Cicada-Man Preliminary Build

[Carbon_Copy]

OK, trying this again;

Here's Carlan Moran, Cicada-Man. This is just a working title until I can figure out a more permanent name to call him. Yes I know "Cicada-Man" works, but it's not really my style so I'm gonna see if there's something better to be had. He's a metal singer/bassist with an Irish heritage, which I feel is fitting. He's a noble kinda character wanting only that people be free to make their own choices in life and live "in the pursuit of happiness." This makes "tyranny" number one on his "I hate that" list, but anyone/thing that is in the business of oppression is not going to be viewed favorably by Carlan. But enough about stuff I talk about in the sheet.

Again, I'm asking for suggestions on anything that I might do to improve this build.

Thanks in advance,

Carbon

Characters Name: Cicada-Man

Power Level: 10 (150/150)

Trade-Offs: -5 Defense / +5 Toughness

Unspent PP: 0

Alternate Identity: Carlan Moran

Age: 32 (born August 1978; Appears to be early 30’s)

Gender: Male

Height: 5’2â€

Weight: 130 lbs

Eyes: Green

Hair: Red-Orange

Description: (Picture forthcoming)

History: In progress. He has a reputation as one of the most fantastic vocalists in the underground music scene in his home town of Chicago. He has recently moved from his home town in Illinois to Freedom City since his band was offered a deal by the

Personality & Motivation: Carlan Moran is a pretty upstanding guy, playing bass and vocals in his metal band “Substantially Hollowâ€. Carlan likes his fans and has come to believe that there is a lot of good in most people. He’s not so diluted by optimism as to think that there are no bad people, past experience has taught him that that is simply not the case. However he needs to see a lot of bad come out of a person before he will qualify that person as a “bad peopleâ€. His general optimism shows through in his personality as he is usually jovial and good natured. He’s not exactly one to be particularly humorous however, he’s just a nice person.

Carlan was mostly, but not completely, driven to a sub-life of crime fighting because of his desire to protect the many and the weak from the few and the powerful (not necessarily having to qualify as both conditions). Tyranny and Dictatorship are a few of the things that Carlan has the least tolerance for and he will do everything in his power to eliminate the condition beset on others.

Powers & Tactics: When describing his fighting tactics as a super hero, one would definitely exclude the words ‘subtle,’ ‘finesse,’ and ‘tactical.’ He really doesn’t see a lot of difference between a super hero brawl and a mosh pit. He tends to take huge sweeping blows and takes unnecessary risks when in combat. The way he sees it, if he’s not exhausted by the end of a fight, he hasn’t been doing it right.

General Game Plan: Fly in, begin making noise to disorient and irritate the enemy, start punching, do not stop punching until enemy is on the ground or Carlan is.

Complications:

In Brief: A good natured and straightforward man. The only thing that can really drive him to anger or true rage is the belittling of one person’s, or group of people, freedoms by another person, or group of people.

Stats: 2+2+8+0+2+8 = 22pp

Str: 12 / 20* (+1 / +5)

Dex: 12(+1)

Con: 18 (+4)

Int: 10 (+0)

Wis: 12 (+2)

Cha: 18 (+4)

Combat: 20+10 = 30pp

Attack: +10

Grapple: +25

Defense: +5 (+2 flat-footed)

Knockback: -7

Initiative: +5

Saves: 2+5+4 = 11pp

Toughness: +15 (+4 Con, +11 other)

Fortitude: +6 (+4 Con, +2)

Reflex: +6 (+1 Dex, +5)

Will: +5 (+1 Wis, +4)

Skills: 48r = 12pp

Bluff 4 (+8)

Concentration 4 (+5)

Diplomacy 4 (+8)

Gather Information 4 (+8)

Intimidate 8 (+12)

Notice 4 (+5)

Perform (Sing) 6 (+10)

Perform (Stringed Instrument) 6 (+10)

Search 4 (+4)

Sense Motive 4 (+5)

Feats: 6pp

All-Out Attack

Diehard (free)

Improved Initiative 1

Improved Sunder

Power Attack

Takedown Attack

Taunt

Powers: 2+30+1+1+8+3+11+6+8 = 70pp

Additional Limbs 2 [2]

Dazzle (auditory) 10 (Sonic; Extra: Duration +2, Burst Area +1; Flaw: Range) Cicada Song[30]

AP: Damage 10 (Sonic; Extra: Burst Area) Cicada Screech [1]

AP: Stun 10 (Sonic; Extra: Duration +1, Burst Area; Flaw: Limited (dazed only)) Cicada Discord [1]

Enhanced Strength 8 [8]

Flight 3 (insect wings) [3]

Protection 11 (chitin skin) [11]

Super Senses 6 (sonar 3, time sense 1, ultra hearing 1, uncanny dodge (hearing) 1) [6]

Super-Strength 4 [8]

Drawbacks: 1 = 1pp

Power Loss (Flight, if wings are disabled; uncommon, minor; -1)

DC Block:

Dazzle (auditory) --- 20/Fortitude --- no hearing, lasting

Damage --- 25/Toughness --- bruise, staged

Stun --- 20/Fortitude --- dazed, lasting

Costs: Abilities (22) + Combat (30) + Saves (11) + Skills (12) + Feats (6) + Powers (70) - Drawbacks (1) = 150pp

[quotemyname]

Haven't read the bio, but let's crunch some numbers I need a break from counting posts

Combat

Don't know where you're getting Defense +15 (+12 Flat Footed) from. It looks like in the section heading you spent 10 points on it, getting you a base value of +5 (+2 Flat Footed). In order to bump it to the value displayed, you would need either Dodge Focus 10 (feat) or Shield 10 (power). I don't see either of those on your sheet. Aside from that, I don't advocate putting odd values in your base defense. If you crunch the numbers on how Flat Footed is calculated, odd Base Defense values are always inefficient. Instead, buy yourself an even value, and either Dodge Focus or Shield 1. Then upgrade to the next even value in Base Defense when you can afford it.

stats

Just list your strength as:

Str: 12/20 (+1/+5)

No need for an "*". We know where the bonus comes from, but we like to see the unpowered modifiers listed in case you get Nullified.

Saves

Saves are well rounded, albeit a little low for a PL10. Average Save levels are usually about = PL for any given character, unless that save is their shtick. Also, because of your gloriously high toughness score, might I suggest lowering your reflex and raising your other saves with the points this nets you? Mose effects that provoke a reflex save are Area Effects. As Area Effects are bound by PL anyway, you won't have to worry about them being too terribly powerful. Thus, with a +15 Toughness, you can probably get by with not dodging them, and just taking the hit. That said, save the points, and slap them somewhere that they'll give you more mileage. With 5 points you could grab yourself a +8 to both Fort and Will. This is closer to your PL, and gives you a better chance of getting around things like Stun and Paralyze which can be solely alter the course of fights by themselves.

Skills

Take a look at ShaenTheBrain's Pimp my PC thread. It's a good read, and contains a more in depth description of the following: When building characters, try to work your final skill modifiers so that they net you bonuses in increments of +5 (+10, +15, etc). You'll notice that skill DC's in the book are at benchmarks of 5. If you place your skills at the same level, you have a better chance of reaching these benchmarks. (With a +5, you have about a 50% chance of making a DC 15. With a +10, you have about a 50% chance of making a DC 20. This comes from the number of sides on a d20). Buying the Skill Mastery feat for the skill you plan to use often further increases the likelyhood of reliably being able to hit the DC's you want.

The exception to this rule is your Interaction skills. If you plan to use them often (like Bluff and Intimidate), make them as high as possible. Essentially, in the M&M meta-game, these skills become a veritable arms race of [interaction Skill] vs [sense Motive/Will Save]

Feats

Skill Mastery!

Sorry, but that's all the time I've got for now!

[Carbon_Copy]

Don't know where you're getting Defense +15 (+12 Flat Footed) from. It looks like in the section heading you spent 10 points on it, getting you a base value of +5 (+2 Flat Footed).

DOH!

Thanks for that catch Quote. It's actually a holdover from how I write down my stats on my sheets in my tabletop games and it didn't get fixed as it made the transition onto the Freedom City sheet.

I fix'd that little problem and the notation you mentioned from the stats section.

[quotemyname]

Kay.

Again, it's more efficient if you only buy 4 Base Defense, and buy Dodge Focus 1.