ECSNorway Wrote:Yeah. I had a fun character in a Champions urban-fantasy game, once upon a time - he was a Forensic Thaumatologist, attached to the supernatural-crimes division of the local police department. Statted him up in Champions with a bunch of skill-based, explicitly-limited Divination powers... and couldn't build the concept at all in GURPS.
That does sound like an interesting concept - if I actually had GURPS books I'd be tempted to consider it a challenge. Do you still have a copy? Since I don't have GURPS yet, however, here's Peter Duck as an SAS/TriStat d10 character.
This is only a loose recreation of my original "Peter Duck" Champions character, and even then the default point total for SAS is fairly high - the original had no mention of magical potential, the "Unknown Superhuman Power" Attribute was just added to soak the unused CP. If running him as a DMPC or writing it as a fic, likely he'd end up with three levels of Dynamic Powers at the 15pt level with the specialty being something like weather (more explicitly, Water and Air control for the guy with the amphibious avian motif,) five levels of Enhanced Soul to pump up the casting stat, and a level of Increased Energy balanced by the Unreliable Power -2 defect to represent being entirely untrained in and unfamiliar with magic until he puts in Advancement Points to pay it off.
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Name: "Peter Duck" (Real name Dafydd apHywel)
Genre: SAS Default Skills
First Comic Appearance: Peter & The Fox #1
Group Affiliations: Champions North
Occupation: Musician
Territory: Greater Boston Area
Age: 25
Gender: male
Height: 5' 10"
Weight:
Description and Character Notes:
Dafydd apHywel (pronounced DAV-ith, like "Davis" with a lisp. Welsh for "beloved son of Hywell" which itself means "far seeing" and is the root of the modern surname Powell) was born to a British couple who immigrated to the United States when his mother was offered a promotion to North American Sales Manager as the company expanded to begin doing business internationally. His father, being a skilled machinist, had found the transition nearly as easy, even thoguh it required changing jobs - he actually ended up at a higher rate of pay in his new position, though at longer hours. As a result of these busy careers, his parents were a bit scarce during his early years, for all they did their best to play active and positive roles in his life. Young Dafydd was never that put out by being left to his own devices however, happy to sing to himself and make sound effects while tinkering about with various building toys, electronic games, or any boys' standby classic, diecast cars. His sitters were neither overly strict nor incompetent, his parents managed at least one family meal and a bed-time story every day, and and his childhood was generally peaceful and ordinary in a way all too few of the hero set can claim.
Though gifted from an early age with technical ability and a keen curiosity, Dafydd's real enthusiasm was always for music, especially orchestral pieces and complex chorales. He saw nothing odd in that, rather the interplay of components making up a complex system was simply a different sort of harmony to his way of thinking. Even personal motivations and states of mind followed rhythms and appeared in patterns like unto chords; far from the stereotype unsocial band geek he proved quite adept at reading people and predicting their behavior, and participated on the Gymnastics team in High School and College as a way to stay fit and limber.
The finger excercises he uses to keep his hands in condition to perform difficult fingerings on his instrument also pay dividends in manual dexterity for other tasks, as several members of a rival fraternity from his days at Berklee College of Music who tried to cheat against him at a card tournament would attest - if anyone had noticed he was cheating right back at them, at least, outrage at their amateurish attampts and unsporting behavior overriding his usual ethics. Of course, Dafydd was also active in the music program, and performed well enough in his chosen field to earn a place in the Boston Landmark Orchestra even before graduation. His star was still on the rise however, and after a couple of years with the BLO he joined the world-renowned Boston Pops.
While on tour with the Pops in Poland, Dafydd accidentally got mixed up in a weapon smuggling deal between the Russian Mob and a local villain known as Colonel Smazyl Kurcze, who wanted to purchase a powered space armor originally designed for the Soviet space program. Through an improbable chain of events that involved an exploding ice-cream truck, a mad chase through the streets of Warsaw on motorcycles which continued on to a jet ski and a hijacked speedboat on the Vistula river, and all sides being forcibly ejected from a high-class brothel as one muddled group, eventually the Russians collected their payment and left, the production data was destroyed, and the prototype unit hastily configured to fit himself and used to defeat the Colonel before fleeing from his burning, collapsing hideout. Smazyl Kurcze was captured by the Policja Warszawy and, with his current operating capital sunk into the failed arms deal and hence unable to hire top legal defenders and grease palms, was unable to wiggle his way out of trouble.
Dafydd was not entirely as fortunate, however - though he escaped any legal diffculties, the poorly-adjusted power armor had caused joint and muscle strain, and the beating he'd taken before acquiring it had broken three ribs and left him unable to perform for weeks, as maintaining the breath pressure needed for a woodwind made his lung press against the damaged bones.
(more spread through attribute descriptions)
Body: 7 (10)
Mind: 10
Soul: 8
Health Points: 75
Energy Points: 110
Shock Value: 15
Combat Value: 8
Defense Value: 6
Skills:
Acrobatics 2x6 = 12 (Expert)
Domestic Arts 1x1 = 1 (Well-Trained)
Driving 2x2 = 4 (Expert)
Electronics 3x4 = 12 (Veteran)
Languages 4x1 = 4 (Master)
Mechanics 3x4 = 12 (Veteran)
Performing Arts 5x2 = 10 (Grand Master)
Piloting 3x2 = 6 (Veteran)
Police Sciences 1x4 = 4 (Well-Trained)
Sleight of Hand 1x3 = 3 (Well-Trained)
Special Ranged Attack (Sonic Quack) 2x10 = 20 (Expert)
Gun Combat 1x8 = 8 (Well-Trained)
Melee Attack 1x7 = 7 (Well-Trained)
Melee Defense 1x7 = 7 (Well-Trained)
Attributes:
Divine Relationship 2x1 = 2 (2 re-rolls)
Energy Bonus 1x2 = 2
Gadgeteer 3x2 = 6 (x8 normal building rate)
Gadgets 2x2 = 4 (2 major gadgets)
Major Gadgets
Instrument
Camper Van
Minor Gadgets
Heavy Pistol (frame)
(Pistol) Sonic Blaster components
(Pistol) Stun setting
Dealer-class weapons permit
Concealed-carry pistol permit
(van) hidden compartment
Laptop computer
Super-Target health insurance
Highly Skilled 8x1 = 8
Unknown Superhuman Power 37x1 = 37 (55 points of unknown powers)
Item of Power 16x3+ 2 = 50
Easy To Lose
Personal Use
Armour 3x3 = 9 (30 damage stopped)
Block Power 4x1 = 4 (-4 Check Value Penalty)
Blocks One Attribute per Level
Illusion
Invisibility
Mind Control
Telepathy
Enhanced [Body] 3x2 = 6
Extra Attacks 1x8 = 8
Extra Defenses 1x3 = 3
Features 1x1 = 1
Appearance
Flight 3x4 - 2 = 10 (100 kph)
Fly in any Direction
Detectable 1x-1 = -1 (Detected using 1-2 methods)
Under Certain Conditions 1x-1 = -1
Heightened Senses 6x1 = 6
Hearing
Vision
Radio Reception
Sonar Detection
Ultrasonic Hearing
X-ray Vision
Natural Weapons 1x1 = 1
Claws (razor-edged metal feathers)
Special Attack (Impact Sonic Quack) 3x4+ 3 = 15 (40 damage attack)
Spreading 2x20 = 40 (-2 to defense check and 4 maximum extra targets)
Short Range
Alternate Attack (Stunning Sonic Quack) 3x1 = 3 (20 damage attack)
Spreading 2x20 = 40 (-2 to defense check and 2 maximum extra targets)
Short Range
Stun
Super Strength 2x4 = 8 (4 tonnes and +20 damage in close combat and +8 strength check bonus)
Special Defense 4x1 - 1 = 3
Air/Oxygen to Breathe
Disease
Poison
Unique Special Defense (Radiation)
Time Limit 1x-1 = -1
Water Speed 3x2 = 6 (50 kph)
Sensory Impairment 1x-1 = -1 (Diminished Primary Sense)
Unique Defect 1x-1 = -1
Nemesis (the Colonel) 2x-1 = -2 (May Actively try to Harm)
Owned (Boston Pops) 2x-1 = -2 (Significant Ownership)
Background story Bonus Points 3x-1 = -3
Info And Comments For: Languages 4x1 = 4 (Master)
Comments:
English (native), Chinese, Quebecois French, German,
Japanese, Polish, Brazillian Portugese, Russian, Swahili
While everyone has at least conversational fluency in English, the Pops include members from all over the world, and travel widely on those occasions they go on performance tours.
Info And Comments For: Performing Arts 5x2 = 10 (Grand
Master)
Comments:
Orchestral musician: oboe
Info And Comments For: Major Gadgets
Info And Comments For: Instrument
Comments:
World class, concert-grade oboe, with case, maintenance supplies, and $800,000 insurance through Lloyd's of London against theft or damage.
Info And Comments For: Camper Van
Comments:
Normal capped-roof van from the outside, but instead of three bench seats or an open cargo area, it is fitted with a rear bench/bed, a mini-firdge, a folding table, a sink area with a pump and tanks for cool and heated water under the countertop, a fold-down tabletop, and "overhead" (acually about eye-level) cabinets. There is a second, narrow bunk at the front of the cap, overhanging the front seats, which is usually just used as storage space.
Info And Comments For: (Pistol) Stun setting
Comments:
A self-contained version of the Peter Duck helmet weapon, single target only but does not have the idstinctive "QUACK!" firing sound and does retain the stun setting so it's considerd a more favorable self-defense weapon than a normal pistol.
Info And Comments For: Dealer-class weapons permit
Can legally own, transport, and sell weapons including those normally restricted as military weapons, such as assault rifles or - and this is the point - energy weapons and powered armor.
Info And Comments For: (van) hidden compartment
The rear seat/bed has an enclosed base which does not appear to open, but which actually serves as a place to keep his armor and a toolbox sufficient to maintain it when not in use.
Info And Comments For: Laptop computer
Comments:
Equal to a top-of-the-line commercial model
Info And Comments For: Super-Target health insurance
Intended for people who run an elevated risk of getting caught up in superhero/villain affairs and injured, such as celebrities, public officials, the associates of heroes with public identities, or the civilian identities of those who keep their heroing secret, the premiums are high but the coverage extends to things like hiring super-healers to regrow lost limbs, telepaths to evict possessing entities, super-inventors to grow a clone body to be transplanted into after being reduced to a brain in a jar, or even supernaturals to attempt ressurection and/or underworld retrieval if slain or captured by demonic entities. (Such coverage for known actvive superhumans would be a Major Item.) Dafydd's freinds and collegues thought he was being paranoid when he signed up for it after "a simple mugging" (as he claimed the Warsaw incident to be) but when he somehow kept on getting injured, if not so badly, afterward, it soon reached the point that normal medical insurance would have either run out or had its premiums raised to similar extremes without even offering the same degree of coverage, and they were forced to admit it seemed he'd chosen wisely. Fortunately, his ability to perform has not been noticeably impacted often.
Info And Comments For: Unknown Superhuman Power 37x1 = 37
(55 points of unknown powers)
Comments:
While Dafydd doesn't know it and has never even encountered the supernatural, he has a high potential for magic. Of course, the number of ways that magical potential can be expressed are essentially infinite...
Info And Comments For: Extra Attacks 1x8 = 8
Comments:
The armor's metal wings can be used to make melee attacks within 15 feet, or be wrapped around to defend it like a shield.
Info And Comments For: Appearance
Comments:
The Peter Duck armor, having now been rebuilt many times and with the addition of wings, is sleek and cool looking, even with the slightly odd shape of the "duckbill" helmet. It is mostly cream and brown, with irridescent green on the helmet and wings in a pattern that resembles the coloration of a mallard drake.
Info And Comments For: Detectable 1x-1 = -1 (Detected
using 1-2 methods)
Comments:
The Peter Duck armor is equipped with large wings made of thin, feather-like sheets of memory metal. Even folded as much as possible, they are still quite obvious, and at full extension the wingspan is 18 feet. Unlike a real duck the armor is able to hover and fly slowly in any direction rather than only moving forward. The wings remain folded tightly for underwater use but still provide high-speed movement and directional control.
Info And Comments For: Under Certain Conditions 1x-1 = -1
Comments:
Requires enough room to spread and flap the wings, 10ft at absolute minimum (Piloting check at -2 required) with only partial spread, 20ft is better (no skill penalty) but at least a clear 25 foot radius is needed to only require a Piloting check for tricky actions as normal. Landing in a space a human could normally stand in whle furling the the wings to fit requires a skill check at -4, taking off with insufficient space imposes an additional -2 on top of the penalties above.
Info And Comments For: Claws (razor-edged metal feathers)
Comments:
While the leading edges are blunt, a down-swing or slicing blow with the tips or trailing edges of the suit's wings slashes the target with the razor-thin memory metal "feathers."
Info And Comments For: Special Defense 4x1 - 1 = 3
Comments:
Peter Duck's armor is environmentally sealed for anti-Nuclear, Biological and Chemical protection, and is fully amphibious. It has a super-efficient rebreather system, provision for supplies of water and a thin paste-style dietary supplement, waste disposal arrangements, and small supply of liquified air to ensure positive inerior pressure in the event of a breach while the auto-sealing system works and replace any losses. It can also serve as an emergency cooling and/or propulsion system if he somehow finds himself in outer space, a holdover from the original Soviet space program design features.
Info And Comments For: Sensory Impairment 1x-1 = -1
(Diminished Primary Sense)
Comments:
Nearsighted
Info And Comments For: Unique Defect 1x-1 = -1
Peter Duck loathes rap, and will immediately act to shush, silence, subdue, or destroy any person or object producing it in his presence if he fails a Soul check. If confronted with a rap-themed villain or one who frames taunts in rap form, he must make a Soul check to avoid using lethal force. "SHUT UP, you willfully ignorant savage! THAT'S NOT MUSIC!" While the check is not all that hard to pass and his first reaction is to avoid it rather than provoke a confrontation, the trigger is unfortunately common.
Info And Comments For: Nemesis (the Colonel) 2x-1 = -2
(May Actively try to Harm)
Comments:
Smazyl Kurcze recently broke out of the European super-jail, and is likely to hold a grudge against the interfering idiot who ruined his plans and cost him so much money, if he can find out who it was.
Info And Comments For: Owned (Boston Pops) 2x-1 = -2
(Significant Ownership)
Comments:
Dafydd must practise on his own for 3-4 hours every day, and attend group practice or performances 2-3 times a week. Furthermore, he is concerned that if he became known as an active superhero he would be dismissed as attracting too much risk to the Pops, which is why he has mainly used the Peter Duck armor for recreational flying and only intervened in criminal activity when he happens to come across it in the course of those flights, rather than actively patrolling and investigating wrongdoing. It's still enough to have gotten him dogpiled, beaten with bats, crowbars, or improvised weapons, and/or shot by muggers, rapists, and street thugs when he interrupted their activities. He's gotten embroiled in a few super-battles as well from time to time, and has an Assosciate Freelancer ID card/communicator issued by the Champions North "expansion team" - this mainly means he can call them or be called by them in the event of a major emergency, since he's not all that active as a vigilante.
- CD
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows
