Rate My Build (Heroes)

Games Sentinel Comics RPG
#81

I don't feel confident giving a proper answer, since the sheet definitely doesn't look finished me. That could be an error in whatever program was used to fill it out, but I'd prefer to see all of the parts before giving my analysis.

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SON OF POY

First impression: Son Of Poy is overflowing with power

In the Green Zone, Son Of Poy begins with Mixed Blessing, emphasizing the extremes that he can reach. Darken The Doors is an extremely solid way to slow down a single foe, and is somewhat resilient against the negative effects of Mixed Blessing; Max dice and doubles are rarely 1s. Toxic Sludge will torment whatever foe it strikes.
In the Yellow Zone, Son Of Poy expands his abilities to catch multiple targets once. Infernal Blessing gives his allies a massive boost, which is practically guranteed to a +3 or +4, while only slowing him down momentarily. Toxic Waste gives Son Of Poy the ability to charge himself up for a future turn, and either regenerate some health or remove a penalty. The ability to remove a persistent penalty in pretty strong. Toxic Cloak will allow Son Of Poy to deal with multiple targets at close range simoutaneously; Mid die AOE is very strong, especially without downside.
In the Red Zone, Dark Forces ensures that Son Of Poy will always be able to use a power of his choosing at it's greatest potential. Defensive Deflection gives him some resilience, making sure that he'll be able to last through to the end of the red zone without going down.

Overall? Son Of Poy feels like he is bleeding power with all of his abilities, and he will never be out of combat options in a fight. I'd say that he actually might have difficulty picking out which option to use in a given situation, because multiple of them could be useful.

In terms of a team setting, Son Of Poy will appreciate allies who can fill in the gaps in his abilities. Without verging too much into the soft mechanics of a narrative, Son Of Poy might have difficulty finding a power to use for any particular situation. 

#82

I apologize, I completely forgot about the Personal Quality and the toxic sludge I renamed, knowing what power I was using, but didn't type it in. As far as the out ability, I was making multiple characters yesterday and I happened to get Fast-Talking back to back so I forgot to change it.

#83

With the sheet now appearing finished, I will give my analysis later today.

#84

Just when you thought I was done...I went ahead and put together another team.

Introducing:  Ladies' Night.  A septet of heroines capable of taking on any villainous force, come what may!

  • Poniard--A former Olympic fencer and expert swordswoman, turned vigilante detective
  • Lady Evergreen--an environmental activist  and greenhouse owner capable of manipulating plants of all sort
  • Rebuild--a streetwise technology savant with two powerful cybernetic arms
  • Golden Grizzly--A former US Army Tank Commander imbued with cosmic power
  • Backbend--Once a darling acrobat and dancer, she can now stretch into impossible forms
  • Omen--an amnesiac telepath with a hidden history as a living weapon of war
  • Exodus--The survivor of a Cthulhoid apocalypse, she wields forbidden magic and pieced-together rituals

As with The Armitage Society, feel free to use these in your home games or as convention pre-gens.  Just please give proper attribution.

 

I promise, once the Villain sheets are up and online, I'll start statting up some (not ALL!) of the Villains of the Day.  I'll even take requests.  

#85

I edited my analysis of Son Of Poy into a previous comment I made. Considering that I have a long shift tommorow, there might be a day or two of delay before I can look at each member of Ladies' Night properly.

Edit 1: Oh boy, finally getting back to this. Alright, let's start with:

PONIARD

First impression: Poniard is, much like her former olympic sport would indicate, a duelist.

In the Green Zone, Poniard opens up with an array of options. Fleche ensures that she will be able to deal damage to most foes, while Prise De Fer gives her a way to knock aside a single strike while continuing the offensive. Pret Allez is basically the definition of mechanical flexibility (barring certain Red Zone abilities), and being tied to Alertness gives it plenty of narrative flexibility. 
In the Yellow Zone, Poniard sticks with her metaphorical guns. Remise gives her even more durability than Pret Allez, as well as providing bonuses to make her actions count. Redouble will lay down the hurt on a single target with ease, and maybe even patch up Poniard a bit. Coupe Pass gives her a limited degree of multiple target interaction, although Pret Allez is likely more reliable in terms of hitting two targets at once.
In the Red Zone, Poniard pushes herself to stay in the fight. In Quarta is a powerful defense for her, enabling Remise to be triggered in response to every single attack on her, with a health or twist cost if multiple attacks comes at her in the same turn (minion groups, certain villain abilities, etc). Botta Segrete gives Poniard a sizable bonus for her offenses to hit harder, and possibly to make her Remise more effective; That's on the narrative of what the bonus is. Finally, Corps a Corps weakens foes she engages with. With multiple Attacks from Redouble or Pret Allez, she'll be able to pin down one or two targets quite effectively. Important note though; The Hinders will not be applied until the entire Ability in question is finished resolving.

Overall? Poniard can close with a single target and maintain her superiority while whittling down them down. If I was going to point out a weakness though, Poniard has a lot of trouble dealing with penalties on her, and really with multiple targets. Pret Allez and Coupe Pass help slightly with the latter, but suffer a lot from the former.

In terms of a team setting, Poniard wants allies who can handle mulitple foes at once, remove penalties via boosting or other means, or arguably both. Poniard isn't the party member who can operate equally well against all manner of dangers; She's the party member who pays off in spades from solid teamwork and planning.

 

Edit 2: 

LADY EVERYGREEN

First impression: Lady Evergreen is a capable blaster.

In the Green Zone, Lady Evergreen begins with solid offensive options. Lash Of Thorns enables her to blast a target apart, while Grasping Vines allows her to pin down that same target with some possible damage. Hemlock allows her to strike a multitude of targets at once, a potent tool in the green zone.
In the Yellow Zone, Lady Evergreen expands for some utility options. Living Kudzu gives a flexible minion, while Cycle Of Life incentivizes her hunting down minions. Botanical Sacrifice is a straightforward way to execute a mid strength minion, and can also hit a second target at the same time.
In the Red Zone, Lady Evergreen puts down roots. Earth Arisen locks down a potentially massive number of targets, possibly taking them down in the process. Redwood Hart allows her to negate incoming damage, at the cost of taking a penalty instead. That is a very strong defense, especially combined with Tide Of Green giving her a chance to slow down for a turn and prepare for a big action on her next.

Overall? Lady Evergreen will be a potent force in most combat situations. She has mobility options to get from place to place on a chaotic battlefield, and will have no trouble taking down large targets. Redwood Hart will require some careful use though; Large penalties can still be crippling.

In terms of a team setting, Lady Evergreen brings heavy firepower to whatever team she is on. She'll benefit from teammates who can provide Boosts like anyone else, but especially so in the Red Zone should Redwood Hart see heavy use. She'll also benefit from teammates who can deal with opposing bonuses and remove penalties reliably. Both are often underlooked utility options in my experience.

#86

I made a hero based off the Time-Crazed Prisoner from The Block: Link.

Rate away!

#87

You need to get a sharable link.

#88

Okay, try this one.

#89

I'll provide my rating later today, or tommorow. I'll just edit it into this post.

#90

Thanks, that will be appreciated.

#91

Not mechanical in any way, but maybe revise the power names so that they're not just "Insane x" or "Y of Insanity"?

There are so many evocative words and phrases that you could use for a character rooted in madness:  psychosis, neurosis, derangement, lunacy, mania, and more. 

And, for that matter, archaic processes that fit the comic book idiom of an asylum (even if they don't fit any modern representation of mental health).  A red ability renamed Mass Lobotomy certainly packs more punch than a more generic name. 

Plus, it helps differentiate your power sets.  It'll be less confusing for you and your fellow players when you move further away from XXXXX of Madness. 

#92

Well heck, I sure didn't do a rating of Mad Seer yet.
Woops. Will have to come after sleep. Curse unexpectedly tiring work.

#93

No rush. A delayed rating is better than a hasty one.

#94

MAD SEER

First impression: Mad Seer is a generalist, able to function reasonably effectively in most scenarios.

In the Green Zone, Mad Seer opens up aggresively. Insane Assault allows them to probe a target's mind telepathically, while Precognitive Coordination gives them an effective way to empower all of their allies for a turn cycle. Psychic Alertness is situational, but when it trigger's, it could be the difference between dropping a zone and staying where you curently are.
In the Yellow Zone, Mad Seer doubles down on aggression. Aura Of Insanity allows them to engage multiple targets at the cost of some health, and Enjoy The Descent Into Insanity allows them to grow stronger still from taking out a minion while doing so, at the cost of locking out Psychic Alertness for that round. Precognitive Alteration is a potent reaction, allowing them to either convert a boost on themself into a boost for an ally, or get rid of a penalty on themself before their own turn comes back around again. Also, just generally useful for bumping a roll that last bit over to achieve a threshold. Finally, Telepathic Whammy is a brutal attack, full stop. If the target survives (which is somewhat unlikely), Mad Seer knows that they'll be hindered for the rest of the fight, unless villainous shenanigans arise.
In the Red Zone, Mad Seer trips down on the aggression. Reliable Insanity ensures that Mad Seer will have a minimum level of effectiveness, while Unstoppable Insanity tears into a single foe while tearing through defenses like a 1000 degree knife through butter. I think I missed the meme, but whatever.

Overall? Mad Seer is a force of destruction against foes who cannot deal with high damage output or persistent hinders, which is admittedly many foes. However, they will often want to weigh the benefits of using each of their three reactions carefully to make sure they get the most bang for their buck out of whichever one they use.

In terms of a team setting, Mad Seer will likely be trying to deal with the biggest foe, or take down others that could otherwise interfere with their teammates.

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Now, I do have some thoughts on the names and Rp Quality.
- While I always love renaming abilities to serve their flavor needs, I do feel like the names for Mad Seer's abilities feel disconnected. That could be just me missing some pattern.
- Second, Insanity as the Rp Quality. I always encourage players in the Sentinels RPG games that I run to make their Rp Quality describe something fundamental about their characters that their powers/qualities don't portray immediately. However, I also encourage those Rp Qualities to mean something, to have enough concreteness that they can't just be used for any roll in mind. I'd recommend trying to make Insanity more descriptive.

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Sorry about the massive delay on finally getting this rating out. 

#95

Uh… I honestly was not aware that there was a meme that had anything to do with this character.

At first I hesitated to give a character so many reactions, but then I thought: “Characters only (usually) use one action per round, but most characters still have lots of actions. Why should reactions be any different?”

-Well… I renamed some of them insanity-themed because he’s, well, insane. And others I just kept psychic-themed from the psychic archetype.
-Hmm, maybe I could do something like “Dangerous Insanity” or “Infectious Insanity”? When I first came up with this character, I wanted his main mode of attack to be “He uses his telepathy to open his foes mind to the insanity within his own, making his foe become incapacitated by being overwhelmed with madness”. For that to work, I needed some kind of Insanity Die. I was thinking of renaming “Creativity” “Insanity”, but I thought the RP quality would be better.

#96

Maybe for the ability names, try to figure out what the insanity comes across as telepathically. Is it the screaming of children? The dread of staring into the endless abyss? The cacophonous sounds of a thousand wind chimes in a tornado with an accompaniment of wolves howling while alien geometries warp and twist around you, hiding something that your brain refuses to give proper shape or form to?
Similarly, maybe try to make Insanity more specific. You could make an allusion to what caused the insanity in the first place for Mad Seer, or maybe how the insanity affects them as a person. There’s plenty of room to expand there.

#97

Just off the top of my head:

Psychotic Assault (for Insane Assault)

A Glimpse of Sanity (for Precog Coordination)

Behind Paranoid Eyes (for Psychic Alertness)

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Neurotic Nightmare (for Telepathic Whammy)

Lunatic Fringe (for Enjoy the Descent...)

Manic Awareness (for Precog Alteration)

"We're All Mad Here" (for Aura of Insanity)

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Truth Behind the Chaos (for Reliable Insanity)

The Last Nerve (for Unstoppable Insanity)

 

I mean, that took me all of 8 minutes.  

 

Also, re: Reactions--I think the reason they're not as valuable as actual Actions stems from the fact that you can't necessarily tell when you're going to trigger them.  You 'might' be able to trigger that ability that boosts you, if you take out a minion, but if you do, you're giving up the possibility of using a reaction that boosts an ally or defends against an oncoming attack.  Plus, Reactions typically only use a single die, which makes them much swingier than Actions (which typically use the standard 3-die pool).  Yes that might incur a higher positive result occasionally, but you'll also get a lot of occasions where you get a 1-point Defend, which doesn't do much good.  

I'm no expert at optimization, but I've found that 2 Reactions seem to be a sweet spot, particularly if they do two different functions (a Boost and a Defend, or an Attack and a Recover, for example).  Having one open at Green and another open at Yellow, too, seems to be a good balance as well.

#98

Hi all, 

I've been working on a character that would be deliberately rich on flavour, even if that meant somewhat disregarding combat 'effectiveness'.

The result is... Tesseract!


I went for a late-fourties labrat who invented a way of bending spacetime slightly, finding himself capable of quantum effects - that is, a real-life Schroedinger's Cat.
Narratively, his existence would spread over a few seconds into past and future, and into multiple possible paths of action before actually converging into one route again. (If you have trouble picturing the "not exactly here, and not precisely now" idea, remember the first Matrix Movie, with the agent dodging bullets: Moving into multiple directions simultaneously).
Outsiders might mistake it for speed, when it is in fact methodical try-and-error shortly before everybody else arrives.


Awkward moments of brain vs. brawn dialogue are definitely on the menu :)
"- And no, this glowy thing from that Avengers poppycock is just a basic cube! A proper tesseract is the same geometric principle but folded into a fourth dimension, integrating its spatial definition with a temporal aspect! People never get this right! Let me draw a quick sketch for you... - "

 

I found it not befitting to give him more power as GYRO progresses, so I ventured to increase his versatility instead - after all, this man is multitasking incarnate. So as things get more dire, he will not do things more strongly - but he will do quite a bit more of them.

 

Starting the game with an "Origin" collection seemed cheating without at least making up enough of that collection so that it might actually have happened. Since I had a little space on the sheet, I went and named all six issues of that collection, in a way that I hope would - if not actually telling the story - allude to some events that make for a nice and believable origin story.

 

You might find the approach a little unusual, but I'd love to hear your thoughts about it anyway!
Do you think he can pull his weight in a team? 

And, what I'd love to hear most:
Aside from game mechanics, does the overall design spark your imagination, so that you can picture what the character would be like? Does it all sound like stories to be told?

Many thanks!

#99

Well, before I make any of my usual comments, I have a possibly dumb question: How did you embed the PDF?

Will Edit in usual comments here.

Edit: Ah, I somehow never saw the attachments option before when posting. Silly me.

Edit 2:

TESSERACT

First impression: Tesseract is an apt supporter.

In the Green Zone, Tesseract starts with boosting himself or any ally with the possibility of also dealing some minor damage with Probability Insight, while Uncertainty Absorber allows for some fine adjustment of outcomes.
In the Yellow Zone, Tesseract expands on his existing options. Custom Timezone can power up a bunch of allies at once, or weaken a bunch of foes all at once. Causality Override gives Tesseract the ability to enact larger scale effects on an ally than Uncertainty Absorber, at the cost of a bit of health. Recharing Cosmic Buffers is neat, but heavily situational.
In the Red Zone, Tesseract focuses on expanding his ability to act. Auxiliary Iteration giving a bonus basic action allows him to make maximume effect out of his Mid die, Manifest Hypotheticals gives a burst of actions (should the minions survive), and then there's Schrodinger's Dance. Schrondinger's Dance allows Tesseract to interact multiple ways in one turn, with a great deal of potency. 

Overall? Tesseract will be able to empower himself or allies quite effectively, and later back it up with extra actions or action focused minions. 

In terms of a team setting, Tesseract will be most effective boosting or hindering allies until the Red Zone, at which point they'll be rather effective at any given task.

#100

Hit me, I'm ready for it :)