TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Emerald City Knights (superhero RP using Mutants and Masterminds system)

Go To

Adannor (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#1: Apr 8th 2016 at 5:49:25 AM

First off, shorthand concept:

  • The game will a newly establishing team of heroes, forged in fires of a disastrous incident that ballooned city's population of supers and their work to prove themselves and clean the city up.
  • Rather than pure freeform, I'll be running it using Mutants & Masterminds (third edition). I'll basically deal with the system bits for you (unless you want to learn it for yourself); and really after character generation and establishing just what exactly skills/powers/gadgets do they have the whole thing runs very simply.

The setting

Ah, the world of superheroes. It is not a type in which superpowers didn't exist at all and then suddenly happened, no - this world had a long and ancient history of abnormality. There were ancient aliens uplifting people, gateways to other worlds, civilizations both magical and technological, wars between Atlantis and Serpent People; and remnants and echoes of the past still appear today. You name it, they have it in some form. Just look at the shout-outs list there.
Although the general global history shaped up mostly the same and the prevalence of super- elements varied through the ages. In modern times, Freedom City was a notorious hub of superhero activity, while on the opposite coast, Emerald City remained eerily devoid of grandstanding cape activity. Sure there were a few, but nowhere near the crowd. That is, until the game begins tongue

Characters signups:

No need to hurry to write it up in full upfront, you can open up with a basic idea and we'll hash it out together
  • Name: including civilian and hero identities or whatever else aliases you'll have
  • Personality: how does your character act?
  • Description: what do they look like? Again, both civvies and cape business suit.
  • Backstory: again, the obvious, but some things to consider here are
    • Did they already have their exceptional skills and what else before the start or will you be going through the Mass Empowering Event in the start of the game? In the latter case you still need the name and costume and so on, it'll just be the stuff that you In Character get a little later. Also if they already had the stuff: did they do superheroics publically, or were they hiding their capabilities, or were they doing some under the radar street-level crimefighting?
    • The characters don't need to be together before the game start, the opening incident will put them into a group. They just need to be on the scene, as either bystanders that get powers, as heroes watching from afar or relaxing in their civilian identity.
  • Powers, skills, gear: that's what you want to have, in generally described sense. Then we'll hash out the stats for it.

Again, the setting is very broad and can accommodate nearly any kind of origin. Although this is not a crossover, you may take inspiration from extant characters if you want.
The power level is pretty solid here - if you have a character with "average" attack strength for the PL, it will be as strong as a rocket launcher or a tank's cannon (but still nonlethal at will because comicbooks). Consequently, you will also be tough enough to endure getting shot with it - you will need to get hit twice with the worst luck on the dice for your resistance check to be taken down.
Going lower on the attack and toughness allows your hits to be more precise instead and yourself to be more focused on avoiding getting hit in the first place.
In other areas, such as intelligence, the characters can also easily reach superhuman scales and similarly impressive feats.

I'm going to post some example characters for demonstration and set up a chatroom for more on the fly discussion a little bit later on.

edited 8th Apr '16 5:50:46 AM by Adannor

EchoingSilence Since: Jun, 2013
#2: Apr 8th 2016 at 6:06:30 AM

I'll have a signup later but I still have total interest.

EdwardsSenpai Since: Mar, 2015 Relationship Status: They grew on me like a tumor...
#3: Apr 8th 2016 at 6:34:28 AM

I could be in on this, probably pull a char from one that I was in. Give me a couple days and I will hopefully have one that Monday for you.

Adannor (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#4: Apr 8th 2016 at 7:00:03 AM

[up][up]Alright, glad to have you smile

[up]Can you give me some general details about your character up front please? I'm curious about what we'll be having here.

EdwardsSenpai Since: Mar, 2015 Relationship Status: They grew on me like a tumor...
#5: Apr 8th 2016 at 7:41:35 AM

Basically a stone manipulator who is extremely intelligent. He is more or less in tune with nature and can move minerals and such about. The only other bonus he has is he can sense vibrations in the earth, which makes him a little paranoid and keeps him looking over the shoulder. History includes being an ex-supervillain gone good.

Adannor (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#6: Apr 8th 2016 at 7:57:56 AM

Alright, that works very good smile

edited 8th Apr '16 8:07:24 AM by Adannor

EchoingSilence Since: Jun, 2013
#7: Apr 8th 2016 at 2:04:55 PM

  • Name: Silas Grant, Cobalt Reaper
  • Personality:
    • In his civilian identity he's a friendly easygoing person with a keen business sense with a intense want to build fantastic devices and machines
    • His Reaper identity is quieter, forceful and no nonsense, his only concern is solving the problem at hand and saving people,
  • Description:
    • Civilian He never shows his face, ever. This offputs some people.
    • Cobalt Reaper A Armor Suit of his own design
  • Backstory:
    • Before Silas was a crime fighter, Silas was a proud industrialist, working on brand new technologies and robotics to improve automation and make the lives of everyone easier. A easygoing man who liked to smile, well people assumed he was smiling because he never took off his white mask, few know what the man underneath looks like.
    • All it took was one attack on his main factory while he was visiting to make him realize how easy it would be to die, this sent him into a paranoiac fit as he set to work attempting to "correct" this, leading to his first attempt at his trademark armor set. It was large, bulky, and closer to a tank more than anything. But upon another attack on his facilities, he proved it's worth by defending his employees.
  • This set Silas into refining the armor to the point where he achieved his latest design and has become known to the public as the "Cobalt Reaper", few know who lies behind the armor, even fewer know who last behind his white mask.
  • Powers, skills, gear:
    • The Cobalt Reaper armor - Bulletproof, Flight capable, with twin pulse lasers and dual energy blades. High functioning sensory array allowing for almost total battlefield awareness though often kept low as human sensibilities can't use that much input, enhanced strength through the armor set, 9mm smgs in the arm, a projected forcefield wall for added protection from incoming attacks, and twin pulse cannons located in the backpack.

Anything that needs fixing?

edited 11th Apr '16 9:48:48 AM by EchoingSilence

nman Since: Mar, 2010
#8: Apr 8th 2016 at 2:14:17 PM

I've got a bit of time to kill, so I'm leafing through the Hero's Handbook. Do you have a rough idea of how many power points (or what power level) we're using?

Adannor (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#9: Apr 8th 2016 at 2:47:31 PM

[up][up]Alright then. Personality quirk is fine, backstory works. To fit you in, I'd suppose that your business was in Emerald City and you have your base set up in there as well, and upon the storm hitting you rush to help. How does that sound?

So the questions for the statting up: how much power do you want pumping out in those lasers? Using 10 damage aka "tank cannon" as a benchmark and keeping in mind that rising by 1 rank in the system generally means doubling the parameter. Also you can easily fit some more functions than shooting and stabbing in there.
How capable is the guy under the suit? Incredible intellect is a given, but how about everything else? How physically fit is he, perceptive, dextrous, etc? Here's the grading the game uses so you can use those descriptors in general; or if you want a more specific read on what is what, here it is (pretty short and to the point). Maxed out Technology skill is a given, but do you want him be trained any other notable skills?

[up]Standard stuff, PL 10, 150 power points, although I won't be all too strict with the latter.

edited 8th Apr '16 2:59:43 PM by Adannor

EchoingSilence Since: Jun, 2013
#10: Apr 8th 2016 at 3:13:57 PM

Great intellect, above average human aptitude and ability considering that the suit would be somewhat difficult to move. I believe I have a copy of the Power Armor starter. Could I use that?

edited 8th Apr '16 3:20:10 PM by EchoingSilence

Adannor (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#11: Apr 8th 2016 at 3:29:00 PM

There she is. Also some examples from another book. Feel free to pick something from them.

Given the theme of energy blasts and swords, may I suggest for example a projected forcefield? Moving things, a temporary wall if needed, etc?

edited 8th Apr '16 3:31:10 PM by Adannor

nman Since: Mar, 2010
#12: Apr 9th 2016 at 12:55:16 PM

Well you know, I figured I might as well take the "Knights" bit in the RP's title literally.[lol] This is what I have and then we can hash out the hard stuff.

  • Name: Though Maximus Dragoumis may seem like an ordinary museum worker by day, at night he fights crime as the amazing Captain Byzantium!
  • Personality: A valiant knight who seeks to embody the principals of honor, justice, chivalry, and goodness - usually by liberal application his sword.
  • Description:
    • Max: A classically attractive male with blonde hair, brown eyes, and olive skin, and appears to be in his thirties.
    • Captain Byzantium: Wears a full set of lamellar armor similar to the one he once wore. Its metal is tinted with gold and bright red tones. He also carries a giant sword with the same color scheme.
  • Backstory: Born in the year 1406 in what is now Turkey, Maximus joined the Byzantine military when he was of age and quickly joined the Excubitors, eventually finding himself in the ranks of the Immortals. When he was in his early forties, the Emperor took ill, and he was tasked with leading a company of men to retrieve the Holy Grail. All of his men were slain during the trials, which tested their strength, courage, skill, and character, leaving only a badly bruised and beaten Maximus dragging himself to the chamber where the Grail lay. Fortunately, the waters within restored him to full health and beyond, granting him great power from the waters of the Chalice. Unfortunately, it could never be removed from the room where it resided, and he returned to the Great Palace with grim news for the Emperor, who died shorty after.

The new Emperor, Constantine Dragases Palaiologos, recognizing Maximus's ability, made him a champion of the people and, fittingly enough, promoted him to the Captain of the Immortals. For four years he fought for the glory of Byzantium, until the day when Mehmed II marched on Constantinople with an army of three hundred-thousand men. Though he fought ferociously in this last stand for his Empire, he was eventually slain by his nemesis, the warlock berserker Zagan Pasha, who with a final thunderous attack caused his body to be thrown miles from the tower and into the Sea of Marmara.

Over five centuries later, in the very recent past, Maximus's body wound up on the shore. His armor and clothes long since rusted off, though he maintained a deathgrip on his sword. Walking the streets of Emerald City and learning from its roving homeless, he spent a brief amount of time understanding the changes to the English language enough to get by in daily life and the situation he was now in. Adopting the last name Dragoumis so that he could acquire enough of a "fake" identity to fill out the legal forms required to get part-time employment at the city's Museum of Greek History, he managed to decipher one of its artifacts and find a long-hidden castle in the woods just outside of the city that now serves as his home and base of operations. Until the day when the Marble King rises from wherever he slumbers to once again command him, Maximus has no choice but to live in his adopted home of Emerald City. In the meantime, though, he fights crime.
  • Complications:
    • Quirk - The Future Is Shocking: While he has settled into modern life to a limited degree, there are still many things that are beyond his comprehension, such as efficient computer use, driving a car, or anything to do with pop culture.
    • Justice: Unlike the plethora of heroes who will spend days in self-introspective thought over their motivations and how far they are willing to go, Captain Byzantium has no problems with killing his opponents. However, he won't execute them. Rather, he is used to a lifetime where fighting means someone will inevitably wind up dead.
    • Honor:
    • Weakness: Drinking the water of the Holy Grail granted Maximus his powers, and as such any other water he drinks prevents his resurrection. This means that if drowned, he cannot revive until he is out of the water.
  • Powers, skills, gear:
This is the part I'm still looking over the rules for. His powers would mainly just involve his ability scores being more strong/tough/fast than your average human, with some points in regeneration/immortality(with a drowning flaw)/immunity, and skill at stabbing stuff. I know I'd want his more mundane equipment to include armor, and a secret castle base. His sword would be classified as an easily removable power, having some minor magical effects, though I'm not quite sure what yet (maybe the sword is on fire?). Basically I just want a dude who's a tough-as-nails paladin knight bastard who can do well enough up close and personal, but lacks any sort of ranged abilities. If I have enough spare points I'd like some more knight-ish powers, but otherwise I'm fine with just sticking to swording it up. And the high-level concept is just "What if I made a guy who had an origin like Captain America's, except he's from a nation that hasn't existed for centuries."

I also like jumping. Jumping is a good power.

Oh, and also I want him to be capable of using/building/maintaining medieval weapons and armor, and fixing up his fixer-upper castle base that he found hidden in the woods. The technology/repair/building skills in the game are more for tech characters, though. So instead would that just be a skill like "Expertise: Ancient arms and armor"

  • Advantages (22 points):
    • All-Out Attack
    • Attractive: 1
    • Benefit - Alternate Identity (Has a "fake" identity for "Maximus Dragoumis", who unlike Maximus wasn't born several centuries ago.)
    • Benefit - Cipher (Likewise, it's a little harder to find stuff out about him from that long ago.)
    • Benefit - Ambidexterity
    • Benefit - Knighthood (Though whether it's actually useful still is unlikely)
    • Equipment: I'll assume 5 for now to be safe
    • Improvised Weapon
    • Improved Critical: Swords 4
    • Instant Up
    • Languages rank 3: Greek, Latin, Arabic, Coptic
    • Power Attack
    • Quick Draw

  • Skills (? points)
    • Close Combat: Swords ?
    • Close Combat: Unarmed ?

  • Powers (5+10+14+7+10=46 points):
    • Healing: 15 (Flaws - Empathic, others only: 5)
    • Immortality: 20 (Flaw - Limited: Drowning. 10)
    • Immunities: Aging (1), disease(1), fatigue(1), magic (5), sleep (1), all environmental conditions (flaw: half-effect, 5) - sum 14
    • Leaping: 7 (7)
    • Regeneration: 10 (10)

  • Equipment (14 equipment points, but I figure I can dump some more points into the castle for the hell of it.)
    • Chain mail armor (Costs 3e)
    • Headquarters: Castle (Huge, 3e)
      • +6 toughness (3e)
      • Concealed x5 (5e)

edited 23rd Apr '16 2:00:49 AM by nman

Adannor (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#13: Apr 9th 2016 at 2:15:17 PM

[up]Allrighty then, character's all good smile I've got some ideas for assorted swordsmanship tricks and I'll get to you with them a bit later, when I've done working over ES's Silas.

EchoingSilence Since: Jun, 2013
#14: Apr 9th 2016 at 6:13:28 PM

So I stuck forcefield projection on and I have also been watching Avenges Earth's Mightiest Heroes and thinking about Power Armor specs.

And where will we put the base stats?

Adannor (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#16: Apr 10th 2016 at 8:55:54 AM

[up]How would that character fit into an action-oriented game about a superhero team?

Allright, Silas Grant is going to look something like this clicky for statblock 

  • Abilities (64pp)
StrengthStaminaAgilityDexterityFightingIntellectAwarenessPresence
222221066
So here we have superhuman intellect, incredibly perceptive and charismatic and pretty good at physical activity.

  • Next, Skills (number in brackets is the bonus with the relevant Ability): 10pp
    • Expertise: Business 2 (+12), trained but mostly running on intellect; Expertise: Science 6 (+16) and Technology 8 (+18) are exceptional. Persuation 4 (+10) supplements negotiations
  • Advantages: assorted benefits (9pp)
    • Benefit 4 (multi-millionaire) - tons of cash; Eidetic Memory - what it says; Improvised Tools - can work in a cave with a box of scrap; Inventor - creating one-use devices for situation at hand; Skill Mastery (technology) and Ultimate Effort (technology) are helpful boosts to the skill use; Equipment 3 (an HQ)
  • And finally, the suit (64 points totalled up)
    • Armor and defenses (32pp, 8 discounted): Protection 8, Impervious 10 (flat out immune to small arms, only gets a little banged about by tougher stuff); Life Support (10pp); amplified Dodge, Parry and Fortitude defenses by 4 each.
    • Flight system (10pp, 3 discounted) Flight 6 (120 miles/hour); Swimming 6 (30 miles/hour)
    • Weaponry array (22pp, 6 discounted): Array means you switch between those
      • Pulse lasers: Ranged Damage 10; Accurate 4 (+8), straightforward shooting things
      • Energy blades: Damage 10; Accurate +4; Improved Critical 4; Parry +2, also straightforward, a little bit enhanced defense
      • Enhanced Strength 12 (+2 your normal), total lift 400 tons, a lot of lifting power.
      • Repulsor Field: Move Object 10 (you can hold up to 25 tons with those.
      • Repulsor Wall: Deflect 10 (instead of attacking, you can use forcefield to deflect attacks aimed at yourself and those close to you)

Aand a final shorthand

  • Defenses (in/out of suit)
    • Dodge 10/6; Parry 8/4; Fortitude 8/4; Toughness 10/2; Willpower 8
  • Attacks
    • Lasers and blades are 10 damage, 10 accuracy, blades crit on 16 to 20;

Total 160 points

edited 10th Apr '16 9:16:04 AM by Adannor

EchoingSilence Since: Jun, 2013
#17: Apr 10th 2016 at 8:59:16 AM

Alright then. So how do I do that table set?

Adannor (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#18: Apr 10th 2016 at 9:06:00 AM

Ehh, I'll keep it, don't worry about.

AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#19: Apr 10th 2016 at 9:19:04 AM

I'm interested, though I'm not too familiar with Mutants and Masterminds so I may need some help in creating my character.

In particular, I was intrigued by your mention of "the war between Atlantis and the Serpent People", and I was considering making a character who is an Atlantean hero in their own right, come to the surface to chase a Serpentine criminal and ends up embroiled in the heroing business.

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
EchoingSilence Since: Jun, 2013
#20: Apr 10th 2016 at 9:30:13 AM

We talking Superfriends Aquaman or Justice League Aquaman?

And thank you Adannor.

edited 10th Apr '16 9:30:56 AM by EchoingSilence

AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#21: Apr 10th 2016 at 9:42:42 AM

Justice League. Though my character is more like Aqualad/Tempest than Aquaman.

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Adannor (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#22: Apr 10th 2016 at 10:01:44 AM

So, Atlantean sorceror rather than pure brawler? Works fine.

Serpent people have been pretty completely ruined by past cataclysm, so it's only few of them that even manage to get a hold on sentience. However the few are still very dangerous practitioners of magic and dark arts, so you can have one of those attacking Atlantis and escaping.

edited 10th Apr '16 10:02:00 AM by Adannor

AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#23: Apr 10th 2016 at 10:22:11 AM

All right, I'll do that. Here's my preliminary character sheet:

  • Civilian Name: Glaukon Xiphos
  • Superhero Name: Riptide
  • Personality: Riptide fancies himself the ideal hero: chivalrous, but ruthless with those who commit crime. In practice, though, he tends to be rather hot-headed and eager to charge into combat rather than ask questions, as well as having an alarming tendency to act without thinking and end up in bad situations. He's rather no-nonsense while "on duty", but off-duty he can be laid-back.
  • Description:
    • At first glance, Riptide looks like a handsome human male in his early 20s. He has a thin but muscular frame, olive-toned skin, black hair that grows somewhat long and hangs down to his chin, and sea-green eyes. However, Riptide is an Atlantean, a race of people from beneath the sea that can change from a fully-human form to a half-fish form at will. Riptide's fish tail has silvery-blue scales and spikes on both the caudal/tail fin and the pelvic fins halfway down the tail.
    • Riptide typically wears the same outfit on-and-off duty. He wears ornate shoulderpads that have a decorative flourish that coils like the shells of marine snails, as well as a breastplate and arm-bracers made of orichalcum (a strong and lightweight Atlantean metal that moves as smoothly through water as iron moves through air). He also wears an olive green scarf of sorts, about 3 feet long, that flows behind him heroically. At first glance it looks like he wears form-fitting trousers that go down to his ankles made of silvery-blue fish scales, but these are actually his legs, which transform into a fish tail. He wears no shoes.
  • Backstory: Glaukon was a member of the Atlantean army, helping fight against the remnants of the Serpent People. He would fight back against serpentine incursions into Atlantean waters. One day, against the orders of his superior officers, he pursued an escaping Serpentine warlock onto the surface, near Emerald City. However, the Serpentine managed to elude capture. While in the surface city, he noticed that crime was far more rampant up here than down in Atlantis, and he could not stand idly by while people were in danger. He took up the moniker "Riptide" and began to defend Emerald City from crime.
  • Powers, skills, gear:
    • Riptide is an Atlantean, a near-human race of beings from below the sea that can change their legs into a fish tail and back at will. Atlanteans can breathe underwater, are naturally stronger and more durable than ordinary humans, and are incredibly proficient in aquatic magic. Riptide can use this magic to control water around him, shaping it with gestures. Finally, Atlanteans are knowledgeable in the language of the deep, which allows Riptide to communicate with creatures from the ocean. Riptide, as a member of the Atlantean army, has been trained in combat, so he is a proficient brawler, as well as a user of traditional Atlantean weaponry. He keeps a shortsword made of orichalcum at his hips which he uses underwater.
    • However, his usage of water-based magics is also his weakness. Riptide can survive out of water for a while, but the longer he stays dry, the weaker he becomes. In addition, he cannot create water, only control it. This means that if the air is dry enough that water cannot be extracted from the vapor in the air, he is left vulnerable. For this reason, when he goes to an area that is far away from the water, he carries a large canteen full of water with him.

edited 10th Apr '16 10:36:51 AM by AllHailThrall

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Adannor (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#24: Apr 10th 2016 at 11:53:02 AM

Alright, accepted.

So, a question about Maximus and Glaukon: how high are they in non-physical areas? Charisma, perception, intelligence, etc? Silas was easier due to his business requiring skills for it, but those two are more vague.

edited 10th Apr '16 11:53:30 AM by Adannor

AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#25: Apr 10th 2016 at 12:14:34 PM

I tend to imagine Glaukon as pretty charismatic; not superhumanly so, but he has a strong force of will and he's good-looking. His magic is augmented by his charisma as well, I'd wager. Atlanteans in general are probably more perceptive than humans, other than that I'd say he's fairly average, maybe on the high side of that. Same with Glaukon's intelligence; he's not stupid by any means, but he tends to focus his efforts towards martial prowess rather than book-learning. So somewhat above average for that, I'd imagine.

edited 10th Apr '16 12:15:30 PM by AllHailThrall

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.

Total posts: 102
Top