CHARACTER CREATION CHALLENGE 2023: Marvel Superheroes (4 of 6)
THE GAME: Marvel Superheroes Revised Basic (1991)
In our last issue, we added a Mutant Master of Magnetic Magic to our roster, joining our two armored suit college students. What manner of hero will join us today?
Marvel Superheroes Character Generation
Get an Origin
Generate Major Abilities
Generate Variable Abilities
Generate Powers & Talents
Fill in the Blanks
Step 1: Get an Origin
We consult the bones once again… 66. Another High-Tech. Let’s see how this one differentiates themselves from our two other High-Techs. The presence of 3 (or more?) High-Tech heroes in this group of six might indicate that they all share a technology base for their suits, and the suits will share an aesthetic while each being different. Like, all have a definite design lineage because they were designed in joint project by the students who built them.
Step 2: Generate Major Abilities
We’re back to a High-Tech character, so we have to re-roll anything over 80 for Agility, Strength, and Endurance. In exchange, Reason and Resources are each increased by one.
Fighting: 60, Excellent. Rank number 20.
Agility: 58, Excellent. Rank number 20.
Strength: 63, Remarkable, Rank number 30.
Endurance: 66, Remarkable. Rank number 30.
Reason: 33, Good. Rank number 10, bumped up to Excellent, Rank number 20.
Intuition: 32, Good. Rank number 10.
Psyche: 21. Good. Rank number 10. (Bumped up to Excellent (20) by a power, see below.)
OK, so this student is bright, but not as brilliant as the others, but is also in much better physical condition. Perhaps a collegiate athlete?
Step 3: Generate Variable Abilities
Health: Equals the rank numbers of F, A, S, and E totalled. In this case 100.
Karma: Equals the rank numbers of R, I, and P totalled. In this case 40. (Modified to 50 thanks to the Raise Lowest Ability power, below.)
Resources: Rolled a 40. Good. Bumped up one to Excellent.
Popularity: As a non-Mutant hero with a secret identity, Popularity begins at Typical.
Step 4: Powers and Talents
Powers
Our college athlete rolls a 21, three powers. What are they?
50, Body Control Powers. Raise Lowest Ability. Intuition and Psyche are tied, roll-off… Psyche. Bumps up to Excellent (20).
13, Movement Powers. Flight. Good (10). They can fly 120mph.
05, Resistances. Invulnerability to Magic. Class 1000. This would normally count as two powers, but since it’s the last one rolled, I’ll let it slide as it is limited in scope.
No body armor was rolled, so these high-tech powers are linked to a device that looks like a weightlifting belt.
Talents
We get a 46 for number of talents, 2. Rolling for talents we get Lockpicking and Mechanics. Nice.
Step 5: Fill in the Blanks
What is your hero’s heroic name? I’m not too fond of “The Bronze Magician.” In fact, he’s not a magician. Re-rolling, I get “The Cool Enchanter.” Nope. “Mister Righteous Amazon.” Hmmm. Let’s work with that. Odd or even for basic sex=odd. Male. So let’s go with “Mister Righteous.”
How old are they? Mister Righteous is a 19-year-old Freshman.
Does the hero have a secret identity? How do they keep it secret? Growing up in Hemphill, Texas, Reggie Rivers knew Fridays were for football and Sundays were for church. The youngest of 11 children, he worked part time at the Brookshire Brothers grocery store to help his widowed mother keep the lights on. His father was a Sherriff’s Deputy killed in the line of action. He excelled in athletics, and his classes, but felt unchallenged academically. Upon graduation he took college courses in nearby Lufkin until he got offered a football scholarship to the University of Texas in Austin. Enrolling in the Mechanical Engineering program, he met the other members of the Hill Country Heroes, and accidentally discovered their secret identities. He put his knack for mechanical design to work on their equipment designs, and created for himself a techno-weight belt that allowed him to fly, and disrupted the Earth’s magical field at a personal range. The belt also contained a prototype of the emotional stabilizer integrated into The Marked Wizard’s suit. Reggie has a hard time balancing his hero endeavors with academics and sports. Only his scholarship and his dorm keep him financially afloat, and he sends any extra funds home to his mother. He must pass his classes to play sports, and he must play sports to maintain his scholarship, and the nature of his power belt means he has to go to great lengths to wear disguise clothing when he shifts into hero mode.
How do they earn a living? Reggie juggles his responsibilities carefully - and sometimes desperately - to maintain the scholarship that pays his bills.
Where do they live? Reggie lives in a dorm on campus.
What is their personality like? Reggie was raised by an old-fashioned East Texas family. He is unfailingly polite, always addresses elders as “sir” or “ma’am” and makes the time to attend church services every Sunday, even when he’s sleep-deprived from his heroic endeavors. He feels strongly in the need to see justice done, and has a deep distrust of law enforcement while being outwardly supportive of law and order- an internal struggle caused by the unsolved death in the line of duty of his father. Reggie intentionally built no offensive systems into his belt, preferring to handle criminals with his fists. He will not kill, and he always strives to leave adversaries alive, restrained, and in a place where law enforcement can find them.
Do they have any hobbies or pastimes? Football is Reggie’s passion, but he is also an avid video gamer. One of his favorite pastimes is getting friends together to play Cyberball at the local arcade.
What does the hero’s costume look like? As Mister Righteous, Reggie wears a modified motorcycle helmet with a one-way reflective faceplate. He is bare-chested and bare-armed, with his techo-belt on over a pair of ash gray athletic shorts and heavy combat boots. Matching ash gray leather gauntlets complete the look, with sewn-in knuckle-dusters that allow him to use his full strength at need in a punch.
Where did the hero get their powers? Reggie worked with Gary Greyhawk and Kaylee King to design his power belt, as well as their hero suits.
