Alex Mercer in 3.5?

[ScrambledBrains]

Inspired by this thread http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203297, I was wondering if there was any way to replicate Alex Mercer from Prototype in a game?

Info-http://prototype.wikia.com/wiki/Alex_Mercer

Assume all books allowed. :smallsmile:

[Shadowknight12]

Do we have a showdown later with each concept posing in women lingerie? It's tradition, after all.

Anyway, let's try to break down the myriad things Alex-boy can do.


Morph body parts into weaponry and armour.
Kill weaklings with a touch.
Absorb their identities, memories and knowlege.
Parkour, glide, climb, run, plenty of movement options.
Regeneration or fast healing.
Massive amounts of tentacles.


So far... I'm seeing a Transmutation Specialist wizard. It nails the polymorphing, the enhancements to speed (and flight) and the tentacles. The identity absorption is actually rather tricky, but I think that there are spells that do that (Mindrape comes to mind, of course, but I could've sworn that there's a spell that needs a brain and lets you absorb knowledge straight from it). There are many spells that allow you to transmute your body into weaponry (mainly in Spell Compendium and BoVD), but you'll need buffs to actually be competent with them... and you can solve the minor shapeshifting and imitation of identities by being a Changeling.

In fact, there is a transmutation specialist wizard substitution levels for changelings in Races of Eberron that works very well with that. If you want a bit of gish support, there are PrCs for that, but I honestly think that a straight up Changeling Focused Transmuter (whatever you do, don't ban Illusion (for more disguises) or Conjuration (Evard's Black Tentacles duplicate very well that thing he does where he summons a ton of tentacles from the ground)) will do.

EDIT: Kill weaklings with a touch? Disintegrate. Or pick up a few spells from Necromancy, but they're really not that necessary.

[ScrambledBrains]

Oh, of course. :biggrin:

And thank you for your speedy response! :smallsmile: I was doing this primarily as a thought experiment(as well as to get my first post out of the way. :smallbiggrin: ) but it's good to know it's actually possible...I may actually have to use this sometime in the future.

[Asheram]

You might want to run the Changeling Warshaper route, it's difficult to sync with something else but that's more than half of his abilities right there.

[ScrambledBrains]

Which book is the Warshaper in?

[Lord_Gareth]

Which book is the Warshaper in?

CompWar, my friend.

[ScrambledBrains]

CompWar, my friend.

:smallsmile: Much obliged. :smallbiggrin:

[tuesdayscoming]

Warshaper was my first thought, too.

There's no explicit limit set to the number or type of natural weapons you can cause to sprout from your body, IIRC. Though most DM's would disallow such a thing, you could literally turn yourself into a mass of thousands of tentacles, provided you had the time.

For assuming identities, try 6 levels of Soul Eater from Book of Vile Darkness (but if you're going that deep, you might as well go to 7 at least). An additional benefit is that, with levels in this class, all those natural weapons you're growing will inflict negative levels, too. This may not be perfectly in character, but certainly does a lot to make Mr Mercer's blows more devastating.

[Shadowknight12]

Oh, of course. :biggrin:

And thank you for your speedy response! :smallsmile: I was doing this primarily as a thought experiment(as well as to get my first post out of the way. :smallbiggrin: ) but it's good to know it's actually possible...I may actually have to use this sometime in the future.

My pleasure! Anything to perpetuate the Infamous/Prototype feud. :smallwink:

I would definitely recommend a good gish PrC to get the necessary combat prowess to make use of the spells that turn your limbs into weapons of awesome destruction.

Welcome to the playground, by the way!

[the clumsy bard]

I'm thinking cabinet trickster / warshaper / mindspy

[Dusk Eclipse]

PErsonally I think a straight psychic warrior can emulate Alex quite nicely, there are a lot of powers than can model his blacklight abilities.

[ScrambledBrains]

My pleasure! Anything to perpetuate the Infamous/Prototype feud. :smallwink:

I would definitely recommend a good gish PrC to get the necessary combat prowess to make use of the spells that turn your limbs into weapons of awesome destruction.

Welcome to the playground, by the way!

I gotta be honest, I know less about Cole than I do about Mercer, but my money's still on Cole. He's harnessing a freaking force of nature, and Mercer's more a freak of nature. :biggrin:

Good tip, thank you very much. :smallsmile:

Thanks!! I've been lurking for a while, and decided to finally get an account. :smallbiggrin:

[Curious]

I gotta be honest, I know less about Cole than I do about Mercer, but my money's still on Cole. He's harnessing a freaking force of nature, and Mercer's more a freak of nature. :biggrin:

Good tip, thank you very much. :smallsmile:

Thanks!! I've been lurking for a while, and decided to finally get an account. :smallbiggrin:

BIG NO. Mercer=Nuclear bomb, Cole=Bullet. Mercer also runs at about 260 Km/h and can cleave through tank armor. Cole has a literal negative chance of winning.

[Z3ro]

Someone on the board made an Alex Mercer class, found here http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121333

Pretty good. I tweak some of the features and used it in a game, the results were rather satisfying.

[Shadowknight12]

I gotta be honest, I know less about Cole than I do about Mercer, but my money's still on Cole. He's harnessing a freaking force of nature, and Mercer's more a freak of nature. :biggrin:

Good tip, thank you very much. :smallsmile:

Thanks!! I've been lurking for a while, and decided to finally get an account. :smallbiggrin:

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. Sure, lightning is powerful, but versatility will always win over raw power. And Alex-boy isn't too deficient in the raw power department either. I wouldn't go as far as what Curious says, though, I could see Cole giving Alex a run for his money, but my cash is still on the guy with the mutations.

No problem! Look what the others have said too, there are good pieces of advice in the thread.

[ScrambledBrains]

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. Sure, lightning is powerful, but versatility will always win over raw power. And Alex-boy isn't too deficient in the raw power department either. I wouldn't go as far as what Curious says, though, I could see Cole giving Alex a run for his money, but my cash is still on the guy with the mutations.

No problem! Look what the others have said too, there are good pieces of advice in the thread.

Well, as I said, I only know Mercer, and I know of his versatlity and power(not to mention the mutations. :smallbiggrin:), I guess I just thought Cole had cooler tricks of his own. Guess I'm wrong. :biggrin:

[Curious]

Well, as I said, I only know Mercer, and I know of his versatlity and power(not to mention the mutations. :smallbiggrin:), I guess I just thought Cole had cooler tricks of his own. Guess I'm wrong. :biggrin:

Your cheerfulness makes me feel sad for being so confrontational. Sorry.
Anyways, Cole is pretty cool, but Mercer is the kind of guy who can snap someone's neck, absorb their body to heal himself, use their face as a disguise, and then tear a tank apart with his bare hands before running up the side of Empire State building carrying the wreck.

[Mordokai]

Someone on the board made an Alex Mercer class, found here http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121333

Pretty good. I tweak some of the features and used it in a game, the results were rather satisfying.

I'd love to play one of those on level 20. Might be pretty interesting.

[ScrambledBrains]

Your cheerfulness makes me feel sad for being so confrontational. Sorry.
Anyways, Cole is pretty cool, but Mercer is the kind of guy who can snap someone's neck, absorb their body to heal himself, use their face as a disguise, and then tear a tank apart with his bare hands before running up the side of Empire State building carrying the wreck.

:smallsmile: No stress. :biggrin:

Yeah, I suppose that's true. Though, once things get so bad there's military and infected everywhere, you sure don't FEEL badass as Mercer. :smallbiggrin:

[Heatwizard]

Well, look at what Cole's revealed to be capable of at the end of Infamous 1 (I'll neglect to spoil it); not to mention he gains brand new power sets in 2. It all depends on when they fight; Mercer starts off much stronger, but the longer Cole gets to build up strength, the worse Mercer's odds look.

Assimilate's a psionic power that reproduces the "eating people" mechanic, but it's a ninth level power. You can get it by Psion 17, leaving three levels of Warshaper to get all the relevant powers, but the whole thing doesn't really assemble until 20th.

[Curious]

Well, look at what Cole's revealed to be capable of at the end of Infamous 1 (I'll neglect to spoil it); not to mention he gains brand new power sets in 2. It all depends on when they fight; Mercer starts off much stronger, but the longer Cole gets to build up strength, the worse Mercer's odds look.

Assimilate's a psionic power that reproduces the "eating people" mechanic, but it's a ninth level power. You can get it by Psion 17, leaving three levels of Warshaper to get all the relevant powers, but the whole thing doesn't really assemble until 20th.

This is getting a little off topic, but I find I can't restrain myself. Cole has some cool powers, yes. He can shoot flames and lightning and has all kinds of nice little abilities. However, all of it pales in comparison to Mercer. Simply put, Alex is a monster. He can tank incredible amounts of physical damage pretty much indefinitely, and has the strength to literally rip a man in half with the kind of contemptuous ease normal people save for snapping candy canes. It's just not even a contest.

[ScrambledBrains]

This is getting a little off topic, but I find I can't restrain myself. Cole has some cool powers, yes. He can shoot flames and lightning and has all kinds of nice little abilities. However, all of it pales in comparison to Mercer. Simply put, Alex is a monster. He can tank incredible amounts of physical damage pretty much indefinitely, and has the strength to literally rip a man in half with the kind of contemptuous ease normal people save for snapping candy canes. It's just not even a contest.


Well, look at what Cole's revealed to be capable of at the end of Infamous 1 (I'll neglect to spoil it); not to mention he gains brand new power sets in 2. It all depends on when they fight; Mercer starts off much stronger, but the longer Cole gets to build up strength, the worse Mercer's odds look.

Assimilate's a psionic power that reproduces the "eating people" mechanic, but it's a ninth level power. You can get it by Psion 17, leaving three levels of Warshaper to get all the relevant powers, but the whole thing doesn't really assemble until 20th.


Gentlemen, gentlemen, can't we just all agreed that their fight would be epic? :biggrin:

Also, keep your eyes open for more threads like these in the future from me.(I like to redesign characters from other series into DnD characters for laughs. Not to mention, it gives me fodder for any DMing I do. :smallsmile:)

[Heatwizard]

This is getting a little off topic, but I find I can't restrain myself. Cole has some cool powers, yes. He can shoot flames and lightning and has all kinds of nice little abilities. However, all of it pales in comparison to Mercer. Simply put, Alex is a monster. He can tank incredible amounts of physical damage pretty much indefinitely, and has the strength to literally rip a man in half with the kind of contemptuous ease normal people save for snapping candy canes. It's just not even a contest.

Mercer's brute force is impressive, sure, but Cole can pick stuff up with his mind. And teleport, and time travel. Plus Cole's physiology isn't that of the average schmo; he gets battered by psychic giants and shot in the face, and he's not even hindered. PLUS, Cole fights at range, which isn't a strong point of Mercer's. I'm not saying Cole's guaranteed the win, it'd be a long and close match, but he can go the distance.

BUT ANYWAY.

[The Random NPC]

Isn't there an Illithid slayer type class that lets you eat people to gain feats or somesuch?

[Rossebay]

Back on topic...
This is an idea I've toyed with for a long time. I really liked the Prototype system, but I couldn't quite find a way to integrate it.
So, I talked to my DM. We've got a house rule for Warshapers. If you're proficient with a weapon, you can replace your arm with that weapon as a move action. It must be a one-handed weapon, of course.
So, say I'm a Changeling Fighter 5/Warshaper 2. I have monkey grip, (improved) two weapon fighting, oversized two weapon fighting, and exotic prof. with the Warmace. I decide to transform my arms both into Warmaces, at large size class due to Monkey Grip. Taking a -4 on all attack rolls, I deal 3d6 + str with each arm.
As far as enhancements go, my arms are treated as natural weapons. I cannot apply bonuses to them. At the same time, I cannot take feats like Improved Natural Attack for arm-weapons, else I'd be a little too overpowered.

The negative portion is this: If someone attempts to disarm me, they instead make a sunder check against my weapons. If they succeed, my arm breaks off and I must take constitution penalties to replenish those weapons, as I'm using my own bones to regrow.

It's pretty balanced, if not a little underpowered, but with Warshaper benefits constantly effecting a Changeling, you certainly don't feel the negative sides.

A great thing to have is Swashbuckler as a class. While you probably won't make use of the weapon finesse bonus feat, you can grab the Arcane Stunt variant detailed in Complete Mage, giving you the ability to use Spider Climb (like Mercer's wall running) a few times per day, or Jump. It helps replicate his mobility.
If you don't want to use Swashbuckler, you can take an extended route and go with Monk (or Chaos Monk), giving you speed bonuses and such.

I could ramble for a lot longer, but I think this is good enough.

[ScrambledBrains]

Hate to go all thread necro here, but I've now played Infamous(Infamous 2 technically, but that's splitting hairs. :smallbiggrin:) and...my money must go to Cole. Mercer is an expert of self-alteration to fight, and several of his abilities are incredibly vicious, but Cole's are equally as vicious, and his source of regening himself is far more prevalent than Mercer's. Ultimately, it'd be a long, battlefield-scarring fight, but Cole'd triumph. :smallcool:

[Curious]

Hate to go all thread necro here, but I've now played Infamous(Infamous 2 technically, but that's splitting hairs. :smallbiggrin:) and...my money must go to Cole. Mercer is an expert of self-alteration to fight, and several of his abilities are incredibly vicious, but Cole's are equally as vicious, and his source of regening himself is far more prevalent than Mercer's. Ultimately, it'd be a long, battlefield-scarring fight, but Cole'd triumph. :smallcool:

I'm sorry, I'm still not seeing it. Cole got a power up from I2, yes, but his damage potential is still much the same. Besides that, Alex Mercer is still far faster and stronger, and can take a ridiculous amount of punishment before needing to regen at all. Plus, all of Mercers powers are pretty much one-shot kills, even for someone as unnaturally tough as Cole.

[ScrambledBrains]

I'm sorry, I'm still not seeing it. Cole got a power up from I2, yes, but his damage potential is still much the same. Besides that, Alex Mercer is still far faster and stronger, and can take a ridiculous amount of punishment before needing to regen at all. Plus, all of Mercers powers are pretty much one-shot kills, even for someone as unnaturally tough as Cole.

But how's Mercer's distance game? Cole could pepper him with lightening and ice/fire at a distance and then close in with an Ionic attack. Blam, it's over. ...Though if Mercer closed the gap, he'd probably win.

[Curious]

But how's Mercer's distance game? Cole could pepper him with lightening and ice/fire at a distance and then close in with an Ionic attack. Blam, it's over. ...Though if Mercer closed the gap, he'd probably win.

Mercers distance game consists of two things-

1: Being able to run more than 280 mph (calc (http://forums.spacebattles.com/showpost.php?p=4125786&postcount=29)), and thus being in your face before you can even blink, and

2: Having a whip-arm that can shoot out over fifty meters to slice you in half.

Combined with his ridiculous maneuverability and ability to fall any distance, the fight would look something like this:

Cole Mcgrath stands in a crowd, scanning for enemies with his radar ability.
Alex Mercer clears a nearby building in a single bound, and smashes blade first into Cole with all the force of several metric tons dropping off a ten story building.
Cole is sliced in half.
Mercer can now shoot lightning.

[Doorhandle]

I don't think Cole has much knockback. Mercer will close the gap.

...That, AND he could just throw a car at you.

[ScrambledBrains]

Mercers distance game consists of two things-

1: Being able to run more than 280 mph (calc (http://forums.spacebattles.com/showpost.php?p=4125786&postcount=29)), and thus being in your face before you can even blink, and

2: Having a whip-arm that can shoot out over fifty meters to slice you in half.

Combined with his ridiculous maneuverability and ability to fall any distance, the fight would look something like this:

Cole Mcgrath stands in a crowd, scanning for enemies with his radar ability.
Alex Mercer clears a nearby building in a single bound, and smashes blade first into Cole with all the force of several metric tons dropping off a ten story building.
Cole is sliced in half.
Mercer can now shoot lightning.

...Yeah, you're probably right. I guess I'm biased, cause I felt a lot more badass as Cole than as Mercer(cause everytime I played Prototype, I kept getting my ass handed to me by Hunters, rockets, Super Soldiers, and being hit from every angle.) whereas as Cole(I basically whipped everything I faced...even the Beast went down like a punk. :smallcool:) IRL, Mercer would crush Cole. :smallbiggrin:

[Curious]

...Yeah, you're probably right. I guess I'm biased, cause I felt a lot more badass as Cole than as Mercer(cause everytime I played Prototype, I kept getting my ass handed to me by Hunters, rockets, Super Soldiers, and being hit from every angle.) whereas as Cole(I basically whipped everything I faced...even the Beast went down like a punk. :smallcool:) IRL, Mercer would crush Cole. :smallbiggrin:

Don't get me wrong, I think Infamous is a better game as well, and Cole is awesome. It's just that Mercer is ridiculously powerful and insanely hard to kill.

Now, if we were talking about Mercer vs the Beast, it would be a different story. . .

[ScrambledBrains]

Don't get me wrong, I think Infamous is a better game as well, and Cole is awesome. It's just that Mercer is ridiculously powerful and insanely hard to kill.

Now, if we were talking about Mercer vs the Beast, it would be a different story. . .

Yep. :smallbiggrin:

Wait:

Mercer<The Beast

Cole>The Beast

but

Mercer>Cole

...Something don't compute here...

[Curious]

Yep. :smallbiggrin:

Wait:

Mercer<The Beast

Cole>The Beast

but

Mercer>Cole

...Something don't compute here...

Only Cole doesn't < the Beast, except when he has the ray Sphere to weaken him.

[Mockingbird]

Start with Changeling, then move into Warshaper. (Complete Warrior, 3.5)

[ScrambledBrains]

Only Cole doesn't < the Beast, except when he has the ray Sphere to weaken him.

Right. :D Forgot that one.

[Tyranter]

I would like to point out that Mercer's durability is based on regeneration, passive and through consuming people, and his dense flesh and shielding powers. Neither of these helped me when I had to fight a guy with a stun baton.

If you got close to him you got injured and sent flying, from a stun baton. Even if it was beefed up to take on Mercer it is one of the attacks you have to avoid rather than power through.

My interpretation of this is that Mercer's dense body still leaves him vulnerable to electricity, meaning that if Cole actually hit him he would be stunned, slowing him, and vastly weakening the advantage mercer gets from his speed.

Combining this with Cole (at least in infamous 1) has many more long range and wide area attacks, it becomes a battle of attrition and strategy, as they try to be the last one with any juice/health left.

This is entirely separate from how healthy would it be for mercer to consume the mind of a PSYCHIC. I think it would lead to another showdown to control the body, Cole could use his powers to kill mercer from inside, Mercer explodes or goes insane to become a shape-shifting lightning shooting psychic brain eating abomination that would probably eat the beast and then every one else, eventually becoming a zerg-like monstrosity combining psychic powers with the mutant shape-shifting body horror.

[Essence_of_War]

So, the changeling->Warshaper is pretty obvious, but this only occupies 5 of your numerous levels! What to do with the rest???

Mercer's obscene durability can be represented well by the vigor+share pain psionics tricks. This is a little PP intensive for the psywar to pull off, but an ardent or psion based psi-gish should be able to handle it regularly. In fact, the more I think about it, it seems like a straight psychic warrior King of Smack build could do the whole "utterly terrifying melee monster that just immediately heals from anything you do to it" role pretty nicely. Basically, if you like the psionics route, I would consider NOT going into warshaper (and possible re-picking

I think Incarnum or ToB could also have a role here. Neither of them suffer from lost levels (if you decide on warshaper) the way that psionics would, and neither of them "run out of gas" by using their abilities. So if that's important to you, they're worth a look.

Finally, if you're creating a ton of natural weapons, I feel like I just have to mention 8 levels of blackblood cultist. Lets you hit with EVERY NATURAL WEAPON with each successful grapple check you make. Hilarious.