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Post by dorkknight23 on Nov 2, 2005 22:09:22 GMT -5
Building Blue Lightning 1: Mission Statement Introductory Statements
So, new to the system and trying to figure out how to build the character you of your dreams? Or just want to pick up a tip or trick or three on how to make the character archetype you’ve been craving? Well, fear not, True Believers, for Building Blue Lightning is here to present (and provoke) discussion on how to properly build a character.
Over the course of what I hope to be a series of articles, I plan on discussing theory related to building characters around four out of the five attributes (Intelligence, Strength, Agility, and Speed,) around the roles established by the team builder (Close Fighter, Ranged Fighter, Scout, Master, and Support,) with possible attention being spent towards building Masters of Magic, as well as filling all the prerequisite character archetypes (gadget-based characters [making the most out of equipment,] Powered Armor and Robotic characters, transformers [they’re more than meets the eye,] shapeshifters/size-changers, and getting the most out of modifiers.)
First off, we have to address what qualities exactly would make a superheroic character. Superheroes usually are, first off, better than the average person in at least one way. He might just be your Average Joe, except that when trouble strikes, he rushes into a phone booth and flies out in Technicolor long underwear displaying strength, toughness, and powers that the rest of us can only dream of. These powers may not have been asked for, hell, it could be pure accident that gave Average Joe the ability to wrap a steel pipe into a pretzel, but he has these gifts and he uses them for the right causes. A superhero does, more or less, the right thing. Sometimes (if it’s one of them gritty ammo-toting angst-generators from the 80s, especially,) the hero does this by playing by his own rules and throwing around bullets like they were Razzles, or, more traditionally, he does this just by defeating opponents the police are incapable of apprehending on their own (the supervillains that provide superheroes with adequate challenge.) To sum up: superheroes have superior abilities or powers and do (or at least attempt to do) the right thing to help what us Average Joes can only cower under our afghans about. Other than that, it's all touch and go and up to you.
That being said, the Marvel Universe RPG rules are great for playing a hero like this, and the reason is simple: its based on resource management rather than probability. You’re the greatest fighter in the world? Okay, Wolverine, but be careful if playing a probability-based game and you roll a 1, or else Sabertooth will get a free claw to your jugular. Probability can dampen a superhero being super: Superman could fail his fly check and plummet from the Metropolis skyline; Spiderman could roll a 1 and find himself getting schooled by the Grizzly and the Gibbon of all people (or, shudder, the Hypno-Hustler;) Iron Man’s armor could, well, just short out. That’s not super at all. Sure, things go wrong, but only when suspense needs to be heightened, and that shouldn't be left to the whims of chance (lest you end up with too much suspense.) Heroes need to pull off the impossible, and, more accurately, pull it off continually. If most of us donned red pajamas and jumped around the New York skyline we’d make it five minutes, tops. Spider-Man’s been Manhattan’s Friendly Neighborhood Superhero for longer than him and his clones can remember. And we’re going to try to figure out how. First we’ll figure out how to properly build the archetypal characters, how to make your character perform exactly the way you want him to, and then, each column, I plan on writing up a new and unique character fitting each weekly theme. By the end, hopefully everyone (myself included) will have learned a lot about how to make the character you want to play.
Next Week: Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel
I’ll be ripping up a streetlamp from the sidewalk, throwing it halfway across town, and cursing Puny Banner as I pummel the living daylights out of how to build a Strength-based character.
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Post by browwiw on Nov 6, 2005 17:44:10 GMT -5
I certainly look forward to you articles, dorkknight. I may have an intellectual and conceptual understanding of the MURPG rules, I'll be the first to admit I don't have the tightest grasp on the practical application of the rules. So...
[Napoleon Dynamite]Gosh, sweet![/Napoleon Dynamite]
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Post by dorkknight23 on Nov 6, 2005 19:36:28 GMT -5
Thanks, I've just finished writing it up and will post it in just a sec. I don't claim to have all the answers but I've been playing a lot and my knowledge of the rules has improved a lot from doing that. I've some experience with a lot of the archetypes, and those that I don't, I understand at least the basic theory behind it. Enough to provoke discussion at any rate.
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Post by dorkknight23 on Nov 6, 2005 19:36:51 GMT -5
Building Blue Lightning 2: It’s Clobberin’ Time
When last we left our heroes, we were left discussing how to properly build a strength-based character. We’ll see how that works out…
Strength: What is it good for?
To paraphrase the guide, nah, forget that, to directly quote from it “Strength is a measure of how much physical force your character is capable of generating. You would use your Strength number for lifting, carrying, throwing, smashing, breaking, and leaping. Strength is most often used as an Ability Bonus for Actions such as Close Combat.”
As far as Actions that can automatically use your strength bonus (as opposed to paying that lovely +5 cost for it,) you have Acrobatics, Close Combat, Unstoppable, Wall-Crawling, and Swimming can all use your Strength bonus.
Oh, and tangentially, I’d define a Strength-based character as one with a strength score of at least 5 (but 6 would be better, and 7, even better than that.) Any character where physical might is a central component to his construction (The Incredible Hulk is a good example, or the Thing, or Colossus.)
Pump Me Up
Is your strength a little of the meager side, and you want a much-needed boost? Then you have three choices: Growth (a handy little option, since the first 20’ gives you +2, with +1 every AN after, a shame it can’t be improved by lines,) the Insect Strength option of Shrink (which is a poor option as you can’t boost your strength above 6 or improve the action by adding lines,) and Manipulate Body Density (which is…just patently overpowered.) Should you want a guy who spends a few stones before he’s at full lifting capacity, I recommend either Growth or Manipulate Body Density, unless you substitute another action for your Strength.
I can’t believe it’s not Strength
There are a few superpowers that can actually fill in for strength. Both Telekinesis and Mastery of Magnetism (most of the other Masteries too, GM permitting) can be used to either lift or to flat-out substitute for Strength in terms of lifting, carrying, and throwing, and that’s half of what strength is good for. These options are handy, especially if you want to fill in for a team without much in the means of Strength scores, but sometimes it’s just easier to have a character with this high of a stat.
Durability: Strength’s Little Brother Subtitled: Is the Best Offense a Good Defense as Well?
Durability determines your energy, no getting around it (unless you’re some kind of brainiac [i.e. intelligence-based character.]) However, having a Strength-based character usually means wading into combat and pounding the guys, and, irregardless of how high your toughness score is, your going to take a little damage wading through combat. So, the more Durability you have, the better (and a healing factor could be even better.) That being said, without a Durability of at least 4, your strength-based character will be quite limited in the actual applications of his strength (without getting all winded.)
Concluding Bullets
So, what did we learn today?: * Strength-based characters have some great actions to pick from, plus some options to improve their strength (by either growing or increasing their body density.) * Strength can be mimicked with telekinesis or substituted with certain actions (like Mastery of Magnetism, or other Masteries, depending on your GM.) * You need a decent Durability to pull any of this off, plus to pay some mind to defense.
With that in mind:
Sample Strength-Based Character: The Kraken
For my strength-based character, I wanted to build a hideous brute of a monster, like The Thing or the Hulk. I first imagined a creature made entirely out of some metallic substance, but this was quickly dispelled by the idea of some kind of monstrous animal, I quickly find myself drawn to the idea of a giant monstrous mutated squid who can throw around school buses like nobody’s business. A monstrous Kraken. That in mind, I start to build The Kraken, who (off the top of my head, this could change) was a normal squid, mutated by toxic waste, who wanders around the waterfront, more or less accidentally defeating criminals who cross his path.
Now, the first question one asks when building a character really should be “How many stones?” I’m just going with 40 stones + challenges for these characters. In terms of challenges, I get 4 for a Non-human (hideous squid-monster) appearance, 5 for being essentially an out of control monster, and a distaste for those who damage his waterfront environment (for 2 stones.) He’ll also be dead broke. That gives me 53 stones, quite a lot, definitely enough to work with.
First off, I need to think of his abilities. I don’t want him to be particularly smart, agile, or fast, in fact, I think he’s pretty slow on land, so I’ll give him 1’s in all three of these attributes (1 white stone.) His strength and his durability are more interesting. I give him a 5 in Durability (9 white stones, Durability costs 3x, remember,) which is enough to really get a lot of energy, but not so much as to really hamper my other purchases. I look at the D&R chart on page 80-81, to gauge how strong I imagine the Kraken to be. I picture him being able to knock the supports from a major bridge and lift a garbage truck, but not bring down a skyscraper or lift up the Blackbird, so I give him a Strength of 8 (9 white stones.) He’s a big tough brute who’s pretty dim and slow when it comes to walking on land. Perfect for what I envision.
Next up, I think of some modifiers. He has to breathe underwater, so I purchase Self-Contained Lifeform (3 white) and Enhanced Vision 3 (see underwater, see in darkness.) This’ll give him a bit of an edge underwater and in lowlight conditions, which again fits what I’m envisioning. Now for the combats. I don’t imagine he’s very talented at Close Combat, but I can picture him lifting up something heavy and bashing an opponent with it, so I think of paying the extra +5 for giving my Close Combat (Strength bonus and Weapon modifier.) I buy it at 1 to reflect this (cost 4 white stones,) but I know I can improve it accordingly. Ranged Combat will be similar, for Ranged Combat, I buy the Strength bonus (+5,) but tack on “one target only” (-1) and buy it again at 1 (cost: 3 white stones.) This way, he can lift up and throw something nasty (like a bus) at an opponent, but his aim isn’t so good as to plow it into a group of people. Again, I like it. I then buy Hunting/Tracking at 2 (I pick the specialties Following Scents and Tracking Underwater to fit his squid instincts,) and Social Skills of 1 (intimidation,) he’s not good at dealing with people, but then again, who would listen to a giant squid unless he was yelling in their faces. I pick up Swimming at 2 (1 w,) with a Strength bonus of course, and the ability to break human speed maximums, this means he can, with his full strength bonus, cut through the water really fast, but he also can carry quite a lot with him and still swim reasonably fast.
I want to make some cool tricks he can use his extra tendrils for (I picture the Kraken walking on two adapted tentacles, but using the others out of water to move faster or climb walls or in combat.) This is a bit of mojo I picked up on: Combining Actions Rocks. By combining actions you 1) make more room for actions on your CAD (I have 5 thus far, and space for only 4 more) and 2) conserve LOE. Let me explain: in a game, you’ll only have so many LOE, and if you have too many disparate abilities, you’ll never level them up with any reasonability. However, if you have one action you can continually improve, the benefits are immense. If you can, do it. Look at Justice’s CAD in the Avenger’s Guide for a great example of this. So, I want all of these actions:
Tendril Whip 1 (9 w) (Strength bonus; Weapon modifier) Web-Slinging 1 (2 w) (Strength bonus) [-2 for no agility bonus, +5 for the Strength bonus] Wall-Crawling 1 (1 r) (Strength bonus)
But I’ll just combine them all into a single action I’ll call “Tentacles.” That ends up looking something like this:
Tentacles 1 (11 w, 1 r) - Strength bonus - Weapon modifier - Use like Close Combat within Range, Does damage or manipulate/grab, If used as a weapon, +1 stone damage, may be used after stones are revealed, maximum damage to appendage 1 white stone - movement on surface regardless of orientation, 1 stone/panel to cling, stnes = speed on running row of D&R to maximum of 75 MPH - when used as web-slinging, stones = 2x running speed on D&R to maximum of 125 MPH, add stones for weight carried.
Now for some toughness: Kraken can dish it out but he certainly can’t take it at this point. I have 9 white stones and one red stone saved, so I’ll take as much toughness as I can with it. Toughness (+3), no Armor Penetration, no 2x damage from firearms or projectiles seems like enough, and fits my vision of a rubbery cephalopod. I have 1 red stone saved, and I’ll keep it to increase his social skills as soon as he starts dealing with more people.
Name: The Kraken Identity: N/A
Height: 6’10 Weight: 500 lbs. Eye Color: Yellow Hair Color: N/A Species: Mutate
Abilities: Int: 1 (1 red) Str: 8 (9 white) Agi: 1 (1 red) Spd: 1 (1 red) Dur: 5 (9 white) (3[1/3]+9+9=19 w)
White: 5 Red: 15
Actions: Close Combat 1 (4 w) (Strength bonus and Weapon modifier) Ranged Combat 1 (3 w) (Strength bonus and Weapon modifier; 1 target only) Hunting/Tracking 2 (2 r) (Follow Scent, Tracking Underwater) Social Skills 1 (1 r) (Intimidation) Swimming 2 (1 w) (Strength bonus; exceed human limits) Tentacles 1 (11 w 1 r) - Strength bonus - Weapon modifier - Use like Close Combat within Range, Does damage or manipulate/grab, If used as a weapon, +1 stone damage, may be used after stones are revealed, maximum damage to appendage 1 white stone - movement on surface regardless of orientation, 1 stone/panel to cling, stnes = speed on running row of D&R to maximum of 75 MPH - when used as web-slinging, stones = 2x running speed on D&R to maximum of 125 MPH, add stones for weight carried.
(Actions: 20 w 1 red) Modifiers: Hideous Appearance -4 Uncontrollable Monster -5 Distaste for Waterfront Polluters -2 Self-Contained Lifeform (3 white) Enhanced Vision 3 (Underwater, See in Darkness) (6 white) Toughness (+3) (no Armor Penetration, no 2x damage from firearms or projectiles) (9 white) Wealth (-1) (-2 white) Modifiers: (-13+15=2)
[19 white+19 white+2 white= 40 white stones]
Now, the Kraken’s not perfect. For one thing, he has a huge glaring Achilles’ heel (mental attacks,) and all of his stats are really low at the moment. However, he’ll have the chance to improve all his actions (and maybe some of his abilities, like Intelligence) with LOE, and eventually, those improvements will really, really, shine.
Next Time
I’ll look into how to build an Agility-based character. Toodles.
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Post by hypernova on Nov 6, 2005 20:46:40 GMT -5
Wow. Insanely cool thread, dude.
I like your squid-guy.
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Post by rennyn on Nov 6, 2005 23:30:27 GMT -5
I like the example. I think though that since these are supposed to be examples, including the cost next to everything on the CAD might help new people more.
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Post by dorkknight23 on Nov 7, 2005 2:48:04 GMT -5
I like the example. I think though that since these are supposed to be examples, including the cost next to everything on the CAD might help new people more. I had the same thought. Made the edits accordingly.
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Post by dorkknight23 on Nov 7, 2005 14:35:14 GMT -5
I got a great PM from Sphynx about how to do this character differently. I like a lot of his suggestions, although its not exactly what I wanted for the character (that's a big divide, sometimes, what fits your personal vision of a character and what's the more powerful move [taking animal senses, for example.]) Anyway, here are his comments, which I think are good counterpoints to a lot of my ideas:
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Post by Scriptus on Nov 7, 2005 14:40:49 GMT -5
don't have my books with me at this point but i think you paid too much for your vision mods. i think the cost is 1 red stone for every mod #. so wouldn't 2 visions at 3 reds a piece be 6 reds or 2 white stones? like i said i don't have my books so i could be wrong.
ps. good stuff dk23
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Post by sphynx on Nov 7, 2005 14:48:24 GMT -5
Good call Scriptus, very true that. Now he can easily afford that Accelerated Healing Factor and have points to spare.
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Post by Ricochet on Nov 8, 2005 8:51:43 GMT -5
Shouldn't your tentacle whip cost 12 white stones? (Tentacle whip = AN+2, Strength bonus = +5, Weapon modifier = +1)
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Post by dorkknight23 on Nov 8, 2005 11:16:53 GMT -5
Yes, it should.
The lesson from this: proofread all your numbers, double-proofread them, go to triple-check, then stop, then go get a sandwich or something, then triple-check them just to make sure you got everything right.
I might go back and re-edit my numbers, but as of this moment I don't have it in me. Just take it for granted I screwed up on some of the costs. The best way of learning is making mistakes, right?
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Post by dorkknight23 on Dec 21, 2005 15:58:39 GMT -5
Building Blue Lightning 3 “Jack Be Nimble, But Be He Quick?” Building an Agility-Based Character
What’s an Agility bonus good for, anyway?
Agility is one of the most useful abilities in the entire game, aside from the energy-determining abilities (Durability, or Intelligence, should you pay for the option.) It’s used to determine in what order actions are resolved, it reduces falling damage in a manner similar to acrobatics, and can be used as a bonus to Acrobatics, as well as other options like Close Combat, Thieving, Wall-Crawling, Web-Swinging, and Swimming, but, like any other ability, you can play the +5 cost to (this is, of course, cost-prohibitive, should you be purchasing this for an ability of 5 or less.)
Marvel has plenty of Agility-based characters: Spider-Man is one of the best examples. Other characters that get their mileage out of agility include Toad, Nightcrawler, Daredevil, Gambit, Elektra, Black Cat, and other. Some of these characters don’t have more than a 3 in Agility, but they make up for it by utilizing the actions that have free agility bonuses (like acrobatics and thieving.)
Besides what is immediately stated in the description, what is agility good for? Not a whole lot, according to the D&R chart, only leaping is listed as ant example. However, when you look closer at the description of agility, this pops out: “you would use agility for physical activities you don’t have an action box for, such as sports like football or basketball, dancing, climbing, or even playing a musical instrument like the piano or guitar.” Clearly agility has some wide-spread utility in being used untrained (sure, any GM worth his salt gives resistances for just using abilities, but, hey, what’s a 1 or 2 stone resistance to you if you’re putting in 5 or 6 stones of effort?)
Playing an Agility-Based Character
The first thing that’s noticeable about an agility-based character, is that usually you’ll be the first of your team to act (if your agility is high enough.) You’ll at least act before the random thugs you’ll usually beat up (whose agility usually ends up being 2.) Hitting first and going for the knock-out is probably the smartest tactic for an agility-based character to rely on, but agility-based characters are also good at drawing fire, leaping around, being annoying, and keeping the supervillain flavor of the month away from vulnerable civilians (and your allies.) So, defense is important, but not as important as, say, a slower, strength-based, character.
How to get the most mileage out of agility To maximize your effectiveness with Agility is extremely straightforward: just buy the actions, buy a decently high agility (a 6 is perfect,) and make sure to keep your energy reserves (and regeneration rate) high enough to warrant the expenditures. Other than that, there’s very little advice I can give.
Example Character: Pinball
Okay, for my idea, is a high-agility character dressed entirely in silver, bouncing around like silly while beating the living snot out of his enemies. I think I’ll call him…Pinball. I’m starting with 40 stones, like before. Immediately, I want her to have Agility 6 (4 white,) Durability 4 (6 stones,) and a Healing Factor (4 stones,) and 2’s in all the other abilities (2 white stone.) This will give him at least 6 stones of energy to spend a panel. Now, I want to be able to combine combat with acrobatics essentially all the time, so I spend a +3 cost (as described in the Guide to Hulk and the Avenger) to acrobatics, but how high should I buy it. I don’t want to get it to be too cost prohibitive, so I buy it at 3 (with the +3 cost added, it’s effective AN is 6, which is right before the big jump between AN 6 [4 stones] and AN 7 [6 stones.] I can always improve this action with LOE.) I then start thinking about challenges, and, the idea that he’s somewhat of a joke in the superhero community strikes me well, so I just use the 2 stone challenge “disliked and shunned by others” and that his powers are mutational in origin (being a mutant is the easy way out, but sometimes it works when you can’t think of some kind of semi-plausible explanation for getting your powers,) so that’s another 3 stones. I purchase close combat, social skills, and wealth at 2, thinking up specialties to fit the characters. Then, I think about him throwing silver balls at his opponents, so I give him that piece of equipment as a +3 weapon modifier (the process for purchasing equipment is described in the aforementioned Guide to Hulk and the Avengers, costing 2 white stones.) Now, he seems adequately prepared for offense, but his defense needs a little work. Reflexive Dodge definitely suits Pinball, so I purchase it at the almost obscene (+6) modifier (12 white stones,) which will make him extremely difficult to hit in combat, unless he’s hit with an area effect, so, as some insurance, I buy toughness at 2 (3 white stones.) That leaves me with 10 stones (counting the 5 I got from my challenges. I decide to boost his acrobatics (from AN 6 to 7, so 2 white stones,) purchase ranged combat at 3, to throw those pinballs at his enemy (1 white stone,) and then, I think, what the Hell, since I have 8 stones left, I opt for an Accelerated Healing Factor instead of an ordinary one (Dur+2, vs Dur+4. The cost of an accelerated healing factor is, 9 white stones, as oppose to the 4 I paid, so I spend 5 extra stones to get the accelerated healing factor.) I have three stones left, which I opt to save, for later purchases in game (maybe some mental defense.) Anyway, so this character is already started, in terms of concept: he’s a silver bouncing ball of great acrobatics and dodging (albeit very little else,) the Pinball. He’s a new example of an agility-based character.
Name: Pinball Identity: Patrick Finnegan
Height: 5’6 Weight: 130 lbs. Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Brown Species: Mutant
Abilities: Int: 2 Str: 2 Agi: 6 Spd: 2 Dur: 4
White: 4 Red: 12
Actions: Acrobatics 4 (Agility bonus; can always combine with close or ranged combat) Close Combat 2 (Agility bonus or Weapon modifier; Hand-to-Hand, Acrobatic Combat) Ranged Combat 3 (Weapon modifier; Thrown objects, pinballs) Social Skills 2 (Humor, Super hero culture)
Modifiers: Accelerated Healing Factor Reflexive Dodge (+6) Toughness (+2) Wealth (2)
Equipment: Bag of Thrown Pinballs: (+3) Ranged Weapon modifier Silver Costume: (+1) to Defense
Challenges: Mutant, Human Appearance Disliked and Shunned by Others [3 stones saved]
Next Week (or, let’s be honest, next edition): I’m going to talk about Speed based characters, in article I’ll likely call “Super-Speed: or, Not Just for Quicksilver anymore.” See you all then.
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Post by Scriptus on Dec 21, 2005 16:08:39 GMT -5
glad to see that you are posting this again dk. i really like reading them.
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Post by dorkknight23 on Dec 21, 2005 17:03:48 GMT -5
glad to see that you are posting this again dk. i really like reading them. Thank you very much. It's just a manner of making the time to write them, and that proves to be difficult sometimes. I think if I can manage to write one of these a month, that wouldn't be all that horrible.
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