V&V A to Z: Sanadora

Character Name: Sanadora     Real Name: Maria Jiminez     Side: Good

Gender: Female     Height: 5'4""     Weight: 160 lbs     Age: 23

        

Physical Description: A somewhat pudgy looking Hispanic female with black hair and brown eyes, who favors causal, but somewhat-conservative clothing.

STR: 9     END: 12     INT: 12     AGL: 10     CHA: 11

Level: 1st     XP: 0     Basic Hits: 4     Hit Points: 5     Healing Rate: 0.9/day

Movement: 31"     Power: 86    Carrying Capacity: 154 lbs     HTH Damage: 1d4

Damage Modifier: -     Accuracy: -     Detect Hidden: 10%     Detect Danger: 14%  

Inventing Points: 1.2     Inventing: 36%     Reaction Modifier: -     

Training: Weight loss  

Powers

Mutant Power: Healing Touch (can restore 1d6 HP for PR=4; can not raise the dead, cure disease, or regenerate lost limbs, can heal muscle damage with effects beyond HP loss (i.e. torn hamstring, punctured lung) for +10 PR, can re-knit broken bones for +20 PR (bones should ideally be re-set before being healed in this manner))

Mutant Power: Human Battery  (power score is doubled)

Areas of Knowledge

Religion, Medical

Character Notes/Origin/Personality: Maria is a second-generation Mexican-American born into a very religious and conservative family.  Her father in particular, besides being devoutly Catholic, was also of the opinion that any superhuman abilities were the mark of the devil, no matter how benign they might be, or to how much good use those abilities might be used.  This was a source of great conflict for Maria, who learned at an early age that she had a 'healing touch'.  Desperate to not reveal this to her father, she kept this ability hidden, only using it in a secretive manner.

Shortly after she graduated from high school, Maria's best friend Carisa was badly injured in a car accident. Without thinking about the consequences, Maria used her abilities to stem the bleeding, saving Carisa's life. When he found out, her father's reaction was entirely predictable. Maria left later that night, having been disowned by her father.

Staying with a friend for a few days, Maria had no idea what her future would bring. It was then that she saw in the local newspaper that a star athlete for a local professional sports team was expected to be out of the game for the rest of the season. Maria managed to contact the athlete, and offered to heal his injury for a fraction of what his total hospital and rehabilitation costs would be. The athlete was back playing a few days later, and would go on to help lead his team to the playoffs.

Word got out, and suddenly Maria had a booming business as Sanadora ('healer' in Spanish) in healing wealthy athletes, as well as the occasional politician, celebrity, or rock star. She began taking first aid classes to aid with her healing touch, and would occasionally go out riding in ambulances at night to do pro bono work.

She misses her younger brothers and sisters terribly, but has not yet attempted to supersede her father's wishes that she never return. Those meeting her find that she is soft-spoken, somewhat shy, and seemingly completely unaffected by her new-found wealth. She takes solace in her faith as a Catholic, but unlike her father knows better than to judge others unduly.        

Campaign Use: Superheroes get hurt on a frequent basis, and the PCs should be no exception. They may go to Maria to help heal up some life-threatening or incapacitating injuries, or to have them heal a friend or ally in need. Maria doesn't care about the money so much (she has more than she'll ever really need at this point), but she might ask that they make a sizable donation to the charity of their choice, or might otherwise ask for some sort of favor in return.

Of course, supervillains might wish to kidnap her, to keep around for general healing purposes, or perhaps to help keep a brilliant-but-dying supervillain active for just a little while longer...

V&V A to Z: Rainbow

Character Name: Rainbow     Secret ID: Sarah Nelson     Side: Good

Gender: Female     Height: 5'6"     Weight: 120 lbs     Age: 20 (physically)

        

Physical Description: An attractive young woman with strawberry blond hair and blue-green eyes.  Her costume is a bodysuit w/ half-mask that incorporates all seven colors of the rainbow, and also includes a black wig that is multi-streaked with those seven colors as well.

STR: 11     END: 14     INT: 13     AGL: 16     CHA: 15

Level: 3rd     XP: 7,176     Basic Hits: 3     Hit Points: 8     Healing Rate: 0.9/day

Movement: 41"     Power: 54  Carrying Capacity: 164 lbs     HTH Damage: 1d4

Damage Modifier: +1     Accuracy: +2     Detect Hidden: 10%     Detect Danger: 14%  

Inventing Points: 2.9     Inventing: 39%     Reaction Modifier: +2 good/-2 evil

Training: Endurance  

Powers (based on the colors of the rainbow)

Red/Power Blast (range 13", 1d20 dam, PR=1)

Orange/Telekinesis (move 330 lbs, range 48", flight 42"/turn, PR=1)

Yellow/Telepathy (range = 130")

Green/Plant Control

Blue/Emotion Control (love, range 1", PR=8)

Indigo/Weather Control

Violet/Mind Control (range = 3", PR=20)

Weakness  
Can only use one power at a time.  Can switch between powers freely at the beginning of each turn, or whenever her initiative allows her to take an action.  There is no power or movement cost for switching between powers.  Whenever using a power, a soft glow of light (of the appropriate color) surrounds her body.

Areas of Knowledge

Student, Fine Art

Character Notes/Origin/Personality: Born in 1950, Sarah discovered as a teenager that she had a number of superhuman mutant abilities, each seemingly corresponding with a color of the rainbow.  As she got older, she would occasionally use her abilities to fight crime and to otherwise help those in need.

In 1969, she had the misfortune to get in the middle of a fight between the time-traveler Khronos and the wizard Zarthwyn.  As Khronos was trying to escape the scene and travel back to his home time of 2010, Zarthwyn cast a spell to disrupt his enemy's abilities.  The result was that Rainbow, not Khronos, was propelled forward in time over four decades.

Shocked and disoriented by her new surroundings, Rainbow was eventually taken in by a local superhero group.  Shortly after that, she was approached by a man in his late 50's, who asked a number of probing questions, and who seemed to know much about her that no one else would know.  To her surprise, Sarah finally realized that this was actually her 'younger' brother Eric.

Eric took her in, giving her a place to stay while she adjusted to the brave new world she now resided in.  Eric, as it turned out, was quite wealthy; in the 70's he found success as the singer, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist for the hard rock band Saltlick, and after he retired from music he transformed that wealth into real estate holdings, which made him even richer over time.

Over the last year Sarah has been getting used to the 21st century.  She's attending college (rooming with Eric's youngest daughter), where she also is studying for a Fine Arts degree, specifically pursuing classes in creating sculptures.  She occasionally appears as Rainbow, when she is needed; much commentary has been made by the local media of her appearances at various GLBT gatherings, providing both support and protection.        

Campaign Use: As a woman out of time, Rainbow would be a logical person to go to should the PCs ever have to contend with a villain from the late 60's making a comeback.  Should the PCs ever come into conflict with Khronos, Rainbow would love to help them, hopefully getting some revenge in the process on the time-villain for disrupting her life.

Trollslayers - Levels and Improvement

Haven't posted any TS stuff in a while, mainly because what was to be the next step was dealing with damage and injury... and I keep going back and forth on that.  The ideal balancing point between detail and simplicity is a rather elusive beast, and for the moment I don't seem to be making any headway in how I want to handle it.

So for a little bit I'm going to step sideways and tackle a different topic.  Err, topics.  You know what I mean.

Levels

The number of Experience Points required for a given level is as follows:

Level          EP required
    1                    500
    2                 1,500
    3                 3,000
    4                 5,000
    5                 7,500
    6               10,500
    7               14,000
    8               18,000
    9               22,500
  10               27,500
  11               33,000
  12               39,000
  13               45,500
  14               52,500
  15               60,000
  16               68,000
  17               76,500
  18               85,500
  19               95,000
  20             105,000

The formula is as follows: (500 x new level) + amount of EP required for previous level.

The default for player characters is to start off at 1st level with 500 EP.  That 500 EP represents the previous training, experience, etc. the character has already picked up along the way, and it is what separates them from the vast majority of Commoners.  Henchmen and hirelings that the PCs may hire might have some EP, although they might not have enough to qualify for 1st level (and yes, the gaining of EP will be a separate post).

Improvement

Upon gaining a new level (past the first), a character gets to make two improvements to their character sheet.  The types of improvements that can be made are as follows:

     Add +1 to any Attribute

     Acquire a new Talent, or add +1 to the effect of an existing Talent (within the limitations on maximum number of talents and max skill level for a given talent)

     Add two points to the character's Health score - the maximum number of points that can be added to Health in this manner is equal to half the character's END score (round down)

     Add five points to the character's Essence score - the maximum number of points that can be added to Essence in this manner is equal to the character's (PRE score x attribute modifier for KNO)

     Acquire a new spell - this is dependent on circumstance allowing for the character to conceivably be able to learn a new spell by rummaging through the library of an ancient city, get your master to open up his spellbook to you, etc. - the spell must be 1/2 the character's level for a Magician, 1/3 the character's level for a Paragon, and 1/4 the character's level for an Expert (round down in all cases), and for the Expert to acquire a spell in this manner the spell must coincide with the character's Profession (this is, of course, in addition to the standard methods of learning a new spell, which is either pay good money to try to learn it, or acquire the spell formula during an adventure)

A character can not make the same improvement twice per level.  For example, a character can not upon gaining a new level have both of their improvements be to their STR score, although they could improve both their STR and another Attribute during the same level.

Some improvements may be mandated by the character's recent circumstances.  For example, if the character has spent pretty much all of the previous level on a sailing ship because they were shanghaied while at a port town, then the GM might reasonably expect that at least one of the character's improvement for that level is to buy a nautical-based Talent (if they don't already have one).  Likewise, if the character has spent much of their time recently in the slave pits, the GM asking that one of the improvements to the previously wimpy character might be an addition to STR or END.

V&V A to Z: Quantum

Character Name: Quantum     Secret ID: Richard 'Rich' Lake     Side: Evil

Gender: Male     Height: 5'11"     Weight: 190 lbs     Age: 24

        

Physical Description: A fairly average looking Caucasian male with brown hair and green eyes. His costume is blue and yellow, with a molecular helix symbol on its chest.

STR: 13     END: 14     INT: 8     AGL: 13     CHA: 12

Level: 5th     XP: 16,291     Basic Hits: 4     Hit Points: 8     Healing Rate: 1.2/day

Movement: 40"     Power: 48  Carrying Capacity: 342 lbs     HTH Damage: 1d6

Damage Modifier: -     Accuracy: +1     Detect Hidden: 6%     Detect Danger: 11%  

Inventing Points: 4.0     Inventing: 24%     Reaction Modifier: -1 good/+1 evil

Training: Intelligence  

Powers/Talents

Transformation A (Power Activation)

Absorption (power) – 2 pts of Power gained per point of damage absorbed

Adaption

Flight (182 mph)

Non-corporealness (PR=4 per hour)

Power Blast (range 14”, 1d20 damage, PR=1)

Drawbacks

Prejudice (as a former superhero, most supervillains don't fully accept him among their number, and as a current supervillain, most superheroes won't give him the time of day)

Areas of Knowledge

Transportation (trucking), Crime

Character Notes/Origin/Personality: Rich was an easy-going guy without a lot of direction in his life. He had a decent job doing long-haul trucking, but that was pretty much it. One night while taking a break at a Interstate rest area, a beam of light came down from the heavens, striking Rich while he was stretching his legs off near the wooded path. Rich was stunned, but didn't seem visibly hurt. Confused, Rich got back into his truck and started driving.

Eventually, Rich discovered that he could transform himself into a superhuman being, complete with costume and powers. He saw a documentary on a cable channel about quantum mechanics, and figured that 'Quantum' was as good a name as any. For a while, he made an attempt at being a superhero. He wasn't that effective at it, to be honest, but he still managed to do some good and stop a few crimes along the way.

His luck ran out when his truck was destroyed in a battle with the supervillain Volt; soon after that, Rich lost his job. Temptation soon got the better of him, and one night when busting some drug runners, he decided that instead of turning in the cash to the authorities, he would instead keep it for himself. Shortly after that, he decided to use his ability to walk through walls to rob what he was told was a business front for the mob. Unfortunately for him, his theft was videotaped, and the business in question turned out to be legitimate.

Quantum is now a wanted as a supervillain. He doesn't like the way his life has turned out, but he figures there's no way to go back to the way things were before. For the moment, his goal is to make one really big haul, and then find somewhere far away from any superheroes to quietly retire, leave the costume stuff for good, and start over with a new identity.

Campaign Use: Quantum is most likely to be encountered by the PCs making some sort of robbery or theft. His tactics, such as they are, will be pretty straightforward (his low INT score isn't so much a matter of stupidity as it represents a lack of any real imagination or ingenuity). He would consider briefly joining a supervillain group (if one would accept him) if they could convince him the potential score would be worthwhile, even after being split between team members. He would actually be more effective in a team, with the right leader providing direction for him and using his abilities to their fullest potential. 

No more adventuring with Sarah Jane...

Elisabeth Sladen, a.k.a. Sarah Jane Smith, has passed away.

Dammit.

V&V A to Z: Prometheus

Character Name: Prometheus     Secret I.D.: Daniel Weller     Side: Evil
Gender: Male     Height: 5'9"    Weight: 160 lbs     Age: 28

Physical Description: A fairly average looking man in his late 20's with sandy blond hair and brown eyes.  He primarily wears casual clothes, especially while working.

STR: 10     END: 11     INT: 16     AGL: 12     CHA: 11

Level: 4th     XP: 12,112     Basic Hits: 4     Hit Points: 16     Healing Rate: 1.0/day
Movement:  33”    Power: 48  Carrying Capacity: 168 lbs     HTH Damage: 1d4
Damage Modifier:  +2     Accuracy: +1     Detect Hidden: 12%     Detect Danger: 16%
Inventing Points: 3.8     Inventing: 96%     Reaction Modifier: -0 good/+0 evil
Training: Endurance

Powers/Talents
Mutant Power - Hyperinvention  (INT is doubled for Inventing purposes)
Heightened Expertise: +4 to hit with all weapons he has invented or worked on

Equipment
Stun Pistol (act as Paralysis Ray, range 30", 20 shots)
Work Goggles (Heightened Senses - IR & UV vision, magnification up to x1000)
Disguise Belt (Illusions A, visual only, run up to 10 hours)

(the GM should feel free to add any other gadgets to what Prometheus might carry on him at any given moment - he will probably have various devices on his person to exploit any known weaknesses that various local superheroes might have)

Areas of Knowledge
Research/Technology, Scientist

Character Notes/Origin/Personality: In the heart of the city, in a back alley that many don't know about, there is a small electronics repair shop.  The shop doesn't seem to get that much business, but for those who go there, they will find the prices reasonable and the service excellent.

For those who know to use a certain set of code phrases, however, they are likely to receive an entirely different level of service.  Once led to a back room through a hidden doorway, the proprietor of the shop, who is referred top by those in the know as Prometheus, will display technical wares the likes that few have ever seen.

For the right price, Prometheus will build the customer (invariably supervillains or would-be supervillains) pretty much any sort of weapon or device that can be imagined.  A sonic pistol?  Not a problem.  A flying jet-pack?  Child's play.  A handheld magnetic wave generator?  A bit tricky, but entirely possible.  Of course, he can also repair any damaged hi-tech equipment that the customer may possess.

What they do with these technological wonders is their own business, of course.  Prometheus merely requests that his existence never be mentioned to law enforcement agencies, and that he rather be quietly recommended to those of the right temperament with suitable monetary funds, who wish to purchase a unique device such that can not be currently be otherwise obtained through more standard channels.

Of course, Mr. Weller, as he is known by his more mundane customers, could easily have made a fortune selling his various inventions to various businesses and corporations, but Prometheus has plenty of money for his needs, thanks to his unusual clientele, and besides, he much prefers a hands-on approach to science and inventing.  He feels no need to use his devices once he is finished with them, but he does feel no small amount of pride when he reads or hears a news report concerning how one of his inventions was used in a manner baffling to law enforcement and other crimefighters.

Campaign Use: If you have any number of gadget-based supervillains in your campaign, it's entirely possible that Prometheus built at least some of those technological wonders, or at least is helping to repair them when they are damaged.  Although he would never get directly involved in any criminal activities, he is nonetheless indirectly responsible for no small amount of crime and villainy.

If the PCs do eventually get wind of the master inventor's presence, they may well wish to shut down his operations for good, hoping to stem any future criminal activity based off of his work.  If they track him to his shop, they will find it heavily armed and fortified, with dozens of gadgets and traps designed to harass, stun, capture, and delay any would-be invaders, while Prometheus makes his escape through one of his many pre-planned escape routes.

V&V A to Z: Owen Osborne

Character Name: Owen Osborne    Alternate I.D.: n/a     Side: Evil

Gender: Male     Height: 5'4”     Weight: 130 lbs     Age: 76

        

Physical Description: A short, somewhat frail-looking elderly man, with gray hair and brown eyes. He favors slacks and denim shirts. He does not wear any sort of costume, feeling that he is “too old for such foolishness.” 

STR: 25     END: 9     INT: 15     AGL: 23     CHA: 16

Level: 2nd     XP: 2,108     Basic Hits: 3     Hit Points: 16     Healing Rate: 0.75/day

Movement: 57”    Power: 72  Carrying Capacity: 1,074 lbs     HTH Damage: 1d10

Damage Modifier: +3     Accuracy: +4     Detect Hidden: 12%     Detect Danger: 16%  

Inventing Points: 3.0     Inventing: 45%     Reaction Modifier: -2 good/+2 evil

Training: Agility  

Powers/Talents

Absorption (powers/talents, knowledge/memories) – Owen automatically absorbs any powers, talents, knowledge, and memories of anyone he kills with his Death Touch power, permanently. Attribute bonuses that are the result of natural training can not be absorbed, but Heightened Attribute bonuses that are the result of superpowers can be. If the same power is absorbed more than once, the effects do not stack, but rather he uses the better of the two powers, if there is any difference between them. Combat bonuses like Heightened Defense and Heightened Expertise can be absorbed.

Death Touch

*Darkness Control (darkness 18” sphere, max range 69”, PR = 2)

*Heightened AGL B: +15

*Heightened Expertise: +4 to hit will all weapons (including HTH)

*Heightened Senses (see in darkness)

*Heightened Senses (keen sense of smell, x5 to detect rolls if smell/scent is a factor)

*Heightened STR B: +18

*Invulnerability: 17 pts

*Natural Weaponry (martial arts knowledge, +3 to hit, +6 to damage)

*Paralysis Ray

*Teleportation (PR = 6, only teleport to and from areas of total darkness)

Areas of Knowledge

Medical, Law Enforcement, Occult, *Agriculture, *Astronomy, *Bureaucracy, *Business, *Commercial Art, *Crime, *Education, *Journalism, *Legal, *Military, *Philosophy, *Psychology

*represents powers, talents, and areas of knowledge Absorbed via Death Touch

Notes

The spirits of those slain by Owen's Death Touch can not be contacted via standard magical means – part of their souls are being held prisoner by Owen's absorption of their primal essences, and will not be freed until Owen is slain, or the dark pact that grants him power is somehow negated.

Drawbacks

If the number of personalities absorbed via Death Touch exceed Owen's Charisma score, then the most dominant personality absorbed (i.e. has the highest Charisma score) has a chance of temporarily taking control of Owen's body (% roll vs the personality's CHR score to temporarily take over). This can occur any time a new personality is absorbed, and also during times of physical shock (stunned, knocked unconscious, etc). Owen can then make a % roll against his CHR once per round to regain control. Owen has currently killed/absorbed 8 personalities into himself (and is currently unaware of this limitation).

Character Notes/Origin/Personality: Owen was a bitter old man. His wife had passed away several years ago, and his children (and grandchildren) had little to do with him these days. He was long since retired, having served over four decades as a forensics expert for the F.B.I. As the weight of mortality began to bear down on him, he started searching for ways that death might be delayed, if not staved off entirely. Traditional religion had little appeal for him, but exploring darker faiths proved surprisingly stimulating for Owen.

In time, Owen summoned up what might be termed a demon, which made Owen an offer of no small interest. The demon would grant Owen the ability to kill with a touch, and as long as Owen would do so once every 28 days, then any further effects of age would be halted. However, if Owen ever failed to kill with his deadly touch within the 28 day span, then his life and his soul would be forfeit. Owen agreed.

Knowing from his days in forensics the sort of mistakes that usually got killers arrested, Owen picked his first target with great care, a homeless man than nobody would miss. When he did the dark deed, Owen had two surprises in store for him. The first was that a pale impression of his hand was left on the body of the corpse. The other, more importantly, was that Owen had absorbed the knowledge and memories of the slain man.

This changed things considerably. Over the next several months, Owen began picking targets with skills and knowledge that he coveted (most notably combat skills), or otherwise found of interest. He did a pretty good job of disposing of the bodies, but eventually two of the corpses with the pale handprints were discovered. CHESS began to quietly investigate what appeared to be a superpowered serial killer in the Texarkana area.

One of the men that Owen killed had criminal connections to the supervillain known as Onyx. Using his knowledge that he had gained, Owen approached the villain in his civilian identity. The villain had no reason to fear the elderly looking man, and was surprised to find his life slipping away from him as the two shook hands. Owen was delighted to find out that not only did he absorb the man's memories and knowledge (including the whereabouts of a hidden cache of stolen loot), but he had also absorbed Onyx's super powers (Darkness Control, Heightened Senses (see in darkness), Paralysis Ray, and Teleportation) as well.

This expanded Owen's activities even further. Now he was no longer limited to the Texarkana area, but could teleport to anywhere that any of his absorbed personalities had been to previously. Owen's next target was a solo superheroine in the Houston area called Pitbull. Owen managed to fake a partial building collapse, and when Pitbull came in to free him from the wreckage, Owen immobilized her with a paralyzing ray of darkness. He then calmly went over to the unmoving hero and killed her, absorbing her powers (Heightened AGL, Heightened Senses (keen sense of smell), Heightened STR, and Invulnerability) and memories.

Owen has a laundry list of powers he wishes to absorb, and is choosing his next targets accordingly. The main powers he covets include disintegration (the better to get rid of evidence), illusioncasting, invisibility, mind control, non-corporealness, regeneration, and telepathy. Above all, anyone who seems to be immune to the ravages of age would be a primary target. However, he will avoid anyone with a non-human appearance (he's not certain if he would absorb that, as well). Aliens would also be avoided (not certain if his power would work on them, or if their kills would count against his dark pact), as well as those who are known to have gotten their abilities through supernatural means. He would prefer to target solo superhumans, but the right combination of desired powers may well tempt him into attacking a member of a supergroup. Of course, once he has taken his target, he may well use his stolen memories of the slain to attack the rest of the team while they are at their weakest.

Campaign Use: Owen is a superpowered serial killer who targets other superhumans, and is smart enough and deadly enough to get away with it. Played properly, he should be the stuff of nightmares. His only real weakness at this point is his relative lack of experience, but as he gets more kills (and more powers) his danger will grow exponentially. He will always try to attack a target when they are at their most vulnerable.

Any PC with friendly ties to CHESS will probably be quietly alerted about the “death hand killer” (CHESS is hoping to avoid a panic among the general public, and is hoping to deal with the matter as quietly as possible). A solo hero (or villain) with ties to the PCs may fall prey to Owen's touch, prompting an investigation. Of course, if one or more PCs have powers that Owen finds desirable, then they themselves may find themselves the target of Owen's attacks.