Trollthumper's Cave

[trollthumper]

I figured all the other Refs were doing it, I might as well try my hand. So, yeah. Watch this space for mechanical experiments, potential PCs and NPCs galore, and various plot nuggets.

Artifacts and Setting Elements
Actaeon: If no one is special... well, he's just fine with that. 
Black Madonna: She loves T-babies. She loves all her T-babies.
Chapter Zero: The truth. The whole truth. Nothing but.
Earth D-Gaia-1: Where everyone is living at one with Mother Earth, and it's a horrible lie.
Earth H-Isolate-5(White): Where all the world's evil lurks in backwoods Maine.
Earth N-Eurydice-1: And death shall have no dominion.
Earth Z-Eldritch-1(malignant): Warning: Do Not Taunt Cthulhu
Genius Loci: This place has a mind of its own.

Harold Harbing: The voice of the people, there to support our heroes... no matter what.

Mastermind's Atavisms: Reminders of our wicked monkey past. 
The Herald Foretold: What happens when you keep running from your mistakes.
The Communion: Your homeworld would make a nice backup server.
The Light of Truth: Mystic fascists from the furthest reaches of space.
The Metropolis Infinite: This is, was, may be, could have been, or might one day be, your life. 
The Murder League: A History: Killers, thieves, and lawyers.
The Pentacle: Kids, I'm going to tell you the story of how I became a supervillain for hire...
The Umbra: The greatest hero the world ever forgot... for a good reason.

Experiments
Agent Invincible: Stands up to anything.
Angelic Paragon: A real guardian angel.
Angelic Vigilante: Do you feel blessed, punk?
Animal Controller: For the birds.
Anteros: See the true power of love!
Archetypal Hero: One set of superpowers is just so limiting...
Baba Yaga's Apprentice: Ooh, witchy woman...
Berserker: Rampaaaaaaage!
Biotic Commando: Hitting you in the face with gravity.

Blood Mage: We're gonna need some baking soda...
Brain Booster: How to be the smartest guy in the room... for ten minutes.
Chi Manipulator: Making opposites attract - or repel - for fun and profit.
Combat Analyst: Combat prowess by sheer calculation.
Combat Medic: Hurt first, heal later.
Combat Telepath: Can break your mind without having to lift a finger.
Cyborg Spy: One-man arsenal in the secret wars of the world.
The Dagda: A king of the gods who's a master of the strings.
Decay Controller: One mean rotter.
Density Controller: Through thick and thin.
Djinn: Playing with smokeless fire.
Dream Crafter: Wait, what layer are we on again?
Empath: Hitting you in the face with regret.
Energy Transformer: A punk rock concert equals football field lighting equals a raging bonfire.
Everyman: The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.
Explosion Girl: Skilled at blowing things up and stealing all your stuff.
Force Field Expert: Safety is the ultimate weapon.
Former Criminal Mastermind: Crime pays, but who's buying?

Giant Robot Pilot: Living here in Jersey, fighting villains from afar...
Goetic Infernalist: Has Hell on speed dial.
Gorilla Druid: Because nature can speak pretty well for itself, thank you.
Gunslinger: Aims with his eye, shoots with his mind, ki - er, somewhat wounds with his heart.
Head-Shrinking "Paragon": Cosmic power, subhuman morals.
Hexcrafter: Vengeance is mine, saith this guy.
Hive Mind Representative: They really put their heads together.
Human Pinnacle: "Superhuman"? Who needs more than this?
Humanoid Abomination: A horror from the outer void fighting for the cause of justice.
Kinetic Duplicator: Come on, hit me. Hit me!
La Llorona: Drowning the source of everyone's sorrows.
Living Continuity Error: Someone punched time, and they took the blow.
Living Reactor: With great nuclear power comes great responsibility.
>Magic Mimic: The Swiss Army Knife of the arcane.
Magical Thief: Nothing up her sleeve...
>Master of Mirrors: How far can you take one theme? Let's find out!
Multiversal Loner: Truly one of a kind.
>Mummy Spiritualist: Punching you in the face with their soul since 3500 BC.
Object Empath: She really knows her weapons.
>Onmyoji: No, he's not the Avatar, damnit.
Particle Man: A million little pieces.
Patriotic Golem: Born on American soil - well, born of American soil.
Psionic Powerhouse: Mind plus matter.
Rebuilt Vigilante: It's alive!... and it's ticked off. 

Robotic Symbiote: Taking "wearable computers" to a whole new level. 
Sharpshooter: William Tell's got nothing on this.
>Shock Jock: Speaking truth to power. Pun intended.
Short Range Telekinetic: Better keep your distance...
Spirit of Liberty: The bright heart of the American dream.
>Standard and Partisan: Fraternal avatars of Order and Chaos.
Steelworker: The Magic Feather of battlesuits.
>Super Horse: Who you callin' "little"?
Technoshaman: Wedding magic to metal for powerful results.
Temporal Cowl: Death of a thousand cuts.
Temporal Cowl: Dark knight of time and space.
Transgenic Child: What has science doooooone?!?
>Truenamer: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words -- aw, crap.
>Vodoun Paragon: Truth, justice, and the Guinee way.

Voodoo Cowl: She knows karate. Voodoo, too. 
Weaponized Teleporter: Capable of getting the perfect vantage point.

Faces of the Moon
Inspiring Werewolf: Voice of an angel, claws of a beast. [Galliard/Cahalith]
SAS Werewolf: Who dares, weres. [Ahroun/Rahu]

Military Builds
Army Symbiote: Two soldiers for the price of one. [uS Army]
Aquatic Battlesuit: The first line of defense against Cthulhu. [uS Coast Guard]
>Kinetic Flyer: High-velocity, high-impact airman. [uS Air Force]
>Immortal Soldier: He shall fight some more forever. [uSSOCOM]

Magical Agent: For Queen, Country, and Cthulhu. [secret Intelligence Service, British Intelligence]
Magnetic EOD Tech: Shredding bombs with his mind. [EOD Technician]
>Navy Selkie: The military's most obvious pun, weaponized. [uS Navy]
>Patriotic Medium: Making sure those who died are never forgotten. [uS Marine Corps]
>SAS Werewolf: Who dares, weres. [special Air Service, British Army]
Shapeshifting Spy: The enemy is everywhere, but then, so is she. [CIA's Special Operations Group]
White Rabbit: A good sniper stays hidden; the best sniper makes others think she's everywhere else. ["White Tights"]

Nine Faces of Magic
>Alchemical Super-Scientist: I don't care whose Third Law it is, it works! [sons of Ether/Matter]
>Connected Reality Hacker: If x = y, then here = there. [Virtual Adepts/Correspondence]
>Devout Magic-Wielder: God wills it, we work the will. [Celestial Chorus/Prime]
>Ecstatic Chronomancer: Blowing through the doors of perception at 200 MPH. [Cult of Ecstasy/Time]
Fate-Crafting Sharpshooter: All systems tend towards chaos. But chaos is better than suffering. [Euthanatoi/Entropy]
>Hermetic Force-Bender: Scholarly master of blowing things up. [Order of Hermes/Forces]
Mental Martial Artist: Thoughts are sharper than blades, but blades help. [Akashic Brotherhood/Mind]
>Modern Animist: Singer to spirits of glass and steel. [Dreamspeakers/Spirit]
>Pagan Vitalist: Nature is a real mother. [Verbena/Life]

Pride Month

Aztec Sorceress: Fabulous champion of the Fifth Sun. [Lord Fanny]
Cosmic Avatar: No power in the 'verse can stop her. [Phyla-Vell]

Dimension-Hopping Paragon: She's been everywhere, man. [America Chavez]
Engineer with a Power Ring: Maker of wonders beyond your wildest dreams. [Alan Scott]
Enlightened Martial Artist: For someone at one with the universe, he can be a real prick. [Wallace Wells]
Gorilla Soldier: Yes. It's a really obvious pun, isn't it. [Monsieur Mallah]
Kinetic Controller: Great powers, really unfortunate backstory. [inertia]
Light-Based Speedster: Faster than you, and he knows it. [Northstar]
Living Weapon: Do you like gladiator movies? [Shatterstar]
Lizard Boy: Does whatever a lizard can, which is a hell of a lot. [Anole]
Localized Reality Warper: Phenomenal cosmic power, itty bitty breathing space. [Freedom Ring]
Magical Fanboy: Totally fit to carry Horus's ankh. [Wiccan]

Matter Master: Making steel run like water and water hard as steel. [Coagula]
Military Cowl: Master of the urban battlefield. [Batwoman]

Mythic Hero: A living legend. [Hercules]

Possessor: In your heaaaaaad, in your hea-a-a-ad. [Karma]
Prismatic Heroine: She comes in colors everywhere. [Karolina Dean]
Psychic Martial Artist: Beating up the body while tearing up the mind. [Moondragon]
Shadow Controller: Dark is not evil. [Obsidian]
Shapeshifter Powerhouse: Strength of the bear, fortitude of the rhino, and whatever else you care to imagine. [Hulkling]
Solar Paragon: Let the sunshine in. [Apollo]
Sonic Master: Speak softly, and carry a flute. [Pied Piper]
Tyrant's Daughter: She's going through one long rebellious phase. [Scandal Savage]

Vibration Controlling PI: Yes, yes, he's heard the jokes. All of them. [Rictor]

Vampire: the Archetyping
Dhampir: Half vampire, all badass.
>Hopping Vampire: Able to leap whole graveyards in a single bound!
>Penanggalan: Where's your head at?
>Psychic Vampire: Sweet dreams are made of this.
Serpentine Vampire: Because turning into a giant snake always helps. [Followers of Set, Take Two]
>Vampire Assassin: He'll shed blood for the highest bidder. [Assamite]
>Vampire Costumed Adventurer: Who knows what evil lurks in the heart's blood of men? [Followers of Set, Take One]
>Vampire Illusionist: A different kind of mind screw. [Ravnos]
Vampire Necromancer: Death is only the beginner's course. [Giovanni]

[trollthumper]

Standard and Partisan

Standard

Power Level:10

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 10 + 6 + 10 + 4 + 4 + 6 = 40 PP

Strength 30/20 (+10/+5)

Dexterity 16 (+3)

Constitution 20 (+5)

Intelligence 14 (+2)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 24/16 (+7/+3)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack +6 (+10 Order Array)

Defense +10 (+4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +3

Grapple: +20/+11

Knockback: -5

Saving Throws: 3 + 5 + 6 = 14 PP

Toughness: +10/+5 (+5 CON, +5 Protection)

Fortitude: +8 (+5 CON, +3)

Reflex: +8 (+3 DEX, +5)

Will: +8 (+2 WIS, +6)

Skills: 72r = 18 PP

Acrobatics 4 (+7)

Diplomacy 8 (+15/+11)

Drive 4 (+7)

Gather Information 6 (+13/+9)

Intimidate 6 (+13/+9)

Investigate 6 (+8)

Knowledge (civics) 6 (+10)

Knowledge (streetwise) 4 (+6)

Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 8 (+10)

Notice 6 (+8)

Search 6 (+8)

Sense Motive 8 (+10)

Feats: 14 PP

Accurate Attack

Benefit (law enforcement officer)

Challenge (Fast Demoralize)

Contacts

Defensive Attack

Dodge Focus 4

Fascinate (Diplomacy)

Quick Change

Set-Up

Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Diplomacy, Notice, Sense Motive)

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Powers: 5 + 35 = 40 PP

Descriptors: Magic, Axiomatic

Protection 5 [5 PP]

Mantle of Order (30 PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 3) [35 PP]

• 
  Base:
  • Enhanced Charisma 8 [8 PP]
    

Paralyze 10 (Extras: Range [Ranged]; Flaws: Slowed) [20 PP]
Enhanced Feats (Distract, Startle) [2 PP]

Alternate Power: Enhanced Strength 10 [10 PP] + Impervious Toughness 10 [10 PP] + Enhanced Feats (Improved Critical [unarmed] 2, Weapon Bind, Weapon Break) [4 PP] + Super-Strength 3 [6 PP]

Alternate Power: Healing 10 (Extras: Total) [30 PP]

Alternate Power: Nullify Emotion Effects 10 (Extras: Targeted Area, Selective) [30 PP]

Attributes (40) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (14) + Skills (18) + Feats (14) + Powers (40) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

Partisan

Power Level: 10

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 10 + 6 + 10 + 4 + 4 + 6 = 40 PP

Strength 30/20 (+10/+5)

Dexterity 16 (+3)

Constitution 20 (+5)

Intelligence 14 (+2)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 24/16 (+7/+3)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack +6 (+10 Chaos Array)

Defense +10 (+4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +3

Grapple: +11

Knockback: -5 (-10 w/ Impervious)

Saving Throws: 3 + 5 + 6 = 14 PP

Toughness: +10/+5 (+5 CON, +5 Protection)

Fortitude: +8 (+5 CON, +3)

Reflex: +8 (+3 DEX, +5)

Will: +8 (+2 WIS, +6)

Skills: 76r = 19 PP

Acrobatics 4 (+7)

Bluff 8 (+15/+11)

Diplomacy 8 (+15/+11)

Gather Information 8 (+15/+11)

Intimidate 4 (+11/+7)

Knowledge (civics) 8 (+10)

Knowledge (current events) 4 (+6)

Knowledge (streetwise) 6 (+8)

Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 8 (+10)

Notice 6 (+8)

Search 4 (+6)

Sense Motive 8 (+10)

Feats: 13 PP

All-Out Attack

Challenge (Fast Feint)

Dodge Focus 4

Fascinate (Bluff)

Power Attack

Quick Change

Set-Up

Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Bluff, Knowledge (streetwise), Sense Motive)

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Well-Informed

Powers: 5 + 35 = 40 PP

Descriptors: Magic, Anarchic

Protection 5 [5 PP]

Mantle of Chaos (30 PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 3) [35 PP]

• Base:
  • Enhanced Charisma 8 [8 PP]
    

Confuse 10 (Extras: Targeted Area, Selective; Flaws: Full-Round Action) [20 PP]
Enhanced Feats (Distract, Taunt) [2 PP]

Alternate Power: Enhanced Strength 10 [10 PP] + Impervious Toughness 10 [10 PP] + Enhanced Feats 4 (Improved Critical [unarmed] 2, Improved Trip, Improved Overrun) [4 PP] + Super-Strength 3 [6 PP]

Alternate Power: Damage 8 (Extras: Targeted Area, Selective; Flaws: Action [Full-Round]) [16 PP] + Nullify Technology 7 (Extras: Targeted Area; Flaws: Full-Round Action) [14 PP]

Alternate Power: Nullify Entrapment 10 (Extras: Targeted Area, Selective) [30 PP]

Attributes (40) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (14) + Skills (19) + Feats (13) + Powers (40) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

So, these guys are pretty obvious Expies of semi-famous DCU duo Hawk and Dove. Despite their DCAU appearance, Hank and Don Hall never really caught on as Hawk and Dove, mainly due to their origin's inherent political ties to the Vietnam War and the fact that there was no real explanation for their powers ("a magic voice did it" is somewhat lacking). There was also the fact that the initial run ran into "creative differences" as strident Objectivist Steve Ditko and bleeding-heart liberal Steve Skeates turned it into a game of, "Admit I'm right! Admit it!" Don was killed off in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Dawn Granger received his mantle when she met Hank as he attended Georgetown. Here, Hawk and Dove were given an origin beyond "super-conservative and super-liberal"; they were chosen by the Lords of Order and Chaos as avatars of the respective philosophies, in the name of finding a true balance.

Still, I've always thought it'd be interesting to do a blend of pre-Crisis Hawk and Dove and post-Crisis Hawk and Dove -- keep the fraternal ties and political undercurrent, but also throw in the Order/Chaos dichotomy and turn their roles as champions of the two philosophies up to the point where they play out on the cosmic stage (in between back alley throwdowns). Instead of a simple liberal/conservative divide, however, the duo would push the Overton window open a crack.

Harry Kane is a beat cop with the FCPD, studying for his detective exam. He considers himself a "hardcore moderate," believing strongly that a well-regulated system is the best way to help the people. His younger brother Dan, on the other hand, is a FCU student dual majoring in political communication and journalism, and very active amongst the local punk scene. A strident anarchist, he believes the systems of power have become so trammeled up that people must take the means of power back into their own hands if they wish to see anything approaching justice. After they end up digging into the actions of a group of Terminus cultists that had affected both their livelihoods, they came close to the touch of oblivion. In defiance, however, the forces of Order and Chaos reached out to them, naming them Standard and Partisan, champions of life in the face of entropy.

Standard's powers are themed around Order, and Partisan's, by extension, are themed around Chaos. They've also got the standard enhanced strength and constitution Hawk and Dove showed on all occasions. With more points, Luck Control would work for both parties, and their origins would allow for Nullify Terminus Energy. The two work as a fixed pair, but if you want to remove either one and create a stand-alone champion of order or chaos, that works, too. If Freedom seems too crowded for their likes, they'd easily fit in Hawk and Dove's stomping grounds of Washington, D.C. - have Harry on the DC Metropolitan Police and Dan at GWU.

[trollthumper]

Vampire Costumed Adventurer

The weed of crime bears bitter fruit.

Power Level: 10

Trade-Offs: +2 DEF/-2 TOU

Abilities: 4 + 6 + (-10) + 2 + 6 + 8 = 16 PP

STR 14 (+2)

DEX 16 (+3)

CON n/a

INT 12 (+1)

WIS 16 (+3)

CHA 18 (+4)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Range)

DEF: +12 (+3 flat-footed)

Init: +4

Grapple: +8

Knockback: -8

Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 3 = 6 PP

Toughness: +8 (+8 Protection)

Fortitude: n/a

Reflex: +7 (+3 DEX, +4)

Will: +7 (+4 WIS, +3)

Skills: 56r = 14 PP

Bluff 6 (+10/+14)

Diplomacy 6 (+10/+14)

Intimidate 8 (+12)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 4 (+5)

Knowledge (history) 5 (+6)

Knowledge (streetwise) 6 (+7)

Notice 6 (+8)

Sense Motive 6 (+8)

Stealth 9 (+12)

Feats: 17 PP

Attack Focus (ranged) 6

Attractive

Dodge Focus 6

Fascinate (Bluff)

Hide in Plain Sight

Power Attack

Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

Powers: 15 + 1 + 30 + 4 + 8 + 3 + 4 + 6 + 11 = 82 PP

Enchanted Pistols, 25 PP Device (Easy to Lose) [15 PP]

Blast 10 (Power Feats: Improved Critical 2, Variable 1 [any metal], Ricochet, Split Attack)

Drain Con 2 (Flaw: Requires Grapple) [1 PP]

Immunity 30 (Fortitude Saves) [30 PP]

Impervious Toughness 8 (Not vs. Wood/Fire) [4 PP]

Obfuscate (5 PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 1) [6 PP]

• Base: Concealment 10 (all senses) (Flaws: Phantasm, Passive) [5 PP]
  Alternate Power: Morph 4 (any human) (Flaws: Phantasm) [4 PP]

Presence (10 PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 1) [11 PP]

• Base: Paralyze 10 (Extras: Range [Ranged], Flaws: Sense-Dependent (visual), Distracting) [10 PP]
  Alternate Power: Emotion Control 10 (Flaws: Limited to Fear) [10 PP]

Protection 8 [8 PP]

Regeneration 6 (Rec. Bonus +0 [5], Rec. Rate: Resurrection 1/week [1]; Flaw: Source [blood]) [3 PP]

Super-Senses 6 (Darkvision, Postcognition [Limited to Sins]) [4 PP]

Drawbacks [-10 PP]

Weakness (exposure to sunlight, destroyed in 10 rounds; uncommon, moderate) (-7)

Vulnerable (fire) (common, moderate) (-3)

Attributes (16) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (7) + Skills (15) + Feats (16) + Powers (82) - Drawbacks (10) = 150 PP

---

That's right, another Ref is getting into the "let's convert clans from Vampire: the Masquerade into archetypes" game. I saw AA and Doc were having a jolly good time doing it, so I decided to take a stab as well. As the Camarilla and Sabbat clans have pretty much been defined up and down, that leaves the Independents, who were... well, while White Wolf tried their best to give them some thematic unity later on in the line, that didn't stop the fact that they started more as a grab bag of qualities, some of which involved the worst traits of early Nineties multiculturalism. We'll get to those later.

For now, though, we'll start with the Followers of Set, who suffer from being quite possibly the most thematically schizoid of all the clans. I mean, say what you will about the Assamites and the Ravnos, at least they took their respective stereotypes to the hilt. So the Setites revere Set (big surprise) as the father of all vampires, and believe that it's their duty to lead people into vice and deprivation. This works. However, it's clear that the first set of writers weren't thinking of actual Egyptian mythology Set so much as the giant snake god Set from the Conan stories, as the Setities' unique Discipline is Serpentis, which is all about getting your giant snake on.

So let's throw Serpentis in the trash can for now and look at what we've got. Okay, we've got vampires who deal in sin and vice, and who have powers that allow them to compel the attention of others (Presence) and make themselves invisible to the naked eye (Obfuscate). And their origins are more based in the pulp era than any actual mythology. Gee, how could we possibly make something heroic out of this?

As the character's a vampire, there are a whole lot of ways to take this story. You could play up the pulp roots and have him actually be a veteran of the era. Maybe he was a British soldier stationed in Colonial Egypt who stumbled into the wrong back alley joint one night and found himself Embraced by a group of vampiric Set cultists. With enough moral fiber to know that the last thing he wanted to do was lead people into vice, he used the arts of his makers to track down and rout sin in all its forms. Or maybe make him more like Moon Knight, a heroic mercenary who had a gig go wrong in Saharan Africa but who received the blessing of a surprisingly benevolent Set (after all, AA's already taken a stab at making Set heroic). However, as Set's still the god of darkness, and you don't exactly go to Hades for gardening advice, this means his gift takes on some distinctly vampiric qualities. Don't like your heroes using guns? You can always substitute out the dual pistols for dual boomerangs or throwing axes - or you could substitute it out for a Strike w/ Penetrating, Mighty, and Improved Critical, with the hero wielding a magical khopesh.

Now, I know some of you V:tM fans are saying, "What? We came for our giant snake action! You have robbed us, good sir!" Maybe this time. But there is a way to make vampires and giant snakes work -- it's just going to require a little tweak to the mythology...

[trollthumper]

Combat Analyst

I've fought our fight already, in my head, in a million different ways. I can hit you without you even seeing me. I'm what soldiers dream of growing into.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 10 + 6 + 10 + 2 + 4 + 4 = 36 PP

STR 20 (+5)

DEX 16 (+3)

CON 20 (+5)

INT 12 (+1)

WIS 14 (+2)

CHA 14 (+2)

Combat: 16 + 12 = 28 PP

Attack: +8 (+12 Offensive Capability)

Defense: +12/+8 (+2 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +11

Grapple: +17/+13

Knockback: -6/-4

Saving Throws: 4 + 6 + 6 = 16 PP

Toughness: +12/+8/+5 (+4 Defensive Orientation, +3 Specialized Fatigues, +5 CON)

Fortitude: +9 (+5 CON, +4)

Reflex: +9 (+3 DEX, +6)

Will: +8 (+2 WIS, +6)

Skills: 60r = 15 PP

Acrobatics 12/4 (+15/+7)

Diplomacy 6 (+9)

Gather Information 4 (+7)

Intimidate 12/8 (+14/+10)

Knowledge (tactics) 10 (+11)

Notice 8 (+10)

Search 4 (+5)

Sense Motive 8 (+10)

Stealth 12/4 (+15/+7)

Survival 12/4 (+14/+6)

Feats: 14 PP

Accurate Attack

All-Out Attack

Benefit 2 (Security Clearance, use Knowledge (tactics) for Initiative)

Defensive Attack

Dodge Focus 2

Evasion 2

Move-By Action

Power Attack

Prone Fighting

Takedown Attack 2

Powers: 8 + 9 + 9 + 6 + 9= 41 PP

Morphic Molecule Fatigues, 10 PP Device (Hard to Lose) [8 PP]

Protection 3 (3 PP)

Strike 3 (Feats: Mighty, Improved Critical [unarmed] 1) [5 PP]

Concealment 2 (normal visual, Flaws: Passive) [2 PP]

Offensive Capability, 4 PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 1 [9 PP]

• Base: Enhanced Attack 4 [8 PP]
  Alternate Power: Enhanced Strength 8 [8 PP]

Defensive Orientation, 8 PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 1 [9 PP]

• Base: Enhanced Defense 4 [8 PP]
  Alternate Power: Enhanced Constitution 8 [8 PP]

Training Subroutines, 3 PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 3 [6 PP]

• Base: Enhanced Skills 2 (Acrobatics 8) [2 PP] + Enhanced Feats 1 (Acrobatic Bluff) [1 PP]
  Alternate Power: Enhanced Skills 1 (Intimidate 4) [1 PP] + Enhanced Feats 2 (Startle, Distract) [2 PP]
  Alternate Power: Enhanced Skills 2 (Stealth 8) [2 PP] + Enhanced Feat 1 (Hide in Plain Sight) [1 PP]
  Alternate Power: Enhanced Skills 2 (Survival 8) [2 PP] + Enhanced Feat 1 (Track) [1 PP]

Combat Packages, 8 PP Array, Feat: Alternate Power 1 [9 PP]

• Base: Enhanced Feats 8 (Improved Grab, Improved Grapple, Improved Trip, Improved Throw, Improved Pin, Weapon Bind, Weapon Break, Improved Disarm) [8 PP] "neutralize threat"
  Alternate Power: Add Penetrating 4 to Unarmed [4 PP] + Enhanced Feats 4 (Blind-Fighting, Elusive Target, Dazzling Attack (visual), Stunning Attack) [4 PP] "deny advantage" [8 PP]

Abilities (36) + Combat (28) + Saving Throws (16) + Skills (15) + Feats (14) + Powers (41) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

As FCPbP's resident gay, I felt it would be a good idea to wave my rainbow flag and pay homage to one of the more badass gays in comicsdom - Midnighter. Sure, he's more violent and grimdark than any of us refs would care to allow, and his current costume makes him look like the love child of a tire and a pin cushion, but the guy's basically our Wolverine. So why am I focusing on him instead of his loving husband Apollo? Simple; his powers. In addition to being something of a Batman equivalent, Midnighter has been cybernetically augmented to be the perfect combat machine. He has the ability to run through a thousand combat scenarios in his head in the time it takes his opponents to blink, and thus knows just how he's going to win the fight before anyone lands the first blow.

So, how to represent the man who's perfectly suited for any combat situation? Simple; a series of arrays that allow for fluid shifts. The Combat Analyst is deliberately undercap, allowing the player their choice on the axes of Attack/Damage and Defense/Toughness. There's no middle ground, as the build is designed around eliminating advantages and going above and beyond the ground covered by All-Out/Accurate/Defensive/Power Attack. Those Feats (or even the basic maneuvers) allow for a +0/+0 Trade-Off build (well, except for in Toughness, but nothing's perfect). Really, the major issue for a build like this is keeping track of all the Arrays, but an experienced player should be able to pull it off pretty well. The fact that most of the Arrays are binary, and the last two don't even need to be active all the time, will likely help.

The other two Arrays are designed to apply his expertise to other areas of combat - breaking through tough armor, disabling senses or taking advantage of weak constitution, denying the enemy their weapon, tracking them over hill and dale, silently stalking through a warehouse full of mercenaries armed for bear, and just plain unnerving the hell out of them. Arrays like Training Routines also allow for lots of customization - perhaps you want your Combat guy to be more Spider-Man and less Batman, in which case the Intimidate AP could be stripped out in favor of Bluff w/ Redirect and Taunt as Enhanced Feats.

As for origins, there are many. You could easily go for Midnighter's - trained special ops member loaded with the best cybernetic wetware money can buy. There's also the route of the enlightened martial artist (perhaps buy some Regen to represent mastery of chi, or Aura Reading to signify connection to the universe) or a straight-up combat precog (with Precognition replacing Detect Weakness).

[trollthumper]

Master of Mirrors

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Mirrors contain infinity. Infinity contains more things than you think. Everything, for a start.

Abilities: 2 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 6 = 26 PP

Strength 12 (+1)

Dexterity 14 (+2)

Constitution 14 (+2)

Intelligence 16 (+3)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 16 (+3)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Mirror Array)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +2

Grapple: +7

Knockback: -10/-5

Saving Throws: 5 + 6 + 7 = 18 PP

Toughness +10 (+2 CON, +8 Protection)

Fortitude +7 (+2 CON, +5)

Reflex +8 (+2 DEX, +6)

Will +9 (+2 WIS, +7)

Skills: 52r = 13PP

Bluff 12 (+15)

Diplomacy 8 (+11)

Disguise 0/10 (+3/+13)

Gather Information 6 (+9)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 4 (+7)

Notice 8 (+10)

Sense Motive 8 (+10)

Sleight of Hand 6 (+9)

Feats: 15 PP

Accurate Attack

All-Out Attack

Dodge Focus 4

Distract

Elusive Target

Evasion 2

Fascinate (Bluff)

Move-By Action

Power Attack

Redirect

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Powers: 8 + 39 + 4 + 3 = 54 PP

Mirror Mastery, 30 PP Array (Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 5) [39 PP]

• Base: Illusion (all senses) 10 (Flaws: Limited to Replicating Self and Surroundings [-1]) [30 PP] “hall of mirrorsâ€
  Alternate Power: Adds Impervious 10 and Reflective (all energy) 10 to Toughness [30 PP] “perfect reflectionâ€
  Alternate Power: Strike 9 (Feats: Improved Critical, Mighty, Penetrating 4) [15 PP] + Dazzle (visual) 7 [14 PP] “glistening shardâ€
  Alternate Power: Damage 10 (Extras: Targeted Area Cone, Autofire 1) [30 PP] “the mirror shattersâ€
  Alternate Power: ESP (all senses) 10 (Flaws: Medium [mirrors]) [30 PP] “enterting the mazeâ€
  Alternate Power: Teleport 10 (Extras: Accurate, Affects Others; Flaws: Medium [mirrors]) [30 PP] “taking the quicksilver highwayâ€

Morph (any human) 2 [4 PP]

Protection 8 [8 PP]

Super Senses (Vision Radius, Counter Illusion) 3 [3 PP]

Abilities (26) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (18) + Skills (13) + Feats (15) + Powers (54) - Disadvantages (0) = 150/150 PP

---

One type of magic system that's always fascinated me is the one where your power is based around a simple idea - like, say, fire or mirrors or death - and then bent outwards to cover every single way you could apply that concept. Changeling: the Lost and its Contract system works somewhat like this - you make a Contract with birds of prey, you not only get to talk to them, but can also borrow their sight and their speed. So I decided to try my hand at making a "Contractor," and the first idea that came to mind involved mirrors.

In making this one, I think I threw together nearly every source of mirror-based magic I could think of. Mirror Master was the first choice, as he's always been one of the more interesting members of the Flash's Rogues Gallery (I say "more," because he'll always lose out to the psychic megalomaniac gorilla). The other stuff came from Changeling (where the fetches, the imitations left by the True Fae after they've whisked a human away, get their own magic themed around mirrors, shadows, and doubles), Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (where the legendary wizard The Raven King set up a series of "king's roads" that went through every mirror in Britain), and Exalted (the Damage Area Cone spell is basically Death of Obsidian Butterflies with one gigantic shattered mirror instead of a storm of igneous insects). The result is an Array that pretty effectively covers everything you could get out of a mirror. It can reflect attacks, produce a deadly shard of mirror, see through mirrors, walk through mirrors, and turn any setting into a hall of... well, you know.

And that's not even everything you can do with mirrors! If you decide that Array needs more stuff, or some of that stuff isn't quite to your liking, there's always using an endless array of mirrors to Confuse your foes, creating a twisting perspective that Nauseates everyone, or using a complex rig for purposes of Duplication by giving your reflections weight and heft. As for origins, odds are the guy's gonna be mystic - it's only by the barest trappings of comic book science that Mirror Master could be said to be an inventor rather than an enchanter. Maybe your hero called forth his own reflection and merged with it, gaining the powers over mirrors but a telltale lack of reflection. Or maybe they ran afoul of Bloody Mary and got something unexpected out of the bargain -- or hell, you could use this template for Bloody Mary herself. Nothing says the Master of Mirrors has to be a good guy. After all, who knows who's on the other side of the glass?

[trollthumper]

Vampire Assassin

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: +2 DEF/-2 TOU, +2 ATT/-2 DMG

Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

Attributes: 6 + 6 + (-10) + 2 + 4 + 4 = 12 PP

Strength 16 (+3)

Dexterity 16 (+3)

Constitution –

Intelligence 12 (+1)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 14 (+2)

Combat: 12 + 14 = 26 PP

Attack: +6 (+12 Melee)

Defense: +12 (+7 Base, +5 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +9

Grapple: +13

Knockback: -8/-4

Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 3 = 7 PP

Toughness +8/--

Fortitude –

Reflex +12/+7 (+5 Enhanced Reflex, +3 DEX, +4)

Will +5 (+2 WIS, +3)

Skills: 72r = 18 PP

Acrobatics 8 (+11)

Bluff 8 (+10)

Diplomacy 4 (+7)

Disable Device 6 (+9)

Intimidate 8 (+10)

Knowledge (tactics) 8 (+9)

Notice 8 (+10)

Search 4 (+7)

Sense Motive 6 (+8)

Stealth 12 (+15)

Feats: 19 PP

Accurate Attack

All-Out Attack

Attack Focus (Melee) 6

Benefit (use Knowledge [tactics] for Initiative)

Dodge Focus 5

Evasion

Hide in Plain Sight

Power Attack

Redirect

Uncanny Dodge (audio)

Powers: 6 + 1 + 30 + 8 + 4 + 3 + 10 + 10 + 6 = 78 PP

Adder’s Fang (10 PP Device, Easy to Lose) [6 PP]

Strike 5 (Extras: Penetrating 3, Feats: Improved Critical, Mighty) [10 PP]

Drain Con 2 (Flaws: Requires Grapple) [1 PP]

Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30 PP]

Protection 8 [8 PP]

Impervious Toughness 8 [Not Applicable to Fire/Wood] [4 PP]

Regeneration 6 (Recovery Bonus +5 [+0 Total]; Resurrection 1 [week]; Flaw: Source [blood]) [3 PP]

Quietus, 8 PP Array, Feat: Alternate Power 2 [10 PP]

• Base: Adds Poison [8] to Adder’s Fang [8 PP]
  Alternate Power: Drain Toughness 8 [8 PP]
  Alternate Power: Obscure (auditory, mental) 3 (50 ft.) (Feat: Subtle) [7 PP]

Celerity, 8 PP Array, Feat: Alternate Power 2 [10 PP]

• Base: Adds Autofire 1 [8] to Adder’s Fang [8 PP]
  Alternate Power: Adds Area Burst to Adder’s Fang [8 PP]
  Alternate Power: Speed 3 (50 MPH, 500 ft/round) [3 PP] + Enhanced Reflex 5 [5 PP]

Obfuscate, 5 PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 1 [6 PP]

• Base: Concealment 10 (all senses) (Flaws: Phantasm, Passive) [5 PP]
  Alternate Power: Morph 4 (any human) (Flaws: Phantasm) [4 PP]

Drawbacks: [-10 PP]

Weakness (exposure to sunlight, destroyed in 10 rounds; uncommon, moderate) (-7)

Vulnerable (fire) (common, moderate) (-3)

Abilities (12) + Combat (26) + Saving Throws (8) + Skills (18) + Feats (18) + Powers (78) - Drawbacks (10) = 150 PP

---

Next up on the grand tour of Vampire clans turned into archetypes - the Assamites. When it comes to unfortunate implications based on race and ethnicity, the Assamites may come in second amongst all the clans. They're the clan who are most distinctly Arabic in styling, appearance, and origin... and the good lot of them are terrorists, assassins, and killers. There's an explanation for this, in that the Assamites have heavy ties to the hashshashin, and the clan was eventually expanded from "straight up killers" to include wise men and sorcerers. Still, you've got a vampire that makes its unliving as a contract killer, which is one hell of a challenge when it comes to making a PC. Even when you deal with "criminal that saw the light" archetypes, hitmen and assassins aren't the easiest of people to give the benefit of the doubt on a Heel Face Turn.

Then again, if we were able to make organized crime families suited towards assassination for hire into heroic templates, there's not really much keeping an Assamite from being heroic. There's always the tried and true trope of "rebellious childe" (or I Hate You, Vampire Dad - warning, TV Tropes), wherein the PC might be a veteran soldier, mercenary, or thief who's Embraced into higher things by either a lone assassin or a group of them - undead ninjas who considered themselves chosen of Izanami-no-Mikoto, remnants of the Thuggees or the hashshashin, maybe even the occult chapter of the Murder League. Or maybe he's an NPC who is one of those assassins. Because, hey, what's worse than a villain who's after your blood for multiple reasons?

[trollthumper]

Earth Z-Eldritch-1(malignant)

Scenes from the Darkest Timeline

In 1944, as the Allies of Freedom lent their strength to the fight against the Nazis, they were approached by a raving madman in tattered GI fatigues seeking to talk to Lady Celtic. When he met with her, he told her a story that her mystic abilities registered was completely true, and horrifyingly possible. He was from 1947, sent back in time in a desperate gesture by the remnants of the Allies. In his 1945, the Nazis, on the brink of defeat, staked all their hopes on the summoning of Yog-Sothoth, a servant of the Unspeakable One whose presence extended through all space and time. By summoning and successfully binding the omniscient, omipresent entity, they had a weapon that could strike at all of history. And with its successful binding, other servants of the Unspeakable One began to enter the world. The King in Yellow walked the streets of Venice, his damned court extending to his beloved city of Carcosa. Cthulhu had risen in the Pacific, driving a quarter of the world to some form of madness and wiping out all ANZAC forces in one dreadful day. Azathoth had been invoked on the Western coast, playing with the irradiated remains of California the same way a child plays with blocks. The Allies' top occult consultants realized something dreadful - while Yog-Sothoth's attention was mostly focused on the latter half of the Forties, that attention was just one fragment of its consciousness. With the right inclination, it could be made to twist all history into a hideous blasphemy.

Lady Celtic and the other Allies took the warning to heart. They struck first, wiping out the Nazi sorcerer who'd been laying the seed for the summoning of Yog-Sothoth, as well as the rest of his cabal. They burned all their research, and the souls that had not passed on were bound to a geas never to mention details of their blasphemous work again. The dreadful future was steadfastly averted, and the Unspeakable One's influence on Earth-Prime was diminished. But the world still existed, as a potential timeline at least. Yog-Sothoth's attention turned to all of that line's history, warping and twisting it towards a bizarre empire watched over by the Great Old Ones and their mad visions. And worse, it wasn't giving up easily.

The first incursion came in 1947, when a whole block in downtown Leningrad became a mad, riotous carnival, as black banners bearing the Yellow Sign of Hastur hanged from all the windows and the citizens were crying and screaming in demented, violent joy. A group of sorcerers in yellow, tattered robes preceded over the festivities, proclaiming in mangled Russian about "the wandering joys of his sight." Bogatyr managed to cancel the riot by disrupting the sorcerers' working, but they vanished into folds of space before he could apprehend them. The next time was in 1950, when war-priests of Azathoth seized Los Alamos and tried to turn it into an altar to the glory of their blind idiot god. Over the next few decades, two dozen attempts were made by the blighted universe to colonize Earth-Prime and expand the holdings of the Unspeakable One. All the while, Yog-Sothoth worked his will over the course of history, twisting it and sundering it to the point where some of the things that invaded could hardly be said to be human at all.

In the end, the Clockworkers - sworn to reserved observation, to watching over the flow of time with a strict policy of noninterference - looked upon the twisted cancer that had become of Earth Z-Eldritch-1's timeline. They realized that such a thing was not only malignant in the worst possible way, but at a strong risk of metastasizing to other universes. With the need to prevent further damage to the timeline outweighing the displeasing nature of their actions, the Clockworkers cut the broken timeline off from the flow of time entire. The walls of the universe were hardened to nigh-impenetrable levels, and the flow of chronology was cut off at both the universe's Big Bang and Big Crunch. A world that never was now became a world that never could be.

But despite the heavy quarantine - bordering on a near obliteration - fragments of Earth Z-Eldritch-1 remained, last bits heavy with history that had fallen out of Yog-Sothoth's grasp in the last moments before the universe was locked down on the quantum level. A vase, depicting the youths of Athens merrily leaping into the arms of the shoggoth at the heart of the Labyrinth. A worn carnival mask, through the eyes of which one can see the riots and sights of the King in Yellow's never-ending ball. A children's book, done in the style of a 16th century school primer, on how a child should properly prepare themselves for being inducted into the endless depths of the Eater of Worlds. All seeds of a world mutilated beyond recognition, scattered on the winds of the multiverse - seeds waiting to bloom.

---

This is my first attempt at doing a full alternate universe like AA's many, many worlds and Doc's particular version of Athas. And because it's me, it had to involve the Mythos in one way or another. My inspirations for this were twofold. First was the Cancerverse from Marvel's cosmic line, a world where the heroes responded to Captain Marvel's imminent death by cancer by killing the crap out of Death... which had the side effect of making life grow unfettered, resulting in the whole universe turning cancerous and coming under the sway of the Many-Angled Ones. The other was from Mage: the Awakening, and was one of the elements that really sold me on that line - the Prince of 100,000 Leaves. The Prince is a demon that was effectively a potential timeline that was so abhorrent, reality itself cast it into the cosmic wastebin known as the Abyss, where it became sentient and got angry. Some mages were stupid enough to summon it; that went badly, and it left behind fragments representing the grand horror show of the reality it represented, fragments that cultists have been trying to gather together in the hopes that it'll come true.

There isn't much of a way to visit Earth Z-Eldritch-1. If you end up there, you have done something so beautifully horrifying to the laws of physics that it's allowed you to surpass the strongest barriers erected by the guys who control time itself. Also, you'll have effectively walked into something that makes a Bosch painting look like Sesame Street. That doesn't mean it's not impossible, and certainly not out of the question - if a bomb that tore reality in half exposed the Cancerverse to Marvel's Earth-616, there's gotta be something that'll get you into the Unspeakable One's playground. The timeline also represents the possibility for high weirdness injecting itself into Earth-Prime, bringing a real element of surreal horror to a thread. Maybe one of the fragments of Earth Z-Eldritch-1 has entered an apartment building, or a library, or a church, and has finally started to warp reality in the most noticeable ways possible. Or maybe cultists of the Unspeakable One are going all separatist and fighting it out on the street for one of the fragments; the heroes can't understand why they'd fight it out over a stuffed Dark Young or a piece of impossible sheet music, at least until they start seeing what it does to the world around them...

[trollthumper]

Navy Selkie

On land, at sea... hell, give me a jetpack and I can cover "in air" as well.

Power Level: 10

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 10 + 4 + 10 + 4 + 6 + 6 = 40 PP

Strength 30/20 (+10/+5)

Dexterity 14 (+2)

Constitution 30/20 (+10/+5)

Intelligence 14 (+2)

Wisdom 16 (+3)

Charisma 16 (+3)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Melee w/ Sealskin Bracer)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus w/ Sealskin Bracer), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +10

Grapple: +20/+11

Knockback: -10/-4

Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 4 = 8 PP

Toughness +10/+5 (+5 CON, +5 Sealskin Bracer, Impervious 10 w/ Bracer)

Fortitude +10/+5 (+10/+5 CON, +0)

Reflex +6 (+2 DEX, +4)

Will +7 (+3 WIS, +4)

Skills: 84r = 21 PP

Acrobatics 4 (+6)

Craft (chemical) 6 (+8)

Diplomacy 4 (+7)

Disable Device 8 (+10)

Gather Information 4 (+7)

Intimidate 8 (+11)

Knowledge (tactics) 8 (+10)

Knowledge (technology) 6 (+8)

Language (English [Native], Arabic, Farsi)

Notice 8 (+11)

Search 6 (+8)

Sense Motive 6 (+9)

Stealth 8 (+10)

Survival 6 (+9)

Feats: 16 PP

Accurate Attack

Benefit (use Knowledge [tactics] for Initiative)

Environmental Adaptation (underwater)

Equipment 7

Master Plan 2

Power Attack

Precise Shot

Set Up

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Assault Rifle (+5, Autofire) [16 ep]

Frag Grenades (Blast Area 5) [15 ep]

Tactical Vest (+4 Protection) [4 ep]

Powers: 41 PP

Sealskin Bracer (50 PP Container, Hard to Lose, Feat: Restricted 1 [those of fae blood]) [41 PP]

Enhanced Feats 8 (Attack Focus (Melee) 4, Dodge Focus 4) [8 PP]

Enhanced Strength 10 [10 PP]

Enhanced Constitution 10 [10 PP]

Immunity (cold, high pressure, suffocation in an underwater environment) 3 [3 PP]

Impervious Toughness 10 [10 PP]

Swimming 5 (50 MPH, 500 ft/round) [5 PP]

Super-Senses (Darkvision) 2 [2 PP]

Morph (mundane sea lion) 2 [2 PP]

Abilities (40) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (8) + Skills (21) + Feats (16) + Powers (41) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

Approaching the role of the military in a superhero universe is something that's not done much (though I understand DC's current Men of War title is doing a good job at that). You'd imagine that in a world filled to the gills with aliens, psychics, metahumans, and magicians, the military and the civil service would snap up every talent with patriotic inclinations and a suite of powers they could. Which is why I decided to go for the most obvious pun in the world - the selkie who's also a Navy SEAL.

Unlike the "typical" folkloric selkie, the beautiful maiden who you can bring into your household by taking her skin (folklore is full of unfortunate sexual overtones, isn't it?), this guy's beefier, more hearty, and more like a "wereseal." Well, sea lion. His family likely made their way from the Orkney Islands out to either San Francisco or San Diego, their appearance gradually shifting from the typical Atlantic seal to the more Pacific sea lion. Growing up in one of the big naval towns of the West Coast instilled a fascination with the Navy that remained undeterred - hell, grew all the stronger - when his mom decided to finally show him his "baby pictures" (he made the most adorable pup). He managed to keep his fae nature hidden for more than a few years, but after the ship he was stationed on came under attack, he helped lead his fellow sailors away to shore in his "native" form. Afterwards, he was recommended for SEAL training by his superiors - both for his talents, and his actions under fire.

He's roughly built for PL6 or 7 without the bracer, which is about right for your standard special ops member or Badass Normal (hell, it may even be a bit over the top). His Skill set speaks to a position as demoman/EOD specialist, but there are a whole lot of other possibilites. Strip out Craft (chemical) in favor of Drive or Pilot for a Primary Driver/Navigator, buy up Diplomacy and Intimidate for an Interrogator, or use Computers and Craft (electronics) for a Technical Surveillance officer. With the bracer, however, he becomes a PL10 powerhouse. For utility's sake (and to ensure he doesn't fall prey to Aquaman Syndrome), it should be assumed that the bracer turns him into something more like the war form of a Lunar in Exalted -- hulking, bipedal, and ready to wreck anything. The bracer also allows him to turn into a mundane-looking sea lion, which aids in infiltration attempts - at least, until that STR 30 sea lion headbutts a Zodiac right out of the water.

[trollthumper]

Vampire Illusionist

Cast aside the veil of night. Draw forth the veil of the mind.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 2 + 6 + (-10) + 2 + 4 + 6 = 10 PP

STR 12 (+1)

DEX 16 (+3)

CON –

INT 12 (+1)

WIS 14 (+2)

CHA 16 (+3)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Illusions)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +3

Grapple: +8

Knockback: -10/-5

Saving Throws: 0 + 3 + 5 = 8 PP

Toughness: +10/-- (+10 Protection, Impervious 10)

Fortitude: --

Reflex: +6 (+3 DEX, +3)

Will: +7 (+2 WIS, +5)

Skills: 52r = 13 PP

Bluff 8 (+11)

Concentration 5 (+7)

Diplomacy 6 (+9)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 4 (+5)

Language (Romanian [Native], English)

Notice 6 (+8)

Sense Motive 6 (+8)

Stealth 8 (+11)

Survival 8 (+10)

Feats: 11 PP

All-Out Attack

Distract

Dodge Focus 4

Evasion

Power Attack

Redirect

Track

Uncanny Dodge (vision)

Powers: 1 + 30 + 10 + 5 + 3 + 34 + 5 + 6 = 94 PP

Drain Con 2 (Flaws: Requires Grapple) [1 PP]

Immunity (Fortitude Effects) 30 [30 PP]

Protection 10 [10 PP]

Impervious Toughness 10 [Not Applicable to Fire/Wood] [5 PP]

Regeneration 6 (Recovery Bonus 5 [+0], Resurrection 1/week, Flaws: Source [blood]) [3 PP]

Chimerstry, 31 PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 1 [34 PP]

• Base: Illusion (all senses) 10 (Flaw: Phantasm, Feat: Progression 1 [10 feet]) [31 PP]
  Alternate Power: Mental Blast 10 (Flaw: Range [Ranged], Feat: Improved Critical 1) [31 PP]

Animalism, 4 PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 1 [5 PP]

• Base: ESP (visual, 100 ft.) 4 (Flaw: Medium [animals]) [4 PP]
  Alternate Power: ESP (audio and olfactory, 100 ft.) 4 (Flaw: Medium [animals]) [4 PP]
  Alternate Power: Comprehend Animals 2 [4 PP]

Fortitude, 5 PP Base, Feats: Alternate Power 1 [6 PP]

• Base: Buys off Limitation on Impervious Toughness [5 PP]
  Alternate Power: Features (Buys off Weakness [sunlight]) 10 (Flaw: Fades)[5 PP]

Disadvantages: -10 PP

Weakness (sunlight, destroyed in 10 rounds; uncommon, moderate) [-7 PP]

Vulnerability (fire; common, moderate) [-3 PP]

Abilities (10) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (8) + Skills (13) + Feats (11) + Powers (94) - Disadvantages (10) = 150 PP

---

Working our way down the chain of Vampire clans, we get to the Ravnos. And remember what I was saying about how the Assamites were second when it came to the most unfortunate racial implications in V:tM? In a decent universe, every detailed explanation of the nature of Clan Ravnos would end with a long, drawn-out, "Yeaaaaaah..." They're closely tied in with the Roma, their powers are centered around illusions... and their clan weakness is that each and every one of them has some sort of illegal activity, ranging from theft to blackmail to forging to assault, that they must engage in. It's the beautiful, disgusting intersection of "mystical Gypsy," "trickster Gypsy," and "criminal Gypsy." Later down the line, White Wolf realized how badly they screwed the pooch (most likely after the grandly stupid Gypsies source book - now with Blood Purity stat!) and tried to clean up the clan. Most of them were wiped out when their clan founder went on a rampage and they went into a self-destructive fugue, and later materials explained that the Ravnos of India were spiritual warriors following a path aimed at breaking maya with a pipe wrench. Of course, even then they screwed up by painting the Ravnos who fell in with the Roma as "fallen" heretics.

So, truly unfortunate portrayal of the Romani people aside, what do the Ravnos offer for a character? Well, they're something of a twist on the standard Dracula power suite - tough to kill (Fortitude), command over animals (Animalism), and a way to screw with people's minds (Chimerstry). Illusion, at least a wholly convincing Illusion is one hell of a power to write up - especially when you have to fold in Mental Blast to deal with the fact that top-level Chimerstry makes someone believe they're getting stabbed by that fake sword. When you also have to deal with the fact that the character has Immunity 30, it's a matter of nickel and diming the build. Still, the Illusions, as written, will be fairly convincing if put in the right place. It is possible to break Illusion down into the various senses, throw in Progression, and give Mental Blast the Mental Weapon Flaw to free up some points, but this build gives the utility of range and choosing whether to hit the guy with a fake sword, a fake machine gun, or a fake fire bolt. Fortitude allows the vampire to buy off some of the innate Drawbacks of his condition (but not to avoid them entirely), and Animalism helps for spy work and info gathering.

There are many ways to play the illusionist. Perhaps he's a childe of Dracula whose powers took a peculiar bent, aimed at tricking the will rather than grasping it with an iron fist. Maybe they were chosen by Yama to help enforce and rend maya as needed. Or, if you really want to go with the Roma ties, there's no reason it can't be done well. Maybe the guy was a hunter and tracker who was angry at the fact that his clan mates had been pressed into the service of a strigoi. He tried bagging one of the vampires using all his skills, but failed - but the guy was so impressed with the fight he gave, he Embraced him. That was a bad idea. He went to ground, and used his new powers of the mind and understanding of the beasts of the forest to make his clan's land safe from the creatures of the night. As the 19th century gave way to the 20th and 21st, he pulled back into the woods, stepping out to protect his people from antiziganist violence.

[trollthumper]

Kinetic Flyer

Mass times acceleration equals f*** you.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 2 + 6 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 2 = 24 PP

Strength 12 (+1)

Dexterity 16 (+3)

Constitution 14 (+2)

Intelligence 14 (+2)

Wisdom 16 (+3)

Charisma 12 (+1)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Damage)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +7

Grapple: +7

Knockback: -10/-5/-1

Saving Throws: 6 + 6 + 4 = 16 PP

Toughness: +10/+2 (CON +2, Force Field +8 [impervious 10])

Fortitude: +8 (+2 CON, +6)

Reflex: +9 (+3 DEX, +6)

Will: +7 (+3 WIS, +4)

Skills: 60r = 15 PP

Bluff 8 (+9)

Concentration 8 (+11)

Diplomacy 4 (+5)

Intimidate 8 (+9)

Knowledge (current events) 4 (+6)

Knowledge (physical sciences) 6 (+8)

Notice 8 (+11)

Pilot 8 (+11)

Sense Motive 6 (+9)

Feats: 14 PP

All-Out Attack

Benefit (security clearance)

Distract

Dodge Focus 4

Evasion 2

Fast Overrun

Improved Overrun

Move-By Action

Power Attack

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Powers: 12 + 4 + 8 + 8 + 5 + 21 + 1 = 59 PP

Damage 10 (Feats: Accurate 2) [12 PP]

Flight 2 (25 MPH, 250 ft/round) [4 PP]

Flight Rig (10 PP Device, Hard to Lose) [8 PP]

Super-Senses (Direction Sense, Radar) 5

Immunity (cold, suffocation, vacuum) 4

Features (GPS System) 1

Force Field 8 [8 PP]

Impervious Toughness 10 (Limited to Flight) [5 PP]

Power Reserve 10 (Feat: Additional Power 1) [21 PP]

• Adds Range [Ranged] and Autofire 1 to Damage [20 PP]
  Adds Area Explosion, Knockback 5 and Penetrating 5 to Damage [20 PP]
  Flight 2 to Flight 12 (50,000 MPH, 500K ft/round) [20 PP]

Super-Senses (Rapid Vision) 1

Abilities (24) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (16) + Skills (15) + Feats (14) + Powers (59) – Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

Another military superhero, this one in the US Air Force. He was an ace in an F-22, but that was little help when a surveillance operation over the skies of Afghanistan ended with his plane being torn apart by a metahuman with magnetic powers among the local insurgency. The ejection system was heavily damaged in the process, and it looked like he was going to plummet to Earth - at least, until his powers activated in mid-air. He managed to fly back to base under his own power, though he didn't endear himself to his colleagues when he touched down on the runway and discovered his flight generated a charge. One crater in the tarmac later, the military decided he would be an invaluable asset. He may not fly a plane any more, but then again, he doesn't really need to.

This is very much a take on Cannonball, with the added ability to discharge the power he builds up without necessarily needing to strike the foe in the process. Building the power so that the Force Field only functions while he's in Flight would add another complication to what's already a Sustained Protection effect, so it's better to assume that it exists as a "soft shell" that builds up through the kinetic motion that he goes through just by walking about which "hardens" into near invulnerability while Flight's active. Damage represents the base impact of a kinetic blow, and Power Reserve reflects both Flight at full speed and the ways the force generated can be funneled into a concentrated assault or released like a bomb impact. Of course, this is very much a crude power with no real refinement - if you want someone with less potential for collateral damage, you could always build the Area Burst/Explosion with Selective instead. It's also possible that at high levels, he could turn into a full-on kinetic manipulator, adding Stun (Slow) and Force Constructs to his bag of tricks.

[trollthumper]

Dream Crafter

It all feels so real, doesn't it? That's because it is.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 2 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 4 = 24 PP

Strength 12 (+1)

Dexterity 14 (+2)

Constitution 14 (+2)

Intelligence 14 (+2)

Wisdom 16 (+3)

Charisma 14 (+2)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Dream Crafting)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Bonus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +2

Grapple: +7

Knockback: -9/-1

Saving Throws: 3 + 4 + 4 = 11 PP

Toughness: +10/+2 (+2 CON, +8 Force Field [impervious 8])

Fortitude: +5 (+2 CON, +3)

Reflex: +6 (+2 DEX, +4)

Will: +15/+7 (+8 Mind Shield, +3 WIS, +4)

Skills: 56r = 14 PP

Bluff 8 (+10)

Concentration 8 (+11)

Diplomacy 6 (+8)

Intimidate 6 (+8)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 8 (+10)

Knowledge (behavioral science) 4 (+6)

Notice 8 (+11)

Sense Motive 8 (+11)

Feats: 12 PP

All-Out Attack

Distract

Dodge Focus 4

Eidetic Memory

Fearless

Move-By Action

Power Attack

Uncanny Dodge (mental)

Well-Informed

Powers: 36 + 16 + 8 + 5 = 65 PP

Dream Weaving, 30 PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 4 [36 PP]

• Base: Dream Travel 10 (Flaws: Feedback) [5 PP] + Create Object 10 (Extras: Movable, Flaws: Limited to Dream Dimension, Feats: Precise, Progression 2 [250 x 250 x 250 ft. cube], Subtle 1 [appear to be normal], Tether) [25 PP] “remodel the landscapeâ€
  Alternate Power: Sleep 10 [30 PP] “hypnagogic triggerâ€
  Alternate Power: Damage 10 (Extras: Alternate Save [Will]) [20 PP] + Drain Wisdom 10 (Extras: Alternate Save [Will]) [10 PP] “tame the nightmareâ€
  Alternate Power: Confuse 10 (Extras: Area Burst, Selective Attack) [30 PP] “burst of nightmareâ€
  Alternate Power: Illusion (visual, audio) 10 (Flaws: Phantasm, Feats: Progression 5 [250 ft.]) [25 PP] “induce REMâ€

Force Field 8 (Extras: Impervious) [16 PP]

Mind Shield 8 [8 PP]

Super-Senses (Extended Detect Dream Creature [100 ft.], Precognition [Limited to Dreaming]) 7 [5 PP]

Abilities (24) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (11) + Skills (14) + Feats (12) + Powers (65) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

The Dream Dimension's sitting right there, all full of potential. Who doesn't want to take a step inside their own head - or the heads of the collective mass of dreamers? This is a build that's all about playing around with dreams, but which brings some of that potential into the real world so that they're not completely defenseless during waking hours. They can trip a person over into the dream state (very useful if you want to get at whatever's inside their head), wear away at their will and hit them with their worst memories, bring forgotten nightmares back up to the surface, and replay last night's dreams in an effort to fool them.

The real meat of the build, of course, is the Dream Travel + Move Object power. I originally had the whole thing planned out with Dream Control, but it seemed so... simple. I may be one to make things too complicated for myself, but when it comes to dream forging, I prefer the dream combat of Changeling: the Lost ("I may be able to pick up the landscape and hit you with it, but damnit, I still need to have the blow connect") or the long con of Inception. Dream Travel allows the Dream Crafter in, and Move Object allows them to basically make whatever they want in the dream and use it as a prop/sledgehammer... but the Feedback Flaw on Dream Travel means that they've still got high stakes in the game. Still, if you want to focus on what this character gets up to in waking life, there's always straight-up Dream Control - or you can add on Super-Movement (Dimensional Movement [Dream Dimension]) and just do all your dirty work in the realm at large.

There are many origins to give this build. Maybe she's a psychologist who discovered a talent for helping her patients work out the internal manifestations of their issues, a la Nightmask. Maybe she's the secret lady of the Dream Dimension, or perhaps one of the chosen knights of the proper ruler. Maybe she's someone who survived an encounter with the Boogeyman and came out of it changed, dedicated to tracking down escaped nightmares from the Dream Dimension and dispatching them. Anything's possible in a dream, after all.

[trollthumper]

Vodoun Paragon

Everything that is torn apart can be reforged.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: Defense -2/Toughness +2

Abilities: 8 + 2 + 8 + 4 + 6 + 6 = 34 PP

Strength 30/18 (+10/+4)

Dexterity 12 (+1)

Constitution 34/18 (+12/+4)

Intelligence 14 (+2)

Wisdom 16 (+3)

Charisma 16 (+3)

Combat: 12 + 8 = 20 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Forge’s Wrath)

Defense: +8 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +2

Grapple: +23/+20/+10

Knockback: -10/-2

Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 5 = 9 PP

Toughness: +12/+4 (+12/+4 CON, Impervious 10)

Fortitude: +12/+4 (+12/+4 CON, +0)

Reflex: +5 (+1 DEX, +4)

Will: +8 (+3 WIS, +5)

Skills: 48r = 12 PP

Craft (mechanical) 8 (+10)

Diplomacy 8 (+10)

Intimidate 4 (+7)

Knowledge (civics) 6 (+8)

Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 8 (+10)

Language (English [Native], French)

Notice 5 (+8)

Sense Motive 8 (+11)

Feats: 8 PP

All-Out Attack

Dodge Focus 4

Move-By Action

Power Attack

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Powers: 2 + 16 + 2 + 11 + 24 + 10 + 2 = 67 PP

Comprehend (Spirits) 1 [2 PP]

Enhanced Constitution 16 [16 PP]

Flight 1 [2 PP]

• Base Power: Flight 4 (total of 5, 250 MPH/2500 ft. per round, Feats: Dynamic, 1 Dynamic Alternate Power) [11 PP]
  Dynamic Alternate Power: Super-Strength 3 (Effective STR 45 [Heavy Load: 6 tons]; Feats: Bracing, Shockwave)

[8 PP]

Forge’s Wrath, 20 PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 2 [24 PP]

• Base: Blast 10 [20 PP]
  Alternate Power: Damage 10 (Extras: Area Cone) [20 PP]
  Alternate Power: Enhanced Strength 12 [12 PP] + Applies Improved Critical 2, Knockback 2, Penetrating 3, and Split Attack to Unarmed [6 PP]

Impervious Toughness 10 [10 PP]

Super Senses (Detect Spirits [Ranged]) 2 [2 PP]

Abilities (34) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (9) + Skills (12) + Feats (8) + Powers (65) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

This guy was originally going to end up in my Heroes Around the World thread, my first effort at widespread NPC creation that ended up quickly petering out (though that may have been a good thing - one of my first builds had no directly damaging powers, unless you count using Create Object to drop anvils, or suitable equivalent thereof, on people). This guy, for slightly obvious reasons, would have been a sample hero for New Orleans. By and large, he's your stock Paragon, but this one's not so much unique for its powerset as he is his origin.

Vodoun is a religion that's often stereotyped due to the associations about it created by years of misunderstanding. While Freedom City's a lot better about this than other media, offering us Siren as well as Baron Samedi, the associations of the faith still reign supreme - curses, sympathetic magic used for sinister ends, zombies galore, and, well, death and hexes. So I thought it would be interesting to do a character who's as far as you could get from your standard Mystic - a Superman-type who gets their powers from taking on Ogoun, the loa of fire and iron, as his patron. Perhaps he was a cop who found his grandmother's book of her deeds as a mambo, took up blacksmithing to make the right offering to Ogoun, and won the loa's esteem to the point that he was able to call upon him at will. Or perhaps he was a vodousiant firefighter dealing with a wildfire in the Everglades, offered reprieve by the god in the name of fighting the good fight.

The Vodoun Paragon has all you could ask of a Paragon - super-strength, flight, near invulnerability, and energy blasts in the form of fire. The main difference is the Comprehend/Super-Senses duo dealing with spirits; as vodoun's an animist faith where many things have spirits, the chief of which are the loa, odds are anyone who takes on a loa's power is going to have to deal with them on occasion. Just because the build is a Paragon doesn't mean they don't have to deal with mystic matters on occasion - just look at Captain Marvel for evidence. And this build doesn't just work as a Paragon - roll all the powers in as a Hard-to-Lose Device, give him a Normal Identity Drawback, and you've got a Battlesuit built by the god of the forge. That'll certainly help you keep the peace.

[trollthumper]

Energy Transformer

"Next guy to request 'You Light Up My Life' learns the joys of temporary blindness."

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 2 + 6 + 4 + 2 + 4 + 6 = 24 PP

Strength 12 (+1)

Dexterity 16 (+3)

Constitution 14 (+2)

Intelligence 12 (+1)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 16 (+3)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (Energy Control +10)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +7

Grapple: +7

Knockback: -10/-5/-1

Saving Throws: 4 + 6 + 6 = 16 PP

Toughness: +10/+2 (+2 CON, +8 Protection)

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

Reflex: +9 (+3 DEX, +6)

Will: +8 (+2 WIS, +6)

Skills: 72r = 18 PP

Bluff 8 (+11)

Diplomacy 8 (+11)

Gather Information 6 (+9)

Intimidate 8 (+11)

Knowledge (pop culture) 6 (+7)

Knowledge (physical sciences) 11 (+12)

Notice 8 (+10)

Perform (singing) 9 (+12)

Sense Motive 8 (+10)

Feats: 12 PP

All-Out Attack

Blind-Fight

Distract

Dodge Focus 4

Fascinate (Perform)

Improved Initiative

Power Attack

Redirect

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Powers: 39 + 5 + 8 + 4 = 56 PP

Energy Control Array, 30 PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 7 [39 PP]

• Base: Nullify All Energy Effects 10 [30 PP] "kinetic to potential"
  Alternate Power: Transform (energy into energy) 6 [30 PP] "neither created nor destroyed"
  Alternate Power: Ignite 10 [30 PP] "heat burst"
  Alternate Power: Dazzle (visual) 10 (Extras: Area Burst) [30 PP] "blinding light"
  Alternate Power: Blast 10 [20 PP] + Dazzle (audio) 10 [10 PP] "sonic burst"
  Alternate Power: Blast 10 (Extras: Autofire 1) [30 PP] "laser storm"
  Alternate Power: Obscure (visual, audio) 7 (500 ft., Extra: Selective Attack) [28 PP] "energy dampening"
  Alternate Power: Stun 10 (Extras: Range [Ranged]) [30 PP] "electrical surge"

Impervious Toughness 10 (Limited to Energy) [5 PP]

Protection 8 [8 PP]

Super-Senses (Energy Awareness [mental], Analytical) [4 PP]

Abilities (24) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (16) + Skills (18) + Feats (12) + Powers (56) = 150 PP

---

When I got back into comics at the tender age of sixteen, it was through the X-Men. And in those early days, I found a site on various X-bios, and one fact somehow lodged itself into my head. Dazzler - yes, the disco hero - was already adept at transforming sound into light, to the point of creating focused barrages of lasers. But, due to her somewhat more badass appearances in alternate universe titles like Age of Apocalypse, it was theorized that she might break beyond those binary confines and be able to transform any fundamental form of energy into any other. Like, say, turning the roar of the space shuttle into the payload of a Davy Crockett nuclear rifle.

Yeah, my mind locks onto the weirdest things. But still, the idea of someone who's able to transform one fundamental form of energy into another has a lot of comic book potential. As Transform is expensive as all crap, though - especially when you get down to vagueness such as "all energy into all other energy" - it's included in the Array more as an environmental effect, the kind of thing that allows a hero to put out a housefire by turning swathes of flame into blinding flashes of light or concertos. She has a lot of damaging effects, for sure, but with variety - something that allows for a sure shot, something that can leave any enemy reeling, and something for the traditional "PEW PEW PEW." In addition, she has plenty of ways to incapacitate or distract a foe, as well as effects that allow her to "shut down" energy for a little while.

Obviously, the build draws a lot from the original Dazzler, right down to the alluring singing skills. Of course, being me, I decided to build her more like her Ultimate counterpart, a loud, brash punk rocker a la Joan Jett. But that doesn't mean she has to be a singer - she could be a physicist changed by a spin around the particle accelerator, an emigre from a realm of energy beings still getting used to mortal flesh, or a master evoker (like the favorite collateral damage challenged wizard of many visitors to this board). The manipulation of raw energy allows for a lot of potential - a Drain Toughness (or Con) attack to reflect radiation bursts, a Snare to represent the sudden change of kinetic energy to potential, or Nullify Electronics to represent the transformation of chemical, mechanical or electrical energy into, oh, sound. She might also end up having an Insubstantial (energy) body, rather than the standard Protection effects.

[trollthumper]

Mummy Spiritualist

The soul is like a mosaic made of stained glass. Each part is beautiful, but it's the whole that makes it art.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 4 + 6 + (-10) + 2 + 4 + 2 = 8 PP

Strength 30/14 (+10/+2)

Dexterity 16 (+3)

Constitution –

Intelligence 12 (+1)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 12 (+1)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Soul Composition)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +3

Grapple: +20/+8

Knockback: -5

Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 5 = 9 PP

Toughness: +10/-- (+10 Protection)

Fortitude: --

Reflex: +7 (+3 DEX, +4)

Will: +15/+7 (+8 Mind Shield, +2 WIS, +5)

Skills: 48r = 12 PP

Diplomacy 8 (+9)

Intimidate 8 (+9)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 8 (+9)

Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 8 (+9)

Languages (Ancient Egyptian [base], Arabic, English)

Notice 6 (+8)

Sense Motive 8 (+10)

Feats: 10 PP

All-Out Attack

Dodge Focus 4

Fearless

Power Attack

Ritualist

Startle

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Powers: 32 + 10 + 8 + 37 = 87 PP

Immunity (Critical Hits, Fortitude Effects) [32 PP]

Protection 10 [10 PP]

Regeneration 8 (Recovery Bonus 5 [+0], Resurrection 1 [1/week], Feats: Persistent, Regrowth) [8 PP]

Soul Configuration Array, 30 PP, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 5 [37 PP]

• Base: Mind Control 10 (Feats: Mental Link, Subtle) [22 PP] + Mind Shield 8 [8 PP] “Ibâ€
  Alternate Power:
  • Darkness Control 10 [20 PP]
    

Teleport 4 (Feat: Easy) [9 PP] “Sheutâ€

• Alternate Power: Enhanced Strength 16 [16 PP] + Impervious Toughness 10 [10 PP] “Renâ€
  Alternate Power: Astral Form 5 (5 miles; Feats: Dimensional 1 [Duat], Selective, Subtle) [28 PP] “Baâ€
  Alternate Power: Healing 10 (Extras: Total) [30 PP] “Kaâ€
  Alternate Power: Blast 10 [20 PP] + Emotion Control 10 (Flaws: Limited to Fear) [10 PP] “Akhâ€

Abilities (8) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (9) + Skills (12) + Feats (10) + Powers (87) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

For all that modern culture paints the mummy as a shambling, undead monstrosity, there were reasons why the Egyptians took pains to clean out the bodies of all excess tissue and wrap them up like a Christmas present. It was believed that an individual's soul wasn't one entity entire, but rather something made up of several parts - a body and its organs, in a way. Wrapping the body would preserve the Ha, the base of the constituent soul; this would cement the presence of the Ib (a person's heart, emotions, and memories), Sheut (their shadow, which reflected the person), Ren (the name, which described the individual and kept their presence going in death), Ba (the core of the soul, which could wander the world), and the Ka (the vital spark). Mummification was effectively the spiritual process of taking an engine apart, cleaning it out, and putting it back together so it could run properly once more.

This mummy has many avenues open, each one based on an "awakened" aspect of the greater soul. The Ib allows for mental stuff - Mind Control is a bit gray as a power, but it has a precision you won't get with Emotion Control and, when coupled with Mind Shield, reflects using the heart as a sword and shield. Sheut, obviously enough, involves manipulating shadows; I would've added a Medium Flaw to the Teleport, but when you have Darkness Control linked to said Teleport, that's not much of a Flaw. The Ren represents vitality and persistence built up through the continuing existence of the name; likewise, it could just as easily represent the Ha, with the Ren being used for Sonic Control, Mind Control, Transform, or any number of effects associated with name magic. The Ba is a pretty simple way for the Mummy to spy and keep in touch with the realm of the dead, and the Ka is a solid way to control vitality. The Akh, a combo of the Ba and Ka, is a direct offensive power - depending on its emotional state, it could do good or harm to people, either bestowing them with good feelings or plaguing them with wounds and nightmares. Guess which one this Akh does.

So, where did this mummy come from? They could have been a recent discovery from an old, old tomb, or a sacred protector freed from a cursed sarcophagus by a well-meaning but clumsy archaeologist. They may even be more recent than that, an adventurer, mortician, or follower of the old ways gifted with a blessing by Osiris, like one of White Wolf's mummies. Or maybe they're not so benevolent - when you think of mummy magicians in the recent age, you can't help but think of Imhotep.

[trollthumper]

Pagan Vitalist

There is a heartbeat that runs through the world, and we are the ones who guide the blood on its path.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: -2 DEF/+2 TOU

Abilities: 6 + 4 + 6 + 2 + 4 + 4 = 26 PP

Strength 16 (+3)

Dexterity 14 (+2)

Constitution 16 (+3)

Intelligence 12 (+1)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 14 (+2)

Combat: 12 + 8 = 20 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Sphere of Life)

Defense: +8 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +2

Grapple: +9

Knockback: -13/-5

Saving Throws: 6 + 4 + 5 = 15 PP

Toughness: +12 (+3 CON, +9 Protection)

Fortitude: +9 (+3 CON, +6)

Reflex: +6 (+2 DEX, +4)

Will: +7 (+2 WIS, +5)

Skills: 68r = 17 PP

Diplomacy 8 (+10)

Gather Information 4 (+6)

Handle Animal 8 (+10)

Intimidate 8 (+10)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 4 (+5)

Knowledge (life sciences) 8 (+9)

Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 8 (+9)

Notice 8 (+10)

Ride 6 (+8)

Sense Motive 6 (+8)

Feats: 12 PP

All-Out Attack

Animal Empathy

Dodge Focus 4

Move-By Action

Power Attack

Ritualist

Skill Mastery (Handle Animal, Intimidate, Notice, Sense Motive)

Startle

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Powers: 9 + 9 + 37 + 5 = 60 PP

Immunity (life support) 9 [9 PP]

Protection 9 [9 PP]

Sphere of Life, 30 PP Array, Feat: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 5 [37 PP]

• Base: Animal Control 10 (Extras: Area Burst) [30 PP] “heartbeat of the worldâ€
  Alternate Power: Snare 10 (Extras: Area Burst) [30 PP] “water the vinesâ€
  Alternate Power: Healing 10 (Extras: Total) [30 PP] “mend the man-bodyâ€
  Alternate Power: Strike 7 (Extras: Penetrating 3, Feats: Mighty, Improved Critical 2) [13 PP] + Impervious Toughness 10 [10 PP] + Flight 2 (25 MPH/250 ft. per round) [4 PP] + Immovable 3 [3 PP] “aspect of the chimeraâ€
  Alternate Power: Paralyze 10 (Extras: Alternate Save [Fortitude], Ranged) [30 PP] “freeze the bloodâ€
  Alternate Power: Morph (any living creature) 3 [9 PP] + Boost (any one Ability) 9 [18 PP] “adopt the hidden faceâ€

Super-Senses (Detect Life [mental] Ranged Acute Analytical Extended [100 ft.]) 5 [5 PP]

Abilities (26) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (15) + Skills (17) + Feats (12) + Powers (60) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

And now, another chain of experiments. It's not enough to convert the clans from Vampire - now I'm onto the Traditions from Mage: the Ascension. As Mage is a game of philosophical knife-fights, each Tradition has its own paradigm of how the world works (or at least is supposed to work), and the Verbena's particular paradigm is good old-fashioned paganism. By which I mean "occasionally bloody," but that's not a good thing for a superhero build. As a result, they have an innate understanding of the Sphere of Life, the auspice of magic that covers animals, plants, healing and other biological processes.

This build covers nearly every sort of spell Life provides, save for the Circe-style "man to beast" stuff (but that's always one to grow on). You can control plants (allowing them to wrap around someone as a Snare) and animals, transform yourself into a one-man combat machine, heal anyone of anything, turn yourself into any creature, or boost anyone's abilities. Boost is normally a kludgy power, as anyone who's built for caps won't need it and any PC that's undercapped is begging for a spanking... but it helps when passing yourself off as super-strong, super-tough muscle, and sometimes, people just need help with Fortitude or Reflex saves.

There are other effects to add in or substitute, of course - maybe a Nauseate instead of a Paralyze, in case you just want to disrupt someone's functions instead of hit them with locked-in syndrome. Any number of Drain effects to simulate a withering blast, or a Blast with Incurable to represent disassembling someone on the cellular level. Now, if you're playing this guy as a pagan, then please, for the love of God, do deep research into some form of paganism, neo- or otherwise. No one wants a fluffy bunny who got all their knowledge of the goddess from Charmed. Gardnerian Wicca, Druidry and Asatru are all good models to go on. Research a deity before you invoke it, realize that not all mythologies boil down to a Manichean dialectic of "heaven vs. hell," and don't assume that faith automatically equals superpowers. There are various origins to apply to this guy that go beyond pagan magic - being the child of some elemental incarnation of nature, biokinesis on par with Wesley Knight, or tying yourself into the morphogenetic field hardcore.

[trollthumper]

Psychic Vampire

Penny for your thoughts?

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 6 = 28 PP

Strength 14 (+2)

Dexterity 14 (+2)

Constitution 14 (+2)

Intelligence 14 (+2)

Wisdom 16 (+3)

Charisma 16 (+3)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Allure)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +3

Grapple: +8

Knockback: -10/-5

Saving Throws: 5 + 4 + 6 = 15 PP

Toughness: +10 (+2 CON, +8 Protection)

Fortitude: +7 (+2 CON, +5)

Reflex: +6 (+2 DEX, +4)

Will: +9 (+3 WIS, +6)

Skills: 40r = 10 PP

Bluff 8 (+11/+15)

Diplomacy 8 (+11/+15)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 6 (+8)

Languages (English [base], Latin, French)

Notice 8 (+11)

Sense Motive 8 (+11)

Feats: 13 PP

All-Out Attack

Attractive

Connected

Distract

Dodge Focus 4

Fascinate (Bluff)

Power Attack

Redirect

Uncanny Dodge (mental)

Taunt

Powers: 36 + 1 + 10 + 7 + 6 = 60 PP

Allure, 30 PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 4 [36 PP]

• Base:
  • Transfer Wisdom 5 (Extras: Alternate Save [Will) [10 PP]
    

Stun 10 [20 PP]

Alternate Power: Mental Blast 10 (Flaws: Action [Full-Round]) [30 PP]

Alternate Power: Emotion Control 10 (Extras: Area Burst) [30 PP]

Alternate Power: Strike 8 (Extras: Alternate Save [Will]; Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Mighty) [19 PP] + Impervious Toughness 10 [10 PP]

Alternate Power: Telepathy 10 (Extras: Area Burst) [30 PP]

Immunity (aging) 1 [1 PP]

Protection 10 [10 PP]

Regeneration 8 (Recovery Bonus 3 [+5], Bruised/Unconscious 3 [no action]; PF: Persistent, Regrowth; Drawbacks: Power Loss [Only functions with reserve of Transferred Wisdom]) [7 PP]

Super-Senses (Accurate Analytical Ranged Radius Mental Sense) 6 [6 PP]

Disadvantages

Weakness (Will dependency; must drain 3 Wisdom points per day or suffer a cumulative -1 penalty on all checks, attack rolls, and Defense; common, moderate) [0 PP]

Abilities (28) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (15) + Skills (10) + Feats (13) + Powers (60) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

And now for an experiment in vampires that aren't written by White Wolf. I'd be lying if I said that The Dresden Files had no influence on the board at all (says the guy playing the wise-cracking, pop culture savvy willworker with an impenetrable leather coat). We rely on it a bit much for a superhero game, but when you've got a number of characters with arcane and mystical origins, it's a good resource. And with that in mind, I thought I'd try to stat up one of its various types of vampires - the White Court. For those unfamiliar to the series, vampires are split up into various Courts. The White Court are actually less like vampires and more like incubi and succubi - they're still living (if extremely long-lived), but they have a demon living inside them, referred to by most of them as "the Hunger." This Hunger makes them super-strong, super-fast, and incredibly resilient, but needs to be replenished by feeding on the emotions of others. The major faction of the White Court, House Raith, feeds on lust, but there are other great houses that feed on fear or despair (and, it's hinted by the RPG, several lesser houses that feed on other negative emotions).

As per the books, this guy isn't so much an undead vampire as he is a living being with extreme longevity and a vampiric dependency. Unlike in the books, however, this guy is a lot more psychic. The White Court vamps always have a Reaction Emotion Control effect going, and it's shown that they can crank it up at will in order to "prepare" their targets, but otherwise they're pretty much bruisers. There's that aspect - hence the "mind over matter" part of the Array that grants super Toughness and damaging punches - but there's also the potential to tweak a person's mind all sorts of ways. Of course, if you want to play a more "by the books" White Court member, you can always strip out much of the Allure Array, leave the Transfer and Emotion Control powers, and throw in Enhanced STR, DEX and CON.

I'd recommend not playing the character too close to a member of House Raith, as this board looks down on "pornomancer" character types (and with very good reason). It might be a good idea to pick an emotional focus for his feeding, though, if you want to go that route - what better than a Cowl who feeds on the fear of criminals? Likewise, if you're looking for some points to kick around, you might want to go with the book's idea that these kind of vampires get burned when they try to feed on something antithetical to their staple - someone who feeds on lust gets burned by true love, someone who feeds on fear gets burned by Fearless, etc.

[trollthumper]

Earth H-Isolate-5(White)

Things That Go Bump in the Night

In conclusion, I would like to point out the grave risk authorities are taking by burying the [CLASSIFIED] affair under the bureaucratic mat - and I am speaking of the so-called White Commission. The desire among politicians to regard TK as a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon seems very strong, and while this may be understandable, it is not acceptable. The possibility of a recurrence, genetically speaking, is 99 per cent. It's time we planned now for what may be...

-"Telekinesis: Analysis and Aftermath" by Dean D.L. McGuffin

Superpowers are a recurring phenomenon throughout the multiverse. Magic, chemical accidents, psychic abilities, brushes with the alien - these can be found almost anywhere, if you care to look. Superheroes, on the other hand, are not. The distinct cultural phenomena that lead to the rise of masked actors sometimes don't take root on certain Earths - or if they do, they do so only in fiction, with few people with powers daring to make the leap to becoming "that guy in the mask and tights." On some Earths, those who'd become open heroes instead become sorcerer-kings, or soldiers in secret wars, or silent actors moving behind the landscape of modern society. For the longest time, Earth H-Isolate-5 was like this. There were talents, certainly, but they remained behind the scenes, fighting their own battles with dark and malevolent forces.

Then came May of 1979, when a small town in Maine was utterly devastated by an act of mass arson that started at the local high school prom, killing most of the senior class and spreading quickly through the rest of the town. In the aftermath, through eyewitness accounts, the source of the incident turned out to be a suffering child with massive telekinetic powers who had been the victim of a cruel prank. Telekinesis, long a subject of parapsychological interest, was now a concrete reality.

And with that, everything seemed to come tumbling out at once. The White Commission was formed as the public face of government investigation into "extranormal" phenomena, tasked with investigating incidents and aiding newly-awakened talents in mastering their powers. But it was just the mask behind the government's true intent. The US Department of Scientific Intelligence - informally known as "The Shop" - had been plugging along for years, a superblack agency dedicated to harnessing and weaponizing extranormal talents and phenomena. No task was too dark, no bargain too underhanded, in ensuring the superiority of the US in paranormal warfare. That ended in 1982, just a few years after the White event, when a young pyrokinetic girl, long pursued by the Shop, destroyed one of their major research centers and published a story about her experiences in Rolling Stone. While the article failed to raise much public attention, it did result in a significant clearing of accounts in the halls of government. The Shop was brought under an accountability board, and many of its services and talents were folded into the White Commission, in order to reassure the public that the government meant the best for talented individuals.

Over the next few decades, research into powers took off like a rocket, and resulted in a more categorized look at hidden talent. It appeared that the primary source of powers amongst the public at large was psychic, barring a few industrial accidents, chemical processes, or "outside interventions." Psychic powers were split into two general categories, which quickly made their way into every day slang - "Seers," who had abilities that were mainly perceptive in nature (e.g., telepathy, spirit channeling, psychometry), and "Breakers," who exhibited control over forces, motion, and even people (e.g., telekinetics, pyrokinetics, "pushers"). The general public view of talents is one of fascination - not support, not disdain, just general interest. Talents have risen as heroes and been cast down as villains. They dot the national consciousness, moving in and out of the public eye, some contributing their powers to the greater good and others using them to make a quick buck. They are, for better or for worse, accepted.

Which is a good thing, as there are darker things lurking in the shadows of Earth H-Isolate-5. Dark mysteries have played out across the landscape of the globe, and have almost become normal at this point - to the degree that many just ignore them. A small town seemingly dries up and dies, but there are still rumors that pale and hungry predators stalk the town at night, former citizens looking for any meal. The state just redirects the highway, and the town is forgotten. Another town finds something buried underneath and descends into madness, producing otherworldly artifacts in the name of personal vendettas. The town burns in time, and the artifacts are locked away for careful study. These incidents appear and fade like passing crazes, seemingly forgotten by the world... but not by the dedicated. Groups of Seers and Breakers have formed in the shadows, like the gentleman's hunt clubs of the Victorian era, dedicated to unearthing the truth and purging the darkness wherever it lies. And they will need all the help they can get. For their Earth lies amongst a cluster of worlds within the Cosmic Coil, wound among a strange, cylindrical artifact. Though many of the citizens do not know it yet, they have neighbors the next universe over, and while the dimensional lattice provides strength amongst the tides of the multiverse, it also makes the whole arrangement sensitive to outside force. The Unspeakable One has already worked its tendrils into pockets of this Earth. It is only a matter of time until the Terminus takes notice of the arrangement and decides to shatter the tower...

---

Reading Carrie, one gets the idea that it could just as easily be the start of a superhero universe as a horror story. Seriously - half the book is dedicated to after-the-fact reports, profiling how telekinesis and other psychic powers have become an accepted scientific fact and how the government and the scientific community are trying to figure out what the hell to do about that. It's like the eruption of the Fireman in Aberrant, or the wild card virus getting dropped on Manhattan in Wild Cards - it's the big "well, cat's out of the bag" moment at which the world realizes that everything's changed.

So, yes, this is an attempt to pull a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen on the works of Stephen King. Like the Paragons-verse, it's more of a PL8-10 universe where there aren't superheroes so much as there are people with powers. If someone from Earth-Prime were to show up, clad in full costume and flying like a Paragon, people would just think it's one of those TK-types showing off. Heroes exist, but they stick to the shadows and form their own groups dedicated to routing out the supernatural - imagine Charlie McGee, Danny Torrance, and Johnny Smith all tearing into a small town to deal with Pennywise. The world's major power source is, of course, psychic powers, with some mystics in the works - Stephen King's works do have the usual comic book tropes of "experiment gone wrong," "exposure to alien rays" or "chemical accident," but those don't always go well.

Earth H-Isolate-5 represents a world that may just need to take account of its place in the multiverse, especially with that "tower" thing in the middle of the Cosmic Coil that looks like a tasty target for Omega, the Unspeakable One, and other threats to existence. It may take an intervention by inhabitants of Earth-Prime to cause a full paradigm shift into a world that takes account of its problems and doesn't keep them hidden in the shadows. Of course, as they go along for the ride, the heroes might realize that things are matching up with a certain famous author's work. Or heck, maybe Earth H-Isolate-5 isn't entirely real -- maybe it's just an illusion crafted by an author trying to remake the world as per his mad visions. Earth H-Isolate-5 might be the first draft, and Earth-Prime may be the magnum opus...

[trollthumper]

Hermetic Force-Bender

As above, so below.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 0 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 4 = 22 PP

Strength 10 (+0)

Dexterity 14 (+2)

Constitution 14 (+2)

Intelligence 16 (+3)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 14 (+2)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Sphere of Forces)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +6

Grapple: +6

Knockback: -9/-5/-1

Saving Throws: 4 + 6 + 6 = 16 PP

Toughness: +10/+2 (+2 CON, +8 Force Field)

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

Reflex: +8 (+2 DEX, +6)

Will: +8 (+2 WIS, +6)

Skills: 72r = 18 PP

Concentration 12 (+14)

Diplomacy 8 (+10)

Intimidate 8 (+10)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 12 (+15)

Knowledge (physical sciences) 8 (+11)

Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 8 (+11)

Language (English [base], Enochian, Latin)

Notice 8 (+10)

Sense Motive 6 (+8)

Feats: 10 PP

All-Out Attack

Dodge Focus 4

Improved Initiative

Ritualist

Power Attack

Startle

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Powers: 4 + 16 + 38 + 2 = 60 PP

Flight 2 (25 MPH/250 ft. per round) [4 PP]

Force Field 8 (Extras: Impervious) [16 PP]

Sphere of Forces, 30 PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 6 [38 PP]

• Base: Blast 10 (Extras: Area Cylinder) [30 PP] “wrath of Heliosâ€
  Alternate Power: Trip 10 (Extras: Area Burst, Duration [sustained]) [30 PP] “unchaining Briareusâ€
  Alternate Power: Stun 10 (Extras: Area Shapeable) [30 PP] “lances of Heavenâ€
  Alternate Power: Obscure (visual) 10 (Extras: Selective) [30 PP] “plague of darknessâ€
  Alternate Power: Move Object 10 (Extras: Damaging, Area Burst; Flaws: Limited to Up or Down) [30 PP] “rejection of Gaiaâ€
  Alternate Power: Snare 10 (Extras: Area Burst, Constricting; Flaws: Action [Full-Round]) [30 PP] “twist the gift of Hermesâ€
  Alternate Power: Nullify Electronics 10 (Extras: Nullifying Field, Selective Attack) [30 PP] “invoke the ban of Zeusâ€

Super-Senses (Detect Magic Ranged) 2 [2 PP]

Abilities (22) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (16) + Skills (18) + Feats (10) + Powers (60) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

On to another experiment involving the Traditions from Mage. This one involves the Order of Hermes, whose paradigm involves... well, just look at the name. The Order is a long-lived, many-housed organization, and not just in Mage - it was the focus of White Wolf's first game, Ars Magica, and first got dragged into the World of Darkness when Mark Rein-Hagen decided that his sorcerer character Tremere and his house would make a good bunch of sorcerous, dickish vampires. The Order of Hermes shows mastery over the Sphere of Forces, which is usually treated as the sphere of blowing stuff up. Fire, electricity, sound, light, heat, friction, gravity, radiation - Forces controls it all.

Now, Hermeticism is often treated as "Insert generic Western magical tradition here" in urban fantasy, but it has some pretty interesting principles of its own, such as "As above, so below" (i.e., affect the local, affect the global, and vice versa). There's also a heavy emphasis on the classical elements and using the arts of theurgy to call on the aid of divine entities. In accordance with these thoughts, this Hermetic is statted up with powers that reflect wide-scale death from above (or below, in the case of the Trip power). Raining down a beam of focused sunlight, unleashing a constant earthquake, sending lightning arcing down from the heavens, turning up the gain on the gravity, or flipping friction to act against everyone in the area - all things he's fully capable of. A good deal of the powers are Selective or Shapeable to avoid the Heremtic becoming Property Damage Man, but sometimes, you just have to let loose.

Most of the powers are themed after calling on the Greek deities because, well, Hermeticism. Your mage, however, could instead choose to call on Paracelsian elementals or the angels of the four Watchtowers, resulting in powers themed more along the lines of the classical elements. Fire and Earth would be the same, but Air could involve Weather Control - Water's a bit tricky, but it could be used for Gravity Control, a la the tides. Likewise, he may not be a mage at all, but someone with one of the aforementioned elementals wedged inside them, like they tried to retcon Firestorm into after Swamp Thing really took off.

[trollthumper]

Genius Loci

"There's some life in the old place yet!"

Power Level: 12 (241 PP)

Trade-Offs: +2 ATT/-2 DMG, -4 DEF/+4 TOU

Abilities: (-10) + (-10) + (-10) + 6 + 12 + 8 = -4 PP

Strength –

Dexterity –

Constitution –

Intelligence 16 (+3)

Wisdom 22 (+6)

Charisma 18 (+4)

Combat: 12 + 8 = 20 PP

Attack: +6 (+26 Urban Might) (-6/+14 w/ Growth)

Defense: +20/+8 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus, +12 Enhanced Defense), +8 Flat-Footed (-4/+8 w/ Growth)

Initiative: +8

Grapple: +22 w/ Move Object

Knockback: -20

Saving Throws: 0 + 0 + 6 = 6 PP

Toughness +16/-- (+16 Protection [12 Impervious])

Fortitude –

Reflex –

Will +12 (+6 WIS, +6)

Skills: 56r = 14 PP

Bluff 8 (+12)

Diplomacy 8 (+12)

Disguise 8 (+12)

Gather Information 8 (+12)

Intimidate 8 (+12)

Notice 8 (+14)

Sense Motive 8 (+14)

Feats: 14 PP

Accurate Attack

All-Out Attack

Contacts

Distract

Dodge Focus 4

Fascinate (Bluff)

Improved Initiative 2

Power Attack

Redirect

Uncanny Dodge (mental)

Powers: 24 + 11 + 13 + 35 + 28 + 6 + 8 + 66 = 191 PP

Enhanced Defense 12 [24 PP]

Growth 20 (Flaws: Permanent, Dispersal; Power Feat: Innate) [11 PP]

Immovable 12 (Power Feat: Innate) [13 PP]

Immunity (Entrapment, Fortitude effects) 35 [35 PP]

Protection 16 (Extra: Impervious 12) [28 PP]

Regeneration 8 (Recovery Bonus 5 [+0], Resurrection 1/week, Power Feats: Persistent, Regrowth) [8 PP]

Super-Senses (Accurate Acute Radius Ranged Mental Sense) 6 [6 PP]

Urban Might, 40 PP Variable Powers Array, Power Feat: Accurate 10 [66 PP]

• Sample Powers:
  Create Object 10 (Extras: Duration [Continuous], Feats: Innate, Precise, Progression 5 [10 250 ft. cubes], Stationary, Subtle, Tether) [40 PP] “everything you ever wantedâ€
  Dazzle (visual) 10 (Extras: Area Burst, Selective Attack) [40 PP] “bright lights, big cityâ€
  Damage 10 (Extras: Area Shapeable) [20 PP] + Obscure (visual) 10 [20 PP] “blow the steam pipesâ€
  Move Object 10 (Extras: Area Burst, Damaging) [40 PP] “get outâ€
  Snare 10 (Extras: Area Burst, Backlash, Regenerating; Flaws: Feedback) [40 PP] “wet cementâ€
  Teleport 9 (Extras: Accurate, Feats: Progression 10 [Carrying Capacity: 5 tons]) [37 PP] “all the world overâ€

Abilities (-4) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (6) + Skills (14) + Feats (14) + Powers (191) - Disadvantages (0) = 241 PP

---

This one's a NPC build through-and-through, hence the fact that it's built at PL12 with an ungodly number of PP. You're welcome to try playing it as a PC - I'd recommend breaking the Variable Power pool down into a straight-up Array, which would save about 11 points with the powers listed - but something tells me that none of us Refs would approve a character with no Physical Ability scores whatsoever. This build represents a Genius Loci, which is fancy Latin for saying "place that's alive." The Genius Loci has shown up several times in comics; the example pictured above (one of my favorites) is Danny the Street from Grant Morrison's run on Doom Patrol, a sentient street that travels the world and serves as a home for wanderers, tramps, and other weirdos. He's also a transvestite, which you can tell because he has things like gun shops and hardware stores with pink curtains and frilly awnings. Yeah, Grant Morrison does all the drugs.

As a (technically) immobile construct, the Genius Loci has no STR, DEX, or CON score. But at the same time, it can pretty much do anything within its own confines. The Variable Power Array is built so that it can bring in any power and use it to affect the area at large. It also allows the Loci to literally provide anything within its walls, and the ability to travel wherever it wants to. As a fixture of the city, it's heard all the best gossip, and is fully aware of whoever's walking it. It's got some mobility for purposes of dodging (which trust me, is hideously expensive to build with Growth 20), but only just. It's still kind of a sitting duck for the PL it's built at.

The Variable Power Array's sample powers are built on the assumption that you're playing this thing as a sentient street, but it could be anything. It could be a goblin market that moves into the Fens at midnight, something that plays host to a hundred fae merchants and makes sure their law of truce has teeth. It could be a haunted house where anything goes within its confines. Add Temporal Movement and crank up the Teleport, and it could be a gigantic TARDIS. Or, if you want to go with stuff that's already in setting, this would be a good way to stat up a fragment of X-Isle the Living City that's infected part of Freedom City.

[trollthumper]

Magic Mimic

Anything you can cast, I can cast better.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 0 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 4 = 20 PP

Strength 10 (+0)

Dexterity 14 (+2)

Constitution 14 (+2)

Intelligence 16 (+3)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 14 (+2)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Dark Magics, +12 Mimic)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +2

Grapple: +6

Knockback: -5/-1

Saving Throws: 4 + 4 + 6 = 14 PP

Toughness: +10/+2 (+2 CON, +8 Protection)

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

Reflex: +6 (+2 DEX, +4)

Will: +8 (+2 WIS, +6)

Skills: 48r = 12 PP

Bluff 8 (+10)

Concentration 8 (+10)

Diplomacy 6 (+8)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 8 (+11)

Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 6 (+9)

Notice 6 (+8)

Sense Motive 6 (+8)

Feats: 10 PP

All-Out Attack

Dodge Focus 4

Power Attack

Quick Change

Redirect

Ritualist

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Powers: 25 + 34 + 8 + 1 = 68 PP

Dark Magics, 20 PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 3 [25 PP]

• Base: Damage 10 (Extras: Area Cone) [20 PP]
  Alternate Power: Dazzle (visual) 10 [20 PP]
  Alternate Power: Paralyze 10 [20 PP]
  Alternate Power: Nullify All Magic 10 (Flaws: Distracting) [20 PP]

Mimic (All Powers of Supernatural Origin) 8 (40 PP, Extras: Range 2 [Perception], Flaws: Tainted, Feats: Accurate 3, Drawbacks: Noticeable [Costume/Appearance shifts to mimic original source of powers]) [34 PP]

Protection 8 [8 PP]

Super-Senses (Detect Magic) 1 [1 PP]

Abilities (22) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (14) + Skills (12) + Feats (10) + Powers (68) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

Black Alice was one of the more interesting characters to come out of Gail Simone's run on Birds of Prey, eventually making the jump over to her run on Secret Six. She's not so much a villain as a very confused anti-hero, possessing great magical power but lacking the finesse to handle it properly. She basically has the ability to "steal" magic from supernatural heroes and villains and use it for herself. She's even been able to borrow the powers of PL X-level entities like the Phantom Stranger and the Spectre, but as FCPbP operates under the rules of "Never consume any energy field bigger than your head," omnipotence isn't quite an option for this build. A semi-option, maybe.

Even on this board, you can't guarantee that your magic-using hero will always run into other magic-using heroes or villains, so unlike Alice, this build has a limited array of magic to call her own. It's not flashy and it's certainly not high-powered, but it will definitely get things done. Mimic is where the flash comes in, allowing her to borrow whatever she needs from others. She doesn't exactly "steal" the power all the time (as leaving your fellow heroes without powers is something of a dick move), but with the right effort, she can shut down a magical villain's powers and then hit them in the face with said powers next turn.

There are a number of options for origins on this build, most of them tied directly into the roots of magic - heir apparent to the Master Mage, daughter of Hecate, got caught in the center of a rare and mystical confluence, and so on. Maybe she's all enthused about being as good as any other magician, or maybe she's grappling with doubt about how her own magic is rudimentary and she needs to borrow from others to really excel.

[trollthumper]

Human Pinnacle

There are no true limits. Just new mountains to climb.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: +2 ATT/-2 DMG, +2 DEF/-2 TOU

Abilities: 8 + 8 + 8 + 14 + 6 + 4 = 48 PP

Strength 18 (+4)

Dexterity 18 (+4)

Constitution 18 (+4)

Intelligence 24 (+7)

Wisdom 16 (+3)

Charisma 14 (+2)

Combat: 12 + 16 = 28 PP

Attack: +6 (+12 Strike, +12 Eyes and Ears)

Defense: +12 (+8 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +4

Grapple: +10

Knockback: -4

Saving Throws: 4 + 4 + 5 = 13 PP

Toughness: +8 (+4 CON, +4 Protection)

Fortitude: +8 (+4 CON, +4)

Reflex: +8 (+4 DEX, +4)

Will: +8 (+3 WIS, +5)

Skills: 80r = 20 PP

Acrobatics 11 (+15)

Computers 8 (+15)

Craft (electronic) 8 (+15)

Diplomacy 7 (+9)

Gather Information 6 (+8)

Investigate 6 (+13)

Knowledge (physical sciences) 8 (+15)

Knowledge (technology) 8 (+15)

Language (English [base], French, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin)

Notice 7 (+10)

Sense Motive 7 (+10)

Feats: 14 PP

All-Out Attack

Beginner’s Luck

Dodge Focus 4

Luck 2

Improvised Tools

Inventor

Jack-of-All-Trades

Power Attack

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Well-Informed

Powers: 12 + 15 = 27 PP

Morphic Costume, 15 PP Device (Hard to Lose) [12 PP]

Strike 4 (Power Feat: Accurate 3, Mighty, Improved Critical 1, Penetrating 3) [11 PP]

Protection 4 [4 PP]

Eyes and Ears, 20 PP Device (Easy to Lose, Feats: Accurate 3) [15 PP]

Damage 8 (Extras: Area Shapeable, Feats: Alternate Power 4) [20 PP]

Alternate Power: ESP (visual and audio) 5 (5 miles) [15 PP]

Alternate Power: Trip 8 (Extras: Area Shapeable) [16 PP]

Alternate Power: Illusion (visual) 8 [16 PP]

Alternate Power: Datalink 5 (5 miles; Feats: Machine Control) [6 PP] + Concealment (all senses) 10 (Flaws: Limited to Technology) [10 PP]

Abilities (48) + Combat (28) + Saving Throws (13) + Skills (20) + Feats (14) + Powers (27) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

An Ability Score of 24 - the pinnacle of unaided human potential, as the book says - isn't something that sees much play on this board. Many of the gadgeteers tend to sit somewhere around 20 or 22 INT, and a good number of character often blow right past the human potential in favor of Enhanced Abilities and superhuman potential. In comics, however, the peak of human potential sees a fair deal of play. One key example is Captain America, but today we're using another example - Mister Terrific. Somewhat corny name aside, both Mr. Terrifics (the Golden Age one, Terry Sloane, and the Modern Age one, Michael Holt) represent the peak of human potential. They're polymaths, star athletes, and near-instant experts at any discipline. Hell, Terry Sloane took up crimefighting because he was so freaking bored he was considering ending it all before he rescued a jumper and got involved in the superhero game. So, here we have a build for a hero with a few solid but not world-wrecking gadgets who can get by on his skills and hand-to-hand expertise.

Still, if this build really were the true pinnacle of human potential, there'd be all 24s in all the Ability slots. And for all the comics have portrayed both Mister Terrifics as awesome, it's not like they have the Wisdom of the Dalai Lama or even the Charisma of a rock star. Their real strength lies in their training and their intellects. As such, this build can use any Skill off-hand, with minimal amount of training and even a fair bit of expertise via Beginner's Luck. The guy has the Physical Ability scores of an omnidisciplinary Olympic athlete, but not the focused Strength of a bodybuilder or the absolute Dexterity of the world's best gymnast. Intelligence is where he shines, as he can lend his massive brainpower towards any complex task. I decided to throw in the T-spheres from Michael Holt's Mr. Terrific just because they're a pretty cool visual - that, and they show the ways the character can apply his tech skills in his downtime.

Your character might just be someone who's just that awesome, a Badass Normal who got that way through training, discipline, and just good luck. If you do want to go for a more superhuman origin, though (antithematic as it is), there's always the possibility of a nanotech accident making the person more human than human (hell, the modern Mr. Terrific has some nanotech swirling about him) or just being born plugged into the Akashic Records.

[trollthumper]

Shock Jock

Good morning, Freedom City! I know this isn't the usual drive time programming, but you wouldn't believe who Alderman Simmons gave city funds to...

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 0 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 8 = 24 PP

Strength 10 (+0)

Dexterity 14 (+2)

Constitution 14 (+2)

Intelligence 14 (+2)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 18 (+4)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Electrical Storm)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +6

Grapple: +7

Knockback: -5/-1

Saving Throws: 4 + 6 + 5 = 15 PP

Toughness: +10/+2 (+2 CON, +8 Force Field)

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

Reflex: +8 (+2 DEX, +6)

Will: +7 (+2 WIS, +5)

Skills: 60r = 15 PP

Bluff 8 (+12)

Concentration 8 (+10)

Diplomacy 4 (+8)

Gather Information 6 (+10)

Knowledge (current events) 6 (+8)

Knowledge (pop culture) 6 (+8)

Notice 6 (+8)

Perform (oratory) 8 (+12)

Sense Motive 8 (+10)

Feats: 13 PP

All-Out Attack

Dodge Focus 4

Evasion

Fascinate (Perform)

Improved Initiative

Power Attack

Quick Change

Redirect

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Well-Informed

Powers: 35 + 8 + 13 + 3 = 59 PP

Electrical Storm, 32 PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 3 [35 PP]

• Base: Blast 10 (Extras: Area Shapeable; Feats: Progression 2 [50 5-foot cubes]) [32 PP]
  Alternate Power: Insubstantial (electrical energy) 3 [15 PP] + Strike 10 (Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Improved Critical 2, Penetrating 3) [17 PP]
  Alternate Power: Stun 10 (Extras: Range [Ranged) [30 PP]
  Alternate Power:
  • Teleport 6 (20 miles, Extras: Accurate, Flaws: Medium [broadcast equipment], Feats: Change Direction, Change Velocity, Easy, Turnabout) [16 PP]
    

Damage 8 (Extras: Area Explosion) [16 PP]

Force Field 8 [8 PP]

Radio Waves, 12 PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power [13 PP]

• Base: Communication 6 (radio, 20 miles, Feats: Area) [7 PP] + Datalink 5 (5 miles) [5 PP]
  Alternate Power: ESP (visual, audio) 6 (20 miles, Flaws: Medium [broadcast equipment]) [12 PP]

Super-Senses (Radio Acute Analytical) 3 [3 PP]

Abilities (24) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (15) + Skills (15) + Feats (13) + Powers (59) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

So once upon a time, there was a Paragons game I was considering. It never really materialized, but I was certainly considering it. I had two ideas for a potential PC. One of them was the Kinetic Flyer I statted up earlier in the thread, with pretty much the backstory I gave the build. The other was for Radio Free Alicia, a citizen journalist/culture jammer with a distaste for the mainstream media and the power of electricity control. Her idea of advocacy journalism was to literally hijack the airwaves with her latest scoop. It's the kind of thing that, depending on your viewpoint, can be either a voice for truth or annoying as all hell, but I was an angry, idealistic young college student when I had the idea, so it stuck in my brainpan.

And now here she is, as a sample build. The powerset is a blend of two DCU-types -- Air Wave, whose most prominent incarnation may be less famous as a superhero and more famous as Hal Jordan's cousin, and Livewire, the female Howard Stern equivalent who made the leap from Superman: the Animated Series to the comics proper. She's not fully electrical, like Livewire, but she has the ability to abandon her physical form for a body of crackling electrical fury. The Teleport also comes with a fun (by which I mean "explosive") surprise, borrowed from Peekaboo, who I honestly think could've gotten more use. Her ability to manipulate communications on a city-wide scale is independent of the offensive array, allowing her to perceive wherever she needs to go and get there at the same time.

There are a number of possible origins for her. Your standard mutant or "meta" origin could work, seeing as she was originally built as a Paragons character. But, following in the footsteps of her DCAU inspiration, an accident involving a concert, a lighting storm, and a mutagenic compound's always a possibility. Or maybe she was tuned into a mysterious numbers station that turned her into an avatar of the Wire, the metaphysical reflection of the world's communication network (yes, I stole that from Swamp Thing, shut up).

[trollthumper]

Modern Animist

My gods dance on power lines and gather in abandoned subway stations.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 4 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 6 + 4 = 24 PP

Strength 14 (+2)

Dexterity 14 (+2)

Constitution 14 (+2)

Intelligence 12 (+1)

Wisdom 16 (+3)

Charisma 14 (+2)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Sphere of Spirit)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +2

Grapple: +8

Knockback: -10/-5/-1

Saving Throws: 5 + 5 + 7 = 17 PP

Toughness: +10/+2 (+2 CON, +8 Protection)

Fortitude: +7 (+2 CON, +5)

Reflex: +7 (+2 DEX, +5)

Will: +10 (+3 WIS, +7)

Skills: 72r = 18 PP

Concentration 8 (+11)

Diplomacy 8 (+10)

Drive 6 (+8)

Gather Information 6 (+8)

Intimidate 8 (+10)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 4 (+5)

Knowledge (streetwise) 8 (+9)

Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 8 (+9)

Notice 8 (+11)

Sense Motive 8 (+11)

Feats: 11 PP

All-Out Attack

Contacts

Dodge Focus 4

Move-By Action

Power Attack

Ritualist

Startle

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Powers: 2 + 39 + 8 + 4 + 3 = 56 PP

Comprehend 1 (Spirits) [2 PP]

Sphere of Spirit, 32 PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 7 [41 PP]

• Base: Blast 10 (Extras: Penetrating 4, Power Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Improved Critical 2, Incurable, Ricochet, Split Attack, Subtle) [32 PP] “call the ghost .45â€
  Alternate Power: Blast 10 (Extra: Area Burst, Power Feats: Variable 2 [any urban cornerstone]) [32 PP] “invoke the urban elementalâ€
  Alternate Power: ESP (audio, visual, olfactory) 6 (20 miles) [24 PP] + Communication (mental) 6 (20 miles) [6 PP] “address the spirit of the crossroadsâ€
  Alternate Power: Speed 5 (250 MPH, 2500 ft./round) [5 PP] + Impervious Toughness 10 [10 PP] + Strike 10 (Extra: Knockback 3) [13 PP] + Super-Movement (Wall-Crawling 2) 2 [4 PP] “summon the steel chariotâ€
  Alternate Power: Snare 10 (Extra: Area Shapeable) [30 PP] “soften the black earthâ€
  Alternate Power: Move Object 10 (Extras: Range [Perception], Area Burst; Flaws: Limited to Urban Materials) [30 PP] “calling on the civic choirâ€
  Alternate Power: Ward Spirits 10 (Extras: Damaging, Flaws: Action [Full-Round]) [30 PP] “draw the invisible doorâ€
  Alternate Power: Transform (spirits into other spirits) 8 [32 PP] “all things in their placeâ€

Protection 8 [8 PP]

Super-Movement (Dimensional Movement [spirit dimensions]) 2 [4 PP]

Super-Senses (Detect Spirits Ranged Extended) 3 [3 PP]

Abilities (24) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (17) + Skills (18) + Feats (11) + Powers (56) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

On to yet another Tradition, and this time we're building the Dreamspeakers, another "wonderful" attempt at multiculturalism by early White Wolf. Now, as Ecalsneerg has said in chat, when you make a setting where magic is a vital force - and especially a setting like Mage, where magic is defined entirely by ideology - shamanism's going to be a tricky thing to handle, but the writers of Mage could have done better. The Dreamspeakers were every single animist faith, gathered under one giant banner. Then again, the books eventually lampshaded the hell out of this; the category of "Dreamspeaker" was often used by the other, more Eurocentric Traditions to lump all the others together in a definable group, and many of those groups, some of which were mortal enemies, didn't take kindly to it. But as the world moved forward and colonialism became a growing threat, they decided they'd rather hang together than hang separately. As an animist group, the Dreamspeakers show a mastery of the Sphere of Spirit, which allows them to interact with, summon and transform spirits at will, as well as enter their grounds.

Building someone centered around Spirit was a slight challenge, as most of their powers are built around manipulating something that's a constant presence in their game world but invisible unless explicitly featured in Freedom City. Hell, the Book of Magic doesn't really cite anything we'd recognize as equivalent to the World of Darkness's Umbra (or Shadow, if you go by the new line). But Summon is one of those effects that can be broken down and rebuilt any number of ways, as shown above. This mage breaks from stereotypes about wise elders in the desert by calling on the invisible entities that gather in the urban setting - the spirit gun gleaming with invisible might, the car that can go anywhere, the elementals of power lines or water mains, the spirit of the crossroads, the father of asphalt. Other powers are centered around mastery over spirits, demonstrating how the accomplished shaman can create a place safe from troublesome spirits or remake them to his purpose.

There are problems in playing an animist character in a superhero or urban fantasy setting, though. It's not bad to play a character from a culture that primarily follows an animist faith who follows a magical path that gives them power over spirits. The problem comes when the overwhelming tide of superhero comics portrays every goddamn character from said culture as getting their superpowers from being an accomplished shaman, like with a wholly unsettling number of Native American characters. Shaman, Manitou Raven, Forge... hell, Warpath unlocked shamanic superpowers recently, and his power set is mostly "hitting things." Same problem applies for Aborigines, First Nations, and African bushmen (and, sadly, often Africans in general). There are animist faiths and cultures that are fairly underrepresented in this particular vein, though, that might serve as a reasonable substitute - the shamanism of the Hmong and Shintoism are just two. There's always the possibility of an outsider to one such culture adopting the shamanic practice, but no one wants a Mighty Whitey. Or you could just scrap the shamanism entirely on the character; maybe make him an apprentice to Doctor Metropolis (or genius loci of your city of choice), or give him the full Jack Hawksmoor and have him rebuilt to be a controlling node of the greater organism of the living city.

[trollthumper]

Head-Shrinking "Paragon"

Do you know what you look like to me, with your good purse and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: -2 DEF/+2 TOU

Abilities: 4 + 2 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 6 = 26 PP

Strength 30/14 (+10/+2)

Dexterity 12 (+1)

Constitution 34/14 (+12/+2)

Intelligence 16 (+3)

Wisdom 14 (+2)

Charisma 16 (+3)

Combat: 12 + 8 = 20 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Cosmic Might)

Defense: +8 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +1

Grapple: +20/+8

Knockback: -10/-5/-1

Saving Throws: 0 + 4 + 6 = 10 PP

Toughness: +12/+2 (+2 CON, +10 Enhanced Constitution)

Fortitude: +12/+2 (+2 CON, +10 Enhanced Constitution, +0)

Reflex: +5 (+1 DEX, +4)

Will: +8 (+2 WIS, +6)

Skills: 60r = 15 PP

Bluff 12 (+15)

Diplomacy 6 (+9)

Gather Information 4 (+7)

Knowledge (behavioral science) 12 (+15)

Knowledge (civics) 4 (+7)

Notice 10 (+12)

Sense Motive 12 (+14)

Feats: 13 PP

All-Out Attack

Challenge (Fast Feint, Fast Taunt) 2

Dodge Focus 4

Fascinate (Bluff)

Power Attack

Redirect

Skill Mastery (Bluff, Gather Information, Notice, Sense Motive)

Taunt

Uncanny Dodge (visual)

Powers: 32 + 20 + 4 + 10 = 66 PP

Cosmic Might, PP Array, Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 2 [32 PP]

• Base: Enhanced Strength 16 [16 PP] + Super-Strength 3 (Effective Lifting Strength 45, Power Feats: Groundstrike, Shockwave) [8 PP] + Adds Improved Critical 2 and Penetrating 4 to Unarmed [6 PP]
  Alternate Power: Blast 10 (Extras: Area Burst) [30 PP]
  Alternate Power: Blast 10 (Extras: Autofire 1) [30 PP]

Enhanced Constitution 20 [20 PP]

Flight 2 (25 MPH, 250 ft/round) [4 PP]

Impervious Toughness 10 [10 PP]

Abilities (26) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (10) + Skills (15) + Feats (13) + Powers (66) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

Paragon types are like that old saying - "When she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid." One very good example of this from modern comics is Moonstone, formerly of many, many iterations of the Thunderbolts. Karla Sofen is the last thing you want in a supervillain - a trained psychiatrist with an intense sociopathic streak and cosmic powers. She's like what would happen if Hannibal Lecter was Captain Marvel (the Marvel version, not the DC version). Before she joined up with any of the big super teams, she had a habit of driving suicidal patients over the edge for the sheer power trip. You can imagine what getting superpowers did for all of that. In any team, Moonstone is likely to be the manipulator, the conniver, the one looking for the right moment to claim power for herself. And she's not someone you want to be alone in a room with.

This build is aimed at making a Paragon who uses anything but tried and true Paragon tactics. While most Paragons are champions, this one is an underminer who will use any dirty trick to get an edge over their opponent. Bluff or Intimidate work equally well for a villainous demotivator, but Bluff works better for when the villain is suggesting things that may not necessarily be true but which have enough grounds to at least dig in. This type can keep a person distracted with their bad words, undermine their personality, and turn the tide of battle against them without throwing a punch. Their Diplomacy skills are less than their Bluff skills, but by the time they've ground the target down, they can probably win them over.

Then again, there's nothing that says this build has to be a villain. Just because most Paragons are forthright and honest doesn't mean that one can't play by dirty tricks. Superman's taunted Lex Luthor about his vision of the world multiple times ("Really, I was gone for a year, and you're still the same old villain? Where's that cure for cancer, Lex?"). The Terry McGinnis Batman managed to get the upper hand on the Joker by doing what Bruce Wayne never did - engage him. Just because the power set tends towards honesty doesn't mean the character can't be a tricky bastard towards those who deserve it.

[trollthumper]

Devout Magic-Wielder

The One weaves the world together, and it is in His name that we tie the strands.

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-Offs: None

Abilities: 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 6 = 28 PP

Strength 14 (+2)

Dexterity 14 (+2)

Constitution 14 (+2)

Intelligence 14 (+2)

Wisdom 16 (+3)

Charisma 16 (+3)

Combat: 12 + 12 = 24 PP

Attack: +6 (+10 Sphere of Prime)

Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed

Initiative: +6

Grapple: +8

Knockback: -10/-5/-1

Saving Throws: 5 + 4 + 6 = 15 PP

Toughness: +10/+2 (+2 CON, Protection 8)

Fortitude: +7 (+2 CON, +5)

Reflex: +6 (+2 DEX, +4)

Will: +9 (+3 WIS, +6)

Skills: 68r = 17 PP

Concentration 8 (+11)

Diplomacy 8 (+11)

Gather Info 6 (+9)

Intimidate 8 (+11)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 8 (+10)

Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 8 (+10)

Notice 6 (+9)

Sense Motive 8 (+11)

Stealth 8 (+10)

Feats: 16 PP

Accurate Attack

All-Out Attack

Dodge Focus 4

Fascinate (Diplomacy)

Fearless

Improved Initiative

Leadership

Luck 2

Power Attack

Ritualist

Startle

Uncanny Dodge (vision)

Powers: 8 + 37 + 5 = 50 PP

Protection 8 [8 PP]

Sphere of Prime, 30 PP Array, Power Feats: Accurate 2, Alternate Power 5 [37 PP]

• Base: Nullify All Magic (Extras: Nullifying Field, Selective Attack; Flaws: Action [Full-Round]) [30 PP] “bar the false dominionâ€
  Alternate Power: Blast 10 (Extras: Penetrating 4, Power Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Improved Critical 2, Incurable, Homing) [30 PP] “celestial fireâ€
  Alternate Power: Impervious Toughness 10 (Extras: Reflective [all magic]) [30 PP] “affirm the spiritâ€
  Alternate Power: Illusion (visual, audio) 9 (Power Feats: Progression 3 [50 ft.]) [30 PP] “the right of creationâ€
  Alternate Power: Drain Toughness 10 (Extras: Range [Ranged], Flaws: Affects Objects Only) [10 PP] + Healing 10 (Extras: Total; Flaws: Affects Self Only) [20 PP] “reweave the great workingâ€
  Alternate Power: Concealment (all senses) 10 (Flaws: Limited to Magical Senses) [10 PP] + Illusion (visual, audio, olfactory) 10 (Flaws: Limited to Projection of Self) [20 PP] “split the soulâ€

Super-Senses (Detect Magic Analytical Acute Ranged Extended [100 ft.]) 5 [5 PP]

Abilities (28) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (15) + Skills (17) + Feats (16) + Powers (50) - Disadvantages (0) = 150 PP

---

(Other potential quotes: "My faith protects me. My Kevlar helps." and "I kick arse for the Lord!")

And back into the Traditions pool. I know it's a short gap between the two, but I promised this one first in chat, only to get distracted by building a Dreamspeaker. This this we're doing the Celestial Chorus. If the Verbena were the game's all-purpose pagan faction and the Dreamspeakers were the all-purpose animists, then the Chorus was made up of the all-purpose Abrahamists - though they had more than a few polytheists in their ranks. The Choristers believe that there is a transcendent One at the heart of the world, from which all things emerge. The unity of the One was broken in prehistory, and they serve the goal of ensuring that the integrity of creation is maintained and the frayed strands of existence are brought back together. Their specialty Sphere is Prime, which is all about manipulating the raw nature of magic.

Now, before we get into what this means power-wise, an explanation for those who aren't familiar with Mage. In old Mage (and the new line, to a lesser extent), magic is literally everything. Quintessence (or mana), the base energy of magic, suffuses all things, creating a grand interconnected portrait of creation known as "the Tapestry," in which all things are "Patterns." Draw out enough Quintessence, you literally unweave something's Pattern and draw it out of the Tapestry. As sheer and utter annihilation is not a heroic quality, we won't be focusing on that bit. So, what else can Prime do for you? Well, it can be used to weave half-formed Patterns, creating phantasms that appear to have substance but aren't whole. It can draw elements out of something else's Pattern and use them to patch up your own (in game, this means gaining Quintessence, but there's no real "mana pool" equivalent in M&M, so straight up Healing it is). It can be used to create pure heavenly fire that strikes anything, tearing away at its Pattern. It can be used to create a shield that protects against all magic. And of course, it can be used to shut down magic entirely. Compared to Spirit or Forces, it's slightly limited - you can't exactly summon things or manipulate the many forms of energy. But when magic enters the field, you can make it sit down and shut up.

Despite the Azrael picture, this build is more cleric than paladin, focused on protective magics, bolts of primordial fury, and encouraging and aiding others. There are many ways to take the build, both religious and magical. They could be the chosen of an archangel, like our very own Gabriel, or they could be someone tied into the very warp and weft of magic. Or... perhaps there's a way to combine the two. Islamic lore says that God sent down two angels, Harut and Marut, to work sorcery for the people of Irem and warn them not to abuse it. They didn't listen, and bad things happened. Perhaps this guy is a heir to a minor sect devoted to avoiding the mistakes of Irem, learning how to craft magic responsibly and not blight the gift of Allah. Or hey, nothing wrong with the Knights Templar.