King of Suits (PL 13) - Arichamus (Bronze)

[Ari]

Player Name: Arichamus

Character Name: King of Suits

Power Level: 13 (187/194PP)

Trade-Offs: +4 Attack / -4 Damage (Unarmed); +4 Defense / -4 Toughness

Unspent PP: 7

Progress To Silver Status: 44/60

New sheet here.

In Brief: French unpowered crime-fighter come to Freedom City to test and improve his abilities and help anyone he can.

Alternate Identity: Marceau Suvou

Identity: Secret

Birthplace: Aude, France

Occupation: Janitor, superhero

Affiliations: House of Suits (European superhero alliance), Legio de Halberdiers (French magician's group, members include magical artist Rene de Saens)

Closest Family: Masud Suvou (Father), Kioni An-Sallah-Suvou (Mother), Mossar An-Sallah (Maternal Uncle), Erran An-Sallah (Maternal Aunt)

Age: 28 (November 2nd 1984)

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: Moroccan/Kenyan

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 178 lbs.

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Black

Description: In his regular attire Marceau is a largely forgettable figure in drab earth-toned coveralls and work boots. In-costume, he wears a 'typical' black and red cape-and-cowl with the insignia of one of the four card suits emblazoned on the chest in attractive white shades. He keeps his hair short and at a remove from his face, giving him a high forehead, which combined with his far-spaced eyes gives him a look of constant apprehension. His nose is also short and blunt, his mouth is thin and often curved slightly upwards at some remembered joke, and he wears a a short, bristling beard. His voice is low, deep and resonant, with a slight French accent.

Power Descriptions: Marceau's gadgets have a general trend of belying their efficacy through unassuming exteriors, mostly by making them look like cards from a standard playing deck, though a close examination quickly alerts the observer to the fact that they all are much thicker. His Shock Rods[/b \] are much less in line with the rest of his contraptions, and thus more obviously resemble some kind of weapon. Newest to his arsenal is a pair of chemically-powered gauntlets that use the burst of a small explosion triggered by the puling of two levers on the gauntlet to increase the force of a punch.

History:

Marceau Suvou was born in the Aude river valley on the south coast of France, to a teacher at the College Varsovie in Carcassonne, and his bride, an electrical engineer. They lived in peace in an old stone house converted out of an ancient Roman villa. Nothing of note happened besides the quiet, introspective personality Marceau developed while living in the river valley. At the age of seven, his parents, having saved up enough money, embarked on a series of two-month long vacations throughout the Eurasian continent.

The cumulative effect was for the boy's already deep interest in the smaller things of life to turn into a near-obsession. For hours when not in the rigorous schooling his parents took upon themselves to give him, he would watch ants walk under leaves, observe the movements of pebbles in the shallows of the river near his home, and stared in awe at a dust devil he happened across one night when he and his family were sleeping in the Afghanistan desert, entranced by the way it swirled the grains about itself. To his parents' relief, he made friends easily, and learned the languages spoken around him with a moderate effort. He wasn't immune to misfortune however, and suffered several potentially dangerous accidents, including one that rendered him permanently impotent.

It took his move to Reims at the age of thirteen, when his mother got a job at the Chooze nuclear power plant, for him to take a wider view. One Saturday morning, while walking in the Jardin de la Patte-d'Oie with a Czech schoolmate of his named Aloysius Novak, when the Raven II and Bowman IV appeared, fighting a flying giant. As they stared in dumbfounded incredulity, the two unpowered heroes managed to lure the giant into a cloud of what turned out to be anesthetics, knocking it out and sending it crashing to the ground. Even back then the two were quick on their feet, and managed to speak for a few seconds with their new idols before the two left to rejoin the rest of the visiting Freedom League. Neither of the two young men took lightly the Raven's joking suggestion that they become heroes themselves to help out.

For the next ten years whenever they had time from schooling, the two trained rigorously, offering their help to any who happened to need it. Their early successes were helped in no small part by the duo's enthusiastic acceptance of the smallest or largest of cases. Aloysius soon took on the role of leader due to the simple fact that as the dashing, swashbuckling sort, he assured others of their legitimacy more than the more subdued Marceau, and when the two set up shop in Serbia in 2007 it was Aloysius who drew up the ranking system and enthusiastically designed the guild's uniform, assenting to Marceau and the later King of Spades(a Romanian woman named Sabine Vaduva)'s wish for more concealing colors only after the Frenchman showed him how easily a competent gunman could track a target in the flashier garb the boisterous Czech loved. The two soon had well over a dozen allies, all of whom as enthusiastic about the kind of work the two often did(dealing with unsolved crimes, fighting the incursions of crime families, capturing supervillains), and all equally dedicated to the kind of training program the two required for all members.

After becoming well-entrenched in the European superhero family as a reliable group of problem-solvers and competent fighters, Marceau and Aloysius began to discuss the idea of starting a branch in the U.S.A., a long-time dream of theirs on account of nearly mythical Freedom City. The discussion was finalized after Marceau uncovered and thwarted a wide-ranging conspiracy in the lower levels of the European Union's government, a long and maddening case that led to the resignation and jailing of a French politician that Marceau in civilian life had deeply admired. In the investigation the King of Suits had found links between the conspirators and numerous criminal families throughout the continent, including ones that previously had appeared totally self-sufficient. Embittered at this discovery at his work, he gladly took the chance for a change of scenery. Arriving in 2010, he unsurprisingly couldn't find much in the way of work on the New England coast, and found himself moving further and further south from his earlier landing point of Maine, ending up in Freedom City shortly after the Grue invasion in April.

He found himself a job as a janitor at an office building used by the American Grant Conglomerate branch's accounting staff, performing sundry maintenance work whenever the place needs it for wages that could be charitably described as "Sub-optimal". As a result, he set up a delivery system to get needed supplies for his costumed adventuring from the base in Europe, which is maddeningly slow and often needs repair after arrival. Nonetheless, the Frenchman is eager to continue his work in his new home, and potentially help people get into his business, and fight the corporeal evils of the world on a level they otherwise would never have the chance to do.

Personality & Motivation: Marceau is usually brisk and cheerful, seeing no reason to dwell on misfortune or become over-demonstrative of one's feelings, although he is still as vulnerable as any other human to irrational emotional responses. He tries to carry himself as he feels he should to inspire others, the knowledge that people follow the exploits of people in his line of work partially for encouragement an ever-present aspect in his mind. He doesn't have the charm that some others do, but he'll gladly try to live up to others' expectations, something he knows first-hand as a marvel to behold.

Powers & Tactics: Marceau's favored tactic is to make his way to a suitable hiding spot and launch a sneak attack against any opponents he can manage, disarming any with firearms he can beforehand. If caught in the open he'll try to escape to a place where he can use his experience with ranged weapons to even the odds. If trapped, he'll use a smokebomb to blind his enemies before attempting to subdue all opponents around him with whatever will defeat them quickest and quietest. He finds lengthy battles increasingly difficult to fight, meaning he relies overmuch on quick defeats to win his battles.

Complications:

An Army Marches...: Marceau relies on frequent shipments of supplies from Europe to operate at peak effectiveness, and as he doesn't have nearly the resources to replicate the chemicals and metals he requires a disruption of this lifeline would be dangerous for him.

Bad Bosses: Marceau is blissfully ignorant of the Grant Conglomerate's misdeeds, and would probably severely overreact if he found out about them.

Hatred: Conspiracies.

Responsibility: Caring for the needy, especially his 'posse' of sundry homeless, harmless lunatics and underemployed vagrants who have latched onto him as their protector against street-gangs and minor organized criminals. If any threat comes against them, Marceau feels honor-bound to aid them.

Secret: Identity.

Struggling: Maintenance work doesn't pay much.

Abilities: 8 + 10 + 8 + 8 + 0 + 4 = 38PP

Strength 18 (+4)

Dexterity 20 (+5)

Constitution 18 (+4)

Intelligence 18 (+4)

Wisdom 10 (+0)

Charisma 14 (+2)

Combat: 16 + 16 = 32PP

Initiative: +9

Attack: +8 Base, +12 Armaments Belt, +16 Unarmed

Grapple: +12

Defense: +14 (+8 Base, +6 Dodge Focus), +4 Flat-Footed

Knockback: -3/-2 Unarmored

Saving Throws: 5 + 6 + 10 = 21PP

Toughness: +8 (+4 Con, +4 Costume)

Fortitude: +9 (+4 Con, +5)

Reflex: +11 (+5 Dex, +6)

Will: +10 (+0 Wis, +10)

Skills: 144R = 36PP

Acrobatics 10 (+15)

Bluff 8 (+10)

Climb 6 (+10)

Craft(Chemical) 8 (+12)

Diplomacy 8 (+10) Skill Mastery

Disable Device 5 (+9)

Escape Artist 5 (+10)

Gather Information 13 (+15)

Intimidate 9 (+11)

Investigate 12 (+16) Skill Mastery

Knowledge (Streetwise) 10 (+14) Skill Mastery

Knowledge (Tactics) 10 (+14)

Languages 6 (Arabic, Cantonese, English, French [Native], Hindi, Russian, Serbian)

Notice 12 (+12)

Search 12 (+16)

Stealth 10 (+15) Skill Mastery

Feats: 40PP

Attack Specialization (Armaments Belt) 2

Attack Specialization (Unarmed) 4

Benefit (Can use Knowledge [Tactics] for Master Plan checks)

Dodge Focus 6

Endurance

Equipment 6 (30EP)

Evasion

Improvised Tools

Improved Initiative

Jack of All Trades

Luck 2

Master Plan

Power Attack

Quick Change

Quick Draw

Set-Up

Sneak Attack

Skill Mastery (Diplomacy, Investigate, Knowledge [streetwise], Stealth)

Startle 2 (Move Action)

Takedown Attack

Throwing Mastery 2

Well-Informed

Equipment: 6PP = 30EP

1 + 1 + 5 + 1 + 6 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 11 = 30

Binoculars [1EP]

Concealable Microphones [1EP]

Costume w/ Armored Underlay: Protection 4 (Power Feat: Subtle) [5EP]

Gas Mask [1EP]

Grapple-Gun: Super-Movement 3 (Slow Fall, Swinging, Wall-Crawling) [6EP]

Handcuffs [1EP]

Mini-Tracers [1EP]

Multitool [1EP]

Night-Vision Goggles [1EP]

Re-breathers [1EP]

Utility Belt 4 (8PP Array; Feats: Alternate Power 3) [11EP]

BE: Blast 2 (10 20-ft. Range Increments / 200ft Max Range; Power Feats: Homing, Improved Ranged Disarm, Mighty 2 [as DMG 4]) (boomerangs) [8PP]

AP: Dazzle Visual 4 (flash grenades) [8PP]

AP: Obscure Visual 4 (50-ft. radius; Extras: Independent) (smoke card) [8PP]

AP: Snare 4 (bolos) [8PP]

Powers: 16 + 3 + 1 = 20PP

Device 4 (Armaments Belt, 20PP; Flaw: Hard-To-Lose) [16PP]

Armaments Array 8 (16PP; Power Feats: Alternate Power 4) [20PP]

BE: Blast 4 (Extra: Penetrating 4 [as DMG 10]; Power Feats: Improved Ranged Disarm, Mighty 2 [as DMG 6], Split Attack) [16PP] (razor cards AKA Kings of Spades)

AP: Blast 5 (Extras: Area (General, Burst; 30-ft. radius); Power Feats: Split Attack) [16PP] (explosive cards AKA Kings of Clubs)

AP: Snare 8 [16PP] (coil cards AKA Kings of Hearts)

AP: Strike 5 (Power Feat: Mighty [as DMG 10]) [6PP] (ram gauntlets)

AP: Stun 8 [16PP] (shock rods)

Immunity 2 (Cold, Heat; Power Feat: Innate) [3PP] (training, conditioning)

Speed 1 (10 MPH / 100' per Move action) [1PP] (training, conditioning)

DC Block:

    ATTACK           RANGE      SAVE                              EFFECT

    Unarmed          Touch      DC 19 (21*) Toughness (Staged)    Damage (Physical)

    Bolas            Ranged     DC 14 Reflex (Staged)             Entangled/Bound

    Boomerang        Ranged     DC 19 (21*) Toughness (Staged)    Damage (Physical)

    Coil Cards       Ranged     DC 18 Reflex (Staged)             Entangled/Bound

    Explosive Cards  Ranged     DC 20 (22*) Toughness (Staged)    Damage (Physical)

    Flash Grenade    Ranged     DC 14 Fortitude                   Blinded

    Gauntlet         Touch      DC 25 (27*) Toughness (Staged)    Damage (Physical)

    Shock Stick      Touch      DC 18 Fortitude                   Stunned

    Razor Cards      Ranged     DC 21 (23*) Toughness (Staged)    Damage (Physical); Penetrating [as DMG 10]

*Sneak Attack

Totals: Abilities (38) + Combat (32) + Saving Throws (21) + Skills (36) + Feats (40) + Powers (20) - Drawbacks (0) = 187/194 Power Points

[Geez3r]

I'm Counting 36 points in Abilities.

Combat,

Initiative is +3, +5 at full Boost

Grapple is +11, +13 at full boost

Knockback is -2, -3 at full Boost

Saves,

You need to denote that they are 2 points higher when at full Boost.

Skills, you've got 58 ranks which costs 14.5 points. Adjust it so that the point cost comes out to an integer.

Feats, good.

Powers,

Near as I can tell you've got the version of Boost that lets you increase all traits of a given type at once. Base cost of 3pp/rank. With the flaw that falls back to 2pp/rank. So it costs 8pp, and 1 AP brings the total to 9pp. With the Immunities, you have a total of 11 points in powers.

[Ari]

Near as I can tell you've got the version of Boost that lets you increase all traits of a given type at once. Base cost of 3pp/rank. With the flaw that falls back to 2pp/rank. So it costs 8pp, and 1 AP brings the total to 9pp. With the Immunities, you have a total of 11 points in powers.

Actually, the Boost Array is being bought with the points needed for the Alternate Power and the Super-Strength, so it comes out to 14pp adding the Immunities.

[Geez3r]

You forgot to purchase the Dodge Focus ranks you have listed in your Defense line.

For your Fortitude, the Con bonus is +5 and +7 respectively.

Also, when Boosted, you break offensive Caps. You have a +6 Strength modifier, and +2 Sneak attack = +8, and a +7 attack. One of those needs to be lowered by 1.

[Ari]

Instructions followed, what do I need to fix next?

[Geez3r]

Abilities: 4+ 6 + 10 + 4 + 6 + 2 = 36pp

should read:

Abilities: 8+ 6 + 10 + 4 + 6 + 2 = 36pp

Combat,

Grapple is +10, +12

Total points spent is: 12 + 10 = 22

Feats,

Still haven't purchased the ranks in Dodge Focus.

Powers:

2 +0 + 12 = 14PP

should be

12 + 2 = 14PP

[Avenger Assembled]

Are you still interested in this character, Ari?

[Ari]

Yessir! I am dead set on this guy, so pleasepleaseplease don't move him to the Archive.

[Avenger Assembled]

I'll point Geez3r this way. Make sure you've made the changes he wanted.

[Geez3r]

Due to the changes you've made, Grapple is +10, +12 while boosted.

Also, I don't see how your Defense can be increase when you're Boosted, so that line needs to be changed as well.

For future reference, when you make the changes, also make a post saying "I've made the changes" and if it was a major edit, tell me how it was made. It just lets the Ref's know that it needs a further look see.

[Ari]

I've done as you said.

Sorry for the uncertainty, I didn't want huge lines of "Your character's statistics are off, please change them in this way." "Done, what next?". So I thought I should just follow your instructions and not shout whenever I changed two numbers to correct a minor error.

[Ari]

Hooray!! Danke schon, sehr grosse danke schon!

(Can't remember much any German grammer if it meant the firing squad )

[angrydurf]

Flat footed defense would be 2 not 5

He seems to average to PL 6 not 7 on his caps not sure if this is intentional or not.

Your're paying for 2 APs on the boost array and only have one listed.

[Ari]

Immunity isn't part of the Array, if that's the trouble spot. Followed instructions elsewhere. Lowish caps very much intended.

[angrydurf]

Ability Boost 9 (11PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 2 [12pp])

Base Power:Boost 4(Ability Scores, Extras: Flaw: Self Only [8PP]

AP:Super-Strength 5(Extras: Super-Breath[11PP]

This is whats confusing me.

Is "Ability boost 9" supposed to be the base effect for the array? if so what power is that supposed to be.

if its an 11pp array it should either have Alternate power 1 or cost 13pp also the correct formatting would be

Array 5.5 (11pp array; Power Feats: Alternate power) [12pp]

• Base Power:Boost 4 (Ability Scores, Extras: Flaw: Self Only) [8PP]
  AP:Super-Strength 5 (Extras: Super-Breath)[11PP]

OR

Ability Boost 9 ({Details of whats being boosted goes here}; Power Feats: Alternate power 2) [13pp]

• AP: Boost 4 (Ability Scores, Extras: Flaw: Self Only) [8PP]
  AP: Super-Strength 5 (Extras: Super-Breath) [11PP]

and whatever ability boost 9 is would have to somehow total to 11pp which would boost a single trait that is chosen at creation with 2 power feats (other than alternate power)

I think the first one where you can get SS or a boost effect is what you are trying to do but its unclear.

[Ari]

I cannot imagine how I missed that, fixing pronto. Yes, Alt Power 1 is right.

EDIT: Also changed the Array to '5' for an even value, dropped Super-Breath, and added Choke-Hold.

[Ari]

Never mind, switched out the 'all-powerful' array, with something that only benefits STR and DEX to a superhuman degree.

Play around with Feats in a short bit.

Please ignore loose PP, I'll collate them in short order, mainly in Equipment, I deem.

[Avenger Assembled]

Are you still interested in this character, Arichamus?

[Ari]

Aye! sorry, sorry! school bogged me down, as well as getting ready for Christmas.

Got the final details already! I'll upload them tonight!

No more bloody delays!

[Ari]

Added Equipment details, expanded the backstory and Description, and added the inevitable Card Deck of Random Crap Playing Cards Aren't Used for due to Very Good Reasons. As in, Blast in two flavors and Conceal.

[Geez3r]

Ok, for Trade-offs denote that you have a -2 Attack, +2 DC modifier and a -3 Defense, +3 Toughness trade-off.

Abilities, good.

Combat, you've spent 14 points here, not 20.

Initiative is +2/+7

Grapple is +7/+12/+17 with Super-Strength setting

Defense is +1 Flat Footed

Knockback is -1/-3

Saves, be fore to denote what your saves are while Boosted as well as their unboosted norms.

Skills,

The Skill modifier for Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Handle Animal, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (history), Knowledge (Tactics), and Survival are off. I believe that they are a hold over from a different set of ability scores.

Feats, your equipment should be listed under the feats section, not the power section.

Powers, good.

General Notes: You don't hit your Defensive caps currently, you need +4 Defense total to do that. You currently only have +2. While it is not necessary to hit caps, it is strongly advised.

In total you have spent 93 out of 105 points. So you've got 12 more points to mess around with.

[Ari]

The Skill modifier for Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Handle Animal, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (history), Knowledge (Tactics), and Survival are off. I believe that they are a hold over from a different set of ability scores.

This is factually exact.

Thank you for the oversight, I'll fix these niggles and have done with them.

As an aside, how do I increase Defence without buying more points in Constitution?

[Ari]

Instructions followed, any other issues? Also, is that Fool's Deck thing right?

[Avenger Assembled]

Constitution has nothing to do with Defense. If you want to raise your Defense, you buy it up directly.

[Geez3r]

Meeting Caps 101:

There are 4 ways in which one can hit caps: Attack, DC modifier, Defense and Toughness. Attack and DC modifier are your Offensive Caps. Defense and Toughness are your Defensive caps. In order to hit caps, each of these pairs must average out to your PL.

Attack: Measures how likely you are to hit with a given attack. Buying 1 rank of Attack costs 2pp, and gives a +1 bonus to all attacks made by a character. Due to our house rules, at least 1/3 of your total attack bonus must come from Attack. The Attack Focus feat gives your character a +1 bonus to either all ranged attacks or all melee attacks for the cost of 1pp. Attack Specialization gives your character a +2 to hit with a singular attack or a small grouping of similar attacks for the cost of 1pp.

DC modifier: Measures how hard your attacks are to resist. The rank of the effect is equal however many ranks you have purchased with that given power.

Defense: Measures how easily your character can avoid attacks all together. Buying 1 rank of Defense costs 2pp and gives your character +1 defense. For every 2 ranks purchased in Defense, you character gets a +1 Defense bonus while flat-footed. Due to our house rules, at least 1/3 of your total defense bonus must come from ranks in Defense. The Dodge Focus feat and/or Shield power costs 1pp and gives your character +1 defense; this bonus is lost however when you are caught flat-footed.

Toughness: Measure how hard it is to damage your character. Your character has a base Toughness save equal to their Constitution modifier. The Protection power (whether purchased as a power, in a device or in a piece of equipment) gives your character a +1 bonus on Toughness saves for 1pp. Force Field is essentially Protection, but with a Sustained Duration instead of a Permanent Duration. The Defensive Roll feat gives you a +2 Toughness save for 1pp, but this bonus is lost if your character is caught flat footed.