Tag Archives: mutant

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Waaay back in the day someone in our role-playing group (called Bob’s Rent-a-Cult btw) owned a copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness, a supplement for Heroes Unlimited. I don’t think we ever actually played it, but the idea of role-playing a ninja turtle has stuck with me ever since and that’s a gap I intend to fill.

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness
The Book That Started It All

How? Well, If you haven’t already heard about Marvel Heroic Roleplay (MHR) then you’re already too late, since it’s become so hard to get the books after their short print run. Anyway, the fan base is still huge and people are playing. Besides, the standard Cortex System is still available, which MHR is based off. It’s a perfect system for some turtle powered action. Cowabunga!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by theCHAMBA
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
by theCHAMBA

Datafiles, the game’s character sheets, are easy to build from scratch, but here is some inspiration from RPG.net.

That just leaves the Events (adventure), and I think there are some great resources, namely the original and reboot comics as well as all the numerous TV series runs and all the movies. My favourite would have to be the 2003-2009 run, which was the second series and is closer to the comics.

If your interested in playing, or just want to know more about Marvel Heroic Roleplay, why not join the Google+ group and let’s talk turtles. If you’d like to see campaign notes and other articles about the sessions here, leave a comment below.

TURTLE POWER!!!

 
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Spider-Man – Pathfinder Style

Recreating comic book heroes for your Pathfinder game is easy if you know where to start. Today we’ll build everyone’s favorite wall-crawler – Spider-Man.

Where to Start

I recently came across this post and decided to take a shot at building Spidey, who happens to be my fav Marvel character. My build needs to be playable in a campaign and I don’t want to home-brew too much, because I’d like to use him for an Icon adventure module I’m writing for 2014, and home-brewing means I need to do more playtesting. Peter should have all the powers he has in the comics, but the technological limitations of the setting and the presence of magic can be taken into account.

Steampunk Spider-Man
Spiderman steam punk by ~kajinman on deviantART

Mutations and Men

 mutant n. a living thing differing from its parents as a result of genetic change.

To start out, we need a race that reflects the mutation of our hero. Peter Parker might have been human, but that radioactive spider bite changed his DNA and gave him his superpowers. Call in the Advanced Race Guide.

Using the Race Builder I came up with the following:

Radioactive Spider Bite Mutation (30 RP)
Type

Humanoid (0 Race Points)
Size
Medium (0 RP)
Base Speed
Normal (0RP) We’ll make him faster with traits.
Ability Score Modifiers
Flexible (Str +2, Dex +2) (2 RP)
Languages
Standard (0 RP)
Racial Traits
Ability Score Traits
Advanced Str (+2) (4 RP)
Advanced Dex (+2) (4 RP)
Advanced Con (+2) (4 RP)
Defence Racial Traits
Defensive Training, Greater (4 RP): +2 dodge bonus to AC, which we put up to his spider sense.
Lucky, Greater (4 RP): +2 to all saving throw, again this will be part of his spider sense.
Movement Traits
Climb (2 RP): Climb speed of 20 feet and a +8 on climb.
Jumper (2 RP): Always considered to have a running start for acrobatics checks.
Expert Climber (4 RP): another +8 to climb and can crawl on ceilings, as long as he has hand holds.



Advanced Level (+10 RP)
Racial Traits
Defensive Racial Traits
Cat’s Luck (1 RP): Better agility or spider-sense, you decide.
Feat and Skill Traits
Nimble Faller (2 RP): so he always lands on his feet
Skill Bonus (2 RP): Acrobatics +2.
Movement Traits
Fleet-Footed (3 RP): Run bonus feat and +2 to init checks.
Mountaineer (1RP): Immunity to altitude sickness and lets him keep his Dex bonus to AC when climbing.
Fast (1 RP):  +10 to speed

At 30 or 40 Race Points the mutation would be more than playable alongside similarly constructed races, we haven’t broken the game and we’re just getting started.

A Touch of Class

So if the mutation above reflects the effect of the radioactive spider, Spider-Man’s class and character traits should reflect his upbringing (having been bullied, being raised by his aunt and uncle), personal talent (Peter’s high intelligence) and life experiences (studying, working as a reporter, and so on).

Combat Trait
Bullied or Reactionary

Social Trait
Fast-Talker

As for class, there are plenty of good arguments for Monk, Rogue, Alchemist and a bunch of other classes. Ideally, I’d like to give a player the Spider Bite Mutation and let them fill out the rest as they see fit. But since I’m building a pre-gen, let’s take a look at some choices.

Alchemist has been suggested to cover some of Spider-Man’s powers, but I don’t think this is necessary with the mutation/race. Alchemist or Rogue can cover Peters studies (think ranks in disable device and craft alchemy), while Monk covers his combat experience and reflects his Lawful alignment. Depending on what level I decide on, I might go with a ratio of 3 Monk levels for every 1 Rogue level.

Stat wise, I’ll go for a high Intelligence and low Wisdom, probably using a 25 point buy. Do you get anything more Epic than this? High Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution are important while Charisma can be low, as long as he has ranks in Disguise and Bluff.

Steampunk Spider-Man
spiderpunk by ~TheBrave on deviantART

Web Shooters

Peter built his own web shooters using technology that wouldn’t be available in a fantasy setting. Luckily he has magic.

Magical ropes are one option, and a Rope of Climbing combined with a Rope of Entanglement would be great.  This still leaves out many of the cool things Spider-Man’s webbing can do though. Items like Slippers of Spider Climb are good, but sometimes have more powerful effects than in the comics.

I like the Equipment Trick, Rope Tricks, from the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Pathfinder Society Field Guide. This feat lets him coil rope quickly, hog-tie better, use the rope as a bludgeoning weapon, as a whip, to rescue anyone falling, to retrieve rope with a tug, to escape ropes easier and to tangle enemies as a ranged attack!

For a lower level build, I’ll stay away from magic, give Spider-Man a few lengths of spider-silk rope and the Rope Trick feat and be done.

Steampunk Spider-Man
Spider-Man Steampunk Re-Design by ~DenisM79 on deviantART

So that’s Spider-Man. What do you think? Any suggestions? Leave a comment below.

Disclaimer: There are a thousand and one ways to build superheroes for Pathfinder, and each route can yield very different results. This is just one possible option. If you disagree with my build, leave a comment below, but be civil or your post will go up in smoke.

All Marvel characters, including Spider-Man, and the distinctive likeness(es) thereof are Trademarks & Copyright © 2008 Marvel Characters, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.