Hellbinder (PL 10)

[AmyBall]

Player Name: Amyball

 

Hero Name: Hellbinder

Real Name: Sarah Genmai Kahn

 

In Brief: What if Batman knew magic instead of Kung-Fu?

 

Current Residence: Lavish North Bay mansion. LOTS of books. It's a typical rich person's mansion, but every room has at least one bookshelf.

Base of Operations: The mansion's basement, built to her specifications

Occupation: New Student at the Academy
Affiliations: None yet

Family: Maria and Gene (Americanized) Kahn, both deceased.

Legal Guardians: Xiang Hua and Hatori Hua (Grandparents, living)

 

Description:
Age: 16 (DoB: April 6, 2000)
Apparent Age: Older teen, perhaps early 20's
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Asian (East Asian)
Height: 5’ 0”
Weight: 100 lbs.
Eyes: Black with red pupils
Hair: Black

 

Sarah appears to be a fairly typical young teen or young adult. She normally wears her hair long, perfectly combed. In fact, not a bit of her appearance ever seems to be out of place. Perfectly calm, poised, and in control, the young woman exudes an air of... not exactly confidence. Her stance is usually a little hunched over, and her clothing tends towards the baggy and unflattering. Which is no surprise. She developed early and well, and despite her parent's money, she was teased a great deal at her old schools before she started her home-schooling.

 

When she's Hellbinder though, that all changes. Her outfit is clingy, her aura is one of absolute dominion, and her voice resonates with all the threats and promises of hell. Said outfit is black (not leather) with red trim, and clawed gloves over the hands (mainly for show)

 

Power Description:

She is a 'typical' magic user. When her powers are used, her hair fans out and she levitates a little as she incants her spell. The arcane gestures she uses create light contrails in the air around her, forming mystic sigils. While she has shown signs of minor power-use when restrained, it's proven to be ineffective at best, and an active hindrance at worst, as it still drains her abilities as any 'overcharged' (power stunted) spell would.

 

 

History:

Her parents were... In a word, WEALTHY. Like Bruce Wayne levels of cash. She was a spoiled sweet princess, had everything she wanted, was generous, a good student... Then her parents died in a plane crash and her mind broke a little. Sarah went through a severe emo-goth streak, and used her parents money to delve DEEP into the occult, which she had a significant talent for. Eventually, she made a pact with hell to bring her parents back to life. They drew up the contract, signed it... And hell brought her parents back as zombies. They tried to take her soul, but couldn't. They'd missed a bit of fine print where she said they had to bring them back to life. Which they didn't. And when they tried to fix their error, they found they couldn't, because her parent's souls weren't IN hell. The contract was broken, and Hell's backlash as the contract ended tore open her soul, providing her with a strong connection to Hell that even the Prince of Darkness couldn't close. They're not too happy with the 16-year-old, but there's not a great deal they can do to her, since they were the ones who broke the contract. She's still a bit of a sore spot, especially since she took up the cloak and cowl of the hero.
She's still a nice girl, if a bit dark and moody. Not as trusting. Not as sweet. But she's still loyal to her remaining friends and family.
I am imagining that (possibly on a level she does not herself realize) that the emo-goth streak is A) an extension of mourning and needing to incorporate that into living as a kid in western society,  and B) a way to declare to the world 'don't screw with me' when she's in a touchy emotional state. Something of a defense mechanism.

And her two best friends, one predates all this, likely another rich princess with her own family intact, and the second she has met as a direct result of getting into the Goth scene, someone who has their own troubles and just gets it.

Her wealth has -not- come from criminal orgs, but rather a combination of vending-machine manufacture and banking. They'd put a lot of money-politics-effort into getting law enforcement able to keep the criminals off their backs.

Family wise, she's an only child but has cousins all over the place. Her grandparents are going most of the work of raising her now, in particular her maternal grandmother who keeps a tight grip on allowances to keep all the money flows stable, and pretends not to notice all the heroing going on while pulling strings behind the scenes to let it happen semi-safely.
She gets home schooled via private tutors, some of whom fly int for a few weeks at a time to do really intense, fast sessions and then a week off for her to do her own thing. Or at least she was until she was about to get sent to an academy in Freedom City.

That trip to the academy never happened. During a short bus ride around town to get used to the place, the bus was robbed by a small gang of what she generously would call 'hoodlums'. Ducking down and changing into her outfit, she came up, hands blazing with power... And nearly killed the robbers. She overestimated their resilience, and their bodies very nearly became ragdolls. Such a use of power would easily be tracked by those in the know, and Claremont managed to find her in fairly short order, given that she'd committed the cardinal sin of forgetting her gloves and half her mask.

 

Personality and Motivation. Combat and Tactics:

She is, even as Hellbinder, a very sweet girl. Despite her withdrawn nature, a strong sense of justice burns in her heart, and she'd like nothing more than all villains to be rehabilitated, or put behind bars. In combat, she's a firm fighter, using exactly as much force as she thinks she needs... She often over estimates how much force is needed, and this tends to lead to extensive collateral damage. She DOES try to clean up after herself, and generous donations to various media sources keep her public opinion high... Or at least, not terrible.
Outside of combat, she is shy, withdrawn, and prone to mood swings. Her parents death is still fresh in her mind, but she hides it behind a quiet, serious mask of study and training. To her friends, she is generous and loyal. To those not part of her 'friendship circle' she can often be seen as a haughty, cold-hearted bitch. She does leave a great deal to charity though, always anonymously.

 

Power Level: 10 (150/150PP)

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

 

Description: You have gazed upon the faces of a hundred gods, a thousand demons and a million ghosts. You have walked across the fire planes of Dis, the blasted ruins of After-Earth, and the desolate depression of Wal-Mart at 2AM. Your spells can shatter armies, and your will is second-to-none. You aren't just a magician. You are magic.

 

Complications:

Hellish Backlash: Her powers, as honestly and true as she tries to use them, are powered by hell. When she's in a vulnerable emotional state, Hell can reach through her, overcharging her abilities and manifesting her powers without her needing to chant, gesture, or otherwise do anything. This is not an advantage, as it never manifests when it would benefit her. Instead, when she loses control, it's always at the most inconvenient times. Hell will have its own.

 

Retribution: She tricked Hell. She got them on a technicality, and denied their hold on her soul and loyalty. What's worse is that they, by their own contract, have to continue providing her with power despite the broken word... Because it was THEIR word that they broke. They're not very happy with Sarah, and frequently attempt to send agents to have her killed so that they can use her magical powers for something other than goodness and 'light'.

 

Secret Identity: Other than her magical tutor and her grandparents, Sarah leads a very strict double life. She's terrified that if anyone found out about her hellish powers, she would be branded a villain, and be unable to continue 'doing good' in an attempt to make up for the 'sin' of making a deal with hell to try and revive her parents.

 

Abilities: 0 + 0 + 0 + 10 + 6 + 6 = 22PP

Strength 10 (+0)

Dexterity 10 (+0)

Constitution 10 (+0)

Intelligence 20 (+5)

Wisdom 16 (+3)

Charisma 16 (+3)

 

 

Combat: 8 + 8 = 16PP

Initiative: +4

Attack: +4, +8 magical attacks

Grapple: +4

Defense: +6 (+4 Base, +2 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed

Knockback: -0, -12 w/ Force Field

 

 

Saving Throws: 6 + 6 + 9 = 21PP

Toughness: +0/+14 (+0 Con, +14 Force Field [impervious 10])

Fortitude: +6 (+0 Con, +6)

Reflex: +6 (+0 Dex, +6)

Will: +12 (+3 Wis, +9)

 

 

Skills: 72R = 18PP

Concentration 12 (+15)

Intimidate 1[9] (+4[+12])

Knowledge [Arcane] 15 (+20, Skill Mastery)

Knowledge [Theology and Philosophy] 5 (+10)

Language 2 (English [native], Greek, Latin)

Notice 7 (+10, Skill Mastery)

Search 10 (+15, Skill Mastery)

Sense Motive 12 (+15, Skill Mastery)

 

Feats: 11PP

Dodge Focus 2

Wealthy 3: Parents Old Money, smart investments, and expert financial handling.

Improved Initiative 1

Luck 3

Ritualist

Trance

Skill Mastery (Knowledge [Arcane], Notice, Search, Sense Motive)

Ultimate Save (Will)

Ultimate Skill (Knowledge [Arcane])

 

Powers: 30 + 3 + 24 + 5 +2 = 62

Enhanced Skills: Intimidate 8 (2PP)

Magic Array 13 (26pp array, Power Feats 3 Alternate Powers) [30PP]

 

• Base Power: Blast 12 (mystic blasts, Power Feats: Accurate 2) [26PP]
  Alternate Power: ESP 6 (20 miles; visual and auditory senses, Extras: Duration - Sustained) [24PP]
  Alternate Power: Snare 12 (mystic bond, Power Feats: Accurate 2) [26PP]
  Alternate Power: Teleport 6 (mystic gateway, range: 20 miles, Extras: Accurate, Power Feats: Change Velocity, Easy) [26P]
  Alternate Power: Insubstantial 4 (spectral form) and Super-Senses 4 (X-ray vision) [24PP]

 

 

Flight 1 (mystic flight, 10 MPH / 100 ft per round) (PF: Subtle) [3PP]

 

Force Field 14 (mystic wards, Extras: Impervious 10) [24PP]

 

Super-Senses 5 (Magical awareness [mental; Acute, ranged, extended]) [5PP]

 

Drawbacks: PP

Power Loss (Magic, Flight and Force Field, when unable to speak or gesture to cast spells, common, moderate, -3pp)

 

DC Block:

 

 

ATTACK      RANGE     SAVE                         EFFECT

Unarmed     Touch     DC 15 Toughness (Staged)     Damage

Blast       Range     DC 27 Toughness (Staged)     Damage

Snare       Range     DC 22 Reflex (Staged)        Ensnared/Helpless

 

 

Abilities (22) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (21) + Skills (16) + Feats (14) + Powers (64) - Drawbacks (-3) = 150 Power Points

 

Notes:

:arrow: You are playing the most power stunt friendly archetype there is, hence why you have a 26pp array and Luck 3. You need a spell, you can power stunt it, just don't get too wide-ranging. Your spells should still follow a theme. This build is deliberately bare-bones in this regard, in order to allow you to use your own theme. And remember, Fatigue gives -2 Strength and Dexterity (you don't use them) and only -1 Attack and Defense. It does not hurt you that much, don't be afraid to take it from Extra Effort.

:arrow: Unfortunately, power comes at a price. Should you be caught without your Force Field, you are exceptionally vulnerable despite your magical might. However, despite this, to use your Insubstantial power and walk through walls, you must lower it, making yourself incredibly vulnerable to opponents without Affects Insubstantial. In addition, without Affects Corporeal, your spells can't affect them!

:arrow: Ritualist allows you to whip up spells on special occasions. You'll not use it often, but it may well prove useful.

:arrow: Your Will is second only to Psychics. With a +12 bonus, and Ultimate Save (Will) for special occasions, you are damn near indomitable. You also have a decent Knowledge base in Arcana and in Theology, with the former possessing ultimate Skill for those really obscure arcane facts.

 

Customization:

:arrow: The most obvious thing is swap out the array slots for other powers, to represent different spells. But I will say this: I do NOT buy into magic as a do-anything descriptor, you should pick a magical theme and stick to it. This build is the stereotypical comic-book mage, with glowing sigils and blasts, but not so much with the natural powers. A druid-like mage could have Snare (Extras: Area, Flaws: Medium), i.e. Plant Control, for example. An elementalist could have elemental blasts, and various element-related powers (look in Ultimate Power's Chapter 3 for suggested Alternate powers of Air/Earth/Fire/Water control). Remember, all the different Controls are just Perception Telekinesis limited to one element, so for Element Control just take unflawed Telekinesis. AA has done a nice build of a Druid here.

:arrow: It's worth noting that this archetype is for spellcasters, not people with magic descriptors. For example, Captain Marvel is a Paragon, not a Mystic.

Edited January 21, 2016 by AmyBall

[Thevshi]

So, some comments for you Amy: 

There are still a number of things we require for a character sheet that are missing (you should look at one of the characters in the hero bank for all the formatting and what is needed). 

For her skills, why does she have Intimidate 9 if she is just a teenage girl?  Is it a reflection of her powers (and their origins)?  If so, perhaps it would make more sense for her to have ranks of Intimidate as Enhanced Skills (ie powers) instead of just straight natural skill. 

Powers:

For the Teleport alternate power, I would drop the Portal extra and take Accurate instead, otherwise you are limited in using long range teleports, as without Accurate, you can only teleport to places you can accurately sense or know especially well. 

You need to change the point costs for several of your powers at the top of the Powers list.  Right now it reads 29 + 6 + 25 + 5 = 65, it should read 30 + 3 + 24 + 5 = 62.  The 3 points you spent on Wealthy should be under Feats as Benefit: Wealth 3. 

Also, unfortunately the magical awareness Super-Sense no longer meets our house rules (Ecal probably built the character before the change).  Under our current house rules, Awareness and Detect are merged, and for a very common descriptor like magic cause a base of 3 pp (you get them at range as part of that).  Acute, radius and extended each cost 1 pp to add, so you need at least 6 pp to get the Super-Sense like it is now, or you can drop one of the three add-ons to keep it at 5 for now (and can always add the other when you get some experience to improve).