Mutants & Masterminds (Inactive)

Game Master Turlin

well i kinda assumed based on her interaction with the UN rep that he was formerly if not part of CADRE, but whatever, i can flush out details later. that is after all a rough Draft

well i kinda assumed based on her interaction with the UN rep that he was formerly if not part of CADRE, but whatever, i can flush out details later. that is after all a rough Draft

ah

you know, good old- Former evil person you know comes back, says they ain't evil anymore, but secret-secret, actually evil. you know, the entire plot of X-men origins Wolverine :P

I got the impression that Fox's old organization works with/is loosely affiliated with C.A.D.R.E. At the time of Fox's story, she was still an antihero-slash-assassin and given a mission in the States.

Somewhere between then and when she meets with Whip, Baghi learns that Fox is in the States and tells Whip about her.

How's that sound?

Sounds Much better :P i did leave it super Ambiguous on purpose

So, here's the thing, gang.

How dark are we going to be as anti-heroes and how heroic are we planning to try to be? Because I'll be honest, the more I've gone through the rules and handbook, the more I'm interested in playing a heroic "four-color" superheroes game rather than a super-powered cyber-punk one. (Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with the latter. :) ) I'm a HUGE comics fan, and the chance to play as a junior Avenger/JLA/X-Men team interests me far more than as streetwise vigilantes.

I guess what I'm saying is that after giving it some serious thought, I think I'm going to back out of this one and maybe lurk to watch your adventures while waiting for a spandex and capes version to come along. Or maybe I'll run one of my own.

In any event, I wish you guys well. Apologies.

p.s. That story rocked, Black Fox. ;)

Can I ask you to reconsider, Griffon? Because what you just described is EXACTLY like the kind of game I enjoy most.

Whippoorwill comes from a dark past, which drives her to fly even higher. The characters in this game (or at least some of them) might be gritty or a little more "street level," but I know Whip's going to be pushing for bigger and better heroics. To step out of the shadows (ahem) and into the light.

Hopefully the game will have room for some grit, but also the four-color comic book heroics like you want, because I'll be pushing for it as well.

Or, at least hang around long enough to discuss whether any one else wants to explore the kind of game you're talking about as well (and see what Turlin has planned -- they're the GM, after all).

I'll hang and discuss. (But only 'cause you asked so nicely.) lol
I always try to be reasonable. :)

Four-color is my specialty! I was planning to have goofy villains and capes, but with something dark lurking in the background. Perhaps you could make a more traditional hero, assigned to the team as an "example" to the rest? I believe you can tell darker stories with more colorful characters.

The feeling I was getting with this was "A group of grim people strive and struggle to bring light to the the people around them and themselves".

What I try to do in this game is to make a world were THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, corporate espionage, the serial killer Bloodbath, and running out of banks with bags marked with $ are all plausible and believable!

I started this assuming it would be straight four-color and was surprised when darker themes and anti-heroes started popping up!

A good example from what I go for is the new SHAZAM! comics. Bright fun characters and worlds with real and dark stories behind them and sometimes creepy imagery.

I'm sorry if I lead anyone on that this would be grimdark...

I'm sorry if i came of as if i was wanting grimdark for my character- Yeah I am that type of character- but I was more aiming to fill out the Shady background skill user like black Widow- Comes from a dark boackground but otherwise is fighting right along side these Bright shiny guys. yeah she has a demon following her around and she is carrying around swords, but overall, she doesn't really kill her enemies except for demons-

mostly because I imagine all the Demons she fights have the Immortality power with some arbitrary rules on how to make sure they stay dead

other than that she herself is able to fit right in- she follows orders and all that- it is very much a batman deal where this woman dressed like a fox (who fights really messed up things in her own time) teams up with these brightly colored heroes who smack people named Captain Condiments and Mr.Zapp.

No, you didn't mislead anyone. Like yourself, I thought things seemed to be shaping up to be as you quoted, about a group of grim people...etc. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, just not what I was hoping for or wanted to play. But if you're planning on a blend of tones, crossing the gamut? Then yeah, I'm staying.

And back to character creation!

well, yes- i would very much like to see Dr. Smash :P

I always like DC for doing this- being able to blend wacky wonky high collar weirdness in with the dark gritty real life Evil pretty effectivly. I mean- if im being honest: Young Justice is kinda where i was shooting for when coming to a mix of Four-color and Dark. It's in there, but for the most part this is Heroes punching people named "Mr.Twister" and "King Cobra"

...

Look up 'naginata'. Naginata is a pole arm, not a sword. You can't wield two at once.

well, yes- i would very much like to see Dr. Smash :P

I always like DC for doing this- being able to blend wacky wonky high collar weirdness in with the dark gritty real life Evil pretty effectivly. I mean- if im being honest: Young Justice is kinda where i was shooting for when coming to a mix of Four-color and Dark. It's in there, but for the most part this is Heroes punching people named "Mr.Twister" and "King Cobra"

Also, I just finished catching up from last night- I agree, I'd like it to be a mix of four-color and vigilantes. Sorta batman-esque. Mixed with green-arrow-esque. Maybe even a bit of flash-esque... oh, wait, now I'm just describing my character...

derp, me mixing up my Japanese weapons, they are Ninjato my bad

It happens. No worries.
The Doctor is (almost) in the house! My alias is, at least. :D

And while Dr. Smash was indeed a joke at the time, in a world with Mr. Zapp, I figured, why not?

I must admit, I'm really looking forward to this.

I'm also very amused we're going to have two strawberry blonde ladies on the team! Though, Whippoorwill's hair color goes back a long time.

Sorry for being slower on the generation, got caught up in finals for my summer semester, I will definitely have Lightning Bug ready by tomorrow evening at the latest!

I would Like to mention she is only Strawberry Blonde when Not wearing the Mask- as the Spirit kinda Changes her appearance when she uses it.

but yes, It is interesting that we both Happen to have given our characters red-heads :P

not that you'd know that when she is Broody and wearing the mask all the time

I noticed that, and really like the dichotomy of the emo/brooding look when the mask is on, and the much brighter look when it's off.

A few other things about Whippoorwill:

- Was in an out of foster care due to an abusive father.
- Was a martial arts prodigy at a young age when one of her foster parents enrolled her in martial arts classes.
- Ran away from home at sixteen.
- Worked for notorious weapons dealer Carlisle Estovion, private security firm Coyote Solutions before joining C.A.D.R.E.
- Worked with other legitimate governments in various black-ops missions.
- Was selected by C.A.D.R.E. for an experimental procedure to graft wings on her and upgrade her physiology to support them, and then assigned to the C.A.D.R.E. super-powered strike team.

Here's kinda what Shadowmeld would look like...
https://ibb.co/njRsXVQ

well, I cant find a good example of what exactly She looks like but her mask is very similar to the one shown here

andSomething like this, least for her general outfit, although longer robes with alot less Embroidery.

Quick thing about running this...

When defending from an attack do you want to roll your toughness check or the attacker? This would move the game a bit faster and immediately allow players to describe what happens but it might cause problems with last minute defenses or reactions.

well, depends, because for me- i am actually really low tougness, and have abilites like Defensive roll, and focus alot on Dodge and Parry to defend and completely avoid attacks rather than innate toughness

I think it makes sense to have them both rolled but in a spoiler that way you can decide what you plan to do before opening it. granted that would be an honor system but I think its a nice balance.

I mean, i would preffer the DM rolls Toughness, anything to speed it up- but I am the kind of build that doesn't use toughness- and when i do i can choose to use Defensive roll which gives me some more toughness but it goes away as if it isn't an active defense

I dunno what you really mean. Don't you normally roll your own toughness against damage? Just whatever it is in the rulebook. My build does have a bit of toughness, so.
P.S, I used heromachine 3 to make that picture of Shadowmeld.

@Turlin, I updated my sheet again. All I did was make Shadowport removable, and take the 2 power points I get from that and pop em into sleight of hand.
Hero: Shadowmeld
Identity: Sylin Blackwood (Secret)
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 111lbs
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black
Power Level: 10
Strength: 4, Agility: 9, Fighting: 8, Awareness: 1, Stamina: 5, Dexterity: 5, Intellect: 0, Presence: 0
Dodge: 9, Parry: 8, Fortitude: 5, Toughness: 5, Will: 1
POWERS:
Shadowmeld: You transform into a living shadow; Concealment 5 (All visual, normal hearing, Limited to Darkness and Shadows, Affects Others, Passive), Immunity 2(Immune to suffocation), Insubstantial 4(Searingly bright light still works on you), and Movement 2 (Slithering, Wall-crawling), Removeable
Shadowwalk: You use the shadows to guide your feet; Movement 2(Safe Fall(Limited to being near a surface), Sure Footed 3), Removeable
Shadowrun: You use the shadows to make you extremely fast in many ways; (+12 to Initiative Checks, Quickness 4, Speed 6((120mph), Removeable
Shadowline: You can shoot shadowlines out of your hands like grappling hooks; Movement 1(Swinging)
Shadowport: You can teleport into shadows; Teleport 4(Easy, Extended, Turnabout, Medium(Shadows), Accurate, Noticeable(A big purple flash blasts out around Sylin when he teleports), Removeable
SKILLS:
Acrobatics: 11, A9, R2
Athletics: 8, A4, R4
Close Combat Unarmed: 12, A8, R4
Ranged Combat Bows: 13, A5, R8
Ranged Combat Throwing: 13, A5, R8
Sleight of Hand: 11, A5, R6
ADVANTAGES:
Equipment 4
Quick Draw
Agile Feint(Use acrobatics or move speed rank to feint or trick in combat instead of deception)
Throwing Mastery 2
Favored Enviornment:Darkness(+2 attack or active defences)
EQUIPMENT:
UTILITY BELT:
_Boomerangs: Ranged Damage 3, Strength-based;Explosives: Ranged Burst Area Damage 7;Flash-Bangs: Ranged Burst Area Cumulative Affliction 4 (Resisted and Overcome by Will; Visually
Impaired, Visually Disabled, Visually Unaware), Limited to Vision; Power Knuckles: Damage 4, Strength-based; Sleep Gas Pellets: Ranged Cloud Area Affliction 3 (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude; Fatigued, Exhausted, Asleep)_

High-Tech Sniper Bow: Ranged Damage 5, Crit 19-20, Laser Sight(Accurate 1(+2 bonus to attack checks)), Targeting Scope(doubles normal benefits of aiming)
Costume: Protection 2

well how attacks work: first- you roll to attack: roll your Skill for close or ranged combat depending on what you're using. then your opponent rolls their Parry/Dodge against it- if they fail, They Roll their Toughness+stamina against 15+damage.

effectivly for each there is 1 roll for the attacker,and 2 rolls for the defender- 1 for if they can manage to defend against the attack, and 1 to determine if the attack even deals damage if it ever hits.

in my Case- in addtion to my high Parry and High dodge(which if rolled by the DM he will have to keep track of) i also have Several Advantages that either give me more toughness, or grant me greater Defenses(which is another thing the DM will have to keep track of) as well as Immuities to some effects all together from powers- all of which is alot to keep track of if there are 5 of us he has to roll for when attacking.

well how attacks work: first- you roll to attack: roll your Skill for close or ranged combat depending on what you're using. then your opponent rolls their Parry/Dodge against it- if they fail, They Roll their Toughness+stamina against 15+damage.

effectivly for that there is 1 roll for the attacker,and 2 rolls for the defender- 1 for if they can manage to dfend against the attack, and 1 to determine if the attack even deals damage if it ever hits.

in my Case- in addtion to my high Parry and High dodge(which if rolled by the DM he will have to keep track of) i also have Several Advantages that either give me more toughness, or grant me greater Defenses(which is another thing the DM will have to keep track of) as well as Immuities to some effects all together from powers- all of which is alot to keep track of if there are 5 of us he has to roll for when attacking.

Alright, I get what he's saying now. I think it'd make more sense to stick with the rulebook's definition.

didnt i chage that to Demons?

the Golem must have eaten it at one point

it should say "demons" now

didnt i chage that to Demons?

the Golem must have eaten it at one point

it should say "demons" now

Hmmm. Still says humans. Dunno why.

I mean, i would preffer the DM rolls Toughness, anything to speed it up- but I am the kind of build that doesn't use toughness- and when i do i can choose to use Defensive roll which gives me some more toughness but it goes away as if it isn't an active defense

Don't know if i'm misunderstanding your post, but i'm pretty sure Defensive Roll doesn't go away once you use it. It only goes away if your active defensive are gone, like if your Defenseless or Vulnerable.

i didn't say it vanishes, I just worry you might forget i have it- which being the person who reminds the DM of abilites they have kinda comes off as being a Jerk most of the time.

but if you think you can manage to keep track of Everyone's defenses and secondary abilities and advantages then I trust you.

I'll try my best! Although if I forget please don't be afraid to remind me!

Here is the first draft of Lightning-Bug mechanically. Please check my work as I am sure I made plenty of mistakes!

Hero: Lightning-Bug
Identity: Jackson Fredrickson (Secret)
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 115lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Power Level: 10
Strength: -1, Agility: 3, Fighting: 2, Awareness: 3, Stamina: 1, Dexterity: 3, Intellect: 1, Presence: 1 26 points
Dodge: 13, Parry: 2, Fortitude: 2, Toughness: 1, Will: 8 16 points
POWERS:
Ride the lightning: Your form shifts into that of hot energy as you beams up into the sky and back down somewhere else (Teleport Rank 10, Change Velocity, Change Direction, Noticeable (a lightning bolt shoots down to Lightning Bug and to his destination), Activation (Move), Medium must near a storm.)(Damage rank 5) 15 points
Call the Storm: with little flourish Lightning Bug can will a storm into being around Him (Environment Control Rank 10 Create a thunderstorm) 10 points
Call Lightning With a flick of his wrist Lighting bug can arc a bolt of electricity from the sky through himself and into an enemy (Energy Control 10 Dynamic Array Nullify 10 Electronic) 22 points
Updraft Lightning Bugs mastery over the air allows him to send winds up to meet him as he is falling which prevents any fall from harming him (Movement 1 Safe Fall Reaction) 2
Eyes of the storm Lightning Bug can send his senses into the eye of any storm and see the world from above as though he were the storm itself (Remote Sensing rank 8 Vision and Hearing No Conduit, Medium must near a storm.) 24 points
Total 73 points
SKILLS:
Perception: 18, A3, R15
Ranged Combat: 18, A3, R15
Treatment: 6, A1, R5
Expertise (Military): 11, A1, R10
Vehicles: 18, A3, R15
Close Combat: 14, A2, R12
18 points
ADVANTAGES:
Favored Envioment (Air)
Equipment x 15
Improved Aim
17 points
EQUIPMENT:
Fighter Jet (Remote Control Alarm x4 Hidden Compartment x3)

Here is the first draft of Lightning-Bug mechanically. Please check my work as I am sure I made plenty of mistakes!

Hero: Lightning-Bug
Identity: Jackson Fredrickson (Secret)
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 115lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Power Level: 10
Strength: -1, Agility: 3, Fighting: 2, Awareness: 3, Stamina: 1, Dexterity: 3, Intellect: 1, Presence: 1 26 points
Dodge: 13, Parry: 2, Fortitude: 2, Toughness: 1, Will: 8 16 points
POWERS:
Ride the lightning: Your form shifts into that of hot energy as you beams up into the sky and back down somewhere else (Teleport Rank 10, Change Velocity, Change Direction, Noticeable (a lightning bolt shoots down to Lightning Bug and to his destination), Activation (Move), Medium must near a storm.)(Damage rank 5) 15 points
Call the Storm: with little flourish Lightning Bug can will a storm into being around Him (Environment Control Rank 10 Create a thunderstorm) 10 points
Call Lightning With a flick of his wrist Lighting bug can arc a bolt of electricity from the sky through himself and into an enemy (Energy Control 10 Dynamic Array Nullify 10 Electronic) 22 points
Updraft Lightning Bugs mastery over the air allows him to send winds up to meet him as he is falling which prevents any fall from harming him (Movement 1 Safe Fall Reaction) 2
Eyes of the storm Lightning Bug can send his senses into the eye of any storm and see the world from above as though he were the storm itself (Remote Sensing rank 8 Vision and Hearing No Conduit, Medium must near a storm.) 24 points
Total 73 points
SKILLS:
Perception: 18, A3, R15
Ranged Combat: 18, A3, R15
Treatment: 6, A1, R5
Expertise (Military): 11, A1, R10
Vehicles: 18, A3, R15
Close Combat: 14, A2, R12
18 points
ADVANTAGES:
Favored Envioment (Air)
Equipment x 15
Improved Aim
17 points
EQUIPMENT:
Fighter Jet (Remote Control Alarm x4 Hidden Compartment x3)

I'll have to check it later, but it looks really awesome! I love the synchronicity of calling a storm and only being able to teleport while near a storm.

Interesting character! His power set will also give Whippoorwill something to complain about, since she'll have to fly around in a storm whenever the team fights bad guys.

Her feathers will never feel dry.

Hadn’t even thought of that. All the better for witty rapport.

Snapity witty snapping

So some things I'd like to mention...

1) M&M doesn't seem to be made with a over-arcing story or "free roam" kind of thing in it, but I'm trying to make it work so forgive me if the story seems a bit choppy.

2) I'm going to be splitting the story into Issues, each Issue being a "session" for purposes of Hero Points and such.

3) You will start each Issue with 1 Hero Point. You can earn more but you have to spend Hero Points before the end of the Issue, or they will be lost.

4)I may have to force/strong arm certain things (I will try not to though) but you will be awarded Hero Points either way.

5) I've only DM M&M a few times so sorry if I mess up... :p

Thanks for coming to my TEDtalk.

Lightning-Bug... Neat!

Quick question though. Can he make small scale storm inside? And if he uses teleport or Lightning from outside to inside does the lightning affect the wall or structure?

And for everyone, can I get complications, backstory, physical descriptions, personality, and reason for join the team if you haven't already? Sorry, I know thats a lot.

Lastly I notice no one has a base. I can provide one for free to start but you'll have to pay for it later when you get more points.

My intent was to have the teleport be outside only though I suppose I could probably still go through a thin barrier. In terms of mini storms, my intent was to be able to localize it if I wanted to (Primarily because if I can't then I don't have an offense inside.)

Thanks 27!

I forgot to ask one last thing to everyone!

Do you want to start with the teams first mission or do you want the team to have been working together for a little bit?

I vote for first mission since we don't know a ton about personalities of each other.

Okay... answers!

1) M&M not having been built with an over-arcing story in mind? Hmm. Strange. Well, I won't blame you if the story feels choppy. But I doubt I'll notice. PbPs are marathons, not sprints.

2) Seems fair.

3) Also seems fair.

4) Not sure what you mean by forcing things. But I doubt there'll be too much of an issue, since M&M is not really designed for killing characters, right? Comic books often start with characters in dire straights, in media res, or other tropes like that.

5) I've only played M&M a couple times, so I'll likely mess up more!

Bonus:

Base -- I noticed that there's rules for building bases, but I didn't realize it was mandatory. I thought it was for characters who wanted Stately Wayne Manor or a Watchtower or something. Is there a way for the whole team to develop a shared base, or does one character have to supply it?

First fight -- I wouldn't mind starting out with our first big fight. Or we can do the When Our Team First Came Together series of questions from Masks (by Magpie Games), which lets us create the first fight without rolling dice. It asks things like, "We fought a powerful enemy. Who or what was it?" and, "We caused serious collateral damage during the fight. What did we destroy?" and, "We discovered the signs of something bigger. What was it?"

Look: Tall, 5' 11' looking even more imposing because of the large tan-feathered wings that frame her shape.

Costume: Backless canary-yellow body suit with red belt, gloves, boots and domino mask. Her white throwing weapons -- her quills, hang from her belt, the tops of her boots and the forearms of her gloves. Her nightvision/flash suppressant goggles are built into the domino mask. When not in use, her whip is coiled and ready at her right hip.

Personality: Driven and generally no-nonsense, but she still possesses an arid sense of humor. She doesn't follow much pop culture, but tries to stay abreast of most news and important topics.

Here's a first draft of his backstory. Is it okay if I wait on personality more than just his motivations I'm not fully sure what he feels like yet?

Okay... answers!

1) M&M not having been built with an over-arcing story in mind? Hmm. Strange. Well, I won't blame you if the story feels choppy. But I doubt I'll notice. PbPs are marathons, not sprints.

2) Seems fair.

3) Also seems fair.

4) Not sure what you mean by forcing things. But I doubt there'll be too much of an issue, since M&M is not really designed for killing characters, right? Comic books often start with characters in dire straights, in media res, or other tropes like that.

5) I've only played M&M a couple times, so I'll likely mess up more!

Bonus:

Base -- I noticed that there's rules for building bases, but I didn't realize it was mandatory. I thought it was for characters who wanted Stately Wayne Manor or a Watchtower or something. Is there a way for the whole team to develop a shared base, or does one character have to supply it?

First fight -- I wouldn't mind starting out with our first big fight. Or we can do the When Our Team First Came Together series of questions from Masks (by Magpie Games), which lets us create the first fight without rolling dice. It asks things like, "We fought a powerful enemy. Who or what was it?" and, "We caused serious collateral damage during the fight. What did we destroy?" and, "We discovered the signs of something bigger. What was it?"

By force something I mean if I introduce a villain that your not supposed to beat yet, but you almost do, I would make it so he miraculously gets away for the sake of the story. I don't think I'll have to do stuff like that but I said it just in case.

Killing is rather hard to do in this game, for PCs and NPCs.

Bases- A base doesn't have to be a tricked out manor or space station, it can just be an apartment or someones house. The idea is to just provide a safe space you can regroup, research staff at, hide, or hold baddies that you don't want to turn over yet, or just where your character group up and live when not heroing. Of course you characters live somewhere, but if you intend of doing stuff their, it costs as a base. As for price, A team can share the cost of a base or one could own it. This and team vehicles are really the only things you can share power points on.

So this campaign will mostly take place in Nova City.

Nova City is situated on the Giller River, which flows strait in to the Mississippi. Although not as big as Stoneveiw, Freedom City, or New York, Nova City has it own fair share of large companies and normal crime. Super Crime on the other hand is usually few and far between, and the occasional super threat is taken care of by the cities resident heroes, Spotlight and Gadget Girl. But their has been a sudden spike in Super Crime that neither Spotlight or Gadget Girl can handle so Baghi (the teams unofficial sponsor) suggested (read as: told passive aggressively) that would be the best city to be.

(perhaps the more heroic characters were appointed as chaperones?)