Avenger Assembled

A little while later, in one of the houses James had set aside for everyone, Mark made certain suggestions to Faith. "C'mon," he said with a breezy smile, "it'll be really fun. We don't even have to do anything, you know, we can just go as far as you want and see where it takes us." He bent down and kissed her sweetly, both of them standing by the window. "You'll really enjoy the ride, I promise. C'mon, grow me those wings again."

Nuh, you really should shoot for hitting PL caps. If you switched Inspire for more Defensive [not Combat] Roll and put one more ep into the tux, you could hit defensive caps OK. Offensively might be harder.

OK, here's your first APPROVAL Now you just need one more.

One small change: Fearsome Presence 1 isn't going to affect anyone other than very low-level minions, and even them not all the time. My advice? Move that point to skills and buy MOAR Intimidate. ;)

I like the background a lot! You might want to think about an iconic 'look' for him, like Absorbing Man's ball and chain. Remember to be careful playing a bad boy, you do need to play well with others. You'll want to alphabetize his feats and skill, as well as make sure his skill modifiers are fixed. If he got DNAscent powers but didn't go to work for them, the Labyrinth's agents (under assumed names, since even the existence of the Labyrinth is a huge secret) are going to be a natural enemy for him.

Optimized Iron Age Character #4: Demon of Vengeance AA's notes: OK, I just had to help this guy out a little. Has the same theme of being an ordinary man with many bizarre powers, same drawbacks, but now he's a terrifying apparition who can follow bad guys almost anywhere, shrug off almost all their attacks, and then beat the stuffing out of them with any number of weapons pulled from the forges of hell itself. Note that there's no reason why this build wouldn't work for an angel of vengeance type, given that the "hell" is just a matter of descriptors.

Optimized Iron Age Character #3: Cursed Mystic AA's Notes: OK, I lied. But this guy doesn't even have his full sheet in the Iron Age book, thanks to another Green Ronin editing error. I tried to give that sword of his some serious bite. He's pretty good at what he does, though I'm sure a real combat specialist from around here could make him even better. He's a decent enough mystic and OK investigator, and certainly packs much more of a punch in melee than most of your spellcaster types.

Iron Age Optimized Build #2: Gun-Toting Mutant From The Future AA's Notes: Hmm, this guy seems familiar. A tough character to modify, given the way he's supposed to be good at everything. (And winds up being just OK at most things) A good team player, though, and a decent, if gruff leader. A masterwork blaster rifle is about as good as you're going to get, equipment-wise, in a campaign set in the present day. I dropped the Force Field and gave him body armor with pouches, like a good Iron Age hero should have. I also dropped the Benefit feat; if he wants to make money, he can cheat at horse racing. (I figure that's how his precognition works too; a useful, if dodgy knowledge of the future.) He's in pretty good shape physically, and not at all bad in melee, but is best with his signature gun. His TK is low, but it's not exactly useless either. He's got Temporal Inertia, since he's a time traveler, and just a little Regeneration, since everybody and his brother in those days had a 'healing factor.' I don't think I'll do any more Iron Age mods; they're a little too generic for me.

Optimized Iron Age Build #1: The Vampiric Avenger --- AA's Notes: Holy cow, what a badly designed character! I had to trim the stuffing out of this bad boy, let me tell you what. He's no Avenger, but he's a decently powerful character. Probably better on a team, since he's only really outstanding at hiding, and really vulnerable if he's caught flat-footed. I gave him Life Support to reflect the fact that he's not technically undead, as befits someone who may have that Iron Age backstory of being only half-vampire.

Optimized Silver Age Build #5: Feminist Heroine AA's Notes: I was inspired to make these characters because of how sad I was that good art and good concepts got kiboshed by bad character design. My philosophy here was "Keep the same point expenditures, but make them not suck." Not too many changes here; this was my favorite original build. I gave her Speed so she can get around OK in combat situations, and upped her Sense Motive to represent the "super-women's-intuition" that several female characters had actually had (honest!) as a power in the Bronze Age. She kept Quick Change 2 because her artist likes drawing her in all kinds of weird costumes, just like the Bronze Age Wasp. OK, I think I'm about done.

Optimized Silver Age Build #4: Psychic AA's Notes: I was inspired to make these characters because of how sad I was that good art and good concepts got kiboshed by bad character design. My philosophy here was "Keep the same point expenditures, but make them not suck." A tough one. This was a terrible build! But I made it a little more worthy of the Mistress of the Mind. I gave her Ignite (Perception Range Damage; aka Firestarting) and Damaging TK because any good 70s psychic (Firestarter/Carrie) should be able to throw down with the fires and the throwing stuff if necessary.

Optimized Silver Age Build #3: Guitar Hero AA's Notes: I was inspired to make these characters because of how sad I was that good art and good concepts got kiboshed by bad character design. My philosophy here was "Keep the same point expenditures, but make them not suck." This character is one of the finest musicians in the world. The Guitar Hero can also blow up a tank with the POWER OF ROCK! So what's not to love? Saves aren't great, but that lifestyle doesn't exactly do wonders for your Will save. (Fort save is very good, though, after some exposure. To, um, stuff. Is this thing on?) I figure his equipment is probably a suitably tricked-out van to tool around the countryside in, with a Masterwork Guitar or two somewhere in the back. If you want, you can probably shuffle some points around and give him the Wonder Dog archetype from Golden Age as his boon companion...

Optimized Silver Age Build #2: Amphibian Warrior AA's Notes: I was inspired to make these characters because of how sad I was that good art and good concepts got kiboshed by bad character design. My philosophy here was "Keep the same point expenditures, but make them not suck." "Hah hah, it's Aquaman!-OH GOD MY FACE!" This Atlantean powerhouse doesn't talk to fish; that's for hippies. An effective warrior in and out of the water, the Amphibian Warrior is a good fighter and planner, a veteran of years of warfare between the Kingdom of Atlantis and its many undersea enemies. She's not a great ambassador to dry land, but the monarch hopes her attitude will cow the surfacers into submission since sweet words usually fail. And if that doesn't work, perhaps the AVENGING WARRIOR OF ATLANTIS! must make with the beating.

Optimized Silver Age Build #1: The Bionic Hero AA's Notes: I was inspired to make these characters because of how sad I was that good art and good concepts got kiboshed by bad character design. My philosophy here was "Keep the same point expenditures, but make them not suck." This is my version of the Bionic Hero archetype listed on Page 58 of the Silver Age book. He's been with The Agency long enough to pick up some low-level spy skills, enough to at least be comparable to his fellow agents, though of course he's not exactly a sneaky dashing spy. He's a nigh-unstoppable juggernaut in an agents game (though with a few weaknesses a canny team could exploit), and an OK PL 10 character. He makes an interesting alternative if you're looking for a patriotic hero type.

Let's just give Arrowhawk the freaking glide-cape already and let Shaen have this stuff. ;)

"Have a lead," said Avengemouse, hefting his sensing unit in one small, delicate hand. "Close. Can smell him." He twitched his nose, having practiced for hours in the mirror to make sure it looked just like a mouse's. "Come, Foalcrum. The day awaits! My costume will let me keep up with you in the air." And with that he flexed his wings and took off, his mighty leather wings just letting him keep pace with Foalcrum in the sky...when she didn't fly fast. "I had to wonder if my counterpart shared my curse." Avengemouse said aloud as he flew. "Did he too know the unquenchable hunger that drove him to the streets night after night? The overpowering urges that could only be soothed by the destruction of evil and the redemption of his very soul? In the company of my young colleague, I kept my own council."

Snare 13, with Affects Insubstantial 2, so that it works even if he stays incorporeal.

Battered by the wildly fluctuating gravity, Avenger stood unmarred save for his dramatically ripping clothes, a figure of power and might defending his domicile from a terrible intruder. "I summon the Crimson Chains of Kasharak! Bind my enemy's soul for my amusement!" He tore open the top piece of his costume, revealing his pale, muscular torso beneath as fountains of blood-red light came pouring from the walls, gushing and swirling around the evil Dark Star.

Avengemouse scrambled up onto a nearby tree, nimbly hanging upside down as he studied the annoyingly well-lit scenery with beady little eyes. "I am a dark and silent sentinel of justice. A lone guardian of darkness, plunged into the bright light of another world so that we may both be saved from our enemies. My only companion is a young, untried..." He twitched the ears that were actually just a cunningly-disguised cowl, seriously, as he realized Foalcrum was watching him. "horse. You see anything, Foalcrum?"

She frowned at that, evidently not understanding the reference, but didn't complain. "What matters is the job is done." She smiled at Kid Cthulu as her ship hovered overhead and said, "If you're ever in the Horsehead Nebula, look me up. There's nothing I like better than fighting alongside a fellow defender of the law." And with that, and a smile, she disappeared in that same column of light.

"They stole that ship," she said with a sad little shake of her head. "And decided to go on a joyride through some of the more primitive planets, robbing as they went. You know they're not even old enough to have a license?" As she spoke, a beam of light came down from the hovering police ship, pulling the fallen saucer inside. "And now they're looking at months in detention, all because they couldn't wait a few more years. Kids, huh?"

"Let's do it the old-fashioned way," Jack suggested. "Though I'm open to persuasion otherwise if you've got a really cool paint spell." He grinned. "Never let it be said I'm not open to what you want." For his part, he walked over to the closet where he'd stored a bucket of good old-fashioned blue paint when they'd first started decorating the room.

The next day around noon, Jack was sitting up with a bottle of blood substitute, slowly watching the painfully bright sun creep down the highly polished wall of the master bedroom. Taylor was in the shower, and he'd taken the opportunity to eat. How long am I going to be stuck with this stuff? he thought, sipping the artificial concoction and glancing at his cellphone. Surely Archeville would call, and pull the two of them out of this hole where they'd fallen into for the last day. Had it been such little time? When was Archeville going to call?

Avenger passes the save I'll wait till Phantom goes, since Avenger's waiting to see if the ritual works.

Mark swam over to join them at that, missing most of the conversation as he came around to stand by the ladies. "Hey Alex," he said cordially, without the rancor some boys might have had around their old girlfriend with their new one around. But then they'd never been more than friends with benefits, really. If first base counted. "Nice party James has, huh? I like his way of thinking." Feeling confident in physicality with Faith, he pecked her on the cheek. "Hey, Faith. You wanna go see the rest of the party?"