pc Nick Cimitiere (PL12/15) - Trollthumper (Gold)

[trollthumper]

Character Name: Nick Cimitiere
Power Level: 12/15 (218/250PP) [279]
Trade-Offs: None
Unspent PP: 32
Progress to Impervium Status: 130/150

In Brief: Slick psychobilly necromancer with an obligation to help the dead and the living alike.

Alternate Identities: Eric LaCroix
Identity: Secret
Birthplace: Freedom City
Occupation: Aspiring Singer, Coffee Slinger, Freelance Necromancer
Affiliations: None
Family: Jessica LaCroix (Mother), Peter LaCroix (Father), Mallory LaCroix (Sister)

Description:
Age: 25 (D.O.B. October 1987)
Apparent Age: 22
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 170 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
[floatr][/floatr]
Description: Eric looks like the consummate rockabilly aficionado -- tight jeans, clunky engineer boots, white T (sometimes covered up with a stylized work shirt), shining leather jacket, and hair that could repel a sledgehammer. Tattoos of flames, skeletons, angels, and other symbols of death, salvation and damnation run up and down his arms in full sleeves. He's always got a cocky grin and a demeanor that's relaxed, if not cheerful.

As Nick Cimitiere, not much changes -- Eric trades in his normal colors for all black (save the T-shirt) and his standard leather jacket for one studded with occult symbols, with the veve of Baron Cimitiere displayed most prominently across the back. What changes most, however, is the trademark grin. Through use of stage makeup and prosthetics that help give his face a different shape, Nick wears the image of a skull, complete with rictus. He can still be cheerful, of course, and is definitely helpful to the ghosts he encounters. The crooks, well, that's another story...

History: As a young man, Eric's obsessions weren't really that different from anyone else's -- sex, cars, rock and roll, the usual. He may have had a taste for the morbid and the arcane, but hey, everyone's gotta stand out somehow. Upon graduating from high school, Eric planned to move on to Savannah, Georgia, to attend SCAD and work on getting his degree in art.

That summer, however, Eric ended up in a hideous car crash. He survived, but not before being declared clinically dead for three minutes. During his near-death experience, Eric found himself in a winding cavern deep in the earth. As he traversed the cavern, he got glimpses of other worlds -- a carnivale on the African plains under a moonlit sky, a dark desert stretching along a winding river, a cold world of twisted roots and lost souls, and fields and prisons separated by a river of swirling memories. As he approached the river Lethe and looked into its depths, a mysterious figure in a robe grabbed his arm and said, "Not yet." The cavern faded, and Eric woke up on the operating table.

After recovering from his experience, Eric passed the rest of the summer in peace, and headed off to Savannah in August. He was willing to write up his experience on the table as a hallucination, the jumbled reassembly of a dozen texts on various afterlives. As the first semester wore on, however, Eric began to realize that something had followed him back. Rooms he slept in became unnaturally cold -- which says a lot for Georgia in late summer -- and objects seemed to keep breaking around him. He kept seeing people out of the corner of his eye who weren't there when he turned, and heard things no one else did. And when he slept, he would descend again into that cavern, if only for a few minutes.

Eric met his first ghost while studying in the library at midterms. She was lost, lonely, and covered in blood. She didn't speak much, but she spoke enough. By combing old newspapers and working on her accounts, Eric was able to find the man who killed her. After the murderer ended up in the grips of the police (through an anonymous tip, of course), the girl passed on to her final reward. And Eric knew he had found a new meaning in life.

While still remaining devoted to his more mundane studies, Eric started browsing the hidden corners of Savannah -- and from there, the South in general. He took frequent road trips to New Orleans, seeking out arcane secrets. During this time, he began his career as Nick Cimitiere, costumed avenger of the dead -- and quickly discovered that's hard to do when your powers mainly consist of, "See ghosts, and maybe talk them into doing things for you."

Things began to change after a trip to Atlanta in his sophomore year, however. Trying to gather evidence on a crime lord on behalf of a snitch whose soul was still bound to the car trunk he was killed in, Nick ended up running into a few hitters. Cornered and desperate, he called on his will for an answer... and it appeared, with the shadows in that dark alley lengthening and binding the hitters to the spot. At first Nick thought a ghost had answered his cries... but then realized that he had control over the shadow. He had somehow managed to learn the arts of necromancy by studying the manifestations of the restless dead. Trying to find answers, he headed back to Freedom for summer break and sought tutelage at the hands of Eldrich. Eldrich helped him to get a grip on his burgeoning sorcery, while reminding him of the inherent perils of necromancy. "Death is not to be feared, but it is not to be trifled with, either."

Now, Nick has returned to Freedom City to set up shop, searching for a haunt (actually haunted, if he can manage it) and keeping in touch with his mentor. He's got a head full of dreams, a heart that bleeds for the living and the dead alike... and a nagging concern about just why he's been clued into the ways of death.

Personality & Motivation: When out of costume, Eric is unabashedly charming, slick and helpful, both on stage and in the coffee shop. He's got a nice, laid back demeanor that helps keep people relaxed, and if they open up, he's always there to lend them a hand.

When in costume as Nick Cimitiere, he's still got a lot of the same charm, towards both his fellow heroes and the restless dead alike. But like the loa he takes his name from, Nick's charm tends to turn venomous around the wicked. He hounds, pursues and nips at their heels, bringing up past misdeeds and warning them of the perils of the grave. It's not like he's going to actually kill anyone, but it helps to convince them that maybe it'd be better if they went down to the police station and confessed.
 

---

Complications:
Binders of the Dead, Beware: Nick rarely gets along with other self-professed necromancers, mainly because a good chunk of them are the type who raise zombies or bind ghosts to their service. He really hates necromancers and other sorcerers who bind the dead, and occasionally jumps the gun if presented with evidence of the dark side of their actions (e.g., a ghost trapped in a binding circle).
"Mom, Dad, I'm a Superhero...Just Kidding": Nick's kept his nature as a hero a secret from his family, viewing the stranger side of sorcery as something he really doesn't want his loved ones to get tangled up in.
Resolving Unfinished Business Don't Pay the Bills: Nick works as a barista during the day, a necromancer at night. Sometimes his "hobby" tends to get in the way of work, though...
Talking To Ghosts Is Not a Trade Skill: Nick may be experienced in the ways of necromancy, but he doesn't know why he is. If he was chosen for some divine or nefarious purpose, he has no idea what it is. If some answer is offered, for good or for ill, there's a chance he may end up falling for it.


Abilities: 2 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 6 = 26PP
Strength 12 (+1)
Dexterity 14 (+2)
Constitution 14 (+2)
Intelligence 16 (+3)
Wisdom 14 (+2)
Charisma 16 (+3)


Combat: 16 + 16 = 32PP
Attack: +8 Base, +12 Gifts of the Dead
Defense: +12 (+8 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed
Initiative: +6
Grapple: +24/+9
Knockback: -11/-1


Saving Throws: 6 + 6 + 10 = 22PP
Toughness: +12/+3/+2 (+1 Con, +12 Work Jacket [impervious 12] OR +1 Leather Jacket)
Fortitude: +8 (+2 Con, +6)
Reflex: +8 (+2 Dex, +6)
Will: +12 (+2 Wis, +10)


Skills: 124R = 31PP
Bluff 6 (+9, +13 Attractive)
Computers 2 (+5)
Concentration 8 (+10)
Disable Device 6 (+9)
Diplomacy 8 (+11, +15 Attractive)
Drive 6 (+8)
Gather Information 8 (+11)
Intimidate 12 (+15)
Investigate 4 (+7)
Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 12 (+15)
Knowledge (Art) 6 (+9)
Knowledge (Life Sciences) 4 (+7)
Knowledge (Pop Culture) 4 (+7)
Knowledge (Tactics) 4 (+7)
Knowledge (Theology/Philosophy) 8 (+11)
Notice 10 (+12)
Perform (Singing) 4 (+7)
Search 4 (+6)
Sense Motive 8 (+10)


Feats: 21PP
All-Out Attack
Attractive
Challenge (Fast Startle)
Dodge Focus 4
Equipment 2 (10EP)
Improved Initiative
Luck 3
Master Plan 2
Power Attack
Quick Change
Ritualist
Startle
Uncanny Dodge (Mental)
Well-Informed

Equipment: 2PP = 10EP

 

1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 5 = 10EP

Cell Phone [1EP]

Laptop [1EP]

Leather Jacket (Protection 1) [1EP]

Sap (Strike 1, Feats: Mighty) [2EP]

Parkhurst Hotel (Shared HQ) [5EP]

 

Powers: 2 + 20 + 1 + 51 + 12 = 86PP

Descriptors: Magic, Mystical, Necromancy

Comprehend 1 (Spirits) [2PP]

Device 5 (25PP Container, Flaws: Hard-To-Lose) (Nick's "Work" Jacket, bathed in the waters of the River Styx) [20PP]

 

 

Protection 10 (Extras: Impervious Toughness 12) [22PP]

Immunity 3 (heat, cold, pressure) [3 PP]

Features 1 (suite of minor necromantic rituals -- no major benefits, just several ritual offerings and last rites) [1PP]

Gifts of The Dead (40PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 9) [51PP]

 

 

Base Power: Darkness Control 2 (10ft radius, Extras: Linked [Dimensional Pocket]) [4PP] + Dimensional Pocket 12 (Extras: Linked [Darkness Control], Range [Ranged, 10 120ft Increments / 120ft Max Range]) [36PP] (Creeping Shade) [40PP]

Alternate Power: Animate Objects 12 (150PP Minion, 1000ft Max Range, Flaws: Limited [Machines]) [24PP] + Comprehend 4 (Machines 2, Objects 2) [8PP] (One With the Rust) [32PP]

Alternate Power: Astral Form 7 (200 miles, Feats: Dimensional 2 [underworlds], Selective, Subtle) [39PP] (Eurydice Calls)

Alternate Power: Blast 12 (10 120ft Range Increments / 1200ft Max Range, Extras: Alternate Save [Will], Power Feats: Improved Critical, Indirect 1, Split Attack) [40PP] (Ignis Fatuus)

Alternate Power: Disintegration 12 (10 120ft Range Increments / 1200ft Max Range, Flaws: Action [Full-Round], Affects Objects Only) ) [36PP] (Preparation of the Offerings)

Alternate Power: [36 + 4 = 40PP]

Emotion Control 12 (Extras: Area [General, Attached, 60ft Burst], Selective; Flaws: Limited [Fear]) (Banshee Wail) [36PP]

Super-Senses 4 (Postcognition) [4PP]

Alternate Power: Healing 12 (Extras: Total, Feats: Regrowth, Persistent) (Deny the Reaper) [38PP]

Alternate Power: Nullify 12 (All "Dead/Death" Powers, 10 120ft Range Increments / 1,200ft Max Range, Extras: Effortless) (No Dominion) [36PP]

Alternate Power: Strike 12 (Extras: Autofire 1, Penetrating [4]; Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Improved Critical [18-20], Incurable, Mighty, Reversible, Split Attack) (Ereshkigal's Talons) [34PP]

Alternate Power: Telekinesis 12 (Lifting STR 60, 1200ft Max Range; Extras: Area [General, Burst, 60ft radius], Selective Attack, Flaws: Action [Full-Round]) (Poltergeist's Rage) [36PP]

Super-Senses 12 (Death Awareness Extended 2 [1000 ft.], Detect Ghosts [Mental] Ranged 2 [100 ft.], Detect Magic Acute Ranged 2 [100 ft.]) 12 [12 PP]


Drawbacks: 0PP
None


DC Block:

 

 

ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT

Banshee Wail Perception/Area DC22 Will (Staged) Shaken/Frightened/Panicked

Creeping Shade Ranged DC22 Reflex Imprisoned

DC22 Will Escape

Deny The Reaper Touch DC22 Fortitude (Harmless) Healing

Ereshkigal's Talons Touch DC27 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy)

Ignis Fatuus Touch DC27 Will (Staged) Damage (Energy)

No Dominion Ranged DC27 Will Nullify

Poltergeist's Rage Ranged/Area DC22 Reflex 1/2 Effect

Grapple check (Staged) Pinned/Bound

Preparation/Offerings Ranged DC22 Fortitude (Staged) Drain Toughness

DC27 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Energy)

Sap Melee DC18 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical)

 

Abilities (26) + Combat (32) + Saving Throws (22) + Skills (31) + Feats (21) + Powers (86) - Drawbacks (0) = 218/250 Power Points

 

Edited May 2 by Fox
+1pp for March 2024

[Avenger Assembled]

I like the background a lot. This seems like an interesting character. You should read up on Baron Samedi in the Freedom City book and see what useful stuff you can dig out from there. The setting uses the loa a lot, so you could really get a lot out of taking advantage of that.

If you could work to make his sheet more like the other character sheets, that would be great. You really don't need all the non-standard stuff. Sticking his Necromatic array together would really help.

There are numerous mathematical errors scattered everywhere, particularly in the summoning power. I'd actually advise you to drop the Summon and replace it with some kind of Precise Telekinesis, maybe with the area effect. It's not a good power for new players, and honestly isn't that great a power at all.

[trollthumper]

I like the background a lot. This seems like an interesting character. You should read up on Baron Samedi in the Freedom City book and see what useful stuff you can dig out from there. The setting uses the loa a lot, so you could really get a lot out of taking advantage of that.

Thanks! I know about the role Baron Samedi plays in the setting (hence why I named Nick the way I did -- the Guede are associated with Baron Samedi, Baron LaCroix and Baron Cimitiere). Nick's not really meant as a voodoo hero, however, so much as a hero of death and the Underworld. And that means many Underworlds -- his near-death Orpheus trip took him to Guinee, Duat, Nilfheim and Tartarus alike.

If you could work to make his sheet more like the other character sheets, that would be great. You really don't need all the non-standard stuff. Sticking his Necromatic array together would really help.

All right. I wanted to add some flavor with the descriptions of the Necromancy spells (one of my flaws is that I prefer self-made spells to be ornate and extravagant -- low-end being Mordenkaiden's Magnificient Mansion and high-end being a standard spell description in Exalted). However, I'll simply stick it together as an Array. How exactly do you code for indentations in a paragraph, though? I've seen it in other posts, but I'll be deviled if I can figure it out myself.

There are numerous mathematical errors scattered everywhere, particularly in the summoning power. I'd actually advise you to drop the Summon and replace it with some kind of Precise Telekinesis, maybe with the area effect. It's not a good power for new players, and honestly isn't that great a power at all.

Understandable. I knew I was probably doing something wrong in building the Summon power, but I just liked the idea of summoning up the restless dead. As per our discussion in the chat room, I'm assuming it would be better if I created a "Summon Ghosts" array on the assumption that the spirits in question would be using these powers while remaining insubstantial? Though I'd likely have to buy up the Action Extra on each one to use 'em in the same turn as anything else...

EDIT: And upon further discussion in the chat room, it was decided that the "aid of the restless dead" stuff shall be bundled under the Necromancy Array. It can be described plotwise with some of them being the working of Nick's own will (the Creeping Shade power), some of them being assistance from ghosts he'd lending some of his will to, and some of them being tricks picked up from gods of the dead.

EDIT 2: And the changes in question have been made.

[Avenger Assembled]

APPROVED

[N/A]

OK, I cleaned up the formatting, so the sheet is easier to read at a glance now. There were still a couple of math errors here and there, but I fixed those, too.

Ultimate Power got rid of that core book nonsense about needing to buy up the action on Detect (or any other Super-Senses), so that saved you 1PP. Which is fortunate, because your main power array has 9 APs, not the 8 which was listed.

+Selective is only a feat if it's applied to a non-attack power. If the power forces a saving throw or a contested roll, or if it's something like Obscure, then +Selective is an extra.

Overall, the character is solid. However, I have a few concerns:

First, I think folding your primary defense power into an array is a really bad idea. I think you'll quickly come to regret it.

Second, he's undercapped to a point that worries me. With his most powerful attack/defense AP active, he's PL7.5 on both offense and defense. With any other AP active, he's PL2.3. Forget about supervillains - PL5-6 soldiers and riot cops will kick this guy's ass. Foes of comparable PL will curbstomp him. Which will probably lead to you losing interest in the game and wandering off. I'd like to avoid that.

Third, his +Area TK is not +Selective. That means when he uses it to grab/crush/etc., he hits everyone and everything in the area of effect. Is that what you'd intended?

[N/A]

Also, if you wanted the +Area powers to be a different kind of Area besides Bursts, go ahead and note that.

[trollthumper]

Well, you've definitely got a point there, Shaen, and as I didn't exactly sign up to play Kick-Ass, any advice to keep me from ending up in a pool of blood is much welcomed. As per your advice in the thread and in the chat room, I have stripped out Protection from the Array and transferred it to a Device, folded Astral Form into the Array, and spent the leftover points on Attack Focus, the Accurate PF for the Array, Dodge Focus, and an extra innate point of Defense.

[N/A]

:approved: