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  • Sample Character #9: Totem

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    Totem 

     

    [GM Notes: From spider to cat to wolf to monkey, everyone loves superheroes with animal powers. I've chosen to build this character in a feline direction - but I'll be making suggestions throughout for alternate animal types.] 

     

    Abilities: 4 + 4 + 4 + 0 + 4 + 6 = 22PP 
    Strength: 24/14 (+7/+2) 
    Dexterity: 24/14 (+7/+2) 
    Constitution: 24/14 (+7/+2) 
    Intelligence: 10 (+0) 
    Wisdom: 14 (+2) 
    Charisma: 16 (+3) 

     

    [GM Notes: Charismatic, strong, fast, and tough, she's a well-rounded character. This character is close to a panther or a tiger - a rhino or elephant will be more Strength and Constitution-focused, while a spider-type might have an even higher Dexterity. Someone who has inherited their abilities - maybe they're from a tribe of cat people from Scotland or South America - is probably going to have her Abilities unEnhanced - the idea is that this character was born a human being but gained her cat powers from some later source.]

     

    Combat: 12 + 12 = 24PP
    Initiative: +11 
    Attack: +6 Base, +10 Natural Weapons
    Defense: +10 (+6 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +3 Flat-Footed
    Grapple: +13/+16 w/Totem Array 
    Knockback: -3/-1

     

    [GM Notes: Again, pretty straightforward. I've talked elsewhere about how a PL 10 character with no tradeoffs is balanced enough to fit in well in both street-level and high-level campaigns. Her high Initiative means that she's going to be competitive with Martial Artists and Costumed Detectives - but she'll be doing enough damage to seriously injure either if she manages to get her claws in them. If you want her more Dodge-focused, just take her Protection from down below and put it into her Dodge Focus. A monkey or more agile character will be more Attack-shifted.] 

     

    Saves: 0 + 0 + 5 = 5PP 
    Toughness: +10/+2 (+2 Con, +5 Enhanced Con, +3 Protection) 
    Fortitude: +7/+2 (+2 Con, +5 Enhanced Con) 
    Reflex: +7/+2 (+2 Dex, +5 Enhanced Con) 
    Will: +7 (+2 Wis, +5) 

     

    [GM Notes: Pretty straightforward saves here - a little low, but not too bad. If you want to play up her role as a Dex-monkey, er, kitty, cut down on her extremely high skills and up her Reflex save]

     

    Skills: 100R = 25PP 
    Acrobatics 13 (+20) Skill Mastery
    Climb 3 (+10) 
    Drive 3 (+10) 
    Gather Information 12 (+15) 

    Handle Animal 2 (+5) 
    Intimidate 7 (+10) 
    Investigate 5 (+5) 
    Knowledge (Streetwise) 5 (+5) 
    Notice 13 (+15) Skill Mastery
    Sense Motive 8 (+10) 
    Stealth 13 (+20) Skill Mastery
    Survival 13 (+15) Skill Mastery
    Swim 3 (+10) 

     

    [GM Notes: Her extremely high Skills give you plenty of opportunities to rearrange points and customize to your satisfaction. Like many of my builds, she's 'street-level', with the idea of being an empowered police officer who has left the force and become a private investigator/street avenger on her own time. A feline monarch, perhaps a scion of the White Lion dynasty in Dakana, will have more skills focused on 'normal' human interaction like Diplomacy - and a language to reflect the country that she's from!] 

     

    Feats: 15PP 
    Acrobatic Bluff 

    Challenge (Fast Acrobatic Bluff) 

    Dodge Focus 4
    Evasion 2 
    Hide in Plain Sight 
    Improved Initiative  
    Move-By Action 
    Power Attack 
    Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Notice, Stealth, Survival) 
    Takedown Attack  
    Well-Informed 

     

    [GM Notes: Again, a street-level goonsweeping acrobat/martial artist - her feats aren't that different from other characters like her. A White Lioness will have Benefits to reflect Status and Wealth. You could add Sneak Attack and Taunt to reflect a desperate teenager trying to overcompensate for his terror with quips - and for not actually knowing how to fight.] 

     

    Powers: 2 + 7 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 3 + 4 + 8 + 7 = 61PP

    Descriptors: all mutation 


    Comprehend 2 (Speak to and Understand Animals; Flaw: Limited [Felines]) [2PP] 

     

    Damage 3 (Natural Weapons, Feats: Accurate 2, Mighty, Variable Descriptor 1 [bludgeoning/piercing/slashing]) [7PP] 

     

    Enhanced Constitution 10 (to 24/+7) [10PP]

     

    Enhanced Dexterity 10 (to 24/+7) [10PP] 

     

    Enhanced Strength 10 (to 24/+7) [10PP]

     

    Protection 3 [3PP] 


    Super-Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling 2) [4PP] 


    Super-Senses 8 (Auditory [Enhancements: Danger Sense, Ultrasonic Hearing, Uncanny Dodge], Olfactory [Enhancements: Accurate, Acute, Tracking 1 [Quarter-Speed], Visual [Enhancements: Low-Light Vision]) [8PP]


    Totem Array 3 (6PP, Feats: Alternate Power) [7PP] 

    • BE: Leaping 3 (x10, Running Long Jump: 170', Standing Long Jump: 90', Vertical Jump: 42') + Speed 3 (50 MPH / 500' per Move Action) {6/6} 
    • AP: Super-Strength 3 (Effective Strength 39, Heavy Load: 3 tons) {6/6} 

     

    [GM Notes: Whoo-doggies!  These powers would work fine for a cat, dog or any similar big mammal - some tweaking would give you a lizard or similar creature, though the latter could use some drawbacks to reflect a cold-blooded character. A fish or frog is going to need some Immunities, Swimming, and Environmental Adaptation - a bird is of course going to need Flight and Super-Senses focused on vision. Note that her Damage power reflected super-strong punches, biting, clawing, whatever you like! A monarch-type will probably have significantly fewer powers while gaining more skills and feats. It's a flexible build for a flexible heroine. 

     

    One possible tweak would be to put her powers in an Alternate Form that can be turned on or off  - as written her powers don't come as a unit and are always 'on', though they don't necessarily have cosmetic problems. Totems can have appearance-related Complications of various sorts, just kindly remember that the 'animal people' conventions of other genres, fandoms and subcultures may not be suitable for this setting. Marvel's Tigra is a good example of how to do a superhero totem with an animalistic appearance well. Note that she doesn't actually turn into a giant cat, you'd have to buy some sort of single form Morph for that to work.] 

     

    Drawbacks: (-0) + (-0) = -0PP

     

    [GM Notes: A Normal ID drawback would be a plausible thing for her to have - and a handy way of maintaining a secret ID!]

     

    DC Block

    ATTACK                RANGE   SAVE              EFFECT

    Unarmed               Touch   DC 22 Toughness   Damage [Physical]

    Natural Weapons       Touch   DC 25 Toughness   Damage [Physical]

     

    Totals: Abilities (22) + Combat (24) + Saving Throws (5) + Skills (25) + Feats (15) + Powers (61) - Drawbacks (0) = 150/150 Power Points


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