[OOC] The New Mythos

[Doctor Malsyn]

I've no knoweldge of the Rifts games, do I'd say you'd need to be the judge of what'd be setting appropriate on that front. Regarding shifting, I'd usually expect that of things like a werewolf, but there could be other monsters who could assume human form out there. The idea of a displayed coming into their sorcerous heritage tickles ne a bit.

Guardian seems a lot different then any creatures I'm familiar with, though I suppose I did leave the floor open for 'things obscure or without name', yeah? Master Psionic sticks out at me with a glance at not fitting the them, though of course I'm not familiar with the lore.

Overall, some interesting ideas. Focus first on what you'd enjoy playing, and we'll see how my preferences come into play later, yeah?

[Bladewind]

So my idea for a "Krofted Dryad" is coming together... I'm thinking that prior to the outbreak of the virus, my character suffered from a very severe case of Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV), also known as treeman syndrome... During a procedure meant to give him back his life, something went wrong and he died on the operating table as they removed the growths.

In his case, the growths were sculpted, and his spirit reformed within and then manifested a new body...

(A little gross when you think about it as that`s a real condition...)

[JDRook]

The idea of a displayed coming into their sorcerous heritage tickles ne a bit.

I'd stumbled on the idea messing with the Palladium magic system. Most of their first level spells either enhance senses or block them, which reminded me of the Crimefighter archetype's equipment (nightvision goggles, smoke bombs, etc), so I thought what if you replaced all the gadgets with spells? I've got a few builds of the idea on Ronin Army, basically ranging from Magic Robin to Magic Nightwing, so it's pretty good for a focused theme.

Guardian seems a lot different then any creatures I'm familiar with, though I suppose I did leave the floor open for 'things obscure or without name', yeah? Master Psionic sticks out at me with a glance at not fitting the them, though of course I'm not familiar with the lore.

The Guardians are a Nightspawn original idea, so the lore is limited and frankly disposable. In-system they are people transformed into these 5' angel-esque light-controllers who lose their memories but feel driven to protect others from the secret incursion of supernatural forces that have entered the world. Their history is a mystery that might have gone deeper in a book I haven't seen yet, but the power set and heroic drive are all I need for a good character base.

The Psionics and Awe Factor (Horror Factor) are sort of artefacts of the system, with every supernatural thing having at least one of those. When I started thinking about building to PL8 they were the first things I figured I could lift right out and not miss, so that's not an issue.

Overall, some interesting ideas. Focus first on what you'd enjoy playing, and we'll see how my preferences come into play later, yeah?

I'm definitely leaning toward one of those two now, especially since both are already mostly built.

[Doctor Malsyn]

He could easily have been a victim of the previous Devolution Epidemic that occurred a few years earlier if you're going with that line of thinking. In this case, are you saying he came back to life before the Inheritance Outbreak, or right as it was happening?

Real life can certainly be pretty messy, definitely. I've had my fair share of conditions, though nothing as visible as that.

@JDRook: Alright! Look forward to seeing what you come up with then.

[EpicEclipse]

Ooo how about a humanoid slime/gel/ooze/etc type being?

A touch of liquid insubstantial, elongation, regen, low toughness, maybe a dissolution touch type effect?

[Doctor Malsyn]

I dunno, this guy sounds pretty slimy to me... Could lead to some sticky situations with the police.

[jmucchiello]

Okay, I'm going to post this. It's mostly done. I'm not sure the origin is perfect for this game so let me know if I need to adjust it.
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Foxy
(Hero; PL: 8; PP: 120/120)
Strength: 0/-1; Agility: 2; Fighting: 0; Awareness: 4
Stamina: 6; Dexterity: 0; Intellect: 0; Presence: 4
Dodge: 8/10, Parry: 8/10, Fortitude: 8, Toughness: 8/6, Will: 8
Number after slash are Fox Form numbers

COMBAT
Initiative: +2; Close: +0; Ranged: +0

• Claw. Claw, Bite: Damage 6: +10 (DC 21) Range: Close; Multiattack (Fox Form Only)
• Grab: +0 (Special DC 10) Range: Close
• Lightning: Line Area Damage 8: (DC 23) [Electricity] Range: 5 feet wide by 30 feet long
• Telekinesis: Move Object 3: +8 (DC 23) Range: 75/150/300 ft.
• Throw: +0 (DC 15)
• Unarmed: +0 (DC 15) Range: Close

SKILLS: Athletics +0; Deception +14 (10r); Expertise: Stage Magic +10 (10r); Insight +10 (6r); Intimidation +4; Perception +10 (6r); Persuasion +8 (4r); Sleight of Hand +10 (10r); Stealth +10 (8r)
LANGUAGES: English
ADVANTAGES: Attractive 2 (free), Luck 2, Power Attack, Skill Mastery: Deception (free), Taunt (free)

POWERS

• (PRE-House Rule): Enhanced Presence 4 +4 PRE - Ability: Presence; Advantages: Attractive 2, Skill Mastery: Deception, Taunt; Flaws: Limited: Free Interaction skill Advantage for each rank of PRE (8 PP)
  Skill Mastery: Deception allows her to make routine disguise checks even under heavy scrutiny.
• Any Human Form: Morph 2 +20 Deception checks to disguise; Narrow group - (11 PP)
  • Alt: Superior Senses: Senses 10 - Accurate: Evil, Counters All Concealment: Vision, Detect: Evil 2 (Ranged), Ultra-hearing (1 PP)
    When she is in human, non-foxgirl hybrid form, she loses her Oni senses.
• Immunity: Immunity 1 - Aging (1 PP)
• Protection: Protection 2 +2 Toughness - (2 PP)
• Supernatural Abilities - (33 PP)
  • Dream Walking -
    • Illusion: Illusion 8 Area: 250 cft. - Affects: Three Sense Types - Sight and Sound; Flaws: Limited to One Subject, Limited: Subject must be asleep
    • Mind Reading: Cumulative Mind Reading 8 - Extras: Cumulative; Flaws: Limited: Subject must be asleep
  • Entrancing Speech: Cumulative Burst Area Affliction 8 - 1st degree: Entranced, 2nd degree: Compelled, 3rd degree: Controlled, Resisted by: Will; Extras: Area (Burst) (30 feet radius sphere, dc 18), Cumulative; Descriptors: Auditory
  • Fox Form - Activation: Move Action
    • Claw. Claw, Bite: Damage 6 - Extras: Accurate 5 (+10), Multiattack
    • Enhanced Trait: Enhanced Trait -2 - Traits: Toughness -2
    • Shrinking: Shrinking 4 -1 STR, -2 Intimidate, +4 Stealth, +2 active defenses, -1 size rank - Flaws: Permanent
    • Speed: Speed 2 Speed: 8 miles/hour, 120 feet/round -
  • Illusory Effects -
    • Environment: Environment 1 Radius: 30 feet - Cold (Extreme), Heat (Extreme), Light (Bright), Visibility (-5); Flaws: Limited: Hot or Cold, Bright or Dark (Maximum 4 ranks at a time) 4
    • Illusion: Illusion 7 Area: 125 cft. - Affects: Three Sense Types - Sight and Sound
  • Lightning: Line Area Damage 8 - Extras: Area (Line) (5 feet wide by 30 feet long, dc 18); Descriptors: Electricity
  • Remote Awareness: Remote Sensing 12 Range: 16 miles - Affects: 2 Types, inc. Visual; Flaws: Concentration
  • Telekinesis: Move Object 3 400 lbs. - Extras: Accurate 5 (+10), Damaging, Multiattack, Precise, Throwing Mastery 5
  • Unexpectedly Favorite Effect that I forgot: Feature 1 -
    I'll put a power that I stunt in the future here because it will be obvious (in the future) that she should have had that stunt power all along.
  • Warp: Teleport 8 Carry 50 lbs. - Extras: Accurate, Change Direction, Change Velocity, Extended (250 miles in 2 move actions); Flaws: Limited to Extended, Quirk: Wherever she arrives, she arrives in Fox Form

Gender: Female Age: 22
Eyes: Right: Purple, Left: Green Hair: Red
Height: 5' 5" Weight:126 lb.

BACKGROUND
Kira Donal was inside a Zig-Zag Girl box as part of a stage magic act: The Amazing Arthur. Without warning she shrank down into the form of a fox. While Arthur opening the little door she was supposed to stick her hand out of, she was looking at the pads of her forepaw in the lower part of the box. When she figured out how to grow back up to normal size, she did not realize "normal" meant she was a fox-human hybrid: human face, fox ears on her head, long bushy tail. Arthur somehow rolled with it claiming it was a transformation trick all along.

Over the next few days, Kira figured out how to turn herself back into her old look, although her hair tends to want to grow long and red.
Kira continues to work with Arthur. The act now takes advantages of her magic skills.

Kira has three forms. Her default look of how she use to look except she has fox ears on her head, her hair is more red, and she has five bushy, red tails. She can shift into the form of any other human shape she wishes and has become good at duplicating other people's looks and mannerisms. Finally, she can turn into a red fox, about 18 inches tall at the shoulder, 30 inches long plus an additional 24 inches of tail. The fox form shares her hair and eye colors.

Kira can create supernatural effects by will alone. She generally discovers them when she needs them and for all she knows there are more abilities lurking within her.

COMPLICATIONS

• Motivation: Justice
• Obsession - Pranks: Kira's fox-nature sometimes comes out as a prank. Her ability to misdirect people makes it even easier for her to pull off a prank so she is always looking for a new challenge.
• Relationship - The Amazing Arthur: Artie "The Amazing Arthur" Mendelson has been Kira's magician partner for several years. Kira is the true magician. People just expect the magician to be a man with a beautiful assistant. Still, Artie is one of her best friends, even if he has a penchant for getting into trouble.

MOVEMENT AND STRENGTH DATA
Size: Shrink size ~3 feet, Normal size ~6 ft.
Teleport: 250 miles per round, carrying 50 lbs.
Walking: 8 miles/hour; 120 feet/round; Running: 16 miles/hour; 250 feet/round
Swimming: 1/2 mile/hour; 6 feet/round
Jumping: Running 10 ft.; Standing 5 ft.; Vertical 2 ft.; Standing Vertical 1 ft.
Throwing Distances: 200 lbs. up to 6 ft, 50 lbs. up to 30 ft, 12 lbs. up to 120 ft
TOTALS: Abilities: 24, Powers: 55, Advantages: 3, Skills: 18, Defenses: 20 -> 120

HOUSE RULES

• Skill Points: 3 Skill Points per PP
• Free Interaction skill advantage for each rank of PRE

[Bladewind]

I dunno, this guy sounds pretty slimy to me... Could lead to some sticky situations with the police.

Or a gig with the Kids Choice Awards....

[Doctor Malsyn]

Okay, I'm going to post this. It's mostly done. I'm not sure the origin is perfect for this game so let me know if I need to adjust it.
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Foxy

Some if the build confused me at first, but I attribute it largely due to it being a different format then I'm used too. She is capable of shapeshifting her body itself rather then it being an illusion, is that correct? Limiting her 'spirit(oni?) sense' ability to evil spirits alone is an interesting limitation. What exactly would you qualify as an 'evil spirit'?

Regarding her magic, while I am okay with monsters having certain 'spell like abilities', do note that only Sorcerers are cable of actual spellcasting. You bring up mention as well of a 'great fox spirit', could you clarify what that is?

last, though minor note. While her knowing Japanese is fine, her knowing it due to her Inheritance dosn't make as much sense. Does this have a tie in to the fox spirit mentioned before?

[jmucchiello]

This is why I said the background might not jive. Though I think I left a few things out. Scientifically speaking, based on how you describe the setting, the retro-virus has enabled regressive genes which allowed her ancestors to be conduits for "spirits". When she "came online", a kitsune spirit entered her. The spirit can shapechange its host into other forms including an actual fox. It can also release its energy into the world. During the initial "integration" period, the kitsune's knowledge of Japanese flooded her mind and thus she had trouble with English for a while.

Ultimately, Kira is still Kira but she is also this Fox spirit. The fox spirit interacts with the world through her. It is able to manifest because it is part of her. So its spirit rushes forward causing damage when she "casts" Spirit Rush. It's not a really a spell, but that's what makes sense to her (especially since she is a stage magician. She is predisposed to think of "powers" as "spells").

I should probably give the Fox spirit a name, but naming things in Japanese is not really in my wheelhouse.

So the question is were there spirits in the past that used to inhabit people and the genetic ability receive these spirits disappeared? Or is my character not appropriate? I can change characters if you don't like the spirit stuff.

Oh and what is an evil spirit? Whatever you want it to be. Remember, that is the name of the power. Whether or not other creatures will trigger he detect is up to the GM.

due to it being a different format then I'm used too

Yeah, I can't stand the normal Hero Lab format. What could possibly be the reason Defenses are so far away from Abilities? So I rolled my own formatter.

[EpicEclipse]

The psudo-liquid character is coming along fairly nicely. I'm just trying to get the dynamics to work just right with regards to combat, without making it a) over expensive and b) over complicated.

I think I am close to something, but I need to sleep for the night. Promises to be fairly unique all the same though.

[Camus]

The forum ate my character and I am not happy.

[Doctor Malsyn]

@jmucchiello: Hmm... Spirits certainly exist, but even in comparison to what is known of supernaturals, how they operate and what they're even capable of is largely a mystery. At a best guess from the more spiritually sensitive, they exist largely as imprints within Earth's magical field. Everyone has an imprint of their own, but sometimes they... Linger after death. Perhaps in this case, her ancestor's spiritual imprint was drawn to her own durring Inheritance?

@EpicEclipse: Looking forward to it!

@Camus: Ouch... I always write out my characters in a word document before I submit them to a forum myself. Had a few too many similar incidents on Ronin for that reason. Hopefully you can recover things without too much trouble.

[Loneclaw]

Hey Doc, since we're playing as formerly normal people in what is more or less our world, do we need to pay equipment points for ubiquitous stuff like smartphones and motor vehicles?

[Doctor Malsyn]

Hm. I've never seen this one addressed before. Can't think of the blast time I've seen a character with a normal car in their equipment. I think... Basically, if you feel they're essential to your duties as a hero, they should be equipment. A car you just use to go to work or a common cell phone should be no issue.