Kerevision: Josiah X, Confessor II, Black Lantern Superman

[Setothes]

Aurum kicks butt. I love the idea of an alchemy-powered Paragon.

I made an alchemy powered battlesuit, but this is even cooler, as the character himself is 'transmuted' into some sort of Platonic ideal.

[kerianvalentine]

A Grue
"*drooling in the dark*"
PL 10/150
Attributes: STR 20, DEX 20, CON 20, INT 2, WIS 18, CHA 10

Skills:
Climb 12+5 = 17
Intimidate 12+0 = 12
Notice 12+4 = 16
Stealth 12+5 = 17
Survival 12+4 = 16

Feats:
Favored Environment [Darkness] 10, Fearsome Presence 5, Improved Grab, Improved Grapple, Power Attack

Powers:
Immunity 60 [Lethal Physical, Nonlethal Physical, Lethal Energy, Power Loss: Sunlight]
Strike 5 [Mighty]
Growth 1 [Innate]
Insubstantial 1 [Permanent]
Super-Senses [Acute Radius Blindsight]

Drawbacks:
Common Vulnerability [Light, Intense +5]
Common Weakness [Light, Intense, +5]


Initiative/Defense: +9/10 (15/20 with Favored Environment)
Saves: FORT +5, REF +5, WILL +4, TOUGH +5
Attack/Damage: +5 (10 with Favored Environs)/+10 (+11 vs.


Character: You have been eaten by A Grue. No, seriously. What you see above is my personal stat-block for a garden-variety Grue. It's scary, but only in the darkness, and so A Grue will go to great lengths to hide in said darkness and wait for one of its favored enemies (a hapless adventurer or enchanter) to come along so it can snack. It will above all else run away from light.

Tactics: Hide. Kill. Hunt. Destroy. These are the Grue's primary traits, and believe you me, they're good ones. It takes advantage of Hide by slipping into the shadows and gaining that big bad +10 with Favored Environment...not to mention total immunity to everything but nonlethal energy damage. However, a single burst of light can prove totally fatal to a Grue, so at the earliest opportunity, it'll run away. Without its precious darkness, A Grue is nothing. Keep that in mind.

Edit:
3/01/07: Big changes for our li'l A Grue.

[kerianvalentine]

Ted The Terrible, Terrorizing Tyrant-Titan, The Terminatrixator
PL 10/PP 150
Attributes: STR 20, DEX 20, CON 30, INT 20, WIS 10 [20], CHA 10 [20]

Skills:
None
[Notice 12+5 = 17]
[Sense Motive 12+5 = 17]

Feats:
All-Out Attack, Attack Specialization (Unarmed) 5, Attack Specialization (TTTR) 5, Leadership

Powers:
Ted's Terrible Terminatrixator Rifle 22 (4/Rank, Hard-To-Lose, Limited: Penguins, Blast 10, Mighty Strike 5, Enhanced Wisdom 10, Enhanced Charisma 10, Summon Penguins 20, Speed 10, Leaping 10, Flight 4, Shield 10, Enhanced Skills [Notice 12, Sense Motive 12])

Init/Defense: +5/10 (20 w/TTTR)
Saves: FORT +10, REF +5, WILL +0 (+5), TOUGH +10
Attack/Damage +0 (+10 Unarmed, +10 TTTR)/+5 (+10 TTTR)



Notes:

Ted the Terrible, one-time and totally unknown archfoe of Ace McRex, wielder of Ted's Terrible Terminatrixator Rifle, Lord of the Frigid Wasteland Of The Penguin Armies.

Banished to the Nether-realms after Ace accidentally knocked him into the Antarctic Exhibit, whose arrangement of penguins just happened to be perfect for an arcane spell laid upon Ted thousands of years ago.

WTF.

[kerianvalentine]

"Sky King, this is mission control. You've flipped on the red alert, Ace - what's up?"

Ace McRex expertly maneuvered his F-14 around a pair of skyscrapers as he followed the black and white throng below.

"I dunno...some sort of...penguin march," the Tyrannosaurus growled over his headset.

"Well, you'd better take care of it. We'll send reinforcements as soon as possible - Tara and Dree will be there asap."

"Understood, mission control. Sky King out."

Ace steered closer to the impending disaster. Below, hundreds of penguins marched side by side, crude clubs in flipper. The citizens of Raptropolis retreated before the fearsome foes...

...and at the forefront of it all, Ace could see why. An imposing caped penguin wielding a massive rifle...Ted the Terrible.

"Sky King to Mission Control. Ted the Terrible's launched an attack on Raptropolis, over."

"Engage, Sky King."

Ace flipped off the communicator and wrapped his tiny claws around the joystick. It was time to live up to his name...

Sky King!

Next up...

Ace McRex

vs

Ted the Terrible, Terrorizing Tyrant-Titan, The Terminatrixator!

[Psistrike]

Dang, I've really got to play Rogue Galaxy someday. That Grand Inquisitor is a terror with the Spear of Destiny. Although you didn't list what his Improved Critical 15 is for it isn't hard to figure out.

A Grue is even more of a terror now, I think even a dragon would give pause facing this creature in the dark.

Ted the Terrible, a deadly penguin general with a weapon that can take on powerful foes. Would hate to see him if that Blast was Penetrating.

This upcoming fight looks to be great, as well as funny to read. A sentient T-Rex flying ace against a megalomaniac penguin.

[kerianvalentine]

Ace swooped down towards the group of penguins, aiming carefully. A mistake here could cost him. Suddenly, on instinct, he jerked the control stick to the side, his tiny arms flailing. A microsecond later a beam of energy streaked past him. The dinosaur clenched his teeth. "So they're packing heat." He muttered, sending it into a spin as a hail of rocks and the occasional gunshot hurtled towards him. "Well, so am I." Ace eased the plane downward, spraying gunfire across the armies of black and white. Red blood splattered about the city streets, the penguins raising a horrible cry.

Ted takes initiative, his soldiers next, Ace bringing up the rear. Ace starts with 8 hero points [5 Luck, 2 Session, 1 Complication: Ted starts with army. Ted misses miserably, as do his soldiers, but Ace hits and blows a group of penguins out of the ground.

The penguin with the massive cannon pulled a switch, and Ace swooped to the side...but not fast enough. The energy scraped across the top of his wing, leaving a black, sizzling trail. "And I just had that painted!" The Tyrannosaur moaned, pushing his jet to turn as more rocks and bullets whizzed past him. He grabbed the controls and yanked backwards, the plane hurtling upwards. The engines stalled, and the jet spun, sliding downwards nose-first. The dinosaur grinned and pulled the trigger even as his other claw tugged hard on the thrust. The engines burned to life as his machine gun swept through the armies.

Ted hits, but Ace saves. The soldiers miss. Ace nails a critical hit and the penguins fail miserably.

Ace jerked the jet upwards, sweeping through the group of penguins towards the leader. The lead penguin was too fast for him, dodging to the side and firing a blast of energy at his precious jet. The engine alert went off, and Ace scrambled to trigger the auto-extinguishers. More rocks battered the hull, and Ace fired off a missile into the group. Air-to-air his tail.

Ted hits and bruises Ace's jet! The penguins hit, but Ace saves. Ace nails another group - 50% of the army is now DOWN!

Ace barely managed to hit the auxillary afterburner as the energy bolt streaked by him. "He's a good shot," Ace mumbled, "But is he as good at running?" Rocks and gunfire scraped across the jet, and Ace responded with a despondant burst of machine-gun fire. "Where did penguins get handguns?" Ace wondered aloud as he sent his jet into another upwards spiral.

Ted hits, Ace burns a hero point - down to 7. The soldiers hit, but Ace pays them no mind as he annihilates another 15% of them - 65% down.

"Not good!" Ace shouted, firing the afterburner again. The engines stalled, and the plane angled downwards, sliding downwards into a spin. The energy cannon blasted across the back of the plane, melting the tip of the wing. A pair of gunshots drove through Ace's cockpit. "Oh man oh man oh man oh man," he muttered as he scrambled for the cover. He slammed a pair of emergency covers over the bullet holes. "They'll hold for now..." Ace drove downwards, firing another missile and swooping upwards as it collided with the ground. Penguin corpses hurtled past him as he raced the explosion, whooping with primal excitement.

Ted hits, Ace saves...the Soldiers CRIT-HIT! Ace burns a hero point to live - down to six. Ace blows another group apart - 80% out.

"Sky King to mission control, do you read me?"
"We read you, Sky King. What's the deal?"
Another burst of energy burned away a piece of the plane. "Cancel that back-up, Mission Control...I've got it in-claw."
"Understood. Good luck, McRex."
"Who needs luck when you've got skills?"
Ace tapped off his comm whirled the plane around a building, driving through the hail of gunfire and responding with his own. Blood splattered along his cockpit.
"Great. Not only do I need to paint it, but I need to clean it again."

Ted bruises the plane again, the soldiers miss terribly, and Ace blows apart another group of penguins - 95% dead.

Another bolt of energy sizzled over his head, just barely missing the glass. The penguin blood burned away under the heat, and Ace had to duck his head close to the controls to melting his own head. "Great," He mumbled, spiraling around again and delivering another missile into the final squad of penguins. "Just him and me, huh? I can take that guy."

Ted critical-hits! Ace burns a hero point (5 left) to save. The penguins hit, but do nothing as Ace blows the last of them to penguindom come.

The energy blast stabbed through Ace's wing, and the dinosaur let out a string of curses as he scrambled with the plane, struggling, straining his tiny arms against the controls. "UpupupupupupupupupupupupUP!" he screamed, jerking the plane upwards and into a loop. The spin stopped abruptly. "Awwwwwright!" he shouted, firing a machine-gun burst into the penguin with the cannon. An energy field shimmered into being, bouncing the shots sideways. "Aw, COME ON! HE HAS A SHIELD, TOO?"

Ace hero points to save against Ted's critical. Ace hits Ted, but Ted saves just fine.

"Come on!" Ace struggled to keep his plane righted. He let go of the controls for a brief moment, and the red light lanced against the underside of his plane. "Sorry, baby..." Ace patted the control panel with one claw as he pushed against the control stick. "I'll fix you up good when this is all over, I promise." Ace blasted a missile at the penguin gunner. "Come on, come on...YEEEEEEEEEES!" The dino-flyer gave a mighty tug, blasting the afterburners and racing the new explosion to its zenith as the penguin's shield shattered.

Ted hits, Ace saves. Ace blows a hero points (3) to hit. Ted fails by 8! Bruised and stunned!

Ace stalled his engine for the third time, spiraling downwards and delivering a hail of gunfire towards the penguin. He whooped again and blasted the afterburner, slingshotting around another building.

Ace blows Ted out of the water again, stunning and bruising him for another round!

"This one's for all the money," he muttered, firing another burst...
Ace's massive jaw dropped, teeth glinting in the sun. "OH, COME ON!" he shouted. "WHAT THE..."
The penguin's shield was up again. As Ace blew past, he could've sworn the penguin was smirking.

Ace hits, but Ted gets lucky and saves.

"Come on, come on...don't fail me now, baby..." Another energy blast streaked through his second wing. He was struggling to keep the plane in the -air-...but Ace jerked his plane backwards and fired a missile at the penguin. As Ace streaked past the smoky crater, he couldn't see what had happened...but there was no penguin, and no cannon.
"Sky King to mission control."
"Mission control here."
"Mission accomplished, M.C."
"Nice work, Sky King. Come on home - you've earned a rest."
"That's why they call me Sky King, M.C." Ace grinned, his giant, sharp teeth reflecting in the cockpit dome. "That's why they call me Sky King."

Ted hits one last shot before Ace's blast sends him to heck and back.



The Winner...Ace McRex, The Sky King! But was there ever really any doubt? After all, as Calvin says it...
"What could be more terrifying than Tyrannosaurs? TYRANNOSAURS IN F-14s!"
And Rex certainly proved it. Against a massive hoarde of penguins, he came through. Admittedly, he burned himself out of five hero points, but he didn't need his ultimate effort or anything.
I can't wait to test him again. Maybe out-of-craft, see how he does. One thing's for sure, though...
Ace McRex IS the Sky King.

[Psistrike]

Now that was a fun fight to read, didn't expect it to last that long but then I remembered about Ted's energy shield. You have a great writing style when it comes to describing fights and how the characters act and react.

[kerianvalentine]

Thank you! I didn't expect it to last that long either...Ted got a really lucky Toughness roll (his "energy shield"; Shield only works for Defense) and kept prolonging it by knocking the jet fighter's power lower and lower.

Also, Ace's goal was to clear the city of penguins, not just beat Ted, which translated into a bunch of rounds mopping up the millions of penguins - 2.5 million, to be exact - and THAT prolonged the fight.

As a note, I just made the Penguin Army a swarm-form with a high blast and low toughness - every time he blew apart a ton of penguins it lost a lot of power points.

I'll probably be fleshing out the less-than-entirely-serious characters of Raptropolis - it's sort of a Swat Kats pastiche, which is where a couple of Ace's moves (his stall-and-fall) came from. I just pictured the Turbokat.

Next up of Raptropolis's faces will probably be Mike the Spike, a stegosaurus in a Panzer Tank and the rival of Ace.

[catsi563]

cant find the skye valentine build is ti being worked on. im working on a peacebringer and warshade myself and wa slooking for a little inspritation for the shape shifted forms as 8 pts for shape shift seems pretty high even with a -1 or -2 for only nova and dwarf forms.

I saw the valentine build earlier but no joy this time.

[kerianvalentine]

I clipped Skye's build off because he's INCREDIBLY expensive. What I recommend for forms is

Morph 2 (Metamorph)

so that you have the two alternate forms (Dwarf and Nova). Nova form should have an array of blasts, and Dwarf form should have Growth 4 (Permanent), Density #, Mighty Strike 1-5, and Area Transfer (Drain Constitution, Boost Strength).

I hope that helps.

Once I finish writing up Skye's new build I'll put him back up.

[kerianvalentine]

Design Diary #1: Gunslingers

From Jacob Whyte to Gale Dorban, gunslinger builds are easily my favorite type and least difficult "archetype" to make. They're powerful, they're capable of high damage and fancy tricks, and they're just cool guys to boot.

The first step in designing a Gunslinger is to remember that these guys are able to go toe-to-toe with superhuman entities using only pistols. At PL 10, any hero with a decent Toughness save can laugh at a pistol's base damage - the most any basic equipment pistol adds to a DC is +4.

Unless you get really lucky, a 19 DC is not going to discourage anyone with a +5 Toughness or more.

So how do you make Pistols a threat?


Number 1: High Critical Chances. Most of my builds utilize Improved Critical (Pistols) to a ridiculous degree, and this is how I represent Gunslingers being able to do absurd damage - they inherently are capable of finding the weak spots and nailing them.

Number 2: Sneak Attack combined with feints. Gunslingers should be able to take full advantage of skills in order to add that extra -oomph- to their shots.

Number 3: Power Attack and All-Out Attack. Being able to manipulate your caps is invaluable for gunslingers, especially your damage caps. You should be able to fill your +10 caps without Criticals or Sneak Attacks if you use Power Attack and All-Out Attack - or at least come very very close.

Number 4: Dual-Wielding. A house rule I abide by makes dual-wielding a weapon add Autofire +1 to the attack - so a pair of swords makes the attack a +3 Slashing Autofire 1, or a pair of Machine Pistols becomes a +3 Ballistic Autofire 2 attack. Ambidexterity and two pistols of any sort becomes a deadly combination with this, especially if the gunslinger has a high accuracy rating - a +10 Attack bonus and a 20 Attack Roll can be downright devestating with a pair of machine pistols - 3+3+5 = 11. If it's sneak attacked, it's a destructive +16; if it's Power Attack'd it could be a DC save as high as 36.


The key to gunslingers, again, is high accuracy, good weapons, and the ability to fill damage caps in multiple ways - autofire, power attacks, sneak attacks/feints, and Critical Hits.

Hope this helps those folks looking to build their own dual-wielding gunslinging bad boy (or bad girl).

[kerianvalentine]

Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney
PL 10/PP 100
Attributes: STR 12, DEX 12, CON 14, INT 30, WIS 30, CHA 40

Skills:
Bluff 12+15 = 27
Diplomacy 4+15 = 19
Gather Information 4+15 = 19
Intimidate 12+15 = 27
Investigate 12+10 = 22
Notice 12+10 = 22
Profession (Lawyer) 12+10 = 22
Search 8+10 = 18
Sense Motive 12+10 = 22

Feats:
Beginner's Luck, Connected, Contacts, Distract 2, Fearsome Presence 10, Inspire 4, Luck 5, Skill Mastery 2 (All but Profession: Laywer), Startle, Ultimate Effort (Intimidate, Diplomacy), Well-Informed

Init/Defense: +0/10
Saves: FORT +2, REF +1, WILL +10, TOUGH +2
Attack/Damage: +0

Complications:
Rival (Edgeworth)
Enemy (von Karmas)
Responsibility (Client, Maya)

Notes:
Anyone who's played Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney or the sequel Justice For All will know this guy. He's all defensive - a great character for support or, if someone happens to be interested, a detective/lawyer game. Both Fearsome Presence and Startle represent the effects of Phoenix's infamous OBJECTION!, which shocks both the opposing lawyer and the person on the stand at the time.
And yes, he lacks Knowledge (Law) for a reason - it's a joke in the game that he's never touched the law books in his office because they're too complicated.

[kerianvalentine]

Batman (Terry McGinnis)
PL 10/PP 150
Attributes: STR 16 [24], DEX 16, CON 16, INT 14, WIS 12, CHA 14

Skills:
Acrobatics 12+3 = 15 (17)
Bluff 4+2 = 6
Computers 8+2 = 10
Escape Artist 12+3 = 15 (17)
Gather Information 4+2 = 6
Intimidate 8+2 = 10
Investigate 8+2 = 10
Knowledge (Local 8+2 = 10)
Notice 8+1 = 9
Search 12+2 = 14
Sense Motive 8+1 = 9
Sleight of Hand 12+3 = 15 (17)
Stealth 12+3 = 15 (17)

Feats:
Acrobatic Feint, All-Out Attack, Attack Focus (Melee) 5, Attack Focus (Ranged) 1, Defensive Roll 4, Dodge Focus 6, Elusive Target, Improved Block, Improved Grab, Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, Improved Throw, Instant Up, Luck 1, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Ranged Pin, Sidekick 20

Powers:
Batsuit 13 [Device, Hard-To-Lose, 2x Restricted: Bruce Wayne's Sidekicks Only]

Batsuit
Batarangs [Mighty Ranged Damage 4
Enhanced Strength 12
Communication Link (Bruce Wayne)
Flight 4 [A.P.: Wall-Crawling 3/Sure-Footed 1]
Concealment [Sight] 1
Enhanced Feat [Attack Specialization: Batarang 1, Defensive Roll 3, Dodge Focus 4]
Enhanced Saves [Reflex 12]
Enhanced Saves [Fortitude 9]

Init/Defense: +7 [+9]/+6 [+10]
Saves: FORT +3 [+12], REF +3 [+15], WILL +9, TOUGH +7 [+10]
Attack/Damage: +1 (+6/+2)/+3 [+6]

Notes:
Only a little bit removed offhand from BARON's Batman Beyond build (Bruce Wayne as a sidekick), here's my interpretation of Terry McGinnis in an attempt to add to my meager DC builds. He's actually not bad -outside- of his suit - he hasa +6 to melee and a +2 to Ranged attacks in or out, and a nice +2 damage when he punches. He's a match for a lot of weaker people, and has plenty of ways to fill his caps outside the suit, but inside the suit he's an absolute monster. The Gadgets build into the device, though, are what really make Terry scary (rhymes!) - he can grab a Batarang-maker or whatever he uses, create any of the massive list of abilities from his Batsuit, or just chill and boost his Super-Strength.
He's not a great detective, but he is a good Martial Artist, and hopefully that shows through.



Edit:
4/02/07: Terry McGinnis gets an update, removing the gadgets build into the suit (gadgets seemed like the wrong ability after consideration), and shuffling a ton of points around. He's now more of a threat outside the suit (with 16 Strength I'd say he's definitely a pretty capable guy, even if he is ruled by his anger). The suit's also been upgraded 2 ranks, giving him even more constitution and finally allowing Terry to hit both his TOUGH and Defense caps easily.

2/17/08: Terry gets another revamp...looking pretty good now, I removed Gadgets and boosted his saves substantially...now he's a serious competitor without his gadgets. All the basic abilities of the Batsuit are covered now; anything else can be extra efforted.

[kerianvalentine]

Aburame Shino
PL 10/PP 150
Attributes: STR 14, DEX 16, CON 16, INT 20, WIS 20, CHA 10
Skills:
Acrobatics 12+3 = 15
Bluff 4+0 = 4
Concentration 12+5 = 17
Escape Artist 12+3 = 15
Gather Information 8+0 = 8
Handle Animal 8+0 = 8
Intimidate 12+0 = 12
Notice 12+5 = 17
Search 12+5 = 17
Sense Motive 12+5 = 17
Sleight of Hand 8+3 = 11
Stealth 12+3 = 15
Survival 12+5 = 17

Feats:
Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, All-Out Attack, Attack Specialization 5 (Bugs), Blind-Fight, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 5, Dodge Focus 10, Elusive Target, Evasion 2, Fearless, Fearsome Presence 10, Hide In Plain Sight, Master Plan, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Precise Shot 2, Redirect, Set-Up, Sneak Attack 4, Startle, Takedown Attack 1, Uncanny Dodge 1 (Bug-Sense)

Powers:
Bugs (Variable Power 5/Rank) 5
Super-Senses 1 (Danger Sense)

Init/Defense: +3/20
Saves: FORT +3, REF +3, WILL +5, TOUGH +8
Attack/Damage: +10 (Bugs only)/+2 (Variable)

Notes:
Aburame Shino from Naruto. I summed up his powers as his Bugs only - since most of the jutsus he exhibts are after all "bug-related" (including his Bug Clone technique), I decided that a massive, clumsy dynamic array just wasn't necessary. He instead has 25 points to throw around whenever he wants into any attack or defense he needs - Bug Wall Technique, Bug Jar Technique, and so on.
I figure with the Destruction Bugs devouring his chakra all day, he's not going to be the most, uh, overtly ninja-style ninja. His low charisma represents just how bad he is at talking to people, but his high intelligence and wisdom show just how good he really is at kicking butt. Master Plan factors into this as well.
Overall, Shino's -dangerous-. I might put him up against someone as a playtest at some point, but I expect that he'd be able to even beat the Hulk.

[catsi563]

thanks that does help actually. hadnt considered metamorph. that should work excelently. since its only 3 forms (dwarf, nova and lightform) and light form is sorta covered under alternate form as an I am UBER FIGHTER. just need to keep the power points same as the base character. cool thanks again cant wait to see revised skye.

=>_>=

LOBSTER !! LOL