Jump to content

Mystic Raven - Aragon1888 - PL10 Hero


Recommended Posts

Hey everybody! I'm new here, so suggestions are welcome. Specifically, I want to know if Equipment is needed, as I don't really see any of those items coming in on Hero business. Thanks!

Players Name: Aragon1888

Power Level: 10 (156pp)

Unspent PP: 5

Characters Name: Mystic Raven (Raven)

Alternate Identity: Megan Williams (Order Name: Anemone)

Height: 5' 7"

Weight: 150 lbs

Hair: Black

Eyes: Deep Purple

Description: Raven is fairly slight, but lithe. She is quite pretty, though only those who see her in her alternate identity get a good enough look at her to see it. Her hair hangs down to about her chin, and she tucks it behind her ears to keep her vision clear. She dresses conservatively out of costume, but her costume is a form-fitting black leotard with sleeves that come all the way to her wrists. Over this, she wears a black velvet cloak with impressive-looking sliver runes that have no power embroidered around the rim of its deep hood. Her gaze, when she actually looks at someone with her hood down, is piercing, as if she's looking through you. She has a large tattoo of a raven across her back that she attempts to conceal at nearly all costs. She appears to be in her mid-20s (she is 24).

History:

Megan was orphaned before she could have any memory of her parents. She was left with nothing then, not even a name. Being so young, she was placed with a family in an adoption. Unfortunately for Megan (the name they gave her), her father was quite abusive, taking out his frustrations at not being able to have a child of his own on his adoptive daughter. It was just after she turned 10 that everything changed. Her father was putting her through a particularly savage beating for having spilled something on the carpet when her innate power awakened in her anger. A great wave of force burst out away from her and sent her father through the wall.

Unbeknownst to her, the Order of the Mystic Raven knew why she was an orphan. It was for this reason that they had a member watching her at all times. When her power activated, the monk watching her, Dunstan, swept in while her father was unconscious and explained who he was. Megan went with him willingly, simply wanting to get away.

Thus began her time at the secret headquarters of the Order of the Mystic Raven. She was soon given the name Anemone. This was because her natural power was much like a strong wind. She was also very prickly in personality, like an anemone with its spines. Her monastic training was rigorous, believing, as most do, in the training of mind, body, and spirit. That spirit training comes in the order of magical ability training. Their philosophy is that while all should exist in harmony, conflict perpetually exists; as such, one must possess the skills and power it takes to turn that conflict into harmony. Part of this is combat training, to be used against those cannot be reasoned with. This, Anemone excelled at. The other part was to learn to use language to solve conflicts. This side of things Anemone was not interested in at all, except in the part involving reading people. She saw how well words worked with her father. And she simply couldn’t empathize with other people. Her early years had left her quite damaged.

Dunstan was the only one who could get her to open up at all. In fact, she was really coming out of her shell due to Dunstan’s influence. He was the only one she could trust, as he carried her out of Hell. The Order was even considering retrying her “social†training when Dunstan was killed on a mission for the Order. Anemone retreated back into her shell deeper than ever. It seemed she would lose anyone who ever cared about her. It will probably take quite a bit of coaxing to bring her out of that shell.

The Order was unsure what to do with a monk who had not finished training but who was unreceptive to anything they had left to teach. Fortunately for them, an opportunity presented itself when a clairvoyant of the Order sensed that a disaster, of unknown origin and at an unknown time, would strike Freedom City and that a monk, skilled in combat, would be needed to stop it. So they decided to send Anemone to the far-off Freedom City on her Final Test, cut off from the Order, to watch and wait and avert the disaster, whenever it may try and strike. Her codename? Mystic Raven.

She arrived in Freedom City only a short time ago but has learned much. She feels she will be here for a very long time. She now knows she cannot exist as Mystic Raven, or Raven, as she prefers to use in case anyone knows about the Order, at all times and has assumed the identity Megan Williams as a tribute to the adoptive mother that did her best for her. No one outside the Order could know her Order name. She learned she had to find a way to live here and so hopes to use her talents to find a job as a translator. And she learned she needed a flashier costume than the loose black sleeveless top and the black pants held up by a white belt those of her status always wore at the monastery. She has also learned the value of being mysterious, especially for one as aloof as her. As such, she has adopted a black, form-fitting leotard with a dark velvet cloak with a deep hood over it. The hood is rimmed in impressive-looking sliver runes that are just that. She typically keeps the hood drawn up.

And so she waits in Freedom City, bringing harmony where she can and waiting for the signs of the disaster she is there to prevent…

Complications:

Secret: Order fo the Mystic Raven and True Identity. Raven has learned she must protect her alternate identity if she is to complete her mission. Also, the Order of the Mystic Raven is not well-known, and they want to keep it that way. She must be careful to protect this secret as well. The tattoo is part of this.

Temper Raven will not abide torture of or violence against the truly helpless (those without powers). This is true of most heroes, of course, but Raven files into a rage of one such person or a small group is singled out specifically for such treatment by one with powers.

Stats: 22pp

Str: 10 (+0)

Dex: 16 (+3) (6pp)

Con: 14 (+2) (4pp)

Int: 16 (+3) (6pp)

Wis: 16 (+3) (6pp)

Cha: 10 (+0)

Combat: 32pp

Attack: +10 (20 pp)

Grapple: +10

Defense: +10, with 4 from Dodge Focus 4 (+3 flat-footed)(12pp)

Knockback: -9, -1 w/out Force Field

Initiative: +3

Saves: 15pp

Toughness: +10 (Impervious 8), +2 w/out Force Field

Fortitude: +5 (+2 Con, +3)

Reflex: +8 (+3 Dex, +5), Evasion 2

Will: +10 (+3 Wis, +7)

Skills: 48r = 12pp

Acrobatics 4 (+7)

Concentration 11 (+14)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 11 (+14)

Notice 11 (+14)

Sense Motive 11 (+14)

The Concentration is a remnant of the meditation required at the monastery, which Raven still performs. It is also helpful if someone tries to interrupt one of her spells. The Acrobatics comes from her physical training, the others from her mental training.

Feats: 12pp

Ambidexterity

Assessment

Dodge Focus 4

Equipment 1 (laptop, cell phone, camera, flashlight, GPS receiver)

Evasion 2

Quick Change

Uncanny Dodge 2 (sight, hearing)

These all come out of the physical and mental training of a monk of the Order of the Black Raven except Equipment, which is for maintenance of Raven's Alternate Identity.

Powers: 60pp

Magic 12 (Discipline of the Mystic Raven; PFs: 7 Alternate Powers) [31]

Main Power: Blast 10 (Cry of the Raven; PF: Affects Insubstantial 2)

AP: Blast 8 (Fireball; Extra: Explosion)

AP: Concealment 10 (all senses, Cloak of the Raven)

AP: Dazzle 10 (Dark light blinds targets, Curse of the Raven; PFs: Reversible, Split Attack 1)

AP: ESP 6 (full-sensory, Raven Omniscience)

AP: ESP 12 (one sense type [mental]) and Super-Senses 12 (Accurate, Counters Concealment, Extended, Penetrates Concealment, Ranged, Rapid, Detect Magic [mental])

AP: Move Object 12 (Strength of the Raven)

AP: Teleport 8 (Fly Through the Night; Extra: Accurate)

AP: Comprehend Languages 6 (Speak, understand, read, and write all languages; Tongue of the Raven; PF: Subtle 2; Duration: Sustained)

Her special combat training comes in with the use of both single target and area effect spells, as well as the Dazzle effect. The Concealment effects are things she learned mostly on her own to stay hidden when she did not want attention. The other spells are standard for the Order.

Force Field 8 (Body of the Raven, Extra: Impervious) [16]

Each monk of the Order has an effect called Body of the Raven; it is different for each monk. Each monk was brought in because they had innate magical power. This part of the raven tattoo is limned with special inks and runes to give shaping and control to the monk's natural ability. In Raven's case, this takes the form of a force field.

Flight 3 (Wings of the Raven) [6]

Each monk also has Wings of the Raven, but this is identical on each. Special inks and runes are again limned into the raven tattoo, this time in its wings. These somehow use the monk's natural ability to allow for, at the very least, levitation during meditation. Raven's natural force power allowed for development slightly beyond that so she can use Flight to get around some, though she uses Fly Through the Night for long distances.

Strike 6 (Harmonybringer) [6]

These are simply unarmed strikes. Monks of the Order of the Mystic Raven are taught to strike precisely and with power as part of their physical training.

Drawbacks: 3pp

Power Loss (Magic): Raven must be able to speak and gesture to cast her spells. [-1]

Power Loss (Flight): Raven must be able to speak and gesture to invoke her flight. [-1]

Reduced Load (Flight): Raven is not strong to begin with, and since everyone in the Order is expected to have the ability to fly, or at least levitate, carrying capacity while flying is not a major concern. Thus, the ability to carry up to a heavy load was sacrificed for speed. [-1]

DC Block:

ATTACKS: SAVE DC: DAMAGE TYPE:

Strike 6 --- 21/Toughness --- Bruise (Staged)

Blast 10 --- 25/Toughness --- Bruise (Staged)

Blast 8 --- 23/Toughness --- Bruise (Staged)

Dazzle 10 --- 20/Fortitude --- Blindness

Costs: Abilities (22) + Combat (32) + Saves (15) + Skills (13) + Feats (12) + Powers (60) - Drawbacks (3) = 151 / 156

Link to comment

Hello there Aragon,

Mystic Raven looks nearly ready. There's a couple of things in her Magic array that I have to ask about, as well as one story element. I'll cover that part first. There's already a legacy setting NPC known as the Raven, a father and his daughter who has taken up the mantle. If you're going by that name in Freedom City, you might get confused for her. That's not a problem since there's no such thing as the codename trademark police, but it's something you should be aware of.

The ESP 12 (magical energies) doesn't do anything right now, because you don't have a Detect Magic to use to actually sense those energies. You have some extra pp, since it seems to be only one sense type. You could make that AP:

ESP 12 (one sense type: mental); Super-Senses (detect magic [mental])

You would have 11 more pp to spend on the Super-Senses to improve them if you wanted; I strongly recommend Penetrates Concealmeant so that you can sense beyond the nearest magical aura more easily. This way also means that you can sense magical energies without using ESP, which can come in handy sometimes.

The Concealment power is also way too expensive. It only takes a single rank of Concealment to protect against ESP using the option provided in Ultimate Power, and I think that's a reasonable option. If you wanted Concealment from all mental senses as well (which given the name of "Mind Shield" would make sense), that would be Concealment 2. Concealment 10 would be enough to disappear from every sense; 12 is too high.

Link to comment

Thanks for the help. I changed the magic sense AP so I think it's right and not over-bought. I also added Cancels Concealment to my Scrying. I think I can do that, but let me know if I can't. I also combined my 2 Concealment spells into one that conceals from all senses. My only remaining question is about my Equipment feat; I'm still not sure if I need it to have those things. Thanks!

Link to comment

I'm not sure if the first ESP Alternate Power changed or if I missed it, but ESP (all senses) costs 4 pp/rank. You could go up to rank 6 there, which is anything within 20 miles. That's still an excellent range, especially since most of our threads remain within Freedom City. Also, after re-reading ESP, I don't think you need to put Penetrates Concealment on the ESP. You still might want it on the Detect Magic, for use when you aren't using Detect Magic along with the ESP.

Regarding that second AP, you also need Acute before you could get Analytical, and I'd recommend Ranged for the times that you are using the Detect without ESP. You have just enough points to afford that. You might also consider reducing the rank of the ESP to add Rapid, making it easier to search for a particular magical energy. You can currently sense magic within 20 million miles; reducing that to 2 million miles in order to search 10x faster (or even 200,000 miles, which still reaches anywhere on Earth and nearly to the moon, to search 100x faster), will be useful more often.

Regarding the equipment, I'd say the cell phone is usually free, but the other things deserve the equipment points. You can afford a single equipment point to spend on the cell phone if you're already buying the other equipment.

Link to comment

Thanks for the answer on the Equipment and the catch on ESP. I had changed it from before; I forgot why it was so low. Also, I like the Rapid suggestion, though I think I need to look at that Detect Magic calculation more. Let me know on that, if you would please, if you get to it before me. Otherwise, I think Raven is ready. Again, thanks for the help!

Link to comment

Looks quite good to me. My one comment is that, with -3pp worth of Power Loss, that would affect her Magic, her Force Field, and her Flight (one for each power, each being an uncommon frequency & minor intensity). Is that the way you'd anted it, or did you just want the Power Loss to apply to her Magic power?

Link to comment

Sorry about that; I swear I saw somewhere that Magic Power Loss was -3 points, but looking at it again I see that was a mistake. So I'll make some minor changes. Flight will be restricted in the way you suggest; Raven will need to be able to speak and gesture to invoke her Flight. However, the way I think of her force field is something she can control freely, almost like breathing. Essentially, she activates her innate force magic, and her tattoo shapes it into a force field. Therefore, I'm adding the Reduced Load drawback to Flight in addition to Power Loss. That should even things up. Thanks for the catch on that.

Link to comment

Actually, I was looking at my ESP and I wanted to confirm that it works like a true Scrying spell; i.e. I can activate and just basically "look around". Thanks

Sorta. With either of those ESP powers, you need to determine a place you're looking at. So you can't scry on a person or object, but you can scry on the location where you think the person or object is.

Link to comment
  • 4 months later...
×
×
  • Create New...