Friday, June 10, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
V&V Vednesday: Transporter
Character Name: Transporter Real Name: Timothy Miller Side: Evil
Gender: Male Height: 5'4" Weight: 155 lbs Age: 29
Physical Description: A short, wirey male with blond hair and blue eyes. His costume, when he wears one, is a simple black bodysuit with a black mask that covers everything but his eyes.
STR: 11 END: 13 INT: 15 AGL: 14 CHA: 12
Level: 2nd XP: 4,916 Basic Hits: 4 Hit Points: 9 Healing Rate: 1.2/day
Movement: 38” Power: 53 Carrying Capacity: 204 lbs HTH Damage: 1d4
Damage Modifier: +2 Accuracy: +1 Detect Hidden: 12% Detect Danger: 16%
Inventing: 45% Inventing Points: 3.0 Reaction Modifier: -1 good/+1 evil
Training: Strength
Powers/Talents
Heightened Defense: -4 to be hit
Heightened Expertise: +1 to hit with laser pistol (from training)
Natural Weaponry (martial arts) +1 to hit, +2 damage in unarmed combat
Teleportation (PR = 6, range = current Power score x 100,000 in game inches (with a full Power score this comes out to a little over 5,000 miles), creates 1” square portal)
Equipment
Weakness
Areas of Knowledge
Education, Crime
Character Notes/Origin/Personality: Timothy Miller was an elementary school teacher whose mutant power manifested relatively late. He was at a jazz concert one night when a fire broke out, quickly spreading throughout the nightclub. Engulfed in smoke, Timothy instinctively created a teleportation portal to escape the fire, arriving back at his apartment several miles away.
Not exactly thrilled with his day job, Timothy began using his powers to commit robberies. Although he was able to get away with various petty thefts, the nature of teleportation demands that you know where you're teleporting to; this made stealing high-wealth items from protected sites more difficult that he had initially anticipated, since most of the really good stuff usually wasn't publicly displayed.
It eventually occurred to him that he could make good money by instead acting as a 'courier', transporting people and illicit items across borders and past any legal obstacles, for a suitable fee. Word got out throughout the underworld, and over time the Transporter, as he now dubbed himself, became quite wealthy. Need to get someone out of the country quietly? Call the Transporter. Want to get that drug that gives people temporary super-powers from South America to New York? Call the Transporter. For the right price, he can shift the goods, or the people, wherever you need them to go.
Timothy prefers to avoid combat if at all possible; the laser pistol he acquired in one of his earlier thefts is carried as a last ditch defense. Although he has long since quit his job as a teacher, he avoids dealing with criminals whose goods or actions are likely to target young children. He's a little touchy about his height, but won't let any negative comments thereof interfere with his ability to perform the task at hand; he considers himself a professional, above such petty taunts.
In dealing with a new client, he will meet with them to establish a 'drop point' where any goods are to be delivered. He now has several memorized 'drop points' across the globe. Because of his fear of heights, he will not fly to a new location via plane, or for any other reason. In the past he has traveled by boat to get to a new continent, and will travel by train to get to a new city.
Campaign Use: The Transporter is unlikely to be the focus of an adventure. Rather, he will usually be a part of the chain of events that the heroes must investigate to stop a particular criminal activity.
Gender: Male Height: 5'4" Weight: 155 lbs Age: 29
Physical Description: A short, wirey male with blond hair and blue eyes. His costume, when he wears one, is a simple black bodysuit with a black mask that covers everything but his eyes.
STR: 11 END: 13 INT: 15 AGL: 14 CHA: 12
Level: 2nd XP: 4,916 Basic Hits: 4 Hit Points: 9 Healing Rate: 1.2/day
Movement: 38” Power: 53 Carrying Capacity: 204 lbs HTH Damage: 1d4
Damage Modifier: +2 Accuracy: +1 Detect Hidden: 12% Detect Danger: 16%
Inventing: 45% Inventing Points: 3.0 Reaction Modifier: -1 good/+1 evil
Training: Strength
Powers/Talents
Heightened Defense: -4 to be hit
Heightened Expertise: +1 to hit with laser pistol (from training)
Natural Weaponry (martial arts) +1 to hit, +2 damage in unarmed combat
Teleportation (PR = 6, range = current Power score x 100,000 in game inches (with a full Power score this comes out to a little over 5,000 miles), creates 1” square portal)
Equipment
Laser pistol (+2 to hit, 1d10 damage, range 42”)
Weakness
Phobia – Transporter has a serious fear of heights (acrophobia).
Areas of Knowledge
Education, Crime
Character Notes/Origin/Personality: Timothy Miller was an elementary school teacher whose mutant power manifested relatively late. He was at a jazz concert one night when a fire broke out, quickly spreading throughout the nightclub. Engulfed in smoke, Timothy instinctively created a teleportation portal to escape the fire, arriving back at his apartment several miles away.
Not exactly thrilled with his day job, Timothy began using his powers to commit robberies. Although he was able to get away with various petty thefts, the nature of teleportation demands that you know where you're teleporting to; this made stealing high-wealth items from protected sites more difficult that he had initially anticipated, since most of the really good stuff usually wasn't publicly displayed.
It eventually occurred to him that he could make good money by instead acting as a 'courier', transporting people and illicit items across borders and past any legal obstacles, for a suitable fee. Word got out throughout the underworld, and over time the Transporter, as he now dubbed himself, became quite wealthy. Need to get someone out of the country quietly? Call the Transporter. Want to get that drug that gives people temporary super-powers from South America to New York? Call the Transporter. For the right price, he can shift the goods, or the people, wherever you need them to go.
Timothy prefers to avoid combat if at all possible; the laser pistol he acquired in one of his earlier thefts is carried as a last ditch defense. Although he has long since quit his job as a teacher, he avoids dealing with criminals whose goods or actions are likely to target young children. He's a little touchy about his height, but won't let any negative comments thereof interfere with his ability to perform the task at hand; he considers himself a professional, above such petty taunts.
In dealing with a new client, he will meet with them to establish a 'drop point' where any goods are to be delivered. He now has several memorized 'drop points' across the globe. Because of his fear of heights, he will not fly to a new location via plane, or for any other reason. In the past he has traveled by boat to get to a new continent, and will travel by train to get to a new city.
Campaign Use: The Transporter is unlikely to be the focus of an adventure. Rather, he will usually be a part of the chain of events that the heroes must investigate to stop a particular criminal activity.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Capsule reviews: Comics from 6/1
Adventure Comics #527 (DC, $2.99, Paul Levitz, Geralso Borges) - An issue spotlighting longtime Legion trainee Comet Queen, as she relates her origins and past misadventures to Glorith. How much of this is new and how much had been previously established, I couldn't tell you - CQ is one of those many characters I remember from past incarnations of the Legion, but other than her bubbly and somewhat ditzy personality, she never left much of an impression on me. The story here is well-told and surprisingly bittersweet; by the end of it Levitz makes you genuinely care about the character. The art by Borges is also nicely done, detailed but not cluttered. Not a spectacular issue, but an entertaining one.
Jonah Hex #68 (DC, $2.99, Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Rafa Carres) - A murder in a small town demands that someone pay for the crime, and a recently-arrived stranger seems a likely candidate. But when that stranger is Jonah Hex, you know it's going to end in a rather messy and brutal fashion. One of the things I like about this issue is that it doesn't just show Jonah as being tough, it also shows him being smart, and a keen observer of human nature. Unfortunately, the art is a little uneven this issue; it starts out decently enough, but gets a little looser (and not in a good way) as the issue progresses. Still, the story is strong enough to help make up for any flaws in the art.
And now for something a little different...
Muppet Sherlock Holmes (BOOM!, $9.99, Patrick Storck, Amy Mebberson) - "When you remove the impossible, whatever remains is still not guaranteed to make much sense." And so we begin a collection of delightfully demented stories, featuring Gonzo as Holmes, Fozzie as Dr. Watson, and Kermit as Inspector LeStrade. Four of Doyle's stories get put though their paces here ("The Adventure of the Speckled Band", "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Red-Headed League," and "The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual"); by the time the Muppets have their way with these stories, there's often not that much of Doyle's originals left, but they're still entertaining romps. Storck's plots move quickly, and are filled with puns and other bad humor; if the occasional pun falls flat, that's okay, another pun will show up quickly enough in another panel or two. Mebberson's art here is a delight, wonderfully capturing the incongruity of the Muppets on Victorian London. This isn't for comic book fans lacking a sense of humor (of which there are far too many), but it's a great read both for younger readers, as well as (as the saying goes) kids of all ages.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Thoughts on the DC reboot
If you have any interest or connection to the world of comic books, then you have no doubt already heard the news about DC's rebooting of their superhero comic books. Much has been made of this in the last few days, both positive and negative. Personally, I wanted to wait a few days to give some thought on the matter before commenting.
Before I continue, I recommend you read Greg Hatcher's excellent analysis on the subject. Go ahead, I'll wait. Finished? Good. I'm pretty much in agreement with everything Greg says, so instead of repeating any of that, I'm just going to throw out a few extra random thoughts:
1) 52 titles? Hopefully a decent chunk of those will be one-shots or mini-series, because as it currently stands DC simply does not have the talent pool to pull off that many ongoing monthly titles. For the titles that have been announced so far, only Morrison taking over a Superman title is of any real interest to me, and even then there's the danger that it will wind up a watered-down version of his work on All-Star Superman (I was briefly interested in Teen Titans, until I found out that contrary to rumor Fabien Nieceza will not be writing it).
2) Bob Wayne says it isn't a reboot, but at least some of the characters appear to be getting their origins rewritten (most notably Firestorm), so... "to-ma-to, to-mah-to".
3) The books that Geoff Johns have been most closely associated with (Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman) seem to have the least amount of tampering with their backstories. What a shock.
4) The online/digital thing is a (potentially) much bigger game-changer that the reboot, but DC is straddling the fence here; they want to step outside of the confines of the direct market, but do not want to abandon the direct market just yet. If digital sales do well, then DC may well drop the online costs further in hopes of moving beyond the comic book shop.
5) While Greg notes that this is an excellent opportunity to get rid of some in-comic aspects that wouldn't do well when marketed to a larger audience, it should be noted that any changes to the Superman character are also probably inspired by the fact that Joe Shuster's heirs will be reclaiming some of the aspects of the character that were established in Action Comics #1.
6) It's utterly hypocritical of me, but while I don't care much one way or the other about most of the changes that might occur, I would just as rather that the Legion of Super-Heroes and Jonah Hex books continue relatively unchanged. LSH has already been rebooted multiple times to its detriment; if any title deserves to get a pass, it's the Legion ("that's okay, we already gave at the office"). Now that Levitz is finally starting to hit his stride on the book, I'm hoping he can work in any changes with a minimum of fuss. As for Jonah Hex, there's no guarantee that it will even be among the 52 titles - sales for the book have never been that strong, which only goes to show just how much a large percentage of comic book fans suck - but if it is, hopefully DC will be smart enough not to muck things up too much.
Finally, these changes don't take place until September. We've got a good three months to see how things are going to play out; no need to go into a tizzy just yet. Which doesn't mean some fans aren't doing exactly that...
(wonder what Hitler thinks of the new Mr. Terrific title?)
Before I continue, I recommend you read Greg Hatcher's excellent analysis on the subject. Go ahead, I'll wait. Finished? Good. I'm pretty much in agreement with everything Greg says, so instead of repeating any of that, I'm just going to throw out a few extra random thoughts:
1) 52 titles? Hopefully a decent chunk of those will be one-shots or mini-series, because as it currently stands DC simply does not have the talent pool to pull off that many ongoing monthly titles. For the titles that have been announced so far, only Morrison taking over a Superman title is of any real interest to me, and even then there's the danger that it will wind up a watered-down version of his work on All-Star Superman (I was briefly interested in Teen Titans, until I found out that contrary to rumor Fabien Nieceza will not be writing it).
2) Bob Wayne says it isn't a reboot, but at least some of the characters appear to be getting their origins rewritten (most notably Firestorm), so... "to-ma-to, to-mah-to".
3) The books that Geoff Johns have been most closely associated with (Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman) seem to have the least amount of tampering with their backstories. What a shock.
4) The online/digital thing is a (potentially) much bigger game-changer that the reboot, but DC is straddling the fence here; they want to step outside of the confines of the direct market, but do not want to abandon the direct market just yet. If digital sales do well, then DC may well drop the online costs further in hopes of moving beyond the comic book shop.
5) While Greg notes that this is an excellent opportunity to get rid of some in-comic aspects that wouldn't do well when marketed to a larger audience, it should be noted that any changes to the Superman character are also probably inspired by the fact that Joe Shuster's heirs will be reclaiming some of the aspects of the character that were established in Action Comics #1.
6) It's utterly hypocritical of me, but while I don't care much one way or the other about most of the changes that might occur, I would just as rather that the Legion of Super-Heroes and Jonah Hex books continue relatively unchanged. LSH has already been rebooted multiple times to its detriment; if any title deserves to get a pass, it's the Legion ("that's okay, we already gave at the office"). Now that Levitz is finally starting to hit his stride on the book, I'm hoping he can work in any changes with a minimum of fuss. As for Jonah Hex, there's no guarantee that it will even be among the 52 titles - sales for the book have never been that strong, which only goes to show just how much a large percentage of comic book fans suck - but if it is, hopefully DC will be smart enough not to muck things up too much.
Finally, these changes don't take place until September. We've got a good three months to see how things are going to play out; no need to go into a tizzy just yet. Which doesn't mean some fans aren't doing exactly that...
(wonder what Hitler thinks of the new Mr. Terrific title?)
Friday, June 3, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
V&V Vendesday: Shockwave
Character Name: Shockwave Real Name: Miguel Freeman Side: Evil
Gender: Male Height: 6'1" Weight: 210 lbs Age: 26
Physical Description: A stocky, broad-shouldered man of mixed Hispanic-Caucasian descent. He has brown eyes, and short, curly black hair. His costume is a rather gaudy mix of yellow circular patterns emanating out from his chest over a green background.
STR: 12 END: 30 INT: 13 AGL: 12 CHA: 15
Level: 3rd XP: 33,254 Basic Hits: 5 Hit Points: 33 Healing Rate: 4.5/day
Movement: 55” Power: 67 Carrying Capacity: 496 lbs HTH Damage: 1d8
Damage Modifier: +1 Accuracy: +1 Detect Hidden: 10% Detect Danger: 14%
Inventing: 39% Inventing Points: 0.9 Reaction Modifier: -2 good/+2 evil
Training: Gain Weight (from End)
Powers/Talents
Absorption: Damage (physical attacks, or energy attacks with a physical/kinetic aspect to them only)
Heightened Endurance B: +17
Heightened Senses: Motion Awareness (highly sensitive to and aware of any nearby motions, effectively functioning as a form or radar sense, range 13”)
Natural Weaponry (martial arts): +1 to hit, +2 damage
Vibratory Powers (range 24”, 2d8 damage, PR=5, 24% destroy device on special attack, PR=2 to use as a defense)
Areas of Knowledge
Communications (postal), Crime
Character Notes/Origin/Personality: Miguel didn't seem to be the type to become a supervillain. He was a likable sort who had a decent job as a mailman. He would occasionally go bowling with his buddies, and have a brew every now and then, but overall kept to himself.
It all went downhill when he took a Social Security check for himself that was part of his regular mail delivery; Mr. Harris had just passed away, and that check wasn't going to do him any good at this point, so Miguel decided it wouldn't hurt if he could somehow cash it himself. A friend of a friend knew how to do such things, and Miguel had a little extra spending money that weekend.
Soon, Miguel began occasionally taking checks and various other items that were intended for the various people on his mail route. He was careful not to take anything that would be missed overly much, or could be traced back to him too easily. For a while he got away with it, but eventually he got busted. Event though most of the stuff he took wasn't that valuable in and of itself, stealing from the Postal System was a federal crime, and that meant a short stint in the federal pen.
Although his size managed to deter casual violence, Miguel quickly learned to defend himself from those who saw the big man just as another challenge. His stay in prison wasn't that long, but it certainly hardened the former mailman, who up to this point had seen himself as a not-bad person who was just getting a little extra here and there.
Upon getting out of jail, it was clear he couldn't get his old job back. A friend mentioned to him that there was a new supervillain in the area called the Scarlet Queen was looking for some henchmen to help her with her various crimes. More than anything, Miguel had wanted to get a new job somewhere and forget his time in prison, but his prospects didn't look good, so he eventually did wind up working for the Scarlet Queen.
The first few gigs went pretty well, and Miguel had managed to impress his new boss by keeping his cool and not screwing up. One night between jobs, the Scarlet Queen took a more personal interest in Miguel; for his part, having sex with the super-hot villain wasn't something he was going to shy away from, even if she was obviously kinda crazy. This went on for a few days, when she told Miguel that she believed that she could create superpowers in otherwise normal people. There was risk, of course, but the rewards were potentially great. Would he take the risk?
He did. There was pain, of course; the process hurt more than anything he had ever encountered before, but in the end Miguel had joined the ranks of the superhumans. After a few days of trying out his new abilities, he took on the name Shockwave, and began assisting the Scarlet Queen on more ambitious crimes.
In time, she turned her attentions to other criminal followers in her ranks, looking for both those who would satisfy her desires as well as prove suitable candidates to receive superpowers, making her group even more powerful. Miguel didn't mind her turning her attentions to the others; while they made an effective force to be reckoned with, he knew that her insanity would eventually trip her up, and he would just as well not be around to be caught when that happens. For the moment, he's still working for the Scarlet Queen, but is trying to work out a way that he can exit her group of followers (with his proper share of their ill-gotten loot, of course) without angering her or anyone else; the last thing he wants is for a group of supervillains led by a crazy supervillain to have a reason to go hunting him.
Personality-wise, Shockwave would prefer to pull off whatever crime he's attempting with a minimum of fuss. Although he won't shy away from a fight if necessarily, he won't engage in one for its own sake – violence is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. He lacks the true 'killer edge' that some other superillains have, but on the other hand his lack of an inflated ego means he will wisely flee from an unwinnable fight instead of duking it out until the end.
Campaign Use: Shockwave can either be used as a part of the Scarlet Queen's supergroup, or he can break away and try his hand as a solo villain. His ability to phase through solid objects (via his Vibratory power) makes him an excellent thief, and his other powers can give most superheroes enough of a fight that he can usually escape before being captured.
Gender: Male Height: 6'1" Weight: 210 lbs Age: 26
Physical Description: A stocky, broad-shouldered man of mixed Hispanic-Caucasian descent. He has brown eyes, and short, curly black hair. His costume is a rather gaudy mix of yellow circular patterns emanating out from his chest over a green background.
STR: 12 END: 30 INT: 13 AGL: 12 CHA: 15
Level: 3rd XP: 33,254 Basic Hits: 5 Hit Points: 33 Healing Rate: 4.5/day
Movement: 55” Power: 67 Carrying Capacity: 496 lbs HTH Damage: 1d8
Damage Modifier: +1 Accuracy: +1 Detect Hidden: 10% Detect Danger: 14%
Inventing: 39% Inventing Points: 0.9 Reaction Modifier: -2 good/+2 evil
Training: Gain Weight (from End)
Powers/Talents
Absorption: Damage (physical attacks, or energy attacks with a physical/kinetic aspect to them only)
Heightened Endurance B: +17
Heightened Senses: Motion Awareness (highly sensitive to and aware of any nearby motions, effectively functioning as a form or radar sense, range 13”)
Natural Weaponry (martial arts): +1 to hit, +2 damage
Vibratory Powers (range 24”, 2d8 damage, PR=5, 24% destroy device on special attack, PR=2 to use as a defense)
Areas of Knowledge
Communications (postal), Crime
Character Notes/Origin/Personality: Miguel didn't seem to be the type to become a supervillain. He was a likable sort who had a decent job as a mailman. He would occasionally go bowling with his buddies, and have a brew every now and then, but overall kept to himself.
It all went downhill when he took a Social Security check for himself that was part of his regular mail delivery; Mr. Harris had just passed away, and that check wasn't going to do him any good at this point, so Miguel decided it wouldn't hurt if he could somehow cash it himself. A friend of a friend knew how to do such things, and Miguel had a little extra spending money that weekend.
Soon, Miguel began occasionally taking checks and various other items that were intended for the various people on his mail route. He was careful not to take anything that would be missed overly much, or could be traced back to him too easily. For a while he got away with it, but eventually he got busted. Event though most of the stuff he took wasn't that valuable in and of itself, stealing from the Postal System was a federal crime, and that meant a short stint in the federal pen.
Although his size managed to deter casual violence, Miguel quickly learned to defend himself from those who saw the big man just as another challenge. His stay in prison wasn't that long, but it certainly hardened the former mailman, who up to this point had seen himself as a not-bad person who was just getting a little extra here and there.
Upon getting out of jail, it was clear he couldn't get his old job back. A friend mentioned to him that there was a new supervillain in the area called the Scarlet Queen was looking for some henchmen to help her with her various crimes. More than anything, Miguel had wanted to get a new job somewhere and forget his time in prison, but his prospects didn't look good, so he eventually did wind up working for the Scarlet Queen.
The first few gigs went pretty well, and Miguel had managed to impress his new boss by keeping his cool and not screwing up. One night between jobs, the Scarlet Queen took a more personal interest in Miguel; for his part, having sex with the super-hot villain wasn't something he was going to shy away from, even if she was obviously kinda crazy. This went on for a few days, when she told Miguel that she believed that she could create superpowers in otherwise normal people. There was risk, of course, but the rewards were potentially great. Would he take the risk?
He did. There was pain, of course; the process hurt more than anything he had ever encountered before, but in the end Miguel had joined the ranks of the superhumans. After a few days of trying out his new abilities, he took on the name Shockwave, and began assisting the Scarlet Queen on more ambitious crimes.
In time, she turned her attentions to other criminal followers in her ranks, looking for both those who would satisfy her desires as well as prove suitable candidates to receive superpowers, making her group even more powerful. Miguel didn't mind her turning her attentions to the others; while they made an effective force to be reckoned with, he knew that her insanity would eventually trip her up, and he would just as well not be around to be caught when that happens. For the moment, he's still working for the Scarlet Queen, but is trying to work out a way that he can exit her group of followers (with his proper share of their ill-gotten loot, of course) without angering her or anyone else; the last thing he wants is for a group of supervillains led by a crazy supervillain to have a reason to go hunting him.
Personality-wise, Shockwave would prefer to pull off whatever crime he's attempting with a minimum of fuss. Although he won't shy away from a fight if necessarily, he won't engage in one for its own sake – violence is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. He lacks the true 'killer edge' that some other superillains have, but on the other hand his lack of an inflated ego means he will wisely flee from an unwinnable fight instead of duking it out until the end.
Campaign Use: Shockwave can either be used as a part of the Scarlet Queen's supergroup, or he can break away and try his hand as a solo villain. His ability to phase through solid objects (via his Vibratory power) makes him an excellent thief, and his other powers can give most superheroes enough of a fight that he can usually escape before being captured.
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