Character Creation: Metahumans Rising

Clunk goes the clunky game.

The Game: Metahumans Rising
The Publisher: House Dok Productions
Degree of Familiarity: None, because I kept dropping off while reading it
Books Required: Just the one

Some games I read them and I think "yeah, it's...fine I guess?" And some games, I read them and think "WOW that's amazing can't wait to run it." And others, I think "ugh, why the tapdancing hell do I own this?"

And then some games, I try four times to read them but they are just so bloody dull that I can't really do it. And here we are.

Part of the problem is that it's a four-color supers game with no real identity, and those are pretty thick on the ground. But some of it is that the game really needed an editor, because we get stuff like this:

Just one little comma and this would make sense

It's too bad, really, because I love supers games and this one actually does something I talk about a lot - it has a long-running example of play that covers session zero, chargen (for multiple characters!), and game play, and it's still dull. The text also uses way too many similar terms (we've got Characteristics and Talents and Advantages and Drawbacks and Boons and...Trees), it's a point-buy/build system, and keeping everything straight was just not possible.

But, y'know, darkest before the dawn. Penny saved is a penny earned. Bird/hand/bush. I don't fuckin' know. Let's make a character. I'm so tempted to make Combat Dave, but I think that's a little sillier than the tone we're going for and one of my unstated rules about this project is that I try to hew to the spirit of the game in question. 

Well, in honor of Daredevil: Born Again, then, I shall make a street-level character with no or minimal actual powers (that also has the advantage of giving me fewer points to work with, so hopefully it won't take as long). I've made street-level heroes before (including Anomaly and Il Spettro), so in the interest of putting a twist on things, I'll say that this character is a local elected official. Let's say he's a city councilman, and got into local politics because he basically considered national and even state politics to be a lost cause. Earl Washington (I'm forgoing my usual rule about superheroes having alliterative names, but we could say his middle name is William or something) has been running his own corner store for years, got sick of the folks in the neighborhood being at each other's throats on national issues that were never going to affect them, and is working on smartening people up a little.

Getting elected to office, though, meant he sometimes had to deal with matters that he really didn't want to. Like, for instance, his district has laws about community gardens, and someone was making a stink about it, so he went out to Solace Gardens to talk with the owners. The folks who ran the garden - a rather taciturn bunch with weird accents, but very friendly - welcomed him in and gave him a cup of tea. Next thing Earl knew, he was walking in a nightmare version of his neighborhood. He called out for help, and heard a voice (with that same strange accent) saying: "If you can find your way back, you're worthy of this."

Earl found his way back through the vision, and he woke up on a bench in the garden, alone, sweating, but feeling strong. He's since been learning that he can do things he couldn't before, and at this point, we'll start the actual chargen process.

Part One: Origin, Background, Drive, you couldn't come up with a word or phrase to sum this up, huh? I've done some of this already, but the book does ask me, at this point, to think about powers a little. I want Earl to have a modicum of super-strength and fighting ability, but I don't want him to be as acrobatic as the supers characters I tend to make. So we'll lean towards a physically-enhanced generalist. I kinda do want some interesting power to give him some spice, ala Daredevil's heightened senses or Batman's...money, so let's say that Earl has some mystical connection with his district. He can't be kept out by locks, people who live there can't lie to him - basically he's authorized to be there, wherever "there" is. I suspect that might be more esoteric than this system is able to handle, but I like a challenge.

I'm meant to pick one of six Origins, and the book follows this by listing them, but it also says that Origin determines Willpower but the descriptions don't include that information. Oh, well. Earl...kinda doesn't fit a lot of them. "Empowered" means you use devices or gadgets, "Supernatural" would work, but the bonus it gives you doesn't really. Let's say Earl's Origin is Dedication, because although he got powers with outside help it's really the best tonal fit. This Origin supports any normal roll with the Never Back Down Talent, whatever that means.

Catalyst is the moment Earl became a hero; clearly that's the vision quest, in his case. Catalyst determines bonus Stamina, but again, we're not told how. Drive is the usual deal, the character's motivation, and I have no idea why that gets a whole paragraph's worth of space on the sheet. But anyway, Earl's Drive is "bring the neighborhood together."

Part Two: Power Level (see, was that so hard?) I said I wanted Earl to be street-level...oh, right, I have to decide if I want to use an Array or a Raw Build. I mean, "Array" is deceptive, because it's just as complex. Fuuuuuck. I guess I'll do Array, but I have this niggling suspicion I'm going to regret it. So what's Earl's Power Level?

I think it's gotta be Low-Powered. He's a little tougher than "Exceptional" (basically well-trained normal person), but still mortal.

Also 20 General Advancement Points, but that bit of this chart was a...widow? Orphan? I can't remember the difference. 

OK, so my History Attribute is 8, and I think for Earl the Balanced Array makes the most sense. So that means I get one Attribute at 8, two at 4, and then rest get 6. What's that mean in context? Oh, 4-6 is basically the average range, so most of my Attributes will be the high end of average. That's about what I was picturing. I'll put Earl's 8 in...hmm. Strength or Constitution? I think Strength. I'll put the 4s into Fortune and Intelligence (they've gotta go somewhere) and everything else gets a 6. 

Oh, this chart is annoying. Ok, so I get Origin 8, Catalyst 5, Drive 3, and then...a Public Persona History Talent at 2? What the hell does that mean? Oh, I see, I select a Talent to reflect my Public Persona (where I grew up, job, etc.). Is "Local Politician" one? Well, kinda, "Area of Influence." So I'll take that, call it Local Politics, and I get it at 2 (might raise it later). 

Right, now I get another Array to represent Talents. I think I'll take Competent. I get 8 Talents at 7 (jeez), 1 at 5, and 2 at 1. Gotta look at the list!

Well, obviously I need Area Knowledge, so that can get a 7. Brawn might make sense (and why is that a Talent instead of...you know what, screw it). Concentration definitely fits, so let's put a 7 there. I want Contact, but I want it to reflect knowing everyone a little rather than one person a lot, so let's put a pin in that. Discipline, yes please. Oh, Education, but I think I'm OK with that being a 5. 

Fitness, sure. Fuck me, there's a Talent called Hold Breath. I'm not taking it, I just think it's dumb. Intuition makes sense. I think I'll put my 1 into Law; it makes sense that Earl knows the basics. Suppose I'd better take Never Back Down. Jesus, there's one called Outlast. There's a lot of redundancy here. Stealth might make sense, I dunno. Street Smarts, definitely (use the Bittenbinder Method!). How many is that? That's 10 or so, so I can take Stealth. OK, so here's what we're doing:

Area Knowledge 7
Brawn 7
Concentration 7
Discipline 7
Education 5
Fitness 7
Intuition 7
Law 1
Never Back Down 7
Street Smarts 7
Stealth 1

OK, Powers. I can take one at 8 or two at 3, and then I get 8 AP to buff. I think I can take my power as one thing and then build on it. Let's called it "Authorization", for now. Is it Offense, Defense or Support? I think Support (though I can add either or both of the other Roles if I want). I have to assign a Parent Attribute for the power...jeez, can I use History? It makes narrative sense. Fuck it, I'm doing it.

So then I assign Boons...do I spend points? How many Boons? There are examples, let's see if they help.

OK, not really. It looks like I get 8 "Selections" (that's what they're called in the examples of power building, anyway). Boons here are either Typical or Major, and if I'm doing the math right it looks like Majors cost 2 "selections." I can take Boons from Support or Universal (unless I wish to add Defense or Offense to the power). Oh, and Boons can have Specializations and Advancements. 

Tell me that no one but you read or tried to play your game before you went to press without actually telling me that.

Woof. OK, here we go. I'll take Reduced Detection (my power doesn't glow or anything). That's a Major, so it costs 2. I'll take New Sense (Lies), and New Movement (Through Mundane Locks). Oh, wait, this is funny. "New Sense" is included in one of the examples, but it's not actually in the book. Whatever, I get the idea.

As written, Support Powers affect their parent trait, but I kinda want this one to affect Expression, too, so I'll take Added Support so I can do that. Cool.

Oh, can I take a Drawback so the Authorization power only works in areas in which Earl holds an elected office? I...can, but I don't know what that gets me. Fuck it, it's just flavor, really (I think a cool long-running arc for Earl would be him getting elected to higher offices and having his power grow, maybe with a "power corrupts" kind of vibe). Hang on, there it is, it buys me one AP. 

So then I get 21 General Advancement Points, I suppose. Well, hmm. Are costs one-for-one? Probably not.  

OK, so right off the bat, I'm gonna bump Area Knowledge, Brawn, Street Smarts (stay safe out there!), Fitness, Intuition, and Discipline to 10. That only costs me 6 points, though. I'll put Stealth up to 7 (8 spent), and I'll raise Dexterity, Constitution, Sense, Strength, Mental and Expression by...let's say 6 (18 spent). 

Only 2 left, I'm doing great! I kinda want to buy another Boon for my Power, but I dunno. No, you know what, I'll take Tracking (Talent), so that's at 4 (1 to buy it and 1 to raise it by 3). 

Part Six: Derived Traits. Skipping Part Five because it's mostly group dynamics. Right! Stamina is 5 + Catalyst + 2 for every Power or Fighting Style. That's...weird. Anyway, it's 10 for me. My Maximum Willpower is equal to Origin (8), starting equal to Drive (3).

And I guess that's it, because I'm not going to futz with Initiative because it's complex and I'm bored!

So: When in costume, Earl Washington wears a simple blue suit - jacket, white shirt, gray tie, slacks, belt, blue sneakers. He carries a cane with a brass handle, and wears a hat that matches the suit. He doesn't wear a mask, but the hat always seems to shade his face and it doesn't come off (or if it does, the camera never focuses on his face). 

Earl is Black, in his late 40s, balding and a little gray around the edges. He's deceptively strong and fast, however. He keeps his super-hero life and his career separate, more or less - he keeps his identity secret, anyway. He's not sure how it stays secret, because people here have known him a long time, but no one seems to realize that the mysterious man that steps out of the shadows to shut down criminals and help folks out is Councilman Washington, but he doesn't worry about that. People call his mysterious alter ego the Good Neighbor.