Saturday, May 26, 2012

Presenting: The Starchild!

A couple of months ago, I took part in an actual play podcast for Marvel Heroic Roleplaying.  That led to an invite to take part in an ongoing series featuring Mutants & Masterminds.  This past week, I recorded a character generation session, available here.

Because I didn't have anything in particular I wanted to play, and to honor last year's ICONS exercise, I decided to use the Quickstart Character Generator, included in the M&M Gamemaster's Kit.  You can hear the full process on the podcast, but here's the result:


Starchild - PL 10

Strength 0, Stamina 1, Agility 1, Dexterity 2, Fighting 1, Intellect 4, Awareness 6, Presence 4

Advantages
Defensive Roll 7, Evasion 2, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Leadership, Set-up 2

Skills
Deception 8 (+12), Expertise: Astronomy 4 (+8), Perception 4 (+10), Persuasion 1 (+5), Stealth 8 (+9)

Powers
Cosmic Flight: Flight 5 (Speed: 60 miles/hour, 900 feet/round; Distracting)

Mental Attack Powers
   Inflict Blindness: Affliction 8 (1st degree: Impaired, 2nd degree: Disabled, 3rd degree: Unaware, Resisted by: Will, DC 18; Increased Range 2: perception)
   Mental Blast: Damage 6 (DC 21; Alternate Resistance: Will, Increased Range 2: perception)
   Mental Paralysis: Affliction 8 (1st degree: Dazed, 2nd degree: Stunned, 3rd degree: Paralyzed, Resisted by: Will, DC 18; Increased Range 2: perception)

Mind Reading: Mind Reading 5 (DC 15; Linked: Telepathy: Mental Area Communication 3)

Precognitive Reactions: Enhanced Fighting 1 (+1 FGT, Advantages: Defensive Roll 7, Evasion 2, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative)

Telepathy: Mental Area Communication 3 (Area, Linked: Mind Reading: Mind Reading 5)

Offense
Initiative +5
Grab, +1 (DC Spec 10)
Inflict Blindness: Affliction 8 (DC Will 18)
Mental Blast: Damage 6 (DC Will 21)
Mental Paralysis: Affliction 8 (DC Will 18)
Mind Reading: Mind Reading 5 (DC Will 15)
Throw, +2 (DC 15)
Unarmed, +1 (DC 15)
Complications
Enemy: ???: There are those whose awareness of Simon's alien parentage far exceeds his.  And although he is unaware of them, they are constantly monitoring his movements and his actions.  To what end?

Identity: In reality, Starchild is Simon Stern, an incoming freshman at Beacon University.  He hides his identity until such time as he completely understands his extraterrestrial heritage.

Motivation: Acceptance: Simon has been an outsider all his life: the child of a single mother (whom everyone in their small town considered insane), a brainy telepath in Coal Country.  In short, everything in his life to date has branded him as an outsider.  Beacon City represents his chance to change all that.

Motivation: Doing Good: Having grown up bullied, Simon is a firm believe in standing up for justice.  Back home, he couldn't use his powers to defend himself for fear of exposure.  Now, he can finally do something for the oppressed and downtrodden.

Quirk: When Simon uses his powers, his eye turn pitch black and seem to be filled with swirling spiral galaxies.  He's gotten reasonably good at concealing it, but if someone notices, it's obvious he's not a normal human being.

Languages
English

Defense
Dodge 12, Parry 12, Fortitude 4, Toughness 8/1, Will 10

Power Points
Abilities 36 + Powers 69 + Advantages 3 + Skills 13 (25 ranks) + Defenses 29 = 150

Background
Everyone back in Morgansville knew that Maisy Stern was nuts even before she started claiming the UFO came down and got her.  Everyone knew she'd just run off to Pittsburgh with some fella she met somewhere, and when she had that little boy a few months later, that just proved it.

Of course, no one really cared about her enough to do the math and realize she'd only run off three months earlier and she wasn't pregnant then.  But the good people of Morgansville had better things to do than worry about Crazy Maisy.

Maisy knew better, of course.  She wasn't crazy. Not most of the time, anyway.  And she remembered everything.  Her car stopping dead in the middle of a backroad.  The bright shining light coming out of the sky.  And him...he was tall, and slim, and wore silver and green, and his eyes were like looking into the night sky.  He spoke without speaking and called her to him.  They flew off in his ship and she saw the world from space...

Simon grew up hearing this story at least once a week, almost daily once Mama figured out he was different.  The worst part was, he knew it was true the first time he accidentally read her mind.

Growing up in Morganville was an exercise in survival for anyone who didn't fit in with the miners' kids, and Simon definitely didn't fit in.  By the time he learned to control his powers, he'd already alienated his peers.  The best he could hope for was to use them subtly, to avoid the worst of the beatings and to keep his grades up (it's hard to fail a test when you can read the teachers' minds). 

His grades got him a scholarship to Beacon City U., where he plans to major in Astronomy and maybe put his heritage to a good use.  As the campaign begins, he's newly arrived in the big city...

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