[Mutants & Masterminds] A World Less Magical But No Less Fantastic

[Davies]

Lugulux

Art by Federico Pironi.

By and large, the nomadic peoples who roam the northern extents of the Tarim Basin, in the World Closer to Death, are not thought of as particularly dangerous to the more settled regions. Their numbers are small, they lack the resources to pursue an attack for more than a week or so, and they lack modern weaponry and military expertise. But as with everything that begins with the expression "by and large", there is a noteworthy exception to this generality, a group who are feared in the south.

That group is the Lugulux Horde, and it consists of a single individual, duplicated thousands of times over. This cloned army is therefore capable of a degree of coordination as great, or greater, than the more technologically equipped armies of Nerath and the other cities. Even when the leader of the Horde, the so-called Lugulux Prime, has been killed in battle -- as he was when they last attacked Nerath -- he is immediately replaced by a different Lugulux who demonstrates the exact same capacities and takes over as though nothing has changed.

The truth is, as usual, a bit more complicated. Roughly two hundred years ago, the individual now known as Lugulux Prime was a mercenary expelled from the service of Hadoth for forgotten reasons. He fled north, and took shelter in a cave that he soon discovered contained an ancient artifact that possessed a life and mind of its own. Sensing the grudge that Lugulux bore against his former masters, the artifact offered to grant him the power to avenge himself, granting him the ability to create his duplicates and to transfer his consciousness to a duplicate if his original body was ever mortally wounded.

But Lugulux Prime is more limited than the legends tell. He can only create and control some three score near perfect duplicates of himself, who form the officers of his army. The bulk of his army is recruited from other nomads and from mercenaries, and then subjected to a process that permanently transforms their features to exactly resemble those of Lugulux, without granting them any powers possessed by him. They are not told that this will happen, and many object once it has, but the Lugulux make it clear that the process is irreversible (which may not be true) and that a lone Lugulux deserter is likely to be killed out of hand anywhere outside of the horde. (That part is not a lie.)

The services of the Lugulux Horde have often been purchased by Skathulos, but Lugulux has no loyalty to the ruler of Hadoth and would overthrow him if he could. He dreams of grinding the jeweled thrones of the city states beneath his booted feet and ruling the whole of the Basin as a despot. He is already immortal, after all, so why should he not be a god-king? The ancient artifact used to give him commands, but for the last decade or so it has only repeated a strange series of meaningless sounds over and over again.

On occasion, Lugulux does wonder what "ham-ti-dam-ti-sad-an-ah-woll" means, but such curiosity vanishes quickly.

Lugulux -- PL 13

Abilities:
STR 4 | STA 4 | AGL 3 | DEX 4 | FGT 9 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 2

Powers:
Fast Healing: Immunity 1 (aging), Regeneration 4 - 5 points
Guts: Immunity 8 (cold, disease, heat, need for sleep, poison, starvation & thirst, suffocation), Limited to half effect - 4 points
Horde: Heroic Summon 8, Continuous, Horde, Mental Link, Multiple Minions 5 (64 dupes), Sacrifice; Immortality 20, Quirk (when Lugulux Prime dies, a randomly selected Lugulux duplicate becomes the new Lugulux Prime) - 167 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Benefit (ruler), Chokehold, Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll, Diehard, Equipment 2, Fearless 2, Great Endurance, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Leadership, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Seize Initiative, Skill Mastery (Intimidation), Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge.

Equipment:
Armor (Protection 3), Battleaxe (Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical), Dagger (Strength-based Damage 1, Improved Critical).

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+11), Athletics 9 (+13), Expertise: Survival 10 (+11), Expertise: Warfare 12 (+13), Intimidation 11 (+13), Perception 10 (+12).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 4)
Battleaxe +11 (Close Damage 7)

Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 9, Fortitude 9, Toughness 9/7/6/4, Will 9.

Totals:
Abilities 58 + Powers 176 + Advantages 22 + Skills 30 + Defense 16 = 302 points

Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 8

Complications:
Power--Motivation. Secret (not as many Lugulux as people think.) Temper.


Lugulux Dupe -- PL 8

Abilities:
STR 4 | STA 4 | AGL 3 | DEX 4 | FGT 7 | INT 0 | AWE 2 | PRE 1

Powers:
Fast Healing: Immunity 1 (aging), Regeneration 4 - 5 points
Guts: Immunity 8 (cold, disease, heat, need for sleep, poison, starvation & thirst, suffocation), Limited to half effect - 4 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Chokehold, Close Attack 2, Defensive Roll, Diehard, Equipment 2, Fearless 2, Great Endurance, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Seize Initiative, Skill Mastery (Intimidation), Takedown Attack, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge.

Equipment:
Armor (Protection 3), Battleaxe (Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical), Dagger (Strength-based Damage 1, Improved Critical).

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+11), Athletics 9 (+13), Expertise: Survival 10 (+10), Expertise: Warfare 12 (+12), Intimidation 11 (+12), Perception 10 (+12).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 4)
Battleaxe +9 (Close Damage 7)

Defense:
Dodge 5, Parry 7, Fortitude 7, Toughness 9/7/6/4, Will 7.

Totals:
Abilities 50 + Powers 9 + Advantages 21 + Skills 30 + Defenses 10 = 120 points

Complications:
Power--Motivation. Secret. Seeks To Take Prisoners Where Possible.

Note: A Lugulux who is only facewarped can be represented by the Green Soldier, Soldier or Veteran Soldier archetypes from the Deluxe Gamemaster's Guide (pp. 153-4) substituting the Equipment loadout above, adding Great Endurance, swapping Close Combat: Unarmed for Close Combat: Axe, and dropping Ranged Combat: Guns.

 

[Davies]

Fendze

This is the story that the Fendze tell. Long ago, they were the only thinking beings on their planet, which they ruled through their great strength and their venomous fangs and minds, dominating all other creatures upon it. And they were happy in this state. But the star gods do not desire that the Fendze ever be too happy for too long, and so they sent their servant, the first Vaask, to Zemya. The Fendze tried to poison his mind, but the first Vaask was impermeable. The Fendze tried to poison his body, but the first Vaask was unperturbed. The Fendze tried to wrestle him, but the first Vassk was far stronger than they and more skilled.

The Fendze wept, for surely they were about to be devoured as they had devoured so many others. Yet the star gods turned the heart of the first Vaask so that he found their grief amusing. Therefore, he offered to make them his servants instead of eating them, and the Fendze agreed, for this was a lesser devouring with which they could live. And so the Fendze have ever since been ... less happy in this state, but they know that the star gods will someday grow as weary of their current unhappiness as they once did their happiness, and then the way of things will change once more.

The handful of Vaask who have learned enough of Fendze mythology to be familiar with this tale are a bit aghast that it has only taken a bit less than two centuries* for the activities of the small Vaaskorium scouting party that discovered Zemya to be assigned to a single transcendent individual. Nevertheless, they also acknowledge that it accurately describes the relationship between the Vaask and one of their first subject peoples. (On the other hand, they are less than pleased at the implications of that last bit about the way of things changing again, but that is a quibble.)

Fendze rarely occupy combat positions in the Vaaskorium, but they are well-regarded as technicians, as their body plan allows them to move more freely within the crawlspaces of Vaask starships. There are also many Fendze sensor and communications officers, and even a few pilots. Of course, the Vaaskorium hierarchy makes it unlikely that a Fendze would ever be trusted with command of a vessel, and it seems likely that they would decline that "honor" even if it were offered. (Being in command would be far too much happiness for a the star gods to endure, and inevitably result in misfortune and suffering for the Fendze involved and other Fendze in the area.)

Fendze Tech -- PL 5/MR 5

Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 3 | AGL 3 | DEX 1 | FGT 3 | INT 3 | AWE 0 | PRE 0

Powers:
Hypnotizing Gaze: Perception Range Affliction 6 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Compelled), Limited Degree, Sight Dependent, Quirk (cannot affect Vaask) - 5 points
Serpentine Bodies: Movement 2 (slithering, wall crawling) - 2 points
Venomous Fangs: Linked Strength-based Damage 1; Linked Weaken Stamina 6, Progressive, Quirks (cannot affect Vaask, will not function on someone unaffected by linked Damage) - 17 points

Advantages:
Equipment 4

Equipment:
Blaster Pistol (Ranged Damage 5), Uniform (Protection 2, Subtle), and 7 points of equipment as needed.

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+4), Close Combat: Bite 1 (+4), Expertise: Galactic 3 (+6), Expertise: Science 3 (+6), Perception 4 (+4), Ranged Combat: Blaster 3 (+4), Technology 2 (+5), Vehicles 2 (+3).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +3 (Close Damage 2)
Venomous Fangs +4 (Close Damage 3 and Close Fortitude 6)
Blaster Pistol +4 (Close Damage 5)

Defense:
Dodge 4, Parry 4, Fortitude 4, Toughness 5/3, Will 4

Totals:
Abilities 30 + Powers 24 + Advantages 4 + Skills 10 + Defenses 8 = 75 points

Offensive PL: 5
Defensive PL: 5
Resistance PL: 4
Skill PL: 1

Complications:
Duty--Motivation. Morose. Others as Needed.

 

[Davies]

Karen Troy

In the parallel universe dubbed The World That Burned, human civilization dealt itself what might well be a mortal wound when the United States of America fought a brief nuclear war with its Soviet rival in the late 1990s. The small number of superheroes who had existed in this world from the 1980s onward, known as the Justice Alliance, attempted to prevent as much of the devastation as they could, but most of them lost their lives in the struggle or its aftermath. Larger than life though they were, the war was larger still than them.

Karen Troy is, as far as she knows, the only second generation super, born two years before the war broke out. Her parents were both founding members of the Alliance; her father gave his life to save Chicago from one of the first nukes. (Sadly, there were three more aimed that way.) Her mother survived but died of cancer -- definitely cancer, not anything else involving a loaded gun and a locked room -- when Karen was seven. She grew up fast, too fast probably, into the role of the protector of Metropolis, Illinois, one of the largest survivor communities unaffiliated with either of the supposed legitimate governments of the United States.

Over the twenty years since her mother died, Karen has gradually grown into a somewhat absurdist, borderline nihilistic attitude. However powerful she might be, she will never be able to protect her community from all the forces that oppose it. Neither the military dictatorship in Denver nor the populist psychopath in Palm Springs seem likely to build a better tomorrow. Trying to defeat one of them will just leave her vulnerable to attacks from the other; defeating them both is a course of self-destruction. Eventually their struggle will crush the life out of Metropolis and whatever other settlements might have survived the war.

Nothing she can do matters ... and therefore, what she chooses to do matters a great deal, and she will spend what time she has left trying to help people. What else has she got to do with her life anyway? To a degree, that worldview is also informed by her awareness of her own personal situation. Her mother was brilliant enough to figure out a way to have children with her father, despite their mutations, but not brilliant enough to ensure that her hybrid child would be able to have children of her own. Karen is therefore the first and last of her kind. She deals with the loneliness this causes her in many ways, not all of them healthy.

Quite recently, though, things have started to change. The arrival of the strange transhumans who call themselves the Vima, who seem to want to help repair the physical damage left over from the war, has given Karen a bit of hope that both MilGov and ProGov can be overcome. Convincing the Vima to help deal with the social damage is a challenge, since they prefer to hug the shadows. Meanwhile, Karen has also met a different group of multiversal travelers, the Discovery Company, who are interested in using Metropolis as a base for their explorations of this reality, and have helped her out on a few occasions.

Of course, there is a downside, for this increase in super activity is drawing out a few villains who had been in hiding all this while. But Karen enjoys challenges. And celebrating after the challenges. And at least some of these jerks are not completely uncute, so ... with the bad gotta take the good, right?

Karen Troy -- PL 10

Abilities:
STR 8/6 | STA 6 | AGL 5 | DEX 4 | FGT 9 | INT 2 | AWE 4 | PRE 4

Powers:
Fists of Iron: Impervious Toughness 6; Strength-based Damage 3, Improved Critical - 10 points
Guts of Iron: Immunity 1 (radiation); Immunity 4 (cold, disease, heat, poison), Limited to Half Effect - 3 points
Just Plain Fast: Enhanced Advantages 2 (Improved Initiative 2); Leaping 5 (250 feet); Movement 2 (safe fall, wall-crawling); Speed 3 (16 MPH); Swimming 3 (8 MPH) - 17 points
Overdrive: Linked Enhanced Strength 2; Linked Enhanced Speed 2 (60 MPH); Fades - 3 points
Shielded Mind: Impervious Will 8, Limited to mental effects - 4 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Attractive, Chokehold, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Fearless 2, Improved Aim, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative 3, Improvised Tools, Power Attack, Tracking, Uncanny Dodge, Well-informed.

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+12), Athletics 8 (+14), Expertise: History 8 (+10), Expertise: Science 8 (+10), Insight 8 (+12), Intimidation 9 (+13), Investigation 7 (+9), Persuasion 7 (+11), Ranged Combat: Throwing 4 (+8), Stealth 5 (+10), Technology 6 (+8), Vehicles 8 (+12).

Offense:
Initiative +17
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 11/9)

Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 9, Fortitude 8, Toughness 11/6, Will 8.

Totals:
Abilities 80 + Powers 37 + Advantages 18 + Skills 43 + Defenses 8 = 186 points

Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 9

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Enormous Appetites (of all sorts, especially after use of Extraordinary Effort or Overdrive.) Impulsive.

肯定も否定もしないのです　ただもう一歩歩きたいだけ
"I neither affirm nor deny; I just want to take another step."

 

[Voltron64]

Should we expect any other denizens of The World That Burned in the coming weeks?

 

[Davies]

Should we expect any other denizens of The World That Burned in the coming weeks?

I don't have any planned at the moment. Next week will be four revised characters from the World in the Aftermath, plus one recent legacy, plus some context ... and then, as I'm feeling a bit burnt out, I think I'm going to take an extended break.

 

[Davies]

The Magnificent Seven

For some people, at least some of the time, the surest way to get them to go from not wanting something at all to wanting that thing a great deal is to tell them that they cannot have it. So it was, recently, with Marc Bolton, aka Cadmus. If he had ever given any thought as to why he had never received an invitation to join the Powerhouse, he dismissed it as the circumstances never coming up. Then he noticed a pattern, or rather the disruption of a pattern. Basilea steps down to be replaced another shield-wielding warrior in Prydwen. El Dorado goes off into space, and his role is filled by La Donna Universale, another device-wielding scientist. And then Minuteman, a powered armor-type, takes a break ... and they get a mystical martial monkey to fill in. As someone wise once said, "Huh?"

Despite that, Bolton still figured that the whole thing was none of his business. It would not be until after the invasion, when he consulted with John Wright regarding some new miniaturized systems for the Cadmus suit that the subject came up again, with Bolton mentioning his confusion in passing. Wright felt obligated to explain the situation to him, revealing that the group had decided a few years earlier, that they could not in conscience ask Cadmus to join the team while he was "employed" by a major weapons dealer. Bolton had never considered that possibility, and while he seemed to accept the explanation casually, he was more angered by it than he gave on. Because now he wanted something.

Being who and what he was, Bolton decided to use that anger to build something up rather than tear something down, and began planning to create a team intended to compete with the Powerhouse. He soon had a lengthy list of potential members, as well as arranging the construction of a headquarters for them in San Simeon. Before beginning the process of recruiting them, though, he felt that he ought to have a name ready, and here he struggled a bit, just as he had when coming up with a name for his armor. While listening to a playlist of favorite music, he briefly considered "The Superpower Crew" after Dylan came up, but decided that it was too generic. Then a certain well-known piece by Elmer Bernstein came up. Bolton wrote "The Magnificent" on the paper before him, hesitated, shrugged, and added "Seven" to it, then nodded.

What they are going to do if they ever end up recruiting a new member while still maintaining that number is not all that clear. Regardless, the Magnificent Seven have been assembled, and have had their first victory, after Montana finally showed her true colors and went on a rampage. After she was defeated, and the investigation into her mysterious backers begun, the state government swiftly extended the new team the same accreditation their fallen giantess had once enjoyed. Which is nice, but Bolton thinks bigger than that and is planning to make similar arrangements with the state governments of Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Oregon, as a sort of "west coast Powerhouse". (Of course, as the Powerhouse operates globally, that is a ridiculous idea, but Bolton has his whimsical moments.) This is probably going to be an uphill battle, of course.

Current Membership
Caballero
Cadmus
Exile
Firefly
The Red Archer
Scanner
Tlaloc

Red Archer: "Don't most of the Magnificent Seven get killed, though?"
Cadmus: "Well, aren't you just a bundle of sunshine."
Red Archer: "It's an understandable concern, right?"

 

[Davies]

Exile

In Hespera, Nzarde spent most of her time trying to avoid change. Change was something that people associated with her mother, and if Nzarde wanted to present herself as a viable alternative as Queen, she needed to court those who were opposed to the changes to Hespera that her mother had fought to bring about. Ultimately, due to forces beyond her control, none of her efforts came to anything, and she was sent away from the only home that she had ever known with a poisoned gift in the form of her shield. Perhaps those of her followers who abandoned her are now being rewarded by having even more changes forced down her throat by the one who did become queen. That would be just.

Meanwhile, since becoming Exile, Nzarde has surprised herself by realizing how much she likes change. In the year since her exile began, she has gone through five different costumes -- more than some "superheroes" go through in their entire careers. This has also lead to her experimenting with changing her look in other ways, as well, such as how she recently dyed her hair with henna. It was entirely spontaneous, she woke up one morning a few weeks ago, looked at herself in the mirror and decided that she wanted red hair.

Now that she is in the outside world, she is discovering many of the reasons that her mother seemed to prefer this place to their homeland. The different kinds of music, of story-telling, of clothing, of food -- it can be almost dizzying at times. And this place, California, is just one small part of the brave new world! There is still so much to see and do, and sometimes she can almost find herself feeling happy that she has twenty years to see and do it all before she will be allowed to go back. (Of course, thinking that invariably ruins whatever good mood she might be feeling.)

Joining the Magnificent Seven -- the name is apparently a reference to something, and she plans to investigate as soon as she has a spare moment -- is another change that she could never have predicted at the start of this. As Exile, she avoided other superheroes, especially those associated with her mother. (She was unsure what would be worse, if they expected her to be just like Sharana or if they were expecting the exact opposite.) But it was not really possible, especially when those soldiers descended from space in the invasion; fighting alone would have been the act of a fool, so she worked with others, and found it worthwhile.

So when Bolton approached her, Nzarde found his arguments somewhat enticing. She realizes that a good portion of the reason he contacted her was to borrow a bit of the credibility she herself is borrowing from her mother, but if he can get better use out of it than she has sometimes managed, so be it. Of her other teammates, the one who claims the name of the Mexican storm god seems most interesting, and watching him fly is making her consider a new change. Bolton would probably be willing to arrange for her to use some sort of flight device, she thinks ...

Exile -- PL 12

Abilities:
STR 7 | STA 8 | AGL 4 | DEX 5 | FGT 12 | INT 1 | AWE 5 | PRE 3

Powers:
Adamantine Shield: Strength-based Ranged Damage 2; Strength-based Damage 2; Enhanced Defenses 4 (Dodge 2, Parry 2); Removable (-3 points) - 14 points
Hesperan Biology: Immunity 3 (aging, disease, poison) - 3 points
Hesperan Telepathy: Mental Communication 3 (regional); Mind Reading 6, Limited to Surface Thoughts, Communication Dependent - 18 points
More-Than-Hesperan Strength: Enhanced Strength 5, Limited to Lifting (100 tons) - 5 points
More-Than-Hesperan Swiftness: Leaping 7 (900 feet); Speed 6 (120 MPH); Swimming 6 (30 MPH) - 19 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Close Attack, Defensive Roll, Equipment, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Set-Up, Skill Mastery (Athletics), Teamwork.

Equipment:
Commlink.

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+12), Athletics 6 (+13), Close Combat: Shield 2 (+14), Expertise: History 7 (+8), Expertise: Military 6 (+7), Insight 6 (+11), Intimidation 8 (+11), Perception 6 (+11), Persuasion 6 (+9), Ranged Combat: Throwing 5 (+10), Vehicles 6 (+11).

Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +13 (Close Damage 7)
Shield Strike +15 (Close Damage 9)
Thrown Shield +12 (Close Damage 9)

Defense:
Dodge 14/12, Parry 14/12, Fortitude 11, Toughness 10/8, Will 8.

Totals:
Abilities 90 + Powers 59 + Advantages 14 + Skills 33 + Defenses 15 = 211 points

Offensive PL: 12
Defensive PL: 12
Resistance PL: 10
Skill PL: 8

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Outsider (legal problems when she crosses a border.) Reputation (violent successor.)

 

[Davies]

Caballero

In costume

Out of costume

Even after parting ways with the Avatar and heading back to Portland with Patty and her friend, Lonnie Lawson was still only partially reconciled to the idea of once more becoming a superhero. His goals, for the past few years, had largely involved avoiding situations that needed a superhero, even if his success in achieving that had been sporadic at best. He wanted to help the Red Archer as much as he could, but lacked a lot of the tools that he had used to help in the past.

Ultimately, he did wind up accompanying Patty and Leah in the field on several occasions over the following year, usually wearing just a full face mask and hoodie and using no alias. On one occasion, when asked who he was, he sarcastically referred to himself as, "Mask -- like Masque, but less pretentious." (He was sooo glad that the press never picked that up, particularly after Leah gave him hell for it.) For the most part, though, he focused his efforts on doing legwork for Xenia, keeping the Arrow tuned up, and otherwise supporting the two of them behind the scenes.

Lonnie was present, wearing his hoodie and mask and planning on keeping his trap shut, when Marc Bolton made his pitch to Songbird and the Red Archer. Leah turned him down flat, as she had enough trouble looking after Portland and viewed the idea of working all over the west coast as hubris. Patricia was more ambivalent, wanting some time to think it over, which Bolton agreed to give her. Then things got weird, for the inventor turned to look at Lonnie and said, "So what do you think, Talon?" Stunned that someone had figured out who he used to be, Lonnie stammered out that he was out of the business, even though he knew that Bolton would know that was a half-truth at best.

Bolton wheeled over to him and handed him a tablet displaying a new set of protective gear he had designed, taking some inspiration from the Twilight suit used by that guy up in Seattle. It was, Bolton explained, designed to give Argus agents a bit of an edge on their opposition, without turning them into superpowers. But if worn by someone who already had superpower levels of speed, strength and toughness, and had a fair amount of experience already? It might give someone like that more than a bit of an edge.

Lonnie is still getting accustomed to the differences between this suit and the one that he wore when he was Talon, but he is finally starting to feel like a superhero again. However, he still mostly acts in a support role on the team, scouting out their opposition and infiltrating enemy positions rather than acting as a front-line combatant. (Cadmus and Exile have that covered between them.) He has the uncomfortable feeling that his decision to go along with the proposal is what tipped Patty into agreeing with it as well, but she seems just as excited to be operating on this scale as he is, so he only worries about her some of the time.

The rest of the team seem all right, particularly Firefly, who has the skills to get into pretty much any location that stymies his own, and has an inquisitive mind that reminds Lonnie of Av. (Whom he is worried about, too, but he has seen nothing to make him think that the Avatar has stopped being his own master.) Cadmus is the only one who worries him. The leader of the team is the one that he knows the least about, despite Bolton assuring them that they can trust whoever is wearing the suit as much as they would trust him. Almost as though ...

... nah, that would be too crazy.

Caballero -- PL 10

Abilities:
STR 5 | STA 5 | AGL 6 | DEX 6 | FGT 8 | INT 3 | AWE 3 | PRE 1

Powers:
Knight Armor: Removable (-4 points)

• Air Supply: Immunity 2 (suffocation) - 2 points
• Body Armor: Impervious Protection 4 - 8 points
• Camouflage: Partial Visual Concealment 2 - 2 points
• Jump Jets: Leaping 4 (120 feet); Speed 3 (16 MPH) - 7 points
• Sensors: Senses 2 (darkvision) - 2 points
• Striking Surfaces: Strength-based Damage 2 - 2 points

Advantages:
Defensive Roll, Equipment 5, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Instant Up, Jack-of-all-trades, Non-Lethal Tactics, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6.

Equipment:
Commlink and 2 additional points of equipment.
Utility Belt: Array (18 points)

• Techno-Bolos: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 6 (Resisted by Dodge; Hindered and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Immobilized), Extra Condition, Limited Degree - 18 points
• Throwing Darts: Strength-based Ranged Multiattack Damage 6 (includes Strength 5), Accurate - 1 point
• Explosives: Ranged Burst Area Damage 5, Triggered 2 - 1 point
• Meta-Taser: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 6 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated) - 1 point
• Stun Grenade: Ranged Cloud Area Affliction 6 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed and Visually Impaired, Stunned and Visually Disabled), Extra Condition, Limited Degree - 1 point

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+12), Athletics 8 (+13), Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+11), Deception 7 (+8), Expertise: Streetwise 6 (+9), Insight 4 (+7), Intimidation 7 (+8), Investigation 4 (+7), Perception 5 (+8), Sleight of Hand 4 (+10), Stealth 6 (+12), Technology 4 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 7/5)
Techno Bolos +12 (Ranged Affliction 6, Resisted by Dodge)
Throwing Darts +14 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 6).
Meta-Taser +12 (Ranged Fortitude 6)
Stun Grenade -- (Ranged Cloud Area Affliction 6)

Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 8, Fortitude 6, Toughness 11/9/7/5, Will 7

Totals:
Abilities 74 + Powers 19 + Advantages 18 + Skills 32 + Defenses 8 = 151 points

Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 7
Skill PL: 8

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Friend (the Avatar.) Relationship (the Red Archer.) Secret Identity. Still Getting Used To His New Suit.

 

[Davies]

Firefly

In costume

Out of costume

At twenty-one years of age, Peter Hanawa is the youngest member of the Magnificent Seven. He is also the only one of his teammates without any previous superheroic experience. (His previous experience in the superpower world was of a different nature, as will soon be told.) Despite this, he never allows himself to dwell on any insecurity or uncertainty that any of it might make him feel. There is no time for that. He is having way too much fun for that.

Two years ago, Peter Hanawa was a typical nineteen year old grad student at Cornell, where he was one of several thesis candidates under the supervision of John Wright. While Peter planned to do his thesis on a hypothetically improved version of the hyperdrive that had taken the Constitution to Mars, decades earlier, he happened to examine the thesis Wright had written, which was -- although this was not known to the public -- the basis for the size-warp field that Wright used in his identity as Minuteman. Realizing the implications of this abstruse paper, Peter impulsively decided to build a size-warp field generator of his own, over the course of a weekend.

Once he had turned it on and reduced himself to the same 1.5 inch height as Minuteman, however, Peter realized that he had made a critical and difficult to explain mistake in the circuitry of the generator. Essentially, he was trapped at that height, and nearly fell victim to a number of misadventures in the four hours before Minuteman rescued him. In order to get the younger man out of his panicked state, John Wright exposed his secret identity to Peter, and then made the correction to his belt-mounted generator that allowed him to return to his normal size.

After it was all over, Peter was finally able to process everything that he had just been through. Someone else might have sworn off messing around with size-changing forever. But for Peter, it was an experience that had been every bit as exhilarating as it had been terrifying. His life to that point had largely been a safe one, where he had always done exactly what his parents had wanted him to do; having stepped outside of their plans, Peter knew that he could never go back to that life.

He spent the next two years building the suit that he was going to use for the adventures in shrinking that he planned to have. While inspired by the suit that Wright used, it differed in a number of ways. First, as a power saving measure, it used physical armor instead of a force field for protection. This had the additional benefit of reserving enough power for the thrusters to allow them to function at any size, rather than only when shrunken. It also could not shrink as far as the Wright suit did, and carried a pair of laser weapons instead of meta-tasers.

By the time that he deemed himself ready, having trained himself how to use the suit and its weaponry, John Wright had decided to retire his identity as Minuteman. Impressed -- though privately a bit concerned -- with the work Peter had done, he offered his help in fine-tuning the finished product, which Peter was happy to accept. With those final adjustments, he was ready to begin his adventures as Firefly, the successor to Minuteman. Wright also contacted Marc Bolton about having Firefly join the team he was assembling, so as to ensure that Peter would have backup when he needed it -- and to keep him from going down the darker road that Wright feared these adventures might take.

Much like his mentor, Peter Hanawa is immensely curious, but the thrill of discovery is not his primary motivation. He is a much more swashbuckling figure than Wright, enjoying battle -- at least when he is winning -- in a way that Minuteman never did. Hopefully, if he lives, he will grow in maturity and stop taking some of the ridiculous chances that he takes. But possibly not.

Firefly -- PL 10

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 4 | FGT 4 | INT 7 | AWE 3 | PRE 2

Powers:
Microsuit: Removable (-22 points)

• Armor: Impervious Protection 4 - 8 points
• Communications: Radio Communication 3 (regional); Senses 2 (acute radio) - 14 points
• Microthrusters: Flight 6 (120 MPH) - 12 points
• Sealed Systems: Immunity 10 (life support) - 10 points
• Sensors: Senses 8 (analytical vision, infravision, microscopic vision 4, ultravision) - 6 points
• Spotlight: Environment 1 (light) - 1 point
• Warp-Field: Shrinking 16 (3 inches tall; +8 Dodge, +8 Parry, +16 Stealth, -8 Intimidation, -2 Speed), Continuous, Normal Strength - 48 points
• Wrist-Mounted Lasers: Ranged Damage 5, Penetrating 3 - 13 points

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Defense, Improved Trip, Inventor, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+8), Expertise: Science 5 (+12), Insight 6 (+9), Investigation 3 (+10), Perception 7 (+10), Ranged Combat: Laser 7 (+11), Stealth 0 (+18/+2), Technology 6 (+13).

Offense:
Initiative +2
Unarmed +4 (Close Damage 0)
Wrist-Mounted Laser +13 (Ranged Damage 5)

Defense:
Dodge 12/4, Parry 12/4, Fortitude 4, Toughness 8/6/4/2, Will 8.

Totals:
Abilities 48 + Powers 92 + Advantages 13 + Skills 20 + Defenses 9 = 182 points

Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 8

Complications:
Thrills-Motivation. Prototype (many systems are untested.) Scientific Curiosity. Secret Identity.

 

[Davies]

Guardian Ariel

Art by Kayla Marquez

When Kei Kurama woke up, the fact that she now had superpowers was much less confusing than the news that she had been asleep for nearly three years while some other person walked around in her skin. If the friends that Rossandra had made at the Academy were all a bit distraught that she was gone forever, Kei was no less bewildered by the way that these people acted as though they knew her. There were certainly similarities between them, but Kei was a much quieter and private individual, owing to the secret she had always had to keep from her parents, whose truth -- that they had a son -- was not at all compatible with her own.

Despite the confusion and frequently hurt feelings of the first few months after Kei returned, she nevertheless chose to remain at the Academy, because of the paradoxical acceptance that came with having been possessed by Rossandra. Everyone there had accepted that Rossandra was a woman, and that did not change now that Kei was operating the vehicle. It was not without challenging moments, but Kei came to embrace her identity as Ariel, and forged new friendships with many of those who had known Rossandra, learning about her in the process.

So it was that, when she collapsed, shortly after the start of the current year, and found herself in a dark place, staring up at a wind that began to speak portentously about what was to come, Kei recognized the speech patterns that had been described to her, and interrupted. "You're Rossandra, right?"

The wind, implausibly, coughed. "Well, it's been quite some time since anyone called me that, but, yes, that is who I once was. And now, Kei Kurama, you must --"

"Okay, please don't do this," Kei interrupted again. "You're going to give me some sort of ridiculously vague pronouncement that I'll have to figure out on my own, right? Could you not? Could you just not? Can't you please explain what's going on to me? That's what people do, you know."

"I do know, but I am no longer a person, as such, and ... oh, to the Abyss with it, you're right." And with that, Rossandra, or whatever she had become, explained that the lingering connection between the two of them had grown even stronger now that the place where her consciousness resided -- the plane of existence with which she had eventually merged -- could now be reached from the place where Kei existed. Just like some other people, far away, Kei was being granted even greater powers and the opportunity to become an immortal Ascendant in the new age, by overcoming certain challenges. In her case, she would have to eventually fight and defeat something called Al-Mushtari, hopefully with the help of the other Guardians.

When Kei finally woke up, holding a pendant with a cloud charm in her hand, she not only had a fairly clear idea of what was supposed to happen but an understanding that the others who had been given this calling would probably not know what they were doing. With reluctance, she departed from the Academy to begin the long journey to Vancouver, there to find the Guardians and help them with their challenges as they will help her with her own. Of course, matters being what they are, she has encountered nothing but delays as she runs into difficulties that she recognizes she needs to help resolve, so it may be some time before her journey reaches its first figurative milestone.

Well, at least she actually can chase the wind.

Guardian Ariel -- PL 10

Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 2 | AGL 3 | DEX 5 | FGT 6 | INT 3 | AWE 5 | PRE 5

Powers:
Enchanted Costume: Feature 1 (quick change); Flight 6 (120 MPH); Sustained Protection 9; Removable (-4 points) - 18 points
Heart Magic: Array (8 points)

• "Be Not Afraid": Nullify Fear Effects 8 - 1 point
• Heart Mending: Healing 8, Others Only - 1 point
• Heart Sense: Mind Reading 8, Limited to emotions - 8 points

Mystic Awareness: Senses 4 (Mystic Awareness, Acute, Analytical, Radius) - 4 points.
Wind Magic: Array (16 points)

• Air Bubble: Sustained Immunity 4 (pressure, suffocation, vacuum), Affects Self and Others in Ranged Cloud Area - 1 point
• Blinding Gust: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 8 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Fortitude; Visually Impaired, Visually Disabled, Visually Unaware), Limited to One Sense - 1 point
• Lifting Winds: Move Object 8 (6 tons) - 12 points
• Whispering Wind: Communication 3 (regional; auditory, air), Subtle - 1 point
• Wind Burst: Ranged Burst Area Affliction 5 (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated) - 1 point
• Wind Lash: Ranged Damage 8 - 1 point

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Uncanny Dodge.

Skills:
Deception 4 (+9), Expertise: Magic 3 (+8), Insight 6 (+11), Intimidation 4 (+9), Perception 5 (+10), Persuasion 5 (+10), Ranged Combat: Wind Magic 7 (+12).

Offense:
Initiative +5
Unarmed +6 (Close Damage 2)
Blinding Gust +12 (Ranged Affliction 8, Resisted by Dodge)
Wind Lash +12 (Ranged Damage 8)
Wind Burst -- (Ranged Burst Area Fortitude 5).

Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 9, Fortitude 6, Toughness 11/2, Will 10.

Totals:
Abilities 62 + Powers 53 + Advantages 4 + Skills 20 + Defenses 17 = 156 points

Offensive PL: 10
Defensive PL: 10
Resistance PL: 8
Skill PL: 6

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. A Bit Impatient. Secret Identity.