Toledo Knights: OOC

[Bluecross]

“Ever wanted to fly? I mean fly, like a bird? Well, I’d dreamed about that as long as I can remember. And then, one day, I found that I could fly. Like Thunder of the Guardians. Ok, not as fast as Thunder, but fly all the same. Now it’s time to put that to use. This city is rotting away underneath its beautiful surface. I’m going to do something about it. Are you with me?”

You are one of what they call the ‘Second Wave’ of super-powered people. You first became aware that you had unusual abilities sometime in your mid-teens. Now you are in your early twenties, and you have full-fledged super powers. Growing up in Toledo, you always felt that it was the best city in America, with a great climate, lots to do, and warm, friendly people. But in the last few years something’s changed for the worse. Crime has steadily got worse, drug addiction, people trafficking and violence have swept the streets. More than that, there is an underlying sense of unease, of something wrong with the way things are going. You can no longer stand by and watch the rising tide of evil engulf your neighbourhood, your friends, your family. You have the power and the opportunity to do something. This is your time to stand up - to become a hero.

The Incident
The busy entertainment and shopping street known as the Strip is lined with palm trees, malls, shops, bars and restaurants. The Strip runs parallel to the famous North Beach, a stone’s throw from the high tide line.

Tonight the air is warm with a light sea breeze, and a bright moon hangs low in the clear evening sky. Lots of people are strolling the Strip, going to restaurants, doing some evening shopping in the Plaza Grande and other malls. Nearby is the fabulous Maracena Club, favoured nightclub of Toledo’s beautiful people.

Crazed club patrons begin to spill out of the club, mingling with passers-by, running into the street holding up traffic, and starting fights. A few police try to bring the situation under control, but there are too many people going wild.



This is the recruitment/interest check thread for a game to be set in the Toledo Knights setting. Initially I plan to run a one-shot adventure, and then, all going well, re-open recruitment for a longer game. Players from this one-shot will naturally have an advantage in applying for the longer game.

The Theme: - in this one-shot, the players will be involved in a street-level incident, and the subsequent investigation. Although starting as individuals, along the way they will start to form a team - Toledo’s version of the famous Guardians in Los Angeles. The later campaign will expand on this, and involve both local (Toledo) and national adventure locations.

An aim in the full campaign is for players to have the chance to explore what it is like to become a recognised superhero – one of a very few people on the planet with the power to really change things. They will be able to develop and grow their character both in terms of personality, and in power and ability. And have (I hope) a lot of fun along the way!

The PCs:-

• PL8, with builds planned for development as the game goes on.
• Should be able to work in a team.
• Human, with powers that developed slowly at first, in their mid-teens. Now they are in their early twenties.
• Either a native of Toledo (i.e. American), or a long-term resident.
• The origin of their powers should be left open, being exposure to some kind of external agent. So no devices other than ones the PC has built themselves, and no magic (although a power described as ‘magic’ would be OK).
• Applications should include a background, and a reason why the character is near (but not in) the Maracena club at the time of the incident (about 8pm).

Update: - to clarify the last point above, PCs don't have to be working at the club, or even going there specifically, just as long as they have a reason to be in the immediate area at the time: 2030 or so on a Thursday night. For example they could be: on their way to or from work somewhere in North Beach or on the Strip; just out for the evening, enjoying a stroll along the Strip (a popular Toledo pastime); coming back from a day at the beach (right next to the strip); going to a mall/ a bar /a restaurant near the Maracena; nearby and listening to the police radio; running an errand; going home from shopping in a mall; visiting a friend; on a date (great for complications and hero points!); or even just in the area (OK, not very imaginative).


I’m looking for 4 – 5 players with PC builds that strike a balance somewhere between the extremes of a skill-monkey or a pure powerhouse. So builds should be closer in feel to Daredevil / Cyclops / Storm / the Flash (say) than Green Lantern / Superman / Batman. Please also stay away from the usual unbalancing powers and things like Precognition. As I only have the 2e corebook, anything outside of that will need to be explained. I’m trusting applicants to be self-policing on this. I want to run an enjoyable game that has a balance of roleplaying, adventure, investigation and combat, so don’t feel that you need to make a maxed-out combat beast.


Currently active members:-

FuzzyBoots Buzz Build


Flynarrel Semilla Build


Poodle Technomancer Build


Horsenhero Caber Build


Sirzanek Shortcut Build {Soon to return! Build to be updated}



Previous team members: -

CelticREI Chimera

Poodle / Nicky Toth / powerhouse/brick

Nareik123 / Hikashi Yamora / (Striking Serpent) ‘black widow’ Inferno Fire controller


Epic / Dominic Dhark / kinetic field based paragon


******* IC thread starting soon!*******

Current players

Please bracket your recently gained pp in your builds. You'll have access to those pp at the start of the new arc, but can build them in now (just not use them yet!).

Also, please prepare a PL9 build, including all pp gained. If I recall the pp given correctly, that means you'll have a PL9, 143 pp build ready for the new arc. Please note You'll start the new arc as you are at present (PL8 with 8 pp gained), and then the PL9 build will kick in.

***Any current players that want to make major changes to build or style of your PC, please discuss with me. I'm very open to this, just want to make sure that your build fits in with the other players. If you want to completely change (i.e. start again from scratch) that would be OK too.***

[cityhick]

comment withdrawn because I'm an idiot. Toledo, CA. gotcha.

Still interested.

[SupercrazyDM]

I was wondering if a geocontroller or a watercontroller, would be ok?

[Nareik123]

I'm always interested for something like this. Having pretty much an origin story/semi origin story is awesome when it comes to participating games, as it makes me enjoy my character when I can actually relate to experience, and I always prefer RP'ing origina than just writing, although I have a good idea for my origin.

I was thinking of pretty much an inexperienced version of Black Widow. A super agent, who is powered by nuclear radiation, who she must bathe in regularily to keep herself alive. She is still training with various weapons, most using non-lethal ammo and new tech from a newly found company who found the character to be a great experiment and field tester of their new technology. She was originally a nuclear physisist in training, taking a day off when the disaster struck. Before she was a book worm who went out clubbing trying to get confidence, and helped do low things to get some cash. It hurt her morality, running courier for underworld gangrs, but she needed cash and friends in low places to get by.

[EPIC]

I should probably take a better look at the setting a little later when I'm not rushed to be on my way to work,but this does sound pretty cool. Mass origin story, makes it feel very Static Shock in nature (With their Big Bang event and all)

I have two possible ideas in mind, one is my character Luminesce from Imbasel's unofficially dropped Atrond High who is a bio-luminescent phototrasmogrofist. Or in english, she glows and turns light into matter(Solid, liquid and gas). She would be my primary choice after some slight mods to her build, but she does have progression plans to advance her from newbie heroine to full fledged heroine, but she does use a modified Holding Back flaw(hers is freaking potentially lethal) and a special ruled version of power loss. You can check her build with all explanations in my Hero-Folio thread, linked from my Signature.

Second build is based on the Siren from Borderlands, so a sort of variant on teleportation that also acts as an attack. I'm, to be honest, not even sure how I'd build this one yet, but like I said, Luminesce is my first choice, and she's already built, just needs a few tweaks.

[EPIC]

So, for easier reference, here's a direct link to the character post in the thread.

She was built with the special rules for Hero High, so obviously I'd need to bring her up to speed, and alter her background to reflect the necessity of the setting. She's originally a teenager, so I'd likely end up using those 10pp from her attributes to reflect personal growth from teenager to adult, profession skill perhaps, maybe some feats. not sure yet.

What I'm thinking is, you say the club is a hot spot for the city's 'beautiful people', and I've always seen Clair as a seamstress, so it could make some deal of sense for her to be there, either on her own, or brought by 'friends' she has made clothing for. She's somewhat shy and under confident, but she can pull through in a pinch. her particular suite of powers lends towards a heavy support role as she has very little in damage dealing until she pops Holding Back, though she can throw solid light objects for some damage or strike with tendrils of semi-solid light. Her main use in a team is to hinder enemies with dazzling flashes of light, her light slick to knock them off balance, nimbous clouds of light and so on. She's primarily a battle field controller.

But looking her over, she does need some work as a build, but you get the general idea of the character. I'd have to say she is one of my more developed creations. Please let me know what you think so I know if I need to try and build the other idea.

[flynnarrel]

Rosa Del Garrio
PL8 120

Rosa is the daughter of two Mexican Immigrants (her mother is legalized, her father is not). Her father works as a landscaper and her mother is a nurse at the University of Toledo Medical Research Center. The family benefits and a nice scholarship allow her to attend the University of Toledo. She only works at the Maracena Club for spending money. It is on her way to work that the riot finds her.

She knew she was different from a young age. She could close her hand and open them again to produce seeds of all types. The seeds could sprout and grow at her command. As she learned about more and more types of plants she could create all kinds of affects. Her parents and brothers all know about her abilities but she was bidden to keep them quiet by the family out of fear that any attention might get her father deported back to Mexico. With such a threat looming over her and her kin she is reluctant to do anything overt.

Even without covering herself in bark armor she a remarkably hardy girl with insides more like the consistency of wood than flesh.

Father: Miguel Del Garrio, landscaper
Mother: Sosa Del Garrio, R.N. works in University of Toronto Medical Center
Older Brother: Carlos Del Garrio, works with father as landscasper
Younger Brother: Juan “Johnny” Del Garrio, high school

Attributes:
ST 8 DX 12 CN 22 IN 10 WS 16 CH 12 [20pp]

Saves:
Ref: (add3) 4; Fort: (add2) 8; Will: (add4) 7 [9pp]
Toughness (Max 12) +6 con +2 Tough +4protection (Alternate Form)

Combat:
Att (Max 8 ): 4 BAB [8pp], Melee +6, Disintegration +8
Def (Max 4): 2 BDB [4pp]+2 Dodge feats, 1 flatfooted
Dmg (Max 6):
Init: +1
Grapple: +5

Skills [11pp]: Diplomacy 6 (+7/+11) [Attractive], Bluff 0(+1/+5)[Attractive], Medicine 2 (+5 ), Knowledge – Life Sciences 4(+4), Knowledge – Popular Culture 3(+3), Survival (+3), Notice 8(+11), Sense Motive 7(+10), Concentration 7 (+10 ), craft – structural 4(+4), Gather Info 2(+3), Languages(English-native, Spanish)

Feats [8pp]: Attractive, Luck, Dodge 2, Attack focus – melee 2, tough 2.

Powers:
Alternate Form (Sustained):
*loses Attractive [-1pp]
*Force Field 4, (Bark-like armor grows over skin and clothing, leaves sprout from hair) [4pp]
*Elongation 2, [Limited: arms/fingers] [1pp] {Rosa’s fingers grow into vines that stretch at her command}
*Wall Crawling 1[2pp] {Roots and tendrils can find the cracks in almost any surface and let her scale a wall}
*Plant mimicry, [Flaws: Move Action, Sustained] pr 2 [14pp] {10pp to distribute among ‘plantlike’ qualities}

Tremorsense, extended tremorsense, [3pp]
immunity(half effect or limited): (biological) poisons, (biological) diseases, Suffocation (breath holding), [2pp]

Plant Control
Snare pr8 [Extras: Area Burst (general), selective Attack; PF: reversible, Subtle] [34pp +6AP]
{if the area doesn’t have plants she scatters seeds that sprout and writhe, entrapping those within.}
AP: Create objects, pr8, (shaped wood/vines/plants), [Extra: Continuous; PF: innate, stationary, precise 2, Subtle, Selective, Progression 1{10-ft cube}]
{Rosa scatters seeds from her seemingly never ending supply, at her command they sprout and grow enormously into the shape(s) she desires. At her options, viney walls and grasses can impede some and not others. She has such precision she can cause fruits and vegetables to grow.}
AP: Obsure (Visual, olfactory),[Extra: Independent [0], PF: Reversible, Slow Fade] pr5 +Linked Distraction, (DC 15),[Extra Reversible, PF: Reversible, Slow Fade] pr 5 {Pollen cloud arises in a 100 ft radius, Lasts for 2.5 minutes, decreasing in radius by one step every 25 rounds. She can dismiss it.}
AP: Healing pr8, [Extra: Total, Standard Action; PF: Persistent, Stabilize]
AP: Disintegration pr8, [PF: Accurate 2]
{Vines, Moss, mushrooms, etc. grow over a person or object, while not hampering in any way, they find cracks in skin and armor and the penetrating clinger’s growth widens/ causes cracks and breaches.}
AP: Stun pr10, [Extra: Secondary Effect, PF: Subtle, Sedation, Reversible, Split Attack] {By causing intestinal Flora to act up Rosa can disrupt normal biological functioning in an individual she touches. It continues to get worse right after initial infection.}
AP: Nauseate pr8 [Extras: Area-Shapeable (general); Flaw: full-round Action; PF: Subtle] + Linked Dazzle(Visual) pr8 [Extra: Area-Shapeable (general), Linked {select either/or effect}; Flaw: Touch Range, Full Round Action; PF: Subtle] {Rosa releases at will a shaped burst of infectious pollen that either causes intense allergic reaction or the watering, swollen eyes, or both.}

Drawbacks:
Weakness, requires bathing in sunlight at least once every day, Major, Affects Con -1
Weakness, requires an hour with feet in soil, unmoving, at least once every day, Major, Affects Con -1
{these simulate a plant creature’s ‘eating’ requirements, just like a human would lose Con if he didn’t get food}
Vulnerability (Fire, moderate +50%DC, Very Common -4)

Complications: Sense of duty (plants, nature), Kind Hearted, Possibly Second-Class Citizen (Mexican-American/poor), Passionate

‘Normal

<still searching for good image>

In Alternate form



and when she's angry...

[Bluecross]

Hi all, thanks to everyone who has expressed interest.

Just a very quick in-the-morning-before-going-to-work post with some brief comments. I haven’t has time to read through the submitted builds in any detail yet, but they’re looking good so far. Please remember that this is PL8, and your application (especially your origin) needs to fit in with the background in the Toledo Knights setting thread, linked in the first post above.



@cityhick

Toledo is an analogue of real life San Diego. Looking forward to a character concept and build.

@SuperCrazyDM

Either of those would be fine.

@Nareik123

The overall character idea is fine, but I’m looking for a less defined origin in this game, and characters who began to get their powers in their late teens, and are now in their early 20s – beginner heroes.

@Epic

Luminescence looks interesting, I’ll have to read the build a bit more to get to grips with what she can do, but I like her so far.

@flynarrel

Rosa looks really good, love the background. A slight query about the Stun power being at pr10..? Apart from that, she’s on top of the leader board as things stand.

[flynnarrel]

As a touch attack, to hit is +6, DC is +10 (i.e. Fort DC20) with tradeoffs at PL8. If you don't care for that it can be changed.

Make sense though?

[SupercrazyDM]

I've realized that the games I'm in and the ones I'm applying to all seem to be energy controllers. For a change I will do something else.

[Bluecross]

As a touch attack, to hit is +6, DC is +10 (i.e. Fort DC20) with tradeoffs at PL8. If you don't care for that it can be changed.

Make sense though?

I think so... . Your application is pretty much exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Some nice potential plot hooks already there, too. Some you don't know about yet either... (Hee hee.)

[Bluecross]

I've realized that the games I'm in and the ones I'm applying to all seem to be energy controllers. For a change I will do something else.

Either a geocontroller or a watercontroller would be fine (and Toledo is a harbour city...) if you'd like to do those. If you're wanting a different direction, so far we have applications / expression of interest from:

plant controller
Black widow guns and spy type
light controller
mental / telekinesis powers

looks like we have only female PCs so far too!

A tank/brick/the Hulk type, or a more paragon strong/fly/hit stuff type are both niches that are wide open at present if either of those interests you.

[Bluecross]

I'm always interested for something like this. Having pretty much an origin story/semi origin story is awesome when it comes to participating games, as it makes me enjoy my character when I can actually relate to experience, and I always prefer RP'ing origina than just writing, although I have a good idea for my origin.

I was thinking of pretty much an inexperienced version of Black Widow. A super agent, who is powered by nuclear radiation, who she must bathe in regularily to keep herself alive. She is still training with various weapons, most using non-lethal ammo and new tech from a newly found company who found the character to be a great experiment and field tester of their new technology. She was originally a nuclear physisist in training, taking a day off when the disaster struck. Before she was a book worm who went out clubbing trying to get confidence, and helped do low things to get some cash. It hurt her morality, running courier for underworld gangrs, but she needed cash and friends in low places to get by.

Hi Nareik, I wanted to give you a more detailed reply. I like your ideas and wanted to give you more feedback.

Firstly, a Black Widow type who uses weapons/spycraft/martial arts would fit in just fine with the game. She could have a need for radiation to maintain her powers, but please leave the exact source as yet unknown (in this setting it seems no-one knows what caused the super-people to appear). None of the characters will know exactly how, or when, they got their powers (yet!). Some time in their teens is as close as they can get.

As far as weaponry, she could have some advanced weapon(s), but it would fit in better if this was her own creation, and she was more of a freelancer than working for a company (at this stage). I'm looking for 'beginner' heroes, aged in their early 20s, who have had powers for about 5 years or so. They have only recently decided to put their powers to use as heroes (so that would fit in well with her background doing dodgy things for cash, working a bit with gangs - maybe now she's decided to try and go straight). As the game progresses she might well end up working for or with an organisation, and sourcing some equipment from them - if that's what you want.

[EPIC]

Who is playing a mental/TK type?

Just curious, because I was thinking of doing something different since there is all the female characters, an I had an idea for a TK-based paragon. Not 100% on it or anything, just wanting to balance out the group I guess ^-^

[Bluecross]

I had a pm from someone who hasn't yet posted in the thread asking about a mental / telekinesis PC. They were looking at more of the mind control / telekinesis end of things, so a paragon type who get his str/flight/attack from telekinesis wouldn't necessarily clash.

Your Luminescence character looked pretty OK anyway (although a little heavy on the APs! Mind you, I know when I'm building I want to cover as many angles as I can because of those evil GMs who are out to get me! ) if you are happy with her. You could add a background to suit the game and she'd fit in OK I think.

And it might be quite fun to have an all-female (just by chance!) group of PCs.