Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Heroes Unlimited: World's Strongest 13


Previously on World's Strongest:
Impact, The Alien Renegade
Calamity, The Cybernetic Sniper
Megaton, Friendly Neighborhood Nuclear Warhead
The Whirlwind, a Fusillade of Fisticuffs
Car Mage, The Wizard of Wheels
Night Sheriff, The Sheriff of Shadows
Hammer of Heaven, The Daring Demon Hunter
The Wanderer, Precocious Practitioner of the Arcane Arts
Storm Eagle, Queen of the Skies
Breakthrough, Multi-powered Mutant Powerhouse
Mr. Shade, The Ninja Vigilante
Wrath, Mistress of Mayhem

And now...

Now we will move into an area that is really poorly put together. Psionics are a big part of the Palladium system, but it seems like a barely thought through add on that was mushed into the game without much thought. The psionics section is positioned like it is part of the Physical Training category. All the other categories are separated from each other with a cool picture and a stylized logo and everything. Then comes Psionics with a logo, but the picture shows up at the end and there is no separation. Its quite jarring. Also there are no steps in listed. It is just the same as other, except you get psychic powers.

For this one I will be breaking my rule on attributes at 11. As the core attribute for this category is Mental Endurance and if you don't have enough in that you will suck at everything. So I will be starting with a 20 in ME, and the rest at 11.

Skill Programs are normal, so I think I will be going with the Physical Program and the Medical Doctor program. I see this character as a bit of  support character rather than a front line one. He is the guy you go to when the bad guys have filled you full of bullets and you need a discrete bit of surgery to keep on walking and talking.

Physical Program
Boxing+1 Attack, +2 Parry and dodge, +1 roll w/punch, +2 PS, +10 SDC
Gymnastics+2 roll w/punch, +2 PS, +1 PP, +2 PE, +7 SDC
Acrobatics+2 roll w/punch, +1 PS, +1 PP, +1 PE, +3 SDC
Wrestling+1 Roll w/punch, +2 PS, +1 PE, +13 SDC
Medical Doctor Program
Biology
Chemistry
Pathology
Medical Doctor
Secondary Skills
Climb
Prowl
Swimming
Research
Martial Arts
Language, Polish

After picking through all of that, the next thing is gaining the bonuses and psychic powers that come with this category. I will be making a Natural(also called Master) Psionic. This means I get 10 powers from the three lesser categories(physical, Sensitive, and Healing) and three super Psionic powers. Also I get a couple of attribute bonuses. I would like to take a moment here to talk about the oddity of saves. Saving versus magic is based around the casters level. The casters level sets the base number needed to save, while the target can get bonuses to the roll. However Psionics works a little different. To save against psychic power you roll against a number based on the targets training in psionics. That is just weird.

+5 ME
+2 MA

Physical
Summon Inner Strength
Mind Block
Telekinetic Punch

Sensitive
Intuitive Combat
Precognition
Sixth Sense

Healing
Increased Healing
Psychic Diagnosis
Psychic Purification
Psychic Surgery

Super
Mind Bolt(each six ISP spent adds 1D6 damage)
Pyrokinesis
Telekinesis

After that it is just the standard follow up stuff. Seriously the whole category is less than two pages long, and half of that length is the second kind of psychic. A less powerful and kind of useless psychic type. I mean, I got nothing to work with here. What even are psychics in this setting? Apparently they are different than magic users, and have powers that are not super powers. So in this setting there are five sources of superpowers, Physical Training, Technology, Magic, Super Powers, and psychic powers. OK. I can work with that. Maybe psychics keep themselves to themselves, they tend to remain hidden.

Name: Steven Jones
Super Identity: The Physician
Alignment: Anarchist

IQ: 11
ME: 25
MA: 13
PS: 19
PP: 13
PE: 15
PB: 11
Spd: 11

HP: 18
SDC: 63
ISP: 130

Skills
Boxing; Gymnastics; Acrobatics; Wrestling; Biology; Chemistry; Pathology; Medical Doctor; Climb; Prowl; Swimming; Research; Martial Arts; Language, Polish

The Polish Mafia have been running drugs through the Southpoint Burrough of Coast City. They started in the eighties with party drugs, now they move more than just coke and ecstasy, now they are trafficking in hyper drugs, and bizarre magical concoctions from the old country. Steven was a doctor working at the free clinic in Southpoint when some kid hopped up on magical PCP unleashed an chemical weapon using that same drug. All the patients and their waiting families went berserk. Nearly a hundred people died. Steven became aware of the world on a fundamental level. His third eye awakened and his psychic powers flowed into him. It also made him a bit...off. Now he has set up shop in an abandoned subway station. He specializes in healing vigilantes and those who prey on the criminals. He takes payment in favors owed. And one day he will call those favors due, and the blood of criminals will run red in the streets.

Well I think we got some good world building out of this poorly put together category. Next up we will be doing the first of two Robotic Characters. It should be pretty fun. Let me know what you think.

Make sure to check out my Kickstarter

A Far Off Land

Take the roll of the Fated, Shapeshifting Demigods who seek to bring about or prevent the destruction of two worlds. It contains new magic systems and Factions Dynamics in play.



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