Four to go! Getting down to the line. Which reminds me: when I do get to Modular and Divided, I’ll be doing a reroll to decide their secondary Archetype, and obviously will be doubling up. I won’t take the same double for both.
Step 1: Background
Opening rolls of 6 and 10 gives us a bunch of things we don’t have, which means my actual choices are Dynasty and Created. Let’s go with Dynasty. Raiya’s mother was (is?) a lesser-known superhero in the Sentinels Universe, and Raiya is expected to follow in her footsteps.
She has trained extensively, and has Close Combat d10 and History d10, knowing all the ins and outs of her family’s legacy of… well, let’s see of what?
For Principles, Raiya has the Principle of Great Power; she spends a lot of time focusing on how strong her powers are, which actually causes her to hold back a bit.
Step 2: Power Source
In exchange for slightly better Qualities, Dynasty gives out just garbage Power Source dice, so that’s fun. d8, d8, and d6 gives us 8, 5, and 2, which means that I choose between Genius and Higher Power. Higher Power is heavily reliant on Min dice, so we’re going to go with Genius. Raiya isn’t just expected to follow her mother; she’s a genius who has been trying to do so her whole life.
For Powers, Raiya is skilled at Deduction (d8) and Inventions (d8), and has a certain Presence (d6) about her that isn’t really her core thing, but is useful. She also gets a free d10 in Technology to build her devices.
Step 3: Archetype
Rolling up a d10 and two d6s, Raiya ends up with a 6 and two 4s, which means Form-Changer or Reality Shaper. I’m actually going to make her a Form-Changer. Raiya’s inventions take the form of modular tools that allow her to deploy various combat loadouts.
Unrelated: Form-Changer and Modular really don’t both need to exist. They do the same thing in very slightly different ways.
Anyway! Form-Changer requires a Self-Control power, and Raiya’s is Size-Changing d10. She’ll also pick up two d6s, in Speed and Stealth.
For Green Abilities, Raya is more of a fast changers than a fixer. She can take an action and then change, or make a big attack and then change. For Forms, she’s got a versatile toolbox that deploys inventions to help and hinder enemies, a big tough form that’s hard to hurt, and in Yellow she can switch to a fast and maneuverable form to get around.
Form-Changer also gives us an Esoteric Principle, and all six of the ones that are available to me are just not at all what this character is about. But you know what? Heck, let’s take the Principle of Flora. In addition to her main thing, Raiya just kind of loves plants. Doesn’t have any plant-based superpowers, but you don’t need to have superpowers to know how plants work. Maybe a bunch of her Inventions are actually based around plants and pollens, just because she thinks they’re neat.
Step 4: Personality
A 2d10 roll for Personality gives us a shot at Fast Talking or Naïve, neither of which quite seem to work. I’m going to take Naïve. For all that she wants to be a hero, Raiya is still a little sheltered and prone to assuming that things are as they appear. This, of course, means another weak Yellow die, but her beast of a Red makes up for it and she’s got the shifting dice totals to let it ride.
Superheroic Scion gives Raiya knowledge of heroes, as well as a social edge when dealing with them. It’s about the only social edge that she has, so that’s important.
Step 5: Red Abilities
Picking good Red Abilities for Raiya is tricky, because she’s constantly shifting what she’s good at. I’m going to give her Ultimate Weaponry because it can sustain itself through form changes, and a Discern Weakness to just really mess someone up using Technology.
Step 6: Retcon
Raiya is extremely powerful in Red, and has the option for solid defense, so let’s give her a third Red Ability. Change Self lets her just swap two of her power dice at the start of each turn, making her tremendously versatile. Unstoppably so, even.
Step 7: Health
Well, we’re looking at (8 + Red 12 + Speed 6 + 4) for 30 Health. I… don’t think that changes when her Speed shifts.
Step 8: Alias
Raiya’s alias is based on her ability to reshape her powers at will. She calls herself Nanoswarm.
Character Sheet
Nanoswarm
Alias: Raiya Jabal
Background: Dynasty, Power Source: Genius, Archetype: Form-Changer, Personality: Naïve
Principles: Great Power [Ideals], Flora [Esoteric]
- Roleplaying: Your powers are so strong they can even scare you sometimes, but you work hard to control them. You can wield those powers to intimidate others. You can identify any type of plant life and determine its origin in broad terms, such as Earth, alien, etc.
- Minor Twists: How do you restrain yourself from unleashing your full power? What grows out of your control?
- Major Twists: What major damage do you inflict in the process of saving the day? How is nature reclaiming something important?
Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d6, Red d12
Health: 30 (Green 30-24, Yellow 23-12, Red 11-1)
Qualities:
- Close Combat (Physical) d10
- History (Info) d10
- Technology (Info) d10
- Superheroic Scion (RP) d8
- Stealth (Physical) d6
Powers:
- Size-Changing (Self-Control) d10
- Inventions (Tech) d8
- Deduction (Intellectual) d8
- Presence (Intellectual) d6
- Speed (Athletic) d6
Green Abilities:
- Principle of Great Power (A): Overcome using your highest-rated Power and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
- Principle of Flora (A): Overcome with the aid of local flora and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
- Change Loadout (A): Take a basic action using Size-Changing, and then change to any form.
- Electronic Assault (A): Attack using Size-Changing and use your Max die. Then change to any form.
Green Forms:
Toolbox Chassis: Boost Inventions to d10, reduce Size-Changing to d8.
Wonderful Toys (A): Boost or Hinder using Inventions. Use your Max die.
Armored Chassis: Add Strength d10, reduce Size-Changing to d6, Remove Speed.
Heavy Armor (I): Reduce damage by 1 in the Green Zone, 2 in the Yellow Zone, and 3 in the Red Zone.
Yellow Abilities:
- Just As Planned ®: When you are attacked, you may Defend with your lone Deduction die, and then Boost yourself by the same amount.
- The Perfect Lever (A): Attack using Inventions. Then, if the target of the Attack survived, also Attack using your Max die. Otherwise, Recover equal to your Min die.
Yellow Form:
Rapid-Response Chassis: Boost Size-Changing to d10 and Speed to d12. Reduce Inventions to d6.
Like The Wind (A): Attack using Speed. Then Defend against all attacks using your Min die until your next turn.
Red Abilities:
- Emergency Change ®: When hit with an Attack, change to any form before resolving the Attack. Take a minor twist.
- Ultimate Weaponry (A): Boost yourself using Inventions. Use your Max die. That bonus is persistent and exclusive. Then, Attack using your Mid die plus that bonus.
- Spot The Weak Point (A): Remove a bonus on a target. Hinder that target using Technology. Use your Max die, and that penalty is persistent and exclusive.
- Quick-Mode (I): At the start of your turn, you may swap the value of two of your Power dice. They stay swapped until changed again or until the scene ends.
Out Ability: Hinder an opponent by rolling your single Inventions die.
Aftermath:
Nanoswarm is goddamn nonsense.
I mean, she is going to be pretty effective in Green and Yellow, despite her poor Status die, but if she’s in her agile form when she hits Red she can start each turn with a Red d12 and a Power d12 in whatever she’s planning to do, plus her choice of three d10 Qualities and probably at least one bonus, maybe more. She can Defend and Boost as a Reaction, she can take Attacks that give her long-term defense, she has a massive Boost that attacks and a nasty ability to strip enemies of their buffs.
She’s not omni-capable, of course. When it comes to the social arena, she gets tongue-tied (especially in Green and Yellow!) and somewhat hilariously for a genius, she doesn’t have any Mental Qualities – Dynasty and Form-Changer don’t have them as options, and the only one I could have taken in Genius I needed for Technology. So she is a very focused genius.
Which still makes sense.
About the only thing I’m sad about is that while the Flora Principle is amusing, it’s not very effective. If I’d know that was going to happen I might have built differently and had her use Science to be a plant-shaper, but such is life! It gives her a bit of flavour and a secondary aspect.