PDA

View Full Version : Need help choosing a superpower



moonfly7
2020-04-28, 02:48 PM
Gonna hopefully be playing a PL8 Mutants and Masterminds game soon. My current concept is your quintessential powerless vigilante, like Batman a bit but not super gritty, isn't rich, and uses the occasional gun. My twist on the classic concept us that he does actually have powers but he keeps them hidden, relying on his combat training 90% of the time and keeping his powers as an ace in the hole to surprise particularly hard foes.
I know he got these abilities from a bio-chemistry experiment and I know I want them to be offensive, big, and flashy but I can't really decide what exactly it is.
So that's where you guys come in, maybe you'll help me spark some inspiration. Here's my only guideline:
It can't be something he could use without being recognised easily as a superhuman like mind reading or super strength or indestructibility. It needs to be something that if he uses it screams superhuman.

Lvl 2 Expert
2020-04-28, 03:11 PM
The first thing that comes to mind is lightning blasts. Big, flashy, super, offensive, maybe kind of double with using guns. Reasonably explainable with the biochemistry background, something with bio-electricity, electrosensitive sharks, a mixup with the electric eel genes.

There might be some more hidden ways to use it, like overloading electric locks, so he could do those things when nobody's likely to find out, but keep the big blasts under wraps.

moonfly7
2020-04-28, 04:03 PM
The first thing that comes to mind is lightning blasts. Big, flashy, super, offensive, maybe kind of double with using guns. Reasonably explainable with the biochemistry background, something with bio-electricity, electrosensitive sharks, a mixup with the electric eel genes.

There might be some more hidden ways to use it, like overloading electric locks, so he could do those things when nobody's likely to find out, but keep the big blasts under wraps.

Great idea, and honestly awesome point on the bio electricity, but it just doesn't grab me you know? I think I'm looking for something a bit unique, something that's not only dangerous but a less quintessential power if that makes any sense.

Lord Raziere
2020-04-28, 04:24 PM
Great idea, and honestly awesome point on the bio electricity, but it just doesn't grab me you know? I think I'm looking for something a bit unique, something that's not only dangerous but a less quintessential power if that makes any sense.

Hmmm....

you provide a unique challenge.

so, biochemistry based, something unique, screams superhuman but isn't archetypical hmm....

maybe something about his bones? his blood? maybe a tongue that can do something deadly? maybe you can go with some Affliction power that does some nasty poison or drug like effect while looking real creepy while doing it by turning your arm into an extending scorpion stinger or something. like a mind control drug for your trump card, or turning them to stone or anything else you can imagine.

ZamielVanWeber
2020-04-28, 07:46 PM
What about something like Enishi's kyokeimyaku? Nerves that have been pushed to the point where they grant superhuman abilities. Or Kimimaro's shikotsumyaku, where to can manipulate your bones in a fairly violent and digusting, although effective, display (note the anime has these lovely holes where they slipped out: in the manga they ripped right through his skin).

Oddly I have not touched any anime or manga in a while, so no idea why these came to mind.

moonfly7
2020-04-28, 08:11 PM
Hmmm....

you provide a unique challenge.

so, biochemistry based, something unique, screams superhuman but isn't archetypical hmm....

maybe something about his bones? his blood? maybe a tongue that can do something deadly? maybe you can go with some Affliction power that does some nasty poison or drug like effect while looking real creepy while doing it by turning your arm into an extending scorpion stinger or something. like a mind control drug for your trump card, or turning them to stone or anything else you can imagine.


What about something like Enishi's kyokeimyaku? Nerves that have been pushed to the point where they grant superhuman abilities. Or Kimimaro's shikotsumyaku, where to can manipulate your bones in a fairly violent and digusting, although effective, display (note the anime has these lovely holes where they slipped out: in the manga they ripped right through his skin).

Oddly I have not touched any anime or manga in a while, so no idea why these came to mind.
Glad to have provided a challenge, and I'm sad to say I have no idea what either of those are.

Segev
2020-04-28, 08:19 PM
Kind-of stealing from Worm fanfic, here, but what if he's able to dissolve into a swarm of insects? Possibly with control over insects in a large radius around him. He can "teleport" by making swarms coalesce and forming them into himself "over there" when he dissolves his current form, and he can control swarms or be the swarm.

The sign he's having to let his powers out are that he starts making his voice echo in the rasps, buzzes, and chirrs of the skittering horde.

moonfly7
2020-04-28, 08:30 PM
Kind-of stealing from Worm fanfic, here, but what if he's able to dissolve into a swarm of insects? Possibly with control over insects in a large radius around him. He can "teleport" by making swarms coalesce and forming them into himself "over there" when he dissolves his current form, and he can control swarms or be the swarm.

The sign he's having to let his powers out are that he starts making his voice echo in the rasps, buzzes, and chirrs of the skittering horde.

Preferably something more in the physical sense, honestly thinking about it bio electricity is a great example of what I'm looking for, and an awesome suggestion I've decided to consider after all(keep the suggestions coming though). I've thought about the bones thing, like maybe growing hyper dense bone armor and blade off the top of his wrists, could be pretty awesome too.
And while I'm not really feeling controlling insects, having him possess certain traits might be cool, maybe something like spideys old venom stingers, or the ability to grow a hardened exoskeleton.
Or, duplication might just be a good one for this honestly, because nothing's scarier than chasing one guy into an abandoned building only to be ganked by 5 guys when you get in.

KineticDiplomat
2020-04-28, 08:31 PM
He has 4,000 nuclear weapons, a great state security apparatus, and millions of men ready to invade West Germany...

moonfly7
2020-04-28, 08:36 PM
He has 4,000 nuclear weapons, a great state security apparatus, and millions of men ready to invade West Germany...
This is obviously a refference but I have no idea what it's about.

Zakhara
2020-04-28, 08:53 PM
Something low-key would work since it wouldn't be much of an "ace in the hole" if people can easily recognize his handiwork.

Perhaps acidic spit? That's pretty easy to pass off in everyday life. Lets him erode metal or something like that real quick.

moonfly7
2020-04-28, 09:42 PM
Something low-key would work since it wouldn't be much of an "ace in the hole" if people can easily recognize his handiwork.

Perhaps acidic spit? That's pretty easy to pass off in everyday life. Lets him erode metal or something like that real quick.

It's not going to look like his handy work if he only whips it out on a few people and everyone he uses it on is dead. Then no one he could do it and that's the point.

Segev
2020-04-29, 12:06 AM
Maybe he turns into some sort of monster. A hulk, a Lovecraftian horror, a not-a-dragon.

Or, going with the bioelectricity, maybe it's a side-effect of transforming. He uses it to be "subtle," because he can sort-of halt the transformation part-way with only a little lightning. Enough to fry a building's electronics. Unleash the full transformation and he can cause a brief brownout in a city block. And then whatever he is crackles with energy and is big and scary.

Vahnavoi
2020-04-29, 12:40 AM
Spontaneous combustion and rebirth. Every once in a while, he can self-immolate with the force of several hundred kilos of TNT, and then reconstitute himself from the ashes, phoenix-style.

Would provide a motive for relying on mundane training 90% of the time: burning everything around you to ash is not a proper solution to most problems. Would also provide a reason for keeping it hidden: you don't want people to know you always have the equivalent of a bomb jacket with you.

Lvl 2 Expert
2020-04-29, 04:09 AM
maybe a tongue that can do something deadly?

I have a mental image now of this Batman like guy who suddenly opens his mouth super unnaturally wide, unhinged snake jaw style, and launches this huge barbed tongue at the enemy, ripping out chunks of flesh, strangling them or even throwing them off a building with it like some sort of mix of Venom, Alien, Toad and those vampires from Blade 2.

It's pretty badass, given how silly the basic idea of tongue based powers is.

No, I have no idea where he keeps that thing in his daily life.

Anonymouswizard
2020-04-29, 05:17 AM
Great idea, and honestly awesome point on the bio electricity, but it just doesn't grab me you know? I think I'm looking for something a bit unique, something that's not only dangerous but a less quintessential power if that makes any sense.

The ability to sweat francium at will. It's fun stuff, highly radioactive (it's most stable isotope had a half life of 22 minutes), and literally explodes on contact with water.

And if you've just been doing physical exertion ordinary sweat is 99% water :smallwink:

If sweating explosions isn't your style I'm sure a biologist or chemist could come up with even more fun things to excrete. Or you could have something like hypercharged bioluminescent fingernails, there's quite a bit you could do here if you're willing to go for potentially awkward to use.

moonfly7
2020-04-29, 07:27 AM
Spontaneous combustion and rebirth. Every once in a while, he can self-immolate with the force of several hundred kilos of TNT, and then reconstitute himself from the ashes, phoenix-style.

Would provide a motive for relying on mundane training 90% of the time: burning everything around you to ash is not a proper solution to most problems. Would also provide a reason for keeping it hidden: you don't want people to know you always have the equivalent of a bomb jacket with you.
The human bomb idea isn't half bad actually. I will point out that I do have a real reason to hide his powers: the professor he was working with who gave him his powers was murdered by a conspiracy of powerful individuals whom he was investigating. These people believe the professors research to be lost and don't know about our character. So to keep the fact that someone knows about them secret, he can't use his powers lest they draw attention(also know one else has figured out a stable way to give people powers in this world so the source of his powers is an issue)

I have a mental image now of this Batman like guy who suddenly opens his mouth super unnaturally wide, unhinged snake jaw style, and launches this huge barbed tongue at the enemy, ripping out chunks of flesh, strangling them or even throwing them off a building with it like some sort of mix of Venom, Alien, Toad and those vampires from Blade 2.

It's pretty badass, given how silly the basic idea of tongue based powers is.

No, I have no idea where he keeps that thing in his daily life.
That sounds oddly amazing and stupid at the same time and I now understand where your coming from.

GrayDeath
2020-04-29, 04:13 PM
Hmmm, so a deterrant to use it due to its flashiness, but not too much for PL 8?

How about he can control his own blood, make it atack people, form weapons out of it, suck other peoples blood to strengthen himself (another reason not to do it often, as hes a good guy) and si milarly "ewww" Powers?
Can be adapted to the intended Powerlevel well, is versatile, and offers enough reasons to keep it hidden.
Could also explain his increased normal Powers, as Blood control without anything else will easily make him peak human.

ZamielVanWeber
2020-04-29, 08:25 PM
If sweating explosions isn't your style I'm sure a biologist or chemist could come up with even more fun things to excrete. Or you could have something like hypercharged bioluminescent fingernails, there's quite a bit you could do here if you're willing to go for potentially awkward to use.

I would recommend azidoazide azide over Francium. It's more explosive (infrared will set it off, as will silence and darkness. This stuff needs no excuse to go *boom*) and won't have pesky left over radiation to care about. It's also just plain Nitrogen and Carbon.

As for the kyokeimyaku they are nerves that have been hardened through overuse (sshhhh, it's comic science) and now provide heightened senses as well as extreme strength and speed, at the cost of heightened senses as well as making your nerves visible on the surface of your body. Not quite what you are going for at base, but the thought of using your nerves for attacks, like a particularly gross taser/mind control/manipulate their autonomic functions/etc (Mess with Bruce, you take a deuce) by stretching out your modified nerves from your body.

moonfly7
2020-04-29, 08:52 PM
Hmmm, so a deterrant to use it due to its flashiness, but not too much for PL 8?

How about he can control his own blood, make it atack people, form weapons out of it, suck other peoples blood to strengthen himself (another reason not to do it often, as hes a good guy) and si milarly "ewww" Powers?
Can be adapted to the intended Powerlevel well, is versatile, and offers enough reasons to keep it hidden.
Could also explain his increased normal Powers, as Blood control without anything else will easily make him peak human.

I might just go with this. It's pretty good honestly.

Batcathat
2020-04-30, 11:08 AM
It might be a little bland, but maybe telekinesis? That could include both small, subtle things he could do without anyone noticing and big flashy stuff.

moonfly7
2020-04-30, 12:59 PM
It might be a little bland, but maybe telekinesis? That could include both small, subtle things he could do without anyone noticing and big flashy stuff.

Tis a tad bland. But I have considered going psychic with his powers.

D&D_Fan
2020-04-30, 01:42 PM
Creative Ideas™ +Hero Names

Texture Pack: can change the appearance of an object by touching it, but without changing it's properties.

Comet: can fly and shoot ice beams.

Television: can shoot powerful Cathode Rays from their eyes!

GrayDeath
2020-04-30, 06:09 PM
I might just go with this. It's pretty good honestly.

You are welcome.

Would be interested in hearing how it went if you do, btw, as the only time I played such a character he didnt make it very long ^^

Bulhakov
2020-04-30, 06:42 PM
Few quick ideas:

- bioluminescence - to the point of blinding opponents or even painfully burning them

- "hulking out" - grow to twice your original size and strength

- turn into animals, giant animals (a giant lab rat?) or half-animals (wererat?)

lightningcat
2020-04-30, 10:40 PM
Probably not appropriate for this character, but having aquaman like powers while underwater, and nothing but normal abilities on land would make an interesting character.

had the exact opposite problem, he was a normal guy that had to fool people into thinking he had superstrength so he could be a hero.

Mutazoia
2020-04-30, 11:13 PM
Hmmm, so a deterrant to use it due to its flashiness, but not too much for PL 8?

How about he can control his own blood, make it atack people, form weapons out of it, suck other peoples blood to strengthen himself (another reason not to do it often, as hes a good guy) and si milarly "ewww" Powers?
Can be adapted to the intended Powerlevel well, is versatile, and offers enough reasons to keep it hidden.
Could also explain his increased normal Powers, as Blood control without anything else will easily make him peak human.

Ganta Gun!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTsOjm0LYbE

Drakeburn
2020-05-01, 02:29 AM
A biological superpower that's flashy and used for offense?

How about Body Temperature Manipulation?

Like being able to superheat your hands to burn opponents as well as burn through objects, or even setting yourself on fire to fend off against anybody who gets too close.

Stattick
2020-05-01, 05:57 AM
Being biological in source can still be used to justify anything. Mutants are powered by a biological source, for instance. It's really just a matter of whether it's to you and your table's taste.

That being said, I do like the idea proposed by several above of your character Hulking out. But, if it's workable within the context of the system, I actually prefer the idea of using the Growth power, and extending it to your costume and equipment, Antman style. Now the system probably wouldn't allow it at the power level you're playing at, but let's say that you could scale up to ten times your normal height. Six foot tall becomes sixty foot tall. Hey, you said "big and splashy". That .44 magnum in your hand that just scaled up with you, is now firing the equivalent of a 4 inch cannonball. Well, it would be more like a cartridge fired from a WWII rifled tank main gun then an old style black powder cannon. Let's scale back a little. At 7 times your normal size, you're firing the rough equiv of a Panzer tank. At 8 times your size, you're firing the rough equiv of a Tiger tank. But that probably doesn't scale that well into the system, which is more of an effects based system as opposed to a reality simulator. And think of chucking those volleyball sized grenades.

At any rate, you could justify by saying that the experiment allows you to generate an energy field that allows you, and stuff at hand that you extend the field to, to grow. To bring the idea back down to something that would probably be allowable at your power level (I don't know the system, btw), you could probably grow to double your normal size and buy up your damage to double when "big", extending to your gear.

moonfly7
2020-05-01, 08:24 AM
Being biological in source can still be used to justify anything. Mutants are powered by a biological source, for instance. It's really just a matter of whether it's to you and your table's taste.

That being said, I do like the idea proposed by several above of your character Hulking out. But, if it's workable within the context of the system, I actually prefer the idea of using the Growth power, and extending it to your costume and equipment, Antman style. Now the system probably wouldn't allow it at the power level you're playing at, but let's say that you could scale up to ten times your normal height. Six foot tall becomes sixty foot tall. Hey, you said "big and splashy". That .44 magnum in your hand that just scaled up with you, is now firing the equivalent of a 4 inch cannonball. Well, it would be more like a cartridge fired from a WWII rifled tank main gun then an old style black powder cannon. Let's scale back a little. At 7 times your normal size, you're firing the rough equiv of a Panzer tank. At 8 times your size, you're firing the rough equiv of a Tiger tank. But that probably doesn't scale that well into the system, which is more of an effects based system as opposed to a reality simulator. And think of chucking those volleyball sized grenades.

At any rate, you could justify by saying that the experiment allows you to generate an energy field that allows you, and stuff at hand that you extend the field to, to grow. To bring the idea back down to something that would probably be allowable at your power level (I don't know the system, btw), you could probably grow to double your normal size and buy up your damage to double when "big", extending to your gear.
There's actually not really a cap on growth, but getting your size rank to increase by just 1 takes 8 ranks per increase, which is quite expensive. Not massively so, but getting to giant man sizes would wipe out a PL10's budget.

aglondier
2020-05-01, 06:49 PM
My suggestion for an Ace-in-the-Hole power: Possession.
Like Jericho from the Titans, you can enter and take over the body and powers of anyone around you. Perfect for infiltrating an enemy base, disrupting enemy fighting formations, and preventing your Omega class ally from killing your entire team when he turns evil.

Stattick
2020-05-01, 10:27 PM
Bio-luminescence? You could glow like flashlight. But you could fire lasers too. Maybe it's "big and flashy", because you can't fire lasers without glowing like a floodlight? Maybe as a defense, you could also wrap light from one side of your body to the other, like The Predator? As a sensory power, maybe you can naturally see into the UV and IR spectrum? Maybe you could glow in an invisible spectrum, so you could see while maintaining stealth?

aglondier
2020-05-01, 11:13 PM
Clones, or rather, clone. You have the ability to split off a single clone that will last for 24 hours before disappearing, returning all its memories back to the original. Since it only lasts such a short time, it can bypass or ignore all normal human limitations...hysterical strength and speed, adrenalin/endorphin overdose...and training makes up the difference, martial arts, parkour, biofeedback...

Lvl 2 Expert
2020-05-04, 04:02 AM
A clone would be quite a shock to people. Even if the clone only has your normal powers, only lasts for an hour or less and can only be used ones per day or longer, that's still quite nasty and fitting for a character who's biggest power is thinking things through. Twoface has Batman right where he wants him, his girlfriend tied to a rock ready to plunge into the ice cold river, but because Batman planned well and had his clone fight his way in while he sneaked the long way around it is him who pulls the biggest surprise. Also he now has a lot to explain to his girlfriend. In contrast if the power is used in a lazy way, he just splits up as soon as the fighting gets hard, there is no surprise, and while Batman can still both jump after his girlfriend and fight Twoface, there's nothing stopping the villain from hurriedly adding a third objective or something.

What it's not is super flashy and clearly powerful, although it ís clearly out of the reach of a regular human.

(It might be a bit troublesome to play. Players having two characters is always a bit weird in any RPG, it soon starts feeling like they're getting twice the attention.)

AvatarVecna
2020-05-04, 04:10 AM
The majority of the time he's actually super-calm, because his body produces super-powerful adrenaline. The miniscule amounts he's normally working with are what let him play at the same level as the minor superheroes most of the time, but when he's particularly outclassed he unleashes and just gets worse to deal with. If he's below PL limits, this can boost his physical stats and fighting high enough to meet them. If he's already at PL limits, then you have to get more creative - enhanced advantages to give him a wide crit range or some extra fighting style feats, some minor levels of super-speed/super-senses/regeneration, initiative boosts maybe...and regardless of which of those you go with, definitely balance it out with being worse at some of the more thinking-based skills for awhile.

Alternatively, classic low-cost power would be one of the Inventor feats coupled with Quickness Limited to that Inventor feat, that way you can pull temporary devices out of your ass.

aglondier
2020-05-04, 05:35 AM
A clone would be quite a shock to people. Even if the clone only has your normal powers, only lasts for an hour or less and can only be used ones per day or longer, that's still quite nasty and fitting for a character who's biggest power is thinking things through. Twoface has Batman right where he wants him, his girlfriend tied to a rock ready to plunge into the ice cold river, but because Batman planned well and had his clone fight his way in while he sneaked the long way around it is him who pulls the biggest surprise. Also he now has a lot to explain to his girlfriend. In contrast if the power is used in a lazy way, he just splits up as soon as the fighting gets hard, there is no surprise, and while Batman can still both jump after his girlfriend and fight Twoface, there's nothing stopping the villain from hurriedly adding a third objective or something.

What it's not is super flashy and clearly powerful, although it ís clearly out of the reach of a regular human.

(It might be a bit troublesome to play. Players having two characters is always a bit weird in any RPG, it soon starts feeling like they're getting twice the attention.)
But if the original is Bruce Wayne all the time, just splitting off a Batman clone each day...

Lvl 2 Expert
2020-05-04, 05:52 AM
But if the original is Bruce Wayne all the time, just splitting off a Batman clone each day...

Then it diminishes the risk to the character and the humanity of the character while not giving him the situational supernatural boost in power he only uses very rarely that the OP was looking for?

moonfly7
2020-05-04, 08:49 AM
Then it diminishes the risk to the character and the humanity of the character while not giving him the situational supernatural boost in power he only uses very rarely that the OP was looking for?

Basically. These have all been great suggestions! In the end though my mind was pulled to a different concept, as most GMs turned player can relate, I have an overflowing amount, and one new idea struck me really good.
My character is going to be much altered from the original goal of this thread but maintains some elements. I'm going with the ability to speak to inanimate objects and to be able to ask them for aid. This is represented by a transformation effect(anything into anything) and I'm explaining at he can ask objects to change on the subatomic level. I've gone from vigilante to a different, technically legal approach: detective. In this world all superheroes have to register with the government and follow all sorts of regulations, as well as reveal their identities. My character, Nathaniel Walters, or Nate, doesn't want anyone getting a hold of powers like his, but he wants to help people.
The solution was to become a "psychic" detective. Normal PIs need a license, Psychics don't. He pretends to be a minor Telepath and Telekinetic who "reads" memory imprints left on objects and fakes telekinetic tricks, such as turning a guns firing pen into Jell-O and claiming to have just removed it psychically, or having his opponents clothes go rigid and restrict movement.
Basically his powers are ridiculously versatile but he can't just go turning the air into concrete willy nilly lest he be "kindly asked" to join the hero initiative.
Thanks for all your help, and sorry for the changes!