Three words:

Paste

Pot

Pete

c) Knock Back Recovery: When knocked back from a hit, an Agility save allows Cap to recover without taking damage

I like this!

SuperFriend wrote on Aug 11^th, 2009 at 12:53am:


I actually can't take credit for the idea. I originally saw it in Super Crooks and Criminals, and thought it'd be a perfect fit for Cap.

So, anyone else have a comment on Cap? I'd really like to hear what you guys think of his shield write-up.

Doctor Foom wrote on Aug 11^th, 2009 at 3:03pm:


Cap's shield is supposed to be composed of a Adamantium-Vibranium super alloy. Vibranium absorbs energy. Here's a Wiki quote that can explain it. "The Wakandan isotope possesses the ability to absorb all vibrations in the vicinity as well as kinetic energy directed at it. The energy absorbed is stored within the bonds between the molecules that make up the substance. As a result, the more energy vibranium absorbs the tougher it becomes."

Luke Cage, Hero for Hire! (circa early 1980’s)

Level: 10

Powers:

Heightened Strength B: +20

Heightened Endurance A: +8

Invulnerability: 20 points

Body Power: Dense! Weight increase

Heightened Expertise: +4 to hit with “street fighting” weapons, including fists

Natural Weaponry: +1, +2 with fists

Weight: 425 lbs
Basic Hits: 9

Strength: 38
Endurance: 22
Agility: 14
Intelligence: 11
Charisma: 14

Hit Mod. (2.8)(2.6)(1.3)(1) = 9.464
Hit Points: 85
Power Points: 85

Accuracy: +1, +6 with fists
Damage Mod.: +1, +3 with fists

Detect Hidden: 18%
Detect Danger: 20%

Carry Capacity: 12,128 lbs
Basic HTH Damage: 2d10

Notes:
My house rule adds Level to Detect rolls.

Power Man is a street-level brick with cool. So far, HTH damage looks like:
Hawkeye: d8
Captain America: d10
Power Man: 2d10
Ms. Marvel: 3d10
The Thing: 4d10
Wonder Man: 5d10
Thor: 5d10
Hulk, not too angry: 6d10
Thor with Mjolnir: 7d10
Hulk, angry: 7d10 +

Yeah, but that was ages ago. Some of what I've posted here is based on my faulty memory of that peek, as mentioned before.

I do recall he used standard powers whenever possible. But games were simpler then.

Re: the shield: It is indestructable, but Cap's shield arm isn't. So I can see how it comes down to a set number of Invulnerability points.

That said, I love seeing inventive takes on the rules, and everyone's interpretations of known characters.

dsumner wrote on Aug 11^th, 2009 at 6:36pm:


The vibrianium explanation is a technical way to explain the exceptionally high structural rating for the shield. (It's like the reference books saying that Angel has a special body power that makes him especially adapted for bird-like flight; in game terms, that simply transfers to wings). I think you can simply give it a high SR and high Invulnerability w/out playing it out as absorption. I don't know if the short-term absorption boost ever playing out in the comics. If you have some issues showing that, though, more power to ya!

SuperFriend wrote on Aug 11^th, 2009 at 9:50pm:


I'm trying to figure out a way to show how much damage the shield can take, so I'm still pretty open to ideas. I just may give it a higher structural rating say 50?

Hey,
SF: Thor is taller and wider than Cage but I recall that from Cage's origin event at Seagate prison, it's explained his muscle and tissue were now more dense. It's how they justify his invulnerability and that his fists are 'strong as steel.'

Unlike Thor, I've always thought (perhaps wrongly) that Cage was heavy, pardon the pun.

But I'll look through the run and try to find a legit quote.


DS: Iron Fist? Hmmm.

The second wave of New Mutants were more powerful than the first, except for Aqualad (I mean Cypher). As more and more adventures became dimension-hopping misadventures (turning the exceptionally interesting/deep Magik into a time-travel cliche) soaked in madcap muppet-like madness (turning Warlock from a thought-provoking sf concept into Fozie the Bear), they became hard to take seriously. I'm not even going to bother with the subsequent members of the team.

Many heroes are more powerful than this batch of New Mutants, but in game terms they aren't easily playable.

Magma
Weight: 120 lbs., Basic hits: 3
1. Heightened Endurance: +10
2. Chemical Power: her body turns to magma, defends as the better of flame/chemical power, attacks as the better of flame/disentigration ray, 2d8 damage, PR = 8 per attack (with disintegration effects). With her chemical power active, she can tunnel through substances at speeds similar to vibratory powers, PR = 2 per turn.
4. Mutant Power: can create earthquakes, radius = Strength x 10" (PR = 10 per turn) or Strength x 100" (PR = 20 per turn). Everyone on the ground must exercise special care or save vs. Agility (d20) to avoid suffering 1-6 points of damage (similar to the consequences of darkness control). GM/player's discretion: some areas also randomly effected as if hit by a small grenade: attacks at fourth level, +2 to hit, 1d10 damage).

Though introduced as a plot device, Magma has her earthquakes under control by the time she officially joins the New Mutants.


Magik
Weight: 120 lbs, 3 Basic Hits
1. Dimension Travel Type 1: PR = 4 to travel to limbo. After she is there, she can spend one action to return anywhere on earth. Doing this, however, operates as Dimension Travel Type 2: time travel. As a result, she may not return to earth exactly when she likes.
2. Astral Projection
3. Willpower B: automatically resistant to telepathy, mind/emotion control
4. Special Weapon: With once action she can summon her Soul Sword: +4 to hit, HTH +1d8 damage, automatically penetrates mystical defenses and can disspell magical/psionic influences.
5. Armor B: Magik cannot voluntarily summon her mystical Eldritch amror.  Beginning at 2nd level, whenever Magik is physically hit but still conscious, there is an 80% chance per hit point lost that 10 points of the armor will mystically materialize. Later, 30 points automatically appear when she draws her Soulsword. Maximum ADR = 80.
6. Low Self-Control: see notes under dimension travel and armor.


Cypher
Weight: 150 lbs., 3 Basic Hits
1. Psionics: By spending one action to listen/read a foreign language can become fluent if he saves vs. Intelligence (d20 for conversational human languages, d100 for extraterrestrial languages), PR = 2 per attempt. This same power allows him to decipher computer codes (d20 for logical systems) or the meaning behind cultural symbols (d100 for highly subjective codes), PR = 2 per attempt.

Cypher is very intelligent, but he does not have heightened intelligence as a separate power.

In retrospect, Warlock could be considered Cypher's animated servant.

Warlock
Estimated weight: 240 lbs. (or higher), Basic Hits 5 (or higher)
1. Robotic Body (mechanoid life form): 40% human appearance, +20 Strength
2. Transformation/Shapeshifter: functional mechanical objects/vehicles at least as large as a helicopter. Through training he also learns to create a persona that looks 100% human
3. Stretching Powers
4. Adaption
5. Death Touch
6. Special Requirement: With little understanding of cultural norms (such as the difference between life and death), Warlock requires constant supervision.

In time, Warlock and Cypher merge into a composite being called Douglock, jumping more sharks than Fonzie.

SuperFriend wrote on Aug 12^th, 2009 at 6:07am:


It's true. He's better at taking damage than dishing it out. But over time, it adds up.
Giving Marvel the benefit of the doubt, maybe it's because they were looking for a 'street level' guy.
But once he became an Avenger he should have been mutated or something to step it up.

Spider-Man (circa early 1980’s, pre-black costume and Clone story)

Level: 18

Powers:

Animal/Plant Powers: Arachnid: -4 to Strength, +2 to Endurance, +2 to Agility

    -Heightened Strength A: +20

    -Heightened Agility A: +20

    -Heightened Senses: Spider-Sense: Detect Danger x 3

    -Special: Wall crawling: Spidey can move on any surface

Special Weapon: Web Shooters. 12 charges (Spidey is often out of webbing fluid at this time.)
+2 to hit on HTH attack column. If struck, target is entangled and must use action to cause 12 points of damage to it to escape.
     
    -Speed Bonus: Web-Swinging: +75” to movement. 1 charge per hour.

    -Special: Spidey can use webbing in other creative ways: create parachute, cushions, clubs, etc. at GM’s discretion. Costs at least 1 charge per use.

Heightened Intelligence A: +10. Petey's been a nerd/whiz kid from the beginning and invented the web compound!

Heightened Expertise: +4 to hit in unarmed combat and with web shooters

Heightened Defense: -4 to be hit when aware and mobile

W: Prejudice: This game weakness was likely created with poor Spidey in mind.


Weight: 160 lbs
Basic Hits: 4

Strength: 35
Endurance: 12
Agility: 39
Intelligence: 24
Charisma: 16

Hit Mod. (2.6)(1.4)(4)(1.5) = 21.84
Hit Points: 87
Power Points: 110

Accuracy: +6, +10 unarmed and with Web shooters
Damage Mod.: +7

Carry Capacity: 3,526 lbs
Basic HTH Damage: d12

Detect Hidden: 36%
Detect Danger: 84%

Gear/Inventions:
-Spidey Tracers that he can follow with his Spidey Sense.
-Spidey Signal
-The Spider-Mobile: the less said, the better!

Notes:
I have a House Rule where you add your Level to your Detect rolls.

When he doesn’t have his arm in a sling, Spidey is often found waking up in garbage can-filled alleys after being knocked unconscious during this period, hence the 12 Endurance. But he still has a lot of hit points.

When leveling, he’s been training in Strength and Agility over his career. His Charisma was also lower when he started, around a 10.

If possible, Spidey evades with his first action.

Other weaknesses could be: Aunt May, Broke, Oath, and the Bad Luck that seems to follow poor Petey.

In Amazing Spider-Man King-Size Annual #15 (1981), the web-slinger ranks himself against lots of Marvel folks. In that issue, he says he's among the super-medium weights. That bracket includes two of my favs: Power Man and Giant Man II (Wm. Foster), along w/an early She-Hulk.

Below him are the middleweights. These include the blue Beast, Spider-Woman, Cap. Britain, and Tigra.

Below them is all the strong but not superhuman heroes, like Falcon and Black Panther and some guy who looks like Thor in a loin cloth.

SuperFriend wrote on Aug 13^th, 2009 at 8:44pm:


Ranked in strength or overall?
Who was the writer?
In his guest appearance in the Byrne FF, Spidey struggles to pick up a compact car, and knows better than to dare get involved with Galactus.
I agree with that. I see Spidey as a very tough street level hero, but that's just MHO.
Interesting how people see the same character differently.
Thanks.

Harkker wrote on Aug 13^th, 2009 at 10:09pm:


Thanks.
I think all my sheets lift less than the Marvel Handbook lists. 
I don't always agree with those and try to stick with the comicbook issues if possible. But that's imperfect too.
I guess I'm interpreting them to also make them like (playable?) V&V character sheets.
Also, it's real tough in V&V to make a Wonder Man strong kind of character. Maybe that's coloring my interpretations too.
Finally, if Power Blast is an indication of an energy blast, getting over 2d10 is a big deal.  I'd rather not have to have every Power Blast guy have to have Heightened Attack.
Thanks for the feedback! 

EDIT: Thought a little more and added more

Dr. Foom, iz you really Jack Herman or Jeff Dee in disguise? You seem to know a lot about the intention and tone of V&V? I mean this as a compliment!

Hey, my Spidey write up can punch through brick walls!