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LCinn
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(I do so love the party scenario, it really works great)

what you describe matches my own thoughts from when I read the background stories. I just wish we would see carefree Drake and caring Nightmist on some of the cards, even if only indirectly. They feel so serious now :)

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We might get more quotes from them on the next set...


"See, this is another sign of your tragic space dementia, all paranoid and crotchety. Breaks the heart." - Mal

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broccoli
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Lol, that should be the promo environment for the next kickstarter.  "Sentinel Cocktail Party".

 

It would probably have a decent number of things to help the heroes, but I can see accidents and attempts by bad guys to take them all out in one fell swoop being part of it as well.

 

The quotes and art would be STELLAR.


"I'm not prone to hyperbole, but she is the Antichrist." - chwineka

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I know this is most likely entirely incorrect, but my friends and I have constructed in our minds that Nightmist is the hero who the others see as the "weird, unintentionally silly, slightly annoying" friend. And this whole idea came from one card: "Enlightenment" in NM's deck. We all just found the image of NM grabbing AA's face to be hilarious. We filled in AA's dialogue: "Nightmist... What are you doing? Please let go of me." I know, of course, this is totally just a construct of our imaginations, but we keep to this idea just for the laughs. And we have dubbed the act of grabbing someone else's face as "Nightmisting".

AA is a bit tougher to decide for me. Essentially, I honestly just see him as being a normal, everyman sort of character. Serious when things need to get done, but mostly laid back.

Unity, of course, we've discussed elsewhere, and her personality is just painted over every single card in her deck. And she is wonderful.


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TheSoundOfTrees
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I would be interested in seeing the kind of interaction Ra and Fanatic may have in their duo series... Their first meeting probably was memorable !

Fanatic : Who are you ?

Ra :  I am Ra, god of the sun.

Fanatic : There is only One God !

Ra : Well, I said "god", not "God", but the difference may be lost in translation. Could you put this sword down ?

 

Later...

 

Fanatic : So that's what you do ? Put people on fire ?

Ra : Among other things.

Fanatic : I think I may have uses for you. *grin*


Any view of things that is not strange is false - Neil Gaiman

Ironic
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Fanatic and Ra really are the heroes I have the hardest time getting right, socially.  Flavor text shows them both to be very serious/melodramatic, as befits mystical supers, but that's not great for differentiating them.  They're also the two heroes who responded to the appearance of their nemeses by going and brooding (three days for Fanatic, and years for Ra), which I simply find hard to cast in a positive light.  It's a shame, too, since I love the mechanics for both, and their themes are quite cool.  Mostly,  play Ra as something of a dangerous loner, only half-willing to co-operate with mortal heroes at all (similar to, but less of a jerk than, Ultimate Thor); meanwhile, Fanatic is incredibly dedicated and genuine, but the other heroes sometimes worry about her - the name "Fanatic" just doesn't set a positive tone.  Imperfect ideas both.

 

Argent Adept amuses me, since he's a bit of a joke among my group.  This is likely to change once we actually get Infernal Relics (his mechanics sound awesome), but right now, he just seems like a straightforward everyman hero with everyman sauce that we didn't have much to go on... except that a running joke of ours (in honor of the truly terrible Desmond Miles from Assassin's Creed) is to call lackluster protagonists "out of work bartenders"... and it turns out that poor Adept fits that description literally.

 

Like so many, my favorites are the incredibly energetic Tachyon, the tough-but-enthused Bunker, and the awkward impending doom of Visionary.  The latter is especially priceless when Legacy saves her life.

 

As an aside: do we have anything to indicate that Ra sometimes puts Blake back in control of his body, as per old-timey Thor/Captain Marvel/Miracleman/etc?


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"Is it a plane?"
"No... it's ironic!"

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Ironic wrote:

 As an aside: do we have anything to indicate that Ra sometimes puts Blake back in control of his body, as per old-timey Thor/Captain Marvel/Miracleman/etc?

I believe Blake gets control of his body once it's nighttime. Ya know, because the Sun goes away at night, and he's the god of the Sun (even though actually the sun is on all the time so we don't freeze instantly). As for Ra, I don't think he's that unwilling to cooperate, and he does have some moments of humor (mainly with Fanatic), so I think he's more like Indiana Jones or Drake if they were also the god of the Sun... or something.

 

I personally like Absolute Zero. He's so angry! And his life sucks!

 

 


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Ironic
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Zalrus9 wrote:
As for Ra, I don't think he's that unwilling to cooperate, and he does have some moments of humor (mainly with Fanatic), so I think he's more like Indiana Jones or Drake if they were also the god of the Sun... or something. I personally like Absolute Zero. He's so angry! And his life sucks!  

Oh, I agree that there are no canon indicators that Ra is in any way standoffish towards other heroes (except that time that he lost a fight, and therefore abandoned everyone for years, but that was more about self-confidence than co-operation, most likely) - I'd just been going that route since it's a neat theme to explore, and gave him a more distinct feel.  Also, because he was a total kill-stealer in the first game of Sentinels I ever played, taking out Voss just one turn before poor Tempest would have had the honor.  I had forgotten about his little Monty Python quote, though - that might have potential.

 

Absolute Zero I really didn't like at first (personality-wise - I have always been fascinated by his gameplay), but, if you will pardon the expression, I've been warming to him lately.  It is a little unfortunate that his origin makes Tachyon look like such a jerk, but them's the breaks.


"Is it a bird?"
"Is it a plane?"
"No... it's ironic!"

benificus
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I always saw Fanatic as kinda like, an absolutely crazy zealot "kill the sinners" sort of crimefighter.  Not someone who hangs out with other heroes at all, and if they happen to cross paths, it ends with her totally impaling some crook and Legacy or someone being all "What have you done?" as she flies off.  They'd probably see her as a dangerous lunatic.  I might be way off base, but man, her cards are all like stabbing people and dropping them from the sky and bringing about the end of days.  Kinda seems like she's straight up killing murderers and dirtbags.

 

I guess my point is, if my version of Fanatic showed up at this party, the heroes would probably be trying to get a straight jacket on her while she screamed about their heresy before she got to do much hanging out.

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To add to the conversation on Fanatic's personality, she doesn't call herself "Fanatic". That's her hero name, sure, and it's definitely the name of her comic book, but she never refers to herself as that. Imagine the sort of person it would take to call themselves "Fanatic". She isn't that person. She calls herself "Angel of the Lord", "The Lord's Agent", and even "Judgement", but not Fanatic. That is what other people call her.

Just to weigh in a bit here.


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lynkfox
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http://sotm.wikidot.com/heroes:fanatic

 

wikied

 

<< >>

 

*follows christopher around like a lost puppy with a wiki notebook*


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Ironic
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Christopher wrote:

To add to the conversation on Fanatic's personality, she doesn't call herself "Fanatic". That's her hero name, sure, and it's definitely the name of her comic book, but she never refers to herself as that. Imagine the sort of person it would take to call themselves "Fanatic". She isn't that person. She calls herself "Angel of the Lord", "The Lord's Agent", and even "Judgement", but not Fanatic. That is what other people call her.Just to weigh in a bit here.

Interesting.

 

However, that also doesn't speak very highly for how people percieve her, does it?  I mean, if the other heroes don't respect her enough to call her the codenames she would take for herself, but instead refer to herconsistently with an insult, that's harsh stuff.  Especially if even her allies among the Prime Wardens do so.

 

As an aside, my mind is utterly blown at the realization that Fanatic actually has a comic book of the same name.  Almost nobody gets that - Sentinel Comics seems much more fond of poetically titled comics like "Stranger in a Strange Land" or "Immigrant's Song".  Go Fanatic.

 

One more note, on the subject of heroes killing people: I suspect that Sentinel Comics (modern-day ones, at least) are more in the vein of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the like, in that excuses are found to keep named characters around, but heroes do still kill sometimes, especially non-humans and violent mooks.  After all, when people yell at Absolute Zero for sadistically impaling a sentient creature, he mocks them, and manages to stay in the world's most prestigious super-team.


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"Is it a plane?"
"No... it's ironic!"

Nielzabub
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I'm not sure Fanatic would be all aboard the let's kill sinners train. She's not an evangelical preacher who's trying to cleanse the world of non-believers. I think people call her Fanatic because in a world of doubt and skepticism, she unconditionally believes in a higher power. It's true that she has the angelic wings and the powers to back up her claims, but in the world of Sentinels, some people probably believe she's just a genetic experiment or something like that. Also, other heroes might not mean it as an insult. A lot of them probably think that she came up with the name herself. Also, she was raised in a convent, and even though she criticized them for inaction, their values and teachings still would've heavily influenced her. I think it would take a lot for her to just up and murder someone.


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benificus
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I'm not sure Fanatic would be all aboard the let's kill sinners train. She's not an evangelical preacher who's trying to cleanse the world of non-believers. I think people call her Fanatic because in a world of doubt and skepticism, she unconditionally believes in a higher power. It's true that she has the angelic wings and the powers to back up her claims, but in the world of Sentinels, some people probably believe she's just a genetic experiment or something like that. Also, other heroes might not mean it as an insult. A lot of them probably think that she came up with the name herself. Also, she was raised in a convent, and even though she criticized them for inaction, their values and teachings still would've heavily influenced her. I think it would take a lot for her to just up and murder someone.

That's all possible, I'm just sayin', there's a card where by my best interpretation she's killing some guy in a suit and tie by dropping him from the sky onto someone else, and a few where she's stabbing people with a sword.  Even if we're talking Marvel-like, that's pretty extreme as a matter of course.  And the lady does use a sword, which, you know, usually deadly, though that can and has been ignored for plenty of comic heroes, so it's not a deal-breaker.  Plus a lot of her quotes sound pretty uncompromising.

I could very well be way off on my interpretation, and if I'm told otherwise I'm not going to argue, it's just the impression I got.  Her name wasn't really a factor, though it's good to know that "Fanatic" doesn't come from her, because even a fanatic doesn't call -herself- one, it has only negative connotations.  That always struck me as odd until now.

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The only cards that have her doing stuff to non demons or villains are Brutal Censure and Final Dive. In Brutal Censure, it's unclear whether or not she's killing the priest or forcing him to see the error of his ways, whatever errors he may have caused. The quote for Final Dive suggests she may be trying to kill the guy, but she also may just be trying to intimidate him in order to force repentence or get information. I agree that Fanatic would be a hard hero to get along with, but I think it's because she's very passionate and has very black and white views on morality.


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benificus
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Nielzabub wrote:

The only cards that have her doing stuff to non demons or villains are Brutal Censure and Final Dive. In Brutal Censure, it's unclear whether or not she's killing the priest or forcing him to see the error of his ways, whatever errors he may have caused. The quote for Final Dive suggests she may be trying to kill the guy, but she also may just be trying to intimidate him in order to force repentence or get information. I agree that Fanatic would be a hard hero to get along with, but I think it's because she's very passionate and has very black and white views on morality.

 

Well you can't really discount cards where she's attacking villains, that's the whole point.  I never claimed she's just killing random people, but that she's the kind of hero who might very well kill a criminal if her views decide he deserves it, which is something most heroes don't do.  Stabbing  Apostate in the chest probably counts.  I mean, that's enough that in almost any superhero comic, even a Marvel themed one, your average hero would be all like "Woah, you have to stop that."  Same reason most Marvel heroes don't like the Punisher much.  Of course, context matters, so if it's a "We exhausted all other options" kind of thing, it's less of a big deal, but the cards don't give much context.

Plus, I think the effects of Final Dive kind of bear out the "killing a guy" idea--dude 1 (guy she's carrying) is destroyed and the dude 2 (guy she dropped him on) takes damage.  I'm sure the guy in the suit did something wrong, but probably not something most heroes would see as wrong enough to get dropped from the sky on someone.

I mean, it's subjective, at least until someone who made the game clarifies things.  This is just how I'm interpreting the things I see on the card.  It's an interesting way to look at the character, for my money.  Adds some conflict with the other good guys.  Even if she's not as kinda crazy as I like to think she is, I'm pretty sure she'd have a lot of arguments with the rest of them on exactly what they should and shouldn't be doing, crimefighting-wise.

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I think it's important to remember that her encounter with Apostate really caused her to question herself. In the artwork for Zealous offense, she is not redeemer Fanatic yet, and so this confrontation could be occuring during her biggest crisis of faith. I can agree that she's probably edgier than some of the other heroes, but if she liberally murdered people, even villains, I would think other heroes would try to bring her down. I just don't see the majority of other Sentinels heroes putting up with that, and I don't think she partakes in actions that would justify her being a villain card herself. Instead of Punisher, I like to think of her more like Ultimate Thor.


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Superheroes have the uncanny gift to use lethal weapons non-lethaly - or rather, comics physics include a lot of "this is only lethal if the story asks for it" laws. If Fanatic's use of a sword and habit of droping misbehavers from the sky was enough to make her a "killer", then what about Ra who burns his ennemies alive, or Expatriette's guns... Or Bunker's. Guns have a tendancy to be more lethal than swords.

Who knows ? Maybe Fanatic doesn't drop anyone from heights - she just threaten them to do it, and once they cower with fear, launches them at another ennemy (HP=0 or "destroyed" may mean "knocked over", "unconscious", etc). Brutal Censure could very well be like the "fire of truth" or whatever the name was, of Ghost Rider : reveal to the "sinner" the truth of his ways and brutalize him by awakening his inner guilt...

Though with the really "truly evil", I doubt she would hesitate to use extreme means. But I think she is not the kind of girl to kill without a very, very good reason. Or the other heroes would not help her - but fight her, just like they will fight Iron Legacy.

And remember - a lot of her powers and abilities are all about sacrificing herself, not about sacrificing the life of others. But I am sure she can severely "scare the bejesus out of them sinners", pardon the slang.


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FInal Dive always makes me think of the end of Dogma, with Affleck's character flying over the church carrying people around and just...droppin' 'em.


Ra, God of the Fun
Draw, God of the Sun
The Matriarch's Psychic damage is her forcing a gratuitous amount of Snapple facts about birds into a hero's brain.

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Hehe, yeah, it is a bit like that. In fact, I think that's what it reminds me of, too. I'm pretty sure it reminds me of something, anyway. His name's Bartleby, btw ;).


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I remembered the name, but I was too lazy to double-check the spelling. cheeky


Ra, God of the Fun
Draw, God of the Sun
The Matriarch's Psychic damage is her forcing a gratuitous amount of Snapple facts about birds into a hero's brain.

Ironic
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TheSoundOfTrees wrote:
If Fanatic's use of a sword and habit of droping misbehavers from the sky was enough to make her a "killer", then what about Ra who burns his ennemies alive, or Expatriette's guns... Or Bunker's.

Well, Expatriette at least must kill people.  She's the token 90's antihero - there must be dozens of issues of assorted comics where she guns down rooms full of pointy-footed people on thin pretexts.  Like Cable, I imagine she's scaled this back in the past decade, but still.

 

Ra and Bunker don't neccessarily use weapons any deadlier than a sword or a long drop, but it's about how you use it.  We never see either of them using, or even threatening to use, their powers on normal-looking humans.  That makes a big difference - escalation of threat.  It's like how we all accept that Superman can turn his mountain-smashing fists on a normal human with great enough control that there's no risk of turning people to pulp, but if he switched to using his laser eyes, we'd question it - that's a deadly-looking attack, and so tends to be reserved for superhumanly tough foes, or nonliving targets.

 

But, again, I don't know that either Cable or Superman is the right point of reference, because Absolute Zero impales a man!  He stone cold kills someone while at least one of his teammates watches, and he's still so much a member of the high-profile super-team which blackmailed an invalid into risking his life alongside them (Freedom!), their name remains changed to reflect his status among them.


"Is it a bird?"
"Is it a plane?"
"No... it's ironic!"

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When did Absolute Zero implae a normal person? If you're talking about Frostbound Drain, the guy in the art is just really cold, but doesn't look like he'll die from whatever AZ did to him. The current art for impale is Omnitron, and I think the art for the original edition was either an alien or a robot being spiked, which is still kind of dark, but not the same as killing an innocent civilian. It's hard to say about Ex-Patriette, for the most part, it looks like she fights metahumans, and her outlook on life is certainly a pessimistic one, but that doesn't mean she's necessarily murdered people in cold blood.

Punisher's whole theme is taking revenge on those who have broken the law. Most of the other Superheroes do their best to avoid him. I think of Ex-Patriette a little more like a lower budget Nick Fury. She has no powers, but she grew up around super powered humans, and so she knows how they think and how to fight them. I'm not against heroes being darker, and I certainly believe heroes have dark moments depending on whatever's happening in the storyline.


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I have the original release, rather than the Enhanced Edition, and I had always thought that the being getting torn in half on Impale was a Thorathian.  Looking again, however, there are wires sticking out, so maybe Zero's acts are less heinous than I believed.

 

And what you're describing is exactly how I think ExPatriette is likely being portrayed in the "present day" of Sentinel Comics, off of which the game is based.  What I meant is that she seems a lot like Cable, sans time travel, and so like him and many antiheroes like him, was probably much darker and more murderous when she was introduced, in an era when lots of "heroes" gunned down large numbers of human mooks.


"Is it a bird?"
"Is it a plane?"
"No... it's ironic!"

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I could see justification for AZ's violent action in the original impale if there is a full scale alien invasion and innocent people are dying left and right. I like the idea of Ex-Patriette maybe being darker before she started interacting with the other heroes. I think spending time with Fixer and Wraith could allow her to start prioritizing justice over revenge. It could definitely be an interesting arc for her and still allow her to be labelled as a hero.


Good ideas are usually just bad ideas a stubborn person eventually fixed.

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Just to confirm, the original Impale card did feature a robot, not a human.

Ironic
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Playing my first game in a while today, I noticed this:

"The team was killed by an angry human with wings and a sword.  It was awful!" - Gene-bound soldier, Freedom Five #536 (from Sanctifying Strike)

So, Fanatic kills humanoid alienswho are intelligent enough to speak and to feel upset about it.

 

Also, I seem to have forgotten to mention ealier that Expatriette shoots a human between the eyes in her bio.  So, that's two heroes with confirmed kills, even if Absolute Zero remains unknown - and Fanatic is even on a team with noted nicest guy in the setting Haka.

 

Ironic


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"No... it's ironic!"

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Even the good superheroes probably kill minions in the fight against justice, and so I would count killing Voss's minions as something that puts her too close on the darkside. With Ex-Pat the person she kills is an evil meta-human which would fall under a similar category as Voss. It's like Watching James Bond shoot and kill a bunch of nameless Specter mooks. They may have been real people with families and backstories, but in the context of the superhero story, they are the clear evil doers and an audience is not really meant to sympathize with them.


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That's exactly what I am discussing here, actually.  There are many genres which work exactly as you describe, but the overwhelming majority of superhero stories aren't among them.  One might say this is because a being with such godlike power who kills people is much scarier than a mere man like Bond doing the same, or more cynically, argue that it is because the superhero genre relies on recurring villains more heavily than almost any other - either way, most superheroes from mainstream comics would refuse to kill a proven psychotic murderer if the latter handed them a gun and threatened to kill a hostage every minute the hero stalled.  That's the convention.

What cases like Fanatic, Expatriette and possibly Absolute Zero indicate is that Sentinel Comics may work on different rules than Marvel and DC do - a question which I find interesting.

Ironic


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"No... it's ironic!"

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Reoccuring villains tend not to die in superhero stories, but death is something that is very much a large part of the superhero mythos that most characters have dabbled in at some point or another. In Secret Origins, the animated Justice League movie, the heroes do kill a bunch of aliens that are invading the Earth that are intelligent and sentient, but there's no strong moral ambiguity. That is because these creatures aren't humanized and the audience is given no reason to sympathize. This is why I used the James Bond story as an example. If they don't have to, most heroes don't kill, but if the situation is dire enough they can be pushed to do so. There's nothing wrong with heroes entering moral grey areas, but if they do it too often, in situations where other teammates would not approve, they will start being treated like the vigilante that needs to be brought down and wouldn't be able to work with a team.


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Ironic
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Debateable.

However, as I specifically noted, these aliens were humanized, since we saw one of them show emotional distress at the event after the fact.


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"Is it a plane?"
"No... it's ironic!"

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We don't know how humanized these aliens were. For all we know, they were just revelling about how many kittens they had been eating before receiving news about what Fanatic had done.


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On a different note, I really do find it interesting that the good guys in any franchise, be it in comics, or movies, or tv shows, or anything, are allowed to kill countless minions and such, but they are never allowed to kill the big bad. Take the new GI Joe movie, for example: though they kill a whole bunch of Kobra soldiers, they only ever imprisoned the big bads. Same with Fanatic here: why don't they kill Voss or Dawn or whoever, when obviously they are okay with killing?

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It's hard to guess without knowing intimate story details. With Voss, it's possible that he really is just able to run away right before he would be killed, or someone out there really wants to try him for war crimes. We know Omnitron gets destroyed at some point, since it comes back as Cosmic. As for Dawn, she might just be impossible to kill, or too valuable to kill.


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...What if the human with wings that killed that minion team was Apostate?

Not that I have any problem with the heroes killing baddies... since they are all made up and all. 

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General rule of supervillains seems to be that no matter how many times you beat them up, they always come back for another go. With Voss, it could be that he's always got an escape plan handy or is simply too tough to beat up and decisively be put down in one engagement, and that he quite frankly has a lot of reserve troops he's ready to throw at the heroes. Omnitron is never fully defeated until all of his components are gone; it could be that he had a remote server or something handy to jump off to right before going offline so he could quietly rebuild himself and try again. Baron Blade...yeah, good luck imprisoning a mad scientist with a plan. So forth and so on. 

And while the heroes don't (always) kill fellow human targets, robots or alien invaders seem to be fair game to anyone...though Fanatic and Expatriette certainly don't seem the types to ask too many questions in that respect before going full out.

Mejiro
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It's quite interesting thinking about what each of them does in their 'off' time as well -

Legacy: Spends time with the family, probably some low-key inspirational stuff when he sees something dodgy going on (like stopping a mugging, then convincing the attackers to hand themselves in and join a neighborhood watch scheme or something)

Bunker: Army stuff, testing the suit more, and hanging out with friends (probably other army-types).

Fanatic: Probably doesn't have much of a 'normal' life, those wings would make it hard to blend in. Praying, patrolling, I can imagine her having a 'home neighborhood' where all the locals look after and revere her, as a guardian angel (and also where she gets food and somewhere to sleep from). She doesn't seem to have any cover identity or anything, so she doesn't have to spend time doing 'normal' stuff. The lack of any normal life would also contribute to her seeming a bit unbalanced compared to some of the other heroes, because she doesn't have anything 'regular' to ground her, it's all hero-ing, all the time. (interestingly, only her, Tempest and Absolute Zero are obviously different, everyone else can take off their suit and be normal-looking and maintain a normal life)

Haka: Kindergarten, meeting random people and talking to them. I can imagine him doing street performances as well - just starts belting out songs of legendary deeds and stuff. Travels the world, seeing stuff, meeting people.

Absolute Zero: In his cryo-chamber. Probably spends a lot of time on the internet/watching TV, because there's nothing else to do.

Tachyon: Catching up on scientific journals, spending time with her wife. Evenw ith super-speed, ends up taking work home because there's always something that needs doing.

Mister Fixer: Fixing stuff and training. He lives in a crappy part of turn, so has to deal with low-level thugs every so often, but has a low enough profile that they're never scared off permanently.

Nightmist: Between occult investigation, does regular PI stuff to pay the bills. Also looking for a way to control or remove her curse. Few friends, but lots of contacts.

Expatriette: Training, ensuring she has enough ammo and supplies for combat.

The Wraith: pretty much entirely 'real identity' stuff - being a CEO requires people to know you exist and being around for meetings and stuff.

Thoughts?

Nielzabub
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This all sounds pretty okay to me. I can see the Argent learing more about his instruments and music in general, but maybe he bartends part-time. Omni-X probaly just plugs himself into satellites and things so that he can keep constant surveilance over the whole planet and quickly alert the others if there is a crisis. CR probably chews tobacco or sleeps. I think what the scholar does in his spare time is pretty evident from his cards, cough, houseboat.


Good ideas are usually just bad ideas a stubborn person eventually fixed.

Ironic
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I still really want to know whether the Legacies have a secret identity.  I mean, they'd have to, right?  Otherwise their perfect little family would spend all its time in some kind of souped-up Witness Protection?  But Baron Blade's bio just casually mentions how he has agrudge on the Parsons family, and everything talks about the celebrity status of the Legacies... I'm just not sure.  In either case, I think that Paul's most-important off-duty action is clear: calmly and politely refusing to endorse politial statements (and the occasional energy drink).  Followed by rebuilding the kitchen after Pauline decided to show off again.

I don't think Zero has much ability to watch TV/go online.  Cathode tubes and plasma screens tend not to last too well at impossibly low temperatures, after all, and if really had access to all the entertainment that modern technology could provide, would he really have decided to risk death just to get a change of scenery?  The chamber sure looks bleak whenever we see the interior.  II suppose it might have a window showing a TV or a computer or something, but wth signals unable to penetrate the chamber, so that choosing a show/movie would be a pain, and something like typing would be nearly impossible.

Nothing will dissuade me from the beliefthat Omnitron-X has really goofy hobbies.  I mean, it's a robot who gained emotons to better kill humanity, and was seduced by them so completely that it didn't just change sides, it went back in time to paradox out its past actions.  That shows dedication, sure, but also a classic Omnitroney sense of being totally over-the-top.  So, I picture O-X going to movies, or even restaurants with hilariously bad human costumes, being spotted, and running home.  When Bunker asks how a superintelligent robot made that mistake (instead of using a hologram), O-X reples that it knew it would be spotted, but wanted to see how real human emotions reacted to this ("I would have shown more curiosity in ther poston," it admits).  I picture t watching Star Trek: The Next Generation marathons with Unity and Tachyon, and complaining endlessly about how unrealistic Data is - robots trying to gain emotions are nothing like that in real life.  Eventually, Unity has to make some tiny replica space ships attack it to shut it up.  I have no real basis for this - my copy of Shattered Tmelines hasn't arrived yet - but it's the Omnitron-X I have pictured since the reveal, and the one I will play.

Ironic


"Is it a bird?"
"Is it a plane?"
"No... it's ironic!"

Nielzabub
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Ironic wrote:

.Nothing will dissuade me from the beliefthat Omnitron-X has really goofy hobbies.  I mean, it's a robot who gained emotons to better kill humanity, and was seduced by them so completely that it didn't just change sides, it went back in time to paradox out its past actions.  That shows dedication, sure, but also a classic Omnitroney sense of being totally over-the-top.  So, I picture O-X going to movies, or even restaurants with hilariously bad human costumes, being spotted, and running home.  When Bunker asks how a superintelligent robot made that mistake (instead of using a hologram), O-X reples that it knew it would be spotted, but wanted to see how real human emotions reacted to this ("I would have shown more curiosity in ther poston," it admits).  I picture t watching Star Trek: The Next Generation marathons with Unity and Tachyon, and complaining endlessly about how unrealistic Data is - robots trying to gain emotions are nothing like that in real life.  Eventually, Unity has to make some tiny replica space ships attack it to shut it up.  I have no real basis for this - my copy of Shattered Tmelines hasn't arrived yet - but it's the Omnitron-X I have pictured since the reveal, and the one I will play.Ironic

I do like this interpretation of O-X. I still think he does things like monitor world satellites for signs of trouble, but I do like the idea of stranger in a strange land element to his stories.


Good ideas are usually just bad ideas a stubborn person eventually fixed.

Ironic
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Oh, I agree that Omnitron-X would do all the usual "be a robot, do surveilance" stuff, but that's not really "free time", is it?  An AI might be able to run work and hobby processes at the same time, but they're very different acts.

All I am trying to say is that, homan or no, Omnitron-X does have free time.  Well, that and that it's not just Crying Robot #32579.  I like the idea of a robot who does interesting things with its emotions, instead of angsting all the time like some wind-controling Justice League members I could name.

Ironic


"Is it a bird?"
"Is it a plane?"
"No... it's ironic!"

Nielzabub
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I completely agree with you, I wasn't trying to disagree. I was especially fond of the wearing obviously fake human skin suggestion. It reminded me of the Ninja Turtles in their trenchcoats and hats.


Good ideas are usually just bad ideas a stubborn person eventually fixed.

Ironic
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That is exactly what I was going for - though done intentionally in this case.

(Omnitron-X's favorite Ninja Turtles movie is the third one, a fact which Bunker claims as evidence that O-X might still be evil after all.)


"Is it a bird?"
"Is it a plane?"
"No... it's ironic!"

Ironic
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Apparently, Chrono-Ranger is also willing to kill humans - seing as how he's Cowboy Cable, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised


"Is it a bird?"
"Is it a plane?"
"No... it's ironic!"

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One thing I finally realised from looking at Shattered Timelines flavour text is that Ra is a particular version of the straight man, the sane man in a world gone mad. Which is pretty amusing, given that he's the God of the Sun.

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So about this time a year ago in this thread I tried to image all the heroes together in a non-crime fighting setting. It turned into Young Legacy’s Hawaiian Birthday party. The Sentinels family has grown since that time and it seemed a good time to take another look. After all, birthdays come but once a year.

I imagine that...

Growing up a Parsons, and knowing her own destiny from a young age, Pauline has always felt more grown up then her father wants her to be.  She always felt closer to her dad’s many superhero friends then the girls at school. So it is that another year has passed and she again has chosen to invite those super friends to her birthday party. This year the whole gang gathers for a poolside barbeque.

Unity and Mr. Fixer are behind the garage. She has created a sparring partner out of Legacy’s metal recycling and is trying to get a hit on Mr. Fixer, who deftly avoids a single touch by the automaton. Unity wishes she had Swiftbot instead of Legacy’s old Tuna cans.

Legacy stands by the barbeque grill. Spatula in hand, wearing his Kiss the Hero apron so as not to dirty the white of his Legacy suit. That’s more to appease Mrs. Parsons then worry about the suit.  Its seen more dangerous challenges then burger grease. But Legacy always does what he can to show his love and support for his wife, knowing the stress she feels whenever a call comes in and that while Pauline will follow in his footsteps, there is a part of his life she will only ever see from the sidelines.

Wraith stands nearby, unconsciously checking the propane tank and fuel line in case of tampering. It could serve as a perfect tool. Multiple heroes, a faulty gas line to blame, the perfect set up for a devious villains mind. But no. Everything is fine.

Bunker is dressed down, he only wears his suit to “formal” Freedom Five events. With a nod to Tachyon he casually lays a trap for Absolute Zero. Could you please help me carry the burgers to the table? I know Wraith is standing there but I’m asking you Ryan. Well thank you very much. As they cross to the barbeque, Legacy, also in on the trap turns and clamps a hand down on Absolute Zero’s shoulder. Absolute Zero can’t move, the trap is laid.

“Photo 5!” Tachyon shouts from the camera tripod nearby. Click. Tachyon presses the button and takes her place next to Bunker, no need for a delayed photo timer.

Laughter booms behind the Five. They turn to see Haka, sporting a bright yellow shirt, and Tempest riding his back behind them. Photobomb! All but one join in the laughter. Absolute Zero just rolls his eyes and returns to sulk in his pool chair.

Fanatic and Ra are on the other side of the pool deep in discussion on blasphemy and the relationships of lesser and higher deity. Her grip tightens on the handle of her sheathed Absolution. His grip tightens on the handle of his staff. But just before Armageddon is unleashed a wave of water washes over them. Splash! Fanatic gapes at this unseen onslaught. Ra begins to steam.  Tempest breaks the surface with a grin. Getting a toss from Haka is so much better than the diving board.

Not noticing the burning retribution behind him Tempest waves to the group laughing at the barbeque. Fanatic launches into the air, grabs him by the shoulders, and begins to rise. Ra holds a fireball just below Tempest’s feet. Hot hot hot, let me down. Ra gives way into a hearty laugh, clears the fireball and tells Fanatic to bring him down. Not appeased quite as quickly as her friend, Fanatic opts to let go rather higher off the ground then Tempest would have liked, landing rather solidly in the grass.

Argent Adept is also laughing deeply at the scene. He is carrying a tray of drinks from the house out to the party. He offers one to Nightmist who thanks him with a smile. Chrono-Ranger and ExPatriette hardly pay attention to the drinks put into their hands. They are debating the unwelcome recoil effect on distance shots. ExPatriette draws Prejudice to demonstrate a technique. Chrono-Ranger takes a sip, spits it out and glares at the drink in his hand. Pink lemonade. He forgot whose home he was at.

Nightmist asks Visionary how how young Vanessa is doing. Things are generally well but Visionary is concerned by some headaches and nightmares Vanessa has been experiencing. She is seeing bizarre things you wouldn’t believe. Nighmist arches her eyebrow. Try me.

Argent Adept works his way around the pool. The Scholar happily takes a cup. You serve a fine lemonade my friend.He is laying back in a pool lounge, a plate of burgers balanced on his stomach. Argent Adept turns to offer the next chair a drink but stops awkwardly.  Omnitron-X sits there, totally still, and stares at him, eye lens catching the sun. Er, sorry, how are you enjoying the party? He moves on with a backward glance at the robot.

Back at the grill, Wraith’s wrist communicator beeps. Its headquarters calling.  The Pike Industrial Plant...yes...yes...into the sewer...right...right...yes...got it...and another? Baron Blades Mobile Defense Platform was seen approaching Megalopolis airspace...anything else...okay...thanks Aminia.

Wraith looks at Legacy. Trouble in Rook City, possibly Plague Rat. And Baron Blade is moving in on Megalopolis.

Wraith immediately finds herself surrounded by the other heroes. Legacy, Tachyon, Bunker, Argent Adept, Visionary, Omnitron-X, Absolute Zero, Nightmist, Haka, Fixer, Unity, Tempest, Young Legacy, Ra, and Fanatic all look on waiting for details.

Legacy takes charge. Wraith, Rook City is your home turf. Take five with you...Expatriette...er...Chrono-Ranger...hmm.  The two heroes in question are nowhere to be seen. Well Wraith, take three more and go after them.  Wraith signals Nightmist, Haka, and Mr. Fixer. The rest of you...we’re heading to Megalopolis.


The yard is soon empty, except for one old man in a bathrobe snoring on a pool lounge.

Reckless
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Fantastic.  I still don't know that anyone has quite captured my interpretation of Fanatic and Ra, but I don't know that I have a terribly clear interpretation to begin with!  I especially liked the bits about the photo, and your character pairings were a lot of fun.


Ra, God of the Fun
Draw, God of the Sun
The Matriarch's Psychic damage is her forcing a gratuitous amount of Snapple facts about birds into a hero's brain.

Ironic
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Another fine scene!  My only complaint is that I can't picture Unity (the closest thing Pauline would have to a peer among the heroes) spending all her time hiding rather than making Cake Golems for the birthday girl.

Ironic

P.S. Well, that, and Omnitron-X not getting to run tests on that delicious lemonade.


"Is it a bird?"
"Is it a plane?"
"No... it's ironic!"

Chaosmancer
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This is great. I do think Unity and Fixer would be in front of the garage instead of behind, but maybe Legacy disapproves of such usage for his recycling. I'm also nit sure if AA would be as awkward with omnitron-x, he's a professional bartender it would take a lot more than a blank stare to throw him off his game.

Also, I suddenly want The Scholar to say something to throw both Ra nd Fanatic off and take them down a peg, they seem too serious for his taste cheeky

 

By the way, I'm a writer whose been told to critique things all semester, so I apoligize, I just can't help myself

Nielzabub
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I loved the freedom team trapping AZ in a group photo.


Good ideas are usually just bad ideas a stubborn person eventually fixed.

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