Happy new year, by the way.
It's been quite busy, but I'm not ignoring you...at least in the sense of not thinking about you, you inchoate audience mass, you. I'm sort of ignoring you in the writing to you kind of way.
Most importantly, it's been busy at home and work. That's certainly my priority. And I'm doing two adventures for small publishers.
The one I guess I can talk about (because Walt Robillard mentioned it on a podcast) is a Supers! REd adventure, which feels simultaneously too long and too short. I worry that I've written it too long, and then I look at things I have to cut out of it, and I think, "Ohmigod, this will end up being too short!" However, it's gone in some interesting places even though I've been slow about writing it. (I want "careful" on this one--it's an adventure with time travel, and a slap-dash approach will only make trouble down the line--but I worry I've just been slow.) Call it Fall of the House of Echo, which is not the real name; it's just what I use to refer to it when I don't want to use the real name. That's pretty exciting.
I've play-tested it with Mythic GME and Supers! but I'm not really in a life situation where I can get a group together. (Something about work and commuting for twelve hours a day.) I've even found commercially available (and unsuitable) maps for three of the locations that might need maps, and for another I used the Rosie's Bar map from Champions. I'll try to get Walt's permission to do another playtest with humans, by Google Hangouts. Drop me a line if you're interested.
I'll tell you the real name when it's available from Hazard Studio. Then I can add it to my tiny portfolio of RPG stuff (Assault on Precinct 9, from Fainting Goat Games, and two of the World's Most Wanted villains).
I'd like to collate all of the Fallen ICONS stuff into a single PDF to make it easier for people to download. I don't think I'll offer it for sale; I don't want to go through the hassles of setting up a OneBookshelf account. If I do that, though, I'll probably get Steve Kenson's blessing in the form of the ICONS-compatible logo. The other thing I'll do is scour the web for free or cheap graphics. The PDF will be free and the look will reflect that, but at least it can have a few pictures.
I was looking for something or other in the ICONS line on RPGNow, and I realized that there really are quite a few villain characters for sale. So I'll have to resist the temptation to kvetch and moan because, really, they're out there.
And how's your life going?
Showing posts with label Fallen ICONS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fallen ICONS. Show all posts
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Monday, October 26, 2015
Generic Super...uh...girl?
Icons
In honour of the premiere of the CBS series tonight (and no, I didn't see the leaked pilot), here is a quick generic Supergirl. She's more of the iconic sort than anything in particular, though "Rash, brash, and bold" plays to recent portrayals, since as created by Otto Binder (and Al Plastino, I think) she was a typical subservient female. (It was the times, I think; I don't mean to imply anything about Binder.)
The higher Intellect is because she hangs out with Braniac 5 in the future, so you know she's not exactly dim. She's also been shown to have an interest in science in some of the relatively recent comics, such as the Sterling Gates run.
Other powers, such as super-breath and seeing in the dark, are left as stunts.
If you want to fit her into the Fallen ICONS posts, she's clearly a second attempt at creating a human-alien hybrid who was given false memories of her earlier life on the alien planet. When her "cousin" revealed the deception to her, she didn't believe him, and left the planet on a kind of Wanderjahr, attempting to find the remnants of her alien homeworld.
(Hmmm. It just now occurs to me that Clark should have been spending time with her when he found her, trying to learn more about Krypton. There is a certain loveliness to the idea that he came to the Midvale orphanage every week to take her to dinner, saying, "Tell me more about Krypton." (Well, she might have just whispered it in her room, knowing that he would hear her. No, it's not at all creepy. *shiver*))
| Supergirl (Linda Lee Danvers) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRW | 4 | INT | 5 | DP | 1 |
| CRD | 7 | AWR | 7 | STA | 14 |
| STR | 10 | WIL | 4 | ||
| Specialties | Aerial Combat, Mental Resistance, Science | ||||
| Powers |
| ||||
| Qualities |
| ||||
Or, to put a Fallen Icons spin on the character description:
Pinnacle
The same project that produced Exemplar also produced
Pinnacle. Once the alterations to his genome had been shown to be stable, they
produced a woman, a dozen years younger. There was never any intention that the
additional genes would breed true, but as a precaution the project gave her a
cover story as Daniel Hugo’s alien “cousin.” They also spent much longer programming her with the alternate history that they wanted...years, in fact.
When Daniel Hugo leaned the truth about his and her origin,
she was on the alien dimension of Alpha-Nile-8, leading a retaliatory strike
against the leader Umbra. She lost people there, and the last thing she wanted
to hear was news about the government that had sent her there. Rather than
believe Daniel, she retreated into her alien identity, creating monuments to
her fallen civilization.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Fallen Icons: Square Peg, formerly Flexiguy
Used to be, you could see sideshows at circuses. Freakshows. In this more enlightened age, they don't show up, now. Instead we have the Internet and streaming video.
Some people let other people see them. One of those people is Square Peg.
She's not attractive, as women go. Her arms and legs are too long. She obviously wears a wig, because sometimes it is askew. And she always, always, always wears a bodysuit like the one Flexiguy used to wear. It's not visible all the time, but it's there.
Square Peg looks like a church lady, but she performs. She'll do anything nonsexual and nonlethal that you ask and pay for. She swallowed live fish (twenty-six of them). She's rolled in disgusting things. She once kissed a clown.
Getting to know Square Peg involves getting through layers of secrets. Like an onion.
Square Peg was Flexiguy, who was Chuck "Moray" Marston, back in the 1940s. He never seemed to age, and he fought crime for years.
Years.
People have been born, lived, raised families, and passed away in all that time. The crooks seemed to get meaner. People in general got less sunny, less tolerant of his way of looking at the world. A guy who could pretend to be a very nice desk set seemed as out of place as, well, desk sets.
He'd been adopting a woman's appearance for years in order to get in and out of places in disguise. One day, it seemed like just too much effort to change back. To stretch at all, in fact, or fight crime or do, well, anything. He's stuck in that form.
Well, he still needs to eat. So he does what they pay him to do.
What does that mean for the PCs? Well, one might be related to him, or one might need something that he knows. Someone might be suspicious of his cover identity--Peggy Rest doesn't seem as old as she should be, given that her history starts with her as a middle-aged adult in 1989.
A fresh infusion of the flavoring agent might help him. (Is Gin Gold still around? Is there someone who remembers what the secret ingredients were?) And he needs a reason to live...someone with a bright view of the world might help. Someone who figured out who he was...someone clever, like the PCs.
Chuck "Moray" Marston was a gangster on the way up. He got put in charge of the Gin Gold factory robbery, but there was a double-cross, and a shoot-out, and then Marston fell into a vat of flavoring agents. That saved him from being shot dead. He crawled out (dying) , managed to overpower the night watchman who found him, but collapsed before he made it two blocks. He collapsed in front of a brownstone.
The old man who owned the brownstone had been a monk, and he cared for Marston. Under his influence, Marston decided to turn over a new leaf. Before he left, Marston discovered that his time in the flavoring agents had given him a new power: when he wanted, his body was as pliable as putty. He decided to put it to use as a superhero.
He toyed with a number of names (such as The Pliable Punk, Malleable Max, Elastic Man, Mr. Bendtastic, or Darknight Ductility) and decided to be the Flexible Freak. However, when someone asked his name, he blanked and what he got out was, "Flexible...guy." The newspapers turned it into Flexiguy.
Some people let other people see them. One of those people is Square Peg.
She's not attractive, as women go. Her arms and legs are too long. She obviously wears a wig, because sometimes it is askew. And she always, always, always wears a bodysuit like the one Flexiguy used to wear. It's not visible all the time, but it's there.
Square Peg looks like a church lady, but she performs. She'll do anything nonsexual and nonlethal that you ask and pay for. She swallowed live fish (twenty-six of them). She's rolled in disgusting things. She once kissed a clown.
| Prowess | 5 | Intellect | 4 | Determination | - | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 3 | Awareness | 3 | Stamina | 6 | ||
| Strength | 2 | Willpower | 4 | ||||
| Specialties | Performance, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Wrestling | ||||||
| Powers | None? | ||||||
| Qualities | Tired. | ||||||
| Morally flexible. | |||||||
| Embarrassing secrets to spare. | |||||||
Getting to know Square Peg involves getting through layers of secrets. Like an onion.
Square Peg was Flexiguy, who was Chuck "Moray" Marston, back in the 1940s. He never seemed to age, and he fought crime for years.
Years.
People have been born, lived, raised families, and passed away in all that time. The crooks seemed to get meaner. People in general got less sunny, less tolerant of his way of looking at the world. A guy who could pretend to be a very nice desk set seemed as out of place as, well, desk sets.
He'd been adopting a woman's appearance for years in order to get in and out of places in disguise. One day, it seemed like just too much effort to change back. To stretch at all, in fact, or fight crime or do, well, anything. He's stuck in that form.
Well, he still needs to eat. So he does what they pay him to do.
What does that mean for the PCs? Well, one might be related to him, or one might need something that he knows. Someone might be suspicious of his cover identity--Peggy Rest doesn't seem as old as she should be, given that her history starts with her as a middle-aged adult in 1989.
A fresh infusion of the flavoring agent might help him. (Is Gin Gold still around? Is there someone who remembers what the secret ingredients were?) And he needs a reason to live...someone with a bright view of the world might help. Someone who figured out who he was...someone clever, like the PCs.
Flexiguy
The old man who owned the brownstone had been a monk, and he cared for Marston. Under his influence, Marston decided to turn over a new leaf. Before he left, Marston discovered that his time in the flavoring agents had given him a new power: when he wanted, his body was as pliable as putty. He decided to put it to use as a superhero.
He toyed with a number of names (such as The Pliable Punk, Malleable Max, Elastic Man, Mr. Bendtastic, or Darknight Ductility) and decided to be the Flexible Freak. However, when someone asked his name, he blanked and what he got out was, "Flexible...guy." The newspapers turned it into Flexiguy.
| Name | Flexiguy | Prowess | 5 | Intellect | 4 | Determination | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 4 | Awareness | 4 | Stamina | 9 | ||
| Strength | 4 | Willpower | 5 | ||||
| Specialties | Mental Resistance Expert, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Wrestling | ||||||
| Powers | Transformation (objects) Limit: Tell | 6 | |||||
| Extra: Damage Resistance | |||||||
| Extra: Stretching | |||||||
| Life Support (vs aging) | 1 | ||||||
| Qualities | Secret (ex-crook) | ||||||
| Came from the dark side to the lighter side | |||||||
| Morally flexible | |||||||
Notes
Unlike every other Fallen Icons post, this one is genderswapped. Mostly, the name appealed to me. But also, if you have significant amounts of Transformation, choosing a sex is, well, optional.
Square Peg is rather a bleak, dark view of existence. It certainly doesn't fit with the character Jack Cole created, but for me, it certainly feels like what happened to comics. If you could manage some kind of a comeback story that ended up with Flexiguy being in a happier place, well, that would please me.
Square Peg is rather a bleak, dark view of existence. It certainly doesn't fit with the character Jack Cole created, but for me, it certainly feels like what happened to comics. If you could manage some kind of a comeback story that ended up with Flexiguy being in a happier place, well, that would please me.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Fallen Icons: Scott Stewart, formerly Clockwise, Second of the Cosmic Watch
SYSTEM: ICONS
Time travel is a tricky thing. There are unintended consequences that can create multiple universes. And, though human science hasn't caught up to this point yet, every universe created makes the existence of the cosmic "bubble" that contains all of them just a bit more tenuous.
The race that protects the reality stream—the Watchmen of the Cosmos—have one rule that stands above all others: No time travel. They don't prevent time travel. (Examples among earth's heroes are legion: The Streak, for example, has traveled both forward and backward in time; Exemplar had membership in both future and present groups.) Some small number of those are trying to destabilize history, either to bring about the future that they want (in the case of the Autoarchons or the Onyx Corps or the Semioticians, to name but three) or destroy the cosmic bubble entirely (the Nimble Flame).
Instead, the Watchmen have a corps of agents throughout the galaxy who are attempting to preserve what they call the Ideal Calendar. These seconds (the Seconds of the Cosmic Watch) must attempt to stop tampering events without themselves traveling through time. To help them, the Watchmen have crafted for them miraculous weapons: the Second Crystals, implanted in a wristband. A Second Crystal is limited only by its wearer's willpower and imagination.
In Nevada there is a test facility for a small aircraft company: Flying Iron Aircraft. The head of their test pilot group, Scott Stewart, used to be a Second of the Cosmic Watch, until he broke the single most important rule of the Watchmen.
He traveled in time.
He had done it before, in the company of the Streak, but this time he took a time machine from Chase Hunter, Chronomaster, and went back to save the woman he loved.
The Watchmen did not banish him. (For all their power, the Watchmen have peculiar limits; they have never been able to eliminate Dexether, the renegade Second.) They took back his crystal, and passed protection of this sector of space to another Second.
Now he lives with Cadence Ironside, the woman he saved. Together, they run Flying Iron Aircraft.
If you ask him, Scott will say that he made his choice, and he abides by it. But his wife will tell you that, sometimes in his sleep, he says the Oath of the Seconds:
Because I fought when Chaos beckoned
The Cosmic Watch hails me its second.
Every second, every day
Ever vigilant we stay
Preserving all events we may.
From Chaos and Disorder's power
We of the Watch protect each hour.
His biggest enemy was of course Withershin, the rogue Second.
The comic book item has a ridiculous number of powers, but for these write-ups I wanted to keep the number of powers down to six or less, with the rest being stunts. I hope I chose wisely, and that the Qualities involved will help you generate enough Determination to stunt the extra powers. The Adaptation power takes the place of universal translation and life support or the occasional flying to the center of the earth or whatever. (I know that the Adaptation power doesn't officially do translation, but it's in the wheelhouse of this concept, and really, the stories are almost never about translation difficulties; as a GM, I'd just give it to him.)
Constructs is from Great Power. I decided that he stunts the Space flight extra to his flight, though he does use it frequently.
Time travel is a tricky thing. There are unintended consequences that can create multiple universes. And, though human science hasn't caught up to this point yet, every universe created makes the existence of the cosmic "bubble" that contains all of them just a bit more tenuous.
The race that protects the reality stream—the Watchmen of the Cosmos—have one rule that stands above all others: No time travel. They don't prevent time travel. (Examples among earth's heroes are legion: The Streak, for example, has traveled both forward and backward in time; Exemplar had membership in both future and present groups.) Some small number of those are trying to destabilize history, either to bring about the future that they want (in the case of the Autoarchons or the Onyx Corps or the Semioticians, to name but three) or destroy the cosmic bubble entirely (the Nimble Flame).
Instead, the Watchmen have a corps of agents throughout the galaxy who are attempting to preserve what they call the Ideal Calendar. These seconds (the Seconds of the Cosmic Watch) must attempt to stop tampering events without themselves traveling through time. To help them, the Watchmen have crafted for them miraculous weapons: the Second Crystals, implanted in a wristband. A Second Crystal is limited only by its wearer's willpower and imagination.
In Nevada there is a test facility for a small aircraft company: Flying Iron Aircraft. The head of their test pilot group, Scott Stewart, used to be a Second of the Cosmic Watch, until he broke the single most important rule of the Watchmen.
He traveled in time.
He had done it before, in the company of the Streak, but this time he took a time machine from Chase Hunter, Chronomaster, and went back to save the woman he loved.
The Watchmen did not banish him. (For all their power, the Watchmen have peculiar limits; they have never been able to eliminate Dexether, the renegade Second.) They took back his crystal, and passed protection of this sector of space to another Second.
Now he lives with Cadence Ironside, the woman he saved. Together, they run Flying Iron Aircraft.
If you ask him, Scott will say that he made his choice, and he abides by it. But his wife will tell you that, sometimes in his sleep, he says the Oath of the Seconds:
Because I fought when Chaos beckoned
The Cosmic Watch hails me its second.
Every second, every day
Ever vigilant we stay
Preserving all events we may.
From Chaos and Disorder's power
We of the Watch protect each hour.
Scott Stewart
| Prowess | 5 | Intellect | 4 | Determination | - | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 4 | Awareness | 4 | Stamina | 12 | ||
| Strength | 4 | Willpower | 8 | ||||
| Specialties | Military, Pilot (Master), Power (Cosmic crystal) Expert | ||||||
| Powers | None. | ||||||
| Qualities | Fearless, for good and bad | ||||||
| Will do anything for the woman he loves | |||||||
| Long history, with guilt, enemies, and allies | |||||||
Clockwise, Second of the Cosmic Watch
In his prime as the Emerald Moment, he had the Cosmic Crystal on his wristband.| Name | Clockwise (Scott Stewart) | Prowess | 4 | Intellect | 4 | Determination | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 4 | Awareness | 4 | Stamina | 8 | ||
| Strength | 4 | Willpower | 9 | ||||
| Specialties | Aerial Combat, Military, Pilot (Master), Power (Cosmic Crystal) | ||||||
| Powers | Cosmic Crystal Cosmic Power (Device) [Constructs] Limit: Limited to user's Will score; Limit: Needs daily recharge. | 10 | |||||
| Extra: Effect [Adaptation] | |||||||
| Extra: Effect [Blast] | |||||||
| Extra: Effect [Flight] | |||||||
| Extra: Effect [Force Field] | |||||||
| Extra: Burst | |||||||
| Qualities | Part of a galactic paramilitary organization | ||||||
| Fearless, for good and bad | |||||||
| I fought the law | |||||||
His biggest enemy was of course Withershin, the rogue Second.
Notes
The comic book item has a ridiculous number of powers, but for these write-ups I wanted to keep the number of powers down to six or less, with the rest being stunts. I hope I chose wisely, and that the Qualities involved will help you generate enough Determination to stunt the extra powers. The Adaptation power takes the place of universal translation and life support or the occasional flying to the center of the earth or whatever. (I know that the Adaptation power doesn't officially do translation, but it's in the wheelhouse of this concept, and really, the stories are almost never about translation difficulties; as a GM, I'd just give it to him.)
Constructs is from Great Power. I decided that he stunts the Space flight extra to his flight, though he does use it frequently.
EDIT: Did I really forget to give the prime version three Qualities? Yes. Yes, I did.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Fallen Icons: Erzebet Sforza, some day to be Harrier
SYSTEM: ICONS
In the heart of New York City is a girl who will know the past.
Erzebet is the latest reincarnation of a Mongolian girl, Monkh, who was betrothed to the Khan Garuda in his human identity. He blessed her with eternal reincarnation, and she carries on his fight against the naga, or dragon-people. At some point in each life, she becomes aware of who she was and whose spirit she carries, and undertakes her mission. Khan Garuda gave her three things to help her in her fight: first, wings, with a magical flying harness; second, great strength and enhanced eyesight, which come when she realizes her identity; and third, a mace that came from the stars and that can damage any magic.
Erzebet is five. Her parents do not know. In fact, they are not even aware that they have a Mongolian ancestor. Her father, Jorge, is a janitor for a large industrial firm. Her mother, Katrina, is a seamstress.
If the naga discover who she is, they will kill her, and delay her reappearance by years.
They killed her when she was Harrier.
In the heart of New York City is a girl who will know the past.
Erzebet is the latest reincarnation of a Mongolian girl, Monkh, who was betrothed to the Khan Garuda in his human identity. He blessed her with eternal reincarnation, and she carries on his fight against the naga, or dragon-people. At some point in each life, she becomes aware of who she was and whose spirit she carries, and undertakes her mission. Khan Garuda gave her three things to help her in her fight: first, wings, with a magical flying harness; second, great strength and enhanced eyesight, which come when she realizes her identity; and third, a mace that came from the stars and that can damage any magic.
Erzebet is five. Her parents do not know. In fact, they are not even aware that they have a Mongolian ancestor. Her father, Jorge, is a janitor for a large industrial firm. Her mother, Katrina, is a seamstress.
If the naga discover who she is, they will kill her, and delay her reappearance by years.
They killed her when she was Harrier.
| Name | Erzebet Sforza | Prowess | 5 | Intellect | 4 | Determination | – |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 1 | Awareness | 4 | Stamina | 5 | ||
| Strength | 1 | Willpower | 4 | ||||
| Specialties | Athletics | ||||||
| Powers | None. | ||||||
| Qualities | A child | ||||||
| Many past lives, currently unknown | |||||||
| Hates snakes | |||||||
Harrier
Her last incarnation, Sheila Falcone, was an Egyptologist at the Smithsonian.
| Name | Harrier (Sheila Falcone) | Prowess | 6 | Intellect | 4 | Determination | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 5 | Awareness | 5 | Stamina | 12 | ||
| Strength | 7 | Willpower | 5 | ||||
| Specialties | Athletics, Investigation, Military, Weapons (Melee), Wrestling | ||||||
| Powers | Flight Limit: Indestructible winged harness | 5 | |||||
| Super-senses (+1 Enhanced sight, Telescopic sight) | 2 | ||||||
| Strike (Device: Mace of Garuda) | 8 | ||||||
| Extra: Secondary Effect (Nullify, Limit: Magic only) | |||||||
| Qualities | Hatred of snakes and naga | ||||||
| Remembers every previous life | |||||||
| Loves the people in her current life | |||||||
This image is from Deviant Art:
(Okay, what's with the bare midriff thing?)
EDIT: How embarrassing! I had transposed her Intellect and Determination. Fixed now.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Fallen Icons: Laurel Kitchen, formerly Nightingale
SYSTEM: ICONS
And Nightingale was one of the significant heroes.
So far as anyone knows, Laurel Kitchen owns two small businesses in town: a flower shop and a martial arts studio. She is mostly busy with raising her twins, Oliver and Felicity, and running the flower shop. It's a far cry from the days she brought down international drug cartels and stopped madmen from destroying the world.
Only a few years ago, she was the heroine Nightingale, child of the first Nightingale. She was married, tempestuously, to the aptly named Quarrel. When he died, she was pregnant with their children, though she didn't know it at the time.
She's not sure how her mother fought crime and raised a child at the same time: raising twins seems like more than she can manage, sometimes. Laurel is still good, but she knows she's not in crime-fighting trim any more. Yet. She plans on getting back to it, but the twins are babies still, and she has these twenty-five pounds to lose, and...
Well.
The assumption among the public is that she died when Quarrel did.
In the meanwhile, she turns out to be good at the business thing, and the ridiculously-named Saffron Thyme does a fine job of running the dojo and giving after-hours access to vigilantes who need practice or training.
And Nightingale was one of the significant heroes.
So far as anyone knows, Laurel Kitchen owns two small businesses in town: a flower shop and a martial arts studio. She is mostly busy with raising her twins, Oliver and Felicity, and running the flower shop. It's a far cry from the days she brought down international drug cartels and stopped madmen from destroying the world.
Only a few years ago, she was the heroine Nightingale, child of the first Nightingale. She was married, tempestuously, to the aptly named Quarrel. When he died, she was pregnant with their children, though she didn't know it at the time.
She's not sure how her mother fought crime and raised a child at the same time: raising twins seems like more than she can manage, sometimes. Laurel is still good, but she knows she's not in crime-fighting trim any more. Yet. She plans on getting back to it, but the twins are babies still, and she has these twenty-five pounds to lose, and...
Well.
The assumption among the public is that she died when Quarrel did.
In the meanwhile, she turns out to be good at the business thing, and the ridiculously-named Saffron Thyme does a fine job of running the dojo and giving after-hours access to vigilantes who need practice or training.
| Name | Laurel Kitchen | Prowess | 5 | Intellect | 4 | Determination | – |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 4 | Awareness | 4 | Stamina | 7 | ||
| Strength | 3 | Willpower | 4 | ||||
| Specialties | Athletics, Business, Drive, Investigation, Leadership, Martial Arts Expert | ||||||
| Powers | Sonic scream Limit: Must be able to speak. | 6 | |||||
| Extra: Burst (Constant: must happen for all Sonic Scream powers) | |||||||
| Extra: Effect [Stunning] | |||||||
| Qualities | Legacy of Justice | ||||||
| Single Mom, Double Children | |||||||
| Computers Hate Her, and the Feeling Is Mutual | |||||||
If the PCs need a place to work out, they might get steered to her dojo. Sure, during the after-school time it has a horde of children and moms who want to get in shape, self-defense classes and a little weapons work besides, but at night?
Some of the best in the world come there. The basement is not unfinished: it holds durable and high-tech equipment that can stand up to some of the toughest people in the world. The first aid service is excellent.
Nightingale
If you want to play her in her prime, she doesn't have the lack of sleep implicit in the Single Mom quality (among other things).
| Name | Nightingale | Prowess | 6 | Intellect | 4 | Determination | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 5 | Awareness | 4 | Stamina | 8 | ||
| Strength | 4 | Willpower | 4 | ||||
| Specialties | Athletics, Business, Drive, Investigation, Leadership, Martial Arts Expert | ||||||
| Powers | Sonic scream Limit: Must be able to speak. | 6 | |||||
| Extra: Burst (Constant: must happen for all Sonic Scream powers) | |||||||
| Extra: Effect [Stunning] | |||||||
| Super-Speed (Motorcycle) | 4 | ||||||
| Qualities | Legacy of Justice | ||||||
| I'm a Fighter, Not a Lover | |||||||
| Computers Hate Her, and the Feeling Is Mutual | |||||||
Here's an image from the always excellent Project Rooftop:
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Fallen Icons: Ape X, formerly The Streak
SYSTEM: ICONS
Deep in the bowels of the Center for Restraining Antisocial Hyperhominids, known familiarly as CRASH, is a gorilla. A telepathic gorilla. Ape X.
He has fantastic mental abilities, but the nullifiers on the floor prevent him from using them. The small community of sapient apes has not come to rescue him. He has betrayed them (for their own good, he'd say) too often.
He claims to be the Streak, the fastest man on the planet. The automated guards ignore him, because they know that Ape X plays the long game, and gorillas are long-lived animals. The only other ape to get the same treatment seems to be effectively immortal, so the long game might be very long.
His story, if it can be believed, is a simple one: Ape X traded minds with the Streak, but unable to control the Acceleration Field, that energy source that grants all speedsters their powers, the Streak's body disappeared, leaving only Ape X with the mind of a man.
It's silly, of course; the Streak is presumed gone, and another speedster has taken on his mantle, his legacy.
But your heroes might be used to control Ape X: his powers might be necessary for some reason or even his knowledge of where the Simian Troop lives, and then they would hear the entire story. If he's correct, he has nothing like the powers that Ape X used to have; those mostly went along with Ape X's mind.
Ape X is a former experimental subject, exposed to alien radiation, just like his former mate, Sunshine, the other immortal and mentally powered gorilla. He is not at his peak, having been in a specialized prison cell for several years.
You know all those powers that speedsters have? This guy, the Streak, he pretty much defined them.
This image is from Project: Rooftop and is by Jey Odin:
Ape X, or Apex as he was sometimes known, tended to stunt powers like possession or mind swap, or incredible inventions that he rarely used twice. He looked like this:
You could make the case that some of the Extras there are just stunts, but by the peak of his career, he did all of them pretty regularly. He gets a lot of Trouble or compels from his job, and his complex relationship with the Rogues...alternating being hunted by them and trying to help them. And then there's time travel mixed up in it...
Deep in the bowels of the Center for Restraining Antisocial Hyperhominids, known familiarly as CRASH, is a gorilla. A telepathic gorilla. Ape X.
He has fantastic mental abilities, but the nullifiers on the floor prevent him from using them. The small community of sapient apes has not come to rescue him. He has betrayed them (for their own good, he'd say) too often.
He claims to be the Streak, the fastest man on the planet. The automated guards ignore him, because they know that Ape X plays the long game, and gorillas are long-lived animals. The only other ape to get the same treatment seems to be effectively immortal, so the long game might be very long.
His story, if it can be believed, is a simple one: Ape X traded minds with the Streak, but unable to control the Acceleration Field, that energy source that grants all speedsters their powers, the Streak's body disappeared, leaving only Ape X with the mind of a man.
It's silly, of course; the Streak is presumed gone, and another speedster has taken on his mantle, his legacy.
But your heroes might be used to control Ape X: his powers might be necessary for some reason or even his knowledge of where the Simian Troop lives, and then they would hear the entire story. If he's correct, he has nothing like the powers that Ape X used to have; those mostly went along with Ape X's mind.
Current Ape X
Ape X is a former experimental subject, exposed to alien radiation, just like his former mate, Sunshine, the other immortal and mentally powered gorilla. He is not at his peak, having been in a specialized prison cell for several years.
| Name | Ape X | Prowess | 4 | Intellect | 5 | Determination | – |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 4 | Awareness | 4 | Stamina | 11 | ||
| Strength | 6 | Willpower | 5 | ||||
| Specialties | Athletics, Investigation Expert, Mental Resistance Expert, Wrestling | ||||||
| Powers | Super-Senses (Enh. Hearing, Enh Smell). | 2 | |||||
| Qualities | Forensic Scientist in the body of a gorilla | ||||||
| Out of touch for years | |||||||
| Honesty and Code of Honor | |||||||
The Streak
You know all those powers that speedsters have? This guy, the Streak, he pretty much defined them.
| Name | The Streak (Jay Bartholomew) | Prowess | 5 | Intellect | 5 | Determination | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 5 | Awareness | 4 | Stamina | 8 | ||
| Strength | 3 | Willpower | 5 | ||||
| Specialties | Investigation Expert, Power (Super-Speed) | ||||||
| Powers | Super Speed Limit: Needs an Advantage to go over 8 | 10 | |||||
| Extra: Defensive | |||||||
| Extra: Surface Movement | |||||||
| Extra: Effect [Fast Attack] | |||||||
| Phasing | 4 | ||||||
| Air Control Extra: Burst Limit: Extra only | 7 | ||||||
| Qualities | A Bit of a Square Forensic Scientist | ||||||
| The Rogues—It's Complicated | |||||||
| An Ourobouros-Like History and Future | |||||||
This image is from Project: Rooftop and is by Jey Odin:
The Prime Ape X
Ape X, or Apex as he was sometimes known, tended to stunt powers like possession or mind swap, or incredible inventions that he rarely used twice. He looked like this:
| Name | Ape X | Prowess | 5 | Intellect | 7 | Determination | – |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 4 | Awareness | 4 | Stamina | 13 | ||
| Strength | 6 | Willpower | 7 | ||||
| Specialties | Athletics, Mental Resistance Expert, Technology Master, Wrestling | ||||||
| Powers | Super-Senses (Enh. Hearing, Enh Smell). | 2 | |||||
| Telepathy . | 7 | ||||||
| Qualities | Genius gorilla | ||||||
| Hatred of people | |||||||
| I Will Do What's Best Even If They Hate Me | |||||||
Notes
You could make the case that some of the Extras there are just stunts, but by the peak of his career, he did all of them pretty regularly. He gets a lot of Trouble or compels from his job, and his complex relationship with the Rogues...alternating being hunted by them and trying to help them. And then there's time travel mixed up in it...
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Fallen ICONS: Daniel Hugo, formerly Exemplar
SYSTEM: ICONS
Daniel Hugo believed he was a strange visitor from another world, one who had been raised on Earth and fought for truth, justice, and the things he believed in. He worked that much harder at being human because he wasn't.
Years later, he learned that was only half true. Yes, there were significant amounts of alien DNA in his system, but he was essentially human, crafted from human eggs, sperm, and something that crashed in the Nevada desert. The scientists who crafted him built in a fail-safe: certain frequencies of radiation, when combined and not present with other radiations in the same ranges, would trigger an enzyme that excised the alien DNA from his system. They didn't know that just some of the frequencies would kill him, or that others would cause wild and unpredictable temporary changes. The rocks that produce these radiations got lumped together as Xenite.
The truth didn't come out for a long time: a "man hunter" had come to earth to find the missing alien and he discovered the base, the project, and the child. He destroyed the base and its backups and left the child in another state, where he was given the name "Daniel" and raised by the Hugos, a childless farming couple.
Years later, when the truth was revealed, someone pieced together the fail-safe and used it. Exemplar was just a man, but he continues to fight for truth and justice--now as a reporter. Few people know he was once Exemplar; they think Exemplar fell in battle or returned to his home planet. But Daniel knows. And if the heroes can help his fight for truth and justice, they might be told.
Daniel is a reporter and a blogger and an investigator. He retains most of his knowledge from his days as Exemplar, and he has picked up martial arts in order to stay fit and to protect himself.
Exemplar and the original character are, also, a creature of science. Implicit in the "Alien heritage" quality is the idea that it is not magic.
Thanks to Fred Hicks for suggesting the name "Exemplar." The Daniel Hugo name is my way of suggesting Hugo Danners.
Daniel Hugo believed he was a strange visitor from another world, one who had been raised on Earth and fought for truth, justice, and the things he believed in. He worked that much harder at being human because he wasn't.
Years later, he learned that was only half true. Yes, there were significant amounts of alien DNA in his system, but he was essentially human, crafted from human eggs, sperm, and something that crashed in the Nevada desert. The scientists who crafted him built in a fail-safe: certain frequencies of radiation, when combined and not present with other radiations in the same ranges, would trigger an enzyme that excised the alien DNA from his system. They didn't know that just some of the frequencies would kill him, or that others would cause wild and unpredictable temporary changes. The rocks that produce these radiations got lumped together as Xenite.
The truth didn't come out for a long time: a "man hunter" had come to earth to find the missing alien and he discovered the base, the project, and the child. He destroyed the base and its backups and left the child in another state, where he was given the name "Daniel" and raised by the Hugos, a childless farming couple.
Years later, when the truth was revealed, someone pieced together the fail-safe and used it. Exemplar was just a man, but he continues to fight for truth and justice--now as a reporter. Few people know he was once Exemplar; they think Exemplar fell in battle or returned to his home planet. But Daniel knows. And if the heroes can help his fight for truth and justice, they might be told.
Daniel Hugo
Daniel is a reporter and a blogger and an investigator. He retains most of his knowledge from his days as Exemplar, and he has picked up martial arts in order to stay fit and to protect himself.
| Name | Daniel Hugo | Prowess | 4 | Intellect | 4 | Determination | – |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 4 | Awareness | 4 | Stamina | 8 | ||
| Strength | 3 | Willpower | 5 | ||||
| Specialties | Art (Writing), Business, Investigation, Leadership Expert, Martial Arts | ||||||
| Powers | None. | ||||||
| Qualities | Midwestern Upbringing and Former Experimental Subject | ||||||
| Truth, Justice, and the North American Way | |||||||
| Web of Connections: Friends, Allies, Contacts, and Enemies | |||||||
Exemplar
With his powers, Exemplar looked something like this:| Name | Exemplar (Daniel Hugo) | Prowess | 5 | Intellect | 4 | Determination | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 7 | Awareness | 7 | Stamina | 15 | ||
| Strength | 10 | Willpower | 5 | ||||
| Specialties | Aerial Combat, Art (Writing), Leadership | ||||||
| Powers | Flight | 9 | |||||
| Damage Resistance Limit:Not vs magical effects | 8 | ||||||
| Blast (shooting) Heat vision | 7 | ||||||
| Super-senses: +1 Enh. sight & hearing, microscopic vision, telescopic vision, X-ray vision | 5 | ||||||
| Qualities | Truth, Justice, and the North American Way | ||||||
| Alien Heritage, Midwestern Upbringing | |||||||
| The Major Hero | |||||||
Notes
Another character with a huge history and a huge suite of powers, ranging from ubermensch to juggler-of-worlds. I chose to concentrate on only a few, and the player can use the "Alien heritage" quality to stunt the rest. In my mind, the character is a better man: whatever humans can do, he can do better. Strong? He's stronger. That strength gives him a toughness. He can see farther. Instead of leaping, he can fly. You could arguably put Super Speed and Life Support in there, but I prefer to stunt them. Most "normal" uses of Life Support are handled by his great strength, and the Super Speed was never consistent...it was always sort of an afterthought and never part of his schtick like it was for a certain other flash-y character.Exemplar and the original character are, also, a creature of science. Implicit in the "Alien heritage" quality is the idea that it is not magic.
Thanks to Fred Hicks for suggesting the name "Exemplar." The Daniel Hugo name is my way of suggesting Hugo Danners.
Monday, September 28, 2015
Fallen Icons: Ambassador Alfdisa, formerly Virago
SYSTEM: ICONS
Once, the heroine Virago was the emissary to man's world, eager to see what had happened on the outer crust of the earth since the Sitones had hidden themselves away, early in the days of the Roman empire. Now, the Sitones formally recognized, the former champion can no longer overtly fight crime. Her badges of rank as Virago, the Sitone champion, have been stolen by someone unknown, the person who killed her successor. Alfdisa (or just Disa to her friends) has too many responsibilities as the ambassador of the Sitones to man's world. She can't go after them herself. Even her invisible plane has been made visible, in recognition of the danger to air traffic.
She's strong, but no longer can she bounce bullets off her bracelets, or make people talk with the lasso of Freya. If the goddess wills it, she can fly...but Disa's life is not as pure as it once was, and the goddess sometimes holds back permission.
Someone has the bracelets. Someone has the lasso. Someone killed the last Virago. If she trusts the heroes enough, she'll ask them to help. She can offer some assistance, but it has to be behind the scenes. She can't run around doing the superhero thing any more.
As ambassador, Alfdisa no longer has the special devices and favors of the Virago; she has, however, cunning, and a network of favors and debts.
Disa has become a mover and a shaker, being the ambassador to much of the world. (Some countries still don't recognize the Sitones.) She has lost the favor of the Goddess and her people in many ways—diplomacy is an ugly business—but she's still strong, superhumanly so. As member of the ruling family of the Sitones, she is rumored to have in her the blood of gods.
In her prime, as Virago, chosen of the Sitones and the Goddess, Disa looked something like this:
From Kris Anka via Project Rooftop:
Once, the heroine Virago was the emissary to man's world, eager to see what had happened on the outer crust of the earth since the Sitones had hidden themselves away, early in the days of the Roman empire. Now, the Sitones formally recognized, the former champion can no longer overtly fight crime. Her badges of rank as Virago, the Sitone champion, have been stolen by someone unknown, the person who killed her successor. Alfdisa (or just Disa to her friends) has too many responsibilities as the ambassador of the Sitones to man's world. She can't go after them herself. Even her invisible plane has been made visible, in recognition of the danger to air traffic.
She's strong, but no longer can she bounce bullets off her bracelets, or make people talk with the lasso of Freya. If the goddess wills it, she can fly...but Disa's life is not as pure as it once was, and the goddess sometimes holds back permission.
Someone has the bracelets. Someone has the lasso. Someone killed the last Virago. If she trusts the heroes enough, she'll ask them to help. She can offer some assistance, but it has to be behind the scenes. She can't run around doing the superhero thing any more.
Ambassador Alfdisa
As ambassador, Alfdisa no longer has the special devices and favors of the Virago; she has, however, cunning, and a network of favors and debts.
Disa has become a mover and a shaker, being the ambassador to much of the world. (Some countries still don't recognize the Sitones.) She has lost the favor of the Goddess and her people in many ways—diplomacy is an ugly business—but she's still strong, superhumanly so. As member of the ruling family of the Sitones, she is rumored to have in her the blood of gods.
| Ambassador Alfdisa | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRW | CRD | STR | INT | AWR | WIL | Stamina | Determ. |
| 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 12 | – |
| Specialties | Qualities | ||||||
| Aerial Combat, Leadership Expert, Mental Resistance, Military Expert, Wrestling |
| ||||||
| Powers | |||||||
| |||||||
Virago
In her prime, as Virago, chosen of the Sitones and the Goddess, Disa looked something like this:
| Virago (Alfdisa) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRW | CRD | STR | INT | AWR | WIL | Stamina | Determ. |
| 7 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 | – |
| Specialties | Qualities | ||||||
| Aerial Combat, Leadership, Military Expert, Wrestling |
| ||||||
| Powers | |||||||
| |||||||
From Kris Anka via Project Rooftop:
Notes
Historically, Flight is a relatively recent power, but then there are several things that got lost by the end of the 1950s—like the pet kangaroo and that the lasso was originally a full-fledged Mind Control.Saturday, September 26, 2015
Fallen Icons: Big Brother, formerly Grim Justice
SYSTEM: ICONS
One of the products I very much like is the Iconic Legends series from Rogue Genius Games, which are ICONS versions of various comic characters with new names and backstories. (Jacob Blackmon and Mike Lafferty do the writing and co-creation.) It's an excellent series.
Anyway, to me, it seems that the biggest problem is that the characters in the series might overshadow the PCs. (Whether they do or not depends on your campaign or whether these characters are being played.) My proposed way to handle this is Fallen Icons: characters who cannot fight crime any more, but who obviously were closely modeled on existing characters. A second note talks about what needs to be changed to make them characters in their prime (or if those are extensive, a whole second character—it's ICONS; that won't be huge).
For whatever reason, all of the characters that RGG has released so far have Marvel characters are their inspirations; to avoid stepping on toes, I'll do DC characters. Here's one.
After a long and ultimately fruitless search for a cure, he switched tactics. He became Big Brother, the all-seeing information broker and aid to heroes everywhere.
One of his temporary solutions has been built into his wheelchair. The powered exoskeleton which he hoped would replace his legs has been built into his chair. Should an old enemy discover his identity, the chair unfolds legs and has enough power to let him function briefly, usually enough time to get away. There are also some weapons built into the chair so he can protect the bystanders who are there. He may have to succumb to his enemies—the Grimace, Blight, Quizzical, Bubastis, and others—but he doesn't plan to make it easy.
The original comics character is hard to convert: over his decades-long history he's been everything from grim avenger in the night to jolly costumed cop. So I picked and chose. You might have a separate interpretation, and it's perfectly valid.
One of the products I very much like is the Iconic Legends series from Rogue Genius Games, which are ICONS versions of various comic characters with new names and backstories. (Jacob Blackmon and Mike Lafferty do the writing and co-creation.) It's an excellent series.
Anyway, to me, it seems that the biggest problem is that the characters in the series might overshadow the PCs. (Whether they do or not depends on your campaign or whether these characters are being played.) My proposed way to handle this is Fallen Icons: characters who cannot fight crime any more, but who obviously were closely modeled on existing characters. A second note talks about what needs to be changed to make them characters in their prime (or if those are extensive, a whole second character—it's ICONS; that won't be huge).
For whatever reason, all of the characters that RGG has released so far have Marvel characters are their inspirations; to avoid stepping on toes, I'll do DC characters. Here's one.
Big Brother
Grim Justice (Spencer Fade) was one of the great trained heroes the world had seen, but even with the incredible good luck that some heroes have, a trained hero has a limited shelf life. Eventually, an augmented individual named Blight was as smart as he was, and stronger. After some years of crime fighting, Spencer Fade escaped with a broken back, paralyzed from the hips down.After a long and ultimately fruitless search for a cure, he switched tactics. He became Big Brother, the all-seeing information broker and aid to heroes everywhere.
One of his temporary solutions has been built into his wheelchair. The powered exoskeleton which he hoped would replace his legs has been built into his chair. Should an old enemy discover his identity, the chair unfolds legs and has enough power to let him function briefly, usually enough time to get away. There are also some weapons built into the chair so he can protect the bystanders who are there. He may have to succumb to his enemies—the Grimace, Blight, Quizzical, Bubastis, and others—but he doesn't plan to make it easy.
| Prowess | 6 | Intellect | 6 | Determination | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordination | 3 | Awareness | 5 | Stamina | 10 |
| Strength | 5 | Willpower | 6 | ||
| Specialties | |||||
| Athletics, Investigation, Martial Arts Expert, Technology, Weapons (in wheelchair) Master | |||||
| Powers | |||||
| 3 | Blast (hidden device in wheelchair) | ||||
| 4 | Gadgets (in wheelchair) | ||||
| 4 | Leaping (wheelchair unfolds into exoskeleton) Limit: Temporary | ||||
| Extra: Super Speed (Wheelchair/exoskeleton is motorized) Limit: Temporary | |||||
| Qualities | |||||
| Big Brother Sees All But Can't Walk | |||||
| Justice is a Harsh Mistress | |||||
| Old Enemies and Allies | |||||
Grim Justice
In his prime, his powers looked like this:| Attributes | |
|---|---|
| Coordination was 6 | |
| Specialties | |
| The Weapons specialty was Weapons (thrown), but only as a specialist. | |
| Powers | |
| 3 | Blast (Device: thrown baton) |
| 5 | Swinging (Device: Swingline) |
| 3 | Gadgets (Device: Utility belt) including Life Support, cameras, pocket crime lab, etc. |
| Qualities | |
| Instead of the Big Brother quality, he had "Billionaire playboy and philanthropist" | |
Notes
The original comics character is hard to convert: over his decades-long history he's been everything from grim avenger in the night to jolly costumed cop. So I picked and chose. You might have a separate interpretation, and it's perfectly valid.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Ex-Heroes
SYSTEM: ICONS
Rogue Genius Games does a series of heroes called Iconic Legends, where each hero strongly resembles a hero in the comics, so you could even (if you wanted) file off the serial number and give it a new paint job, and voila, there's that iconic hero for you. (And you should check them out; they're awesome. I've seen versions for Mutants & Masterminds and ICONS, and I think there are Supers! versions as well.)
Except that I kept running into the problem that I often have with iconic heroes from the comic books--they take the spotlight away from my guys. So I was thinking, what if they're all fallen legends, legends who have stopped fighting for one reason or another. It would be twice as much work, but you'd present them in their current state, and at their prime, so if someone wants to play with Batman (RGG has done no DC heroes yet), they can have the seriously overpowered version, or they get the bitter guy in a wheelchair who's still obsessed with fighting crime, so he's passing info on to the players. They can play Superman, or they can play the investigative reporter who knows lots of stuff but gold kryptonite took away his powers. They can play Wonder Woman or they can play the Amazonian ambassador who has the public eye on her too much to go in the field any more.
Time to go to work; a sample of this later.
Edited to add: So I'm tentatively calling this "Fallen Icons" and I'll do at least DC's big three. I'm using DC Adventures to guide my character choices: if they made it into the Hero's Handbook, they're possibilities.
Rogue Genius Games does a series of heroes called Iconic Legends, where each hero strongly resembles a hero in the comics, so you could even (if you wanted) file off the serial number and give it a new paint job, and voila, there's that iconic hero for you. (And you should check them out; they're awesome. I've seen versions for Mutants & Masterminds and ICONS, and I think there are Supers! versions as well.)
Except that I kept running into the problem that I often have with iconic heroes from the comic books--they take the spotlight away from my guys. So I was thinking, what if they're all fallen legends, legends who have stopped fighting for one reason or another. It would be twice as much work, but you'd present them in their current state, and at their prime, so if someone wants to play with Batman (RGG has done no DC heroes yet), they can have the seriously overpowered version, or they get the bitter guy in a wheelchair who's still obsessed with fighting crime, so he's passing info on to the players. They can play Superman, or they can play the investigative reporter who knows lots of stuff but gold kryptonite took away his powers. They can play Wonder Woman or they can play the Amazonian ambassador who has the public eye on her too much to go in the field any more.
Time to go to work; a sample of this later.
Edited to add: So I'm tentatively calling this "Fallen Icons" and I'll do at least DC's big three. I'm using DC Adventures to guide my character choices: if they made it into the Hero's Handbook, they're possibilities.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)