Jump to content

Mindsteel (PL7) - Sszinid


Recommended Posts

Player Name: Sszinid
Character Name: Mindsteel
Power Level: 7 (105/109PP)
Trade-Offs: +2 Attack / -2 Damage, +2 Defense / -2 Toughness
Unspent Power Points: 4
Progress To Bronze Status: 4/30

In Brief: Former power-chaser whose awakened psychic abilities have both fulfilled his dream and severely complicated his life.

Alternate Identity: Gideon Thomas Kinlan
Identity: Secret
Birthplace: Freedom City, USA
Occupation: Locksmith
Affiliations: None
Family: Father (Nathan Kinlan, 60, Doctor), Mother (Elaine Sharpe Kinlan, 56, Doctor), Sister (Ruth Kinlan, 18, Student)

Description:
Age: 20 (DoB: April 22, 1993)
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 165 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown

Gideon is of average height and lean of build, with quick hands and an elegance to his movements. He keeps his light brown hair short, and has been cultivating a beard of late, though it grows slowly and looks a little patchy. He's somewhat attractive, but there's an air of melancholy about him, in the semi-stopped way he holds himself and the way only half his mouth ever seems to smile. His deep blue eyes are soft and sad, dreamers' eyes rather than observant ones.

 

He favors jeans and T-shirts, adding a leather motorcycle jacket and gloves when he's riding and an azure parka when it gets cold. He owns a suit, but seldom has any reason to wear it. He carries little with him on the job, just a cheap watch and his toolkit tucked into his pocket. His motorcycle is mid-line, freshly painted but otherwise stock; he doesn't have the know-how to modify it or the money to have someone do it for him, but he does take good care of it.

 

His costume set him back months of savings. It's the best military and police surplus money can buy, kevlar pads and ballistic plates carefully fitted over thick pants and a flak jacket, all utilitarian black and brown. A high-collared, v-cut purple duster completes the ensemble. Emblazoned on Gideon's armored chest is a symbol: a white blade in mid-swing. Thick goggles cover his eyes and a cloth mask covers his face from the bridge of the nose down, hopefully providing anonymity.

 

tO3gfeX.jpg

Quick and dirty GIMP sketch; I hope to improve on it later.



Power Descriptions:

 

Gideon's ability to look into the past and read psychic impressions from objects has no flashy outward indicators, only a faraway look in his eyes and sluggish reactions to things happening in the here and now. His psiblade is another story. It's a vibrant swirl of colors, yet seems to drink light rather than shed it. It makes no sound when he swings it, having no real physical form; it passes harmlessly through anything without a brain.

 

Gideon's "super-speed" isn't actually all that fast, though it may strengthen with time. He subconsciously lessens air resistance and even gravity around himself, which causes him to move very quickly within a limited space, but a well-trained ordinary athlete could easily outrun him at full tilt. Still, it allows him to fight entire groups of foes in the blink of an eye.

 

History:

Growing up in Freedom City is hard for a lot of people. Residents of low-income areas like the Fens have a solid claim to a rough childhood. It's fairly unusual to hear that kind of claim from someone living in the West End, though; nobody is filthy rich, but nobody's poor, either. Gideon Kinlan's parents were happily married doctors with enough money to send the kids to private school without any worries. He had lots of friends in school and was bright enough to get good grades.

 

Gideon Kinlan's childhood was only hard because he made it that way.

 

Growing up in the shadow of superheroes, seeing them not just on the news but literally soaring overhead, gave him a dream job for which there's no real training or application process. When he said he wanted to be like Captain Thunder on his sixth birthday, his parents smiled and encouraged him. When he said it on his twelfth, they asked him what he really wanted. When he said it on his fifteenth, they started to worry. And they were right to worry.

 

It's not actually hard to get superpowers, right? Heroes are constantly born in lab accidents or chosen by strange magical objects. So Gideon and six of his friends took it upon themselves to produce such events. They were going to be the next Freedom League, they told themselves. So they broke into research facilities and dangled their feet over puddles of toxic sludge. They broke into museums and laid hands on things older than time. They jumped into particle accelerators and visited haunted houses.

 

Such power-chasers are not uncommon in Freedom City, but most grow out of it fairly quickly when something goes wrong. Gideon, however, was stubborn. He knew what he wanted, and he thought he knew how to get it. He was good at breaking into places, and on some level he liked the thrill of doing so. So as people began to drift away, he kept at it. When one of his friends got cancer, he figured he had to make it all worth something. In the end, that didn't work so well.

 

On the morning of the worst day of Gideon's life, two months before his eighteenth birthday, his cancer-ridden friend died. Devastated and angry, on some level blaming himself, Gideon got sloppy. He missed an alarm, and when he stepped out of the neutrino bombardment chamber the police were waiting. It was the look on his parents' faces, hurt and disappointment, that made everything click, far more than the sudden loss of all of his college acceptances.

 

He'd ruined his life chasing an impossible dream.

 

But this wasn't theatre; there was no curtain call at the end of the morality play. Gideon had to keep living with himself. He pled guilty to criminal trespassing and breaking and entering, getting away with six months' community service (the kind of thing he did anyway). His offense had been as a juvenile, so his record was sealed when he turned 18. But all of his parents' college hopes had been utterly dashed, and their trust was utterly gone.

 

After long discussion about where to go from there, Gideon took the college money his parents had saved and set it aside to start a business. He figured he was good at getting into secure places, so being a locksmith was right up his alley. He spent two years working with an older, more experienced locksmith, a man who taught him a lot about business but also about maturity and responsibility, before opening Abra Kadabra Locksmith Service (it's hard to get in before AB in the phone book).

 

It wasn't what his parents had in mind all those years, but Gideon was standing on his own two feet, being a contributing member of society. He knew that hurt would always be there, but as long as he worked hard and stayed grounded he could prove to them that he hadn't been a total waste. And they loved and supported him in spite of it all, though he was ashamed to accept it. But only a month after he opened Abra Kadabra, his life drastically changed again.

 

Maybe all of that exposure finally triggered something. Or maybe it was in him all along, part of humanity's next great leap like Professor Psion says. That would be a bitter truth after all he went through. But Gideon woke up one day and found that he could do things, extraordinary things, with his mind. He could conjure dark blades from his hands. He could read objects like open books. He could stand in a place and know, with some serious effort, what had happened there before.

 

It was a terrible decision to have to make: could he really go back to the old dream after all he'd put his loved ones through? But if not, wouldn't he be wasting this gift that had cost him so much to gain? In the end, he knew he couldn't turn away. His life was going to get a lot more complicated, a lot more secretive, but maybe he could be more than just one strained but upstanding citizen. Maybe he could be as good as his parents had hoped, even if they'd never know.

 

And so Razoracle was born, and Gideon's greatest struggle began.

Personality & Motivation:

Gideon is acutely aware of the fact that he screwed up big-time. The last thing he ever wanted was to have his family disappointed in him, and yet he managed it. Even though they've forgiven him, it's not like things can just go back to the way they were. So he strives to prove that he really has changed, that he's a good person who's learned the lessons his parents worked so hard to teach him in childhood. But his powers have thrown a wrench into all those plans.

 

For all its heroes, Freedom City still has big problems, and Gideon has always wanted to help. His youthful excitement at the idea of being a superhero isn't entirely gone, and not using his new abilities seems a terrible waste to him. Whatever he chooses, he's going to feel guilty. He tries to bury that guilt by doing the best he can in both of his lives, being patient, kind, and slow to judge. He is mild-mannered and friendly, burdened at heart but refusing to take that out on anyone but himself.

 

He should probably take antidepressants, but he won't. He has to do it all on his own.

Powers & Tactics:

 

Gideon's psiblade is a potent weapon, and his speed makes it all the more so, but he's not a trained warrior. Knowing this, he fights with caution, knowing when to attack and when to wait silently or retreat to fight another day. His battles against crime are carefully chosen; his powers and contacts allow him to research in detail what the foes of justice are up to before bringing the fight to them. When lives are on the line and there's no time for delays Gideon fights all the harder, but he's more in his element taking it slow.

 

Wary of mindless or strong-willed enemies, Gideon carries a heavy hammer as well, but it's a last resort.

 

He's hardly an expert detective, but his powers pick up some of the slack. One day he may be a fine investigator, provided his enthusiasm doesn't overbalance his good sense and get him killed. He can match bullets to guns and gunmen simply by touching them, no serial numbers needed. He can reconstruct any crime scene he can visit in perfect detail. His visions may not be admissible in court, but they make him darn good at finding hard evidence that criminals want to keep buried.
 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Complications:

Bad Business Blues: Abra Kadabra Locksmith Service may be first in the phone book, but it's still barely staying afloat. Gideon is the only employee, taking all of the calls and doing all of the management. A lot of nights, he gets nothing. Some nights, he gets way too much to handle alone and loses business. He won't ask his family for help; he wants them to believe that he doesn't need any. So he has a cruddy little apartment, barely enough gas in his bike, and very little sleep.

 

When his business or lack of funds causes him trouble, Gideon gains a Hero Point.

 

Conceal, Don't Feel: Gideon's psychic powers are new to him, and his control over them is often shaky. Strong emotions have a good chance of shattering that control. When he experiences extreme fear, anger, sadness, or even joy, Gideon's powers may gain the Unreliable flaw. Alternatively, he may be subjected to a Confuse effect.

 

My Life Is In Two Pieces: Just as Gideon was getting his life back on track, he's suddenly gotten the powers he used to want so badly. He feels that he can't possibly not use them now, as it would be irresponsible to deny Freedom City the good he can do with them, but he has a responsibility to his family as well, and is pretty sure that they would consider what he's doing to be going off the reservation again. So he has to hide his activities from his family… and his family from his new enemies.

 

When Gideon runs into trouble juggling his responsibilities, he gains a Hero Point.

 

Why Yes, I Did Just Combust: Gideon's days as a power-chaser are behind him, but the energies he exposed himself to over the years aren't done with him yet. At the beginning of any thread, and at any time the DM chooses, Gideon may be subjected to a random power effect with the Energy, Magic, or Radiation descriptor. This will always be a negative effect (like Confuse, Fatigue, or even Blast).

 

This effect may intensify around strong sources of Energy, Magic, or Radiation. The GM should not feel limited to power effects described in the rulebook; after all that Gideon's put himself through, just about anything is possible. Creativity is highly encouraged.

 

Abilities: 4 + 6 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 4 = 20PP

Strength: 14 (+2)

Dexterity: 16 (+3)

Constitution: 12 (+1)

Intelligence: 12 (+1)

Wisdom: 12 (+1)

Charisma: 14 (+2)

 

Combat: 10 + 10 = 20PP

Initiative: +7

Attack: +9 Melee, +5 Ranged

Grapple: +10

Defense: +9 (+5 Base, +4 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed

Knockback: -2

 

Saving Throws: 5 + 5 + 5 = 15PP

Toughness: +5 (+1 Con, +4 Tactical Vest)

Fortitude: +6 (+1 Con, +5)

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

Will: +6 (+1 Wis, +5)

 

Skills: 60R = 15PP

Acrobatics 2 (+5)

Bluff 3 (+5)

Computers 4 (+5)

Concentration 4 (+5)

Diplomacy 3 (+5)

Disable Device 7 (+8)

Drive 4 (+7)

Gather Information 5 (+7)

Investigate 4 (+5)

Knowledge [Current Events] 4 (+5)

Knowledge [Pop Culture] 4 (+5)

Notice 4 (+5)

Search 4 (+5)

Sense Motive 4 (+5)

Stealth 4 (+7)

 

Feats: 14PP

Attack Focus (Melee) 4

Contacts

Dodge Focus 4

Equipment 2

Evasion 1

Fearless

Well-Informed

 

Equipment: 10 EP

Locksmith's Tools (+2 Disable Device) [1EP]

Warhammer [5EP]

Tactical Vest [4EP]

 

Powers: 4 + 10 + 5 + 2 = 21PP

 

Comprehend 2 (Objects) [4PP] (Read Psychic Impressions)

 

Strike 5 (Extras: Alternate Save [Will]) [10PP] (Psiblade)

 

Super-Speed 1 (Free Feat: Rapid Attack) [5PP] (Speed of Thought)

 

Super-Senses 4 (Postcognition; Flaws: Tiring) [2PP] (Sense Lingering Emotion)

 

DC Block

 

ATTACK           RANGE                SAVE                          EFFECT

Psiblade           5ft radius             DC20 Will                    Damage (Mental)

Unarmed          5ft radius             DC16 Tough               Damage (Physical)

Warhammer     5ft radius / 10ft    DC20 Tough               Damage (Physical)

 

 

Totals: Abilities (20) + Combat (20) + Saving Throws (15) + Skills (15) + Feats (14) + Powers (21) - Drawbacks (0) = 105/109 Power Points

Edited by Supercape
+4 PP March 2014
Link to comment

Hey Sszinid, great to see you coming up with a first character!

 

So a few things.

Your Knockback would be 0 without the tactical vest, but -2 with the vest.

 

Under Feats, I believe you want Attack Focus (Melee), not ranged, as your Melee is listed as +9 (base plus 4).

Also (and this is just a question, not a statement that you have to change it), for Evasion 2, who do you see that fitting the character?  That high of Evasion is usually something you see from a concept that is either speedster, super-agile or martial artist/combat expert, which Razoracle does not quite seem.  Again, I am not saying you cannot stick with that, just wondering how you see it working.

 

Powers: I do not believe we have ever allowed two damage powers to be linked together like that.  We have allowed a damage power to be linked to some other effect, such as a Will based damage attack and a Will Drain. 

 

Regarding your "Why Yes, I did just Combust" complication, it is a rather interesting one, but I would have to say you would need to remove the potential for a positive effect.  If you are getting something positive, it is not a complication. 

Link to comment

What Thev said. Also, to be honest, there is little point in putting "make a fort save or" for things like complications. Either you have a negative effect (and an HP) or you dont (and its not a complication). Just leave it as "happens when it is cool". Why should you be a slave to dice to have/not have a cool thing like that happen at a good time?

Link to comment

Thank you both for your swift and courteous response! Sorry about the errors.

 

I forgot completely about my knockback and grapple modifiers; both are now in place. The Attack Focus mishap was vestigial from an older build, and has been corrected. I've swapped out the motorcycle and Strike 5 for Matrix-style Super Speed and a big hammer, to keep Gideon from being totally helpless against Will-immune things like giant robots. I think that also justifies Evasion, which I admit was just a mechanical choice before. Bad metagamer, bad.

 

Edited complications a little to reflect your suggestions. No more saves, no more chance for positive effects. Good points all, thank you. After popping into chat, I decided that if I saw a comic entitled "Razoracle" I would think it'd be written and drawn by Rob Liefeld twenty years ago and laugh at it. Further, it's more violent / threatening than heroic. With that in mind, I've decided to change Gideon's superheroic name to Mindsteel.

Link to comment

Well, as I said, I was not saying "no" to Evasion 2, was just wondering about how you saw it working.

 

For the superspeed, it is up to you, but you might want to consider breaking it into its individual parts so you can improve parts of it at different rates (but that is something you can always do later).  But, I prefer to see the Wall Running listed separate, as it is not really a feat, but is Super Movement: Wall Running (limited: only while moving).

Link to comment
×
×
  • Create New...