New Character: Bluebolt. Looking for feedback and a nemesis

[macrovore]

Hey, guys.  I made this new character for a M&M PBP game (Freedom City PBP), and I was hoping you guys would help me tweak him and make him a little better (more balanced, more focused, whatever).  Also, I need a few ideas for villains for him.  He needs a nemesis, and I can't think of one.  So, here's the character:

 

Player Name:  Macrovore

Character Name: BlueBolt

Power Level: 10

Trade-Offs:  -2 Attack / +2 Damage, +4 Defense / -4 Toughness

Unspent PP: 0

 

In Brief:  BlueBolt has the power to create translucent glowing blue force energy and shape it into blasts of energy, objects, and creatures.  He is a college student, wide-eyed and idealistic, determined to make a difference and do good, but is rather new to the hero game.

 

Alternate Identities:  David Cyan

Identity: Secret

Birthplace: Freedom City: Lantern Hill

Occupation: Student (Metahuman Studies major at FCU), Student Technician (FCU Computer Services)

Affiliations:  Freedom City University (student), Parkside Presbyterian Church

Family:  Parents (Fred and Anna), a younger brother (Michael), a junior in high school, and a younger sister (Azura) in 4th grade.

Age: 20 (August 1989)

Gender:  Male

Ethnicity:  Caucasian

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 175

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Blond

 

Description:  BlueBolt is tall and gangly, with striking blue eyes and a shock of blond hair.  He wears a blue suit with white trim and some armor plating on the shoulders and chest.  He has large gloves which cover almost his entire forearms, and large boots which go up his shins.  He has large goggles over his eyes.

 

Power Descriptions: BlueBolt can create and manipulate glowing translucent blue force energy.  This energy can manifest itself as specific objects or creatures, or simply blasts of force or simple geometric shapes.  This energy is pure force energy, and as such, it affects insubstantial and incorporeal creatures as if they were completely solid.

 

History: David Cyan is from Lantern Hill, on the North End of Freedom City.  He grew up reading comics and tinkering with computers, and wanted to be a super hero when he grew up.  And when he turned 16, his wish was granted.  He discovered he had the ability to create force energy from nothing.  With a great deal of practice, he focused on making his abilities more powerful and versatile.  He found he could fly, create bulletproof shields, and move objects, not to mention throw bolts of energy and create structures and geometrical shapes.  He decided to keep his abilities secret from his friends and classmates, though he kept his parents in the loop.  After he graduated high school, he took a year off and traveled around the world, working with relief organizations, exploring cities, and observing heroes.  He recently entered Freedom City University as a Metahuman Studies major, with a concentration on Technology (as opposed to, say, Super Training, Magic, or Mutation).  He took a stock design for a super suit, slapped some big, tech-looking gloves on it, and pretends his energy powers come from his gloves and boots.  Just about everybody thinks his powers come from his suit, and that's how he likes it.  To help him pay for school, he works at his school's Computer Services department when he's not doing schoolwork or patrolling, fixing student and faculty computers and maintaining his school's network.  When he gets the chance to patrol, he usually flies around his neighborhood, preventing muggings, burglaries, and the occasional small-time villian.  He hasn't really fought much that has truly challenged him, though.  He gets the occasional mention in the paper, but he's never made the front page, or even the 5th page.

 

Personality & Motivation:  BlueBolt is a very nice guy.  He's almost always got a smile on his face, and always tries to see the positive side to anything.  He is polite and kind to everybody, and chivalrous to a fault.  David is a very kinetic and tactile person.  He's always moving; pacing, fidgeting, tapping out rhythms.  He is very intelligent, yet softspoken.  It is difficult to get him talkative.

One of BlueBolt's main goals is to become a member of the Freedom Leauge, but his ultimate aspiration is to do as much good as he can.  When he isn't doing hero stuff, school, or work, he finds time to help out at a local children's center, playing with and teaching the children there.

 

Powers & Tactics:  BlueBolt is at the surface level a basic energy controller.  He can deal a lot of damage, especially when knockback is involved.  Defensively, he is pretty good, being rather difficult to hit.  He has high will saves, but his other saves are somewhat lackluster.  He mostly tries to avoid getting hit.  But he also has a great deal of utility.  He has telekinesis to manipulate the environment and throw and grab things; create object to shape the area to his will (including allowing him and others of his choice ignore the objects; a favorite tactic is to create a box or maze that only affects his enemies), and a summon (Create Force Construct) to have a big bruiser to help him out.  But he can only use one of these abilities at once, so he must choose every round whether to attack or use a different ability.  Usually, in a fight, he spends a round or two setting the battlefield up the way he wants it, using Force Constructs and Telekinesis to hurry civilians out of everybody's line of fire, and locking down his opponents.  When all the civilians are out of the way, he begins blasting, knocking enemies into buildings and throwing them around.  With his targeted burst, he can deal his damage to a lot of people at once.  All of his abilities have 2 points in Affects Insubstantial, allowing him to affect ghosts and energy beings very easily.  With his goggles, which give him Uncanny Dodge and Radar, he becomes very difficult to get the drop on.  Since he has 2 points in Luck, he can use his Hero Points to power stunt his Force Array very easily in different situations, gaining Snare, different Blasts, and things of that nature.

 

 

Complications:

Secret Identity: His family, his girlfriend, Professor Brander all know his identity, but everybody else thinks he's just a university student.

Struggling Financially:  David has scholarships and a job in order to pay for school.  He lives alone in a small apartment on campus, and usually just barely has enough money to pay his expenses.

Responsibilities:  David needs to go to work and class, or risk losing his job and scholarships.

 

 

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

Strength: 10 (+0)

Dexterity: 14 (+2)

Constitution: 10 (+0)

Intelligence: 20 (+4)

Wisdom: 12 (+1)

Charisma: 10 (+0)

 

 

Combat: 8 + 10 = 20PP

Initiative: +6

Attack: +4 (+8 with Force Array)

Grapple: +4

Defense: +14 (+6 Base, +8 Shield), +3 Flat-Footed

Knockback: -3

 

 

Saving Throws: 5 + 6 + 9 = 20PP

Toughness: +6 (+0 Con, +4 Protection, +2 Defensive Roll)

Fortitude: +5 (+0 Con, +5 base)

Reflex: +8 (+2 Dex, +6 base)

Will: +10 (+1 Wis, +9 base)

 

 

Skills: 24R = 6PP

[Computers] 5/+10

[Concentration] 9/+10

[Knowledge (Technology)] 5/+10

[Knowledge (Theology)] 5/+10

[Notice] 7/+8

 

Feats: 12PP

Accurate Attack

All-out Attack

Attack Specialization 2 (Force Array)

Defensive Roll

Evasion

Improved Initiative

Luck 2

Move-by Action

Power Attack

Jack of All Trades

 

Powers: 8+16+35+9+8= 76PP

Super Suit (Device 2) (10pp, Hard to lose) Protection 4, Super Senses 5 ([b/]Infravision, Radar, Uncanny Dodge [Radio])[b/], Enhanced Feats (Ultimate Toughness) (Technology)[8pp]

Flight 8 (Force) [16pp]

 

Force Array(31PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 4) [35PP]

 

• Base Power: Blast 12 (Feats: Precise, Affects Insubstantial (2), Knockback (3), Split Attack, ) (Force Bolt) [31PP]
   
  Alternate Power: Blast 12 (Extras: Area [Targeted, Burst], Selective Attack, Flaws: Range (Touch), Action (Full), Feats: Affects Insubstantial (2), Knockback (3), Progression (240ft area), Homing (one attempt)) (Force Burst) [31PP]
   
  Alternate Power: Move Object 12(Feats: Precise, Affects Insubstantial (2), Homing
  (one attempt), Split Attack) (Force Lift) [29PP]
  Alternate Power: Force Constructs 10 (Feats: Precise, Affects Insubstantial (2), Selective, Stationary, Tether, Progression (2, size, 10 25ft cubes)  ) (Force Constructs) [24PP]
   
  Alternate Power: Summon 10(Extras: Extra (Broad type, Humanoid Force Creatures), Flaws: Distracting, Feats: Mental Link) (Force Creatures) [31PP]
  

Immunity 9 (Life Support) (Force) [9pp]

Shield 8 (Force) [16pp]

 

DC Block:

ATTACK      RANGE     SAVE                        EFFECT

Unarmed     Touch     DC15 Toughness (Staged)     Damage (Physical)

Force Blast 120ft     DC27 Toughness (Staged)     Damage (Energy)

Force Burst 240ft     DC27 Toughness (Staged)     Damage (Energy)

Force Lift  120ft     DC27 Toughness (Staged)     Damage (Physical)

 

 

Abilities (14) + Combat (18) + Saving Throws (20) + Skills (7) + Feats (11) + Powers (80) = 150/150 Power Points

EDIT: Shifted skills and abilities around, changed the Devices into one. I will do formatting later, when it's all finished. I'm working on a few summon creatures, but mostly they'll be big tank things with lots of growth, super strength, toughness, and Interpose.

[Supercape]

Hello and welcome to PBM

Ill give you a few pennies worth of take it or leave it suggestions! Havent gone over the sheet with a toothcombe, but its first drasfts at the moment I guess. Seems like a fun character!

1. Devices. You may as well amalgamate these, goggles being part of the suit (less messy and more resilient). Impervious 2 is barely worth it, only going to protect you from bystanders punches. I would either boost this for more protection (so you can free up some points with less defence), or gain some feats with it like Second Chance [ballistic weapons toughness save], Ultimate Toughness, or one or two ranks of immunity (Hot or cold environments for instance 0 which could save on your other immunity skill)

2. Skills. Getting 1 rank in all those Knowledge skills seems a little messy when you have Jack of All Trades and can use those skills in any case untrained. For 12 totals skills (including computers) you could bump INT to 20 (And get +5 in all those skills just from INT), plus have 1 PP left to buy 4 ranks in something you are focussing in?

3. Base defence is best at even numbers (As dodge bonus is half of that rounded up).

4. You would need to give some example stats for the Summon power, although I think thats a slightly messy alternate power for Humanoid Force Creatures: I would suggest that is best built as things like Area of Effect Snares or Blasts with the descriptor "humanoid force creatures".

[Raveled]

Mechanical analysis here, mainly.

Complications:

Secret Identity: His family, his girlfriend, Professor Brander all know his identity, but everybody else thinks he's just a university student.

Struggling Financially:  David has scholarships and a job in order to pay for school.  He lives alone in a small apartment on campus, and usually just barely has enough money to pay his expenses.

Responsibilities:  David needs to go to work and class, or risk losing his job and scholarships.

Honor:  BlueBolt is usually alright with using tricky tactics, but he always makes sure civilians aren't in harm's way, and will never kill.

What makes that Honor Complication different from the normal hero code that all the PCs here abide by? Will he go to extraordinary measures to save civilians and even his enemies?

Abilities: 0 + 4 + 0 + 8 + 2 + 0 = 14PP

Strength: 10 (+0)

Dexterity: 14 (+2)

Constitution: 10 (+0)

Intelligence: 18 (+4)

Wisdom: 12 (+1)

Charisma: 10 (+0)

Nothing to really comment on here. All the numbers add up, so it's good.

Combat: 8 + 10 = 18PP

Initiative: +6

Attack: +4

Grapple: +4

Defense: +13 (+5 Base, +8 Shield), +5 Flat-Footed

Knockback: -0

You need to list your adjusted Attack Bonus with the Force Array. And as SCape pointed out, it's best to buy base Defense in even numbers, as flat-footed Defense is half of base. Lastly, you need to list your Knockback; the formula is (Toughness / 2) + (Impervious Toughness) = Knockback.

 

 

Saving Throws: 5 + 6 + 9 = 20PP

Toughness: +7 (+0 Con, +7 Protection)

Fortitude: +5 (+0 Con, +5 base)

Reflex: +8 (+2 Dex, +6 base)

Will: +10 (+1 Wis, +9 base)

Nothing to say here. Saves are good and solid.

Skills: 28R = 7PP

[Computers] 1/+5

[Concentration] 9/+10

[Knowledge (Arcane Lore)] 1/+5

[Knowledge (Behavioral Science)] 1/+5

[Knowledge (Civics)] 1/+5

[Knowledge (Current Events)] 1/+5

[Knowledge (History)] 1/+5

[Knowledge (Life Sciences)] 1/+5

[Knowledge (Physical Sciences)] 1/+5

[Knowledge (Popular Culture)] 1/+5

[Knowledge (Tactics)] 1/+5

[Knowledge (Technology)] 1/+5

[Knowledge (Theology)] 1/+5

[Notice] 7/+8

[Languages] English (Native)

Couple of things to say here. First and foremost, all those one point skills serve virtually no purpose to the build, as he already has Jack of all Trades. I'd either drop them or bundle them together; as he's a computer guy, I'd say Computer and Know/Tech. You might even consider Craft skills, as it's not readily apparent where he got his Devices from (last I checked, you can't just go out and buy the things). Next, you don't need to list that English is his native language; in fact you don't need to list Languages at all unless he's got more than one. Lastly, the formatting is off. Check some of the approved sheets to see how it's supposed to be formatted.

Feats: 0PP

Accurate Attack

All-out Attack

Attack Specialization (Force Array, 2)

Evasion

Improved Initiative

Luck (2)

Move-by Action

Power Attack

Jack of All Trades

You don't need to put parentheses around those numbers. And you need to list the cost of the Feats; it's done properly in the final line, but you need it here, too.

Powers: 8+4+16+35+9= 79PP

Super Suit (Device 2) (10pp, Hard to lose) Protection 7 (Impervious 2)  (Technology)[8pp]

 

Goggles (Device 1) (5pp, Hard to lose) Super Senses 7 ([b/]Infravision, Radar, Uncanny Dodge [Radio])[b/] (Technology) [4pp]

 

Flight 8 (Force) [16pp]

 

Force Array(31PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 4) [35PP]

 

• Base Power: Blast 12 (Feats: Precise, Affects Insubstantial (2), Knockback (3), Split Attack, ) (Force Bolt) [31PP]
   
  Alternate Power: Blast 12 (Extras: Area [Targeted, Burst], Selective Attack, Flaws: Range (Touch), Action (Full), Feats: Affects Insubstantial (2), Knockback (3), Progression (240ft area), Homing (one attempt)) (Force Burst) [31PP]
   
  Alternate Power: Move Object 12(Feats: Precise, Affects Insubstantial (2), Homing
  (one attempt), Split Attack) (Force Lift) [29PP]
  Alternate Power: Force Constructs 10 (Feats: Precise, Affects Insubstantial (2), Selective, Stationary, Tether, Progression (2, size, 10 25ft cubes)  ) (Force Constructs) [24PP]
   
  Alternate Power: Summon 10(Extras: Extra (Broad type, Humanoid Force Creatures), Flaws: Distracting, Feats: Mental Link) (Force Creatures) [31PP]
  

Immunity 9 (Life Support) (Force) [9pp]

Shield 8 (Force) [16pp]

[macrovore]

Shifted skills and abilities around, changed the Devices into one. I will do formatting later, when it's all finished. I'm working on a few summon creatures, but mostly they'll be big tank things with lots of growth, super strength, toughness, and Interpose.

Do you guys have any ideas for villains or nemeses that would work for BB?

[Ari]

Sorry for the delay! On the nemesis front, I've loads of ideas!

1. Someone with eerily similar powers, who thought themselves unique, and out of jealousy tries to show-up and put-down Bluebolt.

2. Someone with powers in direct opposition to the function of Bluebolt, who convinces themselves that their mission in life is to be his enemy.

3. Someone with a connection to Bluebolt's past, who is either trying to correct what they see as harmful aspects of his character that go unnoticed to others or somebody with a groundless(or MAYBE NOT! ) grudge against him.

4. Someone from his future trying to get him to act in ways that will benefit them in the future.

5. An alien from another world come to try their might aginst a human with powers like those of his people, and singles out Bluebolt for the dubious honor.

6. A magical entity trying to find a host that they can use to advance their interests, and picks Bluebolt due to his powers or personality being a good conduit for its own.

7. Someone who has no thematic connection to Bluebolt, but thinks it would be fun to have a hero like him for a nemesis.

8. A villain with a crush on David, who whenever they try to get at him ALWAyS ends up facing off with that HORRIBLE Bluebolt...

9. A madman/madwoman who idolizes Bluebolt, and tries to emulate him in the most harmful ways imaginable.

10. A demonic creature trying to convince David that his efforts to help others are misguided, and he should focus on looking out for No. 1 instead.

11. An angelic creature who tests Bluebolt on his readiness to serve the cause of righteousness, and has a rather different take on such ideals than David does.

12. A pyschic who accidentally creates a personification of everything David hates most in himself, and sustains it. May or may not be realted/close to David in regular life.

I hope these are helpful!