Wednesday, June 13, 2012

V&V Vednesday: Atlanteans

(unless I've miscounted along the way, this is my 50th character write-up entry on this blog for the Villains & Vigilantes RPG)

The aquatic race known colloquially as the Atlanteans are not native to this dimension, but rather were brought into this reality by the Thanatari as a servitor race during the extra-dimensional invasion that occurred during the summer of 1988, commonly referred to as the Reality War.  This was not the first time that the aquatic race had followed their masters the Thanatari through the dimensional rifts, but due to the presence of telepaths among Earth's superhuman defenders, it was the first time the underwater people had actually communicated with the local sentients that the Thanatari wished to conquer.  Eventually, that Atlanteans (as the people of Earth called them) rebelled against their masters and sided with the Earthlings, which would turn out to be the moment that would turn the tide (sorry) in the war.  After the Thanatari were defeated, the Atlanteans had no way of returning to their original reality. Fortunately, the deep oceans of Earth provided a suitable new habitat for the underwater race, one which (for the most part) did not come into conflict with the surface dwellers of this new world.  Using their ability to transform matter (see below), the Atlanteans have since created underwater citites, complete with their own unique form of technology.

All Atlanteans have the following Powers and Weaknesses as a racial template:

Animal (Fish) Powers
     + 4 END, -4 AGL (standard modifiers for the power-set)
     Heightened Agility A: +11 (total modifier +7)
     Heightened Senses: adapted to see underwater without difficulty, vision extends into the UV range
     Heightened Strength A: +11
     Speed Bonus (variant): Swimming movement rate is doubled
     Water Breathing (type B)
Matter Transformation - takes simple, non-living matter and rearranges it to create a new object (the Atlanteans usually use the detritus accumulated on the ocean floor as the 'stock' for their new creations).  A cost of PR=1 can create up to the Atlanteans' CHR score in pounds, with the maximum weight possible for such creations is CHR x (INT + character level) for any individual device/object.  PR cost is doubled for complex devices (such as the energy rifles that the Atlanteans favor), and an INT roll on a d20 is also required for such items (because of the Atlanteans' shared telepathic knowledge, most of the race has at least a basic idea of how to re-create even relatively complex items that has been invented in some point in the past).  A completely new complex item would require an Inventing roll.  Most such items dissipate within an hour, but for triple the normal PR cost such items will be permanent in nature.
Telepathy
Prejudice (the fish-like nature of the Atlanteans give most humans a rather uneasy feeling)
Vulnerability (double damage from fire- and heat-based attacks)

Weight for Atlanteans (both male and female) is determined as per a normal human male.

A 'typical' Atlantean armsman might have the following stats:

STR: 22     END: 15     INT: 10     AGL: 18     CHA: 10

Level: 2nd     Weight: 175 lbs     Basic Hits: 4     Hit Points: 25    
Healing Rate: 1.6/day     Movement: 55" running, 110" swimming      Power: 65     
Carrying Capacity: 1,063 lbs     HTH Damage: 1d10
Damage Modifier: +2     Accuracy: +3     Detect Hidden: 8%     Detect Danger: 12%  

Equipment: Dagger (+1 to hit, HTH+1d2 damage), Energy Rifle (+3 to hit, 1d12 damage, can fire underwater but range is halved)

Perhaps one in two-score Atlantean adults will have 1d4 Talents, determined by a d6 roll:

1. Heightened Attack
2. Heightened Defense
3. Heightened Expertise
4. Heightened Mental Prowess (acts similar to Heightened Intelligence A and Heightened Charisma A, bonus may be split between those two attributes as desired)
5. Heightened Physical Prowess (acts similar to Heightened Strength A, Heightened Endurance A and Heightened Agility A, bonus may be split between those three attributes as desired)
6. Willpower

Finally, about one in a thousand Atlanteans will have the Telekinesis power, with the limitation that the telekinesis only affects water.  Those blessed with this ability are the heroes (and villains) of the Atlantean people.  

Although contact is fairly minimal between Atlanteans and humans, the two races have worked together for the shared mutual benefit (humans who act as liaisons and diplomats between the two races are specifically trained not to react negatively to the aquatic race).  The most notable example of this is the respective super-prisons that each side is building, to house difficult prisoners from 'the other side' (i.e. human supervillains are imprisoned in the Atlanteans' underwater prison, while Atlantean criminals are held on land in a human prison, each designed so that the prisoner can live comfortably, but escape would be dangerous and life-threatening due to the respective environments immediately outside the prison walls).


It would be up to each individual GM to determine how the Atlanteans would react to either Undertow or the creature known as Grendel.

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