Hey there! i was wondering if you could help me some. I have finally got my backstory down for the character i hope to be playing when the game goes live.
Shes an English Sorceress, who was a student of one of Merlins last decensdents alive (Basil!) but now is trying to find her own place in the world in the game. I don't think i was detailed enough, but when i try to do more details, i end up writing her as some super sorceress who could take the world on, when she isn't anything like that in my mind. Just your typical spell flinger who could, 'possibly' turn into a world class mage in the years to come.
Power wll be Arcane, not so much offensive, will prolly take alot of crowd control powers with maybe a healing 'spell'. Alot more along the lines of a controller from city of heroes, or rather a Dominator/Controller mix.
Anyway, here it is! Sorry in advance for the wall of text, once my fingers started, they wouldn't stop!
P.S: Here are the image ideas i have for her. Ideally i would have the first one, full lenght gown and movement would be floating (i read that it was being planned for launch! Wohoo!)
But if the long dress isn't an option, i am happy for the second!
Belladonna - short gown
Story Below
Hero Name: Belladonna
Secret Name: Evalyn Stonewells
Age: 22
Birthplace: Somewhere in the North of England.
Powers: Magic/Sorcery
----
Height: 5'8
Wight 120lbs
Eyes: Normal Blue / Casting: White
Hair: Blonde
----
History
I don't have command over the elements, I could never understand the use of trying to wield them, if you wish to burn, then light a fire! I have little desire to control the ever changing balance of light and dark, for that holds to many questions who's answers I have no desire to search for.
No, I am a different one. One that is very rarely seen anymore among my diminishing brothers and sisters. I instead desire to wield the pull force of it against those whom would do wrong. To punish those who need the swift hand of lady justice. To protect by force is a strange concept when you actually sit to think about it. Are heroes truly all that heroic? We call ourselves peacekeepers, those who hold back a tide of darkness that would wash all away in its wake. Yet when the last word is had, and the dust settles once more upon the battle field. It is a rare sight to see the battle won without either side spilling blood.
I ask these questions for that is who I am. A seeker of answers, a hoarder of knowledge. Some call me a historian, where others simply call me nosey, I prefer the latter. I know the tongues of ancient pasts, for I have the memories and experiences of them, but yet have not lived past a quarter of my life yet. For I am one of those who belong to the brotherhood of undying knowledge.
My name is Belladonna, and I am a Sorceress.
Evelyn Stonewells always knew she was a Sorceress, from birth she had been taught to wield forces of the arcane, where normal children would spend their free time in search of their first kiss, or to build a tree house and imagine it was their fortress, to defend against the imaginary onslaught of super villains, just like the heroes who valiantly battle foes on the television. No Eve was different.
Her parents, Mason and Jade Stonewells where both high ranking officials in the UKAD (United Kingdom Arcane Division) and protected over the British Isles daily against threats from arcane foes from outside the boarders, so it was only natural that their only daughter would inherit their magical gifts.
And inherit them she did. Although unlike most of the best known Sorcerers and Witches of our time, Eve was all that outstanding as a youngster, while the power came naturally to her, she lacked the drive that was needed to become truly outstanding. She was from a wealthy family, who where protected by both magical, mundane and super powered means, she enjoyed her school life, one of the pretty and popular girls, if not a little strange with trying to keep her arcane secret safe.
It wasn't until she was Sixteen that things began to take a turn for the worse for our young super heroine in the making. A independent investigate by order of the queen of England brought light horrifying news. The corruption that so often taints the heart of those who held power had taken root inside the hearts of her parents. It was revealed that her mother and father where part of a plot to overthrown the monarchy of England and replace it with a circle of six ruling magi instead. The full force of the British government was brought against her parents and in effect herself. Stripping them of their money, power and prestige, her parents where quickly imprisoned after a battle that destroyed Stonewell Manor in the process.
For several weeks after the event, Eve was herself incarcerated while the magi proven loyal to the crown investigated the young Sorceress for signs of deceit and betrayal, but could find none. The crown sent the young Sorceress to a small island north of Scotland to study magic once more, but this time under the tutelage of Basil Ambrosius, one of the countries more powerful wizards and teachers. He being one of the direct descendants of the Legendary Merlin.
The spoiled young Sorceress had a rude awakening under the firm but fair hand of Basil. He magical studies once more went under way, but now, with the burning desire to save the Stonewall name from total ruin at the hands of her parents Eve's knowledge and power quickly began to increase.
Four more years passed on the small island and the once spoiled teenage emerged from the mists of the island once more, only now as someone very different. Now a graceful young woman, with an elegant beauty, who's eyes now held power and wisdom far beyond her young years. Basil had given her the name she would become famous under, that of the Belladonna flower. The deadly Nightshade, but also translated to mean Beautiful Woman.
Once again however, fate would once more decide that life was far to easy and boring for the young Sorceress. About to board the monthly ship that set sail back to the mainland, she was shocked as the all to familiar 'pop' of her Master's teleportation spell made her turn and the bottom of her stomach to spin. Balrah Was all he spoken, the lines of worry deepening on his old and kind weathered face deepening, in unison of hand movements, and a double pop, the two vanished.
What meet the two Magi as they popped back into the world was of terror and panic, civilians scattered like the wind in every direction, bumping into the two magi as they fled. The two magi in unison took to the air, riding the winds of magic down the street towards the source of the commotion, which wasn't hard to find. They simply followed the sound of explosions.
As they rounded the last corner they came upon what they feared. A 50 foot being of dread and fire was currently battling the first line and only line of defence the country had against such power, the supers. Suddenly, several pops, cracks and whistling sounds was heard around the two Magi, as a handful of their fellow magi gathered as the more strong of arm, claw, energy and size did battle with the arch demon amid the crumbling buildings and fires.
It took only seconds for Basil to take command of the gathered magi, sending them to positions gathered around the dread beast in preparation of the coming ritual. Several more seconds later, and the none magical heroes had been given the plan and commands and it began. Five magi gathered at the five points of power surrounding the beast, as Basil himself took to the battle himself, bringing holy fire and arcane might against the creature, while protected by the supers. Eve and the four others began the ritual. Using words of magic that where ancient even at the birth of the last millennium. A huge pentagram magically connected the magi as they began to channel their powers directly to the one person who could withstand and use them. Basil, the descendent of Merlin, one of the most powerful magi alive.
The power he smote the beast with was devastating, sending shock waves in every direction, felt at every corner of the country. In a roar of powerful and the blink of an eye, it was over. The beast was gone, but to the horror of all those still standing, and to Eve in particular, basil lay motionless in the crater at the cross road, the ruins still smoking and shuddering. Super powered healers and the 5 Magi hurried to his side, and even their combined might and grace was not enough. He had passed on to the ether to join his grand sire in the ever after.
The country fell into mourning in the following weeks, one of their most beloved and respected protectors was no more, and there was none who could ever fill his shoes for many more generations to come. His replacement was sworn into position exactly one more after the event, and the country quickly fell back into normality. But the magical community took much longer to begin to recover, and some are still waiting for it to feel at ease with the current state of affairs.
Eve, now going by the name of Belladonna, in her elegant robes of power given to her by Basil could stand it no more, the loss of her closest friend, teacher and stand in father and guardian was gone, and once more she fell into loneliness. The pain was to great, and with the permission of Delila, the new leader of the coven, left the Isles in search of a new place in the world. It didn't take long at all for her to find herself in Millennium city, among the largest collection of Super powered beings, she had found a new home. A place to protect and grow in...
Tyn, this is a beautiful origin story -- rich, compelling, and a classic comic-style origin giving Belladonna strong motivations to fight evil, as well as tragedy that will doubtlessly affect how she deals with other people, like potential team mates, in interesting ways. FWIW I really like the long gown -- it looks "mystical," and stands out compared to a lot of more conventional hero costumes (which the shorter outfit does conform more closely to).
I really can't see much in the way of details that your story lacks. The only things I might offer would integrate your character more closely into the published Champions Universe, should you wish to do so. That would change the names of some people and background elements, and give a slightly different feel and flavor to the story; but 90% of what you've written could translate without modification.
Thanks for the review! i have been writing and re writing the back story for ages! lol. She started out as an elemental witch, but that seemed to typical. So then i went psychic, but there are always 100s of super powerful psychics that make less room to fit in. But with true sorcery, you never really see that many normal powered ones, they always seem to be gods lol.
I don't own any of the Champion lore books yet (doh!) As you need a credit card to buy them online, and i dont have anything that sells them close by. I am hoping that the company behind them upgrades to pay in different ways when Champions become super famous however!
As soon as i can find out the names of the people who need to be changed it will be changed right away, as i really want a character that fits into the lore! lol.
As to the outfit, i total agree, the first is much more mystical and stuff, i actually got the idea from watching a Justice League unlimited episode that had Tala in it. I imagine Bella alot like her, even the type of magic, but you know.. less evil lol oh and no dating lex luthor!
I don't own any of the Champion lore books yet (doh!) As you need a credit card to buy them online, and i dont have anything that sells them close by. I am hoping that the company behind them upgrades to pay in different ways when Champions become super famous however!
This is a very important point which needs to be stressed. If you order from the Hero Games website store, you don't need a credit card. You can pay by cheque or money order sent through the mail. The Hero Store FAQ tells you exactly how to do that. I also want to point out that all product shipment from Hero Games is free to anywhere in the world.
As soon as i can find out the names of the people who need to be changed it will be changed right away, as i really want a character that fits into the lore! lol.
When I have a little more time, I'll be glad to go over the story again and suggest adjustments to fit things more closely to the CU. It will really be pretty easy.
Okay, Tyn, let's see how your character's story fits within the CU.
Perhaps the most distinctive "flavor" difference is that occult matters and people in the CU tend to be less public and more discreet than what your story seems to imply. Certainly there are powerful sorcerors and supernatural entities, heroic and villainous, some of them very visible and widely known; but for the most part the various factions of the Mystic World prefer to keep their activities out of the public eye. There's a strong sense that the general populace isn't ready to know everything that's out there in the shadows, and the power and danger of magic lore is jealously guarded by those who have it. So, it's unlikely that Belladonna and her parents would have endured public shame as a result of their plot. However, major world governments like the United Kingdom's have at least some idea of what's going on in the Mystic World, and could have dealt with the Stonewells as you describe.
We don't have a full Fifth Edition Champions sourcebook for the UK yet, so it's impossible to say whether or not the CU version of the country has an equivalent to your UKAD. It wouldn't be unreasonable, so you should feel free to use it. OTOH there are a couple of existing organizations that could also work for you, if you prefer.
For over two hundred years, the Trismegistus Council has been the world's foremost organization of "good" occultists, helping protect the Earth from various supernatural threats. Although all members of the Council have some spell casting ability, few approach the power level of the "super mages." They're primarily scholars and investigators of the arcane, with a collective knowledge of the Mystic World rivalled by very few. They mainly act as intelligence, support, and sometimes mentors to supernatural superheroes. Witchcraft of the Champions hero team has close ties to the Trismegistans. However, there's precedent for rare members to achieve much greater power than most.
The Trismegistus Council was originally formed to oppose a malevolent magic cabal called the Circle Of The Scarlet Moon. Now, the Champions Universe includes evil mystic organizations such as DEMON which use flashy, destructive magic, operatives with distinctive raiments and artifacts, and the like. The Scarlet Moon is very different. For generations they've plotted in the shadows, using discreet, subtle magic to secretly accumulate vast wealth and influence over the mundane world. The leaders of the Circle are among the richest, most socially and politically powerful people, but very few people even know of its existence. Those who do can't prove anything in court -- the Circle members are extremely adept at covering their tracks.
Mason and Jade Stonewells could have been members of the Trismegistus Council, who did indeed succumb to corruption, and used their connections to other powerful mystics to form their conspiracy; or they could have been part of the Scarlet Moon (overthrowing the monarchy outright would be more overt than the Circle normally operates, but trying to secretly subvert the government would be within their capability). I could also definitely see the Scarlet Moon seducing the Stonewells to the "dark side," and letting them take the fall when the plot collapsed.
Moving on... Archdruid was a prominent British superhero in the 1980's and 90's, the first leader of UNITY, the United Nations' official super team. He retired from that position in 1995. No more details than that have been revealed about him, and I would say it's very unlikely the character will ever be used in CO or the PnP game, so he should be open for you to use as desired. Assuming he retired to his native country, he'd be a natural for the UK government to make custodian of Evelyn Stonewells. Since his true name and background haven't been revealed, you could use what you've already established for Belladonna's mentor, including bumping him off.
The later events you describe wouldn't be problematic at all. The CU has no shortage of demons, mythological monsters, pagan gods, extra-dimensional entities, or Lovecraftian horrors for heroic sorcerors to fight. Similarly, there are a number of magic powered superheroes, including an entire team of British mystic champions, known as The Night Watch.
Well, I hope some of that will be useful to you. You're welcome to ask for further info, although I don't want to reveal too much of Cryptic Studios' IP.
I made a seperate thread for this, but then i found this one, so here i go.....well, im having a mind block trying to come up with a main character for CO, so decided to take it to the forums, anything you can come up with is accepted, names, powers, origin, only one limitation, MUST HAVE A BOW AND ARROW, is can use magic arrows or normal, whichever fits have at it
Elizabeth's group is kinda supposed to be a protectorate. Not really a force to go gallivanting about. Malaise is the only 'evil' aspect of the whole thing.
Guess I need to change that to make it more clear then.
Here is my Origin Story. I would like to know how to add more of the Champion's Universe. I have never played the game before so I don't know how to link him to an agency that would be powerful enough to create him, or an impending extraterrestial threat for him to be created for. Does CU have anything like that?
Here is my Origin Story. I would like to know how to add more of the Champion's Universe. I have never played the game before so I don't know how to link him to an agency that would be powerful enough to create him, or an impending extraterrestial threat for him to be created for. Does CU have anything like that?
First, Strontium, let me add my compliments on your story. This is a powerful, near-tragic origin, rife with roleplaying possibilities. The character should be fun to play, and to interact with. If this character is for the MMO, of course he won't be as powerful as you imply right away. Perhaps his control over the full extent of his powers can grow with time and experience.
In regards to your questions, assuming the origin that your character "remembers" is his true one, there's no reason he couldn't be the product of a government operation just as you describe. For decades the American government has undertaken a series of "super-soldier" programs to find a way to "manufacture" superhumans. You can view a list of past programs here. Your program's budget might be a little exaggerated , and it's unlikely to have been public knowledge unless and until it was successfully completed; but few other groups with (essentially) benevolent motives would have the resources for something like this.
I'd particularly like to call your attention to "Project Sunburst" from that super-soldier list. On the one hand, tests on the surviving subjects of the project could have provided the data needed to create Strontium. OTOH Strontium might actually be one of those volunteers, comatose until recently. If his brain had been damaged and his memory impaired, he might have been "reprogrammed" with a false history to lead him to work for the government. Discovering the truth could add new dimensions to the character: dealing with betrayal, searching for his true past, etc.
Now, there are a few villains and villainous agencies in the CU that also could have created and programmed Strontium for their own purposes. That would open up a whole other can of worms. :cool:
As far as impending alien invasions, there's one that's been in the works in the CU for a long time. The Hzeel, the nearest interstellar power to Earth, have been covertly scouting this planet for years in preparation for a major invasion. Several CU supervillains owe their powers and resources to accidental contact with crashed Hzeel scouts. However, the invasion plan itself is virtually unknown to anyone on Earth, so you'd need a good explanation as to how your character's creators would be certain that one is imminent.
There's also been recent concern in the intelligence and law-enforcement communities that the Qularr, who attempted an invasion of Earth back in the 1960's (whose legacy is Monster Island), have returned to Earth and may be laying the ground work for another attack. That information is known, at the very least, to the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
If I might offer an observation: Strontium's background and origin are in no way dependent on knowledge of an alien threat, and your story mentions it almost as an afterthought. IMO you could exclude that detail with no repercussions to the character.
Thanks so much for the input! I will get to work on modifying my story.
I want to stick with the whole hearted creationism by the old retired small time Hero/Scientist feel as opposed to the lost mind by villian organazation. I feel that this explains his lack of knowledge about how powerful he is and plays well with discovering new powers as the game progresses.
I wanted the hero to have the taxpayers savoir rub to him which is why i mentioned the Times knowing about the character. I see now what you mean though as it would be strange for the public to be informed of such a dangerous maybe even unethical project.
I wil reconsider the alien threat idea I see what you mean their is room for me to remove it completley. But in case I decide to go further into it can you tell me abit more about the types of aliens these two are.
Hzeel
Qularr
I mean are they alien horde? technology based? insect life forms? anything specifc would help. I do like how the United Nations Security Council knows of an impending attack. That could explain the budget if it were an international effort.
I want to stick with the whole hearted creationism by the old retired small time Hero/Scientist feel as opposed to the lost mind by villian organazation. I feel that this explains his lack of knowledge about how powerful he is and plays well with discovering new powers as the game progresses.
Seems reasonable to me. You should use what works for you. Not all hero origins need to be dark and twisted.
I wanted the hero to have the taxpayers savoir rub to him which is why i mentioned the Times knowing about the character. I see now what you mean though as it would be strange for the public to be informed of such a dangerous maybe even unethical project.
You might also want to clarify in your own mind whether the American government knows that Strontium survived the experiment, and if so whether he's in their custody or they're trying to find him; and in any case, what they intend to do with him. He could technically be considered government property.
I wil reconsider the alien threat idea I see what you mean their is room for me to remove it completley. But in case I decide to go further into it can you tell me abit more about the types of aliens these two are.
Hzeel
Qularr
I mean are they alien horde? technology based? insect life forms? anything specifc would help.
The Hzeel are small (average 4') blue-skinned humanoids, with a rather devious, acquisitive culture. They control an interstellar empire toward the galactic rim from Earth, and are in conflict with the Dorvalans (the race of the Champions team member Ironclad). The Hzeel want the Earth as a forward staging area from which to strike at the Dorvalans. Their technology is significantly superior to most of early-21st century Earth, although not the equal of the very best human super hero/villain tech. Villains who owe their abilities to having adapted Hzeel technology or biology include the international arms dealer, the Warlord; the sonic-powered villainess Howler; and Oculon, an operative of VIPER, the world-wide super criminal/terrorist organization, who wields powerful optic beams.
The Qularr are a bipedal insectile race with a caste-based social system, reinforced through selective breeding. They possess advanced technology, particularly in the fields of genetics and force-field physics. In 1965 they established a base on then-uninhabited Monster Island, and used gigantic mutated monsters of their own design as the vanguard of their invasion force. (The surviving monsters are confined to the island today, behind a Qularr forcefield dome.) The Qularr appear to want humanity for its powerful, flexible genetic potential to create super beings, which they wish to exploit.
I do like how the United Nations Security Council knows of an impending attack. That could explain the budget if it were an international effort.!
Recent books published by Hero Games reveal that UNTIL, the United Nations' agency protecting the world from super threats, has learned that the Qularr are back on Earth, in small numbers so far; but they fear that the aliens are preparing another attempt at conquest. (More details about this will likely appear in the MMO.) Logically the Security Council would be briefed on this development.
Thanks so much for your help. You know a ton about Champions Universe. I will make sure I post in this thread when I have re written in the changes. Thanks again!
It was pretty darn good to begin with. I see you downplayed the alien connection (could be interesting to explore in the MMO later, though), dealt with the potential involvement of the government (also potentially interesting to bring in later), and tied the story a little more to the official Champions Universe.
The one thing I'm not clear on is, how do you see this letter coming into Strontium's possession? Your story doesn't indicate how his "father" intended to transmit it, other than relying on the selfless kindness of whoever happened to find it. This would be a very dangerous amount of information to entrust to a total stranger. OTOH that could become a very interesting plot point depending on who found the letter, perhaps even leading to Strontium's Nemesis in the MMO, should you wish to create one.
As corollary to that, perhaps Strontium's origin could become known to the most powerful survivor of Project Sunburst, the master villain who calls himself Sunburst. Sunburst wants to recruit other super powered products of the Project to follow him. Since he's very charismatic and presents himself as a revolutionary trying to change the world for the betterment of everyone, Strontium might be tempted.
I need to secure the transmition/ coded message to strontium or tie in how the government or villian found the letter and is trying to become a trusted ally to strontium in order to manipulate him...
fun stuff
I will be thinking this one over for a while, lol. Thanks again for the help.
Description: 4 color costume RED/BLACK/GREEN/YELLOW
Powers: Flight, Plasma Bursts
Origin:
This letter was given to me, in secret, by a covert operative representing the US government. It was recovered at the site of my resurrection. Im not sure Id believe any of this except the document arrived in a sealed container made from the same material as my suit. Besides the letter the box contained a badge with my symbol and costume colors, both objects were saturated with my radiation signature. I dont remember my beginnings, but the story that follows seems familiar some how. I share it with you now for two reasons:
1. In the hope someone out there may know more than is stated.
2. I dont think the government wants me too.
I list the second reason because as the agent placed the box in my hands he smiled and said Your creation cost America many important lives and billions of tax payer dollars. Consider this box an olive branch; a token of our faith in your abilities, and the services you will be providing to our country. Apparently my creator took steps to make sure I was free of their control; I can only assume its true for I ended up with the box. How much freedom I truly have has never been revealed to me. The agent instantly asked to read the letter. I let him see it, I felt indebted for their help and resources in my creation, but I also feared for my own freedom
Letter:
Strontium, this letter is my only opportunity to clear my conscience and inform you of the circumstances of your birth, for I am dying. In truth, you were never born in the common sense of the word. You were created like the mythical gods of ancient lore, your body molded through science and technology directly from the elements.
I have bestowed my fondest memories upon you, as well as the knowledge of my lifetime. I give you the best of my mind, heart and soul for you to use as you wish. Although the experiences you remember are not your own, you are my creation, an individual with free will. I give you these things freely and with no regrets.
You may be thinking these are the ravings of an old fool, but let me start from the beginning. You already know my past as we share the same memories. My mother was a high school chemistry teacher and my father a police officer. My family's long history in law enforcement inspired me to start fighting crime at age seventeen. I've made many small alterations to my genetic makeup over the years to make myself faster and tougher than average. Scientific mucking, I call it.
My crime-fighting ventures with common criminals made local headlines and eventually got the attention of the government. When they found no blemishes on my 50-years of service, they offered me a chance to apply my knowledge in the creation of a nearly indestructible, impeccable crime fighter. They said you would have my memories, my experiences, my personality... I saw this as a second chance at life. It was an offer I couldn't refuse. So, I filled your brain with all the idealism, tenacity and wisdom I could muster.
Dealing with the worst of people day after day, year after year also requires a sense of humor to stay sane. Perhaps you will also become known for wit that only the imaginative can understand. At least that's what I tell myself when my quips earn nothing but blank stares.
There is still so much to tell you but time is running out. My team and I made grievous errors despite our best efforts. Our miscalculations resulted in an explosion that destroyed our lab and killed everyone. My scientific mucking, as I explained earlier, allowed me to survive long enough to write this letter.
In a nutshell, the body we created for you thrives on radiation. The genome sequence used was discovered in the logs of "Project Sunburst". Soldiers were deliberately exposed to nuclear explosions in an attempt to spawn super humans--a horrible experiment. Most of the subjects died in testing and the few that didnt went crazy. From that insanity we discovered a way to shape and mold your DNA.
After reaching maturity you were gradually dehydrated and all blood was replaced with a liquid isotope known as strontium. It was chosen for being highly reactive to hydrogen and oxygen, the building blocks of water.
Never make direct contact with water. In large volumes the results would be catastrophic for the planet and possibly fatal to you.
This brings us to our first sin in your creation. The tin can we encased you in like a prison. We debated for years on a better solution; all other avenues were exhausted before we came to the realization that there was no better way to keep the atmosphere from over reacting with the strontium in your veins.
From this point on years of materials testing conducted, tremendous efforts went to perfecting the suits comforts and designs. The main material chosen shields radiation and is so dark it seems to drink surrounding light. I had never seen such a thing and inquiring further was told, "The materials are extra-terrestrial in nature and best NOT inquired upon." After the initial design the affect was so horrifying we decided you needed bright colors to counter the dramatic effect. The bright red, yellow and green serve two purposes the first is a counter to the extra-terrestrial material the second a warning to all life of your radioactive nature.
Our second sin also becomes your greatest gift, altering your genetic make up to live off radiation. As mentioned before we chose strontium for its unique reaction to water. Unfortunately its half-life is only 29 years, which is rather short for a Super Hero. To get around this problem we implanted uranium and plutonium at the suits core, the by-product of which is more strontium. In effect, the containment suit does more than provide a barrier to the outside world; it sustains you.
The ventilation systems are complex. You can choose to let in air through special valves and release the radioactive energy in plasma bursts. The valves can be moved and adjusted according to your needs--the combinations are limitless. Even sustained flight should be within your grasp.
Within your vascular system, floating in the strontium solution, are millions of self-replicating bots called nanites. They perform all essential thermal and biochemical transport functions, similar to blood. The nanites heal, repair and nourish you without any need to break the seal of the containment suit. Unfortunately they are also extremely volatile; without the suit the strontiums reaction to the atmosphere would be beyond your control. I hope you will find someone to help limit the risks and make improvements to its technologies.
In one sense you are cursed; never will you feel the touch of a lover's skin, a gentle breeze in your hair or the ocean waves lapping at your feet. Everywhere you go people will stop in their tracks and stare, maybe even regard you as a monster. But within this terrible burden lies a great gift. A small inhalation of Earths atmosphere will provide enough fuel to transport the suit and your life indefinitely. With this much power you can do things that we couldn't have predicted and you may not have discovered yet. Your abilities are limited only by your imagination.
Do I sound boastful? Well, I am. Involvement with this project was a real honor and the greatest accomplishment of my life. An insider once let it slip that our budget surpassed the "Manhattan Project" and required a larger staff than the Pentagon. The world is counting on you to protect them from forces both foreign and domestic. Some may say we have been overzealous with the powers we bestowed upon you, but its only because so much is at stake.
Please try to forgive us for imposing such a burden on you and for the mistakes that destroyed the only family you've ever had. If only you could have witnessed your transformation. Your body absorbed the strontium solution in seconds and your heart began to beat so loudly the whole room reverberated with each thump. It felt like a miracle, like the miracle of birth.
Before we could put on your containment suit, your eyes opened, your head rolled back, and you inhaled. It was too late. The light emanating from your body, a radiant yellow-green, encompassed everything.
The next thing I remember I was on the floor, the suit was gone and you were nowhere to be found. In that moment I knew you were capable of protecting us from anything short of God himself. My only regret is that I will not be around to see you grow as a hero and a man. I have taken steps to make sure your life belongs to you, not the government. I am placing this letter and my badge in a container only you can unlock. I am positive this box will reach you based on my actions.
Strontium, as cliché as this sounds, the fate of the world rests in your blood. You are a product of my will and my love; I know you will never surrender. My team and I gladly sacrificed our lives so that you could save the lives of billions. Please, accept this burden so that our sacrifices have not been made in vain.
Thanks again for your help, I really hope they let me post the whole story into the game . Obviosly with this apporach the government will become my Nemesis, which I am down for. Gives me an easy out to create people in business suits and shades as their minions lol.
Backstory: Crippled and wheelchair-bound in a car/skiing? accident years ago, he had devoted much of his life to developing new drugs and medicines in order to help mankind. Most of all, he sought to invent a miracle-drug that would boost the human regeneration process to the point where even permanent injuries, such as his own legs, would heal.
Perhaps by accident, he succeeds far better than he had ever hoped, and creates a serum that both repairs and improves his body to superhuman health and physical fitness, while also having the inexplicable side-effect of endowing him with the ability to project and shape solid energy from his body. Immediately he realizes that he is no longer limited to healing people, he can now prevent them from becoming hurt in the first place, and so he fashions for himself a stunning red costume with a mask in the likeness of a powerful mountain lion, and takes to the streets as The Crimson Cougar to protect the people of the city!
I can't decide on a good, golden-age, doctor-y sounding real name to give him. I also can't decide if he should be a doctor or a chemist or a scientist or what... which would be the most likely to run around inventing and handing out super-pills and super-injections?
I'm also trying to think of a better explaination for the energy powers.. like, maybe he was a dormant mutant and the super-drug acted as a catalyst to awake those powers? Or maybe he actually secretes and projects some sort of biological substance that becomes like a force-field when charged up with his life energy?
Also, can't decide exactly where to go as far as defensive powers. I've read a little about how those work, with the four types being invulnerability, evasiveness, force fields, and regeneration.. and I'm thinking either regeneration (because that's what the super-medicine was designed for in the first place) or force-fields (because the solid energy powers he has are just as useful defensively as offensively). Am I allowed to take both?
For that matter, what should I call the super-medicine?
And then there's the need for a nemesis... jeez.. I wish we could have half a dozen or so different nemesi at a time, but as I understand it you get one, halfway through the game, and only get another after you completely finish off your current one.. or does the last one you had come back later, in addition to the one you take after them? At any rate, I have a few ideas..
Maybe some common crook becomes fatally injured by him, by accident, while he's trying to stop a bank heist or somesuch... and the only way he can save the man's life is by using the same ultra-strength version of his medicine that gave him his powers, this in turn gives the same powers to the crook, who in turn shows no gratitude and merely graduates from hired goon to supervillain? I'm thinking reaaaally punk in style and name.
Maybe a hornet-themed gadget-using supervillain, who was working on technology that mimicked insect biology, but had his funding cut when it was decided that there were far more interesting projects that need funded. Disgruntled, and possibly a little less than sane, he becomes PROFESSOR HORNET and uses a flight-capable bee-winged armor suit and a poison dart gun to go on a crime spree. Essentially an Homage to The Monarch from the Venture Bros., with maybe a little of whichever version of Dr. Light appeared in the animated Teen Titans.
Or maybe a sexy anthropomorphic rabbit-woman from some secret genetics lab in that Monster Island place. Being part rabbit, she of course has no soul (Most animals have souls, but just look into a rabbit's eyes... THEY don't!), and thusly is one seriously cold-hearted mercenary. No delusions of grandeur or world-domination schemes, just a lot of high-paying, highly-immoral contracts. In addition to the physical capabilities of a bunny, she'd be a crack-shot with a pistol... and maybe have fire or smoke-based powers on top of that, just because? I'm thinking a name of Alice, but the alias of DUST BUNNY.
Any feedback and suggestions would be appreciated! Also, tell me if the names Crimson Cougar, Professor Hornet, or Dust Bunny are already in use for any notable sources you can think of. Actually I just checked, and it looks like there was a very, very minor, obscure comic called Crimson Cougar, but I don't think anyone would notice, let alone care, if I used the same name.
I plan on creating a human/alien hybrid but I am having some trouble choosing an alien race.
So of anyone can give me any advice on some choices it would be greatly appreciated.
Backstory: Crippled and wheelchair-bound in a car/skiing? accident years ago, he had devoted much of his life to developing new drugs and medicines in order to help mankind. Most of all, he sought to invent a miracle-drug that would boost the human regeneration process to the point where even permanent injuries, such as his own legs, would heal.
Perhaps by accident, he succeeds far better than he had ever hoped, and creates a serum that both repairs and improves his body to superhuman health and physical fitness, while also having the inexplicable side-effect of endowing him with the ability to project and shape solid energy from his body. Immediately he realizes that he is no longer limited to healing people, he can now prevent them from becoming hurt in the first place, and so he fashions for himself a stunning red costume with a mask in the likeness of a powerful mountain lion, and takes to the streets as The Crimson Cougar to protect the people of the city!
Sounds like a pretty reasonable Golden Age-style "super-serum" origin. One thing, though: is the character meant to actually be from the Golden Age (i.e. circa 1940s), and if so, do you see his adventures as occuring during that era, or carrying forward to the modern day? If the latter, I assume the serum would retard his aging so he can still be physically capable. Or perhaps he simply has a G-A style, but is actually a present-day crime fighter?
I also have to ask about the source of his costume and code name. What inspired him to choose it? Although a bit cliche, "Crimson Cougar" sounds almost Native American -- perhaps that could be his background?
I can't decide on a good, golden-age, doctor-y sounding real name to give him. I also can't decide if he should be a doctor or a chemist or a scientist or what... which would be the most likely to run around inventing and handing out super-pills and super-injections?
Most character real names from that era were fairly vanilla WASP, although a fair amount of alliteration cropped up (Clark Kent, Billy Batson, etc.) As for scientists, they seemed to cross the boundaries of their disciplines whenever necessary. Given his particular interest, I auggest making him a pharmacologist.
However, considering how well his serum worked on him, and his interest in curing other people, I think you should give some thought as to why there aren't more superhumans like him running around, courtesy of his "handing out super-pills and super-injections." That sort of influx of supers can really destabilize a setting. Even without inducing super powers, his invention would have revolutionized medicine beyond what most mainstream supers settings support. (I explore that issue further below.)
I'm also trying to think of a better explaination for the energy powers.. like, maybe he was a dormant mutant and the super-drug acted as a catalyst to awake those powers? Or maybe he actually secretes and projects some sort of biological substance that becomes like a force-field when charged up with his life energy?
I think the "dormant mutant" explanation would at least justify why the serum worked so far beyond expectation on him, as well as avoiding making it a way to mass-produce superhumans. It's also possible that it would only work at all on a small number of people with a particular genetic make-up.
As for the energy powers, a lot of comic-book supers generate copious amounts of "bio-electricity," i.e. the natural tiny electric currents in the human nervous system are pumped up enough to fire electrical bolts. That fits well enough with the rest of his enhancements.
Also, can't decide exactly where to go as far as defensive powers. I've read a little about how those work, with the four types being invulnerability, evasiveness, force fields, and regeneration.. and I'm thinking either regeneration (because that's what the super-medicine was designed for in the first place) or force-fields (because the solid energy powers he has are just as useful defensively as offensively). Am I allowed to take both?
Regeneration certainly seems the most in-concept for this character; but if you're allowed to take more than one defensive power, I'd add evasiveness, which would fit with his enhanced athletic prowess.
For that matter, what should I call the super-medicine?
Golden Age style seemed to favor things that sounded like catchy trade-names for commercial products, such as "Miraclo" and "Vita-Rays." May I suggest "ReGenerite?"
And then there's the need for a nemesis... jeez.. I wish we could have half a dozen or so different nemesi at a time, but as I understand it you get one, halfway through the game, and only get another after you completely finish off your current one.. or does the last one you had come back later, in addition to the one you take after them? At any rate, I have a few ideas..
Maybe some common crook becomes fatally injured by him, by accident, while he's trying to stop a bank heist or somesuch... and the only way he can save the man's life is by using the same ultra-strength version of his medicine that gave him his powers, this in turn gives the same powers to the crook, who in turn shows no gratitude and merely graduates from hired goon to supervillain? I'm thinking reaaaally punk in style and name.
This kind of origin seems the most comic-book to me. The warped reflection of the hero is a classic concept for a nemesis. How about taking this a little farther? The Cougar succeeds in saving this person's life, and the serum gives him powers, but has an unexpected side-effect in reaction to his physiology/genetics, mutating his body into a hideous monster. The victim blames Crimson Cougar for his deformity and swears revenge, while the Cougar blames himself for creating this new menace to society. Personal connections make for the most interesting interactions between hero and villain; and if the victim were actually someone the Cougar cared about, like a friend, relative, or lover, that would add a tragic dimension to the relationship. (It would also explain why CC hasn't handed his serum over to the general public -- too much risk of something going wrong.)
I plan on creating a human/alien hybrid but I am having some trouble choosing an alien race.
So of anyone can give me any advice on some choices it would be greatly appreciated.
May I assume you're interested in alien races from the official Champions Universe? Because otherwise the potential field is really wide.
My first question would be, what type of powers and appearance do you visualize for this character? That would have a bearing on what race(s) might be appropriate. Also, by "hybrid" do you mean "offspring" of a human and alien parent? Or someone who somehow gained an infusion of alien biological material/ cybernetics/ life-force?
Does your character's non-human parent have to be extra-terrestrial? There are several non-human races in hidden corners of Champions Earth, manifesting various types of powers and abilities.
As a jumping-off point I'm going to offer one preliminary suggestion with broad possibilities. An aggressive humanoid extra-terrestrial species named the Hzeel have been scouting Earth for years preparatory to a major invasion. Several super villains have encountered crashed Hzeel scouts, and acquired advanced technology or even super powers as a result. One such villain, called Oculon, gained the ability to project powerful optical energy beams after receiving the transplanted eyes from an Hzeel corpse. The Hzeel themselves don't wield eye-beams, or any other "racial" super-power aside from limited regeneration; Oculon's abilities stem from the interaction of Human with Hzeel biology.
It's been speculated that grafting other Hzeel organs into human beings might bestow different powers on them. Moreover, if Humans and Hzeel were interfertile (practically impossible in real life, but hey, this is comics ), one can only wonder as to the abilities a child of such a mating might have. In the official Champions timeline their scouting missions extend back at least to 1991, so a teenaged child of the two races is possible.
Whatever Lord Liaden says treat as the best thing to do, i am starting to wonder if there is actually anything he doesn't know about the champions universe. Maybe he is Dr Destroyer! ohh its a plot i tell you!
Or perhaps he simply has a G-A style, but is actually a present-day crime fighter?
Yeah, THAT one. I just mean the style is classic golden age, as opposed to the more modern characters who have to be badass anti-heroes, yaknow? Classic make-Stan-Lee-proud goody-two-shoes sort of hero.
I also have to ask about the source of his costume and code name. What inspired him to choose it? Although a bit cliche, "Crimson Cougar" sounds almost Native American -- perhaps that could be his background?
Hmm.. I hadn't thought of native american heritage, but that would fit. Perhaps roughly half native american. The mountain lion is of course significant to the certain native american tribes, as one of their most powerful gods was one. As for the crimson part? I'm thinking that's the color of his energy powers. I've got kind of this joke going in my head where a costume-cleaning incident temporarily leaves him as The Pink Puma!
As for scientists, they seemed to cross the boundaries of their disciplines whenever necessary. Given his particular interest, I suggest making him a pharmacologist.
Pharmacologist? Yes, that sounds about right.
However, considering how well his serum worked on him, and his interest in curing other people, I think you should give some thought as to why there aren't more superhumans like him running around, courtesy of his "handing out super-pills and super-injections." That sort of influx of supers can really destabilize a setting. Even without inducing super powers, his invention would have revolutionized medicine beyond what most mainstream supers settings support. (I explore that issue further below.)
I think the "dormant mutant" explanation would at least justify why the serum worked so far beyond expectation on him, as well as avoiding making it a way to mass-produce superhumans. It's also possible that it would only work at all on a small number of people with a particular genetic make-up.
This kind of origin seems the most comic-book to me. The warped reflection of the hero is a classic concept for a nemesis. How about taking this a little farther? The Cougar succeeds in saving this person's life, and the serum gives him powers, but has an unexpected side-effect in reaction to his physiology/genetics, mutating his body into a hideous monster. The victim blames Crimson Cougar for his deformity and swears revenge, while the Cougar blames himself for creating this new menace to society. Personal connections make for the most interesting interactions between hero and villain; and if the victim were actually someone the Cougar cared about, like a friend, relative, or lover, that would add a tragic dimension to the relationship. (It would also explain why CC hasn't handed his serum over to the general public -- too much risk of something going wrong.)
Yes, yes! I like the way all of that fits together! Crimson was a dormant mutant but never realized it, it didn't even show up during medical examinations. He designed his super-drug using his own genetics as a base, or something to that effect, and so it worked flawless on him... and let's just say it was designed to only work specifically on humans, so it never would or could have been tested on animals... then comes the incident with the crook, and as you said it winds up causing unexpected mutations when used on normal people, or heck.. maybe even anyone other than the Cougar himself. So now we've got the big badass mutant freak with all of the powers that the cougar has, but with some extra monster-strength thrown in. Crimson Cougar has to give up on that formula of the serum, naturally.. but eventually would develop a safe, albeit weaker and non-superpower-giving regeneration aide for the public. Not strong enough to cause TOO much of a medical revolution, just like... "Here, take some of this and you'll be out of that cast in half/third/quarter of the time". And then of course there'd be a formula only safe for superheroic use that works well enough for mid-battle healing, in-game.
As for the energy powers, a lot of comic-book supers generate copious amounts of "bio-electricity," i.e. the natural tiny electric currents in the human nervous system are pumped up enough to fire electrical bolts. That fits well enough with the rest of his enhancements.
Yeaah, but I don't want electro powers. I was thinking more of a green lantern thing, only far, far more limited in power. Instead of creating a giant green robot out of thin air, he'd just be able to make spheres of solid energy around his hands and then punch people with them, or make a blade shape, or some trademarked cougar claws.
Golden Age style seemed to favor things that sounded like catchy trade-names for commercial products, such as "Miraclo" and "Vita-Rays." May I suggest "ReGenerite?"
Miraclo and Vita-Rays are definitely out. Ugh. ;P ... Regenerite sounds like a magical crystal, but I like the play off the word Regen.. unfortunately a quick search shows that Regeneraid is in use by a real-life company, as is Regener-X. Hmmm..
Edit: I just had a new idea... maybe the energy powers could be actually based on his blood! A combination of mutant blood and mutant bio-energy that results in a crazy solid-biological-energy field he can shape at will. It would explain the color of the powers and his name, explain why it's limited in scope to short range, and give an excuse both for a good limitation to his powers since if he overdid it he could pass out from the lack of blood, even with his regeneration factor replenishing it much faster than a normal person. (I never like it when superheroes get incomprehensibly powerful) It would also be an excuse for some masochistic behavior. Like... BAM! Hand slammed against the wall, all dripping blood, then VWOOM! Energy claws appear! Hahaha.
Not to mention it would just be so unsanitary, and thus make it a totally vexing power for a man of medicine to have.
Miraclo and Vita-Rays are definitely out. Ugh. ;P ... Regenerite sounds like a magical crystal, but I like the play off the word Regen.. unfortunately a quick search shows that Regeneraid is in use by a real-life company, as is Regener-X. Hmmm..
I should clarify that I didn't intend for you to use Miraclo and Vita-Rays -- they're actual examples of origin-gimmicks for two published Golden Age comic heroes, Hourman and Captain America, respectively.
Hmm... seeing as you suggest below that blood manipulation could be a key component of Crimson Cougar's powers, perhaps changing the nature of a recipient's blood could be the Special Effect of his serum. In that case, how about calling it "Hemorphin?"
Yeaah, but I don't want electro powers. I was thinking more of a green lantern thing, only far, far more limited in power. Instead of creating a giant green robot out of thin air, he'd just be able to make spheres of solid energy around his hands and then punch people with them, or make a blade shape, or some trademarked cougar claws.
Edit: I just had a new idea... maybe the energy powers could be actually based on his blood! A combination of mutant blood and mutant bio-energy that results in a crazy solid-biological-energy field he can shape at will. It would explain the color of the powers and his name, explain why it's limited in scope to short range, and give an excuse both for a good limitation to his powers since if he overdid it he could pass out from the lack of blood, even with his regeneration factor replenishing it much faster than a normal person. (I never like it when superheroes get incomprehensibly powerful) It would also be an excuse for some masochistic behavior. Like... BAM! Hand slammed against the wall, all dripping blood, then VWOOM! Energy claws appear! Hahaha.
Not to mention it would just be so unsanitary, and thus make it a totally vexing power for a man of medicine to have.
Now that's a very clever notion, with a fine visual and a consistent SFX. :cool: It might interest you to know that the Champions villain Bloodstone is a "hemokinetic," able to mentally manipulate blood, and can create short-range weapons out of his own blood in much the same way. Mind you, Bloodstone's powers also work on other people, which makes for some vicious attacks.
I need help coming up with an origin for a hero I'm making. It's name is Cosmic Dust (Or Space Dust.)) Well, Cosmic Dust is an alien who is basically made up of stardust. And, he basically travels around the universe fighting evil and doing stuff like that. But, he then stops to Earth because he finds humans an interesting race. He sees things differently. He notices other dimensions and that makes him different from humans. He doesn't understand why the human race is "blind."
Anyway, I need an origin story for him. How was he created? My idea is that a comet passed through a nebula and somehow, the components within both objects, made a remarkable spark of life. Although, I don't like it that much. Any ideas? I want to include a nebula somwhere.
Lord Liaden do you know ware I can get info on the hzeel.
Well, the most information revealed about them to date has been in the Hero Games sourcebook, Terran Empire, for their science-fiction game line; but that's set several centuries in the future, long after the failure of the Hzeel's invasion, the destruction of their home world, and the collapse of their civilization. In addition to what I suggested in my previous post, I can summarize the most pertinent info you would need to use them, should you wish to. I'll put this within Spoiler tags for people who want to be surprised (just highlight the blackened area with your cursor to read it):
The Hzeel are small (4' average) blue-skinned humanoids with large red eyes. Their culture appears to emphasize acquisitiveness and deceit (they descended from scavengers). They control a small interstellar empire toward the Galactic Rim from Earth. They're currently in conflict with the Dorvalans (the race of the Champions superhero team member, Ironclad), and want Earth as a staging area from which to strike at the Dorvalans. Their technology is significantly more advanced than that of most of 21st Century Earth, although it's not as good as the very best superhero and villain tech.
I just want to repeat that there are other options available in the setting, should you prefer not to use the Hzeel. For example, another very appropriate choice for an alien parent would be the Mandaarians:
Mandaarians are one of the most advanced, enlightened races in the galaxy. They use very sophisticated technology, and their civilization is peaceful, prosperous, and dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. They've visited the Earth very publicly on four separate occasions between 1979 and 1999, ostensibly to explore and exchange cultural information. Other, more covert explorations are possible.
Physically, Mandaarians closely resemble humans in features, hair and skin color. They tend to be shorter and slighter on average, have slightly pointed ears, and gold or silver eyes with slit pupils. Many Mandaarians have psionic powers (telepathy, telekinesis, and the like), some very powerful.
Mandaarians as a culture maintain a strict policy of non-intervention toward other races, although individuals may be less stringent in maintaining it. For that reason I'm fairly certain producing a child with a member of a much less advanced species (such as humans) would be frowned upon at the very least by the majority of Mandaarians.
I need help coming up with an origin for a hero I'm making. It's name is Cosmic Dust (Or Space Dust.)) Well, Cosmic Dust is an alien who is basically made up of stardust. And, he basically travels around the universe fighting evil and doing stuff like that. But, he then stops to Earth because he finds humans an interesting race. He sees things differently. He notices other dimensions and that makes him different from humans. He doesn't understand why the human race is "blind."
Anyway, I need an origin story for him. How was he created? My idea is that a comet passed through a nebula and somehow, the components within both objects, made a remarkable spark of life. Although, I don't like it that much. Any ideas? I want to include a nebula somwhere.
Actually, that sounds like a pretty cool origin. :cool: I will say that how you describe him reacting to humans makes him sound a little naive for someone who "travels around the universe fighting evil and doing stuff like that." If you wanted to keep his naivete (which could be fun to roleplay), I suggest making Earth the first world with a sapient race on it he encounters after his creation.
If you do want something a little different, here's a Champions Universe-based suggestion. In the depths of space dwell a race of intelligent beings made of pure energy, called the Az'arc'a. Peaceful and curious, they travel across the galaxy exploring. Az'arc'a sometimes interact with "solid" intelligent races aboard space ships and the like, but are unable to survive in the atmosphere and gravity well of a planet.
What if one Az'arc'a happens to pass through a comet within Earth's solar system, and some unusual composition in the comet causes some of its particles to bond with the alien's energy, enabling him to form a solid "body" around himself? Now having a protective form capable of surviving the conditions on a planet, the Az'arc'a sets out to explore the nearest inhabited world -- Earth.
This would give you a character with a well-developed personality, capable and experienced, and most likely inclined to help and protect other sapients in danger; but also completely new to life among solid beings.
(FWIW of the names you suggested, IMO "Stardust" is the snazziest and sounds most like a superhero code-name.)
Hmm... seeing as you suggest below that blood manipulation could be a key component of Crimson Cougar's powers, perhaps changing the nature of a recipient's blood could be the Special Effect of his serum. In that case, how about calling it "Hemorphin?"
Well, I'm not sure... I think the blood thing will be more of his latent mutant power and not the effect of the drug. THe drug just serves to awaken his powers, and the only reason it would transfer those powers to the as-of-yet-unnamed villain guy is because it's made from the cougar's mutant blood. Also, I'm thinking the villain guy's blood (and energy-blood powers) will be green after he's transformed.
Now that's a very clever notion, with a fine visual and a consistent SFX. :cool: It might interest you to know that the Champions villain Bloodstone is a "hemokinetic," able to mentally manipulate blood, and can create short-range weapons out of his own blood in much the same way. Mind you, Bloodstone's powers also work on other people, which makes for some vicious attacks.
Oh really? Well then, I certainly hope I won't have to fight him! He'd likely make my powers useless! ;-) Anyways, I suppose I could say that Crimson is a hemokinetic himself, although I want it to be clear that the powers are half that and half forcefield as well. Are there any good illustrations of this Bloodstone guy, by the way?
Are there any good illustrations of this Bloodstone guy, by the way?
Online, not specifically of him that I'm aware of. However, Bloodstone is a member of the occult supervillain team the Crowns of Krim, and looks somewhat like their leader, Dark Seraph. The biggest difference is that Bloodstone's skin is supposed to resemble flayed human flesh.
I will say that how you describe him reacting to humans makes him sound a little naive for someone who "travels around the universe fighting evil and doing stuff like that."
Curse my bad choice of words! He's basically going to learn about everything THEN he'd do that.. in a way. (Still concepting!)
If you do want something a little different, here's a Champions Universe-based suggestion. In the depths of space dwell a race of intelligent beings made of pure energy, called the Az'arc'a. Peaceful and curious, they travel across the galaxy exploring. Az'arc'a sometimes interact with "solid" intelligent races aboard space ships and the like, but are unable to survive in the atmosphere and gravity well of a planet.
What if one Az'arc'a happens to pass through a comet within Earth's solar system, and some unusual composition in the comet causes some of its particles to bond with the alien's energy, enabling him to form a solid "body" around himself? Now having a protective form capable of surviving the conditions on a planet, the Az'arc'a sets out to explore the nearest inhabited world -- Earth.
This would give you a character with a well-developed personality, capable and experienced, and most likely inclined to help and protect other sapients in danger; but also completely new to life among solid beings.
I like the idea. I might use that, thanks for the info!
(FWIW of the names you suggested, IMO "Stardust" is the snazziest and sounds most like a superhero code-name.)
His original name was going to be Stardust, but it turns out that Marvel and AC already have dibs on that name. :mad:
Thanks for the help and info! I have a much better idea of what this guy is going to be!
In fact I am Kryptos, conceptual entity who is the Archetype of secret knowledge!
(Yes, that's a CU reference, too.)
you are such a dork ;P
you are, however, the heart and soul of this little thread, and I cant even begin to count how many community member's you've helped out in your tenure here.
thanks for being awesome (I know, I say that like every other month, but you keep making it true ;p)
Name: John Mandrake
Nationality: Australian
Age: Late teens to early twenties
Physical Characteristics: Medium height, Lean built, Ginger hair, glowing blue eyes
Emotional characteristics: Arrogance, Cold Hearted ,Anarchist
Mission Statemate: He doesn't care who gets hurt as long as the Job gets done.
Heroics: Hero for hire/ Anti hero
Possible Powers: Dagger throwing, Shapeshifting into Dingo,
Background: I have a Idea using the three little pig as a background story its a work in progress.
Help Needed: Name possibility costume suggestion and other powers that work well with shapeshifting More to come could really use some help though.
if its a more serious story, you might consider "why" Johnny can shape shift into a dingo.
likewise... WHY is he cold-hearted, anarchistic, and arrogant?
im not seeing much in the way of motivation.
with his attitude and powers, I'd go for a costume that fits his anti-establishment personality...
One of the character's in "rate-my-hero" had a top that was like sleeveless under-armor, with disconnected sleeves... something like that world work, maybe wear a jacket some of the time (with fake fur trim and patches!) or maybe the tanker-top is more like a super-tight hoody, hood up or hood down.
pants, just some baggy cargos and combat boots.
he changes into a dingo.... he's basically a werewolf.... take that to heart.... perhaps he can channel some of his "dingo-ness" while still looking human... biting, clawing, that sort of thing.
another thought is that, as a dingo... he has a "pack" that he belongs to... so while he's against human society, he DOES have a "community" to be a part of (could be especially fun to show some interactions between John and his packmates, as Dingos... or even using his ability to become human to help his brethren out.)
in game this could translate into some sort of "summon dingo" ability (or wolf, dog, something close, ya know?)
Name: Nexus Prime(Quintin Jones jr)
Age:20
Nationality:African American
Physical traits :5'10 140lbs. lean but muscular. Short curly hair. Hazel eyes
Personality: Jokes alot, very friendly, thinks well under pressure, Smiles all the time, very confident But not alot of hero experience.
Powers: Has a suit built for agility. enhances his quickness and agility. Weilds 2 energy blades and can shoot energy blasts from his chest and palms. Super speed.
What I oringinaly had was that Quintin was a good kid growing up but hung out with the wrong people as a teen and got arrested for a crime he did not commit. But his parents(there both scientists and work for some hero corperation) created a suit for him to fight crime with. Thus him becoming a hero.
I also wanted to mix in his older brother Davis as a nemesis in the story. I planed for him to steal the plans for the Nexus suit from his parents and create a new, bigger, stronger suit to destroy Nexus with.
Name: Nexus Prime(Quintin Jones jr)
Age:20
Nationality:African American
Physical traits :5'10 140lbs. lean but muscular. Short curly hair. Hazel eyes
Personality: Jokes alot, very friendly, thinks well under pressure, Smiles all the time, very confident But not alot of hero experience.
Powers: Has a suit built for agility. enhances his quickness and agility. Weilds 2 energy blades and can shoot energy blasts from his chest and palms. Super speed.
What I oringinaly had was that Quintin was a good kid growing up but hung out with the wrong people as a teen and got arrested for a crime he did not commit. But his parents(there both scientists and work for some hero corperation) created a suit for him to fight crime with. Thus him becoming a hero.
I also wanted to mix in his older brother Davis as a nemesis in the story. I planed for him to steal the plans for the Nexus suit from his parents and create a new, bigger, stronger suit to destroy Nexus with.
Any suggestions on what I could add?
How about this? Instead of the suit being made for him, he uses it as a way to redeem himself. After a heroic act (stopping a bank robbery, saving people from a fire, what have you) his parents let him continue using the armor, seeing the kind of good he could do with it.
As for his brother, jelousy is always a good motive. He could get ****ed that his parents decided to give Quinten the armor instead of him.
How about this? Instead of the suit being made for him, he uses it as a way to redeem himself. After a heroic act (stopping a bank robbery, saving people from a fire, what have you) his parents let him continue using the armor, seeing the kind of good he could do with it.
As for his brother, jelousy is always a good motive. He could get ****ed that his parents decided to give Quinten the armor instead of him.
Edit: I can't say ****ed ?
I like that idea. I could say that his parents gave him the suit to redeem himself but if he messes up hes going back to jail.
RATHER... i think it would be more compelling to see a character who is a good person, raised by good people.... who has utterly lost the trust of his parents.
His older brother breaks into parents lab to steal advanced technology to sell on the black market (Older brother was taught good principles but left alone to follow them through pride and concete, becoming vain, spoiled, aloof, and arrogant... and in the end aquired debts and shady contacts through vice and wrecklessness)
Quin catches Davis in the act, looses a scuffle.... but in the end, he takes the rap for his brother.
Police raid the lab and find Quin. They ask who his confederates are but he refuses to name names.
arround the trial, davis pledges to "prove his brother's innocence" (which he does by yahting around Italy and playing lots of golf.)
Unable to recover from the distruction and theft of their work, his parents begin working for the government specifically, designing new weapons technology.
Through various circumstances, Quin is released after time served (15 months, with good behavior) to return home. His parents no longer trust or respect him, and though they treat him kindly... they dont show the same affection or openness they used to.
Quin, bitter at his parents rejection and his brother's betrayal (no way to even expose Davis, now that he was the criminal and his brother the saint).... Quin attempts to commit the crime he went to prison for.
breaking into his parents lab, he discovers the pieces of the suit. a weapon. Wracked with guilt, and angry that his parents are designing tools of distruction (where before they primarily worked on civil technology), he steals the suit and begins fighting crime.
Out of the suit, he's a young man most people overlook as a statistic. just another young black male who's been to prison.
In the suit he's a man to be respected, a role model, a hero.
In his own way, he's living up to the ideals his parents had, his brother claims to have, and Quin believes in. without the mask on, he may not ever be able to regain his parent's trust or respect, but that wont stop him from doing what he knows is right.
________________________
Meanwhile, Davis used his stolen goods, and the money they aquired to live a life of luxury, indoctrinating himself into a world of high-tech crime for fun and profit. He used the money his parents give him to help his brother, to fund elaborate technological heists and used the gains from those heists to fund a small company of hi-tech theives and mercenaries.
Shortly after Quin begins hero work, Davis fakes his own death, to detach himself from his family and reinvent his persona as Crux, an international criminal kingpin....
___________________________
perhaps after being a hero for a while, Nexus Prime goes public, and finally reconsiles with his parents (and making himself a target to Crux and his various contacts.)
My extended group of Champions PnP player friends have decided that, in light of the movie coming out, they want to play a campaign inspired by the universe of Watchmen: Cold War tensions (it's to be set in 1981), "real world" issues, street level heroism, growing sense of despair, etc. The chief distinction is that there are actually people with superpowers, not just Doc Manhattan. But they're nowhere near as common as they are in Champions, and it's not a very good idea to reveal that you have them. However, in this universe, there are several "super teams", but they're underground, and their activities rarely cover more than a handful of neighborhoods-Chicago and Los Angeles are the only cities known to be serviced by a single team.
Here's the hero I have in mind: anyone with ideas for him, or for that matter, general ideas for the setting (it's still in an embryonic stage) are welcome to pitch in.
The Falcon, a young man from East Berlin with super-speed. I'm not sure what I want for his background: I like the idea that (in keeping with Watchmen's moral ambiguity fetish) after some personal tragedy pushed him over the edge, he used his super-speed to leap over the Wall to West Berlin, and subsequently to New York City, leaving behind a wife and possibly a family. Although appalled at how Americans take their freedoms for granted, he nonetheless has made it his mission to at least try to fight crime in his new home. The costume he wears has earned him some criticism for being "a little too Nazi", but he is thankful that at least no one knows him well enough to call him a Communist yet.
And actually, the more I thought about the setting, the more I liked the notion of the USSR having supers too, and how they would be responded to. I have a vague notion of a character, sort of a Soviet version of the Comedian's relationship to the government, that i'd also like some ideas on: tentatively he's to be called the Decemberist, who fought as a partisan in the Siege of Leningrad when he was 14, where he discovered his powers (whatever those may be...suggestions?). Rather than executing him, his local political officer presented him to his commanders and he began a fruitful career with the NKVD, and subsequently KGB. I like the idea of him also having a suit of light power armor, which (as the Soviets do not publicize) was actually developed by the West but stolen by the KGB.
Comments
Shes an English Sorceress, who was a student of one of Merlins last decensdents alive (Basil!) but now is trying to find her own place in the world in the game. I don't think i was detailed enough, but when i try to do more details, i end up writing her as some super sorceress who could take the world on, when she isn't anything like that in my mind. Just your typical spell flinger who could, 'possibly' turn into a world class mage in the years to come.
Power wll be Arcane, not so much offensive, will prolly take alot of crowd control powers with maybe a healing 'spell'. Alot more along the lines of a controller from city of heroes, or rather a Dominator/Controller mix.
Anyway, here it is! Sorry in advance for the wall of text, once my fingers started, they wouldn't stop!
P.S: Here are the image ideas i have for her. Ideally i would have the first one, full lenght gown and movement would be floating (i read that it was being planned for launch! Wohoo!)
But if the long dress isn't an option, i am happy for the second!
Belladonna - long gown
Belladonna - short gown
Story Below
Hero Name: Belladonna
Secret Name: Evalyn Stonewells
Age: 22
Birthplace: Somewhere in the North of England.
Powers: Magic/Sorcery
----
Height: 5'8
Wight 120lbs
Eyes: Normal Blue / Casting: White
Hair: Blonde
----
I don't have command over the elements, I could never understand the use of trying to wield them, if you wish to burn, then light a fire! I have little desire to control the ever changing balance of light and dark, for that holds to many questions who's answers I have no desire to search for.
No, I am a different one. One that is very rarely seen anymore among my diminishing brothers and sisters. I instead desire to wield the pull force of it against those whom would do wrong. To punish those who need the swift hand of lady justice. To protect by force is a strange concept when you actually sit to think about it. Are heroes truly all that heroic? We call ourselves peacekeepers, those who hold back a tide of darkness that would wash all away in its wake. Yet when the last word is had, and the dust settles once more upon the battle field. It is a rare sight to see the battle won without either side spilling blood.
I ask these questions for that is who I am. A seeker of answers, a hoarder of knowledge. Some call me a historian, where others simply call me nosey, I prefer the latter. I know the tongues of ancient pasts, for I have the memories and experiences of them, but yet have not lived past a quarter of my life yet. For I am one of those who belong to the brotherhood of undying knowledge.
My name is Belladonna, and I am a Sorceress.
Evelyn Stonewells always knew she was a Sorceress, from birth she had been taught to wield forces of the arcane, where normal children would spend their free time in search of their first kiss, or to build a tree house and imagine it was their fortress, to defend against the imaginary onslaught of super villains, just like the heroes who valiantly battle foes on the television. No Eve was different.
Her parents, Mason and Jade Stonewells where both high ranking officials in the UKAD (United Kingdom Arcane Division) and protected over the British Isles daily against threats from arcane foes from outside the boarders, so it was only natural that their only daughter would inherit their magical gifts.
And inherit them she did. Although unlike most of the best known Sorcerers and Witches of our time, Eve was all that outstanding as a youngster, while the power came naturally to her, she lacked the drive that was needed to become truly outstanding. She was from a wealthy family, who where protected by both magical, mundane and super powered means, she enjoyed her school life, one of the pretty and popular girls, if not a little strange with trying to keep her arcane secret safe.
It wasn't until she was Sixteen that things began to take a turn for the worse for our young super heroine in the making. A independent investigate by order of the queen of England brought light horrifying news. The corruption that so often taints the heart of those who held power had taken root inside the hearts of her parents. It was revealed that her mother and father where part of a plot to overthrown the monarchy of England and replace it with a circle of six ruling magi instead. The full force of the British government was brought against her parents and in effect herself. Stripping them of their money, power and prestige, her parents where quickly imprisoned after a battle that destroyed Stonewell Manor in the process.
For several weeks after the event, Eve was herself incarcerated while the magi proven loyal to the crown investigated the young Sorceress for signs of deceit and betrayal, but could find none. The crown sent the young Sorceress to a small island north of Scotland to study magic once more, but this time under the tutelage of Basil Ambrosius, one of the countries more powerful wizards and teachers. He being one of the direct descendants of the Legendary Merlin.
The spoiled young Sorceress had a rude awakening under the firm but fair hand of Basil. He magical studies once more went under way, but now, with the burning desire to save the Stonewall name from total ruin at the hands of her parents Eve's knowledge and power quickly began to increase.
Four more years passed on the small island and the once spoiled teenage emerged from the mists of the island once more, only now as someone very different. Now a graceful young woman, with an elegant beauty, who's eyes now held power and wisdom far beyond her young years. Basil had given her the name she would become famous under, that of the Belladonna flower. The deadly Nightshade, but also translated to mean Beautiful Woman.
Once again however, fate would once more decide that life was far to easy and boring for the young Sorceress. About to board the monthly ship that set sail back to the mainland, she was shocked as the all to familiar 'pop' of her Master's teleportation spell made her turn and the bottom of her stomach to spin. Balrah Was all he spoken, the lines of worry deepening on his old and kind weathered face deepening, in unison of hand movements, and a double pop, the two vanished.
What meet the two Magi as they popped back into the world was of terror and panic, civilians scattered like the wind in every direction, bumping into the two magi as they fled. The two magi in unison took to the air, riding the winds of magic down the street towards the source of the commotion, which wasn't hard to find. They simply followed the sound of explosions.
As they rounded the last corner they came upon what they feared. A 50 foot being of dread and fire was currently battling the first line and only line of defence the country had against such power, the supers. Suddenly, several pops, cracks and whistling sounds was heard around the two Magi, as a handful of their fellow magi gathered as the more strong of arm, claw, energy and size did battle with the arch demon amid the crumbling buildings and fires.
It took only seconds for Basil to take command of the gathered magi, sending them to positions gathered around the dread beast in preparation of the coming ritual. Several more seconds later, and the none magical heroes had been given the plan and commands and it began. Five magi gathered at the five points of power surrounding the beast, as Basil himself took to the battle himself, bringing holy fire and arcane might against the creature, while protected by the supers. Eve and the four others began the ritual. Using words of magic that where ancient even at the birth of the last millennium. A huge pentagram magically connected the magi as they began to channel their powers directly to the one person who could withstand and use them. Basil, the descendent of Merlin, one of the most powerful magi alive.
The power he smote the beast with was devastating, sending shock waves in every direction, felt at every corner of the country. In a roar of powerful and the blink of an eye, it was over. The beast was gone, but to the horror of all those still standing, and to Eve in particular, basil lay motionless in the crater at the cross road, the ruins still smoking and shuddering. Super powered healers and the 5 Magi hurried to his side, and even their combined might and grace was not enough. He had passed on to the ether to join his grand sire in the ever after.
The country fell into mourning in the following weeks, one of their most beloved and respected protectors was no more, and there was none who could ever fill his shoes for many more generations to come. His replacement was sworn into position exactly one more after the event, and the country quickly fell back into normality. But the magical community took much longer to begin to recover, and some are still waiting for it to feel at ease with the current state of affairs.
Eve, now going by the name of Belladonna, in her elegant robes of power given to her by Basil could stand it no more, the loss of her closest friend, teacher and stand in father and guardian was gone, and once more she fell into loneliness. The pain was to great, and with the permission of Delila, the new leader of the coven, left the Isles in search of a new place in the world. It didn't take long at all for her to find herself in Millennium city, among the largest collection of Super powered beings, she had found a new home. A place to protect and grow in...
I really can't see much in the way of details that your story lacks. The only things I might offer would integrate your character more closely into the published Champions Universe, should you wish to do so. That would change the names of some people and background elements, and give a slightly different feel and flavor to the story; but 90% of what you've written could translate without modification.
Thanks for the review! i have been writing and re writing the back story for ages! lol. She started out as an elemental witch, but that seemed to typical. So then i went psychic, but there are always 100s of super powerful psychics that make less room to fit in. But with true sorcery, you never really see that many normal powered ones, they always seem to be gods lol.
I don't own any of the Champion lore books yet (doh!) As you need a credit card to buy them online, and i dont have anything that sells them close by. I am hoping that the company behind them upgrades to pay in different ways when Champions become super famous however!
As soon as i can find out the names of the people who need to be changed it will be changed right away, as i really want a character that fits into the lore! lol.
As to the outfit, i total agree, the first is much more mystical and stuff, i actually got the idea from watching a Justice League unlimited episode that had Tala in it. I imagine Bella alot like her, even the type of magic, but you know.. less evil lol oh and no dating lex luthor!
This is a very important point which needs to be stressed. If you order from the Hero Games website store, you don't need a credit card. You can pay by cheque or money order sent through the mail. The Hero Store FAQ tells you exactly how to do that. I also want to point out that all product shipment from Hero Games is free to anywhere in the world.
When I have a little more time, I'll be glad to go over the story again and suggest adjustments to fit things more closely to the CU. It will really be pretty easy.
Perhaps the most distinctive "flavor" difference is that occult matters and people in the CU tend to be less public and more discreet than what your story seems to imply. Certainly there are powerful sorcerors and supernatural entities, heroic and villainous, some of them very visible and widely known; but for the most part the various factions of the Mystic World prefer to keep their activities out of the public eye. There's a strong sense that the general populace isn't ready to know everything that's out there in the shadows, and the power and danger of magic lore is jealously guarded by those who have it. So, it's unlikely that Belladonna and her parents would have endured public shame as a result of their plot. However, major world governments like the United Kingdom's have at least some idea of what's going on in the Mystic World, and could have dealt with the Stonewells as you describe.
We don't have a full Fifth Edition Champions sourcebook for the UK yet, so it's impossible to say whether or not the CU version of the country has an equivalent to your UKAD. It wouldn't be unreasonable, so you should feel free to use it. OTOH there are a couple of existing organizations that could also work for you, if you prefer.
For over two hundred years, the Trismegistus Council has been the world's foremost organization of "good" occultists, helping protect the Earth from various supernatural threats. Although all members of the Council have some spell casting ability, few approach the power level of the "super mages." They're primarily scholars and investigators of the arcane, with a collective knowledge of the Mystic World rivalled by very few. They mainly act as intelligence, support, and sometimes mentors to supernatural superheroes. Witchcraft of the Champions hero team has close ties to the Trismegistans. However, there's precedent for rare members to achieve much greater power than most.
The Trismegistus Council was originally formed to oppose a malevolent magic cabal called the Circle Of The Scarlet Moon. Now, the Champions Universe includes evil mystic organizations such as DEMON which use flashy, destructive magic, operatives with distinctive raiments and artifacts, and the like. The Scarlet Moon is very different. For generations they've plotted in the shadows, using discreet, subtle magic to secretly accumulate vast wealth and influence over the mundane world. The leaders of the Circle are among the richest, most socially and politically powerful people, but very few people even know of its existence. Those who do can't prove anything in court -- the Circle members are extremely adept at covering their tracks.
Mason and Jade Stonewells could have been members of the Trismegistus Council, who did indeed succumb to corruption, and used their connections to other powerful mystics to form their conspiracy; or they could have been part of the Scarlet Moon (overthrowing the monarchy outright would be more overt than the Circle normally operates, but trying to secretly subvert the government would be within their capability). I could also definitely see the Scarlet Moon seducing the Stonewells to the "dark side," and letting them take the fall when the plot collapsed.
Moving on... Archdruid was a prominent British superhero in the 1980's and 90's, the first leader of UNITY, the United Nations' official super team. He retired from that position in 1995. No more details than that have been revealed about him, and I would say it's very unlikely the character will ever be used in CO or the PnP game, so he should be open for you to use as desired. Assuming he retired to his native country, he'd be a natural for the UK government to make custodian of Evelyn Stonewells. Since his true name and background haven't been revealed, you could use what you've already established for Belladonna's mentor, including bumping him off.
The later events you describe wouldn't be problematic at all. The CU has no shortage of demons, mythological monsters, pagan gods, extra-dimensional entities, or Lovecraftian horrors for heroic sorcerors to fight. Similarly, there are a number of magic powered superheroes, including an entire team of British mystic champions, known as The Night Watch.
Well, I hope some of that will be useful to you. You're welcome to ask for further info, although I don't want to reveal too much of Cryptic Studios' IP.
Toki.
Is there something wrong with the story? o_0
I get the feeling not many are fond of or relate to it...
Should it be more about Elizabeth and less about the serpent/Malaise, or something else entirely?
Guess I need to change that to make it more clear then.
First, Strontium, let me add my compliments on your story. This is a powerful, near-tragic origin, rife with roleplaying possibilities. The character should be fun to play, and to interact with.
In regards to your questions, assuming the origin that your character "remembers" is his true one, there's no reason he couldn't be the product of a government operation just as you describe. For decades the American government has undertaken a series of "super-soldier" programs to find a way to "manufacture" superhumans. You can view a list of past programs here. Your program's budget might be a little exaggerated
I'd particularly like to call your attention to "Project Sunburst" from that super-soldier list. On the one hand, tests on the surviving subjects of the project could have provided the data needed to create Strontium. OTOH Strontium might actually be one of those volunteers, comatose until recently. If his brain had been damaged and his memory impaired, he might have been "reprogrammed" with a false history to lead him to work for the government. Discovering the truth could add new dimensions to the character: dealing with betrayal, searching for his true past, etc.
Now, there are a few villains and villainous agencies in the CU that also could have created and programmed Strontium for their own purposes. That would open up a whole other can of worms. :cool:
As far as impending alien invasions, there's one that's been in the works in the CU for a long time. The Hzeel, the nearest interstellar power to Earth, have been covertly scouting this planet for years in preparation for a major invasion. Several CU supervillains owe their powers and resources to accidental contact with crashed Hzeel scouts. However, the invasion plan itself is virtually unknown to anyone on Earth, so you'd need a good explanation as to how your character's creators would be certain that one is imminent.
There's also been recent concern in the intelligence and law-enforcement communities that the Qularr, who attempted an invasion of Earth back in the 1960's (whose legacy is Monster Island), have returned to Earth and may be laying the ground work for another attack. That information is known, at the very least, to the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
If I might offer an observation: Strontium's background and origin are in no way dependent on knowledge of an alien threat, and your story mentions it almost as an afterthought. IMO you could exclude that detail with no repercussions to the character.
Thanks so much for the input! I will get to work on modifying my story.
I want to stick with the whole hearted creationism by the old retired small time Hero/Scientist feel as opposed to the lost mind by villian organazation. I feel that this explains his lack of knowledge about how powerful he is and plays well with discovering new powers as the game progresses.
I wanted the hero to have the taxpayers savoir rub to him which is why i mentioned the Times knowing about the character. I see now what you mean though as it would be strange for the public to be informed of such a dangerous maybe even unethical project.
I wil reconsider the alien threat idea I see what you mean their is room for me to remove it completley. But in case I decide to go further into it can you tell me abit more about the types of aliens these two are.
Hzeel
Qularr
I mean are they alien horde? technology based? insect life forms? anything specifc would help. I do like how the United Nations Security Council knows of an impending attack. That could explain the budget if it were an international effort.
Thanks again for your thoughts!
I'm glad you feel it was helpful.
Seems reasonable to me. You should use what works for you. Not all hero origins need to be dark and twisted.
You might also want to clarify in your own mind whether the American government knows that Strontium survived the experiment, and if so whether he's in their custody or they're trying to find him; and in any case, what they intend to do with him. He could technically be considered government property.
The Hzeel are small (average 4') blue-skinned humanoids, with a rather devious, acquisitive culture. They control an interstellar empire toward the galactic rim from Earth, and are in conflict with the Dorvalans (the race of the Champions team member Ironclad). The Hzeel want the Earth as a forward staging area from which to strike at the Dorvalans. Their technology is significantly superior to most of early-21st century Earth, although not the equal of the very best human super hero/villain tech. Villains who owe their abilities to having adapted Hzeel technology or biology include the international arms dealer, the Warlord; the sonic-powered villainess Howler; and Oculon, an operative of VIPER, the world-wide super criminal/terrorist organization, who wields powerful optic beams.
The Qularr are a bipedal insectile race with a caste-based social system, reinforced through selective breeding. They possess advanced technology, particularly in the fields of genetics and force-field physics. In 1965 they established a base on then-uninhabited Monster Island, and used gigantic mutated monsters of their own design as the vanguard of their invasion force. (The surviving monsters are confined to the island today, behind a Qularr forcefield dome.) The Qularr appear to want humanity for its powerful, flexible genetic potential to create super beings, which they wish to exploit.
Recent books published by Hero Games reveal that UNTIL, the United Nations' agency protecting the world from super threats, has learned that the Qularr are back on Earth, in small numbers so far; but they fear that the aliens are preparing another attempt at conquest. (More details about this will likely appear in the MMO.) Logically the Security Council would be briefed on this development.
The one thing I'm not clear on is, how do you see this letter coming into Strontium's possession? Your story doesn't indicate how his "father" intended to transmit it, other than relying on the selfless kindness of whoever happened to find it. This would be a very dangerous amount of information to entrust to a total stranger. OTOH that could become a very interesting plot point depending on who found the letter, perhaps even leading to Strontium's Nemesis in the MMO, should you wish to create one.
As corollary to that, perhaps Strontium's origin could become known to the most powerful survivor of Project Sunburst, the master villain who calls himself Sunburst. Sunburst wants to recruit other super powered products of the Project to follow him. Since he's very charismatic and presents himself as a revolutionary trying to change the world for the betterment of everyone, Strontium might be tempted.
fun stuff
I will be thinking this one over for a while, lol. Thanks again for the help.
Real name: N/A
Description: 4 color costume RED/BLACK/GREEN/YELLOW
Powers: Flight, Plasma Bursts
Origin:
This letter was given to me, in secret, by a covert operative representing the US government. It was recovered at the site of my resurrection. Im not sure Id believe any of this except the document arrived in a sealed container made from the same material as my suit. Besides the letter the box contained a badge with my symbol and costume colors, both objects were saturated with my radiation signature. I dont remember my beginnings, but the story that follows seems familiar some how. I share it with you now for two reasons:
1. In the hope someone out there may know more than is stated.
2. I dont think the government wants me too.
I list the second reason because as the agent placed the box in my hands he smiled and said Your creation cost America many important lives and billions of tax payer dollars. Consider this box an olive branch; a token of our faith in your abilities, and the services you will be providing to our country. Apparently my creator took steps to make sure I was free of their control; I can only assume its true for I ended up with the box. How much freedom I truly have has never been revealed to me. The agent instantly asked to read the letter. I let him see it, I felt indebted for their help and resources in my creation, but I also feared for my own freedom
Letter:
Strontium, this letter is my only opportunity to clear my conscience and inform you of the circumstances of your birth, for I am dying. In truth, you were never born in the common sense of the word. You were created like the mythical gods of ancient lore, your body molded through science and technology directly from the elements.
I have bestowed my fondest memories upon you, as well as the knowledge of my lifetime. I give you the best of my mind, heart and soul for you to use as you wish. Although the experiences you remember are not your own, you are my creation, an individual with free will. I give you these things freely and with no regrets.
You may be thinking these are the ravings of an old fool, but let me start from the beginning. You already know my past as we share the same memories. My mother was a high school chemistry teacher and my father a police officer. My family's long history in law enforcement inspired me to start fighting crime at age seventeen. I've made many small alterations to my genetic makeup over the years to make myself faster and tougher than average. Scientific mucking, I call it.
My crime-fighting ventures with common criminals made local headlines and eventually got the attention of the government. When they found no blemishes on my 50-years of service, they offered me a chance to apply my knowledge in the creation of a nearly indestructible, impeccable crime fighter. They said you would have my memories, my experiences, my personality... I saw this as a second chance at life. It was an offer I couldn't refuse. So, I filled your brain with all the idealism, tenacity and wisdom I could muster.
Dealing with the worst of people day after day, year after year also requires a sense of humor to stay sane. Perhaps you will also become known for wit that only the imaginative can understand. At least that's what I tell myself when my quips earn nothing but blank stares.
There is still so much to tell you but time is running out. My team and I made grievous errors despite our best efforts. Our miscalculations resulted in an explosion that destroyed our lab and killed everyone. My scientific mucking, as I explained earlier, allowed me to survive long enough to write this letter.
In a nutshell, the body we created for you thrives on radiation. The genome sequence used was discovered in the logs of "Project Sunburst". Soldiers were deliberately exposed to nuclear explosions in an attempt to spawn super humans--a horrible experiment. Most of the subjects died in testing and the few that didnt went crazy. From that insanity we discovered a way to shape and mold your DNA.
After reaching maturity you were gradually dehydrated and all blood was replaced with a liquid isotope known as strontium. It was chosen for being highly reactive to hydrogen and oxygen, the building blocks of water.
Never make direct contact with water. In large volumes the results would be catastrophic for the planet and possibly fatal to you.
This brings us to our first sin in your creation. The tin can we encased you in like a prison. We debated for years on a better solution; all other avenues were exhausted before we came to the realization that there was no better way to keep the atmosphere from over reacting with the strontium in your veins.
From this point on years of materials testing conducted, tremendous efforts went to perfecting the suits comforts and designs. The main material chosen shields radiation and is so dark it seems to drink surrounding light. I had never seen such a thing and inquiring further was told, "The materials are extra-terrestrial in nature and best NOT inquired upon." After the initial design the affect was so horrifying we decided you needed bright colors to counter the dramatic effect. The bright red, yellow and green serve two purposes the first is a counter to the extra-terrestrial material the second a warning to all life of your radioactive nature.
Our second sin also becomes your greatest gift, altering your genetic make up to live off radiation. As mentioned before we chose strontium for its unique reaction to water. Unfortunately its half-life is only 29 years, which is rather short for a Super Hero. To get around this problem we implanted uranium and plutonium at the suits core, the by-product of which is more strontium. In effect, the containment suit does more than provide a barrier to the outside world; it sustains you.
The ventilation systems are complex. You can choose to let in air through special valves and release the radioactive energy in plasma bursts. The valves can be moved and adjusted according to your needs--the combinations are limitless. Even sustained flight should be within your grasp.
Within your vascular system, floating in the strontium solution, are millions of self-replicating bots called nanites. They perform all essential thermal and biochemical transport functions, similar to blood. The nanites heal, repair and nourish you without any need to break the seal of the containment suit. Unfortunately they are also extremely volatile; without the suit the strontiums reaction to the atmosphere would be beyond your control. I hope you will find someone to help limit the risks and make improvements to its technologies.
In one sense you are cursed; never will you feel the touch of a lover's skin, a gentle breeze in your hair or the ocean waves lapping at your feet. Everywhere you go people will stop in their tracks and stare, maybe even regard you as a monster. But within this terrible burden lies a great gift. A small inhalation of Earths atmosphere will provide enough fuel to transport the suit and your life indefinitely. With this much power you can do things that we couldn't have predicted and you may not have discovered yet. Your abilities are limited only by your imagination.
Do I sound boastful? Well, I am. Involvement with this project was a real honor and the greatest accomplishment of my life. An insider once let it slip that our budget surpassed the "Manhattan Project" and required a larger staff than the Pentagon. The world is counting on you to protect them from forces both foreign and domestic. Some may say we have been overzealous with the powers we bestowed upon you, but its only because so much is at stake.
Please try to forgive us for imposing such a burden on you and for the mistakes that destroyed the only family you've ever had. If only you could have witnessed your transformation. Your body absorbed the strontium solution in seconds and your heart began to beat so loudly the whole room reverberated with each thump. It felt like a miracle, like the miracle of birth.
Before we could put on your containment suit, your eyes opened, your head rolled back, and you inhaled. It was too late. The light emanating from your body, a radiant yellow-green, encompassed everything.
The next thing I remember I was on the floor, the suit was gone and you were nowhere to be found. In that moment I knew you were capable of protecting us from anything short of God himself. My only regret is that I will not be around to see you grow as a hero and a man. I have taken steps to make sure your life belongs to you, not the government. I am placing this letter and my badge in a container only you can unlock. I am positive this box will reach you based on my actions.
Strontium, as cliché as this sounds, the fate of the world rests in your blood. You are a product of my will and my love; I know you will never surrender. My team and I gladly sacrificed our lives so that you could save the lives of billions. Please, accept this burden so that our sacrifices have not been made in vain.
Goodbye my son,
Your Father
Real Name: (Have not decided yet!)
Profession: Scientist/Doctor??
Costume Style: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v328/Crash-Fu/CoH/?action=view¤t=The_Crimson_Cougar.jpg Up to Golden-Age standards, I'd say.
Powers: short range solid-energy projection, above peak-human physical condition, medicine.
Backstory: Crippled and wheelchair-bound in a car/skiing? accident years ago, he had devoted much of his life to developing new drugs and medicines in order to help mankind. Most of all, he sought to invent a miracle-drug that would boost the human regeneration process to the point where even permanent injuries, such as his own legs, would heal.
Perhaps by accident, he succeeds far better than he had ever hoped, and creates a serum that both repairs and improves his body to superhuman health and physical fitness, while also having the inexplicable side-effect of endowing him with the ability to project and shape solid energy from his body. Immediately he realizes that he is no longer limited to healing people, he can now prevent them from becoming hurt in the first place, and so he fashions for himself a stunning red costume with a mask in the likeness of a powerful mountain lion, and takes to the streets as The Crimson Cougar to protect the people of the city!
I can't decide on a good, golden-age, doctor-y sounding real name to give him. I also can't decide if he should be a doctor or a chemist or a scientist or what... which would be the most likely to run around inventing and handing out super-pills and super-injections?
I'm also trying to think of a better explaination for the energy powers.. like, maybe he was a dormant mutant and the super-drug acted as a catalyst to awake those powers? Or maybe he actually secretes and projects some sort of biological substance that becomes like a force-field when charged up with his life energy?
Also, can't decide exactly where to go as far as defensive powers. I've read a little about how those work, with the four types being invulnerability, evasiveness, force fields, and regeneration.. and I'm thinking either regeneration (because that's what the super-medicine was designed for in the first place) or force-fields (because the solid energy powers he has are just as useful defensively as offensively). Am I allowed to take both?
For that matter, what should I call the super-medicine?
And then there's the need for a nemesis... jeez.. I wish we could have half a dozen or so different nemesi at a time, but as I understand it you get one, halfway through the game, and only get another after you completely finish off your current one.. or does the last one you had come back later, in addition to the one you take after them? At any rate, I have a few ideas..
Maybe some common crook becomes fatally injured by him, by accident, while he's trying to stop a bank heist or somesuch... and the only way he can save the man's life is by using the same ultra-strength version of his medicine that gave him his powers, this in turn gives the same powers to the crook, who in turn shows no gratitude and merely graduates from hired goon to supervillain? I'm thinking reaaaally punk in style and name.
Maybe a hornet-themed gadget-using supervillain, who was working on technology that mimicked insect biology, but had his funding cut when it was decided that there were far more interesting projects that need funded. Disgruntled, and possibly a little less than sane, he becomes PROFESSOR HORNET and uses a flight-capable bee-winged armor suit and a poison dart gun to go on a crime spree. Essentially an Homage to The Monarch from the Venture Bros., with maybe a little of whichever version of Dr. Light appeared in the animated Teen Titans.
Or maybe a sexy anthropomorphic rabbit-woman from some secret genetics lab in that Monster Island place. Being part rabbit, she of course has no soul (Most animals have souls, but just look into a rabbit's eyes... THEY don't!), and thusly is one seriously cold-hearted mercenary. No delusions of grandeur or world-domination schemes, just a lot of high-paying, highly-immoral contracts. In addition to the physical capabilities of a bunny, she'd be a crack-shot with a pistol... and maybe have fire or smoke-based powers on top of that, just because? I'm thinking a name of Alice, but the alias of DUST BUNNY.
Any feedback and suggestions would be appreciated! Also, tell me if the names Crimson Cougar, Professor Hornet, or Dust Bunny are already in use for any notable sources you can think of. Actually I just checked, and it looks like there was a very, very minor, obscure comic called Crimson Cougar, but I don't think anyone would notice, let alone care, if I used the same name.
So of anyone can give me any advice on some choices it would be greatly appreciated.
Sounds like a pretty reasonable Golden Age-style "super-serum" origin. One thing, though: is the character meant to actually be from the Golden Age (i.e. circa 1940s), and if so, do you see his adventures as occuring during that era, or carrying forward to the modern day? If the latter, I assume the serum would retard his aging so he can still be physically capable. Or perhaps he simply has a G-A style, but is actually a present-day crime fighter?
I also have to ask about the source of his costume and code name. What inspired him to choose it? Although a bit cliche, "Crimson Cougar" sounds almost Native American -- perhaps that could be his background?
Most character real names from that era were fairly vanilla WASP, although a fair amount of alliteration cropped up (Clark Kent, Billy Batson, etc.) As for scientists, they seemed to cross the boundaries of their disciplines whenever necessary. Given his particular interest, I auggest making him a pharmacologist.
However, considering how well his serum worked on him, and his interest in curing other people, I think you should give some thought as to why there aren't more superhumans like him running around, courtesy of his "handing out super-pills and super-injections." That sort of influx of supers can really destabilize a setting. Even without inducing super powers, his invention would have revolutionized medicine beyond what most mainstream supers settings support. (I explore that issue further below.)
I think the "dormant mutant" explanation would at least justify why the serum worked so far beyond expectation on him, as well as avoiding making it a way to mass-produce superhumans. It's also possible that it would only work at all on a small number of people with a particular genetic make-up.
As for the energy powers, a lot of comic-book supers generate copious amounts of "bio-electricity," i.e. the natural tiny electric currents in the human nervous system are pumped up enough to fire electrical bolts. That fits well enough with the rest of his enhancements.
Regeneration certainly seems the most in-concept for this character; but if you're allowed to take more than one defensive power, I'd add evasiveness, which would fit with his enhanced athletic prowess.
Golden Age style seemed to favor things that sounded like catchy trade-names for commercial products, such as "Miraclo" and "Vita-Rays." May I suggest "ReGenerite?"
This kind of origin seems the most comic-book to me. The warped reflection of the hero is a classic concept for a nemesis. How about taking this a little farther? The Cougar succeeds in saving this person's life, and the serum gives him powers, but has an unexpected side-effect in reaction to his physiology/genetics, mutating his body into a hideous monster. The victim blames Crimson Cougar for his deformity and swears revenge, while the Cougar blames himself for creating this new menace to society. Personal connections make for the most interesting interactions between hero and villain; and if the victim were actually someone the Cougar cared about, like a friend, relative, or lover, that would add a tragic dimension to the relationship. (It would also explain why CC hasn't handed his serum over to the general public -- too much risk of something going wrong.)
May I assume you're interested in alien races from the official Champions Universe? Because otherwise the potential field is really wide.
My first question would be, what type of powers and appearance do you visualize for this character? That would have a bearing on what race(s) might be appropriate. Also, by "hybrid" do you mean "offspring" of a human and alien parent? Or someone who somehow gained an infusion of alien biological material/ cybernetics/ life-force?
Does your character's non-human parent have to be extra-terrestrial? There are several non-human races in hidden corners of Champions Earth, manifesting various types of powers and abilities.
As a jumping-off point I'm going to offer one preliminary suggestion with broad possibilities. An aggressive humanoid extra-terrestrial species named the Hzeel have been scouting Earth for years preparatory to a major invasion. Several super villains have encountered crashed Hzeel scouts, and acquired advanced technology or even super powers as a result. One such villain, called Oculon, gained the ability to project powerful optical energy beams after receiving the transplanted eyes from an Hzeel corpse. The Hzeel themselves don't wield eye-beams, or any other "racial" super-power aside from limited regeneration; Oculon's abilities stem from the interaction of Human with Hzeel biology.
It's been speculated that grafting other Hzeel organs into human beings might bestow different powers on them. Moreover, if Humans and Hzeel were interfertile (practically impossible in real life, but hey, this is comics
Whatever Lord Liaden says treat as the best thing to do, i am starting to wonder if there is actually anything he doesn't know about the champions universe. Maybe he is Dr Destroyer! ohh its a plot i tell you!
(Yes, that's a CU reference, too.)
Hmm.. I hadn't thought of native american heritage, but that would fit. Perhaps roughly half native american. The mountain lion is of course significant to the certain native american tribes, as one of their most powerful gods was one. As for the crimson part? I'm thinking that's the color of his energy powers. I've got kind of this joke going in my head where a costume-cleaning incident temporarily leaves him as The Pink Puma!
Pharmacologist? Yes, that sounds about right.
Yes, yes! I like the way all of that fits together! Crimson was a dormant mutant but never realized it, it didn't even show up during medical examinations. He designed his super-drug using his own genetics as a base, or something to that effect, and so it worked flawless on him... and let's just say it was designed to only work specifically on humans, so it never would or could have been tested on animals... then comes the incident with the crook, and as you said it winds up causing unexpected mutations when used on normal people, or heck.. maybe even anyone other than the Cougar himself. So now we've got the big badass mutant freak with all of the powers that the cougar has, but with some extra monster-strength thrown in. Crimson Cougar has to give up on that formula of the serum, naturally.. but eventually would develop a safe, albeit weaker and non-superpower-giving regeneration aide for the public. Not strong enough to cause TOO much of a medical revolution, just like... "Here, take some of this and you'll be out of that cast in half/third/quarter of the time". And then of course there'd be a formula only safe for superheroic use that works well enough for mid-battle healing, in-game.
Yeaah, but I don't want electro powers. I was thinking more of a green lantern thing, only far, far more limited in power. Instead of creating a giant green robot out of thin air, he'd just be able to make spheres of solid energy around his hands and then punch people with them, or make a blade shape, or some trademarked cougar claws.
Miraclo and Vita-Rays are definitely out. Ugh. ;P ... Regenerite sounds like a magical crystal, but I like the play off the word Regen.. unfortunately a quick search shows that Regeneraid is in use by a real-life company, as is Regener-X. Hmmm..
Edit: I just had a new idea... maybe the energy powers could be actually based on his blood! A combination of mutant blood and mutant bio-energy that results in a crazy solid-biological-energy field he can shape at will. It would explain the color of the powers and his name, explain why it's limited in scope to short range, and give an excuse both for a good limitation to his powers since if he overdid it he could pass out from the lack of blood, even with his regeneration factor replenishing it much faster than a normal person. (I never like it when superheroes get incomprehensibly powerful) It would also be an excuse for some masochistic behavior. Like... BAM! Hand slammed against the wall, all dripping blood, then VWOOM! Energy claws appear! Hahaha.
Not to mention it would just be so unsanitary, and thus make it a totally vexing power for a man of medicine to have.
I should clarify that I didn't intend for you to use Miraclo and Vita-Rays -- they're actual examples of origin-gimmicks for two published Golden Age comic heroes, Hourman and Captain America, respectively.
Hmm... seeing as you suggest below that blood manipulation could be a key component of Crimson Cougar's powers, perhaps changing the nature of a recipient's blood could be the Special Effect of his serum. In that case, how about calling it "Hemorphin?"
Now that's a very clever notion, with a fine visual and a consistent SFX. :cool: It might interest you to know that the Champions villain Bloodstone is a "hemokinetic," able to mentally manipulate blood, and can create short-range weapons out of his own blood in much the same way. Mind you, Bloodstone's powers also work on other people, which makes for some vicious attacks.
Anyway, I need an origin story for him. How was he created? My idea is that a comet passed through a nebula and somehow, the components within both objects, made a remarkable spark of life. Although, I don't like it that much. Any ideas? I want to include a nebula somwhere.
Well, the most information revealed about them to date has been in the Hero Games sourcebook, Terran Empire, for their science-fiction game line; but that's set several centuries in the future, long after the failure of the Hzeel's invasion, the destruction of their home world, and the collapse of their civilization. In addition to what I suggested in my previous post, I can summarize the most pertinent info you would need to use them, should you wish to. I'll put this within Spoiler tags for people who want to be surprised (just highlight the blackened area with your cursor to read it):
I just want to repeat that there are other options available in the setting, should you prefer not to use the Hzeel. For example, another very appropriate choice for an alien parent would be the Mandaarians:
Physically, Mandaarians closely resemble humans in features, hair and skin color. They tend to be shorter and slighter on average, have slightly pointed ears, and gold or silver eyes with slit pupils. Many Mandaarians have psionic powers (telepathy, telekinesis, and the like), some very powerful.
Mandaarians as a culture maintain a strict policy of non-intervention toward other races, although individuals may be less stringent in maintaining it. For that reason I'm fairly certain producing a child with a member of a much less advanced species (such as humans) would be frowned upon at the very least by the majority of Mandaarians.
Actually, that sounds like a pretty cool origin. :cool: I will say that how you describe him reacting to humans makes him sound a little naive for someone who "travels around the universe fighting evil and doing stuff like that."
If you do want something a little different, here's a Champions Universe-based suggestion. In the depths of space dwell a race of intelligent beings made of pure energy, called the Az'arc'a. Peaceful and curious, they travel across the galaxy exploring. Az'arc'a sometimes interact with "solid" intelligent races aboard space ships and the like, but are unable to survive in the atmosphere and gravity well of a planet.
What if one Az'arc'a happens to pass through a comet within Earth's solar system, and some unusual composition in the comet causes some of its particles to bond with the alien's energy, enabling him to form a solid "body" around himself? Now having a protective form capable of surviving the conditions on a planet, the Az'arc'a sets out to explore the nearest inhabited world -- Earth.
This would give you a character with a well-developed personality, capable and experienced, and most likely inclined to help and protect other sapients in danger; but also completely new to life among solid beings.
(FWIW of the names you suggested, IMO "Stardust" is the snazziest and sounds most like a superhero code-name.)
Oh really? Well then, I certainly hope I won't have to fight him! He'd likely make my powers useless! ;-) Anyways, I suppose I could say that Crimson is a hemokinetic himself, although I want it to be clear that the powers are half that and half forcefield as well. Are there any good illustrations of this Bloodstone guy, by the way?
Online, not specifically of him that I'm aware of. However, Bloodstone is a member of the occult supervillain team the Crowns of Krim, and looks somewhat like their leader, Dark Seraph. The biggest difference is that Bloodstone's skin is supposed to resemble flayed human flesh.
Curse my bad choice of words!
I like the idea. I might use that, thanks for the info!
His original name was going to be Stardust, but it turns out that Marvel and AC already have dibs on that name. :mad:
Thanks for the help and info! I have a much better idea of what this guy is going to be!
you are such a dork ;P
you are, however, the heart and soul of this little thread, and I cant even begin to count how many community member's you've helped out in your tenure here.
thanks for being awesome (I know, I say that like every other month, but you keep making it true ;p)
Nationality: Australian
Age: Late teens to early twenties
Physical Characteristics: Medium height, Lean built, Ginger hair, glowing blue eyes
Emotional characteristics: Arrogance, Cold Hearted ,Anarchist
Mission Statemate: He doesn't care who gets hurt as long as the Job gets done.
Heroics: Hero for hire/ Anti hero
Possible Powers: Dagger throwing, Shapeshifting into Dingo,
Background: I have a Idea using the three little pig as a background story its a work in progress.
Help Needed: Name possibility costume suggestion and other powers that work well with shapeshifting More to come could really use some help though.
likewise... WHY is he cold-hearted, anarchistic, and arrogant?
im not seeing much in the way of motivation.
with his attitude and powers, I'd go for a costume that fits his anti-establishment personality...
One of the character's in "rate-my-hero" had a top that was like sleeveless under-armor, with disconnected sleeves... something like that world work, maybe wear a jacket some of the time (with fake fur trim and patches!) or maybe the tanker-top is more like a super-tight hoody, hood up or hood down.
pants, just some baggy cargos and combat boots.
he changes into a dingo.... he's basically a werewolf.... take that to heart.... perhaps he can channel some of his "dingo-ness" while still looking human... biting, clawing, that sort of thing.
another thought is that, as a dingo... he has a "pack" that he belongs to... so while he's against human society, he DOES have a "community" to be a part of (could be especially fun to show some interactions between John and his packmates, as Dingos... or even using his ability to become human to help his brethren out.)
in game this could translate into some sort of "summon dingo" ability (or wolf, dog, something close, ya know?)
Name: Nexus Prime(Quintin Jones jr)
Age:20
Nationality:African American
Physical traits :5'10 140lbs. lean but muscular. Short curly hair. Hazel eyes
Personality: Jokes alot, very friendly, thinks well under pressure, Smiles all the time, very confident But not alot of hero experience.
Powers: Has a suit built for agility. enhances his quickness and agility. Weilds 2 energy blades and can shoot energy blasts from his chest and palms. Super speed.
What I oringinaly had was that Quintin was a good kid growing up but hung out with the wrong people as a teen and got arrested for a crime he did not commit. But his parents(there both scientists and work for some hero corperation) created a suit for him to fight crime with. Thus him becoming a hero.
I also wanted to mix in his older brother Davis as a nemesis in the story. I planed for him to steal the plans for the Nexus suit from his parents and create a new, bigger, stronger suit to destroy Nexus with.
Any suggestions on what I could add?
How about this? Instead of the suit being made for him, he uses it as a way to redeem himself. After a heroic act (stopping a bank robbery, saving people from a fire, what have you) his parents let him continue using the armor, seeing the kind of good he could do with it.
As for his brother, jelousy is always a good motive. He could get ****ed that his parents decided to give Quinten the armor instead of him.
Edit: I can't say ****ed ?
I like that idea. I could say that his parents gave him the suit to redeem himself but if he messes up hes going back to jail.
RATHER... i think it would be more compelling to see a character who is a good person, raised by good people.... who has utterly lost the trust of his parents.
His older brother breaks into parents lab to steal advanced technology to sell on the black market (Older brother was taught good principles but left alone to follow them through pride and concete, becoming vain, spoiled, aloof, and arrogant... and in the end aquired debts and shady contacts through vice and wrecklessness)
Quin catches Davis in the act, looses a scuffle.... but in the end, he takes the rap for his brother.
Police raid the lab and find Quin. They ask who his confederates are but he refuses to name names.
arround the trial, davis pledges to "prove his brother's innocence" (which he does by yahting around Italy and playing lots of golf.)
Unable to recover from the distruction and theft of their work, his parents begin working for the government specifically, designing new weapons technology.
Through various circumstances, Quin is released after time served (15 months, with good behavior) to return home. His parents no longer trust or respect him, and though they treat him kindly... they dont show the same affection or openness they used to.
Quin, bitter at his parents rejection and his brother's betrayal (no way to even expose Davis, now that he was the criminal and his brother the saint).... Quin attempts to commit the crime he went to prison for.
breaking into his parents lab, he discovers the pieces of the suit. a weapon. Wracked with guilt, and angry that his parents are designing tools of distruction (where before they primarily worked on civil technology), he steals the suit and begins fighting crime.
Out of the suit, he's a young man most people overlook as a statistic. just another young black male who's been to prison.
In the suit he's a man to be respected, a role model, a hero.
In his own way, he's living up to the ideals his parents had, his brother claims to have, and Quin believes in. without the mask on, he may not ever be able to regain his parent's trust or respect, but that wont stop him from doing what he knows is right.
________________________
Meanwhile, Davis used his stolen goods, and the money they aquired to live a life of luxury, indoctrinating himself into a world of high-tech crime for fun and profit. He used the money his parents give him to help his brother, to fund elaborate technological heists and used the gains from those heists to fund a small company of hi-tech theives and mercenaries.
Shortly after Quin begins hero work, Davis fakes his own death, to detach himself from his family and reinvent his persona as Crux, an international criminal kingpin....
___________________________
perhaps after being a hero for a while, Nexus Prime goes public, and finally reconsiles with his parents (and making himself a target to Crux and his various contacts.)
My extended group of Champions PnP player friends have decided that, in light of the movie coming out, they want to play a campaign inspired by the universe of Watchmen: Cold War tensions (it's to be set in 1981), "real world" issues, street level heroism, growing sense of despair, etc. The chief distinction is that there are actually people with superpowers, not just Doc Manhattan. But they're nowhere near as common as they are in Champions, and it's not a very good idea to reveal that you have them. However, in this universe, there are several "super teams", but they're underground, and their activities rarely cover more than a handful of neighborhoods-Chicago and Los Angeles are the only cities known to be serviced by a single team.
Here's the hero I have in mind: anyone with ideas for him, or for that matter, general ideas for the setting (it's still in an embryonic stage) are welcome to pitch in.
The Falcon, a young man from East Berlin with super-speed. I'm not sure what I want for his background: I like the idea that (in keeping with Watchmen's moral ambiguity fetish) after some personal tragedy pushed him over the edge, he used his super-speed to leap over the Wall to West Berlin, and subsequently to New York City, leaving behind a wife and possibly a family. Although appalled at how Americans take their freedoms for granted, he nonetheless has made it his mission to at least try to fight crime in his new home. The costume he wears has earned him some criticism for being "a little too Nazi", but he is thankful that at least no one knows him well enough to call him a Communist yet.
And actually, the more I thought about the setting, the more I liked the notion of the USSR having supers too, and how they would be responded to. I have a vague notion of a character, sort of a Soviet version of the Comedian's relationship to the government, that i'd also like some ideas on: tentatively he's to be called the Decemberist, who fought as a partisan in the Siege of Leningrad when he was 14, where he discovered his powers (whatever those may be...suggestions?). Rather than executing him, his local political officer presented him to his commanders and he began a fruitful career with the NKVD, and subsequently KGB. I like the idea of him also having a suit of light power armor, which (as the Soviets do not publicize) was actually developed by the West but stolen by the KGB.
Thoughts on either, or ideas for the setting?