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Old 05-12-2016, 03:44 PM   #281
aesir23
 
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Default Re: [SUPERS] My Unofficial Handbook to the DC Universe

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I probably wouldn't use "Reawakened" for Vandal Savage anyway. Instead, I'd use Unaging. He wasn't reincarnated into bodies of his descendants, like Carter and Shiera Hall (Hawkman and Hawkgirl) are; he's actually lived since 50,000 BC. Unaging, possibly with a limitation for "needs periodic consumption of descendants to maintain", fits better.

As for pricing, I've always considered that half the price of the aging traits is an Unusual Background for having lived through a certain period in order to pick up a smattering of skills that aren't common and/or wouldn't make sense to a character otherwise.
I have, as a house rule, replaced Unaging with Resistant (Immunity, Aging, Rare) [5] while treating the unusual background part of it separately. Which is what I was doing here by taking Reawakened.
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Old 05-12-2016, 04:21 PM   #282
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Default Re: [SUPERS] My Unofficial Handbook to the DC Universe

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...
I was also toying with giving him some variation of Wild Talent to allow him to know any skill from his very long past, but I decided against it. Despite his back story, he's not really portrayed as that much of a jack-of-all-trades.
There is Racial Memory that fits some versions of super long lived characters. It may give some ideas even if not quite apropriate itself.
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Old 05-13-2016, 04:30 AM   #283
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Default Re: [SUPERS] My Unofficial Handbook to the DC Universe

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Vandal Savage was quite likely the world's first meta-human, and is certainly the oldest person on earth.
"There are not many of them, all things considered: the truly old. ... There are, for example, less than ten thousand humanoid individuals alive on this planet today who have personal memories of the saber-toothed tiger, the megatherium, the cave bear. There are today less than a thousand who walked the streets of Atlantis. ... There are less than five hundred living beings who remember the human civilizations that predated the great lizards. ... There are roughly seventy people walking the Earth, human to all appearances (and in a few cases, to all medical tests currently available), who were alive before the Earth had begun to congeal from gas and dust."

Okay, so that describes an earlier version of the Vertigo Universe. But still, one should perhaps be careful of absolutes when dealing with comic book canon.

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I'd like to find ways to make him more powerful, especially as a "master-mind" type villain, without hurting his flavor too much.
He should probably have some Cosmic Modular Abilities with a limitation about improvising them from his environment, mostly to create attacks. Oh, and some Gizmos. He can instinctively assess any opponent's weaknesses and do something to exploit it. One recalls him taking down Supergirl, Tempest, and Arsenal, in three pages flat, when they technically had surprise (plus Jesse Quick, but he was prepared for her).

Morrison also seemed to be writing him as having some kind of weather control ability - probably magic, I guess.

Oh, and Indomitable and Unfazeable (he's seen it all before), and Trained by a Master and Weapons Master (52,000 years is plenty of time to learn everything about combat).
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Old 05-13-2016, 07:14 AM   #284
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Default Re: [SUPERS] My Unofficial Handbook to the DC Universe

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"There are not many of them, all things considered: the truly old. ... There are, for example, less than ten thousand humanoid individuals alive on this planet today who have personal memories of the saber-toothed tiger, the megatherium, the cave bear. There are today less than a thousand who walked the streets of Atlantis. ... There are less than five hundred living beings who remember the human civilizations that predated the great lizards. ... There are roughly seventy people walking the Earth, human to all appearances (and in a few cases, to all medical tests currently available), who were alive before the Earth had begun to congeal from gas and dust."
Is that from Sandman or the Books of Magic? I definitely remember that quote, but I'm not sure from where. Anyway, Vandal Savage is old enough to have walked the streets of Atlantis, which makes him among the 1000 oldest at any rate...I should probably rephrase that to make him the oldest Human--it's debatable if he's older than beings like The Spectre and The Phantom Stranger.

The larger question, of how much I want to incorporate Vertigo, is an interesting one. Sandman is not only my favorite comic book, but probably my favorite work of art in any media. But it's fit with the mainstream DCU was always tenuous and a little shaky.

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He should probably have some Cosmic Modular Abilities with a limitation about improvising them from his environment, mostly to create attacks. Oh, and some Gizmos. He can instinctively assess any opponent's weaknesses and do something to exploit it. One recalls him taking down Supergirl, Tempest, and Arsenal, in three pages flat, when they technically had surprise (plus Jesse Quick, but he was prepared for her).
That sound's awesome, I haven't read that one. Can you direct me to that issue/story arc?

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Oh, and Indomitable and Unfazeable (he's seen it all before), and Trained by a Master and Weapons Master (52,000 years is plenty of time to learn everything about combat).
. Trained by a Master and Weapon Master do make some sense. And I might give him power blow and breaking blow as well.

As for Indomitable and Unfazeable, he has a very high will already, and I seem to remember him losing his temper fairly easily on several occasions (although maybe he just has Bad Temper), and Luthor had some success influencing him in the Secret Society, IIRC.

I've also just picked up some Demon Knights tpbs, in which he's a team-member. I'm not confident that he's going to be done justice, and I've been ignoring the new 52 (except where it suits me), but if I end up liking it, it may lead to some revisions.
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Old 05-13-2016, 08:19 AM   #285
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Default Re: [SUPERS] My Unofficial Handbook to the DC Universe

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Is that from Sandman or the Books of Magic?
Sandman -- "Brief Lives", chapter 3. Destruction's attempts to ensure his privacy proceed to reduce the numbers a little.

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Anyway, Vandal Savage is old enough to have walked the streets of Atlantis, which makes him among the 1000 oldest at any rate...
Well, Gaiman's line is that there was an original Atlantis, and multiple subsequent echo-Atlantises. When the first existed may be a near-philosophical question.

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That sound's awesome, I haven't read that one. Can you direct me to that issue/story arc?
It's in DC One Million.

To be honest, my DC Comics Lore is barely above default, especially these days; those were just a couple of bits that I remembered off hand. I imagine that Savage has been around, in a lot of different titles, by different writers, that his image is very blurred these days. Still, anyone whose response to "You'll pay for this!" can be "I already did; it cost me sixty barge loads of silver in the days of Thutmose" has to be statted as fairly cool.
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Old 05-13-2016, 09:36 AM   #286
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Default Re: [SUPERS] My Unofficial Handbook to the DC Universe

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It's in DC One Million.
Yes, that appears to be essential Vandal Savage reading and I haven't read it. Maybe they have it at my local library.
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Old 05-13-2016, 01:49 PM   #287
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Default Re: [SUPERS] My Unofficial Handbook to the DC Universe

Hero: Dr. Mid-Nite

Aliases: Charles McNider, MD.

Affiliations: JSA, All-Star Squadron

1941: Gifted surgeon Daniel McNider is operating on a gunshot victim--the star witness in a case against noted gangster "Killer" Maroni. But before Dr. McNider could save the man's life, one of Maroni's thugs threw a grenade into the operating theater.

McNider was the only person to survive the explosion, but he was blinded by pieces of broken glass. Believing his career in medicine was over, he turned to writing, determined to write an expose' that would bring down the Maroni's. He was working on this late one night when an owl crashed through his window. Shocked by the sound, he ripped the bandages from his eyes. To his further astonishment, he could see in the dark room! But when he turned the light on he was blind again.

The explosion had activated his meta-gene. Dr. Midnight can see perfectly in the dark, but is blind in the light. Once he realized this he set aside learning the other skills he would need to go to battle against the criminals who ruined his life.

Additionally, he invented two devices to take full advantage of his power--a pair of googles that block enough light to let him see normally in the light (but which are too obvious for his secret identity) and "black-out bombs" which create a cloud of inky-black smoke through which only he can see.

Although he couldn't continue to practice medicine without revealing his secret, Dr. Mid-Nite has offered his services as a Surgeon extraordinaire to the super-human community, performing life-saving operations in pitch black rooms.

Dr. Mid-Nite was one of the original members of the JSA, he was the last to returned from the fight with Parralax (1997) and so is significantly younger than Wildcat and Jay Garrick.

Dr. Mid-Nite brings his pet owl, Charlie, with him to fight crime. Although the bird is rarely more then a distraction or misdirection, he has sometimes turned the tides during a fight. (In the 40's and 50's his owl was named Hootie. No, really.)

Quote:
Name: Charles McNider

Attributes [300]
ST 14 [40]
DX 15 [100]
IQ 16 [120]
HT 14 [40]

HP 14
Will 16
Per 16
FP 14

Basic Lift 39
Damage 1d/2d

Basic Speed 7.25
Basic Move 7

Ground Move 7
Water Move 1

Social Background
TL: 8 [0]
Cultural Familiarities:
Languages: English (Native) [0]; German (Accented) [4]; Latin (Accented) [4].

Advantages [242]
Mundane:
Ally (Charlie (Pet Owl)) (5% of starting points) (Cost; 15 or less) [1]
Ally (Sandman) (100% of starting points) (9 or less) [5]
Ally (Starman) (100% of starting points) (9 or less) [5]
Ally (Wildcat) (100% of starting points) (9 or less) [5]
Attractive [4]
Combat Reflexes [15]
Healer (4) [40]
Patrons (Power Girl) (9 or less) [10]
Patrons (Sentinal) (9 or less) [10]
Patrons (The Flash (Jay Garrick)) (9 or less) [10]
Reputation (World's Best Surgeon) (1) (All the time; Large class) [2]
Status (+2) [5]
includes: +1 from 'Wealth'
Wealth (Very Wealthy) [30]

Super Powers:
Dark Vision ((Feature= -0 vision in absolute darkness -10 in bright light)) [0]
Gadgeteer (Trained -0%) [25]

Gadgets:
"Light Vision" (Color Vision; Gadget/Breakable: DR 6-15; Gadget/Breakable: Size -7 or -8; Gadget/Can Be Stolen: Thief must win a Quick Contest of DX or ST; Superscience) [17]
Gadget: Pouch of "Blackout Bombs" (Obscure Sight) (10) (Area Effect (8 yd); Countered by Darkvision; Defensive; Extended Duration (x30); Gadget/Breakable: DR 3-5; Gadget/Breakable: Size -3 or -4; Gadget/Can Be Stolen: Must be forcefully removed; Limited Use (5/day); Persistent; Ranged) [69]
Gizmo (2) [10]


Perks [4]
Can Read Braille [1]
Style Familiarity (Jujutsu) [1]
Sure-Footed (Uneven) [1]
Unusual Training (Blind-Fighting) [1]

Disadvantages [-80]
Charitable (12 or less) [-15]
Enemy (The Maroni Crime Family) (medium-sized group, some formidable or super-human) (9 or less) [-30]
Pacifism (Cannot Kill) [-15]
Secret Identity (Imprisonment or Exile) [-20]

Quirks [-5]
_Unused Quirk 1 [-1]
_Unused Quirk 2 [-1]
_Unused Quirk 3 [-1]
_Unused Quirk 4 [-1]
Follows the hippocratic oath (besides the assaulting criminals thing) [-1]

Skills [133]
Acrobatics DX/H - DX+2 17 [12]
Animal Handling (Raptors) IQ/A - IQ+0 16 [2]
Area Knowledge (New York) IQ/E - IQ+0 16 [1]
Biology/TL8 (Earthlike) IQ/VH - IQ-1 15 [4]
Blind Fighting Per/VH - Per-1 15 [4]
Chemistry/TL8 IQ/H - IQ+0 16 [4]
Climbing DX/A - DX+0 15 [2]
Computer Operation/TL8 IQ/E - IQ+0 16 [1]
Criminology/TL8 IQ/A - IQ+0 16 [2]
Current Affairs/TL8 (Science & Technology) IQ/E - IQ+0 16 [1]
Diagnosis/TL8 (Human) IQ/H - IQ+4 20 [4]
includes: +4 from 'Healer'
Disarming (Judo) Tech/H - 18 [3]
Driving/TL8 (Automobile) DX/A - DX+1 16 [4]
Driving/TL8 (Motorcycle) DX/A - DX+1 16 [4]
Electronics Operation/TL8 (Medical) IQ/A - IQ+1 17 [4]
Expert Skill (Organized Crime) IQ/H - IQ-1 15 [2]
Explosives/TL8 (Demolition) IQ/A - IQ+0 16 [2]
First Aid/TL8 (Human) IQ/E - IQ+5 21 [2]
includes: +4 from 'Healer'
Interrogation IQ/A - IQ+0 16 [2]
Intimidation Will/A - Will+0 16 [2]
Judo DX/H - DX+1 16 [8]
Jumping DX/E - DX+2 17 [4]
Karate DX/H - DX+1 16 [8]
Lockpicking/TL8 IQ/A - IQ+0 16 [2]
Mathematics/TL8 (Applied) IQ/H - IQ-2 14 [1]
Naturalist (Earth) IQ/H - IQ-2 14 [1]
Observation Per/A - Per+0 16 [2]
Pharmacy/TL8 (Herbal) IQ/H - IQ+2 18 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Healer'
Physician/TL8 (Human) IQ/H - IQ+4 20 [4]
includes: +4 from 'Healer'
Physiology/TL8 (Human) IQ/H - IQ+2 18 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Healer'
Poisons/TL8 IQ/H - IQ-1 15 [2]
Psychology (Clinical) IQ/H - IQ+2 18 [1]
includes: +4 from 'Healer'
Research/TL8 IQ/A - IQ+0 16 [2]
Running HT/A - HT+0 14 [2]
Shadowing IQ/A - IQ+0 16 [2]
Stealth DX/A - DX+0 15 [2]
Streetwise IQ/A - IQ+0 16 [2]
Surgery/TL8 (Human) IQ/VH - IQ+5 21 [12]
includes: +4 from 'Healer'
Swimming HT/E - HT+0 14 [1]
Targeted Attack (Karate Punch/Face) Tech/H - 14 [4]
Throwing DX/A - DX+2 17 [8]
Writing (Journalism) IQ/E - IQ+0 16 [1]

Stats [300] Ads [271] Disads [-80] Quirks [-5] Skills [133] = Total [623]

Last edited by aesir23; 05-14-2016 at 02:40 PM. Reason: Added appearance and gadgeteer
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Old 05-13-2016, 02:31 PM   #288
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Default Re: [SUPERS] My Unofficial Handbook to the DC Universe

I sense a retcon in there somewhere, as I remember him active with the JSA in the '80s around the formation of Infinity, Inc. He also had a short-lived protege/successor in the similarly-powered Dr. Midnight (Dr. Beth Chapel) (who later died fighting Eclipso in the '90s after Infinity disbanded).

According to his Wikipedia entry, he was aged to death by Extant (nee Monarch/Hawk/Hank Hall) during Zero Hour, and reanimated as a Black Lantern in the more recent Darkest Night.

Apparently, there is another Dr. Mid-Nite running around, Dr. Pieter Cross, who is in the pre-Flashpoint JSA. Cross is the one with the owl named Charlie, it looks.
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Old 05-13-2016, 03:43 PM   #289
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Default Re: [SUPERS] My Unofficial Handbook to the DC Universe

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Originally Posted by Phantasm View Post
I sense a retcon in there somewhere, as I remember him active with the JSA in the '80s around the formation of Infinity, Inc. He also had a short-lived protege/successor in the similarly-powered Dr. Midnight (Dr. Beth Chapel) (who later died fighting Eclipso in the '90s after Infinity disbanded).

According to his Wikipedia entry, he was aged to death by Extant (nee Monarch/Hawk/Hank Hall) during Zero Hour, and reanimated as a Black Lantern in the more recent Darkest Night.

Apparently, there is another Dr. Mid-Nite running around, Dr. Pieter Cross, who is in the pre-Flashpoint JSA. Cross is the one with the owl named Charlie, it looks.
Yes. I found the idea of three separate accidents creating the exact same really peculiar form of blindness in three people stretched my credulity too much, even for the DCU. So I decided to just allow the original Dr. Mid-Nite to come back from Zero-Hour, just like Wildcat, Sentinal, and The Flash.

I also like the balance this brings to the JSA: 3 heroes transported from the past (Flash, Sentinal, Mid-Nite, Wild Cat), 3 legacy heroes (Sandman, Starman, and Star-Spangled Kid), and 1 odd-duck-that-doesn't-fit-anywhere-else-but-might-be-considered-a-legacy-character (Powergirl).

Another major change to continuity I'm planning is with Sanderson Hawkins--my version's not going to have any powers, he's just a former sidekick who took over the job so he'll make do with the original Sandman's gadgets.
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Old 05-13-2016, 11:36 PM   #290
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Default Re: [SUPERS] My Unofficial Handbook to the DC Universe

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Yes. I found the idea of three separate accidents creating the exact same really peculiar form of blindness in three people stretched my credulity too much, even for the DCU. So I decided to just allow the original Dr. Mid-Nite to come back from Zero-Hour, just like Wildcat, Sentinal, and The Flash.

I also like the balance this brings to the JSA: 3 heroes transported from the past (Flash, Sentinal, Mid-Nite, Wild Cat), 3 legacy heroes (Sandman, Starman, and Star-Spangled Kid), and 1 odd-duck-that-doesn't-fit-anywhere-else-but-might-be-considered-a-legacy-character (Powergirl).

Another major change to continuity I'm planning is with Sanderson Hawkins--my version's not going to have any powers, he's just a former sidekick who took over the job so he'll make do with the original Sandman's gadgets.
For Powergirl you could always just borrow from the Justice League cartoon and make her a clone, if you want to avoid parallel universes.
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