Character concept

[ECSNorway]

So, a friend of mine is starting up a Mutants & Masterminds campaign, set in a slight variant of the Marvel universe.

And I figured, why the heck not play.....

But to do that I needed a concept. We were discussing things, he was trying to get someone to play a mystic, and the
big objection was "well, I don't want to turn it into d&d". So we all hauled out the classic history of magic-wielding heroes, and others, in
the Marvelverse. Steven Strange. Victor von Doom. Ghostrider. Thor.

And my brain went... wait a minute. Thor. I can do something with this...

And out popped.... this.

"Billy"




Everyone knows about the Children of Odin. Thor, Lord of Thunder. Frey, God of the Fey. Freyja, Goddess of Love and Fidelity. Loki, the Trickster. The Exile.
The Evil.




And everyone knows about Loki's children, too. Fenris, the Wolf of Ragnarok. Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent. Billy, the Scorncrow.




Wait a second. Billy? Who's that?




You mean you've never heard of Billy? She's the one who conned the Valkyries into trading the wolves they used to ride for those silly winged horses.
He was the first English longbowman to flip the French the bird at Agincourt. She invented the whole thing about dumping a pitcher of beer over the winner of
a duel - a ritual still practiced by sports teams today. Every time they dump a bucket of gatorade over the coach's head, it's a prayer to Billy.




Tales of how Billy came to be are many, if obscure to modern eyes. The most believable of them involve Loki shapeshifting into a female, several Valkyries,
Anansi, Coyote, a drinking game, and a copy of either The Eye of Argon, or Plan
Nine From Outer Space. No one is quite sure whether the Eye was inflicted on poor humanity in order to remind
them of Billy's existence, or if Ed Wood was actually Billy in disguise, but speculation (among the Einerhjar, at least) runs rampant.




(And he still has the wolves, too. Every so often, a Valkyrie will come by and, politely, ask for hers back. Billy always grants these requests.)




And today Billy's decided to be a Big Damn Hero.




Well. We all know what happens to Big Damn Heros, don't we?

--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Sweno]

cool.

Given the general level of debauchery that occurred in Norse Mythology it's easy to imagine one more minor deity.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

[Foxboy]

Ack! Filmation flashback!

Sport BILLY!

YouTube of the OP
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[Bob Schroeck]

Interesting. I take it the mixed gender pronouns are intentional? Particularly given Loki's (ahem) flexibility in that area?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[ECSNorway]

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

Interesting. I take it the mixed gender pronouns are intentional? Particularly given Loki's (ahem) flexibility in that area?

Definitely.

And I plan on continuing to expand the background as ideas come to me.

Stats-wise... we're going to be starting at PL 6, with most powers limited to PL 4, so I'm thinking cosmetic shapeshifting, and some illusions and
force-fields, to start. Maybe a Kinetic Blast sort of thing. And of course lots and lots of charisma skills...
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Necratoid]

Don't forget Loki has other kids... Like Odin's horse and I think Hel, the half Dead, is also a sibling... if I'm remembering things correctly.
Which means you can have random phone calls from Billy's mysterious sister. The clingy one, she does have a realm you can't leave without her
permission and only Loki (and Billy in this case) have ever managed to escape. Give Billy something to ramble on about... the clingy sister that keeps trying
to get Billy to visit... but Billy knows that Billy can't leave Hel's realm unless Billy brings something spiffy to bribe her with. Presents, and
promises of more next time, are half the reason Billy can get out.

[Bob Schroeck]

Don't forget going for a ride with Billy's maverick brother...

Fenris wolf is also a sibling.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Norgarth]

Bob Schroeck wrote:

---

Don't forget going for a ride with Billy's maverick brother...




Fenris wolf is also a sibling.

The party has slain a giant monster, and Billy carves out a really big bone, as a 'gift for his/her brother' (Fenris want a chewtoy?) 8P
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

[Necratoid]

While a good idea in theory... remember that the Norse gods kind of tied Fenris to a tree and ran a sword through his muzzle. So if you want to use Fenris
that way, your going to have to free him first. Remember the legend of Fenris is that they got a prophecy that he was going to end up hating them and turning
on them... so they decided they were going go first strike on the up till then loyal wolf. So they got a magic binding chain on him and then didn't untie
him like the 'Can you break this chain?' game they had agreed to play in the first place. The only reason that Tyr lost a hand (which had apparently
been in the wolf's mouth in previous rounds of this game) and that Fenris was no longer an ally, was because the Norse God's where being explitives and
refused to untie him. This refusal to untie him is why Tyr lost a hand.

Don't forget that in the legends Loki has an abrupt genre change from screwy, often helpful, prankster to 'The Evil' and 'The Exile'...
which was for sending Baldur into Hel's realm. My guess is that they (Loki and family) are holding Baldur hostage until they give back Fenris... you know
the kid of his they tied to a tree and ran a sword through the face of?

The Norse gods must have started hanging out with the Greek pantheon, because Ragnarok is crop they've harvested of their own malignant antics against
their allies.

[Evil Midnight Lurker]

I've never really believed Snorri Sturluson's demonization of Loki. It and the Ragnarok smack of late Christian influence on the myths.

--Sam

"Traumagirl! Use your powers of emotional instability to subdue him!"

[ECSNorway]

Just received this from the GM.

Hmmm...







"You have been a great disappointment to me... what are you calling yourself, these days?" Loki turned with a casually calculated turn, her long
fingers brushing up against her wayward scion's shoulders. She felt their muscles clench involuntarily... Anger? Fear? Lust? Perhaps some mix of all
three, she concluded, and smiled her sly smile.








"Billy."








"Billy Scorncrow," How... pedestrian. Useful, I suppose - a name that men and women will answer to. Ah well." She came around to her
daughter's view.








"Billy Scorncrow. Son and daughter to some long-forgotten fjord maiden. You ought to have inherited little more than a penchant for theft and stealth,
and a bit of long life and prowess. How it is thou art the most gifted of my remaining scions - those not killed in the final Ragnarok - is beyond even my
kenning. Perhaps the Norns could tell us - were I to ask them. But in truth it matters not - nigh unto ageless and mighty art thou, rivaling even some gods
in prowess and stature, and you squander it on petty tricks and foolery."








"I stole the Valkyrie's wolves from them!"








"Yes, yes you did. And a marvelous piece of... bargaining... that was. Although... your habit of giving them back if only they ask does blunt it
somewhat, no? And... to steal a phrase the Midgarders use 'what have ye done for me recently, then?' What skalds speak your name, in these modern
times? What stories do they tell of the Scorncrow's deeds, in Midgard or in Asgard? You play petty tricks, wandering the line between good and evil,
and never do you commit."








"You have aided the Asgardians! You aid them now!"








"Indeed I do. Because it suits my purpose. You, it seems, have none."








"I have..."




"SILENCE!"








"You would seek to fool the Trickster God?! A mighty tale indeed, but such a feeble attempt, and so poorly set up. I have watched thee,
whelp, for nigh unto a century. In all that time, little worthy of note have you done. Not for lack of opportunity, nor for lack of ability, but merely
lack of motivation. You have become, as the Midgards would say it, a slacker."








"And so it is that we have come to this. But I need a proper... ahh. What was the name of that bow you carried? The one at Agincourt, in
Midgard?"








"Eihwaz."








"Ahh. Naming a bow made of Yew after the tree that created it. Also potential, and the Great Tree, Yggdrasil. Fitting, in more ways than you now know
- but soon will." Loki looked at his child, wrapped in the remnants of the great chains that bore the Fenris-wolf to the ground - supple and fine as
silken cords, yet even Thor Skyfather would have been unable to sunder them - and smiled her smile again. "Don't go anywhere..." And with
that, she disappeared.








Moments later, Billy heard a sound behind her, and struggled to see what it was, what new terror her... mother... had fated her with. To his surprise, he
found no great beast or demon, but rather Freya, most beautiful of the Vanir, and lady mistress of the Valkyrie, manifesting as she removed the tarnhelm
from her head. She raised a finger to her lips, motioning silence.








"Your father's plans. I know them - he was boasting of them earlier, and Amora overheard. She gave them to me, for she owes me a favor - and you
have been kind to my Valkyrie, and so now you shall owe me. We must work quickly. I cannot completely undo what he will do - but I can see to it that some
small measure of his work is for naught. She thinks herself mightiest of spellweavers in Asgard, and her prowess is great indeed. But mine
is the Seidr, the women's magics, and if they are subtle, they are still powerful."








She begins to chant in the speech of the Norns, a low sound that he can barely follow. As she does, he feels power drained from him. "What are you
doing?!? Seek you to slay me before my father might?" She ignores him, and the draining continues - but he realizes that she is taking only the
smallest bit of his magics from him, leaving the greater part whole. Finally, the spell completes, and she opens her hand, in which is an ancient pocket
watch.








"Greater than that, I dare not take, nor leave it encysted within you, for Loki would discover such. I shall hold onto this, and return it to you in
short order. I can say no more. Trust, however, that despite your heritage, you have friends, and perhaps even allies, in the courts of Thor. Speak not of
this, nor even think of it, until we can speak again. And now, I go, before he returns." With that, she retrieves the tarnhelm, places it upon her
brow, and vanishes.








Soon, Loki returns, a great yew bow in one hand. "With this bow, you stood at Agincourt, and made history in two ways - by slaying the greater part of
the Chivalry of France, and beginning the end of their long dominance of the battlefield - in myth, anyways, if not in reality - and by promulgating that
wretched symbol of defiance. Rather clever, that one, actually. The last of thy great accomplishments. Everything since has been... haphazard, at best. So
in this I shall invest your might, just as my father did to Thor, some forty Midgard years ago. Never let it be said that I don't steal from the
best."








"And then what?" Trepidation crept into his voice, but also relief. At least he wasn't actually doomed.








"And then? I send thee to Midgard, and thou shalt make thy mark upon history, or thou shalt flounder and die as any mortal might. When I have judged
thee worthy I shall... no. No, that would be unworthy of my reputation. Make thy mark upon Midgard, and seekest thou also to return Eihwaz
to thy grasp. If the one you achieve, the second will be surely yours."








"How?"








"How dost thou leave thy mark? If thou knowest not by... never mind. In whatever way thou wilt. It matters not to me whether thou art hero or villain,
ruler or vizier, warrior, artisan, or merchant - so long as thou art remembered. No child of mine - no child with any talent, perhaps - should be as
unrecognized as thou art. There are scullery maids of Asgard who are spoken of with greater reverence than thou art!"








Loki's spell was far shorter, and far more brutal. Its effects all the greater. When it was done, Loki gestured with one hand, and the remnants of
Gleipnir fell away. A further gesture, and Eihwaz vanished. "And now I banish you to Midgard. Step not upon the Rainbow Bridge until you have regained
some measure of majesty - or your bow - for its power is not meant for mortals, and now mortal you be."








"I would request a boon, since great harm have you done me this day."








"You may ask. I may - or may not - grant any such boon."








"Give me a sign. A place in Midgard to begin my questing."








"My dear child.... whatever gave you the idea I placed your bow in Midgard?" Loki's laughter was the last thing you heard as Asgard faded
from view, and your spirit from consciousness.








You awaken sore and naked on a hotel bed, the phone ringing. "Hello?" "Good morning. This is your Noon wakeup call. You have had two
deliveries over the night. I took the liberty of signing for them. Shall I have them sent up?" "Yes. And... breakfast. I can has... Get me a
half-pound cheeseburger, a side tray of fixings. French fries, umm... you have boneless wings? Yes. Hot as they come. And two Tuborg lagers. As quickly as
possible. What? Oh, rare, of course."








A few minutes later, the room door chimes. The bellhop is... nonplussed... when you pad naked to it, sign for the packages - one a Fed Ex box, the other a
sealed case of the type typically used to move cameras or other electronics around in - and rolls the cart of food in without paying too
much attention to you.








As you munch on fries, a hunch pushes you to open the FedEx box first. Inside, as you expect, is a small jewelry box, of a sort little seen today - a
puzzle box of yew and ash. Someone less clever might spend days or weeks trying to open it, for beyond its construction is dwarfen magic. Inside is a small
note that says only "As I have sworn, so have I delivered. With this time piece, you have some measure of your old powers. Lose it at your peril. More
help I cannot give you at this time. Know that the Valkyrie are, if not your friends or your allies, precisely, indebted to you." and a pocket watch
that would appear - at first glance - to be made of the finest silver, but you know the metal bears as little relation to silver as the apple slices that
act as garnish on your tray do to the golden fruits Idunn safeguards.








You open the watch, and feel the power flow back into you - just a trickle, barely even useful... by your old standards, anyways - but... enough.








"So you don't care how I make my mark, then, father? So be it. To annoy the hell out of you... I think it's Big Damn Hero time. Now what's
in this case...."








Here's the deal. Even a low-powered Asgardian doesn't - quite - fit into a PL6 game - at least not and be able to chew bubble gum at the same
time (they military press 20 - 30 tons, bounce rifle bullets without harm, have superhuman vitality, immune to all Midgard diseases and poisons, etc.
etc.). The son/daughter of Loki... even with a mortal, that can be a pretty potent combination, and it does sorta break the "nobody tied directly off
of the Big Damn Heroes/Villains" rule - but that's cool, because this could be neato.








So make up Billy as PL12 (as a normal super - 180 points) character whose been around the block a while, but hasn't been active recently (no
Reputation - that's the whole problem, from Loki's eyes), then do a PL5 super-agent (100 points - you may choose not to spend up
to 15 points of that for power reserve - I'll then spend those, but you might have more say in how they are spent) with no powers at all - you
can take feats (I would highly suggest Artificer and/or Ritualist, with the skills to back them up - check out Book of Magic for more details), skills,
abilities, etc. but no magic-fu. That represents the "non-Asgardian" Billy - sorta like Dr. Donald Blake was also Thor, this person is also
you... err... Billy.








I will then, looking at your character as built (and working off of the knowledge I have of the other characters) build up what you get from the watch
- some of that will be reasonably permanent (stat boosts), while other bits will be locked up in the watch, and accessible only when you have it with you.
I'll keep your initial concept in mind, while making sure they don't step on anyone else's schtick either. We'll work out any differences
of opinion, and Billy will be ready to start his/her adventuring career as a Big Damn Hero.








Sound fair?

--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Black Aeronaut]

BITCHIN'! ^_^

[Necratoid]

Maybe I'm missing something or misread it... but it sounds like its Post Ragnarok and Thor is still around... but the Midguard Serpent isn't... Which
makes me think that the Tunguska explosion was the result of Thor detonating both the Serpent destined to kill him in a suicide pact and his mighty Hammer...
but that would totally negate the Norn's predictions of the body count of Ragnarok... which makes me think that Thor was 3 steps of drunkenness past
'Too drunk to fish', mostly because he was that way when they sounded Ragnarok, the sheer amount of drunken stupidity he was radiating through them
off. Thor has been spending the past few decades in a Tibetan monastery trying to meditation train off his hangover. The real reason China wants Tibet so bad
is, if the own Tibet they can draft Thor into their Olympian breeding program.

This just popped into my head as is.

[Foxboy]

Necratoid... it's current Marvel continuity. They did a big "Ragnarok" storyline in Thor comics and then restarted with Thor taking over for
Odin, and Loki going more androgynous/going "good."
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[ECSNorway]

For values of 'current' and 'continuity' that are somewhat loosely defined.

The basic conceit we're taking is that characters appear when they were first published, and have aged normally since then. So Tony Stark, for example,
walked out of the jungles with his first set of armor in the 60's, and is now pushing 70 years old...
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Ebony]

That right there is pretty damn awesome. Sounds like you have a good GM.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[ECSNorway]

If anyone collects Exalted and/or Cyberpunk 2020, take a look through the credits pages and see how many have the name "Scott Taylor" on them.

That's him.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Black Aeronaut]

....

*Worships*

WE'RE NOT WORTHY! WE'RE NOT WORTHY!

[Epsilon]

ECSNorway wrote:

---

If anyone collects Exalted and/or Cyberpunk 2020, take a look through the credits pages and see how many have the name "Scott Taylor" on them.




That's him.

Hey, say hello for me then. He might know me as one of the gang of usual assholes on the rpg.net boards.

----------------

Epsilon

[ECSNorway]

Heh.

So, right now, I'm thinking for the "Super-Agent" version, go for a bit of a skill-monkey... some combat feats... hrm. Any M&M players out
here?
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Ebony]

Bonuses to saving throws, especially the damage save, are always useful in M&M.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Epsilon]

It's actually really easy to max out your saves, attack and defense and such in M&M.

It is MUCH better to increase your base Ability scores than go for Skills. Put a max of +4 Ranks in any one skills, and just raise the base Ability scores to
get higher bonuses.

For maximum flexibility look at the Feats like Power Attack, Accurate Attack and so on. They really allow the character to adapt to existing situations.

-----------------

Epsilon