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Amelia

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  1. Amelia

    Noob questions

    Yes. Check out Miss Americana / Cyberknife for an existing PC example. You don't have to build up to your true PL caps, so if you want to build them as a pair of PL8s, that's allowed. But since they're technically PL10s, you could also build them both up to PL10 caps. They'd just have fewer points to work with than usual. I'm not sure I understand what you mean. What does "stopping criminal activities before they start" look like?
  2. What's the effect of failing the Reflex save?
  3. Octoman's Reflex save: 15. Octoman's Notice check: He takes 10 with Skill Mastery for 25.
  4. Persephone Camellia squinted at her phone. "It sure DOES all seem to depend on me so far, since SOME people move about as fast as molasses goin' uphill in January." This was a matter she'd given some serious thought over the last few weeks. "Everyone knows that Marcus is Cheval. So if people see Cheval and Persephone together, not just working together but TOGETHER, then they can't ALSO see him with Camellia without either knowing that Camellia is Persephone or thinking that Marcus is a DOG carrying on the most public affair since Kennedy, which would make them lose respect for all 'three' of us. But if people see Marcus and Camellia together, especially TOGETHER-together, then, since they know Marcus is Cheval, they know Camellia is with Cheval. That paints a target on her back, and why bother having a secret identity in the first place if you're just going to travel in the same circles anyway and it doesn't protect anyone? So maybe Cheval is with Persephone but not with Camellia. That's a lot of lonely nights for Camellia. As far as anyone knows, including friends and family, it's Persephone in the white dress, Persephone with the adorable little babies (which Camellia has to hide having, somehow), and Camellia has no one to bring home for Christmas. And Camellia's parents don't know their own grandchildren or son-in-law. No, absolutely not. So that means coming out. And that means taking a big ol' wrecking ball to Doctor Blume's practice, maybe smothering it in its crib, not to mention making life for my family a heap more complicated. And I need to know that any man I do all that for is WORTH doing all that for. But I also don't want him to think I'm ashamed to be seen with him. ARGH. Well, it's sweet of him to mention it. Means he's considerate. Wait, unless it's an excuse to let me down easy? UGH." She typed another reply. Like any good shining knight, always thinking of others first. That did occur to me, yes. I'd like to think that one dinner wouldn't be enough to put me in the paparazzi crosshairs, but maybe I'm underestimating your adoring public's hunger for any scrap of you they can scrounge up. Maybe we should stay in. Oh, and if French opera isn't your cup of tea, there is always the Deontay Wilder fight. I don't know much about sports, but I hear he's pretty good. And the last time the cable guy came around, I let him sweet-talk me into one heck of a package. She chuckled. "Couldn't pitch that ball across the plate any softer without dropping it."
  5. Persephone swaps her Plant Control array over to the Emotion Control AP. She chooses "Hope," which counters Despair and Fear, and she doses The Woodsman with it. It's Indirect and Subtle, so he may not pick up on it and it may catch him flat-footed. If he wants to avoid it, here's her attack roll: 22, and if she hits and he wants to resist, it's a DC20 Will save. If there's an existing Despair or Fear based power effect she needs to counter, then here's her power check: 15.
  6. Persephone "Wait, HOW did you know they were vampires? And not something else, like...oh, I don't know, rabid cannibal mutant aliens or something? I don't know much about the supernatural, but I fought some vampires once. More blind flailing like a toddler in a tizzy than a fight, really, but I got lucky, and that's why I'm still here to talk about it. But when they went, they went ALL the way. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust, in the blink of an eye. These things, whatever they are, whatever they were, they left bodies, just like you and me would." "I...I 'saw things on the lawn' too. History. I'm sure I don't need to explain to y'all what kind. But I had to talk the lawn into showing me those things, like I do. How did YOU see it? Who showed you?" "Oh my...Woodsman, after this is over we need to have a serious talk about your methods. I understand that sometimes the weapons are already drawn and innocent lives are on the line and you have to take the shot, but things don't always have to reach that point in the first place, and if you walk into every room looking for a fight then that's what you'll find every ti-" "Okay, see, THAT right there is exactly what I'm-" "Hear WHAT?" The green woman lowered her voice, but only slightly. She glanced around in every direction. "We heard a ruckus in the basement before we came up here, but it sounded like a machine, not..." She waved her hand around the gore coating the walls and floor like cake frosting. "Not THIS." "Good LORD who in the WORLD would bring a BABY in here?!" Persephone started to take off running toward the cradle, trying to get the word VEAL out of her mind. But she stopped short when it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Persephone slowly turned back toward The Woodsman, walked up to the wall where he was leaning, and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. She spoke in low, even tones. "Sweetie, you need to breathe. Forget everything else for a minute and just breathe. Slow and steady, like this. In," She inhaled. "And out." She exhaled. "In and out, just like the tides. You're not hallucinating. We see it too. But you ARE having a panic attack. So you need to breathe." Tiny buds poked out of the flesh on her other forearm, quickly blossoming into several different kinds of flower. White long-petaled jasmine, bright orange poppies, and rich pink carnations all became instantly full to bursting with pollen which the green woman dispersed into the air by blowing gently on her own skin. The petals instantly dried up and crumbled to dust. Breathe deep, and enjoy a brief respite from whatever ghosts are chasing you. Chasing us. She glanced up at Cheval with a worried expression in her wide glowing violet eyes.
  7. Now, getting to your idea specifically: Arrays allow you to fold all the "different" powers that are really just different applications of the same power together for a huge cost break. You get the cost break because you can only use one of them at a time. It's a good idea strategically to fold as many things as possible that you couldn't use at one time anyway (stuff requiring Standard actions, like attacks) into an Array together. Whether or not it's a Device or just a descriptor for his powers depends on your concept. If the suit can be taken away from him, then it's eligible for being a Device. If they can take it away from him in the middle of combat with a simple Disarm attack (snatching it out of his hands, yanking Bane's Venom cables out, etc.), then it's an Easy-To-Lose Device (costs 3PP per 5PP of traits). If they can only peel it off of him once he's been immobilized or incapacitated, then it's a Hard-To-Lose Device (costs 4PP per 5PP of traits). If they can take it away from him, but they can't just put it on themselves, then give the Device the Restricted power feat. Cool. There is an "Absorption" power in the books. We don't recommend using it. It's basically Limited Impervious Protection, Linked with either Boost One Trait or Personal Healing. That gets complicated fast. The Limited Impervious Protection bumps up against your Power Level caps for Toughness. And Boost is a messy power we recommend almost never using. What I would do instead is give him the following: Healing 1 (Extras: Action 4 [Reaction], Total; Flaws: Personal, Source [Electricity]) [5PP] Immunity 10 (Electricity effects) [10PP] Immunity makes him automatically succeed on any saving throw required for that type of attack or hazard, so it doesn't add to his Toughness like Protection would, so it sidesteps the whole issue of PL caps. That Healing effect would give him an immediate recovery check against whatever damage he's suffered, with the Healing power rank added as a bonus to his Constitution bonus. (Recovery is a DC10 Con check, so a +9 automatically succeeds, so if his Con bonus is less than +8, you might want to buy more Healing ranks, and make the Healing power 1PP per rank cheaper by ditching the Total extra.) Couple of ways to do this. If you don't buy him enough Enhanced Strength from the suit to hit his PL cap for damage, then you could give him a Damage effect with an "Electricity" descriptor to get him up to his damage cap. So, for example, if his total Strength bonus was +8, then you could also buy Damage 2 (Feats: Mighty) [3PP] (Descriptors: Electrically Charged Strikes), and then his total Damage would be +10 when he punches someone with his charged fists. Or, you could buy his Enhanced Strength up high enough to hit is PL cap for damage, and then add one rank of the Variable Descriptor power feat from Ultimate Power to his Enhanced Strength, so that every time he hits someone, he can decide whether he's just punching them with brute physical force, or if he's also adding a lightning zap, or if he's stopping short of hitting them and letting some lightning arc a few inches over to them for a pure energy attack. So Enhanced Strength X (Feats: Variable Descriptor [Bludgeoning and/or Electricity Damage]). That way, you're not screwed if you run into someone who's super-resistant or immune to either physical/bludgeoning damage or energy/electrical damage. This is expensive and I don't recommend it. There are two ways to do it: You can buy him Damage with an Electricity descriptor, and buy the Action up to Reaction, for a total cost of 4PP/rank. You can also give him that Damage, but buy the Aura extra for +1PP/rank, and then, post-Ultimate Power's nerfing of Aura, you have to also buy the Duration of the Aura but not the Damage up to Sustained for another +2PP/rank, for 4PP/rank total. Same huge cost either way. And since this damage would also trigger against anyone he hit, not just anyone who hit him, it would count against his PL caps for damage, so it would either have to be low enough rank to add to his Strength bonus but not push him over the cap, or he'd have to have it be independent of his Str bonus, so he either has to use the aura or his Strength but not both, so he's basically paying double power points for these two independent effects. Probably not worth it. Damage (Extras: Range [Ranged]) [2PP/rank], AKA the "Blast" power in the books. "Electricity" is the descriptor. Simple. You can spend more points to add bells and whistles if you want and you have the points to spend - the Improved Critical feat as a power feat, or the Autofire extra, stuff like that. If you decide to make him more of a ranged focus character, you can save points by getting ranks of the Attack Focus (Ranged) and/or Attack Specialization (Zaps) feats, or Accurate power feats on the Blast, instead of base Attack bonus. If you want him to be equally good with ranged zaps and zap-punches, then don't do that, just buy all base Attack bonus. Dazzle (Sense Types: Auditory + Visual) [3PP/rank]. Dazzle is single-target and Ranged by default, so if you want it to hit multiple people, buy the Area extra for +1PP/rank, and if you want it centered on you, buy the Range flaw (Touch) for -1PP/rank. If you do both, it's the same base cost. The Stun power is your best bet. And it's good to have a non-Damage Alternate Power for when you want to incapacitate someone without hurting them. Stun is touch-range by default for 2PP/rank, or 3PP/rank if you buy the range up to Ranged. You could easily fold Enhanced Strength, Blast, Dazzle, and Stun into a single Array together, paying for the most expensive of them (the "base power"), and then 1PP for each other one as an Alternate Power feat. You could also leave the Dazzle and/or the Stun to Power Stunts instead of buying them with Power Points, depending on how often you actually expect to use them. Personally, I recommend not buying any +Area versions of your attacks, and saving those for Power Stunts instead, both for strategic and narrative reasons. Area attacks are great for sweeping groups of minions, but you don't always face groups of minions, while you will pretty much always face one or more non-minion supervillains. And sweeping minion groups tends to be one of the things that non-powered Batman types with heavy tradeoffs in favor of attack over damage and defense over toughness are great at, so it's generally best to leave that to them so they get a chance to shine. This guy you're making sounds like more of a boss-killing big gun type. Besides, just tossing out a huge AoE every single round is boring. Leave it to power stunts and make it a special thing. Enhanced Strength, maybe Super-Strength, maybe Enhanced Dexterity and/or Enhanced Reflex save, the Speed power. Pretty self-explanatory. Super-Senses. Our house rules merged the Awareness and Detect Super-Senses into one thing, and changed the cost from a flat 1PP to a 1-3PP range, depending on the frequency of the descriptor you're detecting. Electricity would be a Common descriptor, so 2PP base. So you want Super-Senses (Electricity Awareness). That's 2PP to start with. But you're not done. That Super-Sense is an individual sense, and you need to choose which sense type it belongs to. It can be Visual, Auditory, Olfactory, Tactile, Radio, or Mental. You have to decide, does the suit let him see electricity, or hear it, or smell it, or feel it, or does it use radar/radio waves or a similar part of the electromagnetic spectrum to find it, or what? Each of those sense types comes with certain Super-Senses extras for free. For example, Visual-type senses are Accurate, Acute, and Ranged by default. More importantly, the sense type determines which other sensory powers (Dazzle, Obscure, etc.) and obstacles work against this sense. Generally, the sense types that come with the most free extras, like Visual, also have the most stuff that can interfere with them. A wall isn't going to block a Radio-type sense, but it will block a Visual-type sense, and at least give a penalty to an Auditory-type sense. Once you choose the sense type, you need to decide which other Super-Senses extras you want to apply. If it isn't already, say, Ranged, then you might want to spend 1PP to make it Ranged. Enhanced Feats 1 (Jack of All Trades) [1PP] if the goal is to let him use any skill untrained because he can look up how-to guides real quick. Might also want to give him Beginners Luck so he can pop a Hero Point for a temporary +5 ranks to that untrained skill. Enhanced Feats 2 (Beginners Luck, Jack of All Trades) [2PP]. You're using confusing terminology here. "Speed of Thought" is a 1PP feat introduced in the Mastermind's Manual that we allow, which lets you use your Intelligence bonus instead of your Dexterity bonus for Initiative. But what you're describing sounds like the Quickness power, Limited to Mental Tasks. Keep in mind that Quickness can only be used to speed up tasks that you can take 20 on. Read the skills you hope to use it to speed up, and find out if you can take 20 on them or not. Some skills let you take 20 on some tasks but not others. The Additional Limbs power is mainly used for extra "arms", stuff he can grab people and maybe manipulate objects with. For extra legs, I would take the Immovable power, which makes it harder to knock him down or back. So he has Speed and Super-Movement (Wall Crawling) with the extra mechanical legs as a descriptor. Simple. Add "antennae" to the descriptors for his Super-Senses. OK, if they can be used to grapple, then buy the Additional Limbs power. So buy the Datalink power and mention in his fluff that the antennae are in the spider leg-arm things. Elongation, Limited to Additional Limbs, for 1PP per 2 ranks. You can specify in his fluff which powers are coming out of which parts, but there's no need to buy separate powers for separate parts of the Device. Just buy one big Device that has the Additional Limbs power among all the others. Drain (All "Electricity" Traits At Once) [3PP/rank] is probably what you want for the drain, +1PP/rank if you want to make it Ranged. And that can be an AP of the existing electrical array. There's no need to buy a separate blast. If he's got the electricity powers innately, but the suit amplifies them, then buy some of the power ranks outside the Device and some within it, and they'll stack while he's wearing the suit. Yeah, I think the 3E Power Profiles book lists that specifically as a 1PP Feature. Add the Precise feat to his Blast. I would leave this to Power Stunts, and I would build it as follows: Drain Toughness (Extras: Affects Objects, Area [Type: General, Shape: Burst, Size: 50ft radius], Linked [Damage]; Flaws: Limited [Objects], Limited [Electronics]) [1PP/rank] Damage (Extras: Area [Type: General, Shape: Burst, Size: 50ft radius], Linked [Drain]; Flaws: Limited [Objects], Limited [Electronics]) [1PP/2 ranks] That would cost 15PP at rank 10. Add Progression (Area Size) power feats if you want it to be bigger, or replace Area with Ranged if you want a single-target "focused" EMP. Simple. Concealment, against whichever sense types you want, Limited to machines, for 1PP/rank. ESP and Postcognition, yes, each with the Medium flaw.
  8. Since you're new, I'm gonna start with the important stuff you may have missed or at least not given the attention it deserved, since it's not highlighted in the rulebook as prominently as it should be. First things first: The most important M&M rules for you to have in mind at any given point in time are 1) Power Level Caps, 2) Tradeoffs, 3) Extra Effort, and 4) Hero Points. Most everything else is just "Roll a D20, add a bonus, try to hit a target number (Difficulty Class, or DC)." Power Level Caps and Tradeoffs are covered in Chapter 1 of the core book, the red chapter, pages 24-26. Power Level is how M&M achieves combat balance, and to a lesser extent, overall character balance. Most of your traits (but not all of them) are capped at a certain value relative to your Power Level. Here, you start with two PL10 slots and one PL7, and it's recommended that your first character be one of the PL10s. Easier to build. It's also highly recommended that you build in such a way as to actually meet your PL caps, so your PC isn't frustratingly ineffectual in play. In most other RPGs, you start with a foundation, and you build on it, as high as you can stack the bonuses. M&M isn't like that. You start with a ceiling, your Power Level, and you build up to that ceiling. Since your PC is PL10, you want your best possible Attack bonus, your Damage, your Defense bonus, and your Toughness saving throw (what M&M has instead of Hit Points) to all reach +10. There are several ways to do this. None of them are "better" than the others, but some of them are cheaper, because they're more limited in scope and usefulness. You can be a generalist, or you can specialize. Specialization is cheaper. You could buy your base Attack bonus that gets used for everything up to the full +10 cap for 20PP. Then you have +10 Attack no matter what attack you're using - punching a guy in the face, shooting him with a gun, whacking him with a baseball bat, whatever. Or you could decide to specialize. Buy base Attack up to +5 for 10PP, 3 ranks of the Attack Focus (Melee) feat for another 3PP, and one rank of the Attack Specialization (Swords) feat for 1PP. Then you have a +10 attack bonus when swinging a sword at a guy, or a +8 bonus when using some other melee attack, or a +5 bonus when using any kind of ranged attack. In most other games, Sword Guy is just as good as The Generalist in overall combat, but he's even better than The Generalist with a sword. In M&M, The Generalist pays a premium to be good with everything, including swords, while Sword Guy gets a discount for only reaching his maximum potential with a sword, and not being as good as The Generalist at non-sword attacks. You don't have to hit your PL caps under all circumstances, just under your best possible circumstances - Using your preferred attack, against your preferred enemy, in your preferred environment, etc. Specialization is cheaper than being a generalist because your "best possible circumstances" come up less often. Tradeoffs That was a lie, or at least a half-truth, to ease you in. Technically, your Attack bonus is on an axis with your Damage, and your Defense bonus is on an axis with your Toughness save, and each of those pairs has to average to 10 (or lower, but you don't want to go lower). So you can have Attack +10 and Damage 10, or Attack +15 and Damage 5, or Attack +5 and Damage 15, or anything in between. Tradeoffs are a way to 1) Keep every character from looking the same, and 2) More accurately represent certain characters and archetypes. Extra Effort and Hero Points are covered in Chapter 6 of the core book, the pink chapter, pages 120-122. With Extra Effort, you take a free action (so you can only do it on your own turn, but it doesn't cost any actions), get something special, and then suffer a level of Fatigue on the next round. The most common use of EE is a "Power Stunt." You temporarily gain a single power feat. The most common choice for that power feat is Alternate Power. The temporary power feat sticks around for the entire scene, unless you grabbed a new AP, in which case it goes away sooner if you swap that array to a different AP. Spending a Hero Point is a Reaction (so you can do it at any time). One of the many things you can do with a Hero Point is "Heroic Feat", where you gain a single feat (normal or power) for 1 round. Another thing you can do is immediately recover from a level of Fatigue. Because you can do this, a lot of people will short-hand spending a HP for a Power Stunt. The big takeaway here is that "what your character can do" is not limited to just what's written on their sheet. You don't have to buy a massive power Array with a dozen Alternate Power feats to cover every conceivable use of your character's powers. You don't have to buy every single feat you think your character might have use for at some point. You can just buy the stuff you'll use most often, buy a few Luck feat ranks to start each game with some extra Hero Points, and then use EE and HPs to temporarily grab stuff during play as you need it. And if you find yourself temporarily grabbing the same thing over and over again, then maybe you spend some earned Power Points on buying it permanently.
  9. Dirge: 5 IC posts = 1PP For A Fistful of Tepeyoite (5) Mister Strix: 0 IC posts = 0PP [None] Octoman: 6 IC posts = 1PP, +1PP Guide = 2PP Hydra Yas Queen (5) The Pinball Wizard Strikes! (1) Persephone: 5 IC posts = 1PP Even The Mere Reports of Such (3) Thy Golden Stair (2)
  10. Octoman Ben grinned nodded appreciatively when the armored warriors walked in. "AW YEAH. Man, no kidding, straight-up rockin' it BORIS VALLEJO style! Dudes just walked off the cover of one of my dad's old HEAVY METAL CDs! Damn, y'all keep it TIGHT. MAD respect." Erroneously assuming that Dalekos (or anyone else) was talking to him, Ben shook his head. "Nah, Man, it's cool, I'm all set." His flesh rippled, contracting and expanding in a thousand places, and suddenly he was wearing his Octoman costume. "I mean, unless you think I should go INCOGNITO?" More rippling, and then he looked like one of the ersatz barbarians. "Y'know, ELEMENT OF SURPRISE?" His form shifted back and forth a few more times. "I mean, I'm cool either way..." Octoman's face spread into a cocky grin at the woman as he leaned against a nearby wall. His voice lowered. "If by 'MAGIC' you mean that special somethin' that can't be taught, makes a guy stand out from the crowd, that spark you just can't define but you can't get him outta yer head..." Suddenly the smile vanished from his face and he looked away for a moment, like he had just remembered something. He sighed, turned back toward the woman, and shook his head. "Nah, no soy magic, no tengo magic." He waved his hand up and down his torso. "Magic-free zone up in here. 'Human mutate,' that's the TECHNICAL term for it. Retroviruses, radiation, all part of a complete breakfast. Oh, my blood's radioactive, so if I, like, tripped a sensor or somethin', that's why. RELAX." He pinched his thumb and index finger together. "Teeny tiny amount, couldn't give a BABY cancer." He chuckled. "Drives the Homeland Security guys NUTS, though."
  11. I've got 8PP of veteran rewards I can pry off of an inactive PC to help pay for this guy. He's not very useful, but he could be fun, and he could get more useful over time. Concept: Friendly Robot Sidekick (Skeets with the serial number filed off) Power Level: 10 Power Points: 85 (Sidekick Rank 17) ABILITIES 0PP Strength: 01 (-5) (Heavy Load: 2.5 lbs.) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: - Intelligence: 20 (+5) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 10 (+0) COMBAT 8PP Initiative: +0 (+0 Dex) Attack: +6 (+2 Base, +4 Size) Grapple: -11 (+6 Melee Attack, -5 Strength, -12 Size) Defense: +6 (+4 Base, +2 Size), +3 Flat-Footed Knockback Resistance: 0 SAVING THROWS 10PP Toughness: +6 (+9 Protection, -3 Size) Fortitude: - Reflex: +6 (+0 Dex, +6PP) Will: +4 (+0 Wis, +4PP) SKILLS 0R = 0PP Intimidation 0 (-6) Stealth 0 (+12) FEATS 1PP Eidetic Memory POWERS 76PP Comprehend 3 (Languages 3 [Read/Write All; Speak Any, One At A Time; Understand All]) [6PP] Features 2 (High-Definition Audio & Visual Recorder; Holographic Projector) [2PP] Flight 1 (10MPH, 100ft per Move Action; Feats: Subtle) [3PP] Immunity 40 (Fortitude effects; Psionic effects) [40PP] Protection 9 [9PP] Quickness 6 (x100; Flaws: Limited [Mental Tasks]) [3PP] Shrinking 12 (Size: Diminutive; Extras: Duration [Continuous]; Flaws: Permanent; Feats: Innate) [13PP] DRAWBACKS -10PP Disability (No Hands; Frequency: Very Common; Intensity: Moderate) [-4PP] Vulnerability (Electricity; Frequency: Common; Intensity: Moderate [+50% Effect Rank]) [-3PP] Vulnerability (Magnetism; Frequency: Uncommon; Intensity: Major [x2 Effect Rank]) [-3PP]
  12. Concept: Alien Super-Genius With A Portal-Gun Power Level: 10 Power Points: 150 DESCRIPTION Tall, but with bad posture, frequently slouching and/or coughing. Pale. Thin. Mop of messy hair, eyebrows, and perma-stubble are all naturally green. Wears big round sunglasses, even at night. Wears a bright red Hawaiian shirt or tank top over cargo shorts and sandals (not flip-flops, proper sandals), even in winter. Walks with a cane. Sweats a lot and sunburns easily. HISTORY Member of an early branch-off Lor sub-race. Tech level was interplanetary, but not yet interstellar. Sun was about to go supernova. As most renowned scientist, he led the effort to save his people. He failed. His personal ship and one other ship were accidentally sent far away through space and several centuries forward in time, while the rest of the star system and his people were annihilated. The others wound up across the galaxy. He wound up crashing on Earth. He salvaged what little tech from his ship he could to build his portal-gun and repair a drone assistant. COMPLICATIONS Accident: Use of the portal gun can temporarily destabilize the fabric of space-time in the local area. If he uses the portal gun too much in too short of a time, he can accidentally create some kind of Negative Space Wedgie. Addiction: Takes amphetamines and opiates by the fistful to deal with the constant physical discomfort and strain caused by Earth's environment (see below), and the constant emotional discomfort and strain of being stranded alone on an alien world with a significantly lower tech level than his own. Emotional Problems: Isolation, Survivors Guilt, etc. Enemy: Other survivors of his race blame him for the doom of their people and are scouring the galaxy to find him and punish him. ABILITIES 24PP Strength: 08 (-1) (Heavy Load: 40 lbs.; Running Long Jump: 5ft) Dexterity: 08 (-1) Constitution: 10 (+0) Intelligence: 40/25 (+15/+7) Wisdom: 40/25 (+15/+7) Charisma: 08 (-1) COMBAT 16PP Initiative: +15/+7 (+15/+7 Int) Attack: +4, +10 Spatial Control Grapple: +4 (+4 Melee Attack, +0 Strength) Defense: +10/+4 (+4 Base, +6 Shield), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback Resistance: 10/0 SAVING THROWS 10PP Toughness: +10/+0 (+0 Con, +10 Force Field [Impervious 10]) Fortitude: +5 (+0 Con, +5PP) Reflex: +10/+4 (-1 Dex, +5PP, +6 Enhanced) Will: +15/+7 (+15/+7 Wis, +0PP) SKILLS 0R = 0PP Climb 0 (-10) Craft (Any) 0 (+15) Computers 0 (+15) Concentration 0 (+15) Disable Device 0 (+15) Investigation 0 (+15) Knowledge (Any) 0 (+15) Medicine 0 (+15) Notice 0 (+15) Profession (Any) 0 (+15) Search 0 (+15) Sense Motive 0 (+15) FEATS 19PP Beginners Luck Environmental Adaptation (Low Gravity) Favored Environment (Normal Gravity) Improvised Tools Inventor Jack of All Trades Luck 3 Sidekick 17 (9, +8 Veteran Reward) (85PP) Speed of Thought ENHANCED FEATS: Evasion Interpose POWERS 91PP Comprehend 3 (Languages 3 [Read/Write All; Speak Any, One At A Time; Understand All]) [6PP] Device 15 (75PP Container [Passive, Permanent]; Flaws: Easy-To-Lose; Feats: Restricted [Knowledge {Physical Sciences} skill bonus of +15 or higher], Subtle [Disguised as a cane]) [47PP] (Descriptors: Technology) Enhanced Reflex 6 (Feats: Evasion) [7PP] (Descriptors: Defensive Portals) Force Field 10 (Extras: Impervious) [20PP] (Descriptors: Defensive Portals) Shield 6 [6PP] (Descriptors: Defensive Portals) Spatial Control 15 (30PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 4) [34PP] (Additional Descriptors: Portals) Base Power: [12 + 13 = 25PP] Elongation 8 (1,000ft Max; Elongate 400ft per Move Action; 80ft Range Increment for elongated melee attacks; Feats: Indirect 3, Subtle) [12PP] ESP 3 (Range: 1,000ft; Sense Types: All; Extras: Duration [Sustained], Simultaneous; Flaws: Action [Standard], Feedback; Feats: Subtle) [13PP] Alternate Power: [29PP] Blast 10 (Feats: Accurate 3, Indirect 3, Subtle, Variable Descriptor 2) [29PP] (Additional Descriptors: Dropping Stuff On You, Dropping You On Stuff) Alternate Power: [30PP] Deflect 10 (All Attacks) [30PP] (Additional Descriptors: Defensive Portals) Alternate Power: [27PP] Nauseate 10 (Extras: Range [Ranged]; Flaws: Action [Full]; Feats: Accurate 3, Indirect 3, Subtle) [27PP] (Additional Descriptors: Rapid Teleportals) Alternate Power: [28PP] Teleport 8 (2,000 miles / Same Continent; Extras: Portal; Flaws: Action [Move Action to open or close]; Feats: Change Direction, Progression [Portal Size] 2 [25ft x 25ft], Subtle) [28PP] Teleport 4 (400ft per Move Action; Flaws: Limited [Short-Range]; Feats: Change Direction, Interpose, Progression [Cargo] 1 [250 lbs.], Turnabout) [8PP] (Additional Descriptors: Instant Portal) Immunity 8 (Aging; Cold; Interaction Skills; Radiation; Flaws: Limited [1/2 Effect]) [4PP] (Descriptors: Alien Biology [Aging, Cold, Radiation], Mutation [Interaction Skills], Super-Intellect [Interaction Skills]) Quickness 6 (x100; Flaws: Limited [Mental Tasks]) [3PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Intellect) Super-Intellect 15 (30PP Array) [30PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Base Power: [15 + 15 = 30PP] Enhanced Intelligence 15 [15PP] Enhanced Wisdom 15 [15PP] Super-Senses 1 (Low-Light Vision) [1PP] (Descriptors: Alien Biology) DRAWBACKS -10PP Disability (Earth counts as a "High Gravity" environment; -2 Attack; 20ft Base Speed per move action; 1/2 Carry Capacity; Falling damage gains +50% Damage effect rank; -10 Climb; -10 Strength for Jumping; Frequency: Uncommon; Intensity: Moderate) [-2PP] Disability (Mobility; While in a "Normal Gravity" environment like Earth, when he attempts to move normally in combat, he must make a DC15 Fortitude save; If he fails, he loses the move action, but does not move; If he fails by 5+, he falls Prone; Frequency: Uncommon; Intensity: Minor) [-1PP] Disability (Earth counts as a "Thick Atmosphere" environment; Once per hour spent outside without breathing assistance, or when engaging in combat, he must make a DC15 Fortitude save to avoid becoming either Fatigued or Sickened [GM's discretion]; If already Fatigued or Sickened, he becomes Exhausted or Nauseated; Frequency: Uncommon; Intensity: Moderate) [-2PP] Disability (Light Sensitivity; If his sunglasses are broken or removed while direct sunlight is visible, he must save against a Visual Dazzle effect, others gain Partial Concealment from him, and he suffers a -4 penalty to Notice and Search checks; Frequency: Uncommon; Intensity: Moderate) [-2PP] Vulnerability (Heat [including Environmental Heat]; Frequency: Uncommon; Intensity: Minor [+1 DC and x2 Time Interval]) [-1PP] Vulnerability (Light [Sensory; a Visual Dazzle or a Nauseate effect with the "bright/flashing light" descriptors would count, but not a Damage effect with the "laser" descriptor]; Frequency: Uncommon; Intensity: Moderate [+50% Effect Rank]) [-2PP]
  13. Persephone "Well, Niro, I've been told that the less you speak, the more people will listen when you finally do have something to say. I confess I hope that's not entirely true, because I could talk the ears off a dead dog, so that would mean nobody has ever heard a word I said, and I'd like to think there were a few gems here and there. But it's true enough. And I can tell you, having seen it firsthand, that a little skill and a lot of gumption goes a long way, even if those are the only gifts the Good Lord saw fit to bestow up on you. I can think of one or two local heroes off the top of my head who might have some superhuman powers, but if they do, it's nothing you can see with the naked eye, and they still pull more than their own weight when it comes to averting disasters and saving lives. So you probably amount to a lot more than you give yourself credit for." "...'D'...there is a...political situation to consider before you start really getting your feet wet here in Vibora. Being an independent superhero is as much of an option here as it is in most other cities, sure. We have a few here already, and for the most part, we enjoy a cordial if unofficial working relationship. As far as those of us in 'the community' are concerned, there's no difference between the 'official' Defenders and the 'good Samaritans' who 'just happen by and lend a hand'. But we keep up appearances for everyone else. That mutual respect and cooperation we enjoy among ourselves doesn't necessarily extend beyond our little 'community'. Those of them who travel in less 'reputable' circles, like Betsy Brooks and The Woodsman, they wanted a layer of plausible deniability with their own contacts as much as we did with our more 'legitimate' associations. There are all sorts of people - the police, City Hall, even the local media - who may not be as forthcoming with an independent, or as inclined to cooperate with or defer to one, as they generally would with one of us. You don't wear a mask and your identity is a matter of public record, and that will probably help with any trust issues, but don't be surprised if there's some...friction."
  14. Persephone "CHEVAL!" The green woman shouted and reached out with her actual hands, grasping at empty air as the metal man was ensnared by the amorphous mass of flesh and teeth. The bloated vines thrashed around faster and more furiously, and the thorns on them grew larger. But the whole mess erupted into flame before Persephone had time to react any further. The vines retreated from the flames through the window and disappeared from view. Persephone turned around toward the crossbowman. "Thank the Lord, THERE you are!" She started to dive in for a hug and then stopped herself, remembering just in time who she was talking to. "Good grief, I was worried they had you chained up in the basement, or that some of..." She looked around at the floor and waved her hands. "...That some of THIS used to be YOU!" "What, these...THINGS? YES, unfortunately, VERY real." She watched as the white fluid from the thorns sizzled away. "And not even REMOTELY alive. More blasphemous MOCKERIES of life, like that creature on the night of the hurricane. We're all seeing the same horrid things, and the chances of some drug or magic spell that would work the same way on all of US seem pretty remote, so yes, I reckon it's all real." She looked him up and down and took half a step back from him. "Woodsman..." She spoke tentatively. "Where did all that...whose blood is that? Are you hurt?"
  15. @Heritage You seem to have a lot of options. AA's kept the narration intentionally vague. If you go back to the first OOC page, you can see where AA called for a Notice check to find Woodsman's bike outside. You could start by rolling that. If she found Woodsman's bike, then maybe she kept searching around outside? Torque could've been behind Cheval and Persephone in her human form the whole time, following them up the stairs and into the bedroom where the monster was. Or she could have taken time to search around outside and she could only now be catching up to them. Maybe she walked up the stairs in her human form and she's standing right behind them. Or maybe she was in her helicopter form flying around the outside of the house and she just reached the second-floor window that would allow her to see in on the bedroom where the fight took place, and her headlights are only now shining through the broken glass. Maybe she flies toward the window and then changes into her humanoid form so that the flight becomes a leap and she comes crashing into the room from outside. If she was outside, then she could see the plants enlarge and morph into giant spiked plant-tentacles and she could see which window they busted through, so she'd know pretty quickly where the fight was happening.
  16. OK, there ya go. Once Archer has the ball anchored in place, Octoman will go ahead and swap his Octopus Power array back to its default slot and let the power stunt go away, and for now he'll suck up the Fatigued condition.
  17. Octoman Once the giant pinball finally came to a stop, the Sensational Cephalopod's neck twisted back around and he grinned and held a "thumbs up" gesture above the ball. Once Archer had the giant pinball anchored, Octoman let his muscles return to their resting state and allowed the air bladders in his body to re-inflate. To the others, it was like watching a mattress spring back into place after being compressed. He slapped the panicking hostage on his back. "Nah, Dude, it's all good, you can chill, the cavalry's here, we got this. Any ONE of us could run circles around this clown and redecorate the room with his face, but there's THREE of us. Dude's HAMBURGER. Hey, you don't look so hot." He turned to the other two superheroes. "Anyone got, like, a water bottle or some jerky or somethin'?" He patted his own chest and abdomen. "This thing doesn't really have, like, POCKETS. At least, not the kind anyone would wanna EAT out of..." He half-stumbled, half-jumped into the air when the quake began. "HELLL-OHHH! QUICK, FIND A DOORWAY!" His tentacles tore themselves free from their purchases around the room and reflexively retracted, snapping back toward him like rubber bands. The ends of the tentacles planted themselves in various spots on the floor around him, and a couple on the ceiling. He staggered in a few random directions, his tentacles arranged around him and lifting him above the ground like the legs of a spider. "Nevermind, pretty sure that doorway thing's a myth anyway."
  18. Octoman "Oh man they TOTALLY ate it didn't they? That's rough, Dude. Do you guys have, like, nanobots or, I dunno, magic or something to grow it back? Or is it just, like, GONE? I mean, I'm pretty sure I can grow stuff back if it gets bitten off, so if you guys think you could, like, do something with my blood, have a pint on me, it's all good! Just, y'know, be careful when you cut me open, 'cause this stuff comes SHOOTIN' out like a...wait, you guys live underwater, you don't have hoses...like a...no, y'all don't have fire hydrants either...or geysers...it's under really high pressure, OK?" He waved a hand toward one of the walls of their transport craft. "One little prick, and it's just SPLAT all OVER the place. STICKY, too. NOT easy to wash out. That's part of why I don't even bother wearing clothes anymore. We should probably wait until after we're done kickin' fish-face ass so I'm at a hunnerd percent ass-kickin' potential. Then again, if I get killed you lose your shot, so maybe I should pour some out now..."
  19. Persephone "Well, look at that. He got there after all. Sooner than I thought he would, too." Sir Knight is as clever as he is brave! ? Plenty of flowers, yes. ??? Gotta brighten up this tower somehow. I'm staring down the barrel of a free weekend for the first time in a month of Sundays, and I'm as lost as last year's Easter egg. If you're feeling fancy, they're putting on Mignon (in the original French!) at Symphony Hall, and after that I think Sweetland's would really hit the spot. It's last-minute, but I know enough people who know people that I think I could get us in without even dropping your name. ? Or if you're feeling like something more cozy, I have the CD, and a fireplace, and I make a halfway decent magret de canard and a mean chocolate souffle, and there's a bottle of 1947 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste burning a hole in my cupboard that I wouldn't mind some help with.
  20. Reflex save (DC18): 31. Acrobatics check (DC13): 30.
  21. Octoman "Aaaand so you rounded up the one other squaddy who's got gills." Muscles flexed in Ben's neck, and scars suddenly appeared on either side in sets of three parallel lines, which then flexed open before vanishing entirely. "And the one other squaddy who won't HESITATE to put webbed foot to fish-monster ass. Good call." He slapped Heroditus on the bicep. "And you KNOW I got the skills ta pay the bills. I'm strong, I'm fast, I'm tough..." He raised his arm, flexed his own bicep, and slapped it with his other hand. "I can do this..." He vanished from sight, then re-appeared just as quickly. "...I can LITERALLY smell 'em comin' a mile away, I got so many powers I find a new one every WEEK. ONE MAN ARMY, right here. Well, one-man NAVY I guess. Besides," he counted down on his fingers, "Johnny Cash Junior can't bring a lightning bolt down into the water without frying everyone around him, PHYSICS'D, Flag-Girl's international incidents count for the year is already x-greater-than-zero so she probably doesn't wanna add plus one, I don't think Teenage Magic Granny-Scooter Turtlegirl can swim...can she even float? Wait, what was I...RIGHT, yeah, and sure, Ronnie Dangerously can shake up a can of whupass and pop the tab in a fool's face with the best of 'em, but she'd wanna make a big PRODUCTION out of it, bring out the COMPANY BOAT and all her little minions and take over the whole thing, her and your buddy General Scaryvoice von Crazyeyes would spend the whole trip fighting over who's in charge, THAT'S a headache we don't need. Besides, she's cool and all, but for her, this ain't PERSONAL. But for me, for you, like obviously way more for you but also kinda for me..." He cracked his knuckles, angled his head down but glared up under his brow at nothing in particular, and dropped his voice as low as he could. "...It's PERSONAL."
  22. Rules clarification, in case this isn't a handwavey custom type thing: If this is a Snare effect like I suspected, then the DC22 Reflex save only comes when he's first trying to avoid it. After that, his only options are: 1) Slipping out with an Escape skill check (full action, DC rank+20, so 32?), or 2) An attack (which the victim can do with their Strength as a standard action) against the Snare itself, which saves "like an inanimate object with Toughness equal to the power rank" (so Toughness 12, takes 10, 22 on the save?). If it's consistent with the other damage rules for inanimate objects, then the Snare would have to suffer at least a Disabled result (fail by 10+) to be broken open and release the victim. And if this is also an +Engulf Snare like I suspected, then the Snare is part of the creature's body, so they suffer the same damage he inflicts upon the Snare. So if an attacker manages to Daze the monster, I believe it can't take the free action to maintain the Sustained power, and it loses its grip. (The Engulf extra specifies that "you suffer Feedback damage", so it sounds to me like it still treats the Snare as a separate inanimate object, rather than an attack on the Snare being a "direct" attack on you.)
  23. Octoman When Heroditus finally tested the door, it was unlocked. Room 213 was filled with competing noises. Ben's fingers furiously hammered at his mechanical keyboard, the constant CLICKing and CLACKing reminding Heroditus of the pincers of a giant crab. While he enjoyed the tactile sensation (Ben would rant at length about how, once you got your hands on a "proper" mechanical keyboard, using the more common "membrane" style felt "like pushing your fingers through Jello"), Ben was indifferent to the sound. The electronic music blasting through his speakers, he couldn't possibly have heard, but the baseline was enhanced enough by the subwoofer at his feet that he could feel it, and the smartwatch on his wrist vibrated along with the beat closely enough that his head nodded and bobbed roughly in time with it. Heroditus was already through the door by the time Ben had noticed that his watch's vibrations were no longer keeping time with the music, and the color of the blinking notification light had changed from blue to red. He glanced down at the face, which was flashing "KNOCK" at him repeatedly, then turned toward the doorway. He grinned and pointed twin finger-guns at Heroditus. "YO, Squaddy, what's the word?" Ben's eyes widened. "Atlantis?" He pointed a finger at the ground. "Like, DOWN UNDER?" He reached out, grabbed Heroditus's hand, held it up over the amphibious teen's head, and then slapped his own palm against it. "HELL yeah! Let's get our SURF on!" He ran past Heroditus out the door, but then doubled back, took off his watch, and emptied his pockets onto his bed, including his mobile phone. "Guess I can't really get this stuff wet." He shoved a fist into the air and shouted as he left the room. "REGULATORS! Mount up!"
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