Taliesin's builds: 3E moved to sister thread

[kanegrundar]

Taliesin, I just wanted to let you know that your KC builds made me run out and buy a copy. It's a great story! I owe you one.

[Sacerdos]

You did Ambush Bug! And you included Cheeks! You are now my favorite person!

Now do the giant koala!

(Oh, and I'm liking the rest of the builds, too. Nicely done.)

[Taliesin]

Taliesin, I just wanted to let you know that your KC builds made me run out and buy a copy. It's a great story! I owe you one.

DC Comics owes me one. I'm not getting commission for anything my builds sell. Of course, DC's not cracking down on copyright infringement, so we'll call it even.

I'm glad you liked Kingdom Come. It's one of my favorite stories too.

[Taliesin]

You did Ambush Bug! And you included Cheeks! You are now my favorite person!

Now do the giant koala!

(Oh, and I'm liking the rest of the builds, too. Nicely done.)

Thanks. Expect a Rogue update soon, thanks to your comments on the Rules forum.

And the giant koala...wait, isn't it just a giant koala who used to be Dr. Quantis?

[Taliesin]

Strike a pose!

Flash IV (Bart Allen)

Power Level: 12 (180pp)

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

Skills: Bluff 4 (+5), Craft [Mechanical] 4 (+5), Gather Information 4 (+5)

Feats: Accurate Attack, Dodge Focus 4, Eidetic Memory, Elusive Target, Environmental Adaptation [Pressure and Cold associated with high speed], Equipment, Evasion 2, Fast Overrun, Move-By Action

Powers:
Displacement (4pp)
Features 1 (Temporal Inertia; 1pp)
Immunity 2 (Need for Sleep, Starvation and Thirst; 2pp)
Super-Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling, Water Walking; Flaw: Limited [only while running; -1]; 2pp)
Super-Speed 20 (Dynamic; 25,000,000 MPH; Power Feats: Moving Feint; 102pp)
Base Power: {Enhanced Defense 10 and Enhanced Reflex 10 (Extra: Impervious [+1]); 0pp}
DAP: Air Control 20 (2pp)
DAP: Enhanced Intelligence 20 (2pp)
DAP: Insubstantial 4 (2pp)
DAP: Nullify 20 (any movement power; 2pp)
DAP: Regeneration 31 (Recovery Rate: Bruised 3, Injured 6, Disabled 8, Staggered 6, Ability 8; Extra: Sustained [+0]; Power Feats: Diehard, Regrowth; 2pp)
DAP: Strike 20 (Extra: Autofire [+1]; 2pp)
DAP: Summon Minion 18 (Energy Scouts; Extra: Horde [+1]; Flaw: Feedback [-1]; Power Feats: Mental Link, Progression 3 [10 scouts]; 2pp)
DAP: Whirlwind Attack 13 (2pp)

Equipment: Costume Storage Ring (Quick Change; 1ep), Costume (Protection 4; 4ep)

Combat: Attack +4; Damage +13 (Whirlwind Attack, Burst) / +20 (Strike, Autofire); Defense +8 (+2 flat-footed) // +10 (Super-Speed); Initiative +2 // +80 (Super-Speed)

Saves: Toughness +6, Fortitude +4, Reflex +7 // +10 (Impervious; Super-Speed), Will +4

Drawbacks: Weakness (Every time Bart uses Super-Speed without costume; Common, Moderate [-1 Con], Lethal, Instant; -3pp)

Abilities 12 + Skills 3 (12 ranks) + Feats 13 + Powers 125 + Combat 16 + Saves 10 – Drawbacks 3 = 180

All of the Speed Force is now distilled within Bart Allen, the fourth Flash. He has more tricks off of his Super-Speed array than any other Flash aside from Barry Allen and can even pull some stunts that Barry couldn’t. His one big weakness is that the same dynamic array fuels a large part of his Defense and his primary mode of damage, so he cannot meet both defensive and offensive caps at the same time. I’m perfectly fine with this, since he’s the Flash, not Superman; in most cases, Bart will be maxed out defensively and nearly impossible to hit with either targeted or area attacks (thanks to Impervious Reflex), but if he needs to lay the beatdown with relativistic punches like he did against Superboy-Prime, Bart can sacrifice defense for some major damage potential.

Bart has several powers that are unique to him among all the Flashes. He can create Speed Force avatars that can travel through time and function as scouts. However, as his energy scouts have the Feedback flaw, Bart suffers any damage they do and he is loath to use this power again. Second, Bart has Eidetic Memory, and combined with Super-Speed, allows him to retain enormous amounts of information. To this end, I’ve given him Enhanced Intelligence on his Super-Speed array, allowing Bart to gain a huge bonus for those untrained Knowledge checks. He is also immune to temporal anomalies, and the Speed Force removes any need for other sustenance.

Bart Allen can reach lightspeed only by using Extraordinary Effort, stacking three levels of Extra Effort to move at 8x speed, and moving all-out. This will cause him to go unconscious unless he has a Hero Point in reserve.

Update 1/29/07 My never-ending effort to clean up my usually very burdensome builds means that I get to play around with Bart’s Super-Speed array. Some very neat new tricks. M&M still handles speedsters better than any other game system.

Eh, the new series ends its first storyline with a whimper. What a letdown. I liked Bart so much, too. Bring back Impulse (or even Kid Flash) and I'll gladly revise my build again!

[Unknown Soldier]

I'm gonna put in a request for Hawkman, WITH the Claw of Horus from the Superman/Batman crossover.

[Taliesin]

I'm gonna put in a request for Hawkman, WITH the Claw of Horus from the Superman/Batman crossover.

Hawkman's a hero I've thought about building for a while now. I might do so since he's in Kingdom Come as well.

[Taliesin]

Emanating from the Speed Force, the future Flash may hold all the spirits of the previous incarnations

The Flash (Kingdom Come)

Power Level: 14 (255pp)

Abilities: STR: 14 (+2), DEX: 14 (+2), CON: 16 (+3), INT: 14 (+2), WIS: 12 (+1), CHA: 14 (+2)

Skills: Bluff 4 (+6), Computers 4 (+6), Knowledge [Physical Sciences] 8 (+10), Notice 4 (+5), Search 4 (+6)

Feats: Elusive Target, Environmental Adaptation [Pressure and Cold associated with high speed], Equipment, Evasion 2, Fast Overrun, Move-By Action, Teamwork

Powers:
Affects Corporeal Strength 2 (2pp)
Boost 8 (all ability scores; Flaw: Limited [mental scores only; -1], Personal [-1]; 8pp)
Displacement (4pp)
Immunity 2 (Need for Sleep, Starvation and Thirst; 2pp)
Super-Movement 4 (Air Walking 2, Dimensional Movement 2; 8pp)
Super-Senses 2 (Power Feat: Dimensional 2; 2pp)
Super-Speed 20 (Dynamic; 3pp/rank array; 25,000,000 MPH; Power Feat: Moving Feint; 122pp)
Linked Power: Insubstantial 4 (Speed Force energy; 20pp)
Base Power: {Enhanced Defense 15 and Enhanced Reflex 15 (Extra: Impervious [+1]); 0pp}
DAP: Air Control 20 (Extra: Affects Corporeal [+1]; 2pp)
DAP: Duplication 16 (Extra: Heroic [+1], Horde [+1]; Flaw: Real [-1]; Power Feats: Absorption Healing, Mental Link, Progression 10 [2,500 duplicates]; 2pp)
DAP: Nullify 20 (any movement power; Extra: Affects Corporeal [+1]; 2pp)
DAP: Rapid Attack 20 (Extra: Affects Corporeal [+1]; 2pp)
DAP: Regeneration 31 (Recovery Rate: Bruised 3, Injured 6, Disabled 8, Staggered 6, Ability 8; Extra: Sustained [+0]; Power Feats: Diehard, Regrowth; 2pp)
DAP: Vibration Control 20 (Extra: Affects Corporeal [+1]; 2pp)

Equipment: Winged helmet (Shield 2; 2ep)

Combat: Attack +8; Damage +2 (Unarmed) / +20 (Vibration Control); Defense +10 (+4 flat-footed) // +15 (Super-Speed); Initiative +2 // +80 (Super-Speed)

Saves: Toughness +3, Fortitude +6, Reflex +4 // +15 (Impervious; Super-Speed), Will +4

Drawbacks: Disability (Unintelligible speech, to those without Mental Quickness 5+; Common, Moderate; -3pp)

Abilities 24 + Skills 6 (24 ranks) + Feats 8 + Powers 180 + Combat 32 + Saves 8 – Drawbacks 3 = 255

In the Kingdom Come timeline, Wally West has become the Speed Force personified, to the point where he is no longer fully contained within one dimension or plane of existence. He is Insubstantial and displaced when using Super-Speed and can move and see through different strata of reality. He moves so fast that he can no longer communicate to anyone but Superman and others who can move at least a reasonable fraction of his speed. The Flash is also nearly impossible to get a hand on, but with his Defense and Reflex tied into his Super-Speed array, the more he tries to do, the more vulnerable he is to, say, a stray bolt of lightning.

I gave this Flash the Duplication power as a way to handle multiple non-routine actions, something that Quickness cannot do. All of these duplicates are Real, however, and only seem to be duplicates to a normal frame of reference.

Update 2/1/07 So I wasn’t aware that the text under Insubstantial in UP was in error concerning Affects Corporeal. I bumped the Flash up to Insubstantial 4 and made the array a little easier to comprehend. I also threw in a Boost to represent Wally consulting the other Flashes contained within the Speed Force and now within Wally.

[Taliesin]

I really like this Flash I did for Kingdom Come, specifically the use of Duplication in the Super-Speed array. There were a couple of threads in the rules forum talking about how to do multiple actions within the confines of the rules. I think that Targeted Area and Autofire are fine options, but Duplication is pretty sweet, too. Throw in a Real duplicates Flaw to show that the multiple selves are really the same person moving so fast that we see multiple images simultaneously.

[Unknown Soldier]

That's actually a wonderful build. The Flash was my favorite character in KC, yet wasn't one of the main.

[Taliesin]

Yeah, I really dig the KC Flash. Just a cool concept and neat design. How can you beat a streaker wearing a WWI helmet?

[Dreaming Psion]

that is a pretty amazing take on a speedster. the duplication idea for speedsters is a good take on the whole multiple attacks debate.

[Nero's Boot]

Emanating from the Speed Force, the future Flash may hold all the spirits of the previous incarnations

The Flash (Kingdom Come)

Power Level: 14 (240pp)

Abilities: STR: 14 (+2), DEX: 14 (+2), CON: 16 (+3), INT: 14 (+2), WIS: 12 (+1), CHA: 14 (+2)

Skills: Bluff 4 (+6), Computers 4 (+6), Knowledge [Physical Sciences] 8 (+10), Notice 4 (+5), Search 4 (+6)

Feats: Elusive Target, Environmental Adaptation [Pressure and Cold associated with high speed], Equipment, Evasion 2, Fast Overrun, Move-By Action, Teamwork

Powers:
Displacement (4pp)
Immunity 2 (Need for Sleep, Starvation and Thirst; 2pp)
Super-Movement 4 (Air Walking 2, Dimensional Movement 2; 8pp)
Super-Senses 2 (Power Feat: Dimensional 2; 2pp)
Super-Speed 20 (Dynamic; 25,000,000 MPH; Extra: Affects Corporeal [applies to array; +1]; Power Feat: Moving Feint; 122pp)
Linked Power: Insubstantial 3 (Speed Force energy; 15pp)
Base Power: {Enhanced Defense 15 and Enhanced Reflex 15 (Extra: Impervious [+1]); 0pp}
DAP: Air Control 20 (2pp)
DAP: Duplication 16 (Extra: Heroic [+1], Horde [+1]; Flaw: Real [-1]; Power Feats: Absorption Healing, Mental Link, Progression 10 [2,500 duplicates]; 2pp)
DAP: Nullify 20 (any movement power; 2pp)
DAP: Rapid Attack 20 (2pp)
DAP: Regeneration 31 (Recovery Rate: Bruised 3, Injured 6, Disabled 8, Staggered 6, Ability 8; Extra: Sustained [+0]; Power Feats: Diehard, Regrowth; 2pp)
DAP: Vibration Control 20 (2pp)

Equipment: Winged helmet (Shield 2; 2ep)

Combat: Attack +8; Damage +2 (Unarmed) / +20 (Bullet); Defense +10 (+4 flat-footed) // +15 (Super-Speed); Initiative +2 // +80 (Super-Speed)

Saves: Toughness +3, Fortitude +6, Reflex +4 // +15 (Impervious; Super-Speed), Will +4

Drawbacks: Disability (Unintelligible speech, to those without Mental Quickness 5+; Common, Moderate; -3pp)

Abilities 24 + Skills 6 (24 ranks) + Feats 7 + Powers 165 + Combat 32 + Saves 8 – Drawbacks 3 = 240

In the Kingdom Come timeline, Wally West has become the Speed Force personified, to the point where he is no longer fully contained within one dimension or plane of existence. He is Insubstantial and displaced when using Super-Speed and can move and see through different strata of reality. He moves so fast that he can no longer communicate to anyone but Superman and others who can move at least a reasonable fraction of his speed. The Flash is also nearly impossible to get a hand on, but with his Defense and Reflex tied into his Super-Speed array, the more he tries to do, the more vulnerable he is to, say, a stray bolt of lightning.

I gave this Flash the Duplication power as a way to handle multiple non-routine actions, something that Quickness cannot do. All of these duplicates are Real, however, and only seem to be duplicates to a normal frame of reference.

W00t! Now this the Flash!

--this is what all speedsters ought to aspire to! NB

[Shadowchaser]

Let’s try that again…

Apocrypha
Real Name: Unknown, if any
Identity: The general public is unaware of Apocrypha’s existence
Occupation: F.I.A.T. (formerly)
Base of Operations: Mobile
Affiliation: G.M. (formerly)
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 90 lbs.
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Light brown

The Fiction-Integral Assistant Thaumaturgists of the mysterious Galactic Maestro exist to shape the continuity of the universe to the GM’s liking without the knowledge of the sentient beings who inhabit it. Using their metaphysical swords, F.I.A.T.s splice and rejoin the timeline to help make sure that occurrences are not simply random but serve a purpose and are part of a greater story plot. The F.I.A.T.s ensure that heroes never die needlessly and are even brought back to life to fill the void their absence inevitably leaves, and that villains are never unexpectedly vanquished, and even after their defeat, always live to plague heroes another day. What exactly are this GM’s motives is anybody’s guess, as few if any are actually aware of this entity’s existence, but at the very least, the F.I.A.T.s seem to work to make sense of what might otherwise be a senseless universe.

Apocrypha was assigned to monitor the events of Earth many millennia ago, when the first heroes and villains arose with the advent of civilization on that planet. Her invisible fingerprints are on every event of import, subtly directing the course of civilization towards the current superheroic age, all the while producing a history worthy of thousands of epic lays and sagas. Throughout these thousands of years, Apocrypha was able to maintain a clinical detachment from her work, manipulating through addition, subtraction, and alteration without a feeling of remorse or guilt over her interference.

However, from this superheroic age rose Mister Competent, a person who reached the pinnacle of human achievement and fulfilled the potential of all of Apocrypha’s work on Earth. Apocrypha was so enthralled by this hero, an otherwise normal human who stood tall among the most elite of superheroes, that she took an exaggerated interest in his well-being. She used her powers to ensure his safety and success in his endeavors; regardless of the seemingly insurmountable odds he often faced, he always came out triumphant. When Mister Competent aged past his prime, Apocrypha could not bear to see him retire and die of old age. She used her GM-given powers to cast Earth into a floating timeline, perpetuating the age of superheroism and the career of Mister Competent.

The Galactic Maestro eventually noticed that music of the spheres was off-key and that Earth was out of tune. As punishment for Apocrypha’s selfish use of her powers, the GM withdrew his cosmic energy from her, drastically reducing her powers to influence the events on Earth. Her metaphysical sword, the Director’s Cut, is now sustained solely by her own powers, and Apocrypha is no longer able to alter events on a global scale. She does what she can with her diminished capabilities, focusing more than ever on her favorite hero, but is forced to watch Earth slowly slide into a darker era of modern sensibilities and Mister Competent descend into a quagmire of distrust and paranoia.

Power Level: 12 (240pp)

Abilities: STR: 18 (+4), DEX: 18 (+4), CON: 18 (+4), INT: 30 (+10), WIS: 20 (+5), CHA: 24 (+7)

Skills: Bluff 8 (+15), Concentration 12 (+17), Craft [Artistic] 8 (+18), Gather Information 12 (+19), Knowledge [Arcane Lore] 8 (+18), Knowledge [History] 12 (+22), Notice 12 (+17), Search 8 (+18)

Feats: Artificer, Attractive, Ritualist, Well-Informed

Powers:
Comprehend 4 (Languages 4; 8pp)
Device 15 “Director’s Cut” [Easy to Lose] (Power Feat: Restricted 2; 47pp)
Features 1 (Temporal Inertia; 1pp)
Immunity 1 (Aging; 1pp)
Super-Movement 2 (Dimensional Movement 2 [alternate Earths]; 4pp)
Super-Senses 7 (Cosmic Awareness, Benefit [directed inspiration], Postcognition, Temporal Awareness; 7pp)
Teleport 20 (Flaw: Long-Range [-1]; 20pp)

Devices:

Director’s Cut (75pp total)
Force Field 10 (Extras: Affects Others [+0], Insidious [+1], Range [+1]; 30pp) Plot Armor
AP: Summon Minion 10 (Extra: Type [Stock Characters; +1]; 1pp)
Luck Control 2 (spend on another’s behalf, bestow hero points; Power Feat: Luck 12; 18pp) GM Fiat
Mental Transform 12 (memories, 2pp/rank; 24pp)
AP: Healing 10 (Extra: Resurrection [+1]; Flaw: Limited to Others [-1]; Power Feats: Progression 3 [Resurrection time; 1 hour/rank], Reincarnation; 1pp) Comic Book Death
AP: Paralyze 12 (1pp)

Combat: Attack +12; Damage +4 (Unarmed); Defense +12 (+6 flat-footed); Initiative +4

Saves: Toughness +4, Fortitude +8, Reflex +8, Will +9

Abilities 68 + Skills 20 (80 ranks) + Feats 4 + Powers 88 + Combat 48 + Saves 12 – Drawbacks 0 = 240

Apocrypha carries the Director’s Cut. With it, she can shield a protagonist with Plot Armor to ensure that he doesn’t die or get injured without finishing the plot. Using Luck Control, Apocrypha can mimic GM Fiat by granting hero points to or spending hero points on a character. She uses Mental Transform to make people believe that the altered version of events is in fact history as they had always remembered or to cover her own interference. She can heal characters to save them from an untimely death or resurrect popular or integral characters and is responsible for the phenomenon of Comic Book Death. Finally, by using the Director’s Cut as a weapon, she can Paralyze targets by removing them from the timestream.

Apocrypha can summon any stock character to help move a plot along. Generally, she can call any archetypal 150pp hero or villain. Typical stock characters and appropriate stand-ins from the core book include: the Competent Man (the stock character that Mister Competent and the mainstream hero of which he is a pastiche is based on; Battlesuit, Costumed Adventurer, or Gadgeteer), the Damsel in Distress (Bystander or Reporter), the Dark Lord (Mystic, Psionic, or Vampire Lord), the Evil Genius (Brain in a Jar, Mad Scientist, or Sinister Simian), the Evil Twin (a perfect copy of one of the heroes), and the Trickster (Master of Disguise, Puppeteer, Shapeshifter, or Speedster).

Full F.I.A.T. Status: When she was in the Galactic Maestro’s favor, Apocrypha had sufficient Progression feats on her powers to affect the entire Earth and was able to use a Horde Summon. She could do more than Mental Transform, but actually physically Transform the Earth. With this level of power, she was capable of creating reboots to the entire timeline and even merge alternate Earths into one or fragment one Earth into multiple Earths or multiple alternate timelines.

Plot Hooks

Apocrypha can provide metagaming opportunities not so much by breaking the fourth wall as by tongue-in-cheek self-insertion. Her background draws heavily on the progression of comic book ages of the big two publishers, primarily DC, and while most settings have a similar history, Apocrypha's powers lend themselves easily to manipulating the secret histories of any setting.

Twilight Hour
Apocrypha becomes desperate over the state of the world and decides to shake things up. An energy controller hero of great repute, either an established NPC in the setting or a former teammate of the PCs, experiences a terrible tragedy secretly orchestrated by Apocrypha that induces him to use his powers to try to restore the world to what it once was. The instrument of choice? Apocrypha’s Director’s Cut. The heroes might not have the power to stop Apocrypha, but they may be able to stop their former ally, if they can bring themselves to kill him, and if Apocrypha lets them.

Crisis Control
Deciding that his F.I.A.T. had caused Earth’s continuity to jump the shark, the GM sends another F.I.A.T. to correct the problem, namely by rebooting Earth’s history to a time before Apocrypha’s defection. The heroes are chosen by Apocrypha to help her fight against the F.I.A.T. and thanks to her power, are the only people on Earth who remember the continuity as it should be.

OMG, you killed Kenny! You bastards!
The heroes triumph over one of their most dastardly villains, who actually dies onscreen, right in front of the heroes. But one day, he mysteriously returns, perhaps with his powers slightly changed (as a result of Reincarnation), but the same evil villain who gave the heroes such problems in the past. The heroes discover that Apocrypha has resurrected their archnemesis but must find out why she has done so and perhaps convince her not to do so in the future or even to ally with them.


1. Click on her name at the top of the entry for the definition of "Apocrypha" that I'm using in this build (i.e., not in the Bibilical sense of the word).

2. Image by Masamune Shirow for Comic Gum magazine.

This was my winning contest entry for round 5 of anji kenshin's Create-a-Contest thread.

Consider this chick stolen. Her and Ambush Bug obviously come from the same level of existence!

--both are obviously employees of the Galactic Maestro NB

Holy Chrome! You caught my eye with Shirow art, then stole my heart with a clever meta-gaming joke that doesn't break the fourth wall! I love it The FIAT may very well find their way into my game as well!

I have to say, too, that this is the first character concept I've seen on these boards that I'm pretty much looking to borrow "whole cloth", without tweaking, updating, or re-writing.

[Taliesin]

Holy Chrome! You caught my eye with Shirow art, then stole my heart with a clever meta-gaming joke that doesn't break the fourth wall! I love it The FIAT may very well find their way into my game as well!

I have to say, too, that this is the first character concept I've seen on these boards that I'm pretty much looking to borrow "whole cloth", without tweaking, updating, or re-writing.

Thanks! She's probably my favorite creation. I had to pull out all the stops to win that contest. I really liked my explanation for why Batman became Bat-God in the 21st century.