Adamas (PL 10) - Russoboo

[Russoboo]

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Player Name: Russoboo
Character Name: Adamas
Power Level: 11 (150/163PP)
Trade-Offs: -2 Defense/+2 Toughness
Unspent Power Points: 13
Progress To Bronze Status: 13/30

In Brief: Teenage socialite turned diamond-chucking mutant.

Alternate Identity: Darren Stelzer
Identity: Public
Birthplace: New York, NY
Occupation: High School Student
Affiliations: Claremont Academy
Family: Harold Stelzer (Father), Marguerite Stelzer (Mother), James Stelzer (Brother), Anna Stelzer (Sister)

Description:
Age: 16 (DoB: June 1996)
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Height: 5'9â€
Weight: 160 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

Darren is a looker. Though he's only average height, his body has been built and toned like a model's, if not a true athlete. The brunt of Darren's striking appearance, however, lies with his face. He has a chiseled jaw and high cheek bones set below turquoise eyes. Darren's fine, dark hair is cut and styled up, and his eyebrows are perfectly sculpted with not a hair out of place. On the rare occasion he actually smiles, he can light up a room, but Darren usually keeps it restrained to an enigmatic smirk.

Being fabulously wealthy, Darren naturally dresses the part. Even in a casual setting, in tight jeans, henley, and blazer, he's sure to be wearing high-end labels and fitted everything. He rarely wears the same outfit twice and has been known to change clothes multiple times a day. Darren's costume is an all-white affair with briefs, boots, and a combination vest and cape, none of which provides a lot of coverage.

Power Descriptions:

When using his powers, white light encompasses Darren's hands and eyes. The crystals he creates are largely transparent, quite hard, and colorless, bearing a resemblance to diamond. In his diamond form, Darren's body turns into light blue, semi-transparent crystal and his hair solidifies into a cloudy black crystal of similar composition. The facets over his crystal skin change as he moves, which he does as easily as he does in flesh and blood.

History:

Born as the third child of the Stelzer family, moguls with hands in the international travel, service, and hospitality industries, Darren seemed destined for a comfortable life. He was shipped between mansions, waited on by long suffering maids and nannies, and given anything he could have asked for. Most of his time was spent in the company of James and Anna, his brother and sister, who usually tolerated him and sometimes even liked him. When he was old enough, Darren was sent to private schools for other children of the famous and wealthy.

Darren did quite well in school, owing not to any particular intellect or talent, but through a powerful personality. Even among the pampered elite, Darren was quite popular and built up a broad circle of friends with very little effort. As the king of his own little castle, he did all the usual horrible kid things: he started rumors, he put people down, he became a general instigator all through social manipulation. By the time he'd entered middle school, Darren had honed pettiness into an art.

The summer after his freshman year of high school, while vacationing in Spain, Darren, James, and Anna were abducted and held for ransom. Unfortunately for their attackers, all three were latent mutants and the sudden stress of being in real danger for the first time in their lives sparked them to manifest their abilities. James incinerated his binds, Anna punched through walls to make their escape, and Darren ferried them back to safety on chunks of crystal.

They were all over the news for weeks after that, the so-called Super Heirs. Darren liked the media attention, so much so that he didn't initially realize that the Duncan Summers trying to contact the Stelzers wasn't just another reporter. Summers extended an offer to join Claremont to both Darren and Anna, though James was too old. Both accepted, with Darren actually excited to 'go to super school'.

Since transferring, Darren has fallen back into his old pattern of being an average student of exceptional means. He now splits his life between being a student at Claremont and attending various exclusive social events for the upper echelon.

Personality & Motivation:
Haughty and smug, Darren is the perfect rich boy. He's used to getting his way, either with a few well-placed words or by writing a check with a lot of zeroes. Indeed, he has a poor concept of the actual value of money or of anything else for that matter. He is an exceptional orator and can go on at length about virtue, justice, the American way, and all manner of other things, but he puts little faith in any kind of ideology. Instead, Darren believes that most people, himself included, are naturally selfish, but that even self-centered acts can be turned towards altruism. For him, time in costume is another of getting the attention he craves with the side goal of actually being a force for good.


Powers & Tactics:
Adamas is artillery. He likes to stay way from close combat, usually by floating above anything happening on the ground and then pelting enemies with a hail of gemstone shards. Able to craft his crystal into virtually any shape, the defensive structures he creates often take on an artistic flair.

---

Complications:
Fame: While marginally famous before coming into his powers, Darren's mutant emergence was well-televised and he has happily encouraged the attention.
Heir: Darren's wealth is not his own and is somewhere between an allowance and a stipend.
Minor: Though not a child, Darren is under eighteen, subject to all the various legal limitations that entails.
Phobia: Darren is claustrophobic and responds particularly badly when restrained.
Reputation: Darren has a reputation for attention-seeking and showboating.
Rivalry: With his sister Anna also going to Claremont, his relationship with her has gotten increasingly competitive.


Abilities: 0 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 8 = 20PP
Strength: 10 (+0)
Dexterity: 14 (+2)
Constitution: 12 (+1)
Intelligence: 12 (+1)
Wisdom: 14 (+2)
Charisma: 18 (+4)


Combat: 10 + 10 = 20PP
Initiative: +2
Attack: +5 Melee, +9 Ranged
Grapple: +4
Defense: +8 (+5 Base, +3 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed
Knockback: -1


Saving Throws: 7 + 4 + 7 = 18PP
Toughness: +1/+12 (+1 Con, +11 [Protection])
Fortitude: +8 (+1 Con, +7)
Reflex: +6 (+2 Dex, +4)
Will: +9 (+2 Wis, +7)


Skills: 48R = 12PP
Bluff 7 (+11/+15Attractive)
Craft (Artistic) 4 (+5)
Diplomacy 7 (+11/+15 Attractive)
Gather Information 5 (+9)
Knowledge (Art) 5 (+6)
Knowledge (Pop Culture) 7 (+8)
Language 3 (English [Native], French, Greek, Cantonese)
Notice 5 (+7)
Sense Motive 5 (+7)


Feats: 14PP
Attack Focus (Ranged) 4
Attractive 1
Benefit (Wealth) 2
Connected
Contacts
Dodge Focus 3
Fascinate (Bluff)
Precise Shot


Powers: 44 + 2 + 20 = 66PP

Diamond Control 10 (40PP Array; PFs: Alternate Power) [44PP] (Mutant, Psionic)

BE: Transform 10 (Any inanimate into diamond, Extras: Duration [Continuous], Flaws: Range [Touch]) {40/40}
AP: Create Object 10 (Faux-Diamond; Extras: Duration [Continuous]; PFs: Precise, Innate) {32/40}
AP: Move Object 10 (Max Load 24 tons; Extras: Range [Perception]; Flaws: Limited Material [Diamond]; PFs: Precise) {21/40}
AP: Blast 10 (Extras: Penetrating, Autofire) {40/40}
AP: Snare 10 (Extras: Impervious, Autofire) {40/40}

Flight 2 (25 MPH; Flaws: Platform) [2PP]

Alternate Form 4 (20PP Container, Action [Free], Duration [sustained]) [40PP] (Diamond Skin, Mutant)

Protection 11 [11PP]
Immunity 9 (Life Support) [9]

Drawbacks: -0PP
None


DC Block

ATTACK      RANGE     SAVE                        EFFECT
Unarmed     Touch     DC15 Toughness (Staged)     Damage (Physical)
Blast Ranged DC25 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical)
Snare Ranged DC20 Reflex (Staged) Entangled or Bound
Transform Touch DC20 Fortitude Transformed

Totals: Abilities (20) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (18) + Skills (12) + Feats (14) + Powers (66) - Drawbacks (0) = 150/163 Power Points

[Supercape]

Fluff

This all looks ok except for...well, the fact that this guy has had a hero-ectomy. We wouldn't have a problem with a rich boy being a little bit of a dick, but this is a step too far. Particularly concerning are his "lack of empathy", and motivation to be a hero being rather cold and shallow. We do like and accept flawed characters, but not anti-hero's. I hope that distinction is reasonably clear, and don't take that as discouragement. The site's flavour is that whilst characters have conflicts, they should sit, reasonably unambigiously, as a hero.

I would suggest (and it is only a suggestion), that this young man may be ignorant and even arrogant (and in fact, to me that would make him unpopular rather than the reverse) as his conflict (which is good!), but that he does have empathy and has some more agreeable motive for being a hero than pure narcissism (although that can be part of his motivation). Note this is only suggestions.

Crunch

Languages: Could you put down English as his native language (I presume it is).

Benefit (Status) - I'm not exactly sure what tangible benefit this is that is not covered by his wealth...? Is he nobility? does he have dual nationality or something?

On the other hand, a guy able to produce diamonds at will should effectively have wealth 3, even if he may not own a mansion or anything. Essentially, he can print money. On that note however, given some of the difficulties of a sixteen year having so much money, a complication may be in order.

Diamond Control Array is mispriced. It is a 40 PP Array with 4 Alternate Powers, which means it should cost 44 PP.

Transform power: could you notate the duration as extra as Duration [Continuous]. Similarly Flaw as Range [Touch].

Same with Create Object and Move Object Powers.

Suggestion Only I'm not entirely sure why blast is single target and snare is an explosion...if its just to fill up the PP, I would suggest the impervious extra for a diamond snare is much more appropriate! (perhaps with autofire too).

Technically this guy is PL 9.5 Offensively, and PL 9 Defensively. Given he has autofire I think the PL 9.5 is ok, but we generally like people to be at PL 10 caps. Could you bring him defensively up to PL10? (I'd suggest dropping one or two of the Immunity and adding to his protection)

[Russoboo]

All of the crunch changes have been made. In addition, I've traded -2 defense for +2 toughness and shuffled around some of those Immunity points back into Protection to hit the new cap. Benefit (Status) and a couple other points have been floated to cover the increased cost of Diamond Control.

Fluffwise, the line about empathy has been cut and the personality after that reworded to hopefully be a bit more heroic (or, at least, a bit less anti-heroic). Given that his initial motivation is now similar to characters like Booster Gold, I hope that be willing to do the heroic thing while not necessarily feeling like a hero for it are acceptable.

[Supercape]

After discussion in chat...

:approved: !

See how this character develops however, it strays a bit close to the line in terms of motivation. For me its on the right side, but at the end of the day its how he develops in real threads!

[Avenger Assembled]

DIAMONDS EH?

Put down his flight speed and the duration on his Alternate Form, just so Refs can see it at a glance.

[Russoboo]

Put in Flight speed and alternate form duration!

[Avenger Assembled]

APPROVED

[Avenger Assembled]

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