[M&M] Heroes of New Liberty

[Palliven]

Game Name Heroes of New Liberty

Game System Mutants and Masterminds

Theme Sandbox, New Heroes Becoming Heroic Legends

Flavour Heroism, Teamwork, Save the City...Again, Making the World A Better Place, Epic Villains To Overcome

Plot Summary Game System Mutants & Masterminds, 3rd Edition ** CLOSED FOR APPLICATIONS ** The Setup Crowds filled Victory Park Plaza having come early to be a part of the Protectors' Day celebration. A morning filled with parades, face painting and children waving colored pennants would give way to an afternoon of hero meet-and-greets and this in turn would be topped off by a night of fireworks and power displays that would light up the sky. While there was a lot of activity all morning, the celebration officially kicked off just before noon with the Mayor's Address given from Franklin Amphitheater, the same place that The Crimson Comrade and Blindside agreed to their historic truce. Cheers erupted as Mayor Namrata Kapoor took the podium, her simple cream-colored pant suit standing out against the wall of blue, orange and white balloons behind her. The colors of Elysian flag they were symbolic of sea, land and air and represented the nation's ideals of justice, courage and peace. Stepping up to the microphone, the mayor brushed her wavy black hair from her face and gave the crowd a brilliant white smile. "Today, the world honors the sacrifice made fifteen years ago by Silver Halo and Captain Dynamic. A sacrifice made for us all. And nowhere is the relevance and magnitude of the moment felt more than right here, in New Liberty." The crowd erupted in applause and the mayor waited to let it die down enough so she could be heard. "Conspiracy theories as to why the world's governments could not detect the asteroid will be set aside for the day. Debate about the global role of our great, fledgling nation will be put off until tomorrow." Both of these were topics that many Elisians did not dwell on, but the world at large could not let go. For a while after the crash of Asteroid RX11 conspiracy theories ran rampant. It was a hoax. The Protectors were in league with alien forces plotting to take over the world. It was a plot by supers to wipe out humanity. While considered fringe nonsense by many, these conspiracies still rose up occasionally. Mayor Kapoor had a reputation for combatting these rumors aggressively and without apology. "Today we put up our hero banners. We line the streets and remember that were it not for The Protectors, all would have been destroyed." This time it took more than five minutes before Mayor Kapoor could speak and be heard. She expertly filled the time waving to the crowd, pointing at a homemade 'Silver Halo : In Our Hearts Forever' sign and smiling for all the cameras that ringed the podium. "Today we thank Mr. Amazing. Today we mourn Captain Dynamic and Silver Halo. Today, we say thank you to all the superheroes that protect us. As we reflect on that fateful day, the day we first heard of Asteroid RX11 and the phrase ’annihilation event’, we need to remember that it was these three people, super in power and heroic in courage, that gave their all." On cue the wall of balloons was released, sending the colors of the Elisian flag floating upwards to be joined by a timed fly-by from Vaportrail which left an orange streak blazing in the sky. Flags waved, hands clapped and people cheered in a swell of national pride. "Today, we look to our future as well. I am proud to introduce New Liberty's newest team of super heroes...." And with that simple announcement, you are introduced to the world as part of New Liberty's newest hero team! Note From The GM You will be playing a hero that has been selected to join a new team formed in New Liberty. A haven for heroes and a hot spot for epic troubles, New Liberty is the capitol of Elisia. Your team will be the newest but not the only one that calls the city home. Troubles in the world have drawn the more established and powerful teams away from New Liberty more and more so the decision was made to form your team. As others rush off to face threats around the world and beyond, you will take on threats facing the city. Hopefully one day, your team's reputation and effectiveness will let you welcome in a replacement team as you join the effort to face worldwide threats. The Homebrew Setting Asteroid RX11 was a massive asteroid first detected by Mr. Amazing, one of the three heroes calling themselves The Protectors, just mere days before it was to crash into the Earth. While his warnings to the nations of the world were immediate, they had little time to come up with a solution, let alone prepare a defense. Most of them simply fell to bureaucratic panic. At several hundred miles across, it would create a total annihilation event upon impact. Knowing that they were the only hope, The Protectors set out to save the world. Once Mr. Amazing projected its point of entry, Captain Dynamic and Silver Halo raced to intercept it. As massive, dense and fast as it was even Captain Dynamics powerful blows would not be able to break it apart in time. Instead, he flew against it, pushing it with all his might in order to slow it down, never stopping even as it drove him into the ocean and the sea floor below. In those ever-important seconds before it struck the waters, Silver Halo used her powers of force control to create a cradle around the asteroid. Wrapped in a silvery force field, the high open spout she formed at its top allowed the pressure and steam to escape without causing the asteroid to shatter on impact, thereby containing the worst of its destructive damage. The strain of such a feat was more than Silver Halo could bear and her life was gone before she fell into the ocean. Captain Dynamic was never recovered from beneath the mass of the asteroid. If not for their efforts, Asteroid RX11 would have surely crashed into the Earth at full speed, crushed the tectonic plates beneath it and flood the world with waves and ash. Elisia is the name given to the commonwealth created from the remains of Asteroid RX11 that crashed to earth. It is an oligarchy with close, sometimes tenuous ties, to the United States of America. What was to become Elisia started when Darren Taylor, then still operating as Mr. Amazing, laid claim to the remains of Asteroid RX11. With 98% of the landmass that was formed by its controlled crash in international waters off the western coast of the United States, the claim was valid and legal. When the United States rebuked this and sought to challenge it on the world court, a backlash was immediate. Public opinion sided with Mr. Amazing, the man who first identified the threat and rushed to meet it and whose companions Captain Dynamic and Silver Halo died to ensure that the world would survive. Facing concerns of perception on the home front with a coming election, the challenge was dropped based on the caveat that the single landmass that was right on the line for international waters would be split into two territories with one belonging to the United States. For two years after the crash of Asteroid RX11 the entire landmass was monitored and studied by Mr. Amazing. Data of all manner was collected and analyzed and then analyzed again. His findings determined that it was primarily silica-based rock and soil, did not radiate anything harmful and had traces of several minerals such as gold, magnesium, nickel and palladium. The most striking discovery was that there were large deposits, mostly cast off from the main land mass in smaller pieces covered by the ocean, of an unknown mineral that he dubbed Torillium. Initial analysis of its properties suggested it was stable but malleable and while superconductive of electrical signals seems to block or absorb other energy signatures. Assured that the landmass was safe and stable, he announced to the world the formation of Elisia, the first global nation on Earth. Named for the mythological Greek Elisian Fields that were the final resting place of the souls of the heroic and virtuous, he promised it would be a nation of freedom and ideals. No one would be turned from its borders who sought to make a life there. Everyone would be given the opportunity to thrive without discrimination. Growth and progress would be achieved without impacting the health of the earth, the waters or its people. And those with superpowers would be welcome, free from the threat of registration or persecution. A Note To New Players * Mutants & Masterminds is a game that is relatively simple to play but has a lot of depth and mechnical aspects, particularly in character creation and power choices. Don't let this intimidate you. I am by no means an expert and will likely be learning as we play to some degree myself. * There are some free guides https://freeronin.com/3e_files/MnM3_Quickstart.pdfQuick Start being one of them. * One of the fun things about M&M is character creation. It is also one of the more challenging things, especially for new players. Don't let that discourage you from applying. Hero Labs from Lone Wolf Development has a free Mutants & Mastermind character creator. You cannot save it but it could be helpful to understand the mechanics as you play around with character ideas. Also if you are accepted to the game, I will assist in completing characters as best I can. Logistics & Mechanics * Will be accepting 5-6 players. * I expect to make offers to players by the week of October 1st. * We will take a week to create and finalize characters. * Experienced, new players and those in between are welcome to apply. * This will be a roleplay heavy game with a focus on heroic do-goodery. * Will start at PL9 and advance from there. I find that this allows for better character development, ensures character creation is more accurate to player concept and will let the story develop at a better pace. * Will be played on RPX but may use outside website for supporting information. * No sexual, discriminatory, derogatory chat or roleplay will be allowed. * In general, I run things PG-13 but asking that players be 18 or over to allow the story to develop as it will without restraining it if comes to some topics or graphic descriptions. * Posting twice a week on average is minimum commitment. * I have run M&M a few times but this is my first time running it play-by-post. Do not expect that to be an issue but wanted to be up front about that in case it matters to anyone. Is This Game For You? Players who might enjoy this game are those that: * Are looking for a fun, engaging and memorable game. * Understand this is a cooperative team game. * Have respect for each other. * Enjoy being a part of the world and story line, seeing their actions have impact, but realizing there are consequences to their actions too. * Want to develop and grow with their character in a long term, low pressure environment. * Like to be creative and engaged, whatever level or form that takes for them. * Enjoy roleplaying and ideally able to support/encourage the same in others through posts. * Are able to express their action, intentions and ideas through writing. Do not need to be an English major or scholar but do need to be able to clearly articulate what you mean. * Can commit to the game schedule (realizing that life happens and sometimes may miss a few). Players that most likely won't enjoy this game are those that: * Are looking for video game type experience and not interested in role playing. * Are fixated on playing the exact character idea they have versus letting their character develop and grow in response to the world about them. * Hold onto the spotlight and don’t give others the chance to have their moment. * Look forward to arguing the rules or decisions made to the point of ruining enjoyment in the game. * Looking for something to play as a way to kill time until something else comes along. * Aren't able to commit to the game schedule. * Do not play well with others. How To Apply There are a few questions I'd like you to answer in addition to your concept. 1. What about this game advert makes you want to apply? 2. What do you look for in a good GM? 3. What is your experience with Mutants & Masterminds? In this game you are a HERO. Not a vigilante, vengeance anti-hero, misunderstood villain or anything similar. You have just been selected to join a new super powered team in the city of New Liberty. Exciting times indeed! One of the formalities of the process was your initial application. Please complete the below for the records of the Department of Hero Affairs. Hero Name: Part of being a superhero is having a cool name. Catch-Phrase: Every hero has one, whether corny, inspiring or inspiriting. What's yours? Name: This is your characters given, non-hero, name. Identity: Known or secret? How do you manage this in your life? Description: Give a physical description of your hero, their costume, style, mannerisms and any signature moves which make them instantly recognizable and memorable. Give the same for their regular identity. Personality: Share a little about your hero's personality and quirks. How does this differ from their non-hero personality or does it? Goals: What does your hero strive to accomplish with their powers and why? Powers: What are your powers and how did you get them? We will be starting at PL9 and advancing from there as the game moves forward. Background: Your origin story. What lead your character to this moment? How did they decide to become a hero? Important Persons Who are three people that are important to your character and matter in their life. Psychological Evaluation Question (AKA Writing Sample): Give a little writing sample for the two scenario prompts below. A few line or a paragraph for each is plenty. 1) Today is a rare day off from your hero duties and you're on your way to meet a friend for lunch. As you walk past the Fifth Street Bank, the alarm goes off just before the door bursts open and Black Ice skates out on a slick of ice he forms on the sidewalk, a duffle full of money strapped to his back and another in his hand. What do you do? 2) Wow, that hurt. Not just your jaw but your pride. You were sure that you and Sergeant Steel could take him down. Man, were you wrong. Not only was this your first defeat at the hands of a supervillain but it was all caught on camera. How do you deal with this? Characters will be officially created at the start of the game but I know everyone loves the process so if you want to create a complete character sheet per M&M rules you can post it as a Spoiler at the end of your application.

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Applicant	Hero Name	Powers	Status	Decision
Seeks	Aralisi	Fire, Strength, Healing	Complete	Pending
Damionovich	Bradda Haku	Strength, Energy Aura	WIP	Pending
GleefulNihilism	Grunge	Puddle Form	Complete	Pending
JustSomeGuy	Friendly	Psyhcic (Emotion Control?), Gadget (?)	Complete	Accepted
Mitsubachi	Mermaid	Underwater, Telepathy(Marine), Hydrokinesis	Complete	Pending
RuneKnight	Ultraviolet	Energy Control	Complete	Pending
BlackDragon0	Black Dragon	Martial Arts, Energy (Chi) Control	Complete	Pending
girlplay	Silver Streak	Construct, Strength, Immunity,Flight	Complete	Accepted
Homestarbaby	Amethyst	Gadgets, Martial Arts	Complete	Pending
ArcZero	Miss Olympus	Size, Speed, Shield	Complete	Accepted
Snicker	Wirelass	Electric Tech affinity	Complete	Pending
Crocodile	Horizon	Battlesuit, Gravity Control	Complete	Accepted
PalladiaMors	Pandagirl	Enhanced Abilities, Energy Control	Complete	Accepted
Avner	Supersonic	Energy (Kinetic) Control, Speed	Complete	Pending
Voodoozombie	Agent Zero Input	Technology Link, Enhances Senses	Complete	Pending
Draidden	Paragon	Strength, Invulnerability,Enhanced Senses	Complete	Pending
Tahril	Shogun	Sidekick, Create, Equipment	Complete	Pending
Drachenspirit	RiftGirl	Teleport, Move Object	Complete	Pending
Runetide	Barricade	Strength, Force Field	Complete	Accepted

[voodoozombie]

COMPLETE

How To Apply There are a few questions I'd like you to answer in addition to your concept. 1. What about this game advert makes you want to apply? The fact that new players are welcome, and that the GM is willing to work with players if they need help. I'm also looking to expand my gaming experience beyond D&D. 2. What do you look for in a good GM? A GM that doesn’t suffer from ‘The Disappearing Syndrome.’ That’s when a GM disappears either during the application process or shortly after the game actually starts. 3. What is your experience with Mutants & Masterminds? 0. Twice I applied to a game and twice the GM disappeared before the selection process. In this game you are a HERO. Not a vigilante, vengeance anti-hero, misunderstood villain or anything similar. You have just been selected to join a new super powered team in the city of New Liberty. Exciting times indeed! One of the formalities of the process was your initial application. Please complete the below for the records of the Department of Hero Affairs. Hero Name: Agent Zero Input Catch-Phrase: Probably should pay more attention the next time...… Name: Dr. Evelynn Smith Identity: Both. Known: Dr. Evelynn Smith. Cyber Security and System Engineer for EROS, EBS and Elisia. Secret: Evenlynn’s online/cyber identity, Agent Zero Input, is an elite hacker known among the hacker communities, underground sites and cyberspace in general. She uses her cyberspace talents and connections for EROR, EBS and Elisial. Description: Standing at 5' 8" and weighing about 150lb Evelynn is in excellent shape, especially for someone who spends a lot of time behind a computer and keyboard all day long. Her pale skin speaks of this while her white hair makes her appear even paler then she really is. Evelynn's eyes are intense and bright blue, giving one the feeling that she is looking right through them, seeing their true self, as she speaks to them. Because her hero identity is Cyberspace linked, Evelynn has no physical costume or signature move. Her regular identity costume is whatever she is wearing that day. Personality: Evelynn is an intelligent person who possesses a consuming curiosity about the world around her. Easily bored and distracted she is constantly looking for things that will provide mental stimulation for her. Calm, logical and intense, Evelynn is also social and friendly, enjoying the company of others and delights in gaining any knowledge about things she doesn’t know about from the people around her. However, her curiosity tends to get her into trouble. If there is a system that has information that she wants to know about, she will take up the challenge and attempt to gain access to that information. Evelynn just can't resist such targets. Evelynn is also caffeine and energy drink addict. Her normal logical calm self tends to go out the window if she doesn’t have her daily dose of caffeine….. Goals: What does your hero strive to accomplish with their powers and why? Right now, Evelynn hopes to improve her powers so that she can better protect EROS, EBS and Elisia in her own way. The company gave her a second chance for a life and Elisia is her home and she will defend them to the best of her ability. As for her future goals, who knows. She'll just have to wait and see when she gains more experience in the non-virtual, outside world. Powers: What are your powers and how did you get them? We will be starting at PL9 and advancing from there as the game moves forward. Evelynn can both mentally and physically inner and link herself to computers, computer networks. and cyberspace. She also has ability to see through other devices, to mask herself from them and to manipulate them and technology in general, but she cannot animate or build machines using her mental powers. She was born with these powers, but they didn't start to manifest until she mid to late teens. Background: Your origin story. What lead your character to this moment? How did they decide to become a hero?   Easily bored at school and always looking for a challenge, Evelynn Smith became an accomplished Hacker at the young age of 12. She became known as a top notch elite, Agent Zero Input, among the hacker community. And to cement her status as elite, Agent Zero Input took up the challenge to hack into EROS and EBS networks, a worldwide conglomerate that conducts mysterious research. If one could gain access to these networks then they would indeed be the elite of the elite because the companies security systems where considered one of the best in the world. Despite this fact, Agent Zero Input managed to gain access, where she found a wealth of information about new and ground breaking research and development that was being done. She couldn’t get enough of what she was seeing, and wanted to know more and more about this new technology. It was during this time that, not only did Evelynn’s powers begin to manifest, Agent Zero Input had started communicating with an unknown user named 0Proxy. She first made contact with 0Proxy on various Hackers sites and the Underground chat board networks. She doesn't know who or what this user is, but for some odd reason she felt that she had nothing to fear from this user. 0Proxy then started to show Agent Zero Input new ways to hack into systems and warned her if her actions were being traced back to her. It even helped her to avoid being caught by the authorities. 0Proxy knew things and it was never wrong. After some time, 0Proxey started to teach her things. Evelynn learned that energy is floating all around her as information that is being transferred, flowing, from one place to another. She can tap into and manipulate this free floating energy in order to produce some interesting results. 0Proxy told her that this was to protect her, but it didn’t say from who or what. Then 0Proxy started to hint of things that were going to happen. Evelynn’s arrest and her new and more challenging life, It also said that whatever was going to happen, let it happen and not to worry. 0Proxy would be with her and she must trust 0Proxy, no matter what happens. Evelynn did eventually get caught, pocking around EROS and EBS networks systems one to many times, at the age of 15. She was going to go to jail, but it was a wakeup call for the corporation. Company authorities realized if a teenager could get inside one of their systems, then how many other hackers have infiltrated their systems undetected, especially hackers that are working for the many companies that the company has under contract with them. The authorities also saw the talent and power that Evelynn possessed and the need for such people on their payroll, so they made her an offer. The company wouldn't press any charges against her. She would be free to keep her hacker contacts and pursue her underground activities as Agent Zero Input. They would even pay for her college if she wanted to go. However, she now worked exclusively for EROS and EBS and no one else. If any of her underground outside activities involved them in any they would make her disappear in the legal system's red tape unless she was authorized to do so. The odd thing was, when she was arrested, the authorities never question her connection with 0Proxy. They had to have known. They knew everything about her and what she did. And when she did bring up 0Proxy, they just brushed if off and never brought it up again. Everything 0Proxy predicted had in fact come true. Years later, even though Evelynn still has contact with 0Proxy, something in the back of her mind told her not to pursue what appeared to be the of lack of interest in the mysterious user. Leave well enough alone. And she has up until now. Evelynn’s new job is straight forward and simple, yet challenging enough for to keep her interested. She is to monitor and hack the systems of those contracted with EROS and EBS that the company deems necessary, in order to make sure that the contract holders are in fact reporting all their finds and not keeping any information for themselves. She is also to make sure that the systems aren't being hacked and that their research and development of new tech and products are being kept safe and out of prying eyes. Evelynn’s life has also been fairly easy. Free room and board in one of the company’s living quarters, all of her college paid for where she obtained PHD’s in mechanical engineering, computer engineering and A.I. programing along with and a good salary. And access to the new tech that she fell in love with when she was just a teenager. And Evelynn wouldn’t have it any other way, thanks to 0Proxy. Deep down inside, Evelynn knows what she's doing is not only for the good of EROS and EBS but for Elisia in general. With Cyber Security as part of her title, she knows that she's protecting her home from threats that can't be seen with 'normal' eyes. Important Persons Who are three people that are important to your character and matter in their life. 1) Joan and Jason her twin siblings. They encouraged her ‘hobby’, helped her to adjustment to life with EROS and EBS and still support her do to this day. 2) 0Proxey. The mysterious user that helped her discover what her powers are and how to use them. 3) Henry Phillips. Chief of Security for the company. He help train Evelynn and showed her how company the works. He also further trained her on the use of her powers and refined them more. He also keeps her out of trouble. Psychological Evaluation Question (AKA Writing Sample): Give a little writing sample for the two scenario prompts below. A few line or a paragraph for each is plenty. 1) Today is a rare day off from your hero duties and you're on your way to meet a friend for lunch. As you walk past the Fifth Street Bank, the alarm goes off just before the door bursts open and Black Ice skates out on a slick of ice he forms on the sidewalk, a duffle full of money strapped to his back and another in his hand. What do you do? Walking past Fifth Street Bank, Evelynn is enjoying her coffee which was basically a cup of cream and sugar with just a hint of coffee in it while texting on her tablet at the same time. Just as Evelynn takes a sip of her almost chewable coffee, the banks alarms go off and Black Ice comes rushing out carrying bags of money. As ice forms on the sidewalks, Evelynn stops walking and just watches the bank robber ice skate past her. Taking another sip of her chewable coffee, she lets out a sigh. Even on her day off, she’s still working. And she wasn’t about to miss her lunch date because she got hurt trying to stop this much larger enemy. A couple of clicks on her tablet, and now she had access to the orbiting GPS satellite. A couple more clicks and the satellite was tracking Black Ices every move and televising it to every hero and law enforcement agency within the area. Taking another sip of her ‘coffee’, Evelynn continues towards her lunch date. 2) Wow, that hurt. Not just your jaw but your pride. You were sure that you and Sergeant Steel could take him down. Man, were you wrong. Not only was this your first defeat at the hands of a supervillain but it was all caught on camera. How do you deal with this? Evelynn held her jaw in both hands, fighting back the tears that the pain was causing. And the headache she was experiencing now. It was worst then the caffeine withdrawal she got when she, well, didn’t have her daily dose of caffeine. Looking up at Sergeant Steel through watery eyes, she says in a voice that racked with pain as she starts moving her jaw. “Don’t worry about the camera. Media blackout coming up.” Closing her eyes, Evelynn begins searching for the network the camera is connected to. Once found, in an instant, every camera that’s connected to that network are rendered useless and their memories and images are erased. Opening her eyes, she looks at Sergeant Steel and smiles. “What defeat?” Characters will be officially created at the start of the game but I know everyone loves the process so if you want to create a complete character sheet per M&M rules you can post it as a Spoiler at the end of your application.

[BlackDragon0]

There are a few questions I'd like you to answer before sharing your concept.
1. What about this game advert makes you want to apply? For starters the only super hero rp I've done is masks. That being said I own over10k comics. And more than any one I know TV series dvd and animations of superheroes. But that's not all of you check out share your art you'll find several superheroes from my collection of stuff I've created as well as a fre image& DC heroes.
. Needless to say superheroes are my jam. Also I'd like a reason to stay on this site as when I run out of games I'll have none left. And lastly this besides d&d is the type or rp I've always wanted to play. And your storyline is great want to play and see how something new works here.
Not to mention all the tidbits you add when answering questions.
2. What do you look for in a good GM? Someone reasonable friendly, understanding, not judgmental. Who rps either the players not just sets up bads and obstacles.
3. What is your experience with Mutants & Masterminds? None this would be my fist attempt.

[ArcZero]

This is really exciting. I have been itching to do something superhero related for years. First time looking at M&M though so I have a lot to go through. I see that there is a Time Traveler's Guide and Cosmic Powers. Are those allowed?

Also a thought as people start their character concepts: there seems more opportunity to design characters who are siblings/twins/family than you might have in a game of Dungeons & Dragons. So I'll put out the idea if Palliven is cool with it, to say if you're interested in pairing up with someone to be part of the same family, "Lantern Corps" or any similar origin/power source that way people could take that into account when designing characters and do some PM'ing.

I for one am intrigued and would be open to collaborating, but I still have a lot of stuff to read before I can narrow down my concept between tank, speedster or some kind of support hybrid.

[MrKinister]

Color me interested.

Reserving a spot here.

I will fill out your questions and app in time.

Thanks. =)

[Seeks]

Absolutely. Will update tomorrow or Friday with my application!

Character idea will be a melee bruiser with some degree of support. The concept is a bit out there, but she is inspired by two Marvel characters. Both debuted in the Silver Age, but one is a mainline hero and another is a B-Lister. You'll see what I mean.

I really love the love put into the ad narrative, by the way. Really evocative for the setting, heheh. Interesting to go with PL9 instead of the default 10, but I like your reasons why.

The Few Questions 1. What about this game advert makes you want to apply? While I will admit I'm not the hugest comic book fanatic (yet), I adore what I've seen of superhero stories and characters through various mediums -- cartoons, video games, cinematic universes. The different tones of different ages. The allegories to real life and the fantastical daring-do. The gonzo nature of science and sorcery, mutant powers and paranormal entities, all coming together and working when different heroes and villains team up and clash. The human elements of heroes and at times, even villains, despite both clearly having strengths and weaknesses that go beyond being an ordinary person. Even how having these powers affects their lives among regular people, for weal and for woe. I say all of this to say that from the ad and its lore, this game fulfills the comic book experience to a T. I always love when comic book settings have their own places and elements that stand apart from what exists in the real world. Much as I love mechanics and combat in TTRPGs, I am a self-described storyteller by nature. Thus, I love the roleplaying aspects of well, a roleplaying game. What I know of the Silver Age, a lot of cool heroes and teams came from it; the books leaned into social aspects of modern superheroics, while also involving larger-than-life villainous schemes and over-the-top heroes. This stuff sounds cool, fam. Elisia, and how it came about, very much exemplify what I like about comics. tl;dr I like roleplaying and the shared storytelling in TTRPGs campaigns, Elisia and its inspirations are cool, and I like how comic books allow for fantastical adventures and battles while exploring the people beneath their powers. 2. What do you look for in a good GM? Someone who can really engage the players without showing favoritism, or by being inflexible on how players want to engage with the world. They should want people to be inspired by the world and story they want to present. They shouldn't be afraid to put their foot down if a character concept doesn't fit, but should also work with players to adapt ideas so they make sense for the setting. The best GMs can make their worlds feel alive, without or without huge lore dumps, through how they present the world and its people. Though a good GM can make normal people feel as compelling as the big players in the world, I feel this goes double for superheroics. They'd have to make it so you actually want to save these people on the regular. I respect GMs who can keep the action going and handle problems with integrity and brevity. Some of that old-school "rulings not rules" stuff, and done fairly. tl;dr Engaging and working with players, presenting a world and its inhabitants that promote interaction, handling problems deftly and with integrity. 3. What is your experience with Mutants & Masterminds? I've played a couple campaigns of it with old friends a few years back. Mostly stuck to 2e, but the leap to 3e doesn't seem too hard mechanically. Mostly did stuff based in Freedom City. I've played a "mystic fire" controller inspired by Raven, a prewritten character that felt underpowered and more D&D-based (Druid), and a werewolf, among others I've forgotten. While I was a bit rusty cobbling together a character concept yesterday and don't know all the ins and outs of "advanced" or "efficient" character creation, I am confident in my ability to learn and especially to roleplay in a superhero setting.

Application (WIP) Hero Name: As far as she can tell, this means "Beast Queen" in... whatever language she understands as her super selfAralisi Catch-Phrase: "Show me what you're really made of." "One cannot repent from beyond the grave. Learn well from your defeat." "Let us dance sanguine, heroes, till the sun rises once more!" Name: Cassandra "Casey" Prounced "Loo-vuh", as a German wordLowe Identity: Secret. As a nurse practitioner, Casey worries that the wrong people knowing her true self would paint bullseyes on her patients and loved ones. Not to mention, her mixed feelings about being Aralisi. One major problem with discovering her true self as Aralisi is that some of her weird mannerisms and personality have slipped into her guise as Casey. This fact disturbs her, making her fear losing who she thought she was. Description: As her heroic self, Aralisi certainly stands out in a crowd. For one, she's easily 7' or 2.1m tall. For another, she's a pale-furred lion-woman wearing piecemeal armor you'd see on a sword-and-sorcery book cover. Her exotic clothing is colored red, black and maroon, and she's fond of bronze jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces and rings. A tiara is set on her beastly head beneath her mane, its wings of spotless, near-white silver spread wide. Her caramel-brown hair is shaggy and mane-like, a particular long and curly bang sticking out over the right side of her forehead. She's physically strong but not bulky, her rippling muscles and mighty thews beneath snow-white pelt meant for speed and endurance over brute force alone. The claws jutting from her digits are dark, curved and sharp, hard and tough as steel. Meanwhile, Casey's biggest tell of her secret identity is in her hair. An immigrant to Elisia of Greek-German descent, she stands at about 5'5" or 1.6m with dirty-blonde hair and a Mediterranean complexion. She usually keeps her hair long and curly, but in summer's heat it becomes a big frazzled mop. She's fairly lean with toned arms and legs, never hiding natural imperfections with makeup. She tends to prefer warm colors and khakis when dressing down, or going with black shirts and dark jeans when having fun in public. While her mom doesn't wear army boots, Casey certainly does -- tanned leather ones when she can get away with them, or fashionable darkened ones when clubbing or moshing. Unless she's wearing a logo tee of a band at their concert, Casey's clothes are conspicuously absent of logos, brands, sayings or graphics. Personality: Aralisi is imposing in stature, appearance and personality alike. She is absolutely fearless as lions are personified, gruff but sometimes with an air of sass or aloofness. She almost seems to play with worthy opponents, seeing them less as true threats and more like sparring partners. Or sometimes, as easy prey. Despite this, Aralisi is a passionate defender with a strong code of honor. She won't attack surrendered or unaware enemies, and can show mercy even to her enemies. She doesn't condone threats to innocent people despite empathy for evildoers, even if she's more apt to see beaten criminals arrested rather than slain. A being of order, she certainly won't let less-honest (or less-legal) crime-fighting methods go without criticism. As long as there's no threat to citizens or laws being bent or broken, Aralisi is otherwise a stoic but wise being, and even has a playful or provocative side. She tries to invoke the potential in others through encouragement, or by being a "scary badass mentor" type. However, she's also quick to apologize or lessen her intensity when others get overwhelmed or hurt by her fiery personality. Her passion to inspire others is belied only by her strong sense of justice. Even so, a cat is a cat; days not spent with her heroic duties are often spent lazing about. After all, lion bellies are solar cells. For Casey? Some of Aralisi's fire exists in this tomboy, but the goddess within finds her human side full of more contradictions than she'd care to admit. Casey doesn't necessarily want to change the world, but certainly wants to make things a little more fair in what few ways she can. For every snide assessment with her patients comes the extra effort to treat them effectively and if not by her, then by a proper expert. She's in to fitness, yet eagerly awaits cheat days for her diet. Non-powered human limitations are even more a nuisance for her than the restrictions on her mortal avatar. This issue of inadequacy meshes terribly well with Casey's perfectionist attitude. Despite getting frustrated when things don't go her way, Casey's resilient; no matter how long it takes or how much she must compromise, when she says something will get done, it gets done. Doubly so if she has a responsibility to others, burning out or not. And despite her ardent sense of duty, Casey absolutely lets herself unwind (some might say "lets herself go") when she gets caught up in her hobbies with spare time, or does gets burned out. Life, after all, is meant to be lived. So why not live it up every now and then? Goals: All Casey had wanted since her youth was to help others. She'd already graduated med school years ago, so being able to do just that was settled. But ever since the act of heroism that awoke the being within, Casey now struggles with balancing the search for who she truly is, and upholding her responsibilities to others. Can she really trust the visions in her sleep, who paint a different picture of her? Why did these visions all coincide with her studying aboard in Elisia? Why did they start after the asteroid landing? Is RX11 responsible? Did something about this repurposed asteroid call to her somehow? Certainly superpowered people were accepted and commonplace in this new nation, but was the world ready for a being like her? Better yet -- and this is a question Casey tries to avoid at every opportunity -- is *she* ready to accept who and what she really is? And is she willing to give up the human shell she thought she was? At the end of the day, the answer is clear. Protect people and team up with other heroes as the valorous Aralisi. The more she becomes and remains as Aralisi, the more visions -- or are they memories? -- awaken in her dreams, or flash into her consciousness while awake. Her powers grow greater and greater, but more and more her identity as Casey withers away... consumed by the fires of her otherworldly soul. tl;dr Discover who she really is (and come to terms with what she finds), and save the day in the process, for the two go hand-in-hand for her. Powers: Aralisi is a goddess of fire, wild animals, the sun, of surgeons and of heroes. From her inciting incident, Casey learned firsthand the Pyromancy she possesses. She can move fire through her will, is completely immune to being burned, and can even sling flames at her enemies with flowing, dance-like movements. More miraculous to her is her healing touch, able to suddenly regenerate others as their injuries painlessly glower like cinders. But her medical skills and proper treatment are not replaced so easily by her healing magic; as if consuming the physical trauma itself, similar injuries sprout across Aralisi's body as suddenly as they vanish away from her patient. What else could Casey call this power but being a Wound-Eater? She doesn't quite know the full extent of its potency but, if she somehow gained the power to resurrect the recently deceased, she has a bad feeling even a stranger aeon like her could take another's place among the dead. Being a beast-woman isn't for show either, for she also has something she calls her Nemean Hide -- superhuman resilience far surpassing her own, though also far from invincible. Through her Beastly Roar, she may terrorize her enemies and inspire her allies, and her mere presence gives her degrees of communication with animals. Casey's limited fighting abilities become an impressive second nature to Aralisi; though she could use many weapons with basic proficiency, she hardly needs them. With her Leonine Reflexes, she moves and pounces with fantastic speed and prowess -- not to the level of a proper speedster, mind -- and can even slow or stop a fall if she can reach out and touch something. Though it isn't her intent to take villains' lives, the ferocity of her fighting abilities and the chance to score severe blows when unarmed (or using her claws) makes Aralisi a Living Weapon. And to Casey's surprise -- good and bad -- she finds she is able to slowly recuperate from injuries as both Aralisi and as her human self, albeit with exposure to natural sunlight across said injuries. She can't help but feel the goddess within her is Solar Powered. Background:   About thirty years ago, Casey was born to a Greek mother and a German father somewhere in coastal America. The fact she was born as healthy as she was surprised her parents; nearing her birth, she was almost declared a stillborn. Technically, Cassandra Lowe did die in the womb, only to regain a pulse a minute after the complications and made a full recovery. Neither Alice nor Gregory Lowe had any superhuman descent, from all they knew. Cassandra was their little miracle. Throughout her life, Cassandra lives a relatively normal life in a lower-middle-class family. She went to school, had friends and bullies, and did decently enough in class. She had a good sense of right and wrong, of empathy for others. However, she was a bit too sensitive and a little naive, and had always been hard on herself in spite of her parents' forgiving nature. After a rather harsh string of bullying in early middle school, Cassandra started getting mean. She eschewed her little girl name and reached for the tomboy moniker of Casey. She got into rock and metal, and began attending Kung Fu lessons with her father's permission and blessing. Her grades slipped in her determination to toughen up. And she began treating anyone she could get away with as weak. She was starting to become a bully herself. By high school, she heard the news of the near-destruction of the Earth. How wouldn't she know? Her classes were interrupted with a TV wheeled in, as her fellow students and her teachers watched their annihilation be averted through the sacrifice of superheroes. Had the world ended, she would have lost everyone and everything she loved and died a monster, all in one fell swoop. The growing hardness of Casey's heart cracked, and she wept grateful tears for Captain Dynamic and Silver Halo. That night, a strange dream would echo through her mind for perhaps the rest of her days. She could never forget. For one, the dream seemed incredibly real and as she awoke, etched into her mind like a vivid memory. For another, that's when she awoke with it against her belly -- a rough gemstone like a garnet, about the size of her thumb, with imperfections within that looked like deliberate but indistinct etchings. It was warm to the touch, and had a pulse. She rarely showed this stone to anyone else, but no one could feel its warmth or its rhythmic vibrations. The dream itself featured three enigmatic people, in a haze of pale light through darkness. An old man with a falcon mask. A full-grown woman with a fox mask. A teenage boy about her age with a hyena mask. The titles they called her -- daughter, beloved, and sister respectively. A strange name of a language she'd never heard of, but of which she somehow knew its meaning: "Beast Queen". These dreams reoccurred over the years, and new ones forming of people she'd never witnessed before. Many of them were human, but some only human-like, and some like a hybrid of man and beast. Speaking various strange languages, but which she once again understood empathically. She understood so much of these strangers' messages: Their emotions, their struggles, their gratitude. These were prayers. Casey remembered well how she felt when these dreams happened. Bigger. Stronger. Wiser. Angrier. Gentler. More confident. As if she was as hairy as some of the boys in her class who never shaved. These dreams disturbed her and yet, they also comforted her. Something about them was so unsettling and yet... so right. By the time Casey graduated from high school, Elisia had recently become its own country. Mostly. Part of the new island that was Asteroid RX11 was owned by her home country. This made it easier for Casey to emigrate, at least to study aboard. With her empathy and kindness renewed and balanced by her sense of self-respect and personal drive, Casey knew what she wanted to become: a doctor. As her college and med school days carried on, she settles on being a nurse practitioner. Casey worked herself to the bone to get her qualifications. Often to the point of burning out, getting frustrated, and wondering if this was all worth it. But in the end, like a lion stalking its prey for long distances across a savanna, she got it. Only about a year prior, a fire broke out in the neighborhood near the hospital Casey worked at. Arriving among the huddled masses, this was no accident. Local heroes were busy doing damage control, for this arson was the work of some up-and-coming crooks. Firefighters were already attending to other locales set ablaze by incendiary bombings, but they had yet to arrive to this one. Hushed worries became a panicked confirmation -- a teenager didn't get out of the inferno when the building was evacuated. No one knew if any of the local superheroes would be aware, and able to find the teen in time, if he was even alive anymore. Hesitating only long enough to mumble a Coptic prayer from her childhood, Casey burst from the crowd and dashed into the building. She knew the basics of not suffocating on smoke (good thing she brought her water bottle from the gym), to avoid burning support beams, and to not get roasted by backdraft when opening doors. There was no promise she or the kid would make it out alive. She didn't care. She had to try. Eventually she found the guy slumped near the wall of his living room. He was unconscious from the smoke, and already starting to burn. While not the strongest woman around, Casey put her back into it to try and get him to safety. Somewhere to resuscitate him. Suddenly the worst happened: a chunk of the ceiling on that floor loudly cracked! She threw the boy as far as she could to safety, but it was too late for the nurse. Casey felt the firebrand smash her to the ground. Her back screamed louder than she could. She coughed and choked. Tears welled up from both the smoke and from her anguish. This kid was going to die in here, his future before him cut short. What's more, she was going to die too. In the end, before she could dwell on their shared fate, she blacked out. Then the strange garnet stone, kept in her pocket as a good luck charm all this time, pulsed once again. It pulsed more forcefully than ever before. All she could feel in that darkness was the gem. "Will you really let this be the end? Of course not. Not my daughter." The old man from her dreams! He was talking to her in the darkness, his voice echoing with perfect clarity! "Beloved Beast Queen, your bravery is not unrewarded." The lady in blue, and the strange title she knew too well...! "Get up, sister! You're better than that! What is your name?" Goaded by the young man in green, ever getting older as she did, Casey's eyes burst open. Except, she wasn't quite herself. She was taller, stronger, braver, moving more fluid than she had before. Her body was no longer broken nor burned. And she felt like she was stuck in a mascot costume she couldn't take off. But she had a job to do -- to get the boy out alive. With a roar, shoving the blazing chunk of ceiling from herself, Casey bellowed words that would shape her life the rest of her days. "I. AM ARALISI." The flames parted like the Red Sea for Moses, forming an escape for the great beast-woman and the teenaged boy she sought to rescue. He was hurt, but she knew she could revive him at a touch. How did she know? It didn't matter. At a few moments of pressing pale, paw-like hands to his chest, the kid gasped awake. His burns were gone, too. Initially terrified by the monstrous being before him, now hacking up a lung as if any damages to his were passed on to her, she took him in her hands. The beast shielded him from the blaze with her body. She could take it. Before long the lioness burst from the entrance to the crowd, ushering the teen to safety. By now a fire truck and its crew had arrived. Without taking a moment's notice to see the crowd's reaction, Cas-- rather, Aralisi dove back into the building. If anyone else was inside, she could rescue them. She had to. Soon joined by the firefighters, Aralisi found the flames didn't burn her, and she was mighty enough to physically endure the dangers. With a full sweep, it was confirmed that no one else was left to find. Finally emerging from the inferno once more, Aralisi felt invigorated by the sunlight. Her heart soared in triumph, but others feared for the curly-haired immigrant who ran inside and never returned. Casey! Her human self! ...her human self...? Never mind. Aralisi dashed inside one last time, escaped from the site out of sight, and felt around her strange armor of leather and linens. The stone pulsed in the buckle of her barbarian girdle. Taking a deep breath to gather herself, uncertain if it would obey her command to return to her former self, Aralisi once more inhaled... and enveloped in a glow like sunlight, Casey exhaled. She slumped in the back alley, only for a moment, realizing how dangerous this would be if the building completely collapsed. She'd improvise an excuse for where the big fireproof barbarian-lion (barbarlion?) ran off to. That much was easy. Her nerves were shot as is, so they'd believe her playing dumb. The question that echoed in Casey's mind at that exact moment -- maybe 'roared' -- was what the transformation was. Everything that came to her in that moment came without a thought. By instinct. What she discovered in her dreams that night explained so much, yet explained so little. Over the course of a year, she would finally know the names of the entities speaking to her directly in her sleep. Ranaton. Veravela. Rotorzi. She learned she was from another planet. She learned that she wasn't even mortal, but a goddess born from Ranaton's right eye, who watched over generations upon generations of mortals on that planet. Aralisi once guided them through valor as the entity of their holy sun. A goddess of beasts, of healing, of righteous combat. Ranaton was the king of their afterlife and of temperance, Veravela a shapeshifting goddess (and not always a female deity) of wisdom, and Rotorzi her younger brother and a god of courage. Aralisi was the goddess of her protectorate world's fourth virtue: justice. But at the beginnings of a dark age, Aralisi's justice boiled over into vengeance. Her fiery, bloodstained rampage against mortals both wicked and innocent was stopped only by her daughter, a demigoddess she'd yet to witness in her visions: Oniacana. Given to her guilt at forsaking and murdering the lives she was meant to inspire and protect as a goddess, Aralisi sought penance for her massacres. To understand the experience of flawed people. Through Ranaton's guidance, Aralisi would be reborn on a planet far from the one she betrayed. Taking the mortal coil of a infant who had died in the womb, the presence of Aralisi's undying essence resurrected the unborn body. Before long, she would be born as Cassandra Lowe. Only by proving herself, defying death to save the helpless teen trapped in the fire, did her jewel respond. The thing they called her "Valor Shard", the crystallized power of her true self. Without it, Casey cannot return to her true self as an avatar of Aralisi, nor could Aralisi bury her powers back into the form of Casey. Four things were implied. First, as Aralisi or not, Casey could indeed die. Second, it was no coincidence that she came to Elisia. Third, the Valor Shard -- a fragment of Aralisi's spirit and thus the key to her divine might -- could prove a great and terrible power source if it fell into the wrong hands. The fourth point was more explicitly explained than the others. The Valor Shard only released small parts of Aralisi's overall power for a reason: not only did she have to prove her worth to unlock her amazing potential, but that her mortal body could only handle so much of its power at a time. Casey had to acclimate to becoming Aralisi more and more. But if Aralisi could be controlled by another being through super-science, sorcery or a combination of both? At best, Aralisi's mortal body would be utterly destroyed by her powers coming forth by too much too quickly. At worst, if her body could handle such tremendous powers... well, she already had a rampage on her homeworld that she came to Earth to repent from. Thus, both Aralisi and her Valor Shard were both a serious threat to Elisia, maybe even the Earth as a whole, if either one's immense powers were controlled and manipulated by wicked people with terrible powers and heartless intent. Though Casey was now astonished by what she could do, she was also terrified of herself. Was her normal life a sham? A prison sentence for having slain so many people before? Parts of Aralisi's personality clashed with Casey, and even slipped out in her human form; would everything she was be devoured by this entity inside her? And what happens if the normal people in her life discovered the truth? What if the villains she might someday fight -- and more and more, feels like she *will* fight -- go after her loved ones? Or after her patients and fellow doctors? Aralisi could handle the danger, maybe. What about them? And what happens if someone steals her Valor Shard, or controls her, and knows how to tap into her sheer aptitudes? It would be like giving supervillains the launch codes to a nuke. Maybe even that was an understatement. In the end, much as she might try to avoid it, Casey knows who and what she is. In some ways her transformation was a nightmare, but in many ways a dream come true. She would stand up for others with a kind heart and passionate soul, as much as with a closed fist or drawn claws. This was her responsibility. Scary as this change was, it was her fate and her future. With her powers emerging more and more, those powers gave her a slight edge over street-level superheroes and villains. She had a new home to defend in Elisia, new people to keep safe there, and a new sense of self to come to terms with. Ain't nothin' to a big cat. Important Persons: Alice and Gregory Lowe, her mortal parents. Casey kept more in contact with them than any of her school friends since moving to Elisia. She still hasn't told them the truth. Nick Kitts, a local gymshark and a boy she's had a crush on. Both share a love of rock music. He's seen her Valor Shard and she's described it as her lucky charm, as she did with what few friends she had as a kid. But he doesn't know the true power that dwells within. Sandra Ford, PhD, a physician at Casey's hospital and veritable mentor to the nurse practitioner. As of right now, she is the only one who knows Casey's secret identity. The two half-joke among each other that if they're about to lose an ER patient and all seems lost, she'll text Casey to "rush down as furry-you and take their cardiac arrest." Psychological Evaluation Question (AKA Writing Sample): 1) Today is a rare day off from your hero duties and you're on your way to meet a friend for lunch. As you walk past the Fifth Street Bank, the alarm goes off just before the door bursts open and Black Ice skates out on a slick of ice he forms on the sidewalk, a duffle full of money strapped to his back and another in his hand. What do you do? Today was going to be a great day. It's the weekend and Casey had no appointments till the afternoon. The sun was high in the sky at noon. The aches and pains from her workout session were already fading from the warm sunlight, her body regenerating. Her gym buddy Nick had arranged to grab a bite to eat from the local authentic Chinese restaurant, and Saturday was his day off from working out. Though Casey's own cheat days were on Sundays, she felt she could fudge it juuuust this time. When else would she get to hang out with Nick, who usually worked nights? And despite her ability to recover from her workouts faster than most, she'd still need to chow down on plenty of protein to replenish her body. Good thing she was still in the midst of her keto diet. Time for some extra-meat Szechuan Chic-- Old-fashioned alarm bells pierced her thoughts, and not far from her. The door bursts open abruptly, and Casey hits the sidewalk. A hail of gunfire didn't follow, nor any superpowered projectiles either. Instead some cryomancer skates his way out, adorned in a dark outfit with admittedly-cool icy blue accents. Black Ice. Well named. Forcing herself up and slipping into the alley, Casey grumbled to herself. She didn't want Nick to think she was flaking out or ghosting him. But that didn't matter. She had a cellphone, as most did these days. She'd text him the first thing she knocked some sense in the supervillain. Her hand was already tucked deep into her pocket. Not for her cellphone, but for the familiar gem she always carried. Deep breath in. A tingling warmth spread across her, a surging like hot electricity flowing from her belly across her body. Deep breath out. A burst of pale golden light escaped the dim alleyway. Bursting from it seconds later, Aralisi the Beast Queen grinned fiercely at Black Ice. Sweeping her arm up like throwing an uppercut, a wall of flames streaks to intercept the ice he'd sprayed ahead of him, to continue his escape. As the flames die down, Aralisi trots to the middle of the pavement, arms folded. Her blood-red eyes glanced around the streets. Absent of citizens. Good. This would be over before she knew it. "Black Ice, hmm? Mayhap the flames of my heart will warm thy blackened one. Fight!" 2) Wow, that hurt. Not just your jaw but your pride. You were sure that you and Sergeant Steel could take him down. Man, were you wrong. Not only was this your first defeat at the hands of a supervillain but it was all caught on camera. How do you deal with this? The good news of the ensuing battle with Black Ice? Sergeant Steel showed up, saving a civilian who would've got caught in the crossfire of their battle. Bad news? The fight was already dicey by the time he'd arrived. One would think a goddess of flame would've been more than a match for a man with ice powers. But Aralisi was better suited for up-close-and-personal fighting; her fire magic wasn't hot or focused enough against the dedicated cryomancer. Sarge's arsenal of high-powered weapons couldn't punch through the thick icy walls Black Ice formed, nor was he sticking around to get mauled or shot by the two superheroes. Aralisi admired his agility and deft dodging through the fight, but the combination of being frozen to the pavement, and getting decked in the jaw with a clotheslining arm encased in ice? Yeah. That could've gone better. Sure, she was a goddess. A goddess stuck in an imperfect avatar, as squishy as any superhero could be. Spitting out a fang and missing with a fireball to stop his escape, Aralisi cursed her mistake. She didn't swerve far enough around to hit, and the thrown fireball pelted uselessly against a brick wall. And scorched it. Whoops. She already felt annoyed with herself that she couldn't catch up to Black Ice and stop him in a fair fight. The sting of having to use such a dirty trick as pelting the dastard in the back as he fled -- and failing that -- hurt her much worse than a busted jaw. At least the jaw would set itself within the hour. Much as she could've caught up to him just seconds ago, he was long gone with the loot by now. Finally breaking her legs free of the ice in an annoyed burst of strength, she growled to herself. "No one's hurt?" She asked the Sergeant. He'd shaken his head. All seemed clear. Aralisi sighed, gazing briefly toward the sky. Her eyes caught something hovering over the rooftops. Oh, joy. That was a newscast drone. As if this couldn't have gone worse, now they'd air her blunder for all to see on the 6-o'-clock news. Aralisi chuffed. Moping about wouldn't fix this. She had to prepare for their next confrontation. Maybe there was a hideout of Black Ice's, not far from here? He had to escape and drop off the dough somewhere. How hard would it be for eyewitnesses to miss a dude literally skating down the streets? A world and country of supers notwithstanding? And if anything, her defeat meant that Aralisi would have to take him seriously. If she could keep the pressure on Black Ice to melt his freezing attacks and icy constructs, that could give Sergeant Steel the window he needs to land a knockout round from afar. An up-close superhero was distraction enough. A big one with fire powers was another. Even if they'd have to reconvene for their rematch another time, the icy crook wouldn't win in the end. "Sergeant", she nodded fiercely to the former super-soldier, turning down the street Ice had escaped down. "Any idea where he could have fled? I will give chase." A nagging doubt pinged in the back of Aralisi's head. What about her date? Frustration would be the fuel to her fire. She'd hold herself to the consequences of being late to meet Nick when she got there. Right now, there was a rematch to be had.

Letter From The Editor Yes, that really is Shakira as Casey's "faceclaim". To clarify her inspirations, I am indeed the weirdo mixing Thor and Tigra as inspiration.   ARALISI, Power Level 9 (120 pts) ABILITIES Strength 2 / 6* Stamina 3 / 10* Agility 2 / 6* Dexterity 4 Fighting 2 / 8* Intellect 2 Awareness 4 Presence 4 (*Increased by Alternate Form and its Enhanced Trait powers) Base Defense: +0 Dodge 2 / 6 Fortitude 3 / 10 Parry 2 / 8 Toughness 3 / 10 Will 6 (+2 improvement, 2 pts) Initiative 6 / 10 [+4 from Improved Initiative advantage] Total points spent: 25 SKILLS Acrobatics 6 / 10 [AGI 2 / 6] (4 pts) Athletics 6 / 10 [STR 2 / 6] (4 pts) Expertise: Medicine 8 [INT 2] (6 pts) Insight 8 [AWE 4] (4 pts) Intimidation 10 [PRE 4] (6 pts) Perception 8 [AWE 4] (4 pts) Persuasion 8 [PRE 4] (4 pts) Treatment 10 [INT 2] (8 pts) Total points spent: 20 ADVANTAGES - Animal Empathy - Daze - Diehard - Equipment [“Valor Shard”] - Fearless - Improved Critical 2 ["Damage"] - Improved Initiative - Inspire - Instant Up - Interpose - Move-By Attack - Takedown - Uncanny Dodge Total points spent: 14 POWERS “I Am Aralisi” Alternate Form [Heroic] (56 pts) - Element Control: Fire 1 (2 pts) - Enhanced Trait: Strength +4 (4 pts) - Enhanced Trait: Stamina +7 (7 pts) - Enhanced Trait: Agility +4 (4 pts) - Enhanced Trait: Fighting +6 (8 pts) - Feature: Insulating Fur (1 pts) - Healing 7 [Flaw: Causes her to take damage based on what she's trying to healEmpathic] (14 - 7 = 7 pts) - Blast [Fire] 5 (10 pts) - Immunity: Fire (5 pts) - Damage 4 [+STR] (4 pts) - Movement: Safe Fall [Limited: Near a surface to touch or grab] (1 pt) - Movement: Wall-Crawling (2 pts) - Senses: Low-Light Vision (1 pt) - Speed 1 [60 ft move speed] (1 pt) - Leaping 2 [30 ft of jumping] [Limited: Acrobatics check required] (1 pt) - Flaw: Activation [Move action] (-1 pt) - Flaw: Removable [Valor Shard] (-1 pt) “Solar Powered” Triggers once every other roundRegeneration 5 (5 pts) - Extra: Can regenerate from Incurable effectsPersistent (+1 / rank) - Flaw: Only with direct sunlightLimited (-1 / rank) Total points spent: 61 COMPLICATIONS Motivation [Justice]: Stranded to Earth in a mortal avatar, Aralisi’s nature to protect and inspire innocents and to bring the wicked low are built into her godlike nature, befitting Casey's empathy and morality Honor: Can’t attack helpless or surrendered foes, cannot willingly lie to mortals (but may evade telling the truth, and may lie to supernatural beings), cannot run from a fight once it starts, and will call out unlawful or needlessly unkind behavior (especially her own, for the latter) Identity: Upholding her human guise, fearful of losing herself to Aralisi, and balancing the two identities Power Loss: Cannot become Aralisi (or return to being Casey) if she doesn’t have her Valor Shard, thus losing access to her Alternate Form and all powers therein Responsibility: Job as a nurse practitioner Secret: Her Valor Shard holds incredible supernatural power should it fall into the wrong hands, let alone the raw destructive potential she could have if manipulated or controlled by evildoers somehow Character references below!   Source: Something I drew   Source: Isabel Mebarak Ripoll -- Better known as Shakira   Source: Chet Roberts -- Guitarist for 3 Doors Down   Source: Chandra Wilson -- Actress for Miranda Bailey, from Grey's Anatomy

[GleefulNihilism]

Told you I'd do it. :P

Grunge 1. What about this game advert makes you want to apply? - It's obviously well put together and thought out, and I always dig superhero games. Plus I had a bit of a writing challenge for myself of making a proper Anti-Angst character and you won. :P 2. What do you look for in a good GM? - Attention and Effort, really. 3. What is your experience with Mutants & Masterminds? - Very little table top but lots from the site. Actually was at one point GMing the biggest MnM game here in this site. Hero Name: Grunge Catch-Phrase: "I won? I won? Man, you must have sucked hard." "Catchphrases are for Chumps." "Oh, I am In." Name: Ollu "Ollie" Wells. Apparently "Ollu" means "Warrior" in Atlantian. Identity: Known. And he manages this mostly because he's openly known as the Worst Superhero in Elisia if not the World. Nobody contests that he is a superhero, sure - he has powers and tries to use them to help people. Said powers are just so useless in the vast majority of situations that there's no point in forming a grudge against Ollie. Description: Since Grunge's identity is open and his powers so pathetic compared to other heroes that he doesn't really bother with a costume either. Usually he dresses like he's just stepped out of a musical performance at a bar, usually a variation of sneakers, jeans, and a black t-shirt with something humorous written on it. He owns copies of t-shirts with the phrase "I'm With the Bomb Squad, If You See Me Running Just Try To Keep Up" in 4 languages. Now he might not talk or act like it but interestingly he has been learning how to use his powers in concert with practical skills to actually help in crisis situations. In fact, once you factor in the use of his powers as well with his skills, he's arguably the best person in New Liberty to call if you need to defuse a bomb. Ironically, this means that while is widely considered New Liberty's Worst Superhero he still none-the-less brings with him sighs of relief when he's on the scene and on the clock. He's still a hero that saves lives, just not in as dramatic a fashion as others. Personality: You know, for someone who clearly rolled Snake Eyes in the Powers department he certainly doesn't act like it. Grunge apparently just thinks the very fact that he has superpowers is awesome and doesn't care what they are exactly. He possesses a Can-Do Attitude and a Genuine Desire to help people out if he has the ability - if the second can be hard to spot sometimes. He dresses and acts like a Roadie at a Metal Concert whose had one Expresso too many. Hell, he's sometimes found *drinking with known Supervillains* and getting away with it because he's not in the Life to pretend to be a Cop. He's Grunge. World's Worst Superhero. The biggest surprise is that he's a *lot* smarter then he gets credit for. He has a definite knack for finding creative uses for seemingly useless powers in himself and others. He does appear to have a flippant attitude about Explosives and Bombs - but that's actually because arguably the best Explosives Technician in the city. He comes across as a guy who spends all of his time hoping between metal concerts but he actually has studied bombs extensively and when this knowledge is used in concert with his powers he sometimes defuses bombs in seconds that can stump whole bomb squads. He *is* a hero, just one who got a bad hand but is still trying to work it. Goals: Catchphrases are for Chumps and Costumes are for Narcissists, but the Work matters. The life though, that's different. Doing things *that matter*, every day. Everyone should try being a Superhero at least once in their lives. It's Amazing, why would anyone want to be anything else? Powers: And the Award for the Powers that gets you called "The Worst Superhero in the World" goes too - Water Mimicry. Grunge has the ability to convert his biomass into a puddle of Water of equal mass. Beyond the fact that his senses and consciousness *somehow* still work, this water is indistinguishable from normal H2O in every way - including how the water can't move under it's own power. Yep, he just turns into a puddle. He can't even bring his clothes with him, though he has managed to pick up some magic underwear so at least he's not flashing everyone around him whenever he becomes a puddle. He has however gotten pretty good at finding creative uses of his powers. He's called "Grunge" because it appears that as long as he uses his power at least twice a day he doesn't need to Shower, Brush his Teeth, or use the Bathroom as grime, dental plague, and bodily wastes seem to not survive the process. He also has gotten to the point where he can make the transition near-instantly allowing him to avoid most forms of attack as long as he's not caught by surprise. He can survive a fall from any height as long as he's conscious at any part of it for example. Most dramatically and effectively, he has been able to use his water-form to ruin circuitry and mechanisms in explosive devices. It has been noticed that if his water gets dispersed/evaporated/frozen and broken apart he does recollect into one place when he wants to be human again, and if his water is poured into a large body of water he in effect swims through it with superhuman speed suggesting that he does have the ability to control his water molecules on an unconscious level, but not a conscious one. He knows where his powers come from, they're magic based and ultimately come from the fact that one of his grandmothers was the result of a youthful indiscretion between a Prince of Atlantis and a surface dweller. So yes, *technically* he's a member of the Royal Family of Atlantis and as such is subject to the magic that flows through that place - but so distantly that he can't even breathe underwater in his human form. [What he doesn't know though is that because of this big changes in Atlantis are reflected in his powers. Which, thanks to the soon murder of the current King and the resulting Succession drama Grunge's powers are about to get a big upgrade.] Background: "So yeah, that's my secret. Sorry it's so lame. No space radiation, no twisted experiments gone awry. I got powers because my great-grandpa went on a road trip to Cali before he got married. Just in this case he was the Crown Prince of a Magic Undersea Kingdom of Pretentious Posers. Which resulted in my Grandma, who you know as the Weather Witch then my Mom, who was Hang Ten. Notice how Grandma was a lot more powerful then my Mom? Come on, I could use a Beer. Alright, where was I? Pretty yeah, powers from Birth. I mean, I wasn't doing full body conversions until after Puberty - but you have *no idea* how big a relief it was to hear that what you thought was bedwetting was actually your powers evolving. Now, I know that this is normally part of the Superhero Origin where you hear about a Great Tragedy. Sorry to be boring there too but not really. My Mom is still at it in Southern Cali with the Hero thing, my Dad wasn't really in the picture anyway. I mean, there was what would have been a Hit-And-Run that would have killed me when I was an angsty teen, but I turned into Water in time so I just gave the guy a car wash instead. It was enough to spook us though. I mean, my power may some pretty weak in comparison but I'd be dead without it so is cool. Hey, is that truck selling Churros? F#$% yeah, let's get some Churros. So I got a boring Origin, boring Power Origin, and no big Ansty Tragic event to get me going - so now I bet you're asking, why am I a Hero? I mean, I get it - I'm like the World's Worst Hero but I'm out there too and I bet you're wondering why. Well, let me ask you something. Ever Save the Day? I don't mean anything big and flashy. I mean - you ever be the Hero. Even if for just one person? Pull up a drowning kid, be who gets there first at a car wreck, pull someone out of the way of a Bus, happen to know how to give a Baby the Heimlich maneuver and actually need to use it - anything like that? Doesn't have to be anything just one thing, even if just for one person? How did it Feel? I'm serious. How did it Feel? My first big one was in San Francisco. Doktor Atomik put a Nuke behind a Force Field set to keep back Organic Matter. I don't count as Organic in my Water form and mom could push me past the force feild. You have *no idea* how it feels when someone tells you 3 million people are going to die in 10 minutes unless *you* manage to stop it, *and then you pull it off*. And besides getting past the force field I didn't do anything anyone else couldn't do. I swear, even the air tastes different. So yeah, World's Worst Superhero. I'm still In." Important Persons: - Deniri Wells AKA Hang Ten: Ollu's mother and a San Francisco based Aquakinetic Superheroine. A quarter Atlantian and technically a member of the Royal Family who holds similiar views as Atlantians as pretentious posers on a good day. - Fernando Mann AKA Doktor Atomik: Grunge's first big "Villain", a super-intelligent mad scientist obsessed with Nuclear Power who thinks he's the villain from an old serial from the 30's. Tragically, it turns out that Doktor Atomik is actually the victim of an experimental intelligence boosting drug and when not experiencing side effects of the drug is perfectly sane and trying to help rein in his insane alter ego as much as everyone else. - Alma Delgado - The local Tamale Lady in his neighborhood. Have one of her Tamales, you'll get it. Psychological Evaluation Question: 1) Today is a rare day off from your hero duties and you're on your way to meet a friend for lunch. As you walk past the Fifth Street Bank, the alarm goes off just before the door bursts open and Black Ice skates out on a slick of ice he forms on the sidewalk, a duffle full of money strapped to his back and another in his hand. What do you do? "So you're asking a guy who turns into Water to go against an Ice Villain? Bruh. Bruh." Grunge starts, actually chuckling at how useless he'd be in that situation. But then he stops as he thinks of something. "I mean, I guess if I had to I'd wrap around his legs and Turn. I've been Frozen before, and I'd like to see him skate off from the *inside* of a block of Ice. Or I could just go down to his favorite bar later and just ask why he's robbing banks again. You probably want to hear that first part though." 2) Wow, that hurt. Not just your jaw but your pride. You were sure that you and Sergeant Steel could take him down. Man, were you wrong. Not only was this your first defeat at the hands of a supervillain but it was all caught on camera. How do you deal with this? "Sorry, my *first* defeat? HA! Dude. These questions were obviously written with others in mind. So I guess my answer is see if my account at SuperFail.com is still up to date because I'm about to get some hits. And then I'll be right back at it tomorrow. The main perk of being the World's Worst Hero - you know a loss isn't the end of the world."

[JustSomeGuy]

 

Preliminary Questions 1. What about this game advert makes you want to apply? First, I have a deep love of Supers and stories involving them. Second, I'm interested in the possible intrigue that could be running in the background with the establishment of a new nation. While the US desperately tried to save face in an election year by allowing the Protectorate to establish Elesia, they were also drooling over MOAR LAND. I'm just saying, Mr. Taylor was lucky that asteroids aren't a known source of oil. Finally, with a system as complex as MnM... I like the idea of starting a little behind the curve and growing into ourselves. I think it shows foresight into some of the potential pitfalls of character creation. 2. What do you look for in a good GM? I like a GM who is willing to bring as much as they want to take. When they're willing to put in the time, then I feel inspired to do so as well. 3. What is your experience with Mutants & Masterminds? My Supers go-to game is Masks, but I have run a few sessions of MnM. You're not wrong in saying that character creation is complicated but can be entertaining. Navigating and directing the Crunch is almost a game in and of itself.

Friendly New Liberty has New Heroes! ...I'm here for you... Presenting: A Friendly Face Hero Name: Friendly Catch-Phrase: "We're Friends, right?" "Come on Buddy, maybe you should rethink your plan. Here, I'll hold that gun for you. No, it's not a problem." "Do you know what would be a Great Idea? You could tell me your plan! Yeah, hey, tell me the code to disarm this bomb before you do. You know, so we have time? Yeah, thanks... I appreciate it." Name: Morris "Moss" Martingale Non-Super Alias: Songbird Identity: Despite being open as a hero, Moss still has a secret identity. His mundane secret identity is the In the vein of Daft Punkmask-wearing musician Songbird. He's the 'face' for a Chillwave band called The Canary Dawn. TCD is gaining steady popularity among enthusiasts of the niche genre, especially with those that catch the live shows. The fact that TCD is threatening to burst into mainstream popularity is, in fact, a bit of a concern. Description: As an open hero, Friendly doesn't bother with a mask when he's not performing. He's on the thinner side, more graceful than muscular. His wavy brown hair frames a pair of chunky glasses and his perpetual grin is surrounded by a tightly trimmed beard. If he's off-duty, he's usually rocking cargo shorts and sandals. Typically they're paired with band t-shirts from one of the bands that he's toured with or his band. It's a little self-serving, he knows, but Moss is proud of his friends and how far they've come. When he's on patrol, he leans towards a more mil-spec fashion sense. His Costume as Friendly consists of black patrol boots, reinforced fatigues, a vest of many pockets worn over a dark t-shirt, and a long armored jacket. In combat, he's known to occasionally use a "pistol" that's more gadget than a firearm. On stage, he croons into the mic built into his mask while perched on a swing above the crowd. His stage outfits may vary wildly depending on theme and occasion, but the mask and aerial aspects are a constant. Personality: Moss fidgets. He has too much energy and not enough space to store it. He'll shift his weight from one leg to another, scratch his chin, run his fingers through his hair, as well as adjust and wipe glasses that aren't dirty or out of position. If he has room, he will pace. Sometimes, he will hum a few bars of the newest song that his band is working on to himself. While on patrol, his eyes rarely settle on one place. Friendly is known to check side streets and watch rooftops. The smiling hero is the first to volunteer to search an area for hidden henchmen or hostages. When he's performing, though, a switch is flipped inside of him. As nervy and energetic as Friendly is, Songbird is calm and collected. If art is a way of decorating space, then music is a way of decorating time. Each moment is accounted for... exactly where they are supposed to be. All of that energy that boils inside rasps out in perfect points and counterpoints. While swinging above the stage, they make wide and sweeping gestures while earning the hearts and undying loyalty of each new wave of fans. That's a concern as well. Goals: It's not what they want to accomplish with their powers. Even if Morris didn't have the abilities that he had, he would still want to convince people to turn back from dark paths. He would have always watched for the lost and left behind and reached out a hand to lift them up before they fell deeper into the cracks of society. Songbird would always have been a valve for the pressure building inside of him. His music would always have existed to soothe the ragged edges of roughly worn souls. Now, though? Now he has a little extra juice for those aspirations. He can help hostage negotiators defuse tense situations with an understanding ear and a calm voice. He can find himself in situations where he has the opportunity to convince people that it's never too late to turn away from a life of crime. He hopes that by not wearing a mask, he can help people realize the line between Humans and Superhumans might not be as stark as some would lead them to believe. Powers: An outsider might be tempted to say that his Power was 'Guns' or 'Gadgets' since those seem to be the only visible tools he uses in the field. He's reasonably dextrous thanks to an early childhood studying ballet and gymnastics. Often he dodges attacks like he was fighting Storm Troopers™. His team members know that he's a low-grade psychic that can facilitate mental communication and, of course, everyone knows that he's a likable fellow. He keeps close to his chest the fact that he's too likable. People who hear Friendly's voice run the risk of growing fond of him. Without even realizing it, they might become loyal friends. The bonds might grow even stronger. Friendly is fairly certain that he has to use this ability on purpose... but he has concerns. He's also got a hunch that the true reason he dodges shots so well is that people don't want to attack him. He's most likely a stronger psychic than he lets on, but so far, he avoids pursuing those abilities openly. Background: He's always been... Friendly. His parents doted on him, his childhood friends never teased him, and he never saw the bad side of a bully. He grew up with money. His parents brought an amount of wealth over with them and pursued careers in business and research. The family business has been successful for as long as Morris can remember. His father studied the effects and applications of the new meteor mineral and his mother leveraged her keen insight to capitalize on every breakthrough. The two gave him everything he ever wanted, without fail. Those memories, no matter how warm, are tinged with concern now. How many people like Friendly because they have to? It's a thought that often keeps him up at night... a demon that he tries to silence with his music. Morris finally realized that he was friendly after his parents died. He had been 'walking his feelings' and found himself in a less than reputable part of the city. Turning in an alleyway, just following his feet, he looked up to see a group of armed people with their victims on the ground while they laughed and rifled through a purse. Nervously Moss stammered out, "Can't we just Get Along? We're all Friends here, right?" while he tried to think his way through the situation. He watched their faces as they swung from aggressive and menacing, to friendly, and eventually to a position that still concerns him. A position that might be described as... Controlled. In the end, the victims got their money and purse back. The perpetrators mechanically followed Friendly to the nearest police station and turned themselves in at his request. He hopes they got their minds back. He still dreams about those blank faces, sometimes. He finally started to put the pieces of his easy life together, and with that clarity came doubt. Did he have perfect parents because he made them subservient? Were his friends simply good friends or was there a more sinister origin to their loyalty? If he was doomed to never know for sure whether someone's loyalty was true, then Friendly's only real remaining option was to be worthy. ~ Important Persons ~   Marcus Aurelius Mark 'Marcus Aurelius' Castillo is a tall, angular, and upsettingly attractive violinist. While talented with just about any string instrument, the ones with bows are his specialty. It is truly amazing what effects one can achieve when hooking them up to a modular synthesizer. He is grounded and forward-thinking. Marcus doubles as Band Manager and plans the gigs, publicity, and other business aspects of the band. If Mark has a weakness, it's a love of money and the things that money can buy. Songbird's inherited wealth insulates him from the worst of it, though. Being Morris' bandmate is a dream come true for the average struggling artist, after all. Luckbone Felicity 'Luckbone' Peridea is a very Irish girl who moved to Elesia with her family when she was a preteen. She never lost the accent. Luckbone is on the short side with green eyes and long red hair worn in dreadlocks. At any given party, she can be found attempting to explain that the hairstyle also has origins on the Emerald Isle. She has a speech prepared for any unlucky naysayer waiting to accuse her of appropriation. While her voice is pleasant enough, her real talent is the tech. She can make equipment and software do things that their creators never dreamed of. She may, in fact, be a low-grade gadgeteer. Miss Shaan Penelope Shaan is the grumpy elderly woman that lives next door to Morris. She regularly complains about the band practices, the state of children these days, and anything worth complaining about. She doesn't care for Moss, his friends, or that he's coming and going at all times of the night. Any mention of him being a Hero only elicits an eye-roll. Despite the regular mistreatment, Friendly loves her dearly. Miss Penny remains the one person in his life that he is certain isn't mind-controlled. Psychological Evaluation Question (AKA Writing Sample): Give a little writing sample for the two scenario prompts below. A few lines or a paragraph for each is plenty. 1) Today is a rare day off from your hero duties and you're on your way to meet a friend for lunch. As you walk past the Fifth Street Bank, the alarm goes off just before the door bursts open, and Black Ice skates out on a slick of ice he forms on the sidewalk, a duffle full of money strapped to his back and another in his hand. What do you do? Morris' hand is already moving to his just-in-case fanny pack. As he feels the nervous energy building inside of him, he lets his eyes roam the scene. There is broken glass on the ground. He tries to remember what he can about the thief. 'Black Ice: Ice, Mobility, Hazard Creation and Control... Mid-Range Villain, not afraid of violence.' The sounds of panic coming from inside the bank seem more focused on the robbery than any possible victims. Good. The young hero's fingers find what he was looking for: a few small pellets, not unlike bath beads. 'Villain is carrying a good deal of money, but that money is insured. First response medical care can wait. His plan crystallizes, 'Priority One is ensuring that Black Ice doesn't get to keep it and use it to do worse things down the line. Priority Two is ensuring bystanders are safe and any wounded are stabilized.' "Stop!" Morris commanded. "We both know this is a bad idea..." With a quick flick of his wrist, Morris pegs Black Ice in the back with pellet after pellet. They don't do anything special, just puffs of colored smoke... just a handy bit of misdirection for any onlookers. "Why don't you realize how tired you are getting and just give up?" It doesn't work all at once, but the villain's steps have already started to slow down. "If you turn around and bring the money back of your own volition, you know that they'll go easier on you. Those sleep pellets are already beginning to kick in, right?" As Black Ice stops and begins to turn around, the villain looks tired. Tired and just Over It. Morris gives him his best 'Friendly' smile, "Look, lets bring those bankers back their money... and I'll let you take a nap while we wait for the authorities. I'll make sure to let them know that you regret your actions and turned yourself in without a fight." 2) Wow, that hurt. Not just your jaw but your pride. You were sure that you and Sergeant Steel could take him down. Man, were you wrong. Not only was this your first defeat at the hands of a supervillain but it was all caught on camera. How do you deal with this? Drones! Why did it have to be Drones? People don't talk enough about how things without minds are effectively immune to telepaths. It's the number two reason that Friendly carries gear with him. Sergeant Steel was doing his level best, too. Steel would win the day with any other partner, but no amount of being likable stops the drones of the Machinist. There's no question about it. Being beaten, bloody, and bruised was a reasonably regular occurrence for a hard-working hero, but the news media loved to add insult to injury. 'I can see the headlines now: Is New Hero Dead Weight? Powered or Powerless: Is Being Friendly Enough?' He set his face and watched the drones leave with the gear stolen from the research lab. "I might not be able to save this day, but someone can." He pulled a battered cell phone from his fanny pack. Friendly had some calls to make.

[Mitsubachi]

Keep this one for the next game!

[Rune Knight]

Answers to Questions:

1. Two things made me want to do this; 1) I've been watching this game develop from just the kernel you had back in the Interest Check thread, so I'm already invested 2) I love the classic hero vibes you've got going on - some people just don't seem to catch that when they read the ads, you know? I've made a character hugely inspired by a classic superhero, and I hope that shines through in my work
2. I've been looking for exactly what you look for in your players; someone who's eloquent, story-oriented, and who looks to the future and sees what characters could be if only they were given the time and attention to properly grow
3. I have very little experience with M&M, but it's always nice to learn a new system; I made a character sheet, and I don't think I did half bad a job, if i do say so myself

---

Secret Identity

Hero Identity

Hero Name: Ultraviolet
Catch-Phrase: "That's the thing that us supers tend to forget; if you suddenly stop acting like a hero when you lose the powers, then you aren't a hero - you're just a super."
Name: Minavieve Saint-Marie
Identity: Secret (explained below)

 

Appearance Minavieve and Ultraviolet are two different personas with subtle but significant changes that allow her to be a superhero with no need for a mask. Aside from Minavieve's irises filling with Quintessent light and her hair transitioning to a neon crimson glow with a pink underlight beneath, everything from her mannerisms to her vocabulary and pattern of speech changes. Ultraviolet's personality is the "all work, no play" side of her. She speaks little, but when she does speak people are drawn to listen, lest they miss the important information she is bound to convey. Ultraviolet has weight and gravitas lended to her by her insightful intuition into the hearts of her enemies, which she uses to speak to their better nature. Minavieve, on the other hand, can be compared to a placid lake with bioluminescent colors dancing joyfully beneath the surface. Whereas Ultraviolet is reserved and observant, Minavieve is more chill and approachable, ready with a conspiratorial smile and a cunning, humorous wit. Ultraviolet's costume is a tactical bodysuit with sleek dermal plating. The plates are cloud white with ribbons of pastel pink coloration, popping out from the black base shown in the joints and in-between spaces. Her emblem is a simple diamond-shaped gem - a Quintessant crystal glimmering in those aggressive reds, pinks and purples.

Goals: Ultraviolet inherited her powers from an up-and-coming superhero with a pure heart and a simple goal; to do the right thing, no matter what. When she accepted the mantle of the hero known as Prolific, she adopted that goal, along with all of her predecessor's baggage.
Powers: Ultraviolet is imbued with Prolific's signature power: "Quintessence", an energy-rich, aggressively colorful combination of electrical energy and life energy in hues of red, pink, and purple. She has enhanced strength, speed, senses, and toughness, and she is capable of flight and Quintessent energy generation and manipulation.

 

Backstory Minavieve's early life had been plagued with tragedy; a boulevard of broken dreams one after another. First it was the mysterious disappearance of her mother - a tour of duty gone wrong, with no explanation as to where exactly she might be. Minavieve had never really known her mother; she had been too young to remember anything much. Then, a few years later, it was the untimely death of her father. Him she remembered, and fondly, for he had instilled within her strong ideals to live by. The foster system was... well, it was what it was. As the time came closer for Minavieve to become an adult and try to make it on her own, everything just seemed to pile up all at once. Expectations to figure out who she would be and the lack of a good support system began to create issues for her, so much so that she was even assigned a therapist to talk things out with. One day, she had been sitting on a rooftop not really thinking about it, but... that superhero appeared behind her at just the right time. Prolific. That was his name. With only a few words, he expressed a level of understanding and sympathy that no one had shown to her in a long, long time. She cried into his arms that night, realizing then just how much she had been bottling it in. Sometimes, you have to break down in order to build yourself back up. Prolific had helped her realize that. Minavieve spent the next few years with her nose to the grindstone, picking herself up by her bootstraps and attacking life with a vision and a drive she had never had before. Before she knew it, she was achieving high grades in school again, and her passion took her straight to the top: a full ride scholarship to Kal University, one of the most elite (and secretive) science universities in the world. At Kal U, Minavieve slid comfortably into the good graces of her teachers; she was even invited to join a top secret honors project codenamed "Cerberus". Apparently, the university had gotten permission from a few supers to test their DNA samples, and with such incredible assets Minavieve was at the tip of the spear of innovation and discovery. Or so she had thought. One day, the news reached her ears through the grapevine: Prolific himself would be donating today! No, scratch that! He would be arriving today - of his own free will, of course - to be Project Cerberus' guinea pig for a day. Minavieve wasn't just excited, she was overjoyed!... but when her idol was brought in unconscious, she immediately started noticing red flags. Later, she would learn the truth: Project Cerberus hadn't been donated samples willingly by anyone, it was the lovechild of an evil organization or a powerful supervillain designed to take stolen samples and use them to try and create a super. On the day Prolific arrived, another group of superheroes had discovered this sinister plot in pursuit of him, and Minavieve had been caught up in the ensuing battle. On that fateful day, the leader of Project Cerberus refused to be thwarted from their all-consuming goal. They forced Minavieve into the prototype machine alongside Prolific, and turned on the device before they could be defeated. The power investiture device burned with the heat of one thousand suns; it flipped her inside out on a molecular, subatomic level, and then turned her right-side in again in the same amount of time. When all was said and done, she and Prolific were left smoking from every pore in their bodies... ...but Prolific had breathed his last, passing away in his sleep. As she cradled his unmoving body, Minavieve made an oath to him: an oath to take up his mantle, and to do justice to his name. Months later, Minavieve is now known as "Ultraviolet". She is imbued with Prolific's signature power: "Quintessence", an energy-rich, aggressively colorful combination of electrical energy and life energy in hues of red, pink, and purple. She has enhanced strength, speed, senses, and toughness, and she is capable of flight and Quintessent energy generation and manipulation. It was a bleak day when Ultraviolet attended Prolific's funeral. She couldn't help but feel every eye upon her; how suspicious was it, after all, that Prolific had died and someone with his exact same powers entered the mix almost immediately? She ignored them. She had already been living well enough by his principles on her own, and she accepted the burden of his legacy despite the challenges ahead.

 

Potential Story Threads The public may initially believe that Ultraviolet stole Prolific's powers and murdered him - which may or may not be true, from a certain perspective; societal pressure, hit pieces from news outlets, and even outright fear or rejection from civilians in need of help could drive Ultraviolet to somehow clear her name A lesser supervillain - "Red Line" - may have been a nemesis to Prolific when he was alive; I'm imagining this individual as a sort of comic relief character who performs vehicle-related crimes on a vehicle A mid-tier supervillain - "Bandit Queen" - may have been a nemesis of Prolific when he was alive; I have less ideas about this one, but she's obviously a gang leader and an agent of chaos A seriously powerful supervillain - "Death Wish" - is likely to have been the nemesis of Prolific when he was alive, and his sights will have definitely moved to Ultraviolet; his powers? Don't got a clue. Motivation? Ultimate goal? Nothing. Nada. I'll work it out with you if we get that far Project Cerberus may have been an independent venture by Kal U... but it could also have been orchestrated behind the curtains by another character or faction; maybe Death Wish? Then again, the GM may wish to leave this entirely alone and conveniently eliminate any traces of a superpower transference plot device - I only really needed it for my backstory, after all Prolific may have been a father and a husband, in which case his family would have immediately gone into hiding upon discovery of the superhero's true identity; maybe sometime down the line, the mother calls in a favor from Ultraviolet, and the team gets to go on a foreign expedition where she finally meets the true heir to Prolific's legacy? If you'll notice, Minavieve's mother isn't dead, she's just missing; the GM could add an additional layer to a significant NPC they have in mind by turning them into Minavieve's mother - whether it be a villain we face, an independent super with their own goals in the story, or even an allied NPC, the reveal is bound to be dramatic no matter what you choose For any implied super NPCs, I will volunteer to try my hand at building their character sheets, in order to reduce the GM's workload and give them an idea of what I had in mind. Conversely, if the GM already has NPCs that these concepts can be rolled up into, then I would be totally alright with any changes made to accommodate those merges. Different names, different powers - doesn't matter, as long as they produce compelling story threads.

 

Prompt #1 Music was a language all on its own, wasn't it? Whether it was the boom-pap of old school hip-hop, the shoe-tapping rhythm of an ecstatic acoustic guitar, or the slow, methodical waltz of a piano lilting across the room, there was always something to escape from the world with and disappear for a moment. And disappear Minavieve did, to drown out the sounds of the city from her oversensitive ears. It hadn't been until recently that she could pick out the mastication of every gum-chewer and the scrabble of vermin echoing minutely down the alleys like she was standing right there with a stethoscope, so she had to compensate somehow. Just until she could learn. She checked the time on her phone: 11:25. At her steady pace, Minavieve would make it to her destination by 11:45. She smiled. It's like dad used to say: she thought to herself, early is on time, on time is late, and late is pushups. That mantra had taken her far in life, even all the way through Kal University - or at least, most of the way through Kal U. She had stayed up later than usual last night trying to think of what she would tell her foster parents when she got to where she was going, but even now an excuse evaded her. What could she possibly tell Mr. and Mrs. Bauvine? That she had dropped out after a freak accident and never looked back? …To be honest, that actually sounded like a great idea. Just vague enough to pass muster, and certainly strong enough to justify her actions. Just then, however, a shrill sound bored right through her headphones and into her skull. It took a moment for Minavieve to register just what was going on. The sound was a constant drone jackhammering her eardrums, making her wish more and more that she could just turn it off. But eventually she recognized the pattern: the tinny metal cry of a bank alarm. With an explosion of force, the double doors of the Fifth Street Bank blew wide open. For a moment, all was still; a chill mist swept out onto the street, the alarm blaring amidst the silence. shh-shh-shh-shh-SHHH! And there he went. Black Ice, a notorious supervillain, passing right before her very eyes with scores of ill-gotten gains. There was something… elegant, about the way he broke the law. Minavieve checked the time again: 11:30. Maybe she could call the cops? They'd be able to handle it, right? She looked back at the retreating form of the misty, ice-dancing kleptomaniac. ... >Hey.< She tapped out a quick rhythm on her phone, messaging the Bauvines. >Something urgent just came up: I'm going to be late< She didn't even wait for her phone to chirp back a reply; she was already ducking into an alley and unzipping her favorite navy jacket to get to the sleek black underarmor beneath. It would take her mere moments to costume up, and then she would be off after Black Ice.

Prompt #2 It had been a calm, pleasant day at the beach for the citizens of New Liberty; sun lotion and sand castles had dominated the minds of the beachgoers there up until a few moments ago, but as they watched on and gathered, a peculiar sight met their eyes. There! A crimson underlight glowing beneath the waves! The people couldn't be sure who exactly had fallen from the high pier above, and so they stepped back cautiously as the beacon approached the shoreline. Soon enough, a young woman simply… walked out of the froth and the waves. The bizarre palette of neon reds, pinks, and purples created a halo, a corona of light beneath her soaked hair, even as it clung to her drenched body. She walked with less dignity and more focused frustration, stepping out into the sand and immediately reaching up to the commlink in her ear. "Sergeant Steel this is Ultraviolet, do you copy?" Her voice wasn't angry. No, she was just… problem-solving, that's all. The static crackled in her ear as if she had put her head right next to one of those old-timey television boxes. She discarded the useless device, putting a little bit too much strength into it and causing the thing to kick up sand under the impact. Breath, Minavieve, breath. She took stock of the situation. Here she was, dripping and smarting at her socked jaw while more beachgoers began to accumulate and whip out their phones. Sand was… everywhere. It was in all the crevices, causing her to shiver in a bad way. Maybe if she… Ultraviolet looked into the distance for a moment and focused. Tendrils of red lightning crackled and crawled across her skin, building up energy - a display that caused the crowd to flow back like vipers to a torch - before she released it in an almighty burst, glowing like the world's biggest incandescent Christmas light. When all was said and done, Ultraviolet was left steaming visibly from the evaporated ocean water. An aroma of ozone and concentrated salt spray assaulted the olfactory senses of everyone nearby, causing them to wince or sniff the air curiously. Well, at least she was dry n- flumf Ultraviolet sensed the click of many cell phone cameras. She dared not look up at her hair, but she could certainly feel it: the instant air-dry had caused her normally tame locks to frazzle into an awkward afro. She blinked once, slowly. She breathed in, and then exhaled deeply. "-s Sergeant Steel, do you copy-" Ultraviolet's head perked up. She looked over at the commlink she had so callously thrown away, her enhanced hearing allowing her to pick up the patchy communicae. She stepped quickly over to the device and picked it up out of the sand. She brushed it off as best she could, but the gritty feeling of sand in her ear hole still caused her to grate her teeth. "Sergeant Steel, is that you?" She couldn't help the stoic worry from creeping into her voice. "What's your status?" More static. "Dammit!" She looked up at the pier high above. She glanced at the gawkers down below. Now was not the time for vanity. People could meme, and joke, and cry, and cast a suspicious eye on her all they wanted, but that didn't change the truth. People needed her help, and right now, that was Sergeant Steel. The wind around the heroine seemed to change; warm air currents converged in her spot, and a Quintessent glow emitted from her body. With a flash of crimson light, Ultraviolet soared like a comet back up to the pier.

Hi Palliven! I'm one of the people from your interest check, so I had plenty of time to do up a character sheet beforehand. You might notice that I copied and pasted some of my character and backstory descriptions from the character sheet up to my application, so you can just gloss over any duplicate chunks of information.

 

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Hero | Ultraviolet

Secret Identity

Hero Identity

Identity | Minavieve Saint-Marie (Secret)

Gender | Female | Age | 22 | Height | 5'9" | Weight | 190 lbs | Eyes | Hazel Green | Hair | Golden Blonde
Group Affiliation | - | Base of Operations | - | Power Level | 9

Power Point Totals | Abilities [44] + Powers [61] + Advantages [7] + Skills [23] + Defenses [-] = 135

 

Appearance Minavieve and Ultraviolet are two different personas with subtle but significant changes that allow her to be a superhero with no need for a mask. Aside from Minavieve's irises filling with Quintessent light and her hair transitioning to a neon crimson glow with a pink underlight beneath, everything from her mannerisms to her vocabulary and pattern of speech changes. Ultraviolet's personality is the "all work, no play" side of her. She speaks little, but when she does speak people are drawn to listen, lest they miss the important information she is bound to convey. Ultraviolet has weight and gravitas lended to her by her insightful intuition into the hearts of her enemies, which she uses to speak to their better nature. Minavieve, on the other hand, can be compared to a placid lake with bioluminescent colors dancing joyfully beneath the surface. Whereas Ultraviolet is reserved and observant, Minavieve is more chill and approachable, ready with a conspiratorial smile and a cunning, humorous wit. Ultraviolet's costume is a tactical bodysuit with sleek dermal plating. The plates are cloud white with ribbons of pastel pink coloration, popping out from the black base shown in the joints and in-between spaces. Her emblem is a simple diamond-shaped gem - a Quintessant crystal glimmering in those aggressive reds, pinks and purples.

 

Backstory Minavieve's early life had been plagued with tragedy; a boulevard of broken dreams one after another. First it was the mysterious disappearance of her mother - a tour of duty gone wrong, with no explanation as to where exactly she might be. Minavieve had never really known her mother; she had been too young to remember anything much. Then, a few years later, it was the untimely death of her father. Him she remembered, and fondly, for he had instilled within her strong ideals to live by. The foster system was... well, it was what it was. As the time came closer for Minavieve to become an adult and try to make it on her own, everything just seemed to pile up all at once. Expectations to figure out who she would be and the lack of a good support system began to create issues for her, so much so that she was even assigned a therapist to talk things out with. One day, she had been sitting on a rooftop not really thinking about it, but... that superhero appeared behind her at just the right time. Prolific. That was his name. With only a few words, he expressed a level of understanding and sympathy that no one had shown to her in a long, long time. She cried into his arms that night, realizing then just how much she had been bottling it in. Sometimes, you have to break down in order to build yourself back up. Prolific had helped her realize that. Minavieve spent the next few years with her nose to the grindstone, picking herself up by her bootstraps and attacking life with a vision and a drive she had never had before. Before she knew it, she was achieving high grades in school again, and her passion took her straight to the top: a full ride scholarship to Kal University, one of the most elite (and secretive) science universities in the world. At Kal U, Minavieve slid comfortably into the good graces of her teachers; she was even invited to join a top secret honors project codenamed "Cerberus". Apparently, the university had gotten permission from a few supers to test their DNA samples, and with such incredible assets Minavieve was at the tip of the spear of innovation and discovery. Or so she had thought. One day, the news reached her ears through the grapevine: Prolific himself would be donating today! No, scratch that! He would be arriving today - of his own free will, of course - to be Project Cerberus' guinea pig for a day. Minavieve wasn't just excited, she was overjoyed!... but when her idol was brought in unconscious, she immediately started noticing red flags. Later, she would learn the truth: Project Cerberus hadn't been donated samples willingly by anyone, it was the lovechild of an evil organization or a powerful supervillain designed to take stolen samples and use them to try and create a super. On the day Prolific arrived, another group of superheroes had discovered this sinister plot in pursuit of him, and Minavieve had been caught up in the ensuing battle. On that fateful day, the leader of Project Cerberus refused to be thwarted from their all-consuming goal. They forced Minavieve into the prototype machine alongside Prolific, and turned on the device before they could be defeated. The power investiture device burned with the heat of one thousand suns; it flipped her inside out on a molecular, subatomic level, and then turned her right-side in again in the same amount of time. When all was said and done, she and Prolific were left smoking from every pore in their bodies... ...but Prolific had breathed his last, passing away in his sleep. As she cradled his unmoving body, Minavieve made an oath to him: an oath to take up his mantle, and to do justice to his name. Months later, Minavieve is now known as "Ultraviolet". She is imbued with Prolific's signature power: "Quintessence", an energy-rich, aggressively colorful combination of electrical energy and life energy in hues of red, pink, and purple. She has enhanced strength, speed, senses, and toughness, and she is capable of flight and Quintessent energy generation and manipulation. It was a bleak day when Ultraviolet attended Prolific's funeral. She couldn't help but feel every eye upon her; how suspicious was it, after all, that Prolific had died and someone with his exact same powers entered the mix almost immediately? She ignored them. She had already been living well enough by his principles on her own, and she accepted the burden of his legacy despite the challenges ahead.

 

Potential Story Threads The public may initially believe that Ultraviolet stole Prolific's powers and murdered him - which may or may not be true, from a certain perspective; societal pressure, hit pieces from news outlets, and even outright fear or rejection from civilians in need of help could drive Ultraviolet to somehow clear her name A lesser supervillain - "Red Line" - may have been a nemesis to Prolific when he was alive; I'm imagining this individual as a sort of comic relief character who performs vehicle-related crimes on a vehicle A mid-tier supervillain - "Bandit Queen" - may have been a nemesis of Prolific when he was alive; I have less ideas about this one, but she's obviously a gang leader and an agent of chaos A seriously powerful supervillain - "Death Wish" - is likely to have been the nemesis of Prolific when he was alive, and his sights will have definitely moved to Ultraviolet; his powers? Don't got a clue. Motivation? Ultimate goal? Nothing. Nada. I'll work it out with you if we get that far Project Cerberus may have been an independent venture by Kal U... but it could also have been orchestrated behind the curtains by another character or faction; maybe Death Wish? Then again, the GM may wish to leave this entirely alone and conveniently eliminate any traces of a superpower transference plot device - I only really needed it for my backstory, after all Prolific may have been a father and a husband, in which case his family would have immediately gone into hiding upon discovery of the superhero's true identity; maybe sometime down the line, the mother calls in a favor from Ultraviolet, and the team gets to go on a foreign expedition where she finally meets the true heir to Prolific's legacy? If you'll notice, Minavieve's mother isn't dead, she's just missing; the GM could add an additional layer to a significant NPC they have in mind by turning them into Minavieve's mother - whether it be a villain we face, an independent super with their own goals in the story, or even an allied NPC, the reveal is bound to be dramatic no matter what you choose For any implied super NPCs, I will volunteer to try my hand at building their character sheets, in order to reduce the GM's workload and give them an idea of what I had in mind. Conversely, if the GM already has NPCs that these concepts can be rolled up into, then I would be totally alright with any changes made to accommodate those merges. Different names, different powers - doesn't matter, as long as they produce compelling story threads.

Abilities Strength | 5 (1) | Agility | 1 | Fighting | 3 | Awareness | 6 Stamina | 5 (1) | Dexterity | 3 | Intellect | 3 | Presence | 4

Offense Initiative | +2 Unarmed (Close Combat) | +10 to hit, Damage 5 Energy Blast (Ranged Combat) | +10 to hit, Damage 5

Defense Dodge (AGL) | 1 | PARRY (FGT) | 3 | FORTITUDE (STA) | 5 | TOUGHNESS (STA) | 5 | WILL (AWE) | 6

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Skills Acrobatics 1 Athletics 1 Close Combat, Unarmed 7 Deception 1 Expertise, Science 2 Expertise, Physician 1 Expertise, Cooking 1 Insight 4 Intimidation 1 Investigation 4 Perception 4 Persuasion 4 Ranged Combat, Blast 7 Sleight of Hand 1 Stealth 1 Technology 2 Treatment 2 Vehicles 2

Advantages Interpose | Once per round, when an ally within range of your normal movement is hit by an attack, you can choose to make yourself the target of the attack as a reaction. The attack hits you rather than your ally, and you suffer the effects normally. You cannot use this advantage against area effects or perception range attacks, only those requiring an attack check. Leadership | As a standard action, you may spend a Hero point to remove one of the following conditions from an ally with whom you interact: Dazed, Fatigued, or Stunned. Inspire (Rank 1) | Once per scene, you may spend a Hero point and a standard action to inspire your allies to greatness. Allies you can interact with gain a bonus to all checks equal to the rank of this advantage (+1) until the start of your next turn. The inspiration bonus ignores power level limits, like other uses of Hero points. Takedown (Rank 2) | If you render a minion incapacitated with an attack, you get an immediate extra attack as a free action against another minion within range. Targets need not be adjacent to each other, and you move between attacks as necessary. You cannot cannot move more than your total speed in the round, regardless of the number of attacks you make, and you stop attacking once you miss, run out of movement, or there are no more minions within range of your attack. Second Chance (Mind Control) | Choose a particular hazard (Mind Control). If you fail a check against that hazard, you can make another check immediately and use the better of the two results. You only get one second chance for any given check, and the GM decides if a particular hazard is eligible for the use of this advantage. Improvised Tools | You ignore the circumstance penalty for using skills without the proper tools, since you can improvise sufficient tools with whatever is on hand. If you're forced to work without tools, you suffer only a -2 penalty. Connected | You know people who can help you out from time to time. You can call in such favors by making a Persuasion check. The GM sets the DC based on the aid required: a simple favor is DC 10,, ranging up to DC 25 or higher for especially difficult, dangerous, or expensive favors, if the GM allows it. You can spend a Hero point to automatically secure the favor, if the GM allows it. The GM has the right to veto any request if it is too involved, or if it is likely to spoil the plot. Equipment | Purchased 5 equipment points, which were spent on a Cell Phone, Computer, Video Camera, and Commlink.

Powers Power Points | - Invulnerability The mutant ability to tap into just a tiny fragment of cosmic energy for incredible survivability. Not only is Ultraviolet impossible to harm by the average knife or low-caliber firearm, she's resistant to suffocation and electrical energy, and her mutated blood allows her to recovery from injury far faster than normal. Enhanced Stamina 4, Impervious Toughness 8; Immunity to Vacuum (1); Immunity to Electricity (1); Regeneration 1 Super-Strength The mutant power to exert far more physical force than her form belies. Ultraviolet can carry more than 1 ton at a time, but lifting isn't the only purview of this ability: she can do it all. Enhanced Strength 4 Super-Speed The mutant power to move at inhuman speeds. Faster reaction time, task completion, and movement in general means something that would have taken an hour to accomplish can be done in half the time. Super-Speed 1 Enhanced Senses The mutant power to see in the ultraviolet spectrum and hear 10 times farther than the average person. Even the minute light of the stars can guide Ultraviolet at night. Ultravision, Extended Hearing Cosmic Blood The mutant power to cosmically generate energy. Even in her normal form, Ultraviolet can minorly manipulate energy. When she is in Quintessant Form, her blood can act as a usable fuel source for machines. Feature Alternate Form Quintessant Form Quintessence Control The mutant power to manipulate cosmic energy through generated electricity. Quintessant colors dance and burn whenever Ultraviolet fires energy beams, powers or saps electrical systems, and heals others. Energy Control - Electricity 8; Healing 5, Others Only Flight The mutant power to cosmically fly via energy propulsion. Quintessance is powerful enough to lift Ultraviolet off of the ground and propel her in any direction. Flight 4, Aquatic

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Gear & Equipment Cell Phone Commlink Computer Video Camera

Complications Hero Points | 1 Responsibility The responsibility of having great power can be a heavy burden, but some heroes feel it is their duty to use the powers they've been given for the greater good. Oftentimes, these heroes are trying to live up to an ideal like a mentor or a predecessor who inspired them. Doing Good Some heroes fight the good fight simply because it's the right thing to do, and they believe in doing the right thing no matter what. Their strong moral center may come from a good upbringing (or a bad one that showed them what not to do) or the guidance or inspiration of a mentor or idol. Enemy You have an enemy or enemies trying to do you harm. The GM can have your enemy show up to cause you trouble, and adventures involving your enemy tend to be more complicated for you. Identity Heroes often maintain secret identities, creating various complications as they try to keep them secret from friends and enemies alike. Reputation You have a bad reputation, affecting what others think of you (whether you deserve it or not). Having someone adopt a bad attitude toward you because of your reputation is a complication. You might struggle to overcome your reputation, taking chances or facing difficulties others do not as a result.

[GleefulNihilism]

A couple notes as ideas start to connect and spread -

-I fully intend to start the game where Grunge's only power is to turn into a puddle of water on the floor and back again. But I intend to set it up so that at any time he can get an upgrade that lets him move his own water molecules in his water form, which is a game changer. I just want to have him start mostly useless. :P
-I couldn't help but notice some themes going between some characters. Especially Grunge and Mermaid. I actually kind of like the idea that this isn't a coincidence, Atlantis exists in this setting and is so culturally restrictive that the Atlantians that can breathe air running up to the surface just to get a break from it is more common than Atlantis cares to admit. Just thinking it needs to line up a bit. Like Grunge is the Great-Grandson of an Atlantian Prince while Mermaid is the Daughter of a Noble. [Explaining why Mermaid's powers are stronger while Grunge's are more extreme in their nature.]

[Damionovich]

Originally Posted by GleefulNihilism

A couple notes as ideas start to connect and spread -

-I fully intend to start the game where Grunge's only power is to turn into a puddle of water on the floor and back again. But I intend to set it up so that at any time he can get an upgrade that lets him move his own water molecules in his water form, which is a game changer. I just want to have him start mostly useless. :P
-I couldn't help but notice some themes going between some characters. Especially Grunge and Mermaid. I actually kind of like the idea that this isn't a coincidence, Atlantis exists in this setting and is so culturally restrictive that the Atlantians that can breathe air running up to the surface just to get a break from it is more common than Atlantis cares to admit. Just thinking it needs to line up a bit. Like Grunge is the Great-Grandson of an Atlantian Prince while Mermaid is the Daughter of a Noble. [Explaining why Mermaid's powers are stronger while Grunge's are more extreme in their nature.]

You could also consider Grunge gaining the ability to change temperature of that water. Travel as water vapor and becoming solid with ice.

[Palliven]

Originally Posted by ArcZero

This is really exciting.

I know right! It's great game and I'm excited to be starting a PBP. I think the slower pace will help people absorb the mechanics without getting overwhelmed too.

Originally Posted by ArcZero

I see that there is a Time Traveler's Guide and Cosmic Powers. Are those allowed?

I debated about listing what is and isn't allowed and decided against it. At this stage, don't want to stifle any creativity or get into a micromanaging mode. Let's see what folks come up with. If I really think someone would be a good fit but their concept might not I would reach out to them by private message and have that discussion.

Originally Posted by ArcZero

...if you're interested in pairing up with someone to be part of the same family, "Lantern Corps" or any similar origin/power source that way people could take that into account when designing characters and do some PM'ing.

I'll leave that up to the potential player base. Two cautions though. If you build to a theme with others, will it hold up if not all get selected for the game? If too similar will it narrow the functionality and effectiveness of the team overall?

[Palliven]

Originally Posted by Seeks

I really love the love put into the ad narrative, by the way.

Thank you, appreciate that.

[Palliven]

A few people have asked about what books and powers sets are allowed so I might as well answer it here. My caveat is that all builds require my final approval.

M&M Deluxe Hero's Handbook
M&M Power Profiles

There are some powers that are not allowed:
Cosmic
Death
Magic
Time
Meta Powers (With prior approval)
Summoning (With prior approval)