Kerevision: Josiah X, Confessor II, Black Lantern Superman

[kerianvalentine]

As the Astro City special plays happily on the Kerevision, the camera bounds around at the many heroes, before finally settling on the one, the only



Samaritan
PL 10/PP 150
Attributes: STR 20, DEX 18, CON 30, INT 16, WIS 16, CHA 18

Skills:
Computers 8 + 3 = 11
Diplomacy 9 + 4 = 13
Knowledge [History] 6 + 3 = 9
Notice 15 + 3 = 18
Search 15 + 3 = 18
Sense Motive 13 + 3 = 16
Survival 6 + 3 = 9

Feats:
Accurate Attack, Attack Specialization [Unarmed] 3, Benefit [The Samaritan], Connected, Defensive Attack, Dodge Focus 6, Fearless, Inspire 3, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Quick Change, Takedown Attack 1

Powers:
The Empyrean Web [Dynamic Super-Strength 10, Dynamic A.P.: Enhanced Strength 18/Flight 1, Dynamic A.P.: Flight 10]
Samaritan's Strength [Impervious Protection 4/Impervious Toughness 10]
Dimensional Travel [Super-Movement 3]

Initiative/Defense: +4/+6
Saves: FORT +10, REF +4, WILL +8, TOUGH +14 [Impervious 14]
Attack/Damage: +0 [+6 Unarmed]/+5 [+14]

Complications:
Can't Be Everywhere (The Samaritan gets a hero point when a villain orchestrates multiple disasters to cause him grief)

Enemy (Infidel)

Relationships [Miss A., Winged Victory]

Responsibilities [Astro City, the Honor Guard, every man/woman/child on Earth]

Samaritan Syndrome [Unable to balance Life and Superheroing - in layman's terms, if the Samaritan is forced to placate his fans by showing up at a convention, and something happens a mile away that he can't leave and take care of, Asa deserves a hero point]


DVD Commentary:

Ahhh, the Samaritan. Proof that just because it's a Superclone doesn't mean it's a bad one.

The Samaritan, for those of you who do not read Astro City (and you -should-), is a time traveller who was cast back through time and space from a dystopian future to prevent the Challenger crash. He was stuck in 1985, and he became known as the Samaritan, superhuman from the future.

Samaritan's "The Samaritan" feat is lifted part and parcel from Batgirl III's build of Superman. I loved it so much I had to use it for Asa, since it's pretty much exactly how people treat Samaritan in his own reality.

Samaritan's "Accurate/Defensive" attack combo is also something I lifted from somebody else's superman (though I can't for the life of me remember whose). Essentially, Samaritan doesn't want to hurt anyone, so he plays it nice and weakens his hits, at the same time making himself extremely defense-oriented. Should something actually force him to power attack, watch out! He hits in a +19 damage level - strong enough to force pretty near anybody to take it like a man!

One of my regrets with Asa is that he's got only (only!) seventy effective strength. He can only (jesus) lift 400 tons - a 747, or a fishing boat. I'd like him to be a bit more impressive, but sadly, the points just don't exist.

EDIT: Swapped his complication to the actual trope that bears his name. Check out the link - it explains it far better.

[Batgirl III]

One of my regrets with Asa is that he's got only (only!) seventy effective strength. He can only (jesus) lift 400 tons - a 747, or a fishing boat. I'd like him to be a bit more impressive, but sadly, the points just don't exist.

Beautiful Samaritan. Just beautiful... I never would have thought to put my at PL10/150, but man, the thought of a fully playable Superman-clone at starting level. Kudos.

As to your "humble" 70 Strength for lifting, remember that Samaritan can use extra effort to double his carrying capacity for a round. That's 2,048 short tons of pushing/dragging, which is just enough to push the 2,030 short ton Space Shuttle.

So with enough Hero Points to burn, Samaritan ought to be able to catch the Space Shuttle Challenger as it falls, slow it down enough for a gentle crash landing, and prevent a disaster...

[kerianvalentine]

You are completely correct - I tend to forget about the finer points of EE.

Thank you for reminding me. (I actually might wind up using Asa at some point for myself - his build's too much fun to disregard).

Expect:

More Astro City (I'm in love with it, but who isn't) including Confessor/II, Jack In The Box, and (if I figure out how I want them to work) the Jesus Freaks, whom I've not seen on this site yet.

Sasori and a few other Naruto builds.

The Mana Khemia builds I keep promising and forgetting about.

More Transformers (at odd intervals, whenever I feel like it really)

The entire core cast of Tower of Druaga sooner or later.

And I'll take requests again, though not for fights.

Also kinda planning to do that Kim Possible/Carmen Sandiego fight somebody suggested a ways back.

[kerianvalentine]

Astro City continues, with a change of focus from the Samaritan to the catholic church that is the home of



The Confessor
PL 10/PP 160
Attributes: STR 14, DEX 18, CON 0, INT 14, WIS 16, CHA 18

Skills:
Acrobatics 11 + 4 = 15
Climb 6 + 2 = 8
Computers 6 + 2 = 8
Diplomacy 5 + 4 = 9
Disable Device 8 + 2 = 10
Gather Information 10 + 4 = 14
Intimidate 10 + 4 = 14
Investigate 10 + 2 = 12
Notice 15 + 3 = 18
Profession [Priest] 6 + 3 = 9
Search 12 + 2 = 14
Sense Motive 10 + 3 = 13
Stealth 11 + 4 = 15

Feats:
Acrobatic Bluff, Dodge Focus 13, Elusive Target, Fearless, Takedown Attack 1

Powers:
Immunity [Fortitude]
Protection 7
Mighty Damage 6 [A.P.: Mind Control 7, Requires Visual, A.P.: Super-Strength 4]
Insubstantial 2
Visual Concealment 1 [Limited: Cameras and Mirrors]
Regeneration 1 [Unless Stabbed Through The Heart By A Cross]
Drain 2 [Constitution, Limited: Requires Grapple, Power Loss: When Wearing Cross, -1]

Initiative/Defense: +4/+13
Saves: FORT [Immune], REF +10, WILL +10, TOUGH +7
Attack/Damage: +12/+2

Drawbacks:
Weakness [Sunlight, Moderate, Every Round, +5 Points]
Weakness [Cross, Moderate, Every Round, +5]

Complications:
Secret [Vampire]
Responsibility [Altar Boy, Astro City]
Honor [Christian Morality]

DVD Commentary:

Confessor I, aka Vampire Batman With Extra Awesome. I own and adore the Confessor book, and he's an excellent character in general. READ. IT.

Confessor is basically a catholic priest who was seduced by a vampire and turned long ago. He established his identity as a superhero with a catholic theme and wears his shining silver cross in order to weaken himself -purposefully-, avoiding the temptation to drink blood. You'll note that this is represented by his quite literally free "Drain Constitution", which is more than enough to drain an ordinary human being's blood.

Confessor came out better than I expected, drawing heavily from my Batman build waaaaaaaay back when and having an excellent amount of skills to balance out his unusual powers. His "superhuman" strength is folded into an array off his Mighty Damage, as is his hypnotic abilities. Not much else to say about him, however. He's a cool detective with a cool extra theme.

Confessor looks like he'd be fun to play in a game, just like Samaritan.

[kerianvalentine]

A VERY old viewer-requested show, the Adventures of Captain America, is playing. This particular episode focuses wholeheartedly on...



Josiah X
PL 10/PP 150
Attributes: STR 24, DEX 24, CON 24, INT 16, WIS 18, CHA 16

Skills:
Acrobatics 9 + 7 = 16
Climb 6 + 7 = 13
Intimidate 7 + 3 = 10
Knowledge [Religion] 6 + 3 = 9
Knowledge [Tactics] 5 + 3 = 8
Languages [Vietnamese, Pick Three Others]
Notice 7 + 4 = 11
Profession [Muslim Minister] 7 + 4 = 11
Profession [Soldier] 6 + 4 = 10
Search 6 + 3 = 9
Sense Motive 7 + 4 = 11
Stealth 5 + 7 = 12
Survival 6 + 4 = 10
Swim 3 + 7 = 10

Feats:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Assessment, Defensive Attack, Diehard, Elusive Target, Equipment 2, Evasion 1, Fearless, Instant Up, Interpose, Move-By Action, Power Attack

Powers:
Immunity [Aging]

Equipment:
Binoculars [Extended Vision 1]
Old Shield [Mighty Damage 3, A.P.: Mighty Penetrating Ranged Damage 1, A.P.: Deflect [Solid Projectiles] 10]
Mesh Shirt [Protection 3]

Initiative/Defense: +7/+10
Saves: FORT +10, REF +10, WILL +10, TOUGH +7 [+10 Mesh]
Attack/Damage: +10/+7 [+10 Shield]

DVD Commentary:

Man now this is one OLD request. Getting to work on my backlog, we have Josiah X, requested by Thorpocalypse in the good ol' days. Josiah X is the son of Isaiah Bradley, the black Captain America (whom he could be substituted for if you remove the Muslim Minister stuff). Anyway, I took a liking to what I read up on, and he fits into the PL 10/PP 150 mold very very easily.

Josiah X is basically a black Captain America if you file away the leadership skills but make him one mean SOB in combat. His stats are higher than Cap's due to genetic treatment and stuff to make him like the perfect soldier or something, and his shield isn't NEARLY as awesome (it's just some old triangle shield - I'm not even sure if he CAN throw it, but it's a Cap thing, so I left it in as a mythos element).

Complications excluded for a lot of reasons, mostly because I just don't have the urge to do them all up right now. I also can't find any information on what languages he speaks, so I gave him Vietnamese as a base, and then allowed the player to pick any three that seem appropriate.

Not a bad character altogether.

[Arthur Eld]

Great stuff, Kerian!

I really liked your Confessor build-getting someone who has decades of crime-fighting experience and skill along with vampiric powers into a trim PL 10 150pp is no easy task, but you handled it with ease, and the build looks like it would perform well too. Kudos!

[kerianvalentine]

Raistlin Majere (War of the Lance era)
PL 10/PP 150
Attributes: STR 8, DEX 16, CON 8, INT 18, WIS 12, CHA 10

Skills:
Concentration 6+1 = 7
Craft (Magical Devices) 4+4 = 8
Disable Device 4+3 = 7
Knowledge (Arcana 9, History 5) + 4
Profession (Herbalist) 10+1 = 11
Notice 13+1 = 14
Search 4+4 = 8
Sleight of Hand 5+3 = 8
Medicine 4+1 = 5

Feats:
Artificer, Fearless, Move-By Action, Ritualist

Powers:
Staff of Magius 12 (Devices, Hard-To-Lose, Restricted: Chosen, Uncontrolled Spellcraft [Variable Power 7/rank, any trait of the Magic Descriptor] 10)

Spellcraft 16 [Variable Power 7/rank, any trait of the Magic descriptor, Full-Round Action, Duration: Concentration, Distracting, Fades, Limited: Based on Knowledge: Arcana]

Magic Missile [Perception Blast 1]
Slow Fall 1
Shield 6
Immunity 10 (Magic)
Limited [Decay-view only] Permanent Precognition

Init/Defense: +3/16
Saves: FORT +3, REF +3, WILL +10, TOUGH -1
Attack/Damage: +0/-1

Notes:

Raistlin Majere, my very favorite character in fantasy literature (and possibly my very favorite ever), translated from his stat block in the War of the Lance d20 supplement. He's the only character I've ever made able to cram 16 ranks of a variable power into 32 points - no, really. Check him out - that's 7/rank with 5 flaws. Of note, I chose to make Raistlin's Magic Missile separate from his spellcraft. Even a novice dabbler should be able to cast that, and Raistlin by this time is a level 6 mage, so he should be very, very capable of firing a measly little DC 16 blast off. Note that it IS a perception-based power.
Also, his Slow Fall is separate from the Staff of Magius (which actually provides it) and his Spellcraft set because, frankly, it's another of those 'no duh' spells. If you don't cast it when jumping off the roof, you're an idiot. Besides, it's a level 1 spell, and forcing him to memorize that - while accurate - makes little sense to me. Consider those spells mastered.
In addition to those mastered spells, the Golden Skin of Fistandantilus allows him to totally ignore Magical Attacks, in addition to granting him a fun little Shield bonus to boot. His eyes function as Permanent Precognition, limited to only seeing a specific future: the eventual decay of all things. He technically sees only into the present, but it's treated as a precognitive effect, since all he can ever see is decay. Note that it's not Innate - Raistlin manages to nullify it in the Dragonlance Legends series. (It's true.)

The Staff of Magius is an uncontrolled magical effect. What this means is that the Staff is the one that really chooses the spells available to the mage - the mage gets to say "Shirak" and light appears -because the staff wants it to-. As a general rule of thumb, the staff's magic should be mostly controllable. High-level effects require the mage to make a Knowledge (Arcana) check at double the normal DC for spellcrafting (see below). That way, it's easy to assume that the staff has decided not to allow the mage access to that particular spell, even though it's well within the staff's limits. Alternatively, the mage said the wrong command word. Or maybe the staff's just feeling petty today.

My rules for non-Artifact magic (That is, magic that's cast personally) when it comes to a D&D setting is that the character must have the knowledge of the spell to use it in the Spellcraft. What this comes down to is, well, a Knowledge: Arcana roll. When a mage is preparing spells for the day, he gets to roll a Knowledge: Arcana roll. The DC for a spell is 10+(Power Points Diverted To Spell/2).

An example. Raistlin attempts to memorize Fireball. Fireball is an Area [Burst] Blast. Raistlin wants to make it a Blast 10, to make sure he nails anybody in the area for sure.
This fireball costs 30 points. Raistlin has a Knowledge: Arcana bonus of +12, and the Fireball's "Memorize DC" is 25. That means Raistlin needs to roll a 13 or higher to memorize the spell. Success means he got it down; failure means it's still a little beyond him, but he can try again next time he memorizes spells.

There are obviously circumstance modifiers with Spellcraft. For example, if you have a spellbook with the spell on hand, the DC is only 5+(Power Points/2). So Raistlin's fireball becomes a DC 20 if he has a spellbook with the spell in it. In addition, Ritualist, if used during spell preparation, gives a +2 bonus to the Knowledge (Arcana) check.

The Fades flaw can force Raistlin to burn up ranks pretty quickly, considering it's 2/rank and 1 power point out means half a rank gone. However, obviously, Raistlin's already memorized the spells he needs - that half-rank might drop him 10 power points, but if he's burned 30, who cares?


The Staff of Magius's common array is: Boost [Others Only] [Strength] 10, Enhanced Feats [Attack Focus: Melee] 10, Slow Fall 2, Light Control 10 [A.P.: Dark Control 10], Force Field 10.



February 11, 2009: Dropped Raistlin's CON and STR to 8, got a point back from each, and buffed his skills up another couple ranks.

A long-ago rerun of the Dragonlance Adventures - the quality's been improved a little bit, but whether the doing of the Master or simply the Kerevision's new HD, it's impossible to tell.

[TroyXavier]

More transformers is always a good thing. Especially Megatron as Optimus w/o his nemesis is no fun.

[kerianvalentine]

You mean this Megatron?

[kerianvalentine]

Astro City plays once again, triumphantly greeting the viewers with its serene landscape and beautiful imagery.



Confessor II
PL 10/PP 150
Attributes: STR 16, DEX 16, CON 16, INT 14, WIS 14, CHA 18

Skills:
Acrobatics 10 + 3 = 13
Climb 7 + 3 = 10
Disable Device 6 + 2 = 8
Disguise 7 + 4 = 11
Gather Information 9 + 4 = 13
Intimidate 12 + 4 = 16
Investigate 9 + 2 = 11
Notice 10 + 2 = 12
Search 10 + 2 = 12
Sense Motive 10 + 2 = 12
Stealth 10 + 3 = 13
Survival 4 + 2 = 6

Feats:
Accurate Attack, Assessment, Attack Focus 2 [Melee], Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 3, Distract [Intimidate], Dodge Focus 5, Elusive Target, Equipment 1, Fascinate [Intimidate], Fearsome Presence 10, Grappling Finesse, Improved Grab, Improved Grapple, Improved Pin, Instant Up, Move-By Action, Redirect, Sneak Attack 4, Startle, Stunning Attack, Takedown Attack 1, Track

Equipment:
3 points leftover
Voice Modulator [Concealment [Auditory] 1 [Limited: Blending]]
Costume [Concealment [Visual, Limited: Blending, Power Loss: During the Day, +1], Protection 1]


Initiative/Defense: +3/+11 [+6 base, +3 Flat-Footed]
Saves: FORT +6, REF +9, WILL +7, TOUGH +7 [+4 flat-footed]
Attack/Damage: +6 [+8]/+3 [+8 Sneak]

DVD Commentary:

Confessor II, formerly Altar Boy but after taking a four year sabbatical, is a lot more versatile than his predecessor at the cost of...um...

Not being a vampire.

See, Confessor II/Altar Boy pays for his lack of supernatural powers a bit - he never actually hits any of his caps beyond his Defense - but he's a hardcore skillmonkey, able to feint his way around most enemies with Startle and his sky-high intimidate (Confessor was scary, but Confessor II doesn't have Hynposis to rely on). He's more like Batman without the gizmos, though he can certainly HAVE a gizmo with his 3 points left over in his Equipment score - I left it open for the player to come up with something, perhaps a Mighty Damage 2 to fill out the damage or something.

Confessor II's actually not built for raw power, but raw footwork. Where the other Confessor was capable of busting into a building or sneaking his way in, Confessor II's not quite as well-rounded and not quite as capable of eating punishment or getting out of the way of it; instead, Confessor II is all about:

Opening with Fearsome Stance
Dropping on whoever's not Panicked and taking a stunning attack, leading into a Grapple with his Improved Grapple.
Intimidating them to get what he wants out of them.
Leaving them strung up somewhere for the police or EAGLE to get.

On a team, Confessor II likes to play the same basic "Fearsome Stance" opening, changing up his tactics to goonsweeper as the rest of the team handles the big bad guy, then waiting for an opportune moment to flank and strike.

Altar Boy's come into his own, but he's not quite the badass Confessor I was. Still, it remains to be seen if he ever becomes such, or if he languishes as "Not-Confessor" in the eyes of Astro City's populace.

You are now leaving Astro City.

[Libra]

Keep up the Good Work Kerian Valentine.

[Ezram]

The Watchmen series trailer debuts. It's dark, and dank, and dangerous-looking...as the Watchmen should be. Rorschach steps down the poorly-lit street, and one can hear his voice-over as he walks.

"No Compromise."



Rorschach

I've been hearing a lot about this guy lately, and just realized i've neglected to read this copy of Watchmen for nearly two years now.

Is it worth reading?

[Batgirl III]

I've been hearing a lot about this guy lately, and just realized i've neglected to read this copy of Watchmen for nearly two years now.

Is it worth reading?

Dude... This is the comic book equivalent of saying:

I've been hearing a lot about this Captain Ahab lately, and just realized I've neglected to read this copy of Moby Dick for nearly two years now. Is it worth reading?

If you have a copy of Watchmen, and you enjoy comics or just plain good books, then you owe it to yourself to read the book. If you don't own Watchmen... Go buy it! It won a Hugo Award, it made Time magazines list of "the 100 best English-language novels" of the 20th Century.

Stop reading this! No offense to kerianvalentine and the joys of M&M, but... Dude. GO. Read. Now.

[Ezram]

If you don't own Watchmen... Go buy it! It won a Hugo Award, it made Time magazines list of "the 100 best English-language novels" of the 20th Century.

Stop reading this! No offense to kerianvalentine and the joys of M&M, but... Dude. GO. Read. Now.

I've had it since summer 2007 .

I don't know about "Now", but i'll definitely read it before seeing the movie .

[SCKnight]

If you don't own Watchmen... Go buy it! It won a Hugo Award, it made Time magazines list of "the 100 best English-language novels" of the 20th Century.

Stop reading this! No offense to kerianvalentine and the joys of M&M, but... Dude. GO. Read. Now.

I've had it since summer 2007 .

I don't know about "Now", but i'll definitely read it before seeing the movie .

I must disagree. The Watchmen, while a good movie describing philosophical and ethical situations, isn't my idea of a good superhero movie. My bosses went to go see it and said that it was a waste of money to go see it.

I've also read the comic, and while a good read, I still disagree with the ideas and beliefs of many of the characters. To me, a superhero should never sacrifice countless innocent lives to achieve a noble goal.

By the way, Kerevision, how are the Mana Khemia builds coming along?