[M&M] Freedom City Rumble!

[HolyAvenger]

Game Name Freedom City Rumble!

Game System Mutants and Masterminds

Theme Modern Day

Flavour Combat/Role Play

Plot Summary The inhabitants of Freedom City cry for your help!! Numerous street gangs and criminal factions have almost completely taken over the city. The most popular criminal known as Doctor Darkness has boasted that there is no one who can stop his villainous plans of taking over completely! His organization has corrupted the local government and has influenced the city police force through bribes and extortion. Doctor Darkness also boasts that his Super Villain Crew known as "Body Count" is undefeated in battle! Do you have what it takes to thwart the evil that is rampantly spreading throughout the city?

[Archaon]

Posting interest. What kind of flavor are you aiming for? From the nicknames, I'd say something mildly cheesy perhaps?

[HolyAvenger]

I am looking for anything from mildly cheesy to something very creative. I like ingenious backgrounds and extensive history, but not necessary as long as you are unique!

[AximusLokar]

Name: Hahn Hanaro
Age: 22

Concept: Hot Blooded Med Student. Hahn is able to control his blood external to his body in various forms. This blood exhibits several strange properties including extreme toxicity and heat.

Personality: Hahn is best described as impassive. He isn't prone to emotional outbursts and prefers to think over a situation carefully before reacting. He considers himself an extremely logical person though he does have a strange affection for the occult, rationalizing it as a study of eccentric human psychology.

(See Power Breakdown for additional note)

Background: Hahn's parents were already well into their forties when he was born which some would say accounts for his sedentary demeanor. Growing up he spent more time exploring new academic interests than interacting with his peers. Those few close friends he had were made over an unusual mutual interest and thus tended to die out when one or both moved on. His most enduring friendship has been with Joshua Neuman because of their shared interest in the occult, particularly from a psychological standpoint. While Hahn was working towards entering Med School Joshua has pursued an education in psychology and social sciences.

Because of their advanced age Hahn's parents tended to be unusually frank with him about issues of health and mortality so it's not unusual that he leaned towards medicine in his studies. Graduating a year early he entered college on a scholarship majoring in biology and organic chemistry with a minor in psychology. After completing his four year degree he entered med school.

A little under a year into the program he suddenly received a message from his parents on his voicemail. The contents of the message was mostly garbled noise but he could make out two parts when the background static hit lulls. "We're sorry" and, just before it cut out, "Goodbye". When he went back to his childhood home to check on them he found that they had both passed away in the night, their medical autopsy found no cause but due to their age it was ruled to be natural causes.

From there things only became stranger. The voicemail had disappeared and his phone records showed no call at all that night. His scholarship that had been set to pay for his tuition up to beginning his residency suddenly hit bureaucratic snags. Seemingly simultaneously the city began to turn for the worse, with empowered thugs and gangs growing in number and influence. When the school year ended he decided to take the following year off from med school to work out the issues with his scholarship and attend to his parent's funeral.

Despite all of this his life was still relatively normal at this point. That changed one night when while walking home he was confronted by a mugger, held up not at gunpoint but by the balls of fire he held in each hand. Suddenly Hahn wasn't feeling so sluggish anymore. In fact he hadn't felt so energized his entire life. He still doesn't know what possessed him to provoke the guy, whether it was the culmination of months of stress and his life being upended or the first burst of what he'd later come to term a blood haze, but the next thing he knew a stream of fire was heading at his face.

A moment later his vision cleared and, while the top of his shirt and jacket were burned away, his skin was completely fine. On instinct he reached out to grab the man before he could do anything else and a sharp pain ripped through his wrist as a tendril made of blood extended outward and grasped the fire-user's arm before flinging him against a nearby wall at which point the man freaked out and ran away. Freaking out more than a little himself he wrapped the open wound on his arm and ran home. By the time he got there his flesh was completely unblemished.

Over the coming weeks Hahn became more and more aware of the feeling of his blood moving through his veins and once the initial shock had passed he began to experiment with his control over it. He found that he could extend it from nearly any point of his body, the minor incisions healing over in seconds once the blood pulled back inside, and with practice form a variety of shapes. Though far from an expert he did have the supplies and knowledge to conduct a blood examination and found that his blood had become extremely volatile and toxic, which he assumed was mitigated in his own system either by this newfound ability to regenerate or merely an immunity to his own toxin. He also found his blood had an unprecedented ability to absorb and retain heat such that any exposed flame coming into contact with his skin would be drained away through his pores.

When news of Body Count and it's leader escalated from 'a rising menace' to 'this is our city now' Hahn knew he had to do something. His ambition to be a doctor stemmed from his desire to help people. But there were plenty of people smart enough to become doctors. This was an obstacle that had to be tackled by those...somewhat more than human.

Power Breakdown Primary Power-Set: Blood Manipulation With focus or in an active situation Hahn's blood begins to practically boil in his veins. This results in a semi-manic high-energy state as his body floods with adrenaline(or something less...natural?). While something like this would normally be extremely taxing on one's organs the nature of Hahn's altered blood seems to repair tissue damage at an extremely accelerated rate. Psychological Note: Though not really changing his personality this high-energy state does make him more prone to emotional decisions and risky behavior. Through experimentation he has found that he can freely control his blood and extend it outside of his body in a number of simple forms. Thus far he is most comfortable invoking a series of simple tendrils or a pair of blood scalpels. The scalpel form is particularly dangerous as examination has shown his blood to be extremely volatile. Unless taking care to prevent it trace fragments left behind in a cut burns away nearby tissue as it destroys itself. Secondary Power-Set: Fire Generation A side-effect of his superheated blood is a high degree of resistance to external heat sources and the ability to generate flames. By separating a drop of blood and letting it combust he can control what seem to be fireballs for short amounts of time. Tertiary Skill: Occult Discovered completely on accident while trying to distract himself from the passing of his parents and emergence of his powers. On a whim Hahn broke out one of his old highschool notebooks where he had compiled notes on various occult ritual theories. When the first circle he drew in his blood immediately turned black on the page he become convinced that something strange was going on. He is unsure if the source is supernatural or psychological, with the occult framework providing a focus for a facet of his powers he has yet to grapple, but with the right symbolic linework he's been able to reproduce a few simple effects such as binding circles and illusions.

Hooks Hahn's closest friend is Josua Neuman. Like Hahn he also graduated from high school a year early and attends college in Freedom City studying psychology. 'Adrenaline junky' is a term for a reason. While it's not damaging to his body so far are there long-term effects of pushing himself too far into a blood-fueled overdrive? There's a bit of a 'demon' vibe going with both blood and fire. Despite working to protect people his power may be too creepy for most people to accept him as a hero. The circumstances of his parents death and the immediate descent into chaos of his life thereafter feels too sudden to be coincidence, and their unnatural final message implies they knew something ahead of time. Was their being so open about their mortality and preparing him for when they died a sign they've known this would happen for most of his life?

[Archaon]

That concept seems vaguely familiar.

[JagerBlonde]

Name: Krystal Tarrant

Hero Moniker: Shiver

Age: 24

Concept: Ice/Cold Powers. Krystal is a reporter who always seems to get the good stories when it comes to powered heroes and villains in Freedom City. She is envied for her contacts who keep her in the know. As the heroine called 'Shiver', she is also known for not giving interviews, nor staying in the limelight very long. She takes care of business and then slips away.

Personality: Krystal uses her media contacts and influence to help the 'good heroes' of Freedom city whenever she can. She will also interview villains on occasion, and keep their locations, or meeting places secret. Though so far, these 'villains' she's interviewed have gotten too much into getting the spotlight, and all gotten themselves caught. She's fair, and always seeks the truth, but doesn't always believe that the full measure of the law is the right way to get things done.

Background: Krystal seemed to always know what she wanted growing up, and that is to make a difference and give voice to people that didn't have one, and shine the light on injustice or the forgotten things and people of the world. It wasn't much of a stretch that she become an investigative journalist and reporter. She was always a class leader, and had a way of boosting others morale in standing up and being heard.

Power setup Ice/Cold Power array - Affect Environment (lower temperature/impede movement - Create Ice - Ice Blast - Ice Snare - Icy Surface - Flight (Platform Flight)

 

[JagerBlonde]

Originally Posted by Archaon

That concept seems vaguely familiar.

That may be a theme here. my app in the works...

[AximusLokar]

If you mean of another character in fiction, I can't think of one but I wouldn't doubt it. As they say, there are no original ideas.

If you mean of my other application, it's because once I develop a character to a certain point I really want to play them and so rather than scrap apps that don't get in I keep them in an archive so that I can give them another chance with further tweaks where needed.

You should see some of the stuff I have archived. Revenant Ex-Paladins, Crystaline Telekinetic Pseudo-Constructs, wanderers with dark pasts and demonic destinies. Some I've been able to use, some I haven't. But all are characters that, given the chance, I would love to play.

[HolyAvenger]

Originally Posted by JagerBlonde

Posting interest. What edition will u be using? Do you take people new to system? What starting level will it be?

I will be using 3rd Edition and do take people new to the system. I am currently debating what power level the characters will be starting at..

[Archaon]

Originally Posted by AximusLokar

If you mean of another character in fiction, I can't think of one but I wouldn't doubt it. As they say, there are no original ideas.

If you mean of my other application, it's because once I develop a character to a certain point I really want to play them and so rather than scrap apps that don't get in I keep them in an archive so that I can give them another chance with further tweaks where needed.

It was actually just meant as a quick joke/quip.

And just to continue the question-train:
Will our PCs start off as a group to begin with (and thus already familiar with each other) or would we be kicking off from an individual perspective? Will our PCs be new to the scene (having recently gained their powers) or do we start off as already established heroes? Would we be working under a benefactor/banner/organization or purely of our own accord? Are we intended to be classic paragons of virtue or will the PCs' morality be a bit more gray? Will the story focus be on our heroic actions (with most of our characters' personal lives being glossed over) or will the PCs' personal lives play a more major role (resulting in frequent party-splits and the risk of "Sorry, I can't make it to the boss fight. I'm babysitting my niece right now and I have to work the nightshift right after that."'mundane' situations preventing actual heroics)? Just how dark/corrupt is the setting? Will we be the only ones struggling against the criminal/villainous elements or are we simply part of a larger struggle? Is the baddies' control of the city/police universal (making him capable of simply sending the cops after us) or just to the point where they look the other way? And just how much cheese are you inclined to tolerate? ie: Do we run the risk of fighting alongside a sentient telekinetic bagel?

TLDR:
-How will we be starting off?
-Virtuous stereotypes or actual people?
-Dark tensions or cartoon-like heroics?

[AximusLokar]

Originally Posted by Archaon

It was actually just meant as a quick joke/quip.

I assumed

Originally Posted by Archaon

And just how much cheese are you inclined to tolerate? ie: Do we run the risk of fighting alongside a sentient telekinetic bagel?

See, you're probably listing that as a 'too ridiculous for anyone to actually do'. I was once in a game that had in it's roster an imaginary racoon and a psychic wheel of cheese. And those weren't even the 'crazy ones' in the group. That distinction belonged to my character, Donny. Creating time paradoxes was one of his primary powers. As in he once escaped from a prison cell to grab a steak from the cafeteria because he saw himself being escorted back to it(and waved to himself). That's not the reason he escaped, that's how he escaped.

[Archaon]

Originally Posted by AximusLokar

See, you're probably listing that as a 'too ridiculous for anyone to actually do'. I was once in a game that had in it's roster an imaginary racoon and a psychic wheel of cheese. And those weren't even the 'crazy ones' in the group. That distinction belonged to my character, Donny. Creating time paradoxes was one of his primary powers. As in he once escaped from a prison cell to grab a steak from the cafeteria because he saw himself being escorted back to it(and waved to himself). That's not the reason he escaped, that's how he escaped.

Nice.

The gaming group I'm in actually ran a one-shot once that involved a telekinetic/psychic boulder and a few other odd misfits that I can't quite remember. If I recall correctly, the plot mostly revolved around the group achieving immortality so they could get infinite XP from killing every living thing on the planet (they managed to destabilize the moon's orbit, so that would happing after ~200 yrs). Fun times.

[JagerBlonde]

Got my app started above. May add to it a bit after I sleep on it.

[XQbitor]

What's your take on Variable and Summon powers? Have a concept in mind

[Archaon]

@HolyAvenger: There's two other adverts for M&M games that have finished recently. So if you send out a few PMs to the people that didn't make the cut (and whose applications you liked), you might be able to drum up a few more players for this game.