looking for help refining my character concepts

raighn

I've been trying to write (and rewrite in some cases) bio's for all of my characters... and well I think it's about time I ask for some assistance fleshing things out and refining them... Most of them have little more than rough character outlines...

Serien: Simple character outline - Tiny blue fire imp who lost an arm in an accident during the summoning that brought her into our universe. She now has a magic infused mechanical replacement that reacts to her natural fire magics. Her powers include high level control over flames, and rapid regeneration. Her regenerative ability can only heal small wounds and reattach limbs, she cannot regrow them. The name Serien was given to her by the person who summoned her, an effect of the summoning process erased her memories of her home universe and who she was.

Blastwave: More complete outline - Another denizen of the same universe as Serien, summoned in a similar fashion.

Summoned by a Cult seeking to drain the magical energies from demons. Upon discovering she possessed no magic, despite being born into a world abundant in magic, she was cast aside left to fend for herself in a world she knew nothing about.

She wandered the streets of Millennium City lost and confused for hours before stumbling into a laboratory. The lab scientists found her the following morning. She was looking over the various inventions in the lab curiously, absolutely fascinated by the technology.

They taught her about science and technology. Eventually she learned enough to start building things. Her skills at inventing were almost natural, all except one small issue with wiring that caused everything she made to spark wildly. Since she had no memory of her name the scientists named her EL, jokingly at first.

As time passed she developed her skills more and more. She began work on a suit of armor meant to emit pulses of charged energy. Though her inability to wire things properly caused the suit to discharge highly charged electrical bolts instead. Through a bit of tinkering with the suit she developed J.O.L.T. (Joule Overload Limiter Technology)

EL devoted herself to protecting Millennium City, under the name Blastwave, and seeking to uncover information about her home and someday find a way to return.

Arcana: More complete outline - Ex-Psi member turned hero.

Once a member of Psi, Arcana developed her Psionic powers. She developed a talent for producing mental shields and mending injuries with her psionic abilities. For years she worked with Psi while projecting a mental illusion convincing everyone she was a human.
Arcana befriended a young adept who called herself Psion. She taught her to control her abilities and how to project illusions. The two were inseparable, and powerful together.
Eventually the day came when someone saw through Arcana's illusions and discovered the truth. News that she was not human quickly spread throughout Psi. When the news reached Psion, she was devastated.
While the other members of Psi locked Arcana up to experiment on her, Psion sat back and did nothing. They taxed her to the absolute limits of her powers. Their tests warped her mind and drove her mad for a period.
The tests warped more than only her mind. Her psionic powers erupted destructive energy from her right eye during their final test on her. Amidst the chaos that ensued, Arcana made her escape from Psi. The experience left her scarred, her right eye permanently swirling with psionic energy and a scar pulsing with the same power.

Missing Info- Real Name... name of her race...

Gamma & Mere: Well developed character outlines, needs refinement - Alien duo. Both of them possess the same abilities, though the way in which they use them differs greatly. They come from a world that has just recently discovered space travel. So recently that Gamma was their first astronaut. A spatial anomaly opened up above their planet and pulled her shuttle into it transporting her trillions of lightyears from home and into our solar system where she crash landed on earth. One of earth's organizations discovered her and took her into a lab and prepped for an autopsy believing her to be dead. She woke up on the operating table panicked and blasted the nearby scientists with a powerful burst of gamma radiation. (small little character note: to her people Gamma is simply a common name) Her left leg was lost in the crash so she had a bit of a hard time escaping the lab, she was soon found by a group of heroes who aided in her escape. They helped outfit her with a new leg and attempted to teach her english. (She's still learning)
Mere is Gamma's wife, she made arrangements to be sent out to find her after they lost contact with her shuttle. The same anomaly that captured Gamma's shuttle caught hers as well and once again threw her into our solar system. Almost a year had passed since Gamma crash landed on earth, though for Mere she had only been missing for 2 months. (such is the unpredictable nature of wormhole travel, luckily it only distorted time and didn't throw her to a completely random other part of the galaxy.) Gamma encountered her while prepping a ship from the moonbase she has been using as a home since shortly after her arrival on earth. Reunited, they now work together to help defend their new home, while searching the stars for a way to return to their homeworld. (Gamma is teaching Mere English)
Extra info: Race needs a name. They are technically genderless, they are from a mono gender race, though they express female anatomy. The concept of gender is foreign to them. Nitrogen is poisonous to them, so they have to wear special nitrogen filters while on Earth (since over 70% of the air we breathe is Nitrogen). Their race produces gamma radiation as a biologic byproduct, because of this they are immune to most forms of radiation and many airborne illnesses (since the radiation kills most pathogens in the air around them). Gamma uses her abilities aggressively (partially influenced by her first contact experience, though she tries to avoid using lethal levels of radiation) while Mere uses her's more defensively (low levels of radiation, subduing enemies through radiation sickness rather than rendering them unconscious or possibly dead). They have technology that uses their bioradiation as a power source, this is primarily seen through their shielding tech. Without their shields they are more susceptible to injury than the average human. Gamma is of average build, green, and hairless; Mere is petite, purple, and has green tendrils (some members of their race grow tendrils as we do hair).

Myriad: Very simple character outline - Powers: Complete control over light including the ability to create darkness by devoiding light from an area. (Fights with hard light constructs and shadow constructs) She also possesses a powerful regenerative ability.
Personality: Oddly cheerful despite her fashion tastes (Goth)...
Real Name: suggestions welcomed
Race: appears to be the same as Arcana

Shion: Simple character outline - Lycan girl who was raised as a human, and believes she is a human. She has a major case of denial and might be delusional at this point. She travels around with a pack of wolves (She thinks its normal, she honestly believes that everyone can talk with wolves). She is trained in Martial Arts. Aside from her Lycan abilities (transformation, ability to communicate with wolves, and heightened regenerative ability, increased strength and durability) she is completely powerless.
Real Name: Mae Shion (She goes by her family name)
Note: I do not see Lycan and Werewolf as the same thing. A Lycan is born, a Werewolf is cursed/infected/afflicted.

Crescent: More developed character outline - The saddest and most morbid origin story of all my characters... the short version:

The unfortunate victim of the increase in gang activity throughout Millennium City, Sari Brooke was granted a second chance by celestial intervention. Empowered by her new angelic abilities she has set forth, under the name Crescent, as a guardian and avenger for those who would be victims like her. Her presence on the streets strikes fear into those involved in her death. Wielding a scythe and chain as though she were the angel of death may also contribute to this fear.

I haven't gotten around to writing down the full version yet... but the key points that aren't in the short version are that her family was moderately wealthy. She was abducted off the streets in an attempt to ransom money from them. They paid the ransom, but her kidnappers had no intention of ever actually releasing her and tried to get more money from them. When they refused to pay the second ransom, her abductors murdered her. A demonic looking man (demon possessed in fact) by the name of Leovanni was her murderer, his weapon of choice was a chain with which he beat and strangled her with. A being of pure light brought her back, but in a new form, and with a new body. Her new body looked like her, except for a few extra details (Wings and a Halo, and her once blue eyes are now golden). Her new life had a single term: she's forbidden to visit her family. To the outside world Sari Brooke is dead. She actually did violate the term of her new life one time, fully expecting to cease to exist and accepting of that outcome, she tried to visit her mother. Of course, she didn't vanish from existence as she expected, however, her mother committed herself to an insane asylum shortly after the visit. It is uncertain if her mother's insanity was a result of the terms or her inability to accept that her daughter was standing in front of her again.
Note: her angelic abilities consist of minor healing abilities, the ability to form an indestructible weapon out of celestial energy (she forms a scythe), and her new body reacts to damage by increasing her strength and reforms itself should she fall in combat. The chain she wields is the same one that was used as her murder weapon. Unlike many of my other heroes, her name was given by journalists, after the first picture of her surfaced showing a glowing winged figure wielding a crescent shaped weapon (a scythe) over a group of defeated thugs in the light of a crescent moon.

Shift: Very VERY simple character outline - An enigmatic multidimensional being.... that's seriously all I have for her...

Rose Blackstone: Somewhat developed character outline - Fullname: Rosilyn Blackstone

Daughter of General Blackstone, a military officer gone missing on an infiltration operation into Viper, and Dr. Sara Blackstone, a mechanical engineer working on a top secret military power armor project. Rose secretly trained with firearms becoming a skilled shot with her pistols despite her parents protest to her interest in joining the military in their footsteps. After her father's disappearance, Rose took off with her mother's incomplete prototype power armor defense system to seek answers and find out what happened to her father.

Extra info: Her story has progressed since the time I wrote that bio for her. She has uncovered what happened to her father. Unfortunately he's no longer himself, he's been completely brainwashed and is now a Viper agent (and her current nemesis). Her last encounter with him left her injured with a toxin laced bullet in her shoulder. The medical systems in her prototype power armor (extremely prototype, it's just a single arm) have kept the toxin from spreading. She is a pistol user, the armor prototype is purely defensive systems.
Missing Info: Parents names...

Valkyri: simple character outline - Mostly inspired by Green Arrow...

The heir to a fortune left to her by her late parents who were among the victims in the recent Qularr attack. Valarie Tailor, at a young age and inspired by the recent rise in costumed heroes, took up the mask and put her inheritance to use in developing gadgets for her use in fighting crime. Utilizing her skill in archery and her newly developed gadgets, she donned the name Valkyri and set forth to clear the streets of Millennium City of criminals and super powered villains.

Valiant: simple character outline - Teenage super genius computer hacker with an obsession with Sci Fi technology. Built her own laser sword, kinetic shield, and rocket boots. She's inthralled by the idea of flying through the sky, but she's terrified of heights.

Sayori: simple character outline - Blind schoolgirl (High School freshman) with the ability to manipulate the weather. She uses her ability to sense wind currents and electrical signals to move about as if she had sight. Of course she still can't read (unless it's in braille), has no concept of color, and can't make out fine details. She is able to fly by polarizing the electrical currents around her effectively reducing the effect of gravity on her, utilizing the glider wings on her suit and manipulating air currents, she is able to maneuver around.
Real Name: Kanomae Sayori

Pulse: very simple character outline - original concept generic costumed vigilante inspired by Catwoman & Power Girl... current concept... mostly the same but with finalized and refined power concept (which conveniently works amazingly with the name I gave her)... Her power is the ability to generate vibrations throughout her body, with enough focused build up she can create shockwave. She can use this power both defensively and offensively. Defensively she is able to deflect most attacks away from her, possibly even damage or destroy offending objects (projectiles, weapons, fists). Offensively she unleashes shockwaves from a distance, though she can easily hold her own in melee as well, she just prefers to keep a distance.
Real Name: suggestions welcome...
Note: yes, her catwoman inspiration extends to her costume... She is actually a Neko though, so her ears and tail are real, she has a leather tail on her suit and cat ears on her mask though to help keep her identity a secret... Dark Grey suit, her ears and tail are actually Brown like her hair.

Mystyx: Simple character outline - A young aspiring mage, Mysti Styx spends most of her time cleaning up the streets of Millennium City. She can be a bit quirky at times though, she seems to be convinced that she's the daughter of Hades... Specializes in the use of Sigils.

CORTEX: Simple character outline - Sentient AI defense system... Holographic body... Nanites...

Cortex is a highly advanced AI housed within a self replicating nanite core equipped with a holo projector. She is completely autonomous and has systems capable of simulating human emotional patterns.
The CORTEX system was originally designed as a field combat AI, meant to provide protective shielding and real time analysis of combat situations to better aid troops in the field. Her AI programming proved to be to expensive for mass production and the project was shut down. Cortex was later found and reactivated by a group of Heroes on a routine mission. She now uses her systems to protect citizens and aid hero's.

Cold Snap: Simple character outline - Uncontrolled mutation... temperature control...

Born with an unnatural mutation, the ability to Control the temperature of the air around her, Katie Summerfield was kept from the world for fear of what damage her power might cause. For this she resented her parents, though she enjoyed the comics they would buy her every week. Eventually she was visited by a scientist who sought to study her abilities and offered her a means to control them and a chance to see the world. Wanting nothing but to escape the room that had been her prison her whole life she jumped at the opportunity and was soon faced with a difficult decision. What to do with her new freedom, let her resentment towards her parents lead her down the path of villainy or let it go and become a hero like those in her favorite comics?

She has a pair of power gloves that help her to control her power. She uses both heat and cold equally both offensively and defensively, creating armor of supercooled dense ice and superheating the air around her to create a cushion of air to slow projectiles for defense (same concept as how friction super heats the surface of an object entering atmosphere at high speeds and slows its descent)... her control over temperatures is to the point that she can indeed maintain ice in a completely frozen state while on fire. Extreme temperatures also don't affect her.

Synaptic: More developed character outline - Technopathic Cyborg... another sad and somewhat morbid origin story, but not nearly as bad as Crescent.

Alison Keen was an ordinary college student working on a degree in Robotic Engineering. Until she was abducted by a nameless organization running experiments on those they suspected to have psionic abilities. These experiments ended with the subjects being augmented with a large amount of cybernetic parts and cerebral implants meant to reprogram them into psionic drones. Alison's abilities aided in her escape from the organization, but not before she too was augmented and implanted. After her escape she managed to get the implants removed with assistance and had a new body built to replace the augments she was given. Fearful of how her friends and family would react to her new body, she went into hiding, and was later found and recruited by PRIMUS. When a few of the PRIMUS engineers brought her the arsenal they intended to attach to her body, she immediately activated several of the weapon systems refusing to allow them to attach them directly to her. As a result the weapons were refitted into a new removable format. Alison now helps to protect Millennium City under the name Synaptic. She has even brought herself out of her reclusive state and can be seen wandering around the city as her ordinary self, Alison Keen.

Gauntlet: simple character outline - Power Gauntlets... yes that was the basis for her entire character... her current Bio:

While wandering the streets of Millennium City while visiting, [Insert name] found and picked up a pair of power gauntlets. Her curiosity got the better of her and she put them on. At first she just pressed the buttons at random trying out her new found toys, but after having her fun, she took the time to learn how they worked and what button triggered what. After nearly shooting her tail off, she discovered a discarded minigun nearby that was linked remotely to the controls in the gauntlets.
She quickly took her new find home with her and started piecing together a simple mounting rig for the gun as well as tracing the wireless signals from the various buttons that didn't appear to control anything in the area where she found them. [Insert name] slowly started linking new systems to the unused controls and now fights crime in her free time as Gauntlet.
~ Note from Defender: You can't be serious. She's a miscreant, take her off the database. She shouted at me after I offered to let her join me on a mission calling me her "nemesis."

Quote:
"Mind if I borrow this for a minute? Thanks! Now where did that blue and white clown get off to?"

Note: I try to write my bios as if they are PRIMUS database report files... I'm actually in the process of trying to make a page for each of them on the PRIMUS database site, which is what lead to me asking for help here.

Vector: More developed character outline - Orphan with powerful Telekinetic abilities. Bio:

Vector's powers first surfaced when she was still an infant. Her parents encouraged her to develop her power, and allowed her to use it freely.
Her peaceful life in westside changed forever when she was 12. After coming home from the academy to find her house ransacked and her parents murdered. Vector started attacking the local thugs seeking answers. Who did it and why? Her questions were never truly answered even after 2 years.
After "playing along" with an attempted hostage situation, which ended with her knocking out her would be captors while the police were trying to negotiate a release of the hostages, Vector was taken into an orphanage. Having constantly been told not to use her powers because she was "scaring the other children", and called a "freak" by the other orphans, Vector decided she had had enough and ran away from the orphanage.
She spent the next 2 years living out on the streets again, watching the rise in heroes throughout Millennium City. Eventually acquiring materials and making her own costume and adopting the name Vector.

Real Name: need suggestions

Pandy: Simple character outline - Pandora Elpis has a powerful psionic ability that allows her to create physical manifestations of her own imagination. She expresses this power by animating her stuffed animals and creating finger pistols... She is so withdrawn in her own imaginary world that he's subconsciously created a powerful force field around herself.

Nyx: simple outline - another denizen from Blastwave & Serien's world... She however is from one of the more demonic races of their world, and unlike the two of them entered our world through different means... She was banished... the race she belongs to has means to enter our world at will, and often does so by reaching out and making a contract with someone on the other side (as opposed to the summoning method used on Serien and Blastwave that attempts to force servitude by removing their memories)... they do not require such contracts, but it amuses most of them to see what petty mortals will bargain for power. Nyx, is a young demon and has no interest in the horrors that other members of her race revel in. Her banishment was due to her attempting to interfere.
She fights with a pair of bone claws and possesses the power of invisibility.

Freedom Girl: simple outline - My patriot themed hero that took me forever to decide to actually make... her bio:

Just an ordinary teenage girl dreaming of having superpowers and fighting crime like all the superheroes she see's on TV an flying around the city every day. Unfortunately she's just an ordinary human girl with no superpowers. But that won't stop her from achieving her dream. In a city full of superheroes it's not incredibly hard to find someone who can make an suit out of an armored nanopolymer. Saving up money from her day job all through sophomore year got her more than enough to buy one. Now she roams the streets as Freedom Girl, fighting crime as she always dreamed. Of course she still has no superpowers, but perhaps one day she'll discover a latent superhuman ability or acquire them some other way. Only time will tell.

In-game bio:

My name is Kayla Belle, I was an ordinary girl just like everyone else until one day I discovered I had latent super powers... or at least that's what I'd like to be able to say... the truth is I'm still just an ordinary plain jane human girl. No powers, no nothing... I do go out and fight crime as Freedom Girl though. It sure would be a lot easier with super powers... but at least I've got some fighting talent. And this suit is amazing too. It's made out of some sort of armored fabric and has thicker flexible armor plates woven into it to further protect vital spots.

I like to joke that the closest thing she has to a superpower is super stubbornness... since she's to stubborn to give up when she's reached her limits, and her stubbornness lead to her buying a suit so she can dress up as a superhero and fight crime... Not a very good trait for someone without superpowers to have when running around dressed up like a superhero... but it helps to give her a bit of extra personality.

Protonova: - simple outline - A member of an unusual race, (sentient clouds of space dust). Protonova is among the first of her race to make contact with earth. They utilize mechanical bodies that mimic human physiology, each taking a form they find most fitting to themselves. Like Gamma & Mere, Protonova's race is genderless. As her race possesses no physical body, but instead exist as gaseous life forms, they are not capable of human speech. Instead they communicate with each other through light spectrums. The suits they use while interacting with other races is capable of translating this form of communication into speech. They are cosmic beings and possess cosmic powers. However, they are a very small race. (A single cloud being no larger than the average human head) As such, their power is on a similarly small scale. She is capable of creating miniature stars and blackholes. Due to the miniature sizes they do not last very long.

The rest don't have any real character concept outside of their power concepts...

Novawing: Throwing blades and gadgets
Sylfere: Elemental dragon utilizing various elemental breaths (Wind, Fire, Poison, Ice, Electric)
Shatter Point: Earth manipulator - Her power is on a subatomic level allowing her to turn minute amounts of the elements that make up most precious gemstones into short lived versions of those gems. Yes, she can literally create diamonds out of thin air... of course their molecular structure falls apart if she stops focusing on them...
Nekomi: Small Superstrengthed Catgirl
Yuki: Elemental Summoner, summons an elemental of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Ice, also casts spells from the same elements. She is a spellcaster with an elemental focus, she is not limited to those four elements. Minor character quirk: she names her summons and is very childish... her Earth Elemental is named "Mr. Smashy" and her Ice elemental is "Frosty Bites"... I haven't decided on names for the other 2 yet.
Medic: Secret Military medical power armor users... her suit has various medical nanite systems, and she is trained with firearms. She uses a pulse rifle.
Kyrin: Poisonous Lizard... fights with claws and a poisonous bite (also has venom breath)
Nightbug: An odd fae creature with the power to manipulate life forces.

I know... thats a lot of characters... if anyone's interested in helping with any of them, feel free to post your ideas and contributions... If anyone would be willing to give me a hand with making PRIMUS database pages for them, send me a message.

bulgarex

Hiya, Raighn! I agree, that's quite a pack o' characters there. I'll need more time to digest it all before I can offer a full range of specific suggestions, which looks to be an interesting challenge. A few things did strike me right off, though, which I'll briefly address below.

Re Serien, Blastwave, Crescent, Nyx, Mystyx: In the official Champions Universe, there are several dimensions within the Astral Plane adjacent to Earth, often referred to as "Imaginal Realms," because they and their living inhabitants were spawned out of the collective imagination of all Humanity. Each one is a magic mosaic realm reflecting a common theme. Faerie, or The Land of Legends, is home to all the gods, creatures, and magical races from human mythology and folklore, each inhabiting a region of the dimension resembling its traditional home. The Netherworld embodies every Hell ever conceived, with its attendant demons and monsters. Conversely, Elysium is the home of the gods and spirits of the "ethical" religions emphasizing codes of "right" conduct, e.g. Judaism/Christianity/Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, or Zoroastrianism. (These gods and spirits are not considered the "true" beings from their faiths, but constructs based on how most of their worshipers imagine them.) Babylon, or The City of Man, synthesizes all the great cities of history, with districts resembling everything from imperial Rome, to Victorian London, to modern Manhattan, to Fritz Lang's Metropolis and the Emerald City of Oz.

All of the above dimensions have native magical inhabitants, but Faerie and Babylon are also home to humans, while Elysium and the Netherworld contain the (blessed or damned, respectively) souls of those who followed their faiths.

Serien certainly sounds like a denizen of Faerie. Blastwave might have come from Babylon -- it often combines magic and technology in unusual ways, and some of its inhabitants are made up of both. Crescent could have been empowered by a god or angelic being from Elysium -- she wouldn't be the first Champions Earth hero to claim to have been given power by Heaven. Nyx could easily be a real demon from any religion or mythology -- they can't travel at will to Earth, but making contracts with mortals is common for some of them. While Mystyx could actually be the daughter of Hades.

If you'd like more info about any of these, I'd be glad to supply it (within the bounds of Fair Use of the Champions IP).

A few more random thoughts: There's already an official villain called Gauntlet in the Champions Universe, although he hasn't appeared in the game yet. He's a criminal scientist using, yes, technologically-advanced gauntlets with various capabilities. Your character might have found a prototype lost by or stolen from him, which makes for a ready-made nemesis.

Synaptic's origin is very similar to that of an official hero called Circuit Breaker, another "technopath" kidnapped by ARGENT and turned into a "living AI" with the power to control machinery, until she escaped from them.

You seem to be rather fond of the catgirl motif. There aren't any official terrestrial feline humanoid races as such in the CU, but some extraterrestrial ones do exist. There are also feline beast-men/manimals originally created by the infamous Dr. Philippe Moreau, although some have long since disavowed any allegiance to him. And more than one criminal genetic genius has the skill and willingness to turn a human into a catgirl -- at least one already has.

Again, more info available upon request. I will mull over your other characters and see what comes to mind. Of course, if connecting your characters to the official setting doesn't interest you, please disregard the above.

raighn

Blastwave's technology is entirely earth based... she's supposed to be from a magic abundant realm (had intended for it to be the same one as Serien due to strong similarities between the two in appearance)

I'm actually uncertain as to if I want Mystyx to actually be the daughter of Hades or for her to just think she is...

Was unaware of the existing villian named Gauntlet...your suggestion for her is a really good idea too... and it doesn't require any major changes to her current bio.

also didn't know about Circuit Breaker either... however Synaptic isn't a living AI, she still technically human... having it be ARGENT who was behind her kidnapping could work though, and since you say they did it before, it's possible that they might try again...

bulgarex

I absolutely support you choosing whatever background would be fun for you to play. These are just spitballed suggestions.

I would be surprised if ARGENT didn't make another cybernetically-augmented human for one purpose or another. They have considerable expertise at it, being responsible for both Circuit Breaker and the villain Interface. Circuit Breaker is definitely human BTW, but possesses implanted technology augmenting her abilities, some visible, other internal. ARGENT planned to make her the "living CPU" of an intelligent computer system, which it could then sell to a government or criminal group.

If you want to invent a separate, specific dimension for several of your supernatural characters, that's fine. The CU "multiverse" is practically infinite, and only a fraction of that has been detailed. It's just that the ones I mentioned already exist in the setting, and mystics interact with and summon beings from them. All of them could be considered "kin" since they ultimately derive from the same source; but there's no reason Serien and Blastwave couldn't be from the same dimension. I mentioned Babylon in connection to Blastwave because their unusual relationship with technology would be one explanation why Earth tech reacts differently when Blastwave handles it; but any magical creature might experience something similar when it tries to learn tech. Magic in the CU tends to "loosen" the laws of physics, allowing for scientific breakthroughs which wouldn't be possible in the real world.

There isn't a specific "Lycan" species or subculture in the CU, but born shape-shifters of all sorts exist: supernatural creatures, genetic mutations, and non-humans/aliens. There's even an organized therianthropic family based in the Far East. And lost experiments by the likes of VIPER, ARGENT, Teleios, or Dr. Destroyer are certainly precedented. I can offer more about any of these if interested.

There are scores of official alien races in the CU. Some possess natural abilities which would be considered "superhuman." Most can manifest superpowers in the same ways humans can, although almost always less often, at a lower average power level, and/or over a narrower range of powers. A few have the technology to induce superpowers in themselves if desired. If you have specific appearances in mind for your alien characters, that might help determine if any official aliens would fit.

Re Shift: In the CU there is a "higher-order reality" called the "Sixth Dimension," whose inhabitants have the ability to warp reality in our world through "hypermathematics" and "hyperperception." One human mathematician named Laura Palamaris had her mind invaded by malevolent beings when her calculations created a breach to the Sixth Dimension. Their mentalities fused together, creating the supervillain called Tesseract. Another similarly powered villain in Japan, Teikei ("Trapezoid"), claims to be a "criminal from the Sixth Dimension." There's no reason to believe all Sixth Dimensionals are hostile, though. In fact, if Teikei truly is a "criminal," that implies the concepts of law and order exist there.

Re Yuki: Note that in Oriental philosophy the fundamental elements are slightly different than in the Western tradition. In Japan the Godai, or Five Great Elemental Manifestations, are Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and "Void" or "Heaven" (often associated with energy). In China the Wu Xing, the Five Elements/Phases/Movements, are Earth, Water, Fire, Metal, and Wood.

raighn

I can take some screenshots later tonite to upload if that will help any. Don't worry, I'll crop and merge them so the post won't have like 50 images... The image in my signature will link to some images of a large number of characters... though some characters on that page don't exist anymore and others have undergone major design changes (Synaptic being the biggest one of them... her whole entire concept changed since the time of posting that thread.)


Ok... so... ARGENT will definitely be the organization behind what happened to Synaptic... it fits pretty well, and they have done it before so it works...

Shion's lycanthope could easily be a genetic mutation or an alien race... being a very human like alien raised by humans wouldn't be a huge change from her current story either... (TBH, her current story reads almost like superman... orphaned child found in a field, raised by the family that found her)

sixth dimension could work for Shift... I'd probably have to find out more about it first though.

Yuki's elemental affinity is more general elements... not necessarily any elemental philosophy, just the elements in general... though given that list she would more closely relate to the Japanese elements.

jonsills

ARGENT's also responsible for my toon Repulsor - they were experimenting with what was originally a robotic combat droid (using repulsor technology), and one of their researchers (since terminated, and you can read that as you will) thought it would be a grand idea to kidnap a 9-year-old boy and use his brain as the robot's "AI". After all, don't kids do everything you tell them to?

Valiant's flight issue reminds me of a character I did for PnP Champions. He was loosely based on me; among his powers was the ability to fly at tremendous speed, but I have issues with height, so he was only able to fly as high as 4 meters (2 hexes) above the ground. Any higher, and he'd panic and lose control. Made for some interesting control rolls as I flew through the city...​​

bulgarex

raighn wrote: »

sixth dimension could work for Shift... I'd probably have to find out more about it first though.

There is very little more written about the Sixth Dimension than what I transcribed above; no physical description of its environment or inhabitants, no more notes about its society. It's highly unlikely anything more will appear in an official source, either... which gives you considerable freedom to invent a background that works for you.

It seems a safe bet that beings from the 6D would be quite alien to us; they may not be made of matter as we understand it. They tried to use Tesseract's mind as a portal to Champions Earth, but she fought against them mentally, leading to the composite character she displays today. Tesseract's personality was overlaid to some extent by the invaders' desire for power and wealth, while the multi-dimensional expansion of her perceptions left her mind somewhat unhinged. Some sort of possession or symbiosis by a 6D within a human body sounds like the likeliest scenario, given Tesseract's example.

I can suggest one motivation for a 6D entity coming to Earth, if their society has a moral code: it might be following the beings responsible for Tesseract and Teikei, perhaps to capture or punish them for their crimes, or perhaps simply to balance the harm they cause on Earth by doing good deeds.

raighn

Categorized them a bit... though a few of them belong in multiple categories... Blastwave is also HiTech, Rose is borderline between Low & HiTech... Synaptic is a Superpowered Human... everyone in "non-human heroes" is Superpowered except Shift, the nature of her abilities are just as mysterious as she is... Shion is under Aliens for now, though that could change... Kyrin is not pictured but her picture on my other thread is accurate aside from color (she's now green)

Incase it matters... age groups:
Unknown: Shift, Nightbug, CORTEX (N/A), Sylfere, Kyrin
Youth (<13): Pandy
Early Teenage (13~15): Yuki, Cold Snap, Mystyx, Sayori,
Teenage (16~19): Freedom Girl, Crescent, Valiant, Valkyri, Nekomi, Vector
Adult (20+): Everyone Else

Power Types:
Psychic: Arcana, Pandy, Synaptic, Vector
Magic: Mystyx, Yuki, Serien, Crescent, Nyx, Nightbug
Melee: Crescent, Nyx, Shion, Freedom Girl, Nekomi, Myriad, Kyrin
Energy Manipulation: Shatter Point, Cold Snap, Sayori, Serien, Myriad, Pulse
Gadgetry: Rose, Novawing, Valkyri, Valiant
Powersuit: Blastwave, Gauntlet, Medic, Synaptic
Natural: Kyrin, Gamma, Mere, Shift, Sylfere, Shion, ProtoNova, Nyx, Serien

Group Role:
Tank: Crescent, Freedom Girl, Pandy
Healer: Medic, Nightbug, Cortex, Arcana, Mystyx
Controller: Arcana, Vector, Mere, Shatter Point
Damage: Mystyx, Nightbug, Vector, & Everyone not yet listed.

raighn

Just organizing some thoughts an information into some outlines right now...

Serien - Home: Faerie; Species: Imp; Power: Fire, Regeneration; Origin: Magical being; Appearance: Tiny (Toy sized), Blue, Tiny Horns, Wings, Spaded Tail, 3 Fingered, 2 Toed, Mechanical Arm (Left); Real Name: Unknown; Personality: Free-spirited; Nemesis: ???; Other: Mute (Speaks through Fire Writing);

Blastwave - Home: Faerie; Species: ???; Power: Null/Inept, J.O.L.T. Suit; Origin: Magical being; Appearance: Small (Child/Teen sized), Blue, Tiny Horns, Fur-tipped Tail, 3 Fingered, 2 Toed; Real Name: Unknown, El (adopted name); Personality: Curious; Nemesis: Summoner; Other:

Nyx - Home: Netherworld; Species: Demon (specifics?); Power: Invisibility, Short-range Teleportation, Immolation; Weapon: Bone Claws; Origin: Demonic being; Appearance: Small, Muddy Red, Horns, Spaded Tail, 3 Fingered, Hooves, Fur covered Digitigrade Legs, Glowing Brands; Real Name: Nyx; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other: Banished from home;

Crescent - Home: Earth; Species: Human Spirit; Power: Celestial; Weapon; Celestial Scythe, Chain (empowered); Origin: Murder Victim, New Life; Appearance: Late Teens (18), Halo, Golden Eyes, Dusty White Wings; Real Name: Sari Brooke; Personality: Conflicted, Retributive; Nemesis: Murderer (Leovanni); Other: Wealthy(ish) family, revived with a new body, named by the Press, Mother self-committed to asylum, Father murdered;

Sylfere - Home: Faerie; Species: Dragon; Power: Elemental Breath; Origin: Magical being; Appearance: Small, Brown & Black Scales, Wings, Broad Tail, Horns, Clawed Fingers & Toes; Real Name: Sylfere; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other:

Nightbug - Home: Faerie?; Species: Sprite; Power: Life Energies; Origin: Magical being; Appearance: Petite (Child sized), Purple, Beetle Wings, Antennae, 3 Fingered, Hand-like Feet (3 Toed - In-game is 5 but she's only supposed to have 3), bio-luminescent patterns, Solid Black eyes; Real Name: ???; Personality: Free-spirited; Nemesis: ???; Other: ;

Yuki - Home: Faerie Underground; Species: Dark Elf; Power: Magic (Elemental Summoning, Elemental Casting); Origin: Magic; Appearance: Petite, Pointed Ears, Black/Grey; Real Name: ???; Personality: Childish; Nemesis: ???; Other: Names her summons (Mr. Smashy (Earth), Frosty Bites (Ice), ??? (Fire), ??? (Wind));

Mystx - Home: Earth? Hades? (Undecided); Species: Human?; Power: Magic (Sigils, Teleport); Origin: Magic; Appearance: Petite Teen (14), Human Glasses, Arcane Symbols (full body); Real Name: Mysti Styx; Personality: Strange; Nemesis: ???; Other: Believes she is the daughter of Hades (might really be, might not be);

ProtoNova - Home: Space; Species: ??? (sentient micro-nebula); Power: Small Scale Cosmic Creation; Origin: Alien; Appearance: Tiny, Multicolored, Nebula, Star-metal Mechanized Humanoid Suit; Real Name: ???; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other: Synthesized Voice from suit;

Gamma - Home: ???; Species: ???; Power: Biologic Radiation (Offensive); Origin: Alien; Appearance: Average (Teen/Adult sized), Green, Pointed Ears, 3 Fingered, 2 Toed, Solid Green Eyes, Mechanical Leg (Left); Real Name: Gamma Rael; Personality: Adventurous; Nemesis: ARGENT; Other: Monogendered species, Married to Mere, Crash landed on Earth, First Astronaut of species, Nitrogen is toxic, Killed ARGENT Scientist(s);

Mere - Home: ???; Species: ???; Power: Biologic Radiation (Crowd Control); Origin: Alien; Appearance: Small, Purple, Pointed Ears, 3 Fingered, 2 Toed, Solid Green Eyes, Green Tendril Hair; Real Name: Mere Rael; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ARGENT; Other: Monogendered species, Married to Gamma, Second Astronaut of species, Nitrogen is toxic, Went to find Gamma;

Shion - Home: Earth?; Species: Lycan (Alien?); Power: Lycanthrope; Weapon: Martial Arts; Origin: ???; Appearance: Teen (19), Human, Wolf Transformation (Light brown fur); Real Name: Mae Shion; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other: Believes she is human (Delusional, ignores proven facts), Wolf Pack, Talks with Wolves;

Shatter Point - Home: Earth; Species: Human; Power: Earth & Crystal; Origin: Superpower; Appearance: Small Adult (20), Human; Real Name: ???; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other: can create short lived gemstones from trace elements;

Cold Snap - Home: Earth; Species: Human; Power: Thermal Control (Ice & Fire); Origin: Mutation; Appearance: Teen (16), Human; Real Name:Katie Summerfield; Personality: Comic Book Fanatic; Nemesis: ???; Other: Not in full control of her power (uses power gloves to help), Grew up in a bubble room;

Sayori - Home: Earth; Species: Human; Power: Weather Manipulation; Origin: Superpower; Appearance: Small Teen (15), Human, Blind; Real Name: Kanomae Sayori; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other: Schoolgirl;

Pandy - Home: Earth; Species: Human; Power: Imagination; Origin: Psionic, Superpower; Appearance: Child (12), Human; Real Name: Pandora Elpis; Personality: Withdrawn, Overactive Imagination; Nemesis: Night Terror (Entity created by her own power gone wild); Other: Obsessed with Panda's, maintains a constant protective force field around herself subconsciously, must actively concentrate on manifestations to maintain them (exception: Shield & Night Terror);

Vector - Home: Earth; Species: Human; Power: Telekinesis; Origin: Psionic, Superpower; Appearance: Petite Teen (16), Human; Real Name: ???; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other: Orphan, Grew up in Westside, Parents encouraged development of her powers, parents were murdered while she was at school (age 12), Ran away from orphanage (age 14), refuses to go back, cannot levitate herself (she can levitate an object she is holding/wearing such as a cape, but it takes all of her focus to do so);

Synaptic - Home: Earth; Species: Human (Cyborg); Power: Technopathy; Weapon: Power Armor Munitions; Origin: Psionic, Superpower, ARGENT; Appearance: Teen (looks:19, actually: 23) Cybernetic body (90%+); Real Name: Alison Keen; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ARGENT; Other: Abducted at 19;

Valiant - Home: Earth; Species: Human; Weapon: Laser Sword; Origin: Technology; Appearance: Small, Human; Real Name: ???; Personality: SciFi Fanatic; Nemesis: ???; Other: Hacker;

Medic - Home: Earth; Species: Human; Power: Nanite Suit; Weapon: Energy Rifle; Origin: Technology; Appearance: Petite, Human; Real Name: ???; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other:

Gauntlet - Home: Earth?; Species: Catgirl; Weapon: Power Gauntlets; Origin: Found Technology; Appearance: Small, Human-like, Cat Ears, Cat Tail; Real Name: ???; Personality: Mischievous?; Nemesis: Gauntlet?, Defender?; Other: Likes to "borrow" and re-purpose stuff;

CORTEX - Home: Human; Species: A.I.; Power: Nanites, Force Fields; Weapon: Electrical Discharge; Origin: Technology; Appearance: Holographic Projection; Personality: Curious; Nemesis: ???; Other: Advanced A.I. system, Simulates Human Emotion, Abandoned military project (too expensive to mass produce), CORTEX is an acronym (need suggestions)?;

Rose Blackstone - Home: Earth; Species: Human; Power: Prototype Power Armor Defense; Weapon: Gatling Pistol; Origin: Military, Technology; Appearance: Adult (23), Human; Real Name: Rosalyn Blackstone; Personality: Militant & Rebellious; Nemesis: VIPER, General Blackstone; Other: Father went missing on infiltration assignment, stole prototype, Mother is military scientist, Father found brainwashed by VIPER, Shoulder injury from encounter (toxic bullet);

Valkyri - Home: Earth; Species: Human; Weapon: Bow; Origin: Technology; Appearance: Adult (20), Human; Real Name: Valerie Taylor; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other: Wealthy family, Heiress, Parents died in Qulaar attack;

Novawing - Home: Earth; Species: Human; Weapon: Throwing Blades; Origin: Technology; Appearance: Adult (20), Human; Real Name: ???; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other:

Freedom Girl - Home: Earth; Species: Human; Power: NONE; Weapon: Martial Arts; Origin: Stubbornness; Appearance: Teen (17), Human; Real Name: Kayla Belle; Personality: Stubborn, Free-spirited, Obsessed; Nemesis: ???; Other: Dreams of having superpowers, bought an armored nanoweave suit;

Arcana - Home: Earth?; Species: ???; Power: Telepathy; Origin: Psionic, Ex-PSI; Appearance: Average, Pointed Ears, Human-like, Psionic Scar (Right Eye); Real Name: ???; Personality: ???; Nemesis: PSI, Psion; Other: Her damaged right eye constantly sees into the minds of those in her line of sight giving her a glimps of what they might do next;

Myriad - Home: Earth?; Species: ???; Power: Light, Regeneration; Weapon: Hardlight Blades; Origin: Superpower?; Appearance: Average, Pointed Ears, Human-like; Real Name: ???; Personality: ; Nemesis: ???; Other: ;

Pulse - Home: Earth?; Species: Catgirl; Power: Vibration; Origin: Superpower; Appearance: Small, Human-like, Cat Ears, Cat Tail; Real Name: ???; Personality: Vigilante; Nemesis: ???; Other: Disguises her ears and tail with her suit;

Nekomi - Home: Earth?; Species: Catgirl; Power: Super Strength; Weapon: Fists; Origin: Superpower; Appearance: Petite, Cate Ears, Cat Tail, Cat Paws (hands & feet); Real Name: ???; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other:

Shift - Home: 6th Dimension; Species: Unknown; Power: Multidimensional; Weapon: Multidimensional Fists; Origin: 6th Dimension; Appearance: Enigma; Real Name: Unknown; Personality: ???; Nemesis: ???; Other:

Kyrin - Home: Earth Species: Lizard; Power: Natural Poison; Weapon: Claws & Fangs; Origin: Mutation?; Appearance: Small, Green, Humanoid Lizard, Broad Tail, Claws; Real Name: Kyrin; Personality: ???; Nemesis: Sir Reginald Bonclay (Hunter); Other: Attempts to disguise herself as a human by wearing human clothes and a wig, She thinks it's a foolproof disguise;

bulgarex

Very impressive roster. Just a few thoughts for now, I'll be able to flesh them out when I have more time:

The way you describe your catgirl "species" tends to make them sound as though they're their own separate thing, otherwise not psychologically or socially different from regular people. As I indicated earlier, while you can certainly have catgirls on Champions Earth, they aren't a terrestrial species as such, and not integrated into society. Would you like to know more about various established places they could come from? Or would you like to invent a common society for all of them? (And I can suggest ways to do that.)

Yuki could actually be a Dark Elf. In the Champions Universe they're an unaging, magic-wielding race who have their own underground domains in the dimension of Faerie. One of their kind, named Vilsimbra, is a member of the supervillain team, the Devil's Advocates. They look for activities to relieve the boredom of their immortal existence, including sometimes meddling in mortal lives. Sylfere could also come from Faerie -- many mythical draconic beings hail from there.

But she could also be an alien, exoplanetary or exodimensional. The subject of aliens generally is one I'd like to discuss at a bit more length, but it's a little late for me right now.

raighn

It couldn't hurt to hear about the differnt established places that my catgirls could be from. And you're interpretation is pretty accurate, they are a separate species, though psychologically and socially similar to regular humans. They would have a few very minor psychological and sociatal quirks that differ from humans, but they are VERY MINOR to the point of being inconcequential. If the already established places for them don't fit to well for me then we can discuss inventing a society for them.

Ok, wasn't sure if I'd need to change anything from what little I've already established for Yuki. I'll update that outline to reflect what you've provided.

It seems like I have a lot of heroes comming from Faerie at this point.


Eventually I need to get around to buying a rename token for Arcana... Not sure what I want to rename her to though... She was originally a Sorcery hero, but somewhere along the lines I switched her to Telepathy and her name just never felt right since then...

bulgarex

What the hell! My last detailed post to this thread was wiped out!

Assuming Arc doesn't restore it, I'll need time to recompose it. Sorry, Raighn.

raighn

take your time

bulgarex

Okay, let's try this again. This time I'm saving a copy in case Arc continues to screw the pooch. >:)

I don't think Arcana necessarily needs a name change. While the word "arcanum" does have mystical implications -- medieval alchemists used it to refer to the great secrets of nature they were trying to uncover -- it literally means something hidden or secret. "Arcane" is a legitimate English adjective to that effect. Given Arcana's history and powers, that seems like an appropriate code-name choice for her.

Since you designate Arcana as an alien, I'd be interested to know how you imagine her arriving on Earth, and how she came to work for PSI. I also wonder if the image of her you posted is her true appearance, or the illusion she projects. There are several Champions Universe alien races among whom psionic powers are common, and one of them looks very much like that picture of Arcane; but ethically they're not normally the sort to get involved with the likes of PSI.

That leads me to the subject of CU aliens generally. As I mentioned before, the Champions Milky Way has many official sapient species, quite a few humanoid, others very much not. Some have innate "superpowers," others are little different from humans in their normal capacities; but most can develop superpowers in the ways humans can. None of those species are a precise match for the aliens for which you've provided detailed backgrounds, like Gamma and Mere. But the Milky Way is a big galaxy, with plenty of room for additional races, particularly if they're not prominent members of the interstellar community. Moreover, the even-bigger Andromeda galaxy contains many civilizations, only a few of which have even been mentioned in Champions publications. At least some parties in Andromeda have access to "gate" technology which can transport beings across intergalactic distances, although it's difficult to use. Two sapients from Andromeda are currently on Earth and interacting with superhumans.

Aliens who don't normally have the capacity for interstellar travel could arrive on Earth by accident, as did Mere and Gamma; or through one of the FTL-capable civilizations, as stowaways, by stealing a starship, or being kidnapped for slavery or experimentation, and then escaping near Earth. Of the candidates for that last, the likeliest are the Malvans, the most technologically advanced yet socially decadent civilization in the galaxy. Malvans spend their nearly-immortal lives looking for diversion and entertainment, but their favorite spectator sport is gladiatorial combat. While some gladiators participate willingly for the rewards, the Malvans have a habit of abducting beings for their games. They often enhance them to make them more powerful and entertaining fighters; Malvan technology can reshape living tissue as they desire, and can induce almost any super power imaginable in any organism. The Malvans maintain an arena on Earth's Moon, the "Forum Malvanum," to take advantage of the many Terrestrial superhumans. It would make a good location for an alien to be shanghaid to, perhaps enhanced, and then escape from.

"Alien" can also refer to creatures who are exodimensional, not just exoplanetary. I previously pointed out that the Champions setting contains a vast array of other universes than just the one Champs Earth occupies. Some are "alternate Earths" differing from Champs Earth in minor or profound ways. Others have their own unique histories, environments, physical laws, and inhabitants. Only a few of these have been defined to date, so any sapient organisms you can imagine can come from them. Several official supers on Champions Earth hail from other dimensions, having arrived via technological or magical means. A few are even "dimensional conquerors," invading other universes to add them to their empires. The most successful of these is Istvatha V'han, the so-called "Empress of a Billion Dimensions." She's already made a few attempts to conquer Earth, which have so far been blunted by superhumans. That success might make Earth a desirable destination for people trying to escape V'han's tyranny.

That's all I have time to transcribe right now. I hope I haven't bored you or wandered too far from where you want to go. I would be happy to offer more particulars on any of the above. Assuming you're finding this useful, later I'll discuss some of your other character concepts, including the "catgirl" issue.

raighn

bulgarex said:

Since you designate Arcana as an alien, I'd be interested to know how you imagine her arriving on Earth, and how she came to work for PSI. I also wonder if the image of her you posted is her true appearance, or the illusion she projects. There are several Champions Universe alien races among whom psionic powers are common, and one of them looks very much like that picture of Arcane; but ethically they're not normally the sort to get involved with the likes of PSI.

That sounds promising... would like to know more.

bulgarex

I'm guessing you'd like to know more about the psionic race that looks like Arcana, rather than all of them; so I'll respond on that basis. If you had something else in mind, please specify.

The Mandaarians are one of the most advanced civilizations in the Milky Way, both scientifically and socially. With their survival needs mostly dealt with by machines, Mandaarian activities center around creativity, study, and exploration. As a society they don't interfere with other civilizations unless circumstances give them no choice, but they love to go to new places, learn new things, and meet new people. They've publicly and peacefully visited Earth on four occasions in the past, to explore and exchange cultural information (but not technology). No one on Earth is aware that Mandaarians also study Earth covertly. There's no malevolent intent behind this, merely scientific rigor in not wishing to influence the behavior of their subjects. But they're aware that Humans might not take kindly to aliens secretly among them.

Almost all Mandaarians have basic telepathic abilities, and a large fraction of them have much stronger psionic powers. They can manifest random super powers in the same ways humans can, although not as frequently. Their science is advanced enough to also induce super powers in themselves if desired.

Despite their Utopian society, antisocial behaviors, even mental illness, are not completely unknown among them.

Mandaarians look very much like Humans, with the same range of skin and hair color, but with eyes usually gold or silver. Their eyes have slit pupils, and their ears are slightly pointed. They're shorter and slimmer than Humans on average.

raighn

Mandaarian sounds like a very very plausable race for Arcana... a side from eye color & shape she pretty much fits that description for their apperance. And their social behavior really doesn't seem like to much of a stretch for her... Her being a bit of a social outlier from their sociatal norm could have lead to her association with PSI. And it might better explain why she would have attempted to disguise herself as a human despite looking extremely similar to them already... She may have infiltrated PSI to study human psionics up close rather than at a distance as seems to be par for the norm... This also seems to open up a more plausable reason for why PSI performed tests on her leading up to the incident... Kind of a "You studied us, now we're going to study you" mentality from some within the organization. It's not like PSI doesn't already perform intense (and pottentially life threatening) studies on various psionicly gifted individuals as is...

Also to answer your earlier question: Yes, that is her actual apperance, she abandoned her personal illusionary disguise after being found out. Though that doesn't mean she doesn't use personal illusions from time to time still.


Not sure if I want Myriad to be of the same race though if the race possesses a natural ability for telepathy... I suppose she could be one of the seemingly rare few who are innept at telepathy and either developed a natural super power for light manipulation or self induced... As I said appreance wise they seem to be the same race... so I'll keep Mandaarian open as a possibility for her too... but it certainly does seem very fitting for Arcana...

bulgarex

The rate of natural psionic ability for Mandaarians is around 90%. About 40% of them develop significant additional power. Since that 10% would be at a social disadvantage, I always assumed any Mandaarian who lacked telepathy and wanted it could have it induced by their science.

But Myriad could be a Mandaarian/Human hybrid, sired by one of those secret explorers who strayed from scientific objectivity. Happens all the time in pop-culture sci-fi. That raises a number of possibilities for interesting back-story and role-playing.

raighn

I think I like that idea... a lot...

EDIT: A bit of a late addition to my roster... Little Ay Kya, another alien... She's meant to be a bit of an explorer... It's unknown as to if her race has ever had any official contact with earth or not (atleast to her knowledge anyway)... as far as she's concerned Earth is "Sol 3" and humans are "strange tailless pink lifeforms". She uses a high tech pistol as her weapon, and shortly after landing on earth someone stole her ship.


It's not shown in the image, but she does have a short lizard-like tail.

Conceptually she's a bit of an "accidental hero" performing heroics as a result of trying to find who stole her ship... frequently accusing random villains of being the culprit.

bulgarex

I'd like to quickly address Ay Kya before plunging into the long-delayed catgirl topic, and other issues, because I had an idea for her. One official race, called the Esagites, is described only as "green-skinned humanoids with some ichthyoid features" (Champions Beyond p. 268), which I believe fits her well enough. It's their background that holds the most role-playing potential IMHO. The Esagite home world, Lregh, was once wracked by clandestine war between city-states, until the reformer, Lord Esagai, persuaded them to renounce killing and destruction in favor of peaceful prosperity. Lord Esagai is today so revered, the planet's inhabitants adopted his name.

Although they scorn conflict, the Esagites aren't pacifists. They realize other peoples don't share their ideals, so they prepare for war while trying to avoid it. Rather than maintain a large standing army, Lregh relies on a tradition retained since the era of war: a small elite force of ta'hrevk, exceptionally trained assassin-saboteurs.

The Esagites have not had any official contact with Earth, or any contact at all to date, as far as has been revealed.

raighn

bulgarex said:

I'd like to quickly address Ay Kya before plunging into the long-delayed catgirl topic, and other issues, because I had an idea for her. One official race, called the Esagites, is described only as "green-skinned humanoids with some ichthyoid features" (Champions Beyond p. 268), which I believe fits her well enough. It's their background that holds the most role-playing potential IMHO. The Esagite home world, Lregh, was once wracked by clandestine war between city-states, until the reformer, Lord Esagai, persuaded them to renounce killing and destruction in favor of peaceful prosperity. Lord Esagai is today so revered, the planet's inhabitants adopted his name.

Although they scorn conflict, the Esagites aren't pacifists. They realize other peoples don't share their ideals, so they prepare for war while trying to avoid it. Rather than maintain a large standing army, Lregh relies on a tradition retained since the era of war: a small elite force of ta'hrevk, exceptionally trained assassin-saboteurs.

The Esagites have not had any official contact with Earth, or any contact at all to date, as far as has been revealed.

That's pretty convenient. So... a lone Esagite? (Esagai?) explorer might possibly happen upon earth, and have no idea what the "strange pink lifeforms" on the planet are... While I don't see Ay Kya as being a trained assassin-saboteur, it's probably not unreasonable to presume that she could have some mediocre combat training for self defense... and even in a predominately utopian society there's always potential for social abnormalities that slip through the cracks of society...

How I see her is basically she's extremely curious and wants more than anything to just explore the stars and see what the universe holds. The information you provided seems to allude that they know of other races in the universe, even if they haven't made any sort of official contact.

bulgarex

raighn said:

How I see her is basically she's extremely curious and wants more than anything to just explore the stars and see what the universe holds. The information you provided seems to allude that they know of other races in the universe, even if they haven't made any sort of official contact.

The source material doesn't state that explicitly, but I agree that it's strongly implied. Lregh is proximate to several other star-faring species, including one prone to well-meaning meddling, so it would be surprising if the Esagites hadn't already been contacted. BTW none of those species has reached Earth yet (officially).

My purpose in mentioning the ta'hrevk training was merely to justify Ay Kya being physically competitive with Earth superhumans in CO, and having a variety of skills useful for adventuring. I don't think that background precludes any of the other qualities you mentioned. But of course it's your character, so what works for you is what you should go with.

Off to bed for me, to dream of catgirls. Catch you later.

bulgarex

All right then, Raighn. As I hoped to illustrate in my alien discussion, there's plenty of room in the CU "multiverse" for you to create whatever type of catgirl society would suit your purpose, particularly if you want all of them to have the same social background. That said, there are a number of possible official sources for "felinoids," and perhaps one of them might suit your purpose for a particular character.

Since you indicated wanting little difference in basic attitudes from most of modern Earth society, the easiest route would be good ol' genetic mutation of human stock, from birth, an "origin" event inducing mutation, or someone deliberately engineering a catgirl. The CU has plenty of examples of random mutants with all manner of appearances and powers, and aside from whatever trauma that difference in them might cause, they otherwise have the normal range of attitudes and motivations for contemporary people.

There are also master geneticists who can or already have created super-powered catgirls, notably the Overbrain, leader of the supervillain group, the Brain Trust. His minion Lynx was a fan of anime and actually sought scientists who could transform her into a catgirl. The Overbrain always programs loyalty to himself into his experimental subjects, but it's possible that treatment might not take in a particular subject. However, the most accomplished geneticist on Earth, offering the widest range of character backgrounds, is Teleios. If you haven't seen my forum thread, http://forum.arcgames.com/championsonline/discussion/247636/champions-universe-unique-character-origins/p1] , Teleios's entry in the first post on the thread explains how he works.

If you've been to Monster Island in CO, you probably encountered the manimals, various species of animal mutated to humanoid form and sapience by the infamous Dr. Moreau. Some have escaped his control and started their own settlement on the island. However, if you don't want to deal with the complications that come with that location, Moreau's first experimental facility was established in the 1980s, in the Ukraine near the Carpathian Mountains. After Moreau's creations overthrew his tyranny with the help of superheroes, they established their own village, which they call Gornyj Zver ("Beast Mountain"), hidden from the world at large, although good friends with the nearby human village of Bohdanselo. Younger manimals there have grown up without the trauma of Moreau's experiments, and a few of the more adventurous ones have left Beast Mountain to make their way in the world, and integrated into society, including a feline female who's become a singing star in Japan. Recent political turmoil in the Ukraine might also have had an impact on their community.

Moving off-planet, there are a couple of feline-descended species in the Milky Way described in the source books. The planet Fexao is home to the Fex: fur-covered, with four fingers and toes, keen senses, and retractable claws. Their faces are usually portrayed as more cat-like muzzles than your characters, but I can't see anyone objecting to a little artistic license. A Fex is usually scrupulously honest and polite, and always tries to stay calm -- probably an outgrowth of having natural weapons that could cause serious harm in a fight. They excel in philosophy, law, and art, but don't devote much energy to the sciences; Fexao is currently pre-industrial. Fex can have super-powers, commonly enhanced physical abilities like strength or speed.

The Kadathari, of the planet Kdathar, are descended from pack felines. Their society and physical appearance are less defined than the Fex, and very unlikely to be officially expanded upon in the foreseeable future, so more open to interpretation. What is mentioned is that Kdathar's technology is roughly the equivalent of Earth's in the fourteenth century, but advancing rapidly due to the Kadathari's propensity for working in teams, sharing information, and taking risks for progress or discovery.

Plainly, neither of these species would be capable of traveling to Earth on their own. In my earlier aliens discussion I suggested means by which they could get here, and I have a few other thoughts along those lines if you'd be interested.

For something a little more left-field, tens of thousands of years ago, during the same age that spawned Takofanes the Archlich, Earth was home to a wide variety of non-human races, including the cat-men called the Pakasa. They were fur-covered, tailed and clawed, swift and with keen senses. They included two sub-species, the Simburu (more lion-like, taller and stronger), and the Dumawe (cheetah-like, leaner and faster). Pakasa villages always had a strong sense of community responsibility, sharing work and child-rearing, defending the settlement, making sure everyone has the necessities of life. In this era technology was relatively primitive, but magic was strong and sophisticated. A Paka (the singular term) ending up in the modern era through a spell of time-travel or suspended animation would not be a stretch.

That's probably enough for you to digest for the moment. Let me know if you'd like to know more about any of the preceding. I'll look over your other characters again and see if I can offer anything else.

raighn

Ok... so going down the list...

Genetic Mutaion - Gauntlet would actually be a highly likely candidate for this origin... Either through self-induced mutation or seeking out assistance from an accomplished scientist... conceptually she's supposed to be highly intelligent, though she's more prone to modifying other peoples work than to do it all on her own... she's like a lazy genius... so a possibility with her could be that she "acquired" the research materials and possibly an incomplete sample syrum from an accomplished scientist (possibly Overmind even... she kinda seems like the type who would have made enemies everywhere due to her habits)

Fex - the "more cat-like muzzle" aspect of them isn't a huge problem for Nekomi... she's supposed to be the most catlike of all of them, and if/when I get around to drawing my characters I had intended to give her some more prominent feline features that I'm not capable of giving her with the options in the tailor... so she could very easily be a Fex, and from your earlier suggestion, she might have been taken by the Malvan's and forced to fight for them... Escape? Set Free? Rescued? Any of those options would work for her...

And I guess that just leaves Pulse... Neither the Fex nor the Kadathari seem like a good fit for her... She's got predominently human features, and being an ex-slave of the Malvan's (or any other race) just doesn't really fit to me for her... The Pakasa (and sub-species) based on their description seem to be closer fits for Nekomi, again, than they would be for Pulse... I suppose Pulse could be another result of genetic mutation... or a whole new species all together...

bulgarex

How about this: Pulse comes from an alternate Earth where the dominant sapient species evolved from felines rather than simians, but is otherwise very similar to humanity. She's a natural superhuman mutant with vibration powers. As a result of experimenting with her powers, or an unintended interaction with some other force or being, Pulse's internal vibrations accidentally achieved harmony with the natural "frequency" of Champions Earth, causing her to shift bodily into its universe.

I mean, that's worked for generations of Flashes.

raighn

bulgarex said:

How about this: Pulse comes from an alternate Earth where the dominant sapient species evolved from felines rather than simians, but is otherwise very similar to humanity. She's a natural superhuman mutant with vibration powers. As a result of experimenting with her powers, or an unintended interaction with some other force or being, Pulse's internal vibrations accidentally achieved harmony with the natural "frequency" of Champions Earth, causing her to shift bodily into its universe.

I mean, that's worked for generations of Flashes.

*cracks up laughing* I love it... I shall dub this alternate earth, Earth 48... unless that's taken already in lore at which point the joke is lost... (I honestly don't expect anyone to figure out the joke, and if they do they have too much free time)...

I just spent an hour or so looking up various etymologies (human, cat, sapien, simian) to try and determine what humans might have been called had they evolved from felines... and the result of my searching appears to be "human"... after tracing back the origins of the words "human", "cat", and "simian"; I'm left with no other conclusion than to say that an alternate earth where the dominate race evolved from felines, presuming that all other variables remain the same and the only difference is the originating species, would still be populated with "humans"...

bulgarex

The science-fiction author, Ted White, wrote a series of novels around "Sector General Hospital," a gigantic space-based medical facility serving a wide array of radically different sapient species. Rather than utilizing species names for themselves when translating their diverse languages and communication methods, for maximum efficiency in emergencies the station adopted a species classification code based around objective standards of anatomy and biology, because as the novels repeatedly mention, every sapient names itself with a word that translates as "human."

And AFAIK no specific Champions world is referred to as "Earth 48." (I don't get the joke either, sue me. ) The only classification system I've read is used by Istvatha V'han's imperial bureaucracy, which lists dimensions in the order they were discovered/conquered. By that system Champions Earth is Earth-1346.

bulgarex

I wanted to add a note about getting non-starfaring aliens to Earth. Several official species who are FTL-capable besides the Malvans might have reasons to abduct a member of a new species they discover, and travel with it through space until the abductee manages to escape or commandeer the ship, eventually landing on Earth. For example, the Qularr are master biologists interested in enhancing their own genome with beneficial traits from other species. Exploiting Earth's superhuman genetic potential was the reason they first attacked the planet. And they make regular trips to Earth now that they have an ongoing presence there again.

Fexao, Kdathar, and Earth are all (relatively) close to a very aggressive, expansionistic race that Mankind will one day name the Xenovores. Yes, that translates as "alien-eaters," and the name is fully justified. Xenovores derive great emotional and physical satisfaction from consuming the flesh of intelligent beings. Xenovore explorers stumbling across a world would likely capture some of its inhabitants to study and interrogate, and taste.

In the past I've used the Zurites for this purpose. They're an ancient, technologically advanced race who live as scattered wanderers through space, acting as explorers, diplomats, traders, mercenaries, or scientists as their preferences dictate. A Zurite might take some members of another species for scientific study, like the stories of UFO abductees.

bulgarex

I also wanted to address your reptilian hero, Kyrin. Since you specify she's from Earth, I'll confine myself for the time being to terrestrial origins (although there are several extraterrestrial/dimensional reptilian races in the lore). Aside from the abovementioned manimals, and frequent attempts by VIPER to create snake-themed superhumans to serve them, I can think of a couple other origins which might interest you.

You may be familiar with the Lemurians in CO, and the civil war they're currently experiencing. Their natural form was reptilian, but they had the innate ability to shape-shift to any humanoid form. But a magical accident in the ancient past trapped the entire race in human shape, until a recent event restored some of them to their original state (and is the source of the factions in the civil war). Even while stuck in human appearance, though, occasionally a Lemurian "throwback" was born, with reptilian physiology, and potentially other random super powers. Their society used to cherish throwbacks for their special powers, but when Arvad (who isn't Lemurian) became their king, he considered throwbacks disgusting and ordered them killed at birth. One of their kind, a superhumanly strong amphibian who now calls himself Leviathan, fled Lemuria to escape that fate and has long acted as a mercenary supervillain. But its likely other Lemurians have hidden throwback children from Arvad and raised them in secret.

Then there's the possibility of a legacy hero. From their origin in 1959 to their final breakup in 1979, the Fabulous Five were one of the most prominent superhero teams in the world. (Yes, they were more or less what they sound like.) Their membership changed somewhat over the years, and during the last few included a couple of young mutants, Scott Gilbert and his younger sister Allison. Allison, known as Dart, could generate "darts" of bioelectricity, while Scott changed with the onset of puberty from a normal human-looking boy into a scaled reptilian with a venomous bite, who took the code-name Draco. After the F5 retired Draco got a security job with Pharos Industries, with which he's still associated. Allison Gilbert got a university history degree and became a high-school teacher, eventually marrying a real-estate agent and having three children, none of whom had manifested super-powers (at least, as per the last word written about her).

raighn

Not to keen on the Lemurian option... I mean she does have some mild shapeshifting ability (adaptive survival, like the ability to grow gills and fins to survive underwater, or change the color and composition of her scales to better survive in extreme temperatures)... Personally I've been leaning towards either a random or induced mutation in an actual lizard as her origin... The scope of her "powers" is really just heightened intelligence (relatively speaking) and adaptive shapeshifting... beyond that everything she does is either natural or a result of her adaptive shapeshifting (like her poison)... She can use her adaptive shapeshifting to secrete a natural toxin similarly to some treefrogs, or invenom her bite like a snake... basically if it's an ability natural to any species of reptile or amphibian, she can replicate it...

bulgarex

Hmm... that sounds like something Teleios would come up with. He tinkers with the DNA of more than just human organisms, mixing and modifying as the "inspiration" strikes him, e.g. the piranhagators he uses to guard his Central American lab; or combining pterosaur and tyrannosaur genes, with added fire-breathing, to create his flying Monstersaurus; or his Chameleon Claw assassins, mingling human, cat, and octopus DNA. What you describe is unquestionably within the Perfect Man's capabilities.

raighn

I have no problems with Teleios being behind Kyrin's creation in any way... given her "low intelligence" by human standards and that the experiment did increased her intelligence, she might have been seen as a failed experiment... or possibly an accidental creation as a result of an ordinary lizard being exposed to a serum of his without his knowledge or something...

jonsills

The transuniverse thing worked great for Pursues-the-Unseen, a magic-based toon of mine whose appearance mostly uses the "wolf" parts. In his home timeline, Canis sapiens is the dominant life-form; many of them are highly skilled in the working of magic. Pursues was studying the technique of exploring other timelines, "walking the Web of the Worlds," when the Web was disrupted by Harmon Industries' experimental teleport device (as laid forth in the beginning of "Resistance"). Now he's stuck in Champs Earth, trying to figure out how to get home, and meanwhile doing all the good he can.

As for "human", amusingly enough this morning I was rereading Hospital Station, the first novel/collection in the Sector General series; the particular example used in the part I read today involved a visitor of physiological classification SRTT (amoeboid shapeshifter, able to survive in almost any environment - which became terrified when met at the airlock by most of the off-shift medical staff in the hospital, escaped into the chlorine wards of the PVSJ Illensans, and proceeded to elude pursuit through several other wards of varying ecologies). The Nidian receptionist got to deliver the lecture about all species regarding themselves as human and others as nonhuman.

(Another favorite is from the novel Star Surgeon, where most of the hospital has been evacuated due to the outbreak of a war; Dr. Prilicla, a GLNO Cinrusskin low-gravity insectoid, has declined to depart. Dr. Conway tries to persuade it and a few other non-DBDG doctors to leave, pointing out that "all the juicy e-t cases" have left; Prilicla reminds him that "to some of us, Earth-humans are juicy e-ts.")

raighn

Ok.... just running through my list to see who all we've touched on for ideas...

Serien, Blastwave, Sylfere, Nyx, Shift, & Nightbug - extradimensional visitors, mostly from Faerie...

Synaptic - Technopath, abducted by Argent

Crescent , Mystyx, & Yuki - more-or-less unchanged, just a little better rooted in lore

Gauntlet - self-induced mutation... has made a few powerful enemies...

Nekomi - Fex, abducted by another spacefaring race (most likely the Malvan's)

Ay Kya - Esagite... stranded on earth due to someone stealing her ship...

Arcana & Myriad - Mandaarian's (half-human for Myriad)...

Shion - Undocumented Alien raised by humans... (probably not to important to establish an actual race for her given her complete denial of the fact that she's not human)

Kyrin - Teleios experiement of some kind

Pulse - Alternate Earth... brought into our world unwillingly by her own power...
...

I guess that leaves... for non-humans:

Gamma & Mere - mostly need help establishing a name for their race & home world, and figuring out what organization Gamma was found by... I originally had her bio say it was ARGENT, but I'm not really sure if they would be a proper fit for that...

ProtoNova - pretty much the same thing... establishing a race name & a home... and giving her a reason to engage in heroics on earth..

CORTEX - Exactly which military organization developed her... defining what CORTEX might stand for.

For humans:

Vector - Minor details really... what the orphanage the was sent to might have been called... what the school she attended might have been called...

Cold Snap - Minor details...

Freedom Girl - Name of school?

Sayori - Name of school?

Valiant, Valkyri, Rose, Pandy, Shatter Point, & Novawing - anything at all...

Medic - Likely intertwined origin with CORTEX

And a few of the ones already touched on could use some suggestions as to what brings them to earth...

bulgarex

As to that last point, if we're talking about denizens of the Imaginal Realms, I can readily think of three reasons why they might come to Earth.

Adventure. Champions Earth today is full of exciting challenges unlike anything you can find in its associated dimensions: mutants and mutates, super-scientists, sapient machines, aliens. Some of these seek to harm innocent humans, or even conquer or destroy the whole world (which would probably badly affect the Imaginal Realms).

Mischief. Immortal magical beings have always meddled in the affairs of hapless mortals to relieve their boredom. For demons of various faiths, making humans suffer is their whole raison d'etre. More than one demon tired of tormenting damned souls has relocated to Champions Earth for the satisfaction of plaguing the living.

Refuge. Faerie and the Netherworld, in particular, have a lot of powerful, easily-offended inhabitants; you may not even have had to do much to tick them off. If you've gotten on the bad side of one of them, it would make sense to hide on a world where, thanks to the Ban, the strongest of them can't easily follow.

bulgarex

I had some more thoughts about Gamma, Mere, and Protonova.

The home world of Gamma and Mere could exist somewhere within the galactic core. The density of stars, and presence of objects like black holes, in the core makes it too radioactive for most forms of life, but a species which naturally absorbs and projects radiation would be logical to have evolved there. One official race that lives deep within the core, the Korundar, is a massive crystalline silicon-based species whose bodies are naturally mildly radioactive. (See also below.)

In comic-book tradition the planet could have a slightly pun-ish name, such as "Radd" (the "rad" being a unit of absorbed radiation). The inhabitants would then be "Raddii," singular "Raddius."

Which organization originally found Gamma depends on whether you want them to be villainous, hence a potential ongoing threat; or benevolent, initially conflicting with Gamma through misunderstanding, ultimately resolving that and helping her. I can think of possibilities for either.

Protonova's species likely evolved in space itself, given her physical make-up; probably within a nebula. This is not unprecedented in official lore. The Az'arc'a are beings made up of energy native to the radiation belt around a gas-giant planet, also within the galactic core. While they can survive and travel freely through the vacuum of space, they suffer harm within a gravity well as strong as a planet's. However, there have been examples of them using technology (not of their own devising) to function on a planet's surface, such as a robotic housing or sophisticated force-fields. Any Az'arc'a given that capacity would be eager to explore worlds they normally could not.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume similar restrictions, and hence similar motivations, for Protonova and her kind. Given their physical forms they're unlikely to have developed the technology to build a robot vessel such as you describe; they would need help. For that I would nominate an official insectoid race called the Se'ecra. An advanced starfaring species (not at the level of the Malvans or Mandaarians, but still above the galactic average), the Se'ecra are known as well-meaning meddlers in the affairs of other races, e.g. "uplifting" species with gifts of scientific knowledge, or even assisting in the overthrow of oppressive regimes. They haven't yet encountered Earth (officially).

As to a name for Protonova's race, I find it significant that her own name is obviously an English invention reflecting her form and powers. Since you specify her kind don't naturally use sounds to communicate, other races would have come up with their own name for them. If you accept the background for Protonova I described above, my suggestion would be something that translates into English as, "Nebuloid."

bulgarex

Here are some suggestions regarding CORTEX (not including an acronym yet, sorry), and Medic, since you suggest they're linked.

The only national military on Champions Earth that could field anything this sophisticated is that of the United States. A few independent groups might have the capacity as well. But personally, I find the "cost-effectiveness" rationale for why such technology isn't more widespread to be overused and not terribly convincing. Since both characters are based on nanotech, though, I have an alternative proposal.

You might remember my earlier mention of the alien Xenovores. Their technology is more advanced than what's available to present-day humanity (aside from some super-scientists), particularly in the bio-sciences. Much of their manufacturing is done by sophisticated nanites. I propose that the group you want to be behind CORTEX's and Medic's creation discovered an unmanned Xenovore probe of some sort, containing a supply of their bio-nanites. Scientists found them to be highly adaptable to many uses, but weren't able to duplicate them. Xenovore tech fuses organic and inorganic elements, in ways that human scientists can't fully understand. This would leave CORTEX and Medic's equipment as the only legacy of their experiments. It would also allow them to evolve in unexpected ways, as the alien nanites might have functions or programmed behaviors that the scientists couldn't predict.

raighn

Ok... I'm gonna have to go with Nebuloid for Protonova's race... for 1 reason really... that's actually kinda the name I had wrote down in her bio when I wrote it the first time in game before a sudden game crash erased it on me >.<... my second write up I had changed it to Nebulian, but that reminded me too much of the Neburian's from Warcraft... so I replaced that with "unknown race"... seeing you suggest the same name I actually started with kinda just solidifies it... and your suggestions for her background are certainly something I can go with for her.


As for Gamma & Mere, If I go with the traditional pun-ish names... then I think I might go with something a little less obvious... such as planet Irid, and Iridii (Iridim - singular)... I try to put a little bit of intellectual humor into my more pun-ish names... Since Iridium is a radioisotope that emits Gamma radiation, and their bio-radiation is registered as low level gamma radiation, it kinda fits...

I can easily point out one of my hero's whose name is an intellectual pun... Synaptic... Since the Synapses are vital to how the brain functions, a Synaptic Interface would permit mental control of a device, and many computer's use Synaptic software to translate input devices into the proper outputs... Synaptic was basically the perfect name for her and has a bit of a pun to it when you take her whole character concept in with the meaning and usages of the term.

Anyways... Gamma & Mere having been from a core planet would certainly do quite a bit for improving their backstory too... It would make the presence of a nearby wormhole far less random for one thing... and it would also make figuring out how to get home less of a question of "where?" and more of "how?" as I'm sure interstellar travel into the core region of the galaxy would be much more challenging than locating their world... however the question of "where?" would still be present since their race is new to the stars they would be unlikely to know much about their precise location within the galaxy

raighn

hm... that's an interesting Idea... though I guess the link I was thinking about myself was more along the lines of 2 simultaneous projects and 1 of them turning out to be easier & more cost efficient to mass produce leading to the abandonment of the other... But I guess your right... that is a bit cliche and overused...

Medic is a human with a bio-nanite control suit... whereas CORTEX is a complete AI housed within a Nanite control core complete with Holo Projection system... which is kinda where the idea of separate but related projects came from... your new suggestion though certainly doesn't eliminate that potential though... Perhaps they couldn't replicate the nanites to 100% but, they could replicate them to a degree that made the suit Medic uses more viable for reproduction, and the unexpected evolutions you suggest could have lead to making a second CORTEX impossible... The reproductions of medic's suit certainly wouldn't be as effective due to the inferior man-made nanites but they would function well enough to be considered a success...

Pretty much my idea is that Medic is using the original prototype suit, either as a the person who originally tested the suit, or as someone who found it (potentially in the same abandoned military research facility as CORTEX)

I had an idea for CORTEX's nemesis to be a virus program that had infected the facility at some point leading up to her being disabled and the facility abandoned... If I go with the "found suit" origin for Medic then that virus would likely have been believed to have infected the systems in the suit as well leaving to it being abandoned in the facility as well...

bulgarex

raighn said:

Medic is a human with a bio-nanite control suit... whereas CORTEX is a complete AI housed within a Nanite control core complete with Holo Projection system... which is kinda where the idea of separate but related projects came from... your new suggestion though certainly doesn't eliminate that potential though... Perhaps they couldn't replicate the nanites to 100% but, they could replicate them to a degree that made the suit Medic uses more viable for reproduction, and the unexpected evolutions you suggest could have lead to making a second CORTEX impossible... The reproductions of medic's suit certainly wouldn't be as effective due to the inferior man-made nanites but they would function well enough to be considered a success...

Pretty much my idea is that Medic is using the original prototype suit, either as a the person who originally tested the suit, or as someone who found it (potentially in the same abandoned military research facility as CORTEX)

The implication of these statements appears to be that you want other, similar but inferior suits around. If that's the case I would have to ask, who has them, what are they doing with them, and what is their relationship with Medic? Are more nano-suits besides the prototype necessary to her ongoing story?

raighn said:

I had an idea for CORTEX's nemesis to be a virus program that had infected the facility at some point leading up to her being disabled and the facility abandoned... If I go with the "found suit" origin for Medic then that virus would likely have been believed to have infected the systems in the suit as well leaving to it being abandoned in the facility as well...

The lore has a few official possibilities along those lines. There are "super-hackers" such as Cybermind and the Engineer, who could have penetrated the facility's defenses to steal classified secrets. Mechanon actively tries to "liberate" any artificial intelligences from their "slavery" to humans, and recruit them to his genocidal cause (the latter not always successfully). Another villain called Automaton is a disembodied intelligence able to "possess" and control machines. While you might not want to use an official villain as a nemesis, their meddling could have spawned something out of the alien nanites that becomes CORTEX's nemesis.

As for Medic's suit being "found" by her, it seems to me unlikely that a military facility, even if no longer active, housing things as sophisticated and potentially dangerous as this nano-suit and CORTEX, would be so devoid of security that someone could just stumble into it. Perhaps that cybernetic meddling, and the unpredictable nature of the alien nanites, caused the suit to walk out on its own. The suit may have "chosen" Medic to wear it, for reasons even she might not yet understand... but which could lead to complications for her yet to be determined. >:)

And I should also point out that if Medic's suit today resembles its original configuration, if she acts in public its makers are going to see and recognize it, and almost certainly want it back.

raighn

The additional inferior suits are really more of a fluff thing for Medic's backstory... there ar unlikely to have any significant importance in her ongoing story... atleast not at this point... I could probably work with the "chosen" angle... kinda reminds me of Blue Beetle... As for the configuration, I'd have to say it does still resemble its original configuration aside from color and a few extra accessories. The original configuratin would have been steelblue in color, lacking the shoulders, and had a simple flight suit as it's main body... Pretty much the entire Torso section (minus the shoulders) w/gloves on a military flight suit...

If I stick to the "found suit" angle, the flight suit would have been badly damaged, if I got with the "chosen" angle then I don't know... either way the suit has gone under some minor changes from it's original configuration... likley not enough to avoid recognition though...

I'm really liking the "chosen" angle though, since that opens up some interesting ideas... such as a pseudo-symbiotic relationship with a rudimentary AI system created by the nanites (or programmed into them by their creators)... possibly even a partial duplicate of CORTEX's AI system.

Not sure how the suit could have found her though... I could possibly do something thats a bit more middle-ground between both origin's... Her being a minor member of the group that discovered CORTEX, and perhaps when the systems were turned on she was drawn to the suit's location by an unseen force, or perhaps during the fight that originaly brought them to that location she was thrown into the suit and exposed to it's nanites and kept finding herself drawn back to it after the battle concluded.

jonsills

raighn said:

Not sure how the suit could have found her though... I could possibly do something thats a bit more middle-ground between both origin's... Her being a minor member of the group that discovered CORTEX, and perhaps when the systems were turned on she was drawn to the suit's location by an unseen force, or perhaps during the fight that originaly brought them to that location she was thrown into the suit and exposed to it's nanites and kept finding herself drawn back to it after the battle concluded.

Or even something as simple as the suit sampling the group, and finding her the best physiological fit - perhaps she's closest to its current size so it will require minimal refitting, perhaps she's exceptionally healthy and can operate it to peak capacity, perhaps she's chronically ill and the suit wants to get her (and keep her) up to peak human standards...

raighn

Ok... this took a lot longer than I thought it was going to take.... anyways... I've got a couple reworked bio's to go over... I've been experimenting with first person story telling and bio development with my DnD group and have been having a lot of fun with it so I thought I'd see how well it goes for my CO bios...

Name: Gamma Rael
Aliases: N/A
Age: 26
Height: 5'6"
Hair Color: Green
Eye Color: Green
Skin Tone: Turquoise
Gender: Mono-gender (Female)
Race: Iridii
Home World: Irid
Known Powers: Biologic Radiation Projection
Bio:
"The first Iridim in space. A wonderful prospect you'd think. I was thrilled and so was my dearest Mere when she heard the news. It was only to be a short trip no more than one cycle in orbit then back down to the surface. How were we to know my ship would get pulled through a hole in space only moments after leaving the atmosphere. I don't know how much of my transmission if any got back home.
"My arrival on this new world was just as unexpected and sudden as my departure from Irid. My ship was thrown across the galaxy and crashed on the planet 'Earth'. My first encounter with the locals was less than pleasant. I woke up in a lab, sometime after crashing, surrounded by men with sharp objects. I'm still not sure what they were trying to do to me. The one who was closest to me when I woke up is little more than a puddle of goo now. I've since been told that my natural radiation is harmful to most beings on this world, along with many other worlds. It's a bit funny that their word for the type of radiation I produce in their tongue is the same as my name in my own, 'Gamma'.
"My natural instinct after I woke up was to run, I didn't make it very far before falling flat on my face though. *She gestures to her left leg* I should have realize it was gone before I tried to stand up, but I was in too much of a panic to notice I had lost a leg when I crashed.
"Over the last two years that I've been here I've learned much of this language they call 'English'. Though, I still don't fully understand it and it's so strange on the tongue. I've met many beings of different types, some good, some bad. Even got fitted with a new leg that uses my natural radiation as a power source. Though I do wish I didn't have to wear this mask everywhere I go. Why must this planet have so much nitrogen in the air?
"Recently my wife, Mere, arrived in this system. Her arrival was far less catastrophic than my own, though she's lost two years of time in the wormhole that brought her here. She insists that she left to find me only a month after my ship was lost, and that her trip only took a month through the wormhole. Such oddities those wormholes, my trip was only a few seconds, her's was a whole month to her but two years to me. I can only imagine how long it's been since we vanished now back on Irid."

I wanted to express some of Mere's difficulty with English in her bio. Most notably her inability to properly pronounce words containing 'th' among a few others. Her bio is much shorter as a consequence of her story having far less drama to it...

Name: Mere Rael
Aliases: N/A
Age: 24
Height: 4'8"
Hair Color: Green
Eye Color: Green
Skin Tone: Lavender
Gender: Mono-gender (Female)
Race: Iridii
Home World: Irid
Known Powers: Biologic Radiation Projection
Bio:
"Hello, is t'is t'ing on? Oh, it's a'ready 'cording. Uh, Hi... I'm Mere Rael. I came here loo'ing for my wife, Gamma. Li'e her I was t'rown t'rough a worm'ole after 'eaving our home of Irid. I was on a mission to find and recover her. I was cer'ain she wasn't dead, she coul'n't be dead. I spent a mont' lost in that worm'ole before I was spit out here. It was a shock to find my dear Gamma had aged two years in that time. T'ough I can be no happier t'an to just be reunited wit' her again.
"She's been teaching me the tongue of t'is world, I've been told t'at I speak funny t'ough. I don't understand how you human's can make some of t'ese sounds, much less how she's managed to mimic t'em. *she tries her hardest to sound out a 'th' to no avail* I just can't do it.
"We've bot' made a modest life here doing 'Heroics'. *she stumbles over her tongue a bit as she sounds out the word* And we t'ink our home is somewhere in t'e core of t'e galaxy. Not sure how we're going to get back t'ere t'ough. Or what to expect when, if, we make it back. For all we know we coul' have been in t'at worm'ole for over a hundred years. Our home could be not'ing like we remember it."