U is for UTINNI UTINNI!

First Appearance
Well, it's not hard to see where the inspiration for this on came from. Let's just say I liked to challenge myself with the costume creator. He was a Traps/Electric Defender for those of you who played the game.

Origin
From the original bio: On his home planet UTINNI UTINNI was a shaman of his tribe. Unlike his tribemates, he was not content to stay in the desert his entire life, so he set out to explore the wider world. Several misunderstandings later he found himslef on a ship with a malfunctioning hyperdrive and despite his best efforts to fix it, things went a little plaid and he ended up on this planet. Fortunately his technology is as good as magic here so he decided to spend some time exploring before looking for a way home

One year later: He has become fascinated with the wild mix of technology found on this planet and going home is no longer a real priority. he is seeing things no other member of his tribe has seen, built new gadgets, made some new friends, and even become a hero to some non-tribesmen! This is a great place, and he intends to stay as long as he possibly can!

Personality
U-U is a member of a naturally inquisitive race, and he is a prime example of this tendency. He is also both fascinated by and incredibly adept with technology, more the practice than the theory. He is an eternal optimist, cheering up his companions with his antics and his knack for having just the right gear at just the right time. He is a constant scrounger, going through trash and excitedly running off towards any junkyard he might happen across. The upside is that he is an absolute genius when it comes to making devices that do impossible things. He's not big into theory, he just seems to make it work.  He's been compared to a living utility belt and though he didn't really get the reference it seemed like a compliment so he was happy. He's a big team player, aiding and supporting his friends.

One note: He does not speak English, or any other earth language. He understands it just fine, but his outward communications is "a bunch of jibber-jabber" to quote one teammate, and extensive use of emphatic  gesturing. He also frequently pulls out a portable holo-viewer to communicate things - a holo-picture is clearly worth at least a thousand words. Think Scotty & that fuzzy thing in the Star Trek reboot movie, or Chewie in the Star Wars movies - even without speaking a language they manage to get their point across.

 UTINNI UTINNI for ICONS

PDF is here

Attributes

Prowess: 3 (Typical) - He's a fixer, not a fighter

Coordination: 6 (Remarkable) - He is remarkably accurate

Strength: 2 (Poor) - He's the size of a human child and is not super-dense

Intellect: 8 (Amazing) - This is where he excels, even amongst his own kind

Awareness: 4 (Good) - "Kind of a skittish little feller ain't he?"

Willpower: 3 (Typical) - He has a hard time resisting his own bad habits

Stamina: 5

Determination: 1

Origin: Unearthly

Specialties: Electronics Expert, Mechanical Expert, Computers Expert

Powers:
Invulnerability 5 (Device) - Personal Force Field Generator - the first thing he built after seeing a super-battle and something he never leaves behind.

Blast 5 (Device) - Electroblaster! - the second thing he built after he realized people thought he would be an easy hostage

Wizardry 8 "Gadgets" - (Known powers Flight & Affliction)This is Int-based and reflects his constantly-carried array of knick-knacks, gizmos, and scrap devices that he somehow uses to do amazing things.

Flight Pack!

Qualities

Catchphrase : "UTINNI" - some combination of exclamation, name, and battle-cry, this is the one word that most of his teammates can catch. 

"Inventor" - U-U has an intuitive genius for understanding technology. This mostly involves combining and improving things that already exist but every once in a while he comes up with something that no one has ever seen before.

"Scavenger" - Most of what Utinni builds is junk or salvaged from something else. He doesn't really think about building things from new parts - why bother when the entire universe is his parts-pile! He is constantly on the lookout for interesting objects with potential usefulness and wherever he is living tends to look pretty messy, with tools and parts everywhere.

"Optimist" - U-U loves the life he is living right now. Super-Earth is just the most interesting thing he can conceive and he can't get enough of it. Even while chained to a wall he can't help but communicate his excitement over those new stun blasters the guards used to knock them all out!

Challenges

"Little Feller" - Utinni is not a physically impressive specimen. In fact no one is really sure what is under those robes and what he looks like inside the hood. Regardless he's only about 3 feet tall and is somewhat fragile. This can be a hazard in the superhero game but he doesn't care.

"Jibber-Jabber" - As described above U-U does not speak any known earth language. He manages to communicate just fine most of the time, but every once in a while he hits a rough patch and just cannot get his idea across.

Notes: At 50 points UTINNI UTINNI is a pretty solid character with a lot of capabilities. That Stamina 5 though ... try not to get hit! I thought about folding his blast into his gadget power but it helps to have a solid offensive and defensive power outside of the wizardry to let you get truly creative - I hate seeing a great power like that spending 90% of it's time as offense or defense so I solve the problem by adding those first and separately. Determination is essential for whipping up new gadgets so I made sure U-U has a lot of ways to earn and spend that vital resource. If you need one more "Bad Luck" would not be totally out of line for him.

I also wanted to mix in a character that does not have outstanding physical stats. My brain tends to think of "4" as a good starting point for ICONS character stats (MSH's "Good") and a double-digit stamina as almost required, so it takes a little effort to go the other way and prove good stats are not a requirement - though maybe one really good stat is a requirement ...

My general take on things is that I have to be interested enough to be willing to play a particular character before I would bother sharing him online. I feel that way about UTINNI, 5 Stamina and all.

Now to mix things up a bit (hey, blame Disney):

UTINNI UTINNI for Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

PDF sheet is here

Notes

He's a Solo d6, Buddy d8, Team d10 as you might expect. 

He only has the one Powerset but it's fairly diverse and has a lot of SFX designed to let him do interesting things with it:

• Energy Absorption gives him a reactive type power option - this fits the nature of some of his devices 
• Overload lets him step up or double a gadgets power -or spend a PP to do both - then shut it down - it lets him power up when needed, but there is a cost.
• Multipower lets him add two dice at a reduced level - this lets him contribute similarly to Overload but at a lower level and without the associated cost
• Defensive Gadgets lets him throw a shield on another character at the irks of freaking out if it doesn't work (d6 Emotional Stress) - very in-character for his attitude and role.
• Backups lets him spend a PP to reroll a result he doesn't like - again, very gadgety in feel

Then he has the gear limit found on many characters.

His Milestones are the best I have right now. I think they could be refined further but I think these are a good start. His first is the team player set found on several heroes, again emphasizing his team-oriented attitude. His second is an adaptation of Mister Fantastic's "For Science" set in the basic book. I think it works but could be better. The biggest problem when it comes to milestones is that he doesn't have a family, he doesn't have a history of foes or of lovers so a lot of the more common sets aren't really open to him. Yellowjacket's "Maker" is close but I don't really see UTINNI building self-aware robots, much less debating them. Ms. Marvel's "Kree-Fueled Powerhouse" adapted to reflect brains over brawn might work but it was going to take more time.  I even considered Hercules' "Immortal Friendship" set with a few tweaks but the team player probably fits better right now. 

UTINNI teams up with "The Skunkerine"  (yes, that was his name,and he had a whole backstory to go with it )

T is for Captain Transylvania

First Appearance
Lady Blacksteel had a scrapper character named Lorena that was vampire themed. I decided to make an appropriate companion for her and being in the middle of a fascination with shield tankers Captain Transylvania was born. Afterwards, if Lorena went out on a run CapTrans was my default choice for our team-up.

There they are, right in the thick of things, as usual.

Origin
From his CoH file: Longtime patriotic defender of his homeland and onetime leader of the famed Blood Dragon knights, Drago VonCarsten was forced to leave his beloved home due to a change in government policies and some questions about his past. Making the best of it, he has come to Paragon City in search of his "friend" from long ago, the Legendary Lorena, who is rumored to fight crime somewhere in this vast metropolis.

I think that covers the gist of it.

Personality
Drago is not a nice, friendly superhero. He's a vicious, bloodthirsty combatant who has chosen to use his powers for good. This doesn't mean that he doesn't know how to behave but once a fight breaks out he has little restraint and his goal is to take down opponents by the most efficient means possible. he knows his own capabilities and has long, long experience as a fighter. Outside of a fight he has a surprising knowledge of European history and a taste for the finer things.

 Captain Transylvania for ICONS

PDF is here

Attributes

Prowess: 9 (Monstrous) - He has been fighting for centuries

Coordination: 7 (Incredible) - faster than human

Strength: 6 (Remarkable) - he is quite strong

Intellect: 3 (Typical) - he's not dumb he just doesn't care that much 

Awareness: 6 (Remarkable) - supernatural senses

Willpower: 6 (Remarkable) - old and stubborn

Stamina: 12

Determination: 1

Origin: Transformed (extra power)

Specialties: Occult Expert, Stealth Expert

Powers:
Life Drain 6 - Vampiric Touch Increase Stamina Close Range Affects Incorporeal 

Force Field Device 5 - Shield of the Red Chalice 

Flight 5 - Vampiric Flight 

Immortality - Eternal Vampire Lord 

Life Support 7 (Cold, Breathing, Eating, Heat, Pathogens, Radiation, Toxins) - Vampiric Immunities 

Qualities

Epithet : "The Last Vampire Lord" - it may or may not be true, but no one has challenged him on it yet.

Connections : Lorena, Vampire Underground - he is plugged into the old network and he has one person in particular that he is attached to.

Motivation : Protect his Queen - even if she doesn't know that she is his queen just yet.

Challenges

"Looks Like a Vampire" - with his pale skin, red eyes, and fangs Captain T does not look like a normal person. Now in a world full of costumed heroes and villains this is not as much of challenge as it might be otherwise, but it's not a mask he can take off. 

Enemy: The Council - back in WW2 some organizations delved into the supernatural with an eye towards using them for the war effort. This included vampires. One of the organizations survived to the present day and has a stable process that creates artificial vampires. Captain T has encountered these in person and fights against them as an abomination and other members of "the Council" as foolish mortals who do not deserve to live.

Notes: At 65 points Captain T is one of the most expensive characters I have created. Again we run into the situation with ICONS where lesser powers like Life Support and Flight count as much as attacks and defenses and high stats which makes broader characters like this more expensive. That said he is quite capable. His Life Drain works at a short range so he can hold out a hand and begin draining Stamina. With Flight 5 he can zip over anywhere he can see in one panel and start slapping them around.

For flavor he could use some super-speed (probably at least a 5) and some language specialties but I decided to leave these out to keep him at 65 points. You have to draw the line somewhere and that's where I drew it. He could also add a Patriotic Quality but I'm not sure that's going to come up a whole lot in play.

 Captain Transylvania for Mutants and Masterminds (3E)

PDF is here

Captain Transylvania - PL 12

Strength 7, Stamina -, Agility 4, Dexterity 1, Fighting 12, Intellect 1, Awareness 2, Presence 4

Advantages

All-out Attack, Attractive, Benefit, Status: Vampire Lord, Benefit, Wealth 3 (millionare), Daze (Intimidation),

Fearless, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Startle

Skills

Expertise: European History 5 (+6), Expertise: Magic 5 (+6), Insight 6 (+8), Intimidation 8 (+12),

Perception 8 (+10), Persuasion 4 (+8), Stealth 10 (+14)

Powers

Shield of the Blood Chalice: Protection 10 (+10 Toughness; Impervious [8 ranks only])

Alternate Power: Shield Bash: Strength-based Damage 5 (Alternate; DC 27)

Speed: Speed 4 (Speed: 30 miles/hour, 500 feet/round)

Spider-Climb: Movement 1 (Wall-crawling 1: -1 speed rank)

Vampiric Bite: Weaken 10 (Affects: Stamina, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 20; Grab-based, Limited: Drains 1 rank per round)

Vampiric Invulnerability

Immortality: Immortality 5 (Return after 1 day; Limited: Not When Staked or Beheaded)

Immunity: Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects)

Regeneration: Regeneration 10 (Every 1 round; Source: Blood)

Offense

Initiative +8

Grab, +12 (DC Spec 17)

Shield Bash: Strength-based Damage 5, +12 (DC 27)

Throw, +1 (DC 22)

Unarmed, +12 (DC 22)

Vampiric Bite: Weaken 10, +12 (DC Fort 20)

Defense

Dodge 14, Parry 14, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 10, Will 12

Complications

Dependence: Captain Transylvania must feed on blood or weaken and eventually go dormant

Distinctive Looks: with his pale skin, red eyes, and fangs Captain T does not look like a normal person.

Now in a world full of costumed heroes and villains this is not as much of challenge as it might be

otherwise, but it's not a mask he can take off.

Enemy - "The Council": back in WW2 some organizations delved into the supernatural with an eye

towards using them for the war effort. This included vampires. One of the organizations survived to the

present day and has a stable process that creates artificial vampires. Captain T has encountered these in

person and fights against them as an abomination and other members of "the Council" as foolish mortals

who do not deserve to live.

Languages

Native Language

Power Points

Abilities 52 + Powers 69 + Advantages 14 + Skills 23 (46 ranks) + Defenses 22 = 180

Notes: This version is a little different - he can run fast and spider-climb but he cannot fly! he still has the shield and can bash with it for full damage, or he can punch someone for slightly less damage. His life drain here is a grab & bite attack that is a Weaken - this and a lot of the basic vampire parts of the character were taken from Dracula as written up for the Threat Report, but a lot of the other details are different. Captain T is less of a seducer/persuader and doesn't turn into mist or summon wolves. He's also not weakened by sunlight, so there are some positive tradeoffs here. 

He's favored Dodge and Parry over Toughness to represent that super-agile-speed thing we see sometimes in the movies. He's still a 10 Toughness (Impervious 8) so he's not exactly a slouch but I liked where this came out.

I have not dealt with a Weaken effect in our games so I'm not sure how combat effective it is but he has enough grab boosts so he can certainly grab on and drain. I can see him hanging on to a big target and draining as fast as possible to help a team.

Anyway, there's Captain T! Tomorrow: A character that does not use a shield!

S is for Captain Saskatchewan

First Appearance
At one point in my time on City of Heroes I developed a taste for Shield Tankers. I don't know why, it was just one of those things. Of course all of them were "Captain something-or-other", preferably some kind of geographic location. When I made a shield/ice tanker it didn't take long to decide he needed to be a representative of the Great White North and so Captain Saskatchewan was born.

Origin
After a terrible storm swept through the north, the Canadian Search and Rescue Service swung into action. The first day went well then a second freak storm swept down out of the north and the rescuers became victims as well. Many were lost that day and no meteorological theory has ever explained what happened.

Several days later one man was found wandering alone in the wilderness. His memories of the past few days were vague and he felt different than before. He was also carrying a shield made of a strange material that defied analysis and was always cold, but this did not seem to bother him. Vincent Campbell was no longer the same man he had been, but no one could explain the changes.

He was faster, tougher, stronger, and the winter weather did not bother him in the least, almost as if he didn't feel it. He had an instinctive ability to defend with his shield. The strangest ability though was to hold someone in place with a touch. At first people were joking about his "neck pinch" but the targets described it as a feeling of intense cold gripping their bodies and freezing them where they stood.

Realizing that he was now a very special individual the government assigned Vincent to a new role and gave him a new uniform. As a one-man division of the Canadian government, named for the province where he was reborn, he protects his nation and his people as CAPTAIN SASKATCHEWAN!

Personality
Vincent is a laid back guy, preferring to mind his own business rather than looking for trouble. He suspects that he was chosen for this destiny, but he is uncertain as to why as he doesn't feel especially smart, honorable, or holy. He does trust his own instincts but he also trusts his fellow Canadians to send him to where he is most needed. There has been some discussion about his joining one of the established super groups, and he is interested, but he is concerned that this would interfere with his role as Canada's protector and so nothing has happened yet.

 Captain Saskatchewan for ICONS

PDF Link is here

Attributes

Prowess: 6 (Remarkable) - this is almost all instinct as he has little training

Coordination: 6 (Remarkable) - peak human performance

Strength: 6 (Remarkable) - peak human performance

Intellect: 4 (Good) - educated but not a genius

Awareness: 5 (Excellent) - his S&R training does count here

Willpower: 6 (Remarkable) - he fights for Canada!

Stamina: 12

Determination: 3

Origin: Transformed

Specialties: Athletics, Nature, Medicine, Languages (French)

Powers:
Force Field 6 (Device) - Shield of the Great White North

Resistance 4 - "Spirit of the Great White North"

Paralysis 8 - "Grasp of the Great White North"

Qualities

Epithet : "Defender of the Great White North"

Connections : Canadian Supers & Agencies - he is a part of a network and is not afraid to call in some backup or consult a more knowledgeable source

Motivation : Protect his homeland - It's not just a name, it's a calling and the reason he dives into danger every day.

Challenges

"Low Profile" - Vincent is fairly new at the superhero business and does not really see himself on the same level as other superheroes. He tends to defer to anyone who seems to know what they're doing. He also sees his primary duty as rescue and protection, not starting or finishing a fight. The only time the steel really comes out is if innocents are directly threatened, in which case he will stand to the end. Most of the time he prefers to use his freezing touch to end a fight as quickly as possible so he can tend to any injured civilians.

Notes: Yet another 55-point hero. The shield is again listed as Force Field to reflect that he must be conscious to use it. Resistance represents his ability to ignore the cold. I used Paralysis to represent his freezing touch rather than Binding as I don't see it as a block of ice (that can be burst with strength) but rather a penetrating bone-chilling cold that slows and stops the victim from the inside.

Possible changes include adding a point of Life Support vs. cold, or in lieu of that just remove Resistance and add Immunity to cold. I wanted to leave it a little less complete (and keep that 3rd point of Determination) so I didn't do it that way but it's certainly a valid option. You could also go ahead and give him a Blast power to represent the thrown shield but I was trying to get away from that for a change. 

Let's take another look at him...

 Captain Saskatchewan for Mutants and Masterminds (3E)

PDF Link is here

Captain Saskatchewan - PL 10

Hello Martian Manhuntress!

Strength 6, Stamina 6, Agility 6, Dexterity 2, Fighting 10, Intellect 2, Awareness 4, Presence 1

Advantages

Benefit, Security Clearance: Canadian Govt, Connected, Diehard, Evasion 2, Extraordinary Effort, Favored

Environment: Extreme Cold, Great Endurance, Interpose, Languages 1, Move-by Action, Tracking,

Uncanny Dodge

Skills

Athletics 9 (+15), Expertise: Wilderness Survival 8 (+10), Insight 2 (+6), Intimidation 1 (+2), Perception 6

(+10), Stealth 2 (+8), Treatment 8 (+10), Vehicles 2 (+4)

Powers

Grasp of the Great White North: Cumulative Affliction 10 (1st degree: Fatigued, 2nd degree: Disabled,

3rd degree: Paralyzed, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 20; Cumulative)

Alternate Effect: Frost Aura: Damage 5 (Alternate; DC 20; Reaction 3: reaction)

Shield of the Great White North: Force Field 4 (+4 Toughness; Impervious)

Spirit of the Great White North: Immunity 1 (Environmental Condition: Cold)

Offense

Initiative +6

Frost Aura: Damage 5, +10 (DC 20)

Grab, +10 (DC Spec 16)

Grasp of the Great White North: Cumulative Affliction 10, +10 (DC Fort 20)

Throw, +2 (DC 21)

Unarmed, +10 (DC 21)

Defense

Dodge 10, Parry 10, Fortitude 10, Toughness 10, Will 10

Complications

Low Profile: Vincent is fairly new at the superhero business and does not really see himself on the same

level as other superheroes. He tends to defer to anyone who seems to know what they're doing. He also

sees his primary duty as rescue and protection, not starting or finishing a fight. The only time the steel

really comes out is if innocents are directly threatened, in which case he will stand to the end. Most of

the time he prefers to use his freezing touch to end a fight as quickly as possible so he can tend to any

injured civilians.

Motivation: Patriotism: "Defender of the Great White North" - It's not just a name, it's a calling and the

reason he dives into danger every day.

Languages

English, French

Power Points

Abilities 74 + Powers 30 + Advantages 13 + Skills 19 (38 ranks) + Defenses 14 = 150

Teamed Up!

Notes: This version is pretty similar to the ICONS version with the non-throwable shield, resistance to cold, and a paralyzing touch. I gave him an alternate power where he can channel his inner cold to give himself a frost aura. Due to the point costs it's only 5 ranks, but if he's being swarmed by minions is might be handier than a single-target paralysis attack. He's a classic tanker type as his defenses are varied and numerous while his offense, other than paralysis, is pretty much punching people in the face. I left him at a 10/10 split to represent a balance of skill and power but that could be adjusted either way.

Modifications: I'm sure there's a way to make his paralyzing touch Grab-based and bring down the cost, but I didn't want to complicate him too much. Adding a ranged damage option to the shield is possible but his ranged combat skills are pretty low so it's not really worth it right now. Experience could also mean he starts adding combat Advantages like All-Out Attack, Power Attack, etc. I'd say wait and see which Maneuvers he uses most and then buy the relevant advantage pretty early on.

Motivational Monday