Metagene RPG v0-4k

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Metagene

super Hero Roleplaying Game

Image credit Elijah Brubaker < elijahbrubaker.com >.

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Roleplaying Game

Playtest Version 0.4k, December 2016

By Joshua Kubli, Imperfekt Gammes

M

ANY

T

HANKS

T

O

T

HEHE

I

MPERFEKTMPERFEKT

K

RUERUE

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Aaron Connor, Danny Crawford, Joseph Piatt, Keith Schneider, Kevin-Lynn Kubli, Stewart Thomas.

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LAYTESTINGLAYTESTING

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Eddy Murphy-Bustos, Gerry Seracco, and Nick Piatt.

C

OVEROVER

_:

Jason Juta.

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DITINGDITING

S

UPPORTUPPORT

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Christopher Cortright, Keith Schneider, Joseph Piatt.

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TEADFASTTEADFAST

S

UPPORTERSUPPORTERS

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_{Christopher Cortright and Steven Schend.}

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C

ONTACTONTACTTHETHE

A

UTHORUTHOR

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[email protected].

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ISITISITTHETHE

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MPERFEKTMPERFEKT

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NDUSTREESNDUSTREES

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Imperfekt-industrees.com.

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ESIGN

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EADEREADER

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Gagalin (Iordanis Passas), some characters from Komika Display Caps (Apostrophic Labs).

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ABLEABLE

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EADEREADER

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ONTONT

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_{Komika Axis (Apostrophic Labs).}

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Komika Display (Apostrophic Labs).

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LibreOffice (www.libreoffice.org).

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The text of the Earth-Omega setting belongs to Imperfekt Gammes. This includes all of Chapter Nine, and the example char-acters Incendiary and the Apparition in Chapter One.

Feel free to do stuff with these sections, but don't sell your derived stuff without explicit permission, and again, give credit. These Sections are covered by the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial license.

<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/>

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EMAINDEREMAINDEROFOF

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ECTIONSECTIONS

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NENE THROUGHTHROUGH

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INEINE

:

Do whatever you want with the Metagene rules text, as long as you give credit. The rules are covered by the Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike license. <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/>

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RTRT

:

None of the art in this document is available for licensing. Sorry.

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Metagene Super Hero...2

Roleplaying Game...2

Playtest Version 0.4k,

December 2016...2

By Joshua Kubli, Imperfekt

Gammes...2

Introduction...4

What is the Metagene RPG?...5

What is a Roleplaying Game?...5

Why play the Metagene RPG?....5

How do you Play Metagene?...6

Metagene RPG Terms...9

Hero Creation...17

Methods and Steps...17

Extra Stuff for your Pitch...19

Don't Sweat Equipment...20

Character Creation Examples. 21

Section Two Hero Basics

_:

....28

Attributes...29

Assets...31

Hero Type Templates...32

Athletic Hero...33 Brilliant Hero...33 Celebrity Hero...33 Energetic Hero...34 Grim Hero...34 Inspirational Hero...35 Muscular Hero...35 Perceptive Hero...35 Reformed Villain...36 Scrappy Hero...36 Talented Hero...37 Witty Hero...37

Section Three Hero Origins

_:

...38

Secret Origins starring … You! ...39 Battle-Suited...40 Freak...41 Gadget-Monger...43 Mystic...44 Non-Humanoid...45 ”Normal”...46

Mega-Heroes and Sidekicks...47

Section Four Powers

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...49

Getting Powered Up...50

How Powers Work...50

Absorption...56 Area Effect...57 Armor...60 Astral Projection...61 Barrier...63 Blast...63 Claws...65 Clones...65 Elemental Control...66

Extra Body Parts...69

Flight...71 Grimoire...71 Growth...73 Healing...73 Illusions...74 Intangibility...75 Intense Training...76 Invisibility...76 Leech...77 Machine Control...78 Martial Mastery...79 Mind Control...81 Omni-Consumption...83 Prehensile Hair...83

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Regeneration...84 Resistance...85 Shapeshifting...86 Shrinking...87 Snare...88 Special Communication...88 Special Movement...90 Stretching...91 Super-Agility...92 Super-Headquarters...93 Super-Intelligence...94 Super-Inventions...95 Super-Luck...97 Super-Senses...99 Super-Speed...101 Super-Strength...102 Super-Vehicle...102 Telekinesis...104 Telepathy...105 Teleportation...105 Time Control...106 Weapon Mastery...107 Wild Card...109

Section Five Knowledges

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....110

What You Need to Know About Knowledges...111

How Knowledges Work...111

Section Six Weaknesses

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...114

Heroes with Tragic Flaws...115

Achilles Heel...116 Competitive...116 Crippled...116 Dependency...117 Dirt Poor...117 Driven...117 Gullible...118 Ignorant...118 Incapable...118 Incompetent...118 Limited Power...119 No Secret Identity...122 Not Proficient...122 Obligation...122 Rage...122 Rude...123 Unhinged...123 Vulnerability...124 Wanted...124 Weird-Looking...124

Section Eight Actions and

_:

Combat...126

Four-Color Mayhem...127

Making Rolls...127

Triumphs and Mishaps...127

Sequence Rolls...132

Your Turn (And What You Can Do)...133

Damage and Health...138

Combat Example...140

Section Nine Game

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Mastering...144

Setting the Stage...145

Creating Adventures...145

Running Adventures...147

Creating NPCs...149

Adventure Phases...154

Section Ten Earth Omega

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_-

164

About Earth-Omega...165

A.P.E.X. Metahuman Files...168

Appendix One Sample Gear

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...182

Wonderful Toys...183

Getaway Vehicles...184

Space Gear...185

Appendix Two Optional

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Rules...186

Tailoring your Campaign...187

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Body Parts and Called Shots ...190 Custom Hero Types...192 Deadly Knowledges...192 Detailed Equipment Damage...193 Determination and Madness.194 Highly Trained “Normals”...196 Ideals...197

New Power Class: “Beyond”....199 No Investigation Phase...200 Reputation...201 Time Travel...201

Appendix Three Tables and

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Charts...203

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I

NTRODUCTION

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W

HAT

IS

THE

M

ETAGENE

RPG?

Metagene is a roleplaying game designed to emulate comic books and super hero movies.

W

HAT

IS

A

R

OLEPLAYING

G

AME

?

For our purposes, a roleplaying game is a game where two or more people create an imaginary world. Players create characters (player characters or “PCs”) with special capabilities and defects. A special player, called a “Game Master” or GM, designs missions for these characters, describes the setting, and creates villains, traps, and monsters for the player characters to face.

This book contains rules for creating superhero characters that live in a comic book world, and rules for helping play out larger-than-life battles between the heroes and villains of this world. RPG rules typically involve using dice to simulate the randomness of battle and the “fog of war” that makes these fights unpredictable and exciting.

If you've played computer games in the last ten years, you're prob-ably familiar with the basic concepts of roleplaying games. However, tabletop roleplaying games are a little different. Your imagination is much more important in a tabletop game, and the rules are far less important. It's as if you get to talk directly to the programmer, and see changes made on the fly … or being the programmer yourself! Tabletop games also focus a lot more on cooperation, and less on competition. You get to beat fun chal-lenges, imagine an exciting world, and socialize with nerdy friends, without tedious grinding, patching, and resource gathering. What's not to like?

W

HY

PLAY

THE

M

ETAGENE

RPG?

There are two general approaches to super hero games. One treats the game and all its contents objectively, and tries to model a sort of “super hero universe”. I wrote one of these, the

I

NVULNERABLENVULNERABLE

RPG

, and while these games are great for the right groups, they can be kind of complex.

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Other games trade on simpler rules that move faster and are easier to learn. Metagene is my simpler, faster, lighter super-hero game. It uses the same

E

ARTHARTH

_-

O

MEGAMEGA setting as Invulnerable. Maybe think of Invulnerable as the super hero movie and graphic novel game, and Metagene as the animated series game.

In many comics, “metahuman” is the scientific-sounding word that folks use to refer to superhumans, and the “metagene” is the genetic code that gives them their powers. The metagene is the very essence of the setting's super powers, and the Metagene RPG is about boiling super hero games down to their core, helping you charge that remaining essence with blistering energy, and turning it loose!

H

OW

DO

YOU

P

LAY

M

ETAGENE

?

First off, you need to know about roleplaying games' peculiar convention for noting what dice to roll. When the rules tell you to roll dice, they'll say ROLLROLL

X

DD

Y

, where X and Y are some number. For example, the rules might tell you to ROLLROLL

1

DD

8

; that means, choose an eight-sided die and roll it. If the first number is larger than 1, roll multiple dice and add them together. For example, if the rules say ROLLROLL

3

DD

10

, you would roll three ten-sided dice, and add the totals together.

Sometimes you'll see a rule say ROLLROLL

1

DD

_%

_{, also called}

1

DD

100

or

R

OLLINGOLLING

P

ERCENTILEERCENTILE. There aren't that many 100-sided dice out there, though! The easiest way is to grab two ten-sided dice of different colors. Declare one to be the “tens” die, and roll them. Multiply the result on the “tens die” by 10, and add them together. If both dice roll 0, the roll is 100. This will give you values from 1 to 100.

A typical tube of dice from a game shop contains 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12, and 1d20, and if you get two of these, you should have all the dice you'll need!

Now that you know how to roll dice, you're ready for

C

HARACTERHARACTER

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REATIONREATION

! E

VERYONEVERYONE except the

G

AMEAME

M

ASTERASTER

₍

GM

₎

grabs some paper and pencils, and works with the Game Master to make a character. Everyone who is not the Game Master is called a

P

LAYERLAYER, and their characters are called

P

LAYERLAYER

C

HARACTERSHARACTERS

(

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PC

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. The Game Master makes characters, too, but they are generally called

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.

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When the players are making their PCs, the Game Master may want to set some ground rules for characters, depending on what kind of campaign they're going to run. They might say, “no mutants”, or “don't choose an Origin, but something weird is going to happen to you later, like a radiation explosion, that will give you all super powers!” Something like that.

You can come up with a character idea and spend points to “build” your character, or you can roll some dice and randomly generate your hero. You can even mix and match these methods, rolling for your Type and Origin randomly, but spending points to get your Powers and Knowledges. It's up to you and the GM.

To make a character, you select or roll for a

H

EROERO

T

YPEYPE, an

O

RIGINRIGIN, and your character's

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OWERSOWERS and

K

NOWLEDGESNOWLEDGES. Your Type deter-mines your hero's Attributes (Aura, Body, Brains, Moves, Dodge, and Vigor), and gives you a Special Ability. Your Origin tells us how your hero got their Powers. You also have the option of choosing or rolling for

W

EAKNESSESEAKNESSES for your character; Weaknesses give you more points to spend on stuff, or more rolls for stuff, while making your hero's life a little more difficult. But hey, where would super heroes be without some challenge and drama in their lives? As you're building your character, write your

P

ITCHITCH_{. The term comes}

from “elevator pitch”. Imagine you're in an elevator with a comic book writer, and you have two minutes to sell them on the great new hero you just designed. Tell us about how your hero got their Powers, what made them decide to fight crime, and most of all, what makes them fun to see in battle with the forces of evil. Sum up the awesome!

When play begins, you start an

A

DVENTUREDVENTURE. A string of adventures is called a

C

AMPAIGNAMPAIGN. Each adventure begins with the

D

OWNTIMEOWNTIME

P

HASEHASE

.

During the Downtime Phase, your hero is putzing around in their normal life, patrolling the city, or training. The

D

ISCOVERYISCOVERY

P

HASEHASE begins when your hero learns about a crime or disaster that needs heroic attention. When the heroes begin gathering details and formulating a plan, we transition to the

I

NVESTIGATIONNVESTIGATION

P

HASEHASE.

This might mean talking to witnesses, or shaking down informants, hacking computers, or looking at the crime scene. When heroes investigate, roll two twelve-sided dice (we say “2d12”) and add your hero's Brains Attribute number, if they're looking around, or their Aura Attribute, if they're talking to people. Finally, if the hero

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has an appropriate Knowledge, like “Interrogation”, “Hacking”, or “Ballistics”, add a bonus for that Knowledge as well. If you roll equal or higher than a number set by the GM, called a

G

OALPOSTOALPOST, your roll succeeds! If you roll lower, it fails. If the two dice match (two 1s, or two 10s) you did remarkably well, or remarkably badly! A matched success is called a

T

RIUMPHRIUMPH, while a matched failure is called a

M

ISHAPISHAP.

When the players are ready, they can choose to transition to the

C

OMBATOMBAT

P

HASEHASE. Be careful, though! If the heroes gather enough clues and discover who the villain is, they start off with a much better chance. If they simply get lucky and stumble into the enemy, they're poorly prepared, and there's a good chance the villain might escape … maybe even clobbering the heroes in the process! Fights are quick and easy. Each player rolls 2d12 and add the higher of the hero's Moves or Brains Attributes for their heroes. The GM rolls 2d12 + Moves or Brains for each NPC. This roll is called

S

EQUENCEEQUENCE, and characters act in order of their Sequence roll, from highest to lowest. When it's your hero's turn, you may decide to attack a villain.

To make an attack, roll 2d12 and add the hero's Moves Attribute. You can also spend a point of Vigor to add a Knowledge bonus to an attack roll, as well. Why does it cost Vigor to use a Knowledge in combat? Because Knowledges are mostly useful outside of combat, and fighting is exhausting! It's a gamble, whether to go all-out with your skill, or hold something back. If you beat the target's

D

ODGEODGE_{score, you hit them!}

Each Power or weapon will list some damage dice, to see how much

D

AMAGEAMAGE you inflict. If your character makes a hand-to-hand attack or uses a melee weapon, the damage is partly based on your hero's Body Attribute (check the Body Table in Chapter Two to find your Punch Damage). Subtract the target's

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ROTECTIONROTECTION from the damage, and then subtract the remaining damage from the target's remaining

V

IGORIGOR. When the villain drops to 0 Vigor, they've been defeated. Justice prevails!

During the

R

ESOLUTIONESOLUTION

P

HASEHASE_{, heroes are rewarded}

E

XPERIENCEXPERIENCE

P

OINTSOINTS

₍

XP

₎

from defeating enemies. When heroes gain enough Experience Points, they can gain an

A

DVANCEMENTDVANCEMENT, which lets them improve their Attributes, Powers, and Knowledges, and remove Weaknesses.

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That's it! The rest is just details. Let's go solve some mysteries, and show those villains some two-fisted justice!

M

ETAGENE

RPG T

ERMS

A

CTIONS

Things the hero can do on their turn. Actions are divided into

M

AJORAJOR

A

CTIONSCTIONS and Minor Actions. Attacks are Major Actions, while Movements are

M

INORINOR

A

CTIONSCTIONS. Heroes can take one Major Action and one Minor Action, or two Minor Actions, per Moment.

A

DVANCEMENT

Extra points used to make a more powerful hero. One Advance-ment may be spent to increase a Power's Class by one, to increase two Attributes by +1 (maximum +5), to grant four Knowl-edge Points, or to permanently remove one Weakness.

A

DVENTURE

A single storyline in which a group of heroes (hopefully!) defeats some villainous plot. Adventures are often linked together into campaigns.

A

DVENTURE

P

HASE

Metagene offers a simple framework for adventures by allowing the GM to break the adventure down into different stages. In the

D

OWNTIMEOWNTIME

P

HASEHASE, nothing is happening, so the heroes train, work, or relax. In the

D

ISCOVERYISCOVERY

P

HASEHASE, the heroes learn about a plot or crime. In the

I

NVESTIGATIONNVESTIGATION

P

HASEHASE, heroes look into the crime and determine who may be responsible, and where they're at. In the

C

OMBATOMBAT

P

HASEHASE, the heroes confront the villain responsible, and in the

R

ESOLUTIONESOLUTION

P

HASEHASE, the heroes recap their efforts, reap the rewards, and look forward to future missions together. The Adventure Phases are a convenient shortcut for the GM and players, nothing more, and they can be rearranged or discarded as needed to suit logic and the plot.

A

SSET

Innate Abilities calculated based on the hero's Attributes. The Assets are

V

IGORIGOR (resistance to damage, stress, and fatigue), and

D

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S

EQUENCEEQUENCE (who goes first in combat each Moment), and

M

ANEUVERANEUVER

P

OINTSOINTS (a special resource from Powers that reflects a hero's combat stance).

A

TTRIBUTE

Innate abilities that each hero has. Attributes are set by the hero's Hero Type. The Attributes are

A

URAURA (willpower and charisma),

B

ODYODY

(muscular power),

B

RAINSRAINS (intelligence and perceptiveness), and

M

OVESOVES (speed, agility, and accuracy).

C

AMPAIGN

A series of adventures tied together by the same (or a series of) heroes, together on a series of adventures. Game Masters estab-lish the setting and rules for a campaign.

C

HARACTER

An imaginary person in the game world, usually given abstract statistics by the rules, and portrayed by the Players or the Game Master. Often simply called “a hero” or “the hero”. Also sometimes “Player Character” or “PC”.

C

LASSES

Powers, Knowledges, and many other game mechanical things are ranked five Classes:

A

MATEURMATEUR,

T

RAINEDRAINED,

V

ETERANETERAN,

G

LOBALLOBAL, or

C

OSMICOSMIC, depending on how impressive and developed they are. Classes are typically listed in [brackets].

C

LUE

An abstract step toward solving an investigation, ending an Inves-tigation Phase. Some Powers and other mechanics make it easier to gather clues, or give free clues.

D

AMAGE

An abstract tally of the injury that heroes suffer when an enemy hits them, or when an ally accidentally hits them, or they get caught in a deathtrap. Each point of damage, whether from blunt trauma, a serrated blade, an electrical surge, or a splash of acid, moves the character closer to defeat.

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D

EATH

Heroes that suffer too much damage will collapse, and if the injuries are severe enough (in the players' and GM's opinion), may need to start to make Body rolls to survive. If the character fails enough of them, they die. Heroes often make the ultimate sacrifice while fighting evil, but their courage is never forgotten.

D

IE

T

YPE

The number of sides on a die. Some rules will increase or decrease the die type of a roll, and for these purposes, +1 is the die type below +1d4. The Die Type progression is +0, +1, 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12, 1d12+1, 1d12+1d4, 1d12+1d6, and so on.

D

ODGE

The Goalpost needed to hit a character with an attack roll.

D

YNAMIC

P

OWER

P

OINTS

Some versatile Powers give you special Power Points you can spend each Moment to switch between different Powers. For example, if you have ice powers, maybe you can shoot icicles at enemies (Blast), cover yourself in a protective shell of ice (Armor), or trap your enemies in a shell of ice (Snare), depending on the situation.

E

XPERIENCE

P

OINTS

(XP)

Points that the Game Master awards at the end of every game session, used to improve one's hero.

G

AME

M

ASTER

(GM)

A player that creates missions for the heroes, villains and other dangers for them to face, and makes judgments about the rules. Some groups allow the GM to play a hero if there aren't enough players, but this isn't universal.

G

EAR

A PC's equipment that they're assumed to have because of their income, background, and lifestyle. Gear doesn't cost any points, but it can be vetoed by the GM. Gear is not considered part of the character's Pitch. Compared to Super-Devices, Gear is fragile and easily lost or stolen.

G

OALPOST

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H

ARDNESS

The Goalpost for a Body roll to smash an inanimate object. Softer objects lose a little Hardness with failed rolls.

H

ERO

T

YPE

A package chosen at character creation that grants Attribute bonuses (and penalties), and gives the hero a Special Ability. Hero Types say something about how the hero fights and acts. Neutrals and villains also have Hero Types, they just rename them appropri-ately. A hero can have multiple Hero Types if they take the Intense Training Power at Trained or higher Class.

H

OUSE

R

ULES

Special rules that the Game Master sets, that may modify the written rules of the roleplaying game. House rules are a great way for a GM to give a special “look and feel” to their campaign, but they should always be clearly explained to the players before they impact play.

K

NOWLEDGE

An area of skill and lore that heroes may learn. When a player makes a character, they can make up their own Knowledges, anything that sounds cool, useful, and evocative, without being too broad or specialized. Heroes purchase Knowledges with Knowledge Points, and they get 10 Knowledge Points at character creation time.

L

EVEL

The bonus (or penalty) that Attributes grant to rolls. An Attribute at +0 is pretty typical and mundane, while +5 is the maximum for a normal human, and -2 is weak and pathetic.

Attributes don't use Classes, so it's easier to distinguish between an accomplished mortal (Body Level +5) and a truly superhuman being (Super-Strength Class [Cosmic]).

M

ANEUVER

P

OINTS

Spent at the start of the Moment, a Maneuver Point can grant +1 to Sequence, to Dodge, or to all attack rolls. Maneuver Points are granted by certain Powers, and they grant +1 to attack rolls, Dodge, or Sequence each Moment.

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M

ISHAP

Sometimes called a “critical failure” in other games, a failed roll where the two dice roll the same number. A Mishap is particularly bad, because it always causes lasting difficulties for the hero. A

N

EAREAR

-

_-

M

ISHAPISHAP is a failed roll where the dice are within 1 of each other, and they can trigger some Weaknesses and other effects.

M

OMENT

Sometimes called a “round” in other games, an arbitrary time period used to measure time during combat.

M

OOK

A particular kind of villain that is easier to defeat. Mooks have ½ as much Vigor as Player Characters, and they surrender or are knocked out if they suffer debilitating Powers or conditions.

N

ON

-P

LAYER

C

HARACTER

(NPC)

Characters portrayed by the Game Master, part of the world that the heroes interact with. NPCs may be heroes, neutrals, or villains.

O

RIGIN

The source of a hero's Power, and the events that transformed the hero and set them apart from a “normal” human being. The Origins are Battle-Suited, Freak, Gadget-Monger, Mystic, Non-Humanoid, and “Normal”.

P

ITCH

, T

HE

A short, capsule description of your hero. The Pitch should include the actual story that tells how a hero got their Powers based on their Origin, how to interpret the hero's Powers, and what the hero's Power Source is for each of their Powers. The Pitch can also include a description of the hero's personality, their costume, their daytime job, anything relevant to playing the hero. For the GM, the PC's Pitch is part of the character's concept, describing who the hero is and should be through the game.

P

LAYER

C

HARACTER

(PC)

Characters portrayed by one of the Players. In the Metagene RPG, PCs are usually referred to as “heroes” by default, but if the GM agrees, PCs may be antiheroes, or even villains.

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P

OWER

A superhuman talent or gift that marks the hero as extraordinary. Powers have different

P

OWEROWER

S

OURCESOURCES_{, which should be noted or}

implied in the hero's Pitch. The Power Sources are

B

IOLOGICALIOLOGICAL_,

M

AGICALAGICAL,

S

UPERUPER

_-

T

RAININGRAINING, or

T

ECHNOLOGICALECHNOLOGICAL. Powers are purchased with

P

OWEROWER

P

OINTSOINTS, which are granted by the hero's Origin.

P

ROTECTION

An effect that stops or prevents incoming Damage. Most forms of Protection don't “stack”. Your total Protection equals (highest non-stacking Protection) + (total stacking Protection).

R

ANGE

I

NCREMENT

An arbitrary unit of distance. The generic Range terms used are

A

DJACENTDJACENT,

N

EAREAR,

F

ARAR,

V

ERYERY

F

ARAR, and

E

XTREMEXTREME.

S

EQUENCE

The hero's ability to act as soon as possible each Moment. Char-acters act in order of their Sequence roll, from highest to lowest. The Sequence roll is 2d12 + (highest of Mind and Moves), and can be improved with Maneuver Points.

S

IDEKICK

Sidekicks are weaker, often younger heroes with less raw power. In some campaigns, the PCs may begin play as Sidekicks. Sidekicks are built with special, reduced-power versions of the normal Origins.

S

UPER

-D

EVICES

A PC's equipment purchased with Power Points; in other words, a Power with Technological Power Source. Super-Devices are part of the character's Pitch, and are more reliable and durable, and even-tually returned or rebuilt if lost or stolen, unlike ordinary gear.

T

RIUMPH

Sometimes called a “critical success” in other games, a successful roll where the two dice roll the same number. Triumphs always improve the hero's current situation. A

N

EAREAR

_-

T

RIUMPHRIUMPH_{is a}

successful roll where the dice are within 1 of one another, and they can trigger some Powers and other effects.

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T

URN

Each Moment, everyone gets a chance to act, to “take their turn”, based on their Sequence roll. Some Powers or abilities may last until a hero's next turn, or take effect immediately before or after their turn.

W

EAKNESS

A drawback or flaw that makes the hero's life more challenging. Weaknesses let the hero increase their Attributes, Powers, or Knowledges.

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S

ECTION

O

NE

:

C

HARACTER

C

REATION

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H

ERO

C

REATION

This section covers the rules for creating heroes. Heroes are created by selecting Hero Type and Origin Templates.

M

ETHODS

AND

S

TEPS

There are four different ways to make your hero, detailed below.

M

ETHOD

O

NE

: P

OINT

-

B

ASED

H

ERO

C

REATION

In this character creation method, player choice drives every stage. Players choose the hero's Type and Origin, spend points to choose Powers and Knowledges, and decide whether to choose up to three Weaknesses. In point-based hero creation, the players end up with exactly the hero they've been wanting. Point-based hero creation takes longer, especially if the players don't know the Metagene rules all that well yet. In addition, the heroes may end up a little bit tougher because they can be built to focus on a partic-ular tactical specialty. This method works best when the player has a good idea what kind of hero they want to play.

P

REPREP

W

ORKORK

:

_:

Skim over the rules, and talk to the GM about the campaign they plan on running. Decide on a general character concept. You might give some thought to the code name, Powers, and personality for your hero.

C

HOOSEHOOSE AA

H

EROERO

T

YPEYPE

:

_{Choose a Hero Type and note your}

Attributes and Special Abilities.

C

HOOSEHOOSE ANAN

O

RIGINRIGIN

_:

_{Choose an Origin. Your Origin will tell if you get}

any free Powers, and you how many points you get to spend on further Powers.

N

OTEOTE

_:

_{If you choose the “Normal” Origin, you do not get Powers,}

but you get a few other nifty features.

B

UYUY

P

OWERSOWERS

:

_:

Spend points from your Origin on Powers.

B

UYUY

K

NOWLEDGESNOWLEDGES

_:

Spend 10 points on Knowledges.

C

HOOSEHOOSE

W

EAKNESSESEAKNESSES

₍

O

PTIONALPTIONAL

_):

You may choose to up to three Weaknesses. Each Weakness gives you 1 Power Point, 2 Attribute Points, one Power Option, or 4 Knowledge Points.

(24)

W

RITERITE YOURYOUR

P

ITCHITCH

_:

Describe your hero, their Origin story, and describe how your Powers work and what your Power Source is. Choose a code name, a secret identity, and a gaudy, impractical costume.

A

NDND

_…

D

ONEONE

!

You're ready to play!

M

ETHOD

T

WO

: R

ANDOM

H

ERO

C

REATION

In this character creation method, heroes are determined through random rolls. Random hero creation is quick and surprisingly fun, but it sometimes takes some creativity and imagination to make up a Pitch from the weird hero the dice give you.

R

ANDOMANDOM

H

EROERO

T

YPEYPE

_:

Roll 1d20 on the random Hero Type Table.

R

ANDOMANDOM

O

RIGINRIGIN

_:

_{Roll 1d12 on the Random Origin Table.}

R

ANDOMANDOM

P

OWEROWER

T

ABLEABLE

_:

:

Roll percentile on the Random Power Table. Roll 1d6 on the Power Class Table to see what your Power's Class is, and subtract the cost of the Power from your Power Points from your Origin. Repeat until you're out of Power Points.

Certain Origins and Powers include Recommended Powers, sugges-tions for Powers that make thematic sense taken in combination.

R

ANDOMANDOM

K

NOWLEDGENOWLEDGE

T

ABLEABLE

_:

Roll 1d4 and 1d20 on the Random edge Table. Roll on the Power Class Table to see what your Knowl-edge's Class is, and subtract the cost of the Knowledge from your Knowledge Points. Repeat until you're out of Knowledge Points.

R

ANDOMANDOM

W

EAKNESSEAKNESS

₍

O

PTIONALPTIONAL

₎

_:

If your hero seems a little weak, roll 1d6 and 1d8 on the Random Weakness Table up to three times, and use the points to shore up your hero's capabilities.

Certain Origins include Recommended Weaknesses, flaws that make sense given the hero's background.

W

RITERITE

Y

OUROUR

P

ITCHITCH

:

_:

As above. Random heroes take a little more ingenuity in this stage, but it can be a lot of fun to stitch together a weird collection of rolls into an awesome character concept.

D

(25)

M

ETHOD

T

HREE

: M

IX

-

AND

-M

ATCH

H

ERO

C

REATION

Players can also mix and match between Methods One and Two. Tom may determine everything but his hero's Knowledges randomly, while Kristy may choose her hero's Hero Type and Origin, but let everything else be discovered through random rolls. Luke may decide to choose everything for himself except his hero's Weak-ness.

In some ways, this method is best because it allows the player complete freedom in making the hero they want.

M

ETHOD

F

OUR

: C

HOOSE

AN

E

XISTING

H

ERO

Choose a hero from Section Nine, tailor that hero as desired using the regular hero creation rules, and then play that hero. Make sure you don't pick a hero with too many, or too few, Advancements for the GM's intended campaign!

There are also two fully-developed heroes, Incendiary and the Apparition, in the end of this Section that you can play, as well.

E

XTRA

S

TUFF

FOR

YOUR

P

ITCH

Here are some more things you might think about when writing your capsule description of your hero.

B

ATTLEATTLE

C

RYRY

_/

M

OTTOOTTO

_:

What does your hero exclaim in battle? What are they known for saying?

N

EWEW

T

EAMEAM

_-

UPSUPS

_:

You and the other players are forming your own, new hero team! What will it be called? Who is the leader? Where is your headquarters, and what kind of transportation do you have?

O

LDLD

G

UARDUARD

_:

_{Has the hero ever belonged to a different team? Who}

were they, and what did your hero learn from them? Why did your hero leave?

F

RIENDSRIENDS

, E

NEMIESNEMIES

, R

IVALSIVALS

,

ANDAND

R

OMANCESOMANCES

_:

_{Does your hero fight to}

protect a friend, sibling, or aged parent? Do you have an enemy or arch-enemy? Is there some other hero out there that's determined to steal your thunder? Does your hero have a girlfriend or boyfriend, and are they a civilian, a fellow hero or even a villain?

(26)

These extra questions are completely optional, but they can help provide some depth for your brand-new hero. It's okay to leave questions unanswered, too; roleplaying game characters have a tendency to take on a life of their own once the campaign begins, and your answers might completely change in a session or two. The Pitch is the skeleton of your hero, but the rest can get fleshed out in play. Leave some breathing room!

D

ON

'

T

S

WEAT

E

QUIPMENT

Game Masters may assume that all PCs have any ordinary

G

EAREAR

their lifestyle would entitle them to. Most characters will have an apartment, probably a car, a TV, a blender, and so on. A Dirt Poor hero doesn't have much more than the clothes on their back, while a hero who's a millionaire inventor can get their hands on almost anything.

So why pay Power Points for gadgets and gizmos, if you can get them for free? Simply put,

S

UPERUPER

_-

D

EVICESEVICES, gear gained through Power Points, are always more powerful and more reliable.

M

OREORE

P

OWERFULOWERFUL

_:

_{Ordinary gear usually has a fairly modest Power}

Class. Most gear provides Amateur-Class Powers, while a few items may provide Trained or even Veteran-Class Powers where it makes sense. By contrast, a hero may easily gain Global or Cosmic Super-Devices with Power Points.

M

OREORE

R

ELIABLEELIABLE

_:

_{Super-Devices survive rough conditions a lot}

better, don't require as much maintenance, and can be easily repaired or replaced by the hero if damaged, lost, or stolen. If there's no hard-and-fast game mechanic to say otherwise, Super-Devices always win in any sort of contest against ordinary gear.

N

ANOWEAVE

C

OSTUMES

Many heroes' careers would be very embarrassing if Dr. Cosmos hadn't invented nanoweave fabric in 1967! Costumes sewn out of nanoweave fabric adapt to the hero's powers., acting as part of their body. If a hero's body erupts into flame, the costume stays intact and isn't burnt. If a hero turns invisible, the costume becomes transparent right along with the hero's flesh. Heroes that teleport arrive fully clothed, and heroes that grow or shrink look just as dapper as when they first put on cape and cowl.

(27)

Any hero affiliated with a major team will have access to a nanoweave costume, and any relatively bright hero can make a nanoweave costume with a little time and some rare and costly materials. If it makes sense for your hero to have a nanoweave costume, write it down on your character sheet.

C

OMM

S

TUDS

How do heroes communicate with one another when they’re not close by? Most hero teams build and issue radio transmitters to their team members, which may be built into a hero’s belt buckle, chest symbol, wristband, or other costume part. Comm studs can be jammed, and their weak encryption that can be hacked into pretty easily, which means that teams with a telepath, or a tech genius that can improve their comm studs, have a definite advan-tage!

C

HARACTER

C

REATION

E

XAMPLES

M

ETHOD

O

NE

: I

NCENDIARY

Julie sits down with the GM, and has a fairly complete idea for a character in mind. After she describes the idea, the GM agrees that sounds great, and works with Julie to use the point-based system to design the character.

C

HOOSEHOOSE AA

H

EROERO

T

YPEYPE

:

_:

Julie wants to play a fire-controlling govern-ment agent. She sees her hero as tough and dedicated. Looking over the list of Hero Types, she doesn't think “Grim” is quite right. “Perceptive” looks good for a hero that will be involved in lots of investigations, so she chooses “Perceptive Hero” for her Hero Type. Julie records her hero's +1 to Aura and +1 to Brains, and notes that her hero has 14 Dodge and 14 Vigor.

C

HOOSEHOOSE ANAN

O

RIGINRIGIN

_:

_{Julie likes the idea that her twin brother has ice}

Powers, so she decides that they're both Mutants. The best Origin for a mutant is Freak, so she notes that Origin. She has 8 Power Points to spend.

B

UYUY

P

OWERSOWERS

_:

_{Julie figures that Incendiary is one of the best}

fire-controllers around, but maybe not the best in the entire cosmos. She spends 4 Power Points to buy Incendiary Element Control (Fire) at Global Class. She wants Incendiary to be kind of fast and

(28)

agile as well, even without her fire powers, so she decides to spend 2 Power Points on Super-Agility [Trained]. Finally, she decides that even without her Powers, Incendiary should be no pushover. After some thought, she decides to spend 2 more Power Points to take Intense Training [Trained]. This gives her another Hero Type. So Julie decides to add the Athletic Hero Type. Incen-diary is now an Athletic, Perceptive Freak, with Aura +1, Body +2, Brains +1, and Moves +1, 14 Dodge, and 16 Vigor.

B

UYUY

K

NOWLEDGESNOWLEDGES

_:

Every hero gets 10 Knowledge Points. Julie defi-nitely wants Incendiary to be a great agent, so she purchases Secret Agent [Veteran], which costs 3 Knowledge Points. She decides that it would be really useful for Incendiary to know how to break into suspects' computers, but her hero isn't really a computer geek, so she takes Computer Hacking [Amateur]. This costs 1 Knowledge Point, so she has 6 left. Since her brother is a villain, Incendiary definitely follows the metahuman scene, so she takes Metahuman Lore [Trained], which leaves 4 Knowledge Points. It might be helpful to know how to stabilize a victim that's been injured, so Julie spends 2 Knowledge Points to purchase First Aid [Trained]. Finally, although Incendiary can fly, it might be nice to be able to take other heroes along without scorching them, or drawing lots of attention, so she takes Aircraft Pilot [Trained]. That's all of her Knowledge Points!

C

HOOSEHOOSE

W

EAKNESSESEAKNESSES

₍

O

PTIONALPTIONAL

_):

Julie decides that Incendiary is a driven career woman, who doesn't take guff from anyone. In fact, she might have a tough time backing down from a challenge. She takes the Competitive Weakness, which gives her another couple of points to spend, if she wants them. Looking at the options in Section Five, she decides to increase her Moves to +1, which also raises her Dodge to 15. Julie decides that one Weakness is plenty, and stops there.

W

RITERITE YOURYOUR

P

ITCHITCH

:

_{Julie writes out a pitch for Incendiary, that}

describes her background, Powers, and purpose. She runs the pitch past the GM, and he loves it. She's done!

D

(29)

I

NCENDIARY

(N

EVA

H

OLT

)

“It's time to burn some sense into you!”

T

HEHE

P

ITCHITCH

_:

_{Neva and}

Nor-man Holt were aban-doned as kids, and raised by their loving Aunt Beatrice. When the two discovered their Powers, Neva worked hard to protect people, while Norman fell in with a bad crowd. Neva got her degree in criminology, and later joined Patriot Force, becoming good friends with (and devel-oping a crush on) Un-stoppable Girl. When of-fered a position with A.P.E.X. that let her stay closer to her ailing aunt, she reluctantly took it, and now she's one of her agency's best. As Incen-diary, she wields consid-erable mutant powers of fire and heat, and dis-plays a minor degree of superhuman agility. Her indomitable dedication to helping people has caused her to train her other physical abilities to their peak as well, making her a formidable hero!

Athletic, Perceptive Freak Hero

A

TTRIBUTESTTRIBUTES

_:

Aura +1, Body +2, Brains +1, Moves +1.

A

SSETSSSETS

_:

Dodge 15, Vigor 16.

C

OMBATOMBAT

_:

Damage: 1d6 (punch), Maneuver Points: 2 (Super-Agility), Protection: 0, Sequence: +1.

P

OWERSOWERS

_:

Element Control (Fire) [Global], Intense Training [Trained], Super-Agility [Trained].

W

EAKNESSESEAKNESSES

_:

_Competitive.

K

NOWLEDGESNOWLEDGES

:

_:

Aircraft Pilot [Trained], Computer Hacking [Amateur], First Aid [Trained], Metahuman Lore [Trained], Secret Agent [Veteran].

G

EAREAR

:

_:

A.P.E.X. badge, handcuffs, nanoweave costume, smart-looking suit, walky-talky with earbud.

(30)

M

ETHOD

T

WO

: T

HE

A

PPARITION

Tom doesn't have a solid character idea in mind, and is really curious to see what the dice will give him. That's great, the GM says! Let's find out together!

R

ANDOMANDOM

H

EROERO

T

YPEYPE

_:

_{Tom rolls 1d20 to see what his hero's Type is.}

He rolls a 3; looking on the Hero Type Table, he can see that his character is a Brilliant Hero. Maybe he's an inventor, or a scientist, or maybe just really good at fighting smart. Someone's got to do the thinking around here! He notes down Aura +0, Brains +2, Body +0, Moves +0.

R

ANDOMANDOM

O

RIGINRIGIN

_:

Tom turns to the Hero Origin Table and rolls 1d12. He gets a 9, a Mystic. Maybe he's a sorcerer, or channels the power of some cosmic entity, or maybe he holds a magic item. Who knows? We'll figure that out later.

Tom notes down that his fledgling hero has Super-Sense (Magic) [Trained], and 6 Power Points to spend.

R

ANDOMANDOM

P

OWEROWER

T

ABLEABLE

_:

:

Tom turns to the Random Power Table next. He could choose Grimoire for his first Power, since that's a Recommended Power for Mystics, but he really wants to roll randomly and see what turns up.

He rolls 1d100 to see what his first Power is. He rolls an 82, looks and sees he's got Super-Strength. Awesome! Now Tom turns to the Random Power Class Table to see what Class his Super-Strength is. He rolls 1d6 and gets a 4. Since he has 6 Power Points left, he looks on the far right column. Tom has Super-Strength [Global]! He reduces his current total Power Points by 4, and notes he still has 2 Power Points left.

Tom rolls percentile again to get a different Power. He rolls a 02. Looking on the table, that means his next Power is Area Effect. He turns to the Area Effect Power, and rolls 1d12 to see what kind of Area Effect Power he's got. He rolls a 2, which means Darkness/Smoke. He has 2 Power Points left, so he rolls 1d6 on the second-to-leftmost column to see what Power Class his new Power is. He rolls a 4, so his new Power is Trained Class. Done with Powers, now on to Knowledges!

R

ANDOMANDOM

K

NOWLEDGENOWLEDGE

T

ABLEABLE

_:

Tom has 10 points for Knowledges, and he wants them all to be random. He rolls 1d20 and 1d4 on the Random Knowledge Table. He rolls an 8 on the 1d20 and a 4 on the 1d4. He's got the Paramedic Knowledge. Very useful. He rolls 1d6 on

(31)

the Power Class Table to see what Class his Knowledge is. Rolling a 3, he finds he's a Veteran Paramedic. Veteran Knowledges cost 3 points, so he has 7 left.

Tom rolls 1d20 and 1d4 again, getting an 18 and a 1. Tom's hero knows something about History, also. Rolling 1d6 on the Power Class Table and getting a 2, we see Tom's hero is a Trained Histo-rian. That costs 2 Knowledge Points, and 5 points remain.

Tom rolls 1d20 and 1d4 again, for a new Knowledge. Tom rolls a 13 and a 3. Tom's hero is a Movie Star! We roll 1d6 on the Power Class Table, on the “5 points remaining” column, and get a 2. Tom's hero is a Trained Movie Star. Three Knowledge Points left.

Rolling 1d20 and 1d4, Tom gets a 14 and a 1. City Lore, good for any hero. He rolls 1d6 on the Random Power Class Table and gets a 3, Trained, costing 2 Knowledge Points and leaving one.

Tom rolls one last time for a random Knowledge. He rolls a 6 and a 2. Aircraft Pilot. He only has one Knowledge Point left, so his hero is an Amateur Aircraft Pilot. On to Weaknesses.

R

ANDOMANDOM

W

EAKNESSEAKNESS

₍

O

PTIONALPTIONAL

₎

_:

_{Random heroes choose one}

Weak-ness by default. Tom is still committed to making a random hero, so he rolls 1d8 and 1d6 on the Random Weakness Table. He rolls a 3 on the 1d8, and a 2 on the 1d6. His hero has No Secret Identity! Life is going to be awfully interesting for this hero!

W

RITERITE

Y

OUROUR

P

ITCHITCH

_:

_{Tom thinks for awhile about the random results}

he got. He loves pulpish heroes, and something about a mystical hero with darkness Powers appeals to him. He interprets his hero along the lines of a beloved radio serial classic, changing and modifying to make his hero original and interesting. He shows the GM, who's thrilled with this take on a beloved archetype, We're good to go!

D

(32)

T

HE

A

PPARITION

(S

ILAS

V

AN

K

LEFT

)

“The Apparition knows well the darkness that lurks within all.”

T

HEHE

P

ITCHITCH

:

_:

Raised by a demanding, alcoholic his-tory professor, Silas joined the army, with a paramedic M.O.S. in Afghanistan. He returned to the U.S. covered in medals, which helped him land a job acting. How-ever, Silas' troubled past gave him a terrible tem-per and a lust for atten-tion, and his stints with booze and drugs made him insufferable.

When Silas crash-landed his plane in Tibet, the monks of the Lamasery of Mount Meru nursed him back to health. They taught him what a pa-thetic wretch he'd been, and to channel mystical energy into strength and shadowy stealth. Deter-mined to make up for his past selfishness, Silas returned to the world as the Apparition.

His first year as a hero was rough. His identity was discovered by the Underworld Consortium, and his mansion was burned to the ground. He sunk the last of his money into a new history

Brilliant Mystic Hero

A

TTRIBUTESTTRIBUTES

_:

Aura +0, Body +9, Brains +2, Moves +0.

A

SSETSSSETS

_:

Dodge 15, Vigor 22.

C

OMBATOMBAT

_:

Damage: 1d8+1 (punch), Maneu-ver Points: 0, Protection: 0, Sequence: +2.

P

OWERSOWERS

_:

_{Area Effect (Darkness/Smoke)}

[Trained], Super-Senses (Magic) [Trained], Super-Strength (Global).

W

EAKNESSESEAKNESSES

_:

_{No Secret Identity.}

K

NOWLEDGESNOWLEDGES

:

_:

Aircraft Pilot [Amateur], City Lore (Puerto San Tomas) [Trained], History [Trained], Movie Star [Trained], Paramedic [Veteran].

G

EAREAR

:

_:

Big hat, cell phone, long white coat, nanoweave costume.

(33)

museum in Puerto San Tomas, with a hidden headquarters, the Ap-parition Archive, in the lower levels. The Appari-tion appears from the darkness to lend teach those as evil as he'd once been the error of their ways.

(34)

S

ECTION

T

WO

:

H

ERO

B

ASICS

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A

TTRIBUTES

All Attributes start out at Level +0. by default. The Attributes are Aura, Body, Brains, and Moves. Attributes start at +0, and are rated as die modifiers. For example, you may have “Aura +2”. or “Body -1”. Most heroes have positive Levels in most of their Attributes because of their intense training.

A

VERAGE

AND

M

AXIMUM

L

EVELS

Most ordinary civilians have Level -2 in all their Attributes, which means that a typical hero's +0 is pretty impressive. Level -3 is pretty pathetic, -4 is borderline crippled, and at -6 or lower, the hero falls unconscious (Body or Moves) or catatonic (Aura or Brains) until healed. Penalties from the Shrinking Power don't count toward this penalty, only the “raw” Attribute.

A hero's maximum Level in any Attribute is +5, not counting any bonuses from the Growth or Super-Strength Powers, or temporary bonuses from Maneuver Points.

A

URA

Your hero's charisma and willpower, and ability to interrogate, taunt, bluff, and intimidate criminals. Aura also measures the hero's determination, strength of will, and ability to resist negative physical and mental effects. Aura is used to calculate a hero's Vigor.

B

ODY

Your hero's muscles, physical fitness, and conditioning. Heroes train to keep themselves in good shape, but remember, a ridiculous physique isn't the only thing it takes to fight crime. Body is used to calculate a hero's Vigor.

See the Body Table on the next page to see the hero's hand-to-hand damage, and how much mass they can lift.

(36)

Body Table

Body Punch Damage Lifting Weight Example

EACH +2

ABOVE 14

INCREASE

DIE TYPEBY +1

LIFT FIVE TIMES ASMUCH WEIGHT

UNBELIEVABLE

SUPER-STRENGTH

+14 TO +15 1D12 100 TONS MASSIVE SUPER-STRENGTH

+12 TO +13 1D10+1 75 TONS IMMENSE SUPER-STRENGTH

+10 TO +11 1D10 50 TONS GREAT SUPER-STRENGTH

+8 TO +9 1D8+1 25 TONS MODERATE SUPER

-STRENGTH

+6 TO +7 1D8 1 TON SLIGHT SUPER-STRENGTH

+4 TO +5 1D6+1 800 LBS. OLYMPIC CHAMPION

+2 TO +3 1D6 400 LBS. WELL-BUILT HERO

-1 TO +1 1D4+1 200 LBS. AVERAGE HERO

-3 TO -2 1D4 100 LBS. AVERAGE BYSTANDER

-4 ORLESS 1 POINT 50 LBS. DISABLED, CHILDREN, AND THEELDERLY

B

RAINS

Your hero's intelligence, alertness to clues, awareness of their surroundings, and ability to act before the enemy is ready. Smart, clued-in heroes can turn a losing fight into a win through sudden inspiration.

Brains contributes to a hero's Dodge and Sequence.

M

OVES

Your hero's speed and agility, combat posture, ability to dodge, block, or evade incoming attacks. Heroes with great moves land usually hit their targets, and dance away from their enemies' blows. Moves are used for Attack rolls, and to calculate a hero's Dodge.

(37)

A

SSETS

Assets are like Attributes, but you don't make rolls to accomplish things with Assets. Assets are calculated using your Levels in Attributes.

D

ODGE

A hero's ability to dodge and evade incoming attacks. Fast, obser-vant heroes are much harder to hit, while slow, oblivious heroes are easy targets. Heroes start off with Dodge equal to (13 + Moves + Brains).

V

IGOR

Your hero's health, resistance to fatigue, concentration, well-being, fighting spirit, physical and mental stamina, and luck.. In short, Vigor is your hero's resistance to damage and exhaustion. Heroes start off with Vigor equal to (13 + Body + Aura).

S

EQUENCE

How fast your hero can act when danger presents itself. Some games call this Initiative. A hero's Sequence is equal to the higher of Brains or Moves.

P

ROTECTION

Your hero's resistance to damage. Protection stops damage from reducing the hero's Vigor. Heroes start with 0 Protection, but Athletic Heroes start with some Protection from their Special Ability. The Powers Armor, Barrier, and Stretching grant Protection, also.

M

ANEUVER

P

OINTS

Unpredictability is key to winning combat, and some heroes' Powers tend to throw enemies off-guard. Maneuver Points can be spent each Moment to add to the hero's Dodge, attack rolls, or Sequence. Heroes start with 0 Maneuver Points, but can gain them from Powers like Super-Agility, Super-Speed, Invisibility, Flight, and Teleportation.

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You should note what Powers give you Maneuver Points, and how many, because you can only spend Maneuver Points when they're appropriate. For example, if you gain Maneuver Points from the Flight Power, you can't use those points if your wings are bound or your jet pack's nozzles are clogged.

D

YNAMIC

P

OWER

P

OINTS

Some heroes have versatile Powers, that give them a pool of points to spend on other Powers as they need. Most heroes don't have Dynamic Power Points, and if you do, you should note what Power you gained them from, and how many you gained. Dynamic Power Points from Elemental Control spend different from the Dynamic Power Points gained

from Prehensile Hair!

H

ERO

T

YPE

T

EMPLATES

Heroes are divided into various informal Types based on their approach to crime-fighting and world-saving. If you can't choose, you can roll 1d20 on the Hero Type Table. You can design new Hero Types pretty easily based on what you see here. For example, if you want a campaign inspired by Japa-nese animation tropes might have the Genki Girl, the Sugoi Guy, and the Otaku, while a campaign based on pulpy radio serials might have the Hard-Boiled Detective, the Mysterious Vigilante, the Plucky Kid, and the Swash-buckling Explorer.

Hero Type Table

Roll (1d20) Hero Type

1 TO 2 ATHLETIC HERO 3 TO 4 BRILLIANT HERO 5 TO 6 CELEBRITY HERO 7 ENERGETIC HERO 8 TO 9 GRIM HERO 10 TO 11 INSPIRATIONALHERO 12 TO 13 MUSCULARHERO 14 PERCEPTIVE HERO 15 REFORMED VILLAIN 16 TO 17 SCRAPPY HERO 18 TALENTED HERO 19 TO 20 WITTY HERO

(39)

NPC N

EUTRAL

/V

ILLAIN

T

YPES

The Game Mastering Section has details on the Beast, Automaton, and Cosmic Entity Types, which are only intended for NPCs.

A

THLETIC

H

ERO

Built like a quarterback, you can float like a butterfly as well as sting like a bee. You're strong without being slow, a definite asset when fighting crime!

A

TTRIBUTES

You gain +2 to Body.

S

PECIAL

A

BILITIES

S

UPERBUPERB

C

ONDITIONINGONDITIONING

:

_{The hero gains +1 stacking Protection. When}

taking a Movement Action, the hero can move one additional Range.

B

RILLIANT

H

ERO

You're a smart hero that thinks things through. You make solving puzzles and riddles look easy, but most people don't have your ability to think through the possibilities at Lightning speed.

A

TTRIBUTES

You gain +2 to Brains.

S

PECIAL

A

BILITIES

I

NGENIOUSNGENIOUS

:

_{You gain 4 extra points for Knowledges. You can also}

spend 1 Vigor to make an attack roll with Brains, instead of Moves.

C

ELEBRITY

H

ERO

Heroes make the evening news and the morning paper, but you work for recognition and accolades. For better or worse, you're an ambassador of truth and justice. And those t-shirt sales help your bottom line, too!

A

TTRIBUTES

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S

PECIAL

A

BILITIES

F

AMEAME ANDAND

F

ORTUNEORTUNE

:

_{Whenever you need something that's tough to}

get, like invitations to a museum opening, tickets to a plane on short notice, or a chance to speak with the President, you have no less than a 25% chance of making it happen (and usually it's more like 50%). Extra recognition and resources is relaxing and grati-fying, as well.

In addition, because of your luxurious lifestyle, your teammates are particularly relaxed and refreshed, gaining +2 to their maximum Vigor, as long as you're with them on the mission.

E

NERGETIC

H

ERO

You're hyper, agile, balanced, and graceful. Your fellow heroes can't keep up with you, and many Energetic Heroes are youthful motor-mouths.

A

TTRIBUTES

You gain +1 to Moves and +2 to Vigor.

S

PECIAL

A

BILITIES

L

IGHTNINGIGHTNING

F

ASTAST

:

You can spend 1 Vigor to take an additional Minor Action once per Moment.

G

RIM

H

ERO

Tenacious, unwavering, and rugged, you're consumed by the need to destroy evil, and maybe avenge someone that was murdered.

A

TTRIBUTES

You gain +1 to Body and +2 to Vigor.

S

PECIAL

A

BILITIES

R

EADYEADY FORFOR THETHE

W

ORSTORST

:

During combat, you can spend 2 Vigor to ignore any ongoing negative effect (like being blinded, deafened, stunned, etc.) for one Moment.

(41)

I

NSPIRATIONAL

H

ERO

You epitomize an ideal to your team members, whether that's your country or your founder's dream. Or maybe you're the team sweet-heart, the heart of the team, and you inspire them to do what's right.

A

TTRIBUTES

You gain +2 to Aura.

S

PECIAL

A

BILITIES

I

DEALISTDEALIST

:

You're dedicated to a team, a philosophy, a dream, or a nation. You can sacrifice 1d4+1 Vigor to give a rousing speech to your teammates, restoring 1d4 Vigor to each of them.

M

USCULAR

H

ERO

You're a walking powerhouse, a tank on two feet. Evil responds to nothing better than a good sock in the jaw, after all!

A

TTRIBUTES

You gain +4 to Body but suffer -1 to Brains and -1 to Moves.

S

PECIAL

A

BILITIES

K

NOCKNOCK THETHE

W

INDIND

O

UTUT OFOF

_'

E

MM

:

Whenever the Muscular Hero rolls maximum damage on a target with a lower Body score, the target suffers a -1 penalty to all rolls the next Moment, and their move-ment speed is halved.

P

ERCEPTIVE

H

ERO

Not as flashy as other heroes, you pick up on things they miss. Sneaking around and looking in dark corners, you're the hero that gets ignored until you land the finishing blow to the villain's weakest point.

A

TTRIBUTES

(42)

S

PECIAL

A

BILITIES

N

OTHINGOTHING

G

ETSETS

P

ASTAST

M

EE

:

_{You gain a free clue from the GM each time}

you stop to investigate the surroundings.

In addition, you can spend 2 Vigor to ignore half of a target's Protection.

R

EFORMED

V

ILLAIN

Used to be you'd be helping out those minions, but now you're helping take them down. Aphorisms aside, crime pays a lot better than heroism, but helping people feels really good, and there's less chance of a long prison sentence to boot.

A

TTRIBUTES

You gain +1 to any two Attributes.

S

PECIAL

A

BILITIES

C

RIMINALRIMINAL

M

INDIND

:

You gain +2 to all Brains rolls to gain clues about a villain's motives and methods, and +2 to Aura to impersonate a villain.

You also gain +1 to damage against all villainous Mooks.

S

CRAPPY

H

ERO

You came from the wrong side of the tracks. When the accident gave you powers, you were ready to fight for what's right, because fighting is all you've ever known.

A

TTRIBUTES

You gain +1 to Aura and +1 to Body.

S

PECIAL

A

BILITIES

H

ARDARD

H

ITTERITTER

:

When you spend 1 Vigor to use a Knowledge in combat, you can add half the Knowledge bonus to damage as well.