Superheroes

[frigidmagi]

The strong can flog their enemies, the weak can only kill them.


Something like that?

[Cynical Cat]

The strong can flog their enemies, the weak can only kill them.


Something like that?

Actually that's a very good description of what happens when Caestus Pax gets his ass handed to him by Divis Mal. Caestus spends the next couple of months depowered. Doesn't make him a happy camper as the egomaniac got schooled in front of a world wide TV audience.

[B4UTRUST]

In the Trinity universe, psionic and nova potential is related to the same codes of genes, just depending on how they are triggered. Since they are opposed forces, one either triggers one way or the other, if ones triggers at all. Ambient energy usage (i.e. lots of novas or psions running around) increase the chances of triggering from almost none to significantly higher and the eruptee will erupt to use the same energies as the triggering force. In other words, if there are lots of novas around then more people will end up being novas. The Colony's triggering method is basically to charged up version of this with no regard for the subjects physical or mental well being.

Secondly, in Aberrant there are a number of ways to cripple or boost a nova's abilities. Divis Mal can shut off other novas' abilities and it is possible for a powerful enough nova to permenently remove a nova's powers.

So that same gene that triggers novas or psychics could trigger a seperate metahuman response in a different 'verse. Alright.

Again, my knowledge of Novas and Aberrant is extremely limited. It seems other then driving them bat shit crazy, blowing their brains out or sticking their heads in a microwave and hoping for the best are the only major ways to get the powers out. Although I'm sure there are cases, like the Astronomer, of a Nova having the ability to counter other Novas' powers

[Bloody Good]

Hmm. Why not go a psychological route? I know some, if not all, of you have read the Wild Card books. Remember the portions in which Tach (not our Tach, the fruity alien Tach) is powerless because of psychological bullshit? It'd be less "in yer brains eatin' yer nodes" approach, and it leaves options open for later.

[SirNitram]

As long as B4's willing to talk to me so we can regulate the power creep(I know myself; it'll creep back up, so I'm considering knocking Grav down further than just to the beginning), that's the issue I had.

[B4UTRUST]

I'm willing to talk. Just not last night. Last night was my sleep time. It was a dear and treasured thing. Beer, sleeping pills, alarm set for this morning...

Ahhh 13 hours.. I feel good now...

[SirNitram]

I'm willing to talk. Just not last night. Last night was my sleep time. It was a dear and treasured thing. Beer, sleeping pills, alarm set for this morning...

Ahhh 13 hours.. I feel good now...

Bastard. Sleep has evaded me the past week.

[B4UTRUST]

I've got some 200proof and vicodin that can take care of that

[B4UTRUST]

Alright, for those who aren't aware, the situation with Nit/Gravitas has been dealt with. For the moment being(i.e. very current situation) his power level has not been restricted, though very shortly(i.e. very very soon, during this story arc in short order) it will be. There are plans in place to deal with the situation as of now.

Hopefully that will alleviate quite a few of the problems that people have expressed with the current game. This should also allow for quicker posting, which will move the story forward at a better clip.

[Cynical Cat]

Quicker posting-yeah!

[B4UTRUST]

Well a lot of people said they were posting less due to the current situation. Having the situation rectified should intice them to post more, equally faster posting. I would think. Who knows, maybe I'm just niave

[Charon]

Well yes, you are. There is the whole duck thing.

But I digress. Hurray to moving onward and... well... downward.

[Bloody Good]

Huzzah. I'll go bug Haizu to start posting more frequently, the bum.

[General Havoc]

Hello everyone. After careful review and consideration, I've decided to give this game a go with a character of my own devising. I've been working with B4 and others to come up with something appropriate, and I hope that this meets with your approval. Many thanks in advance, and I look forward to playing with you all.


Name: Hydro

Sex: Not Applicable

Race: Not Applicable, considered a Water Elemental for lack of a more precise definition.

Description: Hydro is a Water Elemental, or rather Water Elemental is the term that everyone has applied to describing him, though what he actually is in reality is a matter of conjecture. In the most literal sense, Hydro is a mass of sentient, ambulatory, purified water, usually taking the form of a "heap" of water approximately five and a half feet high, although that is merely an average, as his exact size varies depending on just how much water he has absorbed into himself at any given moment. Typically a long, thick tendril extends from the top of his "body", much like the movie "The Abyss", tapering to a "head" of sorts, which is usually shaped roughly like that of a snake (without features of course). He uses this mostly so that others have some place to look when they speak to him, as well as for manually dexterous tasks such as touching something. It should be noted however that this is merely Hydro's most common shape, as he can change form quite radically at will, though he is incapable of replicating fine details such as features, fingers, or faces. In whatever form he takes however, he remains nothing more and nothing less than a mass of water.

Hydro is usually approximately human-sized (though his shape is different enough that the comparison is hard to make). He can become larger or smaller than this by absorbing or expelling water from himself, but there is a finite limit to how large of a body he can control. At most, he can consist of roughly 40 gallons of water, though he is most at ease with a bit more than half that (25 gallons or so).


Background: No-one is exactly certain what Hydro is, or who created him, or why. Perhaps he is an alien entity, arrived on this planet as a spirit taking the form of a water elemental. Perhaps he is a water elemental, a spirit of water conjured up by the earth itself for reasons unknown. Perhaps he is the result of failed (or even of successful) experimentation from parties unknown, a product of science, or of magic, or even of both, though the motives for why someone would do such a thing remain obscure, as Hydro, though potent enough when roused to anger, was clearly not created for fighting.

Hydro himself knows nothing of his own origins, save brief flashes of memory that could mean many different things. He awoke, if that is what one wishes to call it, nor what he actually is, and while curious to find out of course, attaches no grand importance to the matter, figuring that he will no doubt resolve the mystery in good time.


Personality: Despite being essentially a water monster conjured, summoned, or constructed for an unknown purpose, and perhaps even a malign one, Hydro is far from monstrous in his bearing and actions. He is placid, patient, calm, and slow to anger, approaching the world from a distinctly alien perspective, but without fear or judgment, preferring to observe and and to study this indescribably complicated world he has been unleashed within. Indeed, he has a rather scholarly, almost Vulcan bent and bearing to him, commenting at length on the "fascinating" nature of the objects, people, and places he finds himself among, and his first instinct upon encountering a new situation is to examine and study everything he can, at length, out loud, to anyone within earshot, as he does not yet understand that not everyone finds such things as motor vehicles, tree species, and plumbing systems as interesting as he does.

Analytical, deductive, and highly intelligent, Hydro is nevertheless maddeningly dense when it comes to other people's perspectives. He insists on referring to humans and other animals as "Flesh-Beasts", a term that he finds perfectly descriptive and cannot see why others would take offense at. He does not understand the finer points of human communication such as sarcasm, nor does he properly understand when he is being insulted, or even attacked. Being relatively immune to normal forms of assault, Hydro does not even recognize such things AS assaults, and will quite patiently stand in one place as enraged foes try to hack him to bits with meat axes, wondering to himself if these humans are immersing their metal implements inside him as a cultural greeting, or if they are trying to express some kind of physical form of communication. When he finally realizes that the people in question are attempting to do him harm, he will most likely be shocked and horrified that they would try such a thing, but only in the most desperate of circumstances (such as an ACTUAL mortal threat, or one to a friend) will he even think of retaliating in kind. There is very much an "Absent-minded professor" quality to Hydro, but for all his density and his alien nature, he is very protective of the "flesh-beasts" whom he manages to befriend, and utterly without fear or scruple in the means which he will use to defend them from harm

In addition to his scholarly and deductive skills, Hydro has a wealth of scientific knowledge gleaned from previous observations, particularly in the fields of organic and inorganic chemistry. He is also an accomplished botanist and gardener, two activities he quite enjoys spending time researching and practicing (and discussing at terminal length). Hydro in the end is possessed of nearly (but not quite) limitless patience, and those who would deal with him find that having similar-sized reserves are very helpful.


Strengths, Powers, Abilities: Hydro is, quite literally, a mass of water, and as such, while it is clear based on his personality and interests that he was not specifically DESIGNED for combat, when his mind is turned to it he, like the water he is comprised of, can be a terrifying force of destruction. With no "body" to speak of or damage, Hydro essentially immune to ballistic attacks of any sort. Knives, fists, swords, hammers, bullets, even tank shells will pass through him without so much as a momentary ill effect, to the extent that Hydro is very unlikely to realize that he is being attacked when struck by such weapons. Even extremely strong kinetic strikes or explosions, powerful enough to literally tear him to shreds and cast him about a room, will be nothing more than momentary inconveniences as Hydro will simply flow back together and resume whatever form he likes. He has neither a head nor any vital organs, and can see, hear, and feel (to an extent) from any part of his body, making targeted attacks against him essentially useless. He does not evaporate naturally, cannot be poisoned or sickened (at least not by normal means), and has no need to breathe, sleep, rest, or eat. Given proper motivation, he can function for centuries at a time without difficulty.

His offensive and active abilities are manifold, most of them reliant on the unequaled versatility of water. An ambulatory mass of H2O, Hydro can move by himself, slithering (sort of) over the ground at the same speed that a human can. He can speak, albeit with a rather alien-sounding voice, by stimulating vibrations within himself to produce the correct sounds. When need arises, he can move very quickly indeed over short distances, a fact that is more important than it sounds, as water is the only known liquid substance for which the stronger the force hitting it, the more resistance it gives. Striking, or being struck by sufficiently fast-moving water can be like hitting concrete, and while Hydro can only move so quickly, he can hit with enough force to easily knock a human sprawling, or even break a limb. Should that be insufficient, Hydro has all manner of terrible things he can do to a would-be assailant, ranging from bowling them over, forcing his way into their lungs, and drowning them, to freezing bits of himself into icicles and driving them into the subjects' eye sockets, to sweeping them up in a torrent and beating their skull in against a nearby bulkhead, to raising his temperature to the scalding point and leaping into their faces. Hydro has a thousand ways to kill someone who manages to anger him, and while none are as flashy as some of the more extreme powers exhibited by meta-humans, all are exceedingly gruesome ways to die.

Prosaically, Hydro can alter his own temperature to a point, lowering parts or even all of himself to freeze into ice (though he cannot actually move while frozen) or raising his temperature to near boiling (though for reasons explained below, he cannot usually actually break boiling point). He can move himself (through a process assumed to be similar to telekinesis) along a floor but cannot totally defy gravity or fly (without outside help). He is also capable of instantly dessicating (that is, draining the water out of) any non-living object he comes into contact with. Though he cannot use this power against living things of any sort, most people do not know this, and coupled with Hydro's rather alien appearance, this can be used to terrify would-be foes. He can penetrate into any container, room, or object that is not literally watertight, and rip it violently apart from the inside by simply freezing himself, relying on another useful property of water, that it expands in volume when it freezes. This is impressive enough when used against a door. It is downright horrific when used against a person.

Finally, because of Hydro's nature and relative immunity to certain forms of attack, he can actually serve as an admirable vehicle for other people's powers. Water conducts electricity extremely well, and Hydro suffers no ill effects from being electrified. Water is also able to conduct shockwaves very effectively, and an ally capable of generating such things could use Hydro as a means of selectively amplifying the potency of his blasts. Indeed, the uses of water are almost limitless, and thus Hydro's powers are effectively restrained by the ingenuity of those who would put him to use.


Weaknesses: Much as he may seem it when confronted with a machine gun or a sword, Hydro is not invulnerable by any means, and when it comes to the more... exotic forms of attack that metahumans encounter on a more or less day-to-day basis, Hydro is woefully ill-equipped to handle it. Though he can extinguish a torch or melt an ice cube with ease, temperature extremes are a real danger, and while he can regulate his own internal temperature to a degree, he cannot overcome the effects of supernatural-level elemental attack. Extreme cold can freeze him solid, knocking him into a coma-like state that he can recover from only through being thawed. While frozen, he is unable to move, speak, or act, and is essentially dormant. Worse yet is the opposite extreme. Highly potent fire or heat attacks can set him to boil, an excruciatingly painful process that will most likely totally disable him, or at worst, actually flash-boil him to steam, a process which is instantly and irrevocably fatal. Lightning has no known effect on him, but other types of energy attacks may (depending entirely on the energy in question) either do nothing, or hurt him, or kill him outright.

Elemental strikes aside, Hydro is a living creature, presumably with a soul (though that is a matter of some debate), and thus attacks based on mental, psychic, or "life" powers will have full effect, although his alien mind may react... oddly to some mental-based powers. Finally, while he is effectively immune to most standard physical attacks, extremely powerful ones can blow him to water droplets, a state which he will survive, but which requires some time for him to re-assemble into a useful form.

While such things are rare, there do also exist powers or attacks that are able to alter the nature of water in some way, either by changing its molecular state, or separating it into hydrogen and oxygen. It is unknown what such attacks would do to Hydro, but quite likely, if performed on his entire body, they would kill him outright. This prospect, the actual destruction of the water of which he is comprised, is one of the few things that truly terrifies him. Thankfully, it is also reasonably rare.

[Cynical Cat]

Seems alright. He does have an impressive resistance to injury, but since that's really his core power there's nothing wrong with that.

[Charon]

And that puts the number of players that can wash out an NPC's lungs with their powers up to three!

[Cynical Cat]

And that puts the number of players that can wash out an NPC's lungs with their powers up to three!

Always a good thing!

[Dark Silver]

sweet
bet I could boil him alive...

also brings up our count of "similar to Spiderman villans" heroes up to two.


We need more Power Ranger/Green Lantern combos...

[Cynical Cat]

We need more Power Ranger/Green Lantern combos...

*Splatters Dark Silver's brains all over the wall behind him*

I didn't hear anything. *looks at the rest of the group, smoking hand cannon held casually* Did the rest of you?

[General Havoc]

*Stares at the smoking hand cannon*

... hear what?

Incidentally, which Spider Man villain does Hydro take after?

[Dark Silver]

-rubs his head as he regenerates-

Fucking ow......


as stated in AIM - Hydro Man, watery knock off of Sand Man

[LadyTevar]

We need more Power Ranger/Green Lantern combos...

*Splatters Dark Silver's brains all over the wall behind him*

I didn't hear anything. *looks at the rest of the group, smoking hand cannon held casually* Did the rest of you?

Not a thing, lover. Not a thing.

[LadyTevar]

-rubs his head as he regenerates-

Fucking ow......

*shadows remove a few bits before they can regen*

[Charon]

*shakes his head*

Humans...

[General Havoc]

Fleshbeasts...