N/A

Do you have a preference of either Lincoln or Southside? I'm thinking Southside is the place for you, though.

Oops! Forgot to actually answer your question. I have no preference. Southside is fine.

This idea I dislike. Sitting at home just doesn't sit well with me for what a hero does. Besides, using that type of power to invade people's thoughts doesn'T seem very heroic.

I think you may be misinterpreting my intent here.

It's not like she does nothing but sit down there all day. The extrasensory scanning is a means to an end, not the end. It's a springboard. She finds indication of trouble or mystery, then she gets up off her butt and goes digging/hunting/flying to the rescue.

And the "invading people's thoughts," in this capacity, probably isn't quite what you had in mind either. It's not like she's just randomly probing anyone's mind she comes across. She isn't the Panopticon. Think of it like this: Scarab scans the city. She sees a man following another man down a dark alley. Quick mental probe: "Is Man A following Man B intentionally? Does he intend to hurt him? To rob him?" If so, then up, up, and away! If not, then move on and scan the next dark alley.

It's just another type of "patrol." It occurred to me during a great issue of a DC Comic (I think it was JLA) where Batman disillusions another hero who watches his investigative process (Plastic Man? Flash? Green Lantern?). "So...dropping down into dark alleys to beat up muggers?" "Accounts for about 10% of what I actually do with my time."

One last round of confirmation from those mentioned above, then we begin!

You heard 'em! Sound off like ya gotta pair!

Scarab: "Ready!"

A front liner would be appreciated though.

Wait for it...

Hey, I managed to get Hellbound approved before the dig got underway. Room for one more?

And there's the muscle.

I'd be interested in bringing The Scarab into this if there's room.

As for how she can get involved:

She spends the bulk of her "work day" in the command center of her HQ, alternating her attention between monitoring the news, and scanning the city with her ESP + Telepathy, looking for trouble or unsolved cases. She doesn't limit herself to any one particular neighborhood. With Rapid 2, she can perform a cursory scan (Take 10 + Notice/Search +15 = DC25) of the entire city in slightly under 15 minutes. If she scours the city with a fine-tooth comb (Take 20 + Notice/Search +15 = DC35), it takes about 5 hours.

When she shows up to a scene in-person, she can gain more information and leads with Postcognition and Precognition.

She could also have an unintentional Precognitive vision or dream that begins a particular investigation, rather than supplementing it.

Once she learns of a threat or situation, she can respond pretty quickly. With Flight 3, she can hit 50mph as a move action, 100mph as a full action. Freedom City is about 20 miles in diameter (it's actually about 15x25, which averages out to the same area). This means she can cross from one end of the city to another in about 12 minutes. If she's starting from the center of the city (where her base is located), she can reach any point in the city in half that time, about 6 minutes. And since she can both turn herself invisible (to people, anyway) and suit up as free actions, there's no real "prep time."

Avenger is indeed a dark, gritty vigilante, a fierce predator of the urban jungle who preys on the criminal element. Mwahaha! :bat:

HE is the terror...who FLAPS IN THE NIGHT!

HE is the batteries...that ARE NOT INCLUDED!

HE is the wrong number...who WAKES YOU UP at 3AM!

HE is the low ratings...that CANCEL YOUR PROGRAM!

HE is...THE AVENGER!!!

:shock:

You guys are a couple of pretty dark protectors of the night... I hope you don't give Slam Dance nightmares!

"Dark Avenger of The Night" is Avenger's whole schtick, yeah.

But I'm playing a Silver Age legacy. I'm as wholesome as the lovechild of a baseball and an apple pie, born in wedlock!

Unless it's that whole "I can read your mind" part that scares you.

I'm sold, this is definitely the sort of thing Avenger would get involved in. He and Scarab would make an interesting pair of comrades.

Jack knew to stay away from crazy; you never knew when 'crazy' meant 'psychic.' And encountering a psychic, especially tonight, would be bad.

Heehee. 8-)

Excellent points...

Thank you.

I have realized that there are some... interesting consequences if Scarab does manage to catch who did it, things which could be either Very Good or Very Bad (or both) for all parties involved.

You had me at "interesting consequences." I'm sold.

Thing is, it's not something that'd appeal to everyone. And for some that it would appeal to, I have trouble in figuring out how to make it any sort of a challenge.

I could see Avenger or Scarab II getting involved. Problem with Scarab II, though, is the same problem any murder mystery writer has when dealing with an investigator who possess phenomenal psychic powers, chief amongst them postcognition and telepathy/mind reading: there needs to be a way for the psychic to not immediately solve it and thus end the story before the first page.

There are ways around this. Off the top of my head:

Precognition and Postcognition don't have to reveal everything. They can reveal as little or as much information as the GM wants. They can reveal just enough to get and keep the plot moving. "I'm getting a vision...it's a little hazy...the victim didn't know his attacker...there's no emotional resonance there...I can't make out the killer's face...but he's wearing a signet ring. Here's what the symbol looked like. Research this."

Mind Reading isn't automatic, and can only rip information out of the heads of people who actually know that information. Either I don't cross paths with people who know something you don't want me to know, or I do, and they have a decent Will save.

I also think this was part of the reason they made Mind Reading a contested roll - so it'd be easier for the GM to fudge the results.

I think part of the whole point of having extrasensory powers like this is so that the character can aid an investigation that has come to a standstill because traditional methods are insufficient. Situations where the physical evidence is so inadequate that psychic powers are necessary to move the investigation forward at all.

1) The Scarab II (Elena Guerrero)

2) Elena is a hockey fan. She's attending a Blades game at the Liberty Dome, when one or more supervillains attack. Maybe they intend to rob the crowd. Maybe they intend to take the crowd hostage. Maybe they want to destroy the arena. It could be a straightforward plot, or there might be layers to it. Wildcard has been blackmailing the owner of the F.C. Blades for a while now, claiming that their wins are the result of his superpowered probability tampering. Has the owner stopped paying, provoking the Crime League to show him what happens to those who defy them? Has the owner secretly orchestrated the attack as part of some grand plan to escape Wildcard's blackmail scheme?

By all means, prospective GM, get creative and go wild. Or phone it in. As long as it drives up my post count.

3) This could be a solo adventure for The Scarab, or it could scale up quite well to accommodate any number of other characters. I'd actually prefer a group effort if others would be interested.

4) My PC is currently in 0 threads.

EDIT (02/17/09): My PC is currently in 2 threads, and has an open invitation for 1 other which may or may not materialize.

Before I go starting any new threads, I thought I'd check to see if any existing ones were open.

After scouring the forum, checking in on every thread that's updated within the last two months, it seems like they're all either officially closed, or are officially "open" but already packed with 5-6 heroes.

So if there are any existing threads that need/want/wouldn't mind adding another hero to the mix, please feel free to sound off here!

Shinken is Japanese, but, being in the arms-dealing business, spends most of his time over in the States, where the military is big and the budgets are bigger.

We're Number One! We're Number One! :D

[...]

In their long-running series Tomb of The Scarab, Castle Comics popularized the idea of "The Scarab's Tomb," a secret base "deep beneath the Earth, from which the crimson-&-gold-clad hero pursued his tireless crusade against Evil." Several citizens of Freedom City have been inside over the years, aided and protected by the psychic hero. But through a combination of his mental powers and more mundane methods like blindfolds and sedatives, the actual location remained hidden. Only a few allies (mostly his comrades in the first Freedom League) knew The Scarab's true identity, or the whereabouts of his Lair.

The Lair is a triangular structure vaguely reminiscent of an Egyptian-style pyramid, located under a heavy layer of rock directly beneath the foundations of Pyramid Plaza on Wading Way, in the heart of Downtown Freedom City. Its mechanical and electrical systems and utilities are capable of either operating independently, or "piggy-backing" off of Pyramid Plaza, so their presence and operation are concealed from scrutiny.

The Scarab's Lair (PL15 HQ) [35EP]

The Scarab's Lair is an underground pyramid buried beneath the foundations of Pyramid Plaza. Though decorated with an Ancient Egyptian motif, the aged facades are purely cosmetic. Concealed behind them are the highly advanced technology which maintains the complex, courtesy of Daedalus and Doktor Archeville. The Lair is detailed in Freedom City Atlas #2, and it is updated in this thread.

Size: Huge [3EP]

Toughness: +15 [2EP]

Features: [30EP]

Communications

Computers^Masterwork

Concealed 2 (+15 DC)

Defense System (Blast 15) (Scarab-Bots*)

Fire Prevention System

Gym

Holding Cells (Nullify 15)

Infirmary^Masterwork

Laboratory^Masterwork

Library^Masterwork

Living Space

Personnel (Scarab-Bots*)

Pool

Power 2 (60PP)

Power System

Security System 5 (DC40)

Self-Repairing (Scarab-Bots*)

Treasure**

Workshop^Masterwork

*The Scarab-Bots are tiny robotic scarab beetles, made from a gleaming gold/titanium alloy. Swarms of them scuttle throughout the Lair, guided by a rudimentary artificial intelligence. Each Scarab-Bot is equipped with a powerful miniaturized energy blaster, used as much for utility as for combat. Their primary function is to maintain, repair, and defend the Lair, though they are capable of other basic tasks.

**This Feature is for the chamber in The Scarab's Lair described in Freedom City Atlas #2 as follows:

The vaulted Great Hall is home to many of Alexander Rhodes’ prized ancient artifacts and trophies, including an entire Egyptian chariot, carved pillars and statues from Giza and other parts of Egypt, glass cases of jewelry, frame papyrus scrollwork, and archeological curiosities from other time periods, associated with his other lifetimes.

Powers: [52/60PP]

Teleport 10 (200,000 miles ["Earth To The Moon"], Extras: Accurate, Duration 2 [Continuous], Portal 2, Flaws: Limited [Others], Limited [To/From HQ], Feats: Change Direction, Progression [Portal Size] 1 [10ft x 10ft]) [52PP]

The Scarab's teleportals appear to be giant glowing golden ankh-shaped holes in space. The portals are lined with crackling lightning. Air in the immediate vicinity rushes into the portal, creating a light wind.

In order to open a teleportal, the subject must either be in the teleporter junction room of The Scarab's Lair, or else they must have a Scarab's Lair Teleport Beacon, a small device about the size of a quarter which sends a radio signal to the computer controlling the teleporter. Any power which interferes with Radio Communication or Radio senses can block the signal, in which case the character should receive a Hero Point for the Complication.

Possession of a beacon requires that the character pay 1PP for a Benefit or Feature, and that the character be on >the list of characters to whom The Scarab has granted access.

Scarab II just got approved. Has this started yet? Is there a thread for it?

Scarab II is an American, but just barely. She was born in California, to Mexican immigrants. She did go to college in Freedom City, though.

Once he's approved (half way there!) The Sharpe-Dressed Man will be willing to work for you nutty luddites, as long as there's a challenge in it. He’ll work for anyone. :twisted:

Speaking of "unleashing a monster you don't fully understand and can't possibly control"...

..... I honestly do not know how I missed those.

*wipes egg off face*

Alright, she looks fine to me, here's your first approval.

I apologize if my tone was condescending. I didn't intend to insult you.

Thank you for your time.

Okay, one more question/comment: I see several of her telepathic abilities com with Comprehend (speak any language). You are aware that without the ability to understand any language, her ability to Mind Read could be limited? Is this something you'd want to fix now, or have her develop/grow into as time passes (and pints get earned)?

This is wrong.

Ultimate Power, page 66, "Mind Reading," "Flaws":

"Limited By Language (-1): You can only understand the subject's thoughts or memories if you share a common language."

The clear implication of this Flaw is that, by default, Mind Reading transcends language barriers.

Ultimate Power, page 32, "Communication":

"Communication is language-dependent; you and the subject must share a common language (see Comprehend to communicate across language barriers."

Communication, by contrast, clearly states that it does not ignore language barriers.

Ultimate Power, page 196, "Telepathy":

"You have the Mental Communication and Mind Reading effects at your Telepathy power rank. To allow anyone to understand your projected thoughts, regardless of language, add a rank of the Comprehend effect."

Emphasis added.

One rank of Comprehend is recommended to allow the subject to understand your projected thoughts. Since Communication is clearly language-dependent, and non-Flawed Mind Reading clearly is not, the text is obviously referring to the "Speak Any Language" rank of Comprehend, not the "Understand Any Language" rank.

*Don LaFontaine voice* Now is the time for these two forces to join together!

*sniff* R.I.P.... :cry:

Wesley will be there as soon as Creeping Killers is over

Why would you have to wait for one thread to end before joining another one?

Oops! Forgot to actually add the seventh one, even though I mentioned it. I'll make the edit.

Base Power: Telekinesis

Alternate Powers:

1) ESP+Telepathy

2) Concealment+Telepathy

3) Mental Blast

4) Mind Control

5) Stun

6) Telepathy

7) Mental Transform

I think it could be a fun idea as long as it's not just another Freedom League clone. If the team could be a bit different, like marvel's X-Factor (superhero PI), Defenders (Mystical defenders) or Thunderbolts (Reformed villains) then I think a team could be awesome. There's probably a hundred little twists you could do to make an interesting superteam that's still unique and fills its own niche.

On the DC side, there might also be room for a group that would be to the Freedom League what the Outsiders were to the Justice League.

For the uninitiated, The Outsiders was a team created by Batman to basically shield the Justice League from bad press. The League goes to the parades and the photo-ops while the Outsiders do the "dirty work." They do the things the League can't, but that still need to be done. If the Justice League is Silver Age and the Suicide Squad is Iron Age, the Outsiders are Bronze Age.

Ignis does seem to be a bit of a "glass cannon." Looks like he can dish out some terrifying damage, though.

Assuming she gets approved, my Scarab build is tough...unless someone breaks her Concentration, or forces her to roll a Fortitude save. Then she crumples like an empty soda can.