Wyvern

maatmons

Let's start with some basic shots.









You know, this game makes it pretty hard to to design a costume that goes between the legs and over the shoulders, but leaves the side bare. I think it turned out pretty well though.

maatmons

Now for some action shots!





Here she is, facing off with… Purple Gang Mook #317, I guess. Look, they can't all be epic showdowns.





These guys don't know it, but they're in for a world of hurt.





So is this jogger.





That'll teach him to walk on a public sidewalk.





Fine, back to beating up criminals. The police in this town have no sense of humor.





Yeah, you better duck.





Here she cleverly blocks his attack with her face and sneaks in a slash at his ribs.





Ha Ha! They brought guns to a knife-fist fight.





Your cannonball style is no match for my cutlery-hand style!





You can't see it, but the ruins of the Statue of Liberty are behind her. That guy there just realized that it was Earth all along!

maatmons

I really like this one, except for how the flash in the middle looks like it's censoring a nip-slip.





I'm not sure what's going on here.





But I'm tempted to use it as an avatar.

maatmons

So, what do you guys think?

ealford1985

Action shots are good but....that costume, it's uncomfortable on many levels.

bulgarex

I have to admit, the costume's a little too close to Kekko Kamen for my tastes. Can't say I'm a fan of "heroes" using blade claws, either, but I know they're a genre trope by now.

But I agree, nice action shots.

maatmons

ealford1985 said:

Action shots are good …

bulgarex said:

… nice action shots.

Thanks!

bulgarex said:

… Kekko Kamen …

*Googles* "She uses her body to distract the usually male enemy …" Well, that's one rationalization for revealing outfits. Not the only one I've heard. For my character, I think I'll go with the explanation that the comic books she read growing up lead her to believe that's how heroins dress. Why didn't she redesign her costume after actually meeting other heroes? I'm gonna say a rival hero made fun of her, and she thinks changing her costume would be letting that person win.

bulgarex said:

Can't say I'm a fan of "heroes" using blade claws …

Yeah, there are some issues. It might be possible to work around them. If all else fails, she can maintain her status as a hero with aggressive marketing.

bulgarex

Is this character meant to be humorous? That would certainly put a different spin on things.

Clearly the comics she read growing up weren't Comics Code Authority approved. >:)

maatmons

Well, I do like to work a little humor into things. But no, the skimpy out fit is not meant as a parody of the portrayal of women in comics, and the claws are not a commentary on senseless violence.

I do sometimes wonder though. If a hero beats a criminal unconscious in some out-of-the-way locations and then leaves, what are the odds the criminal is still alive when someone eventually finds him? Even if you just knock someone over the head and immediately turn them into the authorities, sometimes it doesn't take much pop a blood vessel in the brain or create an unfortunate clot. A person can seem fine, then keel over dead a few days later. Even the most pacifistic hero must rack up a sizable body count over his career.

Mostly, I just embrace the brutality. I imagine my characters are murdering their way through the opposition. Honestly, vigilantism already disregards the concepts of due process, rights of the accused, and, well, law, as it applies to the guy violently imposing his own personal conception of morality on others. Once you've appointed yourself judge and jury, why not executioner too?

bulgarex

Well, under American law it's generally legal for private citizens to use force to prevent the commission of a felony, against another person or property. The key legal factors are whether there's clear reason for the person to believe that a specific crime is currently or is imminently about to be committed, and whether the amount of force used was reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances. Those are essentially the same standards the police are held to when using force, although they (and in Champions USA, government-sanctioned superheroes) as agents of the government have other procedural restrictions. It's possible for the police to bring charges against any citizen if they believe those standards were not met, leading to a court deciding the matter. (Champions Universe includes a few pages on "Superhumans and the Law," and the Stronghold source book goes into much more detail on the subject.)

Any person is allowed to use deadly force if he reasonably believes himself or another person is at risk of death or great bodily harm. Stronghold p. 9 cites the (fictional CU) case of John "Deathblade" Doe v. United States (1989), in which a vigilante was found innocent of twelve murders on the grounds that he had properly prevented a crime. However, that's a long way from appointing oneself judge and jury, let alone executioner. Realistically, any vigilante who routinely uses deadly force against "criminals" simply because they're criminals, or if they're committing a non-violent crime -- particularly if that force results in unnecessary deaths -- is going to be hunted down by law enforcement officers like any other murderer.

However, Champions Online is an MMORPG, and players will want to play what they want to play. Sometimes they'll just want to "kill" things and destroy stuff. As when visiting Club Caprice, you just have to accept the unreasonableness of the situation.

jonsills

Honey Badger's claws are coated with a paralytic neurotoxin, and he's spent years training himself how to deliver shallow scratches in combat. Sometimes a villain has an unfortunate allergic reaction; when this happens, he goes back to Patchwork and asks her to rework the formula again. His public facade is that "Honey Badger don't give a f***", but it is indeed just a facade.

(Yes, I think about this sort of thing - that's part of why Happifun Security System X-4 has an onboard nanofactory, ready and able to rebuild its weapon systems to ensure effectiveness and sublethality against any given opponent.)

bulgarex

There is an official Champions super vigilante called Thunderbird, with the Punisher's mindset and style but supertech weapons, who specifically targets supervillains like the Scourge of the Underworld. He's killed 37 to date, largely by ambush or sniping. The law considers him a mass murderer, and he's actively pursued by both PRIMUS and the Justice Squadron superhero team.

bulgarex

jonsills said:

Honey Badger's claws are coated with a paralytic neurotoxin, and he's spent years training himself how to deliver shallow scratches in combat. Sometimes a villain has an unfortunate allergic reaction; when this happens, he goes back to Patchwork and asks her to rework the formula again. His public facade is that "Honey Badger don't give a f***", but it is indeed just a facade.

Scorpia of the villain team, Eurostar, is big on using various poisons and drugs, including curare-tipped throwing darts which don't do a lot of damage on impact, but are nasty if they penetrate the skin of the target. Her trademark "Scorpia's Sting" are blades she wears on the back of her hands, which can inject a knockout drug into a victim's body.

maatmons

I've done a little brainstorming on an origin story. We touched on some ideas here about messed up childhoods and "heroes" who don't conduct themselves in a heroic manner. I think I might like to run with those ideas. Please excuse the rambling, poorly-punctuated nature of these notes. This is how I brainstorm.



Real Name: ?
Original Superhero Name: ?
Current Superhero Name: Wyvern



she can't really remember much about her mother
her dad told her her mother abandoned them
actually, her dad got sole custody in the divorce and deliberately cut the mother of from her
dad works late most nights and often works weekends
lets say he's a big-shot lawyer, that'll help explain how he got the divorce terms he wanted
it will also explain how she minimizes trouble from her more questionable acts
anyway, she's alone a lot



she always enjoyed comics
finds some pornographic superhero comics her father had forgotten sitting out
she read them partly because she liked comics, and partly to feel connected to her father
she mentions the comic to her father
he tells her those are only for grown ups and locks it back up in his study with the others
telling her she couldn't do something made her want to do it more
also she wanted to be a grown up, so doing things that were only for grown ups appealed to her
she knew where he hid the key, and there was plenty of time when he wasn't at home
she read his entire (extensive) collection
she also reread them sometimes and read each new comic shortly after he got it



the most prominent series in the collection was one called "succubus"
it became her favorite because it was clearly her dad's favorite
the character who gave herself the super-name succubus was born with a limited ability to feed on the psychic energy of others
(for the rest of this paragraph, "she" is succubus instead of my character)
specifically, she fed on lustful desires, especially those directed at her (need better term than "emophage")
she gained greater strength and whatnot from this energy
she wore very little so the crowds who gathered to watch her fight would fuel her
plots involved her trying to scare up energy on short notice by tantalizing people (or outright having sex with them)



she gleans many inappropriate life lessons from the comics, including:
"it's completely appropriate to use your body to get ahead"
"violence is the answer to all problems"
"if you take off your clothes in front of crowds, they'll love you"
"there are never any consequences for widespread destruction of property"
"all women need to look like supermodels"
"no matter how thoroughly you bash someone's head in, he'll be just fine later"
"a woman's purpose in life it to be a sex object for men"



decided to become hero because she has deep-seated insecurities and desires the approval of others
has trained relentlessly since childhood
cold only ever make it as minor hero
big thing holding her back was refusal to wear armor (or much of anything)
armor is important for normals in the hero-ing business
she also refused a lot of other helpful equipment
basically, she didn't want to stray from an image she fixed in her head in early childhood



realizing that there were limits to what hard work could get her she despaired
then she decided that if she couldn't win, she'd cheat
"It's like that time Succubus teamed up with Missionary and they got captured. Everything seemed hopeless, but Missionary dug deep and discovered her repressed bisexual desires. Then, after half an issue of girl-on-girl action, Succubus was fully charged up and she beat the tar out of the bad guys. I just need to find a new approach to the problem."
she started looking into fast ways to acquire power
she discovered legends that drinking dragon blood gave people temporary superhuman strength and resilience



captured baby dragon
lame kind, with wings for arms and animal-level intellect
kept it in tiny cage
repeatedly drained blood from it to imbibe (or inject?)
the blood made her very powerful
she went about becoming a big-time superhero
also, dragon blood is a narcotic or something



Eventually, the ASCPA stepped in and took the baby dragon
she narrowly avoided prosecution
without steady doses of dragon blood, her power is lessened
still, some permanent changes were wrought during all that time she had dragon blood in her
she is now "naturally" superhuman

bulgarex

Hmmm... well, to start with, this sounds like one pretty psychologically-damaged character. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. There's certainly plenty of role-playing potential here. Besides, damaged protagonists are quite fashionable in pop culture right now (e.g. Jessica Jones).

Setting-continuity-wise, the biggest glitch is probably her capturing a baby dragon. Dragons definitely exist in the Champions Universe, but they aren't publicly running around on Earth in any numbers, and there certainly aren't any baby ones lying about for someone to opportunistically snatch. Wyvern would need extraordinary means to find one, but nothing in her background suggests she has those means.

If I may suggest an alternative setting-based origin: Wyvern could have dug up underworld contacts leading her to Teleios, the criminal genius who's Earth's premier genetic engineer. Teleios has the skill to imbue any human with almost any super-power. He may do this for pay (very expensive), in exchange for "favors" (which can include a variety of services), or on a whim if he finds the prospect amusing. He typically won't augment a do-gooder, but Wyvern's methods are grey enough, and her motivations twisted enough, that she might appeal to him.

You can read more about the way Teleios operates if you scroll down to his entry on the first post of this CO discussion forum thread: http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/championsonline/#/discussion/247636/champions-universe-unique-character-origins/p1

maatmons

I like it. I keeps that element of going to illegal and dangerous lengths in a poorly-conceived effort to be one of the good guys. It also saves me from having to flesh out super-serum withdrawal.

With her father being a lawyer, he probably knows a lot of criminals, and the ones who got off because of him are probably pretty well-disposed toward him. Getting help from her father is interesting, because he's probably not entirely on board with her being a hero.

There's the obvious reason that he wouldn't want his little girl putting herself in danger. But also, he's watched her relentlessly train herself for years. Gymnastic, figure skating, martial arts, cheerleading, anything to help her become better, stronger, faster. I'm sure he's often worried that she was pushing herself too hard. Probably wished she'd take things easy and just have a normal childhood, with fun and friends, and parties.

When she announced her intention to be a superhero, it must have clicked into place that those were all steps toward this, not just activities she enjoyed doing. What a realization, to know that your kid skipped over most of the "being a kid" part of life to get a head start on her career plans. Also, when he saw her costume, he must have at least suspected that he hadn't guarded those comics as well as he thought.

I imagine him being vehemently opposed to her escapades, right up until she finally decided she'd never amount to much as a hero. You can imagine, she's not equipped to take such a revelation in stride. She'd be heartbroken and would spend weeks moping around the house, eating little, sleeping much, and just kind of staring into space for most of her waking time. It must be hard for a parent to see his child in pain. Worse yet because he probably blames himself for the course her life has taken. Yeah, he'd crack and find a way to get he what she wants.

Being indebted to Teleios is interesting. She earnestly wants to be a hero. (But for all the wrong reasons. And she doesn't have much of a moral compass to guide her.) What will Teleios make her do? Will she continue being able to delude herself into thinking she's a true hero? Will the world at large find out what she's done?

bulgarex

Wyvern sounds like a more interesting character with every post.

maatmons said:

Being indebted to Teleios is interesting. She earnestly wants to be a hero. (But for all the wrong reasons. And she doesn't have much of a moral compass to guide her.) What will Teleios make her do? Will she continue being able to delude herself into thinking she's a true hero? Will the world at large find out what she's done?

Teleios is a sociopath of the first water, so a bargain with him is pretty much a deal with the devil. He could insist that Wyvern eliminate someone who's aggravating him, or retrieve something (or someone) he wants to study. He might use her as a sex toy (he creates women engineered for that purpose, whom he "recycles" when he tires of them). He may want to perform additional experiments on Wyvern, which could further alter her powers or even appearance.

Whether she can continue to delude herself is up to you. But if you wish, precedents suggest that if Teleios anticipates having to wrangle a reluctant subject, he could build various hooks into her recoded DNA. Her enhanced powers may need periodic booster treatments from Teleios to maintain. Conversely, her body might actually deteriorate, or mutate further, if she doesn't receive treatment. The scariest possibility is that Teleios might hard-wire a degree of loyalty to himself into her. (Note that last tactic usually works, but has failed on rare occasion for unknown reasons.)

How the world would react to Wyvern if the truth was learned would probably depend on her conduct as a hero. Teleios is definitely a criminal, but AFAIK there are no laws against a person having him do something to her that only affects herself. In fact one of his former subjects, the criminal-turned-hero Flashover, is now a member of one of the world's premier hero teams, and has earned the respect and acceptance of government and the public.

And just for your consideration: It's entirely possible that everything Wyvern believes about herself could be lies. Teleios can create artificially-grown superhumans with implanted false memories. He's already built one popular superhero as an experiment in social manipulation, who has no idea she has any connection to him.

maatmons

A thought I've had is, maybe her dad bargained for her super powers out of his own resources. It wouldn't be very fatherly to let her be on the hook for lord knows what. As a lawyer, he probably has access to information Teleios would want and evidence he would want tampered with. Her dad might even have to deliberately lose a case if it suited Teleios' purposes.

Still, she could easily get herself indebted with some sort of side bargain. Growing up in modern times, and especially with her particular influences, it's easy to develop an unattainable standard of beauty. I wouldn't be surprised if she's tried to get her dad to pay for some cosmetic surgeries she thought she needed. Of course, he'd refuse. This is her big chance to get her body just the way she always wanted it, and she can tell daddy it was all a byproduct of gaining powers.

Why, she might even pay off her debt only to go back asking for more tweaks to her appearance. If you look hard enough in the mirror trying to find something to dislike, you will. Lord, I could imagine someone repeatedly switching between two near-identical noses because she keeps changing her mind about which one suits her cheekbones better, or something. Actually, this is starting to remind me of how much I fiddle with my character builds.

bulgarex said:

Teleios is definitely a criminal, but AFAIK there are no laws against a person having him do something to her that only affects herself.

I was moreso thinking about the world finding out about whatever it is she does as payment. Her involvement with Teleios could remain secret even if some of the actions she undertook on his orders came to light.

bulgarex said:

How the world would react to Wyvern if the truth was learned would probably depend on her conduct as a hero.

I'm imagining her routinely being on thin ice with whatever superhero organization she belongs to. (What even are the options for that?) The public at large might like her though. They'd probably be quicker to forgive questionable methods than the actual authorities. Especially when the victims of her excesses are generally known villains and their henchmen. Not terribly sympathetic figures.

bulgarex said:

And just for your consideration: It's entirely possible that everything Wyvern believes about herself could be lies.

It would be interesting for her to find out the full extent of Teleios' abilities and start to doubt her own memories. I'd really like her damaged psyche to turn out to be completely natural though. Is there any way she could determine for certain that her mind hasn't been tampered with?

One thing I still need to come up with is what lie she'll tell everyone else about how she suddenly came into possession of superpowers. It should probably include some justification for the dragon theme I've got going on with her name and costume. I can make up a fairly generic super persona and say she started as that, but reinvented herself as Wyvern after she got he powers. And why did she really choose a dragon theme? She just thinks dragons are cool, and if she's going to lie, it may as well be a cool lie. (Probably not actually a good strategy for getting a lie believed.)

Maybe some of her superiors in Super Temps or whatever don't believe her story, but have no idea what she's hiding. It's not like they ever really trusted her anyway. Maybe they should just keep a close eye on her and hold off on accusations until they have more than a gut feeling to go on.

bulgarex

maatmons said:

A thought I've had is, maybe her dad bargained for her super powers out of his own resources. It wouldn't be very fatherly to let her be on the hook for lord knows what. As a lawyer, he probably has access to information Teleios would want and evidence he would want tampered with. Her dad might even have to deliberately lose a case if it suited Teleios' purposes.

Sounds reasonable.

maatmons said:

Still, she could easily get herself indebted with some sort of side bargain. Growing up in modern times, and especially with her particular influences, it's easy to develop an unattainable standard of beauty. I wouldn't be surprised if she's tried to get her dad to pay for some cosmetic surgeries she thought she needed. Of course, he'd refuse. This is her big chance to get her body just the way she always wanted it, and she can tell daddy it was all a byproduct of gaining powers.

Why, she might even pay off her debt only to go back asking for more tweaks to her appearance. If you look hard enough in the mirror trying to find something to dislike, you will. Lord, I could imagine someone repeatedly switching between two near-identical noses because she keeps changing her mind about which one suits her cheekbones better, or something. Actually, this is starting to remind me of how much I fiddle with my character builds.

My feeling is that Teleios wouldn't have much patience for recurring "tweaks." He's cataloged and measured the qualities of physical appearance most humans find most desirable, so when he sets out to make a beautiful person that person is objectively "perfect." If Wyvern makes too much of a nuisance of herself, she's liable to wake up from Teleios's treatment in the body of an actual wyvern.

maatmons said:

I'm imagining her routinely being on thin ice with whatever superhero organization she belongs to. (What even are the options for that?) The public at large might like her though. They'd probably be quicker to forgive questionable methods than the actual authorities. Especially when the victims of her excesses are generally known villains and their henchmen. Not terribly sympathetic figures.

One could expect a certain amount of public sympathy for her, if she presents herself in the right light. There are even official Champions "villains" who have managed to cultivate a positive reputation. But I agree that government and law-enforcement agencies, including PRIMUS and UNTIL, will avoid any formal cooperation with her. If she gets too bloody they'll be out to get her. And the major established hero teams will be wary of being associated with her. So membership in a larger group could be tricky. You might be able to join one of the PC guilds in CO who are more "grey." Or justify partnering with one of the other vigilantes in the setting.

OTOH if she'd be willing to play a little nicer and just use her claws on robots or evil monsters, she'd be more likely to gain acceptance from the more respectable parts of the superhuman subculture. That might even be part of what Teleios wants from her -- to be his spy among his enemies.

maatmons said:

It would be interesting for her to find out the full extent of Teleios' abilities and start to doubt her own memories. I'd really like her damaged psyche to turn out to be completely natural though. Is there any way she could determine for certain that her mind hasn't been tampered with?

Well, the PnP books have mentioned repeatedly that the memories Teleios implants aren't flawless. There are usually gaps or inconsistencies, but his creations generally just take them for granted without examining them. If Wyvern was willing to be probed by a telepath, he/she could probably detect those gaps, bring up any suppressed memories, or discover any implanted compulsions; or determine the lack of them. Heck, a very thorough interview might accomplish the same thing.

maatmons said:

One thing I still need to come up with is what lie she'll tell everyone else about how she suddenly came into possession of superpowers. It should probably include some justification for the dragon theme I've got going on with her name and costume. I can make up a fairly generic super persona and say she started as that, but reinvented herself as Wyvern after she got he powers. And why did she really choose a dragon theme? She just thinks dragons are cool, and if she's going to lie, it may as well be a cool lie. (Probably not actually a good strategy for getting a lie believed.)

Hey, as I mentioned earlier, dragons are a thing in the Champions Universe. One of the top hero teams has a recurring enemy who's a dragon. If Wyvern claims she stumbled into a hidden dragon's lair, and pulled out a stalagmite he had stuck in his paw, so that in gratitude he granted her powers -- well, who's to say that couldn't be true? It ain't the squirreliest origin claim anybody's made.

jonsills

bulgarex wrote: »

That might even be part of what Teleios wants from her -- to be his spy among his enemies.

And she might not even know it, at least until the night that a telepath in her SG notices that instead of dreaming, her thoughts have suddenly become very organized, as if data were being downloaded to a remote location...​​

maatmons

bulgarex said:

My feeling is that Teleios wouldn't have much patience for recurring "tweaks." He's cataloged and measured the qualities of physical appearance most humans find most desirable, so when he sets out to make a beautiful person that person is objectively "perfect."

Good to know. Let's say, after she made her deal, she mused aloud about what bust size she would pick ("Do I want to be conservative and go with D, or should I spring for double-D?"), only to be told quite sharply that optimal measurements had already been determined, factoring in social effects and physical practicality. I'm sure she'd gather that suggestions were not welcome.

bulgarex said:

OTOH if she'd be willing to play a little nicer and just use her claws on robots or evil monsters, she'd be more likely to gain acceptance from the more respectable parts of the superhuman subculture.

Yeah, that would probably be the first thing whatever boss or mentor she has would have to say about her new costume. She'd accept those constraints in the interest of rising to the top of the superhero ranks like she always knew she was meant to.

She wouldn't like being restricted to palm heel and knife-hand strikes to get around the claws, nor being restricted to side kicks and reverse roundhouse kicks to get around the boot spikes. She'd probably just start practicing Muay Tai to add elbow and knee strikes to the mix. She certainly wouldn't remove an awesome feature from her costume just to make her life easier.

jonsills said:

And she might not even know it, at least until the night that a telepath in her SG notices that instead of dreaming, her thoughts have suddenly become very organized, as if data were being downloaded to a remote location...​​

I like it. Or maybe she spends the night in a magically-warded location, and the defenses detect that someone's trying to send a telepathic signal out.

maatmons

I averted the apocalypse and all I got was this lousy photo op.



Also, don't try to stand on top of the tall radio tower. It keeps getting hit by lightning. I worked my way up there with acrobatics three times. And each time, I couldn't even get a decent shot set up before I was knocked off.

maatmons

Okay, I think I've got something to put in as the in-game character bio. It didn't even take me a full year!

Vivian “Vee Vee” Kincaid was born to prominent criminal lawyer Alexander Kincaid and a mother she can barely remember. She was raised alone by her father, who often worked late into the night and wasn't able to devote much time to her.

When she was eight, she stumbled on her father's stash of superhero-themes, pornographic comic books. She loved suprehero comics, and finding out that her dad enjoyed them too made her feel connected to him. So she took to reading her father's comics.

When Mr. Kincaid caught her, he told her that these particular comic books were only for grown ups, and she wasn't allowed to look at them. He moved his extensive collection into his study, and kept the door locked whenever he wasn't home. Vee Vee wasn't deterred though. She knew where he hid the spare key, and he was hardly ever around to keep an eye on her. She didn't understand what was so “grown up” about these comics, but she figured she could be plenty grown up.

Little Vee Vee read and reread those comic books. She'd always known that superheroes were adored by the public. But this was the first time she realized that everyone loved women who showed off their bodies. They got hugs everywhere they went. Vee Vee decided that was going to be her when she grew up, always surrounded by people focused on her. Not alone in a big, empty house. Not struggling in vain for attention from someone who's always too busy.

Now, Vivian fights crime under the name Wyvern. She hasn't attained the degree of adoration she had hoped for, but she's hasn't given up. Someday, if she keeps working hard, the world will know who she is. Someday, if she keeps showing everyone a good time, someone will want to stick around when the fun is over. And maybe, just maybe, someday she'll be able to feel okay, even when there's no one around to notice her.

embracemysword

delete this