Super Soldier serum/template

[Asteron]

After every superhero movie, there are always those threads about making them in D&D. That's all well and good if people want to mimic their favorite superhero. However, for me, the awesomeness lies in their special superhuman abilities, which requires some homebrew.

Lets take a look at Captain America. He was created using the Super Soldier formula. Lets say that this formula were to be created by some wizard in the D&D world. What would its effects look like? Obviously you have big bonuses to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, a bonus to saves, and a speed bonus, but what else? Fast Healing? Regeneration? DR? I'm curious to see what people come up with and the numbers they use...

Or, you know, if anyone else has done this before, just point me in that direction!

[Loek]

Keeping in mind that the supersoldier serum doesn't make it's subjects superhuman (just the very best humanly possible - atleast as far as I remember), it should grant the best possible (per aspects) without going into the realm of the superhuman (or superhumanoid I supose in a DnD setting).


Lets start with ability scores: All of them should be raised to be equal to the highest score the base creature possesses (minimum 18?).
Note: I would have these effects remain, so instead of increasing 1 ability score each 4 levels, the supersoldier would increase all his ability scores.

Next, saves: treat all saves as high for all past and future class (and racial) levels.

Of course can't forget hit points: Each level (past and future) grants the maximum hit points possible (and maybe increase each die by 1 step? Might be too much).

Now to the somewhat harder parts, skills: each skill is treated as a class skill and any racial, feat or class related skill bonus is doubled.

Now for some fluffy parts: increase the creatures height to the maximum for his species (or atleast in the top 90-95 percentile) with a slightly above average weight for the resultant height (bulky with muscles, but not fat nor skinny).



I think that would be the basis of what I would change on the characters main abilities.

Beyond that I think I'd add something like the "diehard" feat, maybe increasing the threat range and multiplier for critical hits with weapons and probably immunity to most (at least the natural ones) poisons and diseases.

Note: This is all with the captain America concept in mind, the weirder version of the super soldier serum (like the Hulk when a bad batch is combined with radiation) would be quite different.

[soshi]

I actually have toyed with this idea myself.

If my understanding of Captain America is correct, the SSS would set all statistics, including Mentals, to 24, as comparing his lift capacity to the SRD weight chart shows that he has a 24 strength. I just guesstimated the rest to be equivalent.

For his speed, which is the only other modification really necessary, you would be looking at 265 feet, or 53 squares

Everything else is simulated by the amount of skill points and HP he would gain.

[Tanuki Tales]

Contrary to what Marvel says, 616 Captain America is Superhuman because of the SS formula. The serum set all of his capabilities to their peak capacity, making it as if he was always in a permanent adrenaline rush. And then he can have an adrenaline rush.

Ultimate Captain America is just flat superhuman and Movie Cap is somewhere between 616 and Ultimate on paper, though by feats he's inferior to 616.

[Mith]

making it as if he was always in a permanent adrenaline rush.

That sounds like a form of hell in the end, since he cannot sleep or rest.

[Kyuu Himura]

Well, it's been said here enough, but Cap is not Superhuman by benchmarks (the very lowest of Superstrenght is, I think, Spiderman and he can lift, push, drag, etc more that Cap, similar for other physical attributes). It has been said that a persona that's at the same time superior to any one golden-medal-level athlete at their own game is, in a way, superhuman, but when the enemy is lifting cars, you look kind of ordinary.

The super-soldier suerum would rise physical attributes to the top human, which I think is 23 (18 base + 5 from levels). I do not think it would enhance mental attributes, Steve was pretty smart before going through the program and Red Skull was already crazy before the suerum. I have always attribued Steve jump from skinny no-body to super leader to the fact that people are superficial and would not have followed a skinny guy into battle (except for Bucky, God bless that underrated guy).

A good point of reference would be Captain America builds for Mutants and Masterminds 2nd Edition (http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewtopic.php?p=248144#p248144). There should be like a thousand of them around. If there's any designer's notes, that should point you into a good direction.

[Durazno]

I think there are characters with superhuman strength who still aren't as strong as Spider-Man. Dude can lift 10 tons over his head, after all. (I mean, he forgets he can do that depending on the writer, but still.)

I agree that mental attributes are less affected than physical, but they might still get smaller bonuses to represent the subject's sharper senses, greater confidence and ability to think faster.

The serum is a bit awkward to model because D&D's character progression charts people becoming superhuman over time. I mean, you can't tell me that a person able to kill bears and umber hulks with her bare hands or climb sheer stone walls without a rope doesn't have superhuman capabilities. So would a level 1 fighter treated with serum just become... uh... super-humaner as he levels up over time? Like, you accounted for the +5 to attributes from leveling - would our super soldier still get the attribute points as she levels?

It almost seems to me that "human/dwarf/whatever treated with the super soldier serum" could be a race with a level adjustment.

[Tanuki Tales]

That sounds like a form of hell in the end, since he cannot sleep or rest.

I meant that his base physical capabilities are identical to a physical fit human who's experience an adrenaline rush.


Well, it's been said here enough, but Cap is not Superhuman by benchmarks (the very lowest of Superstrenght is, I think, Spiderman and he can lift, push, drag, etc more that Cap, similar for other physical attributes).

Everyone from Deadpool/Wolverine to Varnae would take issue with that. You're superhuman if you can lift more than a regular person should. And if memory serves, Marvel's "official stat blocks" having been putting Steve in the superhuman range for years now.


It has been said that a persona that's at the same time superior to any one golden-medal-level athlete at their own game is, in a way, superhuman, but when the enemy is lifting cars, you look kind of ordinary.

Captain America can lift cars. Not bench press them like kittens, but he can lift a car.


A good point of reference would be Captain America builds for Mutants and Masterminds 2nd Edition (http://www.atomicthinktank.com/viewtopic.php?p=248144#p248144). There should be like a thousand of them around. If there's any designer's notes, that should point you into a good direction.

You should use the source material, not biased, un-exact facsimiles to design this concept around.


I think there are characters with superhuman strength who still aren't as strong as Spider-Man. Dude can lift 10 tons over his head, after all. (I mean, he forgets he can do that depending on the writer, but still.)

This. Though he bips between 10 tons and 30 tons and that's more a system thing than actual weight. The Thing is "Class 100" but the guy has moved things in the thousands of tons range.


I agree that mental attributes are less affected than physical, but they might still get smaller bonuses to represent the subject's sharper senses, greater confidence and ability to think faster.

The serum is a bit awkward to model because D&D's character progression charts people becoming superhuman over time. I mean, you can't tell me that a person able to kill bears and umber hulks with her bare hands or climb sheer stone walls without a rope doesn't have superhuman capabilities. So would a level 1 fighter treated with serum just become... uh... super-humaner as he levels up over time? Like, you accounted for the +5 to attributes from leveling - would our super soldier still get the attribute points as she levels?

It almost seems to me that "human/dwarf/whatever treated with the super soldier serum" could be a race with a level adjustment.

I personally view Pathfinder's Advanced simple template as representing a bare bones "Super Soldier". +4 to all stats and +2 Natural armor for +1 CR (aka +1 LA in that system).

[Mith]

I meant that his base physical capabilities are identical to a physical fit human who's experience an adrenaline rush.

OK. I am not a comic book reader, so I wasn't sure exactly what you meant. Thanks for the clarification.