Anyway, I've got a theme song in mind today: "Monster," by Lada Gaga.
"Monster" is about a woman who hooks up with a guy that turns out to be a cannibal. Well, maybe not, but definitely a hookup that gave her something she didn't expect. Whether that's "OMG SEX MAZING" or "OMG HAS THE HERP" isn't clear from the song, but I choose to go weirder. Let's get started. Well, let me back up.
Truth and Justice is a superhero game. It's pretty four-color, but it talks about other genres of the...genre.
The character creation opens with a quote from Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero." That's pretty sweet. OK, we start with "Name." Erm. OK, why the heck not? Actually it says I don't have to do these in order, but I'll try it. Now, I don't know that I want to call him "Monster," but "Beast" is taken, and so is "Abomination." "Creature" was a contestant on Who Wants to be a Superhero, and the name doesn't convey what I want.
Actually, I like the simplicity of "Monster." He sounds like he should be a villain, but instead he's a product of his time - "monster" is slang for something that's aggressive and kind of awesome (used, perhaps, in the same context as "like a boss"). Monster is a case of arrested development - he's a man who never really moved beyond being a boy, never had to, but now he has powers that make him very uncomfortable.
Oh, and that brings us to Background. Convenient. OK, Monster was born Alexander Jason Zanbridge (he went by "A.J." as a boy, then "Xander" in middle school, then "Zane" in high school and on). He was always cocky and a little immature, but he had a winning smile and he was generally a nice, if aggressive, kid. He discovered skateboarding and got good at it, but gave it up in high school because the other skater kids all smoked, drank and "did drugs" (bit of weed, big deal) and he knew his overprotective parents would kill him.
He graduated in the top third of his class, pretty unremarkable, but when he went to college he joined a service fraternity and blossomed a bit. Again, he was generally a good and conscientious kid, maybe a little pushy.
He went on a date with a girl named Anita one night, and they were smooching under the statue of the lion on campus when she began getting aggressive. Not believing his luck (he knew she liked him, but not this much) he broke off the kiss to pull a condom out of his pocket, and saw her face - she was terrified. He stopped and tried to talk her down, and she said that she didn't know what came over her - her lust had become need for a moment.
Zane wrote this off as weird, but it happened again, and again...every date. He finally realized that he was doing it - his desires were somehow getting forced on his dates. He never actually followed through (because he could always tell there was something wrong). Eventually, he learned to control it. He has a limited form of mind control based on emotion. As he practiced, he learned he could change his own mental responses, too, giving himself bursts of adrenaline and making himself smarter and more confident for short periods of time. He decided that he would never use his powers on other people unless it was life or death, but that his ability to, as his friend Paul put it, "rock out like a monster!" was enough to merit a costume.
OK, Motivation! This actually has rules, so it's important. Monster is motivated partially by thrills, but mostly because he's afraid of his own powers. I'll phrase that as, "giving the monster some direction."
Qualities! I pick a package, here. Huh-huh. A Quality is a "word or phrase representing broad non-super skill or field of knowledge." OK. I think Monster hasn't hit any Master-level Qualities yet. Let's take package C; 2 Expert, 1 Good and 1 Poor (that's a Weakness). For one Expert, I'll take "College Student." For the other, I'll take "Predatory Charm." Monster is attractive, and there's an edge to it, because of the nature of his powers. For Good, I'll take "Capoeria Student." Monster's always been agile and good at dance, and he's studying a martial art form that makes use of that. For his Weakness, I'll take "Afraid of his own power."
Origin! At first, I kind of liked the idea that the powers just showed up, and who knows from where? But as I think about it, I'd rather make it something that Monster can find out about it. And, heck, let's include an urban legend. He went to a fishbowl party once with some skater friends. Mixed in with the bowl of pills were five weird purple pills. No one's sure how they got there. The other four people who ate them are all also superpowered, but none of them have Monster's sense of control or ethics. They should be his enemies, obviously. That means his Origin is "Accidental Exposure" or something.
Powers! Ooh, more packages. Well, I need at least two powers. Let's look at the list. I know I want Mind Control, but with a Limitation. Probably low ranked. I need a way to sum up the boosts of adrenaline he gets. I dunno, it seems like I could put all this under a Meta-Power. Meta-Powers are much like Green Lantern's ring or Storm's weather powers - a group of related powers all under one aegis. They're technically only available with GM permission, but y'know. Ain't got one.
So I'll call this power the "Monster Brain Boost," and say that in Monster's comics so far, it's let him do the following:
Basically, he can't do much beyond human maximums, but he can be pretty badass when he needs to. But I'll put Limitations on it. I'll say that he can only produce one effect at a time, because the power requires focus. I'll also say that he crashes quickly. He needs the equivalent of one full meal (1000 calories or so) after, say, 10 minutes of steady power use or he gets dizzy and suffers a penalty.
OK, I'm fine with those two powers. But I don't want Mind Control higher than Average. So I'll take package J (1 Expert Power and 2 Average). I'll take Brain Boost at Expert, Mind Control at Average (Limitations: Only affects biological targets, requires touch, only creates strong emotion responses). For the last power, I'll take Regeneration. Monster can heal quickly, but I'll say it suffers the same food-based limitation as his Brain Boost.
Stunts! These are specific applications of my powers. I think that my Brain Boost needs one. Monster figured out an attack he calls "Working the Room." He can make an attack on everyone in the room by rolling, leaping and striking as he moves. He uses his Brain Boost to amp his fighting skill, see. Costing one Hero Point, that makes it pretty badass.
Hero Point Pool! 5/10, because that's what everyone gets.
Codename is covered - he's called Monster.
Uniform! Monster wears black pants, and a long-sleeved shirt with tawny brown and black pattern on the sleeves and chest. He has a belt that he can whip off and use as a weapon if he needs to, and black, comfy shoes that he can jump around in. He wears a tan cowl with a black outline around the eyes, but that keeps his lips and chin visible (some of his best features).
And that about does it, actually. Maybe Monster goes to the same college as Grimoire?
The Game: Truth & Justice
The Publisher: Atomic Sock Monkey
Degree of Familiarity: None.
Books Required: Just the one.
The Publisher: Atomic Sock Monkey
Degree of Familiarity: None.
Books Required: Just the one.
"Monster" is about a woman who hooks up with a guy that turns out to be a cannibal. Well, maybe not, but definitely a hookup that gave her something she didn't expect. Whether that's "OMG SEX MAZING" or "OMG HAS THE HERP" isn't clear from the song, but I choose to go weirder. Let's get started. Well, let me back up.
Truth and Justice is a superhero game. It's pretty four-color, but it talks about other genres of the...genre.
The character creation opens with a quote from Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero." That's pretty sweet. OK, we start with "Name." Erm. OK, why the heck not? Actually it says I don't have to do these in order, but I'll try it. Now, I don't know that I want to call him "Monster," but "Beast" is taken, and so is "Abomination." "Creature" was a contestant on Who Wants to be a Superhero, and the name doesn't convey what I want.
Actually, I like the simplicity of "Monster." He sounds like he should be a villain, but instead he's a product of his time - "monster" is slang for something that's aggressive and kind of awesome (used, perhaps, in the same context as "like a boss"). Monster is a case of arrested development - he's a man who never really moved beyond being a boy, never had to, but now he has powers that make him very uncomfortable.
Oh, and that brings us to Background. Convenient. OK, Monster was born Alexander Jason Zanbridge (he went by "A.J." as a boy, then "Xander" in middle school, then "Zane" in high school and on). He was always cocky and a little immature, but he had a winning smile and he was generally a nice, if aggressive, kid. He discovered skateboarding and got good at it, but gave it up in high school because the other skater kids all smoked, drank and "did drugs" (bit of weed, big deal) and he knew his overprotective parents would kill him.
He graduated in the top third of his class, pretty unremarkable, but when he went to college he joined a service fraternity and blossomed a bit. Again, he was generally a good and conscientious kid, maybe a little pushy.
He went on a date with a girl named Anita one night, and they were smooching under the statue of the lion on campus when she began getting aggressive. Not believing his luck (he knew she liked him, but not this much) he broke off the kiss to pull a condom out of his pocket, and saw her face - she was terrified. He stopped and tried to talk her down, and she said that she didn't know what came over her - her lust had become need for a moment.
Zane wrote this off as weird, but it happened again, and again...every date. He finally realized that he was doing it - his desires were somehow getting forced on his dates. He never actually followed through (because he could always tell there was something wrong). Eventually, he learned to control it. He has a limited form of mind control based on emotion. As he practiced, he learned he could change his own mental responses, too, giving himself bursts of adrenaline and making himself smarter and more confident for short periods of time. He decided that he would never use his powers on other people unless it was life or death, but that his ability to, as his friend Paul put it, "rock out like a monster!" was enough to merit a costume.
OK, Motivation! This actually has rules, so it's important. Monster is motivated partially by thrills, but mostly because he's afraid of his own powers. I'll phrase that as, "giving the monster some direction."
Qualities! I pick a package, here. Huh-huh. A Quality is a "word or phrase representing broad non-super skill or field of knowledge." OK. I think Monster hasn't hit any Master-level Qualities yet. Let's take package C; 2 Expert, 1 Good and 1 Poor (that's a Weakness). For one Expert, I'll take "College Student." For the other, I'll take "Predatory Charm." Monster is attractive, and there's an edge to it, because of the nature of his powers. For Good, I'll take "Capoeria Student." Monster's always been agile and good at dance, and he's studying a martial art form that makes use of that. For his Weakness, I'll take "Afraid of his own power."
Origin! At first, I kind of liked the idea that the powers just showed up, and who knows from where? But as I think about it, I'd rather make it something that Monster can find out about it. And, heck, let's include an urban legend. He went to a fishbowl party once with some skater friends. Mixed in with the bowl of pills were five weird purple pills. No one's sure how they got there. The other four people who ate them are all also superpowered, but none of them have Monster's sense of control or ethics. They should be his enemies, obviously. That means his Origin is "Accidental Exposure" or something.
Powers! Ooh, more packages. Well, I need at least two powers. Let's look at the list. I know I want Mind Control, but with a Limitation. Probably low ranked. I need a way to sum up the boosts of adrenaline he gets. I dunno, it seems like I could put all this under a Meta-Power. Meta-Powers are much like Green Lantern's ring or Storm's weather powers - a group of related powers all under one aegis. They're technically only available with GM permission, but y'know. Ain't got one.
So I'll call this power the "Monster Brain Boost," and say that in Monster's comics so far, it's let him do the following:
- Jump 20' straight up.
- Overturn a car.
- Solve a Rubik's Cube in seconds.
- Charm the pants off a professor (literally, but note he doesn't use his powers on others).
- Backflip and parkour like a boss.
- Drive through traffic at 100 mph flawlessly.
Basically, he can't do much beyond human maximums, but he can be pretty badass when he needs to. But I'll put Limitations on it. I'll say that he can only produce one effect at a time, because the power requires focus. I'll also say that he crashes quickly. He needs the equivalent of one full meal (1000 calories or so) after, say, 10 minutes of steady power use or he gets dizzy and suffers a penalty.
OK, I'm fine with those two powers. But I don't want Mind Control higher than Average. So I'll take package J (1 Expert Power and 2 Average). I'll take Brain Boost at Expert, Mind Control at Average (Limitations: Only affects biological targets, requires touch, only creates strong emotion responses). For the last power, I'll take Regeneration. Monster can heal quickly, but I'll say it suffers the same food-based limitation as his Brain Boost.
Stunts! These are specific applications of my powers. I think that my Brain Boost needs one. Monster figured out an attack he calls "Working the Room." He can make an attack on everyone in the room by rolling, leaping and striking as he moves. He uses his Brain Boost to amp his fighting skill, see. Costing one Hero Point, that makes it pretty badass.
Hero Point Pool! 5/10, because that's what everyone gets.
Codename is covered - he's called Monster.
Uniform! Monster wears black pants, and a long-sleeved shirt with tawny brown and black pattern on the sleeves and chest. He has a belt that he can whip off and use as a weapon if he needs to, and black, comfy shoes that he can jump around in. He wears a tan cowl with a black outline around the eyes, but that keeps his lips and chin visible (some of his best features).
And that about does it, actually. Maybe Monster goes to the same college as Grimoire?
