alternate Form 12 (Golden Knight) (Extra: Duration [sustained]) [60 pp] Enhanced STR 8 [8] Flight 5 (Extra:Affects Others) (Flaw: Platform) (250 MPH) [Dynamic] [10+1+2=13] DAP: Super-Strength 5 (Heavy Load: ~10 tons) Immunity 8 (cold, heat, disease, poison, sleep, starvation and thirst, suffocation) [8] Impervious TOU 10 [10] Protection 7 [7] Shield 4 [4] Strike 5 (PFs: Extended Reach, Improved Crit 2, Mighty, Precise) [10] costs abilities 24 + combat 24 + saves 15 + skills 16/64 + feats 9 + powers 60 = 150 pts ------ Design Notes: Having revisited and significantly reworked this archetype yet again, I decided to go back and redo a whole new set of design notes. Rather than the Device-using summoner that this build is in the corebook, I've gone ahead and given her the power to summon her magic armor, magic sword, and flying horse all in one get-go like my Star Knight build way down thread. Her armor makes her bulletproof, her sword makes her a threat to almost anything, her flying horse can break the sound barrier and she's immune to most mortal threats while in the armor. What's not to like? I've gone with the assumption that our heroine here, inspired by the Shining Knight remake under Grant Morrison, is indeed a time-traveler from the medieval court of King Arthur. You're better off treating the Knights of the Round Table as the mythic archetypes they are, located in a land of legend outside the pages of mundane history: perhaps like Baghdad in the pages of Sandman, Merlin hurled Camelot into the realm of song and story to protect it before its fall, or perhaps it was an ever-repeating cycle and part of a much older tradition. She could be from just about any realm of feudal mythology; perhaps an ally of Saladin or Charlemagne if you want to look at some of the historical fictions around those gentlemen. A knightly code of valor is a natural source of complications: clearly, you should pick a code more suitable to romantic fiction than the grim realities of actual feudalism if you want anything like a heroic PC. One possible tweak that I'd like to see is dropping the usual dog-Celticism that comes with the Arthurian story these days: make her as Catholic as Thomas Malory! (Though preferably without the horrible personal life of that knight of old). She's a pretty straightforward fighter, but as dangerous as she was in even a mid-fantasy medieval battlefield she just didn't need to learn a lot of finesse. It's just easier to manage a PC who has innate abilities rather than relying on devices and a minion, and lets you do cool power-up sequences too: consider Quick Change or the Normal ID drawback for her. I do encourage you to make this character an actual denizen of another place and time whatever backstory you do select that's part of the fun. The basic idea is that this is the lady herself fresh out of the block of ice or fresh out of the dimensional fortress of the fae, or however you want to explain her being a hero out of time. While this is a classic Golden Age archetype, you can tweak it for the Modern Age just fine. If you do want her to be a Golden Age heroine still active today, find a way to give her some immunity to aging and more languages up in there.

Earth-Prime Mark didn't have much to add at this juncture, having left his own knowledge of science far behind. Instead he simply watched the dimensional doorway with some fascination, glad to see a gateway to another place and reality that wasn't disgorging monstrous invaders out to wreck them all."There's really very little cause for concern," Ms. Harcourt reassured Trevor and the other doubtful students. "I've tuned this gateway to within a milli-micron of dimensional confluence. There's no chance of the Terminus or a hostile dimension tapping into this gateway, the quantum spectrum is just too narrow. The only way anything could happen is if some near-duplicate universe opened up a gateway into this one simultaneously, but the odds of that happening are extremely-" Earth-XX "scanty," said Mr. Harcourt, explaining to students as he walked up to the X-frame, a frown on his handsome face. Marcie had stopped humming Ke$an in the background, even the scatterbrained Lucas having caught the teacher's concern. "But we do seem to be encountering some dimensional confusion." He hmmed, then said, "Marcie, Aaron, would you put yourselves on both sides of the frame? If Aaron lifts the machinery out of the way and if Marcie uses her reality-manipulating powers, we should be able to disengage from whatever we're aground on without having to risk damaging ourselves or the equipment." Earth-Prime Obligingly, Mark took up position, waiting for Erin to take up her post on the other side of the Y-frame, waiting for the signal from Ms. Harcourt before he went into action. As Erin strained and lifted the frame up, making sure his powers wouldn't interfere with the machinery, he concentrated, reaching out at the fabric of the universe through the hole and tugging at it. He'd practiced like this before, the hard reality underneath his powers something he had to be familiar with if he wanted to help his friends in the field. But suddenly, even as he reached out, black dots rushing from his fingertips into the void, he felt something pulling back! "Hey, someone's-" Earth-XX Marcie shrieked in surprise as suddenly she felt her powers yanked at, hard! Automatically she pulled back, trying to avoid getting sucked into the hole herself, but found things coming with her! A flash of light burst from the portal, bright enough to blind everyone for a second, and when it cleared she found herself face-to-face with an eerie reflection of her own face! "Aiype! Who are you!?" "No, who are you!?" Mark shot back, gathering himself up as he looked around the classroom, looking largely unchanged to his eyes with the exception of the bizarre, oddly familiar dopplegangers of everyone around the room. There'd been a flash of light, a strong tug on his powers that had seemed to snap across the room like a cracking whip, reaching out to touch everyone, and then..."And how did you get here?" He stared at the girl looking at him as everyone reacted with exclamations and more all around them. She was a sweet-faced blonde in a cute pink sweater, her eyebrows furrowed with concentration as she glared at him. She was...she was... As one, Mark and Marcie Lucas cried "Great Caesar's Ghost!"

El Spectro! Abilities: 54 pp STR: 30 (+10) DEX: 16 (+3) CON: 30 (+10) INT: 10 (+0) WIS: 14 (+2) CHA: 16 (+3) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+10 Melee) DEF: +10 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +15 Grapple: +20 Saves: 11 pp TOU +10 (+10 Con) FORT +10 (+10 Con) REF +9 (+3 Ref, +4) WILL +9 (+2 Wis, +7 Skills: 18 pp=72 r Acrobatics 12 (+15) Intimidate 12 (+15) Knowledge: Current Events 5 (+5) Knowledge: Pop Culture 5 (+5) Language 2 (English, Japanese) (Base: Spanish) Perform ([luchador]) 12 (+15) Notice 12 (+14) Sense Motive 12 (+14) Feats: 33 pp Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus: Melee 2, Benefit 3 (Hero of the People, Status, Wealth) Connected, Contacts, Dodge Focus 2 Fascinate (Perform [luchador]) Grappling Finesse, Improved Grab, Improved Initiative 3, Improved Overrun, Improved Pin, Improved Throw, Improved Trip, Luck 3, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Startle, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 2 Second Chance (Checks to start a Grapple) Ultimate Check (Strength checks) Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 2 pp Leaping 1 (x2) [1 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] DC Block Unarmed DC 25 Toughness (bruised/injured) --- Design Notes: El Spectro! Who is heir to a legacy of incredibly powerful Mexican wrestlers? El Spectro! Who is an incredibly skilled grappler who is also strong enough to punch through a steel door? El Spectro! Who can take a tank shell to the chest and just get the wind knocked out of him on an average roll? El Spectro! Who is a warrior for justice in his adopted homeland while at the same time never forgetting where it is he came from? El Spectro! Who is among the greatest superheroes of Latin America, a champion of the poor against the power of the landowners? El Spectro! Who do the children love, the women coo over, and the men wish they could be like? El Spectro! Who fights in a mask and cape with his gigantic pecs exposed simply for love of the lucha libre? El Spectro! Who thinks superpowers are for men who lack the sheer machismo of the luchador? El Spectro!

Teleporter PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 22 pp STR 24 (+7) [14/+2] DEX 16 (+3) CON 24 (+7) [14/+2] INT 10 (+0) WIS 14 (+2) CHA 14 (+2) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+9 Melee, +13 Unarmed) DEF: +13 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +7 Grapple: +20 Saves: 10 pp TOU +7 (+7 Con) FORT +8 (+7 Con, +1) REF +7 (+3 Dex, +4) WILL +7 (+2 Wis, +5) Skills: 16 pp=64 r Acrobatics 12 (+15) Bluff 12 (+14) Languages 4 (Chinese, French, German, Russian) Notice 12 (+14) Sense Motive 12 (+14) Stealth 12 (+15) Feats: 16 pp Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus: Melee, Attack Spec: Unarmed 2, Dodge Focus 5, Evasion 2, Improved Initiative, Luck, Power Attack Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 56 pp Enhanced CON 10 (to 24/+7) [10 pp] Enhanced STR 10 (to 24/+7) [10 pp] Teleportation Array 17.5 (35 pp powers; PF: Alternate Power) [36 pp] BE: Teleport 9 (900 feet/anywhere on Earth; Extra: Accurate; PFs: Change Direction, Change Velocity, Easy, Hide In Plain Sight, Progression 3 [500 lbs], Turnabout) {35/35} AP: Damage 0 (add to Unarmed Damage 7; Extras: Area [burst, Targeted], Autofire [+1], Selective Attack) {21/35} DC Block Unarmed DC 22 Toughness (bruised/injured) costs abilities 22 + combat 32 + saves 8 + skills 16/64 + feats 14 + powers 56 = 150 pts --- Design Notes: A simple enough archetype, though here hopefully made cool enough to be worth playing. This lady is much, much more powerful than your average comic-book teleporter: she's got virtually all the feats useful for Teleport, and more besides. She can go anywhere on Earth, teleport out of a fall, behind an object to conceal herself (providing the 'cover' for Hide in Plain Sight), and she hits pretty darn hard. Note that while she has a lot of options for catching a foe flat-footed, she is NOT dependent on Sneak Attack, and so can set up some devastating feints with Acrobatic Bluff and Bluff, or just a clever use of her powers. With a 35 pp Array, she can power-stunt a Long-Range Teleport to go anywhere in the Universe! I figure her Autofire trick represents doing something like what Nightcrawler did in X-2; cleaving her way through goons like a knife through butter. She doesn't need Takedown Attack for an Area Attack, but it might not be a bad idea to buy her that with PP. With Selective on a Targeted Area attack, she rolls an attack against everyone she chooses to hit within 35 feet, getting autofire damage to represent hitting them again and again from many different angles. She can also just punch people in the face, which is certainly a worthwhile trick to have under your belt. I've left the area ability deliberately undercapped, but if the Ref lets you buy Autofire 3 (which she can afford), why not give it a whirl? As usual, season backstory and the sheet to taste. You can adapt her skills as needed for whatever use you want to give her. I've deliberately left them fairly generic here. In my mind she travels around the world, having cool adventures, and sleeps at home in her own bed every night. You can't go wrong with that. The picture is of Queen Latifah: why not?

Cold War Relic Abilities: 54 pp STR: 26 (+8) DEX: 20 (+5) CON: 26 (+8) INT: 10 (+0) WIS: 14 (+4) CHA: 18 (+4) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 (+10 Hammer and Sickle Shield, +12 Unarmed) DEF: +12 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +13 Grapple: +16 Saves: 12 pp TOU: +8 (+8 Con) FORT: +10 (+8 Con, +2) REF: +7 (+5 Ref, +2) WILL: +10 (+2 Will, +8) Skills: 14 pp=56 r Acrobatics 10 (+15) Diplomacy 11 (+15) Intimidate 6 (+10) Knowledge: History 5 (+5) Knowledge: Tactics 10 (+10) Languages 1 (English) Notice 6 (+8) Search 5 (+5) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Feats: 21 pp Acrobatic Bluff, All-out Attack, Atk Specialization: Hammer and Sickle, Atk Spec: Unarmed 2, Connected, Defensive Attack, Evasion 2, Improved Initiative 2, Interpose, Leadership, Luck, Master Plan 2 (Masterful Tactics), Power Attack, Set-Up, Takedown Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge Powers: 17 pp Device 4 (Hammer and Sickle Shield) (PFs: Indestructible, Restricted [functions as a Thrown Strike for anyone else]) [14 pp] -Blast 2 (PFs: Improved Crit, Mighty 8, Split Attack) {14} -Shield 4 (PFs: Improved Defense 2) {6} Immunity 1 (aging) [1 pp] Leaping 1 (x2) [1 pp] Speed 1 (10 MPH) [1 pp] DC Block Unarmed DC 23 Toughness (bruised/injured) Hammer and Sickle DC 25 Toughness (bruised/injured) --- Design Notes: What happens to a Patriotic Hero when their country goes away? (I borrowed a good deal here from Ecal's super-soldier build, natch). Something like this guy: a patriotic hero of a cause long-discredited, kept alive by the serum that gave him his powers so many decades ago. In the Freedom City setting, an unpowered human (Bowman) has a Dex of 26, so I was comfortable giving that to the Relic on his Strength and Con. He's as strong and tough as it's possible for an unpowered, unarmored human being to be. I gave him a Soviet theme, with a hammer and sickle shield; adjust as necessary for your favorite gone-away country or regime. Find a revolution that you like, pick a guy who would have been fighting for the wrong side. Note that he very deliberately does _not_ have Inspire. No one wants to follow Captain Soviet Union after its fall! Adjust as necessary if you're playing this guy in his prime, when his nation is still empowered. Make him an American by making him a 1950s super-soldier whose McCarthyite backers fell out of fashion in later years. This is suggested as a villain archetype in the Villain Archetypes book, but I think you can make him a hero too. His story is about finding meaning and purpose after losing both, and that's ultimately a pretty heroic story. Does he stay a superhero, or become a mercenary? Battle for justice, or for money? And what happens when he encounters former enemies whose side he's now on, or former friends who've decided to punish the world for the loss of the nation they once fought for? He's a character full of moral dilemmas. Pit him against my earlier Patriotic Hero for a war of a lifetime!

Living Weapon Abilities: 32 pp STR: 18 (+4) DEX: 14 (+2) CON: 18 (+4) INT: 12 (+1) WIS: 14 (+2) CHA: 16 (+3) Combat: 24 pp ATK: +6 (+10 Melee) DEF: +10 (+3 flat-footed) Init: +6 Grapple: +10 Saves: 14 pp TOU +10 (+4 Con, +6 Protection) FORT +8 (+4 Con, +4) REF +7 (+2 Ref, +5) WILL +7 (+2 Will, +5) Skills: 15 pp=60 r Bluff 7 (+10) Intimidate 14 (+17) Knowledge: Civics 7 (+8) Knowledge: Streetwise 7 (+8) Languages 1 (English) (Base: Russian) Notice 8 (+10) Sense Motive 8 (+10) Stealth 8 (+10) Feats: 17 pp All-Out Attack, Attack Focus 4 (Melee), Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus 4, Improved Initiative, Luck 2, Move-By Action, Startle, Power Attack, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 48 pp Immunity 1 (own powers) [1 pp] Protection 6 [6 pp] Living Bomb Array 10 (20 pp; PF: Alternate Power) [20+1=21 pp] BE: Strike 10 (Extra: Area [burst]) 'human bomb' AP: Strike 6 (Extra: Penetrating; PFs: Improved Crit 2, Knockback 2, Mighty, Precise) 'bomb punch' Teleport 9 (900 feet/anywhere on Earth; PFs: Easy, Turnabout) [20 pp] costs abilities 32 + combat 24 + saves 14 + skills 15+ feats 17 + powers 48 = 150 pts DC Block Unarmed DC 19 Toughness (bruised/injured) Area Strike DC 20 Reflex/DC 25 Toughness (bruised/injured) Bomb Punch DC 25 Toughness (bruised/injured) - Design Notes: She was a soldier, even if she never wore a uniform. Was she an agent of revolution, fighting to free her people from those who kept them down? An agent of authority, striking back against those who would undermine the power of the state for their own mad ambitions? Perhaps she was a patriot; perhaps she was drafted. Maybe she volunteered, maybe her choices were made for her. Either way she's on her own now, a fugitive from some very bad people, and looking to turn powers she'd previously used for destruction for good. Can a life lived by killing be turned into a life for good? The problem I have with the book Living Weapon archetype is that a guy with metal claws, even a really tough one who regenerates a lot of damage, is actually a pretty poor way of modeling modern warfare. Someone like this, though, who can go almost anywhere and blow the crap out of it with a giant explosion, now that's how warfare (especially asymmetrical warfare) is supposed to work these days. You can be as 'ripped from the headlines' as you want with this character, either tying her to some existing state/non-state entity, or inventing your own comic book nation/cause for her to fight for. As always, descriptors are left for you to fill in: note that she can punch (making mini-explosions with her fists) for melee damage in addition to her giant explosions. Power-stunt Progression to do more damage with those! With Turnabout, you can pop in anywhere that you're familiar with and destroy it, then bounce out as a free action. As for backstory, that's up to you. Are there more like her, either on the run or working for the people who gave her her powers? Or was she one of a kind, a mutant or a solitary project, her powers shaped by the will of another? There are lots of possibilities for this archetype.

Grim Rider Abilities: 30 pp STR: 14 (+2) DEX: 20 (+5) CON: 18 (+4) INT: 10 (+0) WIS: 14 (+2) CHA: 14 (+2) Combat: 34 pp ATK: +9 (+13 Hellfire Guns) DEF: +13 (+4 flat-footed) Init: +9 Grapple: +11 Saves: 10 pp TOU: +7 (+4 Con, +3 Protection) FORT: +7 (+4 Con, +3) REF: +8 (+5 Dex, +3) WILL: +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 12 pp=48 r Gather Info 4 (+6) Handle Animal 5 (+7) Intimidate 8 (+10) Knowledge: Streetwise 5 (+5) Notice 8 (+10) Ride 5 (+10) Sense Motive 3 (+5) Search 5 (+5) Stealth 5 (+10) Feats 15 pp All-Out Attack, Attack Specialization: Hell Pistols 2 Dodge Focus 5, Elusive Target, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Luck, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Uncanny Dodge (auditory) Powers: 49 pp Flight 4 (100 MPH) (PF: Moving Feint) "Flaming Horse" [9 pp] Immunity 10 (aging, life support) [10 pp] Impervious TOU 5 [5 pp] Hellfire Control 7 (Extra: Autofire) "Hell Pistols" [21 pp] Protection 3 [3 pp] costs abilities 30 + combat 34 + saves 10 + skills 12/48 + feats 15 + powers 49 = 150 pts DC Block Unarmed DC 17 Toughness (bruised/injured) Hellfire Pistols DC 22 Toughness (bruised/injured) --- Design Notes: Satan's cowpuncher! The Grim Rider was just another cowboy until he wound up selling his soul to the Devil: was it for power? For glory? To avenge the murder of his family, or save a dying relative from the consequences of their wicked life? Either way, he's rebelled against his dark master and is using his hell-borne powers to fight for justice: to that end he rides around on a black horse with brimstone for a mane and hellfire for hooves, carrying twin pistols that hit as hard as a Gatling gun and are powered by hellish magic. A terror in a Western game, flying faster than a speeding locomotive and shrugging off all but the biggest guns, he'd be a fun character! You can adapt him to a modern setting by giving him a motorcycle and biker look, or just keep him as is: who's to say he hasn't been active, on and off, in parts of the Southwest since the 19th century? Or maybe this is the second host of the Grim Rider entity, and some poor sap distant relative of his picked up the guns a century after the first Grim Rider was finally laid to rest. If you want to be a little Bronze Age about it (which makes sense given when 'dark' Western heroes like this started appearing), mix it up a little and make this something other than a white guy: a black or Hispanic cowboy, or a cowgirl, in the late 19th century West with hell powers would have had all sorts of exciting implications: no less than if that character was active in the past! Or maybe it's the 'current' host who's not a generic stubbly WASP guy, and she occasionally has the voice of a 19th century demonic cattleherder in her head...

Earth-XX "I think it's so cool that you do that," said Marcie, bouncing lightly up and down on her white and pink sneakers as she finally joined in on the assembly process. She was competitive enough that she couldn't let Tricia, friend or not, make her look lazy: that was how she'd won so many cheerleading competitions! "I mean some girls think they won't look pretty if they get engine grease up to the elbows or something, but I think they're just cowards," she said decisively. "Girls can look pretty fixing cars too! I should learn more mechanical things," she said thoughtfully as they continued working, murmuring to herself when Mr. Harcourt gave them directions. "I mean the stuff I use usually doesn't break, but I could help out someone else if they were having car trouble-" - Earth-Prime "Besides, it looks really cool," said Mark, stepping back as Erin had to climb up a little to assemble the last pieces of the Y-frame. "Making something myself is one thing, but really...you know, making it, that's cool! It's like writing with a quill pen." He took a position at the control panel Ms. Harcourt was steering them all towards, listening as she showed them how to carry out the bridge into trans-dimensional space. "I mean look! We just built a gateway!" And with that, following directions closely, he began pressing buttons as the Y-frame slowly crackled to life, showing a shimmery white wall growing inside the crossbars of the Y.

Earth-XX "Trixie!" Marcie had sensed Tracie's shyness on their first meeting, and had been doing her best to bring 'Trixie' out of her shell ever since. She waved vigorously, trying to get her attention. She'd been letting Aaron do all the heavy lifting: it'd be silly for her to get her hands dirty when Aaron was so strong! "Come on over here! We're building..." She turned to Mr. Harcourt. "What exactly are we building again?" Marcie wasn't a particularly good student, but with her cheerful demeanor and good luck when it came time to take tests, she did well enough to fit into just about any class. All perky attentive student, she listened as Mr. Harcourt explained, "We're building a doorway into trans-dimensional space," the friendly science teacher explained. "Not into other dimensions, of course, just into space outside this one. If it works, we can adapt a transdimensional device for the use of the school, so that we can-" - Earth-Prime "-maintain a security system for the school in the event of dimensional crossovers. You've all had dealings with that yourself," she said with a nod to the students, "and if we get this working, we can...make a cork in the bottle, so the school is shielded against transdimensional leakage. Not enough to prevent overall invasions in the city, but enough that the school itself is shielded in the event of problems. This is just the first step, but we can do a lot of work on behalf of the school if it goes well." "Okay," said Mark, stretching high as he tried (not well) to help Erin get a curl of electricity connected to the big Y-frame's top. "I think I understood most of that. I guess we just need to get all this put together and powered up, then!" He smiled at Trevor as he joined the group. "So, how are you guys doing?" he asked. "After all the...stuff lately, it seems like we haven't been hanging out as much."

Another time, another place, our temperature would rise...

Earth-XX September 3, 2010 Trailing her usual aura of good feelings and cheerful optimism, Marcie Lucas walked through the halls of Clairemont Academy with a smile on her face and a spring in her step. For once she wasn't in uniform, either her Edge costume or the blue and gold of Clairemont's cheerleading squad; rather in a pink sweater and blue jeans that wouldn't have looked out of place on a girl her age back in the 1950s. Maybe her mother's disappearance a few months earlier had changed her life for the worse, but she wasn't going to let that get her down! Books under her arms, she headed into the nearly-empty science building. "Hey, Aaron!" she said with a cheerful wave as she caught sight of the hunky loner Aaron White, walking into the same corridor of the science wing that she was. Aaron wasn't exactly her type: she preferred guys like that hunky Zach Harris, even if he was a little too angry for her tastes, but she could see why so many of her friends secretly had the hots for the dimension-hopping powerhouse. He certainly filled out his uniform well! She ran after him, her Sketchers squeaking slightly on the tiled floor. "Are you taking the expanded physics class too? Isn't it cool that-" - Earth-Prime September 3, 2010 "...we can get out of the whole first semester of senior physics just by being here for a few experiments! I guess it's more important for us to learn about super-science than boring stuff like physics." Mark grinned at Erin as they headed inside. "Looks like we're here first." Ms. Harcourt was there to greet them both, nodding a polite hello. "Mr. Lucas, Ms. White! Nice to see both of you." She smiled. "I always appreciate volunteer assistants. I'll be especially glad to have someone here who's as resistant to trans-dimensional radiation as you are, Erin. Why don't the two of you get started setting up the equipment," she said, pointing to the large Y-frame set against one wall, "and I'll get the others going when they arrive."

"Tonight we shall summon forth the twice-fold Maggot Kings of the Lower Orders of Barganesh, the better to writhe sinuously beneath the grip of their delectable talons and moist ingots of ichor. And you, my handsome prince, shall join me in..." Sixtus began describing deeds that might have been beyond Dead Head even before he lost various parts of his anatomy. She seemed into it; very, very into it. The other cultists didn't look quite as delighted at the very idea that they'd summon forth spiritual embodiments of corruption and decay, much less get as intimately familiar with them as Sixtus seemed so eager to be. But they were obedient, certainly: it helped that she was carrying an incredibly powerful supernatural artifact that was frankly hard to look at if you knew anything out of magic: not that it was actually blinding, mind. Seeing Sister Sixtus carry the staff of the Necro-Kings was like seeing a child carry a nuclear bomb. A _mean_ child. Suddenly, in an eruption of speed and power, Avenger was falling amongst the cultists! Before they could react, Avenger's flashing fists had torn apart the room, crunches and screams the only sound as he threw men aside and smashed them together, kicked down knees and cracked heads against stone. "Crime! Doesn't! Pay!" He growled as he tossed aside a particularly burly antagonist aside. "Worship my fist!"

Fusion followed the receptionist's directions with a friendly smile just visible behind her mask. She kept the badge in her hand rather than on her tentacles, folding her lower limbs around her body like a fleshy grass skirt as she headed through the super-science building. She was observant, and probably the only person who didn't at least shoot her one glance on the way through the corridors. Inside the exam room, she fought the urge to pace, instead concentrating for a moment as she pulled her costume back underneath a black and white checked dress that stretched down to the floor, bulking wide enough to hide the tentacles at her waist. She preferred to talk to her physician with her face visible, especially since she had so many things to tell him.

You cannot take Full Power twice. (i.e. it's not both a power drawback and a character drawback)

Why the odd-numbered ability scores?

You do need to spend all the PP.

Combat math needs fixing. Best to standardize the format.

SC: Run the thread you'd like to run. Having people meet their counterparts is a massive roleplaying challenge, and not something folks should just jump into willy-nilly. I'll volunteer my character of Edge for this one, so you've got a Ref around for it.

Midnight is up.

Robot from Beyond PL: 10 (150) Abilities: 4 pp STR: 34 [20] (+12/+5) DEX: 10 (+0) CON: n/a INT: 10 (+0) WIS: 14 (+2) CHA: 10 (+0) Combat: 32 pp ATK: +8 DEF: +8 Init: +4 Grapple: +13/25 Saves: 8 pp TOU: +10 (+10 Protection) FORT: n/a REF: +4 (+0 Dex, +4) WILL +6 (+2 Wis, +4) Skills: 8 pp=32 r Craft: Mechanical 6 (+6) Diplomacy 8 (+8) Notice 6 (+8) Knowledge: Technology 6 (+6) Sense Motive 6 (+8) Feats: 6 pp All-out Attack, Dodge Focus 2, Fearless, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Powers: 80 pp Blast 12 [24+1=25 pp] AP: Enhanced STR 14 and Super-Strength 5 Immunity 40 (Fortitude saves, Mental Effects) [40 pp] Protection 10 [10 pp] Regeneration 5 (+0 Recovery Bonus) [5 pp] costs abilities 4 + combat 32 + saves 8 + skills 8/32 + feats 6 + powers 80 = 150 pts --- Design Notes She's an artificial being from another place, or maybe another time, sent to our world with an important mission to carry out or message to deliver. I've left the descriptor on her blasts deliberately blank: if she's a creature of Golden or Silver Age chrome and steel, she's probably got laser vision or an electrical punch. If she's from a later generation of sci-fi robots, she's probably packing some kind of topologically implausible machine gun array underneath her steel skin. If you want her to have movement powers, that can be arranged, just shuffle some points around. One possibility is to drop her immunity to mental effects, giving her something of a 'soul'. She blasts and punches through steel doors; it's really hard to find anything to dislike about that! Shuffle points around if you want to give her roboty powers like Impervious or Super-Senses. As is she's got a self-repair system that does allow her to heal. My other characters without Con have Regen high enough to have a +9 Recovery Bonus with the -5 penalty for a lack of Con. That's not strictly necessary, though. As it is she heals as fast as a person with 10 Con, which isn't very fast...but it's a lot faster than a construct with no self-repair abilities could heal! Possible Complications include Prejudice, depending on how the setting feels about robots, or depending on how much she looks like a human being. (I've always liked the 'look' of fake skin over a metal body, perhaps like the heroine of Metropolis I have mentioned above). Is she a time-traveler here to destroy SpaceNet and prevent the computer takeover of the world? An alien emissary sent to give the US and USSR a warning about the dangers of the atomic bomb and their nuclear testing? She really does work in all eras.