Oracle, a mentalist

[shojikitsune]

 

Player Name: Shojikitsune

Character Name: Oracle

Power Level: 10 (150 PP)

Trade-offs: None

Unspent Power Points: 0

Progress to Bronze Status: 0/30

 

In brief: A wild talent psychic with telepathic powers, and a ring that is a focus for telekinetic powers

Residence: Southside, Freedom City, NJ – attending Claremont & residing on campus

Base of Operations: Freedom City, NJ

Catchphrase: “Also? I can kill you with my brain..."

 

Alternate Identity: Zephyr Brooks

Identity: Public

Birthplace: Freedom City, NJ

Occupation: Student (Claremont)

Affiliations: Nicholson School, Claremont Academy

 

Family: Trevor and Michiko Brooks (Parents), Melvin Brooks (Uncle)

 

Description:

Age: 16 (DOB: Friday, August 13, 1999)

Gender: Female

Ethnicity: Asian/Caucasian

Height: 5’ 1”

Weight: 115 lbs.

Eyes: Dark Brown, glowing yellow when using her powers

Hair: Black, straight, middle of back/long

Oracle is a young woman of mixed Japanese and Caucasian heritage, with pale skin, long black hair, and dark eyes. She hasn't decided on a costume, so is often encountered in her blouse, tie, skirt, leggings and dress shoes. When she is wearing ordinary clothes, they still tend to be black. Black pants, black shirts, even experimenting with black lipstick and strong eyeliner sometimes.

History:

Zephyr was born into an average, boring, middle-class household, and was an unusually quiet child. She would, for example, cry until one of her parents came to see what the problem was… and as soon as they would decide to come check her, she’d stop crying, as if she *knew* her message had been recieved. Her parents had to deal with hearing her cry when one of them was at work, but at first chalked it up to memory rather than telepathy. It became more unnerving when she began to talk – because sometimes, a parent that wasn’t with her would hear her ask them something, and sometimes if they thought of the answer or even said it aloud, she’d thank them. When she was just a few years old, she asked about all the other ‘voices’, and wondered why so much loud talking was going on… but there weren’t people there to talk to, and when she reached out to these other voices, she triggered fear and shock.

Her parents, fearing the worst, took her to a mental hospital to be evaluated. Fortunately, the doctor that examined Zephyr managed to diagnose her ‘mental issue’. She wasn’t hearing ‘voices,’ she was hearing *thoughts*. Simple experiments proved that Zephyr was a powerful telepath. She was taught ways to calm her mind using yoga, and ‘reduce the range’ of effect so she could get a break from the noise.

Her parents finally understood the problem, and enrolled her at the Nicholson School, and from there she went on to the Claremont Academy. There was the usual teasing, including someone thinking that calling her Wednesday Addams would somehow offend her. Instead, she came to school dressed exactly like Wednesday for a whole week. Her unstable mental powers did cause some trouble but the story was a sidebar in the local paper and didn’t generate a lot of public interest. After all, there was no shortage of heroes that *did* chase the limelight. She transferred to Claremont just recently, but has avoided attention as her powers are just now stablizing. She also has an uncle, her father’s older brother, who lives close to the school and has declared that he will spoil her and send her back to her family. But he is just a loveable old man.

Personality and Motivation:

Oracle is a calm, poised, rational young lady, and that’s how she behaves. She never raises her voice, swears, or acts undignified, even in dreadful circumstances. She calmly walks through raging fights, targeting and shutting down the ones with violence on the brain. She has no compulsion about letting someone else do the actual fighting, preferring instead to support and coordinate efforts. That be said, her psychic sensitivity means she tends to be a deadpan snarker, calling people on their mistakes with little decorum because she *knows* what is inside their heads.

Although young, the only thing that alleviates the pressure of all the thoughts around her is to do something, anything, to help them turn positive. Despite dressing and sometimes acting like a depressed emo teen, she isn’t a fan of negative emotions. That’s ironic, since she can generate those emotions and broadcast them, weakening a target’s will. She is getting better at screening thoughts, and so isn’t unduly influenced by the darker ones anymore, but that took time. She is still something of a deadpan snarker, trying to lighten the mood with bad puns, sarcastic quips and other statements. Her motivation is to gain mastery over her powers, and then see what she really can do. Being a hero tests her limits, develops positive emotions, and goes a long way towards overcoming her previous awkwardness. And it creeps out bad guys, so win-win, right?

Powers and tactics:

When you know what your opponent is thinking, it’s easy to be ahead of them the whole time. Oracle took the code name because she often predicts an opponent’s move *while they are doing it* and explains why it won’t work due to the counter she already put into place. Oracle can serve as a communications center, ranged support or mix it up in close combat with equal aplomb.

Concept: Oracle is a hodgepodge of my favorite DC characters – Raven, Ace and Tamara Coulder. I wanted to envision what might have happened if these characters had grown up in a warmer, more supportive environment, where their powers could develop naturally. So, she doesn’t have the tragedy the others had… but she’s not as strong as any of them either. However, after numerous attempts at making a true precog/telepath/telekinetic, I was spreading myself too thin, so i used trollthumper's combat psychic (http://www.freedomplaybypost.com/topic/5825-trollthumpers-cave/?do=findComment&comment=168857) and changed the Container from a combat suit to a ring, the Protection to a Force Field, and the Instant Change to a short range Teleport. I also reduced her Str to 10 so I could have Teleport at Rank 2. This version has no telekinetic powers, although her improved physical defenses all have a Mental descriptor since her mind is her power source.

Complications

WITH GREAT Power…

            Zephyr’s family had a profound influence on the young girl, including the somewhat clichéd lecture regarding power and responsibility. It was something stable to grab at when her mind was being overwhelmed with other people’s thoughts and fears. (Motivation – Responsibility of Power)

Hey! I recognize you!

            Although not as public a figure as many heroes, Oracle/Zephyr is known locally and this has let her put off designing a costume. (Public Identity)

Power Descriptions:

Zephyr is a powerful telepath, far out of her age groups normal range. She is constantly bombarded by outside thoughts, and won’t hesitate to comment aloud on something someone else only thinks, which tends to be delivered in a creepy deadpan that Wednesday Addams would approve of. Zephyr was born with her powers, but they didn’t stabilize until recently, instead coming and going mysteriously. She believes it’s linked to her physical development and is kind of concerned. She’d be considered a wild talent or random mutation, a one-off chance development of more than merely mortal mental might! (Amazing alliteration!) Recently, using a form of meditation and a jeweled ring as a focus, she's been able to develop very limited telekinetic abilities, such as a force field and the ability to 'move at thought' or teleport short distances.

Offensively, Oracle seems to always know what’s going on. She tracks people by their mental energy as well as their physical position in the world, has an uncanny awareness of people since she can sense their minds as they come close. It makes it very hard to sneak up on her – but not impossible.

  

 

Abilities: -2 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 6 + 4 = 22 PP

Strength 8 (-1)

Dexterity 14 (+2)

Constitution 14 (+2)

Intelligence 16 (+3)

Wisdom 16 (+3)

Charisma 14 (+2)

 

Combat: 10 + 12 = 22 PP

Attack: +5

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

Initiative: +11

Grapple: +6

Knockback: -5/-1

Saving Throws: 5 + 5 + 5 = 15 PP

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

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

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

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

Skills: 56r = 14 PP

Bluff 7 (+9)

Concentration 8 (+11)

Diplomacy 8 (+10)

Gather Information 8 (+10)

Knowledge (current events) 4 (+7)

Knowledge (tactics) 7 (+10)

Notice 7 (+10)

Sense Motive 7 (+10)

Feats: 13 PP

Benefit (use Knowledge [tactics] for Initiative)

Challenge (Fast Feint, Fast Taunt) 2

Dodge Focus 4

Evasion

Master Plan 2

Taunt

Uncanny Dodge (mental)

Well-Informed

Powers: 14 + 45 + 6 = 65 PP

Protection Ring, Rank 3 Device (15 PP, Hard-to-Lose) (Descriptor:Mental, Power Feats: Restrictive 2) [14 PP]

            Force Field 8 [8 PP]

            Teleport 3 (Power Feat: Change Velocity) [7 PP]

Mental Mastery, 40 PP Array (Descriptor: Mental; Power Feats: Alternate Power 5) [45 PP]

• Base: Mental Blast 10 [40 PP]
  Alternate Power: Emotion Control 10 (Extras: Area Burst, Selective Attack) [40 PP]
  Alternate Power: Mind Control 10 (Extras: Conscious, Effortless) [40 PP]
  Alternate Power: Paralyze 10 (Extras: Range [Perception]) [40 PP]
  Alternate Power: Mental Transform (memories) 10 (Extras: Area Shapeable, Duration [Continuous]) [40 PP]
  Alternate Power: Telepathy 10 (Extras: Area Burst, Sensory Link) [40 PP]

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

Disadvantage: Mental mastery array is Noticeable, affected subjects have glowing yellow eyes and mimic Oracle's formal way of speaking. 1 PP Disadvantage

Abilities (22) + Combat (22) + Saving Throws (15) + Skills (14) + Feats (13) + Powers (65) - Disadvantages (1) = 150 PP

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2015 by shojikitsune
scrapping precog concept for combat psychic concept.

[Raveled]

Hey there. You seem to have made this character in M&M 3E, and this site runs on a modified version of M&M 2E. This character concept is workable, but the math has to be in 2E.

[shojikitsune]

Aw, splat. Back to the old drawing board... :)

i will have something with proper matths tonight.

[shojikitsune]

Edited, using 2nd edition book. I modified the Psychic template on Page 22 into the Precognitive.

Also, not sure how to generate a DC block for the character, as she really only has 3 possible attacks - her base unarmed, telekinesis and her mental blast.

The Hero Maker hates me, when I get to section 3 and try selecting a hairstyle the whole window goes white and it fast-forwards to the last hairstyle available. Wonder if this has happened to anyone else

Lastly, how do I insert images?  I was so frustrated by the hero maker I just grabbed 2 shots and made links to the images, this doesn't, however, display them.

[Raveled]

I recommend you take a look at the Heroes section of the Character Bank to see how character sheets should be formatted; you should also read through the House Rules, because I can see a few places where this build violates them, mostly with Defensive Roll.

[shojikitsune]

Once more, with feelings, an image (even if nonstandard) and what should be correct maths...

[Raveled]

I still think you're sort of working off 3E rules here. You cannot raise Toughness or Initiative directly; for Toughness you need to buy Defensive Roll, Forcefield, or Protection, and for Initiative you need Improved Initiative or a way to raise your Dex.  The biggest issue I see here, though, is that this character isn't hitting their combat caps. It is very important for a starting character to hit their combat caps, usually up to PL 10.  Currently this character is PL 8.5, on both offense and defensive. You should really work on making sure they hit caps for Attack, the Damage of at least one effect, Defense, and Toughness. Lastly, I'm not sure the array will pass muster. Postcognition and Precognition are both powers that make GMs wary, and putting Super-Senses in an array is almost always a no-go.

If I were you, I would start looking at the various character building threads created by some of our refs, who have a loooooot of experience building characters and manipulating the mechanics of the game. Here is a telepath written by trollthumper that I think can work as a good base for your character. For a quick conversion, drop the armored bodysuit and pick up Forcefield to keep the character at combat caps; switch out one or more of the APs in the array for more telekinetic-themed powers; and put some of the bonuses like Dodge Focus and Exotic Saves into a Container to represent combat precognition.

[shojikitsune]

Not a bad idea, I copied the combat telepath and changed the Container's description a little - it's now a ring she uses as a focus for non-telepathic abilities. I reduced Str a little (from 12 to 10). So she has a Force Field 8 and Teleport 2 instead of the combat armor/quick change. That made Container cost went up to 10 from 8. That's where the 2 points recovered from reducing her Str went. Heh, here's hoping...

[Raveled]

I didn't expect you to replace the whole build. I just thought it would be an easy starting point.

You can't have Teleport 2 inside the Device like that. Devices are a specialized form of Container, where you spend either 4 or 3 PP to get a 'rank' of the Device and 5 PP to spend inside the container. In this case, a Rank 2 Device would have 10 PP in it; you could spend 4 PP (since it's Hard to Lose) and up that to 15 PP inside the device, but you can't just spend 2 PP on it.

[shojikitsune]

Ok, I think I found a fix for the Device. so Teleport can fit. A Rank 3 Device (Hard to Lose) costs 4 PP/Rank, for a total of 12 points, allowing 15 PP inside the Device. Force Field 8 counts for 8 points, hitting cap; and a Teleport 3 accounts for 6, leaving 1. I bought the Accurate Power Feat for teleport, in case she needs to go somewhere out of line of sight or escape a bad situation in a hurry. The device, what rules should i apply so it works more like a focus? Basically, I am going to say she's used her own mental powers on herself to 'lock' her telekinetic and teleportation 'trees' until she gains better mastery over the rest of her powers. The Device acts as a 'key', letting her use the lowest-levels of those abilities, the force field and teleport, but doesn't necessarily let someone with the Device use the powers. Is that even a thing?

To gain the 2 additional PP, I reduced her Str even further, to 8. She is, after all, a very small and inoffensive creature who wouldn't hurt a fly. And if you believe that I have a bridge for sale right here in Freedom City... (evil grin)

And no worries, i know you didn't expect me to change my mind and redesign the character. I was also considering trollthumper's psychic martial artist and some of the other concepts he designed, and it felt like it would be easier to just role play the link between her higher than average defenses as a 'side effect' of being more mentally aware of her surroundings - a more passive effect if you will. Thanks for putting up with my ideas. i promise, next character i make will be something simple, a powerhouse or something. I already had an idea for one - classic 'turns into living stone' character... But that's a matter for another post.

 

[Raveled]

The ring sounds a lot like a Dubmo's feather, an otherwise mundane item which becomes a focus/good luck charm for a certain character, giving them abilities they would not possess without it. A Device can work like that, but it would require at least Restricted 2; that stops anyone else who takes the ring off her from using the powers inside of it themselves.

However, your Teleport does not have the correct cost on it. Accurate is not a Feat for Teleport; it's an Extra, raising the cost of the power by 1 PP/rank. That raises the cost to 3 PP/rank, and so 3 ranks of Teleport would cost 9 PP.

[shojikitsune]

Adjusted the Device to make it Restricted 2, changed the Extra of Accurate to the Power Feat Change Velocity. I reduced 4 Skills by 1 raqnk each to free up 1 more PP and added the Noticeable Drawback to her mental Mastery array for 1 PP. It's going to make things a little difficult considering how subtle Mental powers usually can be. she's still going to be creepy, i think.

[Raveled]

That all looks good. I can't see any other flaws that stand out to me; I think Oracle is ready for the Character Bank.

[shojikitsune]

Alrighty, copy-pasting to the Bank. Thanks for your help.