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Moira - Ghost - PL 13 NPC (Tier 2)


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Power Level: 13 (195pp)

Trade-Offs: -5 Attack, +5 Save / -1 Defense, +1 Toughness

In Brief: An urban shaman protector of the city

Alternate Identities: Miranda Waller (real name), Ghost (hero name)

Identity: Public

Birthplace: Lincoln

Occupation: Unemployed

Affiliations: Doctor Metropolis (head city spirit), Malaika (mentor, spirit)

Family: Eve Waller (age 46, mother), Morgan Waller (age 55, father), Chris Waller (Age 30, brother), Thomas Waller (age 30, brother), Olivia Waller (age 7, sister)

Age: 21 (DoB: March, 1990)

Apparent Age: 21

Gender: Female

Ethnicity: African-American

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 160 lbs

Eyes: hazel

Hair: copper

Description: Miranda is a beautiful young black woman. She is thick and curvacious to the point of an almost perfect hourglass. Her skin tone is a rich brown. Her copper hair is done up in long tiny braids. Her style of clothing is limited due to her non-existant income, but she does try to look nice. Sports jerseys and pants with sandals mostly. She carries herself with confidence and a bit of swagger. Always with a smile too.

Power Descriptions

Comprehend (she speaks to spirits and they listen. She also listens when they speak.)

Enhanced Traits (the spirits know about things in the city and they impart the knowledge to her)

Flight (she takes a ghostly aura when she flies, as she is being lifted by the spirits.)

Force Field (she stands partially in the spirit realm)

Immunity (Slowly but surely, she's becoming one of the spirits.)

Magic (She asks the spirits to lend her their help. It's a thing of reverence)

Super-Senses (she can feel if there are spirits in the area and see them if they happen to be hiding)

History: Miranda used to be a bad apple. Born in the bad part of town, Lincoln, she grew up a wild child. She was technically the third of the bunch, her brothers being twins. Her mother and father were always at work trying make ends meet. Not that they didn't love their children, but life was not easy on low income.

Miranda got mixed up in all sorts of wrong groups. She could easily make friends, but her judgements of people were poor back then. Her 'friends' always took from her, she never asked for anything back. Until the fateful day when her life took a step in the right direction. Her 'friends' wanted her to do a quick smash and grab of a store. It would be quick and painless since the lady who ran the store looked harmless enough. What Miranda didn't know was this was what her 'friends' used to get rid of people. The last four saps who did this got frozen and transported to the police station with a video account of the breakin stuck to their forehead. But amazingly the store owner did not do such. Well, she did freeze her, but she saw something in her.

Miranda's spirit was strong, connected almost. The lady saw great potential in Miranda. She told her that she wouldn't transport her directly to jail if she could teach her something. Miranda was in no position to bargain her way out of this, so she agreed. Over the next three years the woman taught her almost everything. How to live right, how to love passionately, how to stand up for herself, she even semi-officially home schooled her as Miranda made the unwise decision to drop out of school earlier in life. Though she taught her something else too, the ways of the city spirits. Little by little Miranda learned to calm down and enjoy everything as it came. She intergrated seemlessly into the ways of the spirits.

At the end of her apprenticeship Miranda's life had turned 180. She was no longer a wild child, but cool calm and collected. She no longer did the smash and grabs but helped to stop them Miranda's last lesson was two years ago. Her mentor revealed to her that things were not all that thet seemed and that one day she too would have to pass on the lessons before fading into the city. Her mentor would keep in touch with her, but she had work to do and the teacher/student relationship could only go so far. From then on Miranda has been using what she learned to protect her city.

Personality & Motivation: Miranda is an upbeat person, never in a dour mood. She always has something to say be it funny or helpful. Her motivation is to protect the streets that she grew up on. No villain will harm the sanctity of the city.

Powers & Tactics: Spirit magic is to only be used when words fail. She'd much rather have everyone think about it before anyone gets hurt. If it does comes to blows she will try to incapacitate the enemy harmlessly. If it does become drastic enough to hurt someone she will fly up and either let the the totem do to work while she provides cover fire or do something drastic and use the spirits harmfully.

Complications

Appease the Spirits (She's not commanding the like a boss, she's more like a coworker. Any perceived slight might have reprecussions)

Minority (Young. Black. Female. Bisexual.)

Powerless (She can't access her powers in a non-urban area)

Struggling ("Superman never made any money / For saving the world from Solomon Grundy")

"That's not what I wanted!" (sometimes the spirits misinterpret her requests and bring back something different than asked for)

Abilities: 0 + 6 + 10 + 6 + 14 + 10 = 46pp

Str 10 (+0)

Dex 16 (+3)

Con 20 (+5)

Int 16 (+3)

Wis 24 (+7)

Cha 20 (+5)

Combat: 16 + 12 = 28pp

Initiative: +3

Attack: +11

Grapple: +11, +35 [Move Object]

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

Knockback: -7

Saving Throws: 3 + 5 + 5 = 13pp

Toughness: +14 (+5 Con, +9 Protection)

Fortitude: +8 (+5 Con, +3)

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

Will: +12 (+7 Wis, +5)

Skills: 108r = 27pp

Bluff 5 (+10)

Concentration 13 (+20)

Craft (chemical) 7 (+10)

Diplomacy 5 (+10)

Gather Information 1 (+6/+15)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 7 (+10)

Knowledge (current events) 7 (+10)

Knowledge (history) 7 (+10)

Knowledge (life sciences) 7 (+10)

Knowledge (popular culture) 7 (+10)

Knowledge (streetwise) 7 (+10)

Knowledge (theology and philosophy) 7 (+10)

Languages 3 (English [native], Arabic, Spanish, Italian)

Medicine 8 (+15)

Notice 8 (+15)

Profession (shaman) 3 (+10)

Sense Motive 8 (+15)

Feats: 11PP

Dodge Focus 6

Grapple Finesse

Ritualist

Taunt

Trance

Ultimate Save (Will)

Powers: 2 + 5 + 2 + 9 + 12 + 40 + 4 = 74PP

Comprehend 1 (spirits) [2pp]

Enhanced Traits 5 (Gather Information 9, Search 7, Well Informed) [5pp]

Flight 1 [2pp]

Force Field 9 [9pp]

Immunity 12 (aging, life support, sleep, starvation/thirst) [12pp]

Magic 19.5 (Power Feats: Alternate Power 7; Drawbacks: Action 3 [full round], Power Loss [very common, minor; if unable to chant or gesture]) [39 + 7 - 3 - 3 = 40pp]

BE: Summon 13 (Extras: Duration/Continuous, Heroic; Flaws: Action/Full) (spirit totem) [39/39]

AP: Comprehend 8 (understand all languages, speak one language at a time, understand/speak to animals, understand/speak to plants, understand/speak to electronics) and Concealment 10 (all senses; Power Feats: Close Range, Selective) (stepping into the spirit world) [38/39]

AP: Damage 18 (Extras: Range/Ranged; Power Feats: Precise 2) (spirit blast) [38/39]

AP: Fatigue 18 (Extras: Alternate Save/Will, Range/Ranged; Flaws: Action/Full; Power Feats: Precise 2) (spirit assault) [38/39]

AP: Healing 13 (Extras: Alternate Save/Will, Total) (spirit healing) [39/39]

AP: Move Object 12 (Extra: Range/Perception; Power Feats: Precise, Subtle) (spirit moving) [38/39]

AP: Snare 18 (Power Feats: Precise 2) (spirit binding) [38/39]

AP: Teleport 9 (Extras: Accurate, Affects Others; Power Feats: Easy) (gateways to other cities) [37/39]

Super-Senses 4 (Detect Spirits [visual; counters concealment], Spirit Awareness [mental]) [4pp]

Drawbacks: 3 + 1 = 4pp

Vulnerable (attacks from spirits, 100%; uncommon, major; -3)

Counts as a spirit for the purpose of powers (uncommon, minor; -1)

DC Block:


ATTACK                RANGE     SAVE                        EFFECT

Unarmed               Melee     Toughness 15 (Staged)       Damage

Damage                Range     Toughness 33 (Staged)       Damage

Fatigue               Range     Will      28 (Staged)       Fatigued or Exhausted or Unconscious

Healing               Melee     Will      23 (Harmless)     Healed

Snare                 Range     Reflex    28 (Staged)       Entangled or Bound/Helpless
Abilities (46) + Combat (28) + Saving Throws (13) + Skills (27) + Feats (11) + Powers (74) - Drawbacks (4) = 195pp
In Brief: A large ghostly black snake. It is a spirit totem. Abilities: 10 + 6 + 28 + 0 + 4 + 4 = 52pp Str 20 (+5) Dex 16 (+3) Con 38 (+14) Int 10 (+0) Wis 14 (+2) Cha 14 (+2) Combat: 10 + 24 = 34pp Initiative: +7 Attack: +5, +12 melee Grapple: +17 Defense: +12 (+12 Base, +0 Dodge Focus), +6 Flat-Footed Knockback: -7 Saving Throws: 0 + 7 + 8 = 15pp Toughness: +14 (+14 Con, +0) Fortitude: +14 (+14 Con, +0) Reflex: +12 (+3 Dex, +9) Will: +8 (+2 Wis, +6) Skills: 32r = 8pp Intimidate 8 (+10) Notice 8 (+10) Search 8 (+8) Stealth 8 (+11) Feats: 16PP All-Out Attack Attack Focus (melee) 7 Chokehold Improved Grab Improved Initiative Improved Pin Improved Trip Power Attack Prone Fighting Startle Powers: 6 + 12 + 45 + 9 + 4 + 7 = 83PP Comprehend 3 (understand all languages, speak/understand animals) Immunity 12 (aging, life support, sleep, starvation/thirst) Venom Array 21.5 (Power Feat: Alternate Power 2) [43 + 2 = 45] BE: Paralyze 13 (Extras: Secondary Effect; Power Feats: Extended Reach 4 [25 feet]) [43/43] AP: Suffocate 14 (Extras: Secondary Effect) [43/43] AP: Drain All Ability Scores 14 (Extras: Secondary Effect; Flaws: Limited/Physical Abilities) [43/43] Regeneration 9 (Bruised 3 [no action], Injured 6 [no action]) [9pp] Super-Movement 1 (Slithering; Extras: Linked/Speed 2) [4pp] Super-Senses 7 (Detect Spirits [visual; counters concealment], Spirit Awareness [mental], Infravision, Scent, Tracking [scent]) [7pp] Drawbacks: 4 + 4 + 1 + 4 = 13pp No Hands/Legs (-4) Cannot Speak (-4) Spirit (-1) Vulnerable (attacks from other spirits; uncommon, major; -4) DC Block:

ATTACK        RANGE     SAVE                         EFFECT

Unarmed       Melee     DC 20 Toughness (Staged)     Damaged

Drain         Melee     DC 24 Fortitude              Drained

Paralyze      Melee     DC 23 Fortitude (Staged)     Slowed or Paralyzed     

Suffocate     Melee     DC 24 Fortitude

Abilities (52) + Combat (34) + Saving Throws (15) + Skills (8) + Feats (14) + Powers (83) - Drawbacks (13) = 195pp/195pp

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OK:

I don't like the 'weakness in non-urban environments' drawback. That's much too cheap when she'll be in an urban environment in 90% of her threads.

We can negotiate custom equipment, but an off-the-shelf crossbow does not have Blast 7: that's almost as much damage as a machine gun.

You'll need to post stats for her summoned minion, as well as further descriptors for her various spells.

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Okay, my window hadn't updated yet.

It's good to have some lead on where your character is from and where they live when looking at the backstory.

Remember, don't exhaust yourself. but you want your APs to be more than just slots on your sheet. Look at the way Ecal did the APs for his energy controllers for what I'm encouraging.

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Saving Throws: 0 + 7 + 3 = 10pp

Toughness: +10 (+10 Con, +0)

Fortitude: +10 (+10 Con, +0)

Reflex: +10 (+3 Dex, +7)

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

Is there a conceptual reason for all +10 saves, or does it come back to the whole "+0 or +10" philosophy?

Skills: 64r = 16pp

Bluff 5 (+10)

Concentration 13 (+20)

Diplomacy 5 (+10)

Knowledge (arcane lore) 7 (+10)

Knowledge (current events) 2 (+5)

Knowledge (history) 2 (+5)

Knowledge (popular culture) 2 (+5)

Knowledge (streetwise) 7 (+10)

Notice 8 (+15)

Profession (shaman) 3 (+10)

Sense Motive 8 (+15)

Languages 2 (English [native], Arabic, Spanish)

Small formatting request; languages normally go in the main block of skills despite working differently.

Magic 15 (Power Feats: Alternate Power 10; Drawbacks: Action 3 [full round], Power Loss [very common, minor; if unable to chant or gesture]) [30 + 10 - 3 - 3 = 34pp]

BE: Summon 10 (snake totem; Extras: Duration/Continuous, Heroic; Flaws: Action/Full) [30/30]

AP: Comprehend 4 (understand all languages, speak one language at a time, understand animals, speak to animals) and Concealment 10 (all senses; Power Feats: Close Range, Selective) [30/30]

AP: Create Object 10 (everything can be found in the city; Extras: Duration/Continuous; Flaws: Action/Full; Power Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Innate, Precise, Progression 2 [25 foot cubes], Selective, Stationary, Subtle, Tether) [30/30]

AP: Damage 10 (spirit smite; Extras: Range/Perception) [30/30]

AP: Damage 15 (spirit blast; Extras: Range/Ranged) [30/30]

AP: Enhanced Strength 30 (strength of the city) [30/30]

AP: Fatigue 10 (spirit assault; Extras: Alternate Save/Will, Range/Perception; Flaws: Action/Full) [30/30]

AP: Healing 10 (spirit healing; Extras: Alternate Save/Will, Total) [30/30]

AP: Move Object 9 (spirit moving; Extra: Range/Perception; Power Feats: Precise, Subtle) [29/30]

AP: Snare 10 (spirit binding; Extras: Range/Perception) [30/30]

AP: Teleport 9 (gateways to other cities; Extras: Accurate; Power Feats: Easy, Progression 2 [500 lbs]) [30/30]

Ok, here's the issue.

I do not in any way think half of these APs were taken for concept, but rather because of points and getting her approved. Case in point: you didn't have a Ranged Damage until I pointed out it seemed slightly hokey to take all-Perception attacks while maintaining a +5 trade-off solely for power stunting. There's no conceptual reason why people can't dodge your non-mental, non-Subtle spells beyond you not wanting to miss. I simply do not think this has been taken for concept reasons, and I'm getting a similar vibe off the Enhanced Constitution too. It's been taken for efficiency, not for concept, which is a good part of why you were asked to stop playing Divine's build.

On a more helpful note, I seriously don't think needed a full round action to change array slots will do you any good in-game.

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There was no intentional power gaming or minmaxing in building the array. Every power I took was for the reason I put it there. Yes I was going to leave the Enhanced Strength and Blast for power stunting when I needed it, but I was going to have the snake do the brute work when it was needed. That's why I didn't put them in there in the first place. As for the saves, yes, I am not a fan of dipping a save below +10.

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There was no intentional power gaming or minmaxing in building the array. Every power I took was for the reason I put it there.

I'm sorry, but I have trouble believing that. Why does the same array which lets her summon a giant snake let her create objects from the city, heal people, fatigue people and make her super-strong. It all seems very disparate array of spells. And why are they Perception. Why are they, in a world of super-fast people, ordinary human beings who can dodge bullets from inches away, undodgeable? I mean, they're not Subtle, so they can obviously see spirits or whatever theexact descriptor for the blast is, why is it unavoidable?

As for the saves, yes, I am not a fan of dipping a save below +10.

And, no, that's not an explanation. Why is she uniformly resilent, reactive and will-powered? Why has she, unlike most mystics, got the same Fortitude and Reflex as she does Will save, without the stupid "+10 or +0" philosophy, which is actually poor optimisation. Exotic attacks are DC 10+rank, not 15+rank, so if you're exotics are under your toughness, then it's not going to affect you that much. Hell, a DC 20 Fortitude Paralyze save, against a +6 save bonus, will fail 35% of the time, and only inflict a slow effect an extra 25% of the time. Not only is it not thematic, it's not especially optimal.

I'm sorry, but I am not seeing most of the mechanics here as anything other than optimisation hidden underneath a story.

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Another thing to note about Perception range attacks. They are NOT just auto hits. They are powers that you can target people with with the only restriction being being able to accurately perceive them. ESP, True Live TV, CC cameras, all of these are vectors that allow you to use the power regardless of your relative positions. Having a ranged and perception attack that are descriptor-wise identical just doesn't make sense. IE why can you target (and get trade off benefits) with the same power that you can summon through a scrying pool from across the continent (or world or universe with enough ESP)?

Frankly I see this as a case of a backwards build. You're trying to justify mechanics with your fluff you should be tryign to shape your mechanics tot he fluff for her abilities.

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The Ranged blast is an onslaught of pure ectoplasmic energy, while the Perception attack is an 'internal' attack on the person's psyche? That's what I got from the name.
Yes. All of her attacks were supposed to be manipulations of the spirit. The only reason I added the blast (and by extension, the Enhanced Strength) is because I was told to. So yes, that was justified afterwards. Everything else was justified before that. Really, this is not 'backwards justification' or 'power gaming'.
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BE: Summon 13 (Extras: Duration/Continuous, Heroic; Flaws: Action/Full) (spirit totem) [39/39]
Her spirit totem. Though it can take any shape, a snake is it's most comfortable form.

AP: Comprehend 8 (understand all languages, speak one language at a time, understand/speak to animals, understand/speak to plants, understand/speak to electronics) and Concealment 10 (all senses; Power Feats: Close Range, Selective) (stepping into the spirit world) [38/39]
Everything has a spirit. In the spirit realm you can speak with everything's spirit. It alsoa good place to hide from the mortal world

AP: Create Object 14 (Extras: Duration/Continuous; Flaws: Action/Full; Power Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Innate, Precise, Progression 2 [25 foot cubes], Selective, Stationary, Subtle, Tether) (everything can be found in the city) [38/39]
again, everything has a spirit, objects included. She can configure them around

AP: Damage 18 (Extras: Range/Ranged; Power Feats: Precise 2) (spirit blast) [38/39]
I wanted this to be a smite type deal, but Perception attacks were shunned. so now it's a her sending the spirits to hit them instead of attacking their spirit directly

AP: Enhanced Strength 36 and Super-Strength 1 (Power Feat: Groundstrike) (strength of the city) [39/39]
This is her borrowing the strength of the city. Name is pretty self explanatory :P

AP: Fatigue 18 (Extras: Alternate Save/Will, Range/Ranged; Flaws: Action/Full; Power Feats: Precise 2) (spirit assault) [38/39]
Again, this was her directly attacking the spirit of something, now its her using the spirit's to attack them.

AP: Healing 13 (Extras: Alternate Save/Will, Total) (spirit healing) [39/39]
If you can hurt some one through their spirit, you can heal them through it too

AP: Move Object 12 (Extra: Range/Perception; Power Feats: Precise, Subtle) (spirit moving) [38/39]
Her using the spirits to hold/lift things

AP: Snare 18 (Power Feats: Precise 2) (spirit binding) [38/39]
Her using the spirits to restrain things

AP: Teleport 9 (Extras: Accurate, Affects Others; Power Feats: Easy) (gateways to other cities) [37/39]
ThisI was gonna add something of a drawback that she cant teleport to any non urban area, but it really didnt seem like a drawback, but a complication. And she's already got a complication that says she's powerless in non urban areas.
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Ok I'll just go over my thoughts on these real quick before I delve into the math.

Summon: Without the Type extra you summon one type of spirit so with out a power stunt you won't be able to summon forms other than the snake. Thematically why snake? City spirits are generally things like Rat or Dog or Cockroach or Pigeon. Snakes are pretty uncommon in cities really. *Edit* Also non animal totems could work as well though might be harder to physically represent.

Comprehend: This makes a bit of sense so is this a linked effect where she has to go into the spirit realms (And vanish from most senses) in order to talk to the spirits of things directly or two separate "spells" sharing an array slot?

Create object: This descriptor sounds more like a Transform effect than a Create object effect. Some clarification of what you see this functioning like on a metaphysical level would be helpful.

Damage: Perception attacks weren't shunned the combination of Perception attacks and high trade off attacks was questioned. So this is in effect her summoning a hoard of spirits to attack the target?

Enhanced strength: This seems a little out of place. Most of your effects seems to be summoning the spirits of hte city to do something on your behalf this is like some kind of transference of power?

Fatigue: Same as damage but the spirits attack the spirit rather than the body leading to fatigue makes sense.

Healing: I'm wary of healing in general as it can easily suck the drama out of many scenes. This once again seems a little more like a transference of power rather than a variation on summon.

Move object: Summon spirits to move things for you makes sense.

Teleport: Seems to tie in with the entering the spirit world thing right? You use that connection to transverse distances?

So the read I get on the majority of your array is that she's a medium of sorts the barrier between this world and the spirit world is thinner around her and she can pierce that barrier calling spirits to her aid or crossing over in part herself? I Questioned a few of those AP's as not really fitting with that theme as thats what I've interpreted it to mean. You might consider replacing some of those with and insubstantial/dimensional movement array slot to fit in with the thinned barriers kinda thing. Maybe a second Summon AP thats many minion level spirits you can send to do your bidding?

Magic (and Science!) are very broad descriptors. As Ecal points out in his Mystic archetype rebuild focusing on a type of magic and sticking to a theme is what we like to see. Like Nick Cimiterie who themes all of his effects off of deathly energies or Phantom who basically manipulates dimensional energies for her effects. So as that applies here I think that you have a good core concept of a summoner type mystic that could be pretty entertaining in play with just a few things that are kinda outside that theme.

Another note on the Perception Range discussion. I think really its perfectly valid given your descriptors it was the combination of perception and regular ranged attacks that were questionable as it seems the spirits either don't need your guidance to hit(Perception) or do need it(Ranged).

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