Request A Character

[S1C0]

I would like some help with my next campaign character.. i want a futuristic swat agent who incidentally has a spidermanesque venom symbiote. i got a rough draft but would love some new ideas. agent venom comes to mind but my character wants to keep his 'other' a secret from his bosses and the mortal world. play advice would be appreciated. also this campaign will emphasis more rounded play with social and emotional situations appearing as much combat encounters.

Show me how its done good sirs! :}>

[Sanctaphrax]

Adding to the Request list:

A Mistborn (ie from the Brandon Sanderson series)

I have only a vague understanding of how those guys work. Give me a full description and I'll do it.

I would like some help with my next campaign character.. i want a futuristic swat agent who incidentally has a spidermanesque venom symbiote. i got a rough draft but would love some new ideas. agent venom comes to mind but my character wants to keep his 'other' a secret from his bosses and the mortal world. play advice would be appreciated. also this campaign will emphasis more rounded play with social and emotional situations appearing as much combat encounters.

Show me how its done good sirs! :}>

Sure.

[Quantus]

I have only a vague understanding of how those guys work. Give me a full description and I'll do it.

The magic systems in Brandon Sanderson's worlds get pretty involved, so the Wiki page will probably be more infomative than I could eve be.  But Ill Try
http://mistborn.wikia.com/wiki/Allomancy

But Ill Try:
The Power is Alloymancy: the ability to swallow, store, and "burn" metals to gain specific Powers.  This is sourced in the god-like entity Preservation, and is one of three Magics on that particular Shard-world, all of which are metal-themed and vaguely accociated with a Shard/god.  There are 16 alloys (4 groups of 4) as well as two other very rare "God-metals." They come in thematic groups (Mind,Body, Temporal, Enhancment) and each usually has an opposite.  For example Bronze to detect Alloymancy being used nearby, Copper to hide if from the Bronze folks; Iron Pulls metal directly  toward you in a newtonian fashion, while Steel Pushes it directly away).

Barring extreme circumstances it is an inherited Power.  A person born able to burn a single specific metal is a Misting, while those more rare ones capable of burning all of them are called Mistborn.

Misting types each have a specific and more commonly used name based on that metal's granted Power (Coinshot, Lurcher, Thug, etc). Several granted powers work best in combination with others, some ONLY work in combination with others, so tragically there are Mistings out there with no practical Power at all. 

[PirateJack]

Alright, your standard Mistborn can have any kind of aspects/skills they want, but their powers are static. I've done what I can to merge complimentary powers so that the cost isn't too high, but a Mistborn is pretty much an army unto themselves and Vin is a step beyond that. Any metal that isn't given a power would be utilised through compels (Aluminium and the likes) and invocations.

Still, Mistborns are ridiculously powerful.

(click to show/hide)

Powers:
Steel/Iron - Incite Potent Mass Selective Avoidable Physical Effect at Range [-6]
Bronze/Gold/Electrum/Malatium - Supernatural Senses (Alertness - Bronze Seeker, Investigation - Gold Augur, Alertness - Electrum Oracle, Investigation - Malatium Vision) [-2]
Copper - Incite Effect at Range (Discipline - Coppercloud) [-2]
Tin - Incite Effect (Alertness - Tineye Senses) [-1]
Pewter - Inhuman Strength/Toughness/Speed/Recovery [-8]
Zinc/Brass - Incite Mass Selective Mental Effect at Range (Deceit - Rioting/Soothing Emotions) [-5)
Cadmium - Incite Mass Selective Effect at Range (Discipline - Slow Time Bubble) [-4]
Bendalloy - Incite Effect (Discipline - Fast Time Bubble) [-1]
Chromium - Incite Effect (Fists - Chromium Leech) [-1]
Nicrosil - Incite Effect (Fists - Nicrosil Burst) [-1] (Same thing as Duralumin, but targets other characters)
Atium - Short Term Precognition [-3] (Adjusted to not require Cassandra's Tears)
Limitation (Requires ingested metals) [+6]

Total Refresh Cost:
-28

[Sanctaphrax]

For the most part, those stats look good. At least to my semi-ignorant eye. But I think you can cut the Refresh cost on that set of Powers by a fair bit.

If you use the Additional Effect upgrade for Incite Emotion instead of buying a new Power for each effect, you'll save 7 Refresh before applying the Limitation. And speaking of the Limitation, the wiki page makes it sound fairly significant. Maybe a bigger rebate is in order?

I might also tweak a couple of the metals.

Tin could probably fit in the Supernatural Senses suite, if you raise the cost of it to 3.

The wiki makes Atium sound pretty incredible. Not sure 3 Refresh of stuff is enough to represent it, especially since it's really a -2 Power. I don't think doing without Cassandra's Tears should cost extra. Actually, come to think of it I kind of dislike Short Term Precognition in general. Unfortunately, I can't think of a better way to handle Atium off the top of my hand. Maybe the other Precognition Power? But it's also a bit too small.

[PirateJack]

It's not really that significant; there's an entire economy based around getting these metals and putting them in the hands of allomancers. The only one that is even rare is Atium, which I'll go back and fix now.

As for the things Atium can do, yeah. I couldn't find a decent power to model it properly and it was pretty late last night so I didn't want to bother making one up. Suffice it to say, if you have Atium you pretty much always win, barring exceptional circumstances or the other guy having it as well.

[Quantus]

Atium IS awesome, and also super rare, far moreso that any of the others.  It's one of the Two God-Metals, is only mined from a single place  (where it slowly grows inside Geodes that specifically cannot be harvested by alloymancers). It is the base standard for all the upper level economy (and military power to an extent), and the primary plot surrounding the main trilogy is a band of folks trying to get a way to counter it, in order to overthrow an Immortal dictator. The other God Metal, by comparison, grants permanently Mistborn Powers to anyone (and all their progeny thereafter).

[Sanctaphrax]

It's not really that significant; there's an entire economy based around getting these metals and putting them in the hands of allomancers. The only one that is even rare is Atium, which I'll go back and fix now.

The wiki talks about the risk of running out of metal at an inconvenient time, though. Does that just hardly ever happen?

[PirateJack]

The wiki talks about the risk of running out of metal at an inconvenient time, though. Does that just hardly ever happen?

Only after they've been fighting for a while or have been forced to burn Aluminium, which would be much better covered by compels than powers.

Also, I did think about putting Tin as a Supernatural Sense power, but then I figured that since it gives a boost to senses in an active way, it'd be better off as Incite Effect so that the player could apply aspects to himself, which he could then use to boost rolls or perhaps Invoke for Effect to gain a relevant power for a scene.

It's also important to note that Allomancers can both burn and flare their metals. Burning is a slow, but less powerful method of using the Investiture inherent in the metals. Flaring uses the metal up quicker, but also gives the power a significant boost, which I see as creating a Flaring X aspect, which is basically opens it up for compels.

Honestly, if I had to use a system for Allomancy it would be Fate, but everything would be done through aspects rather than attacks and the likes. Allomancy can do direct damage, but a lot of the time there are multiple effects that go hand in hand with them. Take steel for instance; you can use it to push any enemy that is wearing metal away from you, but at the same time you are pushed as well, with weight and allomantic power determining how far you go (this comes up in the mini-sequel, where the main character can adjust his weight as well as burn steel, so that he can weigh hundreds of kilograms and use that weight to brace himself for his steel pushes).

Allomancers would go through a lot of fate points; many more than Wizards, I think, since they'd be up against Steel Inquisitors, which have their own set of powerful abilities.

EDIT: Also, Tin doesn't really give you any extra senses. It just boosts the ones you have to ridiculous levels.

[Sanctaphrax]

I know, but I think that's easier to represent with Supernatural Senses than with Incite Effect.

Anyway, here's the emissary of the monkey king and the illusionist.

(click to show/hide)

Walter Freeman (Submerged)

Walter's a very nice guy, but he enjoys violence more than is probably healthy. As a kid, he studied martial arts and actually used them in street fights. Constantly. He got expelled from multiple schools and drove his parents halfway to distraction. But none of this ever seemed to bother him. He was always confident that things would work out.

And somehow, things did work out. He came across a vampire attack one night, and beat the vampire up quite handily. The victim, a focused practitioner, clued him in. And Walter jumped into the world of magic enthusiastically, finally having found a place where he could use his fighting skills for good.

After a few years of freelance monster-fighting, he caught the attention of the great Sun Wukong. The Monkey King liked what he saw in Walter, and now Walter's an Emissary of Power. He represents Sun Wukong in diplomatic affairs, fights Sun Wukong's enemies, and generally does whatever the monkey tells him. He's pretty happy with this arrangement.

High Concept: Emissary of the Monkey King
Trouble Aspect: Combat Junkie
Other Aspects: Charmingly Carefree, Occasionally Heroic, Master of the Martial Arts
Skills:
Superb: Fists
Great: Athletics, Rapport, Might
Good: Endurance, Presence, Empathy
Fair: Alertness, Discipline, Stealth
Average: Conviction, Deceit, Intimidation
Stunts:
Armed Arts (Fists): Wield staff with Fists.
Powers:
Marked By Power [-1]
Inhuman Strength [-2]
Inhuman Speed [-2]
Inhuman Toughness [-2]
Inhuman Recovery [-2]
The Catch [+3] (The chant which squeezes the monkey king's head also renders his emissary vulnerable)
Supernatural Martial Arts [-1] (whirlwind attack, spectral strike, enhanced damage)
Ruyi Jingu Bang Replica [+1]
   Grow And Shrink [-1] Although no larger than a needle when not in use, it has a two-zone range.
   Really Damn Heavy [-1] It's weapon 4.
Total Refresh Cost:
-9
Refresh Total:
1

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Hannah Green (Up To Your Waist)

Hannah was born into a rich family, and brought up to believe that she was destined for great things. But by that her parents meant "marrying someone rich and important", not "discovering magical powers and planning to take over the world with them".

Long story short, she doesn't see her parents anymore. Or her friends, or anyone who knows her. She wanders from place to place, adopting and discarding identities on a whim. In theory, all this is part of her master plan to become the ruler of the world. But really, she's just messing around. Playing with her powers, enjoying the freedom that they give her. She manipulates people and political groups sometimes, mostly just because she can.

Hannah might seem a bit ridiculous, but it's not wise to underestimate her. She can be very dangerous when she has to be, and in a few years she'll probably get serious about this world domination thing.

High Concept: The Best Illusionist You Won't Realize You've Met
Trouble Aspect: Oh Shit, Who Did I Tell You I Was?
Other Aspects: Smooth Talker, Dangerous When Cornered, Child of Privilege, Unrealistic Ambition, Wandering Trickster
Skills:
Great: Deceit, Discipline
Good: Lore, Empathy
Fair: Guns, Rapport, Resources
Average: Presence, Conviction, Alertness, Scholarship, Endurance
Stunts:
Multiple Identities (Deceit): May use Deceit instead of Contacts for Knowing People, but only if you know them under false pretences.
Powers:
Glamours [-2]
Ritual (Illusions) [-2]
Refinement [-1]
Magic:
Foci: Ring (+1 illusion control, +1 crafting strength)
Enchanted Items: Psychic paper (Great forgery roll, once/session), bland bowler (Great veil, once/session), shirt of displacement (Great block against attacks, 3 times/session)
Total Refresh Cost:
-6
Refresh Total:
1

To do:

Joel from the last of us.
Jonathan Goldsmith, The Most Interesting Man in the World
Kirei Kotomine from Fate Zero
Trafalgar Law from One Piece
An experienced Harry Dresden
The Rag Lady
Nanoha Takamichi from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Shirou Emiya from Fate Stay Night
A summoner like binder in a focused practitioner
An empowered mortal Bartitsu fighter
A futuristic swat agent who incidentally has a spidermanesque venom symbiote

[killking72]

I don't really need aspects, but I'd like to see how you'd make basically a modern day van helsing who's working for the super top secret government paranormal agency and compare it to mine.

[Quantus]

Only after they've been fighting for a while or have been forced to burn Aluminium, which would be much better covered by compels than powers.

Also, I did think about putting Tin as a Supernatural Sense power, but then I figured that since it gives a boost to senses in an active way, it'd be better off as Incite Effect so that the player could apply aspects to himself, which he could then use to boost rolls or perhaps Invoke for Effect to gain a relevant power for a scene.

It's also important to note that Allomancers can both burn and flare their metals. Burning is a slow, but less powerful method of using the Investiture inherent in the metals. Flaring uses the metal up quicker, but also gives the power a significant boost, which I see as creating a Flaring X aspect, which is basically opens it up for compels.

Honestly, if I had to use a system for Allomancy it would be Fate, but everything would be done through aspects rather than attacks and the likes. Allomancy can do direct damage, but a lot of the time there are multiple effects that go hand in hand with them. Take steel for instance; you can use it to push any enemy that is wearing metal away from you, but at the same time you are pushed as well, with weight and allomantic power determining how far you go (this comes up in the mini-sequel, where the main character can adjust his weight as well as burn steel, so that he can weigh hundreds of kilograms and use that weight to brace himself for his steel pushes).

Allomancers would go through a lot of fate points; many more than Wizards, I think, since they'd be up against Steel Inquisitors, which have their own set of powerful abilities.

EDIT: Also, Tin doesn't really give you any extra senses. It just boosts the ones you have to ridiculous levels.

Any thoughts into how you'd tie in the Feruchemy interactions?

[Sanctaphrax]

I don't really need aspects, but I'd like to see how you'd make basically a modern day van helsing who's working for the super top secret government paranormal agency and compare it to mine.

What do you mean by a "modern day van helsing"?

I haven't read Dracula, I know little about the guy.

Anyway...

Here's the summoner, the empowered bartitsu fighter, and the SWAT agent.

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Wulan Liong (Up To Your Waist)

As far as Wulan is concerned, being a spellcaster should be just like being a mathematician. It should be just another job. That's why she started the first magical corporation in Indonesia. She started out summoning things for anyone who could pay, and then branched out to hire a few other weak spellcasters to use their abilities for pay.

Unfortunately for Wulan, the market economy doesn't really work on the spooky side of things. Many customers will happily kill you instead of paying, and many of the people who you want to hire are just not mentally stable. Plus there's no law enforcement to protect her life or the sanctity of her contracts. And hardly anyone knows or cares at all about how businesses work.

Really, it's a testament to Wulan's intelligence and will that she's rich and not dead.

High Concept: Summoner CEO
Trouble Aspect: Scary Customers And Crazy Employees
Other Aspects: Stupid Masquerade, Noncombatant, The Only Competent Businessperson Around Here
Skills:
Great: Lore, Resources
Good: Discipline, Contacts
Fair: Empathy, Scholarship, Intimidation
Average: Presence, Conviction, Rapport, Scholarship, Alertness
Stunts:
I Sign Your Paychecks! (Resources): Use Resources to lead or intimidate employees.
Shrewd Businesswoman (Resources): Use Resources to look good to customers, negotiate with them, and convince them to pay for things.
Powers:
Ritual (Summoning and Binding) [-2]
Magic:
Foci: tome (+2 summoning and binding control)
Total Refresh Cost:
-4
Refresh Total:
3

(click to show/hide)

Lawrence Peterson (Up To Your Waist)

Lawrence's father was a deadbeat. And an ogre. Neither trait endears him to his son, who would dearly like to be left alone to live the life of a poor biology graduate student. But that's not happening.

Mostly to defend himself against his father's constant and often violent attempts to make him Choose fae-hood, Lawrence has embraced his ogre-ish strength become an expert in Bartitsu. Particularly the grappling parts. He's not so fond of the stick-fighting moves, though, since he tends to break any stick he tries to swing.

High Concept: Ogre Scion
Trouble Aspect: Leave Me Alone, Dad!
Other Aspects: Bartitsu Expert, Biology Student, Constantly Broke
Skills:
Great: Scholarship, Might
Good: Fists, Endurance
Fair: Lore, Athletics, Intimidation
Average: Conviction, Discipline, Presence, Alertness, Weapons
Stunts:
Biologist (Scholarship): +1 to Scholarship for biology, additional +1 for insect biology.
Powers:
  Supernatural Strength [-4]
  Supernatural Toughness [-4]
  The Catch (cold iron) [+3]
Total Refresh Cost:
-6
Refresh Total:
1

(click to show/hide)

Sarah Rosenthal (Submerged)

Sarah doesn't look tough. She's short, thin, and friendly-looking. People are often surprised to discover that she's on a SWAT team. But there's more to her than anyone knows.

Two years ago, during a drug bust, Sarah came across a weird black blob. When she got close to it, it leaped onto her and enveloped her body. She fell unconscious for a few seconds, and woke up hearing a voice in her head. The voice explained that it was a symbiotic entity, that it would protect and strengthen her, and that she should not under any circumstances tell anyone about it.

Sarah probably should've told someone, but the thing was very convincing. So she kept it a secret, let it lead her into the world of magic, and followed its suggestion to kill vampires and other monsters. She still doesn't know what it is, what it wants, or why it chose to merge with her, but it's saved her life on the job and off of it so she's not asking too many questions.

Most of the time, the symbiote looks like a big black blob of light-eating goo. When Sarah merges with it, it covers her body like a suit. It covers her eyes, which would blind her if it didn't share its senses with her. And sometimes, when she's not fast enough, it moves for her. But its main purpose is to make Sarah tougher. While merged, Sarah is almost completely bulletproof.

Anyone with a good magical library could probably do some research and figure out what the symbiote is (which I'm leaving undefined). Someone who did that research would also realize that the thing is very vulnerable to salt.

High Concept: Symbiote-Possessed SWAT Agent
Trouble Aspect: Keeping Secrets
Other Aspects: Tiny And Unassuming, This Thing's Uncomfortably Mysterious, The Sneakiest Cop In Town, Having Power Is Awesome
Skills:
Superb: Guns
Great: Athletics, Deceit, Stealth
Good: Alertness, Endurance, Presence
Fair: Fists, Discipline, Empathy
Average: Investigation, Conviction, Intimidation
Stunts:
Lucky Shot (Guns): Guns attacks inflict +1 stress for every + on the dice.
Secretive (Deceit): +2 to Deceit when covering up something secret.
Powers:
Item of Power (Symbiote) [+2]
   Cloak of Shadows [-1]
   Inhuman Speed [-2]
   Supernatural Toughness [-4]
   The Catch (Salt) [+3]
Total Refresh Cost:
-4
Refresh Total:
6

To do:

Joel from the last of us.
Jonathan Goldsmith, The Most Interesting Man in the World
Kirei Kotomine from Fate Zero
Trafalgar Law from One Piece
An experienced Harry Dresden
The Rag Lady
Nanoha Takamichi from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Shirou Emiya from Fate Stay Night
A modern day van helsing who's working for the super top secret government paranormal agency

[Taran]

Lucky Shot (Guns): Guns attacks inflict +1 stress for every + on the dice

This is a fun stunt.  I like it.  combine it with a luck power 

[S1C0]

Thank you for your wonderful idea, i agree with Taren lucky shot is awesome, however, I was thinking of a more tankish type of swat agent more in leu of a shield wielding surveillance drone using traditional ex army ranger..... i know other concepts are in your Que so whenever you can i would greatly appreciate a new writeup.. here are a few "facts" about Him

He was bonded with the symbiote at a very early age the bonding process was so intense that it gave poor Jacob(his name) a massive heart attack, because the host was too young and the bonding so traumatic for both of them the symbiote had to 'simplify' itself to survive, forgetting Its own past and losing much if not all of its powers, it has taken almost ten years of slowly growing to the point of true sentience... it has only very recently been trying to actively shape its host.

Jacob has exceptionally high discipline and presence making him an excellent soldier and a true leader. From his days in the army he also has a ton of contacts both in and out of the military. The drone is more or less a copy of Guilty Spark from HALO, just without the AI. the powers the symbiote gift the host at the start are more supportive in nature rather than offensive... if you would make multiple stages of progression in the Symbiot's effect on Jacob over different levels of power i would be much obliged.... i like the stunt strategist (presence) for a starter stunt in his lowest tier on up... one plot point i have is after his first encounter with the supernatural would he will in his next milestone be severely hospitalized holding back some otherworldly enemy so that his friends and allies may escape... i was thinking of playing him in a hospital bed at an army base helping his friends trough his drone as a whistler Esq support type role, while in the hospital he will learn about the advanced tech of the military in regards to his drone and useful equipment after that phase that is when the symbiote shall reveal itself and offer more power(he may have some but he really doesn't know about it till this point)