cosmicarus Posted December 5, 2010 Posted December 5, 2010 [floatr][/floatr] Player Name: Cosmicarus Character Name: The Seventh Soldier (just goes by Soldier) Power Level: 7, 105/105PP Trade-Offs: None Unspent PP: 0 Progress to Bronze Status: 0/30 In Brief: Individual members of a collective colony of mutated ants who, working together, wish to clean and police their 'nest'. Though only one member of the colony will be active for any one mission, they work together behind the scenes with single-minded determination. Alternate Identities: None Identity: Secret Birthplace: Freedom City Occupation: Soldier Affiliations: None Family: The rest of the colony (27 soldier 'ants' in total) Age: 5 (DoB: October 12th, 2005) Apparent Age: Late-twenties Gender: Male Ethnicity: Humanoid insect Height: 5'9" Weight: 80kg (187lbs) Eyes: Black Hair: None Description: Standing straight and saying little, members of the colony do their best to not to draw too much unwanted attention to themselves. They wear simple, matching tracksuits, leading many to mistakenly believe that they are, in fact, a single person. Every portion of their brown, chitinous carapace is covered by the tracksuit, their gloves, boots or the balaclava they all also wear. When they speak, their voice is gravelly and uncouth. Power Descriptions: All of any Soldier's powers come from their enhanced physiology. Lithe, powerful muscles give him extra speed and strength, whilst a coupling with claws allows him to cause damaging strikes and to climb most surfaces with ease. Like all ants, Soldiers continue to communicate using pheromones. They sense these on people, and on trails left around the city by other members of their colony. They can be used to gather information about people or places, or indeed track individuals down when necessary. History: Think of the safest, most familiar place in the world. Imagine the feeling you have there, that sense of belonging and also of self. Imagine knowing only that reality on a daily basis; a reality so ingrained and so real that it’s something you understand on a cellular level, something you are intrinsically a part of. Then imagine that world being taken away. The seventh Soldier and 48 of his brothers were made to deal with that very event. Their colony was so alike the countless others living in and around Freedom City, however it alone was designated by the Fates to become something very different; 49 humanoid ant creatures, initially with little sense of self, destiny or guidance. The actual catalyst for their change is not known by the remainder of the colony; they know only what once was, and what now is. The truth is, even if someone were to know what event caused their transformation and tried explaining it to them, the reality of it would more than likely be beyond their grasp. They are creatures of the present, and this has been true since the beginning. There was chaos at first; thrashing, confused individuals, not recognising the scent of this new world or even their beloved siblings. Over time, in the darkness below Freedom, they came to remember; their minds began to clear and the familiarity of the scents returned. The 49 newly formed siblings found comfort with each other, but there was still an emptiness inside – a lost something that seemed at once intangible and yet ever present. The only time they seemed to find any solace was when they were working, and so that’s what they did. The colony began to build themselves a new home in their immediate surroundings. Unfortunately, their immediate surroundings were the tunnels of the Freedom City sewer system. They damaged numerous walls, electrical systems and pipes as they built, and their activities were quickly brought to the attention of the authorities. A maintenance crew was dispatched to fix what was initially thought to be a faulty power relay, but the humans were set upon by the colony, who believed themselves to be defending their territory. Luckily there were no fatalities, as the colony was still adjusting to their new forms, but their presence was brought to the attention of the Freedom City population at large. Initially, despite the miraculous happenings that occur every day in Freedom City, the initial reports of these ‘ant-men from the sewers’ was met with some scepticism; a poorly conceived prank, perhaps. It was Victoria Atom who first personally looked into the matter, intrigued by the idea. She read the about the story in a sensationalist newspaper and decided that it was a story worth looking into. It didn't take her long to find the colony, and unfortunately, the colony also found her. Once again, the colony resorted to violence to rid it’s territory of the ‘threat’. Victoria Atom was no average maintenance crew member however, and with the arrival and help of her own famous family, they managed to drive the colony off, deeper into the underground. For months the ants lived where the city becomes the Earth, eating rats and other small animals to maintain themselves. As they began to get more comfortable, the Soldiers began to explore their new home. Some went deeper underground whilst others, including the Seventh Soldier, explored above ground. For weeks they skittered around the buildings and streets at night, doing their best to keep out of sight of the humans whom they now identified as danger. They watched the people with a detached curiosity, trying to understand what was obviously the alpha predator of the area, before slinking back into the darkness as each dawn broke. Over time, the colony came to know the streets and underground of Freedom as well as they would their own nest, and with this knowledge came something else; a sense of ownership. Unfortunately for the colony, humans were not always the most dangerous predator in Freedom. One night whilst many of the Soldiers were scouting, the colony lair was attacked by a creature of immense power. A creature that, unknown to the colony, was known as ‘The Collective’ to the humans above. It was a vicious entity and the colony was forced to flee before it, but not before six of their brothers were cut down. Using scent trails, the colony was able to reunite all the surviving members; however, the cold, empty feeling that was felt soon after the change had returned, and no amount of building was going to make it go away. Instead, the Soldiers decided to do something else; hunt. They would never be safe as long as that creature that attacked them lived and so, for better or worse, they would bring the fight to it. Stalking through the tunnels and caves beneath Freedom, the Soldiers came upon a curious sight. They found the creature, but they weren’t the only ones. The Atom Family were also in battle with the Collective, a creature they themselves had tussled with on a number of occasions. For a moment, the colony stopped; they weren’t certain how to proceed. Normally there is a very clear delineation between what is right, and what is wrong, what was 'us' and what was 'them'. The colony had battled both of these entities, so how to proceed? In the end, they rushed into the fray to assault the creature that had killed their brothers. Even with the Atom Family there, it was a tough, drawn out scrap. The seventh Soldier found himself tossed across the cavern with countless cockroaches swarming over his body, biting and gnawing at his carapace. If he feared death, he would have at that time. It was not to come, however, as Victoria Atom stepped in and, wielding a device which the seventh could hear emitted a long, low pulsing sound, drove the cockroaches away. There was no time for introspection, however, and the seventh jumped right back into the fray. He even managed to distract the ravenous Collective as it advanced on the stunned Chase Atom, possibly saving his hide. After a time, they managed to disperse the Collective, and for a few moments there was an odd stand-off between the two remaining parties. Six of the soldiers advanced quickly, smelling the Atom family and also covering them in a new scent, one which reflected their new relationship. The seventh noticed that the eldest male of the family had his outer covering ripped - it seemed they wore some kind of outer layer over their bodies, which suddenly explained all of the 'carapaces' that were hanging on racks in windows in Freedom City. Eventually the Atom Family left, and the colony had a lot to think about. It wasn't long after, during the night patrol of the seventh, that the ant came across the Atom Family again. This time they were in battle with The Factor Four. Being alone, the seventh didn't immediately join in. It became very clear to him very quickly that there were two kinds of creatures in this city - those who wished to destroy it and its ecosystem, and those who wished to maintain it. This should not be an understated moment for the seventh and the colony as a whole, as it was a time of true reawakening. Once again the seventh joined the Atom Family in battle, and although he was of little real help, the fact that he was now making a clear delineation between friend and foe was promising. Furthermore, as he battled, his mind went back to an earlier time of safety, familiarity and belonging; of being part of a nest again. Back in the colony, the information was passed on to the others, and in a short amount of time all of the colony came to the same realisation. The 10 workers remaining do their best to keep Freedom standing after each super-powered tussle, whilst the Soldiers patrol both above and below the ground to ensure the safety of their 'nest'. Careful scent trails are left everywhere, helping to identify friend from foe and soldiers of the colony have even taken to wearing clothes, mimicking the behaviour of their human counterparts; matching black tracksuits with balaclavas, gloves and boots. Personality & Motivation: All members of the colony are single-minded and determined; this is because of the way their consciousness has evolved to meet their new landscape. For the colony, Freedom City is their nest - it sustains them and they will give their lives willingly to defend it. Unfortunately for the colony, no queen was mutated with them and so they initially found themselves without direction. Over time, their idea of 'queen' evolved and came to symbolise that place of innocent simplicity that was their life before the change. When they fight 'For the Queen', they fight for peace and order. This shift in thinking coincided with their realisation that not every non-ant creature inhabiting the nest sought it's destruction; on the contrary, many groups and individuals seemed to want the same thing the colony did, and fought for the 'Queen' in their own way. As small a number as they are, the colony decided that the Soldiers should take on board some of the attributes of the greater population (namely clothes and speech), in order to more appropriately camouflage themselves in this new concrete wilderness. The workers remain underground, diligently fixing the city's infrastructure when it becomes damaged from the many, many conflicts that take place within it's bounds. Powers & Tactics: Despite a strong urge to stay together, Soldiers of the colony must work alone to cover as much ground as possible. Most stay with the workers every night, protecting them, but a dozen or so go above ground in order to help cleanse the nest. In the five years that they have been operating, the Soldiers have been almost everywhere in the city, leaving trails of pheromones on people and places that are easily picked up and read by their brethren. Any time they come across something interesting, they mark it out as such. Complications: Enemy: The Collective (pg 188, Freedom City). Members of the Colony have tussled more than once with this swarm of a man, as they share territory in the underground. The Collective is a vicious and powerful opponent, and it takes all of the Soldiers working together to drive the beast back every time, though they have lost some of their number in the past to its voracious appetite. Enemy: The Terra King. Another subterrainian menace, the Soldiers have tussled with the 'King' and his minions on numerous occasions. Though the King doesn't share the same active enmity for the colony as he would for surface dwellers, their presence has proven a thorn in his side many the time. Ideology (one for all): The colony possesses an ingrained hive mentality - basically, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Whilst this may seem purely heroic at first, some other heroes have been left feeling uneasy when members of the colony show, what they perceive to be, a callous attitude toward individual concerns. Monstrous appearance: Although they wear clothes above ground, the colony are made up of humanoid insects. If the clothes were to be removed or you were to see them in their 'natural habitat', you would see them in all their brown, chitinous, skittering, scaly glory. Lack of social graces: As a communal species, the colony has no regard for personal space or etiquette of that nature. Many the hand has been held out for shaking, only to be ignored as the colony members instead skitters around the new individual, sniffing and discreetly laying a scent on them. Abilities: 6 + 4 + 6 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 16PP Strength: 16 (+3) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 16 (+3) Intelligence: 10 (+0) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 10 (+0) Combat: 6 + 10 = 16PP Initiative: +2 Attack: +3 (Melee +7) Grapple: +10/+14 Defense: +7 (+5 Base, +2 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed Knockback: -3 Saving Throws: 3 + 5 + 5 = 13PP Toughness: +7 (+3 Con, +4 [Protection]) Fortitude: +6 (+3 Con, +3) Reflex: +7 (+2 Dex, +5) Will: +5 (+0 Wis, +5) Skills: 20R = 5PP Acrobatics 4 (+6) Gather Information 0/12 (0/+12) Notice 6 (+6) Search 6 (+6) Stealth 4 (+6) Feats: 12PP Attack Focus (melee) 4 Connected Contacts (power) Dodge-Focus 2 Fearless Improved Grab Improved Pin Prone Fighting Uncanny Dodge (olfactory) Powers: 12 + 1 + 3 + 2 + 4 + 1 + 5 + 4 + 2 + 3 + 8 = 45PP Emotion Control 5: (Extra: Burst Area; Flaws: Sense dependant (olfactory); Feats: Subtle 1, Alternate Power) (Pheromone manipulation; Biological) [12PP]Alternate Power: Stun 5( Extras: Burst Area (25ft radius, targeted), Selective Attack, Flaws: Limited to Daze, Limited to creatures with ear drums) (Insectoid screech; Biological) [10PP] Enhanced Feat (Contacts): (Web of scent trails; Biological) [1PP] Enhanced Skill (Gather Information 12): (Web of scent trails; Biological) [3PP] Leaping 2 : (Taut musculature; Jumping distance x10 [running long jump 1365', standing long jump 32', high jump 16']; Biological) [2PP] Protection 4 : (Chitinous hide; Biological) [4PP] Speed 1 : (Skittering [10mph, 88' per round]; Biological) [1PP] Strike 4: (Feats: Mighty ) (Claw and muscle; Biological) [5PP] Super-movement 2 (wall-crawling) (Vertical skittering; Biological) [4PP] Super-senses 3 (Darkvision) (Underground dweller; Biological) [2PP] Super-senses 3 (Scent, Tracking (olfactory)) (Pheromone reading; Biological) [3PP] Super-strength 4 : (Taut musculature; heavy load 3.7k lbs; Biological) [8PP] Drawbacks: -2 = -2PP Vulnerability (dazzle, visual) - uncommon, moderate -2 DC Block: ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed (strike) Touch DC22 Toughness Damage (Physical) Emotion Control Perception (burst area, 25ft radius) DC15 Will Change in emotion Stun Targeted (burst area, 25ft radius) DC15 Fortitude Dazed only Abilities (16) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (13) + Skills (5) + Feats (12) + Powers (45) - Drawbacks (-2) = 105 Power Points
Avenger Assembled Posted December 5, 2010 Posted December 5, 2010 This is a novel concept, but one that might be problematic here. You have a lot of fluff that isn't reflected on the sheet, and it's a concern that players might try and talk their way around that.
cosmicarus Posted December 6, 2010 Author Posted December 6, 2010 This is a novel concept, but one that might be problematic here. You have a lot of fluff that isn't reflected on the sheet, and it's a concern that players might try and talk their way around that. That's entirely possible. Is there are particular aspect that you're concerned about? I tried to tie in as much fluff into the mechanics as I could powers-wise, but it always makes more sense when you're the creator, because you unconsciously fill in the gaps that are obvious to others. Also, I made a minor edit: he now has darkvision and a moderate vulnerability to dazzle attacks - I think this is quite suiting.
cosmicarus Posted December 7, 2010 Author Posted December 7, 2010 Cleaned up my powers, which I believe was the formatting issue mentioned in chat. If I've missed something, feel free to let me know :)
Avenger Assembled Posted December 7, 2010 Posted December 7, 2010 I've tossed the concept up in the Refcave.
cosmicarus Posted December 7, 2010 Author Posted December 7, 2010 I've tossed the concept up in the Refcave. No worries and no pressure. Happy to move on to a different concept if this doesn't fit in with the current FC shtick (of course equally happy to play them, as well )
Avenger Assembled Posted December 12, 2010 Posted December 12, 2010 The concept is sound, but you need to either A. Play a lone hero of the ant colony or B. Buy up stuff to reflect your fluff: i.e.; this character needs Regeneration or Resurrection, something in the stats, to reflect the fact that it's not the same guy.
cosmicarus Posted December 12, 2010 Author Posted December 12, 2010 The concept is sound, but you need to either A. Play a lone hero of the ant colony or B. Buy up stuff to reflect your fluff: i.e.; this character needs Regeneration or Resurrection, something in the stats, to reflect the fact that it's not the same guy. Ah, I see now. I appreciate the refs taking the time to discuss the character. I'll more than likely re package him as a lone hero of the colony, which will give me an opportunity to flesh him out a little as well.
cosmicarus Posted December 12, 2010 Author Posted December 12, 2010 Ok, a few minor changes: Fluff Updated history - more detailed Name change to reflect his individual status: The Seventh Soldier Listed more complications Mechanics Swapped Blind Fight for Connected (makes sense, no?) Moved Gather Information 12 and Contacts to powers section (to reflect their nature). Updated numbers as a result.
Avenger Assembled Posted December 13, 2010 Posted December 13, 2010 OK, this is looking better! Please put in your Leaping distance and your Super-Strength Heavy Load, making sure that your powers are standardized. If you want an example of a build that exactly meets our template, look at Ecal's Archetypes.
cosmicarus Posted December 13, 2010 Author Posted December 13, 2010 OK, this is looking better! Please put in your Leaping distance and your Super-Strength Heavy Load, making sure that your powers are standardized. If you want an example of a build that exactly meets our template, look at Ecal's Archetypes. Great I've gone through and put in the information as requested. I also made a couple of changes (the last, I promise). I switched out Instant Up for Prone Fighting - I thought this made more sense as he can skitter around quite well, given his wall crawling. I also opted to drop a rank of leaping (as once I got down and really looked at the numbers, he was jumping quite far indeed). With the extra PP, I took Stun (limited to Daze) as an alternate power to his Emotion Control. I thought this fit well with the image we see of many giant insects often emitting a loud-pitched screech that folk seem to have trouble standing. Also, I switched the saving through of my Emotion Control back to will, giving the Seventh Soldier a greater number of saves to play against.
Avenger Assembled Posted December 20, 2010 Posted December 20, 2010 APPROVED My apologies for the delay.
cosmicarus Posted December 20, 2010 Author Posted December 20, 2010 My apologies for the delay. None required, you're a busy man. Another approval and I'll be, as the basketballers say, "In the game!"
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