Making my champion... now!

Making a character for Champions Now by Ron Edwards.

Two statements from Jon H:

  1.  Super powers come from outer space or other dimension
  2. You can’t choose your family

When I make a character in this game I'm supposed to bounce back and forth between three topics: person, powers, and problems. This has gotta be someone likeable, someone I'd actually want to read about in the comics.

Drafting 

I wrote up the following a month and a half ago:

My guy is a robot from space. He was created to be some kind of perfect being by some kind of unstable space scientist/sorcerer. Unfortunately he metaphysically smashed into a SpaceX shuttle and metaphysically fused with an astronaut there. Now he's half human half robot. Not in a creepy cyborg way either -- he shifts back and forth.
He has the astronaut's memories (and emotions?) but none of the astronaut's intuitive understanding of earth matters.
For powers I'm thinking flight, minor invulnerability (he's made of badass golden metal) and maybe he shoots cosmic rays out of his palms.
Probably a public superhero (what does he know about keeping a secret identity?) with naivete and bouts of angry confusion.

Let's amp this up with reference to "you can't choose your family". The astronaut has a family, obviously, and they don't understand what has happened to him. My guy is incapable of expressing it, he doesn't really understand it either. And the robot has a family, a creator, whom he thinks of as his father, kind of. Maybe his father doesn't want him to fuck around on Earth?

Bounce back to the "person" section. The astronaut is mid 30s. Wife and young son. (How was the marriage before the fusion happened?) Republican, but worried about some aspects of the Trump presidency. (Not very politically informed.) Upstanding member of the community. He's not an "I just want to grill" kind of guy, he was just raised to be a nice young man and focus on the stuff he understands. I could get along with this guy, go camping and play games with him, as long as we didn't talk politics. Oh and he's an astronaut so he's a brilliant scientist, in the vague "scientist" category that comics love, and a great pilot.

Bounce to problems. He's got emotional issues, naivete and outbursts, plus he doesn't understand modern society. He's got two dependents, his wife and son. His identity is public, he emerged from the wreckage of his shuttle like a glowing god. He is hounded by Musk and SpaceX, but they can't openly move against him because he's too famous. If I have enough room in the situations budget, he's also hounded by his creator.

Bounce to powers. I'm thinking we'll spend most of our budget on his characteristics rather than flash and bang. He can fly, shoot cosmic rays, transform into a golden being. Maybe he's got invulnerability.

Fuck it, he's called the Golden God. Real name Chevy Rogers. Wife Susan, son Aaron. 

Situations, formally

Public identity, 10 points

Disability, naivete (essentially super-autism, yes I'm allowed to say this, I am autistic), occasional, significantly limiting because socially disruptive, 10 points

Psychological, naive opposition to injustice and cruelty, happens a lot, stated opinion, 15 points 

Hunted by SpaceX, large organization with extensive resources and manipulative intention, 20 points

Hunted by "Father", the creator, one person with superpowers and manipulative intention, 20 points

That leaves me with 25 points. I want to build up by Dependents with that, but I'm having trouble coming up with the right mix of situations. Unluck seems a bit too cheesy.

Characteristics and skills, formally

Somebody told me 100 is a good starting value for characteristics. I'll bump it up to 120.

Characteristics are strength, presence, defense, body, speed, dexterity, intelligence, and ego. Right away I know he's got low speed and dexterity. I don't know what ego does so I'll leave it alone too. That leaves me with 5 characteristics, so I can spend 24 points on each.

Strength 6d6, 20 points

Presence 4d6, 10 points

Defense 20, 10 points (do I want this? what does it do?)

Body 13, 30 points (so recovery 13, stunned 13, knockout 26, endurance 39)

Speed 2, 10 points

Dexterity 11, 0 points

Intelligence 12, 10 points (I put this here because the dude's smart, should I have done this?)

Ego 12, 10 points (do I want this? what does it do?)

That actually gets me to 100 exactly. Hmm, maybe that is enough?

Skills. I'm not in love with any skills. Maaybe mental discipline, when he's in Golden God mode? Maaaaybe luck?

Powers, formally

Cosmic rays, blast 4d6, 20 points

Burst of golden light dazzles people, flash, +2d6, 20 points 

Majestic glide, flight, +5 hexes, 10 points

"I am the Golden God!", instant change, 10 points (maybe with flash or something?) (maybe add involuntary: at the sight of injustice?)

Robotic innards while in golden form so he doesn't need air and is fine with vacuums, no eating or drinking either, life support, 15 points

I'm up to 75. There should be a limitation on all of these that they only apply in Golden form (is that a limitation? Since he can change instantaneously?)

I could see adding in persistent density increase along with instant change; maybe the golden god is a lot heavier than a human being. Hah, maybe this is always on (disadvantage) too.

I don't think there's any reason not to use an elemental control framework here.

  • Charge in, strength + flight, 10 points

  • Cosmic rays, blast + flash, 40 points

  • That leaves control of 5 and reduces my point cost to 45 points for these powers instead of 50.

So I'm currently sitting at 70 points. 

I could see adding some modifiers too. Maybe increased damage and knock-back from the blast.

Final thoughts before I send this off to the gang for critique: I've got a high strength and a high blast. Is that needless double-dipping? Should I focus on the blast instead?

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