Four hero writeups from one of the games I'm actually playing in, and the only current series where I've actually racked up a couple of collections worth of game time. I'll leave it up to the readers to decide which one of them is my alter-ego in game. The other three heroes are written up with permission of their players.
Our team operates around the Albany-Schenectady-Troy region of New York state as part of a federal hero initiative thing, with a hypothetically secret base underneath a huge abandoned high-rise warehouse building that's something of a legendary real-life eyesore in Albany's downtown. It's as good an explanation for why the fool thing is still standing as anything. Our logo is a spiffy "3C4" graphic one of our more artistically-talented players made up for us.
Mostly we've been punching android shapeshifters bent on...something? Taking over the state legislature? Also some minor supernatural weirdness and an alien tourist who turned out to be a con man trying to steal the Egg, Albany's most noteworthy architectural feature. Or at least the only one They Might Be Giants have sung about. We've also been ordered to stay out of New York City for, ah, reasons. Campaign vibe has been pretty gonzo and very focused on the local scene, to everyone's satisfaction since we're all from around here.
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Name: Richard Reed, the Malleable Man
Origin: The Malleable Man will be happy to tell you that he isn't a "stretchy guy" hero at all, that's just your personal perception of reality at work. What looks like stretching or teleportation is just (!) him bending the fabric of space-time through sheer force of will. He actually has to keep his mind on it to avoid casually distorting his local and personal reality in ways others find disturbing or unnatural.
Richard didn't always have that problem and still isn't sure why he developed his condition a few years ago. Most likely it was one of his many experiments, or an unanticipated interaction of several of them. Regardless, it's given him a new insight into the working of the multiverse as well as proving helpful in his frequent encounters with criminals interested in his inventions. Reed doesn't really think of himself as a superhero, but he's too good-natured to ignore injustice and evil-doing. There's also something to be said for a chance to field test his latest creations around supers who aren't likely to (say) experience molecular decohesion from a little casual Z-Wave exposure.
Description: Smiling young man of average height and weight, but unless he's paying attention his body and face tend to distort in an odd, cartoonish fashion. Wears a medium blue jumpsuit whose many pockets bulge with various gadgets and tools he's invented, and a hefty dark gray utility belt carries more in its many pouches. Almost always has a set of odd-looking goggles on, although he's got many sets of them that do different things and swaps between them regularly. If he expects to need them he'll dig out a set of jet boots but usually just wears comfortable but sturdy black work boots instead.
Gender: Male Age: Mid-Twenties Height: 5'11" Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde Buzzcut Skin: Lightly Tanned Build: Average or Cartoonish
Background: Academic Power Source: Unknown Archetype: Reality Shaper
Personality: Cheerful Health (G/Y/R): 30/22/11
Powers: Elasticity d10, Inventions d8, Teleportation d6
Qualities: Self-Discipline d12, Investigation d10, Banter d8, Reality Is Subjective d8, Science d8, Technology d8
Status: Green (30-23) d10 / Yellow (22-12) d8 / Red (11-1) d6
Abilities:
Green
Playing Dice With the Universe (R) After a dice pool is rolled, adjust any one die up or down one value on the die.
Principle of the Gearhead (A) Overcome a technological challenge. Use your Max die. You and your allies each gain a Hero Point. Minor twist: What device just shorted out? Major twist: What machine just went terribly off the rails? RP: You always know the general state of repair and function of an item of technology, regardless of complexity or origin.
Principle of Science (A) Overcome a challenge while applying specific scientific principles. Use your Max die. You and your allies gain each gain a Hero Point. Minor twist: What were the surprising effects of leveraging that principle in this situation? Major twist: What just blew up? RP: You are up to date on and understand the most modern scientific theories and can quote from them in conversation.
Twist Space-Time (A) Attack using Elasticity. Move the target anywhere nearby in the scene. If the target goes next in the turn order, you decide who takes the next turn after them.
Yellow
Flexible Fighter (A) Attack using Elasticity. Hit one target with your Min die, another target with your Mid die, and Boost with your Max die.
Nix (R) When a nearby enemy would create a mod, you may remove it immediately.
Testing Some New Toys (A) Boost all nearby allies using Inventions. Use your Max + Mid dice. Hinder yourself with your Min die.
Red
Break Reality (A) Overcome using Self-Discipline. Use your Max + Min dice. Hinder all nearby opponents using your Mid die.
Reform the Form (A) Hinder yourself using Elasticity. Use your Min die. Recover Health equal to your Max + Mid dice.
Time-Space Stutter (I) When you use an action ability, you may also perform any basic action using you Mid die on the same roll.
Out
Bend Reality A Bit (A) Boost an ally by rolling your single Elasticity die.
Tactics
The Malleable Man starts most action scenes by judiciously using Twist Space-Time to reposition opponents both physically and in the turn order, frequently waiting to act in a round until second to last so that the heroes can have a villain act last while still controlling the first activation of next round. He'll try to use Play Dice With the Universe or Nix on every round, with the former useful on any dice pool and the latter being a strong counter to a big Hinder or Boost. In the Yellow zone his go-to ability is Flexible Fighter and he'll often save up several "Pumped Up" bonuses for later use with it. Testing Some New Toys is a strong way to grant multiple allies a solid Boost - average result will be a +3 bonus and +4 isn't impossible - for a small self-Hinder. If pushed to the Red zone by damage he'll use Reform the Form while using his free basic action from Time-Space Stutter. Break Reality lets him apply his raw willpower to Overcome almost any problem while impairing the actions of his foes. When Out, his allies will still benefit from Bend Reality A Bit as his unconscious will reaches out to support them.
Reed's biggest weakness is the lack of defensive reactions, and his damage output is pretty lackluster as well. Teammates with tricks to Defend allies are a big help for him, while his dice manipulation, mod countering and mass boosts are beneficial for them.
When building dice pools, Elasticity will generally be paired with Self-Discipline (the quality that helps him maintain his apparent form and the fabric of the universe around him) or Reality Is Subjective. Inventions can do almost anything but usually pairs with Technology, Investigation, or Science - and some social qualities when he's using his hypno-goggles or psycho-sonic irritation inducer, which absolutely sounds like a vuvuzela on steroids. Reality Is Subjective reflects his quirky sidewise view of how the cosmos works, and like most RP qualities can fill in for others situationally, particularly esoteric information or mental ones.
Outside of an action scene, Reed is an excellent researcher, incredibly self-controlled (making it easier to stay upbeat about things no matter what), quick with a joke, and well versed in comic-book science and technology. He's no great physical specimen and can be a little dense about social nuances, though.
Trivia
His supranym "Malleable Man" is a bit of a private joke, since (no matter what it may look like) he's not changing at all, the universe is. It's only his iron will that keeps him from bending it more than he does, making him the very opposite of "malleable" by definition.
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Name: Troubleshooter
Origin: You're not cleared for that information. "John Smith" is the only name he'll give, and he prefers to go by "Troubleshooter" in the field. He'll admit to being a former super-agent (although he's vague about what agency he worked for, or even what government) but says he's operating on his own these days, having "activated himself" in response to the return of [insert sinister conspiratorial organization here]. He must have some kind of serious security clearance given the way officials react to him but isn't well-known in the supers-community. "John" is obviously the product of some kind of elite training program, and his equipment is bleeding-edge even by mad science standards. His exotic firearm (who goes by "Gun" socially) is almost certainly smarter than he is, but Gun doesn't rub it in and they work well together as a team.
Description: Tall, lean man wearing a sleek smart matter suit with adaptive camouflage, usually set to a default gray when not in use. The suit sports chunky gauntlets and vambraces studded with emergency defensive systems and tool pouches on both thighs but is otherwise featureless and as snug as light powered armor can be. The helmet is a featureless opaque oval but is usually kept retracted, forming a thick collar.
He carries a hefty Kirby-tech firearm that's also made of smart matter and alters its form (and output) for optimal effect on any given shot, as well as giving the artist a chance for some creativity. The firearm hosts a sophisticated artificial intelligence which is capable of speech, both vocal and over radio frequencies or even laser comms. It isn't shy about speaking up, and uses a variety of voices as it pleases, usually sticking to a default TTS voice while on missions. In more relaxed circumstances, its favorites seem to be Mel Blanc and Clint Eastwood.
Troubleshooter is often accompanied by his signature vehicle, the Universal Mobility Unit. This is a arrowhead-shaped platform about seven feet long and three feet wide at the base, sporting the same adaptive camouflage of his suit. It can be ridden either lying down, kneeling or standing thanks to inertial dampers and the smart matter of the flight platform adhering to its rider. The UMU lacks visible controls and is operated by its own limited AI, usually networked with the operator's suit and smart gun.
Gender: Male Age: Fifties? Height: 6'4" Eyes: Gray
Hair: None Skin: Weathered Build: Lanky
Background: Retired Power Source: Training Archetype: Marksman
Personality: Decisive Health (G/Y/R): 28/21/10
Powers: Adaptive Smart Gun d12, Power Suit d8, Agility d6, Universal Mobility Unit d6
Qualities: Criminal Underworld Info d10, Imposing d10, Ranged Combat d10, Alertness d8, Stealth d8, Veteran Government Agent d8
Status: Green (28-22) - d8 / Yellow (21-11) - d8 / Red (10-1) - d8
Abilities:
Green
Principle of Detachment (A) Overcome a challenge related to duress or fear. Use your Max die. You and your allies each gain a Hero Point. Minor twist: Who have you alienated with your distant behavior? Major twist: How have you withdrawn from the current scene to cope? RP: You are detached from emotional situations and always keep your cool.
Principle of the Detective (A) Overcome to learn hidden information Use your Max die. You and your allies gain each gain a Hero Point. Minor twist: What important clue did you just miss? Major twist: What major secret was just revealed that you would rather have stayed hidden? RP: You can always tell when an important piece of information is being left out or obscured, though you might not know exactly what it is.
Scoped Out (A) Boost using Ranged Combat. Use your Max + Min dice. This bonus can only be used against one chosen target, and is persistent and exclusive against that target until it leaves the scene.
Target Designation (A) Boost using Adaptive Smart Gun. Create one bonus using your Max die and another using your Mid die.
Yellow
Adaptive Countermeasures (R) When you are Attacked by a nearby enemy, the Attacker also takes the same amount of damage.
Steady Fire (A) Attack using Adaptive Smart Gun. Use your Mid die to Attack one extra target for each bonus you have. Apply a different bonus to each Attack.
Supporting Fire (A) Attack using Alertness. Boost another hero using your Max die.
Tailored Shot (A) Attack using Ranged Combat. Use your Max die. If you roll doubles, use your Max + Min dice instead.
Red
Access To the Files (A) Overcome using Criminal Underworld Info. Use your Max + Min dice.
Emergency Measures (A) Attack multiple nearby targets using Power Suit. Use your Max + Mid dice. Take irreducible damage equal to your Min die.
One Perfect Shot (A) Attack using Adaptive Smart Gun and at least one bonus. Use your Max + Mid + Min dice. Destroy all your bonuses, adding each of them to this Attack first, even if they are exclusive.
Out
Independent Tac Analysis (A) Boost an ally by rolling your single Adaptive Smart Gun die.
Tactics
Troubleshooter is aptly named. He sees trouble, it gets shot. His signature weapon can reconfigure itself on the fly for optimal effect on almost any target, mixing customized projectiles with exotic energy emitters as needed. Perhaps surprisingly for someone who comes off as very grim and no-nonsense, he generally tailors his shots to be non-lethal. He explains this as being better for questioning afterward as well as attracting less negative media attention. Troubleshooter's signature vehicle isn't real fast but it's small, maneuverable, and can fly, swim, maneuver in zero gee, and generally go just about anywhere. John's suit is lightweight by power armor standards and is optimized for stealth, recon, reactive defense systems and communications functions rather than being loaded with integrated weaponry or impenetrable armor and force fields.
In a fight, he'll open by using Target Designation to aid himself and/or allies, or spread Scoped Out over key targets until he's pushed into the Yellow. At that point he switches to Tailored Shot for maximum damage, Supporting Fire to assist an ally, or Steady Fire to gun down multiple targets - the latter being especially powerful if he has a Scoped Out bonus on more than one enemy. If Attacked he'll return the favor with Adaptive Countermeasures, using the reaction against whatever seems to be the biggest threat. In the Red he'll either take one Perfect Shot to try to drop the biggest threat, or use Emergency Measures to deal with multiple foes at close range. His Access To the Files means he's very good at Overcomes while under pressure, making him very versatile when it comes to dealing with challenges - and keep in mind that "hiding with Stealth so you don't get finished off" is also a perfectly valid Overcome action.
Outside of action scenes, he's a good detective, makes a great scout or sentry, is very good at intimidating people and nearly impossible to rattle or get a rise out of. His mysterious past has given him a lot of official contacts and a knack for dealing with bureaucracy. He's also incredible at darts and an amazing baseball pitcher. Throws southpaw, too.
His weaknesses are pretty obvious. He's fragile, he prefers to stay at range, and without his gear he's pretty much just a very skilled human. Many people find him distant and cold as well, which actually suits him better than he'd like to admit. Getting close to people usually gets them hurt - but maybe supers will be up to the risks he lives with?
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Name: Stalwart
Origin: Shannon O'Connor is the heir to her deceased parents' controlling interest in O'Connor Industries, a sprawling business that's been growing steadily since the 1800s. She hasn't let her billions blind her to the state of the world though, and it was her desire to push the company in a more socially responsible direction that led to her gaining her super-powers. Two of her uncles were bitterly opposed to her progressive business initiatives, and resorted to literal black magic to attempt to put their wayward niece under their arcane domination. Sadly for them, their diabolic ritual was disrupted by a cult-hunting superhero, and the resulting mystic backlash granted Shannon amazing powers. She took it in stride, and now splits her time between doing what good she can as a wealthy philanthropist and fighting super-villainy in her guise as Stalwart. She may eventually adopt other super-identities, but for now she's still getting a feel for the whole hero business.
Description: She's a shapeshifter, and a pretty good one. Her preferred super-self is a towering example of (her idea of) physical perfection, blue-eyed, raven-haired and gracefully athletic. Her costume is prone to change without warning, but currently she she favors a tunic, long pants and calf-high boots in shades of white and off-white.
Gender: Female Age: Twenty-something (Thirty-something)
Height: 5"6' (Varies from 3" to 12', usually 8') Eyes: Green (Blue) Hair: Red (Black)
Skin: Freckled (Flawless Ivory Perfection) Build: Compact (Statuesque)
Background: Upper Class Power Source: Supernatural Archetype: Physical Powerhouse
Personality: Stalwart Health (G/Y/R): 30/22/11
Powers: Presence d10, Strength d10, Vitality d10, Shapeshifting d8, Size-Changing d6
Qualities: Conviction d10, Fitness d10, Billionaire Philanthropist d8, Insight d8, Persuasion d8
Status: Green (30-23) - d8 / Yellow (22-12) - d8 / Red (11-1) - d8
Abilities:
Green
Confront My Foe (A) Attack using Fitness. The target of that Attack must take an Attack action against you on its next turn if possible.
Mighty Strike (A) Attack using Strength. Use your Max die.
Principle of the Indestructible (A) Overcome in a situation where you charge headlong into danger. Use your Max die. You and your allies each gain a Hero Point. Minor twist: What goes wrong with your defenses? Major twist: Who gets hurt other than you as a result of you not being able to take damage? RP: You ignore damage from unpowered close combat attacks and primitive ranged weapons.
Principle of the Mask (A) Overcome using knowledge from your civilian life. Use your Max die. You and your allies gain each gain a Hero Point. Minor twist: What clue about your real identity did you leave behind? Major twist: Who from your civilian life is now in imminent danger? RP: You have a career that allows you to slip between identities with ease.
Yellow
Boundless Energy (A) Boost yourself using Vitality. Use your Max die. This bonus is persistent and exclusive.
Take Heart! (A) Boost an ally using Presence. You and nearby heroes in the Yellow or Red zone Recover health equal to your Min die.
Enduring Spirit (I) Reduce any physical or energy damage you take by 1/2/3 while you are in the Green/Yellow/Red zone.
Red
Draw Their Attacks (R) When an opponent Attacks, you may become the target of that Attack and Defend by rolling your single Fitness die.
Protect Them All (I) You can take one Reaction each turn rather than one each round, but for each Reaction after the first in a round you either suffer 1 irreducible damage or take a minor twist.
Still Undefeated (A) Hinder yourself using Vitality. Use your Min die. Recover Health equal to your Max + Mid dice.
Out
Fight On! (A) Boost an ally by rolling your single Presence die.
Tactics
Stalwart is an iconic hero; strong, tough, and confident while remaining connected to the those she's protecting. Her Shapeshifting ability is a secret she protects as much as her civilian identity, although she's used her Size-Changing in public on rare occasions. It's entirely possible that she might try adopting other heroic facades under different names, but for now she prefers her striking 8' tall form. In a fight she opens with hard-hitting Mighty Strike attacks or ties up enemies with Confront My Foe. In the Yellow zone she'll use Boundless Energy as soon as possible and may even take a twist to use it early in Green, especially if she has a temporary bonus from another source to pump it up further. After that she'll continue with her Green abilities or aid allies with Take Heart! for group healing supplemented by bonuses. Enduring Spirit lets her resist a lot of incoming damage, although she needs to watch out for psionic/mental/emotional onslaughts. When things get dire, she can use Draw Their Attacks with Protect Them All to defend against every Attack the enemy attempts, at least until she runs out of Health or gets swamped with minor twists. On her first turn in Red she'll use Still Undefeated to regain a large amount of Health and likely go back to Yellow status. If the scene tracker reaches Red while she's still got a lot of Health left she can reasonably expect to react to every single enemy Attack till the timer runs out, stopping ~8-9 damage each time if the damage is physical or energy type. If taken Out she'll still offer some support to an ally with Fight On!
Outside of action scenes, she's remarkable good in most negotiation situations, absurdly healthy, practically radiates confidence, and has a slew of connections in business, legal and activist circles. She's part of that 1% of the 1% that uses her enormous inherited wealth and power for things that actually help people, although most of that will be done outside of her super-persona. She can also use her Shape-Shifting and array of qualities to disguise herself with ease, letting her access places and people neither her real self nor her Stalwart persona could normally get anywhere near without major complications. Her Size-Changing lets her vary her size from 3" to about 12' without having to push things with an Overcome, which can be handy for various things. She's uncomfortable about "getting small" but not enough so to stop her from doing so when need be.
In terms of weaknesses, her versatility is rather limited by her reluctance to reveal her Shape-Shifting power, which she could otherwise use to (at the very least) cover for her lack of mobility powers by emulating Flight, Wall-Crawling or Swimming and the like with suitable body modifications. She's also lacking practical experience in much beyond philanthropy, money management and some sociology. College gave her an excellent education, but it was broad rather than deep and she's still pretty young.
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Name: Upshift
Origin: Sam Quade grew up with and on the internet, using it from childhood as a creative outlet that his musician parents didn't entirely understand but were generally supportive of. He'd acquired a degree of internet fame as a versatile content creator by his late teens - and then at 18 his mutant powers spontaneously manifested, and suddenly his personal "connection speed" to the universe increased by several orders of magnitude. With the best internet sites too slow to keep his full interest any more, he got off his couch and looked outside for a change. He didn't like a lot of what he saw, and as a super he had more power to make the world a better place than he'd ever had as youtuber. Upshift was born - but he's been careful to keep his secret identity secret while continuing to put out online content as his cover. Not the right time for a face reveal yet, and video editing is so much easier at superspeed.
Description: A slender young man, unassuming in appearance when out of costume. In his hero persona he wears a sleek white bodysuit with red boots, gloves, and snug "ski mask" style hood that leaves only his eyes and mouth exposed. The suit has a large upward-pointing red arrow icon on its chest and a smaller white arrow on the forehead of the hood. The entire outfit is made of a tough low-friction material except for the soles of the boots and the palms of the gloves, making it easier to quickly don or remove as well as harder for others to get a grip on.
Gender: Male Age: Twenties Height: 5'9" Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown Skin: Caucasian Build: Lean
Background: Performer Power Source: Genetic Archetype: Speedster
Personality: Inquisitive Health (G/Y/R): 34/25/12
Powers: Agility d10, Speed d10, Awareness d8, Teleportation d8, Vitality d6
Qualities: Acrobatics d10, Finesse d8, Fitness d8, Internet Content Creator d8
Status: Green (34-26) - d6 / Yellow (25-13) - d8 / Red (12-1) - d12
Abilities:
Green
Everywhere At Once (A) Attack multiple targets using Acrobatics. Use your Min die. Hinder each target with your Mid die.
Flash Healing Aura Strike (A) Attack using Agility. Other nearby heroes in the Yellow or Red zone Recover using your Min die.
Principle of the Everyman (A) Overcome when using a bonus from another hero. Use your Max die. You and your allies each gain a Hero Point. Minor twist: Which hero did you just make look good at the expense of yourself? Major twist: How are you utterly, totally out of your league? RP: When needed you can make yourself just another face in the crowd.
Principle of Speed (I) When you successfully Overcome, you may end up anywhere in the current environment. You and your allies gain each gain a Hero Point. Minor twist: What physical drawbacks do you suffer from going too fast? Major twist: What critical detail did you speed past earlier that is now coming back to haunt you? RP: You're fast, and like to be on your way as quickly as possible.
Warp Time (A) Boost or Hinder using Agility. Use your Max die. If you roll doubles, Attack using your Mid die.
Yellow
All-Out Attack (A) Attack multiple targets using Agility. Use your Max die against one target and your Mid die against each other target. If you roll doubles, take irreducible damage equal to your Mid die.
Metabolic Amplification (A) Boost yourself using Agility, then either remove a penalty from yourself or Recover using your Min die.
Time Sight (R) When damaged by an environmental target or a surprise Attack, Defend yourself by rolling your single Awareness die.
Red
Instant Zoom Gate (R) When an Attack would deal damage to a nearby hero in the Red zone, you may take 1d6 irreducible damage to redirect that Attack to a target of your choice other than the source of that Attack.
Maximized Flash Healing (A) Hinder yourself using Vitality. Use your Min die. Recover Health equal to your Max + Mid dice.
Out
Shared Awareness (A) Choose an ally. Until your next turn, that ally may reroll one of their dice by using a reaction.
Tactics
Upshift is a mutant with greatly accelerated reflexes as well as the ability to slice "zoom gates" in space-time that let him instantly move himself and other people or objects over considerable distances. He also perceives time strangely, not only processing sensory input almost instantaneously but often being able to see the results of actions fractions of a second before they occur, which helps him target his zoom gate teleports more accurately. Upshift starts with a wide variety of useful abilities in a fight, including a multi-target Attack & Hinder in Everywhere At Once, a Max-die Boost or Hinder that also Attacks on doubles with Warp Time, and an Attack with built-in party healing when using Flash Healing Aura Strike. In the Yellow he adds slightly risky higher damage option with All-Out Attack, a Boost with some self-healing or penalty removal with Metabolic Amplification, and a somewhat limited defensive reaction with Time Sight. In Red Upshift has a phenomenal but painful reaction with Instant Zoom Gate, which he usually follows with Maximized Flash Healing to heal back into Yellow.
His qualities make him good at most physical tasks while his powers let him go almost anywhere and expand his senses. He benefits from being in the Yellow zone for a better status die, since his metabolism responds to stress by hyper-accelerating. Upshift's Internet Content Creator quality stems from a lifetime of blogging, vlogging, video creation, voice acting and digital art projects, and he pretty much lived online prior to his mutant powers manifesting. He's an encyclopedia of trivia about a crazy variety of subjects and is a wizard at online research, although he's not a hacker as such. His civilian ID is also "internet famous" and can reasonably expect to get help from his fans when needed.
If he's got a major weakness I'm not sure what it is. Lack of deep knowledge of any particular subject? Mediocre face to face social skills? He used to have a serious internet addiction issue but the web is too slow for him now, so he's broken that habit. He needs to get amped up a bit to have a decent status die, and tends to catnap a lot owing a weird metabolism. He's also a fairly new hero and sometimes feels like he's in over his head but he's also a quick learner so that won't last long.
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