Superhero archetype suggestions

[GoblinGilmartin]

i'm working on a character for a mutants and masterminds game, anyone have any good archetypes to suggest?

[Saint Nil]

Well, the book does make a point to offer different archetypes at the begining, but here are some spring boards.

Captain Patriotic-the "I Love my Country" Superhero
The Juggernaught-Superstrong, Supertough, and often is a size above most players
The Psychic-I Can Kill you with my Brain
The Wizard-Magic is a VERY versatile power in M&M
The Paragon-Superman expy
Costumed Adventurer-Batman, Niteowl, people in costumes without powers
Power Granted Heroes-A hero whose power comes from an outside source, and if they don't obey their master they often lose their powers (or become Parallax)
Battlesuit-Normal people powered by their battlesuits
Energy Controller-Pick an element. Control it.

Of course, most of these are cliches that are only good for starting your concept. My best example would be Spider-Man. He's superstrong, uses gadgets, sixth sense, and his web can be used for an array of tools. Hulk is different from The Thing because Hulk is a genius pacifist who has an alter ego, while Thing is a typical tough guy who hates his form. So pick an archetype and make it unique. Add a unique power to give your hero a very different take. Adding psychic powers to a paragon could show a step towards not only physical perfection but mental as well.

Your character is more than their powerpoints though. Heroes are better defined by their flaws and personalities than powers. For example, a fire controller whose house burned down as a child. Terrified of her own powers and afraid it was her fault her parents died, she has to learn to accept her gift and use it for the greater good.

So grab an idea and go crazy.

[Ravens_cry]

A good name for a Psychic Paragon would be Lensman.
Something I want to try is ta gadgeteer genius bruiser combo, like a heroic version of the Engineer from TF2. But yes, I like Spiderman too. He has powers, not-inconsiderable powers, but he doesn't just power his way through problems, he tries to solve them the smart way.

[LibraryOgre]

A good name for a Psychic Paragon would be Lensman.

Or Kimball Kinnison. Just watch out for flying Oedipial overtones.

[Fhaolan]

i'm working on a character for a mutants and masterminds game, anyone have any good archetypes to suggest?

Just as an attempt to narrow the field a bit, are there any existing superhero characters that you find interesting? I find that if you're not interested in a kind of character, it's going to be difficult to get into playing one... unless of course it being difficult is part of the goal.

[Tengu_temp]

Fall Apart Man. Buy a lot of Anatomic Separation and not much else.

[GoblinGilmartin]

i should perhaps make one thing clear, I'VE already made up a character, Manathyst, a man who can turn into ruby-violet crystal, fly and shoot laser bolts.
I'm looking for the suggestions for the other players in my club, as they seem to be stuck...

[Sarco_Phage]

Ball of Arms Man: Take 20 ranks of additional limbs.

But in all seriousness, if this is going to be an X-man type thing or JLA/U type thing, then think about party roles. There's Leader Guy, Big Guy, Blasty Guy, Grimdark Angsty Loner Guy Who Used To Be A Killer And Is Struggling With His Past Which He Has Forgotten Because He Has Amnesia, and Gimmick Guy.

[GoblinGilmartin]

Ball of Arms Man: Take 20 ranks of additional limbs.

But in all seriousness, if this is going to be an X-man type thing or JLA/U type thing, then think about party roles. There's Leader Guy, Big Guy, Blasty Guy, Grimdark Angsty Loner Guy Who Used To Be A Killer And Is Struggling With His Past Which He Has Forgotten Because He Has Amnesia, and Gimmick Guy.

one of the finished characters is a Guy Who Used To Be A Killer And Is Struggling With His Past Which He Has Forgotten Because He Has Amnesia, funnily enough...

...ball of arms, huh?

[Vknight]

Think of it this way.

You have the strong man= Superman, Thor

The Tactician or the guy making plans for every scenario= Professor Xavier & Batman

You have the immortal point is there almost impossible to kill= Thor, Wolverine, Deadpool

The divine powered warrior= Wonder Woman, and Thor

Gadget man, either using technology of there own design made by an ancestor or gifted by people more advanced then us= Green Lantern, Iron Man

The thief, ninja, special ops person, quick not many powers more focused on skills and surprise= Batman

The Demon, Monster, Angel etc. Rather then being a god encarnate your maybe there right hand man or an escaped demon warrior= Spawn

The Gimmick, your powers are either silly over the top or just don't make sense but together you lay waste to your sorroundings or the very least prove your worth to the party= Joker, Jester(Character from an M&M campaign)

The elemental is one who is using ice, fire, air etc. The point is they use it and generally only it= Static Shock, Red Tornado

Finally the mentalist, your a telepath along with other psionics powers. Focus on something but keep points in others to show your mental discpline= Xavier

[Warlawk]

We actually sat down and did a M&M3 character creation/intro/stage setting session tonight so I can toss in what we ended up with. We're starting at PL9 so 1 behind the book recommended median starting point, but that's not really specifically relevant to the concepts.

It will likely be a vigilante game, not larger than life 4 color sanctioned team kinda thing. Blurry lines on the concepts of good and evil and there will likely be a lot of play concerning superhumans in regards to law and developing policy/legislation. Think marvel "Superhuman Registration Act" when it's being discussed and decided, so the actions of the players in public, and any major superhuman events can have large repercussions. This is purely speculation based on past hero games under the same GM though. This is just put out there to give context to the characters. Think real people with powers instead of Heroes in tights and you're closer to where we're coming from.

Private detective turned lawyer. Got her start as a detective and expanded into law, as her powers developed she started moving more specifically toward superhuman law and policy as it develops. A Paragon brick type character, strong and tough with at least a little something in most stats. A bit of investment in presence and the social skills that go with it as well, so a bit more sophisticated and intelligent than many brick types. Also has limited flight capabilities from an antigrav belt built by my character. Powers derived from being a born mutant.

An ex-con who was a victim of the justice system not knowing how to deal with superhumans. His family was killed and the trauma cause his powers to manifest, he killed the people responsible using his new teleportation related powers and was convicted and tried as an adult. He did his time, out early for good behavior but basically got screwed over and sent to prison in his early teens because the laws were not ready to deal with superhumans. Has the power to teleport several people long distances, a blast attack power based on diffuse teleporting power directed at the target (IE he blasts you and the damage comes from parts of you being teleported out, or slightly out of position where they should be within your body). Also has the Create power based on teleporting things from elsewhere in the world. Had a Mentor inside the clink who protected him from the other cons and watched out for him. Now that he's out he has come to his mentors home region to pay back the kindness and help out his family etc. Powers derived from being a born mutant.

A speedster. Fairly undeveloped yet as the player had barely cracked the book before sitting down tonight and mostly just ironed out the mechanics of the character. Relatively standard speedster setup. Quickness, high movement speed, improved initiative, Damage (in the form of high speed physical attacks) with the multiattack extra with a good investment in skills and advantages, looks to be a bit of a stealth/breaking and entering specialist. Powers derived from being a born mutant.

The battlesuit/techie (my character). Born naturally hyperintelligent to a lower middle class family he got in a bit of trouble at a young age with identity theft. He stole the identity of a professor specifically to gain access to restricted academic forums and debates online to be able to talk among peers. The things he did to steal the identity and the way he went about it digitally has put him on a few "watch lists" for cyber criminals. The professor he stole it from was more interested in making sure he developed his intellect than pressing charges, and ended up becoming sort of a long distance mentor (DM jumped on this saying 'think Good Will Hunting'). As he got a little older he got involved peripherally with the gang activity that was rife in his area. His parents took this as a sign and decided to pack up and move. The family moved just a few hours away to a better part of LA closer to the aforementioned professor and his university (CalSci I think). As a young adult the character has bought the house he grew up in and decided to clean the area up. As he looked into things he found the problem was bigger than expected, going up the food chain from gangs to organized crime etc and has started looking for help, thus gathering the other PCs. Battlesuit is based in gravity manipulation technology and all self built. 12 intelligence with eidetic memory, quickness (mental only) and Sense: Visual, Rapid 2 (takes in visual information 100 times faster than the average). The battlesuit has concealment through a gravity field, flight and a blast power based on hitting the target with shearing gravity field with alternate array selections of Move Object and Affliction (hindered/Vulnerable, Immobile/Defenseless) to represent trying to pin someone down with gravity. Also has a couple of small robotic drones (represented by the Minion advantage broken into 3 different 5 point drones with a communication link to the suit). The only non mutant in the group, ironic since I love playing mutants and it is the first hero game in a damn long time that I haven't played one.

We haven't actually started play yet, but those are the characters that were brought to the table. Maybe someone from your group can find some useful inspiration there.

[Silverlich]

I'm thinking of building a character around Possession with the Contagious feat.

[KnightDisciple]

You're in luck, my friend. I happen to be a member of an M&M board that does play-by-post games. One of the mods/refs there happens to have a thing for character creation.

Here's something like 200 PL10 character builds.

He's got everything but the basic archetypes from the core rulebook.

If none of them strike your fancy, I bet you could mix and match!

[Warlawk]

You're in luck, my friend. I happen to be a member of an M&M board that does play-by-post games. One of the mods/refs there happens to have a thing for character creation.

Here's something like 200 PL10 character builds.

He's got everything but the basic archetypes from the core rulebook.

If none of them strike your fancy, I bet you could mix and match!

I was so shocked when I looked at the first character sheet in that thread... I've never played M&M before, so I'm only familiar with 3E. So those 2E stats made me double take, lol.

[randomhero00]

My favorite archetype to play is basically 'Spawn' or with a twist. First is obvious, demonic traits (thick spiky skin), claws, fire control, etc. The twist way is to have the demon inside. He sacrificed his life to keep the demon locked away in a prison of flesh. But he has learned to borrow the great evil beast's power and though he looks like a man he has strange powers.

[GoblinGilmartin]

I was so shocked when I looked at the first character sheet in that thread... I've never played M&M before, so I'm only familiar with 3E. So those 2E stats made me double take, lol.

i greatly thank the man with the link, I i just was wondering, is 3rd better? because i was testing out 2e for my club, and the damage system is really hard to wrap my head around...

[The Rose Dragon]

i greatly thank the man with the link, I i just was wondering, is 3rd better? because i was testing out 2e for my club, and the damage system is really hard to wrap my head around...

It's not better, per se, but definitely not worse. It is mainly different. More streamlined, with fewer obviously useless or subpar options (though the obviously overpowered options are mostly still there). The only downside is that since it has different mechanical concerns, porting non-core options from 2nd Edition can be tricky. However, they are going to publish books for it anyway, so that should be taken care of with time.

The damage system, however, hasn't changed much (except for the removal of lethal damage as distinct from non-lethal). It's not that difficult to learn, though, just more detailed than the hit point systems most people are used to.

[Bang!]

Is Mr. Potatohead an archetype?

I'm thinking of a seemingly upstanding fellow in a business suit schlepping around a briefcase full of tentacles, wings, claws, compound eyes, etc.

[icefractal]

That's awesome. I'm going to make that character, next time the opportunity arises.

[eepop]

My group isn't too big on superheroes so I probably won't get to play the ones I've thought up while perusing my neglected M&M books. Most of these have a comedic/non-combat aspect, but if I had super powers, I would want them to make me a humorous/enjoyable person to be around, not just gruff-mr invincible.

Please forgive the names, as with no real expectation to play these characters I haven't taken the time to think up the suitably witty name that would match the concepts.

Bouncing Ball Man - Able to transform his body into an equivilent mass of bouncy balls (like you get from the quarter machine in the grocery store). Deal subdual damage to people by bouncing on them, jump really high, annoy the heck out of people, fit through small spaces, etc.

FarTaster - Get the sense of taste at an extended range, like within 10 miles. You can sample how everything tastes at various restaurants before deciding where to go for dinner. How you parlay that into fighting crime, I do not know, but the super-team will love you during downtime. Maybe combine with some other food related things and be some kind of super chef or super food critic.

Narrator - Some kind of disembodied ghost or something that is invisible. When he speaks people hear him though and he has potent powers of manipulation. Narrate what the bad guy should do, and make him do it! And when you're back with the super-team at the HQ, you can get into all sorts of hi-jinx. If you have enough points to allow you to somehow "speak" music as well, you can play themesongs for the team. If the GM isn't on board with letting you control the bad guys, this can work equally well as a Leader type character that gives his allies abilities by narrating things for them: Fighting a bunch of evil ninjas? "Everybody was Kung-fu fighting, those dude were fast as lightning" and give your allies increase speed or something.

The Dreamer - While sleeping, is able to continue sensing his exterior environment to a degree. In effect the real world around him becomes his dream world. He can make a wide variety of crazy things happen, but because he is asleep he is quite helpless so must be protected in some way. Also, he is powerless while awake. Probably needs to carry around some sort of drug to make himself pass out at crucial times.

Family Tree - A teenager that is able to manifest the personality and abilities of any of his recent ancestors. So his Mom, Dad, both Grandfathers, and both Grandmothers.
Father would be an EMT.
Mother would be some kind of scientist (probably the source of this ability when trying to accomplish something else).
Grandfather 1 would be a veteran of some war.
Grandmother 1 would be a politician/public speaker.
Grandfather 2 would be a businessman/investor.
Grandmother 2 would make amazing brownies.
To kick it up a notch, make the manifestation not under his control, so you are forced to be more creative with how you handle problems.

[Mutazoia]

i'm working on a character for a mutants and masterminds game, anyone have any good archetypes to suggest?

I would suggest looking here

[J.Gellert]

Alex Mercer

[Analytica]

I feel the need to build an Ozymandias clone. Nothing overtly supernatural, just a little bit ahead of all normal humans in every way.

[Vknight]

Or Rorshach be insane thats a good drawback