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

[Davies]

Guardian Lucis

Up until this month, the greatest worries that fifteen-year-old Paul Bellner had involved keeping his grades high enough that his parents had no grounds to object to him continuing to act as the lead vocalist for The Bellringers, the band he and his two older brothers formed two years ago. The actual work of being an entertainer came easy to him, so he never really worried about anything on that front, but schoolwork required actual effort. The fun times would be all over if his grades started to fail, or so his parents had told him at the start of all this, and he never even considered the possibility that the money that they were making had caused them to forget any such ideas.

Then, just a couple of weeks ago, Paul collapsed on stage while doing his latest song. This had never happened before, and would probably have worried him a lot more if not for what came with it. When the world went away, he found himself naked and alone in a vast dark space, gazing up at an impossibly bright light. "Greetings, Paul Bellner," it said in the voice of a woman. "I am thy soul and thy true self, and together we shaaaaaaahhh ... okay, no, I'm not going to do this mystical crap. Look, long story short, I died -- twice, at least -- a long time ago, and now my power lives in you. The world needs heroes, and you just got drafted. Walk with the light and the light will walk with you, all power can't be seen, love is real, yadda yadda yadda."

When he woke in the hotel room, surrounded by his nervous brothers and their manager, all of whom wanted to know where he had gotten the drugs that he had not, in fact, taken, it seemed that what he had seen had just been a dream. Or so he thought until he realized that he was holding, clutched tightly in his hand, a golden necklace with a sun-symbol charm hanging from its chain. He had never seen it before, but something about the symbol immediately associated with the light in his vision. When Paul was finally left to his own devices, he hesitantly put on the necklace and spoke the words he had been told, becoming Guardian Lucis.

Over the next few days, Paul would learn that four young women -- well, three young women and one individual who seems like one but about whom he has more questions than answers -- had had similar collapses, similar dreams and awakened to find themselves in possession of similar necklaces. Fate, or whatever, has drawn these five Guardians together to try and do something about a crazy Japanese supervillain who calls himself Kishu and is trying to either blow up or buy up Vancouver. Despite their success in preventing this, Paul has the distinct sensation that this might be just the tip of the iceberg, and that he and his new friends are in way over their heads.

Paul is a sincere and honest young man who genuinely wants to help people, and who happily donates much of what he makes as an entertainer to charity (or so he thinks.) The opportunity to do so through magic that he barely understands is not something he would ever have sought out, but he accepts it with cheer and confidence. He worries that his actions as Guardian Lucis could come back to haunt his family, and so he strives to keep his identity a secret; even his teammates do not yet know that he is a minor league celebrity out of his costume as well as inside it. Perhaps his greatest weakness is that he is a sucker for a pretty face. Any pretty face.

Guardian Lucis -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 3 | AGL 3 | DEX 3 | FGT 3 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 5

Powers:
Enchanted Necklace/Costume: Enhanced Defenses 10 (Dodge 5, Parry 5); Feature 1 (quick change); Flight 7 (250 MPH); Impervious Protection 5; Removable (-7 points) - 28 points
"I Walk With the Light, and the Light With Me": Environment 1 (Bright Light) - 2 points
Light Magic: Array (21 points)

• Blast of Light: Ranged Damage 10, Accurate - 21 points
• Blast of Unseen Light: Ranged Damage 10, Subtle - 1 point
• Blinding Burst: Perception Area Cumulative Affliction 9 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Fortitude; Visually Impaired, Visually Disabled, Visually Unaware), Limited to Vision - 1 point
• Burst of Light: Ranged Burst Area Damage 7 - 1 point
• Ghostbane Burst: Ranged Burst Area Damage 9, Affects Insubstantial 2, Limited to undead enemies - 1 point
• Light of Healing: Ranged Energizing Healing 5 - 1 point

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Attractive, Fearless, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Taunt.

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+7), Athletics 4 (+6), Close Combat: Unarmed 6 (+9), Deception 4 (+9), Expertise: Magic 2 (+7), Expertise: Performance 5 (+10), Insight 4 (+6), Persuasion 2 (+7), Ranged Combat: Light Magic 5 (+8), Stealth 4 (+7).

Offense:
Initiative +7
Unarmed +9 (Close Damage 2)
Blast of Light +10 (Ranged Damage 10)
Blast of Unseen Light +8 (Ranged Damage 10)
Blinding Burst -- (Perception Area Affliction 10, Resisted by Dodge)
Burst of Light -- (Ranged Burst Area Damage 7)
Ghostbane Burst -- (Ranged Burst Area Damage 9)

Defense:
Dodge 10/5, Parry 9/4, Fortitude 4, Toughness 8/3, Will 8

Totals:
Abilities 44 + Powers 56 + Advantages 6 + Skills 20 + Defenses 10 = 136 points

Offensive PL: 9
Defensive PL: 9
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 5

Complications:
Upholding Good--Motivation. Easily Distracted or Deceived by Attractive People. Family (parents and older brothers.) Secret Identity.

 

[Voltron64]

Perhaps his greatest weakness is that he is a sucker for a pretty face. Any pretty face.

“Oh I'm always dating bad boys, bad girls, bad gender non-binary babes, ruthless alien masterminds, bad Bynars.”

 

[Davies]

“Oh I'm always dating bad boys, bad girls, bad gender non-binary babes, ruthless alien masterminds, bad Bynars.”

Should probably watch that; read the comic adaptation recently and found it ... not without interest.

 

[Davies]

Warden

Technology in Tanelorn is a mixture of advanced and retrograde when compared to that of the world where the city on the verge of infinity now resides. In some areas, such as the force fields that once protected Tanelorn from the vagaries of cosmic energies and that now support it as it floats in the North Atlantic of the World in the Aftermath, their science has uncovered secrets unimagined even by hyperbrains. In other areas, though, it lags far behind the accomplishments of savants in this new world, with the powered armor used by ex-guardian Patricia MacMillan being comparable to that created by Peter Sullivan in the 1960s.

Patricia is the heir to a legacy of heroism and discovery on her original world, the grand-daughter, daughter and niece of those who used the Warden suit before her. Barely out of her teens when the world ended and Tanelorn was born, she found herself awakened to the power of the guardians and sent into endless battles to prevent the multiverse from tearing itself apart. Along the way, she developed a relationship with Kent Wildman and married him. She never could have imagined that one day, the multiverse would find itself rebuilt in a radically different format, with her husband apparently sacrificing his own existence to bring this about.

Given no real chance to mourn, Patricia found herself appointed into the position of "Sherriff" that Kent had once occupied, striving to keep all of the factions of Tanelorn satisfied if not content, while also acting as an ambassador to the authorities of the new world. So far, with the help of some of the allies made by the other ex-guardians during the calamity, such as the members of the Powerhouse, she has managed to keep the situation from breaking out into a war that Tanelorn could never win, but that everyone else would certainly lose.

Her greatest opponent in this is Linda Valentina, the leader of a recently established faction in the political landscape of Tanelorn, which holds that since the city has finally obtained a world to call home, they have the responsibility to ensure that this world never destroys itself as their original home did. A laudable sentiment; unfortunately, it is also one whose chief advocate is using it as a wafer-thin excuse for imperialism directed against the rest of the world. Patricia would think that regardless of who was arguing for the idea of "liberating" this world, but the fact that the one who does so is the grand-daughter, daughter and niece of enemies of the Wardens for generations certainly solidifies her opinion.

With the loss of her husband and the way that most of her friends are focused on their own explorations of this new reality, in one form or another, Patricia has largely found herself alone, save for her adopted son Ligyron. While he is trying to assist her in bearing the burden of her new office, their relationship is somewhat stressed by his insistent belief that Kent is still alive and active somewhere. She wishes she could believe it, but her clearest memories of the apocalypse are of seeing him looking back at her with an expression of utter grief, and mouthing an apology to her. Long before, he promised that he would apologize like that if matters ever demanded his end. So they must have done so.

In addition to her armored exoskeleton, Patricia possesses an "exotic" ability to improve the function of any technology that she has contact with, as long as she can understand it. She usually uses this to enhance the function of her armor, boosting it with innovations that she constructs from imagination and willpower, but has and can upgraded the gear of her allies in the same way. This lends some urgency to her efforts to catch up to the science of this brave new world ...

Warden -- PL 11

Abilities:
STR 0 | STA 0 | AGL 3 | DEX 3 | FGT 4 | INT 5 | AWE 3 | PRE 4

Powers:
Tech Enhancement: Variable 3 (technological improvements), Affects Others OR Self, Technology Check Required (DC 15) - 17 points
Warden Armor: Removable (-12 points)

• Armored Shell: Impervious Protection 8 - 16 points
• Broadcaster: Area Radio Communication 2 (1 mile) - 12 points
• Sealed Systems: Immunity 10 (life support) - 10 points
• Sensors: Senses 8 (accurate extended radius radio, direction sense, distance sense, time sense) - 8 points
• Weapon Systems: Array (15 points)
  • Bashing Mode: Enhanced Strength 7 - 1 point
  • Flight Mode: Flight 7 (1000 MPH) - 1 point
  • Grenade Mode: Ranged Burst Area Damage 5 - 15 points
  • Gun Mode: Ranged Multiattack Damage 5 - 1 point

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Assessment, Benefit (Sheriff of Tanelorn), Defensive Attack, Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Teamwork.

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+7), Expertise: Civics 6 (+11), Expertise: Dimensional 6 (+11), Insight 8 (+11), Intimidation 6 (+10), Perception 6 (+9), Persuasion 6 (+10), Ranged Combat: Weapon Systems 6 (+9), Technology 3 (+8).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +7 (Close Damage 0/7/15)
Gun Mode +9 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 5/10)
Grenade Mode -- (Ranged Burst Area Damage 5/10)

Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 7, Fortitude 4, Toughness 15/8/0, Will 8.

Totals:
Abilities 44 + Powers 69 + Advantages 9 + Skills 25 + Defenses 16 = 163

Offensive PL: 11/7
Defensive PL: 11/8
Resistance PL: 6
Skill PL: 6

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Family (stepson.) Nemesis (Linda Valentina.) Power Loss (suit requires maintenance.) Unfamiliarity With New World.

 

[Davies]

Doctor Tempus

The thing that people who have a certain vanity about their ability to plan for things refuse to admit is that unforeseen events can and will render their plans irrelevant. Sometimes, these people have the flexibility to adapt to these changing circumstances; sometimes they do not. Regardless, matters can become confusing for those who were part of plans that events have superseded. Philip Francks, now known as Doctor Tempus, is one such individual.

Up until a few months ago, certain plans devised by Dr. Rupert Maxwell to oppose Billie Zane hinged on the use of the "thinking cap" employed by her father, which contained (and contains) a psychic recording of the consciousness of Franklin Zane. His intention was to have someone wearing the thinking cap confront the younger Zane at the same time as a time-trawled version of her mother. However, when Janey Quantum was brought forward in time from shortly before her death, her husband was unexpectedly drawn with her, obviating the use of the thinking cap strategy. But the device had already been given to the person Maxwell intended to use it.

Four years ago, Philip Francks was known in the underworld as a fixer based out of Salt Lake City, sometimes affectionately (and sometimes disparagingly) known as Professor Francks. He had never been employed as a teacher or professor, but had a reputation for competence and intelligence. Unfortunately, he also had enough of a conscience that, when he discovered that one of the local syndicates was being used by Saturn as a front, he chose not to accept their money but ran a scam against them that exposed them. However, he was himself ensnared by the authorities as a result, and received a fairly short prison sentence at his eventual trial.

Francks knew that this was likely a death sentence, thanks to the Pythonian prison gangs, and so sought any method of escaping that fate. In the process, he came to the attention of Dr. Maxwell after Francks sought to volunteer as a research subject for the Morrison Institute. During one such episode, it was discovered that Fracks had the sort of brain activity that was often associated with latent telepathic abilities. When Maxwell learned about the thinking cap around the same time, he realized that Francks was a good candidate to use it as part of the plan he was developing.

Maxwell arranged for Francks to receive an early release and entrusted him with the thinking cap, explaining that it was a dangerous device that he would one day ask Francks to use. Placing him in a monitored apartment, he told the other man to await further instructions. The combination of paranoia and patience that all this instilled in Francks kept him from studying the device for more than a year, and he did not dare to wear it for months after that -- which, though he had no idea, was around the same time that Billie Zane was defeated in St. Louis.

The flush of telepathic power that the cap enabled in him was quite startling, but not nearly as startling as his discovery that an apparent ghost was haunting it! Zane was equally startled to be in communication with Francks, rather than the Argus agent he had expected Maxwell to select, but he nevertheless encouraged his new "partner" to do something about the situation -- which in this case meant learning that he had been left in the wind.

With his new powers, Francks was able to escape from his genteel confinement, but this meant taking Zane with him. While Zane had come to rue his superheroic career, he still had no interest in seeing his invention used for criminal acts, either, and threatened to haunt Francks if he did so. Even without that threat, Francks found most of his criminal contacts no longer had any interest in dealing with him, leaving him without any means of support. Thus, with reluctance, but also with a certain amount of poorly-hidden excitement, he was preparing to become Professor Tempus, a new superhero.

Whatever plans he might have had were interrupted by the Calamity, in which he found himself dragooned into service as part of the Anachronic Argonauts. When it was all over, and he woke up in his hotel room wondering whether that had all been a dream, he was startled to find himself contacted soon afterwards by Heroic Enterprises, and offered a job. He's still considering whether he wants to say yes or no to this offer, but Zane is strongly encouraging him to accept it. A steady paycheck for doing good does sound like a great idea ...

Doctor Tempus -- PL 9

Abilities:
STR 1 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 2 | FGT 3 | INT 10/4 | AWE 9/3 | PRE 3

Powers:
Thinking Cap: Removable (-17 points)

• Psychic Link: Senses 1 (mental communication link with Franklin Zane) - 1 point
• Telepathy: Mental Communication 3 (regional), Two-Way; Cumulative Mind-Reading 5 - 30 points
• Telepathic Reactions: Enhanced Advantages 8 (Defensive Roll 2, Evasion 2, Improved Defense, Seize Initiative); Enhanced Defenses 16 (Dodge 8, Parry 8) - 24 points
• Telepathic Techniques: Array (27 points)
  • Accelerated Thought Processes: Enhanced Awareness 6; Enhanced Intellect 6; Quickness 6, Limited to Mental - 27 points
  • Mental Blast: Perception Range Damage 9, Resisted by Will, Tiring - 1 point
  • Mental Illusions: Illusion 9 (All Senses), Feedback, Resistible by Will, Selective, Tiring - 1 points
  • Mental Paralysis: Perception Range Cumulative Affliction 9 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Stunned, Paralyzed), Tiring - 1 points

Advantages:
Defensive Roll 2, Evasion 2, Eidetic Memory, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Jack-of-all-trades, Seize Initiative, Set-Up, Taunt, Uncanny Dodge

Skills:
Deception 8 (+11), Expertise: Streetwise 2 (+12/+6), Insight 3 (+12/+6), Perception 4 (+13/+7), Persuasion 4 (+7), Sleight of Hand 8 (+10), Stealth 6 (+8), Vehicles 7 (+9).

Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +3 (Close Damage 1)
Mental Blast -- (Perception Range Damage 9, Resisted by Will)
Mental Illusions -- (Perception Range Will 9)

Defense:
Dodge 11/3, Parry 11/3, Fortitude 4, Toughness 7/2, Will 12/6

Totals:
Abilities 40 + Powers 68 + Advantages 5 + Skills 20 + Defenses 7 = 141 points

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

Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Haunted (by Franklin Zane.) Reputation (ex-con.)

 

[Davies]

Asmodeus

Before, it could be firmly and authoritatively stated that there were no such things as demons in the World Less Magical, that legends about such creatures had been distorted memories of times when extraterrestrials had been active on this planet, that such beings which existed now were just manifestations of the innate powers of those who called upon them. In the World in the Aftermath, this is no longer true, for that world exists in the same metaphysical space as worlds which saw a great deal of extradimensional traffic ... and if these beings are not spirits of primal evil, then they are every bit as cruel and dangerous as legend would have it.

Long ago on a parallel world much like both the World Less Magical and the World More Grim, a man called Morgan began a project to create a superhuman aristocracy to rule the world as he knew it. On this world, however, his efforts were somewhat more successful, as the High King he rose up was blessed with a legitimate son and heir, whom Morgan took into hiding with him soon after his birth, arranging for him to survive the fall of Camelot. This prince was the father of generations whom Morgan continued to guide, with each generation proving to be mightier than the next. And if these heirs were often brutal and arbitrary, well, boys would be boys. There was time, surely for them to learn mercy and discretion.

And then, in the tenth century, the latest descendant of this line of princes decided that he was tired of heeding the commands of his ancient mentor, and murdered him and all his followers. Claiming his collection of occult lore and artifacts, the prince of the world grew in power and might, yet found himself hindered by various rivals and limited by certain ... flaws in his abilities, such as the way that many of them failed in the light of day. He decided to deal with these difficulties with characteristic directness.

Using methods much like the founders of the Sprawl and of Tanelorn did in shifting a city and an island away from their dimensional origins, the prince arranged for the entire planet to shift away from its dimension into a different one. Light and heat were provided for the planet by an entity that the prince captured and bound into an orbit around the planet, creating a more dimly lit world, appropriate for something that embodied the summit of human ambitions and the pit of their fears. The prince looked out on his work and deemed it ... perfect.

A thousand years later, the world that its ruler calls Hell still somewhat resembles the planet Earth as it exists on many different timelines, though the oceans have subsided below the continental shelves, creating a vast number of seas. Roughly one billion human beings struggle to keep themselves alive in this transformed world, mostly working as agricultural workers, with a handful maintaining what industry has developed. The surface is ruled by hundreds of exarchs, served by millions of demons, each a descendant of those mutant aristocrats who swore fealty to their prince long ago or those who rose up in the centuries since then, all of them scheming to overthrow their ultimate ruler -- Asmodeus, as he now calls himself, with any hint that he bore another name treated as utter heresy.

In order to sustain his empire, Asmodeus has frequently sought to entice humans and humanoid beings from other realities to enter into his service, deceiving them about what this would mean. He had a convivial relationship with Nyx, the Hierarch of Entropy on the World More Sorcerous, who allowed him to engage in this treachery in a somewhat limited manner on that world. The World Less Magical was too far away, metaphysically, for him to have anything to do with it, but the World in the Aftermath is much, much closer, his former associate is lost to history and can no longer limit him, those who have taken the place of Nyx and the other Hierarchs are much weaker, and there are countless people seeking to summon demons who are ideal victims for his treachery. It is perfect.

Il meglio è nemico del bene.

Asmodeus -- PL 15

Abilities:
STR 12 | STA 15 | AGL 3 | DEX 6 | FGT 11 | INT 9 | AWE 9 | PRE 11

Powers:
Infernal Body: Immunity 26 (aging, corrosive effects, fire/heat effects, life support); Protection 2, Impervious 17; Morph 4; Senses 2 (darkvision) - 67 points
Infernal Mind: Mental Communication 4 (planetary/anywhere in Hell); Impervious Will 13 - 29 points
Infernal Sorcery: Array (28 points)

• Conjuration: Continuous Create 8/13, Precise - 1 point
• Divination: Remote Sensing 5/8 (all senses, 30 miles/250 miles), Dimensional 3 - 28 points
• Evocation: Ranged Damage 12/20, Affects Insubstantial 2 - 1 point
• Phantasm: Illusion 6/10 (all senses), Resistable by Will - 1 point
• Polymorph: Ranged Affliction 12/20 (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude; Impaired, Disabled, Transformed), Variable Descriptor 2 (many possible transformations) - 1 point
• Transmutation: Transform 5/8 (any material into any material) - 1 point
• Warpstep: Accurate Extended Teleport 9/14 (2 miles/60 miles/500 miles/16000 miles), Only within Hell - 1 point

Ruby Rod: Strength-based Damage 3; Variable 3, Free Action, Limited to Enhanced Infernal Sorcery; Easily Removable (-10 points) - 27 points
Shadowy Wings: Continuous Insubstantial 3; Flight 9 (1000 MPH) - 36 points

Advantages:
Benefit 6 (Wealth Beyond Avarice, Ruler of Hell), Connected, Diehard, Eidetic Memory, Fascinate (Persuasion), Fearless, Ranged Attack 4, Ritualist, Well-Informed.

Skills:
Close Combat: Ruby Rod 4 (+15), Deception 5 (+16), Expertise: Dimensional 6 (+15), Expertise: Magic 5 (+16), Insight 9 (+18), Intimidation 8 (+19), Perception 8 (+17), Persuasion 7 (+18).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +13 (Close Damage 12)
Ruby Rod +15 (Close Damage 15)
Evocation +10 (Ranged Damage 12/20)
Polymorph Spell +10 (Ranged Fortitude 12/20).

Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 11, Fortitude 15, Toughness 17, Will 15.

Totals:
Abilities 152 + Powers 193 + Advantages 17 + Skills 26 + Defenses 12 = 400 points

Offensive PL: 15
Defensive PL: 14
Resistance PL: 15
Skill PL: 14

Complications:
Power--Motivation. Power Loss (Shadowy Wings, in genuine daylight.) Rivals/Enemies (Exarchs of Hell.) Vulnerability (neither Toughness nor Will are Impervious against any opponent who knows his true name.)

Who is like the beast? Who can make war on him?

 

[Davies]

Renegade

Sometimes, he wonders how the guy who programmed the sleep-learning system in his ship managed to get so much right about what was going to go on in the world he was shot at, more than a century before any of it did. Even if it did get so much wrong, how could someone who could only have been familiar with Earth as it existed in the early 19th century have made as many correct predictions as it did? Well, maybe the answer is simple, since he had a close look at how much time travel has gone on throughout history. And besides that, there are other unexplained questions about his origins on top of that.

The young man who goes by the name Jimmy Young was "born" in a growth tank aboard a space ship sent rocketing away from the planet Anacreon only moments before the world died. The ship had been launched by a person who left next to no record of his personal identity in its computer logs, only the statement that he had recognized that Van-Na spoke the truth when she proclaimed the doom of their world. His technology was not as advanced as hers, and the ship that he shot into space traveled to Earth more slowly, and its passenger was older when he arrived, having lived a dream simulation as he grew to the age of fourteen.

The ship came down in northern Manitoba in 2017, with Paragon recognizing its Anacreonite design and taking it into custody. When he opened it up and discovered its passenger to be a young man who spoke fluent (if terrible) English, he found that confusing, but some investigation revealed what had happened. But when the DNA sequencing identified the new arrival as close kin to both of the Anacreonites already on the planet, things began to take an even more confusing turn ... for the young man was the artificially gestated son of the late General Mong and the still living Jora.

As Jora had viewed Mong as a father figure, not a romantic partner, she found this development horrifying. However, her sense of responsibility, just as keen as that of her husband, would not allow her to just abandon the child -- who after all bore no responsibility for the circumstances of his birth. The Youngs arranged to adopt him and he took the name Jimmy, derived from the dream that he lived. It was an awkward and uncomfortable arrangement for all of them, but it did get a bit better as time passed.

Almost immediately, Jimmy demonstrated the same enhanced versions of the Anacreonite/Dhakimite powers that his stepfather possesses, raising more questions about the circumstances of his conception and training that no one has been able to answer. Paragon hoped that Jimmy might join him in his superheroics, but the young man shot that idea down immediately. He wanted to use his powers to help people, but he was not in any way content to just wait for cries for help, preferring to take action before that happened. During the four years that he lived with them, Roger often considered packing him off to the Institute to give him lessons in the history of such activities, but ultimately never did so.

Last year, Jimmy graduated from high school and started studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He has yet to choose a major but is drawn to life sciences, particularly zoology. While pursuing his studies, he has also debuted as a superhero under the name Renegade. Most people, particularly those familiar with a certain series of video games, have concluded that there must be some connection between him and Paragon, but as yet he has not answered any questions on the subject, while holding forth on what he considers to be some of the absurdities of the superheroic lifestyle as practiced so far.

One of them that he has not commented about is the way that a pair of shades, worn in his civilian identity, are apparently keeping everyone from realizing that Jimmy Young and Renegade are the same person. It makes no &#%!ing sense, but it clearly works, so he would have to be a real sack of $#!+ to argue against something that helps him.

Renegade -- PL 11

Abilities:
STR 11/9 | STA 10 | AGL 3 | DEX 4 | FGT 9 | INT 3 | AWE 5 | PRE 3

Powers:
Anacreonite Powers: Array (18 points)

• Cold Projection: Perception Range Damage 5, Precise, Subtle - 1 point
• Force Projection: Perception-Range Move Object 6 - 18 points
• Heat Projection: Selective Environment 6 (extreme heat), Quirk (character is at the edge of the area, not the center) - 1 point
• Gravity Warp: Enhanced Flight 8 (32000 MPH); Movement 1 (space travel 1) - 1 point
• Sensory Projection: Senses 18 (acute olfactory, extended sight 3, visual counters all concealment, microscopic vision 4, visual penetrates concealment) - 1 point
• Strength Enhancement: Enhanced Strength 2; Enhanced Strength 14, Limited to Lifting - 1 point

Great Speed: Enhanced Advantages 6 (Close Attack 2, Improved Initiative 2, Interpose, Move-by Action); Enhanced Defense 4 (Dodge 2, Parry 2); Flight 6 (120 MPH); Quickness 6; - 28 points
Great Toughness: Immunity 10 (life support); Protection 1, Impervious 10; Regeneration 5 - 26 points

Advantages:
All-out Attack, Close Attack 2, Improved Initiative 2, Interpose, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Startle.

Skills:
Expertise: Science 5 (+8), Intimidation 6 (+9), Investigation 6 (+9), Perception 6 (+11), Stealth 7 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +11
Unarmed +11/9 (Close Damage 11/9)
Cold Projection -- (Perception Range Damage 5)

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

Totals:
Abilities 92 + Powers 77 + Advantages 3 + Skills 15 + Defenses 10 = 197 points

Offensive PL: 11
Defensive PL: 11
Resistance PL: 10
Skill PL: 6

Complications:
Justice--Motivation. Family (parents.) Power Loss/Weakness (all and becomes Strength and Stamina Disabled, when exposed to theonite.) Reputation (loud, profane & violent.) Secret Identity.

Note: His Power Loss/Weakness complication is psychosomatic, but he has not yet learned this. This raises further questions.

 

[Voltron64]

Fun thinking about Paragon is raising what is basically his half-brother.

 

[Davies]

Fun thinking about Paragon is raising what is basically his half-brother.

I may have watched SVU a bit much as a young'un.

 

[Davies]

Metis

It is so strange. She can remember being so astonished that Dyaus ordered her into the sleep pods after she sent the children to their own uncertain fate; nothing in their time together had led her to believe that he could ever be so unselfish. She can also, more dimly, remember fighting and dying in the last defense of Ganymede when that order was not given. And, still more confusingly, she can remember watching all this playing out against a background of civil strife, rather than an assault by pitiless, remorseless, fearless robots. So strange, and she can ill-afford strangeness as she takes the helm of the ship of state in this new era.

While called "aunt" by many of the children of Dyaus, Metis was not his sister, but a distant cousin whose precise relationship to the Ganemae -- the noble house granted rule over the backwater province of the Sol system by the rulers of the Oekumene -- is difficult to explain. Extended lifespans and technologically-enabled childbirth made such family trees quite common among the Olympians. She was not even born on Ganymede or any of the worlds of this system, but on a planet orbiting a star in the constellation now called Lyra, but was welcomed after she brought a full legion of Spartoi from her home system to the assistance of Dyaus in one minor conflict.

He retained her as a counselor afterwards, though she found herself frustrated by how often he failed to heed her counsel -- as when he set himself on the course of violating one of the bound Titans and got a child on her. Metis begged him not to do it, then begged him not to compound his folly by actually raising the child. He answered that latter plea by placing the girl in her care for the first few years, and Metis spent years dreading the day that she would have to explain the truth about her origins, for all that she came to love the child as much as if she had been her own. Ironically, the world would end before she would have to do so.

When she finally awoke, a month or so ago, she spent what time she could spare from calming her people to try and contact other Olympian settlements. The darkness of space had never seemed so cold or empty as it was when she finally admitted that there was no one out there. It was almost as an afterthought that she tried to reach someone on Earth, and learned that Nike had survived, alone among the children who had been sent into hiding there. That came as a relief ... which died a fiery death when Nike revealed that she knew about the Titan who had given her birth, and had many questions she wanted answered.

So far, Metis has managed to hold off on answering those questions, but she suspects that Nike no longer trusts her. And the story she tells, about the Titan somehow becoming some sort of deity, is purest madness. The child she hoped would one day restore all that had been lost in the downfall of their civilization is well on her way to becoming a terrible menace towards it, and her wisdom fails her in devising a way to repair that. How can she convince Pall-- Nike, the name is Nike, not that other name that keeps featuring in her dreams ...

At least she has learned that the Spartoi who served her seem to have survived the centuries as well, in that Hespera place she has observed.

Metis -- PL 13

Abilities:
STR 5 | STA 9 | AGL 3 | DEX 4 | FGT 7 | INT 5 | AWE 8 | PRE 4

Powers:
Far Sighted: Remote Sensing 19 (visual, auditory; 500,000 miles), Concentration Duration; Enhanced Remote Sensing 10 (visual, auditory, 500 million miles), Concentration Duration, Tiring - 48 points
Far Speech: Mental Communication 5 (unlimited); Effortless Mind Reading 13, Communication Dependent, Limited to Surface Thoughts - 33 points
Levitation: Flight 5 (60 MPH) - 10 points
Olympian: Immunity 4 (aging, cold, disease, poison); Impervious Toughness 9; Regeneration 5 - 18 points

Advantages:
Assessment, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Evasion, Fascinate (Persuasion), Improved Defense, Jack-of-all-trades, Skill Mastery (Insight), Teamwork.

Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+11), Deception 8 (+12), Expertise: History 4 (+9), Insight 6 (+14), Investigation 8 (+13), Perception 5 (+13), Persuasion 8 (+12), Technology 6 (+11), Treatment 5 (+10).

Offense:
Initiative +3
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 5)

Defense:
Dodge 9, Parry 11, Fortitude 9, Toughness 11/9, Will 13

Totals:
Abilities 90 + Powers 109 + Advantages 9 + Skills 29 + Defenses 15 = 252 points

Offensive PL: 13
Defensive PL: 11
Resistance PL: 11
Skill PL: 9

Complications:
Responsibility--Motivation. Family (Nike.) Power Loss (Olympian, must consume ambrosia weekly.) Strange Memories.

Note: That Jupiter is, as I write this, less than 500 million miles away from Earth, is a neat coincidence.