Jab’s Builds! (Beaker! Sam Eagle! Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef!)

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Jabroniville
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Episode Reviews

Post by Jabroniville »

Here's some reviews I wrote for the last time I did Visionaries builds! Unfortunately I don't see the full episodes on YouTube any longer, but I can remember them pretty well.

The Opening Three-Parter:
The first episode is a fun bit of business, though quite strange- it shows the full sorta-apocalypse where all the technology fails, and society devolves to a medieval state, with a pair of small Kingdoms rivalling each other. And then this Merklynn douche flies in and tells everyone to brave his massive Dungeon Mountain thingie to gain power. We learn the group dynamics quickly, with Leoric (the leader, and GUESS WHICH ANIMAL HE GAINS AS A TOTEM?) leading two guys around, and Darkstorm doing the same on the evil side. Another handful of people turn up, all having hatred for their opposites- two big guys are fighting, as are two women. I have no idea why all the characters are wearing blank plates on their chests, and carrying around giant, cumbersome Banner-poles, aside from the fact that they'll need them later and the animators didn't want to have to design TWO images for each character :).

Humorously, the characters all gain Animal Totems based off of what they did in their quest through the Mountain. Makes you wonder what would've happened if they'd gotten unlucky and did something SUPER-lame? But never mind- Mortdredd gets stuck with the SCAMPERING BEETLE because he wields "boot-licking above and beyond the call of duty" (actual dialogue), and the girls get stuck with a Shark & Dolphin because they just happened to fall in water at one point. How is Reekon's stealth and treachery similar to a LIZARD, anyhow? And it's funny how two of the villains just got Fantasy Beasts as their Totems, too- they couldn't have RUN OUT of animals already (there's only twelve guys!), so it's a weird bit to see a giant, slobbering mollusc and a footless pterosaur-thing as Totems.

Haha, I like how much of a douche Darkstorm is- forcing Leoric to honor a treaty he had no intentions of following ("It is SO much easier to be EVIL..."). And WHAT IS WITH THE LEAPS IN THIS SHOW?!? At least a dozen times, I've seen people jump 20 feet with ease, and at several points people drop FIFTY FEET into a standing position with no damage. Is this anime or something? And hey! BLACK PEOPLE! This world DOES have some... but only in background scenes! The characters who got screwed out off staffs eventually get to empower high-technology vehicles to compensate for their lack of Staff Summons... but the chicks are still left with nothing.

OMG Witterquick is actually Jim "every Disney thing ever" Cummings! So it turns out the Spectral Knights & Darkling Lords are basically beholden to Merklynn for favors now that he's empowering them, and he has his own selfish needs to attend to- thus giving the characters a reason to always keep fighting- Merklynn will keep the balance between them going if he needs to, so that he has more servants.

All in all, it's actually quite good. The animation is well beyond most '80s toons, given that it's the debut. The characters are a bit bland on the heroic side, but the villains (who, unusually, have JUST as many members as the heroes) are a hoot- particularly Cravex, who at one point throws down with ALL OF HIS ALLIES because he's annoyed at them (punching Lexxor for being a wuss, Reekon for being a mercenary, Darkstorm for being an ass, Mortdredd for being a lickspittle, and Cindarr "JUST OUT OF PRINCIPLE!!"). Mortredd's Smithers-like toadying is alpha class and very unusual for '80s Cartoons- most villainous sidekicks are greedy and ambitious, whereas Mortdredd wouldn't DREAM of betraying his beloved master Darkstorm. It's rather complex as well, as Merklynn is hardly a good guy himself (despite being the center of everything), it's Post-Apocalyptic and dark.

Episode 4: The Darkling Lords convince a Kingdom that used to be dependent upon Robot Slaves that it can enslave Leoric's kingdom as payment for their loyalty to Darkstorm. Heh- check out Galadria, sleeping in a fully-wrapped robe so they can't draw her in sexy gear. Actually, that's probably the first time ANY of these characters was drawn "off-model" without Armor on! The whole story becomes a bit about Slavery, with the Knights being freed by their slavers so we can have a big brawl (with each guy of course using their Staff once, and the Vehicles getting invovled).

Episode 5: Feryl is feeling worthless after Leoric steamrolls a band of Land Pirates all by himself, so he runs off to question himself. Leoric is captured while looking for him (thanks to Cravex activating his fears of Feryl dying), and it's of course up to Feryl to save the boss by himself.

Episode 6: Leoric owns the crap out of most of the Darkling Lords by himself, but is trapped in his Lion Form by Darkstorm's magic potion! I remember this one from when I was a kid- paritcularly where he spells his name with his claws to convince a Sexy Farmer's Daughter that he's not just some primary-coloured lion. I wonder why that witch had a potion that was SPECIFICALLY to trap a Spectral Knight in their Animal Form- that name didn't even EXIST until the third episode of the series! Also, HOLY HELL is Darkstorm evil! Not only does he plot this whole thing to get Leoric killed, but once things turn against him and Leoric returns to normal, does he sound the retreat, like Cobra Commander or Megatron would do? No- he tells the Darkling Lords to MURDER ALL OF THE VILLAGERS. Only when they fail do they retreat- this dude is hardcore. Witterquick's Speed Feats here are AMAZING, as even in HUMAN form he effortlessly avoids a Witch's Blasts (at one point, he runs up a wall and across the ceiling)- of course, such things make him more powerful than other members of his group in M&M stats.

Episode 7: Okay, this one is a hoot- Darkstorm finagles his way into getting Merklynn's Magic Orb and a book of spells, giving him ultimate power. He therefore becomes a GIANT DOUCHEBAG, freezing everyone in stone and rewarding the three loyal Darkling Lords with ideal futures (Mortdredd has flunkies, Cindarr is intelligent, and Cravex lives in a world where he cannot be made angry). But he gets corrupted (well, MORE corrupted) by the power, and in trying a forbidden spell, sets off THE APOCALYPSE. Oh my god, this is awesome. The solution is pretty ingenious and funny as well- they really have a unique episode here, especially since the villains are getting all the scenes to themselves.

Episode 8: An odd one, as Leoric is aged by Darkstorm's Staff of Decay, and spends most of the episode whining- usually, the Leader-types are the wisest of their crew! And WOW is his Staff a jackass- he points out that Leoric doesn't have wisdom yet, then tells him that he's STUPID! That's the worst Staff EVER! Oddly, this is the first time (after EIGHT EPISODES) that Ectar uses his Fox Form! Oddly, Feryl's Wolf bites Cravex's Phylot Form, which immediately changes him back- only Cravex then easily handles the Wolf. Are they just switching forms for the hell of it?

Episode 9: More giant leaps, as Leoric basically hops down a massive parapet like it's nothing. The general plot today? An "Enemy Mine" situation where two Knights (Arzon & Witterquick) must team up with two Lords (Cindarr & Lexor), in order to gather a Dragon's Claw and Unicorn's Horn to cure a Magical Plague that's spreading across the land. OMG I REMEMBER THIS ONE NOW- I vaguely recall the big fight between monstrous Dragons, but there's the one bit where Cindarr rescues the baby Unicorn that I TOTALLY remember as a kid. I hadn't seen this episode in nearly twenty-eight years, mind you, so it's a bit odd that I remember that part so well.

Episode 10: Merklynn sets the Spectral Knights off on a mission to capture three Wizards who escaped in Episode 7- what the hell is this continuity stuff doing in a 1980s cartoon?!? Cryotek gets one of his only character moments thus far, scaring off a group of cowpokes (remember- it's POST-Apocalypse, so not everything's medieval) with his Bear Form after they'd captured one of the Wizards. Darkstorm's method of getting past the Wizard Who Always Lies is rather ingenious ("Do you know where the Magic Device is?" "NO!" "Then where ISN'T it?" "It ISN'T to the West!")- I actually remember bits of this from childhood- the criminal dwarf biting the gold coin to test if it was real (the first time I ever witnessed that being done), and the Visionaries stabbing and punching their way out of the gut of a Supertentacled Giant.

Episode 11: Cryotek is grumpy after getting made fun of for being old-fashioned, but gets his Totem mixed up with that of Cravex by accident after a trip through the Knight-Depowerer thingie in the Dagger Assault vehicle. This turns him evil, and he starts stealing Power Staffs and runs off, much to the consternation of his main squeeze Galadria. The Knights & Lords have to team up to regain Cravex's Totem, but Cryotek is able to handle most of them for quite a while. They sneak in a tiny little "Be Yourself" story into it, but it's a minor bit.

Episode 12: More backstory of the world of Prysmos, dealing with Ectar in his cop days, fighting the notorious crook Reekon. There's some A-CLASS animation by TMS Studios here, especially when Cindarr's Summoned Monster sticks his hand into a building, then tears a chasm all the way through it by lifting his arm up- most shows would have half-assed that bit, but here we see it all. Hahah, Darkstorm plays chess with HUMAN PIECES- epic. Reminds me of like nine-dozen comic book covers from the 1990s. Ectar has to invade REEKON's territory this time, chasing after a Magic Burglar Alarm the Lords stole from the Knights. I actually remember one bit of this episode- the giant Plant Thing (voiced like Audrey II from The Little Shop of Horrors in a clear homage) eating a cow-sized shish-kebab after dipping it in tankards of condiments. The ending is pretty nice- both Ectar & Reekon realize they need each other in their unfriendly, respectful rivalry of equals, and promise to "match wits and cross swords" again.

Episode 13: A bit of a weird one, as the final episode produced deals with the Sun Imps- treacherous, mischievous golden creatures that cast illusions, cause mayhem and destroy things for both the Lords & Knights. How much you enjoy this depends on how amusing you find the Imps' antics (they can cross the line and go towards Jar-Jar territory in terms of annoyance very quickly). It's a bit weird to see even MERKLYNN robbed of his dignity for once. Oh hey- Galadria & Virulina's Animal Forms are seen again! For the first time since the SECOND EPISODE, no less! It gets a bit funny when the Imps get a taste of their own medicine, as the Knights & Lords team up to trap them in containers- Cindarr uses his Summoned Monster to simply pick one up between its fingers, they shave the hair-growing one, Merklynn's spells are always being reversed on him and so he casts a "capture THYSELF" spell and the Imp captures itself instead, and one is tricked into celebrating its own birthday party and overeating! Seeing a full-size Galadria uppercut a twelve-inch man in the face while underwater is worth the price of admission alone.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Sep 14, 2019 8:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
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saint_matthew
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Jessica Cruz! Star Boy! Miss Martian! The Fatal Five!)

Post by saint_matthew »

drkrash wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2019 9:30 pmI didn't realize it was functionally a sequel to JLU
What about the Crisis on Two Earths animated movie? Did you know that the screen play for it was originally written as a bridging movie between JL & JLU seasons of the cartoon? That's why they are building the Watchtower at the start of that movie & why there is more than just the usual cast members aboard in some scenes: They'd just started recruiting.

Also just FYI, it's my favourite DC animated movie. I LOVE the Crime Syndicate. At least I loved the pre-crisis & crisis to Flashpoint version of the CSA.... Don't really care for the NU52 & beyond versions.
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drkrash
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Jessica Cruz! Star Boy! Miss Martian! The Fatal Five!)

Post by drkrash »

That's interesting. I just started watching JL with my sons. I don't remember Crisis enough; it is still "bridge-y" enough that I should show them that between JL and JLU?
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kreuzritter
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Jessica Cruz! Star Boy! Miss Martian! The Fatal Five!)

Post by kreuzritter »

drkrash wrote: Sat Sep 14, 2019 11:06 am That's interesting. I just started watching JL with my sons. I don't remember Crisis enough; it is still "bridge-y" enough that I should show them that between JL and JLU?
different art style, different voice cast, but the story details clearly show this was meant to go between JL and JLU (with their rebuilding the watchtower, no Hawkgirl, easy enough to headcanon Hal filling in for John as GL while the latter recovers from his injuries, Wonder Woman takes Owlman's invisible jet as her own, and the film ends with Superman saying they should expand the roster)
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Jessica Cruz! Star Boy! Miss Martian! The Fatal Five!)

Post by drkrash »

Thanks! We've taken a detour to watch Earth's Mightiest Heroes (my favorite animated series ever), but I'll remember to throw this movie in when we get to it.
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Jabroniville
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Witterquick

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

Lightspeed - "Sheathe these feet in the driving gale, Make swift these legs o'er land I sail!"

WITTERQUICK
Role:
Speedster
Played by: Jim Cummings
PL 8 (135)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+13)
Athletics 12 (+14)
Expertise (Knight) 3 (+5)
Insight 1 (+3)
Intimidation 1 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 1 (+3)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Ranged Attack (Boomerang) 2 (+10)
Vehicles 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Equipment 2 (Boomerang), Evasion, Great Endurance, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improvised Tools, Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 4, Set-Up, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"Natural Speed" Speed 1 (4 mph) [1]

"Spectral Knight Armor" (Flaws: Removable) [20]
Protection 2 (2)
Immunity 10 (Fire & Falling Damage) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) (5)

"Cheetah Form"
Morph 1 (Flaws: Recognizable- Blue Body) (4)

Enhanced Animal Skills: (2)
Perception 3 (+6)
Stealth 1 (+7)

Enhanced Advantages 6: Chokehold, Fast Grab, Grappling Finesse, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Seize Initiative (6)
Enhanced Dodge & Parry 1 (2)

"Animal Senses" Senses 5 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent, Extended & Ultra-Hearing) (5)
"Cheetah Power Sprint" Speed +3 (32 mph) (3)
"Natural Weapons- Claws & Teeth" Strength-Damage +1 (1)
"Cat Agility" Leaping 1 (15 feet) (1)
-- (24 points)

"Magic Staff" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [5]
"Lightning Speed" Flight 14 (64,000 mph) (Flaws: Limited to One Use -2) (7 points)

Equipment:
"Silver Boomerang" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Ricochet 2, Homing) (Extras: Ranged 3) (7)

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Boomerang +10 (+3 Ranged Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +2 (+4 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Power Loss (Animal Form)- Visionaries cannot maintain Animal Form continuously, and will eventually change back to normal. Witterquick actually manages to run for SEVERAL miles, however, which is well outside the realm of how far Cheetahs can run, as well.
Power Loss (Staff Time-Out)- The Staff's Powers have a very short shelf-life. Witterquick can move pretty far in one go, however.
Power Loss (Staff)- To utilize a Staff's power, a Visionary must speak a short two-line poem aloud.
Disabled (Animal)- The Visionaries may not speak whilst in Animal Form, nor use their limbs to easily manipulate objects.
Responsibility (Pragmatist)- Witterquick often chooses the quickest solution as the best one, and isn't as honor-bound as, say, Arzon.

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 26 / Defenses: 12 (135)

-Witterquick is a bit generic on the surface, much like Arzon, but is generally the risk-taking, super-fast guy of the squad. He gains the Totem of the Cheetah because of an instance in the first episode where he actually RUNS straight through a Cliched Room of Crushing Pillars- overall, he's the fastest guy of his group by far. And funnily enough, he's voiced in the most normal-sounding voice Jim Cummings has ever used- keep in mind this guy is Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Don Karnage and Tantor the Elephant, among other raspy-voiced characters, and Witterquick almost sounds like a NORMAL PERSON. You get little glimpses of his more-recognizable voice at times, but usually it's quite hard to detect.

-Witterquick's toy was rather good for a Spectral Knight figure- light grey with red arms and legs, it was striking color-wise, and the circuit-laden boomerang was a pretty great weapon, as it was physically large. His helmet is probably the best out of the heroes, as it's both large and has a distinct shape.

-I also have a very weirdly-specific memory about Witterquick- see, being such a huge fan of the show, I would routinely cut ice cream pails into the shapes of the characters' helmets. Since most of the heroes wore blue, this was pretty easy (I can't remember if I ever had a yellow one for Feryl, but probably not), but Witterquick's RED one? When you have ever seen a RED ice cream pail? However, my parents actually FOUND ONE somehow, and I immediately had a visor cut out and wore the damn thing on my head. I brought some to the YMCA back when there was one in Red Deer (the mothers would run/work out/whatever while the kids played in some day-care thing), and on the playground, one of the really young kids took it and tried to run off, so me and the adults had to chase him around the playground :). This memory stands out to me because I remember both the helmet and the fact that the little kid was black- which was about as common in 1987 Red Deer, Alberta as unicorns were.

-Witterquick is a PL higher than the "standard" because of his sheer speed- in one episode, he EASILY avoids every blast an evil Witch sends his way, just by virtue of running around the room (at one point, he runs ALONG THE CEILING). He's even faster as a Cheetah, proving able to run for several miles while holding a magic potion to save Leoric- note that normal Cheetahs have nowhere near that kind of endurance, and are very much sprinters. Despite the enhanced PL, he barely costs more than Arzon because his Animal Form is cheaper (it's a bit stronger than a normal Cheetah, but still basically a faster version of Witterquick himself)- his greater Skills & Advantages only make up the difference.

Image

CHEETAH
PL 8
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+13)
Athletics 12 (+14)
Expertise (Knight) 3 (+5)
Insight 1 (+3)
Intimidation 1 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 5 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Ranged Attack (Boomerang) 2 (+10)
Stealth 2 (+6)
Vehicles 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Chokehold, Defensive Attack, Equipment 2 (Boomerang), Evasion, Fast Grab, Grappling Finesse, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improvised Tools, Improved Trip, Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 4, Seize Initiative Set-Up, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 5 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent, Extended & Ultra-Hearing) [5]
"Cheetah Power Sprint" Speed 4 (32 mph) [4]
"Natural Weapons- Teeth" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Cat Agility"
Leaping 1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Teeth +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +12

Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +2, Fortitude +5, Will +6
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Sep 04, 2022 6:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Jessica Cruz! Star Boy! Miss Martian! The Fatal Five!)

Post by Woodclaw »

Ares wrote: Sat Sep 14, 2019 5:43 am The Visionaries in general were a fun concept, and just an example of how full of creativity and energy the 80s were. They got a brief revival recently as part of the shared Hasbro-verse that IDW was putting out, but due to the creative team and some bad decisions, it didn't really go anywhere. There's a rumor Hasbro might try to do their own revival.

Merklynn was actually interesting as he was the "wise mentor" figure typical of 80s animation, but rather than be benevolent the way 99.9% of them were, he as actually completely self-serving. Not EVIL precisely, but he had his own agenda and being good or evil had no impact on his thought process. It was pretty clear that he intentionally gave the Visionaries with Power Staffs only one-shot powers so that they would have to do favors for him to get their powers restored. He was like some kind of magical drug pusher who empowers the heroes and villains with useful abilities (animal forms, vehicle operation), but for the really powerful stuff, you need to keep coming back over and over and do some favor for Merklynn to maintain your power.

Galadria and Virulina DEFINITELY got a raw deal with their animal forms, essentially being the "Aquaman"s of the show. Though in my own personal headcanon, since both of them were shown in the group shot of those who didn't have power staffs, which Merklynn said would have their own abilities, I simply choose to believe that they could operate vehicles as well. It would help balance things out.

The overall designs of the show are fantasic, and the holographic abilities makes for an interesting gimmick. It honestly wouldn't take much to update the concept for the modern era. I think one thing I'd do is swap out the Power Staffs for Power Shields. Makes a little more sense to have a shield that can also summon some magical power rather than some bulky staff.

With Arzon, my take was that he was meant to be "the smart one" of the group, given his whole "this is not a problem, it is merely a cleverly disguised opportunity" line. His power staff being linked to knowledge also seems to point in that direction. I also got the impression that his whole "we need to help the dragon" bit was less about being honorable and more that he was someone who valued nature and animals. When he and Witterquick go hunting, Arzon mentions that it's a shame to kill the animal, while Witterquick points out that he hunts for FOOD, not for sport.
I think that Visionaries had one big advantage over some of the most well known '80s cartoons in the fact that the cast was noticeably smaller (compared to G.I.Joe, Transformers or Masters of the Universe) and the writers were able to create some interactions that had nothing to do with the events of the story. Almost all the big rivalries in the show seemed to date back to the "age of technology": Reekor and Ectar were already enemies being, respectively, a thief and a policeman; Cryotek and Cindarr already had a bone to pick in episode one and some of the extra material implied that they had know each others for years. The only rivalry that seemed to follow the usual trope guide was Galadria and Virulina.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Jessica Cruz! Star Boy! The Fatal Five! Visionaries!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

I haven’t read the “Visionaries vs Transformers” comic, but I heard that a couple characters from the cancelled second season appear in background roles.
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Cravex

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

Magical power: "Oh mist-filled pits, dark, dank, unclear; touch all before me with frost-fingered fear!"

CRAVEX
Role:
Psychopathic Monster
Played by: Chris Latta
PL 8 (141)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Acrobatics 1 (+5)
Athletics 7 (+10)
Close Attack (Unarmed) 1 (+11)
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Knight) 2 (+2)
Expertise (Criminal) 4 (+4)
Intimidation 8 (+8)
Perception 4 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+6)
Vehicles 1 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 2 (Axe), Fast Grab, Improved Critical 2 (Unarmed, Axe), Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Ranged Attack, Seize Initiative, Startle, Weapon Break

Powers:
"Darkling Lord Armor" (Flaws: Removable) [22]
Protection 2 (2)
Immunity 10 (Fire & Falling Damage) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) (5)

"Phylot Form"
Morph 1 (Flaws: Recognizable- Green Body) (4)

Enhanced Skills 4: (2)
Perception 4 (+9)

"Animal Senses" Senses 4 (Low-Light Vision, Acute Scent, Extended Scent 2) (4)
Flight 5 (60 mph) (10)
-- (27 points)

"Magic Staff" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [23]
Summon Mini-Chthulhubugs 6 (Extras: Controlled, Active, Horde, 4 Minions +4) (Flaws: Limited to One Use -2) (36) -- (37 points)
  • AE: Summon Cthulhu-Bug 5 (Extras: Controlled, Active) (Flaws: Limited to One Use -2) (10)
Equipment:
"Golden Axe" Strength-Damage +2 (Penetrating 5) (7)

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Axe +10 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+6 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Power Loss (Animal Form)- Visionaries cannot maintain Animal Form continuously, and will eventually change back to normal.
Disabled (Animal)- The Visionaries may not speak whilst in Animal Form, nor use their limbs to easily manipulate objects.
Responsibility (Insane)- Cravex flies into a rage at the slightest provocation- against enemies or allies. His ideal world is one in which he gets everything he wants, and wins nearly every time at horses. This is the only way to keep him from going berserk.
Power Loss (Staff Time-Out)- The Staff's Powers have a very short shelf-life. The Fear Monster will only exist for a handful of rounds.
Power Loss (Staff)- To utilize a Staff's power, a Visionary must speak a short two-line poem aloud.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 45 / Defenses: 9 (141)

-Cravex was easily my favourite Visionaries character as a kid, and for good reason- whereas most villains were conniving sorts, proud leaders, cowards, or greedy bastards, Cravex was just a complete psychopath who flew into a rage at the drop of a hat. Plus he wore awesome red & black rrmor, turned into a fantasy-Pteranodon (a "Phylot" is apparently a scavenger native to Prysmos), used a weird sci-fi-looking axe, and frequently screamed at or beat on his own teammates in a rage, at one point tearing into the entire team when he loses his mind during a group meeting. Cowardly Lexor tries to goad him into losing his temper, but backs down from Darkstorm immediately, hoping Cravex will do the work for him... Cravex immediately picks up on this, decks Lexor for his cowardice, THEN pops the boss in the nose! Then assaults the entire rest of his team for pissing him off with their character flaws ("Reekon, you are a MERCENARY- for enough money, you would betray YOURSELF!... CINDARR! I'll just crack YOU out of PRINCIPLE!!"). What's not to love?

-Cravex is also a unique role for Chris Latta, who normally played Starscream/Cobra Commander types with that high-pitched, raspy voice of his. This makes Cravex one of the most unique characters in '80s cartoons- I can't think of any other character quite like him. In the show, he never really got major focus, and was generally used as an Mirror Image Villain for Arzon, who also turned into a flying creature. The Phylot was WAY tougher than the eagle, but neither was overly-dangerous compared to their un-transformed selves. However, while Arzon was stuck getting information from his Summon, Cravex's turned out a crazy combo of Chthulhu & a giant green spider, but with a HUMAN HEAD on top of it.

-Cravex had a very cool-looking toy, being a shiny black-armored guy with red bits, and a mask that revealed his bearded chin. With that and his axe, he looked a lot more menacing than his more brightly-colored colleagues. His toy was never rare, but I lost mine as a kid somehow- I remember him breaking at my friend Paul's house, but I don't know how I lost the entire figure. I would eventually find a pair of them on eBay as an adult.

-Cravex himself is a PL 7.5/8 combatant who loves going crazy All-Out or Power Attacking, aided by his large physique (he appears noticeably larger than Reekon during the brawl). His psychopathic energy makes him arguably the most dangerous of the Darkling Lords in combat, and his Summon is crazy-dangerous as well- it's NEVER shown as not working, and has affected everything from Leoric's dreams (specifically controlling him to have a nightmare about Feryl being hurt and making him go on a rescue mission) to a giant Bug-Monster. One time, it made a crazed Cryotek imagine a giant monster, creating further disaster (he used Cindarr's stolen Staff to Summon a beast that caused an avalanche).

PHYLOT FORM
PL 8
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Acrobatics 1 (+5)
Athletics 7 (+10)
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Knight) 2 (+2)
Expertise (Criminal) 4 (+4)
Intimidation 8 (+8)
Perception 8 (+9)
Stealth 2 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment (Axe), Fast Grab, Improved Critical 2 (Unarmed, Axe), Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Ranged Attack, Seize Initiative, Startle, Weapon Break

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 4 (Low-Light Vision, Acute Scent, Extended Scent 2) [4]
Flight 5 (60 mph) [10]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +5, Fortitude +5, Will +3

CHTHULHU-BUG
PL 13 (74)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -3 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -4

Skills:
Athletics 8 (+10)
Close Attack (Fear Touch) 4 (+12)
Intimidation 10 (+6)
Perception 10 (+10)
Stealth 6 (+10)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Improved Initiative 2, Startle

Powers:
Extra Limbs 4 [4]
Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling 1) [2]

"Fear Touch" Affliction 14 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Flaws: Fades) [7]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Fear Touch +12 (+14 Affliction, DC 24)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +5, Fortitude +5, Will +4

Total: Abilities: 24 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 13 / Defenses: 14 (74)

MINI CHTHULHU-BUGS
PL 11 (88)
STRENGTH
-5 STAMINA -3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -3 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -4

Skills:
Athletics 8 (+10)
Close Attack (Fear Touch) 4 (+10)
Intimidation 14 (+10, +4 Size)
Perception 10 (+10)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Improved Initiative 2, Startle

Powers:
Extra Limbs 4 [4]
Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling 1) [2]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]

"Small Size" Shrinking 12 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [25]
(-3 Strength, -1 Speed, +6 Defenses, +12 Stealth, -6 Intimidation)

"Fear Touch" Affliction 12 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Flaws: Fades) [6]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (-5 Damage, DC 10)
Fear Touch +10 (+12 Affliction, DC 22)
Initiative +12

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness -3, Fortitude -2, Will +4

Total: Abilities: -4 / Skills: 46--23 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 38 / Defenses: 7 (88)
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Jessica Cruz! Star Boy! The Fatal Five! Visionaries!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Behold- the greatest scene in cartoon history: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3YnygkOvC9k
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Jessica Cruz! Star Boy! The Fatal Five! Visionaries!)

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat Sep 14, 2019 11:23 pm Behold- the greatest scene in cartoon history: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3YnygkOvC9k
Heheh, ahhhh, good times. It was weird initially hearing Cobra Commander and Starscream's voice coming out of this massive, angry ass kicker, but it worked. And honestly, he probably enjoyed the change of pace. Though even I forget that he also voiced Darkstorm and Gung Ho, so it's not like he was a one trick pony.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Lexor

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

"The arrows turn, the swords rebel; let nothing pierce this mortal shell!"

LEXOR
Role:
The Coward
Played by: Michael McConnohie
PL 7 (114), PL 13 (114) with Force Field
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 1 (+5)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 5 (+6)
Expertise (Knight) 3 (+3)
Insight 6 (+7)
Intimidation 2 (+3)
Perception 4 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Defensive Attack, Equipment 1 (Boomerang), Improved Defense, Ranged Attack 4, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"Darkling Lord Armor" (Flaws: Removable) [20]
Protection 2 (2)
Immunity 10 (Fire & Falling Damage) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) (5)

"Armadillo Form"
Morph 1 (Flaws: Recognizable- Green Body) (4)

"Animal Senses" Senses 2 (Low-Light Vision, Acute Scent) (2)
Reduced Parry 1 (-1)
Burrowing 1 (1)

"Armored Bands"
Impervious Toughness 1 (1)
Enhanced Advantages 1: Withstand Damage (1)
"Ball Form" Protection 4 (Flaws: Distracting) (2)

"Small Size" Shrinking 4 (8)
(-1 Strength & Speed, +2 Defenses, +4 Stealth, -4 Intimidation)
-- (25 points)

"Magic Staff" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [15]
Force Field 12 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Affects Others, Ranged) (Flaws: Limited to One Use -2) (24 points)

Equipment:
"Golden Boomerang" Strength-Damage +1 (Extras: Ranged 3) (Diminished Range -1) (3)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Boomerang +9 (+3 Ranged Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +2 (+4 Armor, +16 Force Field), Fortitude +5, Will +3

Complications:
Power Loss (Animal Form)- Visionaries cannot maintain Animal Form continuously, and will eventually change back to normal.
Disabled (Animal)- The Visionaries may not speak whilst in Animal Form, nor use their limbs to easily manipulate objects.
Responsibility (Coward)- Lexor is primarily concerned with his own survival, and believes that everything is dangerous. His constant cowardice is remarked upon by everybody, friend and foe.
Power Loss (Staff)- To utilize a Staff's power, a Visionary must speak a short two-line poem aloud.

Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 35 / Defenses: 10 (114)

-Lexor is a classic Villainous Mook Archetype- that of The Sniveling Coward. Running from anything and everything, Lexor was "gifted" with the defensive Armadillo Totem, and a Force Field Staff to protect himself (and sometimes others). He gets very little play in the series aside from one episode where he & Cindarr are the last remaining Darkling Lords left not suffering from a magical plague, and have to capture a Unicorn's horn. Since Cindarr is actually nice and Lexor is a dickwad, Cindarr saves the day at frequent expense of Lexor's dignity (he helps out a baby Unicorn, costing them victory... but then its caretakerw reward them with a better Unicorn horn anyhow), so clearly the writers had little respect for the character and enjoyed torturing him. But his cowardice is quite humorous, and adds up with the varied character flaws of the Darkling Lords to make them a funny villainous team.

-Lexor is rather unspectacular in combat compared to the Spectral Knights, and only REALLY comes in handy when using his Magic Staff- even his Animal Form is kind of crappy. A dog-sized Armadillo, however fantastically-designed (it looks vaguely reptilian), is not an elite combatant. In fact, 90% of it's scenes consist of either hiding, or being picked up by one of the heroes, and kicked like a soccer ball. One of his few gifts is the ability to tell when others are lying, but that's only because Lexor is a huge liar himself! Lexor's Staff creates a temporary Force Field that renders him and his team nearly-invincible. It proved resistant to avalanche, Giant Spectral Arrow, and whatever other trick befell the team- it was quite the Plot Device to get them out of a jam. So Lexor is a PL 6.5 fighter who becomes a PL 7 Defensive Armadillo, then a PL 13 Defensive guy for a single portion of combat.

-The Staff itself resembles a Summon like the other Darkling Lords', but the big spikey-headed guy only shows up for a second before "casting" his Force Field across a certain distance (it can be far away from Lexor, and always takes the form of a Burst), so it's really just a generic Force Field.

ARMADILLO FORM
PL 7
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 1 (+5)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 5 (+6)
Expertise (Knight) 3 (+3)
Intimidation 2 (+3)
Perception 4 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Defensive Attack, Equipment 2 (Boomerang), Improved Defense, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 2 (Low-Light Vision, Acute Scent) [2]
Burrowing 1 [1]

"Armored Bands"
Impervious Toughness 1 [1]
Enhanced Advantages 1: Withstand Damage [1]
"Ball Form" Protection 4 (Flaws: Distracting) [2]

"Small Size" Shrinking 4 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [9]
(-1 Strength & Speed, +2 Defenses, +4 Stealth, -4 Intimidation)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+8 Ball), Fortitude +5, Will +3
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Jessica Cruz! Star Boy! The Fatal Five! Visionaries!)

Post by Ares »

Witterquick was kind of interesting to me as a kid, since between the blonde hair, color scheme and speed theme, he was like some fantasy version of the Barry Allen Flash.

Lexor was interesting in that he was amusing to torment, but his cowardice and lying nature actually came in useful. He was the one that figured out that the one wizard the Darkling Lords had been sent to capture could only talk in lies, being a liar himself.

It was also cool how the character's power staffs clearly played into their personalities. Arzon was a scholar, so his staff gave him direct answers to questions. Lexor was a coward, so his staff protected him from all harm. Cindar loved nature and animals, so his staff gave him a massively powerful kaiju to control. Witterquick was fast, his staff gave him teleportation-like superspeed. Cryotek was a brave, forthright warrior, so his staff gave him a single, powerful attack. Dark Storm was extremely greedy, his staff let him literally steal the life out from people. Cravek was kind of a bully and brute, so his staff made people afraid of him. Leoric is a leader, so the staff gives him advice he must decipher rather than a straightforward answer, so that he has to prove his own wisdom.

There was also a fun bit with Cravek where Dark Storm gained ultimate power and intended to reward Cravek with a realm where he would never be angry. It was things like he was in a tranquil place, pretty flowers, cute animals, and he got to watch his favorite past time, namely gambling on horse races. Only he lamented that since he always seemed to win, the thrill of the game wasn't fun anymore. At which point, his horse promptly lost. But instead of getting angry, he was actually happy because the thrill of his favorite past time was back. He did literally gain perfect contentment.

I think that the series was generally a lot of fun, the writers clearly had a blast with it, and intentionally did some unique things, but there was a couple of things that could have been done to improve things.

For one, turn the Power Staffs into Power Shields. Much more of a knightly thing than the awkward staffs.

Secondly, make it clear that Galadria and Virulina could both power/operate vehicles as well.

Third, make the totems the characters could turn into more useful, even if their uses were more situational. While we do want to see knights in armor getting into cool fights, the animal totems were rarely used, to the point that it felt more like Merklynn's real reward was the power staffs and vehicles. Either everyone should have been able to turn into more useful, alien/mythological creatures, or the characters should have been able to summon the creatures without transforming. That way they get access to a useful pet they can control, see through their eyes and the like, rather than becoming something that is of limited usefulness.

Fourth, maybe make the Science to Magic change have happened a little longer in the past, since it seems weird that within 10 years people have gone from an advance technological state to fully functioning castles and a medieval society. Sure it could be handwaved in some way, but it just seems really abrupt.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Jessica Cruz! Star Boy! The Fatal Five! Visionaries!)

Post by Gamebook »

I never saw much of the Visionaries cartoon, just an odd episode or two, but I did get to read some of the comics since they were used as the back-up material in the Marvel UK Transformers comic.

We got the origin story, and later on an epic quest Merklynn sends them all on to find four magic stones with power over the classical elements, which he needs to restore his own failing magic before he expires by literally vanishing. The Visionaries powers are treated a little differently in the comic in that they can use their staff spells as often as they like rather than being one-shots that need to be recharged in Merklynn's magic pool. In addition Galadria and Virulina complain to Merklynn about not having magic powers of their own so Merklynn grants them each a magic shield with a spell appropriate to them. Galadria can cast a healing light radiance from her shield, while Virulina broadcasts the power of illness, her shield gives off a radiance that causes pain and weakness and covers the victim in horrible boils. She can cancel the effect at will when she has tortured her victim into submission. Both are pretty powerful spells, able to affect a large area such as an entire village settlement.
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Cryotek

Post by Jabroniville »

Gamebook wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2019 5:39 am I never saw much of the Visionaries cartoon, just an odd episode or two, but I did get to read some of the comics since they were used as the back-up material in the Marvel UK Transformers comic.

We got the origin story, and later on an epic quest Merklynn sends them all on to find four magic stones with power over the classical elements, which he needs to restore his own failing magic before he expires by literally vanishing. The Visionaries powers are treated a little differently in the comic in that they can use their staff spells as often as they like rather than being one-shots that need to be recharged in Merklynn's magic pool. In addition Galadria and Virulina complain to Merklynn about not having magic powers of their own so Merklynn grants them each a magic shield with a spell appropriate to them. Galadria can cast a healing light radiance from her shield, while Virulina broadcasts the power of illness, her shield gives off a radiance that causes pain and weakness and covers the victim in horrible boils. She can cancel the effect at will when she has tortured her victim into submission. Both are pretty powerful spells, able to affect a large area such as an entire village settlement.
What's funny is that the vast majority of Visionaries sellers on eBay and other sites are from the UK. I asked why, but nobody could give me a solid answer. I guess they must have been really common there. Sort of like how Dino Riders sellers typically come from Germany and places like that in Europe.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Sep 15, 2019 6:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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