WAIFU WARZ - MISC. BUILDS - THE INCREADIBLE (NON)SHRINKING MAN

[squirrelly-sama]

"In my experience if violence isn't solving your problems then clearly you aren't using enough of it."

Crush - PL 8
Sex: Female
Age: ~19
Height: ~5'6" | Weight: ~104 | Hair: Red | Eyes: Amber
Role: The Amazon, The Blood Knight, The Ladette, The Muscle

Waifu Stats
Division - Light Weight
Series - Quickstarter
Focus - Melee/Tank
Dere Typing - Yankee,

Strength 12, Stamina 12, Agility 0, Dexterity 0, Fighting 2, Intellect 0, Awareness 2, Presence 4

Advantages
All-out Attack, Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Improved Critical: Unarmed, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Improvised Weapon, Interpose, Seize Initiative, Startle, Takedown, Ultimate Effort: Toughness

Skills
Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+4), Intimidation 4 (+10), Perception 2 (+4), Ranged Combat: Throw 4 (+4)

Powers
Athletics: Speed 4 (Speed: 30 miles/hour, 500 feet/round)
. . Leaping: Leaping 4 (Alternate; Leap 120 feet at 30 miles/hour)
Feats of Strength
. . Crippling Blow: Affliction 12 (1st degree: Vulnerable, Dazed, 2nd degree: Defenseless, Stunned, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 22; Extra Condition; Limited Degree, Notes: Linked to Unarmed Attacks)
. . For Want of A Hammer: Nullify 12 (Counters: Effects that can be nullified by force, DC 22; Broad; Reduced Range: close, Notes: Linked to Unarmed Attacks)
. . Rock Hard Muscle (Reaction 3: reaction; Check Required 12: DC 21 - Toughness, Limited: To rank of damage resisted.)
. . Tenderizer: Cumulative Affliction 12 (1st degree: Impaired, 2nd degree: Disabled, 3rd degree: Incapacitated, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 22; Cumulative; Grab-based)
Growth: Growth 4 (+4 STR, +4 STA, +2 Intimidate, -4 Stealth, -2 active defenses, +1 size rank, +4 mass ranks)
Indomitable: Impervious Toughness 12

Offense
Initiative +4
Crippling Blow: Affliction 12, +2 (DC Fort 22)
For Want of A Hammer: Nullify 12, +2 (DC Will 22)
Grab, +2 (DC Spec 22)
Tenderizer: Cumulative Affliction 12, +2 (DC Fort 22)
Throw, +4 (DC 27)
Unarmed, +4 (DC 27)

Complications
Addiction - Violence: Crush practically lives to fight, enjoying knock down drag out brawls. She often acts rough and tries to start fights.
Monstrous - Amazoness: Appearing as a 10 foot tall muscular green woman Crush is fairly physically impossing.
Power Loss - Emotions: Crushes strength comes from the strength of her emotions, fuelled most often by rage, passion, or joy. Because of this she grows weaker as she becomes emotionally fatigued or if she is made to experience apathy, fear, or grief.
Quirk - When All You Have Is A Hammer: With such a straightforward power Crush has trouble adapting to many situations. She often quickly jumps to "Punch it" as the solution to any and all problems she faces, from unbreakable walls to math homework. Her Plan B when that fails is "Punch it... Harder."
Temper: Crush is quick to outbursts of anger and violence. She often reacts to a sudden annoyance with a reflexive punch before she even properly registers exactly what about it has upset her.

Defense
Dodge 4, Parry 4, Fortitude 12, Toughness 12, Will 4

Power Points
Abilities 48 + Powers 40 + Advantages 14 + Skills 6 (12 ranks) + Defenses 12 = 120

Notes:
A Hulk-type Teen template build.

A rather straightforward powerhouse build there was a rather sizable pool of free points to put into fluff. Rather than going for a straight Hulk build, of dumb muscle with a Jekyll and Hyde gimmick I leaned a bit more to She-hulk of a powerhouse Amazonian, keeping her rationality and being fairly attractive. So 4 ranks of Presence, I could have probably just put Attractive on her for a higher bonus but there was points to spare.

She has an array of Feats of Strength and most of them are linked to her unarmed attacks. For the sake of balancing however they should probably be incompatible with Fast-Grab. Crippling Blow is a means of striking hard to open up holes in the opponent's guard for a punishing follow up. For Want of A Hammer is the common trope of just flexing your problems away. Rockhard Muscle is functions like an Energy Aura with a twist, the opponent attacks and breaks their weapon or hand on her muscles, the Check Required flaw should combined with the toughness roll for simplicity sake. Tenderizer is basically just Hulk's "Puny God" moment, though even if Crush has Fast Grab it should not Trigger the power, Grab-Based is a FLAW and should be treated as such, requiring it's own standard action to activate.

[Jabroniville]

A rather straightforward powerhouse build there was a rather sizable pool of free points to put into fluff. Rather than going for a straight Hulk build, of dumb muscle with a Jekyll and Hyde gimmick I leaned a bit more to She-hulk of a powerhouse Amazonian, keeping her rationality and being fairly attractive. So 4 ranks of Presence, I could have probably just put Attractive on her for a higher bonus but there was points to spare.

She has an array of Feats of Strength and most of them are linked to her unarmed attacks. For the sake of balancing however they should probably be incompatible with Fast-Grab. Crippling Blow is a means of striking hard to open up holes in the opponent's guard for a punishing follow up. For Want of A Hammer is the common trope of just flexing your problems away. Rockhard Muscle is functions like an Energy Aura with a twist, the opponent attacks and breaks their weapon or hand on her muscles, the Check Required flaw should combined with the toughness roll for simplicity sake. Tenderizer is basically just Hulk's "Puny God" moment, though even if Crush has Fast Grab it should not Trigger the power, Grab-Based is a FLAW and should be treated as such, requiring it's own standard action to activate.

KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!

I like the notion of adding Afflictions to the punching effects- a good way of making what's normally a cheap (if mathematically extremely good) Powerhouse set-up a big more expensive and versatile. I really like the notion of damaging weapons- that's probably a Hero Point/Spending HP thing in game terms normally, as it only rarely shows up in comics & other fiction, but this is a cool way of spending an action getting someone to bust up their sword on purpose. You've turned a lot of 'standard powerhouse tactics' into authentic Powers here and it's kinda neat.

I'm curious as to what effects can be countered with force- like Superman's punching an energy blast away in the '40s cartoon?

[squirrelly-sama]

"What a curious device, these phones, so many functions, so much information, and yet so common to be used for simple entertainment. You mortals, you never cease to impress."

Brynhildr - PL 8
Sex: Female
Age: ~19
Height: ~5'4" | Weight: ~113 | Hair: White | Eyes: Brown
Role: The Warrior Maiden, The Anachronistic Foreigner

Waifu Stats
Division - Light Weight
Series - Quickstarter
Focus - Melee
Dere Typing - Nadesico, Yandere

Strength 8, Stamina 8, Agility 2, Dexterity 0, Fighting 6, Intellect 0, Awareness 4, Presence 4

Advantages
All-out Attack, Attractive, Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Interpose, Move-by Action, Takedown, Weapon Bind, Weapon Break

Skills
Expertise: Norse Mythology 6 (+6)

Powers
All-Speak: Comprehend 2 (Languages - Understand All, Languages - You're Understood)

Gungnir (Easily Removable (indestructible))
. . Bifrost: Movement 2 (Dimensional: Nine Realms 2: group, 50 lbs.)
. . Odin's Spear
. . . . Lightning Strike (Burst Area: 30 feet radius sphere, DC 18, Increased Range: ranged)
. . . . Stab: Strength-based Damage 2 (DC 25; Improved Critical, Penetrating 10, Reach (melee): 5 ft.)
. . . . Throw: Strength-based Damage 2 (DC 25; Accurate 3: +6, Improved Critical, Increased Range: ranged [8 extra ranks])

Ride of the Valkyrie: Flight 4 (Removable, Speed: 30 miles/hour, 500 feet/round, Advantages: Move-by Action; Activation 2: standard action, Wings)

Valkyrie Armor (Removable)
. . Glide: Flight 1 (Speed: 4 miles/hour, 60 feet/round; Gliding)
. . Immunity: Immunity 7 (Critical Hits, Environmental Conditions (All))
. . Protection: Protection 2 (+2 Toughness)
. . Quick Change: Feature 1
. . Take Off: Leaping 2 (Leap 30 feet at 8 miles/hour)

Valkyrie Traits: Immunity 2 (Aging, Starvation & Thirst, Advantages: Attractive, Diehard)

Offense
Initiative +6
Grab, +6 (DC Spec 18)
Stab: Strength-based Damage 2, +6 (DC 25)
Throw, +0 (DC 23)
Throw: Strength-based Damage 2, +6 (DC 25)
Unarmed, +6 (DC 23)

Complications
Honor - Warrior Code: As a Valkyrie Brynhildr follows a code of honor befitting a warrior and deplores those who fight dishonorably.
Obsession - Love: Bryhildr has a fascination with Love, being a romantic who seeks love for herself and others. Her understanding of Love however is rather innocent however her oddities often result in rather strange and occasional scary views on the subject.
Power Loss - Valkyrie: Brynhildr's power comes from her status as a Valkyrie and if she were to lose that station she would be stripped of her strength and rendered a mortal woman.
Quirk - Foreigner: As a resident of Asgard Brynhildr is unfamiliar with the modern world and finds much of it's current customs and technology quite novel and is often surprised by the ingenuity of humans.
Responsibility - Valkyrie: Valkyries scout worthy souls to send to the halls of Valhalla as a reward for their valor and to prepare for Ragnarok.

Defense
Dodge 6, Parry 6, Fortitude 8, Toughness 10, Will 8

Power Points
Abilities 64 + Powers 35 + Advantages 10 + Skills 3 (6 ranks) + Defenses 8 = 120

Notes:
A Thor inspired Teen Hero template

A strong Warrior build, being fairly straight-forward in concept Brynhildr was rather cheap to make. Like, very cheap, the hardest part was finding good point sinks after getting the core bits out of the way. She has a few combat advantages to show her skill as a warrior and I added some Expertise to Norse Mythology.

For her powers, All-Speak was basically just a pointsink buy since I couldn't think of a better way to spend the last 4 points remaining. Normally I would avoid Comprehend given it's very expensive for a mediocre outcome but it was free points and I remembered something about the Asgardians being able to speak all languages from somewhere. Odin's Spear is based on her existing strength score, which made things cheaper. Lightning Strike is enhanced strength, as she's not so much calling down a bolt of lightning as throwing her lightning coated spear that then explodes into electricity. Stab has penetrating strength-based damage, a modifier that is honestly rather useless in my opinion but fit and the points were available. Throw was also similarly simple, just being Ranged Strength-Based Damage with extra ranks.

Ride of the Valkyries is probably my favorite part of the build, It's removable Flight with the Winged flaw. What this actually is, is her summoning (the activation flaw) a flying horse. I went with that instead of Summon since it made things more simple, no extra characters to track, no extra turns to slow things down, no extra actions to possibly abuse. The horse can be hurt and can be taken from her so I felt the Removable flaw felt like a good fit.

Her armor offers a bit of redundancy, something that usually should be avoided in a build made with limited PP, but again there were spare points. This is was less Thor inspired and more me just adding things on based on other things. In this case it was Gwendolyn from the game Odin's Sphere who's Valkyrie dress had a pair of wings that allowed her to glide in the air a short distance after jumping.

[squirrelly-sama]

A rather straightforward powerhouse build there was a rather sizable pool of free points to put into fluff. Rather than going for a straight Hulk build, of dumb muscle with a Jekyll and Hyde gimmick I leaned a bit more to She-hulk of a powerhouse Amazonian, keeping her rationality and being fairly attractive. So 4 ranks of Presence, I could have probably just put Attractive on her for a higher bonus but there was points to spare.

She has an array of Feats of Strength and most of them are linked to her unarmed attacks. For the sake of balancing however they should probably be incompatible with Fast-Grab. Crippling Blow is a means of striking hard to open up holes in the opponent's guard for a punishing follow up. For Want of A Hammer is the common trope of just flexing your problems away. Rockhard Muscle is functions like an Energy Aura with a twist, the opponent attacks and breaks their weapon or hand on her muscles, the Check Required flaw should combined with the toughness roll for simplicity sake. Tenderizer is basically just Hulk's "Puny God" moment, though even if Crush has Fast Grab it should not Trigger the power, Grab-Based is a FLAW and should be treated as such, requiring it's own standard action to activate.

KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!

I like the notion of adding Afflictions to the punching effects- a good way of making what's normally a cheap (if mathematically extremely good) Powerhouse set-up a big more expensive and versatile. I really like the notion of damaging weapons- that's probably a Hero Point/Spending HP thing in game terms normally, as it only rarely shows up in comics & other fiction, but this is a cool way of spending an action getting someone to bust up their sword on purpose. You've turned a lot of 'standard powerhouse tactics' into authentic Powers here and it's kinda neat.

I'm curious as to what effects can be countered with force- like Superman's punching an energy blast away in the '40s cartoon?

Well, I have another build here which is an adjustable template for Powerhouses. I reused the Nullification from it for this build actually.

The plainness of Powerhouse builds was something that always struck me as weird when I see it in builds, a lot of times it's just the builder buying up high strength and calling it a day and leaving it up to power stunts to make up the versatility. Really, powerhouses probably have some the most fun ways to create absurd powers for based purely on them being muscleheads. For the Nullification, I've seen it used so many ways. From people punching lasers away, to a guy flexing his muscles at the same frequency as a magical prison letting him phase out of the dimensional gap he was trapped in, and punching the mind control out of people is pretty much it's own trope.

[squirrelly-sama]

"It is never wrong to help others. It's not a matter of 'why' or 'why not', the question is 'Should I?' and the answer is 'Yes.'"

Liberty Belle - PL 8
Sex: Female
Age: ~18
Height: ~5'9" | Weight: ~123 | Hair: Brunette | Eyes: Green
Role: The Patriot, The Girl Scout, The Idealist, The Heart, The Paragon

Waifu Stats
Division - Light Weight
Series - Quickstarter
Focus - Defender
Dere Typing - Girl Next-door, All American Girl, Nadesico

Strength 6/2, Stamina 8/4, Agility 4/2, Dexterity 0, Fighting 8/6, Intellect 0, Awareness 4/2, Presence 4

Advantages
Conviction: Demoralize with the Persuasion Skill, Diehard, Evasion 2, Great Endurance, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Improvised Weapon, Inspire 5, Instant Up, Leadership, Skill Mastery: Athletics, Teamwork, Throwing Mastery 2, Ultimate Effort: Toughness, Ultimate Effort: Will

Skills
Acrobatics 1 (+5), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+10), Expertise: Tactics 6 (+6), Insight 1 (+5), Perception 1 (+5), Persuasion 6 (+10), Ranged Combat: Throwing 8 (+8), Stealth 1 (+5), Vehicles 4 (+4)

Powers
Super Soldier
. . Enhanced Traits: Enhanced Trait 31 (Traits: Agility +2 (+4), Fighting +2 (+8), Strength +4 (+6), Awareness +2 (+4), Stamina +4 (+8), Advantages: Diehard, Great Endurance, Skill Mastery)
. . Regeneration: Regeneration 1 (Every 10 rounds)
. . Leaping: Leaping 1 (Leap 15 feet at 4 miles/hour, 60 feet/round)

Stars and Stripes Shield (Easily Removable (indestructible))
. . Cover: Feature 1 (Notes: Counts as Partial Cover when taking a Defensive action.)
. . Guard: Enhanced Trait 3 (Advantages: Evasion 2, Ultimate Effort: Toughness)
. . Shield Techniques
. . . . Parry: Affliction 8 (1st degree: Dazed, Vulnerable, 2nd degree: Stunned, Defenseless, DC 18; Alternate Resistance (Dodge), Extra Condition, Improved Critical 4, Triggered: 1 use - Successful Parry Check; Instant Recovery, Limited Degree, Quirk: Trigger Only)
. . . . Perfect Guard: Deflect 8
. . . . Shield Throw (Accurate: +2, Increased Range: ranged, Ricochet: 1 bounce)

Offense
Initiative +8
Grab, +8 (DC Spec 16)
Parry: Affliction 8, +8 (DC Dog/Fort/Will 18)
Throw, +8 (DC 23)
Unarmed, +10 (DC 21)

Complications
Motivation - Patriotism: A true believer in the American Dream, Liberty Belle loves her country and chooses to fight to protect it and the ideals it represents. Her devotion however is not to the government but to the people and to the concept it represents, and will not hesitate to even stand against the American Government to protect them.
Quirk: Often believing wholly in her own sense of right and wrong Liberty Belle rarely considers that others' morality may not align with her own. she tends to see her own actions as just, or necessary, and may even go against the wishes of her teammates if they conflict with her ethics. This most often manifests in a sense of personal responsibility for others, a need to "help" her teammates even if they do not want nor need assistance and a need to handle all problems, even those of others, herself without help.
Quirk - Southern Belle: Raised in a humble small town in Midwest Belle had a somewhat sheltered upbringing and grew up in a culture right out of a 50s sitcom. She doesn't quite get modern culture, and her wholesome idealistic views often lead to misunderstandings or clashes with those of more cynical or unsavory attitudes.
Responsibility - Peoples Protector: Liberty Belle puts the well-being of others above herself, she will do everything in her power to help someone in need regardless of the cost to herself.

Defense
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude 8, Toughness 8, Will 8

Power Points
Abilities 40 + Powers 42 + Advantages 15 + Skills 15 (30 ranks) + Defenses 8 = 120

Notes:
A Captain America style Teen Hero Template

There's just something I love about making Paragons, idealistic but not dumb heroes who are genuinely good. Liberty Belle here is of course Cap, one of my favorite types of Paragon, the kind that's comparatively weak but still stands up to fight for what they know is right.

In terms of the build she's somewhat on the line between a normal human who has to rely on skills and tricks and a super human who can overwhelm and endure leading to a nice balance for PP spending. Granted there were a couple frustrating sinks, such as the division of accuracy and defense that kept me from adding in the skills Cap would normally have but generally I think this covers what's needed to capture the core concept.

Belle, being a Cap Expy, of course has pretty decent Presence and a high Persuasion skill. I gave her a custom advantage, one from my Paragon Build, Conviction letting her demoralize with Persuasion. To me this represents those moments when the hero holds true to their beliefs, their morals, in the face of the villains and their heroic spirit causes them to question themselves even for just a moment.

For her powers her Super Soldier power is mostly just an origin for her high Ability Scores and a few advantages. It does contain a slight regeneration power, small enough to not really come into play but there to show she recovers quickly. Likewise she has Leaping, I considered using Speed and changed my mind, mostly for a mechanical reason. Jumping is somewhat annoying to calculate without the leaping power, and with Skill Mastery Athletics she basically has a rank of speed anyway.

The Shield is probably the most notable thing about the build. I didn't make it grant Defense or Resistance Bonuses, I never really like that interpretation since it screws with PL caps and seemed a bit off to me. The Shield grants partial Cover, acting as means of providing Circumstance bonus to add to defense that isn't too powerful. There's means to circumvent it, by taking certain advantages or attacking from a different angle, likewise it only applies while taking a defensive action (basically taking cover behind the shield). The other Advantages are probably easier to understand, Evasion is obvious and Ultimate Toughness to survive facing stronger enemies.

For the Array, Shield Throw is a Strength effect, adding range and ricochet to toss the shield and hit someone. Perfect guard is also a classic, Deflecting blows with a thrown shield. Parry however is my own invention, inspired less by Cap and more by Dark Souls and how shields are used there. Namely that you use them to deflect a blow and riposte them while the attacker vulnerable. Here it's a triggered power, relying on baiting an attack to work. She then smashes the attack away momentarily stunning the target and leaving them open for stronger attack that can hit for massive damage.

[squirrelly-sama]

"Is it wrong for me to show affection for who I love? And who I love is all the world!"

Alcibiades - PL 8
Sex: MALE
Age: 20+
Height: ~5'6" | Weight: ~101 | Hair: Blonde | Eyes: Green
Role: The Most Interesting Man, The Lucky Idiot, The Cassanova, The Hedonist

Waifu Stats
Division - Light Weight
Series - NA
Focus - Support, Diplomat
Dere Typing - Whyboner

Strength 0, Stamina 4, Agility 2, Dexterity 0, Fighting 2, Intellect 0, Awareness 2, Presence 10

Advantages
Attractive 2, Benefit: Badass Reputation, Connected, Fascinate (Persuasion), Improved Initiative, Inspire 5, Leadership, Redirect, Set-up, Skill Mastery: Persuasion, Taunt, Uncanny Dodge

Skills
Athletics 4 (+4), Deception 6 (+16), Insight 2 (+4), Perception 2 (+4), Persuasion 6 (+16)

Powers
Smooth Talker
. . Charm: Perception Area Weaken 8 (Affects: Awareness, Resisted by: Will, DC 18; Perception Area: DC 18 - Hearing, Innate, Insidious, Selective)
. . Conman: Illusion 8 (Affects: All Sense Types, Area: 250 cft., DC 18; Innate, Subtle: subtle; Limited: Must be able to see and hear user, Limited to One Subject)
. . Distract: Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 8 (1st degree: Vulnerable, Entranced, 2nd degree: Defenseless, Stunned, Resisted by: Will, DC 18; Perception Area: DC 18 - Sight, Cumulative, Extra Condition, Innate, Insidious, Selective; Instant Recovery, Limited Degree)
. . Distracting Looks: Deflect 8 (Increased Range: perception, Innate, Redirection, Reflect, Subtle: subtle; Sense-dependent: Sight)
. . Fake Expert
. . . . Lucky Break: Variable 1 (Linked; skills and abilities needed to pass inspection; Action 3: reaction, Subtle: subtle; Uncontrolled)
. . . . Mistaken Identity: Morph 3 (Linked; +20 Deception checks to disguise; Broad group; Increased Duration: continuous, Subtle: subtle; Limited to Minds)
. . Loosen Tongues: Cumulative Effortless Mind Reading 8 (DC 18; Cumulative, Custom: Affects Others, Effortless, Innate, Subtle: subtle; Limited: Must be able to see user, Limited by Language)
. . Seduce: Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 8 (1st degree: Entranced, 2nd degree: Compelled, 3rd degree: Controlled, Resisted by: Will, DC 18; Perception Area: DC 18 - Sight, Cumulative, Innate, Insidious)

The Most Interesting Man In The Ancient World (Advantages: Attractive 2, Connected, Fascinate (Persuasion), Fearless, Inspire 5, Leadership, Skill Mastery, Uncanny Dodge)
. . Born Lucky: Feature 1
. . Distracted by the sexy: Enhanced Trait 8 (Traits: Dodge +4 (+8), Parry +4 (+8))
. . Fools Courage: Feature 1 (Notes: Will Based on Presence)
. . Stupid Sexy Alcibiades: Feature 1 (Notes: Equally Attractive to both genders)
. . Too Pretty to Hurt: Protection 4 (+4 Toughness)

Offense
Initiative +6
Charm: Perception Area Weaken 8 (DC Will 18)
Distract: Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 8 (DC Will 18)
Grab, +2 (DC Spec 10)
Loosen Tongues: Cumulative Effortless Mind Reading 8 (DC Will 18)
Seduce: Cumulative Perception Area Affliction 8 (DC Will 18)
Throw, +0 (DC 15)
Unarmed, +2 (DC 15)

Complications
Addiction - Lust: Alcibiades is known for his many theists, with both men and women, and often times his nightly escapades result in later regrets for the consequences they bring.
Motivation: Thrills: Alcibiades flies by the seat of his pants, simply going with the flow or his first instinct and as such often does what seems most interesting at the time.
Obsession - Let it Roll: Due to his charmed life Alcibiades lacks common sense and impulse control, he tends to act primarily towards self gratification while lacking any ability to even consider that things could go wrong.
Quirk - Terrible Influence: A combination of bad decision making, poor impulse control, a complete lack of perspective, and general selfishness make Alcibiades one of the worst people to provide advice to anyone, however he tends to give this advice freely and convince others to take it.
Weakness: Alcibiades relies on his own charisma and luck, those who are unaffected by social or emotional effects are immune to his powers.

Defense
Dodge 8/4, Parry 8/4, Fortitude 6, Toughness 8, Will 10

Power Points
Abilities 40 + Powers 60 + Advantages 4 + Skills 10 (20 ranks) + Defenses 6 = 120

Notes:
Probably one of the most interesting men of the ancient world for all the wrong reasons.

Alcibiades was a very handsome and charismatic Greek politician and general well known for both his lechery which extended to both men and woman as well as his ability to convince normally competent and intelligent people to support his really stupid ideas. When begged for help by one of their neighbor states with ties to Sparta rather than help or leave them be Alcibiades convinced the Athenian Senate to invade Sicily while they were weak. When told that it would be impossible to do this due to their weaker Navy he then convinced Athens to fund a massive military budget to build a much stronger Navy specifically to take Sicily. While on his way he gets summoned to stand trial but manages to convince the men sent to take him back into letting him escape, after-which he heads to Sparta to sell out Athens. He makes himself comfy selling out military secrets before the spartan King runs him off because it becomes expected he had an affair with his wife, due to said wife having a child that looked like Alcibiades. Escaping death a second time he heads to Persia to sell out both Sparta and Athens while living it up in luxury while he acquires enough wealth to try and bribe his way back into Athens. Eventually he makes his way back to Athens and despite still being wanted for treachery avoids execution by convincing everyone to vote to stop being a democracy and instead be an Oligarchy.

Honestly there should be a TV show about this man.

In terms of the build Alcibiades has little in the way of traditional attacks for a hero, he has no damage, little accuracy, and even his skills are subpar, instead he relies on his "Powers", in this case being very attractive, convincing, and lucky allowing him to manipulate others or situations to fit his goals best. With Charm he can weaken the awareness of others making them less perceptive and easier to fool. Conman is a representation of his ability to just convince people anything he wants, the sort of man who can make you agree that the orange he's holding in his hand is actually an apple. Distract is a team based power, Letting him create openings for others to strike easily while Distracting Looks is the inverse, letting him cause attacks to miss by distracting the opponent in the middle of their attack. Fake Expert is a power that encapsulates the "Man Who Knew Too Little" trope, convincing others that he is someone far more competent/important than he actually is and faking the skills and traits needed to keep the lie rolling. Loosen Tongues is him seducing information out of others, while Seduction is just Mind Control.

His other power is mostly enhanced traits with a few custom advantages. Fools Courage is probably the most obvious one and one that may not be accepted by most GMs. Honestly, given Presence's cost vs effect as well as the skills having a lot of overlap lowering their value further it all evens out to me. Even if not I suppose that his Fighting/Agility can just be lowered a bit to make up the difference.

[Jabroniville]

The best historical figures are the ones people would call bullshit on if you made them up. Rasputin, Da Vinci, etc. This dude sounds NUTS and I can’t believe I’ve never heard of him. More proof that whole Charisma is a dump stat in RPGs, it’s the most important stat in real life, where it can get you out of almost anything.

It’s really interesting how you’ve managed to turn a bunch of “good role playing and skill use” into powers, and shows the real quality of the M&M system. A supernatural way to inflict real things on people with raw charisma and bullshittery. Loosen Tongues is especially great, as is Distract.

It’s a shame I never think to use Insidious. I can’t think of many comic or movie characters or would work on, but it’s great for sneaky characters like this.

[squirrelly-sama]

The best historical figures are the ones people would call bullshit on if you made them up. Rasputin, Da Vinci, etc. This dude sounds NUTS and I can’t believe I’ve never heard of him. More proof that whole Charisma is a dump stat in RPGs, it’s the most important stat in real life, where it can get you out of almost anything.

It’s really interesting how you’ve managed to turn a bunch of “good role playing and skill use” into powers, and shows the real quality of the M&M system. A supernatural way to inflict real things on people with raw charisma and bullshittery. Loosen Tongues is especially great, as is Distract.

It’s a shame I never think to use Insidious. I can’t think of many comic or movie characters or would work on, but it’s great for sneaky characters like this.

Turning things you'd normally use skills for into powers is one of my favorite things to do, it's pretty fun trying to make exaggerated skill usages into actual super powers and something I feel really livens up builds, especially at low levels or normies when tend to come off boring because people just focus on giving them a few skills and calling it a day. Like, you could do a hell of a lot with just stupid overly specific expertise y'know.

I mean sure you could just have Assessment to read other characters to show their wiser than you think, or you could give the fashionista mindreading and say she's knows your innermost thoughts based on color coordination. Expertise Tactics? More like Subtle area teleport! School Girl bully using taunt? I go with a long term slow progressive affliction that slowly impairs them until their powerless in her presence as she starts a rumor mill that crushes their will.

[Jack of Spades]

And that you do these bits led to a great scene in my campaign where Veronica Lodge (transplanted into the Marvel universe and dating one of the PCs) held off the Scorpion with the pure power of cutting wit while her date suited up and kept the building from falling down.

[squirrelly-sama]

And that you do these bits led to a great scene in my campaign where Veronica Lodge (transplanted into the Marvel universe and dating one of the PCs) held off the Scorpion with the pure power of cutting wit while her date suited up and kept the building from falling down.

Sweet, it's always nice to hear some of my ideas have seen use in other characters games. I imagine it was rather hilarious just having a super villain show up and then get bullied by a highschool mean girl who's mocking his life choices.

Scorpion: Smart words girl, but what keeps me from just stabbing you?
Veronica: Nothing really, I'm sure you'd enjoy the chance too. It'd be the deepest you will ever be inside a woman.
Scorpion: ...Ow.

[Jack of Spades]

Ha! Yeah, it was about like that.

[squirrelly-sama]

"Inspector! Always a pleasure to run into you, fashionably late as always."

Gentle Thief Lovely Arsene - PL 8
Sex: Female
Age: 20+
Height: ~5'8" | Weight: ~108 | Hair: Brunette | Eyes: Grey
Role: The Hedonist, The Lovable Rogue, The Trickster

Waifu Stats
Division - Light Weight
Series - NA
Focus - Skill Monkey, Thief
Dere Typing - Onee-sama

Strength 0, Stamina 2, Agility 4, Dexterity 4, Fighting 0, Intellect 2, Awareness 4, Presence 4

Advantages
Attractive, Connected, Contacts, Defensive Roll 4, Evasion 2, Fascinate (Deception), Favored Foe: Police, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Skill Mastery: Expertise: Thief, Uncanny Dodge

Skills
Acrobatics 6 (+10), Deception 6 (+10), Expertise: Thief 12 (+14), Insight 4 (+8), Investigation 6 (+8), Perception 4 (+8), Ranged Combat: Throw 4 (+8), Sleight of Hand 4 (+8), Stealth 6 (+10), Vehicles 4 (+8)

Powers
Phantom Thief
. . Acrobatics
. . . . Leaping: Leaping 1 (Leap 15 feet at 4 miles/hour), Subtle
. . . . Movement: Movement 3 (Safe Fall, Trackless: 1, Wall-crawling 1: -1 speed rank)
. . Hide in Plain Sight: Concealment 6 (All Aural Senses, All Visual Senses; Subtle 2: undetectable; Passive)
. . Knowing The Mark: Affliction 8 (1st degree: Impaired, 2nd degree: Disabled, DC 18; Alternate Resistance (Dodge), Increased Range 2: perception; Limited: Checks Vs Self, Limited Degree)
. . Pickpocket: Teleport Attack 6 (1800 feet in a move action, carrying 50 lbs., DC 16; Accurate 5: +10, Attack: Parry, Precise, Subtle: subtle; Check Required 2: DC 11 - Sleight of Hand, Limited: Teleporting Objects to Self, Limited: Small Objects)
. . Smoke and Mirrors: Illusion 4 (Affects: Three Sense Types - Vision and Hearing, Area: 15 cft., DC 14; Limited: Slow)
. . The Runaround: Perception Area Affliction 8 (1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, Resisted by: Will, DC 18; Perception Area: DC 18 - Sight, Insidious, Subtle: subtle, Variable Descriptor 2: broad group - Any; Instant Recovery, Limited Degree)
. . Throwing Stones: Move Object 6 (3200 lbs., Advantages: Improved Disarm, Improved Trip; Accurate: +2, Precise; Limited: Trips and Disarms, Quirk 2: Requires throwable objects)

Offense
Initiative +8
Knowing The Mark: Affliction 8 (DC Dog/Fort/Will 18)
The Runaround: Perception Area Affliction 8 (DC Will 18)
Pickpocket: Teleport Attack 6, +10 (DC Dog 16)
Throw, +8 (DC 15)
Throwing Stones: Move Object 6, +10 (DC 16)

Complications
Addiction - Big Spender: Despite her skill at acquiring valuables Arsene has a bad habit of blowing all her money just as quickly as she aquires it. Gambling, expensive clothes, and various other luxuries often result in her quickly deplete any funds she may have and leave her seeking a new job for a quick buck.
Enemies - Many: Arsene has made many enemies in her career as a thief, a few of which actively pursue her regularly. There are many who would like to capture her for profit, competition who seek to one up her, past marks out for revenge, nefarious agencies who wish to use her skills towards their own ends, and lawmen who want to see her answer for her many crimes.
Honor - Fair Game: Supremely confident in her skills Arsene always makes sure to follow a set of rules for her heists to allow anyone pursuing her a chances to actually succeed. Leaving clues, sending advanced notices, or adhering to some gimick or limitation to hinder her abilities is a common means of holding back.
Motivation - Thrills: While it is a means of financing her expensive hedonism Arsene is more concerned with her own enjoyment than making money when it comes to heists. She loves both the challenge of going after heavily guarded and impossible marks as well as the thrill of the chase as she flees her pursuers.
Rivalry - Detective Zenigata: While there are many police officers that try to take her in by far the most adamant is Zenigata, who has been pursuing her for years and knows her methods and abilities intimately.

Defense
Dodge 10, Parry 10, Fortitude 6, Toughness 6/2, Will 6

Power Points
Abilities 40 + Powers 14 + Advantages 16 + Skills 28 (56 ranks) + Defenses 22 = 120

Notes:
A phantom thief style build, based on characters like Kaito Jeanne, St. Tail, Lupin III, and Carmen Sandiego. Arsene is a girl who's whole concept is somewhat at odds with the general build methodology of MnM 3e. She's a skill monkey, a defense shift character, and has very little stopping power or offensive ability. What she does have is a variety of niche "skills" and the ability to annoy the hell out of whoever happens to be facing her due to her unorthodox play style.

As a skill monkey Arsene is subject to a few unfortunate flaws in her abilities and skills thanks to how MnM handles such things. She has investment in a few redundant skills, high levels in abilities that aren't really worth their price tag, and has a defense shift making her cost a little more just to reach the PL cap. This leads to several skills being lower than they really should be, especially with Expertise eating up a few skill points. Her advantages are rather standard and obvious for a skill monkey and roguish character, though sadly I couldn't fit in some languages which would fit a globe trotting thief. Really, languages should have just been a 1 or 2 point advantage to speak all the major ones.

The real meat of the build is her Thief Skills. Acrobatics helps her get around very quickly and easily, being the needed mobility to enter an area and escape if things go south. Hide in Plain Sight is her ability to evade sight and remain silent, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Knowing the Mark is her main method of "combat", reading the opponent quickly to get their tells and know just how to play them, it's often used to lower their ability match her wits it can also be used to make it harder for them to hit her as she reads their tells and lowers their attack checks. Pickpocket is a niche ability that isn't useful in combat save against device users, letting her snag equipment and devices from the owner with ease, the effect subtly teleporting small objects she touches into her own pockets. Smoke and Mirrors is less a thief skill and more like a Stage Magician skill, setting up an elaborate magic trick to confuse others. The Roundabout is Arsene's ability to distract and hinder others attempts to capture her through any means.

[Jabroniville]

Neat-o! A real "Lady Thief" build befitting the people you've named as inspiration- the "Stunning" powers and such are all good.

What's "Throwing Stones" about? Throwing small stuff that sets up a domino effect to move things into the path of others, or... literally throwing stones?

[squirrelly-sama]

Neat-o! A real "Lady Thief" build befitting the people you've named as inspiration- the "Stunning" powers and such are all good.

What's "Throwing Stones" about? Throwing small stuff that sets up a domino effect to move things into the path of others, or... literally throwing stones?

The first one, so many sneaky characters that don't focus on fighting tend to be able to throw things or shoot things that cause their pursuer to trip or to smack their gun/sword/handcuffs out of their hand to keep them from either catching up or attacking them.

[catsi563]

yeah theres a similar moment in Radukishi no Cavalry where the main character disarms a bully by tossing a small pebble into the action of his firearm like weapon jamming it