Echoes of the Multiverse

What level of Sidekick would be required for a generic elephant as a buddy?

Jab's version - 17
Core version - 13

FuzzyBoots wrote: ↑Tue Jan 30, 2018 1:36 am Jab's version - 17
Core version - 13

Thanks!

A new question, regarding lions:

How many ranks in Sidekick would be required to have a lion as the Sidekick?

Ill follow fuzzys lead here

Jabs build 17 for Lionesses, 19 For Lions

Core version rank 10

catsi563 wrote: ↑Mon May 28, 2018 7:38 pm Ill follow fuzzys lead here

Jabs build 17 for Lionesses, 19 For Lions

Core version rank 10

Thanks!

This is for 2e, however!

For all your M&M2e Beasties and Bogans, I highly recommend Prodigy Duck’s old thread.

I do have 2e versions from way, way back, too:

AFRICAN ELEPHANT
(Ceratotherium simum)
PL 9 (70), Minion Rank 5, Sidekick Rank 14
ST 30 (+10) DEX 8 (-1) CON 20 (+5) INT 3 (-3) WIS 13 (+1) CHA 7 (-2)

Skills:
Intimidate 8 (+6)
Notice 8 (+9)
Survival 4 (+5)

Feats:
Endurance, Fast Overrun, Improved Critical (Slam), Power Attack, Rage

Powers:
Speed 1 [1]
Protection 5 (Extras: Impervious 5) [10]
"Trunk" Additional Limb 1 [1]
Super-Senses 5 (Scent, Tremorsense- Half Effect) [3]
"Tusks" Strike 1 (Feats: Mighty) [1]

Growth 10 (Feats: Innate) (Flaws: Permanent) [21]

Saves:
Toughness +10, Fortitude +11, Reflex +1, Will +6

Combat:
Attack +10 (+7 Size), Damage +10 (+11 Tusks), Defense +4 (+1 Size), Initiative -1

Drawbacks:
No Hands [-4]
Mute [-4]
Poor Vision [-2]

Abilities: -9 / Skills: 20--5 / Feats: 6 / Powers: 38 / Saves: 13 / Combat: 28 / Drawbacks: -10 (70)

Classification: Grazing giant herbivore
Colouring: Gray
Grouping: Herds with dominant males
Habitat: Savannah, grasslands, jungle
Offspring: One calf
Diet: Leaves, vegetation
Tactics: Bull charge, lying on top of enemies with sheer weight
Similar Animals: Indian Elephant, Pygmy Elephants, Mastodon & Mammoth, Indricotherium (massive Rhino ancestor- largest mammal that ever walked)

-Elephants are among the most famous and frequently-used animals ever in fiction, given that they're larger than any other land mammals. In terms of raw, terrifying power, consider the following: They're so dangerous that pubescent males can go on a serial killing spree on RHINOS; it once took 72 bullets fired by police officers to kill a female Indian (that's the SMALLER kind) Elephant that went nuts and killed it's trainer; a lone female managed to outlast and tire out a pride of FIFTEEN lionesses that were all crawling on her back; they can throw tractor tires like they were nothing; the tame ones can be used to replace farm machinery; and finally, herds of them are known to deliberately attack villages in Africa and India, killing dozens of people, in one of the only instances of deliberate aggression against humanity by an animal! For these reasons and others, they're covered the world over in fiction: Dumbo, Horton (the one that Heard the Who), the Ice Age Mammoth, etc.

-Elephants fit into campaigns just fine. If a zoo breakout happens, guess what the top threat to the heroes is? In a fantasy campaign, they can be used as mounts for Giants (becoming supremely awesome in the process), or a Lord of the Rings-style howdah-bearing unit with dozens of archers atop it, or just a monster in it's own right.

-PL 9, mainly due to inaccuracy, Elephants are among the biggest threats the animal kingdom could ever offer, bringing to bear massive power, size and weight. Expect them to use Rage and Power Attack as early as possible, making a massive charge on the enemy and just going nuts. In real life, Elephants tend to just kneel down and smush their opponent using their forehead and massive weight, but they can kick, stomp and slam with the best of them. They're harder than hell to kill (Impervious Toughness 5), and no other animal in Africa will screw with them. The M&M rulebook leaves out their advances senses, which I have included here- they have advanced senses of smell, and can detect low-key vibrations in the ground, thus telling where water, each other, and predators are. They also have pretty bad vision, being so high up and having eyes so far apart.

Variants on Stats:
Indian Elephant: PL 8 (68)--(ST 28, Wisdom 15, Atk +6)- Smarter but weaker.
Mammoth/Mastodon: Same stats plus Environmental Adaptation (Cold)
Indricotherium: PL 10 (64)--(Growth 12, no Tusks, Imp. Toughness 7)

LION
(Panthera leo)
PL 8 (75), Minion Rank 3, Sidekick Rank 16
ST 25 (+7) DEX 16 (+3) CON 18 (+4) INT 2 (-4) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 9 (-1)

Skills:
Intimidate 6 (+5)
Notice 6 (+7)
Stealth 4 (+7)
Survival 4 (+5)

Feats:
Attack Focus (Melee) 3, Endurance, Improved Critical (Bite), Improved Grab, Improved Pin, Power Attack, Rage, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
Super-Senses 3 (Low-light Vision, Track, Scent) [3]
Speed 2 [2]
"Teeth & Claws" Strike 2 (Feats: Mighty) [3]
Protection 4 [4]
"Mane" Immunity 5 (Choking Damage) (Flaws: Half-Effect) [2]

Growth 4 (Feats: Innate) (Flaws: Permanent) [9]

Saves:
Toughness +8, Fortitude +8, Reflex +5, Will +6

Combat:
Attack +5 (+8 Melee, +7 Size), Damage +7 (+9 Bite), Defense +9 (+8 Size), Initiative +3

Drawbacks:
No Hands [-4]
Mute [-4]

Abilities: 9 / Skills: 20--5 / Feats: 11 / Powers: 23 / Saves: 11 / Combat: 28 / Drawbacks: -8 (80)

Classification: Group-based apex predator
Colouring: Tan
Grouping: Large harem-based prides
Habitat: Savannah, plains, forests
Offspring: Small litters of kittens
Diet: Wildebeest, antelopes & other hoofed mammals, boars, zebras
Tactics: Group-based charges leading into hidden allies, biting the face and throat to choke victims.
Similar Animals: Tiger, Asiatic Lion (smaller relative)

-Lions are the second most mighty of the modern-day Big Cats, and get massive credit across the world for their epic appearance (the giant mane resembles the ideal manly beard, really) and status as an apex predator. Unlike the other cats, they maintain large groups, hunting down nearly any prey they want using elite tactics and careful placement of the pride members. Lions remain the only predator in Africa to be capable of hunting medium-sized Elephants and Rhinos, alongside adult Giraffes. They make a regular habit of stealing the kills of other hard-working predators like Hyenas & Leopards, as well as their young, not to mention murdering the young of other males so they can hump the mommies (and the males lying around while the women hunt), but their reputation has yet to be sullied by such actions. It's all in the beard. Lions are so respected that their pop culture resume is the envy of the entire animal kingdom, famously with Disney's "Lion King" movies, and countless appearances in Tarzan movies, the Wizard of Oz, The Chronic(what?)cles of Narnia, the MGM logo, English heraldry, etc. They're the 'base animal' for countless monsters of myth and fiction (the Manticore, Chimera, Nemean Lion, etc.), and above all, they're not even Endangered yet- a rarity for a dominant predator in a place like Africa.

-Lions are an easy fit in almost any campaign. Either go to the jungle for an adventure, or face a villain with a few of these in tow. A harem-based predator, lions typically only have one male and a bunch of females and young, but bachelor mini-prides are common, so more than one male is easily used. Note that while the females do all the hunting, a big male would absolutely WRECK one of them in a fight, and they both know it; thus, the male is the silent runner of the pride and nobody questions him.

-Lions are PL 8, just like Jaguars (one of those quirks of the M&M system is that more accurate fighters end up on the same level as tougher but less accurate types, despite the obvious victories going to the latter in the animal kingdom), but a full PL 8 (Jaguars are just 7.5). They have scary power on the level of your average PL 10 superhero, but are a bit less accurate given their 400-lb, 11-foot bulk. Lions' high PL is explained by the common 'these builds represent sidekick-class animals', and the fact that when these things start man-eating, things get out of hand REAL quick. "The Ghost in the Darkness" details the real events of a couple hungry lions demolishing 28 people over nine months. If left unarmed, a human will ALWAYS lose to a lion.

-Note the "Immunity to Choking Damage" at half-effect. This unique little attribute of their mane (it's extra skin and hair makes gripping almost impossible- a good thing for fighting males) actually makes Lions the King of the Mountain among big cats in terms of battle-hardiness, since even the larger Tigers can't break through this defense. So in your "who would win...?" questions, the Lion is actually the victor in most fights with Tigers, while the Tiger is otherwise the strongest and best of the big cats.