Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Enarr
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Aha! I knew it! So you admit it! That's not a legitimate application!


What would make you think that?
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Lord Wraith
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What would make you think that?


• Build | Jagged

• Hair Colour | Natural: Brunette • Dyed: Broccoli Cream

• Eye Colour | The Black of an Exhausted Ember


Just a hunch.
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Enarr
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<Snipped quote by Nightrunner>

<Snipped quote by Nightrunner>

Just a hunch.


Metaphors, my friend.

EDIT: I just got really, really tired of saying "slightly above average build" and "brown with green highlights" and "blackish brown".
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Lord Wraith
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<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

Metaphors, my friend.

EDIT: I just got really, really tired of saying "slightly above average build" and "brown with green highlights" and "blackish brown".


I hope you don't think they're good or particularly clever.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Enarr
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I hope you don't think they're good or particularly clever.


I mean, you know I could literally dedicate three paragraphs to the social dynamics associated with having a mole in a certain spot. It's far from my magnum opus, I just felt like playing my hand at something different.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Lord Wraith
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<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

I mean, you know I could literally dedicate three paragraphs to the social dynamics associated with having a mole in a certain spot. It's far from my magnum opus, I just felt like playing my hand at something different.


Now I'm confused, is the sheet an actual submission or not?
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Enarr
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Is this an actual submission or not? Yes, I believe the answer would be.

If all went according to plan, you would accept the sheet. Everyone would make fun of how weird he is, in and out of character. He would conduct his inquisition, find out who made the devil-child, stop some schemes associated with it, trip over his poorly defined ethics, and meet some of the other PCs.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Lord Wraith
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Is this an actual submission or not? Yes, I believe the answer would be.

If all went according to plan, you would accept the sheet. Everyone would make fun of how weird he is, in and out of character. He would conduct his inquisition, find out who made the devil-child, stop some schemes associated with it, trip over his poorly defined ethics, and meet some of the other PCs.


I'll add him to the Pending Applications list then.
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<Snipped quote by Nightrunner>

I'll add him to the Pending Applications list then.


I hear your roar, Captain Wraith.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Bork Lazer
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I’m coming to town next week with another post.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Lord Wraith
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I’m coming to town next week with another post.


Looking forward to it.
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Lord Wraith
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Material Mimic | At will, Joshua can copy any material he touches. He isn't just covered in a layer of the material, he becomes that material. Every part of his body is altered to be made of that material. Despite this change he can still move his body as normal, although his movements may be a bit more mechanical if he's made of something hard. His muscles retain their function as his body becomes a series of interlocking joints and hinges so as to maintain the full range of normal movement even while he's made of steel. It takes about one-and-a-half seconds for full conversion, starting at the point of contact and spreading across his form. This makes him quite hard to kill, and comes with some other changes.

While made out of a heavy material, Joshua's strength is increased to the degree that he can still move normally. Increased inertia and momentum may still make his movements less agile, but his speed is usually unaffected even if he's composed of stone. Additionally his senses are dulled to the point that he can't taste anything, and he hardly feels pain. Not that taste is relevant, as he requires no food, air or even sleep while he's made of a non-flesh material. He's effectively a golem in these situations. Blood is also turned into the material in question meaning he doesn't bleed out, and most of his organs are made unnecessary. As such he can even survive decapitation in this state, although that would still take him out of the fight. Destroying his brain or heart will kill him, regardless of form. Joshua also gains the ability to somewhat alter his form while transformed, such as sharpening his fingers into blades or spreading out into a thin layer when made of cloth or paper.

Joshua's transformation tends to take on the contextual properties of a material as well. If he touches painted metal he'll become painted metal, instead of mimicking only the paint or only the metal. Similarly his starting body temperature will alter to be similar to whatever he's mimicking. It's possible for Joshua to transform only part of his body into a particular material by breaking contact before the transformation is complete, but this is highly uncomfortable.

Limitation(s) | Transforming requires Joshua to touch the material he wants to change into. And while he can access a host of different abilities depending on the material he copies, different forms come with downsides as well. Paper is thin and light, allowing him to leap off buildings and glide with the wind, but it's also easy to tear. Cement is tough and durable but it's also slow and clumsy, and has a tendency to break floors. In addition Joshua can't change back to normal on his own. He needs to touch living flesh in order to go back to being a person, in the same way that he needs to touch any other material to mimic it. And like how he copies the traits of other materials, he also gains the skin colour and minor aesthetic quirks of the beings he uses to turn human again. Using a dog, for example, would leave him a very hairy man with yellowish eyes.

Weakness(es) | When not mimicking a material Joshua is a perfectly ordinary human, and therefore easily defeated by most superhuman combatants. Transforming or changing from one material to another takes a second and a half, creating an opening for an enemy to strike. Joshua also inherits the weaknesses of whatever material he's mimicking at the time.


Concern 01: While made out of a heavy material, Joshua's strength is increased to the degree that he can still move normally. Increased inertia and momentum may still make his movements less agile, but his speed is usually unaffected even if he's composed of stone.

Concern 02: Not that taste is relevant, as he requires no food, air or even sleep while he's made of a non-flesh material. He's effectively a golem in these situations.

Concern 03: Blood is also turned into the material in question meaning he doesn't bleed out, and most of his organs are made unnecessary.

Concern 04: And while he can access a host of different abilities depending on the material he copies, different forms come with downsides as well.

Concern 05: Transforming or changing from one material to another takes a second and a half, creating an opening for an enemy to strike.

There really doesn't seem to be any drawback to Joshua using his powers to stay transformed all of the time. Especially if more durable materials don't limit or hinder him in any way. Transformed, he doesn't require, food, water or air and most conventional forms of harm are useless against him outside of very specifically having his heart or brain destroyed which depending on the material he's taken the form of would be very difficult to do.

In regards to Concern 04, I'm not sure if it's just a poor word choice and you're just generalizing or if you actually mean that different materials which grant him further abilities, and if that's the case that's pretty concerning because he's already next to invulnerable. My last concern is that a second and a half isn't a huge window of opportunity and is barely exploitable.



I know @Hillan likes this sheet but I'm wary of it and it's not because I have anything against you Nightrunner but because it reads as though you were trying to be purposefully cringy. It feels rushed and unrefined to me but what I think is my largest issue with the sheet is that it doesn't feel like its the right tone for the established IC. As I explained to Junk and Hillan earlier today, if this CS had been an early submission, predating the IC, it likely wouldn't have been under as much scrutiny as it is today. The IC is currently sitting at over fifty posts, there's now established lore and most importantly a very notable tone across the board. This CS isn't in line with that, it feels silly and joke-y and most importantly it doesn't bring anything new to the board, it's another CS dealing with the Supernatural which the RP already has more than enough specialists in.

I think I'd be more comfortable if you found a different niche to tackle and maybe took some time to refine your CS a bit more, I can't in good conscience accept this sheet as it currently is.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by thewizardguy
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@Lord Wraith
The only drawbacks to being transformed all of the time are story-based. He doesn't taste good food, he doesn't get the satisfaction of a night's rest, he can't properly feel the touch of another person. Stuff like that. Tactically it'd indeed be best for him to stay transformed permanently, he just doesn't want to.

In transformed state he is indeed stupendously tough. However his ability to actually inflict harm usually isn't all that increased. At worst he's going to be punching with the force of a baseball bat to the face. Threatening to a normal human, but not exactly a threat to most of the superhuman characters. So I figured his durability is fairly balanced. Besides, if he's full-on made of steel you can avoid him by climbing up a ladder. Rungs won't hold the weight.

And no, he doesn't get extra superpowers. As the rest of that paragraph implies, the different 'powers' gained are the properties of materials he's mimicking. If he's made of glass he's hard to see. If he's made of paper he's incredibly light. If he somehow manages to become uranium he'll give people radiation poisoning. That paragraph is to indicate that he can gain access to the properties of a wide variety of materials, to a wide variety of effects.

I chose 1.5 seconds because it's fast enough to easily do before or after a fight, but not usually during a fight. One point five seconds is the time it takes for a human to cross a 5-meter gap and shank you in the spleen. If you think that's too fast I can slow it down.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Enarr
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@thewizardguy Ah, Kevin Eleven.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by JunkMail
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As the rest of that paragraph implies, the different 'powers' gained are the properties of materials he's mimicking. If he's made of glass he's hard to see. If he's made of paper he's incredibly light. If he somehow manages to become uranium he'll give people radiation poisoning. That paragraph is to indicate that he can gain access to the properties of a wide variety of materials, to a wide variety of effects.


By that logic he’d also be as unbending as steel, and as tearable as paper when he is in those states. I understand that a certain amount of creative license is necessary, but you cant just pick and choose what properties of the substances you get. I’m okay with him turning to steel, but in order to do that I expect him to act like steel would.

There’s a balance to this that I mentioned to Wraith where he only transforms parts of his body in cases like this. For example, his arm from the elbow down is steel so he can still strike things and move.

Is there a specified amount of the substance he requires to transform? I ask because he can carry around marbles of whatever substance he wants and change whenever he wants.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by thewizardguy
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By that logic he’d also be as unbending as steel, and as tearable as paper when he is in those states. I understand that a certain amount of creative license is necessary, but you cant just pick and choose what properties of the substances you get. I’m okay with him turning to steel, but in order to do that I expect him to act like steel would.


.... yes. He gains ALL of the properties of the material he turns into. So when he turns into steel, he acts like steel.

His muscles retain their function as his body becomes a series of interlocking joints and hinges so as to maintain the full range of normal movement even while he's made of steel.


I understand that it's important to be critical, but this is something that's specifically addressed in my description of the power. The only 'creative license' is that his muscles still somehow function even when made of steel, but that's pretty much a requirement.

There’s a balance to this that I mentioned to Wraith where he only transforms parts of his body in cases like this. For example, his arm from the elbow down is steel so he can still strike things and move.


Why? This power isn't overpowered, so I don't see why you feel the need to inflict such a massive nerf. If he weren't able to transform his full body he'd have died in his first fight against a knife-wielding thug.

Is there a specified amount of the substance he requires to transform? I ask because he can carry around marbles of whatever substance he wants and change whenever he wants.


I'd say he needs at least a marble-sized quantity. And yes, if he could acquire a marble of the material he could carry it around to transform. At which point he could indeed pull it out of his pocket and change whenever he feels like.
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Why? This power isn't overpowered, so I don't see why you feel the need to inflict such a massive nerf.


Here’s your own answer to your question.

.... yes. He gains ALL of the properties of the material he turns into. So when he turns into steel, he acts like steel.


Your artistic license is your character’s ability to change their substance at all.

I'd say he needs at least a marble-sized quantity. And yes, if he could acquire a marble of the material he could carry it around to transform. At which point he could indeed pull it out of his pocket and change whenever he feels like.


This is why this nerf is required. If you want the ability to change at will, whenever you want, requiring very little source material then that’s fine! If you want to be super durable, that is fine! But you cant be both. Characters that are min-maxed (like Natalie for example) dont get multiple powers or the ability to change their abilities at all. You can be the most durable character, a man of steel, but you cannot transform if that’s the case. You can transform regularly with little of your source material, but you cannot have full body transformation.

Unless you introduce another weakess that will balance having both.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by thewizardguy
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Here’s your own answer to your question.

.... yes. He gains ALL of the properties of the material he turns into. So when he turns into steel, he acts like steel.


That's me answering your (statement) question on whether he gains all the properties of the material he turns into.

Your artistic license is your character’s ability to change their substance at all.


Actually, that's the premise. Not artistic license. As a superhero rp the basic idea is that some people have impossible abilities. Unless you want to define all fictional concepts as 'creative license', at which point you have generalised the term into meaninglesness.

This is why this nerf is required. If you want the ability to change at will, whenever you want, requiring very little source material then that’s fine! If you want to be super durable, that is fine! But you cant be both. Characters that are min-maxed (like Natalie for example) dont get multiple powers or the ability to change their abilities at all. You can be the most durable character, a man of steel, but you cannot transform if that’s the case. You can transform regularly with little of your source material, but you cannot have full body transformation.

Unless you introduce another weakess that will balance having both.


.... Why? I repeat my question. This ability is not overpowered.

Natalie could rip Joshua apart like an eager dog with a chew toy. 4 ton strength is going to let her toss him around like a ragdol even in his heaviest form, and he can't even really hurt her. This power doesn't make him nearly as tough or strong as she is. In fact, he's weaker than pretty much any character in this rp. I've looked through the character sheets and run the numbers.

I'm not usually this standoffish, but I feel like this is a little bit silly. I mean really. Name one combat-focused character that Joshua actually stands a decent chance of beating, with his ability as written. Only one I can think of is Beast of Burden, if he isn't transformed. And that's not much of an achievement.

In steel-form Joshua has half-ton strength and about 2-ton durability. Most combat-focused characters have 2-ton strength and 2-ton durability, or other equivalent powers. And Joshua's powers come with the added downside of making him clumsy and heavy. Arguing that his power needs to be nerfed further just seems a bit ridiculous to me.

Sorry to sound standoffish, by the way.
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@thewizardguy At this point, I think it would be best if we all moved on. After three different powers, I've begun to notice that they all boil down to the same set of issues. You seem to be designing the powers strictly for player versus player combat at least that's what it's beginning to feel like. Each one of your defenses has boiled down to Joshua's powers being vulnerable against other superhumans.

Everyone else in the game is vulnerable to regular humans, their powers give them a distinct edge but do not make them untouchable or by any means undefeatable. Every one of your presented powers has relied on a very niche weakness, for example, the first powerset required Joshua to be isolated from the general population. This would be a fine weakness if the game wasn't entirely based in a setting inspired by some of the most densely populated areas in North America. Isolating Joshua would require a lot of effort on another player's part if that ever were to occur and it would be incredibly unlikely that it would come up PVE since it would isolate Joshua from the cast.

This latest power requires someone to attack Joshua before he absorbs a material (since no matter the material, he's quite durable). In your own words, one point five seconds is enough time for someone to cross a room and stab Joshua. But this is the only truly viable exploit, and while I realize you're willing to increase the length, it just doesn't feel worth discussing any further.

At the end of the day, I'm truly feeling that we're not going to see eye to eye and I don't think it's going to work out for you in this particular roleplay. I'm sorry that it has taken this long for us to come to a conclusion and like I have previously said, we liked Joshua as a character but it doesn't seem to be working out. I apologize if you feel as though your time has been wasted here, but Hillan, Junk and myself don't think it's going to be a good fit moving forward.

Best of luck with your future roleplay endeavors and I do hope you find a game that will better suit you and your character.
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Won't be able to post for about a week, but it's probably going to need work and I've been sitting on it forever anyways so here.

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