Jab’s Builds! (Sword of Sodan! Nightmare Creatures/Circus! Lawnmower Man!)

[catsi563]

my understanding is it was him as wlel. hes a gambit styled power charge energy into objects epecially staves hence his namesake

[Jabroniville]

Excellent insight about superheroes in general. I think we say we want superheroes to "mature" because in truth, they present an ideal of character that most of us can't be bothered to aspire to. So instead, we say the concept is silly so we feel better about our own decidedly un-heroic characters.

Or their introduction to the concept was SuperFriends and it permanently stained their concept with that goofy show. There's a reason SeanBaby made his internet reputation making fun of it .

Aside from maybe some of the 90s Extreme excess, I think WildCATs also serves as a solid model for what a superhero RPG campaign could look like: solid, straightforward archetypes, a focused team identity, and a solid bit of world-building behind it. (Momentary off-topic rant: I hate running supers games pbp with cattle calls for players; inevitably, I get the most asinine character concepts that I would never want to read about and generally don't want to GM either.)

This reminds me of a lot of aspects of the time I ran a game on here. The ABSOLUTE MOST IMPORTANT THING I POSTED was "No Silly Characters". I meant that absolutely. I've heard horror stories. People talk about the absurd, idiotic "Joke" concepts they were handed by players. The "Deliberately Crazy Guy" characters invented by people who are social misfits in real life and now have carte-blanche to be as annoying as they've ever wanted to be to others. Horsenhero commiserated with me that in one game, a guy submitted a "Sentient Sword" character from a player, and told me "Would you want to read a comic about a sentient sword? I wouldn't".

So yeah, my biggest rule by far was to create characters that seem like they could have been characters in the Teen Titans or the X-Men. People who Marvel or DC would actually run with back then, not "Joke Supers" or "My character is a talking dog" or whatever.

Thankfully, people mostly listened. I had a lot of excellent concepts- a Magical Tree-Powered girl, a young Green Lantern Lite, an aged Canadian Captain America, an alien MMA fighter, etc. I was actually delighted that people listened to the instructions and did some good stuff. Of course, *I* was the one who was allowed to be silly, lol- I had them fight a bunch of weird Mooks from my setting, and Serpent Society knock-offs. Unfortunately, I lost the energy and drive to run the game as time went on.

[M4C8]

I think I have one of the X-Men/Wildcats crossovers somewhere, it's been a long time since I read it but IIRC Jean identifies Pike's blasts as some sort of bio energy.

[Jabroniville]

SAVANT (Kenesha)
Created By: Chris Claremont & Jim Lee
First Appearance: WildC.A.T.s Sourcebook #2 (Nov. 1993)
Role: Bomber-Jacket Chick
Marvel Character Most Ripped Off: Boom-Boom/Cannonball (looks like a combination of both characters- Sam's gear on Boom-Boom's body); actually resembles Gina Diggers or Indiana Jones much more
'90s Ratio: 4/10 (wears normal clothes to adventure in, but isn't actually a T&A character)
Group Affiliations: WildC.A.T.s, Savant Garde
PL 8 (180)
STRENGTH 5 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+10)
Deception 6 (+9)
Expertise (History) 10 (+15)
Expertise (Archaeology) 10 (+15)
Insight 4 (+7)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 7 (+10)
Stealth 4 (+8)
Technology 3 (+8)
Vehicles 2 (+7)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 4, Ultimate Archaeology Skill, Well-Informed

Powers:
"Kherubim Physiology"
Immunity 4 (Aging, Disease, Poison, Teleport) [4]
Regeneration 2 [2]

"Bag of Holding" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [34]
"Random Tech" Variable 6 (Technology) (42)

"Seven-League Boots" (Flaws: Removable) [14]
Teleport 8 (16) -- (17 points)

• AE: Speed 8 (8)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +5, Fortitude +7, Will +7

Complications:
Motivation (Adventure)
Reputation (Irresponsible & Brash)- Savant flies into adventure without thinking.
Relationship (Zealot, Mister Majestic)- Zealot and Mr. Majestic were ordered to breed on Khera centuries ago- both didn't realize their daughter had survived. Savant grew up thinking she was Zealot's sister.

Total: Abilities: 78 / Skills: 54--27 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 54 / Defenses: 15 (180)

-Savant is the daughter of an arranged coupling between Mister Majestic and Zealot- a full-blooded Kherubim who grew up thinking she was Zealot's sister. She is an adventurer doing a kind of "Cosmic Indiana Jones" thing, using specialized gear with advanced tech, drifting away from her warrior heritage and being more into archaeology and history. Said to be "irresponsible and brash", she looks more like Boom-Boom wearing Cannonball's gear (the bomber jacket and aviator goggles), or something like Gina Diggers from Gold Diggers. She joined the WildC.A.T.s in its second incarnation when the previous team was thought killed, and she briefly enters into a relationship with her teammate Tao, but he betrays them all and nearly gets them all killed- the team soon breaks up. She briefly led a spin-off book called Savant Garde, along with her father (though neither knew the nature of their relationship yet).

[Shock]

'90s Ratio: 4/10 (wears normal clothes to adventure in, but isn't actually a T&A character)

Not a T&A character? Are you sure you have her in the right set?

[Jabroniville]

LADYTRON (Maxine Manchester)
Created By: Alan Moore & Travis Charest
First Appearance: WildC.A.T.s #21 (July 1995)
Role: Cyborg Chick, Cyborg Assassin, Token Evil Teammate
Marvel Character Most Ripped Off: None (generic Sexy Cyborg)
'90s Ratio: 9/10 (a cyborg with giant boobs AND is a crazed murderer)
Group Affiliations: WildC.A.T.s
PL 8 (131)
STRENGTH 8 STAMINA -- AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+12)
Deception 6 (+6)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 7 (+7)
Perception 6 (+6)
Stealth 2 (+6)
Technology 3 (+3)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Improved Hold, Ranged Attack 4, Startle

Powers:
"Cyborg Physiology"
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 7 [7]
"Sonic Cannon in the Mouth" Blast 8 (Extras: Penetrating) (Inaccurate -1) (23) -- [24]

• AE: "Built-In Guns" Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (18)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Guns +8 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Sonic Cannon +6 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +7, Fortitude --, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Crazed Killer)- Ladytron is vicious and extremely quick to leap to lethal action.
Reputation (Psycho)- Most of her past teammates do not trust her, or actively seek to get her arrested or killed.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 61 / Defenses: 8 (131)

-Ladytron debuted in the "Alan Moore" run on WildC.A.T.s, and is a COMPLETE Edgelord character with an Edgelord backstory- she ran away from home to avoid sexual abuse at the hands of her father, and became a thief and killer to survive. Shot and nearly killed during a robbery that left five people dead, she was turned into a cyborg by an evil doctor and used her new form to escape prison. She fell in love with another cyborg he'd created, but when the two plotted to kill the doctor, he revealed his failsafe and Ladytron was forced to kill both of them before going back on the run.

-It was in this form that she was recruited by Mr. Majestic and Savant to form a new WildC.A.T.s squad when the original was thought dead- they evidently didn't know much of her backstory, and the evil Tao manipulalted Majestic into letting her on the team (and Savant wanted another female member- yes, a Diversity Hire caused THIS mess). She was forced onto the team, but began to fall for her teamate Condition Red, who rebuffed her. She was badly damaged in the fight against Tao, but she joined a church that considered even machine life sacred, being twisted into ONLY caring about machine life (still, Majestic felt this was an improvement). She later abandoned the church, but was badly damaged by a super-powered serial killer, then got reprogrammed by Noir into fighting Spartan's Halo Corporation. When she was beaten by Spartan, Grifter then used her body to perform missions, controlling her remotely. She nonetheless appears with the team in some later stories, more or less tagging along as nobody really wants her there. All in all, she's a pretty weird character with a terrible codename.

-A complete nutjob with an off-putting personality, a terrible reputation and a history full of jobbing easily, I don't imagine Ladytron is particularly powerful or capable- she's a No-STA-having Robot Lady with some built-in weapons, and that's it. PL 7.5-8 overall.

[Spectrum]

'90s Ratio: 9/10 (a cyborg with giant boobs AND is a crazed murderer)

Huh, the pictures don't show...

One Google search later..

Yeah, be careful with that search folks.

[Jabroniville]

CONDITION RED (Max Cash)
Created By: Brandon Choi & Jim Lee
First Appearance: The Savage Dragon #13 (Oct. 1994)
Role: Gun Guy, Plainclothes Guy
Marvel Character Most Ripped Off: The Punisher (uses guns; army backstory)
'90s Ratio: 6/10 (guns; goggles)
Group Affiliations: WildC.A.T.s, Team 7
PL 8 (122)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+11)
Athletics 9 (+12)
Deception 6 (+9)
Expertise (Mercenary/Soldier) 6 (+8)
Expertise (Criminal) 6 (+8)
Insight 4 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Perception 6 (+8)
Stealth 3 (+8)
Technology 4 (+6)
Vehicles 2 (+8)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Lots of Guns, Knife), Improved Aim, Ranged Attack 4

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Knife +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Guns +10 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications:
Relationship (Cole- Brother)

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 56--28 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 14 (122)

-Condition Red is Max Cash, the younger brother of Grifter- he was heavily favored by the Mafia gangster who was their stepfather. However, Max joined I/O in Grifter's footsteps, but went to deep into the mob- he accepted pay-offs and killed police officers, meaning there was nowhere else for him to go- he became a standard-issue criminal. He was recruited for the second incarnation of WildC.A.T.s when the first was thought dead, being blackmailed by Savant, who formed the squad. He briefly went back to I/O, but ended up on the WildC.A.T.s again, fighting the time-travelling Puritans. He successfully used time travel to save his teammate Olympia, whom he was attracted to, but was himself killed by a Coda assassin as soon as he arrived back in the main timeline for whatever reason. He died in the book's very last issue, and never returned save for a one-off "zombie rising" story.

-Condition Red is a lesser version of his brother, fitting a PL 8 sorta-Skillmonkey.

[Jabroniville]

LADY HARMONY
Created By: Brandon Choi & Jim Lee
First Appearance: Wildstorm Winter Special #1 (Jan. 2005)
Role: Action MILF, High Priestess
Marvel Character Most Ripped Off: None
'90s Ratio: 0/10 (I mean, a mother AND a grandmother? Not a grumpy, sexless psycho?)
Group Affiliations: The Wildcats

-Lady Harmony is the mother of Zealot of the WildC.A.T.s, and a former Majestrix of the Coda, and High Priestess of Khera, their homeworld. She also raised Zealot's child Savant as her own daughter. She attempted to save Savant from an evil being who wanted to remake Earth into an image of Khera, and died horribly in the process. She had some Coda training and was apparently a good enough fighter.

[Jabroniville]

I do remember at 13 or 14 being really impressed with Void (after my initial exposure to her being the 'Jean' on the Wildcats TV show. Ya know, the one who tends to stay behind with the overall leader)

It was during the Spawn/Wildcats crossover, which honestly is one of the better minis to come out of Image around that time. Basically a future version of Spawn killed Malbolgia, took his power, and conquered earth.

Earth's heroes fought back but lost. So of course the remaining 'cats time travel back to get help from their old selves and the younger Spawn.

Not a good future for the cats honestly. Warblade and Voodoo were dead. Emp was captive future Spawn aka the Ipsissimus, Maul was a brain dead slave, Grifter was okay but old, Spartan was a head, and Zealot was crippled AND growing old due to using magics to send the future cats back.

Void though, she debatably got it the worst.

The Ipsissimus had recruited alot of villains and ex-heroes to his side (including Burnout and Grunge), and to improve their overall morale I suppose, he stripped a majority of the surviving heroines of their powers (and probably made them ageless given none of them looked that much older) and set them up as a harem. A lot of them did whatever they could to keep any of the men from wanting them: Fairchild gained weight, Freefall starved herself, other cried a lot (Maul even noted that Wonder Woman was apparently among them with "Yeah, that one with the bracelets? She's like Joan Collins or someone who's been around forever.")

Future Void was among them, which enraged the past Void.

So when the Troika (Attica, Slag, and HARM all merged into one body) came to the fleshpits, the old Void was waiting, and she angrily stopped the fight before it could happen: she simply teleported the Troika outside the Ipsissimus's headquarters....which was one of Manhattan's skyscrapers made even taller and just let them fall to their deaths.

Oh YEAH- I vaguely remember "Fat Fairchild", but not how crazy-dark that storyline was. The main thing I recall was Spawn being shocked at Zealot, saying "aren't you supposed to be BLACK?", because he'd seen a Coda warrior in the future. Zealot shouted "Now I KNOW you're lying! Nobody could gain that level of skill in the Coda without me knowing about it!" or something.

[Jabroniville]

NOPE- even then, still not a Furry!

SHEBA
Created By: Barbara Kesel & Ryan Odagawa
First Appearance: Savant Garde #1 (March 1997)
Role: Catgirl, Forgotten Character
Marvel Character Most Ripped Off: Tigra/Feral (catgirl)
'90s Ratio: 5/10 (catgirl, but not, like... a fanservicey or skanky one, I guess)
Group Affiliations: WildC.A.T.s, Savant Garde
PL 8 (119)
STRENGTH 6/10 STAMINA 6/10 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+11)
Athletics 6 (+12)
Intimidation 4 (+4)
Perception 4 (+4)

Advantages:
Agile Feint, All-Out Attack, Evasion, Takedown

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Animalistic Form"
Movement 1 (Sure-Footed) [2]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]

"Animal Senses" Senses 6 (Extended & Acute Scent, Extended & Low-Light Vision, Extended Hearing, Tracking- Scent) [6]

"Tactical Probability Powers"
Enhanced Advantages 2: Assessment, Uncanny Dodge [2]
Senses 4 (Precognition) (Flaws: Limited to Enemy Attacks & Tactics) [2]

"Growing Form" Morph 1 (Feats: Metamorph) [6]
Growth 4 (Str & Sta +4, +4 Mass, +2 Intimidation, -2 Dodge/Parry, -4 Stealth) (Flaws: Reduced Fighting 4, Dodge 4) -- (15 feet)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Large Form +6 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +4
"Large Form" Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +10, Fortitude +12, Will +4

Complications:
None

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 22 / Defenses: 11 (119)

-Sheba is of an unknown origin, and is apparently not on any team long (being on the "Savant Garde" incarnation), but she has normal intelligence, despite speaking little. Her run is short enough that she has no bio aside from what's explained of her powers: she is normally an everyday Catgirl, but when startled, her mass grows dramatically until she becomes a huge, muscular powerhouse. She is a fairly good fighter (based around "Predictive Combat", so she has a few bonuses from that), but is a PL 8 Scrapper in one form, and a PL 8 Powerhouse in another, being more uncontrolled and savage. In the end of the WildStorm universe, she was revealed to have survived, helping the WildC.A.T.s rebuild society.

[Jabroniville]

So for this set, we get into the age-old Alpha Flight problem: “wow, there are way more of these guys than I thought”. Turns out there’s like 20 WildCATs. Some will get bios- others merely notes. It seems like every successive writer just leaped in and dumped half the characters, then invented new ones. The Savant Guard is mostly newbies, for example.

So this next batch will be posted a little more quickly- I notice it’s more conducive to comments to post only two a day for big names, but Condition Red types? Those, I can spam .

You’ll also notice my tiers, here- the established WildC.A.T.s team is mostly PL 10, the “experienced hero” tier, albeit with many flaws to the builds. So almost but not quite X-Men. I’ve seen a lot of builds putting them all at Avengers-tier, but I’m not really seeing it- they’re too even with other goofs like Youngblood or Pike. Also I’m biased because Image is dumb . Maul’s raw size and Helspont’s power put them above.

What will the others be? Wait and see!

[greycrusader]

Huh. The Sheba character is actually kind of a neat little variation on the usual "cat-girl" power set, though the whole "tactical awareness" bit just seems unnecessary and tacked-on; if her default form has enhanced senses and reflexes, wouldn't that be enough to justify her fighting skills instead of needing psychic stuff? Image IS a little infamous for that.

All my best.

PS: And yes, cool pic, but still not a furry, LOL.

[slade the sniper]

Said to be "irresponsible and brash", she looks more like Boom-Boom wearing Cannonball's gear (the bomber jacket and aviator goggles), or something like Gina Diggers from Gold Diggers.

Is it me, or is Gina and the rest of the gang from Gold Digger not on your list of conversions? You can always have more Gina, Brianna and Brittany Diggers... Did I miss them somewhere?

-STS

[Jabroniville]

Said to be "irresponsible and brash", she looks more like Boom-Boom wearing Cannonball's gear (the bomber jacket and aviator goggles), or something like Gina Diggers from Gold Diggers.

Is it me, or is Gina and the rest of the gang from Gold Digger not on your list of conversions? You can always have more Gina, Brianna and Brittany Diggers... Did I miss them somewhere?

-STS

Never statted them. I've only read the first couple of TPBs, and then it seems like Perry largely ignored them for a "New Hotness" every couple of years or so, lol. So I was lost on all the characters. Every time I ever picked up a Gold Diggers book after that, suddenly there was a Sphinx Girl as the main character, or a band of Martial Artists, or a general sense of "Whatever anime I just saw is the story I'm writing now". It reminded me of reading my old writing partner Lightbend's stuff .