MDSnowman: Tears of Taija Act 5 Updates, Mira

[MDSnowman]

Design Diary #11: The DCU Tournament of Champions

By finally stating up Richard Dragon I have finished what is arguably the top five Martial Artist characters of the DC Universe. I want to explore what each and every character brings to the table from the standpoint of pure martial arts skill.

Batman – Of the five characters Batman is the one who looks most out of place in this crowd of five. In the first design diary here, I placed Batman at “the Master” level of martial arts. Far better than most people, but lacking the power and skill of characters of the next level “the Legend”. What puts Batman in this conversation is his power level. He’s got an average of two power levels on everybody else on this list. Which means that he has an outstanding defense, attack bonus, damage and toughness. Batman’s higher power level makes him the total package. However against hardcore martial artists he can quickly find himself out of his league. Batman is designed to investigate first, and to fight second. He also has so many options in combat it’s easy to forget all the tools at his disposal and try to fight a foe straight up, something Batman is not designed to do.

Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) – Cassie is the first among the contenders who uses an extra on her strike power. She can choose to press an assault with Duration –Concentration, or counter punch with her aura extra. She’s got a top notch defense and as far as a martial artists go she can really dish out damage. She can get extra attacks in a round with the extras on her strike power, has a nice thick critical range, and can access all her damage potential either by sneak attack or rage meaning she controls when she does her most damage. However she is somewhat fragile, and sometimes can lack accuracy against most experienced martial artists. However she does have the ultimate equalizer… two helpings of the luck feat. She can easily extra effort to gain Attack Specialization [Unarmed] for the course of combat if she fears she’s inaccurate.

Green Arrow (Connor Hawke) – Of all the people on this list Connor is the odd man out. He can’t claim to have Power Level or specialization advantage over anybody else here. He also suffers slightly from the fact that he practices both ranged and melee combat. You’ll find out however that when played intelligently Connor can be a dangerous foe. He has something that everybody else on this list lacks, a reliable source of ranged damage that hurts just as much as his fist. If played intelligently he can soften up a foe before getting disarmed. This gives Connor the chance to put that foe away in melee. As good as he is however I only expect Connor to put up a good fight against the other people on this list, rarely would he flat out win against these other fighters.

Lady Shiva – Lady Shiva is an interesting choice amongst this group. She’s one power level lower than Batman, but one power level up on Richard Dragon, and Batgirl. However she beats Batman by being heavily specialized, and the others by holding that extra power level on the cap over their heads. More than most martial artists Lady Shiva is built to hand out damage. She’ll fight until she scores a critical hit, then suddenly the three auto-fire extras she has on her strike ability will stack with the extra five points of damage the critical hit will do. That’s enough to immediately put anyone else on this list (except maybe Batman) in a bad toughness save situation immediately. Only Batman’s higher toughness save and Batgirl’s luck can keep a martial artist in a fight after one of those strikes.

Richard Dragon – Finally Richard Dragon represents some of the best traits of Lady Shiva and Batgirl. He can choose to counter punch or auto-fire his strike power, meaning he can either up his damage on an accurate attack or try damaging anyone who tries to strike him in combat. He also has a wide variety of combat feats to call on combat situations. Including Improved trick, which negates the –5 penalty for feinting as a move action in combat. Meaning that he has a fair chance of feinting anyone else on this list in combat. Combine that with a good attack bonus, damage, defense, and toughness and it’s easy to see why Richard Dragon is on the list of top five martial artists despite looking almost average at first blush.

[MDSnowman]

Design Diary #12: The New Warriors

If you hadn’t been paying attention today you may not know that I posted 6 New Warrior characters in one day (Happy Birthday Howler). So with such an influx of characters they naturally had to get a design diary.

Night Trasher: Dwayne is the group’s main leader and it shows in his inspiration feats, and his teamwork feats that allow him to add a lot to anyone’s attack bonus. What he doesn’t have, however, is a great way to catch a foe flat-footed. But when you realize how effective his active camo is he seldom needs it. Also his Utility gear allows him to provoke a myriad of saves. Look for him to wreak havoc with people who aren't loaded down with good saves.

Nova: Nova is the team’s monster. He can take an epic beating and can hand one out just as easily. When team members are using aid actions they’re using them on Nova’s behalf. However when he’s not receiving aid he’s a very unreliable shot. In a fight Nova is your standard Original relying on his armor to soften blows from fists, and his absorption allows him to soak up energy attacks and eventually unleash a powerful Omni-directional blast.

Namorita: This lady is the group’s back up muscle. She has the benefit of taking a beating, and being able to hand out a decent one too. She’s made even more dangerous by the poisons that she can secrete. Her corrosion will allow her to wreck a foe’s ability to take a hit, or she can decide to unleash a nasty paralytic venom as well taking someone out of a fight all together.

Speedball: Speedball has one use… put him in front of a foe that relies on physical attacks. He’ll start bouncing off of the walls, soak up damage and then be able to unleash nasty little strikes using his absorbed kinetic energy. What Speedball need to look out for is energy-based attacks, while he’s safe from kinetic energy and physical attacks, a lightning bolt or plume of fire will hurt him badly.

Marvel Boy / Justice: That’s where Vance comes in. Not only is he a good back up leader, but he’s also a masterful team player. His thick force field, and interpose feat allows him to act as a human shield for anyone in the group, but he can specifically help Speedball become nearly unstoppable by putting himself in the way of energy attacks.

Firestar: Every team needs an energy controller, for that the New Warriors have Firestar. She can unleash a nasty elemental blast, flies around a battlefield. As a result of her mobility she also adds to the team’s teamwork ability, swooping in and using the teamwork feat where it’s most needed.

There of course other members. Darkhawk in particular serves something of the same purpose as Namorita. He’s a good back up brick, and an effective blaster if need be. The two can be used interchangeably in a fight, but Darkhawk uses a ranged attack to compensate for not having Namorita’s venomous attacks.

[Libra]

Hello Snow, I like the new thread. Very shiny, and just as high quality as the old!

[razzputin]

I believe the term is a woOT

design diary's are my favorite

[MDSnowman]

Hello Snow, I like the new thread. Very shiny, and just as high quality as the old!

Thanks Libra, been a while since you dropped in to say hi.

Tomorrow expect Build #350: Darksied, and Christmas Eve expect the first new fight of the new thread!

[teleportingbassist]

w00tastic! Can't wait, MDS! *giggles in anticipation*

[MDSnowman]

Darkseid

PL: 18 (315pp)

Abilities: STR: 10 [54] (+22) DEX: 10 (+0) CON: 10 [56] (+23) INT: 26 (+8) WIS: 24 (+7) CHA: 28 (+9)

Skills: Concentration 20 (+27), Intimidate 20 (+29), Knowledge [Technology] 12 (+20), Knowledge [Tactics] 8 (+16), Notice 4 (+11), Sense Motive 8 (+14)

Feats: Attack Focus [Melee] (10), Attack Specialization [Omega Effect] (5), Benefit [Status], Equipment (29), Fearsome Presence (12) [DC 22; 60ft.], Fascinate [Intimidate], Minions (15) [10,000 Parademons], Startle

Powers: Enhanced Strength 44 (Alternate Power: Disintegrate 21 (Flaws: Check –Concentration, Distracting, Full Action; Power Feats: Homing, Reversible), Teleport 14 (Extra: Attack [+1], Ranged [+1]; Check – Concentration [-1]), Telepathy, Telekinesis; 48pp), Super Strength 14 (Alternate Power: Flight; 29pp), Enhanced Constitution 46 (46pp), Immunity 10 (Life Support, Aging; 10pp)

Combat: Attack +4 (+14 Melee, +14 Omega Effect) [Unarmed +22, Omega Effect +21] Defense 21 (16 flat-footed) Init +0

Saves:Toughness +23 (23 flat-footed) Fortitude +23 Reflex +4 Will +15

Equipment:
Apokolpian Palace [Size: Awesome; Toughness: 25; Features: Communications, Computer, Defense System, Garage, Hanger, Holding Cells, Infirmary, Laboratory, Library, Living Space, Power System, Security System, Workshop; 24ep]
50 Space Battle Ships [Str: 150; Speed: 14; Defense: -2; Toughness: 18ep; Size: Awesome; Powers: Blaster Cannons [Blast 15] High Energy Topedos [Blast 15; Extra: Explosion Area]; Progressions [5]; 120ep]

Abilities 48 + Skills 18 (72 Ranks) + Feats 74 + Powers 133 + Combat 30 + Saves 12 – Drawbacks 0 = 315pp

Parademons
PL: 6 (45pp)
Abilities: STR: 16 (+3) DEX: 12 (+1) CON: 16 (+3) INT: 06 (-2) WIS: 10 (+0) CHA: 06 (-2)
Skills: Intimidate 9 (+7), Notice 7 (+7)
Feats: Attack Focus [Melee] (2), Equipment (6), Fearless, Rage [+4 Strength, +2 Fortitude & Will Saves; -2 Defense; 5 Rounds]
Combat: Attack +4 (+6 Melee) [Unarmed +3, Axe +6, Blaster Rifle +8] Defense 16 (13 flat-footed) Init +
Saves: Toughness +6 (6 flat-footed) Fortitude +6 Reflex +1 Will +2
Equipment: Comm-link [1ep], Body Armor [+3 Toughness; 3ep], Flight Pack [Flight 3; 6ep], Axe [+3 Damage; Mighty; 4ep], Blaster Rifle [+8 Damage; 16ep]
Abilities 6 + Skills 4 (16 Ranks) + Feats 10 + Powers 0 + Combat 20 + Saves 5 – Drawbacks 0 = 45pp

Build #350, and she’s a doozy. Darkseid is a serious monster to fight. He’s strong, tough, and quick. What’s more he can launch a devastating disintegration attack that has a tendency to seriously harm all foes. As if his personal power wasn’t enough he commands vast intergalactic resources, loaded down with fifty space battle ships, and keeping personal command of 10,000 Parademons. If I did my job right then without all of the equipment and minions Darkseid is all of 1pp tougher than Thanos, which was my goal all along.

[teleportingbassist]

Is the disintegration the eye blast thingies of which name I forget? It seems like a low rank to me, but I trust your judgement! Great job! 350,000 cookies/pies/cakes (all in ONE!)

[MDSnowman]

Is the disintegration the eye blast thingies of which name I forget? It seems like a low rank to me, but I trust your judgement! Great job! 350,000 cookies/pies/cakes (all in ONE!)

Hehe yeah, it's slightly low, but considering that it Drains toughness, then does damage it can be DANG powerful even at 14 ranks. Hehe that and It was crazy expensive already.

[Slayen]

Oooo, me like.

One question, why does he have enhanced dex? He has never struck me as the super-agile type.

[MDSnowman]

Oooo, me like.

One question, why does he have enhanced dex? He has never struck me as the super-agile type.

Me neither... but then again I saw him listed as having god-like agility. I wasn't wild about the idea personally though. I figured I'd catch heck if I didn't inclue it.

[Slayen]

Oooo, me like.

One question, why does he have enhanced dex? He has never struck me as the super-agile type.

Me neither... but then again I saw him listed as having god-like agility. I wasn't wild about the idea personally though. I figured I'd catch heck if I didn't inclue it.

Where did you see this?

[MDSnowman]

Oooo, me like.

One question, why does he have enhanced dex? He has never struck me as the super-agile type.

Me neither... but then again I saw him listed as having god-like agility. I wasn't wild about the idea personally though. I figured I'd catch heck if I didn't inclue it.

Where did you see this?

::double checks:: Yep you're right, a re-write is in order.

[MDSnowman]

Grave

PL: 10 (135pp)

Abilities: STR: 34 (+12) DEX: 14 (+2) CON: -- (+0) INT: 08 (-1) WIS: 10 (+0) CHA: 08 (-1)

Skills: Acrobatics 4 (+6), Climb 4 (+4), Intimidate 12 (+11), Knowledge [Streetwise] 4 (+3), Notice 4 (+4), Sense Motive 4 (+4), Stealth 4 (+6)

Feats: Fighting Style (7) [Krav Maga – All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Improved Block, Improved Disarm, Improved Grapple, Improved Trip, Power Attack], Fearless, Fearsome Presence (6) [DC 16; 30ft.], Startle

Powers:
Alternate Form [Solid] 15 (Immunity 30 [Fortitude Effects], Density 12 (+24 Strength, Protection 6 (Impervious), Immovable 4, Super Strength 4), Protection 8 (impervious 1); Permanent; 75pp)
Regeneration 28 (Recovery Bonus: 9; Bruised: 2; Unconscious: 2; Injured: 3; Staggered: 3; Disabled: 4; Ability Damage: 4; Resurrection: 1; Power Feats: Regrowth; Flaw: Source – Ground; 15pp)
Super Strength 4 (Drawback: Power Loss – When not in contact with ground; 7pp), Super Movement 2 (Permeate 2; Flaws: Limited - Earthen Materials [-1]; 2pp)

Combat: Attack +8 [Unarmed +12] Defense 16 (13 flat-footed) Init +2

Saves: Toughness +14 (7 Impervious) (14 flat-footed) Fortitude +NA Reflex +2 Will +6

Drawbacks: Disability [Mute; 4pp], Weakness [Loss of Contact with ground; -1 to Every Ability Score / Round; Common Occurrence; Major Intensity; 8pp]

Abilities -10 + Skills 9 (36 Ranks) + Feats 15 + Powers 99 + Combat 28 + Saves 6 – Drawbacks 12 = 135pp

Background:

Living Dead Girl’s silent servant is known as Grave. Those who fight him quickly realize that underneath his clothing his seemingly normal skin and body is made of densely packed grave soil and stones. He’s gained a reputation for being nearly indestructible, as gravel, soil, and dirt tends to slip inside his clothing and replace as chunks of his earthen body knocked out of place.

What no one knows is Grave’s true origin. In reality Grave is really the former hero Brawler. Brawler was a little known masked martial artist who was active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was known primarily for his excellent physical condition and his use of Krav Maga in fighting crime with ruthless efficiency. Unfortunately he met his end in 1973 when he joined forces with the Luciferian in defeating a creature who may or may not have been the vampire lord Dracula. Dracula ripped out the martial artist’s heart after he had struck an especially brutal blow.

Brawler was revealed to be Samuel Hirsch, a former Israeli commando who had left the service to fight super human threats to innocent lives. He was laid to rest as a hero and those whose lives her touched celebrated his lifetime of service.

That would have been the end of the story if Living Dead Girl hadn’t heard about him following her transformation into one of the living dead. She quickly realized that despite her newfound power she was vulnerable to the right kind of foe. Needing protection she researched the deaths of especially tough super heroes and discovered where Samuel Hirsch was buried. Using her new powers over the death she rose his skeleton from the grave and covered it in dense soil and stone until her protector’s body was as hard as concrete. Since then he has served as Living Dead Girl’s protector, using his martial arts skill and prodigious strength to crush any enemy that rears its head.

Grave possesses only a fraction of the intelligence, and agility of his former self. His dim memories forming the basis for what few skills he has left. He appears to retain some of his skill at Krav Maga, remembering his skills almost reflexively. What few know is that he retains his strength only through keeping contact with the ground, if he’s kept in the air for long periods of time the soil surrounding his skeleton will fall away until he is unable to fight back.

[Sidious]

you made Darkseid! I love you man!

come down to the city for dinosaur sometime and i'll buy.

sorry he's one of my all time favorites. I cant help it.