Sample Character #10: Speedster

Speedster

[GM Note: A common archetype with many possible variations. I've gone with a plain "meat and potatoes" speedster here; I'll be discussing customization below. One big difference between this build and book speedsters is dispensing with the Super-Speed power altogether. It's not bad but there are better and cheaper ways to simulate what players actually want.]

Abilities: 4 + 8 + 6 + 2 + 8 + 4 = 32PP 
Strength 14 (+2)
Dexterity 18 (+4) 
Constitution 16 (+3) 
Intelligence 12 (+1) 
Wisdom 18 (+4) 
Charisma 14 (+2)

[GM Note: Not too much to say here, except that she's in excellent physical shape but not a genius intellectually - something you may or may not want to change with customization or spent PP.]

Combat: 12 + 12 =24PP

Initiative: +24/+12
Attack: +6 Base, +10 Melee, +14 Super-Speed
Defense: +15/+10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus, +5 Enhanced Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed
Grapple: +12
Knockback: -2

[GM Notes: Her initiative may look a little low for a speedster but +24 is going to comfortably let you go first in virtually any fight you get into on the site against anyone other than a character with the Super-Speed power. Dig up a PP for Seize Initiative if you really want her going first in any fight. She's not helpless if her powers are negated but still should definitely avoid getting into fights with anyone more threatening than a mugger or other sort of low-level thug.]

Saves: 2 + 6 + 2 = 10PP

Toughness: +5 (+3 Con, +2 Protection)
Fortitude: +5 (+3 Con, +2)  
Reflex: +15/+10 (+4 Dex, +6, +5 Enhanced Reflex)
Will: +6 (+4 Wis, +2)

[GM Notes: Her massive Reflex Save and Evasion 2 down below help make her basically immune to Reflex save-based effects anywhere near her PL - so go nuts! That's one reason why her other exotic saves are so low, to give her a vulnerability. Like most Speedsters she's Defense-shifted and thus very hard to hit but in trouble if she does get hit. You could mix this up a little bit if you want more 'realism' and have her be Toughness-shifted if you want to be a little different and say "Well sure I'm tough, I've tripped and fallen at supersonic speeds and not been pulped!"]

Skills:  68R=17PP

Bluff 8 (+10)
Climb 3 (+5)
Disable Device 12 (+13) ^{Skill Mastery}
Notice 12 (+16) ^{Skill Mastery}

Search 3 (+4) 
Sense Motive 12 (+16) ^{Skill Mastery}
Sleight of Hand 6 (+10)
Stealth 12 (+16) ^{Skill Mastery}

[GM Note: Taking a cue from the way speedsters are often roguish characters (some of the speedster PCs on this site are former criminals) I've built this one as a cat burglar - she's a great sneak thief, a good con artist and an excellent lockpicker - though don't forget that using Quickness on Disable Device checks can be hazardous to your health, since the idea is that you're brute-forcing your way through all possible passwords, say! It wouldn't be hard to reshuffle the points to make her a forensic scientist or a political activist or something similar; for a lout who hangs around her father's basement and plays video games all day, drop the Skills and spend the PP elsewhere.]

Feats: 20PP

Attack Focus (Melee) 4
Attack Specialization (Super-Speed) 2  
Dodge Focus 4
Evasion 2
Improved Initiative 2
Instant Up
Move-By Action
Power Attack
Takedown Attack
Skill Mastery (Disable Device, Notice, Sense Motive, Stealth)
Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

[GM Notes: Again, this character is built with the idea that she was a sneak thief and cat burglar before gaining her powers - so feel free to rejigger feats and points here accordingly. She's an OK fighter, really sneaky and otherwise pretty good at staying out of trouble. You could turn the Attack Specialization (Super-Speed) into Accurate Power Feats on the Speed Array below easily enough.]

Powers: 11 + 8 + 5 + 2 + 6 + 6 + 15 + 3 = 56PP

Descriptors: all mutation

Concealment 10 (All Senses; Flaw: Only While Moving, Feats: Close Range) [11PP]

Enhanced Feats 8 (Dodge Focus 5, Improved Initiative 3) [8PP]

Enhanced Save 5 (to Reflex +15) [5PP]

Protection 2 [2PP]

Quickness 6 (x100) [6PP]

Speed 6 (500 MPH, 5000' per move) [6PP]

Speed Array 6 (12PP, Feats: Alternate Powers 3) [15PP]

• BE: Enhanced Quickness 6 (to Quickness 12 [x10,000]) + Enhanced Speed 6 (to Speed 12 [50,000 MPH, 500,000' per move) {6 + 6 = 12/12}
• AP: Affects Others 6 (on Quickness) + Affects Others 6 (on Speed) {6 + 6 = 12/12}
• AP: Damage 6 (Extra: Autofire) {12/12}
• AP: Damage 6 (Extra: Area [Targeted, Shapeable; 5' cubes x6], Flaw: Action [Full]) {12/12}

Super-Movement 3 (Wall-Crawling 2, Water-Walking, Flaw: Limited [While Moving]) [3PP]

[GM Notes: Again, 'meat and potatoes' - she's fast, she can make other people fast too, she can punch one person a lot of times or a lot of people one time. Speed 6 is just fine for combat use, letting her run a full mile between punches and otherwise stay out of the way of enemy retaliation. Quickness 6 is the minimum you want for a character like this, letting her take 20 on things like Notice as a free action and thus making her an excellent scout and observer. The idea is that 'most of the time' she's at Speed 12 and Quickness 12 but has to slow down if she wants to get into combat. Out of combat with Speed 12, she can run almost 100 miles as a move action and around the world in 2 hours - not too bad, not too bad! 

Feel free to stunt rapid healing, time-travel and other common speedster powers as needed. As built, she really is a great 'rogue' for your party of super-adventurers, a great sneak, thief, and scout. The power that will really 'pop' when you're playing this character is that Quicksilver-style Concealment - Concealment 10 is a powerful ability! She can pick away at even the toughest foes without too many worries of being hit in return - though watch out for those readied actions!]

Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP

[GM Notes: A risk of being sucked into another dimension while power-stunting is probably left as a Complication. You could give her a Weakness that requires frequent Starvation checks to reflect a fast metabolism or a vulnerability to biological effects to reflect the same.]

DC Block

ATTACK                RANGE   SAVE              EFFECT

Unarmed w/o Powers    Touch   DC 17 Toughness   Damage [Physical]

Unarmed (autofire)    Touch   DC 21 Toughness   Damage [Physical]

Unarmed (area)        Area    DC 21 Toughness   Damage [Physical]

Totals: Abilities (32) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (10) + Skills (17) + Feats (20) + Powers (56) - Drawbacks (0) = 150/150 Power Points