Oubliette (Original M&M 2E Builds)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Shock
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Re: Oubliette (Original M&M 2E Builds)

Post by Shock »

Wolf needs a missing hand drawback/complication
Michuru
Posts: 739
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Illinois

#323: The Samurai

Post by Michuru »

THE SAMURAI
(Power Level 10)


Real Name: Sanada Saemon-no-Suke Yukimura
Status: Residing in Tokyo
Height / Weight: 5’5” / 185 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Grey / Brown
Place of Birth / Date of Birth: The Matsushiro Domain / April 8, 1567
Home Dimension: Oubliette-137
First Appearance: Vindicators #634
Tags: #astaroth, #japan, #juuyuushi, #illuminati, #nephilim, #oubliette137

Physical Appearance: Yukimura appears to be a man in his sixties. Though he was once one of the most frightening warriors the world had ever seen, decades of peace have caused him to soften. Yukimura has put on weight in his ripened age.

Biography: The Sengoku jidai is a period of Japanese history stained with blood. No one knew that better than Sanada Masayuki. A year after the death of their father, Masayuki saw his two older brothers slain in battle, leaving him to lead the Sanada clan. Despite the little power the Sanada possessed, Masayuki managed to find success through what appeared to be skillful political maneuvering; the truth was Masayuki had an ace up his sleeve…

The eight-year-old boy he claimed was his second son had been adopted. Sanada Yukimura was actually the son of the fallen angel Astaroth, and as such, his infernal heritage afforded him the ability to glimpse into the future. Guided by the boy’s predictions, Masayuki lead the Sanada clan to success after success.

Years passed, and Sanada Yukimura quickly gained a reputation on his own. Known as the Crimson Demon of War, thanks to his blazing red eyes and the spectral katana he conjured, Yukimura won battle after battle. Despite his ability, his enemies triumphed over him, and he was defeated at the siege of Osaka Castle.

Desperate to stop his enemies, Yukimura looked to the future to discover how to crush Tokugawa’s forces. He saw a battle that would not take place for hundreds of years, and then he unwittingly jumped ahead in time to that moment.

Yukimura traveled from 1615 to 1869, where he suddenly found himself in Fushimi. The shogunate’s forces were going up against an allegiance of Kangun forces from Chōshū, Satsuma and Tosa. Unbeknownst to Yukimura, several familiar faces were on the battlefield: the Sanada Juuyuushi had thrown themselves behind the Imperialists battling their ancient enemy. Seeing the crimson flames blaze in battle caused Unno Rokuro to proclaim Yukimura was a hero who appears every hundred years.

Though Yukimura’s visions helped strike a devastating blow against the Tokugawa Bakufu, it was not without its cost: on February 2, 1868, the Imperialists took Osaka Castle and lit it ablaze.

Finding themselves without purpose, Sanada began to direct the Juuyuushi through countless more battles over the ages—the Blood War and both World Wars—all towards his goal of ultimately eliminating the Fallen.
  • STR 14 (+2), DEX 12 (+1), CON 14 (+2), INT 15 (+2), WIS 16 (+3), CHA 18 (+4)

    SKILLS: Concentration 6 (+9), Handle Animal 6 (+10), Intimidate 8 (+12), Knowledge (arcane lore) 5 (+7), Knowledge (history) 8 (+10), Knowledge (tactics) 8 (+10), Languages 1 (English, Japanese [base]), Ride 6 (+7), Notice 4 (+7), Sense Motive 4 (+7)

    FEATS: Accurate Attack, Attack Specialization 2 (katana), Benefit 1 (Status [Samurai]), Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 3, Equipment 1, Improved Block 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative 2, Inspire 3, Leadership, Power Attack, Precise Shot 2, Sneak Attack 4, Startle, Takedown Attack 2, Teamwork 3

    POWERS: Hellfire Control 10 (red; Alternate Powers: Emotion Control 10 [Flaws: Limited to One Emotion {despair, -1}], Nauseate 10, Strike 3 [katana; Power Feats: Improved Critical, Mighty; Extras: Penetrating {+1}]), Super-Movement 2 (Temporal Movement [future]), Super-Senses 4 (Additional Senses: Precognition)

    Equipment: ō-yoroi armor (+5 Toughness)

    COMBAT: Attack +10 (+14 katana), Grapple +12, Damage +2 (+5 hellfire katana), Defense +10, Knockback -5/-3 flat-footed, Initiative +10

    SAVES: Toughness +10/+5 without armor (+7 flat-footed/+2 flat-footed and without armor), Fortitude +5, Reflex +5, Will +10

    DRAWBACKS: Involuntary Transformation (hellfire beast, uncommon frequency, cannot resist, -4 points), Noticeable (glowing red eyes, uncommon frequency, minor intensity, -1 points), Vulnerable (mithril, uncommon frequency, major intensity, -3 points)

    COMPLICATIONS: Honor, Responsible (Sanada Juuyuushi)

    Abilities 29 + Skills 14 (56 ranks) + Feats 31 + Powers 31 + Combat 40 + Saves 13 – Drawbacks 8 = 150 points
Michuru wrote:Another entry in my "real people I've decided to pretend had a super-powered history" list, Sanada Yukimura is no stranger to people rewriting his story: he's appeared in Samurai Deeper Kyo, Sengoku Basara, Samurai Warriors... probably other series that being with 'S'...

The build pretty much speaks for itself: badass samurai, with some basic Nephilim abilities, and a power to explain why he's still around in the twenty-first century.
Last edited by Michuru on Wed Aug 16, 2017 9:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
Posts: 739
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Oubliette (Original M&M 2E Builds)

Post by Michuru »

Shock wrote: Wed Aug 16, 2017 9:53 pm Wolf needs a missing hand drawback/complication
Yeah. Some of these are going to need some updates. Right now, the goal is just to get them over here. Unlike the ATT, I can edit the RoninArmy builds, which lets me copy/paste the build, keeping my formatting. Formatting is kind of a bitch.

The Nephilim need to be trimmed to compensate for them losing 7 points in drawbacks and it struck me that I should be including everyone's status--are they dead or alive? In prison? On the run?--so I'll tackle those when I make a pass back through them this week. A few builds (Wolf) need their biography's fleshed out. There's nothing in there about Wolf being part of the Castration Squad...
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Illinois

My Design Philosophy

Post by Michuru »

I was about eighteen or twenty—somewhere in there—when I discovered Dungeons & Dragons. I was hooked from the start, and it wasn’t long before I was behind the screen. My uncle had been big into D&D throughout the seventies and—along with a trove of archaic tomes—pass on all of the knowledge he had accumulated in his tenure running tabletop games. “Rule Number One,” he told me, “it’s the DM’s job to kill the party.”

It was pretty much the worst piece of advice I ever received.

Some of my players might disagree with this, but when I create a character, I want them to be beaten. Not easily, sure. I don’t want it to be a cakewalk. When it comes to Mutants & Masterminds, the GM is expected to have some leeway with constructing the NPCs. We are not beholden to the same 15PP/PL limitations our players are typically held to. If that’s the case, though, what’s to stop a GM from unleashing his ego and using those limitless points to maximize his villain du jour’s resistances?

When I design a character, one of the first things I do is set up my budget. The majority of the M&M games I run tend to be focused on a super-powered high school, so the majority of the cast is PL 8, while the grownups are PL 10. These characters are built on 120 or 150 points, respectively. Sometimes they come in under budget. If that happens, my mild obsessive compulsive disorder kicks in and I will buy a handful of things to round their total cost to their nearest fifth.

The next thing I consider is how is this character going to be vulnerable? While my games heavily feature histrionics, my goal is never to completely eradicate the PC’s. I want to break their wills, not their bodies. Browse through a few of my builds and you might notice a recurring theme: PL 8 characters frequently have 10 points spent on their saves, while most PL 10 characters have 13 points invested here.

Page 19 of the Mastermind’s Manual features a table on level-based advancement. It’s an optional rule that I doubt anyone has ever really adhered to. Why would you? Half the fun of M&M is that you can build whatever you want. For me, however, I tend to use a smidge of this chart in my designs: my PL 8 characters typically spend 6 points on one save and 2 points a piece on the remaining two. Thorn, for instance, is stubborn as hell. Her big save is her Will, while her Fortitude and Reflex are pretty lacking. Underneath her is Leannán Sí. She’s more of a nimble character—more evasive than anything—so she sports +6 Reflex, and Fortitude and Will become her vulnerabilities.

Still, despite those characters acting as rivals to a PC, they’re not necessarily villains per se. Blackguard, however, is. He was created with the full intent of being someone the PCs would duke it out with. For him, I envisioned Bob being more physically stout than anything else: his big save is Fortitude, with Reflex and Will taking hits as a result.

Oftentimes these saves won’t even hit the character’s ceiling. Blackguard is a PL 10 character. With 7 points invested in his Fortitude—and a natural Constitution of 16—his Fortitude save is +10. It could be +15. Even if I’m determined to handicap myself by only giving him +7 to this save, I could still increase it by just buying his Constitution score up to 26, giving him a +8 modifier.

However, my problem with doing that is benchmarks.

Page 30 of the core rulebook has another table (I like tables) showcasing the ability benchmarks. Ability scores in the 26-27 range fall under the category of “Low superhuman”. As a Nephilim, Blackguard certainly has superpowers, thus… technically making him a superhuman… but look at some of the other benchmarks—specifically what those sporting ability scores of 20-25 are called.

Characters with a score of 20-21 are “Best in the world”; a score of 22-23 makes one the “Best in the world”; finally, “Best ever; peak of human achievement” is what those sporting an ability score of 24-25 are called.

Blackguard is not healthier than the healthiest man who ever lived. His constitution is not so legendary as to be considered the pinnacle of all mankind. Certainly, one could make the argument that this is a chart to show where superhumans could stack up when compared to the general population—hell, it says so right above the chart—but that’s not what my campaign world has been about. My campaign world has been about normal people who just happen to be born with superpowers, and unless that power somehow augments their physical or mental abilities, you’ll very seldom see those characters get much higher than 15 or so.

That being said, a few of my characters sport natural scores in this range. A few of them are outdated builds that I’ll eventually get around to adjusting, to better fit my current design philosophy; some have exceptions to the rule; scant few are deserved.

Ability Scores 20+
  • Abaddon (Strength 20, Dexterity 42, Constitution 20, Intelligence 30, Wisdom 56, Charisma 50): Abaddon is one of the Fallen—an angel who has been alive for thousands of years. He damn well better be this good.
  • Acrimony (Intelligence 20, Charisma 20): This is something I will likely revisit. Without his powers, Adonis shouldn’t be this charismatic, and while my intention was for him to be a natural prodigy, an intelligence score that high is inappropriate. It is likely that I’ll revisit this build (one of my first, actually) and bring his scores a bit more in line with the design philosophy I’ve held for the last few years. His Intelligence will likely be dropped to a 16, while his Charisma will probably hit his caps, courtesy of Enhanced Charisma.
  • The Astronomer (Intelligence 26, Wisdom 20): Isaac Newton has been alive for hundreds of years. When it comes to ancient characters, I have a tendency to give them higher mental stats to reflect the experience they’ve gained.
  • Baron Saturday (Dexterity 20, Wisdom 20): You don’t think the Baron should have stats this high? You need more rum!
  • Bestiary (Intelligence 20): Doctor Talley is intended to be the smartest person the Netherlands has to offer.
  • Entier (Intelligence 20): Entier is an artificial life form created in a laboratory, and as such it is not subject to normal benchmarks.
  • Libra (Intelligence 24, Charisma 20): Libra is an ancient wizard whose soul has been bound to a set of rings that enable his spirit to possess those who wear them. Libra doesn’t count.
  • Mezzanine (Dexterity 20): Mezzanine is an android created by Isaac Newton. She is not a normal human and therefore gets to be as nimble as the best gymnasts in the nation.
  • Paragon (Strength 20, Dexterity 20, Constitution 20): This is another build I’ve marked to revisit. Paragon’s abilities should be this high because of his powers—not because of anything he earned, and physical attributes that high imply a rigorous workout schedule comparable to the sort of guys who compete in the types of competitions where they tow semi trucks behind them.
  • The Serbian (Strength 20, Constitution 20): The bodyguard of Veljko Milinkovich, leader of the Albanian mafia, the Serbian is a normal human who hits two “best in the nation” benchmarks. The intention is that he is the strongest, toughest son of a bitch Serbia has to offer.
  • Silverback (Intelligence 24): Doctor Howell is intended to be the smartest person who ever lived. Granted, Isaac Newton has a higher score, but his is also earned by virtue of having lived for several thousand years.
Ability scores aren’t the only attribute I allow benchmarks to govern. Page 38 of the core rulebook outlines skill benchmarks: 1-4 ranks in a skill is noted as the basic level of training, with 5-8 ranks denoting professional level of training, and 9-12 indicating that the character is renowned for their expertise. It’s for this reason that you’ll seldom see one of my builds—the majority of them teenagers—sporting 10 ranks in Diplomacy. Even the adults don’t sport 12 ranks of Knowledge (physical sciences), given that they’re not exactly Neil deGrasse Tyson.

For my builds, 1-4 ranks in a skill usually represents a talent that the character honed on their own, with 5-8 representing some degree of training.

The blurb on skill benchmarks notes that those guidelines can also be applied to combat levels. Initially, my philosophy was that an Attack or Defense bonus of 1-4 was roughly about the best someone could hope for, with 5-8 representing actual martial arts training. I’ve begun to revise this recently—especially in regards to the students of the New Vindicators Academy. Given that the schools provide some basic self-defense training, some of my builds now reflect the students having +1 to Attack and Defense per semester at the school. For instance, Diyu is wrapping up his third year at the New Vindicators Academy of Asia. He has bought +6 to Attack and Defense (with both skills further elevated through feats, as a result of his independent martial arts training).

Adults like Blackguard, meanwhile, run into a ceiling at +8 to Attack and Defense. Bob doesn’t put in the time someone like Diyu does at honing his skill, so he’s not going to enter into the 9-12 range. His martial prowess is not so great that he’s renowned for his ability to bust skulls: he’s just a street brawler with a little bit of super-powers thrown into the mix.

While I certainly recognize that my builds could be more effective if I didn’t concern myself with such benchmarks—if I doled out more 16’s and 18’s for ability scores, gave the villains higher saving throw bonuses, or simply let them hit the ceiling for more of their combat stats, they’d be more than capable of giving the heroes a run for their money… that’s not what I’m interested in. My goal isn’t the decimation of the party (just their spirits). I’m more concerned with having fun and telling a halfway decent story than I am with winning the game. Nevertheless, as I begin to revisit some old builds, I felt the need to explain the rationale with some of the changes that will be made.
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
Posts: 739
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#324: Nightrider

Post by Michuru »

NIGHTRIDER
(Power Level 10)


Real Name: Bruce Jespersen
Status: Trapped aboard the Elpis, in an infinite loop, in Oubliette-4,219
Height / Weight: 6’ / 144 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Black / Blue
Place of Birth / Date of Birth: Fishkill, New York, United States / April 9, 1950
Home Dimension: Oubliette-137
First Appearance: Vindicators #481
Tags: #abaddon, #america, #armada, #nephilim

Physical Description: Tall and skinny, with short, dark hair and a piercing stare, Bruce favored modest but fashionable clothes. As the Nightrider, he cloaks himself in a flaming knight’s armor, with burning dragon’s wings and a sword.

Relationships: Mary Jespersen (mother; deceased), Samantha McKinnon (wife; deceased), Tabitha Jespersen (daughter)

Biography: In 1985, John and Colleen McKinnon came to New York City and pleaded for the Detective to hear their story… Their middle child—Samantha—had married her high school sweetheart, a professional chess player. Two years later, the couple welcomed a child into the world. Their first grandchild, the McKinnon’s looked forward to a life of spoiling Tabitha rotten.

Tragedy struck years later, when Samantha simply disappeared without a trace. For weeks, the town of Elmira pulled together to try and find her, but it proved futile. Eventually, the search was abandoned, and a distraught Bruce Jespersen moved what remained of his family away.

Almost a decade has passed without the McKinnon’s seeing their granddaughter… until a letter arrived. Tabitha was fifteen and on the cusp of graduating college. She didn’t have many memories of her mother, and reached out to her maternal grandparents. As their correspondence continued, Tabitha confessed that she was a Neo-Sapien—that she had inherited her powers of hyper-intellect from her father.

Slowly, the couple realized that their son-in-law may have employed his Neo-Sapien abilities to mastermind his wife’s disappearance and to bamboozle her loved ones into thinking he was innocent of any wrong-doing.

Seeking justice for Samantha, they handed the cold case over to the Detective, who agreed to look into it. He found that Bruce had moved frequently after his wife’s disappearance—that he and his daughter never stayed in the same place more than six months. Once he’d tracked the man down, he noticed peculiarities in his behavior: how the man seemed perpetually on-guard. The Detective approached him and was confronted by the man informing him that he’d already deduced the Vindicator’s secret identity—a secret he would expose if he did not cease stalking him.

Convinced of Bruce’s guilt, the Detective decided that pursuing justice was more important than preserving his secret identity. He moved to apprehend the man, only for Bruce to reveal a secret of his own: Bruce’s eyes flashed with black flames as he conjured a spectral sword and armor. Bruce’s powers consisted of more than hyper-intellect.

The two fought and ultimately Bruce escaped. The man began to bide his time and attacked again when the Detective least suspected it. Now calling himself Nightrider—after the chess piece employed in variants of the game—Bruce struck at the Detective and nearly killed him, were it not for the timely intervention of Falkenburg.

Over the next few years, the Nightrider’s list of crimes continued to grow until the Vindicators finally apprehended him in Germany. Given over to the International Criminal Court, the Nightrider was sentenced to life in prison.
  • STR 10, DEX 10, CON 10, INT 13 [33] (+11), WIS 10 [20] (+5), CHA 10 [20] (+5)

    SKILLS: Bluff 8 (+13), Concentration 8 (+13), Knowledge (behavioral sciences) 4 (+15), Knowledge (current events) 2 (+13), Knowledge (tactics) 4 (+15), Languages 1 (English [base], French), Notice 8 (+13), Profession (chess player) 5 (+10), Sense Motive 8 (+13)

    FEATS: Accurate Attack, Assessment, Attack Specialization 3 (sword), Defensive Attack, Eidetic Memory, Favored Environment 4 (air), Jack-of-all-Trades, Improved Block 1, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative 2, Master Plan, Power Attack, Speed of Thought, Taunt

    POWERS: Enhanced Charisma 10, Enhanced Intelligence 20, Enhanced Wisdom 10, Flight 5 (250 MPH), Force Field 10, Hellfire Control 10 (black; Alternate Powers: Create Object 9 [Power Feats: Precise, Tether], Emotional Control 10 [Flaws: Limited to One Emotion {despair, -1}], Mental Blast 5, Strike 9 [Power Feats: Improved Critical 1, Mighty; Extras: Penetrating [+1]), Quickness 4 (Flaws: One Type [mental, -1])

    COMBAT: Attack +4 (+10 sword), Grapple +4, Damage +0 unarmed (+9 strike), Defense +4 (+2 flat-footed), Knockback -5 (-0 flat-footed), Initiative +18

    SAVES: Toughness +11 (+1 flat-footed), Fortitude +3, Reflex +3, Will +12

    COMPLICATIONS: Involuntary Transformation (Hellfire Beast), Enemy (Detective), Quirk (Glowing Black Eyes), Vulnerability (Mithril), Temper (Pride)

    Abilities 3 + Skills 12 (48 ranks) + Feats 20 + Powers 86 + Combat 16 + Saves 13 = 150 points
Michuru wrote:Tattooedman requested more info on the fifth and sixth incarnations of the Vindicators, like their enemies. He also requested information on Neo-Sapien families. I decided to kill two birds with one stone.

Nightrider ("A shadowy flight into the world of a man... who does not exist...") was an idea I've had for a a few years, who got an overhaul a couple of years ago when I realized how well he fit with another build... If it isn't obvious, Nightrider's daughter grows up to become Erudite, whose middle child ended up possessing her body and used her to create Laputa and terrorized the New Vindicators Academy of Europe.

The build is pretty straight forward. I tweaked my Nephilim formula a smidge, taking away some of the excess points that they get for drawbacks that hardly ever come into play for an NPC. Instead, with the NPCs, it should be more of a complication.
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
Posts: 739
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Illinois

#325: Hessian

Post by Michuru »

HESSIAN
(Power Level 10)


Real Name: Heinrich Becker
Status: Unknown
Height / Weight: 6’4” / 238 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Blonde / Blue
Place of Birth / Date of Birth: Dresden, Saxony, Germany / October 2, 1952
Home Dimension: Oubliette-137
First Appearance: Vindicators #412
Tags: #armada, #fifthreich, #germany, #neosapien, #oubliette137

Physical Description: Hessian is an intimidating figure: tall and broad shoulders, he is typically wearing a stony expression with the black and red uniform several of the Fifth Reich wore.

Biography: The Vindicators IV had disbanded and now there was no one left to stop them. At least, that was what Lebender Schatten had believed. Now calling themselves the Fifth Reich, Lebender Schatten and Schadenfreude attacked New York City on New Year’s Eve, accompanied by a trio of new figures: Ersatz, Wehrmacht, and Hessian.

Little is known of Hessian’s past before the Vindicators first tussled with him. It is presumed that he has a military background, from the way he carries himself.

For years, the Vindicators and the Fifth Reich clashed. It was when the two teams of Vindicators teamed up that Hessian suffered his most humiliating upset: bested in battle by the youngest Vindicators, Halogen and Pandora. Unable to contend with the combined might of both teams, Lebender Schatten and Schadenfreude fled, leaving their teammates to the mercy of the heroes.
  • STR 16-36 (+3-13), DEX 14 (+2), CON 16-36 (+3-13), INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 10

    SKILLS: Climb 4 (+7-15), Intimidate 10, Knowledge (tactics) 3, Languages 1 (English, German [base]), Notice 2, Profession (soldier) 4

    FEATS: All-out Attack, Improved Initiative 1, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown Attack 1

    POWERS: Adrenal Surge 20 (Extras: Linked [Boost, +0]), Boost Leaping 2 (Power Feats: Slow Fade 2; Extras: Linked [Adrenal Surge, +0]), Boost Speed 2 (Power Feats: Slow Fade 2; Extras: Linked [Adrenal Surge, +0])

    COMBAT: Attack +8, Grapple +11-21, Damage +3-12, Defense +8 (+4 flat-footed), Knockback -1-6, Initiative +6

    SAVES: Toughness +3-12, Fortitude +6-15, Reflex +9, Will +3

    Abilities 16 + Skills 6 (24 ranks) + Feats 5 + Powers 28 + Combat 32 + Saves 13 = 100 points
Michuru wrote:Continuing with T-Man's request and my dual-purpose builds, Hessian is a piece of the Vindicators' past and also part of an existing character's family tree...

When I started up the NVAE game, I had seeded the idea that there were five kids who had been the school's first graduates. My intention was that they were going to be a group of antagonists for the PCs down the road, but... we haven't gotten there. Nevertheless, Hessian is intended to be the grandfather of one of them: Nadja Fromm, aka Tantrum.

As for Hessian himself, he should be a straight-forward build, but there's going to be a lot of record keeping involved in using him. I didn't want to tack Slow Fade onto Adrenal Surge because that's just cheap... So cheap... Combat rarely lasts more than a few rounds, and the idea that his stats never once drop in a fight is lame. Still, I have them on his Leaping and Speed. Basically, he activates his Adrenal Surge, gets the boosted movement powers, and they're set up to run out as his core power does. He can't use them without using Adrenal Surge and you can't use Adrenal Surge until it completely wears off, so... there you go.

Unfortunately, this means that every round, his Strength and Constitution drop a point each, which means that his Attack, Grapple, Damage, Toughness, and Fortitude change every other round. See? Record keeping.
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
Posts: 739
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Illinois

#326: Baron Malevolence

Post by Michuru »

BARON MALEVOLENCE
(Power Level 8)


Real Name: Stuart Clark
Status: In hiding on Oubliette-137
Height / Weight: 5’4” / 118 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Brown / Green
Place of Birth: Spokane, Washington, United States / September 3, 2009
Home Dimension: Oubliette-731
First Appearance: Tabula Rasa #13
Tags: #esper, #oubliette731, #societyscelerati

Physical Description: Stuart is short, lanky, bespectacled 16-year-old boy. As Baron Malevolence, he wears full-plate armor and carries a sword he had his dad buy for him at a Renaissance faire.

Realationships: Robert “Bob” Clark (father), Patricia Thompson (mother), Gayle Hogue (step-mother), Holly Clark (step-mother), Suzette Shaw (crush)

Biography: Stuart’s oldest memory is from when he was four-years-old: his parents were arguing—his father demanded to know who “he” was. Bob Clark knew that his wife was having an affair... he just didn’t realize Patty was having an affair with another woman.

Patty came out to her husband of seven years, and the two divorced. She married her partner—Gayle—and Bob turned to drinking. It was in AA that he meant Holly, another recovering alcoholic. The two began dating, and eventually got married. Suddenly, Stuart had two families… but no horrific backstory.

Stuart’s life is not marked by a history of abuse. It is not a tale of tragedy and loss. It is simply the story of a quiet, awkward young man who one day realized he had the power to control the minds of others…

Not long after discovering his powers, Stuart’s next-door neighbor, Suzette, had returned home for winter break. Stuart used his abilities to make her stay with him, and use her ability to help him steal all of things he now felt entitled to.

Unbeknownst to Stuart, Suzette had friends at her school—the New Vindicators Academy of America. Kim Forbes, Dirk Wolfram, and John Saxon requested the aid of Eric Vaughn in teleporting across the country. There, the New Vindicators confronted Stuart. He tried to use his powers to turn them against each other—a tactic that failed him when John grew several stories tall and grabbed Stuart.

When John threatened to lobotomize Stuart with a power drill, Stuart believed him and released his thralls. He was incapacitated then, only to wake up in Alcatraz. (Tabula Rasa #13)

Stuart was freed when the Radical Tomato began forming the Society Scelerati. Under the hacker’s direction, Stuart re-christened himself as Baron Malevolence and attacked the New Vindicators Academy along with the rest of his team. There, he used his powers to control Drew Loder and forced him to turn his magnetism-and-weather-manipulation powers on the rest of the student body. (Tabula Rasa #17)

Once the New Vindicators rallied, they pursued the Society Scelerati. It was Jim Loder who took on Baron Malevolence and his older brother. Though Baron Malevolence believed that their familiar connection would render the younger Loder powerless against him, Jim quickly demonstrated that he would have qualms with ending either of his opponent’s lives, once again evoking Stuart’s cowardly side and resulting in the Esper’s defeat. (Tabula Rasa #18)
  • STR 10, DEX 11, CON 10, INT 15 (+2), WIS 12 (+1), CHA 9 (-1)

    SKILLS: Computers 4 (+6), Concentration 4 (+5), Knowledge (popular culture) 4 (+6), Knowledge (technology) 4 (+6), Language 1 (English [base], German), Notice 4 (+5), Perform (wind instruments [clarinet]) 3 (+2), Sense Motive 4 (+5)

    FEATS: Equipment 6, Master Plan

    POWERS: Mind Control 8 (Power Feats: Subtle; Extras: Duration [Sustained, +1], Conscious [+1], Effortless [+1]), Mind Shield 8

    Equipment: Alabaster Genie (as camera, cell phone, computer, digital audio recorder, PDA, video camera), Bugatti Veyron (as sportscar), computer, full plate armor (+6 Toughness), glasses (removes disability), sword—4 free equipment points

    COMBAT: Attack +0, Grapple +0, Damage +0 (+3 sword [19-20 crit]), Defense +0, Knockback -3 (-0 without armor), Initiative +0

    SAVES: Toughness +6 (+0 without armor), Fortitude +2, Reflex +2, Will +3 (+11 versus mental effects)

    DRAWBACKS: Disability (nearsighted, -1 point)

    COMPLICATIONS: Enemy (John Saxon), Phobia (Stuart is afraid of being harmed)

    Abilities 7 + Skills 7 (28 ranks) + Feats 7 + Powers 49 + Combat 0 + Saves 6 – Drawbacks 1 = 75 points
Michuru wrote:And now for something completely different!

The Tabula Rasa game is set in an alternate future where everything was going great until the game started. Stuart here is one of the enemies the PCs have made in that dimension--essentially just a geeky kid who realized his true potential as an Esper and begins to use it to take what he wants--sort of a less sexy version of Paragon, because I'm pretty much out of ideas at this point. :D

Anyway, Baron Malevolence, whose initially are totally B.M., is a pretty crappy villain. He's chronically afraid of getting hit. Oh, he'll boast left and right when he has the upper hand, but as soon as the tables turn, he's curled up in the corner, quietly sobbing, pleading with his enemies to not hit him. There's about a 50% chance that he'll wet himself as soon as someone pulls back their fist to punch him. He's really not cut out for this line of work, but... eh.
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
Posts: 739
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Illinois

#327: Prince Napoleon IX

Post by Michuru »

NAPOLEON IX
(Power Level 8)


Real Name: Prince Napoleon IX
Height / Weight: 5’0” / 124 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Brown / Green
Place of Birth / Date of Birth: Paris, France /June 8, 1979 (15-years-old at the time of shifting)
Home Dimension: Oubliette-1127
First Appearance: New Vindicators Academy of Europe #20
Tags: #france, #neosapien, #nvae, #oubliette1127, #refugee

Physical Description: Napoleon looks like a normal fifteen-year-old boy.

Relationships: Emperor Napoleon VII (grandfather), Napoleon VIII (father)

Biography: Second in the line of succession for the throne of the Third French Empire, Prince Napoleon IX grew up never wanting for anything. The only thing he could not purchase or have his servants acquire was greater control over his powers. Though Napoleon’s abilities are not as matured as his father’s or his grandfather’s—the faster Napoleon moves, the less intense the flames around him become—he has never seen a reason to develop them any more than he already has. After all, if France ever went to war with another nation, the emperor would not be on the front lines! He would have armies to go into battle for him.

Nevertheless, in 1994, a 15-year-old Napoleon found himself wishing he were as capable as his predecessors. Napoleon had raised the ire of one of his cousins—someone who had taken his training seriously—and came under attack. In a panic, Napoleon started to run. A moment later, he found himself crashing through the window of a building that hadn’t been there seconds before. Worse, he was surrounded by strange people in strange uniforms and a group of Asians—obviously insurgents from the Empire of Great Japan, come to try and use him as a bargaining chip against his grandfather.

In reality, Napoleon had somehow accidentally pierced the boundaries of space and time. It was no longer 1994, but 2009. He was not in Paris, but Vienna.

Further, he was no longer in his home dimension, but rather on a parallel world.

Having just burst through the wall of the North Korean Embassy, Napoleon came under attack by one of the Specials bred by the Korean Military: Pak Dong-suk flew for Napoleon and moved to deliver the beating of a lifetime. The young man might have killed Napoleon had it not been for the actions of Magnitude, leader of the Volunteers. Magnitude easily incapacitated Napoleon and spirited him away to the New Vindicators Academy of Europe where his strange story slowly began to unravel… (New Vindicators Academy of Europe #20)
  • STR 10, DEX 10, CON 10, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 10

    SKILLS: Languages 1 (English, French [base])

    FEATS: Benefit 1 (Status [Prince of France, Oubliette-1127]), Equipment 2

    POWERS: Immunity 10 (fire effects), Super-Speed 8 (1,000 MPH; Dynamic Alternate Power: Energy Aura [fire, bitches!])

    Equipment: cell phone (as cell phone and digital camera), comm link, GPS receiver, New Vindicators uniform (+2 Toughness, Immunity 2 [cold and heat])—2 free equipment points

    COMBAT: Attack +0, Grapple +0, Damage +0, Defense +0, Knockback -0, Initiative +32

    SAVES: Toughness +2, Fortitude +2, Reflex +2, Will +6

    COMPLICATIONS: Obsession (returning home), Reputation (spoilt, arrogant, brat)

    Abilities 0 + Skills 1 (1 rank) + Feats 3 + Powers 53 + Combat 0 + Saves 10 = 67 points
Michuru wrote:A few people have noted that I introduced an alternate world without allowing anyone to come over from it (as I normally do), but the plan has been to bring Napoleon over for some time.

Napoleon's intended to be worthless right now. He's a rich kid who has never had to dirty his hands. He's never thrown a punch, much less taken one. He'll grow into his build as things go. In the meantime, his primary defense mechanism comes straight out of Dan McNinja's playbook: "Ninja's can't catch you if you're on fire." By standing relatively still, Napoleon can shift his points over to bump his Energy Aura to 8--and still have enough left over for Super-Speed 1! At the moment, that's about his only trick. He can either run fast or burn hot or run slightly less fast and burn slightly less hot. You get how it works.
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
Posts: 739
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
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#328: Durendal

Post by Michuru »

DURENDAL
(Power Level 10)


Real Name: Nanette Montauban (née Lefebvre)
Status: In custody; awaiting trial
Aliases: Voleur
Height / Weight: 5’4” / 114 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Black / Brown
Place of Birth / Date of Birth: Bayonne, Aquitaine, France / February 11, 1982
Home Dimension: Oubliette-137
First Appearance: New Vindicators Academy of Europe #14
Tags: #france, #neosapien, #oubliette137

Physical Appearance: Nothing stands out about Nanette physical. She is a woman of average build with shoulder-length hair who dresses modestly. As Durendal, she looks to be a ruggedly handsome man with a chiseled physique and a dimpled chin. In this guise, she wears a white singlet with a blue stripe down the right side of her body and a red stripe down the left. She wears white gloves, boots, and a cape with a golden fleur-de-lis on the chest and cape.

Relationships: Father, Mother, Roland Montauban (husband), Brother (deceased), Sister, Sister-in-Law (deceased), Niece (deceased), Niece (deceased)

Biography: There was something about Roland Montauban… From the moment Nanette saw the boy, she felt there was something special about him. The truth was that meeting him had caused her latent Neo-Sapien abilities to manifest: she had an ability to detect other Neo-Sapiens, and Roland was the first such being she had ever encountered.

Being around him, Nanette discovered another aspect of her abilities: she could cause a Neo-Sapien to lose control over their abilities; so long as they could not control them, she could use them, albeit with the caveat that she unwillingly adopted aspects of their personality. Roland’s ability to alter his appearance became unstable. As he shifted through numerous guises, she took on his. Their parents guided them, and helped Nanette to release Roland’s abilities.

Rather than hostility between the two families, the two families became friends. Roland and Nanette grew up together—they played together. As they entered junior high, romance blossomed. Neither had ever so much as kissed another person. They simply knew they were meant to be.

While still in high school, they petitioned for emancipation and were married before either’s seventeenth birthday. After graduation, they went to college in Paris, with Nanette eventually becoming a pharmacist assistant and Roland joining the police force.

Years later, Roland became involved in a shootout with the Milieu. Also there was a Reynard, a super-powered mercenary who employed his traumatic illusions in aiding the French mafia. The attack left Roland in a coma and his wife seeking justice.

With the Vindicators unable to respond to the Milieu’s activities, Nanette used her powers on her husband, giving herself the disguise of a stereotypical superhero paragon. Still, she knew that to wage war on crime, she would need actual power. She traveled to Băile Tuşnad, Romania, where she proceeded to use her powers on Lydia Amânar, Alina’s younger sister. Nanette’s powers caused Lydia’s latent ability to fly to manifest and left her without the ability to land.

A group from the New Vindicators Academy of Europe (Fluxx, Impasse, Quintessence, Sprite, and Ursa) arrived to save Lydia from floating away from the planet. While they worked with her, Nanette proceeded to seek out Lydia’s sisters—an act that eventually put her into conflict with the heroes. During the scuffle, Nanette took two of their powers: Impasse was no longer able to stop moving, while Ursa found he could not shift back to his human form. Moving to save lives, the New Vindicators allowed Nanette to get away. Without knowing her name, they christened her ‘Voleur’—the French word for ‘thief’. (NVAE #14)

Calling herself Durendal, Nanette began to make headlines for fighting crime in France. Called the French Superman, her country rejoiced that they had a savior. Her drive to do good caused her to arrive in Vienna when Siegfried’s mercenaries attacked the city. Joining Magnitude and Thorn in fighting Francois and Antoine Vitesse, Durendal offered to use her powers to make her countrymen lose control over their abilities—an offer Magnitude declined. (NVAE #17)

Durendal stayed in Vienna to help with the recovery process. During this time, she met Quwah and took his super-strength. Determined not to let anyone suffer like her boyfriend had, Sprite was determined to head off and confront Durendal. She was stopped by Fluxx, who convinced her to give him until the end of the day to rectify the situation diplomatically. When he was unable to do so, Sprite took off on her own, forcing her classmates to chase after her.

In Paris, Sprite called Durendal out. A debate began in the air and then continued on the ground. When Durendal perceived Fluxx’s bluff as a threat against the French citizens gathered around them, the situation unraveled. In the end, Durendal surrendered all of the abilities she had taken—including her husband’s morphing ability. (NVAE #18)

With Durendal’s identity exposed, France feared that the Milieu would move on Nanette’s family. Her family was put into protective custody. They underestimated the mafia’s reach, however: Nanette’s brother, his wife, and their children were killed by their own police guard. (NVAE #19)
  • STR 10, DEX 10, CON 10, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 10

    SKILLS: Bluff 4, Concentration 6, Craft (chemical) 6, Knowledge (current events) 2, Knowledge (life science) 6, Knowledge (popular culture) 4, Languages 2 (English, French [base], German), Notice 4, Profession 6 (pharmacist), Sense Motive 4

    FEATS: Equipment 2

    POWERS: Mimic 10 (All Powers; Extras: Duration [Continuous, +1], Extra Subject [10 subjects, +4], Linked [Power Control, +0], Stacking [+1]; Flaws: Limited [infernal descendants, -1]), Power Control 10 (Extras: Duration [Continuous, +1], Effortless [+1], Linked [Mimic, +0]; Flaws: Limited [infernal descendants, -1], Range [Touch, -2], Uncontrolled [-1]), Super-Senses 4 (Enhanced Senses: Analytical Detect, Extended Detect, Ranged Detect; Additional Senses: Detect Infernal Descendants)

    Equipment: cell phone, costume

    COMBAT: Attack +6, Grapple +5, Damage +0, Defense +6 (+3 flat-footed), Knockback -0, Initiative +0

    SAVES: Toughness +0, Fortitude +7, Reflex +7, Will +7

    COMPLICATIONS: Hatred (The Milieu), Quirk (takes on mental traits of mimicked subjects), Responsibility

    Abilities 0 + Skills 11 (44 ranks) + Feats 2 + Powers 84 + Combat 22 + Saves 21=140 points
Michuru wrote:Durendal is a concept I was very excited to dig into and, ultimately, failed to execute it to the best of my abilities. I think that this story could have been better had I taken my time with it--mostly to let the PCs see more of the good Durendal was doing over the course of multiple sessions... Let it become much more of a moral problem of do you stop someone who is saving the world, albeit at the cost of a few people's comfort? I could have played with that a bit more than I did.

So, the build itself... This is the base build, in it's final form. When Durendal first showed up, she was rocking nothing in combat, to show how inexperienced she was. The goal was that she would get a bit better each time she did something, sort of representing that she's really just some lady who's never so much as been in a brawl. Looking back, it's hard to really justify how she goes from 0 to 6 in under a week. Again, I should have spaced this out better.

I blame flynnarrel. :-p
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
Posts: 739
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Illinois

#329: Kenny O'Shae

Post by Michuru »

KENNY O’SHAE
(Power Level 0)


Real Name: Kenneth “Kenny” O’Shae
Status: In hiding in a magically-shielded cottage on an island
Height / Weight: 5’7” / 138 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Red / Green
Place of Birth / Date of Birth: Kilmallock, Ireland / September 14, 1972
Home Dimension: Oubliette-137
First Appearance: New Vindicators Academy of Europe #23
Tags: #ireland, #neosapien, #oubliette137

Physical Description: Kenny is a pale, gaunt man with curly red hair and a bushy beard—both of which are usually unkempt. While he does not care what he wears, he is typically barefoot.

Relationships: Seamus O’Shae (brother), Molly O’Shae (sister-in-law), Randy O’Shae (nephew), Bridgette O’Shae (niece; deceased), Ciana O’Shae (niece; deceased), Ava O’Shae (niece; deceased)

Biography: Kenny O’Shae was always an underachiever. In school, he did the bare minimum of what was expected in order to pass. As he transitioned into his teen years, Kenny found himself frequently in trouble with the gardaí, as he began to use his powers to grow and distribute marijuana.

When their mother passed away, Kenny’s older brother Seamus became determined to straighten the young man out. Seamus ran a local pub and soon put his brother on the payroll. Kenny lacked motivation, however, and continued to only do the bare minimum. He wasn’t truly happy unless he was outside—fishing or swimming or camping.

Eventually, Seamus married and started a family. His strong work ethic made him frequently absent from his children’s lives, and while the girls had their mother, Seamus’ only son clung to his Uncle Kenny.

A week before Randy’s fifteenth birthday, the youth woke up in the middle of the night to find the rest of his immediate family missing. Outside, he found them: his parents were sacrificing his sisters in a ritual meant to enhance Seamus’ Neo-Sapien talents. Randy fled, seeking out the only person he could trust: Kenny.

Together, the two fled Ireland for the United Kingdom. Kenny had heard of a division in the Secret Intelligence Service that dealt exclusively with super-powered beings. Not knowing who else to turn to, Kenny implored Randy to use his abilities to get them in touch with someone who could help.

They came into contact with William Arnett, director of MI18. Arnett decided that the best way to stop Seamus was to separate Kenny and Randy. Randy was old enough to be enrolled in the New Vindicators Academy of Europe, which William knew was magically warded against magical scrying. To protect Kenny, however, he called on the aid of another agent: the abjurer, Michael Hall.

Kenny said his goodbyes to Randy and was taken to the Shetland Isles. There, he was placed in a cottage that was warded against discovery. Four almost a year, Kenny remained inside, hidden until one fateful day…
  • STR 10, DEX 10, CON 10, INT 10, WIS 10, CHA 10

    SKILLS: Knowledge (arcane lore) 1, Profession (bartender) 3

    FEATS: Equipment 1

    POWERS: Growth 4 (Extras: Affects Others [+1], Duration [Continuous, +1]; Flaws: Limited [plants, -1])

    Equipment: None—5 free equipment points

    COMBAT: Attack +0, Grapple +0, Damage +0, Defense +0, Knockback -0, Initiative +0

    SAVES: Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Reflex +0, Will +2

    COMPLICATIONS: Obsession (self-preservation), Phobia (Seamus O’Shae)

    Abilities 0 + Skills 1 (4 ranks) + Feats 1 + Powers 16 + Combat 0 + Saves 2 = 20 points
Michuru wrote:Kenny is currently in possession of a magical item--a ring that can transport whomever puts it on to the Astral Plane, until they take it off.

Device 1: Super-Movement 1 (Dimensional Movement [Astral Plane]; Power Feats: Triggered [putting the ring on]; Flaws: Limited [whomever wears it, -1], Unreliable [takes six hours to recharge, -1]), Super-Movement 1 (Dimensional Movement [Material World]; Power Feats: Triggered [taking the ring off]; Flaws: Limited [whomever wears it, -1], Unreliable [takes six hours to recharge, -1])—3 free points
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
Posts: 739
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Illinois

#330: Caballero

Post by Michuru »

CABALLERO
(Power Level 8)


Real Name: Viktor "Vik" DeGallow
Status: Imprisoned on Oubliette-137 (NVAE #24)
Height / Weight: 5’6” / 162 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Black / Blue
Place of Birth / Date of Birth: Aranda de Duero, Spain / September 2, 1991
Home Dimension: Oubliette-134
First Appearance: New Vindicators Academy of Europe #12
Tags: #armada, #doppelganger, #neosapien, #oubliette-134, #spain

Physical Description: Viktor is a handsome young man who exudes smugness. Before his sentencing, he was seldom seen wearing anything other than designer clothes—typically preferring dark colors. He wears his hair long—to his jawline—and parts it down the middle.

Relationships: Alano DeGallow (father), Mother, Vicente DeGallow (brother), Sister, Robert Crawford / Blackguard (lover)

Biography: Viktor DeGallow quit school at the age of 14. He saw little need for it since his family was independently wealthy, and he just planned to mooch off them until he took over the family winery. His father seemed unconcerned with his only remaining son’s decision and welcomed the assistance on in the fields and with the business. A life of lazy days and excess then followed for quite some time, until just after Viktor’s seventeenth birthday…

A joyride on his new dirt bike and too much drinking resulted in Viktor crashing into the side of the local church. The bike was totaled, as were several of the walls of the building. The boy however, ended up wedged in a hill on the opposite side of the building.

Several weeks passed as the family fought off the press and the ensuing legal disputes, all the while trying to establish what was to be done with the Viktor. Ultimately, Viktor elected to make that decision for them. Almost a man, he decided to strike out on his own…

Viktor traveled across Europe, moving from metropolis to metropolis. However, he was accustomed to a particular sort of lifestyle—one he’d only been able to enjoy courtesy of his family’s money. Penniless in London, he decided to use his powers take what he wanted and plowed through the wall of a bank vault one night.

Viktor’s crime spree eventually won him the attention of Blackguard. The Nephilim took the young man in, and as the months progressed, friendship turned into something else. For the elder man, it was genuine love. For Viktor, however, it was convenience. Living at the Crawford estate supplied him with the sort of lifestyle he yearned for, and if all he had to do to maintain that was feign attraction to the other man, so be it.

One night, as they climbed into bed, there was a flash of light. Though they still found themselves in the master bedroom of Crawford Manor, the décor had noticeably changed. Ultimately, they discovered that they had been transported to another dimension…

As the months passed, Bob and Vik began to seek out a way to return to their world. Their search led them to Siegfried, who offered to help them, on the condition that they took part in an attack he was planning.

Their part in the plan was simple: lay siege to Kunsthistorisches Museum. The two did as required, but came into conflict with a group from the New Vindicators Academy of Europe: Pict, Greystone, Candyman, and Maze arrived to put a stop to their carnage. A battle ensued, and when Vik awoke, he was in custody.

The New Vindicators handed him over to the Hague, to stand trial for his crimes. He was sentenced to life in Pandora, where he eventually found himself joining the Armada. For well over a year, he and Blackguard served them on the mining team—aiding in the destruction of hundreds of worlds. It wasn’t until their arrival on Oubliette-720 that the pair’s spree was stopped, this time by the combined forces of Taheka and Tornado Allie.
  • STR 14 (+2), DEX 10, CON 14 (+2), INT 8 (-1), WIS 12 (+1), CHA 14 (+2)

    SKILLS: Bluff 4, Diplomacy 4, Knowledge (business) 3, Languages 1 (English, Spanish [base]), Notice 4, Sense Motive 4

    FEATS: Attractive 1, Endurance 1, Fast Overrun, Improved Overrun, Improved Trip, Move-by Action, Takedown Attack 1

    POWERS: Container 9 (Immovable 8 [Extras: Unstoppable {+1}], Protection 10 [Extras: Impervious 8 {+1}], Speed 4 [100 MPH], Super-Movement 2 [air walking], Super-Strength 4 [Flaws: Limited [only while in motion, -1]; Extras: Affects Others [+1]—1 free power point)

    COMBAT: Attack +4, Grapple, Damage, Defense +4 (+2 flat-footed), Knockback, Initiative +0

    SAVES: Toughness +12 (+8 impervious), Fortitude +7, Reflex +0, Will +6

    Abilities 12 + Skills 5 (20 ranks) + Feats 7 + Powers 54 + Combat 32 + Saves 10 = 120 points
Michuru wrote:Caballero is the doppelganger of Impasse, one of the original PCs in the NVAE game. As such, I used the player's stats as a basis for how to build him. They should be similar, albeit with some differences. The main one being that Caballero's impervious works against energy, but he can't extend his abilities to more than one person.
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
Posts: 739
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Illinois

#331: Akkorokamui

Post by Michuru »

AKKOROKAMUI
(Power Level 10)


Real Name: Jiro Yamaguchi
Status: Trapped on Oubliette-2 (Tabula Rasa #25)
Height / Weight: 5’5” / 124 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: None / Gold
Place of Birth / Date of Birth: Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan / March 7, 1975 (42-years-old at the time of sentencing)
Home Dimension: Oubliette-514
First Appearance: Tabula Rasa #25
Tags: #armada, #japan, #neosapien, #oubliette514

Physical Description: While Akkorokamui casts the shadow of a man, closer inspection reveals how far he his abilities have mutated his physiology. His hairless, soft skin has a slimy, velvety feel to it; while it changes its pigment to allow him to blend in with his surroundings, it is naturally a light reddish-brown color.

Akkorokamui’s head is perhaps his most alien feature: large, golden eyes hold horizontal, bar-like pupils; four small tentacles protrude from the area around his maw, where a beak resides in lieu of a mouth or nose.

Biography: At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the conflict between Japanese whaling companies and environmental activists escalated. Activities boarded whaling ships, attacking crew members; whalers hurled flashbang grenades at conservationist ships; an Australian ship rammed a Japanese vessel as it loaded a harpooned minke whale… In an effort to curb the activists’ involvement, the Academy for Cetacean Research hired the mercenary known as Akkorokamui.

Using his Neo-Sapien abilities to stalk activist ships, Akkorokamui boarded them in the night and proceeded to kill everyone on board. For years, he stalked the seas, ensuring that commercial whalers were able to continue unimpeded.

It wasn’t until Akkorokamui attacked a ship captained by Mandy King that he encountered any resistance. The Australian woman had recently begun a relationship with one of the Tokyo-based Vindicators, Samebito. There on one of her voyages, Samebito was able to fight Akkorokamui off. The murderer threw himself and his opponent into the water, ignorant of Samebito’s ability to transform into an anthropomorphic shark.

Bested by the hero, he was apprehended, but managed to escape shortly thereafter. Calling in reinforcements, Samebito began searching for the criminal, and ultimately they clashed again. Better prepared this time, they managed to capture and hold Akkorokamui. Fearing that he would escape a regular prison, Akkorokamui was sentenced to life on Pandora.

Here, he joined the Armada’s logistics crew. After learning of dimensions devoid of super-powered beings, he took advantage of Ganze’s newfound ability to travel to specific dimensions. Along with Vociferant, Basilisk, Breeder, and Swerve, he joined the Catherine and escaped to Oubliette-2, a world where Neo-Sapiens had never appeared.

As the five began to conquer the planet, the Drifter arrived, bringing with her six super-powered teens from Oubliette-731: Aisha Stein, Cyndi Brightman, Derryl Isaacson, Dirk Wolfram, Eric Vaughn, and John Saxon.

John, reeling from an encounter with Pandemonium, where he had been forced to take the lives of several innocent people, took no issue with ending the lives of the Armada members. While he killed the other four, Akkorokamui managed to escape into the Arctic Ocean. The New Vindicators destroyed the Catherine before the Astrolabe returned them to their home world, leaving Akkorokamui stranded on a world with no other super-powered beings.
  • STR 12 (+1), DEX 12 (+1), CON 14 (+2), INT 10 [20] (+5), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 10

    SKILLS: Concentration 4 (+6), Escape Artist 8 (+9), Intimidate 8, Knowledge (history) 5 (+10), Languages 1 (English, Japanese [base]), Medicine 2 (+4), Notice 4 (+6), Sense Motive 4 (+6), Stealth 8 (+9)

    FEATS: Favored Environment (underwater) 4, Fearless, Jack-of-all-Trades, Master Plan, Startle

    POWERS: Additional Limbs 3 (four tentacles; Power Feats: Ambidexterity), Anatomical Separation 8 (Extras: Variable Split [+1]; Flaws: Limited [limbs, -1]; Drawbacks: One-Way Transformation [uncommon frequency; major intensity; -3 points]), Concealment 2 (visual; Flaws: Blending [-1]), Dazzle 10 (visual; Alternate Powers: Drain Constitution 10) Enhanced Intelligence 10, Immunity 1 (suffocation [underwater]), Insubstantial 1, Protection 8, Regeneration 6 (Recovery Rate [Disabled 4 {5 minutes}, Injured 2 {5 minutes}]; Power Feats: Persistent, Regrowth), Swimming 2 (25 MPH)

    COMBAT: Attack +8, Grapple +9, Damage +1, Defense +8 (+4 flat-footed), Knockback -5, Initiative +1

    SAVES: Toughness +10, Fortitude +5, Reflex +4, Will +9

    Abilities 12 + Skills 11 (44 ranks) + Feats 8 + Powers 74 + Combat 32 + Saves 13 = 150 points
Michuru wrote:Akkorokamui is pretty much just an octopus man--a lot of random utility powers that will let him tear through some bystanders, but he's not going to be a threat to a team of heroes. Sure, maybe he'll get the drop on one, but... then the others can effectively put him him down. If anyone is going to use such a villain, he benefits from either working behind the scenes to manipulate a situation, gathering a team that can keep the pressure off himself, or just outright avoiding such staggering odds. On his own, he'll stick close to the water, so that he has an easy escape route if things go south quickly. He isn't above hit-and-run tactics. A GM who isn't so concerned with keeping his NPCs on a 15pp/PL budget might want to invest in some Improved Initiative and Sneak Attack.
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
Posts: 739
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Illinois

#332: Skein

Post by Michuru »

SKEIN
(Power Level 10)


Real Name: Christopher Curto
Status: Imprisoned on Oubliette-137 (NVAE #24)
Height / Weight: 6’ / 158 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Brown / Green
Place of Birth / Date of Birth: Dubuque, Iowa, United States / November 8, 1997 (19-years-old at the time of sentencing)
Home Dimension: Oubliette-514
First Appearance: New Vindicators Academy of Europe #22
Tags: #armada, #neosapien, #nva, #oubliette514, #usa

Physical Description: Christopher is a tall, gangly young man with a freckled face and a dimpled chin. While he always preferred to wear his hair cut short, a lack of a barber amongst the Armada forced him to grow it out and tie it back behind his head.

Biography: Christopher Curto didn’t see the bus. The high school sophomore was crossing the street as the bus pulled up to his school. The driver slammed on the brakes, but he wasn’t in time. Christopher was hit, and his Neo-Sapien powers manifested to save him.

Christopher’s body unraveled itself. Under the bus, Christopher now only vaguely resembled a human. He had the semblance of a person, but his entire body was now composed of one long strand of something rope-like.

It was an event that made Christopher a candidate for the New Vindicators Academy of America, and he was soon enrolled. There, he began to learn about his powers: he learned that by further unraveling himself he could slip through cracks and holes; he discovered that he could wrap himself around a person, restricting their movement or even strangling them.

He made friends. His roommate quickly became his best-friend: Darnell Washington was a young man capable of summoning will-o’-wisps—orbs of light he could communicate with. He also met Contessa Stevenson, a girl who could turn invisible so long as she held her breath.

The three were inseparable throughout their years at the institute. Their senior year, Contessa revealed that she was pregnant. Christopher immediately asked her to marry him. Months after they had graduated, Tessa’s water broke, and soon she gave birth to a baby girl who wasn’t the same color as her parents.

Confronted, Tessa revealed that she had cheated on Christopher with Darnell. She begged for forgiveness, and he gave it to her, promising to raise Bethany as if she were his own. Still, Darnell refused to leave the family alone. He insisted that he should be allowed to see his daughter, and tried to convince Tessa to leave Christopher to be with him. Finally, in an act of rage, Christopher transformed and wrapped himself around Darnell. When he let go, he realized to his horror that the damage had been done: he had killed his best-friend.

Seeing the horrified look on his wife’s face—the way she shielded their daughter from him with her own body—he fled their apartment. Soon, the Vindicators were called in to apprehend him. Panicked, Christopher fought back when they found him, nearly killing Solar Flare before Boson managed to incapacitate him.

Given his abilities, Christopher could easily escape from Alcatraz, and the decision was made to instead exile him to Pandora. There, he joined up with the Armada, and became hardened after a year of destroying worlds.

As Skein, he ultimately ended up on Oubliette-137. Alongside Schwindel, Skein found himself in battle with Magnitude and Manticore. Though he nearly had incapacitated Manticore, Magnitude effortlessly took down both Skein and his partner, before transporting them to the New Vindicators Academy of Europe for holding.
  • STR 10, DEX 14 (+2), CON 10, INT 10, WIS 12 (+1), CHA 14 (+2)

    SKILLS: Bluff 8 (+10), Notice 4, Sense Motive 8 (+9)

    FEATS: Evasion 1, Taunt

    POWERS: Container 24 (Elongation 10, Enhanced Defense 10, Enhanced Feats 1 [Elusive Target], Immunity 32 [critical hits, Fortitude effects], Insubstantial 1, Protection 10, Snare 10 [Power Feats: Accurate 5, Chokehold, Reversible, Teether; Extras: Constricting {+1}, Engulf {+0}], Super-Movement 1 [Slithering]; 2 free points)

    COMBAT: Attack +0 (+10 snare), Grapple +10, Damage +0, Defense +10 (+5 flat-footed), Knockback -5, Initiative +2

    SAVES: Toughness +10, Fortitude +3, Reflex +9, Will +4

    Abilities 10 + Skills 5 (20 ranks) + Feats 2 + Powers 120 + Combat 0 + Saves 13 = 150 points
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Michuru
Posts: 739
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:26 pm
Location: Illinois

#333: Ultra Mauler

Post by Michuru »

ULTRA MAULER
(Power Level 8)


Real Name: Roselyn Arnett-Rexroth
Status: Enrolled at the New Vindicators Academy of Europe on Oubliette-137
Height / Weight: 4’6” / 72 lbs.
Hair / Eyes: Dishwater-blonde / Blue
Place of Birth / Date of Birth: Vienna, Austria / August 4, 2018 (7-years-old at first appearance)
Home Dimension: Oubliette-8,634
First Appearance: New Vindicators Academy of Europe #24
Tags: #oubliette8634, #neosapien, #nvae

Physical Description: Though only ten-years-old, Ultra Mauler is one of the few surviving Neo-Sapiens on her world, and as such is a full-fledged Vindicator. The only clothes she owns is her uniform. The sleeves and legs of it are short, and it sports a hood in the back, which she frequently leaves off.

Relationships: Jack Rexroth (father; deceased), Kirstie Arnett-Rexroth (mother; deceased), Boffin (mentor; deceased), Robert Crawford (Paladin; mentor), Shelby DeGallow (Cacophony; teammate), Logan Dekker (Dispatch; teammate), Lloyd Caspian (Ion; teammate), Charles Catargi (Kelpie; teammate)

Biography: In 2025, a war between super-powered beings has left the Neo-Sapien race nearly extinct. Only five teenagers survived and, as they were hunted by Espers, hiding was out of the questioned. Fighting back was illogical, given their lack of experience. The only strategy open to them was to run, and for a time, that was enough…

…And then Paladin arrived.

A hero from another world, Paladin appeared from nowhere and immediately joined their cause—helping to train them to fight back against those who hunted them.

Under Paladin’s tutelage, Ultra Mauler began to learn to defend herself. For months, she fought a seemingly endless battle against the Espers. Then, the Drifter arrived, and took the Vindicators of that world to another battlefield, to fight a much different war for survival.

Ultra Mauler and her companions were taken to Oubliette-137, where the Armada had arrived. Together, they moved to save the city from the saucers, only to encounter another of Paladin’s students, the Blue Knight. Following him to the New Vindicators Academy of Europe, Ultra Mauler got to meet her father, the New Vindicator known as Greystone.

When the talk turned to working to take the fight to the Armada’s doorstep, Ultra Mauler quickly volunteered to be part of her father’s team, joining Candyman, Key, Shiver, Sublime, Vespertine, and Viscosity on their mission to take over the Elpis’ command deck.
  • STR 6 (-2), DEX 11, CON 10, INT 9 (-1), WIS 9 (-1), CHA 8 (-1)

    SKILLS: Knowledge (popular culture) 2 (+1), Survival 2 (+1)

    FEATS: Disarming 3, Equipment 1

    POWERS: Reflection Field 1 (Flaws: Limited [energy, -1]), Shapeshift 4 (Flaws: Limited [humanoid forms only, -1])

    Equipment: Vindicators Uniform (+2 Toughness, Immunity 2 [cold and heat])

    COMBAT: Attack +2, Grapple +0, Damage -2, Defense +2 (+1 flat-footed), Knockback -0, Initiative +0

    SAVES: Toughness +1, Fortitude +2, Reflex +2, Will +4

    DRAWBACKS: Disability (-1 Toughness, uncommon, minor)

    Abilities -7 + Skills 1 (4 ranks) + Feats 4 + Powers 31 + Combat 8 + Saves 9 – Drawbacks 1 = 45 points
Michuru wrote:Ultra Mauler quickly went through some personality changes. The first time I posted for her, she was coming off a little too much like Herta: a little girl with a mouth like a sailor. The next time we saw her, she was more bubbly and innocent, which I felt makes her more like her own person. I brought her age down a smidge to represent that. The first time she comes in, I mention she's 12ish. Really, 10 is probably still a bit old for how I'm handling her--from her pendant for using the wrong word, to her eagerness to impress her dad with the oddest of things.

As for her build? I wanted her to be a kid. I took aspects of the kid template and toned them back a bit. Her mental attributes aren't inline with your average adult--she needs to grow into those--and despite growing up in a war zone, she's got that disability, because... well, she really is just a kid. She's only able to hit her caps by shifting--either getting some really razor sharp claws (Strike 13) or some thick scales (Protection 13). With her limited pool of points she won't be doing a whole lot else with those--maybe get some flight--but she certainly isn't going to cap her Toughness and damage simultaneously.
NVAE Setting - VP: 5
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Oubliette (Original M&M 2E Builds)

Post by Jabroniville »

Horsenhero wrote: Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:16 am I don't think I've wanted to see a character die as badly as I wanted to see Deimos die. While his defeat leaves open the potential for his return at some point through some sort of deus ex machina and he has value as a villain...I hated this character so, so very much. Even if he never pops his head up again something about his fate just seems unsatisfactory to me, but it works well in the story...so there's that. :roll:
What was so hate-able about him :)?
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