First Wave (Mutants and Masterminds 3E)

Game Master Sobran

This is a campaign that follows the trials and tribulations of a small group of the first super-powered people in the world. In this tale they try to do good, stop evil, and uncover the mystery behind their creation.


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I just tracked that down and was about to post it when I refreshed the page. You beat me to it by 15 seconds. It looks pretty nice.


I got Hero Lab for Pathfinder, and the files for this for various complicated, mysterious reasons. XD Pretty glad I did, though. I don't actually know what a good skill bonus at this power level is - that's how new I am - but those numbers seemed decent.

I envision Atsuko as someone who doesn't really like to talk or show off, but is usually pretty successful if she can bring someone over to a quiet corner for a few minutes. Her actual powers are all about being hard for science to explain, but she's a relatively normal person at heart, and societal pressure is a major factor in why she actively tries to avoid abusing what she can do.

(Also, she's smart enough to know that if she did abuse her powers, she'd probably be seen as a much greater threat - she's trying to establish a good reputation so the government will see her as a potential ally instead of a threat that needs to be eliminated before she goes totally rogue.)

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

I'll be working on submitting Anthem something of a cross between Captain America and Black Canary.


Also, all things considered, I should probably explain how I think my powers work. By all means, please correct me if any of this is wrong. XD

Atsuko's Powers:

Alien Will: Deals damage to enemies. Opposed by Will, and the opponent must make a Will check (currently DC 23) to resist being hurt. Does not require an attack roll to hit the enemy, but she must be able to reasonably perceive her target. Undetectable, so there are no identifiable signs that she's using the power, but presumably the target would know they're under attack when it actually happens. Stylized as a sort of malevolent alien will putting psychic pressure on foes, and they have to muster the willpower to resist it or suffer.

Dimensional Concealment: Hides Atsuko from all senses except tactile ones. So she could walk through a field of infrared lasers without them going off, because she does not distort light while in higher dimensions and is invisible to their 'sight', but she could not avoid a pressure plate checking for weight differences hidden halfway down the hall. Requires Concentration (a Standard Action) to maintain each round it's active, and automatically shuts down if she attacks or otherwise needs to make some kind of Effect check. Powers that overcome visual concealment can let others see her.

Dimensional Shield: Improves Atsuko's toughness and makes her harder to hurt. Has a Sustained duration, and is not active all the time, but can be activated on her turn as a Free Action. It does not have a Reaction clause, and cannot automatically activate to protect her from an attack she's unaware of - she must have it active before the attack is made if it's going to protect her.

Eldritch Body: Removes a Toughness Penalty every 2 rounds as she automatically heals. If Atsuko dies, this stops functioning (though I totally plan to pick up a resurrection power later). It is abnormally noticeable to those around her (mainly in the visual sense, possibly through hearing as well with lots of squelching sounds).

Eldritch Sight: Counters all forms of visual concealment. She can see invisible things, and know that they're trying to be invisible, but cannot see through objects. She can see in the dark with no problem and will generally not have any penalties if someone turns the lights off.

Eldritch Tendrils: Can call up numerous tendrils from any patch of darkness, enough to affect multiple objects in a 30-foot radius sphere. The tendrils can manipulate up to 200 pounds each (can multiple tendrils work together to lift more?), and are precise enough to do highly detailed work. Theoretically, they can be used to grapple an opponent, but the Save DC is pretty low - so it's unlikely to work on people unless their Reflex is crap. As an effect requiring Concentration, maintaining these requires a Standard Action. As such, she cannot use her Dimensional Concealment while this power is active, nor can she attack with her Alien Will while someone is grappled in them.

Non-Euclidean Passage: Currently a short-range teleport, capable of bringing her up to 120 feet. As an Accurate teleportation, Atsuko must generally have an idea of what her destination is like, but does not need to perfectly understand it in order to warp there. By spending Extra Effort, she can increase the range of her teleport, at the cost of becoming fatigued (unless I spend a Hero Point). As a Move Action, she can do this in combat on a frequent basis, hopping around to make her hard to spot while she continues attacking with Alien Will.

Does all that sound about right?


Part One: Crunch

crunch:

Anthem - PL 8

Strength 6, Stamina 6, Agility 6, Dexterity 6, Fighting 8, Intellect 2, Awareness 4, Presence 2

Advantages
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Critical: Shield Training, Power Attack, Takedown, Uncanny Dodge

Skills
Acrobatics 2 (+8), Athletics 2 (+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+10), Deception 2 (+4), Expertise: Military 2 (+4), Insight 1 (+5), Intimidation 2 (+4), Investigation 2 (+4), Perception 2 (+6), Persuasion 2 (+4), Stealth 2 (+8), Technology 1 (+3), Treatment 1 (+3), Vehicles 1 (+7)

Powers
Enhanced Metabolism
. . Enhanced Ability: Enhanced Agility 3 (+3 AGL)
. . Enhanced Ability: Enhanced Dexterity 3 (+3 DEX)
. . Enhanced Ability: Enhanced Stamina 3 (+3 STA)
. . Enhanced Ability: Enhanced Strength 3 (+3 STR)
. . Immunity: Immunity 2 (Disease, Poison)
. . Regeneration: Regeneration 1 (Every 10 rounds)
. . Running Speed: Speed 6 (Speed: 120 miles/hour, 1800 feet/round)
Hypnotic Song: Concentration Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 6 (1st degree: Entranced, 2nd degree: Compelled, 3rd degree: Controlled, Resisted by: Will, DC 16; Perception Area: DC 16 - Hearing, Concentration, Cumulative; Instant Recovery)
. . Sonic Blast: Damage 9 (Alternate; sonic, DC 24; Increased Range: ranged)
. . Sonic Sleep: Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 8 (Alternate; 3rd degree: Asleep, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 18; Perception Area: DC 18 - Hearing, Cumulative, Subtle: subtle; Limited Degree (third only))
. . Sonic Vertigo: Cumulative Affliction 8 (Alternate; 1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 18; Accurate 2: +4, Cumulative)
. . Sonic Well
. . . . Silence: Concealment 1 (Linked; Sense - Hearing)
. . . . Sonar: Senses 3 (Linked; Accurate: Hearing, Ultra-hearing)
. . . . Sonic Immunity: Immunity 5 (Linked; Damage Effect: Sonic)
. . . . Sound Analysis: Senses 6 (Linked; Acute (Type): All Auditory, Analytical (Type): All Auditory, Counters Illusion: Auditory)
. . . . Ultrasonic Hearing: Senses 1 (Linked; Ultra-hearing)
Shield (Removable (indestructible))
. . Deflect: Deflect 8 (Reduced Range: close)
. . . . Strike: Strength-based Damage 2 (Alternate; DC 23; Multiattack)

Offense
Initiative +6
Grab, +8 (DC Spec 16)
Hypnotic Song: Concentration Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 6 (DC Will 16)
Sonic Blast: Damage 9, +6 (DC 24)
Sonic Sleep: Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 8 (DC Fort 18)
Sonic Vertigo: Cumulative Affliction 8, +8 (DC Fort 18)
Strike: Strength-based Damage 2, +8 (DC 23)
Throw, +6 (DC 21)
Unarmed, +10 (DC 21)

Complications
Flashbacks
Motivation: Patriotism

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 6, Parry 8, Fortitude 6, Toughness 6, Will 4

Power Points
Abilities 56 + Powers 60 + Advantages 7 + Skills 12 (24 ranks) + Defenses 0 = 135


Oof. I'm hitting more of a wall than I thought I would here, mostly thanks to power level limits. I've got another 50 or so points to spend, and though some of that will go to defenses and some to equipment, I'm having trouble figuring out what else would work. I'm simultaneously overpowering and underpowering my character.

Backstory:
Joe had always been kind of doughy. That’s the term he preferred at least; most people just called him fat. Mostly the popular kids at school. Not that Joe minded, at least. He was the type of guy to just let insults bounce off of him. Bullies didn't even target him, since he put up no resistance. In his senior year of high school, Joe was preparing to find a college, happy to get away from the bustling city.

That changed when his mother became concerned about the recent rise in crime. She signed him up in a local martial arts dojo, headed by a friendly Asian man. Joe didn't think it was his cup of tea, but he wasn't one to disappoint his mother after all the trouble she went through. He struggled, but thanks to his encouraging sensei and his natural unflappableness he began to improve.

After a few short months, Joe had attained his black belt, all but surpassing his sensei. His classmates had attributed it to natural talent, or his unshakable nature, but there was something else. As Joe exercised he lost a lot of weight, but no matter how much he lost he still looked doughy. His classmates could tell you that hitting him did almost nothing; even a solid hit could barely faze him. Joe could feel it himself: his body was changing, and not in any typical way.

His changes culminated one day when sparring with his sensei. A botched crime sent the suspect looking for a hiding place, and what he found was the dojo. Staring down two black belts, the criminal panicked. He fired his gun, hitting Joe’s sensei. Before he could even contemplate his own actions, Joe launched himself at the criminal. By instinct, he threw a punch from across the room. He watched his arm stretch out and strike the criminal before snapping back into place.

The criminal was swiftly arrested, and an ambulance called. His sensei survived, but the incident left him bound to a wheelchair. Thus, Joe took over the physical portion of teaching at the dojo. He practices with his newfound powers by night, with his sensei’s guidance.

(Further motivations and the like should flesh out once the setting is explained in more detail, and the other characters are known)


Sheet:
Dough Joe
PL8

Abilities
Strength 8, Stamina 2, Agility 2, Dexterity 0, Fighting 4, Intellect 0, Awareness 2, Presence 0

Powers
Doughy Body:
Dense Dough: Protection 10 [Impervious],
Resilient Dough: Enhanced Advantages 2 [Diehard, Great Endurance],
Wrapping Dough: Enhanced Advantages 2 [Improved Grab, Improved Hold],
Stretchy Dough: Elongation 3
Alt: Bouncy Dough: Leaping 3
Powerful Dough: Enhanced Strength 5
(38 points)
Tae Kwon Dough:
(I was going to put alts of his Strength damage here, but that's a fuzzy rules area and I can't come up with anything anyway. There's no way I wasn't preserving the name of his fighting style, though!)
(0 points)

Equipment

Advantages
All-out Attack, Power Attack, Diehard, Fast Grab, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Interpose, Weapon Bind, Great Endurance

Skills
Athletics 4 (+12), Close Combat: Unarmed 6 (+10), Deception (+0), Insight (+2), Intimidation (+0), Perception (+2), Persuasion (+0), Stealth (+2)

Offense
Initiative +2
Unarmed Damage +10, Damage 6

Defense
Dodge 2, Parry 4
Toughness 12 (Def Roll 0), Fortitude 7, Will 2

Power Points
Abilities 26 + Powers 38 + Advantages 5 + Skills 5 + Defenses 5 = Total 79


Slipstream

crunch:
Slipstream - PL 8

Strength 2, Stamina 0, Agility 1, Dexterity 2, Fighting 5, Intellect 2, Awareness 0, Presence 0

Advantages
Teamwork

Skills
Expertise: Video Games 8 (+10), Persuasion 8 (+8)

Powers
Slipstream Armor (Removable (indestructible))
Slipstream Armor: Protection 12 (+12 Toughness; Impervious [8 ranks only])
Teleport: Teleport Attack (+self) 11 (8 miles in a move action, carrying 3200 lbs., DC 21; Accurate, Attack (+self): Dodge, Change Direction, Change Velocity, Easy, Extended: 2000 miles in 2 move actions, Increased Mass 6, Precise, Turnabout)
Teleport Sickness: Affliction 8 (Alternate; 1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 18)
Tracking Teleport: Senses 2 (Awareness: Teleport, Tracking: Teleport Awareness 1: -1 speed rank)

Offense
Initiative +1
Grab, +5 (DC Spec 12)
Teleport Sickness: Affliction 8, +5 (DC Fort 18)
Teleport: Teleport Attack (+self) 11, +5 (DC Dog 21)
Throw, +2 (DC 17)
Unarmed, +5 (DC 17)

Complications
Identity
Motivation: Thrills

Languages
English

Defense
Dodge 4, Parry 5, Fortitude 0, Toughness 11/12, Will 0

Power Points
Abilities 24 + Powers 72 + Advantages 1 + Skills 8 (16 ranks) + Defenses 3 = 108

Validation: Toughness: Exceeds Power Level limit by 1

Fluff:
Harold Lloyd (yes, he knows about the silent film actor) is like the kid in Big Hero Six or Peter Parker. Except he isn't a genius or anything. Anything at all. Ok, really he is the kid who dreams of being the young brilliant super hero, but mostly he is good at video games and terrible at school, girls, and making his mother happy. He doesn't have a father, so at least he doesn't have to worry about disappointing him. Except now, somehow, he is a superhero. He doesn't remember what happened. He was in his room playing Space Knights, a galaxy spanning MMO, when the house exploded. When he woke up, he had a terrible headache as was pretty sure he had gone blind. He couldn't see anything, he was breathing smoke, and he could hear sirens. He felt cold metal on his face. As he stood up, his vision cleared, and he stumbled toward an ambulance. That was when everyone freaked out. The police who had responded to the call drew their weapons and started firing, and Harry thought he was having the weirdest night of his life. He threw himself to the side, scrambling to safety, and found himself in the third floor restroom at school. Curioser and curiouser, he thought. Then he saw his reflection in the mirror. He was covered head to toe in a banded chromed metal armor. No wonder the cops had shot at him.

Harry is a brand new hero. The suit he wears has a lot of powers, but he has no skills or training to speak of. He is a video game superstar, and he will be able to apply that flexible mindset to his new circumstances. At the moment, he is considered missing or dead in the explosion that destroyed his house and sent his mother to the hospital.


CrazyLou: I see what you're saying. I actually ran into the same problem when building a strength-based bruiser at one point. They tend to be simpler than the other types. You can get another 9 points into defenses, but that still leaves a lot. Let's see.

Are there any immunities that make sense for him? Those eat points quickly.

You could bring up any abilities that make sense. I notice those are all quite low. Then again, I think that fits, given his background.

Sleeper Hold: Affliction (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Progressive, Grab-Based •2 pointsperrank.

Stonewall: Reaction Damage (to being hit), Limited to effect rank or attack’s Damage rank, whichever is less •3points perrank. (Dough Wall? I'm not sure if this one is appropriate or not.)

Bracing: Immunity 10 (being moved), Sustained •10points. (He can't be moved.)

Super-Endurance: Immunity 10 (Life Support), Quirk (limited to approximately 30 minutes at a time, –1 point) •9points.

A few examples I grabbed from the Power Profiles book. I hope they help.


Still haven't gotten internet at my new place. Comcast gonna Comcast and all. Shouldn't take me long to get everything whipped up after that.


Sobran did you have any pointers for my builds?


imimrtl wrote:
Sobran did you have any pointers for my builds?

Hey! I'm posting from my phone at work, so I can't easily do a lot of typing right now. I just wanted to let you (and tumbler) know that I saw your posts and will address them after I get off work. Sorry for the wait!


Rednal wrote:

Also, all things considered, I should probably explain how I think my powers work. By all means, please correct me if any of this is wrong. XD

** spoiler omitted **...

Trying to get a quick response in while it's slow at work. I'll be working my way down the thread, as time permits.

Alien Will: Correct, I think. The whole 'not requiring an attack roll' is something I believe is correct, but I meant to double check. I'll do that tonight when I'm in front of the computer.

Dimensional Concealment: all correct.

Dimensional Shield: all correct. Also, the fact that it is Sustained also means you can use Extra Effort with this ability.

Eldritch Body: correct. It will also heal Conditions, but only after all Toughness penalties are resolved.

Eldritch Sight: correct.

Eldritch Tendrils: mostly correct. Multiple tentacles probably can't work together to lift more, but you could possibly simulate this with Extra Effort. Grappling doesn't involve the attacker's reflex. They resist against the attacker's Strength, which in this case is the power rank of this power. Most normals will likely be helpless against this.

N-E P: all correct,I think. I need to double check the Extra Effort bit.


imimrtl wrote:
Sobran did you have any pointers for my builds?

I just realized I somehow missed your submission. Looking now.


Strength, not Reflex, for the tendrils - right-o. XD ...Still not likely to be useful for grappling any superpowered foe, but hey, doing that isn't why I took the power anyway.

(It's mostly for clearing rubble, moving large numbers of innocent people out of the way of things, and so on. Utility stuff.)


Rednal: I double checked the two things I was unsure about. You are right that your attack doesn't require an attack check. That is accomplished solely by the Perception Range extra. For some reason I was thinking that was linked to the use of Subtle. And yes, you can extend the range of Teleport with Extra Effort. I was pretty sure you could, but I was trying to remember how that interacted with the Extended Range extra. (For the record, that just allows you to double the range by using two actions.)

imimrtl: I tried to look at this at work, but your file wasn't playing well with my phone for some reason. It wouldn't let me zoom. Anyway, now that I've gotten a proper look at it:

Version 1: So the psychic version looks fine. He does have 6 PP unspent, which you need to resolve. This seems to fit well with the background I read for him earlier. It is notable that you could throw Mental Blast and Mind Control in an array and save a lot of points. That said, the way you have it built now means that you can Mind Control people and still Mental Blast on alternate rounds without disrupting the Mind Control. That alone probably makes it worth it.

The only thing I pause at is the Sight and Sound power, because I don't know where it comes from. I imagine this is like Psylocke's ability to force others to not notice her? Also, the second page for this character is missing, so I wasn't able to see what the skill loadout looks like.

Version 2: This one has spent all of his points, which is good. The full sheet is also included.

I just deleted a lot of criticism because I realized that your Nuclear Form is a Multiple Power construct and not an Array. Hero Lab really doesn't make that particularly clear. Okay, so this works pretty well and is an interesting mix of power. However, you do have a couple of issues:

The odd power is his Immunity. It looks like you turned it into an attack, which doesn't make a lot of sense, as it seems like it is applying immunity to fire to the target. I think? Or Radiation. Both are listed. Is it both? If your goal is to be able to make someone else immune to radiation and/or fire, you are looking for the 'Usable on Others' extra. That would be a neat effect. I think this is just a misunderstanding of how those extras work though and is an easy fix.

Your attack power though... that has several issues. So first, your Ranged Attack skill is at +18. There is actually a limit put on your accuracy and damage. Basically, your chance to hit + the power rank of the damage power cannot exceed the Power Level times 2. ( to-hit + power rank = PL * 2). This means you can hit really hard or be really accurate, but not both. Your accuracy is, by itself, above the limit of 16.

I was trying to figure out why this didn't set off the Hero Lab flag, then I realized that your accuracy doesn't apply to your attack power. At all. It is an area effect and area effects don't make attack rolls. Instead, the defender makes a Dodge roll to try to avoid it. You could lower the Ranged Attack skill (by a lot) and instead put those points into an Alternate Effect that is a direct target. The Ranged Attack skill would apply to that. Maybe build your attacks as a separate array with a limit that notes you have to be in Nuclear Form.

Lastly, there's Multiattack. Your power has it. Now normally this allows you to machine-gun fire at multiple opponents. However, this is already an area attack. Is this necessary? Are you envisioning multiple lines of apocalyptic fire that streak outward from you? I'm... not sure if this is legal by the rules but I can check if that's what you want. I suspect it's not.

Here's what I would do: build an Array. Call it 'Nuclear Fire' or whatever. Put your Line Area power in it, minus the Multiattack. Then make a basic blast version, without Multiattack or Area. Then make a third version with the Multiattack. Apply your Ranged Attack skill to work with that whole Array. With the points you save on lowering Ranged Attack, I suspect you can afford this.


tumbler wrote:

Slipstream

** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **...

So the first thing is that you'll have to either lower your toughness or your parry by 1 point. That's what is triggering the Validation Error at the bottom. The easiest way would be to lower your Fighting ability (that affects your Parry Defense) by 1 point, which would free up 2 points.

At first blush, I am super hesitant about your Teleportation power. That is... quite some range on what is largely a street-level campaign, at leas to start. However! I also realize you have little else in the way of offense and this could create some interesting opportunities. So, I am willing to allow the power with the caveat that you can't use it to teleport enemies straight up. That is, you can teleport them upward a mile or two if you want to murder them and suffer the repercussions. However, if you meet some unstoppable monstrosity, you can't send then 2000 miles straight up.

Why? Well, that is pretty far. It's way, way out of the atmosphere for one thing. How far is it? Well it is roughly 2% of the way to the moon. That doesn't sound like much, but the moon is much farther away than people realize. So, you can keep the power as-is, if we understand that it is limited to the atmosphere because... gravity. Or something. Alternatively, I can say there are no limits on it if you properly play up the drama of murdering someone by sending them to outer space instead of using this power to wreck the campaign.

I was going to object to your paltry selection of skills, but once I read the background it makes sense. This kid is every person who has ever wanted to be someone special but lacked the drive to accomplish it. Given that, it makes a lot of sense. Overall, I really like it. I like the background, I like the quirkiness of it.

My advice? He's pretty good as-is, but I would take that two points you save from lowering Fighting and put it into either an 'Armored Punch' strength-based attack power or use it to bring up the accuracy of your Teleport Sickness power. Right now, that power is a little too inaccurate to be useful.


Quick questions, what superhero comics exist in this world. Are they fictional-fiction, or are they, like, Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, etc.. ?


Sobran wrote:


The only thing I pause at is the Sight and Sound power, because I don't know where it comes from. I imagine this is like Psylocke's ability to force others to not notice her? Also, the second page for this character is missing, so I wasn't able to see what the skill loadout looks like.

Version 2: This one has spent all of his points, which is good. The full sheet is also included.

I just deleted a lot of criticism because I realized that your Nuclear Form is a Multiple Power construct and not an Array. Hero Lab really doesn't make that particularly clear. Okay, so this works pretty well and is an interesting mix of power. However, you do have a couple of issues:

The odd power is his Immunity. It looks like you turned it into an attack, which doesn't make a lot of sense, as it seems like it is applying immunity to fire to...

oops on the 1st one not doing the second sheet. Sorry about that. For the second one I was trying to take the immunity and have it boost his attack power, kind of like absorbing heat and radiation energy and have it boost his attack or something like that.

As far as the attack, I can definitely reduce that. I will work on what you said as far as the blasts and stuff. Thanks for the help!


Just downloaded ski's generator so ill get you a new copy shortly


Slipstream Mk 2

So my thinking about Harry is that he is a thrill seeker and someone who just really loves having powers, and has a bit of a smart mouth. He is bright, but kind of a slacker at school. He is the kind of kid who should be recruited by the Intergalactic whatever to fly the ship that is based on a video game and save the day. He isn't a killer, and he would always choose the cool maneuver over the one that breaks the game. So he isn't going to teleport people into volcanoes or space, but he might teleport himself to a space station or even all the way to the moon, because how cool is it to walk on the moon.

I added a strike power that looks like him teleporting into the air, building up speed, and then teleporting back to ram into someone. He wouldn't try that until he figures out how tough the armor makes him. I have a few points left that I think I will spend on life support.

As for descriptors for the armor, I think the can be whatever fits the story. He has no idea what makes the suit work or where it came from, so it might be magic, or aliens, or lost super science experiment. And without the suit he is just a pretty lame kid. I also considered having the suit not work sometimes. Also, his defenses are terrible, and against mind control he is a chump. He gets hit by everything, but he is cocky about it because the armor is so tough.

Revised Crunch:

Slipstream - PL 8

Strength 2, Stamina 0, Agility 1, Dexterity 2, Fighting 0, Intellect 2, Awareness 0, Presence 3

Advantages
Close Attack 5, Teamwork

Skills
Deception 7 (+10), Expertise: Video Games 8 (+10), Persuasion 8 (+11), Technology 4 (+6), Vehicles 10 (+12)

Powers
Slipstream Armor (Removable (indestructible))
Life Support: Immunity 10 (Life Support)
Slipstream Armor: Protection 12 (+12 Toughness; Impervious [8 ranks only])
Teleport Slam: Damage 8 (kinetic, DC 23)
Teleport: Teleport Attack (+self) 11 (8 miles in a move action, carrying 3200 lbs., DC 21; Accurate, Attack (+self): Dodge, Change Direction, Change Velocity, Easy, Extended: 2000 miles in 2 move actions, Increased Mass 6, Precise, Turnabout)
Teleport Sickness: Affliction 8 (Alternate; 1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 18)
Tracking Teleport: Senses 2 (Awareness: Teleport, Tracking: Teleport Awareness 1: -1 speed rank)

Offense
Initiative +1
Grab, +5 (DC Spec 12)
Teleport Sickness: Affliction 8, +5 (DC Fort 18)
Teleport Slam: Damage 8, +5 (DC 23)
Teleport: Teleport Attack (+self) 11, +5 (DC Dog 21)
Throw, +2 (DC 17)
Unarmed, +5 (DC 17)

Complications
Identity
Motivation: Thrills

Languages
English

Defense
Dodge 4, Parry 0, Fortitude 0, Toughness 12, Will 0

Power Points
Abilities 20 + Powers 87 + Advantages 6 + Skills 19 (37 ranks) + Defenses 3 = 135

Validation: Hero: Too many PP spent (135, max 120)


Does this look better for Dr. Fusion?

Crunchy Bits:
Dr. Victor Alden
PL8[/size]

Abilities
Strength , Stamina 4, Agility 4, Dexterity 4, Fighting , Intellect 6, Awareness 2, Presence

Powers
"Fusion Form:
SPF 300000: Energy Absorption 4 [Radiation, Heat, Fire], Fusion Flight: Flight 3, Fused Immunity: Immunity 6 [Fire, Radiation, Heat], Plasma Body: Insubstantial 3,
(31 points)
Radiation Beam:
Radiation Beam: Ranged Damage 8 [Radiation]
(16 points)
Atomic Teleport:
Atomic Teleport: Teleport 3 [Energy]
(6 points)
Atom Bomb:
Atom Bomb: Blast 6 [Multiattack]
(13 points)
Heat Shield:
Heat Shield: Force Field 6
(6 points)
Atomic Size:
Atom Size: Shrinking 4 [Atomic (+1)]
(5 points)"

Equipment

Advantages
Benefit 1 [Phd], Benefit 2 [Wealth], Improved Critical 1 [Radiation Beam], Eidetic Memory

Skills
Acrobatics 2 (+6), Close Combat: Tae Bo 2 (+2), Expertise: Physics 6 (+12), Insight (+2), Investigation 2 (+8), Perception 3 (+5), Ranged Combat: Radiation Beam 2 (+6), Ranged Combat: Atom Bomb 2 (+6), Stealth: Note: Perm Shrinking mod included. (+8), Technology 4 (+10)

Offense
Initiative +4
"Radiation Beam +6, Damage 8
Atom Bomb +6, Damage 6"

Defense
Dodge 6, Parry 0
Toughness 4 (Def Roll 0), Fortitude 4, Will 2

Power Points
Abilities 40 + Powers 77 + Advantages 5 + Skills 13 + Defenses 0 = Total 135

Complications

Design Notes

Haven't done Complications yet but it'll be hunted and one other.


*Taps chin*

...

I think I still need to come up with some kind of superhero name for Atsuko. XD I'll be thinking on that.


I'm going to have to tweak Anthem a bit, try to squeeze a few more points into skills. I'm envisioning her as a Latina-American who did some time in the sandbox of Afghanistan. Loud explosions trigger some ptsd flashbacks, mostly due to the explosion that triggered her powers, got her the purple heart and an honorable discharge, and left her comatose for almost a year.


Anthem - PL 8
Josita "Jo" Alvarez

Crunch:

Strength 6, Stamina 6, Agility 6, Dexterity 6, Fighting 8, Intellect 2, Awareness 4, Presence 2

Advantages
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Hide in Plain Sight, Languages 2, Power Attack, Takedown, Uncanny Dodge

Skills
Acrobatics 1 (+7), Athletics 2 (+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+10), Deception 1 (+3), Expertise: History 1 (+3), Expertise: Military 1 (+3), Expertise: Politics 1 (+3), Insight 1 (+5), Intimidation 1 (+3), Investigation 2 (+4), Perception 6 (+10), Persuasion 1 (+3), Ranged Attack (Rifle) 1 (+7), Stealth 2 (+8), Technology 1 (+3), Treatment 1 (+3), Vehicles 1 (+7)

Powers
Enhanced Metabolism (Enhanced Agility 3, Enhanced Dexterity 3, Enhanced Stamina 3, Enhanced Strength 3, Regeneration 1, Speed 6)

Hypnotic Song: Concentration Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 6 (1st degree: Entranced, 2nd degree: Compelled, 3rd degree: Controlled, Resisted by: Will, DC 16; Perception Area: DC 16 - Hearing, Concentration, Cumulative; Instant Recovery)
. . Sonic Blast: Damage 9 (Alternate; sonic, DC 24; Increased Range: ranged)
. . Sonic Sleep: Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 8 (Alternate; 3rd degree: Asleep, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 18; Perception Area: DC 18 - Hearing, Cumulative, Subtle: subtle; Limited Degree (third only))
. . Sonic Vertigo: Cumulative Affliction 8 (Alternate; 1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 18; Accurate 1: +2, Cumulative, Subtle)
. . Sonic Well(Silence: Concealment 1 (Linked; Sense - Hearing), Sonar: Senses 3 (Linked; Accurate: Hearing, Ultra-hearing), Sonic Immunity: Immunity 5 (Linked; Damage Effect: Sonic), Sound Analysis: Senses 6 (Linked; Acute (Type): All Auditory, Analytical (Type): All Auditory, Counters Illusion: Auditory), Ultrasonic Hearing: Senses 1 (Linked; Ultra-hearing))

Shield (Removable (indestructible))
. . Deflect: Deflect 8 (Reduced Range: close)
. . . . Strike: Strength-based Damage 2 (Alternate; DC 23; Multiattack)

Offense
Initiative +6
Grab, +8 (DC Spec 16)
Hypnotic Song: Concentration Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 6 (DC Will 16)
Sonic Blast: Damage 9, +6 (DC 24)
Sonic Sleep: Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 8 (DC Fort 18)
Sonic Vertigo: Cumulative Affliction 8, +8 (DC Fort 18)
Strike: Strength-based Damage 2, +8 (DC 23)
Throw, +6 (DC 21)
Unarmed, +10 (DC 21)

Complications
Flashbacks
Motivation: Patriotism

Languages
Dari (Afghan Persian), English, Spanish

Defense
Dodge 6, Parry 8, Fortitude 6, Toughness 6, Will 4

Power Points
Abilities 56 + Powers 58 + Advantages 8 + Skills 13 (26 ranks) + Defenses 0 = 135

Story:

Jo Alvarez enlisted straight out of high school. Her parents were proudly legal immigrants from Brazil, and Jo was proud to serve her country in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Over her two tours in Afghanistan, she saw a lot of shit. She used to joke that the "Sandbox" ought to be called the "Litterbox" instead. Jokes were one way she made it through the boredom and terror that went hand in hand with being a US soldier.

Her service ended with a bang: she spotted an i.e.d., shoving her fellow soldier Daniel Tursman out of its way just as it went off. Daniel was spared the brunt of the blast, taking shrapnel to his lower torso. Jo took the blast head on. Even with her flak, she should have been dead.

But Jo was raised in the Emerald City. You know, the place where them freaks have been showing up. Turns out, Jo was something of a freak herself. Not only did she survive, albeit in a coma for over a year, her body rebuilt itself stronger than ever.

The military had already signed her off as a casualty and given her an honorable discharge. Her parents had moved her back home, and her coma was spent in the Emerald City VA Hospital.

Jo still has flashbacks to that fateful day, and other memories of the war that cause her nightmares. Loud noises can set them off, especially noises resembling explosions. Her own sonic attacks seem to be an exception.

Tursman visited her many times during her year of coma, but disappeared three months before she awoke. A week after she recovered, she received a package with no return address. Inside was a note and a strange, ancient shield with an eagle emblazoned on its crest. The simply note read To A., from T.. The shield is of an unknown, lightweight metal which seems to be indestructible.

Taking the name Anthem, Jo has decided to serve her city with the diligence she served her country. Not all of these people with powers are going to use them for good, and the police of Emerald City are little better able to handle them than the Afghan police were able to handle the insurgents and terrorists there.

I got rid of her immunities (and improved crit with the shield), gave her some languages, and tweaked up her skills to better fit her background. I also cleaned up her powers a bit so they read better.


tumbler wrote:

Slipstream Mk 2

<snip>

Looking good! I do have to make one last note. My apologies, as I should have caught this the first time around. I think I'm going to have to have you take Turnaround off of that Teleport power... Given the range on it and the fact that it is Accurate, I think it is just too easily abused. He would be effectively immune to the vast majority of opponents and that isn't fun.

Maybe he can add it in later, but he needs to be in range long enough to actually be shot at, even if those bullets are completely ineffective. This is another edge case though, where I'm willing to say that he can keep it so long as you concede Accurate doesn't extend as far as saying, "I teleport next to Dr. Meow and punch the kitty litter out of him, even though I can't see where he is on the battlefield." You'll have to be relatively close to target your attacks. Even then, I'm iffy. I'd be more comfortable if you just lost the Turnaround.


Jaster Kite wrote:
Quick questions, what superhero comics exist in this world. Are they fictional-fiction, or are they, like, Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, etc.. ?

Let's just say it is our world, save that Emerald City exists in it. And... you know, people with powers, as of about a year ago. I'm not selling this to anybody, so it doesn't really matter if you use copyrighted material.


imimrtl wrote:

Does this look better for Dr. Fusion?

** spoiler omitted **

Haven't done Complications yet but it'll be hunted and one other.

It's looking a lot better. It still needs some work, but that's okay. I'll kind of walk you through it.

1) So I see you found the Absorption power. That is indeed what you needed to do what you were looking to do. Those three things you list (Fire, Radiation, Heat) are pretty closely linked, but you'll still need the first rank of the Variable Descriptor to have it work with all three. I also need to know that the Energy Absorption is boosting. This is essentially an Enhanced Trait with the Fades flaw and the Reaction (when hit with X) extra. I need to know what that trait is. Strength? Dexterity? His energy attack? Also, it's worth noting that you are still confined to PL limits, even when his Energy Absorption is in effect. That doesn't let you clear the limit, though you could say he gets less accurate when that is in effect to balance it, I suppose.

2) Atom Bomb: Given the name of this power, I'm wondering if you might be trying to create an area effect power. If so, you want the Area (Burst) extra. Multiattack is more like machine-gun fire than an explosion. Also, you could throw this into an array with Radiation Beam (or use an Alternate Effect, I'm not sure how your sheet presents it).

3) Fused Immunity: This combo actually costs 12 points. Radiation and Heat are both Environment Conditions that cost 1 point each to be immune to. However, fire is a Common Damage Descriptor, which costs 10 points.

4) Atomic Size: You actually have to have 20 (!!) ranks of Shrinking to be able to add the Atomic extra. It's... quite tiny. Also, I noticed something in your skills about permanent shrinking, I think. Is this power intended to be permanent? Based on the cost you are showing, it looks likes you included it but it didn't show up on the sheet for some reason.

5) Defenses: Your Heat Shield isn't figuring into your Toughness for some reason. With that included, it looks like you are where you should be on the Dodge/Toughness scale. Did you intend your Parry to be 0 though? You're also way under par on the Fortitude/Will axis.

6) Complications: Don't forget that your other Complication should be a Motivation.


Anthem wrote:

Anthem - PL 8

Josita "Jo" Alvarez

** spoiler omitted **...

Looking good! I like the concept. The powers are looking better. Also, a very nice skill selection. A lot of people are kind of letting that go by the wayside. Nice to see that you didn't. Just a few notes:

1) Hypnotic Song: I was initially pretty hesitant about the Cumulative mind control stuff you've got going on here. That said, between Instant Recovery and the fact that it requires Concentration, I think it is actually pretty well balanced. One note: you don't have Selective, so you're going to be mind controlling all of your friends and any bystanders in earshot. Just making sure you're aware.

2) Sonic Blast: This is fine as it is. I only bring it up because I could see an alternate version that has the Diminished Range flaw to shorten it a bit, but paired up with a couple ranks of Penetrating. Sort of a short-ranged resonance effect that is hard to resist. I think I've been watching too much Arrow...

3) Sonic Sleep: The high DC and Cumulative pairing makes me pause. I think it is balanced by the fact that you'll put your friends to sleep, as above. If you were to add Selective though, I would have to give this power another look. I suspect you'd have to lower the DC enough to afford it that it'd still be fine though.

4) Sonic Vertigo: I don't see the Increased Range extra on this power, which would mean it is melee range. I imagine this is unintentional. If it is intended to be melee range, your chance to hit is way off. It should be 6 (Fighting) + 2 (Accurate) = +10. This would also put you over the PL Limit. More on this later.

5) Sonic Immunity: I can't remember if I ever brought this up and I'm too lazy to look now, but: did you intend this immunity to be part of the array? It won't function any time you attack or use anything else in this array. Just a heads up.

6) Shield (Deflect): There was some issue with the first incarnation of this power, but I forget what it was and it's fixed now. So. Solved.

7) Shield (Strike): I was going to say that this is over the PL Limit. That's what I was referencing earlier. I just noticed, however, that your impressive Close Combat skill doesn't apply to this, so it's perfect as-is.

8) Defenses: This is the only real, actual issue out of all of this, aside from Sonic Vertigo missing an extra. Your defenses are too low for this power level. If you bump up Toughness two points, you'll be mostly okay. I would advise also bringing up the Defenses on the Fortitude/Will axis, but that is up to you. I'll accept it as-is. Just be aware that you'll be hosed if you encounter a psychic and not-quite-hosed-but-not-in-good-shape if you encounter someone with poisons, toxins, or other Fortitude effects.


Ok so I made some changes and I have 5 points left. I want to add an effect to my Atom Bomb and I thought it would be cool to fry gadgets in the area of effect like the EMP burst from an atomic explosion. Is that something that can be done and if so how could I do it?


Given just how MUCH technology exists in modern life... I wonder if having an EMP burst would actually count as a complication or drawback of some kind. XD You could fry allies' phones, do lots of damage to the electronics of any building you're fighting, and generally have all sorts of unintended consequences.


Updated:
[size=150]Dr. Victor Alden
PL8[/size]

Abilities
Strength , Stamina 4, Agility 4, Dexterity 4, Fighting , Intellect 5, Awareness 2, Presence

Powers
"Fusion Form:
SPF 300000: Energy Absorption 4 [Radiation, Heat, Fire], Fusion Flight: Flight 3, Fused Immunity: Immunity 6 [Fire, Radiation, Heat; Fire immunity], Plasma Body: Insubstantial 3,
(37 points)
Radiation Burn:
Radiation Beam: Ranged Damage 8 [Radiation]
Alt: Atom Bomb: Ranged Damage 6 [Area (Burst)]
(17 points)
Rejuvenating Flames:
Absorbtion Boost: Regeneration 5
(5 points)
Heat Shield:
Heat Shield: Force Field 6, Protection 6 [Sustained (0)]
(6 points)"

Equipment

Advantages
Benefit 1 [Phd], Benefit 2 [Wealth], Improved Critical 1 [Radiation Beam], Eidetic Memory

Skills
Acrobatics 2 (+6), Close Combat: Tae Bo 2 (+2), Expertise: Physics 6 (+11), Insight (+2), Investigation 2 (+7), Perception 3 (+5), Ranged Combat: Radiation Beam 2 (+6), Ranged Combat: Atom Bomb 2 (+6), Stealth (+4), Technology 3 (+8)

Offense
Initiative +4
"Radiation Beam +6, Damage 8
Atom Bomb +6, Damage 6"

Defense
Dodge 5, Parry 4
Toughness 10 (Def Roll 0), Fortitude 8, Will 3

Power Points
Abilities 38 + Powers 65 + Advantages 5 + Skills 12 + Defenses 10 = Total 130

Complications
"Responsibility: Feels he needs to use his newfound powers to the betterment of mankind. It is the same reason he was pursuing fusion energy in the first place.
Enemy: Dr. Fusion is being hunted by a secret federal organization that wants to use his powers as a weapon."

So here is Dr. Fusion. I think he works now. I'm starting to get the hand of the system a little better. I got rid of shrinking because honestly it wasn't really necessary and allocated the points a bit different.


Rednal wrote:
Given just how MUCH technology exists in modern life... I wonder if having an EMP burst would actually count as a complication or drawback of some kind. XD You could fry allies' phones, do lots of damage to the electronics of any building you're fighting, and generally have all sorts of unintended consequences.

Lol true but I can see some really fun aspects to that too and I figured it would only be within he blast radius.


Sobran wrote:
tumbler wrote:

Slipstream Mk 2

<snip>

Looking good! I do have to make one last note. My apologies, as I should have caught this the first time around. I think I'm going to have to have you take Turnaround off of that Teleport power... Given the range on it and the fact that it is Accurate, I think it is just too easily abused. He would be effectively immune to the vast majority of opponents and that isn't fun.

That is not a problem. I was just trying to frontload as much as possible since the system advances pretty slowly and even more so in PbP. I'll drop Turnaround.


So, did anyone ever find a good character sheet that DOESN'T auto-fill? I don't like that Excel one posted earlier, it's way too automated for my tastes.

The Myth-weavers 3e one is not as well laid out as the 2e version. I assumed it would be similar.

For now, I'll just put it all in a spoiler.

Cliff Briskly (Meteor Man):

Abilities:

Strength: 2
Stamina: 3
Dexterity: 5
Agility: 5
Fighting: 5
Intellect: 1
Awareness: 2
Presence: 3

Abilities total: 52

Attack and Defenses

Dodge: 10
Parry: 10
Toughness: 3
Fortitude: 10
Will: 10

Attack Bonuses:
Melee: +5
Ranged: +6

Defenses total: 25

Powers:

-----------------------------------
Weather Condition Immunity
Immunity
10 ranks

Meteor Man is unaffected by weather effects (if I need to pick specifics: Electricity, high pressure, low pressure, heat, cold, wind resistance)

10 points
------------------------------------
Thunderbolt
Blast 10, Affliction 5 (Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed) [Linked]

Bolt of lightning that also impairs Meteor Man's foes, scrambling their brains with electricity!

25 points
-------------------------------------
Flight
5 ranks + Aquatic

Meteor Man can summon wind currents strong enough to carry him from place to place, or ride slipstreams in the water!

(I think I'm reading Ranks and Measures right and this gives me flight of about 60 miles per hour?)

11 points
-------------------------------------
Supercharged Senses
Senses 5

Ultrahearing, Direction Sense, Distance Sense, Extended Vision and hearing

5 points
-------------------------------------
General Weather Control
Variable 2

Meteor Man can produce a variety of other weather related effects, too many to list in this small bio!

14 points
-------------------------------------
Electric Regeneration
Regeneration 5 (Persistent, requires electrical Source)

Meteor Man can recover from any injury! ...Provided he has a convenient electrical outlet or something.

5 points
-------------------------------------

Skills:

Meteorological Expertise +7 (6 ranks)
Persuasion +13 (10 ranks)

8 points
-------------------------------------
Advantages:

Ranged attack (1 rank)
Favored Environment (Storms)
Improved Critical: Thunderbolt (4 ranks)
--------------------------------------

Total points: 161/135

Little over budget. Need to figure out how to trim the fat.

I don't have enough experience with the system to know what attack/defense values I should be shooting for (I have made only one other character for 3e, and he had little in the way of powers). Is Thunderbolt overly powerful, so I can trim there? Are my ability scores too high? Maybe I should drop Variable to 1 rank.

Still working on story, but I know he's a famous news weatherman, and his identity as Meteor Man is public (as one of his Complications).


Something that helped me do my sheets before I found that fill-in excel sheet was specifically writing out how much pp per rank my powers cost, so that if a rank here or there needed to be trimmed, it could be done more easily. A little unnecessary in the long run, it mostly helped with Dynamic arrays.

Here is a character I put together over a year ago on a whim. I carefully counted out my pp totals per power as well as section, so math errors were fairly easy to solve.

Your Will and your Fortitude defenses are breaking power level limits, actually. If you want to keep them even, you'll need to pull 2 points from each, bringing their sum to 16. At that point, I would recommend bumping Toughness up to 6 somehow. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what I can recommend you trim. His abilities look maybe a little too good for someone who told the weather for a living before taking up heroing. Also, you could probably make your Regeneration power an alt of your Thunderbolt; seems to make sense, seeing how Regeneration is a slow recovery. I've got the picture in my head of him retreating from a fight and jamming a fork into a random outlet to rest, so alting off of your offense makes some sense.

Apart from any issues, I love the character. Should be fun to play with!


Ah, I completely forgot Will and Fort were tied too. Nice catch. That trims 4 points.

I set his abilities a bit higher because usually people with superpowers get a bit of a boost. I think I'll drop Fighting to 0 though. Forgot that applies only to melee attacks.

So that's -14. That leaves 12 to trim.

Would putting the Regen as an alt make it any cheaper? I thought alts were the same price. That's basically the image I was going for (think Ginji Amano from the Getbackers, or Cole McGrath from Infamous), but I also wanted the whole "Bring lightning down from the middle of a storm" image going. It'd probably need to be a more hefty Regen for that to work anyway.

Edit: Okay, read the Alternate Effect thing. Apparently I can spend 1 extra point to make Thunderbolt swappable to Regeneration 25 (!!!)?


tumbler wrote:
Sobran wrote:
tumbler wrote:

Slipstream Mk 2

<snip>

Looking good! I do have to make one last note. My apologies, as I should have caught this the first time around. I think I'm going to have to have you take Turnaround off of that Teleport power... Given the range on it and the fact that it is Accurate, I think it is just too easily abused. He would be effectively immune to the vast majority of opponents and that isn't fun.

That is not a problem. I was just trying to frontload as much as possible since the system advances pretty slowly and even more so in PbP. I'll drop Turnaround.

Understandable. That's part of why I gave more points to start with. I'm also thinking about setting the XP rate a bit higher to at least partially offset the slow rate of online play. Thanks for being cool about the adjustment and the required restrictions on the attack portion of Teleport. You seem to get how this could break play if abused, and I appreciate that.


DM Immortal wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

So here is Dr. Fusion. I think he works now. I'm starting to get the hand of the system a little better. I got rid of shrinking because honestly it wasn't really necessary and allocated the points a bit different.

Rednal's suggestion could be represented by taking the Accident Complication, incidentally. Maybe when he fights, Dr. Fusion tends to knock out swaths of electrical infrastructure.

So I'm going to take a step back here and explain a couple things about how powers are built in the Mutants and Masterminds system. For the record, this design philosophy also applies in the Hero System (and Champions, which is really the same thing), as well as a couple of other systems. I think you're actually starting to get the hang of this, but bear with me. I'm going somewhere.

There are a set of 'power effects' in the game, which are used, together with extras and flaws, to build powers. There is a design philosophy that is sometimes used, called 'reasoning from effect'. I want my character to drain someone's life. How do I best represent that? Is it Damage? Is it Weakness: Stamina? It largely depends on how you envision that power working. I think you get this.

However, Mutants and Masterminds also has a few pre-built powers included in the core book in sidebars. These are meant as examples, to help a prospective player build common powers using the available power effects. Since you are, I suspect, working without an actual book, you can't see the difference between these two things and that can be confusing.

Now you're probably wondering why I'm telling you all of this. Here's why: Energy Absorption is actually one of these pre-built powers. It doesn't exist, per se, as a power effect. It is built using existing effects and presented as an example in a sidebar. So what is it actually? It is actually any power, with two specific modifications.

Based on your latest sheet, it looks like you intend the Energy Absorption to boost your Regeneration. I think. You tell me. If this is the case, here's how you need to build it, so we are both clear on what you want:

1) Create your base Regeneration power. This is how your Regeneration functions when it is not boosted. Give it 1 rank or whatever.

2) Create a second Regeneration power. This will probably have many more ranks than the first one. Now, I'm not going to tell you how to build it by the book. I took a look at their build and I had forgotten that I disagree with how their version functions. So instead you're going to add the flaw 'Fades' and 'Limit: after being struck with a Fire, Radiation, or Heat attack'. Congratulations, you now have an Energy Absorption power! If your sheet has the zero-cost extra 'Stacks With', go ahead and add that too, but it doesn't matter if it is missing.

You can actually skip the first step if Dr. Fusion has no base Regeneration, absent the Absorption power. With this build, you could have 12 ranks of Regeneration for a whopping 4 points, which is a pretty good deal. It will fade at the rate of 1 rank per round until it is gone. Note that you can't use your own abilities to trigger the Regeneration, because that makes no narrative sense.

Moving on!

Immunity is still listed as costing 6 points. It costs 12 points for the immunities you have listed. See my previous reply.

Atom Bomb looks good. You can actually save yourself 1 point by losing the Ranged Combat associated with Atom Bomb. Area attacks don't make or need attack rolls, so the skill points are wasted. If you actually just spent the points on Radiation Beam and this is just a display issue because Atom Bomb is an alternate, ignore this paragraph.

Nice skill selection by the way.

If you free up the points anywhere, you should probably bump up Will a few points, but I won't require it. Just keep in mind that he'd be fodder for a psychic.


Rynjin wrote:

Ah, I completely forgot Will and Fort were tied too. Nice catch. That trims 4 points.

I set his abilities a bit higher because usually people with superpowers get a bit of a boost. I think I'll drop Fighting to 0 though. Forgot that applies only to melee attacks.

So that's -14. That leaves 12 to trim.

Would putting the Regen as an alt make it any cheaper? I thought alts were the same price. That's basically the image I was going for (think Ginji Amano from the Getbackers, or Cole McGrath from Infamous), but I also wanted the whole "Bring lightning down from the middle of a storm" image going. It'd probably need to be a more hefty Regen for that to work anyway.

Edit: Okay, read the Alternate Effect thing. Apparently I can spend 1 extra point to make Thunderbolt swappable to Regeneration 25 (!!!)?

I see Crazy Lou already helped you (thanks again Lou!), so I'll just touch on what he didn't. Your Immunity needs 3 more points. Electricity counts as a Common Damage Descriptor and costs 10 points. High Pressure, Heat, and Cold count as one each. I figure we'll call Low Pressure as a freebie on High Pressure. If you want him to be able to survive actual Vacuum, that'll be one more point. Wind Resistance we can just handwave. The exception being that if you want him to be able to stand stock still in, say, hurricane winds... we'll need to actually build that. I would call wind an Uncommon Descriptor at 2 points, if you want full immunity to gust attacks and the like.

With all options, including Vacuum and Wind immunities, this power would cost 16 points. You can pick and choose what you deem necessary, obviously.

Thunderbolt actually costs 30 points, unfortunately. This is because Affliction is a Close Attack (melee range) by default, so you'll have to add Increased Range to get it to work correctly with the Blast portion. Also, I'll need to know if they resist the Affliction with Fortitude or Will.

Now for the good news. You can actually build your Regeneration with 30 ranks for a single point. So. You know. That's a thing. This would heal 3 bruises/conditions per round which, while frightening, seems completely appropriate.

I love that this character has enhanced senses. I haven't seen a lot of builds that include them so far and I think it fits the character really well.

As far as trimming, Thunderbolt is right about where it should be. I would suggest lowering his Agility a bit and taking his defenses back down to their base. Then, add Enhanced Trait (Dodge and Parry) to take them back up to where they were. Then apply the flaw 'Limit: only while flying'. That'll save you about 5 points on the defenses alone and I think it's a pretty fitting limitation.


I keep forgetting Affliction starts as Close. Even had to look that up when I was doing Joe. I do like the image of calling down lightning upon himself to heal even more than just mimicking a toddler who discovered the outlet. If that's the case, I'd recommend swapping Regeneration over to Healing (with the appropriate Self Only flaw). Regeneration works over time, but if you zap yourself you're only electrified for a short moment. The biggest downside to that is that (I believe) Healing is subject to PL limits, so take that into consideration.


Thank you so much for the help Sobran! This system is a bit different than anything I've played before as it is sooooo customizable. I like it but it does make the learning curve a little steeper.

For Immunity: It's weird as the sheet is listing the 12 points as spent so I'm not sure what's going on with that.

Ok so I did what you said and added the energy absorption as a regeneration effect.

I did a couple of other things as well. Please let me know where I made mistakes this time lol.

Updated again:

[size=150]Dr. Victor Alden
PL8[/size]

Abilities
Strength , Stamina 4, Agility 4, Dexterity 4, Fighting , Intellect 5, Awareness 2, Presence

Powers
"Fusion Form:
Fusion Flight: Flight 3, Fused Immunity: Immunity 6 [Fire, Radiation, Heat; Fire immunity]
(18 points)
Radiation Burn:
Radiation Beam: Blast 8 [Radiation]
Alt: Atom Bomb: Damage 6 [Area (Burst)]
(17 points)
Photosynthesis:
Photosynthesis: Regeneration 1,
(1 points)
Rejuvenating Flames:
Rejuvenating Flames: Regeneration 12 [Fades, Limit (After being struck by Fire, Radiation, or Heat attack)]
(4 points)
Heat Shield:
Heat Shield: Force Field 6, Protection 6 [Sustained (0)]
(6 points)
Your Vitamin D is Low:
Your Vitamin D is LOW: Healing 5 [Resurrection]
(15 points)
Phoenix Rising:
Phoenix Rising: Immortality 8 [Limited (Submerged in Water)]
(8 points)"

Equipment

Advantages
Benefit 1 [Phd], Benefit 2 [Wealth], Improved Critical 1 [Radiation Beam], Eidetic Memory

Skills
Acrobatics 2 (+6), Close Combat: Tae Bo 2 (+2), Expertise: Physics 6 (+11), Insight (+2), Investigation 2 (+7), Perception 3 (+5), Ranged Combat: Radiation Beam 2 (+6), Stealth (+4), Technology 3 (+8)

Offense
Initiative +4
"Radiation Beam +6, Damage 8
Tae Bo +2, Damage 0"

Defense
Dodge 5, Parry 4
Toughness 10 (Def Roll 0), Fortitude 8, Will 5

Power Points
Abilities 38 + Powers 69 + Advantages 5 + Skills 11 + Defenses 12 = Total 135

Complications
"Responsibility: Feels he needs to use his newfound powers to the betterment of mankind. It is the same reason he was pursuing fusion energy in the first place.
Enemy: Dr. Fusion is being hunted by a secret federal organization that wants to use his powers as a weapon."
Responsibility: Feels he needs to use his newfound powers to the betterment of mankind. It is the same reason he was pursuing fusion energy in the first place.

Design Notes


I feel slightly like a cheater, because I use Hero Lab and the system does, like, 90% of the work for me. XD And tells me when something is blatantly wrong.

But yeah, this definitely seems like the kind of game where building a character for flavor is best, rather than trying to perfectly min-max stuff.

(Personally, I tried to have a little bit of everything - offense, defense, utility, movement, and sensory options, plus social skills for out-of-combat situations.)


Sobran wrote:


Looking good! I like the concept. The powers are looking better. Also, a very nice skill selection. A lot of people are kind of letting that go by the wayside. Nice to see that you didn't. Just a few notes:

Yes, I picked out skills that made sense to me for her background, plus a few that will help her be a superhero. I might have done more, but "its all about the points, yo."

Sobran wrote:


1) Hypnotic Song: One note: you don't have Selective, so you're going to be mind controlling all of your friends and any bystanders in earshot. Just making sure you're aware.3) Sonic Sleep: similar notes

Yeah, the idea on these two is crowd control/dispersal/defusing of difficult/hostage/panic situations. They're definitely not intended to be used in the middle of combat as far as I can predict. More of the "I want to leave in a calm and orderly fashion" "I want to leave in a calm and orderly fashion" "I want to leave in a calm and orderly fashion" kind of way. Heh, and the "everyone sleep now" lets her make her escape harmlessly if the police are trying to arrest her or something.

Sobran wrote:


2) Sonic Blast: This is fine as it is. I only bring it up because I could see an alternate version that has the Diminished Range flaw to shorten it a bit, but paired up with a couple ranks of Penetrating. Sort of a short-ranged resonance effect that is hard to resist. I think I've been watching too much Arrow...

That sort of alt is the thing she's likely to pick up with experience after shoring up her defenses.

Sobran wrote:


4) Sonic Vertigo: I don't see the Increased Range extra on this power, which would mean it is melee range. I imagine this is unintentional.

Hmm, yeah, that's a problem. It was supposed to be ranged, so let me look into how I have to tweak it.

Sobran wrote:


5) Sonic Immunity:did you intend this immunity to be part of the array? It won't function any time you attack or use anything else in this array. Just a heads up.

Yes, that's intentional. The concept of the "Sonic Well" ability is that she focuses the sonic energy in the area and in her body into a focused absorption field, where she can analyze and absorb everything around her sonically. In order to protect her from being overwhelmed, she becomes immune to dangerous sonics.

Sobran wrote:


8) Defenses: This is the only real, actual issue out of all of this, aside from Sonic Vertigo missing an extra. Your defenses are too low for this power level. If you bump up Toughness two points, you'll be mostly okay. I would advise also bringing up the Defenses on the Fortitude/Will axis, but that is up to you. I'll accept it as-is. Just be aware that you'll be hosed if you encounter a psychic and not-quite-hosed-but-not-in-good-shape if you encounter someone with poisons, toxins, or other Fortitude effects.

Building a well-rounded character can be a bit of a challenge, even with the extra points. The RNG to some degree trumps actual defenses/attacks at this PL. That being said, I'll see if I can find somewhere to tweak out a few more points. Probably look at attributes and see if there's anywhere I can shave.

I'll also have to see how extending vertigo's range affects things.


Crazy Lou wrote:
The biggest downside to that is that (I believe) Healing is subject to PL limits, so take that into consideration.

Surprisingly, Healing isn't governed by PL limits. I'm glad you brought it up though, as I should probably scrutinize any ridiculously high-rank Healing power pretty closely. I think a self-only one has pretty limited potential for abuse though.

DM Immortal wrote:
Thank you so much for the help Sobran! This system is a bit different than anything I've played before as it is sooooo customizable. I like it but it does make the learning curve a little steeper.

No problem! I had a lot of trouble wrapping my head around this style of character creation when I first started playing Hero System many years ago. It takes some getting used to.

DM Immortal wrote:
For Immunity: It's weird as the sheet is listing the 12 points as spent so I'm not sure what's going on with that.

I'm glad you mentioned that. When I add up the point cost for your Fusion Form, it comes out correctly. It looks like it's just a display issue.

You certainly did change up your powers on this one. I don't object to the resurrection ability, but I'd like to hear your justification for it. Radiation abilities seem like an odd fit for that. Again, I'm not saying no. Just sell it to me. He also has self-resurrection, so it's consistent at least. One question: is the self-resurrection intended to work only when he's submerged in water? I just want to make sure that you didn't get the wording backward and meant it works unless he's submerged in water.

I'm inclined to approve this version, pending a background. Good job Immortal. I know you worked hard on this.


Rednal wrote:

I feel slightly like a cheater, because I use Hero Lab and the system does, like, 90% of the work for me. XD And tells me when something is blatantly wrong.

But yeah, this definitely seems like the kind of game where building a character for flavor is best, rather than trying to perfectly min-max stuff.

(Personally, I tried to have a little bit of everything - offense, defense, utility, movement, and sensory options, plus social skills for out-of-combat situations.)

Hah! I feel the same way. That's why I plan on turning everyone's character into a Hero Lab file at the end anyway: it will check totals and PL limits way more thoroughly than I ever could.


Anthem wrote:
Building a well-rounded character can be a bit of a challenge, even with the extra points. The RNG to some degree trumps actual defenses/attacks at this PL.

That's understandable. I'm more worried about the Toughness - Parry/Dodge axis than the Fortitude - Will axis. If you're weak to mind controllers, fine. If you can't take a punch, I imagine that will look odd narratively. It looks like she's coming together well!


I think the system gets easier when you focus on creativity. XD There are multiple ways to raise most things in the game - try thinking about what your character's abilities are, then how that could be used to create a thematically appropriate defense. For example, Atsuko does things with dimensions, so because of weird physics that apply when she's in a defensive mindset, a lot of attacks won't reach her. Other people might have instantaneous regeneration (with Toughness penalties flavored as some kind of stamina), or literal physical shields, or basically anything else you can imagine.

You don't need to think outside the box, because there is no box, only you. Or something. XD


Yay! thanks Sobran! Ok so the resurrection I had kind of coming from the idea of the phoenix and the renewing power of the sun. Essentially it was supposed to work unless he is submerged in water so basically if he gets killed and submerged in water before the resurrection time is up, hes permadead. If he is killed WHILE submerged in water, he is permadead. If he is killed but is not submerged then he can resurrect in a spontaneous combustion like event where he emerges, naked, but alive. As for the water portion, it is the heat and fire energy that allows the resurrection and the Radiation instead of destroying his cells, reinvigorates them to the point of jump start.

Oh also, that healing 5 resurrection was supposed to be healing others. Is that not right? Essentially it is similar to the way he resurrects himself, a burst of energy jump starting the cellular processes. Since the energy of the body is not entirely electrical but works on thermal as well as certain forms of uv radiation (i.e. the production of Vitamin D) I thought it was a neat twist on it.


Sobran wrote:


I see Crazy Lou already helped you (thanks again Lou!), so I'll just touch on what he didn't. Your Immunity needs 3 more points. Electricity counts as a Common Damage Descriptor and costs 10 points. High Pressure, Heat, and Cold count as one each. I figure we'll call Low Pressure as a freebie on High Pressure. If you want him to be able to survive actual Vacuum, that'll be one more point. Wind Resistance we can just handwave. The exception being that if you want him to be able to stand stock still in, say, hurricane winds... we'll need to actually build that. I would call wind an Uncommon Descriptor at 2 points, if you want full immunity to gust attacks and the like.

With all options, including Vacuum and Wind immunities, this power would cost 16 points. You can pick and choose what you deem necessary, obviously.

Hm, that's a bit of a bummer. It put electricity in both categories (the 5 point and 10 point) so I'd hoped it was the former (given 10 points apparently gives immunity to "Anything with the Weather Descriptor" all on its own). I'll think on it.

Sobran wrote:
Thunderbolt actually costs 30 points, unfortunately. This is because Affliction is a Close Attack (melee range) by default, so you'll have to add Increased Range to get it to work correctly with the Blast portion. Also, I'll need to know if they resist the Affliction with Fortitude or Will.

Fort would fit best, I think. The idea is that the lightning hits them and, well, does what lightning does.

Sobran wrote:
Now for the good news. You can actually build your Regeneration with 30 ranks for a single point. So. You know. That's a thing. This would heal 3 bruises/conditions per round which, while frightening, seems completely appropriate.

Yeah, that is pretty rad. Fight him on a clear day and he's pretty easy to take out, but in a storm? Nearly impossible to keep down. Exactly what I was hoping for.

Sobran wrote:
I love that this character has enhanced senses. I haven't seen a lot of builds that include them so far and I think it fits the character really well.

Yeah, I love all the senses you can get. All of the characters I've made so far have put some points in them. My 2e character (who tumbler is GMing for) has those as pretty much his only overt powers, and a lot of them.

Sobran wrote:
As far as trimming, Thunderbolt is right about where it should be. I would suggest lowering his Agility a bit and taking his defenses back down to their base. Then, add Enhanced Trait (Dodge and Parry) to take them back up to where they were. Then apply the flaw 'Limit: only while flying'. That'll save you about 5 points on the defenses alone and I think it's a pretty fitting limitation.

Hokay.

So:

-5 Fighting (-10 points)
Reset defenses to base (-25 points)
-2 Agility (-4 points)
+5 Thunderbolt (+5 points)
+1 Regeneration alternate (+1 point)
-5 Regeneration (-5 points)

Total: -38 points

123/135 points

Then new Immunity:

Electricity (10)
High/Low pressure (1)
Heat/Cold (2)
Wind effects (2)

= 15 points

+5

128/135

Enhanced Trait:

Dodge +7 (3.5 points)
Parry +2 (1 point)
Fort +3 (1.5 points)
Will +2 (4 points)

= 135/135

Meteor Man 2.0:
Abilities:

Strength: 2
Stamina: 3
Dexterity: 5
Agility: 3
Fighting: 0
Intellect: 1
Awareness: 2
Presence: 3

Abilities total: 52

Attack and Defenses:

Dodge: 10
Parry: 2
Toughness: 3
Fortitude: 6
Will: 4

Attack Bonuses:
Melee: +5
Ranged: +6

Defenses total: 25

Powers:

-----------------------------------
Wind Defense
Enhanced Trait 7 (Limited: only while flying)

Dodge +7 (3.5 points)
Parry +2 (1 point)
Fort +3 (1.5 points)
Will +2 (1 point)

-----------------------------------
Weather Condition Immunity
Immunity
10 ranks

Meteor Man is unaffected by weather effects (Electricity, high pressure, low pressure, heat, cold, wind)

15 points
------------------------------------
Thunderbolt
Blast 10, Affliction 5 (Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed. Fort negates.) [Linked]

Bolt of lightning that also impairs Meteor Man's foes, scrambling their brains with electricity!

30 points
-------------------------------------
Flight
5 ranks + Aquatic

Meteor Man can summon wind currents strong enough to carry him from place to place, or ride slipstreams in the water!

(I think I'm reading Ranks and Measures right and this gives me flight of about 60 miles per hour?)

11 points
-------------------------------------
Supercharged Senses
Senses 5

Ultrahearing, Direction Sense, Distance Sense, Extended Vision and hearing

5 points
-------------------------------------
General Weather Control
Variable 2

Meteor Man can produce a variety of other weather related effects, too many to list in this small bio!

14 points
-------------------------------------
Skills:

Meteorological Expertise +7 (6 ranks)
Persuasion +13 (10 ranks)

8 points
-------------------------------------
Advantages:

Ranged attack (1 rank)
Favored Environment (Storms)
Improved Critical: Thunderbolt (4 ranks)
--------------------------------------

Defenses still seem kinda low. Should I drop Variable to 1 and double what I've put into Enhanced Trait?

Will get his story written up this evening, or later this morning. I have to unload a Pod today, but not sure when my friend will be here to help me. So could take all day, maybe not.


imimrtl wrote:

Yay! thanks Sobran! Ok so the resurrection I had kind of coming from the idea of the phoenix and the renewing power of the sun. Essentially it was supposed to work unless he is submerged in water so basically if he gets killed and submerged in water before the resurrection time is up, hes permadead. If he is killed WHILE submerged in water, he is permadead. If he is killed but is not submerged then he can resurrect in a spontaneous combustion like event where he emerges, naked, but alive. As for the water portion, it is the heat and fire energy that allows the resurrection and the Radiation instead of destroying his cells, reinvigorates them to the point of jump start.

Oh also, that healing 5 resurrection was supposed to be healing others. Is that not right? Essentially it is similar to the way he resurrects himself, a burst of energy jump starting the cellular processes. Since the energy of the body is not entirely electrical but works on thermal as well as certain forms of uv radiation (i.e. the production of Vitamin D) I thought it was a neat twist on it.

Your healing power works the way you described. I was just curious about the justification. That works for me. Just switch the limit on the self-resurrection to say 'unless submerged in water', so we're clear which way it goes.

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