Friday, August 25, 2017

Fiction Friday - Cuesta Sword Saint

Yaffa Gamila Cuesta

Background & Origin: She is a mutant who has also had special combat training (her swordplay is practically Zen). She is a licensed chiropractor. She was born in Vine, a parallel Earth that developed a medieval fantasy setting. She has been on Earth about ten years and shows no signs of aging. She turned her therapy skills into a daytime profession.

She was born a beyond the edge of civilization. She was raised by her birth parents, who were serfs or servants of some noble. They are alive and well.

She has the following siblings:
  • An older brother that still lives with her childhood caretakers;
  • A younger brother that suffered grave misfortune, unjustly imprisoned for some crime;
  • A younger sister that is dead, dying under mysterious circumstances;
  • An older brother that bears her a grudge for some past transgression;
  • An older sister that she still keeps in touch with, but they're not particularly close;
  • An adopted younger sister that is dead, killed in an accident;
  • A younger brother that she still keeps in touch with, but they're not particularly close. 
She has experienced the following important events:
  • She made an enemy, a childhood foe who resurfaced. They're annoyed by her presence. They have ties to the criminal world or the black market. The hate springs from a criminal charge, justified or false;
  • She obtained a pet, a supernatural creature of some kind; 
  • An incapacitating accident left her laid up for several months; 
  • She made an enemy, someone that worked for her. There's lots of yelling when they're around each other. They have some close family ties that give them minor clout. The hate springs from a criminal charge, justified or false; 
  • Oops, pregnancy! Her partner left her behind; 
  • She obtained a pet, a bizarre creature of some kind; 
  • Working with performers developed her oratory skills and presence; 
  • She became involved in a serious relationship that lasted at least a year. 
Combat Tactics: Her first action is Evasion, then it's all about the sword.

Personality Traits: sly, inspirational, arrogant.

She had been on Earth for ten years, and long enough to get clinical training and licensing. Despite that, she - like a lot of people it turns out - still hasn't really assimilated and retains a chronic “fish out of water” problem.

This makes her hesitant and risk-averse in situations not related to performing her clinical profession (fixing people, no problem, as long as someone else is reassuring her the paperwork is done) or combat (the same precision with pressure points, joint locks and weak spots that makes her a good healer also makes her a deadly killer - or was that the other way around?).

Appearance: 5’6”, 135 lbs.

She wears her hair long and flowing. She has many tattoos and only regrets not having more skin. Each tattoo represents a personal achievement of some kind, including service to her family and (back on Vine) noble lady.

Powers: She has exceptional endurance and superhuman speed, coordination and reaction time.

She has a magic sword, and has mastery with any kind of sword, or sword-like weapon.

Notes: This was random chargen. Turns out she is kind of a combat monster. She typically has three actions per turn, a crazy high chance of hitting her foes (with the sword), and can do enough damage to take many opponents out of the fight in one hit.

I'm thinking V&V is crazy flexible, but also crazy fragile and easy to “unbalance” in a lot of ways.

We reconciled this a bit by playing up (but not overplaying to the point is irritation) the “fish out of water” hesitation thing, giving other PCs some screen time when otherwise Yaffa’s crazy high attributes might have made her a natural star. Because, you know, I may be a strong and dominant personality, but I have more fun when everyone at the table has a chance to shine :)

I'm working on Living Legends and Mighty Protectors hacks, but both systems have better controls over runaway damage powers, so I'm not really happy yet with either hack.




Yaffa Gamila Cuesta - Villains & Vigilantes

Str 15, End 24, Int 13, Agl 27, Cha 23, 135 lbs., level 7

Basic Hits 3; Hit Mod. (1.4) (3.0) (1.1) (2.8) = 7.8936; Hit Points 24; Power 79; Move 66” ground; Carrying Capacity 390 lbs.; Basic HTH 1d6; Accuracy +5; Damage Mod. +3; Detect Hidden 16%; Detect Danger 20%; Heal 2.1; Inventing Points 9.1

Heightened Agility B: +14
Heightened Attack: Damage +7 with all attacks
Heightened Charisma A: +8
Heightened Endurance B: +15
Heightened Expertise: Attack +4 “to hit” with swords, such as her Special Weapon
Heightened Senses: She has infravision, ultrasonic hearing, and enhanced (though not superhuman) senses of smell and taste, +6% Detect Rolls
Special Weapon Device: Magic Sword, Attack HTH +5 “to hit,” Damage HTH +2d6, unique and virtually indestructible, plus see below.
Special Requirement (Weakness): The magic sword has its own requirements to keep its enchantment active, or it just works like a normal sword.
Training: Attack +2 “to hit” with unarmed HTH, Attack +2 “to hit” with Special Weapon

Stormguard, Bringer of the Crown
Weapon: broadsword
Alignment: good
Wielded By: a specific bloodline
Look: seems to blur when moved
Fame: hardly known
Quirk: none
Main Effect: can blind opponents
Secondary Effect: gives the wielder semi-prophetic dreams
Restriction: can only be used by females
Restriction: gives the wielder mood swings
Current Status: undefined
Created: in secret
Created: to save a realm
Draws Power From: past triumphs

Combat Summary:
Unarmed: Attack HTH +7 “to hit,” Damage 1d6+10 or 3d8 (avg 13.5)
Sword: Attack HTH +16 “to hit,” Damage 3d6+10 or 3d12+1 (avg 20.5)

Boilerplate Stuff

Model  Ryan Ashley Malarkey. Character by I.A. Riley, July, 2017.

Document Copyright (C) 2017 by I.A. Riley. All rights reserved. Portions Copyright others; no attempt is made to infringe upon their rights.

Villains & Vigilantes and the Monkey House Games logo are trademarks owned by Monkey House Games, ©2010 Monkey House Games. All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A.

Random backstory generator - http://www.pbegames.com/lifepath/ .

Random name generator - http://www.behindthename.com/random/ .



Random height/weight generator - http://tower.newcenturycomputers.net/hwcalc.html .

Random Weapon Generator - http://chaoticshiny.com/weapongen.php




Friday, August 18, 2017

Fiction Friday: Horror, Kink, or Both?

Long time readers know that humans fascinate me.  From the amazing highs and despicable lows, to the quirky and the just plain weird (and weirder).  So, no surprise this image pops up here, right?

(I have no idea where this came from, 
but memo to self: never, ever, ever - no really, not ever Google "American Horror Story" again!)

I could actually see that being a real woman, and a real scene from some kind of movie. Either real horror, or real kink. I mean, lots of people have disfiguring injuries these days, and so many filmmakers need content, there are lots of opportunities for unusual body types.

Well, that and lots of people are into weird shit. I mean, there is an actual fetish/mental disorder associated with sexual attraction to having body parts removed. So, Hell, that could be a real woman acting in a niche Internet film.

Hell, the background even reminds me of "SAW" (I've seen still photos, because, you know, I'm insane enough to have Googled "SAW").

Anyway, since this is a #FictionFriday post, what derangement do you see?  










Friday, August 11, 2017

Fiction Friday - Kerry the Undying

Wafiya Janna Kerry the Ever-Living

Background & Origin:  She has pegged last April 27 as the day she woke up dead. Well, not so much “dead,” as just “not alive.” She’s decided on the term “ever living,” as having a nice ring to it, since she is most definitely not “undead,” and “undying” still has a bit of negative connotation (as well as seeming to invite idiots to actually try to kill her).

She was living alone at the time, and remembers waking in the night with terrible heartburn and feeling like someone had kicked her in the chest. She had just started the tour of Europe she had promised herself since childhood, and she was not going to let a little pain slow her down.

It was a wonderful month in Europe, and she remembers the food as being so satisfying she ate almost nothing the whole time.

It was after she got home, and someone pointed out she looked exactly the same - no tan, no new muscle tone from all the walking, hair the same length despite not cutting it - as she had when she left, that she saw a doctor. 

The doctor sent her to some government research scientists.

The scientists called in some wizards. 

The wizards called in some priests.

Eventually, everyone settled on the idea that her metabolism had simply stopped; that - despite the obvious incongruity - her body still ran some critical processes like self-repair and sensory stimulus response, but was otherwise just permanently unchanging.

She had gotten on so well with the government guys that she took a job with the facility, and now sometimes moonlights as a superhero.

Combat Tactics: She is a brawler with some training and lots of practical experience. She doesn't have any special defenses against most damage forms, so she tries to out-think foes rather than go toe-to-toe.

Personality Traits: She has a public identity (it was a rather unusual Origin, even for a capes universe) and runs a video blog where she comments on current events and superhuman activity. 

(Top two items on her FAQ: “I'm not a zombie,” and “I'm not married, and not interested.”)

Appearance: 5'7", appears 130 lbs, actually 235 lbs. (High density flesh, for unrevealed reasons.)  Natural blond hair, brown eyes.

She looks exactly the same as she did when she stopped having a metabolism. She doesn't age, she doesn't tan, she doesn't scar. Changes to her hair always return to same point (she is really glad she got her hair styled, and the wax job that day, in prep for her vacation). She makes frequent use of makeup and bodypaint, because even bad ideas wash off.

Powers: If her body is altered without actually dying, e.g. haircuts, sword cuts, crushed by a boulder, etc., then everything regenerates until eventually restored to how she looked at the time of the change. 

Notes: Model Lindsay Elyse. Character by I.A. Riley, August, 2017.

This all started with a weird dream I had one morning. Mighty Protectors final release had just dropped, so I decided to see if I could model the dream.

She is a utility character with flavor. She can survive in outer space and many other hostile environments. She has damage resistance to the weirder combat attacks like Ice Powers, Devitalization Ray, and Death Touch, but remains vulnerable to the most common, such as punches, lasers and lightning bolts. I toyed with permanent Density Increase, but finally decided it really wasn't worth the hassle.

I like that her points are at an “in-between” power level, just because it's more interesting.

This also creates an odd rule violation, because under strict MP rules, there is a point cap on power levels, and to have this much Adaptation (I actually wanted a bit more), she would need to be a 225-point character. Frankly, I opted to ignore that rule, and no one seemed to care.

If I were to boost her to the 210-CP level, I'd give her Armor 3/2/1/0 (because that fills the holes her Adaptation and Invulnerability don't cover), ST +6 (improving her role as brick), CL +6 (mostly to improve initiative, but it also just makes her more likeable for public relations and such) and -2 CP from Knowledge (just because that's an easy place to pull two points from).

#FictionFriday



Wafiya Janna Kerry - Mighty Protectors

Strength 21 (Carrying Capacity 960 lbs., Basic HTH d10+1)
Endurance 24 (Save 13, Heal 3.9)
Agility 15 (Save 11)
Intelligence 18 (Save 12)
Cool 12 (Save 11, Initiative d6)

Hit Points 26
Power 78
Physical Defense 3
Mental Defense 4
Move 20
Inventing Points 9
Wealth d6
Luck 13-
Weight 235 lbs.
Total Cost Basic Characteristics (90) + Abilities (130) - Weaknesses (20) = 200

Abilities
Adaptation: Asphyxiation (Doesn’t Breath), Blood Loss (Doesn’t Bleed), Disease, Low Pressure, Low Temperatures, Poison, Radiation, Sleep, Starvation, Time, Venom (45 CP)
Experience Levels: Attack +2, Defense +2, Skills +2 (20 CP)
Heightened Endurance: Fit, +6 EN, +4 IN (included above)
Heightened Strength: Strong, +10 ST (included above)
Invulnerability: Bullets damage form, Disintegration damage form, Entropy damage type (30 CP)
Knowledge: Languages (5 CP)
Luck: Luck +3 (7.5 CP)
Regeneration: 1 Hit Point per 3 hours, Modifiers: Constant, Unlimited (15 CP)
Wealth: d6 Wealth roll (2.5 CP)

Gear Pool/Inventions/Power Stunts
Punch Gauntlets - Natural Weaponry:  Attack +2, Damage +2 Blunt Kinetic, Modifiers:  Gear (-5) (5 iCP)
Weaknesses
TBD (-10 CP)
Public Identity (-10 CP)

Combat Summary
Initiative: d6
Unarmed: Attack 16-, Damage d10+1 or d12 (avg 6.5)
Punch Gauntlets:  Attack 18-, Damage d10+3 or 3d4+1 (avg 8.5)


Boilerplate Stuff

Document Copyright (C) 2017 by I.A.Riley. All rights reserved. Portions Copyright others; no attempt is made to infringe upon their rights.

Mighty Protectors and the Monkey House Games logo are trademarks owned by Monkey House Games, ©2017 Monkey House Games. All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A.

Random backstory generator - http://www.pbegames.com/lifepath/ .

Random name generator - http://www.behindthename.com/random/ .

Random job generator - http://writingexercises.co.uk/random-job-generator.php .

Random personality trait generator - http://writingexercises.co.uk/random-character-traits-generator.php .

Random height/weight generator - http://tower.newcenturycomputers.net/hwcalc.html .
(see also http://www.healthchecksystems.com/heightweightchart.htm )




Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Why I despise the GOP and people who vote for them

I am a very ethical person. I admire that Jesus said "Yes, you are your brother's keeper, now quit whining and take care of each other."

I try really hard to use the brain that God put in my damn head.  Stupidity annoys me. Willful ignorance and selfish stupidity are even bigger cardinal sins, in my Book, even than greed, gluttony and sloth.

If you look at the American "conservative" voting patterns during my lifetime, any objective observer smells the ignorance, selfishness, arrogance and greed soaking the pattern and stinking like shit.










Tuesday, August 8, 2017

End of Days - Gender Identity Gets People So Excited

I'm mocking this meme. The entire function of this meme is to play on the Western freakout about non-binary gender identity and non-binary gender expression.




You know, some civilized parts of the world don't have weird degenerate hangups about little gadgets that give women the convenience of peeing while standing.




But, really, what the original meme is saying, is that in Thailand, they had been pretty tolerant of alternate genders until about the 1990s, when the fucked up, intolerant values of Western society, got involved and non-binary genders became a public image (i.e. tourism) problem.

I mean, it's not as if we haven't had the "she-male" fetish here in the west for ages - we've merely pretended it didn't exist.

Hell, I bet a huge number of Westerners visit Thailand specifically to find themselves a Thai ladyboy for a few hours companionship...






Friday, August 4, 2017

Wonder Woman's Ass


I just needed to put this here, so I can always remember how fucking awesome it was to watch an entire movie, with a strong female lead, who never once - not ONCE - acted apologetic or ashamed for being the most awesome person in the room.



She NEVER had to apologize for being strong. She never had to apologize for being better educated. She never collapsed, nor broke down, nor fell apart, even when she was totally getting the shit kicked out of her. 
She always kept her focus, and stood by her ethics.

Oh, and Gal Gadot was so totally the right choice. Dissenters can bite me.



Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Fluent in English? Stay humble

The Internet reminds me that I'm not automagically special just because I'm fluent in English as my native tongue.

Oh, I'm special in lots of good ways, but knowing one language doesn't mean jack shit in the grand scheme of things.

Stay humble and get educated.