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Rusty Nail - Cotoloti - PL 7 Hero


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Rusty Nail - Alternate Identity (abandoned): Samuel Gallowglass

PL 7 (92 pp)

PP Unspent: 2

"What am I? I'm a freakin hero!"

Abilities:

Str: 10 (18) (+4)

Dex: 10 (0)

Con: 10 (14) (+2)

Int: 10 (0)

Wis: 10 (0)

Cha: 10 (0)

Combat: 0

Attack +8

Defense +8

Initiative +8

Grapple -9 (+3 STR +4 Super STR -16 Size)

Saves: 12

Tough: 4 (Impervious)

Fort: 4 (+6)

Ref: +4

Will: +4

Skills: 8

Acrobatics 9, Escape Artist 11, Intimidate 0 (-8), Knowledge (Pop Culture) 4, Notice 8, Stealth 0 (+16)

Feats: 6

Elusive Target, Improved Initiative 2, Move By Action, Power Attack, Stunning Attack

Powers: 64

Shrinking 16 cost 48

Extra: Continuous, Normal Strength Flaw: Permanent PF: Normal Move, Normal Toughness 2

LINKED: Compression 4 (Density) Extra: Continuous Flaw: Permanent PF: Buoyant

Enhanced Con 4 cost 6

Extra Impervious Toughness 2 (For Total of 4)

Super Strength 2 cost 5 (For Total of 3)

AP: Immovable 4 (For Total of 5)

Speed 3 cost 5

AP: Leaping 3

AP: Swimming 3

Total

Abilities 0 + Skills 8+ Feats 6 + Combat 0 + Saves 12 + Powers 64 = Total 90

Complications

Temper - Is this really a complication? Rusty can fly off the handle from time to time but I'd hardly call that a complication. Some people might take offense but some people can mind their own &*(@!!! business all right? And if any one's got a problem with that we can step outside and settle things!

Okay so maybe it complicates things from time to time.

Fame - Hey maybe I should wear a disguise! To blend in with all the other 5" tall people running around. Maybe a pair of glasses and a dorky suit. Yeah.

Appearance

Height: 5" tall

Weight: 165lbs

Hair: Auburn

Eyes: Green

Description:

Rusty dresses in simple earth tone clothes. His outfits are less from choice than from availability. Not a lot of shopping off the rack when you are five inches tall.

History

Interview on Channel 27 morning talk.

...

"Well you weren't always 'saving the city five inches at a time'* so what were you before?" asks the lovely young reporter who's name I'm already forgetting.

"Boring," I say, "No, I mean I was the same guy but without the physical changes. I pushed a pencil around from nine to five, dated a little, drank a little and sent flowers home on Mother's Day. I was just another person moving through the world and as far as I'm concerned, I still am."

She asks, "So you don't think you've changed?"

I shake my head, "I know I've changed. We're all changing constantly. The things you believe in today aren't the same that you believed last month or last year. Think back to all the foolish things you thought and believed back in high school and think how different you are now. Everyone changes their opinions over time and based on the information they are exposed to. I believe that a certain set of core values tends to stay the same for much of our lives but over time even they can change. That's getting a little too deep for breakfast though."

"Okay then let's move to the question everyone wants to know. How did you get so..." she starts.

"Small?" I suggested.

The interviewer nods and crosses her legs and smiles in anticipation. I can't help but look at them, they went on forever. Especially if you're my size.

"Radioactive monkey bite," I say and then take a sip of coffee.

"What, seriously?" she asks half believing.

"No not really," I say, "I was given a magic ring by an alien."

"You're not wearing a ring," she says with suspicion.

"Oh right, sorry, I was thinking of somebody else."

"Be serious, everyone wants to know."

"Sorry honey, I'm sworn to secrecy. Telling you anything would just be putting you all at risk," I say.

"You're still joking aren't you?" she asks.

I shrug and offer, "We live in a world with people with more abilities than can be comprehended. Super technologies that can hear a pin drop from a mile away and satellites that can see you scratch your nose from outer space. You tell me if you think it's possible to keep tabs on someone like a lab rat, twenty-four seven."

She nods and accepts my answer for now. She asks, "Isn't it hard being five inches tall?"

"Nah. It could be worse. I mean if I'd only shrunk to half my size I'd just be short. This way I get to be a hero."

*common interview catch phrase from Rusty.

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

A Friday night at the bar -

"... so then that was it. I was his prisoner. He'd tossed me down this deep dark well and I had no way of getting out. He'd blast me with this fire hose when he wasn't off doing some sick thing or other. He had this damn dog watching me from the top of the well to sound the alarm if I even managed to get halfway up or anything."

"So how did you get out?" asks one of them as they lean close to hear. "Is that when you discovered your powers and made your escape?"

I shook my head and say, "Nope. It just got worse. Finally he lowered this bucket down in the well with something in it. Then he said words that would haunt me to this day.." pause for effect before I say, "It puts the lotion on it's skin or it gets the..." That's when the groans and the laughter start.

"Oh man! You suckered us again! When are you going to tell us how you really got shrunk down?"

I just grin and say, "When you're old enough to stop falling for my stories." I look at the clock on the wall and say, "Well it's been fun boys and girls but I've got some bad people to surprise. You all have a good time tonight."

I take a last sip of whiskey from the swizzle straw and jumped over to the doorway. I raise my hand in a farewell wave before zipping away into the night.

One of the kids yells, "Kick ass Rusty!!!"

I always try.

Running across the city I wonder if the kids would be disappointed if I told them the truth. Truth is I don't have a clue. I woke up one morning five inches tall. I went to the doctors. The x-rays and the scans worked but they didn't tell them anything. The blood sample didn't go so well. For starters their smallest needles were still pretty dang big and the other thing is my skin's pretty tough. Snap enough needles and they start talking about high pressure and titanium tips and stuff and I'm pretty sure they aren't going to be able to jab me with a needle hard enough without actually jamming it straight through me so... no thanks.

So maybe it was aliens or a wizard or exposure to radiation, a long dormant genetic quirk in my family makeup, no clue really.

I think that I'm someone's experiment. Not like from a lab but someone with power. I think they're trying to teach me something or other. Or maybe the world. Maybe I'll find out someday but until then I'm just going to keep plugging away.

---

The past:

Samuel Gallowglass was nothing special. He lived in a small city in the Midwest. He trudged through the 9-5 world like so many others and had little contact with the rest of humanity. He had a few work friends, mostly just acquaintances. His parents had passed away and he was distant from the rest that remained. There was no steady girlfriend and no real plan for his future. When he disappeared one day it took three days for anyone to call the police. The police searched his apartment and found Samuel missing. His bank account had been cleared out but it turned out most of it had been used to pay off his credit debts. No trace was ever found of him. It was eventually cold cased, especially because of the lack of concerned family or friends. It was nearly a year later in far off Freedom City that a tiny new hero started becoming a pain in the foot of criminals. No one ever connected the two. If they ever do.. well, everyone's got a skeleton in the closet. Rusty's just happens to be a terribly boring one.

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Shrinking 16 cost 19

Extra: Normal Strength Flaw: Permanent PF: Normal Move, Normal Toughness 2

Shouldn't this cost 35 PPs? I think you forgot to include the Extra to shift the Duration from Sustained to Continuous. The Permanent Flaw can only be applied to Continuous powers.

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*expletive deleted*

No problem. Just tossed out all the flavor elements to the character and a point of leaping and I'm right as rain.

...Or I can give up the permanent idea and just let him shrink at will with an action modifier to the transition. Make it a full round to change size and Shrinking 16 w/ Normal Strength only costs 8 points. Heck I can save an extra point with the Full Power Drawback and bring it down to 7.

That just doesn't seem fair. All the power and still have the advantage of being able to go out on a date on a Saturday night. for 1/4 the cost?

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Hmm. I'd suggest going about it differently. I'd cut the Healing, Impervious, and Penetrating to start. That gets you 11 pp back to add to attributes and saves. With Power Attack, you'll usually be able to get around Impervious. By the same token, Impervious 4 is a little low, even for PL 6, and it won't stop too many attacks. The Healing is nice, but it seems like something to buy later, once you have a better idea of how often Rusty is getting hurt (and how badly).

Sorry I missed that, by the way. I had a brain stall.

If you want a piece of good news, I've found out that size modifiers to defense are applied after you determine your dodge bonus. This means that your character's flat-footed defense is 18, the same as his base defense.

Reference

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The impervious and penetrating are part of the whole character and the reason behind the character name Rusty Nail. Tough as a nail. Dropping those is like scrapping the character. Might as well just call him Cap'n Shortstuff.

Ditched the Permanent Shrinking. 24 points is waaay to much to waste.

Check it out.. skills, feats, languages... it's like some sort of.. person?

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ALT Shrinking 16 cost 10

Extra: Continuous, Normal Strength Flaw: Action-Full (3) PF: Normal Move, Normal Toughness 2 PD: -1 Full Power

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news again, but Action changes on container-like powers and growth/shrinking powers are Drawbacks not Flaws around here. The precedent for this is taken from UP, p.55 where it specifically says that to change the Action on such is a Drawback:

"Generally, requiring longer than a free action to change your size is a drawback rather than an Action flaw, simply because it doesn't limit the use of Growth much once you've assumed a particular size. Taking a move action to grow is a 1-point drawback, a standard action is 2 points, and a full-round action is 3 point . . ."

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Your Constitution is only 16 now, since you have fewer ranks of Enhanced Constitution.

Powers should say 68 (you have it right in the bottom, but not in the middle of the sheet).

Density provides you with Impervious Protection equal to 1/2 its rank, so your total Toughness save is currently +5 (Impervious). This is over your PL cap, so you should lower your Constitution by 1 or 2 (in other words, lower the Constitution modifier by 1). This saves 2 or 3 pp (since you're also lowering your Impervious by 1). If you want your Fortitude save to remain at +6, then you are saving 1 or 2 pp.

You don't need to take Subtle on the Compression, since it's a permanent effect. This saves 1 pp.

Immovable should be Immovable 4, just to clarify the rank.

That gives you a couple pp back. You could use that to buy Penetrating on part of your Strength again, if you wanted, or increase some of your abilities.

I also read the Atomic Think Tank and found that size modifiers to attack do not apply to grapple checks. This means your grapple check is -12 (-16 for size, +4 for Strength). You did the right thing by buying Escape Artist.

Also, you get a size bonus to Stealth, and a size penalty to Intimidate. You may want to list those on your sheet if you plan to use either skill untrained. We remember the ability modifiers without a problem, but tend to forget the size modifiers.

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Fixed the Con listing -

Reduced Enhanced Con to +4 with Impervious Toughness 2

Increased Skills and added Knowledge - Pop Culture because watching TV is something that Rusty has a lot of time for.

You don't need to take Subtle on the Compression, since it's a permanent effect. This saves 1 pp.

Really? sweet.

Immovable should be Immovable 4, just to clarify the rank.

Check.

That gives you a couple pp back. You could use that to buy Penetrating on part of your Strength again, if you wanted, or increase some of your abilities.

I did like the Penetrating Strength but I'll live with out it for now.

I also read the Atomic Think Tank and found that size modifiers to attack do not apply to grapple checks. This means your grapple check is -12 (-16 for size, +4 for Strength).

You're right... though it's a -8. +4 STR +4 SuperStrength - 16 size = -8

You did the right thing by buying Escape Artist.

And How! When you first pointed out my terrible grapple ability I realized I'd better bump up Escape Artist or grease myself up every day in bacon fat.

Also, you get a size bonus to Stealth, and a size penalty to Intimidate. You may want to list those on your sheet if you plan to use either skill untrained. We remember the ability modifiers without a problem, but tend to forget the size modifiers.

Will do!

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I knew I missed something. Yep, Super-Strength helps with the grapple check. I only see three ranks of it, though - one coming from Density, and the two bought separately. Am I missing one somewhere? It's late where I am, and I'm probably not at the top of my game on point counting.

It also looks like you left Subtle on your Compression. Did you want to remove it?

If you can answer that, then you're approved again. (Better to state that clearly, since we went through a couple iterations there).

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1.

Shrinking 16 cost 49

Extra: Continuous, Normal Strength Flaw: Permanent PF: Normal Move, Normal Toughness 2

LINKED: Compression 4 (Density) Extra: Continuous Flaw: Permanent PF: Buoyant

I only get 48 PPs.

Shrinking 16 = 32 PPs + 3 PFs + Compression 4 = 12 PPs + 1 PF = 48 PPs.

But all of the powers still add up to 64, so it looks like just a typo, unless I'm missing something. I'll change it to 48 and Approve your character.

:D

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