Grimalkin (PL15 NPC, Tier 2)

[Heritage]

The first part I easily get, but I'm conflicted on the second. If there were humanoid races in the setting which had Blending or Elongation or Flight/Gliding or Insubstantial 1/fluid form or so on, I'd have no problem, but since there aren't.... I'm not sure it should be allowable to do "any physical power as long as my body remains roughly humanoid in shape." I'll think more on it, though; I may just be being overly-cautious.

(Once this is settled, I am going to need you to list some sample forms she takes. Variable Powers are tricky things to GM for, so we need some baseline to judge on )

The basic idea is that Grim is in fact not human anymore, but essentially a faerie with a human soul. The powers are meant to evoke the kinds of things faeries do in old folktales, in which they're highly mutable and can play any number of roles, from beautiful princess to frightening ogre. My idea was that if she could conceive of it, and it fit the limits of the power, she could shape her body to do it, so of like the way the Green lantern ring works, but much more limited.

PL 6/8 Grim has a wide selection of powers that reflect her faerie origin, in involving her ability to hid or disguise herself, and go from place to place, but I thought it would be easier to combine several of her body augmenting powers under the umbrella of Shapeshift. She finds out that they not in fact separate powers, but all aspects of her innate skill at manipulating the magical stuff of her body, the glamour that all faeries are made of which appears to be mortal flesh.

However if going with Shapeshifter does not allow her to replicate the powers she had before in PL8 build, making her somewhat less effective, I would probably rather go back to the individual powers. Let me know what you decide; I will be more than happy to type up a list of powers I think she should be able to recreate, which will probably be more conservative than most shapeshifting characters.

I'd suggest replacing her Strike with Strike 2 (PF: Mighty), and raise Sneak Attack to 5. If you use Shapeshift to gain Enhanced Strength 6 (something I'd have almost no problem at all with), then when you sneak attack you'll get that full +10 damage you're looking for That'd leave you with 9pp left over, which you could use to get Penetrating Damage 9 (note: only has as much Penetrating as the effective damage rank). Or something else, like Hide in Plain Sight (to help set up conditions to get sneak attacks).

This sounds workable; if I wasn't so darned tired, I would start on this tonight, but it will have to wait until tomorrow ;)

[Dr Archeville]

I will be more than happy to type up a list of powers I think she should be able to recreate, which will probably be more conservative than most shapeshifting characters.

If you could give us that list now, that'd help the decision-making process ;)

[Heritage]

If you could give us that list now, that'd help the decision-making process

Soitenly!

Additional Limbs

Concealment (possibly just Blending)

Density

Elongation

Enhanced Ability (Con, Dex or Str only)

Flight (possibly just Glide)

Growth

Healing (self only)

Immunity

Insubstantial

Leaping

Morph

Protection

Regeneration (probably redundant with Healing)

Shrinking

Speed

Super-Movement (not all of them)

Super-Senses (again, not all)

Super-Strength

Swimming

Now we can split hairs like pros! ;)

[Heritage]

Okay, implemented the suggested changes, and I think my math is all good. Now I just need to come up with a few fae templates; Changeling, Ogress, Siren and Sprite (think Tinkerbell!) are on the list, maybe one or two more on top of those.

I added the Arcane Lore to reflect the research into faeries Grim is going to be doing to better understand her own powers.

[Heritage]

Okay, I will still do templates, but it seems like this is the best compromise for the character, if I understood you right in the threads, Doc. I have folded Protection and Strike into Shapeshift and taken off the limit, which makes a lot of logical sense; PL10 Grim will realize she has always been Shapeshifting when she did so many things she thought were separate powers.

So without the limit, is it okay if I occasionally turn into like a cat or a table, using templates for animals in the book for the cat, and, um, an Ikea catalog for the table? Seriously, I could do a standard 'Inanimate Object' template that would apply to any simple object with no moving parts. Faeries have turned into animals and simple objects from time to time in stories, but if either or both of those is even remotely a problem, I will shut up faster than you can say 'Jack Robinson', and stick to the faerie races concept without a hint of complaint :D

[Heritage]

Okay, I listed her most common forms up above, the Goblin one being the most common. Let me know if they are acceptable, and if you need DC Blocks or anything else worked out.

[Heritage]

Would Grim be able to shift around her three physical traits as part of a Changeling disguise? The text of the power seems to indicate that she could, which would be nice if she's playing someone stronger than herself.

[Heritage]

(Bump)

[Dr Archeville]

Sorry, I was sure I'd responded to this already!

Yes, no Limit Shapeshift would let her do Talking Animals and Dancing Candlesticks with no problem. Yes, you can shift around physical attribute scores, in any form.

Changeling Form: Good.

Goblin Form: Good (and creepy)

Ogress & Sprite Forms: Good, though you should list what changes the Growth and Shrinking do.

[Heritage]

How's she look now, Doc?

[Heritage]

Le bump!

[Dr Archeville]

D'oh!

Looks good, here's her first approval.

[Heritage]

Thanks, Doc! :D

[Sandman XI]

Looks good here Approved

[Heritage]

Character Name: Grimalkin

Power Level: 10

Tradeoffs: +2 Attack / -2 Damage, +2 Defense / -2 Toughness

Unspent PP: 0

Alternate Identity: Lynn Epstein

Height: 5'3"

Weight: 116 lb

Hair: Brown, worn short and a bit spiky

Eyes: Dark brown

Description: A pretty young slip of a girl, Lynn typically wears ragged jeans, T-shirt, tennis shoes and a hooded sweatshirt during the day, but is wrapped in skintight leather of black and midnight blue, complete with domino mask, when she prowls the dirty streets at night.

History: A young runaway from Atlantic City, Lynn Epstein turned to a life of panhandling and petty crime to survive; a year ago it became too much, and she crawled into a dark alley on a chill winter night to die, but instead awoke the next day transformed! For many months she used her powers selfishly, living the high life and swindling ‘suckers’, until one night she saw a young streetwalker attacked; the FCPD’s profound indifference to the crime appalled her, and she swore that night to use her powers to help those the Powers That Be would not help. Like a trickster goddess with a vengeful streak, her personal brand of justice might seem somewhat capricious, but she would never willfully take a human life.

Personality & Motivation: Being that she's a shapeshifter, it's perhaps not surprising that Lynn is rather hard to pin down; she lives very much in the 'now', making few great plans and doing her best not to dwell on the past. Her emotions are intensely felt, and she can switch from playful to angry to sad almost in the same sentence. Lynn also finds comfort in the little things, everyday wonders like bike rides in the park, ice cream of nearly any flavor, and lazy afternoons spent lying in the grass; she never seems to have enough of the simple pleasures, which makes her cherish them all the more.

As a crimefighter, Grim is driven by many things: the desire to see a wasted life blossom once more, an end to cruelty, injustice and indifference, and a strong personal desire to constantly improve her technique. She likes teaming up with other heroes to see how she measures up and maybe pinch a trick or two, but she is frequently very self-critical of her own performance, to the point of downplaying her many successes. However, she’s still quite young and her confidence continues to grow.

Complications: Prejudice (the Wealthy), Struggling

Abilities [40PP]

Strength 16 (+3)

Dexterity 26 (+8)

Constitution 18 (+4)

Intelligence 12 (+1)

Wisdom 12 (+1)

Charisma 26/16 (+8/+3)

Combat [24PP]

Initiative +12

Attack +6 Base, +10 Melee, +12 Claws

Defense +12 (+6 Base, +6 Dodge Focus], +3 Flat-Footed

Damage +3 Unarmed (+5 Sneak Attack), +6 Claws (+8 Sneak Attack)

Grapple +18

Knockback 4, 2 Flat-Footed

Saving Throws [15PP]

Toughness +8, +4 Flat-Footed

Fortitude +8 (+4 CON, 4PP)

Reflex +12 (+8 DEX, 4PP)

Will +8 (+1 WIS, 7PP)

Skills [27PP = 108 Ranks]

Acrobat 15 (+23) (Skill Mastery)

Bluff 15 (+23/+18) (Skill Mastery)

Climb 7 (+15)

Diplomacy 2 (+10/+5)

Disguise 0 (+3, +28 Morph)

Gather Information 2 (+10/+5)

Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 4 (+5)

Knowledge (Pop Culture) 4 (+5)

Knowledge (Streetwise) 9 (+10)

Notice 14 (+15)

Search 14 (+15)

Sleight of Hand 7 (+15) (Skill Mastery)

Stealth 15 (+23) (Skill Mastery)

Feats [36PP]

Acrobatic Bluff

Agile Climber

Attack Focus (Melee) 4

Attack Specialization (Claws)

Connected

Contacts

Defensive Attack

Defensive Roll 4

Distract (Bluff)

Dodge Focus 6

Elusive Target

Evasion

Grappling Finesse

Improved Initiative

Move-By Action

Luck 2

Power Attack

Setup

Skill Mastery (Acrobat, Bluff, Sleight of Hand, Stealth)

Sneak Attack

Takedown Attack 2

Taunt

Uncanny Dodge (Audio)

Powers [38PP]

Immunity 2 (Aging, Cold) [2PP]

Glamour 5 (10PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 4) [14PP]

Base Power: Morph 5 (Any Humanoid, +25 Disguise) [10PP]

Alternate Power: Concealment 4 (All Visual Senses, Feats: Close Range, Selective, Extras: Affects Others, Flaws: Blending) [10PP]

Alternate Power: Elongation 1 (5ft) + Insubstantial 1 (Liquid) + Super-Movement 2 (Slithering, Water-Walking) [10PP]

Alternate Power: Emotion Control 10 (Extras: Area, Flaws: Limited [Fear], Sense-Dependent [Vision]) [10PP]

Alternate Power: Enhanced Charisma 10 [10PP]

Leaping 2 (x5) [2PP]

Strike 3 (Claws, Feats: Alternate Power, Improved Critical 2, Incurable, Mighty) [8PP]

Alternate Power: Create Object 3 (Feats: Precise, Subtle, Extras: Duration [Continuous], Flaws: Range [Touch]) [6PP]

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

Super-Senses 8 (Normal Hearing [Extras: Accurate 2, Extended], Normal Olfactory [Extras: Acute, Extended, Tracking], Normal Vision [Extras: Counters Obscure 2 {Darkness}]) [8PP]

Drawbacks [-8PP]

Vulnerability (Iron, Frequency: Uncommon, Intensity: Major [+50% DC]) [-2PP]

Weakness (Iron, Frequency: Common, Intensity: Moderate, -1 CON / minute [10 rounds]) [-6PP]

DC Block

Unarmed -- DC 20/Toughness (22 w/ Sneak Attack) -- Damage

Claws -- DC 23/Toughness (25 w/ Sneak Attack) -- Damage

Abilities 40 + Combat 24 + Saving Throws 15 + Skills 27 + Feats 36 + Powers 38 - Drawbacks 8 = 172 Power Points

[Heritage]

This is the 'final version' of Grim, which will premiere after her meeting with A_S's PC Darrien Silver; someday soon, this will be the only version of Grim running around :D

[Geez3r]

Alrighty, lets see if we can get Grim 2.0 out on the streets.

Abilities, good.

Combat, good.

Saving throws, good.

Skills, good.

Feats, good.

Powers, good.

Drawbacks, good.

Well that was easy. Approved.

[Sandman XI]

Very much so Approved

[N/A]

NPC'd at player request.