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Lucid (PL10) - Sovem


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Player Name: Sovem

Character Name: Lucid

Power Level: (10) (150/151PP)

Trade-Offs: +/-0 Attack / +/-0 Damage, +2 Defense / -2 Toughness

Unspent PP: 1

Progress To Bronze Status: 1/30

In Brief: Boy spends his adolescence in a coma; when he wakes up, he brings his dreams with him

Alternate Identities: Peter Jasper

Identity: (Secret)

Birthplace: Freedom City

Occupation: Student

Affiliations:

Family: David Jasper (Father), Yolanda Jasper (Mother), Maurice Jasper (younger brother)

Age: 18 (DoB: April, 1993)

Apparent Age: 18 as Peter, early 30's as Lucid

Gender: M

Ethnicity: African-American

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 120 lbs

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black

Description: To say Peter Jasper is skinny is an understatement; he's put on a good deal of weight since waking up, but he's still skinny enough to look unhealthy. He dresses average for a teen student, and keeps his hair shaved short.

Peter doesn't like people to see him that way, though. He uses his powers to make himself appear taller, more muscular, and wearing the most fashionable name brands. When he's heroing, he adds another ten years to his apparent age, another 6" of height, and a good 70 lbs of muscle mass to better accentuate his form-fitting costume.

Power Descriptions: Though Peter calls them dream creations, they actually have little to do with REM or the astral realm of dreams. Peter's over-active imagination gets translated into physical reality by precise application of tele- and photokinesis. When concentrating on making the illusions, they seem incredibly real; it takes formidible mental acumen to distinguish a fake. At that level of detail, though, they're not strong enough to actually affect the world; Peter has to concentrate on a single illusion, releasing all others, to give it actual strength. When he does this, the image glows blue, giving away its nature.

Having grown used to creating his own reality for so long, Peter will often unconsciously "improve" the world around him. Colors will appear sharper, things he thinks should look clean look cleaner and brighter, things he thinks are dingy appear darker and dirtier. He's learned he has to be careful, though; an illusion of a cool breeze on a hot day will do him no good if he passes out from heat exhaustion.

History: Sometimes, people just happen to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Peter Jasper was one of those unfortunates, fated to be just another statistic in Freedom City's neverending war on crime. He was walking out of a grocer's one day, only a block away from the apartment he lived at with his parents, when a fierce battle between the Psions and the Atom Family came spilling down his street. The terrified thirteen year old tried to run and hide along with everyone else, but Professor Psion randomly chose Peter to take mental control of and send him at the Atoms. Chase Atom psychicly grappled with Psion to free Peter, but the uncaring professor used Peter's own mind as a shield for his, and the inexperienced Chase accidentally damaged Peter's mind before he realized the trick Psion had pulled. Professor Psion dumped Peter's useless body as Jump finally showed up to bail him out, and the Atoms assisted the FCPD in cleaning up the mess, as they always did. But Chase Atom had a special investment this time. He felt tremendous guilt over what happened to Peter, and he followed the boy to the hospital and worked with the doctors, trying to heal him. There was nothing the doctors could do; physically, Peter was fine. And Chase, despite all his powers, could not reactivate whatever motor control Professor Psion had shut down. Peter Jasper was perfectly awake, but was trapped inside his mind, paralyzed!

The youngest Atom visited Peter in the hospital frequently at first; using his powers to help the poor boy communicate with his distraught family, and trying whatever new tricks he could think of to cure Peter. But what Peter appreciated most was Chase's attempts to make his waking coma more bearable. Chase was a young boy, too, and new that more than anything, Peter needed to be able to run and play and feel normal. So he used his mental powers to construct elaborate waking dreams for Peter. They were so realistic, with colors and scents, the feel of a warm breeze, grass between his toes... Short of healing him, it was the greatest gift anyone could give.

As the months went on, Chase visited Peter in the hospital whenever he had some spare moments (between school, chores, and saving the world). Peter's favorite dreams were the ones Chase based off his own adventures. He would give Peter a costume and powers, and together they would re-enact taking down Dr. Simian or fighting off Omegadrones.

As Peter's coma wore on with no signs of getting better, Chase's visits grew less frequent. Peter might have resented it but for the fact that Chase's dreams were lasting longer and longer, even after the young Atom left. After two years of visits, Peter was able to control his own dreams, whether sleeping or awake, to a degree that matched Chase's for realism. His adventures in his mind grew ever grander, saving the world over and over alongside the Atom Family, or the Freedom League, or Centurion himself!

Chase still visited Peter every few months, to help him communicate with his parents and brother. Peter would never admit it, but he was actually starting to grow annoyed with the reminders that he was still a paralyzed victim in a hospital bed. In his dreams, he could forget all that and be the star of his own reality.

For five years, Peter Jasper lay in a hospital bed. Then, one day in early 2011, Peter's eyes suddenly opened. He could feel tingling in his limbs. He could smell the sterile hospital air in his nostrils. He could lift his head.

At first, Peter was terrified. He was back in the cold, harsh world where he was no longer special, just another kid in a sea of faces, another statistic, possibly a cripple. He wanted to go back; he didn't want to be here. He wanted to be anywhere but in a hospital bed... and suddenly, he was. He was on a warm beach, with an orange sunset and a cool breeze. Or, at least, he thought he was, until a nurse walked in and his illusion burst like a bubble.

Over the next few months, Peter slowly started to rebuild his strength. He's still not up to normal for his age, but he can walk on his own again. The adjustment back to the waking world has been as difficult as his adjustment to the coma was, but this time his new world is full of hope, rather than despair. He may not be Centurion--or even an Atom brother--but he does have powers, and he believes that, with practice, he can become the hero he always "dreamed" of being. Chase Atom got Peter a spot at Claremont; although Peter's old enough that he should be graduating this year, he's missed his entire High School education, and he could use some help with his powers, too.

Personality & Motivation: Peter Jasper has spent his adolescence inside a dream world where everything happened exactly the way he wanted--it might've turned him into a megalomaniac, but Peter's always been too much of a caring person to want to lord over people, even in his dreamworld. It has, however, made him completely inept at socialization. People in the real world don't always react the way he expects them to. It's also difficult not to be the center of everyone's attention anymore, something that's taken even more getting used to (and he often forgets).

Deep down, Peter just wants to be like his idol, Chase Atom. He hopes that if he trains hard, he'll become a true superhero and maybe one day be made an honorary member of the Atom Family.

Powers & Tactics: Peter prefers to use his illusions to cloak himself in combat situations, while confusing and harassing enemies with realistic illusions that shift the battle in his allies' favor. If alone against a threat, Peter will use misdirection to confuse and anger his opponent, only resorting to a physical illusion if absolutely necessary. A favorite tactic of his is to project an incredibly disorienting jumble of colors directly in the face of an opponent, or hit them with the smell of raw sewage.

When flying, Peter usually creates an illusions of a giant eagle to ride, or a hover chair, or, if he's feeling really ignored, a chariot pulled by flaming horses.


Complications:

18 going on 14: Peter spent the last 5 years in a coma. He never went to High School, he doesn't have a driver's license, and he's lost 5 years worth of social learning.

Handicapable Peter's body is still rather weak. However, since he usually hides his frailty behind an illusion of strength, people can be surprised just how weak he is... and maybe pissed off when he refuses to help move the couch.

"Professor Psion, I presume" Peter has a score to settle with the Psion family. Although he's not thinking about it too much now, while his powers are so new, as he discovers how difficult being a hero is and he begins to resent not having a normal teen life, his feelings against Professor Psion will grow stronger.

A debt that can never be repaid Chase Atom tried to save Peter from Prof. Psion, and kept trying to save him when the doctors were helpless. In addition, he turned what could have been the most profound torture imaginable--being stuck inside one's head--into a fantasy world, and helped him get into Claremont when Peter woke and brought that world with him. Peter would do anything for Chase, or any of the Atoms.

Abilities: 0 + 4 + 0 + 2 + 6 + 4 = 16PP

Strength: 10 (+0)

Dexterity: 14 (+2)

Constitution: 10 (+0)

Intelligence: 12 (+1)

Wisdom: 16 (+3)

Charisma: 14 (+2)

Combat: 12 + 8 = 20PP

Initiative: +14

Attack: +6

Grapple: +6, +20 Move Object

Defense: +12/+6 (+4 Base, +2 Dodge Focus, +6/+0 Shield), +2 Flat-Footed

Knockback: -4/-2, -2/-0 Flat-Footed

Saving Throws: 7 + 9 + 5 = 21PP

Toughness: +8/+4, +4/+0 Flat-Footed (+0 Con, +4 Defensive Roll, +4/+0 Protection)

Fortitude: +7 (+0 Con, +7)

Reflex: +10 (+1 Dex, +9)

Will: +8 (+3 Wis, +5)

Skills: 44R = 11PP

Concentration 8 (+11)

Computers 4 (+5)

Disguise 0 (+2, +22 Morph)

Intimidate 8 (+10)

Notice 10 (+13)

Sense Motive 4 (+6)

Stealth 10 (+9)

Feats: 12PP

Defensive Roll 2

Dodge Focus 2

Distract (Intimidate)

Fearless

Improved Initiative 3

Improved Pin

Luck

Startle

Powers: 4 + 10 + 9 + 47 = 70PP

Flight 4 (100 mph; Flaw: Platform) [4PP] (Coherent projections, Psionic)

Protection 4 [4PP] + Shield 6 [6PP] (Solipsistic Denial of Pain, Psionic) [10PP]

Self Image 4 (8PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 1) [9PP] (Personal holographs, psionic)

  • Base Power: Concealment 4 (All visual senses) [8PP] (3rd Person Observer)

    Alternate Power: Morph 4 (Any Humanoid, +20 Disguise) [8PP] (Idealized Image)

Waking Dreams 22(44PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 3) [47PP] (Dream creations, Psionic)

  • Base Power: Illusion 10 (All Senses, Feats: Progression [Area] 4 [100ft radius]) [44PP] (Dream World)

    Alternate Power: Move Object 10 (Extras: Damaging, Range [Perception], Feats: Precise) [41PP] (Coherent Projections)

    Alternate Power: Nauseate 10 (Extras: Alternate Save [Will], Range 2 [Perception], Area: Shapeable, Flaw: Sense-Dependent (visual)) [40PP] (Vertigo Wave)

    Alternate Power: Nauseate 10 (Extras: Range 2 [Perception], Area: Shapeable, Flaw: Sense-Dependent (olfactory)) [40PP] (Noxious Odors, Psionic)

Drawbacks: -0PP

None

DC Block:

ATTACK             RANGE          SAVE                                  EFFECT

Unarmed             Touch       DC15 Toughness (Staged)       Damage (Physical)

Illusion             Perception     DC20  Will                    Target fooled

Vertigo Wave       Perception     DC20 Will                        Sickened 

Noxious odors       Perception     DC20 Fort                         Sickened

Abilities (16) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (21) + Skills (11) + Feats (12) + Powers (70) - Drawbacks (0) = 150/151 Power Points

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I feel like his Concealment, Illusion, and Morph powers should have the Phantasm (-1) flaw, and his Perception-range Will-based attacks should have the Mental (+0) extra. I think they fit perfectly with what you're trying to do. Also, Illusion should probably have the Selective (+1) extra, unless everyone in the area sees the same thing all the time. The Sense-Dependent (-1) flaw (Olfactory) would be perfect for his Fort-based Nauseate.

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Well, I'm describing his Concealment, Illusion, and Morph as photokinesis--in other words, he's manipulating light; so it wouldn't be a Phantasm. I'm not really sure why Illusion is a Will save, except that maybe once you notice it's fake, it takes willpower to not flinch? Otherwise, if Illusion was always in the mind, I don't know why Phantasm would only be an Extra, and not part of the power.

What does the Mental (+0) extra do?

Good point on the Sense-Dependent flaw, I'll add Sight and Olfactory to the relevant Nauseates.

EDIT: Oh, and on the selective thing--yeah, since he's manipulating light itself (and air particles for sound and scent), everyone sees his Illusions the same. He'll need to make sure any teammates are well aware of his tactics.

Once I put the Sense Dependent flaw on the Nauseates, that'll leave me with 14 extra PPs, instead of just the 4. Should I make them Area: Shapeable? Did I read somewhere that Selective Attack is just a Power Feat here, or is it still an Extra?

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Sorry. Yeah, I see it now - he's a telekinetic and a photokinetic, not a psychic. My bad.

We don't have any special house rules on Selective. As per the books, it's a feat, unless it applies to an attack power, at which point it becomes an extra. By "attack power," I mean anything that forces a saving throw or an opposed check, or inflicts some other sort of impairment. Post-UP, Obscure was added to that list.

By default, Illusions are not "just in the mind." They show up to anyone and anything with the senses necessary to perceive them - people, animals, cameras, whatever.

Post-UP, The Mental extra (and the Phantasm flaw) make a power a Sensory (Mental) type effect. Generally, the power has to be Perception-range, and if it forces a save, it has to be a Will save. It only works on someone who has an INT, WIS, and CHA all at 1+, it's blocked by Immunity to Mental Effects (or a sufficient rank of Mind Shield), and it basically has a rank of Subtle by default (only the victim, and anyone with Mental Awareness, has any idea what's happening). If you then give it the Subtle feat, even the victim and people with Mental Awareness need to make a Notice check to know what's going on or to know the source. In other words, it makes something a "psychic power," something that's all in the victim's head.

Phantasm is a flaw, not an extra. It does pretty much everything that Mental does, and it gives the victim a Will save if they are given reason to believe that what they're perceiving or experiencing isn't real. Applying Phantasm to a power like Illusion, Obscure, or Morph means that what the victim is seeing is all in their head, rather than something that would show up on camera. (You can't have both the Saving Throw flaw and the Phantasm flaw on the same power, since Phantasm already includes a measure of the Saving Throw flaw.)

Sense-Dependent is a flaw that only works for Perception-range powers (which his are). It gives a Reflex save to avoid the power, in addition to whatever save is ultimately used to resist it. That's why it's a -1 flaw; it brings the power back down to the level of a Touch-range or Ranged attack, only with a Reflex save for the victim instead of an attack roll for the attacker. So mechanically, you may or may not want to use it. But if you do want to, it fits your powers perfectly.

Nauseate, like the majority of attack powers, is single-target by default. If you want to apply the Sense-Dependent flaw, you could then add the Area extra, yes, with whatever shape you like. You can place the epicenter/starting-point of a Perception-range Area power at any point you can perceive, and then it radiates outward from that point. So I'd recommend either Burst, Cylinder, or Shapeable for the area shape if you do make it an Area effect. But Area attacks are a double-edged sword, as I'm sure you're aware.

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No no, he doesn't act like a 14 year old; he just doesn't have education beyond 14, he's out of the loop on any pop culture between then and the last few months. He forgets sometimes that he's not the center of everyone's attention, but that's more of an embarrassment to him; he's not gonna whine about it or be annoying. He might be a little ostentatious with his powers every once and awhile, but he wouldn't purposefully try to upstage someone else.

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