Heroes Unlimited: World's Strongest 6

Previously on World's Strongest:
Impact, The Alien Renegade
Calamity, The Cybernetic Sniper
Megaton, Friendly Neighborhood Nuclear Warhead
The Whirlwind, a Fusillade of Fisticuffs
Car Mage, The Wizard of Wheels

Today we will be starting out into the world of Mystic heroes, and it lets me do my favorite part of games, World Building. I love it so much. I can't stop I am always building worlds, and worlds within those worlds. So far in this series we have been dealing with rational and scientific based heroes. Lots of tech and the like. Now we can start delving into the magical nature of things. Should be pretty fun! There are going to be four different magical heroes and they all work a little differently. First we will deal with...

Mystic Hero, Part 1 Enchanted Weapon

Step 1: Attributes
Yup, still all 11s at the start of things. For mystic heroes this makes even more sense as the hero gains all kinds of cool attribute bonuses.

Step 2: Pick Mystic Hero Type
I will be going with an Enchanted Weapon. I was heavily inspired by the Trollhunters show on Netflix. With that in mind I think I will be going with a magic sword. I was also inspired by Harry Potter and other Wainscot Fantasies. So I see this hero being the one human chosen by the hidden magical community to protect it from the outside world and enforce its rules. He is the Night Sheriff, defender of the Shadow Pact. He wields the Peacebringer, the Blade of Endings.

As I was reading through this section I was struck with a thought, not just about this category, but every character in all Palladium systems. You basically get all your powers and special abilities at level one and get very little as time goes on. This is less true of spellcasters and psychics, but is more true for the other types of characters. I really think their should be more for advancing in level than merely gaining HP and a couple of combat bonuses. I think it could lead to disappointment with the character as the campaign wears on. I think it would be more interesting if it were done differently. For example if I  were doing this particular character type as a class, I would grant the powers of the weapon over a series of levels. So you would start with two abilities and gain another ability at each even numbered level.

Weapon of Order
Powers & Bonuses Granted to the Wielder whether wielding the blade or not
+30 SDC
Fire & Cold do half damage
+3 save vs magic
Can See Invisible
Creates Armor(plate and chain) out of thin air

Powers of the Sword
Totally Indestructible
+1 to strike and parry
6D6 dmg
Affects/damages all creatures of magic and creatures who are invulnerable
Supernatural Strength
Tongues: Speaks and understands all languages
Words of Truth: 10 times a day
Mystic Shield
Sense Magic
Returns to Wielder When Thrown
Night-vision

Step 3: Skills
I see this character as a teenager who stumbled onto the sword after its previous wielder died defending the Shadow Pact. He was found worthy and now serves as the youngest Night Sheriff in history. He is a High School student, so I am going to use the High School Graduate Option.

Physical Program
Acrobatics +2 roll w/punch, +1 PS, +1 PP, +1 PE, +3 SDC
Boxing +1 Attack, +2 Parry and dodge, +1 roll w/punch, +2 PS, +10 SDC
Gymnastics +2 roll w/punch, +2 PS, +1 PP, +2 PE, +7 SDC
Running +1 PE; +10 spd; +3 SDC
WP Ancient Program
WP Sword +1 strike and Parry
WP Archery +20ft to range, +1 parry, +1 strike, 2 arrows p/melee
WP Shield +1 Parry
WP Paired
Secondary Skills
H2H: Martial Arts +2 attacks/melee; +3 roll with punch/fall;+2 initiative; +3 pull punch
Language: Spanish
Research
Art
Computer Operation
Athletics +1 Parry/Dodge; +1 roll with punch/fall; +1 PS; +3 Speed; +5 SDC
Swimming
Climbing

Step 4: Finishing Touches
I think we have a pretty god idea on the character now, as well as the basics of the parts of the world he protects. SO lets play around a bit and see whats up with it. Alongside human society their lives many strange creatures, trolls, goblins, dwarves, elves, and all sorts of Elderkin. They fled from the Elder World to this one as they faced a great evil in that world, The Horde. They arrived in what would become Coast City four hundred years ago. As humans settled they hid themselves away in the corners and back alleys, using their magics to create spaces where humans could not go, and living along side them. To defend them and keep the peace between humans and Elderkin, they entrusted one human with the power and authority to deal with threats to the pact both externally and internally. Here are some basic ideas for the heroic powers of the champions of the Elderkin:

Dwarves
Wear fine cloths and rare metals, ride Earth Deer, and gain power from gemstones.
Treat as alien with superpowers: Odd skin color Metallic blues and reds, High G, Gem Powers, Longevity, and Night Stalking
Trolls
Large, strong, are true to their word. When a troll goes bad, they can become truly terrifying. 
Treat as Alien with superpowers: Humanoid Mineral, Abrasive Atmosphere, Giant, Heavy Weight, Longevity, Extraordinary PE, Superhuman Strength
Goblins
Each is unique looking and they have an innate desire for freedom. Goblins rarely form a society on their own, They break the Shadow Pact the most often of all Elderkin.
Treat as alien with superpowers: Random appearance roll, Twilight world, Invisibility, Darkness Control
Elves
Strange tall beings slight in build and graceful, very attuned to the natural world. They are why all the hidden places are filled with climbing Ivy and strange plants
Treat as alien with superpowers: Feline, Low Gravity, One Super Psionic Ability and Control Plants

These represent the super heroes of the hidden world of magic, their are obviously other types of hero among them. If you want to, go ahead and use the player races from Palladium Fantasy as the basis and then pick a power category from any of the mystic types, or if you have Rifts Sourcebook 1 their is an option their for playing a magically powered robot character. So that is an option.

Name: Benjamin James
Super Identity: The Night Sheriff
Alignment: Scrupulous

IQ: 11
ME: 11
MA: 11
PS: 17 Supernatural
PP: 13
PE: 14
PB: 11
Spd: 24

HP: 17
SDC: 72

Skills
Acrobatics; Boxing; Gymnastics; Running; WP Sword; WP Archery; WP Shield; WP Paired; H2H: Martial Arts; Language: Spanish; Research; Art; Computer Operation; Athletics; Swimming; Climbing

Initiative: +2
Attacks: 5
Strike: +1(additional +2 with sword)
Parry: +3(additional +2 with sword or +1 with shield)
Dodge: +3
Damage: 6D6+2 with sword, 2D6+2 with fists

Benjamin was just a normal student at Coast City Central High just trying to get through high school with the minimum amount of drama. Things were going fine until one day he turned down the wrong alley, an alley he should never had been able to see, much less enter. In the center of the alley their stood a Sword, buried to the hilt in the cobblestones on the street. Acting on instinct he reached for the sword. It came free in an instant and suddenly he was wearing armor and standing in the center of a maelstrom of light. The next day he was approached by a Dwarf who claimed he was chosen to be the Night Sheriff, defender of the Shadow Pact. Since that day Ben's life has been an increasing series bizarre ad dangerous situations. He has managed to do well at the job despite his inexperience, but there are problems on the horizon. There are rumors that new Erlking has been chosen and the Wild Hunt may soon ride forth again for the first time in five hundred years. Also Ben has has to decide whether to tell the girl he likes his secret. There is also a prophecy hinting at the possibility of the Horde invading this world.

And there you go, a new piece of world building and our first Mystic Hero. The next post will be the Enchanted Object. Should be fun.

Also you should check out my Kickstarter...

A Far Off Land
In this Fate RPG you take the roll of the Fated, Shapeshifting Demigods who seek to bring about or prevent the destruction of two worlds. It contains new magic systems and Factions Dynamics in play.

Mythic Jade: Tales Of Long Ago

Long ago, when mankind was new to the world, the world was filled with magic. The Godwar had ravaged the land. The blood and bones of dead gods infused the land with magic never seen before or since. The Godwar had terrible effects on the world, once verdant lands became deserts, volcanoes erupted, filling the sky with clouds of ash. The 7 Witch Queens Pulled their islands into the skies above the ash, while the Serpent Men hid away beneath the surface of the world, building crystal cities deep down where it was warm and safe. Those humans left became the wandering tribes. Even now, a thousand years later this is how it stood. One Hundred Twenty-Five years ago the four gods of Mu called out to the wandering peoples. They were called to the great central island in the middle of the inland sea. This became the Nation of Mu, held aloft by the heroic lineages and the four gods. Now this fledgling nation faces a threat beyond that of rival nations and gods. In the last couple of years individuals have been awakening to godlike power. Not many people, mind you, but all it takes is a few. Now the the Five Lineages must send out their strongest warriors to quell these Godseeds. Now these Buckriders, as they are known, travel the land hunting Godseeds, Moss People, Black Sorcerers, and other threats to the stability of the Kingdom Of Mu. You are one of these Godseeds, the soul of a dead god reborn in the flesh of man. Hunted unto death for the crime of existing you stand on the precipice. By your hand you could raise up a mighty nation, or condemn the world to damnation eternal. 

This is a campaign framework for Jadepunk. In it you play Godseeds, humans with the souls of dead gods in a stone/bronze age world of myth and magic. People in the world see you as either a useful tool in their own schemes, or a terrible threat to be destroyed. This is probably not going to be a complete setting or rules set, but it should serve as a fine jumping off point for your own games. This was heavily inspired by my love of Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Otis Aldebirt Kline as well as awesome game settings like Exalted and Godbound. Let me know if you would like to see more from this or any of my other settings and hacks on this site.

Fine points of the setting
The earth is old, Mankind is new: While Mu and the Young Kingdoms may be the first civilizations of man, mankind has not always been. Long ago there were other peoples, other...beings. Remnants of these still exist in the lost places, ruins, and hidden realms. One such people are the Serpent Men who once ruled the land in the days of the old gods and the Cold Giants. They dwell within the Earth and are masters of Arcane Sciences and Powerful Magics. They are alien things who worship dead gods in the dark places of the world.

Without great care, civilization leads to decadence and corruption: The history of the world has shown the dangers of civilization, corruption and decadence. Heroes walk the line between the strength of barbarism and the hope of civilization. They stand witness to the changing times. They can build a better world, or through inaction watch it slide into ruin.

One person can make a difference: This connects with the last one. Mankind is new to the world, and even the old races who yet remain are limited in number. Any one person could be the linchpin in history. Every life matters, and those with the will can change everything.

Magic is rare, but natural: Magic is a part of the natural flow of things. It is created by life and death, the mass death of the old gods has filled the world with magic power. That said folks with magical giftings or even training in one or two spells are quite rare. Average folks have to get by with what they can make with their own hands. Magicians have access to great power, though not so much as The Sorcerers, Lineages, and Godseeds. Those with gifts are natural conduits for magical energy and are beyond mere mortals.

Technology is also rare, but powerful: Most technology is in the stone age. Mu has created bronze working, the Jackal Kings in the south raid the ruins of Zarhasthuum for Ghost Iron and other prehuman technologies, and the Serpent Men of Agharti sometimes trade in Ghost Iron weapons or armor. The dog, sheep, and bees have been domesticated, with individual tamings of other beasts happening occasionally. Agriculture in the lands outside of Mu is also quite primitive, though techniques are improving.

The gods are like us, powerful, ignorant, and afraid: Gods, spirits, and demons walk the primeval earth. They have their own agendas and their own desires. Sometimes they help people, sometimes they hurt them. They can be interacted with, and even defeated in battle or argument. Though they can be killed, that does not necessarily stop them. Among the god talkers and priests there are whispers. Whispers of beings from outside the world, beings even the gods fear. Those who speak to the Serpent Men sometimes tell the tales of the great blight that destroyed the land and wiped out the ancient peoples. Few give these stories much credence.

The Known Lands
The Island of Mu: The great homeland of Man’s civilization. They worship the four great gods(Ahti of the sea, Stribog of the sky, Pachama of the earth, and Anguta lord of death) who founded the island. Mu sits in the center of the world, across the shallow inland sea from all the surrounding lands. The only mystic university in the world is the centerpiece of the islands lone city. A great spire rises into the sky hundreds of stories above the rich earth. It is ruled by the Five Great Lineages, sometimes called the Five Houses. In the last century peace and prosperity have led to pride and corruption. Among the powerful politics and treachery are a way of life. Often the little people get crushed in the machinations of the great houses.

The Crystal City of Agharti and the Hollow Earth: The city in the deeps, capital and sole city within the hollow earth. Last vestige of the Eldest, a race of Serpent Men who have mastered many strange magics and sciences. They are a race in decline and as a group are hateful of the young and growing race of man. They seek to reclaim the surface lands a rule as of old. That said they do have a few outposts where they will trade Ghost Iron, spells, and other things humans cannot yet make for information and rare materials. They do not worship any god, Theirs having died long ago. Instead they hold to alien philosophies about the nature of the universe and their place in it. It all sounds like strange superstition to most men who hear it. They are masters of Mind Magics.

Hy-Brasil: A supposed homeland for the Moss People and it is only sometimes in the world, it exists in both the world and the otherworld. The Moss People are all unique creatures, each with powers and appearance separate from all others. They have a strange relationship with time and space and can do much to manipulate it. The Moss People are servants of chaos, and worship the destruction of all things. They rarely leave their home, but when they do most people wisely secure their doors and pray. Every few years they will sally forth from Hy-Brasil upon strange steeds of mobile vegetation and burn and kill all they run across. They then retreat back to their home and wait for the next excursion. They can be quite reasonable when encountered on their own, but one should always be wary, as the Moss People are known to be quite mad. Before the dawning of the Godseeds, Moss People were the only thing that the Buckriders hunted with any regularity.

The lands of the Animal Tribes: Nomadic tribes that live in the deep eastern jungles across the inland sea from Mu. These tribes have made a pact with one of the great animal gods. They are the only people with access to shape-shifting magics. There are rumors that some tribes are eaters of the dead. These people are the least civilized of all the nations of man. They have made pacts with the gods of beasts and this shapes them in every way that matters.

The lands of the north: The Karo people live in the far north and follow the great herds of reindeer and mammoths and worship the great god Pa’an, the uncaring lord cloaked in light. They have had the most dealings with the Moss People. They are culturally opposed to sorcery, and tend to exile or kill those who practice the arts. Every year, at the summer solstice the Karo have a grand gathering on the southern shores of the inland sea, traders from across the land come to trade for furs and meats of the north lands.

The Ruins of Zarhasthuum: The great western desert spreads from the mountains to the sea. Along the great canyon walls sit the remains of a lost civilization. Monuments and ruins dot the land. Together these are known as the Ruins of Zarhasthuum. One hundred years ago a group of mercenaries from Iss moved into the ruins and began to loot them for ancient magics and technology. Over the century they have begun to form a feudal society based around the exploitation of the ruins. They have become known as the Jackal Kings, fighting each other over the bones of the past. They often trade with the Serpent Men, as the serpents have an outpost nearby. No one knows what killed or drove off the previous inhabitants, and many fear that whatever it is might soon return.

The Floating Islands of the Witch Queens: They claim to be human, yet alien blood flows through their veins. They are the children of a prehuman race deal in magics far beyond what even most gods could accomplish. They will send their Witchkin children to raid the earthbound peoples for slaves and plunder. The Witchkin ride great Thunderbirds, creatures of spirit and flesh, the storm made manifest.

Character Creation

Your characters will be made as per standard Jadepunk Character creation. The Professions names have been changed rather than Aristocrat, Engineer, Explorer, Fighter, Scholar, and Scoundrel we will be using Highborn, Builder, Scout, Warrior, Sage, and Bandit. Godseeds can build assets much like a Mootare, a Jadecaster, or an Automatect from After Jade, a previous hack I did for Jadepunk. You may also build device assets, though in this jade is not the only mystic material. There is also Blood Bronze and Ghost Iron. If you are a Jadecaster, you may choose to make a spell a permanent part of your character by spending the appropriate amount of Fate points. These spells are more stable than spells cast on the fly, but they use up valuable points. 

Blood Bronze: Bronze that has been quenched in the blood of a dead god. It contains a frction of that god's power, and thus it can do many strange things. 

Ghost Iron: It is not iron, but the bone matter of the dead gods. It is very powerful and only the Serpent Men and Witch Queens know how to work it.

And that is what I have so far. Let me know what you think. 

Also you should check out my Kickstarter...

A Far Off Land

In this Fate RPG you take the roll of the Fated, Shapeshifting Demigods who seek to bring about or prevent the destruction of two worlds. It contains new magic systems and Factions Dynamics in play.

Heroes Unlimited: World's Strongest 5

Previously on the World's Strongest:
Impact, The Alien Renegade
Calamity, The Cybernetic Sniper
Megaton, Friendly Neighborhood Nuclear Warhead
The Whirlwind, a Fusillade of Fisticuffs

And now I bring you the next character in the series. This is one I have actually had a plan for since Calamity. I knew I wanted to do something with her sister, and then I saw I was coming up on the hardware category and I realized exactly what I wanted. I needed someone who could repair Calamity, as that is always a real issue in a Palladium game, and then I came up with the mechanic sister who fixes the cyborg. I think it is a decent solution, though I do wish their was more advice on how to handle damage for robot and cyborg characters. It has been an issue in a lot of Palladium's games. I think it stems from the lack of explanation on how to you use skills and what exactly they do. You are just given percentiles and told to figure it out(actually you are not even told that). Well lets see how we do.

Hardware Hero

Step 1: Attributes
I have been going back and forth on this for a little while. I know that I said I wanted all the attributes to be at 11, however the main thing with Hardware heroes is that they are supposed to be smart. I do think it is interesting that the minimum intelligence for this category is 9. What makes that interesting is attributes lower than 16 grant no bonus nor penalty. So If I made a hardware character with an IQ of 3 it would have no mechanical impact on the character. As this type of character is based around intellect I feel like having an IQ higher than 11. For this category I will give the heroine an IQ of 20. I know this is breaking my rules, but I'ma go with it anyway.

Step 2: Education and Skill Modification
I will also be changing up the choice of skill selection. I will go with PHD on this one, skills are this character's powers so having the best/most skills is probably key. Also she will be building and making a lot of things so having the highest percentage possible is also required. Due to being a Hardware hero I need to remove one of the skill programs. So I will get the Electrical Program, Pilot Advanced Program, and the Medical Doctor Program.

Electrical Program
Electrical Engineer
Basic Mechanics
Computer Operation
Robot Mechanics
Pilot Advanced Program
Navigation(Air, Land, Water)
Read Sensory Equipment
Weapon Systems
Pilot: Truck
Pilot: Airplane
Pilot: Jet Aircraft
Pilot: Jet Fighter
Medical Doctor Program
Biology
Chemistry
Pathology
Medical Doctor
Secondary Skills
H2H: Martial Arts
WP Automatic Pistol
WP Shotgun
WP Heavy
Research
Computer Programming
Business & Finance
Radio: Basic

Step 3: Special Skills; Hardware Area of Expertise
This is where yo choose the focus of your genius and the kinds of things yo build. There are four types of Hardware heroes: Electrical, Mechanical, Analytical, and Weapons Expert. I am going to go with Mechanical Genius, because I see this heroine operating more in a support role for her sister, and also it gives the biggest budget which will be useful. Also she can hit people with her car, which is a great super power. Also in the Mechanical Genius Skills they have an oddity that makes no sense. It says three mechanical skills plus mechanical engineer, but that is then followed by a list of skills that include the instruction that these skills are in addition to the scholastic and secondary skills. Another thing, there just are not that many mechanical skills. I think there are only two other mechanical skills that are not on the list. I think that first bit with the three skills is left over from a previous edition of the rules...that sort of thing happens in Palladium a surprising number of times.

Mechanical Genius Skills
Mechanical Engineer
Automotive Mechanics
Locksmith
Robot Mechanics
Read Sensory Instruments
Basic Electronics
Mathematics: Advanced
Pilot: Race Cars
Pilot: Motorcycle
Special Skills
Hot Wiring Automobiles
Building Supervehicles
Recognize Vehicle Quality

Budget: $12 Million
Status With Sponsoring Organization: A Private Industry, all responsibilities have been fulfilled and freelance work is still available in the future

Step 4: Finishing up
So all I need to do is calculate some HP and the rest and workout a couple of awesome vehicles. I want her to have an awesome super car, like Danger Mouse, and then have a cool armored van for going into dangerous situations and rescuing folks.

The 'Cuda
Basic Vehicle: Sports Car Cost: $25,000 SDC: 300 Max Load: 1300 lbs
Speed: 26 Cost: $20,000 Maximum: 600 mph Cruise: 160 mph
Vehicle Armor: Medium Armor Cost: $10,000 AR: 16 SDC: 700
Passenger Armor: Heavy Armor/Plexiglas Windows Cost: $4,500 AR: 14 SDC: 450
Gas Tank Armor: Medium Armor Cost: $2,000 AR: 12 SDC: 300
Weapons
Name: Automatic Canon Damage: 1d6x10+20 Range: 5000 ft Cost: $15,000
Optional Accessories
Smoke Screen Cost: $1,500
Thief Proof Locks Cost: $1,000
Armored Tires Cost: $2,800
Self Inflating Tires Cost: $1,400
Engine Readout Package Cost: $550
Radar Display Cost: $60,000
Super Fuel Efficiency Cost: $15,000
Oil Slick Cost: $1,200
Vehicle Caltrops Cost: $400
Ram Prow Cost: $1,100

The Garage
Shop Automotive Tool Kit Cost: $2,800
Shop Aircraft Tool Kit Cost: $12,000

I don't really want to spend the ridiculous amount of money on more stuff. I think it would be of more use to just say that the money remaining is actually a bunch of parts and vehicles and the like that I will design as I need new kinds of things. I could probably build a Jet with VTOL and an armored van. So we will say they are in the shop, but I won't build them until I need them. The rules for making new items and the like are almost good. There are penalties for the various types of projects as well as occasionally giving advice on what a failed roll means. I know that systems for making things in game are tricky, but I still feel disappointed by the systems as it exists here. I mean I love making gear, heck I wrote a whole series of item lists for Jadepunk. Needless to say I am not opposed to equipment lists. I do see the shadow of a complete and interesting system for creating devices, I think there is something you could build into a good system. As it sits though...



Name: Biyu Zhang
Super Identity: Car Mage
Alignment: Scrupulous

IQ: 20
ME:11
MA: 11
PS: 11
PP: 11
PE: 11
PB: 11
Spd: 11

HP: 14
SDC: 35

Skills
Mechanical Engineer; Automotive Mechanics; Locksmith; Robot Mechanics; Read Sensory Instruments; Basic Electronics; Mathematics: Advanced; Pilot: Race Cars; Pilot: Motorcycle; Electrical Engineer; Basic Mechanics; Computer Operation; Robot Mechanics; Navigation(Air, Land, Water); Read Sensory Equipment; Weapon Systems; Pilot: Truck; Pilot: Airplane; Pilot: Jet Aircraft; Pilot: Jet Fighter; Biology; Chemistry; Pathology; Medical Doctor;H2H: Martial Arts; WP Automatic Pistol; WP Shotgun; WP Heavy; Research; Computer Programming; Business & Finance; Radio: Basic

Biyu was always smart. While her sister Min went off to join the army, Biyu entered academia. She took to practical sciences like a fish to water, gaining multiple degrees in medicine, engineering, and chemistry. After graduation she began inventing. She built hyper efficient engines and sold the designs to various car companies. nearly every car on earth uses her engine designs or reverse engineered versions. As the money began rolling in she found out her sister had been injured and repaired with cybernetics. Now Biyu helps her sister in her heroic endeavors, building devices, and repairing the damaged cybernetic parts. Biyu has also discovered a knack for driving fast cars and occasionally heads out into the field to help her sister directly as the heroine, Car Mage.

I have never been a huge fan of the Hardware heroes. They are fiddly and vague. Much of their power is entirely dependant on how the GM sees things working in the setting. You could end up being severely overpowered or grossly underpowered. I just really wish their was more rules on what you can do and how to do it. Anyway, the next post is going to be super fun because we will be delving into the first of several Mystically Empowered Heroes, and they will allow for some cool ideas I have had while working on this project.

Make sure to check out my Kickstarter

A Far Off Land

Take the roll of the Fated, Shapeshifting Demigods who seek to bring about or prevent the destruction of two worlds. It contains new magic systems and Factions Dynamics in play.

Heroes Unlimited: World's Strongest 4

Previously on World's Strongest...
Impact, The Alien Renegade
Calamity, The Cyborg Sniper
Megaton, Your Friendly Neighborhood Nuclear Warhead

And now we move onto the other type of Experiment, the Super Soldier. It originally started out as a sub type, but then in Powers Unlimited 2 it became its own category. So I will be jumping into the Super Soldier here rather than later. I will probably do this with each of the Categories that have sub categories. I will do a character for each one of the sub categories. That make make this project last a little longer, but I think it will let me explore the idiosyncrasies of the rules in a little more depth. We'll see how it goes. Now lets get to building. I think I can get really crazy with this one. Lets have some fun.

The Super Soldier

Step 1: The Eight Attributes
All start at eleven. We good? Good, glad we got that covered. I know it is a bit of a shock at this point, but I trust you can handle the news. I do sometimes think that the players in Kevin's games must have all had inordinate amounts of luck in rolling attributes. I mean, why have rules for attributes going to 30 and beyond, how often did that happen? Also why only grant bonuses to attributes beyond 16? Why are their no penalties for low attributes? What were those original play test groups like. I have hints and clues, but they must have had some serious min maxers(and probably cheaters) in those games. Guys who would make a magic user and then try and load them up with cybernetics, that sort of thing.

Step 2: Hit Points & SDC
I don't know why this is here. It really should be one of the last steps not one of the first. You hit points are based on your PE which can change as you make your character. Also you will probably gain more SDC as you make your character too. It just always struck me as an odd place to put this step.

Step 3: Background Data

Alright in this I get to make up another secret organization that makes super heroes. So the organization that sponsored his super soldier experiment was a Secret group dedicated to criminal and nefarious purposes. I think maybe it is a research group for a supervillain of some sort, part of the villain's network of villainous cells and organizations. He was loaded full of special chemicals to enhance his abilities and it worked. He was mutant child kidnapped and experimented on. He was the first successful test subject, though he suspects they will be able to duplicate the project with 4-6 years time. He managed to escape the organization, and now they hunt him because in his body lies the secret to duplicating the effect.

Sponsoring Organization: Secret(The Ouroboros Group)
Motive: Criminal
Nature of Procedure: Chemical
Nature of Test Subject: Mutant
+2 PS
+2 PP
Roll once on mutant unusual tables: Ambidextrous
+1 attack
+1 Parry
Current Status with Organization: Rogue Agents secretly hunted by the group
Replication: A successful attempt needs 7 more years to duplicate.

Now it is time to pick the type of super soldier he will be. I have to choose between super powers, being a Crazy(from rifts, replicated here), a Juicer(also rifts, also replicated the rules in the book), or getting your skeleton replaced with robot parts, basically a metal skeleton and some other cool features. While those last three are all pretty OP, especially the endoskeletal replacement. That one can get pretty tough. However for this one I will be taking the super powered option. I took 4 minor powers: Extraordinary Physical Prowess, Radar, Lightning Reflexes, and Physical Perfection. The last two are from Powers Unlimited 1, which is a really handy book. I would recommend it, especially if you are going to be playing a character with a bunch of minor powers.

Extraordinary Physical Prowess
+5 PP
+7 spd
+1 attack
+3 Automatic dodge
Radar
+4 Initiative
+2 Parry and dodge
+2 strike
+1 Attack
Lightning Reflexes
+3 Initiative
+1 Disarm
+3 Pull Punch
+2 roll w/punch
+5 spd
+1 attack
WP Paired Weapons
Physical Perfection
+2 MA
+4 Spd
+7 PB
+1 PE
+1 PP
+2 PS
+17 SDC
+7 HP

Now it is time to pick my Special Super Soldier options. I am cheating a bit here with this one. I will be making the call that I rolled a 4 on a 1D4 for the number of super soldier abilities. This is a bit of a stretch but it is likely to be able to happen and I can really break the game wit this and I want to see how far I can go with this. Mostly because I want to showcase just how much fun you can have with these options.

Increase Agility and Dexterity
PP to 22
+1 Attack
+2 Initiative
Automatic dodge
Attempt to increase Physical Speed
Triple speed attribute
+1 attack
+1 initiative
+1 dodge
+1 pull punch
-1 MA and PE
Mind and Body More Attuned
+1 attack
+2 Initiative
+4 vs HF
+1 vs poison/disease
+2 vs possession
Physical Transformation
+3 PS counts as extraordinary
+2 PE
+3 PB
+3 speed
+7 HP
+14 SDC

Step 4: Education and Skills
For this character type education works different than other characters. You can choose between a basic military skill program and a military specialist. I think I will go with the first one as that fits better with the character description I have been working with. SO he was kidnapped, experimented on and trained as a killer. He took exception to that and escaped in a sudden and violent manner.

Military Program(Basic)
H2H: Basic(due to getting the espionage skill program, I will use martial arts)
Running(+1 PE; +10 spd; +3 SDC)
Climbing
Military Etiquette
Radio: Basic
WP: Rifle(I still think they mean automatic/semiautomatic rifle)Military Demolitions Program 
Basic Electronics 
Basic Mechanics 
Demolitions 
Demolitions Disposal 
Underwater Demolitions
Espionage Program
H2H: Martial Arts +2 attacks/melee; +3 roll with punch/fall;+2 initiative; +3 pull punch
Detect Ambush
Intelligence(spy stuff, super spy stuff)
Wilderness Survival
Escape ArtistForgery
Physical Program
Boxing+1 Attack, +2 Parry and dodge, +1 roll w/punch, +2 PS, +10 SDC
Gymnastics+2 roll w/punch, +2 PS, +1 PP, +2 PE, +7 SDC
Acrobatics+2 roll w/punch, +1 PS, +1 PP, +1 PE, +3 SDC)
Wrestling+1 Roll w/punch, +2 PS, +1 PE, +13 SDC
Secondary Skills
Athletics: +1 Parry/Dodge; +1 roll with punch/fall; +1 PS; +3 Speed; +5 SDC
Body Building: +2 PS; +10 SDCPick Locks
Swimming
WP Revolver
WP Semi-Automatic Pistol
WP Sub-Machinegun
WP Heavy

Step 5: Alignment
This is the first time the Alignment has been its own step in this process. So I guess we could go through how ridiculous the alignment system in Palladium is. It is kind of divided along good and evil lines with people in the middle being self focused, but not bad. There are even powers and spells that deal with alignment, but the game doesn't really go through what alignment means in the game world. Like if I need to be good aligned to get a power, does that mean that I need to stay good to use it? Lets use a concrete example. To take Hand to Hand: Assassin I need to be an evil alignment. What happens if I change my alignment? Do I stop advancing in this skill or is it just needed to start learning it. Also, how do you change alignment? do you change when you break one of the rules for alignment, or is their some wiggle room? Also what do you change to? As I said, Alignment is a mess.

Step 6: Rounding Out & Equipment
There are a lot of cool extra features in these tables and they can make your character stand out and be awesome all day everyday(twice on Sundays). I see this character as being a hard core fist fighter, though he can definitely use guns and other weapons. SO I will make my choices here with that in mind.

Battle Armor & Hero Costume: None, wears civilian clothes(he is on the run, hero costumes would draw attention. Maybe he will get one later , but for now he goes civilian.
Special Weapons: Power Punch Gauntlet:  adds 4D6 to punch damage
Prototype Vehicle: Rocket Jump Boots jump 60 feet

Step 7: Other Stuff
Outside of his weapons and the like he has little to his name. He has been hiding out in abandoned buildings in Coast City for a a little while, but his nature has led him to helping some of the local homeless street kids with their problems. He is starting to get a reputation as a hero. He stands at the precipice of a great choice that will alter his life and the lives of those around him.


Name: Adam Smith
Super Identity: The Whirlwind(name given to him by the street folk who hide him)
Alignment: Unprincipled

IQ: 11
ME:11
MA: 10
PS: 28 Extraordinary
PP: 32
PE: 18
PB: 21
Spd: 129

HP: 35
SDC: 112

Skills
H2H: Basic; Running; Climbing; Military Etiquette; Radio: Basic; WP: Rifle; Basic Electronics; Basic Mechanics; Demolitions; Demolitions Disposal; Underwater Demolitions; H2H: Martial Arts; Detect Ambush; Intelligence; Wilderness Survival; Escape Artist; Forgery; Boxing; Gymnastics; Acrobatics; Wrestling; WP Paired Weapons;
 Athletics; Body Building; Pick Locks; Swimming; WP Revolver; WP Semi-Automatic Pistol; WP Sub-Machinegun; WP Heavy

Powers & Super Soldier Enhancements
Extraordinary Physical Prowess
Radar
Lightning Reflexes
Physical Perfection

Increase Agility and Dexterity
Attempt to increase Physical Speed
Mind and Body More Attuned
Physical Transformation

Special Gear
Power Punch Gauntlet:  adds 4D6 to punch damage
Rocket Jump Boots jump 60 feet

Initiative: +14
Attacks per Melee: 12
Strike: +10
Parry: +14
Automatic Dodge: +11
Roll w/punch: +11
Pull Punch: +7

When he was just a boy Adam has few good memories. People always viewed him as something unnatural, he speed was too fluid and he always seemed to be able to to see far more than he should. People began to talk. They said he was a mutant, unnatural. Then one day, on his way home from school the 13 year old was kidnapped by the Ouroboros Group and subjected to horrific training and experimentation. By the time he was seventeen he was transformed into the perfect weapon for the Group. However on his first mission he balked and refused to kill. When the Group attempted to bring him under control Adam Escaped. He ran far and fast. Now he hides out in an old abandoned house in Coast City with some fellow runaways. While they may not have run from as much as he, they have problems too. He has tried to help out where he can, but Adam fears the reputation he is getting. They call him The Whirlwind as he move like the wind and strikes like a storm. He knows that soon Ouroboros will hear of his deeds and come for him.

And there sits our Super Soldier and, hoo-boy, is he fun. He has 12 attacks per melee at level one. That is super OP. He also auto-dodges which means that he only needs to use those actions for attacks. He can punch for 5D6+13 damage(with his gear) and he can do it 12 times a melee. He will most likely go first and will likely hit often. Let me know what you think. I think he is pretty cool. The next one will be a bit annoying, The Hardware Hero.

Make sure to check out my Kickstarter

A Far Off Land

Take the roll of the Fated, Shapeshifting Demigods who seek to bring about or prevent the destruction of two worlds. It contains new magic systems and Factions Dynamics in play.

Heroes Unlimited: World's Strongest 3

First I built Impact, The Alien Renegade. Then I build Calamity, the Cyborg Sniper. Now I will begin on a hero empowered through experimentation. I am pretty excited about this one. I'ma come clean here, The Experiment power category was the what drove me to enjoy the lonely fun of making Palladium characters. I made some of my most broken characters in this power category. I will be breaking this up into to separate characters. First I will use this post to make a standard experiment character. Then in the next post I will do a Super Soldier. See it started as a sub type of the Experiment, but it ended up getting shifted off to its own category in Powers Unlimited 2, and holy crap can I make that character OP, so I think this will be fun. And now without further ado, lets dig into making our hero!


Step 1: Attributes
Still starting them off at 11 each. I know I could skip this part for the description of my process, but I like to do things in order. So I guess we will have to get used to seeing this same little bit here. Thanks weird little obsessive need.
Step 2: Education & Skills
I think for this character she will have been something of a jock in her youth and was super focused on martial arts and eventually getting into MMA and hitting it big. However she never really focused on her studies and ended up working as a janitor for some sort of pharmaceutical research facility and street fighting on the weekends to make ends meet. I like the idea that she has always wanted to be a hero, but the modern world just doesn't seem to fit her needs. So she will end up taking the physical/athlete program and the ancient weapons program. I made sure to take Martial arts with her secondary skills, as I wanted to get the most bang for my buck in physical skills and I needed to use the program to get all four of the skills I couldn't take as secondary skills. I do think its odd that Palladium has a difference between Acrobatics and Gymnastics, despite the fact that they are virtually identical skills. But they grant loads of bonuses so it would be foolish not to take both.

Physical/Athletic Program
Acrobatics(+2 roll w/punch, +1 PS, +1 PP, +1 PE, +3 SDC)
Boxing(+1 Attack, +2 Parry and dodge, +1 roll w/punch, +2 PS, +10 SDC)
Gymnastics(+2 roll w/punch, +2 PS, +1 PP, +2 PE, +7 SDC)
Wrestling(+1 Roll w/punch, +2 PS, +1 PE, +13 SDC)
Ancient Weapons Program
WP Paired Weapons
WP Blunt
WP Knives
WP Target/Throwing
Secondary Skills
H2H: Martial Arts(+2 attacks/melee; +3 roll with punch/fall;+2 initiative; +3 pull punch)
Athletics(+1 parry and dodge, +1 roll w/punch, +1 PS, +3 Spd, +5 SDC)
Running(+1 PE, +10 Spd, +3 SDC)
Climbing
Prowl
Swimming

Step 3: The Experiment and Powers
Well it turns out the pharmaceutical research company she cleaned was a secret medical research faciity doing illegal research into human chemical augmentation. One day she was cleaning and accidently came into contact with one of their discoveries, a new form of radiation from an alien probe they discovered long ago. While they had tried to use the radiation to augment humans before, something was different about our hero and she was the first and, so far, only one granted powers by this alien radiation. Because it was an accident after hours, the company is unaware that our hero gained powers at all, and she ain't in a hurry to let them know.

Now she gets her powers. Experiment characters have an eleven percent chance to get the option of three major super powers, so I will be going with that. The three powers I will pick are Supernatural Strength, Sonic Speed, and Gravity Manipulation. Why Gravity Manipulation, you ask? Good question hypothetical you, the reason I take that power is that it allows for you to triple your speed. Now for this to work you have to assume that the rules for damage by speed work as they are laid out in extraordinary speed. That is to say you gain +4 damage for every 20 mph you are moving. Now they do have super punch and super slam rules for Sonic Speed, but superhuman strength hits harder than those , and I am pretty sure that in some book they state that the rules apply no matter what power occurs. What this means is that the hero can spend a turn lowering her weigh, spend a turn accelerating to full speed(2,100 mph) and then hit her opponent for an super strength punch +105 extra damage due to speed. That is about equal to a low damage nuclear strike. This is a super dangerous punch, I could even call it something cool and anime sounding. I will think on that. Now I also have to choose a side effect from the experiment. I will be going with Breath without air. Our hero doe not need to breath, but now she can no longer smell or taste. She thinks its a fine trade off for her power.

Nature of the experiment: Radiation or other energy
Type of experiment: Accident, super abilities were completely unexpected
Sponsoring Organization: Secret Medical Research Facility(Reach Corp)
Status With Organization: Powers are unknown to the organization
Number of super abilities: 3 major powers
Side Effects: Breath Without Air

Supernatural Strength
+37 PS
+2 Pull Punch
Sonic Speed
Run at 700 mph
+ 1 attack
+100 SDC
+3 PE
+6 Initiative
+1 Strike
+3 Parry
+4 Automatic dodge(can dodge bullets but with no bonus or penalty)
+6 Roll W/punch
+1 pull punch
Can stop or turn on a dime
Vision is five times better than a normal human read an 18 inch sign a mile away
Night vision 500 ft
Gravity Manipulation

Step 4: Other stuff
All that is left is to finish up the hero with some back story and personality stuff. She is super skinny, running around and manipulating gravity burns crazy amounts of calories. She is the third born to a big farming family out in the middle of Nebraska. The gaining of her powers has changed her from a depressed and self recriminating person to one who is gugho and driven to compete and succeed. She still lives in a crummy apartment in the bad section of Coast City, but she realizes how lucky she is and seeks to help everyone around her. She does have a few martial arts weapons, and maintains her skills with them. She is a member of a local dojo, and has been working with her instructor to learn to master her powers.

Name: Mary Schmidtt
Super Identity: Megaton
Alignment: Unprincipled

IQ: 11
ME: 11
MA: 11
PS: 56 Supernatural(+41 dmg, carry 16,800 lbs, lift 28,000lbs, multiply by 100 when reduce gravity)
PP: 13
PE: 19
PB: 11
Spd: 700 mph

HP: 22
SDC: 181

Skills
Acrobatics; Boxing; Gymnastics; Wrestling; WP Paired Weapons; WP Blunt; WP Knives; WP Target/Throwing; H2H: Martial Arts; Athletics; Running; Climbing; Prowl; Swimming

Powers
Supernatural Strength
Sonic Speed
Gravity Manipulation

Restrained Punch: 5D6
Punch: 2D4x10+41
Power punch: 3D6x10+41
Initiative: +8
Attacks: 6/melee
Strike: +1
Automatic Dodge: +4
Parry: +6
Pull Punch: +6
Roll w/punch: +16

The Megaton Punch
When Mary decides it is time to unleash the full fury of her power it takes a few actions. First she spends a turn reducing gravity on herself. The next round she gets to full speed. The round after that she winds up for a full power punch, and then she strikes. Travelling at 2,100 miles per hour(which is nearly as fast as the fastest bullet ever(.220 Swift traveled at 2,727 mph). It could be argued that your opponent would need to follow the rules for dodging/parrying a bullet. I would as a GM. If you successfully hit you will do a massive amount of damage: 3D6x10+146 dmg(average damage 246 dmg, that is about the mid range for a medium nuclear warhead). Basically she crouches for a second, then vanishes and you hear a sonic boom, finally she swirls around her opponent swiftly and strikes at full speed her fist striking like thunder)

And so we have now completed the super hero Megaton. Mary grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwest with her parents her siblings and her whole extended family working it. When she was a teen she first encountered martial arts films, and she knew that was what she wanted to do. She spent her teen years studying martial arts and when she encountered MMA shew knew that was for her. When she graduated high school she traveled to Coast City and tried to make her name in the MMA. However she just wasn't good enough. She was too short, to thin, lacked a certain natural talent. She was told by many she encountered that no matter how hard she worked she would never make it to the big time. Needing money she began work for the Reach Corporation as a night janitor. Each day was more of a beat down than the previous day. The only bright points in her life was when she entered the illegal street fights in the city. She didn't often win, but she was always getting better with each fight.

One night at work she was cleaning a lab and accidentally knocked over some sort of metal orb(the alien probe, some idiot left it out over night). When she reached down and picked it up it heated up. Her whole body burned for minutes. The pain was so intense she could not even make a noise. And then it was over, as if it had never happened. Over the next few week Mary began to realize she had super powers. She was stronger and faster than any human she had ever heard of, and also she seemed to be able to manipulate gravity. Now she no longer gets into street fights. She spends her free time racing through the city and helping people. She knows that she has been gifted with a great power and she must do something good with it. And if fighting supervillains is also really fun, what of it? She knows what it is to have her dreams crushed by those with natural giftings, so she always make sure to try and encourage people to try harder and never give up. She is the sworn enemy of despair giving up.

And there is the first Experiment character. I hope you liked it. Let me know what you think. The next post will be a super soldier, maybe he used to hang out with Calamity from my previous post. I am going to have a lot of fun with this one.

Make sure to check out my Kickstarter

A Far Off Land

Take the roll of the Fated, Shapeshifting Demigods who seek to bring about or prevent the destruction of two worlds. It contains new magic systems and Factions Dynamics in play.

Heroes Unlimited: World's Strongest 2

Alrighty, time to move forward to the next character type for Palladium's Heroes Unlimited. last post I built Impact, the Alien Renegade. I could probably go through all the options available to Aliens, but I think I went with the most alien form of alien, so it is now time to move to the next power category, Bionics. I gotta' come clean on this one. I kind of hate bionics/cybernetics in the Palladium system. It is fiddly, requires boatloads of calculation, and you come out of it far less powerful than you feel like you should. I also get the feeling, in reading through the games, that the personal group of Kevin Siembieda were quite abusive with cybernetics. It hinders magic, and psionics, and anything else. It costs a boatload to buy, and to maintain. I just kind of hate how bionics are done in this system. I will try and make the best cyborg though, so hang with me. We will get to more fun stuff soon.

Step 1: Attributes and Stuff
A reminder that all attributes start at 11 in this little game of mine. So no need for rolling or any of that.
Step 2: Education and skills
Heroes Unlimited is a bit different than other Palladium games. In most of their games yo choose an Occupations Character Class(O.C.C.), Racial Character Class(R.C.C.), or Psychic Character Class(P.C.C.) and that will give you your special talents and abilities as well as all of the skills and equipment you get. However in Heroes Unlimited the special abilities and skills are separate choices. So in this game you get to roll on a table for the type of training and number of skills, also the skills are arranged in packages, called skill programs. I really dig this concept, though I think it is hindered by the number of skills in the game.

There are one hundred and fifty-nine skills in the main book and a bunch of extra skills that get added in future supplements, and that also doesn't include special skills available only to certain power categories. I think I did a count once, for Rifts, and the total skill in all the supplements added up to 305 skills. Also bear in mind there are no social skills in the game, So all skills relate to a physical activity. That can get super specialized or repetitive. Another couple of oddities, first there is no description on how skills work in any palladium game I have ever read. Each has its own percentage, but they just sort of assume you will figure out how to roll for them and how they work. The second interesting thing is the lack of any awareness type skills. There are two, detect ambush and detect concealment. They are both in the espionage skill group and neither can be taken as secondary skills. Now, in Nightbane they eventually added an awareness roll to the game, and it is based on a bunch of factors, but for this game there is now awareness. It is up to the GM to let the players know what they might notice and that is interesting.

For this lets assume Trade school, this is not the best choice of skill programs, but it does allow for a decent bonus, as well as allowing for the choice of any program, even special military and espionage programs, so that is handy.  Now for this Bionic Hero we get two programs with a +15% bonus and eight secondary skills.  No I have to decide on some of the background for the character. As I went with a physical brute with the last character I made I think I will focus on ranged combat with this one. So I am thinking she will be a former spy and sniper who had some sort of awful accident and got bionics, sort of like Burn Notice, but with cybernetic parts. That in mind I will take the Espionage package and the Military program. Now I will not need physical skills as much, because PS, PP, and Spd will all be bionic, as she will have her limbs and the like replaced.

Espionage Program
H2H: Martial Arts +2 attacks/melee; +3 roll with punch/fall;+2 initiative; +3 pull punch
Detect Ambush(Yay! one of the only programs that grants this skill)
Intelligence(Not smarts, but knowing cool spy stuff)
Wilderness Survival
Sniper(grants +2 on aimed shots)
Interrogation
Military Program(Basic)
H2H: Basic(martial arts is better so we will use that instead)+
Running(don't need Spd bonus, but will gain +1 PE and +3 SDC)
Climbing
Military Etiquette(Yes, sir! No, sir! Three bags full, sir!)
Radio: Basic
WP: Rifle(which is not a skill, I think they mean automatic/semiautomatic rifle)
Secondary Skills
SCUBA/Advanced Swimming
Prowl
Language: Chinese
Language Russian
Language: Spanish
WP: Automatic Pistol
WP: Submachine-gun
WP: Bolt Action Rifle

Step 3: Budget
Now here you are supposed to roll for you budget, ranging from $7 million to $10 million. However I usually see results between $9 and $10 million, and rarely see anything else. I must have the luckiest players ever. I mean, what other explanation can there be for having every roll in the top fifty percent. And it has been a lot of players over the years. Its an oddity to be sure. Lets have fun with this character here, though. Lets give her the max budget, $10 million.

Step 4: Building a Cyborg
Now this step gets super fiddly and requires a lot of focus. I mean, you need to buy each limb's strength, prowess, and speed. This gets expensive and requires a lot of bookkeeping. There is a helpful bit at the beginning of the section, where they have packaged a bunch of stuff that you might need for a cool cyborg super. So I will start with one of these packages. I could go with a brain transplant model, but I think I like the idea of some organic bits still existing. To me that feels more like a cyborg, a fusion of person and machine. So I will start with a Full Conversion Cyborg, this will allow for a lot of enhancement while still leaving human bits. This has a base cost of $7.5 million, leaving me with 2.5 million to further enhance her abilities.

Full Conversion Cyborg
Bionic Arms and Hand(yes you need to buy hands and arms separately)PS 22; PP 18
Bionic Feet and Legs(Again you need to buy these separately)PS 24; Spd 77(53 mph)
Bionic Lungs with gas filter
"Full" Body Exoskeleton(Spine, arms, hands, legs, feet)(230 SDC)
Full Body Armor(AR18 900 SDC, this is removable and hinders movement and stealth)
Machine Pistol Implant(which does not appear in this game, far as I can tell)
Electrical discharge(can cover hand in electricity for extra damage, or shoot the energy)
Additional improvements
Increase PP to 24 $240,000
Amplified Hearing $350,000(+1 Parry; +2 Dodge; +6 Initiative)
Sound Filtration System(protect hearing and lets you do fun stuff with sound filters) $90,000
Night Sight(telescopic, both eyes) $110,000
Targeting sight $50,000 (+1 to strike)
Motion Detector $80,000 (+1 Initiative, +1 Parry, +2 dodge)
Radar $250,000
One hidden compartment in each limb to store spare magazines $32,000
Grapnel Launcher $45,000
Concealed Rifle Arm $300,000
And with that I am kind of out of things to add to her. I still have money left over, and I could buy extra speed or strength, but As she is going to using  guns for most of the game I have no really need to go beyond what the initial package grants me. 

Step 5: Background Data
So this is a bunch of information on character and background and will help flesh out the character and setting a little more. It has no real mechanical effects, but it does have a lot of interesting choices. First I need to establish the conditions required for needing bionic reconstruction. So lets go with paraplegic, she was out on a mission and something went wrong. Lets say she was betrayed to the enemy and ended up getting shelled by mortars which broke her lower back. She was then approached by some DARPA secret organization, lets call them Operation Longshot. She worked for them for a while but left because factions within the organization were doing sketchy things. She still maintains contact with the some of the better folks in the organization, but is disliked by the more morally flexible factions.

Step 6: Other Stuff
She starts off with two attacks per melee, as normal, and I will say I managed to wheedle the GM into allowing me to get a .50 Cal sniper rifle, and couple of pistols and an assault rifle as well as a TV style studio apartment, you know the huge empty warehouse looking kind in the "bad section" of town, with room for her motorcycle(she's a cyborg, of course she has a motorcycle). Also I will take a spin around the option character background and personality tables. She is the first born of Twins, and lets say her sister is her mechanic that can help her with repairs and upgrades, should that come up. Look its rough when you play a tech based character if you don't have established supply lines. She was average height and weight before the bionics, and now she still occupies the same volume, but weighs a whole lot more(robot parts are not light). She tends to be somewhat timid since her cybernetic conversion, she used to be super self reliant, and once she gets used to being a cyborg she may go back to her previous personality type. She was born in the US and grew up upper middle class in Coast City and has moved back after leaving Project Longshot. Alright lets put it all together.

Name: Min Zhang(grew up in america so orders surname last)
Super Identity: Calamity
Alignment: Unscrupulous

IQ: 11
ME: 11
MA: 11
PS: 22/24(arms/legs) +7/+9 dmg(think this is just normal not extraordinary, superhuman, or whatever)
PP: 24 +5 strike/parry/dodge
PE: 12
PB: 11
Spd: 77(53 mph)

HP: 15
SDC: 230(additional 900 addable with the armor, it has AR 18)

Skills
H2H: Martial Arts; Detect Ambush; Intelligence; Wilderness Survival; Sniper; Interrogation; Running; Climbing; Military Etiquette; Radio: Basic
WP: Rifle; SCUBA/Advanced Swimming; Prowl; Language: Chinese; Language: Russian; Language: Spanish; WP: Automatic Pistol; WP: Submachine-gun; WP: Bolt Action Rifle
Initiative: +9
Attacks Per Melee: 4
Strike: +6(+8 on aimed shot)
Parry: +7
Dodge: +9
Roll w/ Punch: +3
Pull Punch: +3

"Horatio" Barrett M82 .50 Cal Sniper Rifle 
She loves her gun, and her gun loves her. It brings death to her enemies and safety to her friends.

Range: 660 ft(which doesn't seem far enough...)
Dmg: 1D4x10
Magazine: 11 rnds

"Black & Blue" Twin Desert Eagles
If her enemies get close they will regret that decision in as loud and painful a way possible

Range: 165 fr
Dmg: 6D6
Magazine: 7 rounds

And there you go There are the basic stats and such for Calamity. She worked for the government as a spy and sniper. She was working cover for a convoy travelling through enemy territory when the enemy began shelling the area she was in. She made it out, but was crippled and was going to live the rest of her life in a wheel chair. While recuperating in the hospital she was approached by members of Project Longshot with a proposal that could give her the use of her legs once more. After nearly eight months of multiple cyber surgeries and physical therapy she was able to return to duty, only now working as a deniable asset for Project Longshot rather than the CIA. As time went on she began to regret her choices a little and began to notice that some groups within the project were acting in ways that seemed to go against its stated goals. She has since left the project and returned to her home back in Coast City. Her parents gave her an old warehouse they had converted into a rental property due to their guilt over their daughter's condition(its not their fault, but they feel guilty none the less). Her sister, Ling, is a gifted engineer and moved in with Min to serve as her chief mechanic. She is kind of reckless and dedicated to keeping her sister up and going, whether physically or emotionally.

Next post will be an experiment, That should be fun, because it is one of the categories that can grant the most raw power, and can really break the game. Don't worry, its going to be fun! I think it will be surprising the way I go with it, but I think it will be interesting.

Make sure to check out my Kickstarter

A Far Off Land

Take the roll of the Fated, Shapeshifting Demigods who seek to bring about or prevent the destruction of two worlds. It contains new magic systems and Factions Dynamics in play.

Heroes Unlimited: World's Strongest 1

H'okay so I have a fun little game I sometimes play and I would like to share it with you. Its a game where I make characters for Palladium's various games. See I love Palladium's games. One of my first games was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness which I still love to this day. I have done a very long read through of Rifts, which is super fun. Part of the fun of the Palladium house system is how byzantine and unbalanced it can be. You can end up with a incredibly different power levels within the same game system. I know in the last few decades it has been said that balance was never intended in the original design. I have often suspected this is not true, but that is neither here nor there. So here is the game I will be playing. I am going to try and make the most combat capable character for Heroes Unlimited I can for each power category. Here are the character creation rules I will be using:

1. I will be using the Main Heroes Unlimited book as well as the following additional books: Powers Unlimited 1-3, Armageddon Unlimited, After the Bomb(for mutant animal heroes), Ninjas & Super Spies(for martial arts, if it comes up), and maybe Nightbane(if I start digging into fun setting building stuff...and this is me so I probably will)
2. All percentile rolls with mechanical benefits or downsides get chosen rather than rolled. Other percentile rolls can be rolled or chosen as needed. 
3. Attributes all start at 11, unless something else is required for the power category
4. When rolling for any other non-percentile roll count the first die gets the low average, the second the high average and so on.
1. For example: If I were rolling 3D6, it would come out as ten, the first die would be a 3, the second a 4, and the third a 3.
5. Do not worry about the percentages of the non-combat oriented skills. They might be useful, but the nature of the palladium house system means they will take hours to properly fill out, and that is just a nightmare. The combat stuff will be complex enough on its own.

With those rules in mind lets get crackin' on our first superbeing, The Alien.

Step 1
This is rolling the attributes and hit points. I don't know why they have you roll HP here as it is based on your Physical Endurance, which can change as character creation moves forward, so I will leav that until last. So that is step one done.
Step 2: Alien Appearance
In this I will make the choice to make this character the toughest and the strongest. So I will be going with the humanoid Mineral Alien as they are ridiculously tough have a natural Armor Class and a solid increase to strength. If I wanted more onuses overall I would probably go with the humanoid Rhinoceros, but I will go with mineral for now.

Natural AR: 14(you need a 15 or higher to damage this character at all)
+180 SDC
+20 Physical Strength

Step 3: Physiological Modifications due to Unearthly Environments
For this one I feel the best in nearly every case is to take High Gravity. It increases Strength and speed as well as granting a really high bonus to your SDC. Another good one is Abrasive Atmosphere, as it adds a lot of SDC and grants a superpower. But for this one I will go with High Gravity.

Height: 5'3"
+70 SDC
+5 PS
x3 Speed Attribute
+1 initiative

Step 4: Determining Super Abilities
Aliens have one of the more interesting options available. They can have super abilities natural to their species. What makes this cool as that these abilities cannot be taken away by other superpowers. It can't be nullified. And that makes it the best option for me in this situation. So for this one I can take a major and a minor power, 4 minor powers, or I can roll on the random powers table, So I will take a look at that last one. I will roll up 2 Major Powers: Growth and Supernatural Strength. Growth is kind of overpowered, it lets you get bigger and stronger as well as faster. However it is limited by your Physical Endurance and so that will be a bit of a hindrance, but not so much.

Growth
PE moves up to 14
Maximum height: 33'3"(this may change if the PE Alters)
Maximum Weight: 2400 lbs(this may change if the PE Alters)
+20 SDC per foot gained(max +560)
+1 PS per foot(max +28)
+2 strike and parry, double speed(when over 20 ft tall)
Supernatural Strength
+37 PS
Can Carry 300xPS, Lift 500xPS
+2 pull punch

Step 5: Determine Education & Skills
As I am making a combat oriented character I will choose Combat Specialist of the options available. I get Four Physical Skills, Hand To Hand: Martial Arts, Six Weapon Proficiencies, One Pilot Skill and First Aid, plus six secondary skills. Physical skills are kind of where teh wheels fall off in this game, but they are also some of the most fun. They often do not have a percentile, but instead have a bunch of bonuses to your physical attributes. Its kind of cool, but way overpowered and leads people to taking a whole bunch of them.

Boxing(the best skill in the game): +1 attack/melee; +2 Parry/dodge; +1 Roll with punch/fall; +2 PS; +10 SDC
Gymnastics: bunch of percentile subskills; +2 roll with punch/fall; +2 PS; +1 PP; +2 PE; +7 SDC
Wrestling: grants some extra combat moves; +1 roll with punch/fall; +2 PS; +1 PE; +14 SDC
Running: +1 PE; +10 spd; +3 SDC
H2H MA: +2 attacks/melee; +3 roll with punch/fall;+2 initiative; +3 pull punch
Weapon Proficiencies: Blunt; Staff; Sword; Energy Pistol; Energy Rifle; Automatic Rifle
Pilot: Hovercraft
First Aid
Athletics: +1 Parry/Dodge; +1 roll with punch/fall; +1 PS; +3 Speed; +5 SDC
Body Building: +2 PS; +10 SDC
Radio: basic
Computer Operation
Computer Programming
Prowl

Step 6: Reason For Coming to Earth
This one is all background ans helps add some fun to the world. So for this one I will try and pick the option that seem the most interesting and will add the most to the world. I think I will go with the Outcast option, and this character will definitely get the option of being hunted by his persecutors and bounty hunters. This lets me play around a bit and have some fun. So the alien is being persecuted by his home government and fled to Earth because he got lost, and it seemed as a good place.
Step 7: Familiarity with Earth
I will go with No Familiarity with Earth, as that makes the most sense with the previous option. I kind of see Earth as being out in the wilderness of space. It gets ignored and is in a section of space few go to or even know all that much about this region. This means he can only read and write in English, and no other languages.
Step 8: Equipment
He has no earth clothes, as he has just arrived. Now I must choose a special weapon for the character to use. I will go with a melee weapon, as melee is a better choice in combat than ranged due the oddities of bonuses to attack in ranged combat. I will give him a Kisentite Sword, which is a sword that is invulnerable. This will be handy as the character is super strong, and it would suck to break my cool alien sword. I also have to choose a special vehicle, I will go with an anti gravity ring, that would allow my character fly, which should be handy. Though he can't use it when in full size state as he would be too heavy. The character also has $70,000 worth of precious metals and gems.

Kisentite Sword: 2D6+3 Dmg
Anti-Gravity Ring: 100 mph; Max weight 500 lbs

Step 9: Other Stuff
Now I have to pick an Alignment, get my base SDC(20), mark down base attacks per melee(2). And that is that. Now to do some calculating and finish up the character.

Name: T'klas Ohv'yhin
Super Identity: Impact
Height: 5'3"(max 41'3")
Alignment: Scrupulous

IQ: 11
ME: 11
MA: 11
PS: 82(max 118) Supernatural Carry 24,600lbs/35,400lbs; Lift 41,000lbs/59,000lbs
PP:  12
PE: 18
PB:  11
Spd: 72(144 when over 20 ft)[63 Mph/94 mph at over 20 ft]

Natural AC: 14
HP: 21
SDC: 319(max 720)

Skills
Boxing; Wrestling; Gymnastics; Running; Hand to Hand: Martial Arts; WP: Blunt; WP: Staff; WP: Sword; WP: Energy Pistol; WP: Energy Rifle; WP: Automatic Rifle; Pilot: Hovercraft; First Aid; Athletics; Body Building; Radio: basic; Computer Operation; Computer Programming; Prowl

Restrained punch: 5D6
Punch: 2D4x10+67(103 max)
Power punch: 3D6x10+67(103 max)
Initiative: +3
Attacks per Melee: 5
Bonus to Strike: +2 when over 20 ft
Parry: +3(+5 when over 20 ft)
Dodge: +3
Pull Punch: +5
Roll w/Punch: +8

And their you go, the biggest brick I can make so far. A being that can hit like a meteor, and soak up massive amounts of damage. He can run as fast as a cheetah, and can keep the pace for far longer than most beings. He traveled into uncharted space fleeing from the hunter killer squads from the leaders of the Galactic Consortium, with a bounty on his head so high every bounty hunter is out looking. Lost and out of options he landed on earth as it seemed as good a place as any. He managed to save a bunch of people from a building fire and gained a reputation as a hero. For the last year he has been working as a hero in Coast City under the name Impact.

I now know that the world This hero inhabits has a large oppressive interplanetary political body.Also I have the name of the central city of the setting, Coast City. Nice and generic, but it says a little bit about what is going on. As this goes forward their will be some more hints at the larger world and maybe when I am done I will be able to put it all together into a unified setting.

I plan on continuing with the series in the future. The next will be a Cyborg, which I don't like because for whatever reason Cyborgs in Palladium games end up being somewhat nerfed. I have a feeling people in the play test abused the hell out of cybernetics. I guess that will be a bit of a challenge.

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A Far Off Land

Take the roll of the Fated, Shapeshifting Demigods who seek to bring about or prevent the destruction of two worlds. It contains new magic systems and Factions Dynamics in play.