The Atomic Think Tank

JAB'S HOUSERULES:

Okay, so 3rd Edition has just come out, so I figured I'd make a topic for little changes I was making. I dislike totally rewriting or rewiring a well-made game to suit whatever purposes I have in mind, so nothing is very major.

Skills:
-Expertise is a bit too expensive in some regards. More pointless 'job' oriented Skills like Cooking & Carpentry will be half-price (it will be noted in the bio- probably as "Flaws: Limited Use" or something).
-Expertise (Criminal) & (Streetwise) are fundamentally the same thing for the same purpose (a Streetwise guy could probably fake being a Criminal, and Criminals would also likely be Streetwise and know the movers & shakers of the villainy biz), so I don't see why they can't be merged just like many other somewhat-related skills (Disguise & Bluff, f'rexample) have been.
-Philosophy & Theology will also be one category, as they're vaguely related (they split those two up from 2e, but merged others?).
-Expertise (Medicine) is merged with Treatment for similar "why'd they split THAT up?" reasons. If they're gonna double the cost of Skills, they should have checked whether or not it was worth it.
-Performance things like Acting & Music will use Presence as a modifier rather than Intellect.
-Things like Professional Sports will use either Dexterity or Agility as a modifier rather than Intellect. Golf, Baseball, Hockey, etc. all use a lot more ranged accuracy anyways.

Advantages:
-Looking at the 3e Advantages list, they've left out a good handful from 2e's main Feats list, and ALL of what came with the 2e additional books- like the mass of Feats in Mecha & Manga and Wizards & Warlocks. Most of these I never really used, so that's okay, but I did enjoy some. So I "houseruled" in the more reasonable, enjoyable Feats from there to 3e--
-Cunning Fighter (Attack instead of Bluff to feint), Damaging Escape (do damage when breaking a grapple), Defensive Strike (+4 to hit enemy that misses you in melee) & Throw (immediate Trip chance if opponent misses), Follow-Up Strike (Additional melee attack after Crit Hit), Last Stand (spend an HP to ignore all Damage Conditions for one round), Tough (basically Protection), Withstand Damage (Trade-Off Defense for Toughness- I would allow this for either Parry or Dodge).

Powers:
-All "Flat +1 Extras" are called "Feats" because it's retarded to change it to something more confusing.

"Recurring-Enemy Boosts"
You ever notice how some guys just happen to have the hero's number, and nearly always kick his ass, despite the heroes often having higher PLs? Look at how much trouble guys like Killer Croc and Two-Face give Batman of all people, especially considering there's no way either of those guys should scratch his PL. Spider-Man has dozens of guys who nearly always beat him in a straight-up fight unless he gets lucky or cheats, for another example. So I constructed a kind of "Favored Opponent" structure around the villain's chosen foe- they're so specialized against fighting their own personal hero that they get a +2 boost to both Accuracy (of whichever attack) or Parry (or Dodge if it's a shoot-y guy). Essentially, this knocks them up a full PL (or more, if you boost more), which reflects how often they fight their own familiar hero (while the hero has to fight MANY different opponents over time).

There's a couple other ways to handle this- you can just fudge your rolls as a GM and just give the player Hero Points to make it 'fair'. You can just automatically do this without cost since the villains are NPCs anyways, though it's mean to the players. But I like this way a bit more- it gives you an in-stat reason why someone like Crossbones (barely a PL 10 fighter) can fight Captain American (PL 12 by anyone's standards, it seems) and not just get the crap beaten out of him in two seconds.

"New Guy" Boosts:
Similar things can be given to "New" characters looking to make a name for themselves, but I'd give this a more "the GM boosts their power" thing. Notice how badly The Shocker kicked Spider-Man's ass the first time they fought? Spidey couldn't lay a finger on him and got the hell beaten out of him. He even had to trick him to win (by webbing his thumbs away from his 'shock gloves')! Nowadays? The Shocker's a PL 9 guy at-best, and couldn't beat Spidey with four guys helping him. So as a GM, I'd give a lot of guys an "Unfamiliarity Bonus" of sorts, pushing new villains much harder the first couple times, and letting it drop as the heroes fight them more and more, and the villains settle back into the regular Rogue's Gallery of easily-beaten bad-guys.

by **Jabroniville** » Sat Jul 17, 2010 6:52 pm

Okay, the more I play with 3rd Edition rules, I realize that certain things have happened:

-Skills are consolidated, but more expensive, even on non-consolidated ones. Insight is now twice as expensive as it's 2e variant, Sense Motive, was. Same with Persuasion & Stealth. This means Skillmonkey builds just got a LOT more expensive.

-In 2nd edition, using too much Attack Focus & Specialization to hedge off points was often considered "cheap", and rightly so in my opinion if used to much. Same with Dodge Focus. Now, it's practically BEGGING for you to do it, and the official DCA Builds reflect that. Attack Spec. is now a Skill called "Close Combat (name of attack)", so is the same price overall (+2 Accuracy for 1 point).

-Now your Close Combat Attack & Defense are the same skill ("Fighting"), but you can shrink back it's ranks with the Close Combat Feat or focusing on the "Parry" Defense instead. Dexterity gives you a boost to Ranged Combat, but it's bonuses elsewhere are so minor (Vehicles & Sleight of Hand) that if you don't plan on shooting or using those skills, you can save BIG-TIME by snubbing those points. Or if you need to be good at range but don't care for those skills, just get the Ranged Combat Advantage. Using this method, Builds can actually equal their old 2nd Edition points-cost. It's the equivalent of taking Attack Focus three to six times, but it appears acceptable in this edition.

by **Jabroniville** » Sat Jul 17, 2010 6:55 pm

THE SERPENT SOCIETY:

Yeah, that's right, with 3rd Edition brand-spanking-new and the entire history of the Marvel & DC Universes, Astro City, Television and Movies freshly available to me for statting & re-statting... I've been desperately chomping at the bit to re-build THE SERPENT SOCIETY.

And who better for my first set of 3rd Edition Mutants & Masterminds builds than the Serpent Society? I mean, who else represents that particular brand of D-league jobber that I find so utterly fascinating? It's odd- these guys aren't even well-developed as characters for the most part, and Mark Gruenwald specialized in fleshing out silly side-characters. It's basically just a collection of cool-ass codenames taken from real-life Snakes (who seem to have the biggest glut of cool names of the animal kingdom), with one or two token powers attached to a costume design that is best-described as "whatever was lying at the bottom of the artist's 'Concept Pile'."

But... but they're just so JOBBY! I love it! You can put three or four of these guys in one scene, and the superhero will just dive in and kick ALL their asses while joking about how sucky they are... unless they get the drop on him and start doing better than they normally should. But for the most part, you couldn't look any further if you wanted a group of eighteen jobbers, only a few of whom were any kind of challenge.

History of the Team:
-The Society originally started out as "The Serpent Squad", and comprised of totally different guys than the jobbers we normally associate with it. The original Viper (a nobody villain), The Eel (apparently their creator was not a biologist) and The Cobra (later King Cobra) were the first team, and didn't do much. A couple upgrades followed, adding a few members, but were also forgettable.

-It wasn't until The Sidewinder, former of the third Serpent Squad, organized a much larger "Society" that the true nature of the team became known. It was basically a supervillain Labor Union- they did their own thing, giving a portion of money to the Society, who them promised them resources and "Get Out of Jail Free" benefits (Sidewinder was a Teleporter). Sidewinder, Anaconda, Black Mamba, Death Adder, Asp, Diamondback, Cottonmouth, Cobra, Bushmaster, Rattler, and Princess Python formed the first team. Their first big mission 'made' their name: Killing MODOK, and then they became recurring Captain America foes.

-Princess Python quit as a coward, and Death Adder was killed by the Scourge of the Underworld, but they were replaced by Copperhead, Black Racer, Fer-de-Lance and Puff Adder, who were working in secret with Madame Hydra, The Viper (herself a member of the second Squad), who wanted ownership of the team. Coachwhip, Boomslang, Slither & Rock Python also joined Viper's side, and the team split it's roster, as Sidewinder's loyalists fled the group.

-Eventually, Diamondback allied with Cap (forming their unusual partnership/romance), freeing the loyalists and Viper was brought down- replaced with Cobra (later King Cobra). The Society engaged in some other activities, but their "Jobber" status soon became prevalent, as the members no longer had their "debuted character" heat on them, and Cap arrested the whole lot of them after he & Diamondback had a big blow-off storyline with them.

-The Serpent Society didn't last much past the 90s, as later versions were really just groups of jobbers in throw-away storylines, getting pounded on by various heroes. After they left the Society, Diamondback, Asp & Black Mamba formed "B.A.D. Girls, Inc." and engaged in some mercenary activities off-and-on, though they only got used a few times- DB was seen in a "Hellions" Limited Series, and the others fought Deadpool. They reappeared as the "Women's Warriors" when "The Avengers Initiative" went down.

-Their "legacy" as such is pretty minor- they were just recurring villains in the Captain America series aside from the Red Skull & his cronies, and they produced the "Diamondback" years of Cap's relationships with the ladies (a beloved era, but not even his main one- Sharon Carter trumps her in importance). Most of the team never went on to big things (Anaconda got something in the "Six Pack" run in a few books as a mercenary), and many were treated like the jokes they are. It's only on the internet, where weird little side-characters and jobbers can get way more famous than they deserve, that they ever get to mean anything.

Total Roster:
1) The Rattler
2) Anaconda
3) King Cobra
4) Sidewinder
5) Coachwhip
6) Diamondback
7) Asp
8) Black Mamba
9) Madame Hydra/Viper
10) Cottonmouth
11) Copperhead
12) Rock Python
13) Death Adder
14) Puff Adder
15) The Mighty Boomslang
16) Slither
17) Princess Python
18) Bushmaster
19) Black Racer

Plus I'll throw an Eel build on there for the hell of it. Classic jobber.

by **Thorpacolypse** » Sat Jul 17, 2010 7:16 pm

Too funny, Jab. The edition may change, but the jobber love never does. I was actually considering making Bloodshed or the Enforcers my first 3E builds (which looks like it might occur in December at the rate I'm going :shock:

) just for a switch up from the star builds I've seen so far.

Let the 3E suck commence!

by **Jabroniville** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:25 pm

The Man. The Myth. The Legend.

BOOMSLANG (real name unknown)
Created By: Mark Gruenwald & Kieron Dwyer
First Appearance: Captain America #341, May, 1988
Role: Jobber Villain, Weapon Guy, Bad Even For This Team
Based on: Small green African tree snake
PL 6 (64)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+7)
Athletics 2 (+5)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+7)
Deception 2 (+2)
Expertise (Criminal) 4 (+4)
Intimidate 4 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Boomerang) 3 (+9)
Stealth 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Equipment (Serpent-Rangs), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Serpent-Rang), Improved Disarm, Improved Smash, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Ranged Combat 3

Equipment:
"Serpent-Rangs" Ranged Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Homing, Ricochet, Split Attack) (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Serpent-Rangs +9 (+2 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Reputation (Loser)- Even compared to the rest of the Serpent Society, Boomslang is a jobber. His own teammates treat him with disdain, and most super-heroes defeat him quickly.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 11 (64)

-Well, it's time for the very first of my 3rd Edition builds, and where better could I possibly start than Boomslang? This guy represents all that is both great and crappy about the Serpent Society- he's got a terrible costume (black hood with red arms?), a terrible concept (a boomerang guy who doesn't use specialized boomerangs other than "they're shaped like snakes"), no personality, and he once got shot down and nearly killed by COMMON THUGS. But this is part of the appeal of this group- it's a handful of fairly-decent villains, balanced with the worst scrubs ever. Boomslang here is so bad that even the SERPENT SOCIETY felt he was too weak to join them, roughly making him the worst super-villain ever.

-Because of his lameness, he's the least-used amongst his team. Very few fights, very few appearances, and just about no characterization beyond "Generic sarcastic villain". When he was shot down by "Tone-Def" and his gang of thugs, he was injured for thirty issues, and only showed up again in group scenes. Despite this, he actually did pretty well in my Tournament of Suck. In the one comic appearance I have of him, he throws some Serpent-Rangs at Wolverine, three of which miss, while the fourth deflects harmlessly off the head of Wolvie, who them makes a joke about 'Slang's accent and one-shots him.

-Boomslang is as weak as they get for characters who aren't Minions. He's PL 5.5 on offense AND defense, making him a complete pushover for everyone from Captain America to Wolverine, both of whom have trounced him in moments while insulting him. I did a bit of converting and a bit of "Ground-Up" work on him, and statted the Boomerangs out as something more akin to what they'd really be like- bending around corners and having a second chance to hit and such- I don't buy the DCA book's impression that "Boomerangers feint alot".

Edit: Yes, I lowered his stats. After doing a few hundred more 3e builds, I realized Boomslang was a bit too high- he jobbed to guys who were at-best PL 3 or 4, and no hero ever pretended like he was any good. He goes from PL 6.5 to 5.5.

by **Severance** » Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:50 pm

The jobber beauty of Boomslang brings a tear to my eye. If only he had a power ring fueled by jobberness.

by **Jabroniville** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 10:36 am

Not a lot of "brown and red" colour schemes out there in comics. There's probably a reason for that.

COPPERHEAD (Davis Lawfers)
Created By: Mark Gruenwald & Ralph Macchio/Tom Morgan
First Appearance: Captain America #337 (May 1988)
Role: Jobber Villain, Blaster, The Well-Read One
Based on: American Pit Viper
PL 8 (89)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+4)
Athletics 2 (+4)
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Art) 2 (+5)
Expertise (Business) 4 (+7)
Expertise (Criminal) 3 (+6)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Poison Blast), Power Attack, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Copperhead Armour" 25 points (Flaws: Removable) [20]
Protection 4 (4)
"Grappling Hook & Adhesion Cups" Super-Movement 2 (Swinging, Wall-Crawling) (4)
"Poison Blast" Electrical Control 8 (16) -- (17)

AE: "Copper Bursts" Affliction 5 (Impaired/Disabled/Unaware- Fort Check) (Extras: Area-Burst, Cumulative) (Flaws: Limited to Vision) (15) Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Copper Bursts +5 (+5 Fortitude Check, DC 15)
Poison Blast +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +2 (+6 Armour), Fortitude +4, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Weakness (Rechargeable Blast)- Copperhead's primary attack, his Poison Blast, requires occasional recharging after too many uses. He keeps the chargers attached to his belt.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 20 / Defenses: 12 (89)

-Surprise, this guy actually LED the team for a short time! Well, okay, it was a one-shot appearance during "Secret Invasion" and that's it, but it's SOMETHING for a guy who's probably most well-known as "That Copperhead from the comics who isn't the DC one". There's actually been THREE Marvel Copperheads, but the first two were forgettable costumed goons who fought Daredevil & Spider-Man, whereas this guy is a forgettable TEAM villain, which is totally different. It turns out he's quite a bit different from my 2nd Edition statting of him, as further research reveals him to be the smart, well-read guy of his team, so he's not totally worthless.

-Copperhead is a bare-bones type of villain, generally pretty durable, but lacking in major power. He's pretty balanced offensively as a PL 8, but is 7.5 on defense. His Toughness is fairly high for a scrub human-level villain thanks to that bulletproof armour (+6), but he's a pushover to anyone, really- all he's got is Blast 8 and Dazzle 5.

The Atomic Think Tank

Jab's Builds: Visionaries, He-Man, Battle Cat, Mekaneck

Jab's Builds: Visionaries, He-Man, Battle Cat, Mekaneck

Third Edition Comics Builds (N-Z, DC & Other)

DC Stuff, TV Shows & Other Builds

Castellia Stuff

2e Leftover Builds

2e Leftovers

2e Leftover Builds

2e Leftovers

Re: Jab's 3e Builds!

Re: Jab's 3e Builds!

Re: Jab's 3e Builds!

Re: Jab's 3e Builds! 3e Talks, plus The Serpent Society!!

Re: Jab's 3e Builds! 3e Talks, plus The Serpent Society!!

Re: Jab's 3e Builds!: The Serpent Society (The Mighty Boomslang)

Re: Jab's 3e Builds!: The Serpent Society (The Mighty Boomslang)

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