Subject: Re: char sheet
OK, I will respond in two parts. The first part will be fixing
arithmetical errors, and the second will be suggestions on how to make
the character more efficient. The first you have to listen to, the
second you don't :-).
First of all:
> personalities.
> ...
> the Cheetah--a normal animal. If sees a forest or tree filled park
> will dash off to it (no matter the situation) in hopes that it may be
> home.
Wait a moment. So you, the player, aren't planning to have any control
over the Cheetah form? Then you shouldn't pay any points for it! The
below discussion assumes that you would have control over the characer
in all 3 forms. If you can't use the Cheetah to do anything useful,
I'll give it to you for nothing, 0 points! Keep the human as the
first alternate form in the multiform, take the Cheetah as 0.
==================
First section - arithmetic and rules issues.
> Felinoid Form (Base Form)
>
> Name: Chetax
>
> val Char Base Pts
> ---------------------------------------------
> 18 Str 10 8
> 17 Dex 10 21
> 16 Con 10 12
> 18 Body 10 16
> 07 Int 10 -3
> 08 Ego 10 -4
> 18 Pre 10 8
> 08 Com 10 -1
> 05 PD 04 1
> 04 ED 03 1
> 05 Spd 2.7 2.3
23, actually, but that's probably what you meant.
> 10 Rec 7 6
> 40 End 32 4
> 40 Stun 35 5
> Characteristics Cost = 96
= 97, actually. Check the addition.
>
> Run (6"): 11"
>
>
> Pts Skill End/Roll
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> 11 Acrobatics 17
3 for base:(9 + DEX/5=12) + 4 levels at 2 points each = skill roll 16-.
> 3 Climbing 13
DEX-based, 12-
> 5 Breaking 14
Do you mean Breakfall? DEX-based, 1 level, skill roll 13-
> 9 Shadowing 14
INT-based, 3 levels, 12-
> 7 Stealth 15
DEX-based, 2 levels, 14-
> 5 Survival 12
> 3 Animal Handling 11
43 Total skill cost
> Pts Power
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> Multiform
> 22 I. Human
> 18 II. Cheetah
You have to pay 1/5 points for the more expensive form, the Cheetah:
163/5 = 33. The Human is then 110/10 = 11. Total of 4 more points.
>
> 9 Enhanced Perception +3
> 5 Ultraviolet Vision
> 10 Running +5"
> 15 HKA (+1D6)
> 9 H-H Attack (+3D6)
Just so you know, I don't use Hand Attack. You can have 15 STR, 1/2
END (+1/4), No Figured Characteristics (-1/2), No Lift, Jump, Grab,
Escape, Throw, or Casual STR (-1/2) for a total of +3d6 damage, for 1
END, and 9 real points...in other words exactly the same thing for
your purposes. :-). The only difference is that you have 19 Active
Points, not 9, for purposes of Drains, Multipowers, and such. For
exampe, it makes a difference in the Elemental Control I suggest
below.
Second, these attacks only give a total of 2d6 Killing damage, or 7d6
Normal damage. Fairly low for a 250 point character - you want to
average 10d6, no lower than 8d6 as your main attack. See below for
suggestions.
> 15 Armor +10pd
Hmm. This makes you as tough as a sheet of steel against bullets, but
completely without resistant defenses against blasters, lasers, or
other energy beams. Remember, though most normals will use sticks and
bullets, about half of your super-hero attackers will be using energy
attacks - and the super-hero enemies are the ones you really need to
worry about.
> 10 Instant Change (any clothing)
Any clothing? Something in the super-soldier genetic manipulation gave
you the ability to pop up a silk gown whenever you feel like it?
Neat trick, that. If all you want is the ability to get back the
Human's clothes when you change into the Human, you get that for
free as part of the Multiform (it's a "special effect").
117 Total Powers Cost
> ----
> 154 = Skill/power cost
160 Total skill + power cost.
> 96 = Char cost
> ----
> 250 = total
160 + 97 = 257 total. But don't worry, we can pare that down nicely in
the second, "suggestions" section.
>
> [do you have a book to explain the abreviations or do you need me to
> type them out?]
>
Oh, yeah. Do I ever. I have the Hero rules almost memorized! ;-).
> Disads
> ------
> Dependent NPC (the Geneticist trying to help Chetax)
> [Normal, 8 or less] 10
Unless you take a -5 to the disad (5 total) for "useful noncombat
skills", you won't be able to use the geneticist as a useful
character, any more than Peter Parker "uses" his Aunt May. In other
words, Laura won't be able to answer geneticist questions for Chetax,
won't be able to rescue her should the CIA capture her again,
etc. We'll have to figure out why that is - does Laura now regret
helping Chetax?
> Hunted by CIA [11 or less, more pow, NCI] 25
> Enraged when in Deadly Combat
> [uncommon, 14 or less, 8 or less] 12
Worth 13 disad points, actually. 25/2 rounds in your favor.
Also "Deadly Combat" would be "Common" at least, if not "Very
Common". After all, the villains will be trying to kill fairly often.
May I suggest the condition to be "when blood is spilled in combat",
or "when life is taken in combat"? That should make the condition more
rare. The first would be triggered when a person is bloodily wounded,
but not yet killed, while the second would be triggered when a person
is killed, even though not bloodily. Pick one.
> Distinctive features [concealable (with
> major effort), Causes Extreme reaction (fear,etc)] 20
"Extreme" reaction is kind of severe for the Superhero genre, where
people flying with wings and projecting beams from their eyes is
considered normal. This would have to be a pretty horrifying
appearance - consistently slavering, frothing at the mouth, bloodshot
red eyes, matted fur, twisted parody of human shape, etc. Might want
to go with merely a "Strong" reaction for -5 disad points less,
especially since your COM is 8, not 0.
> Secret ID 15
> Hate CIA [uncommon,Total] 15
Again, "total" is pretty strong. Should you see the CIA recruiting on
a college campus, you would HAVE to do something - and if you see a
CIA agent just walking by on the street, you might even attack. Just
so you know.
> Code against Killing
> she tries [common, strong] 15
> Revert back to base form when sleep 5
Actually this is another Accidental Change, right? Two points here.
1) The base form should not take this limitation - so 0 points.
The other forms should.
2) For the Human form, this would be a big disadvantage. It's a spy,
after all. Here you are, infiltrating an enemy base as a human, in
disguise - but you can't go to sleep or you blow your cover. For the
Cheetah this would be less of a problem - the Cheetah doesn't
infiltrate that much.
> Accidental change (when Felinoid form is confused or
> frustrated [Uncommon, 11 or less] 10
Accidentally change to what? To human, to cheetah, or to Felinoid from
either of the others?
> Vulnerability to ice attacks
> [common, 1 1/2 stun] 10
This is cold, not just ice, I assume. Based on the Cheetah being an
African savanna animal and all that.
> Hatred to cruelty to animals
> [uncommon, total] 15
Again, you would HAVE to act to stop someone kicking a dog, for
example. But you probably want this.
> ----
> 150
Total Disadvantages 149. You need at least 9 more points from
somewhere, but, again, see the suggestions section.
> HUMAN FORM
> Alexis
>
> Val Char base pts
> --------------------------------------------
> 10 Str 10 --
> 15 Dex 10 15
> 10 Con 10 --
> 10 Body 10 --
> 19 Int 10 9
> 10 Ego 10 --
> 19 Pre 10 9
> 20 Com 10 5
> 4 PD 2 2
> 4 ED 2 2
> 3 Spd 2.5 5
> 5 Rec 4 2
> 20 End 20 0
> 20 Stun 20 0
> ---
> 49
>
> pts Skills End/Roll
> -----------------------------------------------
> 9 Computer Programing 16
> 7 Acting 15
> 7 K/S Criminology 15
> 3 K/S Security System 13
I don't think these are KS's, I think they are full fledged 3/2 skills. If
so, the prices are correct. If they are Knowledge Skills, Criminology
should be a lot cheaper for that level.
> 9 Seduction 16
> 5 Disquise 14
> 2 W/F Small Arms
This means that should you encounter a gun, you can use it. You may
even own a gun. However, you do not carry that gun around in your
purse all the time. When you take it on missions, it should be an
exception, not the rule.
> 5 Concealment 15
> 3 Animal Handling 11
> 5 Break Fall 13
>
>
> 6 Armor (+3Pd, +1Ed)
What's this? Skin as tough as leather, in "normal human form"? Is
this meant to be a leather jacket or something? If so, get OIF,
Obvious Inaccesible Focus, or IIF, Inobvious ditto, if it is meant to
be hidden underneath normal clothing. Otherwise, I can let you just
have tough skin, but it will be obvious to anyone looking closely or
touching you - which, if you want to be seductive, just might happen
occasionally... :-).
> ---
> 61 Skills
> 49 Char
> --
> 110
Presumably you have many of the same Psych lims as the mixed form.
Do you want to specify any you might have in a less severe form, due
to that 19 INT? Since this form costs less points you have that liberty.
> Animal form
> Cheetah (standard stats in "HERO Betiary")
>
> val Char pts
> ----------------------------
> 17 Str 7
> 22 Dex 36
> 18 Con 16
> 12 Body 4
> 6 Int -4
> 5 Ego -10
> 18 Pre 8
> 10 Com --
> 9 PD 6
> 7 ED 3
> 4 Spd 8
> 9 Rec 4
> 36 End --
> 31 Stun 1
> ---
> 79
>
> cost Skills End
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> 16 1d6+1 HKA, reduced penetration (-1/4) -bite 2
> 12 1d6 HKA, reduced penetration (-1/4) -claws 1
You don't have to take the claws power separately from the bite - just
pay for the 1d6+1 HKA, and it can be either bite or claws, just like
your normal STR damage can be either a punch or a kick. Since you are
only using one attack at a time, it is just a special effect as to how
you choose to do the damage. This is despite whatever the Hero
Bestiary may say - the Hero authors get the basic rules wrong too,
sometimes. :-)
> 3 +1 PD, +1 ED Armor
> 24 Running +12" (18" total) 1/5"
> 10 Tracking scent
> 6 +2 to all perceptions (12-)
> 8 +2 to hearing & smell Perceptions (14-total)
This also seems weird. It costs 6 to get +2 with all PER, and 8 to get
+2 with only some senses? I would make the latter only cost 4.
> 3 Climbing 13-
> 5 Concealment 11-
> 3 Stealth 13-
> 10 +2 w/ H-to-H combat
Total Skills & Powers 84
Total Cost 163
> Disads
> -------
> Physical limitation: no fine manipulation 15
> Creature Bonus 114
You don't get a Creature Bonus - those are for NPC's. You would
however get plenty of limitations due to being an animal - Distinctive
Appearance, Hunted: Zoo, Psychological Limitation: Wild Animal,
Physical Limitation - can not communicate, etc., so I will let that slide.
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
> OCV:7; DCV:7; ECV:2; PHASES: 3,6,9,12;
>
*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*
OK, now the second part, SUGGESTIONS.
In Champions, you can often save points by raising the base
characteristics, and lowering figured characteristics and derived
skills, especially for a "natural" character, not a tool-user. In
this case, you can actually save points by raising STR, and CON. You
can get +1 to all DEX-based skills by raising DEX to 18 for only 2
extra points, but I would go farther than that in your case, all the
way to 23 - you will need it for combat. Your PD and ED are fairly low,
you need to not be hit as often. Just as a side note, it rates to get +1
to PER and Shadowing by raising INT to 8 for 1 point.
Felinoid Form (Base Form)
Name: Chetax
val Char Base Pts
---------------------------------------------
28 Str 10 18
23 Dex 10 39
19 Con 10 18
18 Body 10 16
08 Int 10 -2
08 Ego 10 -4
18 Pre 10 8
08 Com 10 -1
06 PD 06 0
04 ED 04 0
05 Spd 3.3 17
10 Rec 10 0
40 End 38 1
40 Stun 42 -1
Characteristics Cost = 106
Run (6"): 11"
For skills, you should look up "Skill Levels" in your rulebook. To
save points, take some 3 point skill levels with "tight groups". The
following example keeps skill rolls as you had them, but assigns 2
levels to the skills: Acrobatics, Stealth, Shadowing. Those can all be
fairly reasonably grouped together, if you consider that with your
Distinctive Appearance, your Shadowing is not going to consist of
"blending into the crowd", but of athletically springing up trees,
fire escapes and such, to avoid notice. Another tight group is to
Acrobatics, Shadowing and Survival, this time symbolizing Hunting
skills ("stalk and pounce").
Pts Skill End/Roll
---------------------------------------------------------
3 Acrobatics (DEX)**+ 17-
3 Climbing (DEX) 14-
3 Breakfall (DEX) 14-
3 Shadowing (INT)**+ 14-
3 Stealth (DEX)** 15-
3 Survival (GEN)+ 12-
3 Animal Handling (GEN) 11-
6 2 (3 point - "tight group") skill levels, marked *, among
Acrobatics, Stealth, Breakfall, Shadowing
3 1 (3 point - "tight group") skill level, marked +, among
Acrobatics, Shadowing, Survival
30 Total skill cost
Chetax's Powers call out for an Elemental Control. This is described
in the books as a "bonus for a tightly knit character conception," but
I treat it as a limitation for "obvious powers." In other words,
anyone looking at you will notice that she looks like a superhero
Cheetah, and will reasonably expect her to be able to do Cheetah-like
things, that is, run fast, have good senses, have relatively tough
fur, have a nasty bite and/or claws, and hit hard (Shere Khan could
"kill a bullock with one blow", right? Of course he was a tiger, not a
cheetah, but that's close enough for comic-book veracity). They will
not necessarily expect her to be able to change shape, so the
Multiform doesn't get the EC bonus. The Ultraviolet Vision would fit
fine, since Cats have great night vision, but the arithmetic of the EC
makes it more cost effective outside.
As mentioned above, you also don't need "Instant Change" if all you
want is the ability to get back the Human's clothes when you change
into the Human - "last set of clothes" can come for free with the
Multiform.
Pts Power
-----------------------------------------------------------
10 Elemental Control - "Cheetah powers"
10 Enhanced Perception: +4 all senses, +4 extra hearing and smell
10 Running +10", 16" total
10 HKA (1D6+1K, 2.5D6 with STR)
11 Armor +8pd, +6ed
07 +20 STR, No figured, Only for strike, 1/2 END (1 END) (9.5D6 strike)
Now you have 2 1/2d6 Killing damage, or 9 1/2d6 Normal damage, which
is more respectable. Also see the Move By and Move Through Combat
Maneuvers - basically, you can use your Running speed to get extra
damage from momentum, by slashing as you run by, or running directly
into the foe.
Multiform
33 I. Cheetah
11 II. Human
(or 22 I Human ; 0 II Cheetah (not under player control))
05 Ultraviolet Vision
107 Total Powers Cost
137 Total skill + power cost.
106 = Characteristic cost
----
243 = total character cost
Disads
------
Dependent NPC (the Geneticist trying to help Chetax)
[Normal, 8 or less, Useful non-combat] 5
Now the DNPC is useful. She'll still get in trouble occasionally, but
now you can call on her for help too. Not to stop bullets for you, of
course :-).
Hunted by CIA [11 or less, more pow, NCI] 25
Enraged when Life is Taken in Combat
[uncommon, 14 or less, 8 or less] 13
Distinctive features - Cheetah "Lon Chaney Wolfman" [concealable (with
major effort), Causes Strong reaction (fear,etc)] 15
Secret ID 15
Hate CIA [uncommon,strong] 10
I toned down the Distinctive Features and Hate CIA Psych Lim. They're
still there, just not so total.
Code against Killing
she tries [common, strong] 15
Accidental change (when Felinoid form is confused or
frustrated [Uncommon, 11 or less] 10
I still don't know what this a change TO - please specify. To human,
to cheetah?
Vulnerability to cold attacks
[common, 1 1/2 stun] 10
Hatred to cruelty to animals
[uncommon, total] 15
You're 5 points shy, since I toned down some limitations. Let me
suggest:
Susceptability to extremely loud noises, extremely sharp odors -
[uncommon, 1d6 STUN per occurence or per minute] 5
This would be from your heightened senses. Since it's "uncommon" it
would not be every loud noise - not just a car horn, but maybe a
foghorn at point blank range, or an air-raid siren.
----
143
If you want to spend more points or move points around, I would
suggest getting more PD or ED (non resistant - you have enough
resistant), maybe a few more points STR. Try and compare your
character combat-wise to Howler or some other character in the
Rulebook. Also, a few more human skills can be quite cost effective -
see below.
HUMAN FORM
Alexis
Here you can actually afford to spend more points - you are only
paying 1/10 of these from the base form, after all. But let's see what
we can get just by raising characteristics and lowering skill levels here.
Don't be afraid to take characteristics above 20 - this is a
super-hero game, after all. Mythic demigods and supra-geniuses with
PRE and INT 40+ (respectively) wander around occasionally.
Val Char base pts
--------------------------------------------
10 Str 10 --
15 Dex 10 15
10 Con 10 --
10 Body 10 --
23 Int 10 13
10 Ego 10 --
23 Pre 10 13
20 Com 10 5
4 PD 2 2
4 ED 2 2
3 Spd 2.5 5
5 Rec 4 2
20 End 20 0
20 Stun 20 0
---
58
Alexis has so many skills that it's worth it to get an 8 point "all
skills" skill level. In fact, you may consider making it a 10 point
"overall" skill level which would include combat as well.
pts Skills End/Roll
-----------------------------------------------
5 Computer Programing (INT)* 16-
3 Criminology (INT)* 15-
3 Security System (INT)* 15-
3 Concealment (INT)* 16-
3 Acting (PRE)* 15-
5 Seduction (PRE)* 16-
3 Disguise (PRE)* 15-
2 W/F Small Arms
3 Animal Handling (GEN)* 12-
3 Breakfall (DEX)* 13-
8 One "all skill" skill level (marked *)
41 Total Skills
9 Concealed light bulletproof vest Armor (+7Pd, +5Ed), IIF, 12- activation
(doesn't cover head, limbs)
---
50 Skills + Powers
49 Char
11 Unspent!
--
110
You even end up with 11 points to spare!!! Spend them on whatever you
want - or just get rid of them, and save the base form a whopping 1
point. (2 if you don't pay for the cheetah). You probably want to even
get more stuff for this form, since it's relatively cheap. Pay for
them with a few of the psych lims from the base form...
(
geocities.com/siliconvalley/vista/Vista/2013/cheetax) (
geocities.com/siliconvalley/vista/Vista/2013) (
geocities.com/siliconvalley/vista/Vista) (
geocities.com/siliconvalley/vista) (
geocities.com/siliconvalley)