Branded Soldier

[Ren]

Back when I first started thinking up character concepts I had come up with an idea for a character who was magical, but all of his magic was tied up in Tattoos or Brands of some kind but I didn't know enough about the game to know how to make it work right so it got back-burnered for awhile. Now that I'm a bit more familiar with the system I've given it some more thought and have filled out what I think is a workable variation and wanted it to run it by experienced folks for a review. So here it is;

Note: this is based on a lowest-level game (Getting Your Feet Wet; Base Refresh 6, Skill Cap 20)

Verbal Khaine; (Base Refresh 6, Skill Cap 20)
High Concept: Branded Supernatural Super Soldier turned Bounty Hunter
Trouble: Subject X (Hunted Test Subject)
Other Aspects: Paranoid, Ugly as Sin, Memorable
Template: Focused Practitioner
Rough Background: Escapee from a Supernatural super-soldier program. He has been enhanced with Magic based on Scarification and Branding. When activated, his scars and brands will glow red and the scars may occasionally drip blood.

Skills: (Cap 20)
Good (+3) – Alertness, Endurance, Fists
Fair (+2) – Athletics, Conviction, Discipline
Average (+1) – Contacts, Intimidation, Presence, Resources, Scholarship (Languages)

Stunts/Powers: (6 Refresh)
Wizards Constitution (-0); he is essentially a creature of Magic


*Item of Power (+2); Tattoos/Brands
> Human Form (+1); Represents need to activate the Brands
> Feeding Dependency (+1); Aspect; Eating Machine; does not require Blood but instead has to consume a lot more Food than normal.
> 2x Refinements (-2); 4x “Focus Items” as Skill or Defense-Enhancing Brands <exact refinements to be determined>
> Modular Abilities (-7; up to 5 Refresh Worth of powers)

Typical Powers Available:
- Aquatic (-1; gills & webbing), Breath Weapon (-2; ranged attack)
- Tentacles (-1/-2 w/Claws; ranged grapple), Claws/ Venomous Claws (-1/-2)
- Echoes of the Beast (-1; sense-related aspects), Paralytic Venom (-1)  
- Hulking Size (-2), Spider Walk (-1), Wings (-1), Cloak of Shadows (-1)
- Mana Static (-1), the Sight (-1), Supernatural Sense (-1/-2)
- Speed; Inhuman, Supernatural or Mythic (-2, -4, -6)
- Strength; Inhuman, Supernatural or Mythic (-2, -4, -6)
- Toughness and Recovery; Inhuman, Supernatural or Mythic (-2, -4, -6)
> Toughness Catch;?

* The effect of the Brands is to enhance his bones, blood and muscles so he can shift his physical form to a fair degree.

Adjusted Refresh; (1)

Gear of Note:
Custom Body-Armor (Armor 2); Armored Long Jacket and Under-Armor  

The idea was to have a character who could have a variety of abilities he could change around as needed and originally I was going to run him based off of Thaumaturgy until I saw the "Modular Abilities" Power and realized that was much more fitting and gave me the flexibility I wanted without all the clunky pre-game and downtime work.
I don't know if this is over-powered or not, but for the benefits he gets there are limitations that I've built in; such as the limited to Physical or Sensory modifications. Though there are no actual points gained from this limitation i didn't want a character who could suddenly develop Evocation or the ability to transit between worlds at will (Though I could see him doing this at later power levels).

[Tsunami]

The concept seems interesting, if somewhat overpowered, but i see a few problems

a) how do you justify a refund on the tattoos ? they can not be removed... even if it's pretty obvious that they are the source of his power, nobody could do anything about it... hence no discount

b) Refinement works in conjunction with Spellcraft only... he has no Spellcasting abilities. You'd have to go with stunts here.

c) personally, i see a problem with feeding dependency that comes without a moral dilemma, but thats just me.

d) > Catches; cannot have if Brands are not active... Of course his powers are offline if he's in his human form... thats what the human form power says *g*. Basically the catch would only count when the powers are offline anyways... hence, not a valid catch.

e) Your built in limitations, they aren't really any. At least none that are additional to what is already in the RAW.
Modular abilities is already limited to Creature features, certain Minor abilities and Strength, Speed and Toughness. Basically Abilities that come from changing form. No evocation etc.

[Ren]

Yeah I was thinking about the Item of Power thing, I may make it an Amulet of some kind that powers the Brands so if it is removed he is only left with the Wizards Constitution until he recovers it or until he finds another power source.

I'm using Refinement her for the Third Purpose, extra slots for Focus Items in this case represented as additional Brands or Scars that are set to a static purpose; i.e. one gives +1 Physical Defense, 1 Gives +1 Fists Damage etc...I think it would be apropos for the concept.

Feeding Dependency doesn't necessarily have to have a Mortal Angel as the whole point is that there is a serious physical drawback if he does not eat as soon as possible.

I wasn't worried to much about the Catch for the Toughness, I'll have to work up something else for when they are active; was thinking maybe have to choose what kind of Defense the Toughness Provides when its active; i.e. versus physical harm, magical harm or mental harm. Or maybe two defenses with one weakness? Have to think on it.

Luckily all of the Powers I was looking at fall into the okay categories for Modular Abilities anyway! 

[UmbraLux]

As noted above, there are a few issues.  I'd call a Feeding Dependency on normal food a +0 item, tattoos as an IoP might be +1 but won't be +2 (too concealable), and Refinements adjust spellcasting.  The recovery / toughness powers are problematic as listed - while I might (not certain) allow that catch, I would say the catch itself means you can't heal any consequences / damage taken when you didn't have a recovery tattoo active.  More thematically, do you envision being able to turn tattoos on and off with a thought / action?  That's what modular abilities allow.

I would create such a character using Thaumaturgy.  Something like the following:
 - Wizard's Constitution (+0)
 - Thaumaturgy (-3):  Specialization - Runes (+1 Complexity)
 - - Refinements (-2):  (+8 enchanted items)
 - - Focus Item (one):  Traditional tattoo needle (+1 Complexity)
 - - Enchanted Items (ten):  These are your tattoos.  Up to ten separate one use spells or fewer spells with multiple uses.  

It allows creation of tattoos up to Lore +2 in a minute or two and more powerful tattoos with more prep time.

I'm using Refinement her for the Third Purpose, extra slots for Focus Items in this case represented as additional Brands or Scars that are set to a static purpose; i.e. one gives +1 Physical Defense, 1 Gives +1 Fists Damage etc...I think it would be apropos for the concept.

Focus Items only give bonuses to Control or Complexity of spells.

[sinker]

Has nobody else noticed that you have no refresh? You have a base 6 refresh and 6 points worth of powers. Not a playable character.

I almost agree with Ren about the feeding dependency (as long as the rules remain the same) except that there's no real argument against just feeding fully (an action that would normally result in someone's death) to get rid of your hunger stress. It's a tough one but if you could think of a reason why it might be hard to feed fully then I'd totally be on your side on that one, Ren.

[UmbraLux]

Has nobody else noticed that you have no refresh? You have a base 6 refresh and 6 points worth of powers. Not a playable character.

He has +4 and -9 listed for a net of -5 which leaves him one.  (Assuming all are valid.)

I almost agree with Ren about the feeding dependency (as long as the rules remain the same) except that there's no real argument against just feeding fully (an action that would normally result in someone's death) to get rid of your hunger stress. It's a tough one but if you could think of a reason why it might be hard to feed fully then I'd totally be on your side on that one, Ren.

Could copy the ghoul's feeding dependency...though that may lead to an unwanted 'squick' factor.   

-----
Modular abilities work for the character though I'd expand on some of the trappings if using that method.  Perhaps he has a tattoo for each potential ability but his body can't take having more than a few activated?

[Ren]

Alright so I simplified it a bit and I think it works better. Depending on the GM I may look into adding refinements as static effects later on or to turn shifted abilities into permanent ones as part of the growth process.

(skills and whatnot stay the same)
v.2
Stunts/Powers: (6 Refresh)
Wizards Constitution (-0); he is essentially a creature of Magic
> Human Form (+1); Represents need to activate the Brands
> Modular Abilities (-6; up to 4 Refresh Worth of powers)
Typical Powers: (Limited to Physical or Sensory Powers)
- Aquatic (-1; gills & webbing), Breath Weapon (-2; ranged attack)
- Tentacles (-1/-2 w/Claws; ranged grapple), Claws/ Venomous Claws (-1/-2)
- Echoes of the Beast (-1; sense-related aspects), Paralytic Venom (-1) 
- Hulking Size (-2), Spider Walk (-1), Wings (-1), Cloak of Shadows (-1)
- Mana Static (-1), the Sight (-1), Supernatural Sense (-1/-2)
- Speed; Inhuman or Supernatural (-2, -4)
- Strength; Inhuman or Supernatural (-2, -4)
- Toughnes; Inhuman or Supernatural (-2, -4)
> the Catch; *Can only be bypassed by a Human Virgin (+0)
- Recovery; Inhuman or Supernatural (-2, -4)

*Unbeknownst to him at the beginning his creators sacrificed a virgin girl and used her blood as part of the ritual that created him, thus he is vulnerable to them. The only people who would know that is the organization that created him. He departed the organization post-haste when he found out what they had done (One of the scientists had told him in a fit of conscience.) and has since become extremely protective of children. <obviously this background would become more detailed later on>

The effect of the Brands is to enhance his bones, blood and muscles so he can shift his physical form to a fair degree.

Adjusted Refresh; (1)

[Tallyrand]

Personally I'm not fond of the catch, I feel that any catch than can't be overcome by anyone given sufficient preparation isn't really valid.  Any dedicated villain could get his hands on Silver, or Bacon or even The 6th Orb of Gaija Zin but no body could become a Human Virgin unless they already were one.

[sinker]

They could however hire a human virgin with relative ease or if you're feeling really villainous raise your own army of eunuchs.

[Tallyrand]

Wanted

Hitman or woman to take out high value target.
BIG MONEY
Must be willing to to work without names and
must be virgin (yes that one time in high
school counts).
PS: Human only please, no judgment
magical necessity.


Honestly I'm not seeing that working very well.

[sinker]

Of note it is a +0 catch, which means he's not expecting it to be used much. Sounds about appropriate really. That would be a catch that only kicks in at a dramatic moment.

For that matter I can see it being really dramatic when a Blampire (or similar) decides to dominate a child specifically to get at the character. Don't need to hire a virgin killer when you can just find a virgin and then make him/her a killer.

[Tallyrand]

Hmm....that's a fair point, I withdraw my objection.

[Ren]

Yeah No way I was going to go with a +1 or +2 for that. The Organization that made him used the Blood of Virgins to make him odds are good they have a few on hand to turn into brain-washed killers...

[sinker]

Does your GM read the forums Ren? Cause if so I'm sorry for giving him/her ideas.

[Ren]

Oh this is just an experiment, no game for him yet though I may use him as an NPC in the game I am running.