Gookgak (PL8/10) and Smaurg - Please Help

[FlyingFresh]

Hello, if anybody wants to look over my character sheet and help me spot problems before I post it in the character bank, that would be awesome. 

 

 

Gookgak
Power Level: 10
Effective Power Level: 8
Power Points: 150/150
Trade-Offs: +2 Attack / -2 Damage, +2  Defense / -2 Toughness

 

In Brief: Your typical vain, cowardly, greedy, sycophantic teenage gobbelyn thrust awkwardly into superheroism by the fickle hand of fate.

Catchphrase: "You see? Gookgak is a good gobbelyn!"

Theme: Hell Yeah - Dead Prez

 
Alternate Identity: Nope. Just Gookgak.
Birthplace: The Warren (subterranean ruins under Ring City), The Hidden Realm
Residence: Claremont High School
Base of Operations: Claremont High School
Occupation: Student
Affiliations: TBD
Family: Uncle Hogwarm - operates a small magical security system installation and maintenance company in Freedom City and is Gookgak's sponsor. Shellpit  (father), Brimlif (mother), Druce (younger sister), and Billy-Billy (younger brother) live in The Warren, in the far-away Hidden Realm.


Description:
Age: 16 (2008)
Gender:  Male
Ethnicity: Gobbelyn
Height: 3'0"
Weight: 28 pounds
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Green

Gookgak is a green-skinned, pointy-eared little gobbelyn. His Uncle Hogwarm has provided him with a wardrobe of contemporary clothing, which he typically favors over his traditional gobbelyn garb of stitched together bits of leather, fur, and cloth. He still carries his bow around and hides a shiv in a pocket. "Only a mushy brained idiot walks around without weapons."

 

History:

Isolated and difficult to access from the rest of the multiverse, there exists a Hidden Realm of magic and mystery - a realm that just so happens to uncannily resemble your stereotypical D&D campaign setting. Who knew?

Doctor Alexander Atom knew, and he briefly included it in his itinerary of interdimensional tourism, back in the day. During his visit, the good doctor solicited the guiding and interpretation services of one young gobbelyn by the name of Hogwarm, resident of The Warrens below Ring City. Now gobbelyns are diminutive green natives of the Hidden Realm, not to be confused with their possibly-distantly-related near homonyms, the goblins (of whom Eòghann Soillearsgian is the prince and of whom Freedom City has been seeing an increasing number of, recently).

This Hogwarm was quite helpful and friendly, not having yet picked up the suspicious nastiness so sadly common in gobbelyn culture. So when Doctor Atom found him as a stowaway upon his return to Earth-Prime, he really wasn't all that upset. Fast-forward half a century, and we find Hogwarm a middle-aged gobbelyn, a fully naturalized citizen of Freedom City, and the sole proprietor of a thriving small business installing and maintaining magical security systems.

Hogwarm was eventually able to regain contact with his relatives back in The Warren, using a magical well of the worlds in his cave basement. It is through this that he learned of Gookgak.

Gookgak is the eldest son of Brimlif, older sister to Hogwarm. Shellpit, Brimlif's husband, would complain to Hogwarm about his son Gookgak. He never seems to fit in. He can't figure out what to do with himself.

First, Gookgak thought he would be a shaman. He did pretty well learning the tricksy spells of the gobbelyn folk. But he lacked commitment. He couldn't embrace the maniacal recklessness necessary to engage in constant prayer to the chaos gods and consistent invocation of magical mischief - with its well-known consequences of hideous facial disfigurement and ever increasing madness. After a while, the elder shamans suggested maybe he would do better as a scout.

All gobbelyns are sneaky, and Gookgak was really sneaky, even for a gobbelyn. So, for a while, it seemed like scouting could be a good fit. But then the problems started. Gookgak was easily distractable. Instead of watching the pass for caravans or casing lonely homesteads, he'd wander off and chase frogs, or try to steal honey from bees. Even worse, he was developing a habit of just walking up and talking to travelers and settlements he was supposed to be spying on for raids. For a few weeks, he even became a mascot of sorts for a party of human adventurers. What could be more humiliating?

With avuncular wisdom, Hogwarm suggested it might do Gookgak good to make a fresh start and come live with him in Freedom City. The transition wouldn't be that hard, he explained because (for reasons known only to the Elder Gods) the language "English" primarily spoken in Freedom City was the same as the Common language spoken amongst men of Ring City.

Sullen Gookgak jumped at the chance to remake himself in a foreign new city. With the help of a resident mage, Gookgak was pulled through the well of worlds in Hogwarm's cave basement, last Friday, at approximately 6 pm. Gookgak's uncle took advantage of the weekend to give the young gobbelyn a whirlwind tour of the city, and to visit the local department store, to procure a culturally appropriate wardrobe for him. (Childerns' section, of course.)

Personality & Motivation:

Gookgak was a misfit in gobbelyn society. He really wants to be accepted in Freedom City by his Claremont peers. That said, there is a major culture clash at play. Gobbelyn values include deception, servility, backstabbing, theft, running from danger, cruelly abusing whatever tiny power you can grasp, stealing stuff, lying for fun, stabbing in the back, being a total sycophant, and eating things that should probably be avoided.
 

Powers & Tactics:

Gookgak is ludicrously sneaky and slippery. One minute, you'll be staring right at him, and the next you'll be spinning around the room looking for him while he silently clings to your backpack. It's a good thing for him too, because if he gets caught out by a damage-shifted adversary, he's an excellent candidate for a 1-hit KO.

Gookgak fights dirty. In addition to hiding in plain sight, he will make use of acrobatic bluffs, tricks, and redirects. Although he is very nimble, he also is quite weak, and relies on his enchanted gobbelyn weapons (greasy shiv and tricksy bow) to be effective in combat. Not that he seeks combat, mind you. He'll only engage in anything even vaguely resembling a fair fight if his side seems stronger or he absolutely can't avoid it.

Gookgak's gobbelyn physiology allows him to see in the dark and climb walls and ceilings, as well as renders him resistant to nauseate and entrapment effects.

Gookgak can conjure some powerful gobbelyn trick magic spells, although his ability to do so is limited. Each spell can be encounter-altering, but also has a significant potential to backfire. Drowsy Dust can potentially put several foes to sleep that fail their will saves, but limited range and 2-round persistence increase the chance for affecting allies as well. Firebreath can potentially dish out a lot of damage, with its cone area and secondary effect, but the perception area dazzle linked to the damage can blind anyone that looks at it: friend, foe, or Gookgak himself. Mischief Shadow can set up some nasty sneak attacks, combined with darkvision, but the obscure area could just as easily blind allies. Summon Warg might be Gookgak's most important and iconic spell. Tough as all get out, Smaurg of the Endless Wastes shores up a lot of Gookgak's weaknesses. Although generally helpful, Smaurg is a bit disdainful of Gookgak. Smaurg is a sustained power, and will dissappear if Gookgak can not take a free action to maintain him, and summoning him costs the scarce resource of a use of Gobbelyn Tricks.
 

Power Descriptions:

Gookgak's Gobbelyn Physiology powers are innate, and include small size, darkvision, wall crawling, and partial immunity to nauseate and entrapment effects.

His Gobbelyn Gear is magical in nature. Despite their effectiveness, both his Greasy Shiv and Tricksy bow appear exceedingly crudely made and covered in crazed symbols scratched on and written in charcoal and blood.
 
His Gobbelyn Tricks are magic spells he learned in his time training to be a shaman. They involve words, gestures, and the careful utilization of gobbelyn gris-gris. That doesn't mean they can't be done stealthily, however. Summoning the Warg, in particular, is quite an ordeal, requiring at least 5 minutes of ritualistic chanting and self flagellation.

Complications:

Cowardly: Unless his side has the clear advantage or he can snipe and sneak away, Gookgak will always hide or flee rather than fight. On top of this, Gookgak seriously overestimates the prowess of potential opponents. So he would probably hide from a dog, but not from a bunny.

Klepto: Gookgak comes from a culture where stealing is as natural as breathing . . . or farting (which he also does a lot of). He really wants to fit in with his Claremont peers, but he just can't wrap his head around the idea that stealing is regarded as universally bad. If it is explained to him, he will assume stealing that particular object, from that particular place or person (on that particular day of the week) was the problem.

Suck-up: Sucking-up is an important part of Gobbelyn culture. Gookgak flatters and aids whoever seems the most powerful. This may not be the worst thing when he's around powerful heroes. But one on one time with an intimidating super villain, maybe, just maybe, has the potential to go slightly astray.

Insecure: Gookgak is preoccupied with what other people think of him, nurses ridiculous grudges for perceived slights, and is paranoid that he is deeply deficient and must constantly struggle to manage to stay in the good graces of authorities. Gookgak will take any opportunity to show off or lord any temporary advantage over another, only to quickly deflate and become servile when tables turn.

Abilities: 0 + 16 + 4 + 2 + 8 + 0 = 30PP 

STR 6 (-2) (Small)

DEX 26 (+8)

CON 14 (+2) 

INT 12 (+1) 

WIS 18 (+4) 

CHA 10 (+0) 


Combat: 6 + 6 = 12PP 

Attack: +4 BAB (+3, +1 Small)/+10 Greasy Shiv/+10 Tricksy Bow/+10 Firebreath

Defense: +10 (+3, +1 Small, Dodge Focus +6) (+2 without Dodge) 

Init: +12 (+8 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)

Grapple: +8, +13 Reflex, +20 Escape

Knockback: -2


Saves: 4 + 5 + 4 = 13PP 

TOU +6/+2 (+2 Con, +4 Defensive Roll)

FORT +6 (+2 Con, +4) 

REF + 13 (+8 Dex, +5) 

WILL +8 (+4 Wis, +4) 


Skills: 108R=27PP 

Acrobatics 12 (+20)

Concentration  13 (+17)

Disable Device  9 (+10) 

Escape Artist 12 (+20)

Knowledge: Streetwise 4 (+5)

Languages 1 (English, Base: Gobbelyn) 

Notice 10 (+14) 

Ride 2 (+10)

Search  9 (+10) 

Sense Motive 6 (+10)

Sleight of Hand 7 (+15)

Stealth 13 (+25) (Small)

Survival 4 (+8)

Swim 6 (+5)


Feats: 30PP

Acrobatic Bluff

Challenge: Fast Acrobatic Bluff

Defensive Roll 4

Dodge Focus 6

Evasion 2

Grappling Finesse

Hide in Plain Sight

Improved Defense

Improved Initiative

Improvised Tools

Luck 2

Power Attack

Precise Shot

Redirect

Setup

Skill Mastery 2 (Acrobatics, Escape Artist, Notice, Ride, Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Swim)

Takedown Attack 2

Uncanny Dodge (Hearing) 


Powers: 11 + 13 + 14  = 38PP

Gobbelyn Gear, Device 3.2 (Gobbelyn, Magical, PFs: Multiple Weapons 1, Flaws: Easy to Lose) [11PP] [16CP]

Array 7.5 (PFs: AP 1)[16CP][15AP]
BP: Greasy Shiv, Damage 6 (Piercing/Slashing, PFs: Accurate 3, Extras: Linked[0]), Nauseate 6 (Flaws: Sicken Only, Extras: Linked[0]) [15/15AP]
AP: Tricksy Bow, Blast 6 (Piercing, PFs: Accurate 3, Homing, Drawbacks: Range -1, Close Range 60', Max Range 300') [15/15AP]

Gobbelyn Physiology, Container 2.4 (Gobbelyn, Passive, PF: Innate) [13PP] [12CP]
Shrinking 4 (Small, PFs: Normal Toughness, Flaws: Permanent) [3CP]
Super Senses 2 (Visual, Darkness) Counters Obscure [2CP]
Super Movement 2 Wallcrawling 2 [2CP]
Immunity 5 Entrapment Effects (Flaws: Partial), Nauseate Effects (Flaws: Partial) [5CP]

Gobbelyn Tricks, Array 11 (Gobbelyn, Magical, PFs: 3 AP, Flaws: Unreliable - 5 uses, recover 1 use per day) [14PP][22AP]
BP: Drowsy Dust, Sleep 8 (Extras: Alternate Save - Will, Area - General, Cloud, 40' Diameter, Drawbacks: Reduced Range -2, 200') [22AP]
AP: Firebreath, Damage 6 (Fire, PFs: Accurate 3, Extras: Area - Targeted, Cone 60' × 60', Secondary Effect, Linked[0], Flaws: Action - Full Action), Dazzle 3 (Visual, Extras: Area - General, Perception, Linked[0], Flaws: Range -1) Anyone that can see the Firebreath faces a Rank 3 Dazzle. [21AP]
AP: Mischief Shadow, (PFs: Tethered) Obscure 5 (Visual, Darkness, 100' Radius, Extras: Linked), Emotion Control 8 (Extras: Area - General, Burst, 80' Radius, Selective Attack, Linked, Flaws: Limited: Despair Only, Range -2) [19AP]
AP: Summon Warg 8 (Extras: Heroic, Drawbacks: Action -2, 5 minutes) [22AP]



DC Block

ATTACK              RANGE      SAVE                           EFFECT
Unarmed             Touch      DC 13 Toughness                Damage
Greasy Shiv         Touch     DC 21 Toughness                Damage
                                              DC 16
Fortitude               Nauseate (Sickness Only)
Tricksy Bow         Ranged     DC 21
Toughness                Damage (Homing)
Drowsy Dust    Ranged, Area-General/Cloud
DC 18 Will                 Sleep
Firebreath             Area-Targeted/Cone DC 21
Toughness (Secondary Effect)    Damage

 

Totals: Abilities 30 + Skills 27 + Feats 30 + Powers 38 + Combat 12 + Saves 13 = 150

Edited September 5 by FlyingFresh
Removed Nightwalkers, added Elusive Target

[FlyingFresh]

 

Smaurg
Power Level: 8 (120/120PP) Heroic Summon
Trade-Offs: -2 Attack / +2 Damage, -2 Defense / +2 Toughness


In Brief: Terrifying giant talking wolf-like creature summoned from the Endless Wastes. Gmork minus the brains.

Catchphrase: "I will feast on your flesh!"

Theme: Dire Wolf - Grateful Dead

Alternate Identity: Nope
Birthplace: The Hidden Realm

Residence: The spiritual realm of the Endless Wastes, unless summoned
Occupation: Evil spirit. Sometimes tank and taxi for his summoner, the gobbelyn Gookgak.
Affiliations: Gookgak
Family: None


Description:
Age: 666 
Apparent Age: Healthy adult
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Warg
Height: 6' 2" at shoulder
Weight: 2,000 pounds
Eyes: Red
Hair: Grey, covers entire body

As a warg, Smaurg looks like a cave bear- sized wolf, with evil red eyes.


History:

In life, Smaurg was a particularly powerful and ferocious warg, favored by the orc lord Smashdeath as a battle mount. His exploits included crushing the life out of the throat of the dwarf king Nilbotham, and siring over 300 pups, most of which he later killed in the business of remaining top warg.

For this and more, he was rewarded upon his death with eternal life roaming the Endless Wastes, striking terror into lesser deceased beings. Everything was pretty much great.

And then some absolute joke of a nothing gobbelyn wannabe shaman started summoning his spirit - him the Mighty Smaurg - to carry out his will. None of this gobbelyn's will - his name was something utterly forgettable, like "Poop-pack" or something - turned out to be that glorious, or even that satisfyingly bloody. But a summoning spell is a summoning spell. You have to be realistic about these things.


Personality & Motivation:

Smaurg is a bully. He likes to intimidate and terrorize. He's also a bloodthirsty killer. On the other hand, he is summoned by and bound to Gookgak, who is, let's face it, a bit of a wuss. So, he does what he can.


Powers & Tactics:

When Gookgak summons Smaurg, it's either because he needs help with a fight, he wants to scare someone, he needs to track someone, or he needs a big, hairy taxi.

In combat, Smaurg's go-to maneuver is to say something scary to demoralize his foe, then bite them in the neck and start choking them out. He will interpose to protect Gookgak, which he can do with relative impunity, thanks to his high toughness and rapid regeneration.

As a taxi, Smaurg has a base speed of 27 mph, base jump of 90 feet, and an effective 41 strength for carrying capacity.

Power Descriptions:

Smaurg's large size, tough hide, vicious jaws, running and leaping ability, keen hearing, darkvision, and ability to track by smell are all normal, innate abilities of a warg.
 
Smaurg's super-strength and rapid regeneration are special magical boons from the gods of savagery, just as a little "thank you" for being so brutal and bloodthirsty in life.

Complications:

Vanity: Smaurg is quite susceptible to flattery. Also, he's just fairly dumb, compared to say an average human.

Top Dog: Smaurg finds it virtually impossible to back down from a physical confrontation for dominance.


Abilities: 8 + 4 + 10 + -4 + 8 + 0 = 26PP 

STR 26 (+8) (Large) (41 carry)

DEX 14 (+2)

CON 24 (+7) (Large)

INT 6 (-2) 

WIS 18 (+4) 

CHA 10 (+0) 


Combat: 6 + 14 = 20PP 

Attack: +2 BAB (+3, -1 Large)/+6 Melee (Attack Focus 4)

Defense: +6 (+7, -1 Large) (+3 without Dodge) 

Init: +2 (+2 Dex)

Grapple: +20 (+6 Melee, +8 Str, +2 SuperStr, +4 Large), +24 Efffective Maintain Pin

Knockback: -9 (-5 Toughness, -4 Large)

Resist Trip: +15 (Acrobatics)


Saves: 6 + 4 + 4 = 14PP 

TOU +10 (+7 Con, +1 Large, +2 Protection)

FORT +13 (+7 Con, +6) 

REF + 6 (+2 Dex, +4) 

WILL + 8 (+4 Wis, +4) 


Skills: 60R=15PP 

Acrobatics 13 (+15)

Intimidate 13 (+15) (Large vs. Medium)

Languages 1 English (Base: Gobbelyn)

Notice 13 (+17) 

Stealth 12 (+10) (Large)

Survival 4 (+8)

Swim 4 (+12)


Feats: 11PP

All-Out Attack

Attack Focus: Melee 4

Challenge: Fast Demoralize

Improved Grab

Improved Pin

Interpose

Power Attack

Skill Mastery 1 (Acrobatics, Intimidate, Notice, Stealth)

Powers: 21 + 13  = 34PP


Warg Physiology, Container 4.8 (Warg, Passive, PF: Innate, Drawbacks: No Hands -4) [21PP] [24/24PP Container]
Growth 4 (Large, Flaws: Permanent) [8CP]
Super Senses 6 (Counters Obscure, Visual, Darkness), (Smell, Accurate, Tracking), (Hearing, Extended 1, Uncanny Dodge) [6CP]
Protection 2 (Tough hide) [2CP]
Damage 2 (Jaws, Piercing, PFs: Mighty)[3CP]
Speed 2 (27 mph)(Large) [2CP]
Leaping 2 (90') [2CP]
Immunity 1 Cold [1CP]

Terror of the Endless Waste, Container 2.8 (Passive, Magical) [13 PP][13CP]
Super-Strength 2 [4CP]
Regeneration 7 (PFs: Regrowth, Drawbacks: Power Loss - Silver) Recovery Bonus 2, Recovery Rate 5 - Staggered (standard action)[7CP]

Lick Wounds, Healing 2 (Flaws: Distracting)[2CP]

DC Block

ATTACK              RANGE      SAVE                           EFFECT
Bite                      Touch      DC 25 Toughness                Damage


Totals: Abilities 26 + Skills 14 + Feats 11 + Powers 34 + Combat 20 + Saves 14 = 120

Edited September 5 by FlyingFresh
Toned down regeneration, added Lick Wounds and increased super strength to 2

[Thevshi]

Hello and welcome! @FlyingFresh

 

Interesting character, it just so happens that another player made a half-goblin/half-ogre prince from the fae realm Harlequin. Might be worth talking a look and reaching out to Kaede about possibly tying Gookgak to Harlequin? (always helpful to have built in connections with other PCs, though you will of course have one with being at Claremont, which is very helpful)

 

Not quite able to take a deep dive into things, but a couple things that stood out as something that us Refs might take a hard look at:

 

For the Stealth Boost, boost can be problematic in general, but an 8 hour total fade is probably more than we would want to allow. This is particularly true where it somewhat undercuts the Unreliable flaw on the entire array, as you cast it and it will effectively be in place for an entire thread (it is very rear that you will need to count the number of days between threads to determine if the uses have fully recovered or not).

 

For the Warg, it is probably just my perspective, but no action regeneration for both bruises and injured conditions is probably a bit much. As a GM, if I saw a character with that (even if just a summoned heroic minion), I might think twice about including a character that is so hard to challenge in combat in a thread.

 

Just some observations. Again welcome to the site!

 

[FlyingFresh]

Thanks for that feedback. I had reached out to the player for Harlequin.

 

Based on your comments, I removed Gookgak's Nightwalkers spell and used the power point to buy the illusive target feat.

 

For Smaurg, I removed the no action Recovery of Bruised and Injured, and replaced it with a standard action recovery of staggered - curious if that sounds better, worse, or no change. Also bought a low powered, Distracting Healing ("Lick Wounds"), increased Leaping from 1 to 2 and increased support Strength from 1 to 2 with the refunded power points. Appreciate your views on game balance - wonder if this sounds better or not. 

[Supercape]

Just my 2 cents:

 

Gobbelyn Gear, Array 4.5 (Goblin, Magical, PFs: AP 1) [10PP] [9AP]
BP: Greasy Shiv, Device 3 (Flaws: easy to lose)[9/9AP][15CP] - Damage 6 (Piercing/Slashing, PFs: Accurate 3, Extras: Linked[0]), Nauseate 6 (Flaws: Sicken Only, Extras: Linked[0]) [15/15CP]
AP: Tricksy Bow, Device 3 (Flaws: easy to lose)[9/9AP][15CP] - Blast 6 (Piercing, PFs: Accurate 3, Homing, Drawbacks: Range -1, Close Range 60', Max Range 300') [15/15CP]

 

Unless these are conjured out of thin air and cant be disarmed, I would build them as a device. . We have the house rule "Multiple weapons" feat for buying two weapons (as long as they do not have an array each)

 

I think the maths is off for that array too... a 9 PP array with powers costing 15 PP?

 

Example:

 

Device 3 (Feats: Alt Device, Multiple Weapon 1, Flaws: Easy to Lose) [12PP]

Base Device: Greasy Shiv (Damage 5, linked with Nauseate 5, limited to sickness, poison extra) [15/15 DP]

Alt Device: Tricksy Bow (Blast 6, Feats: Homing, Accurate, Ricochet) [15/15 DP]

 

[Thevshi]

Both those changes are fine with me. I realized I should have suggested that for the boost, one option might have been to rearrange things so there were two linked boosts (each for different things), but that can always be added down the line.

 

Cape is right re: the above for the Gear array. This should be set up as a Device (a container) with the array inside the container). (Although Cape's cost for the device container is slightly off, it would be 11 PP, 9 for the 3 ranks of the easy-to-lose container (providing 15 device points for the powers in the array), 1 for the alt slot and 1 for the multi-weapon feat (which allows one to be disarmed, and Gookgak to still have the other on hand).

[Supercape]

I always found boost in an array a bit cheeze - you boost and get all the benefits, then switch over to the array. At least boost which doesnt quickly fade...

 

And alternative would be to do something like an AP concealment power, making everyone invisible or partially visible or whatever  or an enhanced trait (Stealth) with affects others and burst. 

[FlyingFresh]

Thanks so much for the feedback. I'm hoping to get a valid link to the discord soon. I'll invert that Gear Power to have the Array inside the container, like you describe.

 

There was also a game mechanics issue I should enquire about. One of the things Smaurg is built around is the assumption that he can Grapple. But he has a "no hands" flaw. My idea was that he could still Grapple with his jaws and heavy body, and that not having any ability to attack at range or use Manipulation skills and having to take 20 to open doorknobs and such was enough of an inconvenience to justify the 4 PP discount for "no hands". Am I on track with this?

[Thevshi]

Hey FF, check the PM that Poncho sent you on Tuesday. I put a link to our discord there. Hopefully it works. If not, we will figure it out.