Here are some notes on what I have for the character so far.
- Telekinetic abilities through alien technology
- Strong sense of right and wrong
- Doesnt like to hide behind the mask, but understands and accepts its place
- Enjoys helping people
- Trying to find his place in life when he is given his powers
o Just graduated from college
o Trying to find a good job
- Isnt sure that hes the best man for the job and isnt sure why he would be chosen to carry the technology of an alien planet
Considering all these qualities, and looking at all the meanings of the word, I might call him Justifier.
It can be used both as a term of "forewarning" (telepathy or precognition) and as a synonym for "Herald" or "Harbinger"...
tying both his present (and possible future) role as an emessary between humanity and his benifactors..and his mental powers into one idea.
...its also a little unusual, yet simple, making it both more likely to aquire, and easier for others to remember..
I could also see a lot of conflict between this character and other members of the human race.... a lot of questions arise when a hero relies on "gifts" from an unknown alien presence, using technology far in advance compaired to our own..
I thrusts him easily into a role of "Wanting to do right" in the face of all eyes turned against him (perhaps not violently... but palpably..)
I need a little bit of help with one hero of mine, Steel Jacket.
He is like a way primitive and toned down Ironman.
The only powers he has are flight via rocket boots (and all that entails) and his suit of Steel armor, which protects him from some bullets and is very flexible. That and a rather keen detectives mind and a blackbelt in Tai-kuan-do.
His alter ego is a police officer, and a rather good one at that.
I need a little bit of help with one hero of mine, Steel Jacket.
He is like a way primitive and toned down Ironman.
The only powers he has are flight via rocket boots (and all that entails) and his suit of Steel armor, which protects him from some bullets and is very flexible. That and a rather keen detectives mind and a blackbelt in Tai-kuan-do.
His alter ego is a police officer, and a rather good one at that.
He resents heroes that have 'real' super powers.
Just some questions raised by this info which may help you think of how you want to define Steel Jacket:
Did he create his armor himself, or did someone create it for him, or did he find it/ take it?
Does his resentment of "real" superheroes have any effect on how he deals with them? Did a super-hero have anything to do with him becoming Steel Jacket? Or perhaps caused some trauma in his past?
What's his motivation for becoming a superhero? Is his identity a secret, or does Steel Jacket have some sort of official sanction or position?
One reckless character with superspeed to use as a side character. The character must be quick to jump to conclusions and must assume that a character that looks slightly suspscious is in fact, a villain. This character will be used in a mistaken identity scenario, and then used in a Deus ex Machina scenario later on.
If anyone's interested, please PM me and give me a brief rundown of abilities and personality or a sample of previous exploits so that I may find these things on my own.
Just some questions raised by this info which may help you think of how you want to define Steel Jacket:
Did he create his armor himself, or did someone create it for him, or did he find it/ take it?
Does his resentment of "real" superheroes have any effect on how he deals with them? Did a super-hero have anything to do with him becoming Steel Jacket? Or perhaps caused some trauma in his past?
What's his motivation for becoming a superhero? Is his identity a secret, or does Steel Jacket have some sort of official sanction or position?
Is there someplace we could read more about Huriasan himself?
I think I have it.
He was a detective for a long time, and worked well particularly in hostage cases. In one such case, a hero messed everything up and got the hostages killed. After trying to get the police to crack down on 'Super Powered Vigialantes' (as he called them) he began trying to work out a way to get super heroes to 'respect' the police more and follow police directions more often.
He consulted some friends, and eventually found someone who could help him with his goal, the original Steel Jacket, who had actually been an honarary police officer back in the 60s. The original Steel Jacket gave him the suit, and even the badge, and told him that the best way to get the other super heroes to work with the police better was to show them that it could be done and how it should be done.
He then started his super hero career. Steel Jacket (and his alter ego both) are part of the NYPD. He will often work with the police, obeying orders and only voicing conserns about bad ones, like a good officer. He has gotten several superheros to start acting the same, even going so far as to request police training.
No one but close friends and family, and the original Steel Jacket, know his secret Identity, and he has convinced the police to allow this for the other super heroes who work with them.
Recently he has been approached by the FBI to form a team of 'Super Police' to help combat growing threats abroad.
One reckless character with superspeed to use as a side character. The character must be quick to jump to conclusions and must assume that a character that looks slightly suspscious is in fact, a villain. This character will be used in a mistaken identity scenario, and then used in a Deus ex Machina scenario later on.
If anyone's interested, please PM me and give me a brief rundown of abilities and personality or a sample of previous exploits so that I may find these things on my own.
I just need a character to insert into a written story to be used in the ways I've described. I don't want to go and create a whole new guy, so I'm just appealing for a volunteer who'd allow their character to be used in a couple scenes. Besides, people are more interested in stories when their own character's make cameos from what I understand =P
Hi ghost I've been workin on my character Teigen Renegade http://forums.champions-online.com/showthread.php?t=5218 and I've gotten a pretty good main idea of what I want his powers to do but I feel unsure about the story and his super name. also I REALLY need help with limitations, I like making strenghts not weakness. so if you could check it out and give me some feedback it'd be really helpful! thanks
Ludwig Van Volcan was always a different person as a child his eyes changed from green to blue to purple and in middle school he discovered he had the power to control fire when he was lighting fireworks on the fourth of july and one bottle rocket exploded prematurely, he came out almost unharmed but his face bore the scar, afterwards dicoverd that he could manipulate and create fire, he discoverd his power to control lightning when a theif broke into his house and cut the power, after trying to fix it he absorbed the power of the electricity and killed the theif, after a few months of trying to figure out how to control his powers he went to Japan and found a man who called himself The Everlaster gave him a sword called "Kaji-dandou" meaning electric fire there was no othe way for the man to help him the man sent Volcan home and in being highly unstable he was aproched by a man who brought him to the stronghold and he has been there ever since developing and creating new forms of his powers after a few years he found out how to slowly become semi-transparent (like predator) and filter his powers through the sword,a month later a man was brought to the stronghold who called himself Sven told him about the new Silversins and Vilval's story, he soon became intrested and is awaiting the chance to finally meet this Vilval until then, he will be training.
Well, I would suggest a few more punctuation marks to make it easier to read. James Joyce kind of turned me off stream-of-consciousness writing.
Aside from that, vulcon, what I get from your story is a lot of historical details of what your character can do, what he did and what happened to him, but nothing about how those things relate to the growth of his personality and motivations. How did he feel about having unusual abilities as a child? Did that affect how he related to others? Did that scar he got change him emotionally? Was he affected by killing that thief? Why did he go to Japan? Who or what is the Everlaster, and why did he give Ludwig that sword? Why did "a man" approach him and "bring him to the stronghold?" What is this "stronghold" -- are you referring to the Champions Universe super-prison, or some other facility?
Finally and most importantly, how does all this tie into who Ludwig Van Volcan is now? What does he want to do with his life? Why does he want to "meet Vival," and what does he plan to do when he does? For that matter, is he a hero or a villain, or neither?
Well, I would suggest a few more punctuation marks to make it easier to read. James Joyce kind of turned me off stream-of-consciousness writing.
Aside from that, vulcon, what I get from your story is a lot of historical details of what your character can do, what he did and what happened to him, but nothing about how those things relate to the growth of his personality and motivations. How did he feel about having unusual abilities as a child? Did that affect how he related to others? Did that scar he got change him emotionally? Was he affected by killing that thief? Why did he go to Japan? Who or what is the Everlaster, and why did he give Ludwig that sword? Why did "a man" approach him and "bring him to the stronghold?" What is this "stronghold" -- are you referring to the Champions Universe super-prison, or some other facility?
Finally and most importantly, how does all this tie into who Ludwig Van Volcan is now? What does he want to do with his life? Why does he want to "meet Vival," and what does he plan to do when he does? For that matter, is he a hero or a villain, or neither?
Thank you man, I'm gonna write a new one and pm it to you.
Eye color/features: Icy Blue. Scars on chest and small scar on cheek.
Build: Tall Around 5'11, Athletic build, with a fair complexion. Lean, but muscular from hard training
Skills/ Abilities: A master of martial arts. He has mastered Akido, Karate, Muay Thai, Taekwando, Hapkido, Judo, and Jiu-Jitsu.
He also has the ability to heal from injury faster due to a cell mutation in is body. He has honed his senses, reflexes, his strength, his speed, his patience, his discipline, and his intelligence through rigorous training from renowned dojos all around the world.
Character Background: Kevin grew up as much of a normal kid as possible. He went to school, competed
Hey guys, I was just wondering If someone could help me build on his backstory. I have one in mind, but it would be awesome if someone would gimme some suggestions, because, like they say, two heads are better than one...in most cases
Eye color/features: Icy Blue. Scars on chest and small scar on cheek.
Build: Tall Around 5'11, Athletic build, with a fair complexion. Lean, but muscular from hard training
Skills/ Abilities: A master of martial arts. He has mastered Akido, Karate, Muay Thai, Taekwando, Hapkido, Judo, and Jiu-Jitsu.
He also has the ability to heal from injury faster due to a cell mutation in is body. He has honed his senses, reflexes, his strength, his speed, his patience, his discipline, and his intelligence through rigorous training from renowned dojos all around the world.
Character Background: Kevin grew up as much of a normal kid as possible. He went to school, competed
Hey guys, I was just wondering If someone could help me build on his backstory. I have one in mind, but it would be awesome if someone would gimme some suggestions, because, like they say, two heads are better than one...in most cases
Another big question: where and how did he get his martial arts training and related skills? Fifteen is pretty young to be a "master" at any one martial style, let alone seven.
It's possible that Kevin's skills and his motivation could be tied to that extraordinary healing of his. For example, perhaps his cellular mutation is inherited, and with it came the genetic memory of a long line of heroic martial artists. He could have had these exceptional abilities all his life, so that while he tried to have a "normal life" the memory of his past incarnations would color his relationships to others; or they could have emerged as a result of some trauma, a classic superhero origin which would match well with his code name. Or both -- flashbacks of past lives, occasional manifestations of skills he didn't know he had a la Jason Bourne, until the "crash" which brought it all back to him. Besides explaining Kevin's skills, the memories of several lifetimes in a teenager's body would make him a richer, more complex character.
This also could lead to Kevin's nemesis should you wish to design one. Someone who had been an enemy of one of Kevin's past identities -- maybe more than one -- who's been hunting for the champion's last descendant and latest incarnation.
Another big question: where and how did he get his martial arts training and related skills? Fifteen is pretty young to be a "master" at any one martial style, let alone seven.
It's possible that Kevin's skills and his motivation could be tied to that extraordinary healing of his. For example, perhaps his cellular mutation is inherited, and with it came the genetic memory of a long line of heroic martial artists. He could have had these exceptional abilities all his life, so that while he tried to have a "normal life" the memory of his past incarnations would color his relationships to others; or they could have emerged as a result of some trauma, a classic superhero origin which would match well with his code name. Or both -- flashbacks of past lives, occasional manifestations of skills he didn't know he had a la Jason Bourne, until the "crash" which brought it all back to him. Besides explaining Kevin's skills, the memories of several lifetimes in a teenager's body would make him a richer, more complex character.
This also could lead to Kevin's nemesis should you wish to design one. Someone who had been an enemy of one of Kevin's past identities -- maybe more than one -- who's been hunting for the champion's last descendant and latest incarnation.
Here's a character idea I would like to flesh out a little more:
Entropy, a poor soul cursed with an aura of degradation. He destroys anything he touches, and objects can wear down and break merely from his presence. He fights evildoers by integrating himself into their plots, dooming them to failure.
Any ideas? I like the character concept so far, but I am at a loss for costume, origin, etc.
ive gotten inpiration for this character Neoshock....he is troubled hes got Electrokineses he has no prents he is 23 and he i a smart allic.............any ideas.....?......ive already started da strory @thread "My Story".:o
Ok, this is a back story for a couple of characters I got on CoX one hero one villain, its been changed just a little bit to fit into the champions universe. Its your basic powers from radiation story.
Michael Froman and his brother Jacob used to for Harmon Industries. They were lead scientists of project HAIR (harness atomic ion radiation). They were trying to create super powered hair gel that would keep hair looking great and give the user super powers! But one fateful day there was an accident in the lab and a giant vat of AIR (atomic ion radiation) enriched hair gel exploded. Both Michael and Jacob were bombarded with AIR partials. After waking up in a hospital weeks later they learned they had giant blond fro's and super powers! Michael thought they should use their powers for the greater good. Jacob thought they should use their powers for personal gain. They went their separate ways and Michael when on to become the super hero Caucasiafro, Jacob became the super villain EvilCaucasiafro.
I have a character concept that needs some fleshing out. His hero name is Zephyr, and true to its meaning his personality is very similar to a spring breeze. He is good natured and playfully mischievous. His powers stem from physical mutations.
His powers:
He is an Aerokenetic, with the ability to create and manipulate wind currents with his psych. He fights primarily with slashes of air that he uses to both ward off blows and to land blows of his own. He also has a minor form of telekenisis, though he uses wind to move the objects. This only gives him the ability to hover, I wouldn't call it flying.
He also can disintegrate himself to an atomic level and blast himself on the wind and then reintegrate as a close range teleportation. This also allows him to go invisible, though he cant hold it for long as it becomes too difficult to keep his molecules close enough together to reintegrate.
The first ability that presented itself though, was the ability to sense things in the wind like a rudimentary sonar. By feeling the winds current, altering it and then seeing how it changes he can determine what objects are in the winds current.
He also has a special pheromone in his breath that is part of the reason he named himself "Zephyr". His breath can alter peoples emotions and allows him to charm people. It wears off quickly and he wears a mask to prevent it from affecting everyone around him, but he uses it to diffuse situations, particularly when his pranks come to light.
Here's a character idea I would like to flesh out a little more:
Entropy, a poor soul cursed with an aura of degradation. He destroys anything he touches, and objects can wear down and break merely from his presence. He fights evildoers by integrating himself into their plots, dooming them to failure.
Any ideas? I like the character concept so far, but I am at a loss for costume, origin, etc.
In the Champions Universe, the kind of effect you're talking about is often symptomatic of corruption by the Qliphoth dimensions, a cosmos that is in many ways the antithesis of our own. Qliphothic matter, energy, even life, are very different from and antithetical to those in our cosmos. There have been many "leaks" from the Qliphoth into Champions Earth over the years, most often engineered by cultists who worship powerful Qliphothic entities like the Kings of Edom (think H.P. Lovecraft's "Great Old Ones"). DEMON is the largest and most dangerous of these cults. The touch of the Qliphoth usually brings on spiritual corruption as well as physical, but a strong-willed person might resist that, especially if he finds a way to turn its influence to something positive.
Your character could have literally been "cursed" by a cult during one of these rituals, either accidentally or through deliberate infliction. He could have been an heroic investigator who stumbled into a cult ceremony and attempted to disrupt it. He might have been a person of influence who was an obstacle to one of the cult's front organizations, or had assets they wanted to acquire. He might even have been a low-ranking member of the cult when exposure to the Qliphoth made him realize the true depths of evil, and resolve to oppose it instead of serve it.
I have a character concept that needs some fleshing out. His hero name is Zephyr, and true to its meaning his personality is very similar to a spring breeze. He is good natured and playfully mischievous. His powers stem from physical mutations.
His powers:
He is an Aerokenetic, with the ability to create and manipulate wind currents with his psych. He fights primarily with slashes of air that he uses to both ward off blows and to land blows of his own. He also has a minor form of telekenisis, though he uses wind to move the objects. This only gives him the ability to hover, I wouldn't call it flying.
He also can disintegrate himself to an atomic level and blast himself on the wind and then reintegrate as a close range teleportation. This also allows him to go invisible, though he cant hold it for long as it becomes too difficult to keep his molecules close enough together to reintegrate.
The first ability that presented itself though, was the ability to sense things in the wind like a rudimentary sonar. By feeling the winds current, altering it and then seeing how it changes he can determine what objects are in the winds current.
He also has a special pheromone in his breath that is part of the reason he named himself "Zephyr". His breath can alter peoples emotions and allows him to charm people. It wears off quickly and he wears a mask to prevent it from affecting everyone around him, but he uses it to diffuse situations, particularly when his pranks come to light.
Nice concept, and a coherent group of powers. By "disintegration," do you mean his body becomes gaseous? That would fit with his other air-based powes. If so, his "teleport" might not work through any airtight barrier.
The Champions Universe includes several air/weather manipulating supers, at least two of them mutants; so that would be a reasonable origin for your character. He could also be a supernatural air spirit, from the dimension of Faerie or "The Land of Legends," where all the gods, races, and creatures from human myth and folklore abide.
On the downside, the official CU already has a powerful air-elemental supervillainess named Zephyr, so if your character used that name he may be in for a fight over the right to keep it. OTOH his pheromone power may lead to a more peaceful resolution of the issue.
If you'd like an alternate name suggestion, perhaps Iolas or Aeolus, the Greek/Roman (respectively) god of the winds.
I'm having trouble coming up with a decent origin story for my character Ballista.
His powers are enhanced durability, reaction time, and super human leg strength.
What I have currently is him receiving an experimental treatment using chemicals to repair his legs after they were badly burned a few years back. However, the one giving the treatment is using the character more as a guinea pig rather than actually wanting to help him.
I've actually got the character figured out beyond that, so I was just hoping for a little more input on what I can do to add to his origin.
In the Champions Universe, Dr. Phillippe Moreau -- grandson of the infamous Dr. Moreau of H.G. Wells's novel -- has continued and expanded his ancestor's work in creating sapient humanoid animals, called "manimals" or "beast-men," to aid him in his criminal endeavors. Most of his work has centered on uplifting various animal species (his most famous success is the hyper-intelligent gorilla scientist hero of Millennium City, Dr. Silverback) but he's also experimented with converting humans to beast-men, using such techniques as gene splicing.
My suggestion is to make Ballista the recipient of such treatments by a scientist working for Dr. Moreau, under the guise of therapy for his burned legs. Animal genetic material could account for his overall improved durability and reaction time; and this particular experiment may be using DNA from animals with particularly strong and swift legs, like cheetahs, gazelles, mules, and/or frogs. If the first stages of the treatments were successful, Dr. Moreau would probably want to kidnap and convert your character into a full manimal conditioned to be loyal to him.
While Moreau's operative might simply have taken advantage of your character's injury to use him as a test subject, to add depth to the character's background he might have run afoul of Moreau in the past, either in a scientific capacity e.g. a rival researcher, or as some type of law enforcement operative opposing Moreau's operations. So the Doctor may intend to "disappear" him by making him a beast-man. Note that Dr. Moreau has worked extensively for the world-girdling super criminal/terrorist agency VIPER in the past, so if your character has opposed them VIPER might hire Moreau to eliminate their problem without leaving a trail back to them.
In the Champions Universe, Dr. Phillippe Moreau -- grandson of the infamous Dr. Moreau of H.G. Wells's novel -- has continued and expanded his ancestor's work in creating sapient humanoid animals, called "manimals" or "beast-men," to aid him in his criminal endeavors. Most of his work has centered on uplifting various animal species (his most famous success is the hyper-intelligent gorilla scientist hero of Millennium City, Dr. Silverback) but he's also experimented with converting humans to beast-men, using such techniques as gene splicing.
My suggestion is to make Ballista the recipient of such treatments by a scientist working for Dr. Moreau, under the guise of therapy for his burned legs. Animal genetic material could account for his overall improved durability and reaction time; and this particular experiment may be using DNA from animals with particularly strong and swift legs, like cheetahs, gazelles, mules, and/or frogs. If the first stages of the treatments were successful, Dr. Moreau would probably want to kidnap and convert your character into a full manimal conditioned to be loyal to him.
While Moreau's operative might simply have taken advantage of your character's injury to use him as a test subject, to add depth to the character's background he might have run afoul of Moreau in the past, either in a scientific capacity e.g. a rival researcher, or as some type of law enforcement operative opposing Moreau's operations. So the Doctor may intend to "disappear" him by making him a beast-man. Note that Dr. Moreau has worked extensively for the world-girdling super criminal/terrorist agency VIPER in the past, so if your character has opposed them VIPER might hire Moreau to eliminate their problem without leaving a trail back to them.
An interesting idea for integration into the Champions Universe, and it doesn't even conflict in the slightest with what I've done so far. Most of it can be considered pretty independent at this point though. The thing that I will modify though is the fact that Ballista, or Ted, is currently 17, and is very unlikely to have directly angered this guy.
I was, however, planning for his father to be a retired military operative of sorts, so I could easily have him be the one attracting Moreau's wrath.
And to "retrieve" Ballista, I can already used one of my planned villains, currently named Gem.
Thank you for your insight into my character Entropy. I am leaning towards his origin as a civilian prior to "cursing." That way I don't have to worry about the issue of who he was before. He could be a citizen abducted for one of DEMON's experiments. They were trying to infuse the Qliphoth energy into a victim and unleash him as a weapon against humanity, perhaps? Through pure resolve he was able to resist mental corruption, and now has alienated himself from others as much as possible to prevent unintentionally inflicting harm, while unleashing its full force on his enemies.
For appearance I was imagining him as unnaturally thin, post-anemic, partially revealed bone structure, etc. as if the Qliphoth energies are causing his own physical body to decay as well.
So, I was thinking something like a black trench coat and wide-brimmed hat or something, with an almost zombie-like appearance beneath.
:So I need some help with my character theme here is what I got so far:
Some children are birthed out of compassion, others are purely accidentally. My birth was no accident but there was no compassion behind my creation. No I was created out of necessity. My parents created me to use as a test subject, to test out their new genetic engineering formula designed for the Norwegian Intelligence Agency [NIS]. The project was designed to create agents that could be in several places at once and take a on a full proof disguse. My parents Signi & Ragner Jarlson both Norwegian born went to Cambridge to study Genetics. Their marriage was more about having a constant science partner then love. My parents, the brilliant geneticist that they where found the latter quite easy. The former would require a physicist consultation and so a brilliant but slightly mad physicist Bjorn Tokison was indoctrinated into the program. After several more years of research and millions of U.S. dollars in Norwegian krones a method of doing both was created. However it was determined that the process woould create monsters and erase away all humanity. The three dedicated researcher were left out in the cold. While most would move on my parents and there fellow researcher hatched a plan to show why the risks were worth it and that is how I came to be conceived. While I was developing my mother womb, mutagens were injected. After I was born I was put into a machine designed. To allow my atoms to duplicate themselves and form another identical atomic structure that was still in the control of the original atomic structure I.E. me.
The first ten years of my life where spent under the cold tutelage of my parents and Dr. Tokison. When I was little, the only entertainment I had was scientific textbooks and puzzles such as rubric cubes. I was given what was needed to survive and affection was not considered necessary. My parents were not mean to me just indifferent. At some point I came to the conclusion that if I worked hard enough on my studies and learning how to use my abilities, my parent would love me as I was told time and time again that if I wanted to impress the NIS for Mommy and Daddy. I had to show them I wasn't a monster. I knew Calculus, Organic chemistry, Advanced Physics, Genetics, and two languages Norwegian and English at age 11.
As I came into my early teens these foolish childish fantasies disappeared and I became rebellious and was determined to escape away to Millennium City, to a fresh start. But my parent kept me under a tight lock and key and escape seemed an unrealistic fantasy. At age 12 I was taken to be shown to NIS. The NIS sent a escort to take me to the testing center. My parents convinced they would soon be compensated for all their years of research and work let down there guards and the escort had no idea of what I was capable of. On the way to NIS headquarters in Oslo I insisted on stopping for a restroom break on the edge of the Norwegian wilderness. As soon as we left the car I transformed into a wolf overpowering my parents and guards. I fled my parents and guards escaping into the forest. I planned to make my way from there to the airport in Oslo and fly from there to Millennium City. But things did not go as planned as the NIS unwilling to let cutting edge Norwegian technology get into American hands pursued me. They decided the best way to protect the technology was by elimanating my parents, Dr. Tokison, and me. From what I can determine they managed to put down them. NIS tracked me into the forest and six agents ambushed me.
The next four years of my life are blurry but from what I can remember I duplicated myself creating a wolf pack. Then we fell upon the agents ripping out there throats. After that I became feral, me and my duplicates taking the alias of a standard wolf pack. Finally after four years of subconsciously moving south toward Oslo I finally became sane again. The NIS however never gave up there hunt for me assigning Agent Harold Starkison, an agent known for being brutally ruthless in his pursuit to complete his mission, to my case.
I spent the next three years in various cities doing odd jobs gaining money for my passage. Those three years on the street where tough as I evaded capture from the NIS and my lycan form was not always suited for the urban environment so I learned to use knives great skill and accuracy. Agent Starkison, prusued me restlessly killing all the people I worked for. It got to the point where I thought it would be easier just to give up so the wieght of the rising collateral damage woundn't weigh on my concious. But I came to the desicion that getting to Mllennium was more important than anything to me. Finally at age nineteen I had enough money to be smuggled into Millennium City. Finally I though I could go there and turn over a new leaf little did I know that freedom would not come without a cost...
Ingolf Ragnerson is a nineteen year old lanky Norwegian teenager with salt and pepper hair and grey blue eyes. His powers are duplication and shapeshifting and a clever and knowledgeable mind. He is also skilled in the use of knives, he possess superhuman agility hearing and scent derived from years spent in the body of a wolf. He tends to be distrustful and does not like working in groups he is more concerned fro his own survival then that of others, he is even willing to kill. But he will help the innocent if he thinks there may be a reward at the end of the line be it money or intercourse. Although he escaped to Millennium City, Agent Harold Starkison has pursued and has been a problem at every turn. Ingolf has been forced to take the alias of Pack Mentality to protect his Identity. Ingolf one major weakness is he is highly vulnerable to loud sounds due to all the time he spent as a wolf. What do you guys think? Any name suggestions
So I need some help with my character theme here is what I got so far:
EDITED FOR BREVITY
...Ingolf Ragnerson is a nineteen year old lanky Norwegian teenager with salt and pepper hair and grey blue eyes. His powers are duplication and shapeshifting and a clever and knowledgeable mind. He is also skilled in the use of knives, he possess superhuman agility hearing and scent derived from years spent in the body of a wolf. He tends to be distrustful and does not like working in groups he is more concerned fro his own survival then that of others, he is even willing to kill. But he will help the innocent if he thinks there may be a reward at the end of the line be it money or intercourse. Although he escaped to Millennium City, Agent Harold Starkison has pursued and has been a problem at every turn. Ingolf has been forced to take the alias of Pack to protect his Identity. Ingolf one major weakness is he is highly vulnerable to loud sounds due to all the time he spent as a wolf. What do you guys think?Any name suggestions
You seem to have an outline thus far, but I think it needs to be fleshed out a little bit more.
Some things to consider:
Ingolf's "parents" seem to figure into his personal development rather heavily, yet very little about them is mentioned beyond their occupations. What are their names? What are their personalities like? Are they cruel to Ingolf or simply indifferent towards him?
It seems like Ingolf was being developed for military applications. Perhaps you could explain why it would have been so important to his parents that he keep up on his studies?
Why would the NIS allow Ingolf to be transported anywhere without being under heavy guard if his potential escape would pose such a large security risk? Surely they would have sent some sort of escort or made a trip to the facility rather than letting a pair of scientists drive him to their headquarters unattended. Also, after keeping Ingolf under such tight lock and key for all those years, why would they suddenly allow him to stop at some random rest stop? It seems a bit out of character to me, based on what you've written about them. For that matter, if he can copy himself and transform into his lycan form at will, why not simply overpower his parents and escape?
The period between his escape and his arrival in Millennium City seems like a critical turning point for the character, so I'd recommend expanding upon it a bit.
The grammar is a little bit confusing, to the point that there are a few instances where I'm not at all sure what you were trying to say. I'm not trying to be rude, but it's difficult to critique/workshop something that I can't understand.
Just a few things to touch on. I can offer some additional input if you want, but I think that the above points are a good place to start.
I tried to improve some grammitcal errors and Added most of the examples you provided I will do more when there is more time what are some other things? Any thoughs on the name and a costume design I really don't want anything tight
I tried to improve some grammitcal errors and Added most of the examples you provided I will do more when there is more time what are some other things? Any thoughs on the name and a costume design I really don't want anything tight
Pack is pretty appropriate given your character concept, though you might have a little bit of competition for it on the game's release. For other ideas, try looking up different types of wolves and deriving names from that (ex: Timber Wolf).
As for costume design, I'd say it depends on what kind of a profile he wants to keep. If he's trying to be inconspicuous (and avoid NIS operatives pursuing him), he's going to want to wear concealing civilian clothes that are loose enough to accommodate his transformation. On the other hand, if you're looking for more of a uniform, perhaps you should consider giving him a black ops infiltration suit (practical and functional), such as those seen in Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid. Granted, those are form fitting suits, but they're not tights by any means.
I can offer some additional input if you like, but you need to give me an idea of what sort of a profile he's looking to keep.
What about the name Pack Mentality. I want a blending in profile. Made some more addition to the background post tell me what you think. Sorry double post
What about the name Pack Mentality. I want a blending in profile. Made some more addition to the background post tell me what you think. Sorry double post
You addressed most of the initial issues that I had with the story, which is very good. If you want an "in between" profile, I still recommend going the stealth suit route, though you can trim the black suit with silver or some other color and give it a logo to make it seem more superhero-y. As for the name, I think that Pack Mentality may be a winner. Creative, descriptive, unique. Anything else you need help with?
I wonder if anyone with knowledge about the Champions Universe (cough cough, Lord_Liaden. ) can help me create a character idea. I guess this is actually more obtuse than most requests, because i'm asking for more general information, but meh.
What I have in mind is actually a story or even campaign idea set in modern day China, with uh, everything that entails. Tenuously, the plan is for our stalwart hero or heroes to begin by joining China's national hero team, and be tasked with stopping crimes, assisting with construction, suppressing dissent, et cetera. However, he/they end up becoming disillusioned with the high proportion of the latter, and leave the team to attempt to deal with crime/corruption/et cetera on their own.
I'd like information on how best to use the source material here. Any information people have on China's superhero scene (from the Worldwide Champions (?) sourcebook, I would assume) would be more than welcome. Especially if anyone can tell me more about the national superhero team (I remember that it features 60+ members, including one Heart of the People, but not much else) and any villains in the area. Thanks in advance!
You addressed most of the initial issues that I had with the story, which is very good. If you want an "in between" profile, I still recommend going the stealth suit route, though you can trim the black suit with silver or some other color and give it a logo to make it seem more superhero-y. As for the name, I think that Pack Mentality may be a winner. Creative, descriptive, unique. Anything else you need help with?
Any thoughts how to work in a travel power that makes sense of course I want something that is not what power supernatural based. Also not sure what powers to give my Arch Nemisis can you think of anything that would be the perfect opposite power to oppose Ingolf and how he could get one
When creating a character, this character is more or less an extention of yourself. It reflects what interests you and what you fantasize about. There are many exercises in inspirational creation of a character's backstory, such as find a theme song that best suits a cartoon production of your character, or latch onto a key ability and exfoliate on how he/she got it.
Another creative exercise is to vividly imagine how a hero fights, to include the down and dirty fist work but also the methodology in his/her actions. How does your hero fight a single cornered pickpocket? How does your hero fight 20 pickpockets? If there is a hostage situation, what is your hero's method of approach? If outmatched by a villain, does your hero fight till one is left standing or does your hero plan a tactical retreat? What does your hero's colateral damage fines and bills look like? Do your opponents flee in panic when they see you, or overconfidently see an opportunity to impress their masters?
From there, take those motivations and actions and start asking "Why would my hero do these things? What makes my hero do these things? What events in my hero's past cause him/her to do this? Would my hero act differently if something had or hadn't happened in his/her past?"
Once you've asked yourself those kind of questions and answered them, it should be a simple task connecting the dots in the physical world and past to the present.
Additionally, for those seeking more indepth development aids for their characters, I present a small guide:
Rakescar's Character Development Work Sheet.
Use of the concept herein will thankfully make the 'alignment' system as known in AD&D useless. With personality traits well-defined, alignment becomes extraneous as a guide to role-playing your PC. Alignment was designed as a quick and dirty system for explaining a character's behavior, but inherent in the system are limits that do not make for very "realistic" and "3-dimensional" characters.
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1a. Early History / Family / Childhood environment :
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a. Exactly where and when was your character born? Under what circumstances? Was he wanted? Was he adopted?
b. Who raised him? How did he live? What was his quality of living/standards?
c. What was happening in the region while he was growing up? Any marking events?
d. Does he have any immediate relatives? If so, how did he get along with them? What are they doing now? How many sisters or brothers does he have? What of their names? Where are they now? What are they doing?
e. Any marking events in his family's history? Fortunes made or lost? Migrations? Lost members? Found members? Deaths? Births? Crimes? Great acts of philanthropy?
f. Is he well-educated? Where and under who did he study?
1b. Recent History/Entry into Adulthood:
a. Where is he living now? Is he patriotic about his current Locale? How is he living? What are his living conditions? How does it affect him?
b. Who are his close friends? Why? How did they become close friends? Does he currently have a love or exclusive relation of some sort? Who is this special person?
c. Who does he deal with on a frequent basis? Why?
d. Does he have anyone who dislikes him? Is each person currently acting on it, or just passive about it? Why does he dislike him?
e. Does he have any enemies with deep-seated hatreds? Blood Feuds Vendettas? Why? How are they acting out this hatred in relation to him? Any marking events in his recent past? Did he commit a crime? Any acts of great philanthropy/heroism?
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2. Motivation:
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a. What are your character's immediate goals in the next year? What does he want out of life at the moment?
b. What are his long-term goals, in the next five, ten or twenty years? What does he want out of life in the long run? Fame? Fortune? Family? Land? Enemies crushed? Nothing?
c. What type of person, briefly, would be his ideal mate?
d. Who is his patron deity? Is he a devout worshiper?
e. Is he a member of any non-religious/secular cause? (i.e., is he a loyal servant of a king, baron, organization, etc.)
f. Is there any race, creed, alignment, religion or the like which he cannot stand? Does he fight against it?
g. What is his greatest fear?
h. What is his greatest hope?
i. What is the one task he absolutely refuses to do?
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3. Idiosyncrasies/Character:
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a. What is your character's motto or favorite saying?
b. What is his favorite color?
c. Describe what he would wear if money were no object. What does ha usually dress like?
d. What is his favorite food? His favorite drink?
e. What is his favorite animal?
f. What habits of his friends annoy him most
g. What are his pet peeves if any?
h. Does he have any mannerisms?
i. Does he have any distinguishing marks?
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4. Personality Traits (a.k.a Virtues and Vices):
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Pick traits that you see your character possessing and rank them in their tendency to dominate in the character's personality as indicated just below. For example, the most frequent traits in an Arthurian, Good-type character would be the Positive traits, with maybe a couple of negative traits here and there. (hey, nobody's perfect!) It's up to you to "paint" your character with the traits, thus one should not necessarily impose a limit on the number of traits to use. Think about the following aspects of a character's personality: his outlook, his openness, his emotionality, his self-esteem, his sense of humor, his sociability, his mannerisms, his political inclinations, his sense of ambition, his attitudes, etc.
I wonder if anyone with knowledge about the Champions Universe (cough cough, Lord_Liaden. ) can help me create a character idea. I guess this is actually more obtuse than most requests, because i'm asking for more general information, but meh.
What I have in mind is actually a story or even campaign idea set in modern day China, with uh, everything that entails. Tenuously, the plan is for our stalwart hero or heroes to begin by joining China's national hero team, and be tasked with stopping crimes, assisting with construction, suppressing dissent, et cetera. However, he/they end up becoming disillusioned with the high proportion of the latter, and leave the team to attempt to deal with crime/corruption/et cetera on their own.
I'd like information on how best to use the source material here. Any information people have on China's superhero scene (from the Worldwide Champions (?) sourcebook, I would assume) would be more than welcome. Especially if anyone can tell me more about the national superhero team (I remember that it features 60+ members, including one Heart of the People, but not much else) and any villains in the area. Thanks in advance!
It seems I'm developing a reputation. I'll do my best to help you out, without going beyond fair use of Cryptic's IP.
China has a rather harsh policy toward superhumans. Once identified, they're taken away for training and integrated into the Tiger Squad, the world's largest super team. Those who refuse, whatever their motivations, are branded criminals by the state and may even be executed if captured. Despite that, a few defiant supers operate as independent heroes, notably in Hong Kong and Shanghai, while others become outright supervillains.
The fact that supers are forced to serve in the Tiger Squad whatever their personal desires, means that their personalities and philosophies are very diverse. Some are hardline government supporters; others are more liberal and try to change the system from within; while some would probably be criminals if they hadn't been drafted. Understandably, there's some resulting friction between members.
You'll find a reasonable amount of background information about the Chinese super scene, both heroic and villainous, in Champions Universe and Champions Worldwide, including names and (very brief) power descripitions of a number of supers. However, for the Tiger Squad the most detailed info to date appears in Villains, Vandals, And Vermin, a supervillain compendium -- since the Squad is most likely to be encountered by Player Characters in an adversarial role. Besides a detailed history of the Squad and names of twenty-two additional members, VVV has complete write-ups for five prominent Tiger Squaders.
Perhaps also pertinent to your request, VVV includes a write-up of Spirit Dragon, a great martial artist and former Squad member, who fled China to the United States over a crisis of conscience, and now works from outside China to try to overthrow the Communist regime. Also, two independent Chinese superheroes and three prominent supervillains are given detailed treatment in the aforementioned Champions Worldwide.
Among Chinese supervillains, the most powerful, and one of the most dangerous master villains in the world, is Dr. Yin Wu, a thousand-year-old sorceror. Dr. Wu lives in a castle in China which the Chinese military and the Tiger Squad have tried to breach for decades, without success. He's served by formidable martial artists and an army of Chinese supernatural monsters. Yin Wu and some of his followers are detailed in an e-book sold in the Hero Games website store, The Dragon Mandarin.
The other major super threat indigenous to China (although few realize how dangerous it is yet) is The Cult of the Red Banner, worshipping The Death Dragon, primordial spirit of evil. Red Banner members employ martial arts and Oriental mysticism, and have secret operatives at all levels of Chinese society and institutions. They also employ several super-class agents. There are a few details about the Cult of the Red Banner in Champions Worldwide and Champions Universe, but not a lot has been revealed so far.
That's about as much general info as I'm comfortable discussing on an open forum. I may be able to address further specific questions you might have, including about particular characters, within the bounds of fair use.
I completely understand, breaking copyright law isn't my intention at all. Thank you very much for the overview, I really just wanted to know if there even existed more information than "there is this super team, and it has lots of people". A friend of mine actually has the Yin Wu book, it was part of what got me interested, ironically enough.
I don't want to squeeze information out of you, but from my own research, this is what I came up with character wise. Feel free to pass on commenting on their relation to Champions canon if it makes you legally uncomfortable, but anyone who's reading and wants to offer thoughts is welcome to.
What i'm starting to have in mind for characters in this general setting are, in descending order of completeness:
Random (Maybe?), AKA Ima Hirosuke, a heroine firmly dedicated to the ideals of the Powers that Be-yet one who is viewed with suspicion by her fellows in Tiger Squad not only due to the unpredictable nature of her powers, but also her Japanese heritage. She has access to an extremely broad stable of powers, but is not always aware of which ones at any given time. At some times she may be able to immerse her body in flames, at others emit smokescreens from her skin, and still others dissolve herself into a swarm of insects. Ima gained this strange ability(s) from mutation: her body's cellular structure reacts unpredictably to external stimuli. Through years of training and concentration, she has managed to control certain expressions of her powers-normal human state, basic flight, and a handful of mild utility powers, but her greatest potential lies in her untapped abilities, which she can always access. Each power tends to be expressed for between five minutes and two hours, usually on the former end of the scale. Due to her unique power suite, she tends to spend much of her down time attempting to control it rather than socializing with teammates. As such, she comes across as aloof and detached in social situations, and does not enjoy the company of other human beings. This has not contributed to her popularity with the team.
[Name Undecided], AKA Yang Hou, a hero who uses his powers for entertainment at least as much as justice. By day, Hou is a day laborer just out of high school who usually makes his money as a dockworker in Hong Kong's busy port. By night, he is [Name Undecided], a fun-loving hero who fights petty crime when he isn't busy marvelling at how completely sweet his new powers are. Although he likes to say it is because his family didn't have the right connections for him to go to college, a more accurate answer is that Hou simply wasn't a very good student. Still, it is true that he was not exactly born into Hong Kong's social elite, and the day after barely graduating high school, he was looking for a job to supplement his family income. He found it at the docks, transporting shipping containers for the families that did have connections. [Here I haven't decided exactly what happens for him to get his powers-advice is welcome. What I was thinking is that a ship at the docks strikes him as suspicious, so he comes back after hours to investigate, sees a crane lifting an unmarked container off the ship and toward a waiting truck. He tries to stop it and ends up crushed by the suddenly-dropped container. Inside it is a bio-mechanical/nanotech material that seeps out of the broken container and bonds to his dying body, [I]a la[/I] Venom. I don't know-anything that results in him getting The Suit (as he calls it) would be considered.] The Suit, a non-sentient, though possibly alive techno-organic mass surrounding his body grants him a variety of abilities while he is wearing it: including accelerated healing, super strength, limited matter absorption (getting shot in the head and spitting out the bullet), and extension of prehensile 'tentacles' up to 50 yards. Hou is extremely pleased with his new acquisition, and though he hardly minds doing good (if there's not much better to do), the lack of a mentor who understands his position means he is very irresponsible about his powers, even selfish.
Spring and Autumn, a super-villainous combination of the minor Russian meta-criminal Dmitry Denisovich (aka Countdown) and the ancient Chinese Yaoguai Ya Dao Jing. Created after an ill-fated escape attempt had Countdown fleeing into the territory of Dr. Yin Wu and subsequently being mystically enthralled by the wandering tiger demon, Spring and Autumn is the effect of Ya Dao Jing's control over Dmitry Denisovich's conscious mind-allowing him to think independently within parameters set by his master. Officially, Denisovich is still Countdown, and Ya Dao Jing a mere magical animal he stole and trained in China to assist him. But Spring and Autumn is something new altogether, a force that uses Denisovich's modern knowledge to assist Ya Dao Jing in achieving immortality. The pair combines Countdown's mutant powers of detonating any object with his touch and formidable hand-to-hand combat skills with Ya Dao Jing's formidable control over dark magic, and the natural powers of his tiger demon form.
I'd especially like some help on the latter two. I listed Spring and Autumn as one in the sense that the Wonder Twins are just one entity. Does anyone have some thoughts on the second one's name and means of acquiring The Suit, or Spring and Autumn's group dynamic and such? Or for that matter, anything that strikes you about Random?
i have the perfect name for a tech kinda hero but i dnt wanna give it away at the risk of sounding like an a**hole so yea. Awesome background story's guy
Very interesting character concepts and backgrounds, KellstErik. I'll have to consider them further when I have more time, but here are a few initial thoughts.
For Ima Hirosuke, I suggest a more topical Chinese name would be I Ching, after the philosophical "Book of Changes." This Wikipedia article shows the relevance of the name to her situation.
For Yang Hou (whose name reminds me suspiciously of "Ya-Hoo!" ), it might help find his super moniker if you describe more of how the "suit" looks when Hou is wearing it. As for his acquiring the suit, the scenario you describe begs the question of where it came from and what it was doing being clandestinely shipped into Hong Kong. That detail alone argues against it being transported by the government. Perhaps it was being sold to a criminal Triad to create superhuman enforcers by a supplier of advanced technology, such as ARGENT or the Warlord. It might also have been a project by VIPER, which has long attempted to establish itself in Hong Kong. Either possibility would supply ready made Hunters for Yang. If you wanted the character's history to be more open, in 2003 and 2004 a formidable, mysterious powered-armor villain calling himself the Overlord attacked China with the declared intent of conquering it. Although the Tiger Squad repulsed him he remains at large.
There are also several superhumans in the CU who have gained superpowers as a result of accidentally encountering various alien intelligences, organisms, or artifacts. Perhaps Yang Hou came across something that had fallen from the sky. That something might have makers, or even "relatives," who want it back.
I'm not familiar with the Yaoguai, at least under that name. Could you describe it a bit more? Particularly any personality or motivations traditionally ascribed to it -- that would help clarify its relationship with Desinovitch. It might be interesting if Spring and Autumn were a bit of a wild card. Countdown's mind could occasionally assert itself against Ya Dao Jing's control, allowing him brief periods of free action. On those occasions he might try some plan to free himself from the demon, which could bring him into conflict with PC heroes; or even come to the heroes for help.
If the demon seeks immortality, that could ultimately lead it to try to steal or force the secret of the alchemical Pill of Immortality from Dr. Yin Wu.
This is a little more off the wall, but Ya Dao Jing might have some connection to another Chinese supervillain, Li Chun the Destroyer. Li Chun is a very powerful demon of unknown origin and terrible destructiveness, possessing the body of a skilled Taoist sorceror. The combination makes Li Chun a threat second only to Yin Wu. The Destroyer is fully detailed in Champions Worldwide.
Very interesting character concepts and backgrounds, KellstErik. I'll have to consider them further when I have more time, but here are a few initial thoughts.
For Ima Hirosuke, I suggest a more topical Chinese name would be I Ching, after the philosophical "Book of Changes." This Wikipedia article shows the relevance of the name to her situation.
For Yang Hou (whose name reminds me suspiciously of "Ya-Hoo!" ), it might help find his super moniker if you describe more of how the "suit" looks when Hou is wearing it. As for his acquiring the suit, the scenario you describe begs the question of where it came from and what it was doing being clandestinely shipped into Hong Kong. That detail alone argues against it being transported by the government. Perhaps it was being sold to a criminal Triad to create superhuman enforcers by a supplier of advanced technology, such as ARGENT or the Warlord. It might also have been a project by VIPER, which has long attempted to establish itself in Hong Kong. Either possibility would supply ready made Hunters for Yang. If you wanted the character's history to be more open, in 2003 and 2004 a formidable, mysterious powered-armor villain calling himself the Overlord attacked China with the declared intent of conquering it. Although the Tiger Squad repulsed him he remains at large.
There are also several superhumans in the CU who have gained superpowers as a result of accidentally encountering various alien intelligences, organisms, or artifacts. Perhaps Yang Hou came across something that had fallen from the sky. That something might have makers, or even "relatives," who want it back.
I'm not familiar with the Yaoguai, at least under that name. Could you describe it a bit more? Particularly any personality or motivations traditionally ascribed to it -- that would help clarify its relationship with Desinovitch. It might be interesting if Spring and Autumn were a bit of a wild card. Countdown's mind could occasionally assert itself against Ya Dao Jing's control, allowing him brief periods of free action. On those occasions he might try some plan to free himself from the demon, which could bring him into conflict with PC heroes; or even come to the heroes for help.
If the demon seeks immortality, that could ultimately lead it to try to steal or force the secret of the alchemical Pill of Immortality from Dr. Yin Wu.
This is a little more off the wall, but Ya Dao Jing might have some connection to another Chinese supervillain, Li Chun the Destroyer. Li Chun is a very powerful demon of unknown origin and terrible destructiveness, possessing the body of a skilled Taoist sorceror. The combination makes Li Chun a threat second only to Yin Wu. The Destroyer is fully detailed in Champions Worldwide.
I Ching would be a perfect name-i'm just disappointed I hadn't thought of it first. I'm familiar in only the most basic sense with it, but it's just relevant enough to her situation for "superhero-science" (or, "superhero-literary analysis"). Thanks very much for bringing it up.
Yaoguai is a fairly broad term, but in this sense it refers to a former celestial being which hopes to return to heaven by becoming immortal, and thus a deity. This one in particular is a tiger demon, a bit like a rakshasa in Indian mythology: that's a bit of a stretch, but it provides me with a good excuse for it to have human-manipulation abilities. I vaguely remember something about the Pill of Immortality-that's an excellent motivation, and it would explain what Ya Dao Jing was doing prowling around in Dr. Yin Wu's back yard.
I like the idea of Countdown attempting to break free or assert himself from time to time, mostly the former. The general sense I want to create is that Denisovich-little more than a powered thug, really-is completely outclassed by this ancient mystical creature. He's way out of his league, and is mostly being kept around to make it easier for Ya Dao Jing to deal with the modern world until he can get his claws on the Pill of Immortality or some similar plot device.
To be fair, Yang Hou's "super" side is a shameless ripoff of Venom/black suit Spiderman. You might search on Youtube for videos of the Venom gameplay in Ultimate Spiderman for the general "feel" I have in mind-a very bulky Brick sort of guy hurling cars and grabbing crooks with his tentacles, though in this case a lot of his mass is the suit. It isn't power armor, more like an amorphous sort of amoeba-creature that fits to his body.
The idea of exactly what the suit is and how he got it has been nagging at me. I like the notion of it being an alien organism of some sort, though I don't want to rip off Marvel too much. Perhaps the creature was stolen from a crash site and acquired by an overcurious scientist (Would this be up Lirby Koo's alley?) who proceeded to install a processing core to serve as the cell-like organism's 'nucleus', allowing its actions to be controlled. He subsequently weaponizes it into a battlesuit, and is in the process of shipping it to Hong Kong for field testing when the cargo ship is robbed by inept VIPER agents who proceed to misoperate the crane and drop the container. Bada bing!
To be fair, Yang Hou's "super" side is a shameless ripoff of Venom/black suit Spiderman. You might search on Youtube for videos of the Venom gameplay in Ultimate Spiderman for the general "feel" I have in mind-a very bulky Brick sort of guy hurling cars and grabbing crooks with his tentacles, though in this case a lot of his mass is the suit. It isn't power armor, more like an amorphous sort of amoeba-creature that fits to his body.
The idea of exactly what the suit is and how he got it has been nagging at me. I like the notion of it being an alien organism of some sort, though I don't want to rip off Marvel too much. Perhaps the creature was stolen from a crash site and acquired by an overcurious scientist (Would this be up Lirby Koo's alley?) who proceeded to install a processing core to serve as the cell-like organism's 'nucleus', allowing its actions to be controlled. He subsequently weaponizes it into a battlesuit, and is in the process of shipping it to Hong Kong for field testing when the cargo ship is robbed by inept VIPER agents who proceed to misoperate the crane and drop the container. Bada bing!
I actually picked up on the character's Venom-ness, but wasn't sure if it would be politic for me to point it out.
In the Champions Universe there is an expansionistic, frankly monstrous race that mankind will encounter as we spread to the stars, and come to call the Xenovores (yes, that means "alien eaters," and the name is deserved). The Xenovores make extensive use of organic technology (as opposed to inorganic), particularly biologically-based nanites that consume raw materials and manufacture all manner of finished items. Although the Xenovores have not made official contact with Earth as of the early 21st Century (very fortunately), their empire is close enough that a scout ship or probe could have crashed here. Some bio-nanites could have been salvaged from it.
Note that some of the CU supers whose origins involve alien technology or organisms have gained powers beyond what these items were originally designed for or capable of, due to the items' interaction with the highly adaptable human genome.
(BTW Dr. Lirby Koo, or "Kirby Loo" depending on which book you read, is not part of the official Fifth Edition Champions Universe canon. But there are a few criminal master biologists who could engineer what you describe, including Teleios, King Cobra, or Dr. Phillippe Moreau... and of course, Dr. Destroyer. As groups VIPER, and particularly ARGENT, would have the same capacity.)
Comments
Considering all these qualities, and looking at all the meanings of the word, I might call him Justifier.
It can be used both as a term of "forewarning" (telepathy or precognition) and as a synonym for "Herald" or "Harbinger"...
tying both his present (and possible future) role as an emessary between humanity and his benifactors..and his mental powers into one idea.
...its also a little unusual, yet simple, making it both more likely to aquire, and easier for others to remember..
I could also see a lot of conflict between this character and other members of the human race.... a lot of questions arise when a hero relies on "gifts" from an unknown alien presence, using technology far in advance compaired to our own..
I thrusts him easily into a role of "Wanting to do right" in the face of all eyes turned against him (perhaps not violently... but palpably..)
I like Presage
He is like a way primitive and toned down Ironman.
The only powers he has are flight via rocket boots (and all that entails) and his suit of Steel armor, which protects him from some bullets and is very flexible. That and a rather keen detectives mind and a blackbelt in Tai-kuan-do.
His alter ego is a police officer, and a rather good one at that.
He resents heroes that have 'real' super powers.
Just some questions raised by this info which may help you think of how you want to define Steel Jacket:
Did he create his armor himself, or did someone create it for him, or did he find it/ take it?
Does his resentment of "real" superheroes have any effect on how he deals with them? Did a super-hero have anything to do with him becoming Steel Jacket? Or perhaps caused some trauma in his past?
What's his motivation for becoming a superhero? Is his identity a secret, or does Steel Jacket have some sort of official sanction or position?
Is there someplace we could read more about Huriasan himself?
Too much power, too little restraint, and the innocent stuck in the middle...
One reckless character with superspeed to use as a side character. The character must be quick to jump to conclusions and must assume that a character that looks slightly suspscious is in fact, a villain. This character will be used in a mistaken identity scenario, and then used in a Deus ex Machina scenario later on.
If anyone's interested, please PM me and give me a brief rundown of abilities and personality or a sample of previous exploits so that I may find these things on my own.
I think I have it.
He was a detective for a long time, and worked well particularly in hostage cases. In one such case, a hero messed everything up and got the hostages killed. After trying to get the police to crack down on 'Super Powered Vigialantes' (as he called them) he began trying to work out a way to get super heroes to 'respect' the police more and follow police directions more often.
He consulted some friends, and eventually found someone who could help him with his goal, the original Steel Jacket, who had actually been an honarary police officer back in the 60s. The original Steel Jacket gave him the suit, and even the badge, and told him that the best way to get the other super heroes to work with the police better was to show them that it could be done and how it should be done.
He then started his super hero career. Steel Jacket (and his alter ego both) are part of the NYPD. He will often work with the police, obeying orders and only voicing conserns about bad ones, like a good officer. He has gotten several superheros to start acting the same, even going so far as to request police training.
No one but close friends and family, and the original Steel Jacket, know his secret Identity, and he has convinced the police to allow this for the other super heroes who work with them.
Recently he has been approached by the FBI to form a team of 'Super Police' to help combat growing threats abroad.
Still looking for a volunteer for this. =O
What help are you looking for, BR? Character background and origin? Personality? Powers? Tie-ins to the Champions Universe?
Just seems like you have a pretty good idea of what you want already.
Ludwig Van Volcan was always a different person as a child his eyes changed from green to blue to purple and in middle school he discovered he had the power to control fire when he was lighting fireworks on the fourth of july and one bottle rocket exploded prematurely, he came out almost unharmed but his face bore the scar, afterwards dicoverd that he could manipulate and create fire, he discoverd his power to control lightning when a theif broke into his house and cut the power, after trying to fix it he absorbed the power of the electricity and killed the theif, after a few months of trying to figure out how to control his powers he went to Japan and found a man who called himself The Everlaster gave him a sword called "Kaji-dandou" meaning electric fire there was no othe way for the man to help him the man sent Volcan home and in being highly unstable he was aproched by a man who brought him to the stronghold and he has been there ever since developing and creating new forms of his powers after a few years he found out how to slowly become semi-transparent (like predator) and filter his powers through the sword,a month later a man was brought to the stronghold who called himself Sven told him about the new Silversins and Vilval's story, he soon became intrested and is awaiting the chance to finally meet this Vilval until then, he will be training.
Aside from that, vulcon, what I get from your story is a lot of historical details of what your character can do, what he did and what happened to him, but nothing about how those things relate to the growth of his personality and motivations. How did he feel about having unusual abilities as a child? Did that affect how he related to others? Did that scar he got change him emotionally? Was he affected by killing that thief? Why did he go to Japan? Who or what is the Everlaster, and why did he give Ludwig that sword? Why did "a man" approach him and "bring him to the stronghold?" What is this "stronghold" -- are you referring to the Champions Universe super-prison, or some other facility?
Finally and most importantly, how does all this tie into who Ludwig Van Volcan is now? What does he want to do with his life? Why does he want to "meet Vival," and what does he plan to do when he does? For that matter, is he a hero or a villain, or neither?
Age:15
Codename: Crash Course
Hair color/style: Shaggy/Dirty Blond
Eye color/features: Icy Blue. Scars on chest and small scar on cheek.
Build: Tall Around 5'11, Athletic build, with a fair complexion. Lean, but muscular from hard training
Skills/ Abilities: A master of martial arts. He has mastered Akido, Karate, Muay Thai, Taekwando, Hapkido, Judo, and Jiu-Jitsu.
He also has the ability to heal from injury faster due to a cell mutation in is body. He has honed his senses, reflexes, his strength, his speed, his patience, his discipline, and his intelligence through rigorous training from renowned dojos all around the world.
Character Background: Kevin grew up as much of a normal kid as possible. He went to school, competed
Hey guys, I was just wondering If someone could help me build on his backstory. I have one in mind, but it would be awesome if someone would gimme some suggestions, because, like they say, two heads are better than one...in most cases
What motivated him to become a hero.
Another big question: where and how did he get his martial arts training and related skills? Fifteen is pretty young to be a "master" at any one martial style, let alone seven.
It's possible that Kevin's skills and his motivation could be tied to that extraordinary healing of his. For example, perhaps his cellular mutation is inherited, and with it came the genetic memory of a long line of heroic martial artists. He could have had these exceptional abilities all his life, so that while he tried to have a "normal life" the memory of his past incarnations would color his relationships to others; or they could have emerged as a result of some trauma, a classic superhero origin which would match well with his code name. Or both -- flashbacks of past lives, occasional manifestations of skills he didn't know he had a la Jason Bourne, until the "crash" which brought it all back to him. Besides explaining Kevin's skills, the memories of several lifetimes in a teenager's body would make him a richer, more complex character.
This also could lead to Kevin's nemesis should you wish to design one. Someone who had been an enemy of one of Kevin's past identities -- maybe more than one -- who's been hunting for the champion's last descendant and latest incarnation.
Thanks for the great ideas!
Entropy, a poor soul cursed with an aura of degradation. He destroys anything he touches, and objects can wear down and break merely from his presence. He fights evildoers by integrating himself into their plots, dooming them to failure.
Any ideas? I like the character concept so far, but I am at a loss for costume, origin, etc.
Michael Froman and his brother Jacob used to for Harmon Industries. They were lead scientists of project HAIR (harness atomic ion radiation). They were trying to create super powered hair gel that would keep hair looking great and give the user super powers! But one fateful day there was an accident in the lab and a giant vat of AIR (atomic ion radiation) enriched hair gel exploded. Both Michael and Jacob were bombarded with AIR partials. After waking up in a hospital weeks later they learned they had giant blond fro's and super powers! Michael thought they should use their powers for the greater good. Jacob thought they should use their powers for personal gain. They went their separate ways and Michael when on to become the super hero Caucasiafro, Jacob became the super villain EvilCaucasiafro.
The brothers are now arch-enemies.
I have a character concept that needs some fleshing out. His hero name is Zephyr, and true to its meaning his personality is very similar to a spring breeze. He is good natured and playfully mischievous. His powers stem from physical mutations.
His powers:
He is an Aerokenetic, with the ability to create and manipulate wind currents with his psych. He fights primarily with slashes of air that he uses to both ward off blows and to land blows of his own. He also has a minor form of telekenisis, though he uses wind to move the objects. This only gives him the ability to hover, I wouldn't call it flying.
He also can disintegrate himself to an atomic level and blast himself on the wind and then reintegrate as a close range teleportation. This also allows him to go invisible, though he cant hold it for long as it becomes too difficult to keep his molecules close enough together to reintegrate.
The first ability that presented itself though, was the ability to sense things in the wind like a rudimentary sonar. By feeling the winds current, altering it and then seeing how it changes he can determine what objects are in the winds current.
He also has a special pheromone in his breath that is part of the reason he named himself "Zephyr". His breath can alter peoples emotions and allows him to charm people. It wears off quickly and he wears a mask to prevent it from affecting everyone around him, but he uses it to diffuse situations, particularly when his pranks come to light.
Here is a pic of Zephyr: http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn135/Eternal2k/Zephyr.gif
In the Champions Universe, the kind of effect you're talking about is often symptomatic of corruption by the Qliphoth dimensions, a cosmos that is in many ways the antithesis of our own. Qliphothic matter, energy, even life, are very different from and antithetical to those in our cosmos. There have been many "leaks" from the Qliphoth into Champions Earth over the years, most often engineered by cultists who worship powerful Qliphothic entities like the Kings of Edom (think H.P. Lovecraft's "Great Old Ones"). DEMON is the largest and most dangerous of these cults. The touch of the Qliphoth usually brings on spiritual corruption as well as physical, but a strong-willed person might resist that, especially if he finds a way to turn its influence to something positive.
Your character could have literally been "cursed" by a cult during one of these rituals, either accidentally or through deliberate infliction. He could have been an heroic investigator who stumbled into a cult ceremony and attempted to disrupt it. He might have been a person of influence who was an obstacle to one of the cult's front organizations, or had assets they wanted to acquire. He might even have been a low-ranking member of the cult when exposure to the Qliphoth made him realize the true depths of evil, and resolve to oppose it instead of serve it.
Nice concept, and a coherent group of powers. By "disintegration," do you mean his body becomes gaseous? That would fit with his other air-based powes. If so, his "teleport" might not work through any airtight barrier.
The Champions Universe includes several air/weather manipulating supers, at least two of them mutants; so that would be a reasonable origin for your character. He could also be a supernatural air spirit, from the dimension of Faerie or "The Land of Legends," where all the gods, races, and creatures from human myth and folklore abide.
On the downside, the official CU already has a powerful air-elemental supervillainess named Zephyr, so if your character used that name he may be in for a fight over the right to keep it. OTOH his pheromone power may lead to a more peaceful resolution of the issue.
If you'd like an alternate name suggestion, perhaps Iolas or Aeolus, the Greek/Roman (respectively) god of the winds.
Zephyr actually come from Zephyrus the greek god of the west, or spring, wind. But maybe I could use the roman version Favonius some way...
His powers are enhanced durability, reaction time, and super human leg strength.
What I have currently is him receiving an experimental treatment using chemicals to repair his legs after they were badly burned a few years back. However, the one giving the treatment is using the character more as a guinea pig rather than actually wanting to help him.
I've actually got the character figured out beyond that, so I was just hoping for a little more input on what I can do to add to his origin.
My suggestion is to make Ballista the recipient of such treatments by a scientist working for Dr. Moreau, under the guise of therapy for his burned legs. Animal genetic material could account for his overall improved durability and reaction time; and this particular experiment may be using DNA from animals with particularly strong and swift legs, like cheetahs, gazelles, mules, and/or frogs. If the first stages of the treatments were successful, Dr. Moreau would probably want to kidnap and convert your character into a full manimal conditioned to be loyal to him.
While Moreau's operative might simply have taken advantage of your character's injury to use him as a test subject, to add depth to the character's background he might have run afoul of Moreau in the past, either in a scientific capacity e.g. a rival researcher, or as some type of law enforcement operative opposing Moreau's operations. So the Doctor may intend to "disappear" him by making him a beast-man. Note that Dr. Moreau has worked extensively for the world-girdling super criminal/terrorist agency VIPER in the past, so if your character has opposed them VIPER might hire Moreau to eliminate their problem without leaving a trail back to them.
Well, you could just call him "Zephyrus." That really would make a distinction between "us" and "them."
An interesting idea for integration into the Champions Universe, and it doesn't even conflict in the slightest with what I've done so far. Most of it can be considered pretty independent at this point though. The thing that I will modify though is the fact that Ballista, or Ted, is currently 17, and is very unlikely to have directly angered this guy.
I was, however, planning for his father to be a retired military operative of sorts, so I could easily have him be the one attracting Moreau's wrath.
And to "retrieve" Ballista, I can already used one of my planned villains, currently named Gem.
Thanks for your help.
For appearance I was imagining him as unnaturally thin, post-anemic, partially revealed bone structure, etc. as if the Qliphoth energies are causing his own physical body to decay as well.
So, I was thinking something like a black trench coat and wide-brimmed hat or something, with an almost zombie-like appearance beneath.
Some children are birthed out of compassion, others are purely accidentally. My birth was no accident but there was no compassion behind my creation. No I was created out of necessity. My parents created me to use as a test subject, to test out their new genetic engineering formula designed for the Norwegian Intelligence Agency [NIS]. The project was designed to create agents that could be in several places at once and take a on a full proof disguse. My parents Signi & Ragner Jarlson both Norwegian born went to Cambridge to study Genetics. Their marriage was more about having a constant science partner then love. My parents, the brilliant geneticist that they where found the latter quite easy. The former would require a physicist consultation and so a brilliant but slightly mad physicist Bjorn Tokison was indoctrinated into the program. After several more years of research and millions of U.S. dollars in Norwegian krones a method of doing both was created. However it was determined that the process woould create monsters and erase away all humanity. The three dedicated researcher were left out in the cold. While most would move on my parents and there fellow researcher hatched a plan to show why the risks were worth it and that is how I came to be conceived. While I was developing my mother womb, mutagens were injected. After I was born I was put into a machine designed. To allow my atoms to duplicate themselves and form another identical atomic structure that was still in the control of the original atomic structure I.E. me.
The first ten years of my life where spent under the cold tutelage of my parents and Dr. Tokison. When I was little, the only entertainment I had was scientific textbooks and puzzles such as rubric cubes. I was given what was needed to survive and affection was not considered necessary. My parents were not mean to me just indifferent. At some point I came to the conclusion that if I worked hard enough on my studies and learning how to use my abilities, my parent would love me as I was told time and time again that if I wanted to impress the NIS for Mommy and Daddy. I had to show them I wasn't a monster. I knew Calculus, Organic chemistry, Advanced Physics, Genetics, and two languages Norwegian and English at age 11.
As I came into my early teens these foolish childish fantasies disappeared and I became rebellious and was determined to escape away to Millennium City, to a fresh start. But my parent kept me under a tight lock and key and escape seemed an unrealistic fantasy. At age 12 I was taken to be shown to NIS. The NIS sent a escort to take me to the testing center. My parents convinced they would soon be compensated for all their years of research and work let down there guards and the escort had no idea of what I was capable of. On the way to NIS headquarters in Oslo I insisted on stopping for a restroom break on the edge of the Norwegian wilderness. As soon as we left the car I transformed into a wolf overpowering my parents and guards. I fled my parents and guards escaping into the forest. I planned to make my way from there to the airport in Oslo and fly from there to Millennium City. But things did not go as planned as the NIS unwilling to let cutting edge Norwegian technology get into American hands pursued me. They decided the best way to protect the technology was by elimanating my parents, Dr. Tokison, and me. From what I can determine they managed to put down them. NIS tracked me into the forest and six agents ambushed me.
The next four years of my life are blurry but from what I can remember I duplicated myself creating a wolf pack. Then we fell upon the agents ripping out there throats. After that I became feral, me and my duplicates taking the alias of a standard wolf pack. Finally after four years of subconsciously moving south toward Oslo I finally became sane again. The NIS however never gave up there hunt for me assigning Agent Harold Starkison, an agent known for being brutally ruthless in his pursuit to complete his mission, to my case.
I spent the next three years in various cities doing odd jobs gaining money for my passage. Those three years on the street where tough as I evaded capture from the NIS and my lycan form was not always suited for the urban environment so I learned to use knives great skill and accuracy. Agent Starkison, prusued me restlessly killing all the people I worked for. It got to the point where I thought it would be easier just to give up so the wieght of the rising collateral damage woundn't weigh on my concious. But I came to the desicion that getting to Mllennium was more important than anything to me. Finally at age nineteen I had enough money to be smuggled into Millennium City. Finally I though I could go there and turn over a new leaf little did I know that freedom would not come without a cost...
Ingolf Ragnerson is a nineteen year old lanky Norwegian teenager with salt and pepper hair and grey blue eyes. His powers are duplication and shapeshifting and a clever and knowledgeable mind. He is also skilled in the use of knives, he possess superhuman agility hearing and scent derived from years spent in the body of a wolf. He tends to be distrustful and does not like working in groups he is more concerned fro his own survival then that of others, he is even willing to kill. But he will help the innocent if he thinks there may be a reward at the end of the line be it money or intercourse. Although he escaped to Millennium City, Agent Harold Starkison has pursued and has been a problem at every turn. Ingolf has been forced to take the alias of Pack Mentality to protect his Identity. Ingolf one major weakness is he is highly vulnerable to loud sounds due to all the time he spent as a wolf. What do you guys think? Any name suggestions
You seem to have an outline thus far, but I think it needs to be fleshed out a little bit more.
Some things to consider:
Ingolf's "parents" seem to figure into his personal development rather heavily, yet very little about them is mentioned beyond their occupations. What are their names? What are their personalities like? Are they cruel to Ingolf or simply indifferent towards him?
It seems like Ingolf was being developed for military applications. Perhaps you could explain why it would have been so important to his parents that he keep up on his studies?
Why would the NIS allow Ingolf to be transported anywhere without being under heavy guard if his potential escape would pose such a large security risk? Surely they would have sent some sort of escort or made a trip to the facility rather than letting a pair of scientists drive him to their headquarters unattended. Also, after keeping Ingolf under such tight lock and key for all those years, why would they suddenly allow him to stop at some random rest stop? It seems a bit out of character to me, based on what you've written about them. For that matter, if he can copy himself and transform into his lycan form at will, why not simply overpower his parents and escape?
The period between his escape and his arrival in Millennium City seems like a critical turning point for the character, so I'd recommend expanding upon it a bit.
The grammar is a little bit confusing, to the point that there are a few instances where I'm not at all sure what you were trying to say. I'm not trying to be rude, but it's difficult to critique/workshop something that I can't understand.
Just a few things to touch on. I can offer some additional input if you want, but I think that the above points are a good place to start.
Pack is pretty appropriate given your character concept, though you might have a little bit of competition for it on the game's release. For other ideas, try looking up different types of wolves and deriving names from that (ex: Timber Wolf).
As for costume design, I'd say it depends on what kind of a profile he wants to keep. If he's trying to be inconspicuous (and avoid NIS operatives pursuing him), he's going to want to wear concealing civilian clothes that are loose enough to accommodate his transformation. On the other hand, if you're looking for more of a uniform, perhaps you should consider giving him a black ops infiltration suit (practical and functional), such as those seen in Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid. Granted, those are form fitting suits, but they're not tights by any means.
I can offer some additional input if you like, but you need to give me an idea of what sort of a profile he's looking to keep.
You addressed most of the initial issues that I had with the story, which is very good. If you want an "in between" profile, I still recommend going the stealth suit route, though you can trim the black suit with silver or some other color and give it a logo to make it seem more superhero-y. As for the name, I think that Pack Mentality may be a winner. Creative, descriptive, unique. Anything else you need help with?
I wonder if anyone with knowledge about the Champions Universe (cough cough, Lord_Liaden.
What I have in mind is actually a story or even campaign idea set in modern day China, with uh, everything that entails. Tenuously, the plan is for our stalwart hero or heroes to begin by joining China's national hero team, and be tasked with stopping crimes, assisting with construction, suppressing dissent, et cetera. However, he/they end up becoming disillusioned with the high proportion of the latter, and leave the team to attempt to deal with crime/corruption/et cetera on their own.
I'd like information on how best to use the source material here. Any information people have on China's superhero scene (from the Worldwide Champions (?) sourcebook, I would assume) would be more than welcome. Especially if anyone can tell me more about the national superhero team (I remember that it features 60+ members, including one Heart of the People, but not much else) and any villains in the area. Thanks in advance!
Any thoughts how to work in a travel power that makes sense of course I want something that is not what power supernatural based. Also not sure what powers to give my Arch Nemisis can you think of anything that would be the perfect opposite power to oppose Ingolf and how he could get one
When creating a character, this character is more or less an extention of yourself. It reflects what interests you and what you fantasize about. There are many exercises in inspirational creation of a character's backstory, such as find a theme song that best suits a cartoon production of your character, or latch onto a key ability and exfoliate on how he/she got it.
Another creative exercise is to vividly imagine how a hero fights, to include the down and dirty fist work but also the methodology in his/her actions. How does your hero fight a single cornered pickpocket? How does your hero fight 20 pickpockets? If there is a hostage situation, what is your hero's method of approach? If outmatched by a villain, does your hero fight till one is left standing or does your hero plan a tactical retreat? What does your hero's colateral damage fines and bills look like? Do your opponents flee in panic when they see you, or overconfidently see an opportunity to impress their masters?
From there, take those motivations and actions and start asking "Why would my hero do these things? What makes my hero do these things? What events in my hero's past cause him/her to do this? Would my hero act differently if something had or hadn't happened in his/her past?"
Once you've asked yourself those kind of questions and answered them, it should be a simple task connecting the dots in the physical world and past to the present.
Rakescar's Character Development Work Sheet.
Use of the concept herein will thankfully make the 'alignment' system as known in AD&D useless. With personality traits well-defined, alignment becomes extraneous as a guide to role-playing your PC. Alignment was designed as a quick and dirty system for explaining a character's behavior, but inherent in the system are limits that do not make for very "realistic" and "3-dimensional" characters.
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1a. Early History / Family / Childhood environment :
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a. Exactly where and when was your character born? Under what circumstances? Was he wanted? Was he adopted?
b. Who raised him? How did he live? What was his quality of living/standards?
c. What was happening in the region while he was growing up? Any marking events?
d. Does he have any immediate relatives? If so, how did he get along with them? What are they doing now? How many sisters or brothers does he have? What of their names? Where are they now? What are they doing?
e. Any marking events in his family's history? Fortunes made or lost? Migrations? Lost members? Found members? Deaths? Births? Crimes? Great acts of philanthropy?
f. Is he well-educated? Where and under who did he study?
1b. Recent History/Entry into Adulthood:
a. Where is he living now? Is he patriotic about his current Locale? How is he living? What are his living conditions? How does it affect him?
b. Who are his close friends? Why? How did they become close friends? Does he currently have a love or exclusive relation of some sort? Who is this special person?
c. Who does he deal with on a frequent basis? Why?
d. Does he have anyone who dislikes him? Is each person currently acting on it, or just passive about it? Why does he dislike him?
e. Does he have any enemies with deep-seated hatreds? Blood Feuds Vendettas? Why? How are they acting out this hatred in relation to him? Any marking events in his recent past? Did he commit a crime? Any acts of great philanthropy/heroism?
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2. Motivation:
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a. What are your character's immediate goals in the next year? What does he want out of life at the moment?
b. What are his long-term goals, in the next five, ten or twenty years? What does he want out of life in the long run? Fame? Fortune? Family? Land? Enemies crushed? Nothing?
c. What type of person, briefly, would be his ideal mate?
d. Who is his patron deity? Is he a devout worshiper?
e. Is he a member of any non-religious/secular cause? (i.e., is he a loyal servant of a king, baron, organization, etc.)
f. Is there any race, creed, alignment, religion or the like which he cannot stand? Does he fight against it?
g. What is his greatest fear?
h. What is his greatest hope?
i. What is the one task he absolutely refuses to do?
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3. Idiosyncrasies/Character:
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a. What is your character's motto or favorite saying?
b. What is his favorite color?
c. Describe what he would wear if money were no object. What does ha usually dress like?
d. What is his favorite food? His favorite drink?
e. What is his favorite animal?
f. What habits of his friends annoy him most
g. What are his pet peeves if any?
h. Does he have any mannerisms?
i. Does he have any distinguishing marks?
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4. Personality Traits (a.k.a Virtues and Vices):
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Pick traits that you see your character possessing and rank them in their tendency to dominate in the character's personality as indicated just below. For example, the most frequent traits in an Arthurian, Good-type character would be the Positive traits, with maybe a couple of negative traits here and there. (hey, nobody's perfect!) It's up to you to "paint" your character with the traits, thus one should not necessarily impose a limit on the number of traits to use. Think about the following aspects of a character's personality: his outlook, his openness, his emotionality, his self-esteem, his sense of humor, his sociability, his mannerisms, his political inclinations, his sense of ambition, his attitudes, etc.
Positive:
Accurate, Ambitious, Anarchistic, Anticipative Aristocratic, Bold, Calm, Candid, Celibate, Charismatic, Chaste, Competent, Conciliatory, Contemplative, Cunning, Curious, Dainty, Daring, Demonstrative, Diplomatic, Discerning, Dogmatic Dreamer, Eccentric, Efficient, Even-tempered, Faltering, Fascinating, Fearless, Frank, Honorable, Humble, Impartial, Inquisitive, Instinctual, Intelligent, Just, Keen, Lawful, Lawless, Liberal, Loyal , Meticulous , Modest , Moll if ying , Moral , Non-conformist, Obedient, Obscure, Obtuse, Odd, Ostentatious, Passionate, Perfectionist, Phlegmatic, Prideful, Prudent, Rational, Righteous, Scheming, Shrewd, Sober, Solitary, Straightforward, Virginal, Zealous
Neutral:
Accepting, Affable, Altruistic, Ascetic, Austere, Benevolent, Careful, Cheerful, Chivalrous, Clean, Comfortable , Compassionate, Congenial , Conscientious , Considerate, Courteous, Creative, Dapper, Dignified, Eager, Earnest, Educated, Enlightened, Enthusiastic, Forgiving, Friendly, Gallant, Generous, Genial, Gentle, Giving, Good-humored, Graceful, Gracious, Handsome, Happy, Helpful, Honest, Knowledgeable, Lively, Mannerly, Mellifluous, Neat, Optimistic, Outgoing, Paragon, Patient, Peaceable, Perseverant, Philanthropic, Pious, Polite, Pretty, Provident, quaint, Reliable, Resolute, Respectful, Sociable, Tranquil, Trustworthy, Unselfish, Valorous:, Vivacious, Well-read, Wise
Negative:
Absentminded, Abusive, Addictive, Adulterating, Aggressive, Aloof, Antagonistic, Apathetic, Arrogant, Barbarous, Bigoted, Bitter, Boisterous, Boorish, Boring, Bullying, Callous, Capricious, Careless, Caustic, Cheating, Clumsy, Compliant, Conceited, Condescending, Confusing, Conniving, Contradictory, Controlling, Corrupt, Covetous, Coward, Crazed Criminal, Cruel, Cynical, Dark, deceptive, Deformed, Disfigured, Dishonest, Disorderly, disturbed, Dull, Envious, Erratic, Exasperating, Foolish, Frivolous, Gluttonous, Greedy, Haughtier, Haunted, Imbecile, Immature, Immoral, Impatient, Impetuous, Incompetent, Incorrigible, indifferent, Insensitive, Insidious, Insolent, irritating, Kleptomaniac, Lazy, Lustful, Malevolent, Manic, Manipulative, Megalomaniac, Merciless, Messy, Moody, Naive, Ne9lectful, Obstinate, Perverted, Plotting, Reluctant, Resignation, Reticent, Rude, Ruffian, Ruthless, Self-serving, Severe, Shallow, Shy, Sinister, Sly, Sniveling, Stubborn, Stupid, Submissive, Surly, Savage, Traitorous, Ugly, Uncertain,Unclean, Undeceive, Vainglorious, Vapid, Violent, Weak-willed, Wicked.
It seems I'm developing a reputation.
China has a rather harsh policy toward superhumans. Once identified, they're taken away for training and integrated into the Tiger Squad, the world's largest super team. Those who refuse, whatever their motivations, are branded criminals by the state and may even be executed if captured. Despite that, a few defiant supers operate as independent heroes, notably in Hong Kong and Shanghai, while others become outright supervillains.
The fact that supers are forced to serve in the Tiger Squad whatever their personal desires, means that their personalities and philosophies are very diverse. Some are hardline government supporters; others are more liberal and try to change the system from within; while some would probably be criminals if they hadn't been drafted. Understandably, there's some resulting friction between members.
You'll find a reasonable amount of background information about the Chinese super scene, both heroic and villainous, in Champions Universe and Champions Worldwide, including names and (very brief) power descripitions of a number of supers. However, for the Tiger Squad the most detailed info to date appears in Villains, Vandals, And Vermin, a supervillain compendium -- since the Squad is most likely to be encountered by Player Characters in an adversarial role. Besides a detailed history of the Squad and names of twenty-two additional members, VVV has complete write-ups for five prominent Tiger Squaders.
Perhaps also pertinent to your request, VVV includes a write-up of Spirit Dragon, a great martial artist and former Squad member, who fled China to the United States over a crisis of conscience, and now works from outside China to try to overthrow the Communist regime. Also, two independent Chinese superheroes and three prominent supervillains are given detailed treatment in the aforementioned Champions Worldwide.
Among Chinese supervillains, the most powerful, and one of the most dangerous master villains in the world, is Dr. Yin Wu, a thousand-year-old sorceror. Dr. Wu lives in a castle in China which the Chinese military and the Tiger Squad have tried to breach for decades, without success. He's served by formidable martial artists and an army of Chinese supernatural monsters. Yin Wu and some of his followers are detailed in an e-book sold in the Hero Games website store, The Dragon Mandarin.
The other major super threat indigenous to China (although few realize how dangerous it is yet) is The Cult of the Red Banner, worshipping The Death Dragon, primordial spirit of evil. Red Banner members employ martial arts and Oriental mysticism, and have secret operatives at all levels of Chinese society and institutions. They also employ several super-class agents. There are a few details about the Cult of the Red Banner in Champions Worldwide and Champions Universe, but not a lot has been revealed so far.
That's about as much general info as I'm comfortable discussing on an open forum. I may be able to address further specific questions you might have, including about particular characters, within the bounds of fair use.
I don't want to squeeze information out of you, but from my own research, this is what I came up with character wise. Feel free to pass on commenting on their relation to Champions canon if it makes you legally uncomfortable, but anyone who's reading and wants to offer thoughts is welcome to.
What i'm starting to have in mind for characters in this general setting are, in descending order of completeness:
Random (Maybe?), AKA Ima Hirosuke, a heroine firmly dedicated to the ideals of the Powers that Be-yet one who is viewed with suspicion by her fellows in Tiger Squad not only due to the unpredictable nature of her powers, but also her Japanese heritage. She has access to an extremely broad stable of powers, but is not always aware of which ones at any given time. At some times she may be able to immerse her body in flames, at others emit smokescreens from her skin, and still others dissolve herself into a swarm of insects. Ima gained this strange ability(s) from mutation: her body's cellular structure reacts unpredictably to external stimuli. Through years of training and concentration, she has managed to control certain expressions of her powers-normal human state, basic flight, and a handful of mild utility powers, but her greatest potential lies in her untapped abilities, which she can always access. Each power tends to be expressed for between five minutes and two hours, usually on the former end of the scale. Due to her unique power suite, she tends to spend much of her down time attempting to control it rather than socializing with teammates. As such, she comes across as aloof and detached in social situations, and does not enjoy the company of other human beings. This has not contributed to her popularity with the team.
[Name Undecided], AKA Yang Hou, a hero who uses his powers for entertainment at least as much as justice. By day, Hou is a day laborer just out of high school who usually makes his money as a dockworker in Hong Kong's busy port. By night, he is [Name Undecided], a fun-loving hero who fights petty crime when he isn't busy marvelling at how completely sweet his new powers are. Although he likes to say it is because his family didn't have the right connections for him to go to college, a more accurate answer is that Hou simply wasn't a very good student. Still, it is true that he was not exactly born into Hong Kong's social elite, and the day after barely graduating high school, he was looking for a job to supplement his family income. He found it at the docks, transporting shipping containers for the families that did have connections. [Here I haven't decided exactly what happens for him to get his powers-advice is welcome. What I was thinking is that a ship at the docks strikes him as suspicious, so he comes back after hours to investigate, sees a crane lifting an unmarked container off the ship and toward a waiting truck. He tries to stop it and ends up crushed by the suddenly-dropped container. Inside it is a bio-mechanical/nanotech material that seeps out of the broken container and bonds to his dying body, [I]a la[/I] Venom. I don't know-anything that results in him getting The Suit (as he calls it) would be considered.] The Suit, a non-sentient, though possibly alive techno-organic mass surrounding his body grants him a variety of abilities while he is wearing it: including accelerated healing, super strength, limited matter absorption (getting shot in the head and spitting out the bullet), and extension of prehensile 'tentacles' up to 50 yards. Hou is extremely pleased with his new acquisition, and though he hardly minds doing good (if there's not much better to do), the lack of a mentor who understands his position means he is very irresponsible about his powers, even selfish.
Spring and Autumn, a super-villainous combination of the minor Russian meta-criminal Dmitry Denisovich (aka Countdown) and the ancient Chinese Yaoguai Ya Dao Jing. Created after an ill-fated escape attempt had Countdown fleeing into the territory of Dr. Yin Wu and subsequently being mystically enthralled by the wandering tiger demon, Spring and Autumn is the effect of Ya Dao Jing's control over Dmitry Denisovich's conscious mind-allowing him to think independently within parameters set by his master. Officially, Denisovich is still Countdown, and Ya Dao Jing a mere magical animal he stole and trained in China to assist him. But Spring and Autumn is something new altogether, a force that uses Denisovich's modern knowledge to assist Ya Dao Jing in achieving immortality. The pair combines Countdown's mutant powers of detonating any object with his touch and formidable hand-to-hand combat skills with Ya Dao Jing's formidable control over dark magic, and the natural powers of his tiger demon form.
I'd especially like some help on the latter two. I listed Spring and Autumn as one in the sense that the Wonder Twins are just one entity. Does anyone have some thoughts on the second one's name and means of acquiring The Suit, or Spring and Autumn's group dynamic and such? Or for that matter, anything that strikes you about Random?
For Ima Hirosuke, I suggest a more topical Chinese name would be I Ching, after the philosophical "Book of Changes." This Wikipedia article shows the relevance of the name to her situation.
For Yang Hou (whose name reminds me suspiciously of "Ya-Hoo!"
There are also several superhumans in the CU who have gained superpowers as a result of accidentally encountering various alien intelligences, organisms, or artifacts. Perhaps Yang Hou came across something that had fallen from the sky. That something might have makers, or even "relatives," who want it back.
I'm not familiar with the Yaoguai, at least under that name. Could you describe it a bit more? Particularly any personality or motivations traditionally ascribed to it -- that would help clarify its relationship with Desinovitch. It might be interesting if Spring and Autumn were a bit of a wild card. Countdown's mind could occasionally assert itself against Ya Dao Jing's control, allowing him brief periods of free action. On those occasions he might try some plan to free himself from the demon, which could bring him into conflict with PC heroes; or even come to the heroes for help.
If the demon seeks immortality, that could ultimately lead it to try to steal or force the secret of the alchemical Pill of Immortality from Dr. Yin Wu.
This is a little more off the wall, but Ya Dao Jing might have some connection to another Chinese supervillain, Li Chun the Destroyer. Li Chun is a very powerful demon of unknown origin and terrible destructiveness, possessing the body of a skilled Taoist sorceror. The combination makes Li Chun a threat second only to Yin Wu. The Destroyer is fully detailed in Champions Worldwide.
I Ching would be a perfect name-i'm just disappointed I hadn't thought of it first. I'm familiar in only the most basic sense with it, but it's just relevant enough to her situation for "superhero-science" (or, "superhero-literary analysis"). Thanks very much for bringing it up.
Yaoguai is a fairly broad term, but in this sense it refers to a former celestial being which hopes to return to heaven by becoming immortal, and thus a deity. This one in particular is a tiger demon, a bit like a rakshasa in Indian mythology: that's a bit of a stretch, but it provides me with a good excuse for it to have human-manipulation abilities. I vaguely remember something about the Pill of Immortality-that's an excellent motivation, and it would explain what Ya Dao Jing was doing prowling around in Dr. Yin Wu's back yard.
I like the idea of Countdown attempting to break free or assert himself from time to time, mostly the former. The general sense I want to create is that Denisovich-little more than a powered thug, really-is completely outclassed by this ancient mystical creature. He's way out of his league, and is mostly being kept around to make it easier for Ya Dao Jing to deal with the modern world until he can get his claws on the Pill of Immortality or some similar plot device.
To be fair, Yang Hou's "super" side is a shameless ripoff of Venom/black suit Spiderman. You might search on Youtube for videos of the Venom gameplay in Ultimate Spiderman for the general "feel" I have in mind-a very bulky Brick sort of guy hurling cars and grabbing crooks with his tentacles, though in this case a lot of his mass is the suit. It isn't power armor, more like an amorphous sort of amoeba-creature that fits to his body.
The idea of exactly what the suit is and how he got it has been nagging at me. I like the notion of it being an alien organism of some sort, though I don't want to rip off Marvel too much. Perhaps the creature was stolen from a crash site and acquired by an overcurious scientist (Would this be up Lirby Koo's alley?) who proceeded to install a processing core to serve as the cell-like organism's 'nucleus', allowing its actions to be controlled. He subsequently weaponizes it into a battlesuit, and is in the process of shipping it to Hong Kong for field testing when the cargo ship is robbed by inept VIPER agents who proceed to misoperate the crane and drop the container. Bada bing!
I actually picked up on the character's Venom-ness, but wasn't sure if it would be politic for me to point it out.
In the Champions Universe there is an expansionistic, frankly monstrous race that mankind will encounter as we spread to the stars, and come to call the Xenovores (yes, that means "alien eaters," and the name is deserved). The Xenovores make extensive use of organic technology (as opposed to inorganic), particularly biologically-based nanites that consume raw materials and manufacture all manner of finished items. Although the Xenovores have not made official contact with Earth as of the early 21st Century (very fortunately), their empire is close enough that a scout ship or probe could have crashed here. Some bio-nanites could have been salvaged from it.
Note that some of the CU supers whose origins involve alien technology or organisms have gained powers beyond what these items were originally designed for or capable of, due to the items' interaction with the highly adaptable human genome.
(BTW Dr. Lirby Koo, or "Kirby Loo" depending on which book you read, is not part of the official Fifth Edition Champions Universe canon. But there are a few criminal master biologists who could engineer what you describe, including Teleios, King Cobra, or Dr. Phillippe Moreau... and of course, Dr. Destroyer. As groups VIPER, and particularly ARGENT, would have the same capacity.)