Here's a character I made just rolling randomly on the tables in the game. It turned out pretty well! I am particularly satisfied with the name I came up with for a split-personality character that uses nuclear power. (If you are familiar with the Cauldron fan expansion, you'll recognize the reference to the nuclear-powered villain Gray; I'm planning on including Cauldron characters in my campaign in addition to the usual Sentinel Comics characters, mainly so I can throw The Ram at them. If you use this character in your own campaign but don't want to use Cauldron content, then an easy fix would be to have her be created by trying to contain the damage at a nuclear reactor during the Oblivaeon event. There's also a convenient place to introduce her in the starter kit campaign.)
HALF-LIFE
Alias: Curie Geiger
Background: Unremarkable. Curie was a young lab tech who had just gotten her first job at the Rook City Nuclear Authority. Fresh out of college and eager to learn, she was tasked with several maintenance duties after the company downsized the senior technical staff to increase profits. She was assured that the scheduled safety training would be given before she had to report for work, but the company had no one to cover the shifts that day, so they put her in charge of maintenance without any training.
Power Source: Accident. She was there the day the supervillain Gray was born. The meltdown he caused was running out of control, and Curie only had the basics of nuclear theory to draw upon to stop it. While the superheroes fought Gray, Curie stayed in the irradiated bunker while all the other personnel fled. She managed to fire all the coolant rods and save Rook City, but not before receiving a massive dose of Gray's mutated radiation waves.
The technicians were sure she was dead, but when they went to retrieve her body, they were shocked to find their hands passing through her body! Somehow, the radiation had made her cells intangible. She sat up with a start, eyes glowing, and lashed out at her would-be rescuers.
Thinking they had another Gray on their hands, Tachyon and Absolute Zero, who were on hand for the cleanup, fought with her. She was in an enraged form, unable to control herself, but soon Tachyon was able to talk her down. Together, they created a containment suit similar to what Absolute Zero has, which dampens her nuclear fire and allows her to lead a somewhat normal life again.
Archetype: Divided (Blaster). Half-life can switch between her civilian form - the cheerful, youthful lab assistant - and her heroic form - the savage radiation ghost Half-life. In her lab assistant form, she is a gifted scientific thinker, who uses her power suit for good whenever she can. But when the going gets tough, she can shut down the "control rods" in her suit and unleash the beast of nuclear fire within.
Personality: Stalwart (Civilian), Impulsive (Heroic). Curie is a cheerful but steadfast young woman, but when she allows her nuclear-fired psyche out, she is impulsive and has much difficulty in constraining its savage rampage.
STATUS DICE
Green 31-24 Civilian d8 Heroic d6
Yellow 23-12 Civilian d8 Heroic d6
Red 11-01 Civilian d8 Heroic d8
QUALITIES
Imposing (d10)
Insight (d8)
Humble Heroism (d8)
Science (d6, Civilian form only)
POWERS
Power Suit (d10, Civilian form only)
Flight (d6, Civilian form only)
Nuclear (d12)
Strength (d8, d10 in Heroic form)
Intangibility (d6, Heroic form only)
PRINCIPLES
Principle of the Split
You have two entirely separate facets of your personality. As a result, you can look at a situation from many different angles.
Minor twist: What perspective ended up being the wrong one for the situation?
Major twist: What inner conflict has thrown you completely off?
Principle of Youth (Civilian form)
You have an innocent and cheerful outlook on most things, based on your upbeat personality and general lack of experience. You can slip into many situations that adults would have trouble with.
Minor twist: Who has been put out by your overconfidence?
Major twist: Who is now very, very disappointed in you, young lady?
Principle of Savagery (Heroic form)
Your wild instincts stay with you and guide your actions. You can survive in the wild and resist the trappings of civilization.
Minor twist: Who did you harm with your rampage?
Major twist: What major act of collateral damage are you responsible for?
ABILITIES
Principle of Savagery (Green A, Heroic Form) - Overcome a situation that taps into your primal nature and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
Principle of Youth (Green A, Civilian Form) - Overcome a situation where your age or size is an asset and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
Principle of the Split (Green A) - Overcome a situation that benefits from having a completely new outlook and use your Max die. You and each of your allies gain a hero point.
Split form (Green I) - Some powers and qualities are only available in certain forms.
Transform (Green A) - You unleash (or contain) the nuclear "ghost". Change from civilian form to heroic form, and vice versa.
Focused Aperture Ray (Green A) - You use your power suit to open a focused beam of the radioactive fire you have brewing inside. Attack using Power Suit, Hinder using your Min die.
Meltdown (Green A) - You unleash waves of your nuclear fire to burn your enemies. Attack multiple targets with Nuclear. Use your Min die against each.
Excited State (Green R) - As things get more intense, the half-life of the radioactive materials within you excites and gallops faster, spitting out more and more energy as your powers need it. When you change personal zones, you may Boost by rolling your single [Nuclear] ability.
Yellowcake Burst (Yellow A) - Using the matter around you as nuclear fuel, you send out waves of choking, billowing yellow dust that enervates those you cover with it. Hinder any number of nearby targets using Nuclear. Use your Max die.
Irradiated Slam (Yellow A) - You plow headlong into the enemy, fueled by your nuclear fire. The clash does its damage, but so, too, does the blast of nuclear fallout that erupts on the hit. Attack using Strength. Hinder that same target with your Min die.
Imbue with Element (Yellow A) - You hammer the enemy with a massive, nuclear-fueled attack. In doing so, you set up your companion for a follow-up action. Attack using Nuclear. Use your Max die. If you choose another hero to go next, Boost that hero using your Mid die.
Nuclear Furnace (Yellow R) - Curie is a living nuclear reaction; she even needs to feed it matter to stay alive. A consequence of this is that any attack that deals nuclear damage actually heals her. If you would take damage from Nuclear, instead reduce that damage to zero and Recover that amount of Health instead.
Charged Ion Wave (Red A) - With a shout, you release a superheated wave of charged ion particles that rocks the ground and knocks everyone off-guard. Remove all bonuses and penalties from the scene. You cannot use this ability again this scene.
Out of Phase (Red A) - Your intangibility comes and goes, but sometimes, you can fade into almost nothingness. It's a strain, but you can even pass through walls and doors and even enemies in this manner. Boost yourself using Intangibility. Use your Max+Min dice. Then, you may end up anywhere else in the scene, avoiding any dangers between your starting and ending locations.
Out (Heroic Form) - Lingering radioactive reactions make way for the hero closest to Curie, as if the latent reactions still have a mind of their own. The hero who goes directly after me may take 1 damage to reroll their dice pool.
Out (Civilian) - Nuclear wisps still seem to defend Curie's friends, preventing enemies from bringing the full weight of their attacks. Defend an ally by rolling your single [Nuclear] die.