New character concept

[Tipop]

Hiya folks, new guy here. I've been active in the M&M online community over the years, being one of the more prolific posters on the old Atomic Think Tank forums and more recently over at the Mutants & Masterminds subreddit on reddit.com. I've always gone by the name "Tipop" ever since the late 80s, so you can probably track me down and hunt me for sport.

 

Anyway, work has been slow recently, and I was thinking to myself, "Self, wouldn't it be cool if you could find a play-by-post M&M game so you could play at work when there's nothing much to do?" One google search later, and here I am ready to get paid for playing.

 

The other day I made a post on Reddit with an example of how to make a character. I started off with a simple concept... "Low Rent Doctor Strange", just to have an easy framework concept for my example. However, now that it's done I kinda want to play it!

 

Here's a link, so you can read it yourselves: https://www.reddit.com/r/mutantsandmasterminds/comments/6pjal3/example_of_character_creation/

 

One of the artists on reddit even made a character portrait for Professor Peculiar. It's here: http://tazvair.deviantart.com/art/Commision-2-694926094?ga_submit_new=10%3A1501085224

 

Now obviously I've got some work to do on the character... he's using 3rd edition M&M, not 2nd, and he's PL8 rather than PL10, but beyond the mechanical tinkering required, what do you folks think?

[KnightDisciple]

Welcome to the forum, Tipop! 

 

"Low Rent Doctor Strange" as a quick concept is totally doable; FCPBP has a decently-active magic scene, and of course M&M (whatever the particulars) is very much  able to have a magic-flinger active as a hero! 

 

A couple of quick links to help you get yourself acclimated and get the ball rolling: Newbie Guide and House Rules. The former should help you get a better feel for this forum, as well as giving a bare-bones example template for your character sheet (which helps make sure we are all on the same page to reference them!). The latter is pretty handy to help understand what isn't like M&M 2E; we've done some cannabalizing of some of the later 2E rulebooks, as well as a few 3E concepts, so I'd encourage you to take the time to give the House Rules a read-through. 

 

After that, I'd like to point you to our Sample Characters, pre-made sheets that can help serve as a strong foundation for your first (and so on!) character(s). We don't currently have one that's specifically a Wizard/Magician/Mage type, but maybe they'll help you get a feel for how things would work. 

[Tipop]

I don't have access to the Freedom City book (was it ever refreshed for 3rd edition?) So bear with a few questions, please:

1. You mentioned an active magical scene. What do I need to know that my character would know about them?
2. Is there already a "magical book store-slash-library" in Freedom City, either in the published lore or among the magical PCs of FCPBP ? That was going to be part of my character's background, but I don't want to step on toes.
3. I read that the superhero high school is the most active area, but my character concept is too old for that. However, he *IS* a professor (at least he was on his original Earth-dimension), so maybe he could have a job as a teacher at Claremont Academy?
4. Hmm... building on the above two points: Maybe his magical book store could be on Academy grounds, or an adjacent property? I could be the Giles to the other PCs' scooby gang.

[Raveled]

The Freedom City book hasn't been released for 3E yet. That's one of the ones they've been teasing for awhile IIRC. I'd grab the 2E one, though, since it's what most of our stuff is based on anyway.

• There's quite a few other magically-active PCs. I'd take a look through the Active Heroes section of the Character Bank and check out folks like Nick Cimiterie and Phantom for a primer.
• There's Cross' Roads which is quite similar to Giles's store, but I think the city can accommodate another one if you would rather go that route.
• PCs are not allowed to be teachers at Claremont Academy. The folks who run this board don't want PCs automatically in positions of authority over other PCs -- that's why there's no cops and why the mayor is an NPC.

[KnightDisciple]

Raveled covered most of the relevant points. I would say having this character's bookstore be adjacent to Claremont, and not officially affiliated, is totally doable, though. Since he'd just be the guy who owns the store, he's not in a position of authority over other PCs, and it gives a good hook and interesting location. It also leaves him open for team-ups with non-Claremont PCs more readily! 

[Tipop]

I'm currently re-acquainting myself with 2nd edition, since I haven't used it in so long. When I'm done should I post my character here for rules-adjusting first?

[Raveled]

This would be the proper forum, yes.

[Tipop]

Posted the character in its own thread, with the correct title. I also added the "20 questions" survey to it.