Aberrant RPG - "I'm out of novas!"

[Horizon]

Anyone who has run Aberrant has been there. You have a great idea for a new group of novas to pit your PC's against and you are fresh out of anima ideas. Or, maybe you have a little free-form scene in the Amp room and realize you need a STC mid-scene.

We have been running into that problem of late in our current game, and I got to thinking we can't be the only ones. Post up your favorite novas from games you have played or run. I'd personally prefer novas from in-person games rather than these boards, mostly because I've been raiding them for some time. : ) But, any nova whose concept or anima you thought was creative is great.

I'll start to prime the pump and give an idea of format.

Horizon: Horizon manipulates the Space-Time continuum in many ways, including inducing gravitational effects with some effort.

Power Set: Temporal Manipulation, Elemental Mastery "Space-Time" (for Crush, etc), Spatial Manipulation. Has Clone for Temporal Manipulation and gravity field for Spat Manip.

Terra Cotta: Think Terra Cotta Army.

Power Set: Clone, Sizemorph Grow, Shapeshift, Homunculus.

Celerity: Celerity moves and acts in a slightly different time frame, making him seem extremely fast to everyone else. Great RP potential with this one: "Do you have any idea how long 15 seconds is to me!?"

Power Set: Mega Dex, Int, Wits, and Per. Hypermovement, DC:D.

Kratos: Think actual Greek mythology, not God of War.

Power set: Bodymorph earth, Immolate electricity, Q Bolt Fire. Add Weather Manip to taste.

Speed: Speed is a gear-head scientist who erupted while working on a weapon for the government. He thinks using science to make big booms and go really fast is awesome. Like Tony Stark, but more irresponsible and less womanizing.

Power Set: Hypermovement, flight, Mega Int. Add other powers to taste/power level.

Alright, let's see the novas. I'll post up more as I remember the good ones.

[Adrian Moss]

Has Clone for Temporal Manipulation ...

What the hell!

[Sampajanna]

Accelerate: Basic surfer dude speedster nova with a twist

Powerset: Mega-Dex, Mega-Wits and Hypermovement linked with Disintegrate and limited to touch range. Basically, he runs into something so quick it's vaporized.

Martin Shine: Deranged superintelligent British M16 stealth nova.

Powerset: Martin is Bond, James Bond. Low levels of psychic shield, mega-wits, mega-appearance, mega-dex, mega-manipulation and mega-charisma, and a sizable bit of mega-intelligence. And Appearance Alteration (he's a master of disguise).

Hunger: Shapechanging nova who takes on the life of the people he eats.

Powerset: Shapeshift (extended Duration), Quantum Vampire (stamina&health levels) linked with Telepathy (he absorbs your memories as he eats you), Mega-intelligence 1 (Eidetic Memory), Taint 8 or 9

Modus Operandi: This guy's pretty nasty, a taint buttered monstrosity, but in his heart all he wants is a home. So he finds a nice, suburban, Midwestern family and eats a member of it. He favors little girls but sometimes switches to fathers when he's feeling authoritarian. When he eats you he shifts to an amorphous blob, bowls you over, and absorbs your body and memories. Then he takes your place. The trouble is the guy's so mentally Aberrated that he can't keep the jig up for long, and besides, eventually he'll have to find a quiet place to shift back to his normal (horrific) form. That's usually about the time he eats the rest of the family, or if he's being tracked, just quietly vanishes.

Hunger is a ticking time bomb of madness and taint. He's not gonna last a long time, but within that time frame, he can seriously fuck up some people's lives.

[Horizon]

On the clone thing, I pretty much pulled that from the APG. It's one of their suggestions for creating new techniques. Basically, you summmon "temporal duplicates" from alternate universes. Horizon actually bends Space-Time such that he is in more than one place at once. As for the mechanics, 2 sux creates 1 clone, no auto sux.

Hmm...more fun ones.

Steel: Nice guy with an abusive, ex-Marine dad. Erupts one night when pop makes too many comments like "You're a little wuss, boy! I'm made of steel!" Sometimes eruption is a bit literal.

Power Set: Bodymorph metal. Shapeshift only while bodymorphed, and only into metallic objects (T1000 from T2). Mega-physicals.

Air Strike: AS flunked out of the Air Force's combat pilot program for being too "aggressive," whatever that means.

Power Set: Flight, Hypermovement, Q. Bolt with MIRV.

[Dave ST]

Quote:

Horizon: Horizon manipulates the Space-Time continuum in many ways, including inducing gravitational effects with some effort.
Power Set: Temporal Manipulation, Elemental Mastery "Space-Time" (for Crush, etc), Spatial Manipulation. Has Clone for Temporal Manipulation and gravity field for Spat Manip.

On the clone thing, I pretty much pulled that from the APG. It's one of their suggestions for creating new techniques. Basically, you summmon "temporal duplicates" from alternate universes. Horizon actually bends Space-Time such that he is in more than one place at once. As for the mechanics, 2 sux creates 1 clone, no auto sux.

Space and Time are not 'Elements'. While having 'Crush' would make sense for the space factor the the novas abilities it would have been best to purchase at as its own Level 2 power.

If 'Clones' are the nova taken from alternate time lines or universes, was it ever taken into consideration that if a clone was destroyed you've just removed your PC from that time line/universe? Co-Location is a better route, I've used that for Contessa, a nova here on the boards. Time and Space are separate. You either have 'temporal duplicates' and have other 'yous' from alternate universes, or you bend space to 'co-locate' and exist in several places at once.

I know it's in the APG, but the APG doesn't take into consideration what it's actually proposing. They also list Clone as an alternate power for Bodymorph (Shadow) in the Teragen book, which I agree with, but it also permits you to buy Clone without the high Q-requirement, which I don't agree with.

See, I read the book for more than just Node Spark.

Quote:

Steel: Nice guy with an abusive, ex-Marine dad. Erupts one night when pop makes too many comments like "You're a little wuss, boy! I'm made of steel!" Sometimes eruption is a bit literal.
Power Set: Bodymorph metal. Shapeshift only while bodymorphed, and only into metallic objects (T1000 from T2). Mega-physicals.

Steel... that shapshifts? Steel is not a very malleable metal. Might be better to call the guy "Mercury" or remove Shapeshift, unless he's a transformer with stiff metal plates that handle articulation.

[Horizon]

Horizon: It's a small liberty to take Elemental Mastery for Space-Time, but within the scope of the game rules. After all, they suggest bodymorph: circuits. The element chosen is mostly a matter of customization. Arguing semantics over "element" is going to lead to some damn boring novas.

Yes, the APG suggests you let a level three power become a suite technique. That's why it's limited. And yes, I could redefine the power so it doesn't have the potential to screw me, but I'd rather just explain how the power works and enjoy the game. Defining an anima is about creating a character that is enjoyable and interesting, not nit-picking over details.

Steel: Oh, give me a break. Are you seriously going to critique the names of characters now? Get a life. Do you play kangaroo court with every nova name and concept on these boards? I doubt it. If you do, I'm sincerely glad I don't game with you.

The thread is for generating ideas for nova names, concepts, and power sets for people to use when the well runs dry. Maybe try contributing some ideas?

[Sampajanna]

If Revenant is out of ideas, I still have Blobby Brown...

[Dave ST]

So do I!

Birth Name: Robert Brown

Alias: Blobby Brown

Nature: Conformist

Eruption: Choked on a Vomit jelly bean.

Allegiance: The Jelly Belly Comapny

Physical: Strength 1, Dexterity 1, Stamina 1

Social: Charisma 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 1

Mental: Perception 1, Intelligence 1, Wits 1

Blobby lacks any skill. Poor guy. At least he’s cuddly.

Backgrounds: Attunement 5*, Backing (Jelly Bean Activists) 4, Influence (Sloppy Joe Fan Club) 4, Node 5

*A note about Blobby’s attunement: For a single Q-Point Blobby may attune himself to a single person for 24 hours without the need for physical contact. He will attune and then follow that person wherever they go. If for some reason he is separated from his ‘attunee’ by more than 50 feet the attunement will fade out in 1 hour.

Mega-Attributes: See below.

Enhancements:

Powers: Node Spark 5

Blobby’s Node Spark is linked via a trigger: Jelly Beans. Anytime Blobby is fed a jellybean he immediately Node Sparks a specific set of attributes based on the jellybean’s flavor. These are defined below. Although his stats are abysmal Blobby always seems to get just the successes he needs to make his attunee happy and proud of him. (awww….)

Licorice (Shape Shift (ladder) 4, Strength increases to 4, Stamina increases to 3. Blobby will shapeshift into a ladder hat will extend anywhere from 10-30 feet.)

Strawberry (Shapeshift (bridge) 3) Blobby will shapeshift in a 20’ long rectangular plane that may be used as a bridge or maybe even a door or something… hell, I dunno.

Coconut (Shapeshift (coconut) 2) He becomes coconut. Yeah… a coconut. That’s it, a coconut. Bowl with him or something. Geez you people want greatness in everything dont’cha.

Cola (Forcefield 4) By taking on the properties of a fizzy cola bubble Blobby can encase his attunee in a force bubble protecting them from harm. Smells and tastes great!

Cinnamon – (Shapeshift (blowtorch) 3, Quantum Conversion (fire) 2 Extra: AP) Watch out folks! Cinnamon really gets the lil guy goin’. Just one bean and he’s burning holes in anything! Not safe for children under the age of 3.

Apple (Shapeshift (jack) 2, Strength increases to 5, Mega Strength 2, Lifter enhancement) Get it… Apple… jack… He’s so witty! Gotta love the lil guy.

Vanilla (Shapeshift (umbrella) 1, Forcefield 2, Extra: impervious) Woah! Careful there… gotta watch for falling objects. Or do ya??? Not with Blobby on your side! One vanilla bean and this lil trooper is gonna see to it you get outta the rain safely, even if it raining hydrochloric acid! Blobby, you’re the best!

Tangerine (Shapeshift (trampoline) 2, Mega Strength 1, Thrower enhancement) Backyard fun for everyone! Soar a mile or more, landing not guaranteed.

Root Beer (Shapeshift (one man rocket) 5, Flight 2, Mega Stamina 1, Adaptability enhancement) Shake him up and watch him blast off! Although you won’t get to the moon you’ll be the hit of the school yard when you show up at warp speed a fizzy Blobby Rocket! Helmet and pads recommended.

Honey (Shapeshift (hummingbird) 2) Tired of the squishing noise behind you as Blobby follows you around mooching your jelly bellies? Well just toss the gallon of flopping snot a honey flavored bean and he’ll become a hummingbird and fly around you mooching you jelly bellies. Yay! No more squishing!

Punch (Warp 1, limited distance: about three feet or so) Punch a hole through any surface! Blobby will not allow you to be denied access to any place. What a guy. Get it… Hole Punch…

Lime (Shapeshift (Skeleton Key) 1), Out of punch jelly bellies? Sister keeping her diary locked up tight? Girlfriend’s old-fashioned father order a chastity belt you can’t through? Say no more! Blobby is there for ya bruddah. One lime bean and he’s the key to any success!

Orange (Poison (Vitamin C) 3) Oranges can be an excellent source of vitamins! But sometimes it just has to look like an accident… a lethal overdose of Vitamin C is the answer to your prayers. Blobby will take out the opposition and do it clean and pulp free!

Ketchup (Teleport 1, to attunee’s side) Lose your Blobby? It’s okay, sometime we all have to learn to let go of the protoplasms we love most. OR DO WE?!? Drop a Ketchup beanie and before you know it Blobby will catch up in no time. KERSPLAT! And there he is. Never be lonely again!

Willpower: 1

Quantum: 6

Quantum Pool: 91

Taint: 9

Aberrations: He is a pint sized blob of protoplasm, mute, messy, down right adorable sometimes

Health Levels: None needed. Blobby Brown will always reform. Only complete disintegration will kill him.

[Forge]

A Boy and his Blob meets Aberrant...heh

[Dave ST]

Yeah, I was bored one day. This is the brainchild. Sad thing is I actually had to look up the wiki to get all the flavors.

[Forge]

As far as Nova chars go, the only one I can add without putting up a huge backstory would be my first Abby character, who still happens to be my favorite to play when the chance arises. Jack Flattery, aka 'The King'

Garbage Man who erupted after a series of unfortunate events that ended him in the back of a garbage truck just as the compactor was triggered. He always wanted to be a 'celebrity' now he had the chance, unfortunately... he also had to manifest the ability to get out of the truck.

Jack Flattery

The King

Accident

Survivor

Stats: Mostly physical, some social, very little mental, until you get to megas, then mostly cha & app with a smattering of physicals to taste.

Powers: Immolate (turns what he touches into piles of horrible smelling piles of goo.[Leachate])

Flight

His Eufiber suit always displays a stereotyped king's robe of red velvet with snow-leopard trim and he wears a crown. He loves being popular, and has been known to take drastic actions to ensure his appearance on N! at least once a week.

[Horizon]

Sorry it took me so long to get back here. I'm short of RL time as it is and I've been doing some pretty heavy AST work for the game I'm in. Our game is focused around a different cause of the Aberrant war where nova power groups start dividing the world up Old World Colonialism style. Tons of fun, unfortunately it requires the creation of lots of national teams, independent elites, and so on.

I'm not sure if you are joking with the Jelly Bean guy Dave, but it gave me a great laugh, so thanks. : )

I like The King. He is one of those novas who can find a place in just about any game. I can see using him as a standard STC, like Meph or Kikjak. As a PC, he has justification to get himself involved in just about anything, which is nice. I especially like novas whose powers aren't all "supah awshum." Eruption does strange things after all.

Now, for an old stand-by:

Papa Smurf: Sizemorph: Shrink, Clone, Mega Physicals, Some Mega Socials for things like Rile (if you use alternate material).

Papa Smurf is one of those Amp/Phoenix Room regulars you always want to have around for flavor but can't come up with on the fly. Papa Smurf likes to have his mini-clones go harass patrons until they vaporize or splat his mini-me on a wall. It's a crude joke, but at this point everyone kinda appreciates the opportunity to blow off steam. PS is one of those guys that everyone loves to rag on, but if someone actually tries to hurt the real him everyone gets annoyed. After all, he picks on everybody. For some odd reason he never bothers Jake though...

I don't think he would work as a PC in most games simply because he could kill the mood. I also wouldn't use him as an STC in games where the players are inclined to get distracted by minor flavor elements. It just wouldn't do for them to spend an hour of game time killing PS while they ignore the intrigue-laden sex party around them. He can be used to bring PCs that rely on their "break stuff" concept too much down to size. All in all, good for a bit of comic relief, or for a regular, but use with caution.