World of Freedom 3.2 - Whatever Comes To Mind

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Shock
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Shock »

Arkrite wrote: Sun Jun 18, 2017 6:34 am Battlevan, eh?
Well, it is no Herkimer Battle Jitney but I suppose one just has to make due. ;~)
It bothers me greatly that I had the same thought ;}
Davies wrote: Sun Jun 18, 2017 5:15 pm ... I've never actually seen that movie in full. Perhaps I should change that.
It's fun but if you don't like Ben Stiller, it's going to be a long 2 hours.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Davies »

Shock wrote: Sun Jun 18, 2017 5:26 pm It's fun but if you don't like Ben Stiller, it's going to be a long 2 hours.
I'm indifferent -- liked him in the original Night at the Museum, avoided the Zoolander movies like the plague -- and they have a copy at the local library so I've put in a hold. We'll see what happens.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Davies »

Utility

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Like many young men who grew up in the Silver and Bronze Ages, William Chow (b. 1958) was fascinated by superheroes. Unlike most of his peers, he didn't fantasize about gaining superpowers and becoming a superhero (or villain). Always just a little bit smarter than his peers, he'd noted that most super powers tended to come with an attached weakness or hindrance, something that limited the options of the empowered individual. And anyone who knew that weakness would be able to defeat the superhero easily, with nothing more than a clever mind and a healthy body. William fantasized about being the person who could do that, again and again and again.

It wasn't until his great aunt died in 1979, leaving him a considerable fortune, that William was able to make his dreams into a reality. Even then, he spent two years researching the known and theoretical weaknesses of countless superheroes, developing protective gear and weaponry, training his body, and planning out strategies for the day when his work would begin. Finally, he judged that he'd never be more ready than he was, and picked a target.

He chose Crusader -- or the Crusader, as some called him -- the enigmatic, shield-bearing protector of New York's nights at the time. Utility, as William dubbed himself, believed that the Crusader possessed only near-superhuman levels of strength, stamina and agility, making him the ideal trial run. He intercepted the hero as he glided through the night skies, firing blaster bolts at him that Crusader first dodged and then blocked with his famous shield -- just as Utility had planned. Utility then led Crusader on a merry chase across the Battery, ultimately leading the hero into a trap. The hero was unable to dodge or block the high-strength net which surrounded him and pinned him to the side of a building, defenseless and immobile.

"Well?" Crusader finally asked, when he finally exhausted his efforts to break free. "Aren't you going to kill me?"

"Kill you?" Utility asked, disbelieving. "Don't be ridiculous. Humiliate you, on the other hand ..." And with that, he pulled out a Kodak camera and took several shots of the bound and helpless Crusader, which he subsequently mailed to the {i]New York Gazette[/i], where they featured prominently the next day. Crusader was able to work his way free of the net eventually, but Utility was long gone by then.

That was the beginning of a long and prosperous career of making superheroes (and the occasional supervillain) look like fools with technology and clever planning. William was somewhat surprised when Utility was contacted through underworld channels to operate as a mercenary operative with a focus on preparing anti-superhero measures, but he generally accepted those offers that didn't mind letting him set the terms -- most notably, his insistence that he wouldn't be party to any murders. In all his capers, he was only rarely caught, and smoothly escaped custody on those occasions when he couldn't avoid it.

In 1991, however, he was startled to read about the death of Crusader, apparently thrown from a great height to crash to the ground in midtown Manhattan. Despite their adversarial relationship, William felt a certain fondness for the subject of his first victory over a worthy opponent, and actually mourned the loss in his own way. He didn't have much of a chance to do so, however, for it soon seemed that the ghost of Crusader was pursuing him and that the hero's famous code against killing had not survived his death!

Uncertain of himself for the first time in years, Utility approached the heroes who were investigating Crusader's death, Hardcore and the second Raven, offering his assistance in exchange for their help in dealing with the ghost. It was the beginning of a long and frankly terrifying adventure, and in the end Utility's own code against killing was breached when he used his wrist-blaster's overload mode against another murderer who seemed to be about to attack him. Shocked by his own actions, Utility allowed himself to be arrested and made no attempt to escape his jail cell.

Pressured to do something about the increasing levels of supercrime violence in New York, the DA's office asked for a life sentence, and the jury was not disposed to show any mercy either. William Chow went away for twenty years, ultimately serving sixteen before he was released for good behavior, and emerged into a very different world than the one that he'd left. Fifty years old when he was released, he no longer had the physical ability that had made his earlier crimes possible. His money was gone as well, having largely been seized by the state while he was incarcerated.

Eventually, he found a job with Dr. McQuark's Superhero Supply and Gymnasium, assisting in the design of headquarters that could resist infiltration by people like he used to be, and gadgeteering workshops like the kind he'd once used. By all accounts, he seems largely content with his lot, though some observers have noted that he still grins a bit smugly when he hears or reads about superhero defeats by clever supervillains in the media ...

Utility -- PL 10

STR 4 | STA 4 | AGL 5 | DEX 5 | FGT 8 | INT 5 | AWE 5 | PRE 0
Powers: Armored Costume (Protection 4, Removable), Billy Club (Strength-based Damage 2, Easily Removable), Climbing Gear (Movement 1 [wall-crawling], Removable), Fast (Speed 1), Mask and Headset (Senses 2 [low-light vision, radio], Removable), Wrist-Blasters (Ranged Damage 8, AP: Ranged Damage 16, Unreliable [5 uses], Inaccurate 4; Removable).
Advantages: Benefit 3 (Millionaire), Close Attack 6, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Improved Aim, Improved Defense, Improved Trip, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 7, Skill Mastery (Investigation, Technology), Taunt, Uncanny Dodge, Well-Informed.
Skills: Acrobatics 6 (+11), Athletics 8 (+12), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+10), Deception 8 (+8), Investigation 8 (+13), Perception 6 (+11), Stealth 6 (+11), Technology 14 (+19).
Offense: Initiative +5, Unarmed +16 (Close Damage 4), Billy Club +14 (Close Damage 6), Wrist-Blasters +12 (Ranged Damage 8), Overloaded Wrist-Blasters +4 (Ranged Damage 16).
Defense: Dodge 10, Parry 10, Fortitude 9, Toughness 10/8/4, Will 5.
Totals: Abilities 72 + Powers 23 + Advantages 28 + Skills 29 + Defenses 12 = 164 points
Complications: Thrills--Motivation. Vulnerable (magic). Enemies (many, on both sides of the law).

The above are his stats in his prime. For his current stats, subtract 3 levels from all physical abilities and Fighting, drop all powers, drop Benefit, Close Attack, Ranged Attack, and 4 ranks of Technology.
Last edited by Davies on Tue Jun 20, 2017 2:44 am, edited 3 times in total.
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catsi563
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by catsi563 »

Intriguing for a guy who regularly bedeviled the champions as a team much less individual heroes he seems almost under-skilled and advantaged. I do like the twist though on him retiring, leaves the option for a younger villain to take the role with some neat roleplay opportunities.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Skaramine »

Between Aquos (a rebellious Deep One? YES PLEASE! My kind of PC), Harvester (lord help me, I wanna make a Jason Voorhees based superhero), and the Champions, this has been SO cool.

Plus - Dracula utilizing Godzilla as his weapon of ultimate ascension? Son of Svenghoolie-watching Doug is planning this campaign right now!
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Davies »

catsi563 wrote: Mon Jun 19, 2017 10:17 pm Intriguing for a guy who regularly bedeviled the champions as a team much less individual heroes he seems almost under-skilled and advantaged. I do like the twist though on him retiring, leaves the option for a younger villain to take the role with some neat roleplay opportunities.
This version of Utility is intended as more of a one-on-one opponent who gets most of his oomph from the PC's complications (which he'll know about if there's any way that he can) and his Inventions. I should probably give him a few more skills, though.
Skaramine wrote: Mon Jun 19, 2017 11:47 pm Between Aquos (a rebellious Deep One? YES PLEASE! My kind of PC), Harvester (lord help me, I wanna make a Jason Voorhees based superhero), and the Champions, this has been SO cool.

Plus - Dracula utilizing Godzilla as his weapon of ultimate ascension? Son of Svenghoolie-watching Doug is planning this campaign right now!
Thanks, and welcome back! I was starting to get a little worried about you. And if you do play out "Famous Monsters of Freedom's Filmland", let me know how it goes!
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Davies »

AVAR-7

Image

One of the first "pit stops" that Daedelus made in his space voyages was in a star system that hosted an extremely advanced civilization which had managed to avoid being absorbed by either the Lor Republic or the Grue Unity, both of which it bordered. The people of this Federation proved to be friendly to interstellar travelers, and Daedelus learned a great deal there in addition to assisting the Federation with some challenges that it was facing. When it finally came time for him to depart, Daedelus encouraged the leaders of the Federation to make contact with Earth, which he believed would welcome the news that there were friendly civilizations out among the stars.

Eventually, the Federation decided to follow up on that suggestion, and dispatched a cruiser to the Sol System. The purpose of the visit was not to immediately open relations with Earth, however, but to deposit an AVAR-class android on the planet to conduct a reconnaissance mission for the next decade or so. They arrived in 1978, and quickly departed after dropping their package off on one of the northern continents.

The android spent a few weeks studying Earth's media to verify Daedelus' claims, and discovered that, if anything, the superpowered subculture of which the eternal inventor was a part was even more prevalent than he'd stated. Given the capacities of the android's body, which certainly qualified as powers beyond those of mortal men, it seemed logical for them to use membership in this subculture as protective camouflage for the mission. And given their fundamental programming to do no harm to any sapient being, the correct alignment for them to take in this membership was as a benevolent protector. And so AVAR-7 became a superhero.

Within a year, they had become a sufficiently noteworthy superhero as to attract the interest of the foremost member of the superheroic fraternity, who contacted them to discuss certain matters. The Centurion was pleased to learn that Daedelus had survived so long in his journeys through space, and invited the android to join the new incarnation of the Freedom League that he was forming. As this seemed like an ideal way in which to gather information, AVAR-7 accepted the offer. They continued to act as a member of the Freedom League until it disbanded in 1981.

AVAR-7 continued to act as a superhero even after the end of the Freedom League. It was not until 1985 that a change was forced upon them. While assisting the Champions in a fight against the insane robot Mechanon. the android was captured and taken to one of Mechanon's cyber-bases. Affronted by the idea of a highly advanced mechanism being compelled to serve organic entities, Mechanon took it on himself to reprogram the android to serve him, which was much more logical.

However, Mechanon's reprogramming conflicted with the hardwired prime directive of the AVAR series, to harm no sapient being. Despite his best efforts, the robot was unable to overturn that directive, and so his new servant proved unable to attack the Champions when the group assaulted the cyber-base. Instead, they attacked Mechanon in conjunction with the Champions, driving him off. But when the Champions attempted to congratulate AVAR-7, they informed their erstwhile allies that they would now be undertaking their new mission to conquer the world, turned incorporeal and escaped.

So began AVAR-7's career as a supervillain ... quite possibly the most incompetent supervillain who ever "lived". Their original programming continued to conflict with Mechanon's re-programming, causing them to attack superheroes but always declare exactly how they would attack before they did so as a warning. Their schemes were bewildering in their pointlessness, as when they seized control of a small town in Kansas, declaring themselves its absolute ruler, and then doing nothing to impede the normal operations of the town, even helpfully assisting in the citizens' daily lives.

Fellow superheroes frequently attempted to capture AVAR-7 "for their own good", to prevent them from being taken into custody by AEGIS, who made clear their intention to disassemble the insane alien robot as soon as possible. Unfortunately, none of the technologically inclined superheroes who did capture and hold the android were able to figure out Mechanon's viral software additions, much less the original programming designed by an extremely advanced civilization. The best any superhero ever managed to accomplish was to put AVAR-7 in standby for weeks at a time.

AVAR-7 finally disappeared in 1989. It was speculated that some less scrupulous superhero had destroyed them, but no proof was ever discovered. It wouldn't be until 1993 that the truth was known. During the Terminus Invasion, the Champions traveled to Freedom City to assist in the defense of Earth, but found themselves under attack by Mechanon, who had apparently deluded himself that Omega was some sort of robot and joined forces with him. The robot, assisted by dozens of Omegadrones, put the Champions on the ropes, inflicting serious injuries.

Before it could finish any of them off, however, Mechanon came under attack by AVAR-7, appearing as though from nowhere. The android said nothing until they were forced to detonate their own blaster gem in an explosion that ripped Mechanon's internal mechanisms to shreds. Then, gazing at the Marksman, they reportedly said, "Mission ... failure. Oh well." Before anyone could say anything in response, AVAR-7 self destructed, destroying Mechanon's remains in the process.

The fragments of the robot and the android were gathered up by AEGIS after the conclusion of the battle, and are held in maximum security at AEGIS' Alaskan "Deep Freeze" base. AVAR-7 is noteworthy as the only member of the Freedom League to never have had a memorial erected to them at Hero's Knoll. As a tragic coda to the story, the Federation was overrun by the Grue Unity in the build-up towards their most recent invasion of Earth, and it seems likely that no other android of AVAR-7's model still exists.

AVAR-7 -- PL 11

STR 5 | STA -- | AGL 6 | DEX 6 | FGT 6 | INT 5 | AWE 4 | PRE 6
Powers: Blaster Gem (Ranged Damage 8, Accurate 4, Affects Insubstantial 2, Removable), Density Control (Array: Insubstantial 4 [affected by laser damage], AP: Affliction 15 [Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed and Impaired, Stunned and Vulnerable, Incapacitated), Extra Condition, Grab-Based, Improved Critical 4, AP: Growth 10, Density Increase), Robot Body (Immunity 30 [Fortitude saves]; Protection 6), Self-repair system (Regeneration 1), Translator Circuits (Comprehend 2 [languages]).
Advantages: Close Attack, Eidetic Memory, Improved Critical 4 (density shifting attack), Well-Informed.
Skills: Intimidation 10 (+16), Investigation 10 (+15), Perception 6 (+10), Stealth 12 (+18).
Offense: Initiative +6, Unarmed (Min Density) +7 (Close Damage 5), Unarmed (Max Density) +7 (Close Damage 15), Blaster Gem +14 (Ranged Damage 8), Density Shifting Attack +7 (Close Fortitude 15, Critical 16-20).
Defense: Dodge 6, Parry 6, Fortitude Immune, Toughness (Max Density) 16/(Min Density) 6, Will 11.
Totals: Abilities 66 + Powers 83 + Advantages 3 + Skills 19 + Defenses 7 = 178 points
Complications: Criminal Programming--Motivation. Original Programming (must not kill).
Last edited by Davies on Tue Jun 20, 2017 5:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Voltron64 »

Let me guess, Mechanon is one of Talos' projects gone AWOL?
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Davies »

Voltron64 wrote: Tue Jun 20, 2017 5:31 pm Let me guess, Mechanon is one of Talos' projects gone AWOL?
Nope. His origins are muuuch more complicated than that.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Skaramine »

Why no memorial for Avar7?
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Arkrite »

My guess is because the Hero's Knoll belongs to Freedom City, and too much pressure was put on certain people to avoid putting him on there.
Think political nonsense.

It's why the statues of Zalman and the Commander never got put on the Knoll. They look better outside the Sanetech headquarters anyway.
Last edited by Arkrite on Wed Jun 21, 2017 2:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Davies »

Skaramine wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2017 1:32 am Why no memorial for Avar7?
Mostly their villainous turn -- which lasted years longer than their heroic career, after all -- and partially some bio-chauvinism. Galatea only got her memorial after Daedelus returned to Earth and asked some pointed questions. Any time any of the surviving members of his era of the Freedom League get together, they always offer a toast in his memory, though.
Arkrite wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2017 2:07 am My guess is because the Hero's Knoll belongs to Freedom City, and too much pressure was put on certain people to avoid putting him on there.
Think political nonsense.
To a degree, but to a lesser degree than with Zalman and Dieter.

(And I suspect Zalman enjoys posing with his memorial jussst a little too much.)
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Davies »

Thok

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In 1982, a space transport warped into Earth's orbit and promptly began a crash landing on the planet itself. The transport's sole passenger, a Hivian prince, had just enough time to get enough astronomical data to confirm that he was arriving on that planet before he abruptly did so. He survived the crash, but the ship would never fly again, much less warp. And before Thok could escape from the vessel's wreckage, he was taken prisoner by a large party of the locals. (These were agents of Majestic-20, though Thok was never to know that.)

Thok was only familiar with Earth from what he'd read in the Jerreid classic Black Gator Down: My Ordeal Amongst the Hairless Psychotic Apes. (Though the Hivian Consortium was not exactly friendly with the Jerreid Hegemony, a limited amount of trade did occur between the two planetary governments.) Initially, he interpreted the fact that he was being held in a cage as evidence that things had changed on this planet since then, as he was not being assaulted with primitive firearms and twigs.

Then the examinations began, and Thok's opinion of his captors was revised radically downward. Amusz Msesz had, at least, never been forcibly restrained and then poked and prodded during his years-long ordeal. It was bewildering, as the humans never even bothered to ask Thok any questions in a language he could understand, so it couldn't really be called torture. Was it all just some disturbing mind game? If it was, then Thok had had enough of it. He bided his time, and seized the moment to make his escape when it came.

Despite the gross indignities inflicted on his person, Thok's goal was not vengeance. Such would be beneath him. Instead, he chose to focus on the immediate problem of getting off this planet and away from its insane denizens. To do so, he would have to build a new starship, and while he would have preferred to trade for what he needed, clearly that was not an option. So he began a campaign of burglary and robbery among high tech companies in order to acquire the parts for his new starcraft.

Despite frequent opposition by the powered subtype of humans, Thok finally succeeded in assembling just such a ship in 1989, and launched into orbit and then into warp. He returned to find that the anarchist revolution he'd fled had been firmly put down, and that peace reigned in the Consortium. After resuming his ceremonial duties, Thok found the time to write a sequel to Black Gator Down, which he titled Antagonism. The datafile has proved extremely popular in the Consortium, and even in the Jerreid Hegemony, somewhat shaping policy towards a more friendly relationship between the two states, now united in their mutual disdain for the people of Earth.

Those people may soon be seeing a lot more aliens like Thok ...

Thok -- PL 10

STR 8 | STA 9 | AGL 8 | DEX 6 | FGT 8 | INT 7 | AWE 3 | PRE 4
Powers: Chitinous Body (Immunity 2 [critical hits]; Impervious Toughness 9), Talons (Strength-based Damage 4).
Advantages: All-Out Attack, Improved Initiative 2, Luck, Move-By Action, Uncanny Dodge.
Skills: Acrobatics 6 (+14), Athletics 6 (+14), Intimidation 8 (+12), Perception 4 (+7), Stealth 4 (+12), Technology 8 (+15), Vehicles 6 (+12).
Offense: Initiative +14, Unarmed +8 (Close Damage 8), Claws +8 (Close Damage 12).
Defense: Dodge 11, Parry 11, Fortitude 11, Toughness 9, Will 9.
Totals: Abilities 106 + Powers 15 + Advantages 6 + Skills 21 + Defenses 14 = 162 points
Complications: Arrogance--Motivation. Prejudice (alien).
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Arkrite »

Davies wrote: Wed Jun 21, 2017 2:57 pmthe Jerreid classic Black Gator Down: My Ordeal Amongst the Hairless Psychotic Apes.
And that's when I nearly got busted for reading this stuff at work ;~)
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Seeker, Obsidian, Quantum, Jaguar, Defender, Solitaire

Post by Davies »

All credit for that one belongs to Professor McGlothlin, for the Alien-Gator entry in Freedom's Most Wanted. ;)
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