Post by dorkknight23 on Apr 9, 2006 20:56:25 GMT -5
Building Blue Lightning 19: Other Teams, Basic Roleplaying Theory, Building Blue Lightning, and Conclusions
Or “And Robin Shall Make Amends”
There are two other teams I didn’t dedicate a whole article to. One is the “Combat Team” and one is the “Exotic Team.” The former focuses on close/ranged fighters and scouts, the latter more on scout, masters and support. For their perceived excelling in certain fields, keep in mind their comparative weaknesses in dealing with those skills they don’t have. Both teams can be effective, as long as you approach situations in ways that don’t force you to rely on skills you don’t have (masteries for combat teams, direct combat for exotic teams, etc.) Making either of these teams work should be, in theory, similar to making a random team work: play to your strengths, neutralize weaknesses, invest in leadership, and you should be fine.
Basic Roleplaying Theory
You have your awesome character, all the numbers you want, but now you don’t know how to play him. I apologize in advance. How do you play your character, and make him fun to play and as memorable as he is powerful?
For those of you who either aren’t writers or haven’t taken acting classes, I recommend practicing at both. Role-playing is making characters, something writers and actors both do with equal gusto, and, if you’re good at both. Don’t meta-game, try to ask “what does my character know about this? What do I know about his past? How would he react in a similar situation?” Not what would I do, or what do I know, but what does the character know and how he/she/it acts on that information. If you keep that kind of information in mind (you likely began figuring out his past and personality when purchasing challenges,) and ask yourself these sort of questions, then you should have no problem playing the excellent character you made.
Building Blue Lightning
I think for this last article I’m going to actually live up to the title and actually Build Blue Lightning. Not the Blue Lightning from the core rulebook, but another totally different character. I’ll be going through it kind of fast, since, by now, you know all the rules I’m playing with.
One, when I think of a character called “Blue Lightning,” I picture someone fast, not just in the air, but quick as lightning. I want a character with high speed, strength, electrical powers, and flight. I weigh my options, and I decide on making a Master of Electricity.
First off, I’ll make a mutant with glowing blue skin, like the Blue Lightning from the core book (-6 white in challenge stones.) Now, I’ll buy his Intelligence at 3 (1 white), his Durability at 4 (6 white), and Strength, Speed, and Agility all at 2 (2 white), plus one white to make speed his turn for initiative (1 white.) So far, I spent a net total of 4 white stones, I have 36 more to spend.
I’ll give him Close Combat at 2, Acrobatics at 1, Social Skills at 3, Toughness of (+2), a Mental Defense of (+4), and Targeting (+2). I have 25 more white stones to spend. Where are those stones going? First off, Mastery of Electricity, then Flight. Of these 20 stones, I expect to spend 20 on Mastery of Electricity, which would be a total cost level of 12. I want it at an Action Number of 6, which gives me +6 worth of options. I want to allow him to substitute his mastery for strength and speed [+2 total], to create/manipulate electricity [+1], to be immune to electricity [+1], an electrical force blast (which, after consulting my GM can be either normal or attack versus durability for stun damage) [+1], and…after thinking for awhile, I want the Read Minds/ESP option of Telepathy (since the brain is powered by electrochemical impulses, which I want him to be able to keen in on.) I ask my GM if this is okay for a +1 option, he decides it is (since I’m not taking any of the other options of telepathy, and it’s just essentially to read minds.) With my 5 remaining stones, I buy Flight at 4, a Wealth of 3, and I have one white stone left. I weigh my options, and I give him Enhanced Vision 3 (Electrical Energy.)
Name: Blue Lightning
Identity: Patton Archer
Height: 6’0
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Yellow
Species: Mutant
Abilities:
Int: 3
Str: 2 [6]
Agi: 2
Spd: 2* [6*]
Dur: 4
White: 4
Red: 12
Actions:
Close Combat 2
(Speed bonus or Weapon modifier; Hand-to-Hand, Aerial Combat)
Acrobatics 1
(Strength bonus)
Social Skills 3
(Charm, Mutant culture, Authority)
Mastery of Electricity 6
(Substitute Mastery for Strength or Speed, create/manipulate electricity, immune to electricity, electrical force blast [normal damage or attack versus durability to stun,] read minds)
Flight 4
Modifiers:
Enhanced Vision 3 (Electrical Energy)
Toughness (+2)
Mental Defense (+4)
Targeting (+2)
Wealth (3)
Equipment:
Unstable Molecule Uniform (+1) to Defense
Conclusions
This is the end of the line for these articles. I’ve written a lot about the MURPG, based off of what I felt were kind of lacking articles on how to make your own superhero from the core book’s example. To this end, on discussing the theory in practice behind making the kind of hero you want to make, I feel these articles have been a success. Make powerful characters, play them well, and you can’t go wrong.
Good gaming, all.
DK
Or “And Robin Shall Make Amends”
There are two other teams I didn’t dedicate a whole article to. One is the “Combat Team” and one is the “Exotic Team.” The former focuses on close/ranged fighters and scouts, the latter more on scout, masters and support. For their perceived excelling in certain fields, keep in mind their comparative weaknesses in dealing with those skills they don’t have. Both teams can be effective, as long as you approach situations in ways that don’t force you to rely on skills you don’t have (masteries for combat teams, direct combat for exotic teams, etc.) Making either of these teams work should be, in theory, similar to making a random team work: play to your strengths, neutralize weaknesses, invest in leadership, and you should be fine.
Basic Roleplaying Theory
You have your awesome character, all the numbers you want, but now you don’t know how to play him. I apologize in advance. How do you play your character, and make him fun to play and as memorable as he is powerful?
For those of you who either aren’t writers or haven’t taken acting classes, I recommend practicing at both. Role-playing is making characters, something writers and actors both do with equal gusto, and, if you’re good at both. Don’t meta-game, try to ask “what does my character know about this? What do I know about his past? How would he react in a similar situation?” Not what would I do, or what do I know, but what does the character know and how he/she/it acts on that information. If you keep that kind of information in mind (you likely began figuring out his past and personality when purchasing challenges,) and ask yourself these sort of questions, then you should have no problem playing the excellent character you made.
Building Blue Lightning
I think for this last article I’m going to actually live up to the title and actually Build Blue Lightning. Not the Blue Lightning from the core rulebook, but another totally different character. I’ll be going through it kind of fast, since, by now, you know all the rules I’m playing with.
One, when I think of a character called “Blue Lightning,” I picture someone fast, not just in the air, but quick as lightning. I want a character with high speed, strength, electrical powers, and flight. I weigh my options, and I decide on making a Master of Electricity.
First off, I’ll make a mutant with glowing blue skin, like the Blue Lightning from the core book (-6 white in challenge stones.) Now, I’ll buy his Intelligence at 3 (1 white), his Durability at 4 (6 white), and Strength, Speed, and Agility all at 2 (2 white), plus one white to make speed his turn for initiative (1 white.) So far, I spent a net total of 4 white stones, I have 36 more to spend.
I’ll give him Close Combat at 2, Acrobatics at 1, Social Skills at 3, Toughness of (+2), a Mental Defense of (+4), and Targeting (+2). I have 25 more white stones to spend. Where are those stones going? First off, Mastery of Electricity, then Flight. Of these 20 stones, I expect to spend 20 on Mastery of Electricity, which would be a total cost level of 12. I want it at an Action Number of 6, which gives me +6 worth of options. I want to allow him to substitute his mastery for strength and speed [+2 total], to create/manipulate electricity [+1], to be immune to electricity [+1], an electrical force blast (which, after consulting my GM can be either normal or attack versus durability for stun damage) [+1], and…after thinking for awhile, I want the Read Minds/ESP option of Telepathy (since the brain is powered by electrochemical impulses, which I want him to be able to keen in on.) I ask my GM if this is okay for a +1 option, he decides it is (since I’m not taking any of the other options of telepathy, and it’s just essentially to read minds.) With my 5 remaining stones, I buy Flight at 4, a Wealth of 3, and I have one white stone left. I weigh my options, and I give him Enhanced Vision 3 (Electrical Energy.)
Name: Blue Lightning
Identity: Patton Archer
Height: 6’0
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Yellow
Species: Mutant
Abilities:
Int: 3
Str: 2 [6]
Agi: 2
Spd: 2* [6*]
Dur: 4
White: 4
Red: 12
Actions:
Close Combat 2
(Speed bonus or Weapon modifier; Hand-to-Hand, Aerial Combat)
Acrobatics 1
(Strength bonus)
Social Skills 3
(Charm, Mutant culture, Authority)
Mastery of Electricity 6
(Substitute Mastery for Strength or Speed, create/manipulate electricity, immune to electricity, electrical force blast [normal damage or attack versus durability to stun,] read minds)
Flight 4
Modifiers:
Enhanced Vision 3 (Electrical Energy)
Toughness (+2)
Mental Defense (+4)
Targeting (+2)
Wealth (3)
Equipment:
Unstable Molecule Uniform (+1) to Defense
Conclusions
This is the end of the line for these articles. I’ve written a lot about the MURPG, based off of what I felt were kind of lacking articles on how to make your own superhero from the core book’s example. To this end, on discussing the theory in practice behind making the kind of hero you want to make, I feel these articles have been a success. Make powerful characters, play them well, and you can’t go wrong.
Good gaming, all.
DK