Mutants & Masterminds - Hero Building

[Jordan]

So I got bored today and decided to have some fun with the GMs Kit, Hero Lab, and my own imagination in creating some new characters for M&M. I often find I end up regurgitating the same character archetypes and stories over and over and I wanted to do a creativity exercise that would help me break that habit. The idea was to go in to this with no preconceived notions about the character and let the dice inform the characters and their stories.

Why post them here you ask? Mostly for fun, but I would like to get other people's opinions and even some suggestions on Names and Complications. So, without further ado I present Character #1; The Construct.

Furnace - PL 10

Strength 8, Stamina --, Agility 0, Dexterity 0, Fighting 6, Intellect 2, Awareness 4, Presence 2

Advantages

Artificer, Skill Mastery (Expertise (Magic))

Skills

Expertise (Magic) 8 (+10), Investigation 5 (+7), Perception 7 (+11), Persuasion 4 (+6)

Powers

Damage Resistance: Protection 10 (+10 Toughness; Impervious)

Fast: Enhanced Trait 12 (Traits: Dodge +8 (+8), Parry +4 (+10))

Furnace Blast: Blast 8 (fire, magical, DC 23; Accurate 6 (+12))

Unliving Form: Immunity 48 (Aging, Common Descriptor: Mental Effects, Critical Hits, Fortitude Effects, Sensory Affliction Effects)

Offense

Initiative +0

Furnace Blast: Blast 8, +12 (DC 23)

Grab, +6 (DC Spec 18)

Throw, +0 (DC 23)

Unarmed, +6 (DC 23)

Complications

Distinctive Appearance: Furnace's appearance makes it all but impossible for him to hide his "true nature." While not monstrous in the classical sense, his appearance can have an unnerving effect on people and generate highly negative reactions in those not used to him.

Motivation: Doing Good: The Purpose of Furnace's creation was to help his creator hunt down the supernatural threats and monsters that prey on normal people. Since his creator's death, Furnace see no reason not to continue doing what he was created to do.

Languages

English

Defense

Dodge 8/0, Parry 10/6, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 10, Will 4

Power Points

Abilities 34 + Powers 102 + Advantages 2 + Skills 12 (24 ranks) + Defenses 0 = 150

Birth Name: None

Identity: Public

Aliases: None

Occupation: Wandering Monster Hunter

Legal Status: Unknown, Furnace is a magical construct and as such defies legal distinction at this time

Marital Status: Single

Known Relatives: Mordecai Wrexler/Mister Magic (Creator, Deceased)

Group Affiliation: None

Age: 16 years since creation

Gender: Male in appearance

Ethnic Background: Not Applicable

Nationality: American?

Height: 5’ 5”

Weight: 185lb.

Eye Color: Red

Hair Color: Bald

Distinguishing Marks: Flowing tattoo like patterns of pulsing red cover much of his body

General Appearance: Furnace appears to be a moderately attractive male in decent shape with golden bronze colored skin and the aforementioned flowing patterns. His eyes are the same red as the patters on his body and he has no body hair.

History

Furnace is a magical construct/Golem created by a heroic Wizard who went by the moniker "Mister Magic." For years, Mr. Magic fought the good fight against the forces of supernatural evil that attempted to gain power in our world. Occasionally he would ally himself with other, more public heroes, but for the most part he was on his own. After years of fighting, mostly alone, Mordecai decided he needed a partner who was as devoted to his mission as he himself was. To that end, he created the Golem Furnace.

For 5 years, Furnace joined Mordecai in his crusade and the duo made great inroads to into "cleansing the magical community of evil." They fought supernatural monsters, broke up cults, interfered in the plans of evil wizards, and stopped a variety of horrors for entering our world. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and for this duo it was the death of Mister Magic. For while Furnace did not suffer the ravages of time, Mordecai was only human despite his magical power. Mordecai's death happened unexpectedly during a case involving a missing babies and a Faerie witch. During a magical duel of wills, an aging Mordecai suffered a fatal heart attack despite Furnace stepping in to defeat the witch.

Saddened by the loss of his creator and friend, Furnace spent several months in a depressive state before an encounter with a minor demon snapped him out of the funk and gave him the clarity understand that even though his friend, creator and mentor had passed, the magical evils of the world would not rest and someone needed to confront and stop them.

Notes

okay, so that background is really rough but I think it gets the point across. To be honest, I am not a big fan of the construct archetype in the GMs Kit and would normally never pick it if I were going to create a character but I think I've managed to create an interesting character with what was there.

Furnace has the requisite number of Complications but if you can think of anything else that might be appropriate I'm open to suggestions. I also don't like the fact that he is only PL 7 in unarmed combat but I don't know how to resolve that. If anyone has any suggestions for tightening up the build I will gladly take the advice.

Let me know what you guys think!

[jameson (ST)]

Being below PL in one area of combat (ranged or close) is pretty typical. What is odd is that his ranged attack strength is not backed by ranged defense. You might want to swap the dodge and parry numbers to give you a more solid ranged fighter, who is a little weak up close. Game play will tell you if there is a need to raise that close combat or not, but the most economical would be to take Close Combat: Unarmed as a skill once you start gaining PP/EXP as that will help you to get to PL quickly and cheaply if you find it is needed.

Other Complications for a character of this type might be a special material or expertise needed to repair his damage (since he cannot "heal" in any way). Normally a character of this kind would need somebody to do a skill check with the appropriate skill (probably Expertise Magic) but an added complication may require materials, tools, or some other limit above and beyond that to allow him to be repaired. Likewise, as a magical construct he might suffer power loss on certain days of the year (magical lows), or via certain conditions or types of opposing magic.