[Supers] GURPS Unofficial Handbook to the Marvel Universe, Reboot Edition

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by aesir23

It is a common (but pseudo-RAW) construction to use a limitation to remove the main part of the advantage while leaving behind the results of its Enhancements.

It's no different, really, than taking No Injury on an Innate Attack--you do it because you want the other effects without the main effect of the power.

I must disagree.

1) If you take No Injury on an Innate Attack, you still have everything else native to said Innate Attack.

2) You also aren't creating a Swiss-Army-Knife-Super-Power. XD We aren't modeling reality with this, so there is no problem with a rule that works-except-for-situation-X: ideally we would have uniform rules but "Gut Neutralize w/Power Theft to turn it into Power Mimicry" is almost certainly going to "break" the system.

Originally Posted by Refplace

Here is what I found on the forums, both posts are in the same thread.
PK's price suggestion
http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...05&postcount=4

and by Kromm sying probably should not be allowed...
http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...17&postcount=7

EDIT
Hey your in that thread!
Personally I think the fairest way to go is improvised forms with Morph, at least your paying for the cap so no unlimited powers.

Ah yes, that is the thread my search fu failed to locate. XD

I think Kromm has it pretty much spot on. Not sure why Morph is the best approach; Mimic duplicates powers from multiple characters at once, and for the Earth-616 version especially its hard for me to tell if he must copy everything or can cherry pick.

So again, if I am building either the Earth-616 or the Exiles version of Mimic, Modular Points are where it is at. ;) We just need to figure out and either locate or calculate how much being being restricted to copying what is around you (instead of freely inventing what you need) is worth as a Limitation... while making Mimic a high enough point character that he can do at least most of what he did/does in the comics... oh and remember that this excludes the five permanently "mimicked" powers of the original X-Men. He just has those.

With the Exiles version, it just comes down to pricing the Limitations for Modular abilities. He has to mimic the "power set" of someone he has encountered, he has to spend time around that person, and he can only target "Mutants". The restrictions "half power only" and "five slots" are nebulous concepts at best and probably make more sense just being the result of "proper play" in running such a character due to the first three.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

Modular Abilities would be self limiting also, but probably costlier, and Morph is a good conceptual fit.

No, Morph is a different, formerly obscure X-Men character. ;)

Kidding aside... how is Morph a good conceptual fit? I don't mean that in a snarky manner; given that I am outnumbered on this, I want t know what I am missing. If I am going to be the obstinate one, I'd rather it wasn't because I forgot a paragraph or even just a sentence somewhere. ^^'

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by Otaku

... how is Morph a good conceptual fit?'

Powers (on p75) added the Improvised Forms special enhancer for Morph, which basically lets you create your own templates, instead of just copying existing ones. There's also the visual effect of Mimic copying unnatural physical features, a type of shapeshifting also suggestive of Morph.

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

Powers (on p75) added the Improvised Forms special enhancer for Morph, which basically lets you create your own templates, instead of just copying existing ones. There's also the visual effect of Mimic copying unnatural physical features, a type of shapeshifting also suggestive of Morph.

Pretty much where I was coming from.
His physical changes could be a special effect of course but Morph with Improvised Forms lets you grab what you want. Add several other modifers to suit, like Reduced Time, and memorized Forms? to avoid having to make rolls to copy old configurations.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Otaku

I think Kromm has it pretty much spot on. Not sure why Morph is the best approach; Mimic duplicates powers from multiple characters at once, and for the Earth-616 version especially its hard for me to tell if he must copy everything or can cherry pick.

So again, if I am building either the Earth-616 or the Exiles version of Mimic, Modular Points are where it is at. ;) We just need to figure out and either locate or calculate how much being being restricted to copying what is around you (instead of freely inventing what you need) is worth as a Limitation... while making Mimic a high enough point character that he can do at least most of what he did/does in the comics... oh and remember that this excludes the five permanently "mimicked" powers of the original X-Men. He just has those.

With the Exiles version, it just comes down to pricing the Limitations for Modular abilities. He has to mimic the "power set" of someone he has encountered, he has to spend time around that person, and he can only target "Mutants". The restrictions "half power only" and "five slots" are nebulous concepts at best and probably make more sense just being the result of "proper play" in running such a character due to the first three.

I'm working on an "amalgamed" version of Mimic, with him able to duplicate powers from up to five different people like the Exiles version, while needing to be within a hundred feet of the super to duplicate the power and able to retain the power up to a mile distant like the -616 version. He'll be able to duplicate powers from folks that have the following power modifiers: Biological (-10%), Passive Biological (-5%), Super (-10%), Mutant (-10%), Psionic (-10%), Mutant Biology (+0%), and Mutant Psionic (-10%). Not sure yet whether to have him duplicate Power Cosmic (+50%) or Chi (-10%) powers as yet, and those with Magical (-10%), Divine (-10%), Demonic (-10%), or any of the "technological" power mods would be right out.

I'm thinking properly modified Modular Abilities (Slotted Cosmic) is the way to go; Morph (Improvised Forms) would useful for the bio-based powers, but hard to justify for, say Marvel Girl's TK or Iceman's snowballs. The hard parts right now are figuring out the modifiers, determining how many slots he'll have, and how large to make each slot.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Otaku

No, Morph is a different, formerly obscure X-Men character. ;)

I've already done Morph, under his Earth-616 name Changeling. ;)

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by chandley

For Mesmero, I would use Alternative Enhancements for his Pain Affliction. Seems like there isnt much benefit to inflicting multiple levels of pain on someone, plus the way you word his Selectivity, it seems he only uses one at a time anyway. P.13 of Gurps Powerups 4, basically exactly like alternative attacks, but for enhancements inside of an ability: 100% of most expensive, 1/5 of all the others.

Affliction (Pain; Will-4) (Based on Will (Target Roll), +20%; Incapacitation: Agony, +100%; Alternative Enhancements (Irritant: Moderate Pain, +20%; Irritant: Severe Pain, +40%; Irritant: Terrible Pain, +60%) +27%; Malediction (Uses Speed/Range Table), +150%; Mutant Psionic, -10%) [155]

Saves yah 90 points.

Ah, thanks for this. I have but haven't looked through Power-Ups 4 that often, but that looks closer to what I was looking for.

I'm not really concerned with the "cheap" aspect, but anything to streamline abilities is a help.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

I'm working on an "amalgamed"...

...and now I want Amalgam characters. >.> C'mon Dark Claw! There's a Pokémon TCG card with that name that came out two years ago and reminded me of how awesome DC Versus Marvel/Marvel Versus DC and the result Amalgam characters were. Not every combo was a winner, but the the ones that worked, worked so well that if only those two could get along, they would totally be worth ongoing titles. Well, ignoring how I no longer can even pretend to understand the comic book industry. XD

Oh, back on topic:

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

I'm thinking properly modified Modular Abilities (Slotted Cosmic) is the way to go; Morph (Improvised Forms) would useful for the bio-based powers, but hard to justify for, say Marvel Girl's TK or Iceman's snowballs. The hard parts right now are figuring out the modifiers, determining how many slots he'll have, and how large to make each slot.

Understood... but I think you can drop the "Slots". If you'll indulge me, I'll explain why I suggested doing it the way I suggested doing it.

I assumed three goals:

1) Create a build easily recognizable as the character "Mimic", even if it is clearly an alternative/hybrid version of the character that deviates from official, canonical versions.

2) Make sure it is someone that a PC could reasonably enjoy playing, assuming the point totals were high enough. This also means streamlining things as much as possible.

3) Make sure it is someone that a PC could reasonably enjoy playing, assuming the point totals were high enough. This also means streamlining things as much as possible.

And... the weather is getting stormy so I need to shut off this computer before I push my luck to far with a lightning strike lesser problem (like extreme power fluctuations). The short version (for now) is don't worry about making things hard and fast rules if they would overly complicate game play and could be justified simply by "playing the character smart".

I'd allow "permanent until overwritten" power mimics, restrict him to things that have the Mutant Power Modifier (though its okay if something has multiple) and its all or nothing; no copying just Wolverine's Healing Factor; gotta cough up the points for his Enhanced Senses and Claws. Allow Mimic to copy things at less than full strength, but only as appropriate. He'll stick to five slots because he's spreading himself too thin otherwise, and all five slots might not actually be equal (ensuring more painful choices and thus decreasing the likelihood of his power short-circuiting an adventure, because he's got to give up an expensive power set to free up enough CP to get an expensive power set).

He prefers sticking to what he knows, because he's trained in that. That is why he keeps going back to the X-Men to get their powers. Range and time required should be such that it isn't 100% obvious he's up to something, but so that anyone making a Perception role should be alerted that something is up; if they don't know who/what Mimic is, they won't jump to the truth, but something inconvenient is likely. The restrictions should be enough that short combat isn't going to allow mimicry, but long combat will.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

I'm thinking properly modified Modular Abilities (Slotted Cosmic) is the way to go; Morph (Improvised Forms) would useful for the bio-based powers, but hard to justify for, say Marvel Girl's TK or Iceman's snowballs. The hard parts right now are figuring out the modifiers, determining how many slots he'll have, and how large to make each slot.

Well. M(IF) will quite likely end up being cheaper, although that doesn't look like a deciding factor in this case. Remember though, that it can allow for any physical trait. The source of the ability you want to add usually won't matter.

[Phantasm]

Forget Dark Claw, I want my Lobo the Duck back! :]


Anyways, here's the first rough for Mimic. Please pick apart.


MIMIC

Real Name: Calvin Rankin.
Occupation: College student pursuing an astrophysics degree, adventurer.
Identity: Secret.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record.
Other Aliases: None.
Place of Birth: Passaic, New Jersey.
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: Ronald (father).
Group Affiliation: Former member of the X-Men.
Base of Operations: New York City.
History: From an early age Cal's father, a noted biochemist, always told him he was destined to do great things. Athletic and intelligent, Cal performed well at everything he put his mind to, but could not shake the feeling that something was missing; he was good, but he wasn't, in his mind, "great". His scholastic and athletic accolades won him a few scholarships to Empire State University.

Cal was in his freshman year at Empire State when the greatness he'd spent his life searching for was thrust upon him, much to his surprise. An explosion in the science building caused him to inhale the fumes from several chemicals at once. This caused a body-wide change; as the X-Men and Spider-Man were on hand to assist in getting the building empty and the fire under control, Cal found himself able to copy many of their powers (see Spider-Man; X-Men).

Drunk with power, Cal, now calling himself the Mimic, arrogantly challenged the X-Men to combat, using their powers against them. He managed to hold his own until they decided to split their forces, headed in five different directions. The Mimic found himself unable to maintain his duplicated powers and conceded the battle.

Still believing his powers set him above those he duplicated, he basically demanded the X-Men make him a member. It wasn't until the X-Men were ambushed in Central Park by the Mutant Liberation Front while he was present that they saw the man he could be, as he leaped to the X-Men's defense without a second thought (see Mutant Liberation Front). It was at this point they offered him membership.

Mimic's membership in the X-Men didn't last very long, as his brash personality caused him to clash with Cyclops, who was regarded as the team's leader, over practically everything (see Cyclops). During an argument, he flew off in a huff, claiming that he'd seek his destiny without them. Weeks later he fell under the domination of the Puppet Master, who caused him to again attack the X-Men (see Puppet Master). Marvel Girl, using her telepathy, discovered this and caused Mimic to fall asleep, breaking the Puppet Master's hold over him (see Marvel Girl). Humbled, Mimic apologized to Cyclops for his earlier outburst, but indicated that he needed to figure out who he was before he could rejoin the team.

Mimic has since aided the X-Men against the android Super-Adaptoid, which resulted in the Adaptoid trying to duplicate Mimic's duplicated powers (see Super-Adaptoid). The resulting feedback canceled out both their powers. Mimc was later seen practicing with Cyclops's eye beams, indicating his power mimicry had returned. Whether the Mimic will return to active duty with the X-Men in the future is unknown.
Height: 6' 2".
Weight: 225 lbs.
Eyes: Brown.
Hair: Brown.
Uniform: Blue bodysuit with a white "M" on the chest, white gloves, white boots, blue half-mask, white belt with a blue "M" on the belt buckle. As an X-Man he wore a similar uniform, only with the "M" on the chest and buckle replaced with an "X".
Strength Level: Normally, Mimic possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height, and build who engages in regular exercise. However, when copying powers he is able to temporarily boost his strength up to the level of the person he's copying, which can potentially reach the Class 500 range, able to lift (press) over 500 tons.
Known Superhuman Powers: Mimic possesses the superhuman ability to copy the powers of up to five other superhumans around him. He needs to be within 100 feet of the person whose powers he's copying in order to actively duplicate the power, but can retain the powers up to a mile distant.

11,627 points
Attributes: ST 12 [20]; DX 12 [40]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 12 [20].
Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 1d-1/1d+2; BL 29 lbs.; HP 12 [0]; Will 12 [0]; Per 12 [0]; FP 12 [0]; Basic Speed 6.00 [0]; Basic Move 6 [0]; Dodge 9.
Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0].
Cultural Familiarities: Western [0].
Advantages: Fit [5]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Jack of All Trades 3 [30]; Modular Abilities (1000 Point Cosmic Power) (Accessibility: Cannot Duplicate Chi, Magical, Divine, Demonic, Spirit, or Tech-Based Powers, -10%; Accessibility: Can Only Duplicate Up To 5 Power Sets, -10%; Accessibility: Cannot Go Beyond One Mile From Power Set's Template, -10%; Accessibility: Must Be Within 100 Feet of a Person With the Power in Order to Duplicate It, -20%; Physical and Mental, +100%; Requires Concentrate, -15%; Trait-Limited: Advantages Only, -10%; Super, -10%) [11,500]; Versatile [5].
Perks: Supersuit [1].
Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Hero's) [-10]; Overconfidence (6) [-10]; Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents) [-10]; Secret Identity (Utter Rejection) [-10]; Stubbornness [-5]; Wealth (Struggling) [-10].
Quirks: Arrogant [-1]; Proud [-1]; Show Off [-1]; Stop Having Fun, Guys! [-1].
Skills: Astronomy/TL8 (H) IQ-2 [1] – 10; Boxing Sport (A) DX-1 [1] – 11; Brawling (E) DX+1 [2] – 13; Innate Attack (Beam) (E) DX+1 [2] – 13; Innate Attack (Gaze) (E) DX+1 [2] – 13; Innate Attack (Projectile) (E) DX+1 [2] – 13; Mathematics/TL8 (Applied) (H) IQ-2 [1] – 10; Physics/TL8 (Astrophysics) (H) IQ-2 [1] – 10; Sports (American Football) (A) DX-1 [1] – 11; Sports (Baseball) (A) DX-1 [1] – 11; Wrestling Sport (A) DX-1 [1] – 11.
Starting Spending Money: $2,000 (20% of Starting Wealth).

Role-Playing Notes:
Mimic is brash and arrogant, believing his powers put him above those he's copying. At heart, however, he's a good man who will ultimately do the right thing.

When hanging around the X-Men, whether as an ally or an antagonist, he tends to copy Cyclops's eye-blasts, Angel's wings, Beast's strength, Marvel Girl's telekinesis, and Iceman's ice-projection powers; he'll occasionally swap out Marvel Girl's and Iceman's powers for their opponents'.


Design Notes:
1. Mimic is able to copy abilities that have the Biological (-10%), Passive Biological (-5%), Mutant (-10%), Psionic (-10%), Mutant Psionic (-10%), Mutant Biology (-0%), and Super (-10%) sources. He is unable to copy Chi (-10%), Demonic (-10%), Divine (-10%), Magical (-10%), and Spirit (-25%) powers, or any ability with a Gadget limitation. I haven't decided yet whether he should be able to copy Chemical (-10%) or Power Cosmic (+50%) abilities; I suppose that should be left up to a GM's ruling in play.
2. I'm not sure right now whether he's a Hero or Non-Villain Antagonist as in Year One he'll flip between the two roles almost on a whim.


The Slotted Cosmic may be cheaper, but it's hard to say just how many slots of how large a point value he needs, particularly when a power may require two advantages. I suppose a single power spread across two or three advantages (Angel's wings, Beast's strength, etc) could be treated as a meta-trait.