Elric's 2e Builds

[Elric]

ahh very nice Mystique build elric!!'

one thing is bothering me though.....where is your sig quote from it sounds really familiar...I'm thinking calvin and hobbes?...anyways great builds again

(Edit: my sig quote was "A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction to a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull day.")

Exactly correct! Calvin and Hobbes. And you're better than I am at Calvin and Hobbes quote recognition. A friend of mine had that quote on his profile elsewhere and I saw it and thought it was familiar, but couldn't remember where it was from. So I asked and he told me it was Calvin and Hobbes and then I knew I had found a sig quote

Thanks for the compliment on the builds! I'm really hoping that people use some of these builds in actual play- that's my intent in creating them. If anyone does so, let me know how it goes!

[luketheduke86]

ahh very nice Mystique build elric!!'

one thing is bothering me though.....where is your sig quote from it sounds really familiar...im thinking calvin and hobbes?...anyways great builds again

Exactly correct! Calvin and Hobbes. And you're better than I am at Calvin and Hobbes quote recognition. A friend of mine had that quote on his profile elsewhere and I saw it and thought it was familiar, but couldn't remember where it was from. So I asked and he told me it was Calvin and Hobbes and then I knew I had found a sig quote

Thanks for the compliment on the builds! I'm really hoping that people use some of these builds in actual play- that's my intent in creating them. If anyone does so, let me know how it goes!

i've read calvin and hobbes since i was five..so some things stick lol

i'll probably use a build or 2 for my campaign...ill tell yea how it goes

[Elric]

Here’s a detailed walkthrough of creating a starting PC at Power Level 10, with 150 power points. I created this example a while ago and gave it to my players, who were new to M&M. Thanks to Marshal Law for his Martial Artist creation example—I’m stealing the iconic Bob and a lot of his phrasing.

Two useful spreadsheet-based character builders are an Excel spreadsheet or an Open Office character sheet.

People often find the Alternate Power power feat confusing, but this walkthrough doesn’t cover it. Delemental has a great post explaining how Alternate Powers (i.e., arrays) work.

Bob wants to create a hero with the power of super-strength—the mighty Minotaur. This is my 2e conversion of the M&M 1e archetype character. He’s very similar to the Powerhouse archetype.

The first thing he looks at are his trade-offs (see page 24). He’s playing in a PL10 (150 pp) campaign, so by default, the maximum attack and damage (or save DC modifier for a non-damaging power) he can choose are 10 each. The maximum defense bonus and toughness save he can choose are also 10 each (but the base defense score is 10, so his maximum adjusted defense score defaults to 20).

For NPCs, Power Level (PL) is descriptive. For PCs, Power Level is prescriptive (sets limits). It's too bad the same term is used for both. I think it would be easier for people to understand if there were separate terms. In particular:

Game Level== Limits on Character Power Level for a campaign (applies to all PCs).

Character Power Level== Power Level that a character would be based only on a character's highest appropriate trait. For each PC in a campaign, Character PL must be less than or equal to Game Level.

The PL system assumes that generally a PC's Attack, Defense, Toughness save and save DCs will be up against PL, counting tradeoffs (in my language above, that Character PL=campaign PL). This is strongly supported by almost all the core book archetypes, and the majority of the Instant Superheroes archetypes (and most of the Instant Superheroes archetypes not up against one of their cap seem built that way because they have other abilities that make them more powerful than their raw stats would indicate- e.g., the Duplicator).

"Well," he says to his GM, "I'm no trained martial artist, so my attack bonus shouldn’t be that high, but I should still be pretty good at hitting things (just because I’m so strong). I am super-strong, so I should pack a devastating punch. A damage of about 13 seems right—I hit noticeably harder than a tank cannon (which does +10 damage).”

"OK," responds his GM. "By reducing your maximum attack bonus by three - from ten to seven- you can increase your maximum damage by the same amount, from 10 to thirteen."

"+13 to damage suits a powerhouse pretty well."

"Yes - but remember, we have just altered your maximum, not your actual bonus. You'll need to buy a lot of strength to get that damage”

Bob nods, and they look at defense.

"Well, it’s the same thing... I'm a man of steel, not an agile martial artist. I should rely on being hard to hurt, not hard to hit.”

With that in mind, Bob decides to trade off his maximum toughness save with his defense by the same amount as his offensive powers. He chooses Toughness save +13, and maximum defense= 17 (a +7 defense bonus). He’ll look into becoming bulletproof later.

Bob thinks about the ability scores he is going to need - taking into account his previous decisions about trade-offs. Physically, he needs to be incredibly strong and tough. Bob decides to buy his maximum toughness save and damage by simply increasing his Strength and Constitution to 36 each, for 13 damage unarmed and a +13 modifier to his Toughness save (this will also increase his Fortitude save to +13, but that’s fine since the non-Toughness saves are limited to PL+5, 15 in his case, rather than PL).

The next question is how much of his Strength and Constitution is due to his powers (coming from the Enhanced Strength and Enhanced Constitution powers) and how much comes from his innate abilities. Bob decides that his character was well above average in both strength and constitution before getting super-powers, but nothing too extraordinary, so he gives himself base strength 16, base constitution 16, and enhanced strength and enhanced constitution of 20 apiece. This means Minotaur has 16 strength even when his powers are nullified and 36 strength (16 base + 20 enhanced strength) when his powers are active.

Should his character be the lumbering kind of brick, or should he be more agile? Bob decides that he’s pretty quick for a brick and gives himself 14 Dex. For mental scores he decides that his character isn’t the type for book learning, so he keeps his Int strictly average. Minotaur is more perceptive and charismatic than most people (you’d be genial too if you had his powers!), but not much more so, so he makes Wis and Cha slightly above average.

Next Bob turns to powers. He already decided to buy Enhanced Strength 20 and Enhanced Constitution 20 when looking at his ability scores. Now he has to figure out how much Super-Strength to buy. Super-Strength affects lifting capacity but not melee damage, so it isn’t limited by his PL limits. Note that powers are not limited in rank directly. For example, a character at any PL can have as many ranks in Flight as he wants. However, your Toughness save is limited to your PL barring tradeoffs and the Protection power adds to your Toughness save, so it will be limited based on the limit on your Toughness save.

Bob just needs to decide how much he can lift! He decides that the heaviest object his character can lift under normal circumstances is a 747 (not too shabby!). This requires a lifting strength of 70 according to the table in the book, so Bob needs strength for lifting about 70. He already has 36 Strength and each rank of Super-Strength increases your strength for lifting by 5, so he buys 7 ranks of super-strength for a total of 71 strength for lifting (heavy load: 235 tons). How does Minotaur stop a runaway train? Here's a brilliant Official Rules Question answer from Steve Kenson that no one should be without.

Bob looks at the power feats for super-strength and decides that Shockwave and Ground Strike seem appropriate for his character, so he buys them.

“Oh boy,” Bob says. “A +13 damage effect with Shockwave!”

“Not so fast”, his GM reminds him. Shockwave is an Area Attack and Area Attacks don’t require an attack roll, so as a result even though Bob’s strength modifier is +13 he’s limited to doing 10 damage (his PL) with Shockwave because the tradeoff rules don’t apply. The GM is kind, though, and says that since Ground-Strike only trips people rather than damaging them he’ll let it be a full rank 13 effect (unless this proves problematic in play, which it shouldn't). As Super-Strength is 2 pp/rank, 7 ranks of the power plus two power feats comes out to 16 pp.

Note that though there's nothing about Trip being limited as if it forced a save DC in the core book, Steve has said Trip should probably be limited as such and the recent printing of Pocket Ultimate Power reflects this. However, the core book errata hasn't been updated to reflect this. Also note that these power feats of Super-Strength are based on your strength bonus (+13 in Minotaur's case; your Super-Strength ranks don't add to the effects of the power feats).

Next Bob looks at the Impervious power (Impervious Toughness, the equivalent for Constitution of the Protection power with the Impervious extra—see pg 96) “OK”, Bob says, “I want my character to be completely bulletproof and more- bullets can’t hurt him, grenades can’t hurt him, heck, even a bite from a Tyrannosaurus Rex or a blast from a Tank Cannon (+10 damage) can’t hurt him!”

The GM is a little disquieted by this (what can hurt Bob’s character if none of that can hurt him?), but eventually agrees that Bob can make his entire Toughness save impervious (so that only attacks with a damage bonus of +13 or higher can hurt him)—but if this proves too strong in play, he’ll ask Bob to scale back his Imperviousness to 10 (his PL, in effect not letting Impervious benefit from the tradeoff Bob has taken). As Bob has already bought his Toughness to +13 from Constitution, he pays 13 pp to make all 13 points of his Toughness Impervious.

Side note: Many published villains have the Power Attack feat, and making liberal use of it should ensure that Minotaur's Impervious isn't a problem in play.

Lastly, Bob decides his character can jump! He can’t jump the grand canyon, but he can jump (almost) any building in a single bound. That means he should have a high jump around 1000-1500 feet, so Bob takes 7 ranks of leaping to boost his Leaping distance to a high jump of 1440 feet, with a long jump of just over a mile!

Bob then turns to his combat abilities and buys his attack and defense bonuses to their maximum allowed values of 7. Note that half of your ranks of Defense bonus (rounded down) are a Dodge bonus, which is lost is certain circumstances, like when your character is stunned, flat-footed or otherwise unable to defend himself normally (see pg 32). So Minotaur has 3 points of Dodge bonus that he can lose under these circumstances, and 4 points of Defense bonus that aren't lost under these circumstances.

So far, he’s spent 124 pp: 20 ability scores + 76 powers + 28 combat (Attack/Defense bonus)= 124 pp, so he has 26 pp left to spend.

Now Bob turns to skills, which he can buy at 4 skill ranks per power point. Since his character is more charismatic than average and street savvy, he decides to give him some ranks in Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information and Knowledge: Streetwise to reflect this (plus knowledge of Spanish, which costs 1 skill rank). He’s pretty perceptive, so he also picks up ranks in Notice and Sense Motive. Bob decides that Minotaur is very intimidating and gives him 12 ranks of Intimidate.

Language- 1 skill rank: Spanish
Int skills: Knowledge: Streetwise 6 skill ranks
Wis skills: Notice 7 skill ranks, Sense Motive 7 skill ranks
Cha skills: Bluff 5 skill ranks, Diplomacy 5 skill ranks, Gather Info 5 skill ranks, Intimidate 12 skill ranks

He ends up with 48 skill ranks, so he spends 12 pp on skills.

Now Bob looks at feats. He takes only a handful of feats, including Power Attack to hit even harder at the cost of being less accurate, Takedown Attack to send hordes of minions flying, Interpose to step in front of attacks, Startle to throw enemies off balance, and Ultimate Effort (Ultimate Toughness Save) to withstand hits of staggering ferocity. He ends up spending 6 pp on feats. Note that Ultimate Effort (Ultimate Toughness Save) lets him, once a round, spend a hero point before rolling a Toughness save to be treated as if he had rolled a 20 (but it's not a natural 20).

This leaves Bob with only 8 pp for saves. He looks at his saves and realizes his Fortitude save is plenty high already, but his Reflex save is +2 and his Will save is +1. He decides to distribute the points 3 pp to his reflex save and 5 pp to his Will save, reasoning that a +5 total Reflex save fits with being pretty quick for a brick and the +6 Will save reflects his being strong-willed.

His total of Fort/Reflex/Will saves is 13 +5 +6= 24, which is right around the average of the core book archetypes (~23). Note that although (by spending enough power points) Minotaur could have +15 to each of Fort/Reflex/Will saves, you shouldn't do this. The caps are there because certain character types thematically should have particularly high saves (Minotaur's Fortitude, a Speedster's Reflex, a Psionic's Will), but having all of them high makes a character too hard to hurt. This is different from a character's Attack/Save DC (damage) and Defense/Toughness caps, which you should generally meet.

That’s it—Bob’s spent all of his points, and doesn’t want to take any drawbacks to obtain more power points. He’s ready to play, but first his GM has to come up with some clever ways to challenge such a strong, tough character! Bob’s final character sheet is:



Minotaur

Power Level 10 (150 pp)

Abilities: STR 36 [16] (+13), DEX 14 (+2), CON 36 [16] (+13), INT 10 (+0), WIS 12 (+1), CHA 12 (+1)

Skills: Bluff 5 (+6), Diplomacy 5 (+6), Gather Information 5 (+6), Intimidate 12 (+13), Knowledge: Streetwise 6 (+6), Notice 7 (+8), Sense Motive 7 (+8), Languages 1 (Spanish; English base)

Feats: Improved Initiative, Interpose, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown Attack, Ultimate Effort (Ultimate Toughness Save)

Powers:
Enhanced Strength 20 (20 pp), Enhanced Constitution 20 (20 pp), Impervious Toughness 13 (13 pp)

Leaping 7 (7 pp), Super-Strength 7 (Power Feats: Shockwave, Ground Strike; Heavy Load 235 tons) (7 ranks * 2 pp/rank + 2 power feats * 1 pp each= 16 pp)

Combat: Attack +7 (Unarmed 13 dmg), Defense 17 (14 flat-footed), Initiative +6, Grapple +27, Knockback -13

Saves: Toughness +13 (Impervious), Fortitude +13, Reflex +5, Will +6

Abilities 20 + Skills 12 + Feats 6 + Powers 76 + Combat 28 + Saves 8= 150 pp spent

Notes: Here’s the mighty Minotaur, my conversion of the 1e archetype Powerhouse. Note that if Minotaur takes repeated full-distance running jumps to get around (at Leaping rank 7, a full distance long jump takes 3 rounds before he lands), he travels at 218 miles per hour. His jumping distances are: running long jump 5750 feet, standing long jump 2875 feet, high jump 1440 feet.

Based on his tradeoffs, he is maxed out for attack/save DC (damage), and Defense/Toughness. Note that I've listed Minotaur's Defense score, which is 10+his defense bonus (see page 150).

[Elric]

Marshal Law doesn't seem to be posting much at the moment, so I'm reposting his martial artist creation example from the thread he initially posted it in. He is just making the PL 10, 150 pp Martial Artist archetype from the core book. I’ve made some minor changes to Marshal Law's post.

Bob decides to create a martial artist character.

One that has no superpowers whatsoever, not even ones that could be justified by the concept such as "Strike" to represent martial arts punches. He will instead use feats to do that.

The first thing he looks at are his Trade Offs (page 24).

This is a PL10 campaign, so by default, the maximum attack and damage he can choose are 10 each. The maximum defense bonus and toughness save he can choose are also 10 each.

"Well," he says to his GM, "I'm no Wolverine with slashing claws, or Superman with a devastating punch, so my damage shouldn't be that high. But I am a highly trained martial artist, so I ought to be able to hit harder than the average guy. A damage of about 4 should be fine - I can do that just using strength bonus."

"OK," responds his GM. "By reducing your maximum damage by six - from 10 to four - you can increase your maximum attack bonus by the same amount, from 10 to sixteen."

"+16 to attack suits a martial artist pretty well."
"Yes - but remember, we have just altered your maximum, not your actual bonus. You'll need to buy levels of attack, or perhaps feats, to actually get that attack bonus."

Bob nods, and they look at defense.

"Well, it’s the same thing... I'm no Man of Steel, or Colossus. I should rely on not getting hit, so I should take a high defense and a low toughness save"

"True" replies the GM. "Although I should point out two things. First, half of your defense score is a dodge bonus, which you won't always get. Second, no matter how good you are at defense, sometimes you *will* get hit, so don't get carried away with defense and leave yourself too vulnerable to damage."

"Watch out for area attacks too - they use a reflex save rather than an attack roll, and if you get hit with one of those and have a poor toughness..."

"Well... I can be really acrobatic to avoid area attacks, maybe." says Bob. "It just doesn't suit the character to have armor or super-tough skin..."

"No, but you might want to look at the Defensive Roll feat - it assumes that you have the skill to roll with punches, reducing how much damage they do even if you do get hit. But it still counts towards your maximum Toughness save value."

With that in mind, Bob trades off his maximum toughness save with his defense bonus, but not as much as he did with his offensive powers. He chooses Defense Bonus 13 (his Defense score will be 23, 10 plus his 13 Defense Bonus), and decides to that he will use a combination of physical fitness (constitution) and the Defensive Roll Feat to avoid damage, for a maximum damage save of seven. Bob goes ahead and buys his Attack Bonus to +16 for 32 pp (2 pp per point of Attack Bonus) and buys his Defense Bonus to +13 (giving him a Defense Score, which is 10+Defense Bonus, of 23), for 26 pp.

Bob thinks for a while about the ability scores he is going to need - taking into account his previous decisions about trade-offs.

Physically, he needs to be very strong, even more dexterous, and quite fit. Mentally, he decides he isn't the type for book learning or clever wit, and keeps his INT and CHA strictly average. Martial Arts takes dedication, though, so he decides a reasonable WIS score would be a good idea.

So far then, Bob has only set his trade-offs, and bought his ability scores and attack and defense bonuses. He’s spent 58 points on Combat (Attack/Defense), and 30 points on ability scores, for 88 points total.

Bob isn't buying any powers, so he decides to look at feats next. They will play a large part in his character build. In fact, some might even say that the real thing that represents combat training such as that of a martial artist isn't Attack Bonus, but the number of combat feats you have.

Remembering his need to roll with attacks, Bob starts by taking 4 ranks of Defensive Roll (thus maxing out his toughness save). He also takes Uncanny Dodge so that it will be hard for ordinary thugs to take him by surprise - so that he will get his full defense bonus and defensive roll bonus more often. He decides that Uncanny Dodge is based on his hearing (Uncanny Dodge can be somewhat confusing; see Steve's answer where he explains exactly what Uncanny Dodge protects against).

Bob then thinks about his favorite martial arts movies, and what the heroes in them do.

He wants to be able to handle large numbers of foes at once, and use their numbers against them, and so he takes Takedown Attack and Redirect (and his DM suggests that since Redirect requires you to “trick” the opponent, he takes Acrobatic Bluff, too, so he can trick with his high Acrobatics skill rather than his low Bluff skill). He wants to be very hard to hit - especially by gunmen, so he takes Defensive Attack, and Elusive Target. Kicking weapons out of peoples’ hands, tossing mooks around like confetti, even fighting in the dark, he goes on until his list of close combat feats is very impressive, spending another 28 points.

His sheet now looks like this:

Maximum Attack bonus: 16
Maximum Damage: 4
Maximum Defense Bonus: 13
Maximum Toughness: 7

STR 18 (+4) (8 points)
DEX 20 (+5) (10 points)
CON 16 (+3) (6 points)
INT 10 (+0) (0 points)
WIS 15 (+2) (5 points)
CHA 11 (+0) (1 point)

Attack Bonus +16 (32 points) (maxed out)
Damage +4 (from strength bonus) (maxed out)

Defense 23 (10 base + 13 Defense Bonus) (26 Points) (maxed out)
Toughness Save +7 (from Con Bonus and Defensive Roll 4) (maxed out)
(Note that if he is caught flat-footed, he only gets his CON bonus)

Initiative +9 (From Dex and Improved Initiative)

Fortitude Save +3 (from Con Bonus)
Reflex Save +5 (from Dex Bonus)
Will Save +2 (from Wis Bonus)

Feats: Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, Assessment, Blind-Fight, Chokehold, Critical Strike, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 4, Elusive Target, Grappling Finesse, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, Improved Throw, Improved Trip, Instant Up, Luck 2, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Redirect, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

Points spent so far: 116

*******************************

"Don't forget your saves" says Bob's GM. "You don't have any special immunities to poisons or anything, nor any kind of gas mask, so you are going to need a good Fortitude save."

"If somebody throws a poison dart at me, I'll just dodge" says Bob.

"I wouldn't count on it. Remember area attacks? Even if you make your reflex save, you still take half damage. If somebody throw tear-gas grenade at you, you have to make a fortitude save versus a minimum of 12, even if you make the reflex save..."

Realizing that even a simple off the shelf tear-gas grenade is a significant threat, Bob decides to up his saves. He puts an extra 8 points into his reflex save. He puts another 5 into his fortitude save, and then - since he has a martial artist's dedication, he also puts 4 points into his will save.

"Very wise" adds his GM, grinning evilly. "Even the most physically adept character can suffer from mind control and other mental effects, happens in the comics all the time."

After that crack, Bob wonders if he has made his saves high enough... but he still has skills to buy, and wants quite a lot of them, so he decides to leave it for now. Note that his Fort/Ref/Will saves are actually quite high—the Martial Artist has the highest total F/R/W saves of any core book archetype at +27.

His sheet now looks like this:

Maximum Attack bonus: 16
Maximum Damage: 4
Maximum Defense Bonus: 13
Maximum Toughness: 7

STR 18 (+4) (8 points)
DEX 20 (+5) (10 points)
CON 16 (+3) (6 points)
INT 10 (+0) (0 points)
WIS 15 (+2) (5 points)
CHA 11 (+0) (1 point)

Attack Bonus +16 (32 points) (maxed out)
Damage +4 (from strength bonus) (maxed out)

Defense 23 (10 base + 13 Defense Bonus) (26 Points) (maxed out)
Toughness Save +7 (from Con Bonus and Defensive Roll 4) (maxed out)
(Note that if he is caught flat-footed, he only gets his CON bonus)

Initiative +9 (From Dex and Improved Initiative)

Fortitude Save +8 (from Con Bonus and direct purchase)
Reflex Save +13 (from Dex Bonus and direct purchase)
Will Save +6 (from Wis Bonus and direct purchase)

Feats: Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, Assessment, Blind-Fight, Chokehold, Critical Strike, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 4, Elusive Target, Grappling Finesse, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, Improved Throw, Improved Trip, Instant Up, Luck 2, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Redirect, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

Points spent so far: 133

*******************************

Finally, Bob turns to skills. Once again, Bob draws inspiration from his favorite movies, but first he checks to see if any of his chosen feats rely on skills. His "Acrobatic Bluff" will require lots of Acrobatics, but he was planning on taking that anyway. Being rather cunning, Bob also checks to see if what skills, if any, would help him resist people using combat maneuvers on him.

"You get 4 Skill Ranks for each power point" says his GM.
"So all my skill ranks have to be in multiples of four?" asks Bob, frowning.
"No, no. You can split the ranks up, so if you spent one point on skills, you could buy 2 ranks in two different skills, or 3 in one and 1 in another."
"Right, got it."
"Don't forget to check the Ability that the skill relies on. You've got a high dexterity score, for example, so you may not need to take as many ranks in Dex based skills."
"I see how that works, I think." replies Bob. "In fact, if I had loads of skills using the same ability, it might be cheaper to simply raise the ability score."
"It’s possible" says his GM "But don't forget, some skills you cannot use untrained - you have to have bought at least one rank in them."

Bearing all this in mind, Bob purchases the following skill ranks:
Dex based skills: Acrobatics 11, Escape Artist 10, Stealth 11
Wis based skills: Concentration 10, Notice 8, Sense Motive 8,
Cha based skills: Intimidate 10
(Total ranks - 68. Power point cost 17)

Note that skill ranks are limited to PL+5 (15 for this character), but a skill's total bonus can be higher than PL+5 because the total bonus includes skill ranks and ability score modifiers. So Bob's 11 ranks in Acrobatics and 11 ranks in Stealth result in total bonuses for Acrobatics and Stealth of +16 counting his +5 Dexterity modifier, and that's fine.

If Bob is stunned, he can roll a Concentration check (DC 10+ ranks in Defensive Roll, so 14 here) to keep use of his Defensive Roll feat even though he’s stunned. And look at that- with his 15 Wisdom, Bob has a +12 Concentration check so he only misses the DC 14 roll on a 1! Since he does not have a large number of skills in any given Ability score, he decides to leave his Ability scores alone. Lucky really, since he has just spent all of his points.

"Why Sense Motive?" asks the GM. "I've always associated that with more investigative characters."
"Ah" says Bob. "I checked the rules, and it's what you use to resist combat feints. I'm supposed to be the martial arts master; I don't want to get faked out by some cheap punk."

The GM Nods. "Sure you don't want to take any drawbacks? It could get you some extra points."
"Not likely" grins Bob "My character is striving for physical and spiritual perfection, I don't want anything that damages that concept. I might take some complications, though, but they don't give extra points, do they?"

The GM confirms that they do not, and since he and Bob are happy with the character, Bob decides that the character is finished (at least mechanically).

The Martial Artist now looks like this:

Ability Scores:
STR 18 (+4) (8 points)
DEX 20 (+5) (10 points)
CON 16 (+3) (6 points)
INT 10 (+0) (0 points)
WIS 15 (+2) (5 points)
CHA 11 (+0) (1 point)

Combat: Attack Bonus +16 (32 points), Damage +4 (unarmed, from strength bonus)
Defense 23 (10 +13 Defense bonus) (26 Points)
Initiative +9 (From Dex and Improved Initiative)
Grapple +21 (+16 Attack Bonus + 5 Dex from Grappling Finesse feat)

Saves:
Toughness Save +7 (from Con Bonus and Defensive Roll 4) (+3 Flat-Footed)
Fortitude Save +8 (from Con Bonus and 5 points direct purchase)
Reflex Save +13 (from Dex Bonus and 8 points direct purchase)
Will Save +6 (from Wis Bonus and 4 points direct purchase)


Feats: Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, Assessment, Blind-Fight, Chokehold, Critical Strike, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 4, Elusive Target, Grappling Finesse, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, Improved Throw, Improved Trip, Instant Up, Luck 2, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Redirect, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack, Uncanny Dodge (Auditory)

Skills: Acrobatics 11 (+16), Concentration 10 (+12), Escape Artist 10 (+15), Intimidate 10 (+10), Notice 8 (+10), Sense Motive 8 (+10), Stealth 11 (+16)

Total Points spent: 150 (Ability scores 30 + Skills 17 (68 ranks) + Feats 28 + Combat 58 + Saves 17 = 150 pp)

Trade-offs:
Maximum Attack bonus: 16
Maximum Damage/ Save DC modifier: 4
Maximum Defense Bonus: 13
Maximum Toughness: 7

Notes: Based on his tradeoffs, he is maxed out for attack/save DC (damage), and Defense/Toughness. I’ve listed his Defense score, which is 10+his defense bonus (see page 150).

This character is crying out for the Evasion feat. If you want to play this character, you should lower one of his odd-numbered ability scores by 1 and use the 1 pp to pick up Evasion. A second worthwhile change is to drop his Attack Bonus to +15 and use the 2 pp saved to increase his Strength to 20 so he does a little more damage (this would mean you trade -5 maximum damage for +5 maximum attack instead of -6 maximum damage for +6 maximum attack).

He can choose to use ranks of Defensive Roll to add to his Reflex save for half effect against any Area Attack, but if he does he cannot use it on his Toughness save against that attack, if that attack forces a Toughness save. If you are hit by an Area Attack that forces a Toughness save chances are you won't want to use Defensive Roll, because even if you make the initial Reflex save you'll still have to roll a Toughness save against half damage. If you had Evasion, this would be a different story- then you'd probably want to use Defensive Roll against Area Attacks that force Toughness saves (since making the initial Reflex save means you don't even have to roll the Toughness save).

[Thorpacolypse]

I am going to be linking to those last two posts so fast...

I have some newbies starting in my campaign in October and these will be invaluable. Thanks for throwing those up!

[Elric]

I am going to be linking to those last two posts so fast...

I have some newbies starting in my campaign in October and these will be invaluable. Thanks for throwing those up!

Glad to be of help! After updating Marshal Law's post to get the Defensive Roll rules correct, I noticed that I may have one part of the rules for Defensive Roll wrong myself: whether the Martial Artist can use enough Defensive Roll to add to his Reflex save against an Area Attack to bring his Reflex save above +15 (the Martial Artist's PL limit for Reflex saves).

I tentatively answered "no" in the build but I'm asking Steve in Official Rules and the answer may turn out to be "yes." I'll update the post and include a link to Steve's answer once he answers it. This goes to show you that even if you've been playing this game for a while, that doesn't mean you know everything- far from it!

Edit- I've changed my mind- I think the answer is going to be "yes, Defensive Roll can let you exceed your PL limit on Reflex saves against Area Attacks". So the post is updated to reflect that in the meantime

[Elric]

Luke Cage

Power Level 9 (135 pp)

Abilities: STR: 30 (+10), DEX: 14 (+2), CON: 30 (+10), INT: 12 (+1), WIS: 14 (+2), CHA: 14 (+2)

Skills: Bluff 4 (+6), Drive 2 (+4), Gather Information 8 (+10), Intimidate 12 (+14), Investigate 4 (+5), Knowledge [Business] 1 (+2), Knowledge [Civics] 4 (+5), Knowledge [Pop Culture] 2 (+3), Knowledge [Streetwise] 8 (+9), Notice 5 (+7), Sense Motive 7 (+9), Stealth 3 (+5)

Feats: All-Out Attack, Attack Focus 3 (Melee), Contacts, Defensive Attack, Diehard, Dodge Focus, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Initiative, Interpose, Luck, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown Attack 2, Teamwork, Ultimate Effort (Ultimate Toughness Save)

Powers:
Impervious Toughness 8, Super-Strength 1 (AP: Speed 1 (10 mph) & Leaping 1)
Super Strength 3 (Heavy Load: 12.8 tons)

Combat: Attack +5 (+8 melee) [Unarmed 10 dmg; 19-20 Crit], Defense 18 (14 flat-footed), Initiative +6, Grapple +22, Knockback -9

Saves: Toughness +10 (8 Impervious), Fortitude +10, Reflex +5, Will +6

Abilities 54 + Skills 15 + Feats 18 + Powers 17 + Combat 24 + Saves 7= 135

Notes: Here’s Luke Cage as a PC at PL 9, 135 pp. I also have a PC build of him at PL 10 since he could fit at either PL. He'd be a fun character to play.

[JoshuaDunlow]

Gotta love Luke Cage

[Elric]

Quicksilver

Power Level 9 (135 pp)

Abilities: STR: 14 (+2), DEX: 18 (+4), CON: 18 (+4), INT: 12 (+1), WIS: 10 (+0), CHA: 14 (+2)

Skills: Acrobatics 4 (+8), Bluff 10 (+12), Knowledge [Streetwise] 6 (+7), Notice 6 (+6), Search 4 (+5), Sense Motive 8 (+8), Languages 2 (Romani native; English, German)

Feats: Attack Focus 4 (Melee), Attack Specialization (Unarmed), Dodge Focus 9, Evasion 2, Fast Overrun, Improved Overrun, Instant Up, Move-by Action, Set Up, Taunt, Teamwork 2

Powers:
Displacement (Drawback: only while capable of taking free actions and moving) (3 pp)

Super-Movement 2 (Wall Crawling 1 & Water Walking—Limited: only while running) (2pp)

Super Speed 7 (1000 mph; Power Feats: Alternate Power x3) (38 pp)
Super-Speed Array:
Rapid Attack (35 foot radius) (14 pp)
AP: Flurry of Blows—Strike 6 (Extra: Autofire on Strength and Strike (8 pp), Power Feat: Mighty, Drawback: no “walking the fire” use) (14 pp)
AP: Air Control 7 (Heavy Load: 1.6 tons) (14 pp)
AP: Concealment 7 (all Visual senses, all Radio senses, Sonar; Limited: only when using all-out movement) (7 pp)

Combat: Attack +4 (+8 melee, +10 Unarmed) [Unarmed 2 dmg, Flurry 8 Autofire damage], Defense 24 (13 flat-footed), Initiative +32, Grapple +10, Knockback -2

Saves: Toughness +4, Fortitude +4, Reflex +14, Will +4

Abilities 26 + Skills 10 + Feats 24 + Powers 43 + Combat 18 + Saves 14= 135

Notes: Here’s Quicksilver as a PL 9, 135 pp PC. He’s exceedingly hard to hit, but he’ll really feel it if you hit him. On offense he has to choose between using Rapid Attack and doing low damage while hitting a lot of targets and using his Strike power and doing high damage to one target. He can perform routine actions at 250 times normal speed.

Displacement is a Sustained power from Ultimate Power—essentially a limited version of Concealment (Visual). It represents him moving so quickly that he’s very hard to target. Displacement: You can create a visual distortion that causes you to appear in an area adjacent (about 5 feet away) from where you actually are. This provides total concealment in that opponents attacking your apparent position have a 50% miss chance and your actual position is difficult to detect (use the guidelines under the Concealment effect description). This power is not quite as useful as true invisibility as your displaced image is still present; anyone seeing it knows you are nearby, just not necessarily where. You can shift the position of your displaced image as a free action once each round, but it must always remain within 5 feet of your actual position.

[Libra]

Good Work.

[Elric]

Johnny Nitro
"Not only am I better than you- I'm also better looking"
Power Level 11 (165 pp)

Abilities: STR: 38 (+14/+4), DEX: 16 (+3), CON: 32 (+11/+4), INT: 10 (+0), WIS: 10 (+0), CHA: 16 (+3)

Skills: Acrobatics 14 (+17), Bluff 8 (+11/+15), Diplomacy 8 (+11/+15), Gather Information 8 (+11), Intimidate 14 (+17), Notice 8 (+8), Sense Motive 4 (+4)

Feats: Accurate Attack, Acrobatic Bluff, All-out Attack, Attack Focus 8 (Melee), Attack Specialization 2 (Grappling), Attractive, Benefit (Fame), Contacts, Defensive Attack, Distract (Intimidate), Dodge Focus 6, Evasion 2, Fearless, Grappling Finesse, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Grab, Interpose, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Prone Fighting, Redirect, Set-Up, Startle, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack, Ultimate Effort (Toughness save), Uncanny Dodge (Hearing)

Powers:
Enhanced Strength 20, Super-Strength 1 (Power Feat: Shockwave) (Heavy Load: 4.8 tons)
Enhanced Constitution 14, Leaping 4 (x25 distance), Speed 1
Regeneration 7 (Bruised, 1/round w/ no rest, Staggered, 1/ per full round)
Minor but sensible rules dodge: Regeneration works on bruises from physical damage, even when he has an injured wound from energy damage.
Immunity 20 (lethal physical damage, Limited—lethal physical damage becomes nonlethal damage) (10 pp)

Combat: Attack +0 (+8 melee) [Unarmed 14 dmg, 19-20 crit], Defense 21 (13 flat-footed), Initiative +3, Grapple +27, Knockback -5,

Saves: Toughness +11, Fortitude +11, Reflex +8, Will +6

Free equipment: 1 multitool (1ep), 1 set of masterwork handcuffs (2ep), 1 commlink (1ep), 1 iPhone (masterwork computer, cell phone, camera 4ep), 1 flashlight (1ep)

Abilities 28 + Skills 16 + Feats 41 + Powers 59 + Combat 10 + Saves 11= 165

Real Name: John Hennigan
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 215 lbs
Hair: Mostly brown
Eyes: Brown

Notes: Johnny Nitro is a PC of mine, originally from a PL 10 game, by the end of which he had advanced almost to PL 11. Now I’m playing him in a PL 11 play by post game, Superheroes of the Trust. The free equipment is part of being on the superhero team. He’s loosely based on the pro-wrestler of the same name, although I’ve only watched pro wrestling a few times. Apparently he's also named John Morrison now- strange. I was just inspired to build a superhero version of the character. He’s a laid back, boastful, somewhat clueless charming surfer dude. Nitro happens to be super-intimidating because he’s a superhero, although the real Johnny Nitro is no Undertaker in terms of intimidation factor.

Improved Grab is totally broken by the book. The last GM I had ruled (totally reasonably, in my view) that Improved Grab didn't let you apply a grapple check result- it just let you start the grapple. Otherwise you can deal damage with a normal unarmed attack, start a grapple with Improved Grab and deal damage again. I had initially taken the "rules dodge" on Regeneration as a benefit feat but the GM said it was too insignificant to need a benefit feat for and gave it to me for free. I think he ought to have a few actual ranks in base attack and not just attack focus: melee, but power point limits are a harsh mistress. Note that Steve has said that you should add Acrobatics to your jumping distance before multiplying for Leaping (see here).

Background: John Hennigan, aka Johnny Nitro, was having a glorious career in the WWE. After graduating from college at UC Davis, where he did gymnastics and wrestling, the Los Angeles native decided to enter into a reality TV contest to be trained as a pro wrestler. He won the reality TV show, Tough Enough III, and was entered into the "minor leagues" of wrestling where he toiled in relative obscurity.

WWE organizers recognized his talent, though, and he was soon promoted through the ranks and given a spot in the SmackDown! tag team MNM, on Thursday nights in your local station. MNM was a great success in the ring and off (to which John attributed his skill and good looks) and soon won the WWE tag team championships. They were defeated a few months later, on July 24, 2005. It was October 28, though, and MNM would have their revenge.

The fight called for Nitro to be savagely beat up and for Heidenreich, all 6'7” and 300 lbs of him, to do a Shooting Star Press on Nitro, an acrobatic move in which the attacker jumps forward from an elevated position, executes a backflip in mid-air, and lands stomach first across an opponent lying on the ground below. Nitro would take the hit and then, summoning reserves of strength that would seem unimaginable, he’d get back up and he and his teammate Mercury would win the fight.

Heidenreich had never done a shooting star press in a match before, since he was a little too reckless in general, but he had been practicing and it seemed like he'd be able to pull it off fine. Now, as John lay on his stomach waiting for Heidenreich to jump, he really hoped they had been correct. He heard Heidenreich leap and a thought crossed his mind “he’s jumped too fast.”

Heidenreich had jumped too far. His knee slammed into the back of Nitro’s head, as he said it later, with enough force to kill an ox. John felt himself get hit—it hurt, but the pain subsided almost immediately. The paramedics were already starting to run on stage when Nitro stood up and waved them off, to the shock of an anguished (if a guy that big and scary can ever look anguished) Heidenreich, who probably thought he had just ended both of their careers.

MNM went on to win the match—the crowd went wild and John had never felt better. After the match, Mercury asked him “Man, when did you and Heidenreich figure out how to pull that move off? You had me fooled- from the way it looked like he hit you I thought you’d be lucky to escape with a concussion.” John wasn’t sure how to answer so he just went with the safe “You’ll have to buy me half a dozen beers before I’ll tell you that one.” They went off to party and the issue was soon forgotten. Heidenreich, never one to dwell on his own faults, seemed to think that they had planned that outcome as well and said as much in interviews that night.

Throughout that evening, though, John wondered—what had happened back in the ring? At one point in the evening he picked up a keg over his head and felt like he could have done it one-handed. “Was that just the beer?” he wondered. The next afternoon, after waking up in his awesome bachelor pad with no hangover despite the incredible amount of beer he drank the night before, John decided to try to figure all of this out.

He grabbed a boxing glove and tried punching the wall. Didn’t feel anything- the glove’s too thick. He tried punching the wall really hard—there, his hand hurt a little and had he made a small crack in the wall? Or was that there before? “Only one way to find out” he decided, took off the glove, and threw a haymaker. His punch broke a huge hole in the wall and instead of being broken his hand just stung and then felt better. Obviously he needed to try something else.

He grabbed a pin and tried to prick his finger- it didn’t work, he couldn’t penetrate his skin. John took a usually decorative katana and tried to prick his finger- that didn’t work either. After considering it for a bit, he swung the katana at his arm (the blade wasn’t that sharp) and while he felt the impact and that hurt, it didn’t even come close to breaking the skin. That was enough to convince John that he was invulnerable. He ran to the sink, filled a spare pot with nearly boiling water, and dumped it on his head…

By the time 3 hours later, when he left the hospital where he was treated for burns, John realized that he wasn’t invulnerable. Punching the wall had hurt his hand, but it hadn’t done any lasting damage. The bandages proved that some things could do him lasting damage, though.

As he left the hospital, some WWE fans recognized him. After he signed some autographs one perceptive fan saw the bandages on his neck and asked “Nitro? You OK after yesterday?” “I’m fine.” John replied. “Just too much partying. I’m as good as new.” With that he did a standard back flip for the fans. At least, it was supposed to be a back flip. It came out as a double back flip, something which John didn’t even know he could do, much less do from a standing start. He thanked the fans for their interest and then went home.

John still hasn’t learned the origin of his super-powers, which make him faster, stronger, and (especially) tougher than any man. He noticed that he was also starting to become more perceptive too- a quality he had never had before. Did have these powers all along and just unlock them somehow, or did they appear because of some other event? He decided he couldn’t go back to the WWE now that he had the opportunity to be on an even bigger stage. He had always liked helping people and he had always liked having fans.

After some deliberation he told Mercury and Melina his intentions, and then held a press conference to announce his retirement from the WWE and his intention to join a superhero group that was looking to accept “a really good-looking super-powered California dude.”

[Elric]

Captain Britania

Power Level 8 (150 pp)

Abilities: STR: 22 (+6), DEX: 22 (+6), CON: 22 (+6), INT: 12 (+1), WIS: 18 (+4), CHA: 20 (+5)

Skills: Acrobatics 8 (+14), Diplomacy 9 (+14), Handle Animal 1 (+6), Intimidate 5 (+10), Knowledge: Current Events 4 (+5), Knowledge: History 4 (+5), Knowledge: Tactics 11 (+12), Medicine 1 (+7), Notice 8 (+12), Ride 1 (+7), Sense Motive 8 (+12), Stealth 4 (+10), Survival 3 (+7), Languages 5 (English base; Swahili, German, French, Arabic, Hausa)

Feats: Acrobatic Bluff, Animal Empathy, Attack Focus 6 (Melee), Benefit (Status: Renown), Defensive Attack, Diehard, Dodge Focus, Elusive Target, Endurance, Equipment, Evasion 2, Fearless, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Inspire 5, Interpose, Leadership, Luck 2, Master Plan, Power Attack, Takedown Attack 2, Teamwork 2, Ultimate Effort (Ultimate Toughness Save), Uncanny Dodge (Hearing)

Powers:
Speed 1, Leaping 1, Super-Strength 1 (Heavy Load: 1040 lbs),
Immunity 2 (Disease, Poison-Limited to Half Effect), Regeneration 1 (Bruised, 1/full round of rest)
Super-Senses 2 (Extended Vision, Extended Hearing)
Enhanced Charisma 6 (Limited to Inspire -2) (2 pp)

Device 3 (Vibranium Shield, Easy to Lose, PF: Indestructible, Restricted- as large shield for anyone else)
Shield: Enhanced Dodge Focus 4, Strike 2 (PF: Mighty), Enhanced Feats (Improved Critical, Improved Defense 2, Improved Block 2, Steadfast, Weapon Bind)
AP of all other powers: Blast 2 (PF: Improved Range 2, Accurate x4, Mighty x4)

Equipment: Chain mail (Protection 2, Immunity to Heat & Cold Environments), Masterwork Medical Kit

Combat: Attack +2 (+8 melee, +10 thrown shield) [Unarmed +6 dmg, Shield +8 dmg (19-20 Crit), Thrown Shield +6 dmg], Defense 18 (12 flat-footed), Initiative +10, Knockback -5, Grapple +15

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

Abilities 56 + Skills 18 (72 ranks) + Feats 37 + Powers 21 + Combat 10 + Saves 8 = 150 / 150

Notes: This is another PC of mine, Captain Britania, an 1889 Victorian England analogue of Captain America, for Karl Green's ENWorld Marvel Avengers 1889 pbp game. We started at PL 8, 150 pp. He has the Enhanced Charisma with the only Inspire flaw because the group has 8 PCs, so I wanted to be able to Inspire everyone else! The best picture I could find for him was a Captain Britain picture, so it will have to do for now. You can see my love of Acrobatic Bricks in these two PCs.

Captain Britania is secretly no better at darts than an ordinary man, but because he throws his shield so accurately everyone wants to challenge him to a game of darts in the pub (he has a trace of Captain America's immunity to intoxication). So he'll always have to come up with some excuse to avoid playing darts, which would reveal his inadequacy.

Background:
Allan Quatermain's sickly son survived his time in Africa where he was given a special herb formula while visiting dark and mysterious Wakanda. The herb granted him great power: the utmost limits of human strength, speed and endurance. Trained by the Native Savages in their martial arts (especially the BLACK PANTHER), Steve Quatermain has returned to his British homes a Tarzan like Lord amongst men. Not accustomed to civilized justice he uses his Wakandan/Zulu like metal shield with the Union jack on it to fight crime.

[Elric]

Rogue

Power Level 9 (135 pp)

Abilities: STR: 30 [9] (+10), DEX: 14 (+2), CON: 34 [14] (+12), INT: 10 (+0), WIS: 14 (+2), CHA: 14 (+2)

Skills: Bluff 8 (+10/+14), Computers 5 (+5), Diplomacy 4 (+6/+10), Intimidate 8 (+10), Knowledge: Streetwise 5 (+5), Notice 6 (+8), Pilot 4 (+6), Sense Motive 6 (+8), Languages 2 (French, Russian; base: English)

Feats: All Out Attack, Attack Focus 2 (Melee), Attractive, Dodge Focus, Evasion, Improved Initiative 2, Interpose, Leadership, Power Attack, Takedown Attack, Teamwork

Powers:
Enhanced Strength 21
AP: Fatigue 10 (Flaw: Full-Round Action) (10 pp) linked to Drain 10 (All Mutant Powers; Flaws: Full-Round Action, Distracting; Power Feat: Slow Fade) (11 pp)
Enhanced Constitution 20, Impervious Toughness 11,
Flight 5 (250 mph) (Dynamic Alternate Power: Super Strength 5 (Heavy Load: 25.6 tons) (13 pp)

Combat: Attack +6 (+8 melee) [Unarmed 10 dmg, Fatigue/Drain Fort DC 20], Defense 16 (13 flat-footed), Initiative +10, Grapple +18 (not counting DAP Super-Strength), Knockback -11

Saves: Toughness +12 (Impervious 11), Fortitude +12, Reflex +5, Will +6

Abilities 15 + Skills 12 + Feats 13 + Powers 66 + Combat 22 + Saves 7= 135 pp

Notes: Here's Classic Rogue as a PC at PL 9, 135 pp. One re-envisioning for the sake of keeping her PP cost down: she doesn't have the ability to steal mutant powers under normal circumstances- she can only drain them (while fatiguing her targets). Rogue must have acquired Ms. Marvel's powers because the duration of the contact led to Rogue gaining the powers that she drained. Remember that you roll only one Fort save for both Fatigue and Drain.

As her Fatigue/Drain power isn't always on based on this build, consider it a complication that the power in general switches on too much when she isn't concentrating on it for her to enjoy a normal romantic life, and also necessitates that she wear gloves on a regular basis.

[Elric]

Cyclops

Power Level 9 (135 pp)

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

Skills: Acrobatics 6 (+8), Concentration 6 (+9), Diplomacy 4 (+7), Drive 4 (+6), Knowledge [Tactics] 8 (+10), Notice 8 (+11), Pilot 6 (+8), Sense Motive 6 (+9)

Feats: All-Out Attack, Assessment, Attack Specialization 2 (Optic Blasts), Defensive Roll 3, Dodge Focus 4, Evasion, Improved Initiative, Inspire 3, Luck, Leadership, Master Plan, Power Attack, Teamwork 2, Tough, Uncanny Dodge (Sight)

Powers: Optic Blast Array (25 pp)
Blast 10 (Extra: Autofire, Partial Extra: Penetrating +4, Flaw- Uncontrolled) (24 pp)
AP: Strike 10 (Extra: Targeted Area- Line, Partial Extra: Penetrating +5, Flaw- Uncontrolled) (15 pp)

Immunity 1 (Own Powers and Havok’s Powers)

Device 3 [Ruby Quartz Visor, Easy to Lose] (9 pp)
Ruby Quartz Visor:
Removes Uncontrolled Flaw to each power in Optic Blast Array (10 pp); Also, adds Power Feats to Blast/Strike powers: Accurate Attack, Improved Aim, Precise Shot 2, Ultimate Effort (Ultimate Aim) (5 pp)

Combat: Attack +4 (+8 Optic Blasts) [Unarmed 2 dmg; Optic Blast 10 Autofire dmg; Area Optic Blast 10 dmg], Defense 21 (14 flat-footed), Initiative +6, Grapple +6, Knockback -3

Saves: Toughness +7 (+4 flat-footed), Fortitude +5, Reflex +7, Will +8

Abilities 30 + Skills 12 + Feats 24 + Powers 35 + Combat 22 + Saves 12= 135

Notes: Here’s Cyclops as a PC at PL 9, 135 pp. This is a probably a younger and less experienced version of Cyclops than my PL 10, 150 pp build. This build isn’t as good of a leader, combatant, pilot, or tactician as that build, but his Optic Blasts are just as powerful.

Targeted Area is from Ultimate Power- it means that you have to roll to hit (one roll against everyone in the area of effect), you can't critical, and there's no reflex save for half effect (instead you have to hit them with the attack roll to get any effect). The Tough feat is from the Mastermind's Manual and adds 1 to your Toughness save.

[Taliesin]

Cool stuff, Elric. You know, to make the offset PLs legal for Cyclops, a simple All-Out Attack feat might do the trick.