I'm spending the day reading RPGs to facilitate choosing a new one (my one Chill game just ended, so we're picking a new game), but I want to make a character as well, so I figured I'd better pick something I know.
The Game: Savage Worlds Super Powers Companion
The Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment
Degree of Familiarity: Very yes, I think. I've run SWADE pretty extensively and I've even run supers games in the system once or twice
Books Required: The Super Powers Companion and some version of the Savage Worlds rules; I'm using SWADE unless there's some reason I can't
Ah, superheroes. Like a warm, spandex blanket. Michelle gave me a theme song:
That's "Glitter and Gold" by Barns Courtney. It actually works really well for this; it gives me kind of Punisher or Batman vibes. Not necessarily because of the violence, but just for a "hero" who doesn't have superpowers per se, but feels compelled to go out and fight crime anyway because that passion for justice burns at him. I don't think I've made a hero like that yet...nope, doesn't look like it. Cool.
So, I don't want zero super powers, but probably keep them minimal and subtle, so no energy blasts and stuff. I also don't want tragic backstory because the song doesn't really fit it. Instead, let's take inspiration from a different direction and think about Patrick Swayze's character in Road House - capably violent but would much prefer people to listen to their better angels.
Ooh, actually, what if the "powers" that this character had were more in the "empower others" kind of camp? Is that something SWADE is equipped to handle? Let's find out!
Obviously "race" is "human", which means I'll get a free Edge when the time comes. We do Attributes and Skills as normal for now, so let's put a d6 into all the Attributes...actually, no, let's leave Vigor at d4 and put Agility to d8 (I'll 100% raise Vigor later, but I want Agility higher so I don't have to screw with Skills as much). Speaking of which, lets' do skills thusly:
Athletics d8
Common Knowledge d6
Notice d6
Persuasion d4
Stealth d8
Fighting d8
Shooting d4
Intimidation d6
Now we start getting into the actual supers stuff! We need to pick a campaign level, and I think "Street Level" makes the most sense for what I have in mind. That gives me 30 points, plus I can take a second Major Hindrance and get 5 more if I want (which I almost certainly will). I can't spend more than 10 points in one particular power; shouldn't be an issue. But I should do Hindrances first.
OMG, I'm totally taking Monologuer. If I'm dealt a club during initiative I have to make a Smarts roll or spend my action lecturing. That's amazing. I don't think I want any of others in the Supers Companion, though, so let's look at SWADE.
Let's take Poverty, and say my character basically lives in his van (feel free to make the joke, I'll wait). I think Heroic kinda fits, so that's my other Major. And I'll keep it simple and take Obligation (minor); he's gotta work 20 hours a week. That's the minimum he can do in order to keep the van gassed and himself fed.
Cool, with all that in mind, let's do the fun shit!
Edges! I get Arcane Background: Super Powers for free, and I get one free Edge on account of humanityness. I'll take Team Player, which ups a Gang-up bonus. I'll spend points to bump Vigor to d6, and I'll save the other two for now.
Powers! These work a lot like they do in Silver Age Sentinels or (unsurprisingly) Necessary Evil. Powers have costs per level, but that cost can be modified with limitations and suchlike (which is a powers system I really like, though it's not for people for don't get into the crunchier bits of chargen, I've learned). So what do I want for my dude?
Well, I want him to be tough, so I think I'll take Armor. I just want one level (given me two points of Armor), but I'll throw 3 more points in to take Hardy, meaning once I'm Shaken further Shakens have no effect. That's 5 points, got 25 left (well, I could if I wanted take 5 more from my other Hindrance).
Awareness is cool. If I blow 5 points, I can sense everyone around me, meaning enemies don't get a Gang-Up bonus. That'll work.
Danger Sense pairs nicely with Awareness. I get a Notice roll to sense hidden dangers, and if I raise I start combat on Hold, which is pretty dope. And it's only 2 points.
Let's blow 2 more points and take Fearless, and definitely 2 points for Gifted (no penalty for unskilled Skill use).
I can use Power Points to boost Skills and Attributes, which is probably where most of my points are going to go, but I would like some kind of inspiration power and I don't see a good way to simulate that. Is there perhaps an Edge that would work? Well, yes, there are, but it'd require some doing. Fortunately I have the points! Specifically I have 14 left, and I'll go and spend one of my remaining Hindrances to bump Spirit to d8, and the other for five more Power Points. So I have 19 left. LET'S DO THIS.
Oh, wait, SONOFABTICH. The Edges I want are Seasoned, so I can't take them as a Novice character. Boooo. OK, well, let's raise Attributes and Skills then.
Super-Attribute costs 2 points per die type, and each one is a separate power (which is nice for purposes of my power limit). So let's bump Agility to d10, Strength to d8, Vigor to d8, Smarts to d8, and Spirit to d10. That's 10 points.
That leaves me 9 points, so I'll put them all into Skills, I think. I'll buy Battle d6, since I'd eventually need it for Leadership edges. Fighting to d10, Stealth to d10, Intimidation to d10, Persuasion to d8, Athletics to d10. Two points left. How about I just take Melee Attack, so I add a d6 to my, well, melee attack?
Solid! Pace is 6, Parry is 7, Toughness is 8 (two of which is armor). Now, the backstory!
Ryder Rome had a fairly uneventful childhood. He grew up poor, but he never really understood that, because his parents cut corners and scraped and saved and sometimes went hungry so that he and his sister had what they needed. His sister got a full scholarship and went on to go to medical school, but Ryder never really had the grades or the academic inclination. He had some natural athleticism, and join the Army out of high school.
The Army was a wake-up call for him in some ways, mostly in the sense that things he'd never quite got came into sharp relief. His time in the military taught him things like camaraderie in battle and tactics (which he's got something of a knack for), but also one immutable truth that he's held onto ever since: The solution to violence ultimately isn't more violence...but sometimes you have to violently stop the violence before you get the non-violence. When his tour was up, he went back home and tried to hold onto jobs, but he got bored easily and never felt like he was doing what he should be.
And then one night he saw a bar-fight spill into the street, and everyone was kind of cheering and yelling and shit someone pulled a knife. Ryder stepped in and disarmed the dude, and shamed both guys for this. There was no reason for someone to die over something as dumb as "one dude hit on another dude's girl." That's not what you bleed for.
There's all kinds of stupid violence in the city, Ryder realized, and he came to the conclusion that someone who is capably violent but not angry and vengeful could mitigate it. He told his sister (now a doctor in one of the city's hospitals) about his idea, and she thought it sounded dumb as fuck but agreed not to tell anyone else. Ryder pulled on his camo pants, a black sweatshirt, and a yellow gaiter and gloves and hit the streets, and as he's practiced he's gotten really good at the whole "vigilante" thing.
But at the same time...something's changing. He can see in the dark. He can sense when things are getting dangerous. He's getting stronger and faster, and he is completely fearless. He doesn't know what all this means, but the word "valor" keeps coming to mind. He's not a big word guy, but he knows what it means. He's realizing he knows a lot of things instinctively lately, and he's not getting hung up on the implications. There's work to do.
Valor is in his late 20s. He keeps his hair buzzed and he's muscular and beefy (maybe played by a young Holt McCallany). He doesn't know it, but when his Awareness or Danger Sense powers activate it, his eyes get a little golden shimmer.
That'll do it! Back to reading RPGs!
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