God Incarnate
[GM Notes: Flying around and declaiming loudly, hurling a divine weapon and bolts of energy, strong and fast - this is a common comics archetype! I’ve built this as a generic “god of thunder” - but there are plenty out there to choose from. Note that the Freedom City universe tends to draw from the Egyptian and Vodoun pantheons in the same places that Marvel goes to Asgard and DC goes to Olympus, so think about picking up someone associated with those divinities if you want a strong connection to the setting - no pressure, though!]
Abilities: 20 + 0 + 20 + 0 + 4 + 10 = 54PP
Strength: 30 (+10)
Dexterity: 10 (+0)
Constitution: 30 (+10)
Intelligence: 10 (+0)
Wisdom: 14 (+2)
Charisma: 20 (+5)
[GM Notes: Strong, tough, and with a powerful personality to boot - this is exactly what you need to play a Thor-type. Note that he’s not actually dumb or suicidally rash - just of average intelligence and actually reasonably in control of himself. This is Thor’s abilities at the end of his first movie, not the beginning. Even if his powers are nullified for some reason, he’s still going to be substantially stronger than a normal human being. A more thoughtful 'All-Father' type might swap that Charisma and Wisdom - if so, take those points from his Will save and spend them elsewhere!]
Combat: 10 + 10 = 20PP
Initiative: +0
Attack: +5 Base
Defense: +5 Base, +2 Flat-Footed
Grapple: +20
Knockback: -10
[GM Notes: He’s built to swing for the fences, dishing out big hits and absorbing them too. If forced to fight a normal person without his weapon, his best bet is probably to take advantage of his Super-Strength and go for a Grapple. He’s not as good at hand-to-hand fighting as a ‘real’ Powerhouse or Paragon, but he should still easily be able to win a wrestling match with most normal human beings. Or he can just punch them! He's PL 7.5 without his powers, letting him potentially fight his way through the group of AEGIS agents guarding his stolen weapon.]
Saves: 0 + 5 + 8 = 13PP
Toughness: +15/+10 (+10 Con, +5 Protection) [Impervious 5]
Fortitude: +10 (+10 Con)
Reflex: +5 (+0 Dex, +5)
Will: +10 (+2 Wis, +8)
[GM Notes: No real weaknesses here - good luck mind-controlling a god! Drop the Will save down to +5 and redistribute the points elsewhere if you’re looking to play someone like early MCU Thor or classic Marvel Hercules - this guy actually has a pretty fair amount of self-control. Note that what's on his sheet doesn't quite have to be reflected in play - if you want to play a rash character who doesn't actually have an impairment in his judgement in his raw numbers. You can always take Hot-Blooded as a Complication if you want his fiery passion to be a story problem but not a mechanical one - i.e., without a game mechanic effect. Just don't go too overboard with that.]
Skills: 52R = 13PP
Diplomacy 5 (+10)
Intimidate 15 (+20)
Knowledge (History) 5 (+5)
Knowledge (Tactics) 5 (+5)
Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) 5 (+5)
Languages 5
Notice 6 (+8)
Sense Motive 6 (+8)
[GM Notes: He’s a scary badass, immortal with centuries or even millennia of knowledge, and an experienced warrior - just the sort you want for a character like this. For a ‘nicer’ divine emissary, switch the Diplomacy and Intimidate - for more of a trickster figure, turn the Intimidate into Bluff. Give him Taunt instead of Startle for the latter so he can lay foes out with a few well-placed words - or Challenge (Combat Diplomacy) for the former so that he can stop a fight with the same verbal weapons. I’ve left open the languages he speaks - ideally the native language of whatever people once worshipped his pantheon in the distant past.]
Feats: 10PP
All-Out Attack
Challenge (Fast Startle)
Environmental Adaptation (Stormy Weather)
Fearless
Interpose
Power Attack
Second Chance (Mind Control)
Startle
Takedown Attack
Ultimate Save (Toughness)
[GM Notes: Cleaving his way through foes, taking big hits for his allies, in some ways he’ll play like an angrier version of the Paragon posted elsewhere. Use All-Out Attack when facing lesser foes (with your massive Toughness, you don’t really care how low your defense drops most of the time, but your accuracy could use some help) and Power Attack vs. other godly beings, preferably with a little help from your allies to make sure you can actually hit something with that level of damage. His Second Chance Feat is a nod to his dual nature - which I discuss in more detail below. If he's not a storm god, drop that Environmental Adaptation, obviously, perhaps to put it somewhere more appropriate for his 'portfolio'.]
Powers: 22 + 1 + 5 + 5 + 10 = 43PP
Descriptors: all divine
Device 6 (Signature Weapon, 30PP, Flaw: Easy to Lose, Feats: Indestructible, Restricted 3 [Only The Worthy Can Lift, Only Wielder Can Use]) [22PP]
Flight 1 (10 MPH / 100' per Move Action) [2DP]
Immunity 1 (Own Powers) [1DP]
Power Array 10 (20PP, Feats: Alternate Powers 4) [24DP]
- BE: Blast 5 (Thrown Weapon; Feats: Mighty 10) {20/20}
- AP: Blast 15 (Energy Blast; Flaw: Action [Full], Feats: Improved Crit, Indirect 2, Variable Descriptor 2 [any energy]) {20/20]
-
AP: Enhanced Flight 7 (to Flight 8 [2500 MPH / 25 000' per Move Action]) {14}
- Strike 5 (Feats: Improved Crit, Mighty) {6}
- {14 + 6 = 20/20}
-
AP: Environmental Control 1-5 (4PP worth of effects [Cold, Hamper Movement (Icy/Wet Surfaces), Heat, Light [Ball Lightning], Reduced Visibility (Rain/Sleet/Snow), Wind]; 100' radius; Extra: Independent [+0]) {20/20}
Super-Senses 3 (Extended Hearing and Vision [100' Notice Increments], Uncanny Dodge [Mental]) [3DP]
2 + 1+ 24 + 3 = 30
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1PP]
Impervious Toughness 5 [5PP]
Protection 5 [5PP]
Super-Strength 5 (Effective Strength 55, Heavy Load 24 tons) [10PP]
[GM Notes: I’ve built him as something of a Thor expy - hurling his weapon around to fly, summoning storms, hurling lightning, but you could easily play someone more like Horus (the setting’s Thor expy) by changing up the Environmental Control above to reflect Dazzle or other solar ‘portfolio’. An angelic flaming sword will probably be throwing fireballs more than the sword itself - and perhaps channeling some sort of divine healing effect. In my mind the device turns into a simple walking stick when he’s in his normal identity, to reflect how it doesn’t actually give him any powers.
He has low enough Impervious that he’s potentially threatened by large numbers of minions with heavy artillery - so go ahead and goonsweep those suckers with your magic hammer/ankh/flaming sword! He’s not actually immune to poison or disease (the gods often aren’t in old stories) - he just has a high Fortitude save that will usually help him out in these situations. Note that he’s not actually immortal as written - if you kill him, he’s dead! At least until plot intervenes…
Lots of potential divine characters out there - Marduk from the Mesopotamian pantheon, Ba’al from the Phoenicians, Taranis from the Celts, Perun from the Slavs, Perkunas from the people of the Baltic, Susanoo from Japanese mythology, Xolotl from the Aztecs, Shango from the Yoruba, Azaka from the Vodoun pantheon, etc. Do some research and find a story you think is cool! Azaka might be the easiest to fit into the setting, since there are already quite a few Vodoun-oriented characters running around. And that’s just if you limit yourself to storm deities - as I mentioned above, there are lots of divine roles this fellow could play if you tweak his descriptors a bit. Avoid playing someone from a 'live' religion - i.e., you probably should not play Indra...]
Drawbacks: -3PP
Normal Identity (Free Action; strike walking stick against ground, -3)
[GM Notes: Yup, you need to have a Donald Blake to play Thor in the Freedom City universe. The idea is, thanks to the Pact that’s a key part of FC cosmology, that gods cannot appear in the mortal realm on their own - they must be summoned into our realm. (That’s why the loa and similar pantheons do so well, because summoning them to the mortal realm was already part of their worshippers’ religion.) This is naturally a great source of Complications - a doctor wedded to a god of war, or maybe a criminal wedded to a saint - and what happens if a devout believer in one religion becomes the host of the deity of an entirely different faith?]
DC Block
ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT
Unarmed Touch DC 25 Toughness Damage [Physical]
Blast Ranged DC 30 Toughness Damage [Energy]
Hammer Blow Touch DC 30 Toughness Damage [Physical]
Hammer Throw Ranged DC 30 Toughness Damage [Physical]
Totals: Abilities (54) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (13) + Skills (13) + Feats (10) + Powers (43) - Drawbacks (3) = 150/150 Power Points
Normal Identity
PL 5 (75PP)
Abilities: 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 24PP
Strength: 14 (+2)
Dexterity: 14 (+2)
Constitution: 14 (+2)
Intelligence: 14 (+2)
Wisdom: 14 (+2)
Charisma: 14 (+2)
Combat: 8 + 8 = 16PP
Initiative: +2
Attack: +4 Base, +8 Unarmed
Defense: +8 (+4 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed
Grapple: +6
Knockback: -1
Saves: 3 + 3 + 3 = 9PP
Toughness: +2 (+2 Con)
Fortitude: +5 (+2 Con, +3)
Reflex: +5 (+2 Dex, +3)
Will: +5 (+2 Wis, +3)
Skills: 56R = 14PP
Concentration 4 (+6)
Craft [Chemical] 3 (+5) Skill Mastery
Diplomacy 10 (+12)
Knowledge [History] 3 (+5)
Knowledge [Life Sciences] 10 (+12) Skill Mastery
Knowledge [Theology and Philosophy] 3 (+5)
Language 1 (Base: English)
Medicine 10 (+12) Skill Mastery
Notice 8 (+10) Skill Mastery
Sense Motive 8 (+10)
Feats: 12PP
Attack Specialization: Unarmed 2
Dodge Focus 4
Fearless
Improvised Tools
Luck
Seize Initiative
Skill Mastery (Craft [Chemical], Knowledge [Life Sciences], Medicine, Notice)
Ultimate Save (Will)
Totals: Abilities (24) + Combat (16) + Saving Throws (9) + Skills (14) + Feats (12) + Powers (0) - Drawbacks (0) = 75/75 Power Points
[GM Notes: OK, so the idea here is that it’s fun to be both Donald Blake and Thor. He’s only PL 5, so he shouldn’t be in the middle of any super-battles - but he can hang around the team’s headquarters and be useful there (he’s a perfectly competent doctor and field medic - and most super-scientists are engineers or lab guys rather than medic types), or just have him be a successful independent hero. (He can handle himself vs. the occasional thug pretty well). He’s got some hidden depths like Fearless and Ultimate Will - and Luck and Seize Initiative so that he can go first in a fight and activate his superpower as soon as possible.]