Marvel Superheroes: Game Closed

[Voda Vosa]

I want the drain power and the fire power, they are a must! As weapon, as stated before, Sheng Tsung has a dao, something similar to a scimitar. He is not a shaolin monk, he is more like The Mandarin from Iron man or Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombar. As for a reason to be in USA, Sheng is looking for the Scrolls of the Arcane, and to redeem his soul: A war torn apart country is the better place to redeem himself, and besides, the old man will say that the next scroll is hidden someplace in America.

 

[HolyMan]

Still here, but still no more original concept. checking the rules stuff:

Could we drop the time limit he can have the powers, but add something that it will only function with 'natural' mutants aka no abnormals, magic, technology?

Sorry Wd but I really do need to keep the time limit for what I have in mind- not to give to much away but if say you ran into a "Hulk" like mutant I really don't think you should have Unearthly(100) strength indefinitely but for a week would be nice.

And I thought I did limit the power to mutants only.

HM

 

[airwalkrr]

Solaire - Final Version

Solaire
aka Apolinar Julio Richtor
F – RM (30)
A – IN (40)
S – GD (10)
E – EX (20)
R – IN (40)
I – RM (30)
P – EX (20)

Health: 100
Karma: 90
Resources: Feeble
Popularity: 0
Talents: First Aid, Languages (Latin, Spanish, English), Martial Arts B
Contacts: Dr. Cecilia Reyes, X-Force, Alexander “Alex” Summers aka Havok

Powers:
Resistance to Mental Attacks (Remarkable): Any mental-related attacks that affect the Psyche from psionic (but not magical) sources must overcome Remarkable ability as opposed to Solaire’s Psyche.
Energy Generation (Incredible): Solaire can fire bolts of force that inflict Force-type damage. The bolts hit for Incredible damage up to 5 areas away and use Agility to determine if they hit the target. Solaire may choose to inflict less damage than determined, whether in amount of Health test, or effects of the attack. (He may "pull his punch.") See Limitations.
Energy Detection (Incredible): Solaire is able to identify solar radiation and track photonic energy trails. He can identify the general "type" of energy (particles, x-rays, light, exhaust of a nuclear engine, etc.) with Incredible ability and can track the energy trail of photons with Incredible ability per hour. Faint trails or common types of energy with confusing patterns may require yellow or red FEATs at the Judge's option.
Solar Regeneration (Remarkable): Solaire heals faster than the normal rate of Endurance Rank per day. He recovers the Remarkable rate every 10 minutes he is in the sunshine, providing he does not take additional damage in that time and is able to rest. Solaire cannot engage in any other actions while resting and regenerating. If that rest is interrupted (14 ninja of the Hand rush in on turn 9 of his rest), Solaire must start again to recover. In darkness, inside buildings, and in other similar situations, the character heals normally.

Limitations: Whenever Solaire is in full daylight, he gains a +2CS with his Energy Generation blast. At night, his Energy Generation is penalized with a -2CS unless he is bombarded with artificial sunlight in which case this power works normally (without the +2CS).

Background:

Solaire's father was Julio Esteban "Ric" Richtor aka the mutant Rictor. Solaire's mother is unknown, but is suspected to be a mutant with minor psychic powers (which explains Solaire's resistance to psionics). Rictor was a freedom fighter for mutants from the very beginning, refusing to submit to the MRA. He and a rogue faction from X-Factor were responsible for numerous acts of so-called "terrorism" throughout the United States and Mexico.

Apolinar was abandoned on the steps of a small parochial monastery in Baja California when he was only an infant. The monks had nothing but a name for the young boy and a letter written by his father, but they took him in and raised him in the ways of the Jesuits. Several months after Apolinar was left on the steps of the monastery, Rictor and several of his allies were killed in a valiant assault on a mutant concentration camp as they tried to free several of their captive comrades. It is unknown whether Apolinar's mother was involved in the attack, but rumor has it she is still alive whether she took part in the attack or not.

Apolinar's residence at the monastery was kept secret, as the Mexican monks suspected the boy's mutant heritage would cause trouble. Their fears were confirmed when, at the age of 15, he spontaneously burst forth a blinding beam of light and concussive force into an adjacent building causing irreparable damage. No one was hurt, and the monks forgave him the incident, knowing it was not his fault. But Apolinar saw himself as a freak and a monster. He fled the monastery, hoping to hide himself away. But he was no survivalist, and soon he sought shelter in a city where he was reduced to begging. In was only a matter of time before the hot sun brought out his uncontrollable powers again. This time there would be consequences. Federales attempted to seize him, but he used his powers to escape.

While he hid from the Federales, he was approached by en elder mutant who was also in hiding. Her name was Cecilia Reyes, a Puerto Rican doctor who had been forced to flee from her native island home after the passing of the MRA. Because of her talent with medicine, she was able to bribe the local corrupt Mexican officials to stay away from her and kept a number of mutants safely under her roof.

Dr. Reyes was kind to Apolinar, took him under her wing, taught him English and basic medical skills (equivalent to an EMT), and even told him stories she had heard about his father. The more he learned about his father, the more he wanted to join in the mutant rebellion and turn back the tide against mutants. He wanted the MRA ended, one way or another. So around the time he turned 19, he left a note for Dr. Reyes thanking her for all her help, and quietly slipped out into the night to slink across the US/Mexico border to find his destiny.

Appearance:

Solaire is a fairly attractive young adult of apparently Hispanic descent. He is actually half-Caucasian, but you wouldn't be able to tell from looking at him. He usually wears his black hair cut short. His outfit is typically black jeans with an ochre t-shirt depicting a red wavy sunburst. He often wears a leather jacket over the ensemble to allow him to hold things in his pockets like wire cutters, first-aid equipment, and so forth.

Contacts:
Dr. Reyes is a medical contact, even though she is in Baja California. Havok is a local contact, one of the few mutants who is still around. I figure he's been kind of showing Solaire the ropes as far as survival goes. And the X-Force is a group that Solaire has made contact with and attempted to join. I imagine they didn't let him in because they saw him as something of a liability with his powers being weakened at night (when they like to do most of their "terrorist" activities). Still, he probably helps them when he can so he is in their favor.

 

[Walking Dad]

Sorry Wd but I really do need to keep the time limit for what I have in mind- not to give to much away but if say you ran into a "Hulk" like mutant I really don't think you should have Unearthly(100) strength indefinitely but for a week would be nice.

And I thought I did limit the power to mutants only.

HM

And one week without any mutant around... and mimic your firends steps into their niches. Hulk got 200 strength? How many Hulk level mutants have you running around

 

[Voda Vosa]

Sheng Tsung, the Snake Sorceror's Intro:

The rain has been falling heavily since midnight on Florida. The night was pitch dark, and there was no moon in the clouds covered sky. A man stands alone resting his back against a brick wall. His features were obscured by his wet black long hair, that fell over his face. But this man was not alone.
“I sense the power of the scroll nearby…” said the voice in Sheng’s head. The old warrior the Snake Sorceror had killed that day in the clouded peaks of China has ever since been speaking to him. His soul was trapped inside Sheng Tsung. ”Across the street, in that shop, quickly, it’s moving away.”
“Yes Wang Chi” replied the sorceror.
As the sorcerer was crossing the street, a woman’s scream ripped the silence of the night.
“That came from the alley back there, a woman in pain”
“Oh… Yes, indeed” Sheng replied, and kept walking towards the shop.
“Stop, go to the alley now, or it will be too late for her.”
“And why should I care? The scroll is near, I won’t lose this opportunity”
“Do I have to go over all of what I’ve explained to you? Turn back”
Sighing, Sheng turns back and heads to the alley “Yes, Wang Chi.”
In the dark alley, a pair of tall thugs have cornered a woman, and taken away her purse. She is leaning against the wall, slowly dropping to the floor, in the middle of sobs and cries.
“One more shout like that and I’ll put a hole in that pretty face of yours.” Says one of the criminals, pointing a gun at her.
The girl just manages to say “No please…”
“Come one baby, strip for us.” Says the one holding the purse.
“No please…” she repeats.
“Do it! Or I’ll paint the wall with your brains” menaces the thug with the gun, pointing it at her head.
The rain continued to fall. In the entrance of the alley, stood Sheng Tsung, the Snake Sorceror.
“The woman said no” he said. The thugs turned quickly to see his dark frame. Only his eyes glowed in a pale green color. In that moment, a lightning from the storm stroke nearby, flashing the sceene with sudden light. After the flash, Sheng was gone.
“What the hell was that?” said the gun thug, turning back to the girl. “Well, we have no time now love, so I’ll just shoot you.” Before he pulled the trigger, he heard a “CRACK” from behind. Surprised he turned, to see the sorcerer, holding his partner’s head, which was unnaturally twisted.
“What?! Leave him now!” the thief said pointing at Sheng with his gun.
“Your wish is my command” replied the sorcerer, dropping the other thug. The man fell to the ground with his neck broken, and his eyes white.
“Tommy!” the criminal said, lowering his gaze to look at his friend for a moment. “You bastard…” when the man raised his gaze again, Sheng was not there. A cold sweat drop rolled from his head to his chin.
“You’ll meet him soon.” He heard from his left side. Sheng jumped in the air, and delivered a flying kick in the nasty fellow’s head, that leaved him spinning, and tumbling backwards. The sorceror took the stance of the snake this time, and approached quicky to his prey. With his outstretched fingers, he pierced the man’s body like a snake biting it’s prey. Lifeless, the thug dropped to the ground.
In the mean time, the shocked woman couldn’t but hold her mouth with his hand, and crawl back from that terrible places, from that terrible man.
Sheng walk to her, picking up her purse. He offered it to the woman saying “Your purse my lady.” And the woman passed out.
“So much for gratitude.” Thought Sheng.
“You must take her to a hospital, she might be injured.” Wang Chi suggested
“But the scroll must be near, it couldn’t get much far away.” Sheng replied, but received no answer. “Yes Wang Chi” he finally said, picked up the woman, and walked into the night.

 

[KarinsDad]

And one week without any mutant around... and mimic your firends steps into their niches. Hulk got 200 strength? How many Hulk level mutants have you running around

Hulk has a Strength of Unearthly (100), less in some incarnations.


Here is the Mimics power as defined by Children of the Atom:

[sblock=Mimicry]
Mimicry: Mimic had the power to duplicate all of the natural abilities, powers, and talents of anybody who was in the same area with him. Artificial or mechanical abilities could not be mimicked. Rankin could not control his power; he copied everything, even if he did not want to. Once he mimicked a character, he kept those powers and abilities until he moved at least a mile away. Then the powers and abilities vanished. Unlike Rogue, he did not absorb a character's powers. The original character retained all of his powers and abilities, Mimic simply duplicated them in himself. Mimic always got the highest ability or power rank from all the people in the area.
[/sblock]

And here is Rogue's power:

[sblock=Power Absorption]
Power Absorption: Rogue has one of the most unusual, and uncontrolled, mutant powers of all the X-Men. Whenever she touches another character, flesh to flesh, she automatically absorbs that person's memories, any talents and powers he has, and even some of his personality. If she maintains the touch too long (more than one round) she runs the risk of permanently absorbing the character's memories, powers, etc., leaving the target character's memory wiped clean. For each round past the first that Rogue maintains contact, she must make a successful Psyche FEAT roll or this will happen. Each time Rogue absorbs another personality her Psyche is lowered one rank; if it reaches Feeble, she goes mad and becomes an NPC. When Rogue touches an opponent, she instantly has his powers and knowledge (whether she wants them or not) and can use them the following round. The duration of this absorbed power and knowledge is four rounds for every one round of contact. Rogue Is not limited to absorbing the powers and abilities of just a single being, she can touch a number of characters and take the highest ability scores and most useful powers of those available. Artificial or mechanical abilities, the powers of those beings that are primarily energy, or extreme physical differences cannot be absorbed by Rogue.[/sblock]


The problem with emulating some comic book characters is that they are too powerful and/or too versatile. For example, if Providence had all of the powers and items of Doctor Strange, she could take out any set of opponents that were not Class 1000. When your foe can go invisible and send you into another dimension, what can you do about it?

There was an issue where the Hulk went totally enraged and went on a rampage and took out the combined X-Men, the Avengers, and a few dozen more heroes. The Hulk was so enraged and so strong that he was even able to break adamantium in that issue. Dr. Strange came along and took the Hulk out in two seconds and sent him to the "Crossroads". It didn't matter how strong the Hulk was.


I view Mimic type PCs (and other types as well) without some form of limitations that way too. For example, if every other PC is limited to powers of Amazing at the most, then a Mimic type PC should not be able to mimic power levels above Amazing. But, a rank limitation(s) shouldn't be the only one(s). There has to be a way for the powers to disappear. In the case of the comics, it was range: one mile. HM suggested time.

Even HM's one week suggestion is really really long for such a versatile power.

Providence loses one point per hour from her Energy Vampirism. I would suggest that HM use an even stronger time limitation for any Mimic powers, otherwise, the Mimic PC is even more versatile. If Providence gradually loses one use of the power in 4 hours and WD's Mimic PC loses one use of the power (not gradual) in a week, how exactly is that fair and fun? Rogue loses her powers above per use in 4 rounds.


A Mimic (using the Mimic power above) who is in an area with different types of allies and enemies could easily end up in a single round with:

F – AM (50)
A – IN (40)
S – IN (40)
E – RM (30)
R – IN (40)
I – RM (30)
P – AM (50)

That's way higher than any of the other PCs, so there has to be balancing factors and that's with a rank limitation. Without a rank limitation, any of these could be Monstrous or Unearthly or higher depending on who is near.

Without a range or time (or both) limitation, this PC would have these types of ability scores in nearly every encounter. Course, not having every ability increase, not gaining every power in the area, forcing rolls to hit to gain an abillity, only gaining one power per round, having a max number of powers gained, etc. are what are needed, just like the other powers in the game system (note: then, gaining two powers in one round would be a future power stunt, etc.).

Like all of the Vampire powers in the game, a Mimic power needs to follow similar rules if we are going to have PC balance. The Mimic power listed above is way broken in about 10 different ways for a PC. So is a one week duration unless there are a lot of other limitations IMO.

I personally think that a Mimic PC should have a time limitation in the "multiple rounds" range. That way, he cannot come into every single encounter with better stats than his allies. But, he could copy ally powers and abillities in combat; or immediately before combat once in a blue moon. In those rare situations, he is stronger than his allies for that one combat. Any duration beyond "multiple rounds" is pretty darn strong for such versatility (unless there are other limitation).


Note HM: We need to figure out how long Providence's Energy Vampirism lowers his foe's abilities. She loses the abilities at one point per hour (which is what you could do for any Mimic power loss if Mimic power gains are limited), but it doesn't say how quickly her foes regain their powers. I would think that them gaining them all back in an hour would be reasonable. What do you think?

 

[Voda Vosa]

Did I mention I was really excited about this game? =3

 

[Walking Dad]

Thanks for the information KarinsDad (may I call you KD?).

Would it be possible to limit how many different power sets (5?) and only for half power (or half other players max power), but without the time limit.

So he could choose to have some constant powers, but able to sacrifice them in dire circumstances if he really needs to mimic another one?

 

[KarinsDad]

Would it be possible to limit how many different power sets (5?) and only for half power (or half other players max power), but without the time limit.

So he could choose to have some constant powers, but able to sacrifice them in dire circumstances if he really needs to mimic another one?

I would think so. If the PC has very few abilities of any significant level and a way to mimic a few other abilities, then as far as I am concerned, he could have those mimicked abilities all of the time and then swap them out when he finds a different power to mimic.

For example (and this is only an example, set up your abilities however you wish), say that you had a PC that could mimic two abilities and two powers. The only limitations are that the abilities and powers have Amazing rank max and that the PC can only mimic mutant powers. Your PC would normally be relatively low on abilities such as the following:

F – EX (20)
A – GD (10)
S – TY (6)
E – EX (20)
R – TY (6)
I – GD (10)
P – TY (6)

Health: 56
Karma: 22

Your PC is on the weak side compared to the other PCs. But in the first fight, you mimic the Strength of a foe (or an ally which is easier) and gain IN Strengh.

F – EX (20)
A – GD (10)
S – IN (40)
E – EX (20)
R – TY (6)
I – GD (10)
P – TY (6)

Health: 90
Karma: 22

A moment later, you mimic AM Endurance.

F – EX (20)
A – GD (10)
S – IN (40)
E – AM (50)
R – TY (6)
I – GD (10)
P – TY (6)

Health: 120
Karma: 22

Your PC is now in line with the other PCs. Maybe a tad weaker in some ways, but your PC has the versatility to change and ours do not.

You then mimic two powers, maybe Magnetic Control and Flight or some such and your PC is basically as capable as ours.

I have no problem, HM might, with a PC that permanently keeps the new powers and abilities until he swaps them out.

If I were DM though, I would make a rule something like the following:

Mimic (AM) - the PC can mimic up to Amazing 2 abillities and 2 powers.
Mimic (AM) - the PC can mimic up to Incredible 3 abillities and 2 powers.
Mimic (AM) - the PC can mimic up to Remarkable 4 abillities and 3 powers.
Mimic (AM) - the PC can mimic up to Excellent 5 abillities and 5 powers.

The gain for a rule like this would be ~170 to ~190 regardless of which one you picked for the starting PC. Either the PC is versatile and weak, or not so versatile and strong. I would suggest that the player would need to pick how powerful/versatile this Mimicry is when the PC is created. I wouldn't necessarily allow the flexibility to go up and down between these, but HM might. For example, HM might allow 2 Amazing abilities and 2 Amazing powers and if the PC wants to mimic a third power without swapping one out, the 2 Amazing abilities and powers immediately drop to Remarkable. That's up to HM.

Either way, the original FASERIP of the PC should be 80 or less and none above EX because the PC can bump up 2 to 5 abilities.


It's all about balance. If the powers and abilities do not expire, then they have to disappear some other way. In this case, by being replaced with other powers and abilities.

But if that is the case, then the overall average of those powers and abilities has to be less potent than the overall average of powers and abilities of the other PCs. The other PCs cannot change their powers and abilities. Your PC can. So, you are more versatile, we are more powerful. Not by a lot, but by some. That's how balance in an RPG is maintained.

To figure this out, I used the other PCs:

Fastlane
180 Health
46 Karma
50 Kinetic Manipulation

276 (326) Total (presumably higher because KM can be used at least 2 ways simultaneously such as offense and defense which is another 50 or 326, I could not find this power. If this power can only do one thing, then RJ should pick another power.)


Solaire
100 Health
90 Karma
30 Resist
40 Generation
40 Detection
30 Regeneration

330 Total


Providence
100 Health
70 Karma
0 Troubleseeker (this is a DM hook power, Providence cannot use it or control it and the 20 for Endurance is already in her Health total)
30 Vampire
50 Bind
30 Bolt
30 Shield
?? Detection (still waiting to find out from HM how this works rank-wise)

310 Total


Sheng
110 Health
80 Karma
a Drain
b Fire Gen power (Fire Gen can be used 2 ways simultaneously, offense and defense, so it's really two powers in one)
c Fire Gen stunt
d Extra Attacks
e Invisibility
f Energy Touch

VV has not picked how powerful these are, but they should average about 25 in order to get to that same 330 level that the other PCs are at. His total should be ~300 since Fire Gen is really two simultaneous use powers in one.


So, your Mimic PC using Mimicry as I defined here would gain ~180:

Mimic
50 Health
30 Karma
50 Mimicry Power
180 Abilities and Powers mimicked

310 Total

This puts you in the same ballpark as everyone else, slightly less.

But note, your PC has an up and down side. You won't really use the Mimic power a lot since you'll mimic certain abilities and powers and stay with them for a while. So, that's 50 or so points you won't be using often. Also, you will rarely be gaining any power stunts unless you plan on keeping a power nearly forever or switching back to a power often.

On the other hand, when you do gain a power, some powers like various Generation powers are multiple powers in one. So, you'll gain a bit more. Pros and Cons. Balance.


I think HM should allow you quasi-permanent mimic powers if your PC is set up like this where he is a tad weaker than the rest of us, but potentially tons more versatile. JMO. And of course, I've already done the work here for HM.

 

[Voda Vosa]

40 Drain
15 Fire Gen power (Fire Gen can be used 2 ways simultaneously, offense and defense, so it's really two powers in one)
25 Fire Gen stunt
25 Extra Attacks
10 Invisibility

How about this?
f Energy Touch