You are the First: Smallville-esque Mutants and Masterminds

[Lord Fell]

I'm thinking about throwing my hat in for this, mostly for the game concept, not because I've got a character concept yet.

How much time do prospective players have to get things together?

[Malagant]

I'll write more of Kimiyo's background today. What do you think about how I wrote up her powers? I'm open to changing it to a more conventional method, but I think this is an elegant solution.

[cobalt-blue]

Malagnant- I like the way she turned out. I'm interested in her background.

Lord of Fell- I'm willing to give a bit more time. I'm sort of playing it by ear here. I'm looking for a good mix character types and powers. The game time setting will begin on January 1, 2012. If we can get started before then in real time, great. If not, that's fine too. My main idea here is to explore the Paragon concept from a Smallville-esque setting. My wife and I have run this type of game in the past and it's usually worked out well. We call the concept "Superman's Daughter" after a Sawyer Brown song.

[Malagant]

Malagnant- I like the way she turned out. I'm interested in her background.

On the way

[Arkrite]

I'm thinking about a slacker drama student with a teleportation/sandman kind of concept.
I'll try to rattle together something coherent tomorrow when I get home.

[Israfil]

Very valid points, CelticREI/colbalt-blue. I'll knock it down to 3 ranks. Now I'm only having trouble deciding how to spend the extra 20pp I now suddenly have...

Get a car, a nice one, so we can all use and abuse you for it. Maybe an awesome van with shag carpeted walls...

Ha ha !

What sort of creative feature should I make the shag carpet?

[optionqb]

I've been really busy with holiday stuff. I'll be able to post a build by tomorrow evening (may be late though).

[Israfil]

Sebastian MacKenzie Draft #2:

Abilities:
Strength 1, Stamina 2, Agility 0, Dexterity 1, Fighting 10 (0), Intelligence 10, Awareness 1, Presence 1

Advantages:
Benefit (Model Student), Eidetic Memory, Equipment 3, Speed of Thought, Well-Informed

Skills:
Athletics 1 (+2), Expertise (Science) 4 (+14), Insight 3 (+4), Investigation 4 (+14), Persuasion 4 (+5), Technology 4 (+14)

Powers:
Reflex Memory: Variable 3 (15 points, for observed Skills and Advantages), Continuous, Free Action • 30 points

I saw this in a movie once…:
Enhanced Fighting 10 • 20 points
Defensive Roll 4 • 4 points

Offenses:
Initiative +10
Unarmed +10, DC 16

Defenses:
Parry 10, Dodge 8, Toughness 6 (2), Fortitude 5, Will 7

Equipment:
Smart Phone (2ep)
Multitool
Video Camera (2ep)

Van
Size- Large
STR- 5
Speed- 5
Defense- 8
Toughness- 8

Power Points:
Abilities 32 + Advantages 7 + Skills 10 + Powers 54 + Defenses 17= 120pp

Complication:

Responsibility- Sebastian is charged with caring for his autistic siblings whenever his parents are not around.

Alienated- Sebastian feels awkward around his peers, since many do not appreciate the intellectual dimension of school like he does.

Motivation- Get good grades. Get into a good school. Get a good job. Don't end up like parents.

Reputation- Teachers like Seb, while some fellow students despise that about him, feeling like he gets 'special treatment'

Background:
Sebastian Mackenzie, or Seb as he often goes by, is often separated from his peers due to his higher end intellect. Not only that, but it disconnects him from his blue collar parents and his two autistic siblings. He buries himself in his schoolwork, fearing that if he slacks off, he might end up in a dead end job like his folks. He's seldom seen at school events not pertaining to intellectual pursuits, not because he doesn't like them, but because he feels out of place there and also has to look over his siblings. Students however might see him as arrogant in that manner, since many do not know about his siblings' condition.

[cobalt-blue]

To help me decide on which characters to use, I'd like each of you to send me a PM with a short reply to describe how you handle the following situation. You are considered one of the ones who stood to face the danger. How did you stand to face the danger and why?

January 1st 2012

Viking Bay

It came out of nowhere. There was almost no warning. There was no way to evacuate. The world was about to end. It was a planet killer the size of Manhattan and it was bearing down on the world from the direction of the sun.

The world's militaries scrambled to get a missile into place to shoot it down, but it was too close and moving too fast. There was nothing anybody could do as within eight hours it grew from a tiny speck in the morning to filling the evening sky. People gathered with their families waiting for the end to come. Several chose to stand and face their end with a fatal courage, refusing to take shelter- to die on their feet.

It was one of these brave souls that got the video. As the asteroid loomed down on the small New England town of Viking Bay everyone expected the worse. The pressure wave from the giant ball of ice and rock was already bending street signs and uprooting trees. Bits of pieces of the comet slammed into buildings, cars and trucks, and at least one swimming pool sending fire and debris in all directions.

Just as the pressure became too much; just as even the brave souls watching were forced to wince and turn their heads, something shot up from the town and slammed headlong into the comet. There was a horrific explosion as the otherworldly invader was vaporized. The force of the blast seemed to be directed upward and to the West as dust-sized motes of the comet gently rained down on North America.

Then the changes began...,

[Horsenhero]

PM sent...

And now, we wait.

[Malagant]

I need some help with Terralyn's personality before I can send that PM.

What I have for her backstory is that her sister failed the tryouts for the Korean Olympic team, so her father moved them here at the last minute so she could be on the American team. Terralyn, named after her mother's mother, whose from America originally, is not her father's favorite daughter. Instead of gymnastics, she went with American sports (soccer, volleyball, etc) and refuses to work towards anything beyond a college scholarship. Living with an overbearing father has instilled a good amount of discipline in her though, and a good amount of resentment.

So, that's where I'm at with her. I'm having trouble with how I want her personality to go. I thought to play her as conceited, but participating in sports tends to teach a bit of humility.

Any ideas?

[Thrincold]

If you are good at the sports in question, humility is the last trait most teenagers display. Name a humble NFL star, or NBA star for that matter. We lionize sports personae way too much in this society and so they tend to be anything but humble. Even a girl in sports like that will be the queen bitch if she's hot shit on her team.

PM sent btw.

[Neo-Paladin]

Will do the PM in the evening...one question first, though...I suppose we did not yet have our powers, right?

[Arkrite]

Bobby

My name is Barret Otis Barker but all my friends call me Bobby. Or Bob. Most people think it’s just a run on the last name, like I’m the old host of the Price is Right, but a few people catch on to why people really call me that.

What can I say about me?

I don’t know, I’m not all that interesting. My mom and dad are still married, and relatively normal in a way that means I’ll never be able to introduce them to a girlfriend until after she’s too invested to dump my ass because they’re weird.

If you ever had parents you know what I’m talking about.

My Mom’s a secretary for lawyers office and my Dad runs an outdoor sporting equipment store.

I also got an older brother but he left the scene awhile ago. Had a bit of a falling out with my Dad over how his life was going to be run. Left at the age of sixteen to do… well, I don’t know, honestly, he hasn’t really called back to let us know what he’s up to now.

We get a Christmas card every once in awhile.

And me? Well, if it wasn’t for my brother I’d be the big disappointment. Thanks bro!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a good student, or at least I was. Or, well, at least I wasn’t a terrible student. I tried to do my homework.

Really!

It just never really seemed to matter. I got decent marks, but when in the hell is knowing who created paved roads, or who created the cotton gin (which isn’t even alcohol!) going to be important? Why in the hell am I learning all this different math when I might never use any of it? Why do I care about photosynthesis?

Why am I spending what people call the best years of my life locked away in a dark dank school instead of… having fun?

But I’m the good son, so I tried anyways. I tried to get the good marks, I tried to get involved in the school like my parents wanted, I tried and you know what? It really didn’t make me any friends.

Only thing I’ve ever been good at is acting. Problem is I’m not great, I mean, I’m better than anybody in school but I’m not Oscar material. And I’m not pretty either, but I’m not ugly or unique ether.

No way I’m going to make it as an actor if I’m not great, or drop dead sexy, or different enough to stand out. Hell, Steve Buscemi can make it big because he’s unique, even if he is kind of scary. Me? I’m average.

I can’t even figure out what I’m going to do for the future. My parents have always been pushing me towards being a dentist but I don’t have the marks and I don’t even want to be one.

But I tried.

And school? Well, I’ve got friends. A few of them. But I might as well be a loner. I don’t do sports, I’m not handsome enough to be popular with the girls, I’m not in one of the cliques, and I do well enough in classes to annoy the people who aren’t. Oh, and I’m a ‘drama geek’.

Might as well past a big sign on my ass saying “kick me and don’t date me!”

Who wants to date the loner? I don’t know. Law of averages says somebody out there thinks I’m hot but who? And irony, I’m too terrified of being rejected to really try. Yeah, figure that out, giant crowds of people I have no problems with, but one girl and I get stage fright.

Un-bloody-believable.

But the thing is I’ve been trying, and trying, and trying and then… then the world’s going to end.
And I’m like “Is this really how my life is going to end?”

I’m a nobody, a nothing, and I’ve done nothing with my life but go to school!

I was mad, I was scared, and I sure as heck wasn’t going to bunker down with the people who pushed me into this… so I was out there when it happened.

Doing what? Trying to make something of myself before my life ended.

Didn’t work out the way I’d hoped.

I mean, yay, I’m not dead but… I kind of thought something would change. Maybe things would be different now but here I am. My life is still the same, I’m still the loner, and none of the girls will even look at me.

But I’m different.

Something’s… wrong with me. Except it isn’t wrong. I mean, it’s wrong, stuff goes through me, but… it’s kind of cool in a “when I can stop hyperventilating” way. Think of what I could do with that.

A part of me wants to go pick a fight with the captain of the football team, humiliate him in front of his cheerleader girlfriend.

Part of me wants to try robbing a bank, why in the world should I be working when I can do this?

Another part of me? It’s terrified that the government will try to lock me up, kill me or worse if they find out.

What am I going to do?

I don’t know.

I need time to try to figure this out, I need time to think. So I’ll go to the one place that gives me hours of time to think to myself. I’ll go to school and maybe inspiration will strike.




Dust - PL 8

Strength 0, Stamina 0, Agility 0, Dexterity 0, Fighting 1, Intellect 2, Awareness 2, Presence 2

Advantages
Accurate Attack, Equipment 1, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 8

Skills
Deception 8 (+10), Expertise: Current Events 1 (+3), Expertise: Pop Culture 2 (+4), Expertise: Theatre 2 (+4), Insight 6 (+8), Perception 6 (+8), Persuasion 4 (+6), Technology 2 (+4), Treatment 1 (+3), Vehicles 2 (+2)

Powers
Made of Sand
. . Hard to Hit: Enhanced Trait 8 (Traits: Dodge +4 (+6), Parry +4 (+6))
. . Harder to Hurt: Protection 10 (+10 Toughness)
. . Movement: Movement 1 (Safe Fall)
. . You Can't Hurt Sand: Impervious Toughness 10
Sand in the Wind: Teleport 10 (4 miles in a move action, carrying 50 lbs.; Accurate, Change Direction, Change Velocity)
. . Dust Devil (Kick Sand in their Eyes): Cloud Area Dazzle 8 (Alternate; Affects Sense: Vision, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 18; Cloud Area 2: 30 feet radius sphere)
. . Sand Blast: Blast 8 (Alternate; DC 23, Advantages: Accurate Attack, Power Attack)
Senses: Senses 1 (Low-light Vision)

Equipment
Cell Phone (Smartphone)

Offense
Initiative +0
Dust Devil (Kick Sand in their Eyes): Cloud Area Dazzle 8 (DC Fort 18)
Grab, +1 (DC Spec 10)
Sand Blast: Blast 8, +8 (DC 23)
Throw, +8 (DC 15)
Unarmed, +1 (DC 15)

Languages
Native Language

Defense
Dodge 6/2, Parry 6/2, Fortitude 6, Toughness 10, Will 7

Power Points
Abilities 14 + Powers 65 + Advantages 9 + Skills 17 (34 ranks) + Defenses 14 = 119

Validation: Complications: At least 2 Complications are required

Okay so there's a couple of weak points to his abilities that arn't worthy of a "Limited" tag or a "Quirk".
Oddity: Can't teleport into anywhere where sand or dust cannot enter
Oddity: Impervious Toughness doesn't work against Energy Attacks.

As the world (at the moment) doesn't have much in the way of energy attacks I can't call that limited, and short of a sealed room (or some really good air filters) he can still teleport most anywhere.

My thought pattern on this is that he can turn himself into sand. The easiest way would be to simply take alternate form and intangibility but I've never been fond of intangibility as a power so instead... I just built up his defenses to simulate that it's hard to actually land a solid blow on him.
His teleportation would actually be him turning himself into sand, sending the sand somewhere and reforming at that location.

I also bought all of his ranged attack bonus as a ranged attack bonus instead of attack specialization. It's a little inaccurate, outside of his powers he shouldn't have much in the way of a ranged attack bonus, but I didn't feel right buying purely Attack Specialization.

Also I cannot give a good reason for the low light vision, I just thought it was cool ;~)

He has 3 Equipment Points remaining and I couldn't think of what to spend that last PP on.
Any suggestions would be welcome!

[Horsenhero]

Hey Arkrite, I love you man, but are you sure you want to go with this? We were specifically requested by Cobalt-blue to make characters who would have a reason to cooperate and get along as they navigated being some of the first super beings on the planet.

You know and I know, your modus operandi is to create internal strife within the plot. I'm not hatin' on you, but I am telling it like it is. I mean, I assume you read the opening recruitment post and Bobby is already haring off from what was requested and he doesn't even have stats.

On the other hand, it would be totally cool to see a new, peer group positive, direction for one of your pc's.

EDIT: I don't know why I forgot, but I'm editing one more complication into Jackson's sheet...Secret: Super-Powers. One of the huuuuge lynchpins of the campaign and I left it off. Silly rabbit.