World of Freedom 3.2 - Whatever Comes To Mind

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Arkrite
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh!

Post by Arkrite »

Tattooedman wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 3:09 am That was a deliberate choice I made from the get go once Donnie got accepted into the game; everyone else had such strong & flamboyant (and all uniquely so) personalities that the only way I could think to make Donnie interesting was to just be a kind of blue collar guy.
Well, I'd say it was a massive success.
Tattooedman wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 3:09 am That was an interesting thing that happened, I thought it showed aspects of several of the characters we'd have not seen otherwise. I enjoyed the hell out of it personally.
I do regret that we never made it to Christmas. I had plans for Zane to build everybody presents of some kind.
I believe Charlie's was going to be a mentally controlled drone, and Donnie's was going to be a Teddy Ruxbin style toy that told stories for his daughter.
Seeing as Zane had been reading a lot of children's novels I figured he'd have a good library to offer. ;~)
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh!

Post by Davies »

Tattooedman wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 3:09 am
Davies wrote: Wed Oct 25, 2017 3:52 pm Donnie Benis, aka Curve
Nicely done Davies.
Thenk you!
Tattooedman wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 3:09 am
Arkrite wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 2:47 am Donnie was funny because he only really had one unusual quirk: He liked to fly everywhere.
What's really funny was that was a choice I made on a lark and just kept using it because I found it amusing that a guy who seemed so grounded (especially compared to the other members of the B Team) regularly wasn't.
It's why I gave him a Hover power. That and to boost his top Flight speed to equal Johnny Rocket's ground speed. ;)
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh!

Post by Tattooedman »

Arkrite wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 3:15 amWell, I'd say it was a massive success.
Surprisingly so. I didn't think it'd go over so well.
Arkrite wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 3:15 amI do regret that we never made it to Christmas. I had plans for Zane to build everybody presents of some kind.
I believe Charlie's was going to be a mentally controlled drone, and Donnie's was going to be a Teddy Ruxbin style toy that told stories for his daughter.
Seeing as Zane had been reading a lot of children's novels I figured he'd have a good library to offer. ;~)
That would have been pretty cool.
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:45 pm
LOl- "The Tattooed Man"? What kind of ABSOLUTE DILDO would refer to himself as "The Tattooed Man" :P!?!
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh!

Post by Davies »

Next Up: Charlie Graham and the City of the Supermen.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh!

Post by RainOnTheSun »

Thanks for the answers about magic in games!
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh!

Post by Davies »

Charlie Graham
AKA Strong Girl, AKA Sha-Li

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Born in 1981, Charlie was a star athlete her entire life. She excelled at every sport that she tried her hand at -- volleyball, soccer, softball, track and field -- but when, as a freshman, she made her high school football team, her parents started to think that something just wasn’t right about their not so little girl. They took her to a doctor who confirmed that Charlie was superhuman. After that got out, that was the end of her sports career - she was dropped from every team and disallowed from competition by the schools.

Without that outlet, Charlie began to rebel. She would stay out all night, and eventually fell into the wrong crowd. She ran away from home at 17 and started to do jobs for a local gang boss, working her way up the criminal ladders. For a time she was a dominatrix, at another she drove 'escorts' to meet their clients. She ended up becoming the driver and bodyguard for a major crime lord before she was even 22. The Raven busted their organization, and Charlie, having thrown a pair of police cars into a SWAT van in order to buy time for her boss to get away, was bussed off to Blackrock.

She served five years of her sentence before she was paroled and placed into the custody of Project Freedom. That was the beginning of a change in her life, as she welcomed the opportunity to be muscle for 'the good guys'. For a relatively short time, she was even the leader of the B-Team before her temper led to her dismissal. Even after that, she continued to act as the team's heart, admired (if not always respected) by the rest of its members.

Very early in her time with the Project, she met Callie Summers and became attracted to her, a feeling that appeared to be mutual. Charlie had no idea, however, that Callie was actually the Raven, and was exploiting their connection in order to investigate certain suspicions she had about the project. Ironically, Callie eventually developed genuine feelings for Charlie, which forced her to break off the investigation and also to end the relationship, leaving Charlie heartbroken.

Not long afterward, a visit to the Atom Family resulted in the surprising discovery that Charlie was, in fact, an Ultiman, despite having been born to normal human parents. Introduced to her heritage by Kar-Zol, the Ultimaid, Charlie began to develop her powers beyond simple strength and durability, gaining the ability to fly, communicate telepathically, and eventually project energy bolts. She was tutored in these abilities by Ur-Kel, better known as Hercules, and later by Yod-Ash, otherwise known as the Artisan.

Surviving the Project's final mission in the Terminus, Charlie was devastated by the losses the team suffered, most notably the death of Harriet Wainwright. She was taken by her mentors to Ultima Thule to recuperate there, and spent most of a year doing so. Ultimately, however, she reached the conclusion that the city of her people was not a place where she felt comfortable, and chose to follow the example of her mentors and live in the world of mortals. Returning to Freedom City, she bought a bowling alley where she and the rest of Project Freedom had had a pleasant evening, and refurbished it to make it a place of relaxation specifically designed for superhumans.

Finding the management of the bowling alley to be a bit tedious, Charlie became a world traveller for a time, only making occasional visits home, as when she came back to visit with Robin Greyfaulk after the birth of the latter's child. In 2012, however, she abandoned her travels to return to Freedom City when news of Duncan Summers' death reached her, as she hoped to be of help and comfort to his daughter Callie. While involved in the events leading up to the resurrection of Zalman, she also learned the truth of Callie's dual identity, leading to a bitter argument between the two women.

Leaving Freedom City once more, Charlie returned to her world travels. It was at this time that she met and had a brief relationship with Evgena Blagorodnyy, the third Bogatyr (see Atlas of Earth Prime), which ended when they realized that they were too similar to each other. She accompanied Zalman on his first visit to Shamballah in 2014, and achieved a certain spiritual tranquility there as well, which led her to recently return to Freedom City in order to check in on matters there, forgiving Callie for the sins of the past.

And also to flirt with Centuria, because some things just don't change.

Charlie Graham -- PL 12

Abilities: STR 13 | STA 14 | AGL 2 | DEX 3 | FGT 10 | INT 1 | AWE 0 | PRE 2
Powers: Finger-Flick of Unconsciousness (Affliction 13 [Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated] as an Alternate Effect of Strength Damage), Levitation (Flight 8), Telepathy (Mental Communication 2; Comprehend 2 (Languages, speak and understand all); Mind-Reading 6), Power Lifting (Enhanced Strength 4, Limited to Lifting), The Power Primal (Ranged Damage 13), Ultiman Invulnerability (Immortality 5; Immunity 12 [aging, life support, sleep]; Impervious Toughness 12; Regeneration 5).
Advantages: All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Close Attack, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Interpose, Leadership, Ranged Attack 6, Startle.
Skills: Deception 5 (+7), Expertise: Bodyguard 3 (+4), Expertise: Streetwise 9 (+10), Insight 9 (+9), Intimidation 8 (+10), Perception 8 (+8), Vehicles 8 (+8).
Offense: Initiative +2, Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 13), Power Primal +9 (Ranged Damage 13).
Defense: Dodge 9, Parry 10, Fortitude 16, Toughness 14, Will 8.
Totals: Abilities 90 + Powers 112 + Advantages 14 + Skills 25 + Defenses 17 = 258 points
Complications: Thrills--Motivation. Flirtatious (towards women). Friendships. Secret (The Ultima).

Author's Note: This character created by ClassDunce.
Last edited by Davies on Fri May 11, 2018 7:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh!

Post by Shock »

Ultiman Invulnerability (Immortality 5; Immunity 12 [aging, life support, sleep]; Impervious Toughness 12; Regeneration 5)
You can't help but love Charlie. She was reckless enough when she wasn't immortal. I'd love to see the story of how she discovered that power.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh!

Post by Davies »

Shock wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 10:50 pm
Ultiman Invulnerability (Immortality 5; Immunity 12 [aging, life support, sleep]; Impervious Toughness 12; Regeneration 5)
You can't help but love Charlie. She was reckless enough when she wasn't immortal. I'd love to see the story of how she discovered that power.
It's an embarrassing story involving shouting "Cannonball" while jumping the Angel Falls in Venezuela and scratching the landing.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh! Project Freedom!

Post by Voltron64 »

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=437So how is Charlie an Ultiman despite her having human parents?

Recessive gene thanks to an Ultiman ancestor (who might still be around)?

And come to think of it with the Ultimen, what's Mastermind's relationship with them? Considering they're both creations of the Preservers, could he be some kind of Super Prototype?

Finally in retrospect, has Zane ever had any encounters with Mastermind or the Psions? And if not, he damn well should. ;)
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh!

Post by Arkrite »

Shock wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 10:50 pm You can't help but love Charlie.
Charlie was the heart of the game, and it was always funny how she was trying to make friends with absolutely everybody she came across.
If you were a hot girl? She hit on you. You didn't reciprocate? She moved directly to Friending you.

I couldn't help but laugh that the two people that hated Charlie the most were both people that Charlie had crushes on ;~)
And just to clarify, they hated her for other reasons. Charlie didn't chase after people who weren't interested. Charlie was a classy lady.

I also loved my interactions with Charlie. In retrospect Charlie and Zane's relationship seems like that between siblings. Sometimes they're thick as thieves, at other times they were at each other's throats, then they'd be looking out for each other in spite of each other.

Hrmm... I'm trying to narrow down a few "good" moments for Charlie, but I don't remember many specifics, just a lot of fun along the way.

I'd love to think that Robin, Donnie and Zane are solid members of the team, but I honestly just can't even imagine Project Freedom without Charlie and Zalman.

Shock wrote: Thu Oct 26, 2017 10:50 pm She was reckless enough when she wasn't immortal.
Oh god, there'd just be no dealing with her now ;~)
Voltron64 wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:20 am Finally in retrospect, has Zane ever had any encounters with Mastermind or the Psions? And if not, he damn well should. ;)
Actually yes.
The Psions attempted to recruit Zane during one adventure. Zane begged off claiming he'd be of more help to psychics if he was free and clear legally.
In reality he just wasn't interested in a race war against non-psychics as his closest friends weren't (at the time) psychic, and figured he wouldn't be able to agree with their tactics in the end.

He had a secondary encounter with a Psion girl from the future who indicated that Zane had spent time as her mentor.

But it's been a few years, we might learn more as some characters are revealed.
I know there were hints about the Psions and another team of psychics gearing up to wage war on each other.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh! Project Freedom!

Post by Davies »

Voltron64 wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:20 am viewtopic.php?f=14&t=437So how is Charlie an Ultiman despite her having human parents?

Recessive gene thanks to an Ultiman ancestor (who might still be around)?
This is the current theory, but there's not really enough information about Charlie's family's genealogy (it only goes back about three generations on either side) to identify them.
Voltron64 wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:20 amAnd come to think of it with the Ultimen, what's Mastermind's relationship with them? Considering they're both creations of the Preservers, could he be some kind of Super Prototype?
Neither were intentional creations, so no. Mastermind knows of them and considers their civilization to be something of an ideal, but wishes that they'd get on moving out into space like he thinks cultures at their stage of development should.
Voltron64 wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:20 amFinally in retrospect, has Zane ever had any encounters with Mastermind or the Psions? And if not, he damn well should. ;)
Arkrite already answered about the Psions, so I'll just say that Zane has crossed Mastermind's schemes at least once in the last seven years, and regards him as a megalomaniac whom he could easily imitate if he ever has a bad day, and so someone to avoid.
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh!

Post by Davies »

Arkrite wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:11 am
Hrmm... I'm trying to narrow down a few "good" moments for Charlie, but I don't remember many specifics, just a lot of fun along the way.
My most memorable Charlie moment.

Charlie: Wait ... how does he know I fought the White Lady? That happened in another dimension!
GM: You wrote a report about it.
Charlie: ... people read those things?
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh! Project Freedom!

Post by Davies »

Savant
AKA Sebastian Gregory.

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Some time in the early 1970s, a group of men who probably should have known better decided to create a hero for the dark age they saw coming. While they had a success, some of them weren't particularly pleased with the results. Too physical, they thought, not nearly as intelligent as he would need to be. And so they decided to create a backup, using different methods. There had been another man of action whom many of them had admired, who had been even smarter than their heroic model in some ways, and so they decided to adapt some of what was known about his origins. To their dubious credit, they used one of their own children as the test subject, rather than some anonymous orphan.

Savant's earliest memories are of his infancy. He was about two years old, he thinks, when he was pulled away from a source of comfort and warmth. He chooses to believe that this was his mother. It may not have been. It could have been a nurse, or a nanny. But his name for her is mother, and much of what he has done since that time has been focused on her.

After this rupture, he was placed into an automated Skinner box, educated by sophisticated computers and cared for by robots. For thirteen years, he did not see another human being. The only images he was shown were of numbers, letters and objects. He was taught to read, but only to communicate the lessons to him. Pattern recognition, formal logic, mathematics ... these were what he learned, not any facts about the world beyond the walls.

Finally, at fifteen, they decided he was ready, and opened the box. He met other humans for the first time, and in the process developed an abiding fascination. One of the men made a statement, and it wasn't expressed in the straightforward mechanical tones of a machine. And the muscles in his face moved. And from the way that the others reacted to the man's statement, the boy realized that the man had said something ... counter-factual. (Specifically, he'd said, "Doesn't he smell nice?" and the others had agreed that their subject needed a bath.)

There were things in the world that could lie. (And/or be sarcastic, which was also interesting.) Recognizing when they were doing so became Savant's raison d'etre. In the process, he also became obsessed with learning the truth behind the lies. He wanted to learn everything, know everything. Because he also realized that a world where people could lie to him was a dangerous place, and he wanted safety and security.

Less than a year later, he found out that he wasn't alone in all of this. They'd put an infant girl into an identical box when he was five, to see whether the experiment would show the same success with one slight change. But when Savant emerged, they became careless, and somehow she learned of the existence of human beings by accident. And her reaction wasn't fascination.

Instead, she faked an illness that the computers didn't know how to handle, forcing a human intervention into her box when they sent in a doctor ... whom she killed, allowing her to escape and begin slaughtering the other researchers at the facility. Savant was away at the time, or she might have killed him, too. Or she might not. In the handful of times that they've met since then, she's indicated that she thinks of him as a brother. Of course, the fact that she has a tendency to choose Cain as a surname makes that somewhat worrying.

The destruction of the project left him somewhat at loose ends. He knew what he wanted to do with his life, it was simply a question of finding a way to do it that would satisfy his needs. He considered becoming a police detective, but quickly realized that for the most part, they focused on cases determined primarially by physical evidence. (And who cared about that? Physical evidence couldn't lie!) And so he became a private detective instead, taking the cases that interested him.

A fair number of these involved superhumans. Despite what you might expect, he didn't really get any particular charge out of foiling superhuman criminals with nothing more than his brains, because he realized that was a false dichotomy. His brains qualified as a superhuman power, after all. He didn't get any more of a thrill out of those cases than he did the others he took. Or so he says.

And then came the day that he crossed paths with Mr. Infamy. Just what the case was is something that he's never discussed with anyone, only its outcome. "He offered to tell me my mother's name," he'll say. "I turned him down. It was the last time I followed my nobler impulses." He's soft-pedaling it, actually. The stress from the encounter led him to experiment with drugs for the first time.

Soon after that, he travelled to Japan and spent a year there on the trail of a man who could kill with a notebook. It was an incredibly complicated case that ended with him in possession of said notebook, which he decided was too dangerous to be used. (But it was also too valuable to destroy, so he kept it hidden in a safety deposit box until ... well, that's someone else's story to tell.)

It was while returning to the United States that he was caught with the drugs. Some have found it odd that someone as smart as he is could have been caught so easily. Did he want to be caught? Was this his way of cleaning up? (He'd mock the notion if it was suggested to him. "Do you have any idea how easy it is to get ahold of narcotics in prison? And why didn't I just go to rehab?") When he became eligible for parole, with the option of serving in Project Freedom, he jumped at the chance.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire. What he called his independent thinking and what Harriet Wainwright called his refusal to heed direct orders got him into trouble with her almost immediately. It quickly became bad enough that she exposed the biggest secret about the Project to him as a way of keeping him in line. It worked, sort of. His rebellion became quieter, as he schemed to bring Wainwright's operation down around her ears.

And then Fredrik Zane arrived on the scene, and the game changed again. As always, he consulted his sources about this new associate, and learned that he'd made a career out of reading people's minds to steal technological secrets. Savant's stomach dropped. What would someone like that do with the secrets that were rattling around in his brain? In fact ... was it not likely that the subject was some sort of psychic parasite, strengthening its own abillities to learn and process data at the expense of those around it?

It didn't take long for Savant to learn that Zane was in on Wainwright's schemes, and when the other man became the head of the B-Team, he truly became terrified of what was going on in the Project. His confrontation with Zane muddled the matters further -- the other kept acting as though everything that he was doing was in the interests of the Project, which made no sense at all for a self-serving monster. He had to be pursuing a scheme of truly breath-taking proportions ...

It wouldn't be until the team invaded the Terminus and he learned the true identity of Shadivan Steelgrave that everything finally fell into place. The Intellivore, as he thought of Zane, was his world's version of the architect of annihilation. Of course he was. That was the point. That explained everything. He finally understood what was going on. And more -- now that Savant knew what Zane was, he finally knew the point of his own existence. This feeling ... was it joy?

In the aftermath, he managed to convince certain elements of the Grant administration that he was the ideal person to run a small agency devoted to covertly monitoring the activities of Project Freedom and its former clients, to make sure that these sorts of situations would not develop in the future. Of course, most of this agency's efforts went into monitoring Zane's activities, as Savant waited for the Intellivore to show his true colors to the world. The rest of the time it was mostly used to satisfy Savant's momentary curiosities regarding other matters.

Of course, the end of the Grant administration brought an end to all that. Savant came out of it smelling like a rose, though. For the moment, he is following his curiosity about the murderer of Jonathan Grant. While he had no particular affection for the late mayor, the way that his death has been declared an unsolvable mystery by those who should know better annoys him. He'll investigate the matter until he finds the truth, grows bored, or is convinced that it's no longer in his interest. Then he'll return to his other obsession.

It's understandable, perhaps, that the boy who was fascinated by the concept of lies should end entangled in one.

Savant -- PL 11

Abilities: STR 0 | STA 1 | AGL 1 | DEX 4 | FGT 8 | INT 10 | AWE 9 | PRE 6
Powers: Fast Learner (Variable 2 [learned skills and knowledge], Slow), My Mind is My Self (Sustained Immunity 20 [mental effects], Limited to Half Effect), Speed-Thinker (Quickness 8, Limited to Mental Tasks), Uncannily Precise (Enhanced Ranged Damage 3).
Advantages: Assessment, Contacts, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 4, Equipment 6, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative 2, Jack-of-all-Trades, Ranged Attack 8, Redirect, Seize Initiative, Set-Up, Skill Mastery (Insight, Investigation), Well-Informed.
Skills: Acrobatics 6 (+7), Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+12), Deception 12 (+18), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+18), Insight 12 (+21), Intimidation 10 (+16), Investigation 10 (+20), Perception 11 (+20), Persuasion 4 (+10), Ranged Combat: Guns 4 (+8), Sleight of Hand 9 (+13), Stealth 12 (+13), Technology 8 (+16).
Offense: Initiative +9, Unarmed +12 (Close Damage 0), Light Pistol +16 (Ranged Damage 6).
Defense: Dodge 15, Parry 13, Fortitude 8, Toughness 6/1, Will 14.
Totals: Abilities 86 + Powers 32 + Advantages 31 + Skills 55 + Defenses 31 = 235 points
Complications: Obsessive Curiosity--Motivation. Hatred (Fredrik Zane). Reputation (Drug addict).
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh! Project Freedom!

Post by Arkrite »

And so that's when I burst out laughing and scared the living daylights out of my poor wife ;~)
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Re: World of Freedom 3.2 - Fyirwhrx! Nero! The Beacon! The Scarab and the Ankh! Project Freedom!

Post by Voltron64 »

I wonder if retroactivetly, there could be a connection between Savant and Vanguard (including Victor Prophet)?
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