Z is for Zeo Morpheus

First Appearance
Closing out the month this is another of Apprentice Blaster's creations inspired by Neo in The Matrix. This was one of his favorites. The combination of costume and powers really worked for him. He was a Dual-Pistols/Energy Melee Blaster in CoH.

Origin
Zeo has some strange ideas about the nature of reality but he does fight on the side of the good guys. A mysterious mentor figure introduced him to the ongoing war between good and evil and showed him how to unlock the secrets of the universe, the code that underlies all of reality. This gave him the ability to move and react faster than anyone and he uses this power to protect those who cannot do what he does and do not know what he knows, until the day comes that he can correct the situation.

Personality
Zeo is quiet, but confident. He knows that he is the chosen one but rather than being cocky about it he sees it as a weighty responsibility that he must see through to the end. He doesn't have a lot of time for friends and family as he is totally focused on becoming stronger and better able to carry out his mission.There is a calm about him. He rarely raises his voice, and doesn't waste motion jumping around or gesticulating excessively. he comes across as someone who can be relied on in a crisis, even when things are going poorly. His companions have never seen him surprised.

 Zeo Morpheus for ICONS

PDF link is here

Attributes

Prowess: 6 (Remarkable) - Maximum un-augmented human

Coordination: 6 (Remarkable) - Maximum un-augmented human

Strength: 6 (Remarkable) - Maximum un-augmented human

Intellect: 5 (Excellent) - Good but not a genius

Awareness: 10 (Unearthly) - Permanently changed when he became "The One"

Willpower: 6 (Remarkable) - Maximum un-augmented human

Stamina: 12

Determination: 3

Origin: Birthright

Specialties: Acrobatics, Martial Arts Master, Weapons (Guns)

Powers:
Wizardry 10 - Code Mastery (Cosmic - Awareness)

Known Powers: Force Field (Super-Slo-Mo Dodge), Fast Attack

Zeo Morpheus and the Aluminum Knight - no doubt hunting agents underground

Qualities

Motivation: "Free the System" - he fights an underground war to "free us". From what? See below.

Epithet: "The One" 

Connections: Rebel Underground - this is both a source of aid and a source of hostages for his enemies if they learn of his attachments

Challenge

Social:"Believes reality is a computer simulation that enslaves all of humanity" - he knows how people react so he tries not to bring it up too often but it is the belief that drives his life and he can't help but talk about it sometimes.

Enemy: "The Agents" - these are the mysterious agents who police the reality program and hunt down those who would disrupt it

Personal: "Destiny as the One" - this is something he sees as a huge responsibility, that he is the only one who can free humanity from the grip of the machines. This has rendered all other aspects of his life as secondary, so he spends most of his time learning and training to be better so he can succeed in his mission.

Notes:  Zeo ends up at 55 points, powerful but not ridiculous. I went through several iterations of him, mainly focused on how to cover all of his powers and keep him at less than 80 points! I had his abilities much higher at first along with a few specific powers but that still left out some of his moves, left him with 1 Determination, and was way too expensive. After playing around with it for a while, I decided to go with the approach above: Give him high but not superhuman abilities, then roll all of his truly super moves into a cosmic wizardry power. It lowered his cost AND gave him 3 Determination to pop out powers as needed. The basics are that he can dodge and shoot/punch super fast. the rest, like super strength, flight, healing and the rest of the stuff we saw in the movies can all be done through this one power. After all, isn't knowing how to manipulate the code of the universe the very definition of Cosmic Power? It works for me.

In combat he just carries normal guns and tends to open with those, throwing them away after each fight. That's not a power, that's just a shopping trip. He's also strong and skilled enough to fight hand to hand against most opponents without using his power, though if he does decide to use it his opponent is likely to be in trouble fast.

Zeo Morpheus for Mutants and Masterminds (3E)

PDF is here, HeroLab file is here

Zeo Morpheus - PL 12

Strength 0, Stamina 2, Agility 12/4, Dexterity 2, Fighting 14/8, Intellect 2, Awareness 10/5, Presence 2

Advantages

Defensive Roll 6, Evasion, Improved Initiative 2, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Takedown 2, Uncanny Dodge

Skills

Acrobatics 2 (+14), Athletics 8 (+8), Perception 10 (+20), Ranged Combat: Slo-Mo Shooting 6 (+16/+8), Technology 6 (+8)

Powers

Guns!: Blast 6 (Easily Removable, DC 21; Multiattack)

"The One"

Bullet Time!: Enhanced Trait 6 (Traits: Dodge +4 (+16), Parry +2 (+16))

Hand Strike: Strength-based Damage 10 (DC 25)

 Punching Explosion: Damage 5 (Alternate; DC 20; Multiattack)

Slo-Mo Coordination: Enhanced Trait 16 (Traits: Agility +8 (+12))

Slo-Mo Kung Fu: Enhanced Trait 12 (Traits: Fighting +6 (+14))

 Strength of The One: Enhanced Trait 12 (Alternate; Traits: Strength +6 (+6))

Slo-Mo Reaction: Enhanced Trait 2 (Advantages: Improved Initiative 2)

Slo-Mo Senses: Enhanced Trait 10 (Traits: Awareness +5 (+10))

Slo-Mo Shooting: Enhanced Trait 4 (Traits: Ranged Combat +8 (+16))

Super Flight: Flight 9 (Speed: 1000 miles/hour, 2 miles/round)

Offense

Initiative +20

Grab, +14 (DC Spec 10)

Guns!: Blast 6, +16 (DC 21)

Hand Strike: Strength-based Damage 10, +14 (DC 25)

Punching Explosion: Damage 5, +14 (DC 20)

Throw, +2 (DC 15)

Unarmed, +14 (DC 15)

Defense

Dodge 16/12, Parry 16/14, Fortitude 9, Toughness 8/2, Will 15

Sometimes he works with the authorities!

Complications

Enemy: The Agents: these are the mysterious agents who police the reality program and hunt down those who would disrupt it

Motivation: Responsibility as The One: this is something he sees as a huge responsibility, that he is the only one who can free humanity from the grip of the machines. This has rendered all other aspects of his life as secondary, so he spends most of his time learning and training to be better so he can succeed in his mission.

Obsession: "Believes reality is a computer simulation that enslaves all of humanity" - he knows how people react os he tries not to bring it up too often but it is the belief that drives his life and he can't help but talk about it sometimes.

Languages

Native Language

Power Points

Abilities 50 + Powers 90 + Advantages 12 + Skills 16 (32 ranks) + Defenses 12 = 180

Teamed up with Captain Ladybug!

Notes: Definitely one of the more complicated characters I have done this month. This is about 10 revisions in to the design and I think this one covers everything, but even at PL 12 there are compromises. I started with the speedster template as I wanted to emphasize his speed but I don't think there's much left of it here. 

The design ended up with all of his boosts built into "The One" powerset. This represents the boosts to most of his combat abilities when he is on. Outside of this he also carries an interesting range of guns. He can fly, he can punch somebody really hard or cut loose with a flurry using his multiattack option. He can also trade his kung fu for super-strength, kind of a built-in super power attack, shifting from +14/10 to a +8/16, and that's before using power attack! So he has a wide range of options in melee.

His punching is maxed at +14/10 but his guns are only at +16/6, so if he picks up a heavier gun it's not as much of an issue. Also, multiattack can bump the damage up to an 11 pretty easily, which is pretty nasty.

With a Toughness of 8 (6 of which comes from Defensive Roll) he's pretty reliant on active defenses. To insure this works out for him he has +20 Initiative and +20 Perception and Uncanny Dodge. Also, because I think it's cool seeing "+20" next to a couple of things on a character sheet.

If he loses his powers (say he believes he has been booted out of the Matrix) then he drops to about a PL8 effectiveness which means he's not totally helpless but it is a rather different character at that point.

Roads not taken:

• He had various levels of Quickness during the process, but I don't really recall anything from the movies that would demand that. I eventually dropped this to get his ranged attack up to a respectable level
• He had Speed as an alternate power for his flight for a while but I had the same issue as Quickness. If he needs to move fast on the ground he can take a car, though I did not give him an equipment allowance.
• I had given him an area burst damage attack to represent a fast-moving series of punches but I think Multiattack & Takedown are more effective, so I dropped that as well.
• No HQ - thought about it, decided I wasn't going to design one, so he has no base. 

Anyway there he is, wrapping up April A to Z!