G-Stunt (PL 7) - Airon

[Airon]

Player Name: Airon

Character Name: G-Stunt

Power Level: 7 (105/107PP)

Trade-Offs: +1 Attack/-1 Damage (staff), +3 Attack/-3 Damage (boomerang), +2 Defense/-2 Toughness

Unspent Power Points: 2

Progress To Bronze Status: 2/30

In Brief: B-movie stuntman with a clumsy control over his own gravity pull and a couple of martial arts tricks

Alternate Identity: Stuart Allen

Identity: Secret

Birthplace: Sacramento, CA

Occupation: Sports store clerk, stuntman (former)

Affiliations:

Family: Howard, father; Gina, mother; April, little sister

Description:

Age: 27 (DoB:November 30, 1983)

Apparent Age: mid-twenties

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Height: 6’

Weight: 176 lbs

Eyes: blue

Hair: brown

Stuart is a very athletic man in his mid-twenties. He trains at least one hour every day in martial arts and acrobatics, and has lean muscles and graceful movements; arms and chest bear a haf a dozen of tiny scars from his life of stunts; he keeps his brown hair in a buzz cut, has a narrow and pointed chin and dark blue eyes; he is far-sighted and has to wear contact lenses.

His super-hero suit is a prop costume he stole from the set of a crappy action B-movie. It’s a full body suit of a mimetic dark grey; upon the chest Stuart badly sewed his colorful logo. To complete the costume, he added boots, gloves, kneepads and elbowpads. He carries his weapons on the belt.

Power Descriptions:

Stuart has control over the direction the gravitational pull – but limited to his own person. He can basically decide which direction to “fallâ€. He can set the pull perpendicular to the ground to walk on a wall, or set it opposite to the ground to fall upwards at terminal velocity. He can even increase his land speed by slightly tilting it forward so to be always running downhill!

It’s still pretty clumsy in the use of this power: more than once he calculated badly the direction of the fall and ended up banging his head on the ceiling or, even worse, flung recklessly for a couple of blocks until he hit a building. His training as an stuntman expert in falls is probably the only reason he didn’t broke several bones using his powers.

He also carries a tricked-out weapon, that can become a three-section staff or a set of thorwing batons.

History

Stuart grew up dreaming of being an action hero on Hollywood. He was lucky enough to be born in a family where he could afford to train in martial arts, stage combat, acrobatics and stuntman tricks. At 20 he moved to Hollywood: the plan was to start off as a stunt-man, taking acting lessons and move up into being the next Sylvester Stallone or Jet Li, but his luck never really struck. He did stunts in a bunch of terrible action B-movies and cable shows, all easily forgotten by public and industry alike. An occasion arose for him in Freedom City, when his agent got him a role as chief henchman in Deadly Assault III, a tired sequel of a once very popular action movie franchise from New Horizon Media. The movie was a disaster, killing the Deadly Assault franchise, and Stuart’s acting performance was probably the worst part of the whole mess. Stuart was losing his career – he mostly worked as a bouncer at nightclubs, drinking heavily and hoping to meet a producer or a director.

He got another chance when Lewis McManara, of Olympic Broadcast Network, agreed to hire him as stunt-man in a new superhero-themed TV show. There he met Anna, a young starlet wannabe who was scripted in a small but significant role after years of being just a glorified fanservice extra. Stuart and Anna hit it off – mostly bonding over a similar experience as struggling actors. For a couple of months all seemed well, but then he caught her cheating on him with a producer. Between the betrayal and the pressure of the show, he started committing errors, dangerous errors, and was fired from the series around the third episode. But that still wasn’t rock bottom for him. Acting out of revenge, he leaked photos of Anna on paparazzi media, leading to the producers killing off her character in an attempt to distance themselves from her. This lead to a huge guilt trip form Stuart who started drinking again.

But OBN is secretly owned by the Labyrinth. With his highly trained physique, a mind made weaker by depression and alcohol, and nothing to lose, Stuart was a perfect candidate to lure into taking the DNAscent treatment. He was only told that some scientist friends of OBN's producers selcte him as a perfect match. He was brought in with promises of augmenting his agility and strength, to become the best action hero America had ever known; of course, the real plan (that he never disocrvered) was for Stuart to become a brainwashed augmented bodyguard for some media tycoon – but something went wrong. His DNAscent-induced flying ability was so clumsy to be almost useless, and in interfered with the physique augmentation leading to his body rejecting the enhancing drugs. When Stuart realized he was a failed experiment, he overheard some fo the scientists say that he would however make a good guinea pig for the more experimental and untested procedures. That was enough for him to find the strength to escape.

This experience (and his new powers) opened his eyes; now he doesn’t dream of playing an action hero: he is one. He got a job as a clerk in a large store of sports and martial arts equipment at the Millenium Mall, found a small apartment in Riverside he shares with Ruben Aguirre, an accountant about his age. He made himself a costume, and now acts as a crime-fighter, trying to understand better his power and working on his martial arts skills.

Personality & Motivation:

Stuart hit rock bottom and is only happy to have a chance to rise again. After leading a basically egoistical life that culminated in a vengeful act out of spite, he feels obligated to lead a better life from now on. He swore off alcohol, and decided that the best cure against depression was to stop crime with a smile on his face. His acting is still terrible, and usually his puns aimed to distract or his intimidating speeches to the criminals fall sadly flat. He fares much better on the physical side. The desire for fame is still there, though: right now he has to lay low for fear of the OBN (secretly DNAscent) henchmen that still have unfinished business with him, but he dreams of eventually stopping a big super-criminal and rise up to fame.

Powers & Tactics:

G-Stunt operates as a standard crime-fighter, Daredevil or Nightwing-style: using his powers to run on rooftops patrolling the city, he sneaks up on enemies and fights them with his acrobatic style. He prefers to go toe to toe with the staff but if the threat is big he gets a position of advantage on a ceiling or on a high wall and blasts away with the batons.

---

Complications:

Struggling: The clerk job provides him with free energy bars, and very little cash.

It’s not built for that: When he leaps and wall-walks, his body weight effectively pushes on the surface he’s on. While floors are designed to bear people, a drywall or a skylight ceiling can easily break under his weight.

Attention whore: While he keeps it sedated, his hunger for fame is still there. If the occasion arise, he may not be able to resist and expose himself when it should be wiser to lay low.

They're out to get me: In primis the scientists who experimented on him (secretly DNAscent labs, manuevered by the Labyrinth), but also the goons hired by the producers whose photos he leaked.

Health Nut: he follows a very precise regime of excercise and diet, and may be unsettled by big changes in this lifestyle.

ABILITIES 6+8+6+2+4+4=30 pp

Strength 16 (+3)

Dexterity 18 (+4)

Constitution 16 (+3)

Intelligence 12 (+1)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 14 (+2)

COMBAT 12+10=22 pp

Initiative +4

Attack +10 boomerang, +8 staff, +6 others

Grapple +9

Defense +9, +3 flat-footed (base 5, dodge focus 4)

Knockback -3

ST 4+3+4=11 pp

Toughness +5, +3 flat-footed (cos 3, defensive roll 2)

Fortitude +7 (+3 cos, +4)

Reflex +7 (+4 dex, +3)

Will +6 (+2 wis, +4)

SKILLS 52 ranks=13 pp

Acrobatics 12 (+16) ^SM

Bluff 2 (+4/+8 w/ Attractive)

Escape artist 8 (+12)^SM

Know [current events] 6 (+7)

Notice 7 (+9) ^SM

Perform [acting] 2 (+4)

Sense motive 7 (+9)

Stealth 8 (+12) ^SM

FEATS 12 pp

Acrobatic bluff

Attack specialization [tricked stage weapons]

Attractive

Defensive roll

Dodge focus 4

Move-by Action

Power attack

Skill mastery [acrobatics, notice, stealth, escape artist]

Uncanny dodge [hearing]

SUPERPOWERS 6+4+1+6=17 pp

Device 2 [10 pp of powers; multi-purpose tricked-out stage weapon; easy to lose] [6 pp]

Weapons Array 4.5 (9 pp of powers; PF: AP)

BP: Strike 3 (Extra: auto-fire; PF: extended reach, mighty, takedown attack) [three section staff configuration]

AP:Blast 3 (PF: accurate, mighty 1, ricochet) [throwing batons configuration]

Leaping 4 (x25; 150 feet high, 300 feet long, 600 feet long running) [personal gravity, DNAscent]

Common power stunt:

AP: Flight 4 (Flaw: limited [falling – see below])

Falling: this flaw represents all the limitations of his power: he can’t control his speed, he is always at terminal velocity (roughly 125 mph, close to Flight 4); he can’t land properly, he must attempt an acrobatic crash-land (acrobatics check required for landing without damage); he can only make wide and very difficult parabolic curves if he wants to change direction, by switching mid-air his gravity pull; he can’t carry anything that weights more than himself (roughly his Medium Load (153 lbs) since he already has several pounds of equipment on him) because otherwise his Load works as an anchor.

If it’s preferable that I divide this flaw into four separate 1-point drawbacks, let me know.

This effect is at the base of his powers, but it would almost never be used until he gains experience and learns how to use it better - aka I buy off the drawbacks. If it's prferable that I punt it as a power stunt, let me know.

The Leaping represents the fact that for small-scale flights he learned how to change his gravity pull at the right moment, so to land smoothly

Speed 1 [1 pp] [personal gravity, DNAscent]

Super-Movement 3 (Wall-Crawling 3) [6 pp] [personal gravity, DNAscent]

ATTACK            RANGE        SAVE                        EFFECT

Unarmed           Touch       DC 18 Toug (Staged)     Damage (Physical)

Staff             Touch (ext) DC 21+AF Toug (Staged)  Damage (Physical)             

Throwing batons   Ranged      DC 19 Toug (Staged)     Damage (Physical) 

Abilities (30) + Combat (22) + Saves (11) + Skills (13) + Feats (12) + Powers (17) = 105/107 Power Points

[Airon]

Here's my submission for my PL 7 slot.

is the costume acceptable? Despite the apparence, he rally has NOTHING to do with a military type. I think it can fit, but let me know.

I also designed more colorful version, if the first one was deemed too dark

[Gizmo]

The camo pattern isn't a problem. The first costume is the more cohesive, though I wouldn't mind seeing it with the lighter greys of the second version.

There are a few little formatting things like the lack of capitalization on his Skills and Complications that could use fixing, before I forget. You could also probably trim down some of those descriptors for ease of reading. "[by directing his gravity pull towards walls or ceilings, he can use them as a floor]" could just be "[personal gravity, DNAscent]" for example, since we can read his Power Descriptions section for the rest. I do kinda love the rank of Speed for 'running downhill', though!

One thing to keep in mind about his Device array: if he looses his boomerang he also won't be able to use his staff (or vice versa). Unless the staff and the boomerang are the same device in different configurations - which doesn't seem to be what you were going for, but might actually be fun - they should be separate Devices.

Typically the DNAscent process is a closely guarded secret, where even those who have been put through it usually don't know the full details even if they haven't been brainwashed or otherwise had their memories altered. This can still work here if Stuart never knew just who was behind his enhancements. He may have just thought that OBN had hired some random scientists and then overheard something that made him nervous enough to bolt. Under know circumstances should a character start off knowing about the Labyrinth.

Something that surely goes without saying, but for completion's sake: Stuart's status as a recovering alchoholic would need to be treated carefully. As it stands, I think you do a reasonable job in the backstory by not making it his one defining character trait, but the Complication implying he might relapse concerns me. For context, we've had a player want to make a currently alcoholic character 'for the lulz' before, which is obviously grotesquely acceptable. On the other hand, some of Tony Stark's best character moments in recent years have involved him visiting AA meetings. Can you give us a little better idea where you're planning to go with that part of his story?

[Airon]

The camo pattern isn't a problem. The first costume is the more cohesive, though I wouldn't mind seeing it with the lighter greys of the second version.

I like the first one better too. I'll do a third version, with the lighter greys of the 2nd but without the silly green pads, as soon as Hero Factory starts working again (I don't know you, but since the last Adobe Flash update half the buttons make the screen go totally white).

There are a few little formatting things like the lack of capitalization on his Skills and Complications that could use fixing, before I forget. You could also probably trim down some of those descriptors for ease of reading. "[by directing his gravity pull towards walls or ceilings, he can use them as a floor]" could just be "[personal gravity, DNAscent]" for example, since we can read his Power Descriptions section for the rest. I do kinda love the rank of Speed for 'running downhill', though!

I'm still used to put a brief description aside each power... I think it improves immediate understanding. But since the policy here is different, I'll edit. What's wrong with Complications formatting?

One thing to keep in mind about his Device array: if he looses his boomerang he also won't be able to use his staff (or vice versa). Unless the staff and the boomerang are the same device in different configurations - which doesn't seem to be what you were going for, but might actually be fun - they should be separate Devices.

I know. I don't have the points for two separate devices, low-level characters are very tight. I really like your idea of a transforming weapon, it's fun and it makes sense rule-wise, can I use it even if I don't have any rank in craft [mechanical] ? Keep in mind that his weapons, much like his costume, are "borrowed" from action movie sets and the storage room at his job...or maybe I could scrape off 2 pp to make the array hard to lose and rename it "weapons belt"... but it doesn't fell much better, I don't know...

Typically the DNAscent process is a closely guarded secret, where even those who have been put through it usually don't know the full details even if they haven't been brainwashed or otherwise had their memories altered. This can still work here if Stuart never knew just who was behind his enhancements. He may have just thought that OBN had hired some random scientists and then overheard something that made him nervous enough to bolt. Under know circumstances should a character start off knowing about the Labyrinth.

He doesn't know about the Labyrinth. His history works perfectly well if instead of "DNAscent labs" we put "shadowy scientists in bed with OBN who are secretly DNAscent labs".

Something that surely goes without saying, but for completion's sake: Stuart's status as a recovering alchoholic would need to be treated carefully. As it stands, I think you do a reasonable job in the backstory by not making it his one defining character trait, but the Complication implying he might relapse concerns me. For context, we've had a player want to make a currently alcoholic character 'for the lulz' before, which is obviously grotesquely acceptable. On the other hand, some of Tony Stark's best character moments in recent years have involved him visiting AA meetings. Can you give us a little better idea where you're planning to go with that part of his story?

yeah, it's definitely nowhere near as important for the character as Tony Stark's. The idea was that he re-became a health nut after the downfall and the experiment, and alcohol was the toughest thing to renounce. I see it as coming into play in an ipothetical undercover situation where he can't refuse a drink, and little else. I could probably rephrase it as a more comprehensive and original health nut thing, would it be better?

EDIT: decided to put the flawed Flight as a power stunt, and I bought the Move-by action feat with the free point.

[Airon]

ok fixed pretty much everything but the Alcoholic complication, I'm still working on that. And I think I won't be able to use Herofactory until the next Adobe Flash update.

I used the multi-purpose option for the weapon, redesigning the boomerang as throwing batons (there aren't many non-slashing throwing weapons...), and bought the Move-by action feat with the point gained from putting Flight as a power stunt.

[Airon]

EDIT: I modified the Jumping distance after seeing this post by Steve Kenson, and assuming taking 10^SM on every Acrobatics check for this purpose.

[Avenger Assembled]

Does he have an AP in his Personal Gravity Array?

[Airon]

no, sorry, this formatting is from before I put the Flight as a Power Stunt (and because it feels weird power-stunting out of something that is not an array).

also, finally changed the Alcohol complication in the Health Nut complication

[Avenger Assembled]

APPROVED

I'll leave the rest to you, Gizmo!

[Gizmo]

:approved:

[Dr Archeville]

Archived at player request.