Ooh, I am excited to see what you come up with!
And there may be an appearance by Citizen Waste in the future - not to spoil anything, but when I finished my heroes I started a set of randomized villains to oppose them, which I’m definitely planning to post once they’re done.
Oh, that’s even more exciting. 
Wouldn’t Citizen Waste be Naomi’s child? After all Haste makes Waste.
Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that, but I just haven’t seen any other similar themes emerging. I suppose I’m merely taking into account the big, obvious themes, and not subtler character interactions, though.
Breakguard and The Line don’t seem to fit on any of my established teams . . . I guess I’ll put them together in Team Random Superpowers. Er, maybe I could put Atomizer and the Line on Team Nuclear Radiation?
That makes two of us. ; )
It might just be that Waste looked up to Haste, and patterned himself after her? I’m still mucking with it (and seeing what else matches with Haste, for that matter.)
But in the mean time…
Step 1: Background
Well, well. 10 and 9 on our first roll unlocks Performer, Military, and Otherworldy, which for us means Military and Created. Let’s do a Military person. I feel like most ex-military characters in comics are either Army or Air Force, so here is a Navy guy.
His name is Greg.
As a military officer, Greg has tremendous Fitness (d10) and Leadership skills (d8) but he doesn’t focus on in-person combat. And as a successful military officer, he follows the Principle of Order; rules exist for a reason, and you should follow the chain of command.
Step 2: Power Source
Military gives out d10, d8, and d8, which nets us 9, 7, and 5. After all the crossing-off and adding up, that leaves me with Artificial Being or Unknown. I like being wrong, so we’re going with Unknown! George has no idea why he has powers, which just absolutely drives him up the wall. It is a major source of chaos that completely upended his career goals and life plan. This is much funnier than being a robot secretly.
George can control Metal (d10), a fact that he found out during a routine training exercise. He’s also got an aura of command (Presence d8) and has tremendous Strength (d8), making him an exceptional physical specimen. It’s weird.
For abilities, our officer is a Boost factory. He can attack with his Metal and Boost, he can Boost everyone else and Hinder himself. He also picks up Imposing d8; he’s kind of a scary guy when he’s annoyed, which is always.
Step 3: Archetype
1, 8, and 2 means that we could be a Form-Changer or a Gadgeteer. Let’s go with Gadgeteer; he can already shape metal, why not let him control what’s inside it, too?
Inventions d10 lets Greg build incredible tools in any situation. Technology d8 lets him understand it, and Alertness d6 is a nice fallback. For Abilities, in Green he can make powerful Hinders or push himself for more impressive actions. In Yellow, he can turn bonuses and penalties into each other.
We get an Identity Principle as a Gadgeteer, and I’m leaning into our unofficial inspiration by giving Greg the Principle of Rage. When he gets angry, he gets toweringly angry, focused on the things that are disrupting his life and hurting others.
Step 4: Personality
Double 7s gives me Naïve and Impulsive. He’s definitely not naïve, so… well, someone had to take it.
Unfortunately, Greg isn’t the best choice for this because he’s not focused on any one Power or Quality, but he can make some use of his Metal (to d12.)
Just… d6 Yellow Status die. God.
Step 5: Red Abilities
Well, I’m definitely taking something with Metal! Powerful Strike lets him just unleash a metal death attack, and then Like the Wind lets him turn damage against him into Hinders, which is an amazing image of him pulling up metal defenses that he then has to clamber out of.
Step 6: Retcon
Oh, he’s getting a Red step-up. He’s got to be good eventually.
Step 7: Health
We’re looking at (8 + Red 10 +Athletics 8 + 4) for 30 Health, nicely in the middle.
Step 8: Alias
So, turning into a superhuman that can reflexively pull apart boats when there’s trouble is not something that the Navy wants in an officer, but they’re still using Greg as a military attaché. With that in mind, I think he’s got a fake military title that he hates, like Commodore Ironclad.
He hates that title so much.
Character Sheet
Commodore Ironclad
Alias: Greg Swann
Background: Military, Power Source: Unknown, Archetype: Gadgeteer, Personality: Impulsive
Principles: Order [Ideals], Rage [Identity]
Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d6, Red d10
Health: 30 (Green 30-23, Yellow 22-12, Red 11-1)
Qualities:
Powers:
Green Abilities:
Yellow Abilities:
Red Abilities:
Out Ability: The hero who goes after you may take 1 irreducible damage to reroll their entire dice pool.
Aftermath:
So I made an Unknown Gadgeteer after all just because it made sense. There you go!
I also made Donald Duck, just a little bit, in that he is a former naval officer whose life is constantly overturned by chaos, and responds with berserk fury when he’s not tripping over himself trying to keep everything under control. You’re welcome.
Tactically, there’s some interesting uses of taking damage to reroll bad dice pools in Green and Yellow, then just shrugging damage off when you hit Red and go berserk.
Narratively, I don’t know if Greg is ever going to discover what caused his powers. Bored demigod? Magical ritual gone wrong? Isoflux Alpha? On a certain level, I don’t know if it matters – it was a cosmic coincidence that completely upset his well-maintained life and now he has to deal with that, and I think that’s more interesting than digging into why it actually happened.
Booo! XD
Oh my god, I knew there was a reason I liked this guy. XD
Hmm, I think I’m just going to wait for all the heroes to be made, but before you reveal the official teams, to guess what teams they’ll be on.
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]
Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d6, Red d12
Health: 30 (Green 30-24, Yellow 23-12, Red 11-1)
Qualities:
Powers:
Green Abilities:
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:
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:
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.
Yeah. 
Modular is basically the mechanically crunchier version of Form-Changer, in a game that is very overtly not mechanically crunchy.
Modular mostly seems it is there to be able to make Bunker how they wanted to and what they had with Form Changer didn’t fully fit. On a whole Divided and Modular are ones I’d really have players avoid.
Agreed.
Yeah, I’ll have some more to talk about when I hit those last two, but I think you could build Bunker with Form-Changer decently effectively, at least if you let him use Gadgets instead of a Self-Control power as his form-changing ability (and honestly, I don’t think Form-Changer should require Self-Control. There are a few ways I could imagine have different ‘forms’ work beyond literally changing your shape; I’d love to build Mr. Fixer as a Form-Changer instead of a Close Quarters Combatant, for example, with each of his martial arts styles being a Form.
Almost done! I’m still going to try to leave Divided and Modular for last, which probably means that this’ll be our Reality Shaper.
Step 1: Background
Two d10s gives us 4 and 9, which gives us the options of Created or Struggling. Let’s do Created. K-17 was designed to be the perfect being, an absolute miracle of science. He has studied everything about his creation, and is curious to experience the world.
K-17 has a d12 for Science, and a d6 in Finesse. He is very studied, and quick with his hands, but not necessarily wise.
Our second-last Expertise Principle nets us the Principle of the Lab; K-17 still has a good relationship with the scientists that created him, and lives at the lab when he’s not out exploring the world.
Step 2: Power Source
Created is kind of overpowered, and gives d10, d10, d6 for Power Source. Rolling those gets us 8, 2, and 4. After the usual deductions and substitutions, my choices are Artificial Being (the obvious) or Higher Power (the weird). As funny as an Angel Robot would be, let’s just say that K-17 is in fact a very created being.
I’ve got one power that hasn’t been taken, so K-17 gets Sonic d10. I’m also going to give him Gadgets d10, and Lightning Calculator d6. In Yellow, he can use his Sonic Blast to hit a lot of people, and take irreducible damage to reroll his entire pool. In Green, he can reroll each 1 he rolls once.
This is a character who is very good at basic actions, is what I’m saying.
Step 3: Archetype
I’ve got a d10 and two d8s for Archetype, which means that my choices are Reality Shaper or Divided. Can’t roll the 19 I would need for a different option. So Reality Shaper it is! K-17 was created as a test to create a device capable of interacting with the fabric of reality, using focused sonic energies to poke holes in existence. Sentience was an unexpected side benefit.
Teleportation is our one extra d8 Power, and I’m going to take Alertness d10 and Otherworldly Mythos d8 as my last two dice. For Green Abilities, Probability Insight uses his gadgets for a boost and maybe attack, while Warp Space uses Teleportation to really ruin someone’s day. In Yellow, an extra Reaction lets K-17 instantly remove bonuses or penalties that an enemy creates.
Reality Shaper gives us Expertise, because that’s definitely what I think of when I think of reshaping the bonds of reality, whether you are good at a specific thing. Anyway, we don’t actually have a choice. We’re adding the Principle of Science to the mix. Just very, very, very good at Science!
Step 4: Personality
Rolling 5 and 3 for Personality, after modifiers, gives me the choice of Sarcastic or Fast-Talking. Let’s have a Fast-Talking robot. With no social skills, he’s just always trying to crack wise and discuss situations and get through things faster. And it never, ever works.
For roleplaying, I feel like “Robot” is the obvious choice, especially since we don’t have it anywhere else.
Step 5: Red Abilities
Critical Eye lets me use my Science to give someone an absolutely massive Boost, but they’ve got to use it, and Take Down is a powerful Attack that’s also a solid Hinder, good for villain-fighting.
Step 6: Retcon
After careful consideration, I am giving K-17 a bigger Red Die because why not.
Step 7: Health
We’re looking at (8 + Red 12 + Alertness 10 + 4) 34 Health for K-17, getting into the beefy zone.
Step 8: Alias
He’s a robot that reshapes reality through the power of science, so K-17 is calling himself the Determinator.
Look, he thinks it’s funny.
Character Sheet
Determinator
Alias: K-17
Background: Created, Power Source: Artificial Being, Archetype: Reality Shaper, Personality: Fast-Talking
Principles: Lab [Expertise], Science [Expertise]
Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d12
Health: 34 (Green X, Yellow Y, Red Z)
Qualities:
Powers:
Green Abilities:
Yellow Abilities:
Red Abilities:
Out Ability: Hinder a minion or lieutenant by rolling your Science die, then increase the penalty by -1.
Aftermath:
It is odd building a robot with no Physical Qualities rated above a d6, but here we are.
On a certain level, “use sonic force to tear open holes in the world” doesn’t make a lick of sense, but it doesn’t make any sense in a comic book way so I’m pretty happy with it. K-17 also has the drawback of two different science-based principles; I considered using the Retcon to swap Principles, but it felt against the spirit of the way I’m building characters so I didn’t.
I also like the idea that K-17 still has a good relationship with his lab and creators, which is something that is rare for robot superheroes, I feel like. Normally good guy creators of good guy robots get killed early on. Is the lab good, or secretly evil? I’m leaning good, but you never know.
Just what we needed, a reality-shaping robot that thinks it’s funny. XD
There was a comic called Halo & Sprocket about an angel and robot that hang out together. So, you know, it could happen.
Enjoying these builds a lot!
Thanks, and welcome to the boards!
Eighteen down, two to go. We are so close that I can taste it! We’re also in the odd situation in which I know almost exactly what my last two friends look like, because there are only two options left for everything. The only question is what doubled Archetypes we end up with.
Step 1: Background
We’re finally getting around to one of the stronger Archetypes – Retired. Jay was a hero back in the 80s and early 90s, but when they had children, they set aside their powers to let others take up the call of heroism. Now, they’re pushing 60 and looking at the world, and they want to make it safe for their children and grandchildren. It’s time to step up again.
I get Social and Information Principles, and I’m going to take Insight d10 and Magical Lore d10. Jay understands people, and understands magic. They used to be a lot more athletic, but time marches on.
As a Retired Hero, I get an Identity Principle, and the Principle of Levity seems good, here. Jay has seen enough to not take anything too seriously, and tries to keep everyone’s spirits up with the occasional wisecrack and silly joke.
Step 2: Power Source
Our two choices are Higher Power and Multiverse, so we’re taking Higher Power. Jay was Chosen to be a superhero by a force of pure goodness. I don’t think it’s a literal divine force, though. More that it’s a ‘heavenly’ realm that looked at the world and decided that they needed to do something to help, and empowering a good-hearted human was the most they could do.
We hit an interesting little wrinkle here, but I love it. Retired gives a d12 and two d6s, and we have to take Toxic according to my rules. So our Chosen One can control poisons and toxic things, either purifying them or enhancing them into those who have done wrong. They also pick up Strength d6, and Suggestion d6; they can influence minds just a little bit, and are pretty strong.
Following along on the ‘healing and toxins’ route, Yellow gives Jay the ability to unleash toxins in people’s bodies that hurt and hinder them; doing that creates a feedback effect that also hurts Jay. Instead, they can make an attack with their Strength, and use that to Boost anyone who is trying to Attack or Overcome. In Green, they can burn the toxins in themselves to reroll their pool when it comes up short.
Step 3: Archetype
We are Modular! We still have to roll d10, d8, d8 to determine our secondary Archetype, though. With results of 1, 5, and 6 we get Speedster, Blaster, Close Quarters Combatant, Armored, and Sorcerer. The only thing this gives us is dice choices and a Principle.
I’m going to take Close Quarters Combatant, just to get a Responsibility Principle, which sounds good. This requires me to take Close Combat d10, and I’ll add Flight d8 and Vitality d8 to the mix. Looks like the physical stuff can be recovered.
As a Modular character, I get four Modes for Jay (plus default), and I think these are the four semi-divine beings that they can call upon for power. First, Jay gets the basic ability to Boost and then change Modes, which is okay but not impressive (compare to Form-Changer, which is much more versatile.) In Yellow, they can destroy a bonus, change modes, and then act, and in Red they can change modes if they’re hit, but they take more damage.
In Green, calling upon Desalath, Incarnate of Speed locks Jay into Toxic d10, Flight d10, Strength d8, and Vitality d8. In this mode they can’t attack enemies or Boost themselves, but can do powerful overcomes and get around the area rapidly in preparation for hitting Yellow.
In Yellow, Jay can call upon Sirrek, Incarnate of Hope, locking themselves into Toxic d12, Flight d4, Vitality d12, Suggestion d4. In this form they can’t Hinder or Overcome, but can use their Vitality to defend everyone efficiently (which also makes their Toxic attack even stronger, since they won’t be Hindering themselves…) Alternately, they can call upon Toran, Incarnate of Power, and lock themselves into Toxic d10, Vitality d6, and Strength d12. They can unleash extremely powerful Attacks while Defending themselves, but can’t Boost, Hinder, or Overcome (which as an aside, also affects that Toxic area attack, making it just a nice area attack.)
Finally, in Red, Jay can call upon Cyrox, Incarnate of Sin. In this mode they are engulfed by toxic energies, getting only the Powers of Toxic d12, Vitality d10, and Strength d6, and they can’t Boost or move, but their basic attacks become much stronger.
Jay’s Responsibility Principle is the Principle of Family. We mentioned their family back at the start, and now we can make it a huge part of their life. They’re married, they have several siblings and cousins and numerous children, plus a few grand-children to boot.
Step 4: Personality
Well, we’re finally getting it. Mischievous lets us use Toxic instead of Vitality for health, at the cost of a worse Red Die. Going to have to fix that later.
Step 5: Red Abilities
Our primary goal in Red is to make the Destroyer Form even more nonsense. Inspiring Totem lets Jay take a basic action when they use an Ability Action, which means stacking multiple attacks onto area attacks. Endurance Fighting lets you Hinder anyone you attack; I’ve already taken it, but I’m going to stretch and take it again because it’s so silly.
Basically, in this Mode, Jay can use their Toxic power to attack multiple people, then Hinder them, then Hinder them, then attack one or two more people and Hinder them. It is a devastating swarm of toxic nightmare.
Step 6: Retcon
We could push Red to d10, but instead I’m going to take Impossible Knowledge to just really, really be the worst.
Step 7: Health
We’re looking at (8 + Red 8 + Toxic 12 + 4) 32 Health for Jay!
Step 8: Alias
Jay channels mystical beings through themselves in order to control life and death. I’m going to go ahead and call them… The Channeler. Because it’s simple.
Character Sheet
The Channeler
Alias: Jay Ingram
Background: Retired, Power Source: Higher Power, Archetype: Modular [Close Quarters], Personality: Mischievous
Principles: Levity [Identity], Family [Responsibility]
Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d8
Health: 32 (Green 32-24, Yellow 23-12, Red 11-1)
Qualities:
Powers:
Green Abilities:
Yellow Abilities:
Red Abilities:
Modes:
Default Mode: No special changes.
Desalath, Incarnate of Speed [Green]
Sirrek, Incarnate of Hope [Yellow]
Toran, Incarnate of Power [Yellow]
Cyrox, Incarnate of Sin [Red]
Out Ability: Hinder an opponent by rolling your single Toxic die.
Aftermath:
Oh, wow. I think I may have broken the game just a touch.
Jay is an absolute nightmare, which is ironic given that they’re a divine champion. In Green they’re pretty weak; they can either stay in default form and be limited to unboosted basic actions, or they can shift into a form that can’t attack or boost and focus on Overcoming and defending themselves.
When things hit Yellow, though, Jay explodes. Both of their alternate modes modify their powerful area attack; one does so by turning it into a flat strong area attack, and the other mode just removes its drawback and makes it extremely powerful. They’ve got an immensely powerful area Defend if they need it, and a strong defend/attack against individual enemies if the area Attack/Hinder isn’t doing it.
And then they hit Red, and every enemy who isn’t immune to toxins just dies.
Poisonous Sin, at this point, rolls d12 + d10 + d8. Then it attacks multiple enemies with Mid and Hinders all of them with Min twice. Then Jay can either hit one person with Max + Min and also Hinder them with Min, or hit one person with Max and a second with Mid and Hinder them both with Min.
Then Jay will Hinder themselves with their Max die.
Then at the start of their turn, they turn that penalty into a bonus for the next Poisonous Sin.
It’s absolute goddamn nonsense. It has just enough vulnerabilities that I think it’s playable (can’t work against toxic-immune enemies, can’t work against highly mobile enemies who get away, and you pin yourself down) but I honestly think there’s a possibility that after seeing this in play for a couple sessions I might request a rebuild to be less overwhelming.
Hah, just this old retired mischievous wisecrackin’ hero. : )
I love how you just smoothly transitioned into “and then they channel the incarnate of blah-de-blah” like that’s just something one expects in this situation. XD
I’m surprised you didn’t go with Incarnate for a name!
Well, there’s an easy answer for that, which is that I did not think of it. Because yeah, that is much better.
But now, our final character! Let’s just jump right in with…
Step 1: Background
We’re Struggling. Somehow, I put this off for the entire run. Spoiler alert: This is going to be the worst character that I build, a fact that I already know because I’ve got to be both Struggling and Divided. But hopefully I’ll build someone who’s at least interesting!
Meet Danielle Ducat. Daisy is a down-on-her-luck waiter working a dead-end job. Her life sucks, her boss works for the mob, and she’s just generally having a bad run of luck. Danielle has Finesse d8, Banter d6, and Criminal Underworld d6, because Struggling gives you extra bad dice instead of useful ones.
Danielle gets a Responsibility Principle, and as the perfect Everyman… well, that’s her Principle.
Step 2: Power Source
Meet Danni Ducat. Danni has it all. She’s the youngest assistant producer to Megalopolis Action 5 News, and she’s on the radar for another promotion after her amazing story about the Freedom Seven stopping Duke Bladesworn. She’s in a great relationship, she goes to the best parties, and she’s just generally having a great time.
Until one morning, when she got out of bed, opened her window, and saw a massive figure in the sky, followed momentarily by a wave of purple energy, followed momentarily by the dissolution of her entire reality.
The cascade of destruction that followed Oblivaeon opened cracks across countless realities, and for just a moment, Danni’s soul fell through them. There was a rush of impossibility as she saw the entire Multiverse, every possible life that she could have lived, laid out in front of her. And then she fell into Danielle Ducat.
There are now two people inside Danielle – a struggling waitress, and a woman with a view of everything that ever was and ever will be, charged with cosmic energies.
So Danni has Awareness d8, Cosmic d8, and Precognition d6. Because her power source is Multiverse, she’s also trading a Green Ability (oh no) for a d6 (oh noooo) in Presence.
For Yellows, she is going to need a Boost. Power from Beyond lets her use her Awareness for a persistent one, then make an Attack. She can also use Reality Scorned to Attack someone with cosmic energy and then Hinder them.
Step 3: Archetype
So, our little bundle of d8s and d6s is definitely Divided. This means we roll d10, d8, d6 to see what else we’ve got. Results of 10, 7, and 3 give us access to Physical Powerhouse, Armored, Robot/Cyborg, Transporter, and Gadgeteer.
After reviewing my options, I think I’m going to be odd. We’re taking Armored! Being a multiversal being in a universe that isn’t multiversal any more means that both Danielle and Danni are surprisingly hard to kill. This gives us access to Stone (my very last required power!) d10, Insight d8, and Fitness d6. Danni can reshape stone using her cosmic energies.
In both of her forms, Ducat is Armored, taking less damage. Her Pointed Words use her Insight to deliver an attack that can’t be resisted, because it’s talking someone down, whereas her Living Bulwark attacks with Stone and defends someone else. Finally, she can Deflect some of the damage that she would receive onto others; attacking her creates weird feedback that is very unpleasant.
Now things get bad.
The two Ducats are able to share their body. Usually Danni is in the background, but she erupts outwards when things go badly wrong, or when Danielle focuses and painfully lets go.
Next I have to choose one or two options – either each Ducat has access to exactly half of these Qualities and Powers, getting nothing in return, or one of them has access to her Qualities and the other has access to her Powers.
You have to split your sheet in half, it takes actions to swap between halves, and unlike Modular or Form-Shifter you get absolutely no benefit for this.
I’m going to go with the Qualities / Powers split, because it at least lets me use two Qualities with Danielle and two powers with Danni, which is going to be somewhat less punishing.
Danielle gets a second Responsibility Principle. Danielle is a born Sidekick; she helps out, trying to get a handle on the weird world that she’s a part of.
Step 4: Personality
I get two Personalities for the Ducats! Danielle is Sarcastic, because that’s what’s left. Danni, however, could be Impulsive, Alluring, or Analytical. Impulsive hurts my status die even more, so let’s go with Alluring.
My Roleplaying Personality only applies to Danielle, so I’m going to go with “Multiple Perspectives” d8. In this form, she can listen to Danni’s perspective and spot things that one mind couldn’t. (Danni does not, as a rule, take advantage of this benefit.)
Step 5: Red Abilities
There’s no way around “you need to have Qualities or Powers” for this step. I think it will usually be Danni in a pinch, so let’s take two Power-based Red Abilities. Reliable Aptitude for Awareness lets Danni reroll her Min die whenever she’s being aware, which is going to be almost always, and a charged-up Cosmic Blast lets her burn her bonuses for overwhelming firepower.
Step 6: Retcon
We’re boosting the Red Die again. An extra d6 won’t help anything, and more Red Abilities won’t do much. I think this boost applies to both Personalities, even if only Danielle’s applies for health purposes.
Step 7: Health
Danielle gets to use Stone to calculate Health, which means she has (8 + Red 10 + Stone 10 + 4) 32 Health.
Step 8: Alias
Danielle let Danni pick their alias. Danni went with Bedrock. Danielle actually really likes that.
Character Sheet
Bedrock
Alias: Danielle (Danni) Ducat
Background: Struggling, Power Source: Multiverse, Archetype: Divided (Armored), Personality: Sarcastic / Alluring
Principles: Everyman [Responsibility], Sidekick [Responsibility]
As Danielle
Status Dice: Green d8, Yellow d8, Red d10
Health: 32 (Green 32-24, Yellow 23-12, Red 11-1)
Qualities:
Green Abilities:
Yellow Abilities:
None
Red Abilities:
None
Out Ability: Hinder an opponent by rolling your single Insight die.
As Danni:
Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d12
Health: 32 (Green 32-24, Yellow 23-12, Red 11-1)
Powers:
Green Abilities:
Yellow Abilities:
Red Abilities:
Out Ability: Hinder an opponent by rolling your single Insight die.
Aftermath:
I think this is a workable character. She is not good, but she is workable.
Part of it is that I took three of the worst options in the game and smashed them together to try and offset each others’ problems. I probably should have planned ahead and gotten rid of Struggling a while ago, but I was vaguely thinking that extra bad dice might make the Divided problem less drastic. Similarly, I just plain forgot that Multiverse gives you a bad Power die instead of a good Green Ability; for some reason I thought it gave a d10, which I was also going to use to try and offset Divided’s problems.
As it is, I don’t think the extra dice really helped. Danielle is not great at anything. Her best die pool is 3d8, her only real abilities in action scenes are deflecting damage and low-power attacks that at least can’t be stopped, and she literally gets no other options in Yellow or Red. No Boosts, no Hinders, no Defends, no multi-targeting, nothing. Fortunately, she won’t be doing much in action scenes, because once she gets hit she transforms automatically, but that still means not having good options in the opening actions.
Danni is better, but not great. She has a d12 Red die, she has one d10 and a broadly applicable d8, and she has attacks that Defend or Hinder, plus a pretty strong ultimate attack in Red. She’s only got two Yellow options, and thanks to the combination of Divided and Multiverse she doesn’t get extra Greens to make up for it; instead, Armored is working double-time just to get her to the basic number of Abilities most people have automatically.
In general, though, this is just a weaker character than I would get if I made Danni’s emergence entirely a roleplaying thing, using the already existing Principle of the Split which isn’t a Responsibility Principle and thus is not available to Divided Characters!!
I’m blocked from using any superpowers in normal mode, I’m blocked from using any skills in super-mode, I’m blocked from any Abilities that use the wrong trait in either mode (a fact that will be much worse for heroes that don’t take things that don’t key to any Power or Quality, something I did as much as possible) and I literally get nothing, nothing at all, to make up for it except maybe the ability to have slightly different Status dice in my two forms.
I’m legitimately unsure what the design choice for Divided here was. Like, Form-Shaper is fun, and Modular is probably unnecessary but you can make it sing (and it’s probably decent just as an example of how weird the system is willing to let custom Archetypes get.) But Divided… the only use cases for Divided seem to be to create mechanical weaknesses for characters for whom that’s narratively appropriate, but with no compensation for it.
Divided exists to build Ra in the RPG. But it does it badly.