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Psychopomp [Worm]
WhoTheHeckity
But no one ever asks HowTheHeckity
- Location
- Murica 🦅
Tiebreaker!
[X] Protean chose to lean on her powers. Keep the discussion going a few minutes, switch PRODIGY from parkour to... charisma? Talking? Negotiation? Something like it. Hopefully she can be swayed with words alone.
-[X] "How many times have Empire capes broken out? It's obvious the PRT aren't actually interested in keeping them behind bars. I guarantee he would have been broken out in a week, either by his fellow Nazis or a sympathetic Officer. There is even rumors that the PRT will accept villains into their ranks in exchange for not putting them behind bars. They claim they're sending him off, but along the way they change course and soon there is a new Protectorate Hero in some other city. To them it's just a game, but try telling that to Victor's victims. His power was to steal peoples skills, permanently. How many surgeons has he taken a living from? Which psychologists or therapists did he steal the skills of to manage the Empires PR? If we're lucky, they'll finally get their skills back now. If not, that's a decade of schooling they have to pay for with skills they no longer have. How many people have lost limbs to Hookwolf? I don't know how many, but given he's escaped from a birdcage transport twice, I would guess close to triple digits. Now imagine if someone had just taken care of him after the first sentencing. Or even the tenth murder? And don't even get me started on the ABB's 'Farms'. Eventually, someone has to draw a line. It has to be somewhere."
[X] Protean chose to lean on her powers. Keep the discussion going a few minutes, switch PRODIGY from parkour to... charisma? Talking? Negotiation? Something like it. Hopefully she can be swayed with words alone.
-[X] "How many times have Empire capes broken out? It's obvious the PRT aren't actually interested in keeping them behind bars. I guarantee he would have been broken out in a week, either by his fellow Nazis or a sympathetic Officer. There is even rumors that the PRT will accept villains into their ranks in exchange for not putting them behind bars. They claim they're sending him off, but along the way they change course and soon there is a new Protectorate Hero in some other city. To them it's just a game, but try telling that to Victor's victims. His power was to steal peoples skills, permanently. How many surgeons has he taken a living from? Which psychologists or therapists did he steal the skills of to manage the Empires PR? If we're lucky, they'll finally get their skills back now. If not, that's a decade of schooling they have to pay for with skills they no longer have. How many people have lost limbs to Hookwolf? I don't know how many, but given he's escaped from a birdcage transport twice, I would guess close to triple digits. Now imagine if someone had just taken care of him after the first sentencing. Or even the tenth murder? And don't even get me started on the ABB's 'Farms'. Eventually, someone has to draw a line. It has to be somewhere."
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I'll take it, but also a lot of these are pretty similar anyway so it'll probably be a mixture of things. My general read is that we're leaning on our power to try to bring Taylor alongside, to try to turn her into being more okay with more extreme measures. But probably not talking about the specifics of our power.
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Debut 2.5
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I've thought about it, and a surprisingly good analogy for how PRODIGY operates is as a Thinker only version of Eidolon's power. Except it can't really precog or do clairvoyance--it's limited to things like movement skills, etc. But each skill is above what a mundane person may achieve.
Protean shifted gears. Gone was the parkour--in its entirety--and something else began to take its place. It was a glacially slow process to gain another ability. She wasn't even certain what, precisely, she was grasping for. She just knew that as she spoke with Skitter, her tone began to shift and change, how she stood and presented herself, and the idea of honesty at least to a point seemed more appealing.
"I don't really know why you should trust me," Protean began, "but I do think you need something. You won't last long alone, I don't think, and I think we could do a lot of good things together. We don't even have to start big, just small things. Stuff like you're already doing, though it's hard to see it making much of a difference."
Skitter seemed defensive at this last point.
"I've saved people. Just the other day I saved a kid from being snatched by some Chosen!"
Protean's voice is surer now. Fewer pauses, emphasis placed in just the right points. On some level she's unaware, she has begun to identify the weak points of Skitter's psychology, places she can poke and prod. Sensitive places to provoke the reactions she wnats.
"But who's ordering all of this? Skidmark led the Merchants. Victor is one of the leaders of the Chosen, and a force multiplier to boot. How many small busts can you make? Do the police even pick up the people you take out, or are they just back on the streets the next night? If you report them, do they just send the PRT after you instead? After all, a small timer is hardly worth it, but a bonafide supervillain? You need someone to work with. At least if you want to make a real difference."
Skitter takes a minute to collect herself. Protean welcomes this. She can already feel how to better position herself, subtle body language that conveys trustworthiness. To the micrometer, she has made herself appear genuine. It is all an act, of course, but it is one backed by power and a not inconsiderable amount of natural talent.
"Look, you aren't entirely wrong. But what else can I do?"
She has a plaintive quality to her voice. She wants approval. No, that isn't quite it.
She wants companions. This is as much about letting her convince herself as it is Protean convincing her. Something whispers this information to her, guiding her thoughts on how best to exploit it, to achieve her aim.
"We can make a difference. Do you remember Lung? The PRT had him for, what, a week? And then Bakuda bombed the city to release him. Or how about Kaiser? How many times have the PRT caught an Empire cape, and he uses all his capes to bust them out? They can't even keep Uber and Leet together. And that's not even getting into the real crazies like Jack Slash or Bonesaw. How long have those two been running around? Work with me and we can work on this. Be real heroes."
Skitter is considering now. Now the time for the final blow.
"You wonder if I can be trusted. Well, if we're going to be working together, we'll need to know each other. I don't think I'm ready to unmask to you, not yet, but I do have some secrets. I tracked you down pretty easy, yeah? That's because I'm not the simple Brute the PRT thinks. I don't really understand how it works, not entirely, but I seem able to get new powers. I don't know what you're worried about, but I'm confident we can handle whatever it is you're concerned about."
Protean added just enough truth to what she said. No reason to say how she gained her powers. Just enough to let Skitter know she could be part of something big.
"Like Eidolon," Skitter said. She's evaluating now. "But I don't think you're exactly his second coming."
The words come to Protean's lips before she even truly considers.
"Do I need to be? Do you think whoever or whatever you're worried about, that it'll require Eidolon? And maybe you're wrong. Maybe I do reach that level. And you'll be right there with me. Making a difference, helping people. As compared to whatever you're doing now. And... it gives you a chance to atone, for whatever it is that's weighing on you."
Skitter considered for a long minute. Protean almost began to talk again but something told her that would be a mistake. Talking too much... it would set the villain off, somehow. Frankly, her power thought she'd already pushed it a little too hard now.
"Dinah Alcott," Skitted said at last. "Coil has her."
"I'm not familiar with either of the names, I'm sorry to say. I wasn't really into cape shit before I woke up in Skidmark's basement."
"She's the mayor's niece, and a powerful precog. Coil... he's a crime lord that operates out of downtown. He has some sort of supervillain lair beneath the city, and some kind of powerful Thinker ability. Described it as manipulating destiny, but there's something else to it. I want to stop him. When I was with the Undersiders... he used us."
Prior to this point, Skitter had kept emotion from her voice. An all-business tone, at times skeptical, at others considering. Now? She's angry, and hurt, and afraid, and most of all she's guilty.
"When we robbed the bank a few weeks back. He used the distraction to snatch her. Guarantee that no heroes would be nearby; the Protectorate were out of town, the Wards responding to us. The rest of the team? They didn't care. So I'm done with them. And I'm going to save Dinah."
Protean considers for a moment. Her power is telling her nothing about this. Well, that's not entirely true. It's telling her that this is entirely non-negotiable. Taking down Coil will have to be your primary goal, short of another Endbringer or some other S-class threat showing up. But does Protean really want to commit to taking down some sort of supervillain she hasn't even heard of?
She'd been thinking more the Chosen, or the Merchant remnants. And to be sure, she had no doubt that Skitter would be glad to do it. But Coil would have to be her primary target after this.
Does Protean agree to this? To go after Coil as the "primary" villain and sideline other possibilities? This won't forestall hitting the Chosen, or the Pure, or other groups. But it will mean they take second priority. Unless an S-class threat presents itself.
[] Of course. Skitter has proven herself a fairly formidable cape, from what you understand. Not the heaviest hitter but plenty capable in the field, being rumored to have contended with Lung and Bakuda, and to have gone up against the Protectorate and Wards on a number of occasions. The fact she's still alive, intact, and free proves her ability. Having to prioritize Coil is hardly a major price to pay.
[] No. Other possibilities exist, more profitable ones, especially if Protean can kill a few more villains. Coil will surely get his own, in due time, and perhaps Skitter can be useful then.
[] Lie. Of course Coil is the priority. Instead, with PRODIGY, Protean can be sure Skitter will remain loyal. In time, the supervillain will grow attached, and so long as a token effort to find Dinah and take out Coil is made, she will be satisfied.
[][POWER] Utilize PSYCHOPOMP to create, modify, or break apart powers.
-[] Add a KEYWORD to [existing power]
-[] Add motes to [existing power]
-[] Break apart [existing power] and reclaim all motes and keywords (requires at least eight hours of rest).
-[] Do nothing for now.
POWER PANEL
CURRENT MOTES 0
THIEF
PSYCHOPOMP (Rank 12)(Trump): Harvest KEYWORDS and motes from dying capes. Use them to create powers. Gain a minor Thinker power to identify capes.
PHOENIX(Rank 5)(Trump/Brute/Changer)(BRUTE, TRUMP, CHANGER, FLESH, REGEN, FIRE, CONTROL) Burn to ash and rise again, stronger than before. Casey regenerates damage taken, the more damage taken the more rapidly they regenerate. As they regenerate, they shade "feathers" of flame, which they have moderate control over. They grow stronger the more times they regenerate, generating virtual "motes" which may improve PHOENIX by up to three ranks. (10 motes)
ACCELERANDO (Rank 4)(Mover)(MOVER, STRIKER, ACCELERATION, INTERTIA) Casey increases in speed the longer he is in constant movement. It seemingly has no limit, but takes time to spool up. Once he reaches a speed, he can maintain it, and needs some space to slow down. Casey may reach out and touch a single item no more than ten grams in mass. This item gains an iridescent sheen and is propelled at ever increasing speeds, in whichever direction Casey chooses. It will not slow until it strikes something, unless Casey wills it. (4 motes)
GEOMANCY (Rank 4)(Shaker)(SHAKER, CRAFT, FIELD) Casey may shape the world around him. At low motes, he is limited to the most readily available materials and has a range only slightly beyond his body. He is also limited to a single extremely basic creation (pillars, walls, holes, etc). At higher motes, Casey may utilize more exotic materials, expand his range, and expand the number of creations. Complexity of creations may increase as well. (5 motes)
PRODIGY (Rank 1)(Thinker)(THINKER, SKILL) Casey may choose a single skill to have superhuman skill in, and may change this skill with a few minutes of preparation. The number of skills and speed of skill change increases as rank increases. (1 mote)
STATIC (Rank 4)(STRANGER, SCRAMBLE, SENSE) Casey may cloud the perceptions of anyone that perceives him. As rank increases, his ability to cloud perceptions grows. He may not interface with non-biological senses, such as cameras, but he can effect people that see him through the camera. (5 motes)
PHOENIX(Rank 5)(Trump/Brute/Changer)(BRUTE, TRUMP, CHANGER, FLESH, REGEN, FIRE, CONTROL) Burn to ash and rise again, stronger than before. Casey regenerates damage taken, the more damage taken the more rapidly they regenerate. As they regenerate, they shade "feathers" of flame, which they have moderate control over. They grow stronger the more times they regenerate, generating virtual "motes" which may improve PHOENIX by up to three ranks. (10 motes)
ACCELERANDO (Rank 4)(Mover)(MOVER, STRIKER, ACCELERATION, INTERTIA) Casey increases in speed the longer he is in constant movement. It seemingly has no limit, but takes time to spool up. Once he reaches a speed, he can maintain it, and needs some space to slow down. Casey may reach out and touch a single item no more than ten grams in mass. This item gains an iridescent sheen and is propelled at ever increasing speeds, in whichever direction Casey chooses. It will not slow until it strikes something, unless Casey wills it. (4 motes)
GEOMANCY (Rank 4)(Shaker)(SHAKER, CRAFT, FIELD) Casey may shape the world around him. At low motes, he is limited to the most readily available materials and has a range only slightly beyond his body. He is also limited to a single extremely basic creation (pillars, walls, holes, etc). At higher motes, Casey may utilize more exotic materials, expand his range, and expand the number of creations. Complexity of creations may increase as well. (5 motes)
PRODIGY (Rank 1)(Thinker)(THINKER, SKILL) Casey may choose a single skill to have superhuman skill in, and may change this skill with a few minutes of preparation. The number of skills and speed of skill change increases as rank increases. (1 mote)
STATIC (Rank 4)(STRANGER, SCRAMBLE, SENSE) Casey may cloud the perceptions of anyone that perceives him. As rank increases, his ability to cloud perceptions grows. He may not interface with non-biological senses, such as cameras, but he can effect people that see him through the camera. (5 motes)
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SeQuester
Novice explorer
- Location
- Russia
- Pronouns
- He/His
[X] Of course. Skitter has proven herself a fairly formidable cape, from what you understand. Not the heaviest hitter but plenty capable in the field, being rumored to have contended with Lung and Bakuda, and to have gone up against the Protectorate and Wards on a number of occasions. The fact she's still alive, intact, and free proves her ability. Having to prioritize Coil is hardly a major price to pay.
We could try to persuade her. Like, Coil is the main villain, sure. But he is also a precog. Going after him without a plan is dangerous. We should either try to cut off his resources (capes, i mean. And then we either convince Skitter to be fine with us killing his pawns except her friends, or to go with the second option ->) or wait, make a plan, and go after him in a way that doesn't let him escape, meanwhile we hunt other capes.
It is very close to Uber's power in canon. Which is insanely powerful, by the way (for instance, using it with a cold reading skilk would essentially turn us into discount Tattletale).
Very close? Isnt it literally the same?
Well, i suppose ours is better, actually. We can do super human level skills ("above mundane" means that no normal human being can match us, right?). I don't remember Uber much, but i think he only got peak-level skill, no? Im probably remembering wrong, thinking about jt.
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Uber's power is generally narrower than yours (specific techniques rather than entire skillsets), with a lower ceiling, but he can switch what he does around nearly instantaneously and even hold two or three things at the same time. Victor was an overall much more comprehensive take on a similar idea, with the caveat he had to steal it from others.
You have Uber's ability to just choose, combined with Eidolon's need to spool up, but also you can have the more fundamental elements Victor gets combined with each skill basically being a low tier Thinker power in its own right, actually entering superhuman levels. In general your power is better especially at it accumulates more motes.
It cannot manifest things humans just can't do though, so no clairvoyance or precog.
You have Uber's ability to just choose, combined with Eidolon's need to spool up, but also you can have the more fundamental elements Victor gets combined with each skill basically being a low tier Thinker power in its own right, actually entering superhuman levels. In general your power is better especially at it accumulates more motes.
It cannot manifest things humans just can't do though, so no clairvoyance or precog.
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I like this enough I'd vote for it. In fact...
[X] Of course. Skitter has proven herself a fairly formidable cape, from what you understand. Not the heaviest hitter but plenty capable in the field, being rumored to have contended with Lung and Bakuda, and to have gone up against the Protectorate and Wards on a number of occasions. The fact she's still alive, intact, and free proves her ability. Having to prioritize Coil is hardly a major price to pay.
-[X] "We should be smart about this. He's a powerful thinker, right? Going after him without a plan is dangerous."
--[X] We should either try to cut off his resources (capes, i mean. And then we either convince Skitter to be fine with us killing his pawns except her friends, or to go with the second option ->) or wait, make a plan, and go after him in a way that doesn't let him escape, meanwhile we hunt other capes.
thewhiteraven22
(Unverified Worm Fanatic)
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Of course. Skitter has proven herself a fairly formidable cape, from what you understand. Not the heaviest hitter but plenty capable in the field, being rumored to have contended with Lung and Bakuda, and to have gone up against the Protectorate and Wards on a number of occasions. The fact she's still alive, intact, and free proves her ability. Having to prioritize Coil is hardly a major price to pay.
-[X] "We should be smart about this. He's a powerful thinker, right? Going after him without a plan is dangerous."
--[X] We should either try to cut off his resources (capes, i mean. And then we either convince Skitter to be fine with us killing his pawns except her friends, or to go with the second option ->) or wait, make a plan, and go after him in a way that doesn't let him escape, meanwhile we hunt other capes.
Sounds good to me.
-[X] "We should be smart about this. He's a powerful thinker, right? Going after him without a plan is dangerous."
--[X] We should either try to cut off his resources (capes, i mean. And then we either convince Skitter to be fine with us killing his pawns except her friends, or to go with the second option ->) or wait, make a plan, and go after him in a way that doesn't let him escape, meanwhile we hunt other capes.
Sounds good to me.
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Do we still have STRIKER btw or did that get eaten when we transferred a mote to GEOMANCY?
STRIKER is inside ACCELERANDO currently. Actually, Paebel, you didn't update ACCELERANDO'S KEYWORDS on Casey's character sheet
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Static becomes able to interfere with Coil around Rank 7-8, Dinah around Rank 9-10. These can be reduced by adding KEYWORDS that deal specifically with Thinkers, powers, or precognition. Probably the latter would get the best result, though it would also reduce STATIC as a general Stranger power. It'd basically be specializing it in a general direction. It only clouds senses related to powers around Rank 5-6.
Can our MC guess this information, or is this strictly OOC?
- Location
- Somewhere
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- They/Them
Not in precisely those terms, but yes, for the most part. She knows her current Stranger power will effect more senses as it grows stronger, she also knows this will eventually cross over into powers, she just doesn't know where that line is. She also knows she can probably make something more specialized for it, to achieve a specific anti-precog result.
[X] Of course. Skitter has proven herself a fairly formidable cape, from what you understand. Not the heaviest hitter but plenty capable in the field, being rumored to have contended with Lung and Bakuda, and to have gone up against the Protectorate and Wards on a number of occasions. The fact she's still alive, intact, and free proves her ability. Having to prioritize Coil is hardly a major price to pay.
-[X] "We should be smart about this. He's a powerful thinker, right? Going after him without a plan is dangerous."
--[X] We should either try to cut off his resources (capes, i mean. And then we either convince Skitter to be fine with us killing his pawns except her friends, or to go with the second option ->) or wait, make a plan, and go after him in a way that doesn't let him escape, meanwhile we hunt other capes.
-[X] "We should be smart about this. He's a powerful thinker, right? Going after him without a plan is dangerous."
--[X] We should either try to cut off his resources (capes, i mean. And then we either convince Skitter to be fine with us killing his pawns except her friends, or to go with the second option ->) or wait, make a plan, and go after him in a way that doesn't let him escape, meanwhile we hunt other capes.
[X] Of course. Skitter has proven herself a fairly formidable cape, from what you understand. Not the heaviest hitter but plenty capable in the field, being rumored to have contended with Lung and Bakuda, and to have gone up against the Protectorate and Wards on a number of occasions. The fact she's still alive, intact, and free proves her ability. Having to prioritize Coil is hardly a major price to pay.
-[X] "We should be smart about this. He's a powerful thinker, right? Going after him without a plan is dangerous."
--[X] We should either try to cut off his resources (capes, i mean. And then we either convince Skitter to be fine with us killing his pawns except her friends, or to go with the second option ->) or wait, make a plan, and go after him in a way that doesn't let him escape, meanwhile we hunt other capes.
-[X] "We should be smart about this. He's a powerful thinker, right? Going after him without a plan is dangerous."
--[X] We should either try to cut off his resources (capes, i mean. And then we either convince Skitter to be fine with us killing his pawns except her friends, or to go with the second option ->) or wait, make a plan, and go after him in a way that doesn't let him escape, meanwhile we hunt other capes.
[X] Of course. Skitter has proven herself a fairly formidable cape, from what you understand. Not the heaviest hitter but plenty capable in the field, being rumored to have contended with Lung and Bakuda, and to have gone up against the Protectorate and Wards on a number of occasions. The fact she's still alive, intact, and free proves her ability. Having to prioritize Coil is hardly a major price to pay.
Coils gotta die, might as well make sure we're there when it happens.
A thought occurs! Would Echidna's clones get us motes and keywords? They have parahuman powers after all...
Anyone else interested in dropping FIRE and CONTROL from Phoenix? condense the powers of the other effects? These two seem pretty superfluous to the important aspects there.
[X][POWER] Utilize PSYCHOPOMP to create, modify, or break apart powers.
-[X] Break apart [PHOENIX] and reclaim all motes and keywords (requires at least eight hours of rest).
--[X] Reassemble PHOENIX without FIRE and CONTROL
We're about to end our day, so that eight hours of rest won't be a problem.
Coils gotta die, might as well make sure we're there when it happens.
A thought occurs! Would Echidna's clones get us motes and keywords? They have parahuman powers after all...
Anyone else interested in dropping FIRE and CONTROL from Phoenix? condense the powers of the other effects? These two seem pretty superfluous to the important aspects there.
[X][POWER] Utilize PSYCHOPOMP to create, modify, or break apart powers.
-[X] Break apart [PHOENIX] and reclaim all motes and keywords (requires at least eight hours of rest).
--[X] Reassemble PHOENIX without FIRE and CONTROL
We're about to end our day, so that eight hours of rest won't be a problem.
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They would, it has been discussed a bit before. As long as there is actual conflict involved, our Shard is cool with it. Slaughterhouse 9000 works too.
Fire gives us fire immunity, which is always nice to have. Control is only useful to manage the collatéral damage from our fiery blood, unless it ties in to the aspect of our resistance that works especially well against powers?
But if we can manage a day or two without cape fights, we can certainly experiment.
Does it? It would make sense (cos of Manton Limit) but i dont remember it being stated if we get resistance to every flame or just ours. Anyways, if we discard FIRE CONTROL apparently everything in PHOENIX gets a buff, so it's not like we are LOSING stuff, just de-specializing. How many parahumans that use fire exist in BB rn anyways? Just Spitfire, i think.
[X][POWER] When you go to sleep, Utilize PSYCHOPOMP to create, modify, or break apart powers.
-[X] Break apart [PHOENIX] and reclaim all motes and keywords (requires at least eight hours of rest).
--[X] Reassemble PHOENIX without FIRE and CONTROL
Also im really interested in how... Lung-like PHOENIX is, Paebel. Any reasons why it's like that? Can we know what other first powers Caseu would make if we had choosen diferent packages?
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Package INSIGHT would have probably given you a combat Thinker power centered around precog, or maybe some sort of Stranger power. Likely the former. It'd be significantly easier to be under everyone's radar and probably had the strongest start, and would lead to a very different situation with Taylor. It's also probably the start that most leans into a deeply amoral playstyle.
Package FRAGILE would probably give you a Shaker or Blaster power primarily, likely utilizing forcefields for the most part. It would have been very New Wave-y and probably attracted the most immediate attention? But it's also the weakest of the three starts, and the darkest due to Amy's breakdown following Vicky's death.
As it is, Package SHAPER gave you the most potent set of KEYWORDS in general probably, mostly because TRUMP does a lot of work. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised no one has considered something like TRUMP, SHAKER, THIEF just to see what happens. You're also capable of essentially recreating Panacea's power, tbh, at least if you really want.
You are somewhat Lung-like, but not to the same degree, though if you could get Lung's KEYWORDS it'd be pretty useful to you. Lung was something of an inspiration as I considered what to do there. Other possibilities were going deep into the body horror side of things, and even just... making what is essentially Panacea's power.
Also, when someone makes a power, they should feel free to suggest what they see the power operating or doing, that will probably influence the final result.
Well, now we'll have to do it!
Okay.