Mutants and Masterminds Core Rulebook Arrived!!

Wooo!!! This is going to sound odd, since I blog about M+M characters, and have made a few, but until today, I have not owned a copy of the core rulebook. It has been on order from Amazon.com for a few weeks, and in the meantime, I have been using pdf's.

I realise the illegality of this practice, but I enjoy the try-before-you-buy aspect of it. As a uni student, with precious little money to spend on RPG books, I prefer to download a pdf copy of game systems I hear about, and read them before I decide to spend my hard-earned dollars on them. If I find that this is a system I want to play/run, then I will naturally buy the book.

Like I say, not strictly legal, but it works for me. As far as I know, I've never used any rules from a book I don't either own or intend to order at some point.

Anyway, back to my shiny new book ...

Character Stats: Frozone

"Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that. You tell me you're a… super-mega-ultra lightning-babe, that's fine with me. I'm good. I'm good." - Frozone

(picture from Movie City News; direct link)

Long time friend of Mr Incredible, Lucius Best (aka. Frozone) is a superhero with the power to manipulate the water molecules in the air and freeze them. This power gives him the ability to freeze foes, slow them down and create platforms of ice which he can skate on. He has specially designed boots which he can transform at will into ice skates, skis, or a disc which he uses as a snowboard. He is limited only by extreme heat (in which he loses use of his powers).

Frozone, PL 10

Str 10, Dex 26, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 16

Toughness +2/+8, Fort +10, Ref +15, Will +10

Attack: Base +6, Ranged +10, Melee +6

• Unarmed attack +6 (DC 15)
  
• Ice bolt +10 (DC 25)
  
• Snare +10 (DC Ref 20)
  

Defense: +12, Flat-footed +6, Initiative +16

 

Acrobatics 15 (+23), Bluff 10 (+13), Notice 6 (+8), Stealth 9 (+17), Survival 4 (+6)

Acrobatic Bluff, Attack Focus (Ranged) 4, Defensive Roll 6, Distract (Bluff), Environmental Adaptation (Ice/snow) 1, Evasion 2, Favoured environment (Ice/snow) 1, Improved Initiative 2, Move-by Action, Quick Change 1, Uncanny dodge (vision, hearing)

 

Cold Control 10 (5000ft)

• Ice bolt (Blast 10)
  
• Create object 6 (ice shapes; Feat: stationary, Extra: Duration – continuous)
  
• Super-freeze object (Drain Toughness 10; Extra: Ranged, Flaw: Limited [objects])
  
• Ice slick (Environmental Control 10 – Hamper move [25%])
  
• Blinding snow (Environmental Control 10 – Distraction [DC 10])
  
• Ice bind (Snare 10)
  

Equipment:

• protective visor
• specially designed boots - change as a free action into skis, ice skates, or a disc

PP: 149

Notes:

First, the intellectual property of Frozone is completely owned by Disney, Pixar, Dark Horse comics, and so on.

Frozone is one of my favourite Incredibles characters. He is always cool (ba-dum ch!), calm, and collected. He's that really charismatic guy we always wanted to be back at school. As for his powers, control over freezing water molecules is a very awesome power. You can kind of do anything you can think of. As it turned out, buying this power in  M+M was surprisingly cheap. 10 ranks of cold control was only 20PP, and with everything else being an alternate power, he has a fair amount of versatility without much cost. I was able to cover everything I could remember from the movie, and add a little bit more. I also added the power drawback of power loss in extreme heat (e.g. during the building fire, he is unable to use his powers because he is dehydrated and there is no water in the air).

The only thing I had a little bit of trouble figuring out was his movement while skiing. After reading the movement rules a few times, even looking for some super-movement attributes, I decided that if I were to run this character, I would probably just houserule that while he's skiing, he is able to move at 2 or 3 times the normal speed, but he must use create object (ice shapes) once per round to make the next bit of track.

As for the rest, I figure he's very dexterous, but not that strong or tough (hence the trade-off with defense/toughness). As with Mr Incredible, I gave him distract (bluff), representing his ability to get villains "monologuing" (one of my favourite concepts from the film).

Anyway, let me know what you think. Comments, questions, ideas for improvement, things you would do differently.

Exams!

Oo, while I'm posting, I have finished my first exam! I think it went fairly well. I have my viva exam (where I answer questions about management of various conditions) next Thursday (the 2nd), and if that goes well, I will be happy, because the last exam (multi-choice questions) will not need much preparation.

So ... yay!

Character Stats: Medic 3659

(Picture from Starcraft Wiki; credit to them; direct link to picture)

The result of an extensive secret military program to correct a perennial problem, the MediSuit program was initiated to allow medical personnel to get to injured soldiers on the battlefield, perform first aid, and evacuate the injured soldiers without being destroyed as a priority target.

The MediSuit P3-X7 model is equipped with a jet-pack allowing for superior maneouverability on the field, as well as powerful hydraulic servos allowing extraction of soldiers from under heavy objects. Massive armour plating gives protection under heavy fire, and the arm-mounted auto-cannon and missile launcher allow the MediSuit to lay down cover fire or disable attacking forces. A large array of sensor technology allows the wearer to operate in poor light conditions (even blind, using radar), as well as scan patients with IR and X-Ray on the field.

Medic 3659 is part of a cross-over program between the MediSuit Development Unit and the Genetic Engineering Department, placing genetically engineered healers (with innate healing ability, but little to no combat ability) in front-line “heal-and-retrieve” positions. With their ability to even resurrect falling soldiers, the army has noted a significant increase in soldier retention and morale.

Note: When I imagined this character concept, it started with a simple battle-suit idea, then the idea of a front-line medic came to mind, and it grew on me. In the end, I kind of envisioned the character as being somewhat like the Medics from Starcraft (also, because I have no artistic skill, that is where I went searching for my reference picture).

Medic 3659 (in MediSuit P3-X7), PL 10

Str 10/30, Dex 10, Con 10, Int 20, Wis 18, Cha 12

Toughness +10, Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +7

Attack +3 (Ranged +7, Melee +3, Grapple +13)

• Unarmed Attack +3 (DC 25)
  
• Auto-cannon +7 (Blast 5, DC 20)
  
• Homing Missile +7 (Explosive Blast 4, DC 19)
  

Defense +6, Flat-footed +3, Init +0

Computers 8 (+13), Knowledge: Life Sciences 8 (+13), Medicine 12 (+16), Notice 4 (+8), Profession: Medic 8 (+12)

Attack Focus (Ranged) 4, Defensive Attack, Improved Defense 1, Improvised Tools

 

MediSuit P3-X7 (Device 17) – Restricted to use by Genetically engineered medics

• Flight 4; Alt Power: Super-Strength 4
  
• Auto-cannon (Blast 5, Extra: Autofire 1); Alt Power: Missile Launcher (Blast 4, Extra: Area, Explosion, Feat: Homing)
  
• Enhanced Strength 20
  
• Protection 10 (Extra: Impervious)
  
• Communication 6 (Radio, Feat: Subtle)
  
• Datalink 1 (Radio)
  
• Super-Senses 12 (Darkvision, Distance, Direction, Infravision, Low-light, Radio, Ultravision, X-ray)
  

Healing 5 (Feats: Persistent, Regrowth; Extras: Resurrection)

Hope you like it. Please post comments, let me know if/where I went wrong, how you think it could be improved, anything you'd like to see, etc.

Character Stats: Mr Incredible

"You know, I was right to idolise you. You truly are Mr Incredible!” – Syndrome

Concept:

Bob Parr (a.k.a. Mr Incredible) is the superhero of superheroes. One of the iconic supers of the “old days”, Mr Incredible was admired by many around the world, and reknowned for his acts of heroism and bravery. At the time of the film (The Incredibles, Disney/Pixar), he spends his days helping customers navigate the murky world of insurance claims until he is fired for attacking his boss.

 Gifted with super-strength and constitution, Mr Incredible is capable of lifting anything from cars to trains, leaping from building to building, and taking blows that could disable or kill another man.

PL 10 (150 PP)

Abilities:

Str 30 (base 20, power 10), Dex 14, Con 30 (base 20, power 10), Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 16

 Saves:

Toughness +14 (blunt damage, +10 normally), Fortitude +10, Reflex +10 (+2 dex, +8 ranks), Will +2

Skills:

Bluff 8 (+11), Acrobatics 8 (+10), Intimidate 10 (+13), Notice 8 (+10), Profession (insurance broker) 4 (+6), Swim 6 (+26), Search 8 (+8)

Feats:

Attack focus (melee) +4, Improved Initiative +1 (+4 to initiative), Power attack, Stunning attack, Endurance +2 (+8 to various saves), Quick change +1 (free action), Improved critical +3 (crit on 17-20 with unarmed attacks), Distract (bluff)

Powers:

Enhanced Constitution 10, Enhanced Strength 10, Leaping 5 (25x normal leap distance), Immovable 8, Protection (Flaw: blunt damage only) 4, Super-senses (acute vision and hearing), Super-strength 9 (heavy load = 250 tons)

Combat:

Attack +10 (+6 base, +4 attack focus) melee, Damage +10 (unarmed), Defense +6 (trade-off with toughness), Init +6 (+2 dex, +4 feat)

Equipment:

Costume (with homing device)

Notes:

I love The Incredibles. It’s kind of what got me into the superhero groove I’m in. Since I started reading about M&M, I figured I could practice creating a few characters and get used to the system by statting out some of the characters from The Incredibles.

This interpretation of Mr Incredible was helped a lot by reading the Powerhouse archetype, but also has some of my own take on it.

I figure Mr Incredible has to have very high Str and Con (hence, 30 in each, some natural, some power-based). He also has super-strength, allowing him to lift those cars, trains, massive head statues, and so on (is there anything he can’t lift?).

I gave him a toughnes/defense trade-off, because while he’s not that hard to hit, he’s very tough to take down and damage.

I gave him ranks in Bluff, and the Distract (bluff) feat to represent his ability to get villains “monologuing”.

Mr Incredible is very hard hitting, with a high strength, attack focus, power attack, stunning attack, and 3 ranks in improved critical.

 

Total PP = 149 (I think/hope)

 

Look forward to more Incredibles characters, when I get time.

P.S. The Incredibles, Mr Incredible, pictures, logos, symbols, colours, concepts, ideas, and so on, are the exclusive rights of Disney/Pixar/Dark Horse comics, and noone else.

Medical school sucks

For all you bright-eyed bushy-tailed people straight out of school who want to save lives, and cure cancer, and make lots of money like those hot people on Gray's and ER ... No.

It's just not like that at all. Real medicine is hard, and degrading, and gritty, and policital, and nothing like the TV.

As you might guess from the title and the bitterness in this post, I'm preparing for my exams which are in about a week's time (probably what I should be doing rather than posting here ...), and I'm really really sick of it. Being a med student is a really humbling thing. Back in school, I was really good at being smart, and good at music, and I actually felt like I was "best" at some small things. In med school, you are treated like dirt, constantly reminded that you don't know anything, don't know how things work, aren't getting paid, and so on. It's ... depressing.

Still, on the bright side, hopefully I will pass my exams, and drunken hilarity will ensue, and my return to tabletop gaming will too.

First!!!

Yeah, I've always wanted to have a first post. So much so that I created my own blog just so I could. heh.

Anyway, I'm hoping this blog will be a chance to exercise my creativity related to tabletop RPGs. I have developed an interest for D&D, SWSE and M&M. Because my university exams have been coming up, I have not yet had a chance to run a D&D4e game, or a M&M game, but that will soon change, and I will hopefully be posting campaign notes up here.

I will also post up character ideas, adventure ideas, and more.