arenbecl's page

To everyone who didn't make it: I would be willing to run a game with us. I have a recruitment thread on GITP: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?415575-The-Guardians-M-amp-M- 3e-interest-check&p=19262286#post19262286

Slightly updated character with fixed energy aura and added sensory ability (and now in plain boring text):

** spoiler omitted **... I am not really sure if an apartment is worth only 2 EP. It's more a place for her to go (not an HQ or anything). Also happy to reshuffle EP and devote them to a shared party item like a vehicle or HQ (she can drive!).

Characters get stuff like apartments, phones, and food for free, so the apartment doesn't cost anything, as long as it is not an integral part of your costumed identity ala the batcave. Basically, you only have to spend points on things that a normal person wouldn't have, just like your stats start out like that of a normal person for free.

OK, from the actual Deathstroke stats in the DC Heroes game:

Str 7
Sta 7
Agl 9
Dex 8
Fight 15
Int 4
Awe 6
Pre 5

He also has regeneration 8, immunity to poison and aging.

There's a number of other powers, but I'm not overly inclined to type in the whole thing. He does have a super lifting ability to up his carrying capacity to 8

As built in the book, he is PL 13.

I'm kinda proud of myself for suggesting pretty much exactly that, in terms of stats :)

Yar. I get all that (it's a rough draft of "What I want" to see "What I need"). I based the 40 Regen off Deathstroke, apparently, being able to walk off getting a sword rammed through his heart.

The attack/damage rank limitations are what really starts to stick as annoying. I'll list, basically, what I SHOULD have as a Taskmaster/Deathstroke hybrid:

-Well beyond human physical AND mental stats (Deathstroke has a super serum that increases his physical abilities to superhuman levels, and he thinks faster than most everyone in the world and is a master tactician. Taskmaster has an Eidetic Memory and extremely fast reflexes.) Deathstroke can bend metal with his hands and puch his fists through concrete with relative ease.

-A pretty hefty healing factor.

-A set of "Promethium" (DC's Adamantium equivalent) Armor and Weaponry. Deathstroke's particular versions are radioactive, but his serum makes him immune to their effects.

-An "Energy Shield", which is sort of an "any weapon" that Taskmaster has, which can make any melee weapon and some useful tools or (as the name suggests) a shield out of "cooled plasma".

-Immunity to poison and disease.

-Proficiency in every weapon known to man, but specialization in Swords, Unarmed Combat, and Guns. That's why I put a bunch of ranks in Unarmed, Swords, Guns, and Grappling, and grabbed the Improvised Weapon advantage. Then his base fighting stat of 10 (Or higher, should I choose to increase it...both Taskmaster and Deathstroke are among the most skilled people in their respective universes) should account for a reduced, though competent, effectiveness with all other weapons.

What Power Level does that sound like? I have a hard time judging it. Once I know what power level to shoot for, it should be a bit easier.

Likewise, how should his equipment be statted? The sword and armor seem like high levels of Impervious/Penetrating are important (this is Adamantium, after all) but both of those are capped to the armor and weapon's base Defense/Damage ranks...which means to get those capabilities to a proper level would be difficult, since high base stats essentially means your equipment must by nature be worse.

And can the energy shield be done properly at all?

1. The stats should top out at around 7 for mildly superhuman

Here (http://www.d20herosrd.com/home/ranks-and-measures) is the table for judging how strong something is at a given power level. As an example, your old character had strength 10, which is enough to lift 50 tons. My recommendation for strength is 7, or 3 tons: enough to break concrete, not enough to throw a truck.

** spoiler omitted **...

I cant speak for Reckless, but I think that "trigger scent" is really cool!

Actually I think Batman is PL 12, if I remember from the book. I can check at home. He just has tons of toys.

I would argue that batman also counts as "low superhuman" :)

I kept refreshing the page to see when Reckless would post the list of accepted characters, then I realized that that would be 4 days from now X)

@Rynjin Hypothetically, if I was making a deathstroke/taskmaster hybrid, I would get physical stats to around 5-6, fighting to around 10, and give myself a ton of combat advantages. I think that at PL 12, the weakest that you can get is low superhuman with a ton of advantages and equipment. You could give yourself a ton of different swords and guns with different abilities. Ex. A sword with high penetration, two daggers with an "enhanced fighting" ability, etc.

Thanks, drbuzzard! Here's the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By0l8stjMgFUXzhEV0dqcHpvQXM/view?usp=shari ng

I think that with the deadline approaching, this might be a good time to put everything about my character, Tarragon, into one place for convenience.

@Reckless
How many players are going to be accepted into the campaign? Also, is Tarragon amalgam-y enough?

See, I was thinking more subtle, the build as is already brings ALOT of versatility to the team, an innate free action variable pool that can be used for skills & advantages, 2 ranks of Luck, 1 rank of Evasion & 1 rank of Teamwork for any team member on comm with him, Inventor plus Technology that can easily hit DC 46 w/o rolling, guaranteed 56 if spend a hero point. Startle, Acrobatic Feint, Set Up, he can significantly reduce the Dodge/Parry of the big bad contributing to the take down, he has take down to sweep goons. He can make Sherlock level deductions and observations, and for a hero point probably jury rig the team whatever McGuffin we are apt to need.

The base is an interesting idea but at most is 6 points, which equates to 30 ep. More than enough for an orbital station, I was just thinking more utility, less nuke your face off. That's what the heavy hitters are for.

Thanks for the input though, as for versatility, that's what Batman is all about, you are saying I should aim for face beating? I don't feel we're lacking heavy hitters, and I dunno if I have time to go back to the drawing board.

You make a good point. It looks like you are saying that you are still getting an HQ anyway, which is good. In my mind, the orbital laser wasn't going to be a combat tool that got used often, but instead a trump card that we could play when things got desperate. I never really meant for it to be a "heavy hitting" tool so much as almost a plot device, like something that we have to use to finish off the big bad after we pin him down. But I digress. If you want utility, I still support the idea of a weapons array with a variety of afflictions. A power nullification beam, perhaps?

One more question: How are you hitting 46 DC? It has been a while since I have played M&M, so I am probably missing something. Still, as a character with jury rigging devices as part of his standard plan of attack, Tarragon would love to take some lessons!

Alright, I am working through the last rash of points, sensors, weapon systems and movement are the last three things I want to add to the suit.

I am posting a partial build for suggestions on how to frame those additions;

** spoiler omitted **

Let's see. You have 39 points remaining, so that means that we can get 1 good power in, or a few weaker ones. To be able to contribute to the team, you either need to be a top-tier hitter in some category, be versatile, or have a unique advantage. I figure that someone in a power suit probably won't be a heavy hitter, and the team already has enough versatile people that too many more will make them somewhat redundant IMO. So, what is the one thing that Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark both have in abundance? Money. In the equipment section, there is an option to "buy" a headquarters with your points. If Reckless is okay with it, I am thinking that you could buy some kind of orbital station with the last few points Ala the watchtower. There is a pre-made option for an orbital satellite in the heroes handbook that costs 20 pts, and comes with a defense system, comms array, living space, teleporter, and other useful features. However, that might cripple you in combat somewhat, with so many points tied up in something of limited use. It needs some practical field application... SATELLITE LASER! If you have ever seen Lex Luthor's ultimate move from Injustice, this would be something like that. It would be something we can use to do damage to really big threats, with a huge attack rating hampered by a long charge-up time and risk of collateral damage. HQs can buy "powers". I couldn't think of a way to simulate the "charge-up" time of an orbital laser using normal flaws. The best way to simulate the "charge-up" time IMO would either be through DM fiat, or to make the power be a "summon" effect of rank 9 that "summons" a giant ball of lasery death. This "minion" would have a fly speed of 14, immunity to life support, and a ridiculously high "energy aura" power rating. This minion would take about 5-10 rounds to get from low-earth orbit to ground level, its energy aura would get one hit of about PL 25 off on a given target, and the last point or so could be spent on a quirk that makes the minion instantly die upon contact with the ground and be unable to take any action other than speeding straight toward the ground. I get that this is a little (alright, a lot) ridiculous, but is the best I could do :) Honestly, I would just ask Reckless if he is okay with letting you trade in your last 19 points for a plot device, but it is always good to have a rules-legal backup.

Edit: Or you could buy an array of weapons, if you wanted something more normal :) I would recommend some kind of weapons array that can hit people with afflictions as well as straight-up dmg (nets, tasers, tranqs, etc)

arenbecl wrote:

Ok, here's my preliminary ratings. This is order of the stats being posted.

...

Corvus: Brute 5, Mover 6, Thinker 4, Blaster 7, Stranger 7, Changer 3
Reasoning: The brute rating is less from his strength, which isn't that impressive, and more from Corvus's regeneration and durability, which are both considerable. Mover 4 is from slow flight and, more importantly, teleportation. Thinker comes from his psychic empathy and boosted senses. Corvus has access to a powerful ranged attack in the form of his magic bolt. Finally, he is a powerful stranger/changer because of his concealment abilities and his ability to assume the forms of others.

I'm thinking you didn't look at the picture. She's a girl. But other than that, I can agree with this.

arenbecl wrote:

Corvus also should probably be the team "face" and master of social-fu, should it be necessary.

She literally has no social skills. Her parents were the only people she ever talked to that weren't trying to eat her face (once again, literally). Everything she knows about the real world is from her parent's stories. The illusion was something they taught her to avoid fighting in Azarath/Hell, but they did also mention it could help her avoid being attacked by mobs here.

Oops X) I guess I assumed it was a guy because everybody I know (fictional and real) named Corvus is a guy. I said social-fu because of empathy magic, but I suppose you may be right on that count.

Ok, here's my preliminary ratings. This is order of the stats being posted.

Tarragon: Shaker 10+, Mover 5, Tinker 4
Reasoning: Vista and Labyrinth are shakers 9 and 12 respectively, and being able to chuck around kilotons of material pretty much blows both of their powers away, although *SPOILER* vista warping continent sized stretches of land during golden morning */SPOILER* certainly comes close. Mover 5 is because Purity was mover 4 and Tarragon is quite a bit faster. Tinker 4 is for intelligence and tech expertise, roughly on par with Kid Win. I considered giving Tarragon a blaster rating, but I think that shaker better describes what he does.

*not rating extremiac and superman as they have been removed from the running*

Quicky: Brute 10+, Mover 8
Reasoning: HOLY MOTHER OF STATS. This guy... I think we found EMH's team front-liner. Well, let's get on to actual explanations. He can sprint around the globe in 12 hours, so Mover. Ironically, the guy called Quicky has more points in strength than in movement speed :) "Strongy" can easily pick up and throw around a building, and eat conventional tank fire like it's nothing. This guy could beat the crap out of Leviathan in HTH. His defenses have no weak-points either, with a solid 15 in both active and passive defenses.

Spark: Brute 4, Blaster 5/7, Mover 4, Striker 5, Shaker 5, Thinker 2
Reasoning: His jacket and near-superhuman stamina account for his brute rating. If I read his electric absorption right, it makes his magic blast PL 14, which is good enough to hold his own in combat with the rest of the team. His lighting also is the only non single-target ranged attack available to the team, hence shaker. Wire-jumping gives Sparky a mover rating, striker is for the electric punch/healing, and thinker is for his danger sense/electric spying.

Blue Spider: Brute 8, Thinker 4, Mover 3, Blaster 3 Other**
Reasoning: Blue Spider is incredibly strong and fast. Given that Lung is a Brute 4-9, he gives a decent scale for what a brute rating should be. Picking up and throwing tanks is easily a brute 7, but when combined with his regeneration and stamina he easily makes brute 8. His increased intelligence and senses give the thinker rating. He can't quite fly, and flight is generally classified as mover 4. Blaster 3 is for the webbing. While the webs are quite the useful tool, their lack of damaging capabilities made me only give them a rating of 3. **Blue Spider's incredible array of skills and advantages could easily net him a low rating in other powers. However, I didn't include them because it would be tedious to go through and assign ratings, and because I feel I captured his main aspects in his primary ratings.

Corvus: Brute 5, Mover 6, Thinker 4, Blaster 7, Stranger 7, Changer 3
Reasoning: The brute rating is less from his strength, which isn't that impressive, and more from Corvus's regeneration and durability, which are both considerable. Mover 4 is from slow flight and, more importantly, teleportation. Thinker comes from his psychic empathy and boosted senses. Corvus has access to a powerful ranged attack in the form of his magic bolt. Finally, he is a powerful stranger/changer because of his concealment abilities and his ability to assume the forms of others.

Fusion: Brute 5, Blaster 7, Mover 4, Striker 6
Reasoning: Fusion is a blaster on par with Corvus, with the added advantage of being the only member of the team with a Penetrating attack. Fusion can also fly, so I assigned her the standard rating of mover 4. Molecular modification is a really great power. The fact that it is close ranged and concentration duration holds it back a bit, but it can still be used for any number of things, including "swimming" through solid ground.

In conclusion, we have a pretty well-balanced team so far. Tarragon and Quicky are the resident powerhouses, while Corvus is versatile and can hold his own with Tarragon in ranged combat with his mystic bolt. Corvus also should probably be the team "face" and master of social-fu, should it be necessary. On first look, Blue Spider is somewhere between Quicky and Coruvs, a nice mix of beat-your-face-in and utility. Despite being outclassed in terms of stats by Quicky, Blue Spider can hold his own because of his spread of combat advantages. Spark is our best guy for clearing out mooks, with AOE attacks that can handle biological and mechanical opponents with equal ease. Finally, Spark has a hidden gem in the form of his healing. Although Spider, Quicky and Corvus already have healing, that does not mean that an injured NPC we find will. Not to mention that this ability is still quite useful for Fusion and Tarragon. Last but not least, we have Fusion. She is the team's most consistent ranged attacker with her attack affecting incorporeal and impervious targets. Her molecular modification is also an ability with lots of potential, including the "land shark" thing I mentioned earlier. She also possesses a wide array of immunities and her environmental control.

Yeah, I'm not exactly sure how one makes the numerical classifications.

Quicky is a brute/mover.

I suppose if we do it in terms of the potential number allowed by PL, then he would be Brute 10, Mover 6 (though considering that speed is not a property limited by PL, it's not really a great measure of that. However the Brute side is accurate as he is maxxed out in strength and durability (sort of).

Using the M&M power levels would certainly make things easier, but the scale only goes up to 12. I think I will try to stick to the scale as it exists, but even that is not entirely objective. Feedback on any perceived errors is fine. I will put up my rankings soon.

I will say the main issue with the numbered classifications is they're entirely arbitrary.

I will also say even in the story itself, people in-setting had a hard time classifying anyone definitively.

The main character (Skitter) is classified as a Master 8, Thinker 2. She does not, in fact, actually have any Thinker powers. She's just really damn good at making up plans on the fly, and her Master power gives her a good approximation of a true Thinker's sensory powers.

There's a few others with such classifications, not based on any specific superpower they have, but based on the results they achieve, and their enemies assign classification based on that.

Basially, it's all kind of muddled when it comes to the mental powers (Thinker, Tinker, and Master mostly). But that's good in a way, as it makes sure you're not entirely bound by those classifications.

For example a Tinker who builds human looking android clones of himself that shoots lasers from their eyes might get a Master, Blaster, and potentially Breaker (cloning likely falls here) classification, none of which is correct, but it is a powerful weapon of subterfuge in his arsenal.

Actually, Taylor is a thinker because of her ability to multitask with millions of controlled entities at once and hear/"see" through them. Also, the reason that the classifications don't have to be based on their powers is because the classifications were originally created by the PRT to help gauge how to deal with a parahuman in the field. For example, when fighting the tinker you mentioned, the PRT squad would have to be aware of the possibility of lasers flying around and duplicates of the main target. The origin of such abilities does not matter as much as the fact that they are there. This is the same reason that Skitter was assigned a 2 in all categories: her versatility allowed her to replicate those abilities with her bugs. The author of worm has a sheet here (Pages 32-38) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Swjz8BZZNE4bq6lTkHanTK4sJ-K_xVlFudxA16m YjH4/edit?pli=1#heading=h.j83zu0o2t8cs where they give the exact definitions of certain numbers. However, given that PL 12-15 people tend to eclipse worm capes in most areas, I may have to extend or tweak the scale a bit.

I want to give all of the characters with existing stats power classifications. Read this here for more info. http://worm.wikia.com/wiki/Power_Classifications

This is the best system I have seen for objectively classifying powers. There is more detailed info on the rankings on a google doc.

New and Improved Character List
Jare T.H. Kidd, Negative Kid, Tenfold, Tarragon, Quicky, Blue Spider, Casey Ramsey: Unchanged

Corvus: Outworld Shadow Ninja
Dr Stephen Adam Strange: Artifact Hunter Extrodinaire
Dark Knight: The only possible way batman could be more terrifying

Others I didn't name because of insufficient info

I'd like to throw my hat in, perhaps. Thinking "Blackbird" (Black Canary/Mockingbird) or "Liberty" (Nazi fighting paragon a la Capt America and Golden Age Wonder Woman). Or I might just go for an energy controller of a type not yet proposed.

You are still using modified point buy, yes? Just wondering as I might use Hero Lab to build.

Arenbecl, just curious, why are you naming your character after a culinary herb? :)

Darn... I was hoping nobody would notice. Tarragon is actually another name for a dragon, although one rarely used. I thought it sounded cool, and by the time that I bothered to look it up... I had already posted and it was to late X). If you have any alternate names, feel free to suggest them, although I am fine sticking with Tarragon.

Updated Character List
Jare T.H. Kidd, Negative Kid, Tenfold, Tarragon, Quicky: Unchanged
Blue Spider: Everybody's favorite web-slinger, now in blue!
Harry Dresden: Wizard private investigator
Casey Ramsey: Martial Artist

Others: Some child of nightcrawler and raven. Some names that I have come up with:
Crow, Nighthawk, Darkspawn, Nightshade, Umbra

Harry Dresden, Wizard for Hire. Items found, parties located, paranormal activity investigated. NO LOVE POTIONS.

The sign on the door, well, when he had a door, and a sign, and a business, said it pretty well. Being the only professional wizard in a city as large as Chicago was bound to attact attention. Unfortuntately, all too often that attention did not come attached to large paychecks or lifetime free pizza deliveries. Oh well.

Things have changed recently for Harry Dresden. The White Council has gone through significant upheaval, with betrayal and treason poisoning its inner sanctum. His apprentice and friend took on the Mantle of the Winter Lady, in a surprising turn of events. The Red Court remains destroyed, creating a vacuum of power which attracted all manner of evil and dangerous creatures. Oh yeah, and he broke his back, died, came back, got turned out by the Winter Queen Mab herself as her little busybody Knight, met and faught Father Christmas, and rode in the Wild Hunt as both prey and master.

It's been a busy couple of years.

Now, though, after the Hive and other recent events, her Royal Frostiness herself deemed it necessary for one Harry Dresden to join up with some of Earth's mightiest defenders. Seeing what the Gatekeeper and Blackstaff put up with, how could he say no? Not to mention the whole "do as I say or I make your hurt" clause in their working relationship.

So off he goes, staff in hand and monstrous hand-cannon that Murphy gave him in his pocket. No Bob, no trinkets and gadgets and no time to fabricate up new ones, it was time to show just how big of a big damn hero Harry Dresden is.

I am such a huge fan of this series! This sounds like so much fun.

So the characters that we have presented so far are
Jare T.H. Kidd, Lightning-slinging ex-criminal
Negative Kid: Flying negative-energy blaster
Tenfold: Super-strong self duplicator
Extremiac: Nanite-infected android
Quicky: Speedster, "mandatory secondary powers" now included

Others/Unnamed: Superman, Dresden, Some Ice Guy, some others that I am probably forgetting.

Here's some backstory for Tarragon:

Lex Luthor was having an... interesting... day.
"Smithy! If I don't find out what event is going to cost me millions in repairs and cover-ups this very instant, unpleasant things shall happen"
"Of course, sir. Sorry for the delay, sir."
The young assistant hurried across the room, carefully stepping around bio-hazard signs and rubble. "Well, sir, it would appear that one of the "project Genesis" subjects escaped containment". Luthor frowned. Genesis was his attempt to genetically engineer a servant that could combat Superman. If one of those had matured to a point where it could escape, it could prove quite problematic.
"Tell me, Smithy. What subject was it? I need information".
"Well, sir, the project started out as one of the Elan that we purchased from an extraterrestrial slave-dealer. Identification number 8457109. The subject's innate telekinetic abilities were enhanced by kryptonite-based implants in the brain. There were also physical implants designed to increase reaction speed in order to counter that of superman, although this did lead to a loss of about two feet of height and all pigmentation. Finally, wings were implanted."
"A bird-man. How does a bloody eight foot tall dove escape the most high-tech containment facility in all of Metropolis!!"
"I'm sorry, sir. There were a series of... coincidences that allowed the subject to escape."
"Coincidences. What a nice way of saying that you and your men failed spectacularly. How did it manage to free itself from it's cell? All of the subjects were supposed to be sedated and contained at all times."
"Sir, um..." The assistant rubbed his hands nervously. "There were... unforeseen complications. The Krypto-cranial implants led to an unexpected increase in mental acuity and a resistance to the sedative."
"And how did it escape the containment field around the cell? It was my own design, based off of the DNA of a mutant with power nullification abilities. None of its psionic abilities could have possibly functioned within."
"We aren't sure, sir. Even now, the security tapes are being analyzed. The subject could have been concealing other abilities, or simply capitalized on a momentary system failure."
Luthor fumed. This was most definitely an issue.
"Sir? There is one last thing. After escaping, the subject presented itself to a group of metahumans, joining them. An association called...

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST *DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUN* cue theme music.

Tarragon's M.O. in combat is to gather as much scrap metal and spare parts as possible while holding his enemy off with force-fields and thrown objects. He then uses a combination of superhuman technological aptitude and his quickness to jury-rig gadgets with his precision telekinesis as the situation demands (ex. flamethrower vs Mr. Freeze, anti-fear gas vs Scarecrow, Dubstep gun vs venom)

arenbecl wrote:

Anyway, I made my new character as a sheet on myth-weaver for anyone who wants to look: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=193611

for some reason, the character sheet is blank

Oh wow shoot I forgot to save it... :P

Anyway, I made my new character as a sheet on myth-weaver for anyone who wants to look: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=193611

For anyone who doesn't want to look through that, here's a tl'dr
Name: Tarragon
Powers: Telekinesis, with secondary flight, move object, etc
Backstory: I haven't fully fleshed this out yet, but I have a rough concept. Tarragon is going to be some kind of alien ala Superman or Martian Manhunter. His race, while not being as physically powerful as the two previous, are impressive users of telekinesis. I can't decide between making him either the ambassador of his race, or a "lone survivor" kind of deal.

Upon second look at the power levels, I don't think that I can find a way to get my original character idea to a level where he could compete with everyone else without stretching things ridiculously. My new idea is going to be for a high-level precision telekinetic, possibly with some level of extrasensory power involved. WIP name is going to be Tarragon.

Here's my character submission: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=193244

arenbecl wrote:

This sounds awesome. I just finished reading Worm and I need an opportunity to use some of the character ideas bouncing around my head.

Here's a template of what my character would look like, assuming I can join.

Name: Eversor

Power: Can detect the motion of objects within about 10 feet as vectors relative to the movement of Earth. Eversor can modify the vector of a given object by touching it, up to a maximum force about enough to send a car across a street.
Eversor's M.O. would be that of a vigilante, somewhere between batman and punisher.
Costume would be something with a skull design for the mask, and a dark-colored bodysuit.

So a 40k assassin super hero

Well, not really. Though I do admit to playing 40k, I came up with the name eversor using google translate (means destroyer). After I found that, then, yes, I took the idea for the skull mask. :)

This sounds awesome. I just finished reading Worm and I need an opportunity to use some of the character ideas bouncing around my head.

Here's a template of what my character would look like, assuming I can join.

Name: Eversor

Power: Can detect the motion of objects within about 10 feet as vectors relative to the movement of Earth. Eversor can modify the vector of a given object by touching it, up to a maximum force about enough to send a car across a street.
Eversor's M.O. would be that of a vigilante, somewhere between batman and punisher.
Costume would be something with a skull design for the mask, and a dark-colored bodysuit.

Is there still room in this game for another player? If I can join, i will probably be playing some kind of dual-caster type character like sorcerer/cleric or wizard/oracle.