Swarm of lizards in a trenchcoat (Critique a char)

[Bruno]

I played a character in Christopher's supers game who was arguably a swarm of rats, but she did turn into a single solid mostly-human when she was being humanoid. Except that one time she got drunk and lost coherence, ending up half-swarm / half-person.

Is Hey Dude intended to be a PC or an NPC? NPCs need more in the way of goals and motivations as (usually) players either find causes spontaneously, or get sucked into events that provide goals.

[Culture20]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Can he regenerate or regrow by assimilating wild lizards?

If you want slow regrowth, you could just have the component lizards mate with each other. Presumably their offspring would share the hivemind.

[Antiquation!]

Originally Posted by Bruno

I played a character in Christopher's supers game who was arguably a swarm of rats, but she did turn into a single solid mostly-human when she was being humanoid. Except that one time she got drunk and lost coherence, ending up half-swarm / half-person.

As far as I recall from my readings of Christopher's session summaries, your character also turned out to be quite an effective one. There seemed to be some pretty over-the-top antics present in your campaign which were a joy to read about.

With regards to Dalillama's character concept/build, great stuff. My brother would absolutely love to play something like this, I'll have to point him this way in case he feels like something zany for his next go-round (he tends to make picking bizarre character concepts a matter of routine, I tend to try to facilitate that where I can...).

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Is Hey Dude intended to be a PC or an NPC? NPCs need more in the way of goals and motivations as (usually) players either find causes spontaneously, or get sucked into events that provide goals.

Probably a PC, but they could have knowledge PCs need or the like instead.

Originally Posted by Culture20

If you want slow regrowth, you could just have the component lizards mate with each other. Presumably their offspring would share the hivemind.

I figure that ordinary reproduction approximates normal healing times, 9r that it's stepped up if Hey Dude is injured, just to save on bookkeeping.

[Pursuivant]

I wouldn't use Monstrous Appearance, geckos just aren't that creepy.

(GM: "You rip the mask off and you see . . . a mass of writhing geckos!"
Player: "Cool! Who's got meal worms?")

The character's appearance is weird, but unless you're phobic about reptiles, it's a case of "it looks like it looks."

More like:

Ugly (unless that Mr. Spock mask looks really sexy)

Distinctive Features (Rubber Mask as a face, Moves like it doesn't have joints, Constantly wears gloves/keeps hands in pockets)

Secret ("Actually a sapient swarm of lizards")

Other ideas: Extra Flexibility, Permeation. Whatever reptilian advantages and disadvantages you think are appropriate (e.g., Bad Sight, Color Blindness, Low TL, Enjoys basking while munching on crunchy invertebrates.)

Also, isn't there a "Body of Swarm" advantage out there? If so, that would be perfect for this character.

Edit: Yes there is a Body of Swarm power, in GURPS Powers. Per RAW it's 180 points, since Swarm is a +80% enhancement. I can see why you went with the +0% modifier though, since the swarm can't disperse.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by Culture20

If you want slow regrowth, you could just have the component lizards mate with each other. Presumably their offspring would share the hivemind.

Or add Accessibility (Only in desert areas with High Mana, -30%)

Also, don't forget to add the -10% Magic Power Limitation. In a No Mana Zone, Hey Dude is going to have serious problems.

[Dalillama]

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

I wouldn't use Monstrous Appearance, geckos just aren't that creepy.

(GM: "You rip the mask off and you see . . . a mass of writhing geckos!"
Player: "Cool! Who's got meal worms?")

The character's appearance is weird, but unless you're phobic about reptiles, it's a case of "it looks like it looks."

More like:

Ugly (unless that Mr. Spock mask looks really sexy)

Distinctive Features (Rubber Mask as a face, Moves like it doesn't have joints, Constantly wears gloves/keeps hands in pockets)

Secret ("Actually a sapient swarm of lizards")

Could do

Also, isn't there a "Body of Swarm" advantage out there? If so, that would be perfect for this character.

Edit: Yes there is a Body of Swarm power, in GURPS Powers. Per RAW it's 180 points, since Swarm is a +80% enhancement. I can see why you went with the +0% modifier though, since the swarm can't disperse.

Injury Tolerance: Diffuse (Swarm +0%, Scatter +40%, Tenuous-50%) [90]

They can disperse. Horror distinguishes between 'swarm of bat/rodent sized things' +0% and 'swarm of insect size or smaller things' +40% separate from dispersal [+40%], and offers Tenuous whichmeans that damagecan force dispersal on a failed Will check.