Bit of Analysis: Rifts Dimensions

[Ahriman238]

Sure, I guess. It literally took me just five minutes and four dice rolls to come up with the stats. I might not have done B5, but I'd just read about an obscenely wealthy retired pirate/crime lord named Londo Modarie in Center.

[Ahriman238]

Right, so like I said both sides have thousands of tiny outposts, projects and infiltration going on, but 3 main fleet bases, one in each galaxy. These are where their ships take on supplies, receive their orders and get repairs.

The Demon's Anvil fleet base is Cormal, who is their biggest shipyard. Cormal is constantly on the move, but the demons have little trouble finding him.


In Thundercloud, there base is Fecklar's Star, the experimental power station they took from Dr. Fecklar, whom they killed. The station has been greatly expanded, with added weapons and armor, and is well-hidden in a plasma field in a system no one has any particular reason to visit.


Station: Fecklar's Star

Size: Medium

Operated By: Demons

Purpose: Military

MDC: 287,500

Power Systems: Experimental (90 pts.)

Defenses: Shields (11,000 MDC a side) Medium Armor, and 2 dozen fighters. 20 Point defense lasers, 20-80 MD. 2 medium weapon systems, 4 gravity cannon (100-400 MD) and 12 particle beams (200-1200 MD.) (98 pts.)

Sensors: Enhanced with 6 long-range satellites. (32 pts.)

Communication: Advanced Com (15 pts.)

Maintenance: Station regenerates 20-120 MDC every 5 seconds. (15 pts.)

Supplies: Basic self-sufficiency. (10 pts.)

Internal Security: provided by Dark Coven, local magic security. (20 pts.)

Security: magic alarm when Deevils enter. (20 pts.)

Medical: a distant afterthought. (5 pts.)

Environmental: Advanced. (25 pts.)

Independent Businesses: a couple, catering food and the sort of dark pleasures demons seek. (5 pts.)

Transients: 30% population of wounded, scared or unwilling to transfer to the front minions. (5 pts?)

Total Points: 340 Points Spent: 340

Fluff: Dr. Fecklar's dream of unlimited power for all, turned to a staging ground for demonic invasion. So sad. However, his work does provide an opening. There are a few small thermal exhaust ports plasma vents just 2 meters wide, a skilled pilot scoring a direct hit could set off a chain reaction that would destroy the entire base. Only a direct hit will set off a chain reaction. There are just a couple of safe routes through the plasma field to the base, all are monitored by Bone Scouts and sensor satellites.

[Ahriman238]

Which leaves exactly one major demonic stronghold/fleet base, Hades Station in the Corkscrew Galaxy.



Station: Hades Station

Size: Large (approx. 11 miles/17.6 km across)

MDC: 4 million.

Power Systems: magic soul-eating chambers supplemented by antimatter (60 pts.)

Defenses: 4 squadrons of Demon Skull fighters. 30 point-defense turrets (double purchase) with a railgun (20-130 MD) and 50 mini-missiles. Many medium weapons, starting with 6 missile launchers with a hundred nukes apiece. Then 20 laser cannon (100-600 MD, 12-mile range) 10 particle beams (200-1200 MD, 10 mile range) and 10 large railguns (100-400 MD, 16 miles.) Plus many magic defenses.

Twice a day, the station can raise a magic forcefield (Armor of Ithan) with 30,000 MDC. Twice a day, it can create a nebula, like the Space Magic spell. 3 times a day it can become resistant (half-damage) to energy weapons for 4 hours, and 4 times a day it can cast Comet Swarm. All told, 165 pts.

Sensors: Enhanced sensors with scouts (30 pts.)

Communication: Galactic Standard, three long-range relay sats (11 pts.)

Maintenance: Regenerates automatically (35 pts.)

Supplies: Semi-self-sufficient, needs constant supply of prisoners to feed the soul chambers. (10 pts.)

Internal Security: It's full of demons. Equivalent to magic security. (40 pts.)

Security: Nil (0 pts.)

Medical: you're joking, right? (0 pts.)

Environmental: Advanced (25 pts.)

Businesses: Big fat goose-egg (0 pts.)

Transients: If you're not a demon or their minion, you're either a slave or fuel. Apparently that's equivalent to an advanced incentive system. (40 pts.)

Total Points: 420 Spent: 416


Fluff: There is an extremely hazardous region of the Corkscrew Galaxy, 2500 light-years long and a dozen thick at it's thinnest point, spiral-shaped. It forms part of a natural border between the TGE and CCW, and lies just 800 LY from Phase World. It has easily a dozen black holes, thrice as many plasma fields and a couple of proto-stars. It's tremendously inconvenient, taking most of a month to circumvent, and cuts off a third of Corkscrew from Phase World, indeed it was a major reason the Prometheans built the Spacegates in the first place. It's had a lot of names over the millenia. The Vortex. The Expanse. Kil'garatth. After the Minion War, it would always be the Hades Vortex.

Halthhag loved the idea of a hidden place convenient to both Phase World and the Kreeghor/Consortium border, and had the Vortex thoroughly mapped at great loss of life. Then he had Cormal half-spawn a Demon Planet, a tiny thing just large enough to build and repair Demon Stars, slapped a ton of guns and tunneled throughout the thing and called it a day. Hades Station is an ongoing threat to the major empires and to Phase World.

[Ahriman238]

Now the Deevils had a lot less time to set up bases, though thanks to Decker's foresight they're better prepared in the Three Galaxies than virtually anywhere else.

Their Thundercloud base is called the Devil's Eye, an odd formerly binary system that now consists of a red dwarf being slowly consumed by the nearby black hole that was it's twin. It's smack in the middle of a hazardous black hole cluster (the Black Maw) and has 4 planets and a captured comet. The second planet is inhabitable (the third would be, but for radiation levels) and they were able to raise dozens of airbases and barracks among the ruins of a long-forgotten civilization. They named it Dyzonia, because it reminds them of that section of home.


In Corkscrew, Decker was able to sell the Deevils (through a dummy corporation) an abandoned research station and factory for starfighter prototypes, NE 108-0271, for about twice what it was actually worth. The station consists of a series of hollowed-out asteroids bound in an 'L' shape by MDC pylons, trellises and pipes. It has repair capabilities for all the Deevil's Naruni-tech fleet, but can only churn out a half-dozen fighters or shuttles a month.

Station: NE 108-0271

Size: City-sized.

Function: Military Base

MDC: Complicated, there are dozens of asteroids each with 1000-95000 MDC each depending on size, plus engine blocks with 100,000 MDC and armored gas storage tanks with double that. The linking trellises and so on have 30,000 MDC apiece. Still far more fragile than most stations.

Defenses: Shields 15,000 MDC to a side. 7 squadrons of fighters, mixed Rapiers and Fire-eaters. 8 medium defense satellites. 48 turrets, 16 each plasma (50-300 MD) particle beam (100-600 MD) and long-range missile launcher (200-800 MD, 500 missiles per turret.) 36 point defense towers each with a plasma turret (40-240 MD,) laser turret (10-60 MD,) and mini-missile launcher. (255 pts.)

Sensors: Enhanced (20 pts.)

Communications: Stellar (40 pts.)

Maintenance: top priority (15 pts.)

Supplies: Semi self-sufficient (10 pts.)

Internal Security: dedicated law enforcement with magic (20 pts.)

Security: very High Tech. (50 pts.)

Medical: Advanced Ward (25 pts.)

Environmental: Advanced (25 pts.)

Businesses: couple small businesses (5 pts.)

Transients: job programs (10 pts.)

Total Points: 540 Spent: 535



But the most daring has to be the Anvil base, where they hijacked one of the most secure star systems in the whole setting. Avalon was the site of the climatic battle that united dwarves, elves and men to form the UWW, where they signed the treaty forming the UWW, the only reason it isn't the capital is it's proximity to the Splugorth frontier. Instead, it's their largest military base, site of the Navy Academy and generally reworked into a system-spanning fortress.

Avalon is an atypical system. The planet itself is twice Earth's size with 1.4 gravities. But the system's three stars orbit the planet, so it is always covered in daylight and they always form a perfect equilateral triangle. Extremely potent ley lines connect the stars to each other, and the planet.

At any given time, there are a thousand frigate and cruiser class ships patrolling Avalon. The outer system is littered with hundreds of thousands of armed early-warning satellites, so it isn't possible to enter the system without coming into range of 1-4. In which case, assume there's a few more zeros. 700 MDC with a 1000 MDC Armor of Ithan spell, armed with half a dozen starfire cannon (20-240 individual, 130-430 for a 3 gun "broadside") and 96 bottled demon missiles. If damaged the satellites swoop in close and self-destruct, doing 1000-4000 MD and creating a Rift to send attackers somewhere else.

Closer in, the system is threaded with thousands of multiple redundant comm relay sats that double as heavier weapons platforms. 1800 MDC, with 2000 MDC Armor of Ithan spells. Can re-deploy around the system at Mach 8, service room for up to 6 people though they aren't really crewed in any way. Their primary Nova cannon has a shotgun-like spray doing 200-800 MD. It's backed up by a pair of anti-ship torpedo launchers with 40 apiece and 6 meteor cannon point-defense guns (40-240 MD.) It's very nearly an automated frigate.

Now, the secret of the Avalon system, and last line of defense are 3 city-sized defense stations, each sitting exactly between Avalon and a star, on the ley line. Though these are serious star fortresses, their purpose is to erect a mass-scale version of the Rifts Triangular Defense Spell, encasing the planet in a totally invulnerable pyramid-shaped shield for 3-6 days. 30 million MDC, can raise Invincible Armor Shields that have 50,000 MDC, take half damage from energy weapons and regenerate 100-400 MDC every fifteen seconds, three times a day. The stations each have 6 Ley Line Projector Cannon which do 2000-8000 MD and can also be used to recharge the magic batteries of UWW ships. 2 torpedo launchers with 250 missiles apiece and 40 smaller missile launchers with 200 medium-range birds each. 48 secondary particle-beam cannon (only 6 can be aimed at a single target) 200-800 MD. Likewise for 48 ley line tendril cannon which fire 4 target-seeking beams each doing 100-400 MD, and 48 Asteroid cannon 200-1200 MD. 140 point defense turrets, 50 of them mini-missiles, 50 lightning guns (20-120 MD) and 40 asteroid guns (40-240 MD.)

[Ahriman238]

Alright, demons and deevils finally done. So let's talk about the place where so much of this is going down, because this book has given us the most on Phase World since, well, Phase World.

Phase World is the commercial and technological hub of the Three Galaxies. The default currency for any spacefaring race (save a few isolationists or totally alien races who desire no trade with others) is Phase World's universal trade credit (UTC) largely because, with their 64 spacegates, a journey to Phase World from any point in the Three Galaxies takes just a few seconds for any ship fitted with a phase transceiver. The Trading Center of Phase World is the largest exchange for all forms of stocks, bonds, securities and commodities anywhere, and utilizes a secure real-time phase comm system for real-time trading in outsystem properties, the only such network known to exist. . There are two other, independent trade centers utilizing the same network for redundancy and convenience, one in each galaxy.

On a normal day, 200+ ships enter and leave the system in a given hour, with every variety of cargo. Promethean security cares only that you aren't harmful or destructive, they have no laws regarding what you buy or sell, and weapons, drugs, slaves, stolen goods and so on are all sold openly. Of late they've been flooded with enough refugees to tax even the Promethean's resources.

There are 16 city-sized trading stations, and hundreds of smaller stations including even a few military ones. The majority of travelers to Phase World never even set foot on the surface, any business they have can be easily seen to from orbit.


The planet itself is the fifth world orbiting a red dwarf. Phase World has less ocean coverage than Earth, and a lot of red dust and plants, so from orbit it looks blue and rust-red. The planet has a day 22.3 standard hours long, but a Promethean year is 53 Earth years. Standard gravity, or close enough. Universal climate, about 70-80 F (21-27 C) even on high mountaintops and at the poles.

The native species are the Prometheans we've discussed before. Short version, they're a surviving race of the Second Age, all moderate psychics immune to heat and radiation, tough and strong. They have a strange fourth-dimensional aspect to their existence, and all Prometheans reduce MD attacks to SDC because when an attack would be instantly fatal, they reflexively turn intangible fast enough that only 1% of the damage gets through. They can also unerringly teleport with a single mile range. With time and study, these abilities can be expanded into a whole host of phase powers involving the creative folding of space.

There are a host of technologies that duplicate and improve on a Promethean's native powers but can only be built, repaired or truly understood by Prometheans. Including the real-time comm network, the spacegates that can pluck a ship up from anywhere and more. Phase weapons do lots of damage to people (SD to mortals, MD to MDC creatures) ignoring armor and technology. Shields can stop phase beams, but the phase weapons are super-effective at bringing down shields, too. Robots are invulnerable to phase weapons.



Prometheans are virtually ageless, because the ones that wander around and interact with people are juveniles. When a Promethean proves worthy and takes the test of maturity, he become a Second Stage or Elder Promethean. Elders are giants 30 feet/9 meters tall, and a thousand times more powerful than the greatest juvenile phase adept, with 400-2400 MDC to boot. An Elder is intangible until and unless he specifically decides to interact with the world for a few moments. However, their minds are totally alien with zero room to explain their thoughts and feelings to such restricted beings as us. Elder Prometheans have been known to both bustle about in a great hurry on inscrutable errands, and to stand in the same spot and pose for centuries or millennia.

The most famous Elder Promethean is called the Singing One. With the exception of the initiation temple where young Prometheans are tested, the entire Elder's Sanctuary on Phase World is open to the public, who would be hard-pressed to harm or hinder beings who are intangible as often as not. The Singing One has spent the last 5,000 years at least sitting cross-legged by a meditation pond. Sometimes he sings, recounting old legends and giving sage advice or inspiration in song. Almost always he sings exactly what someone nearby needed to hear, and his relative chattiness (sometime he sings multiple times a year) compared to other Elders have led some to label him the Voice of the Elders. His newest song is about the Book of Heroes and how "it must not slip into the night, but be used so that its light fends off the encroaching darkness."

There are roughly 3.55 billion Prometheans on Phase World. But they aren't the only residents. Off-worlders are generally confined to the great city of Center, but there are two species the Prometheans like and trust enough to allow them to settle and be neighbors.





Draconids are fairly rare dragon-like humanoids who can be found throughout the Three Galaxies (particularly in the UWW) but Phase World holds the greatest number, over 500 million. Draconids have 41-330 MDC, regenerating 3-18 MDC every 5 minutes. They have good nightvision, see invisible and have supernatural strength and great willpower. Draconids normally live to 3,000, have been known to sometimes triple that.

At some point at a very young age, 2-3 tops, a Draconid makes an uninformed, largely unconcious decision that magic or psionics is better (tends to run in families for that reason) if they picked magic, they get to grow up a Ley Line Walker with all the spellcasting and class abilities married to their own MDC, if psionics is more their thing, they get to be a Mind Melter. In either case, they get a small bit of bonus PPE or ISP over their fellows.





Phantoms are energy creatures that evolved in deep space, beings of fractal lights and EM energy. They can assume a humanoid form, learned by stowing aboard cargo ships, and have been to known to form strong friendships and even fall in love with more solid beings. And sometimes they just like to pretend they're fairies and mess around with or haunt people.

In their natural forms, 30-120 MDC, add 20-120 when they take a solid form. In their natural state they are invulnerable to physical attack, and take half damage from energy weapons. They can 'see' the entire EM spectrum, and sort of duplicate surface telepathy by scanning energy patterns in the brain. It's terribly short-ranged and only works half the time, though. They can fire energy blasts that start at 2-12 MD and scale up very nicely indeed with leveling, ending up at 16-96 MD.

In their natural energy state, they can turn invisible, change their form to whatever they like, generate light and create complex holographic illusions. They can turn themselves into a living light-beam to travel at light speed for 9-24 minutes. They can turn themselves into a laser as well doing 10-60 MD to start, 70-420 MD by the end. Each time they attack this way they damage themselves.

Surprisingly, Phantoms only live 800 years. They can form a physical body in a couple of hours, but revert to form in moments, as seen in the picture. Some Phantoms have cobbled together an odd culture that's half inherited from observing or living among 'solids' and half from their own perspective on the universe. Most of the social ones live on Phase world, about 200 million.

[Ahriman238]

On the surface, off-worlders are confined to the city of Center, effectively a pure white hive city a mile tall. All told, 600 million people call Center home.

Center is made of a mysterious white metal that is, as far as anyone can tell, completely indestructible. These form the outer walls and divide the city into 20 levels, 10 above ground and 10 below. Most levels (excluding the Manors) are 300-500 ft or 90-152 meters tall and subdivided into at least two sections by dividing walls of the same indestructible white material. These sections are filled with more ordinary construction, buildings and parks and each level is effectively a city in it's own right. The levels are numbered in descending order, so level one is the top of the white mountain, level 20 is the deepest bowels of the underhive.

The roof of Center is the Skyline Spaceport, one of two Center Spaceports. This one has 5,000 landing pads, 500x500 ft (152-152 m) and can be leased for 24-30 billion credits, the upshot being that the pads are luxurious, more secure, close to the Manors and you don't have to circle 4-6 hours waiting for landing clearance. Scattered around the roof are retractable, inconspicuous security systems and weapons.

There are at least 250 Planetary Defense Phase Cannon (PDPC) each takes a minute to charge, then releases a constant, 30-second phase beam that does 3000-18000 MD to shields, and once they're down 300-1800 SD to people, 400-2400 MD to MDC beings. The PDPC have a range of 5,000 mile or 8,000 km. They have two weaknesses, first the slow rate of fire which is compensated for by having many. Second there are exposed power conduits (1,000 MDC) a skilled fighter pilot may be able to take out, each cannon is fed by 5 such conduits.

There are also over 50 missile launchers, each with 25 heavy anti-matter missiles augmented with phase technology. The warheads are bigger on the inside, so they can fit in a lot more antimatter that normal, kept from interacting with the normal matter by being phased out. 2,000-12,000 MD to ships, half that for forcefields. One or two hits is usually plenty to kill or cripple any capital ship. The missiles also phase in and out of view and solidity in pre-programmed evasive manuvers that make it almost impossible for point defense to shoot them down. It also means they tend to detonate inside an unshielded vessel. The missiles have a 10,000 mile/ 16,000 km range.

There are also a thousand hidden point defense turrets, stuffed with every variety of weapon imaginable and good against a range of targets from incoming fighters and missiles to cruisers. Each turret has: a phase cannon (100-400 MD against shields, 40-240 SDC to people, 50-300 against MDC beings) a laser (40-240 MD) a gravity-railgun (40-400 MD) and a missile launcher with 48 long-range missiles (300-1800 MD.) The phase cannon and laser have an unlimited payload, though the phase cannon can be fired only once every 7 seconds. The railgun has 250 bursts in it, and the missile launcher can be configured to carry twice as many smaller missiles, or 12 of the heavy AM missiles the roof launchers have. The phase cannon can be used at 25 miles, the laser and railgun at 10, the missile launcher 1,000 miles normally, 10,000 with the surface-to-orbit missiles.

Phase World is also protected by over a thousand Star Ghost fighters, and an unknown number, at least two, of scaled up versions equivalent in size and presumably power to a CAF Protector battleship.

I did say several Splugorth Fleets broke themselves on Center before they gave it up.

[SAMAS]

It should also be noted that Teleporation and Teleportation-based FTL are very bad ideas when attacking Center. Several ships in those aforementioned Splugorth fleets found themselves warping out in the heart of Phase World's star.

[Ahriman238]

Yes. Phase technology is lots of fun with teleporting, heck, even untrained Prometheans hop around at will. All the sewers of Center empty into the upper atmosphere of a gas giant that shares the system with Phase World. The trashcans too, but only non-living things.

Center Security is one of the most efficacious such organizations in existence. To begin with, Center is under the caring eye of the most advanced and powerful benevolent AI in the Megaverse, with the confessedly ominous name of CAIN (Center Artificial Intelligence Network.) CAIN is actually the linked over-mind of 150 independent sapient AIs (at least as good as ARCHIE) who between them control everything on Center, from waste disposal to management to at least 5 for security. Gateland, the Spaceport and shipyards, the Elevators, trains, Central Station and the Elder's Sanctuary are all particularly closely monitored by AI and organic operators, every face recorded and run through an extensive database of Center residents and persons of interest. Though just about everywhere is monitored to some degree, except the underhive. CAIN's existence is one of Phase World's most guarded secrets.

In the event of a starship disaster, elevators emergency or train issue, CAIN can teleport anyone involved to safety. Or he can use the same system to teleport troublemakers directly to Security's 1200-man prison. Or every 10 ft. square (3 meters) can be locked down with 1,000 MDC forcefields and phase fields which block all teleportation and dimension travel except phase powers and tech, which can jump into the phase field but not out. Most of level 2 (where the spaceport and gateland are) can be covered by hidden weapons, phase cannon with a wide-beam stun setting.

At any given time, Security has 40 special operations squads on 30-second alert to teleport to any trouble spots, plus 1500 security officers who might take a couple of minutes. In half an hour they can have Security's entire force of 50,000, plus twice that many outside troops at the ready. Security is further enhanced by 1500 mid to high-level Phase Adepts, 1200 mages, psychics and superheroes, and 900 professional investigators. All this discounts the 300 or so who normally garrison the security centers. It's been two thousand years (until zero hour) since there was a serious threat to Central Security, but complacency is to be avoided.

Strangely, they mostly rent out use of their very secure prison to Tracers (bounty hunters) because offenders to the very limited Phase World Law (don't attack security, don't disrupt the spaceport or gateland, no mass murder, terrorism or stealing phase technology) are either summarily executed or more often banished on pain of summary execution.

[Ahriman238]

Level One of Center is the Manors, or the exclusive section of the city for the ultra-rich. Level One is the highest, right below the roof of Skyline Spaceport, which mostly services Manors residents. It has the smallest area, 64 square miles, and the highest ceiling at 700 ft, with holograms of the sky and clouds. About 80% of named characters from Phase World live here, so let's visit a bit.

But if there's one name you absolutely need to know, it's Thraxus.



Thraxus is a Godling, and the oldest alien resident of Center, he's been there about 5,000 years. He was the one who convinced them to become a trading hub, the driving force behind the adoption of the UTC and the real-time trading network. He's also a major shareholder and board member of Naruni Enterprises' Three Galaxies division, altogether making him the wealthiest individual in the Three Galaxies. Thraxus was an adventurer before he was a trillionaire, in fact, Inglix the Mad is one of his old dungeon-crawling buddies and they still get on great. Thraxus only wants money, Inglix only wants mystic knowledge, so dividing the spoils is never complicated.

Thraxus' liquid assets number over 100 trillion credits. He has between fifty and a hundred times that much tied up in stocks, properties and investments, depending on market fluctuations and how quickly he needs to turn them into cash.

Thraxus likes to believe that life is a grand game, so he does things like ruin the Splugorth Kingdoms as a thought exercise, or convince heroes to go on a perilous quest, He keeps to whatever rules he establishes but changes sides of the board on a whim.

Trying to hurt Thraxus is a really bad idea. He usually keeps a pack of mid-level adventurers as bodyguards, the latest incarnation has a dragon hatchling, a Tattooed Man, a decent spellcaster and a renegade Invincible Guardsmen. He has 500 men under arms on Phase World, and a personal fleet of a thousand warships.

But just in the short term? The guy is a max-level Godling with 684 MDC, regenerating 5-30 MDC per minute. He's resistant to drugs, poison, gases, fire and cold, can see and turn invisible and fire 8-48 MD energy blasts from his hands, assuming he's lower himself. But the man has hundreds of magic items and weapons, including 30 Rune Weapons, and no longer bothers to carry personal weapons that do less than 20-80 MD. He always wears half a dozen rings and talismans that all told make him completely invulnerable to magic and psionics (normally great for leveling the playing field against people you can't beat down) as well as energy weapons and attacks. Plus a personal forcefield of 1,000 MDC, plus the ability to teleport to his fortified manor home or to three or four more secure boltholes he's arranged in the city.

Thraxus' home is a white marble tower, 500 ft. tall. Seems to be made from magic as it's all one piece, and bigger on the inside. It sits in the exact center of the Manors, surrounded by a stone wall which also holds in his guest houses, garage, open-air theater, private zoo and a garden with several 200-ft. magic pyramids.

[Ahriman238]

There's also a very impressive neighborhood called the Embassies on Level One, for visiting royalty, dignitaries and VIPs. There's a rose bush that makes a harmonic melody for the first hour light touches it, every morning, one of less than 50 such examples in the Three Galaxies.

But let's go on with notable faces of Phase World.


Gloria "Cookie" Vanderneut

The society heiress of a vast Altess banking dynasty, Cookie was Thraxus' paramour for a few months before they had a falling out. Details are scarce, but since that point she's dedicated herself to showing Thraxus up, trying to humiliate him and thwart his interests through a network of agents. So far, her revenge antics are more amusing to Thraxus than anything.


Rick Nova



Once a young rock star turned holo-film actor, Rick Nova's career had pretty much ended by 36, until he learned he was still a superstar in Center and signed on to do a series of advertisements for the Naruni. That kept him going another decade. Then he decided to break into the adventuring business, joining parties on astonishing journeys, his loyal film crew never far behind. To the people, he is a hero among heroes "Star to the Heroes" more experienced adventurers just call him "Gloryhound Nova." Ricky boy has heard of a "minion war" group bringing their conflict to Phase World, so he returns home with a party of young star-struck heroes to intervene, but he's underestimated what he'd up against, by about 7 orders of magnitude. Oops.


Akimoto Kenichi



Akimoto is an Oni and Bushido Industries' front man for setting up a Phase World franchise. That project has been plagued with every problem and mishap the Naruni could arrange, so Akimoto has brought in an elite team of Oni ninja, Team Iron Claw to protect his interests and serve Naruni Enterprises some misfortune of their own.


Londo Modarie



Londo is a Monro, a primitive race long ago conquered by the Kreeghor. Well, from a young age Londo felt that being a servant of the empire wasn't good enough for him, so he ran away from home and became a space pirate. He was really, really good at it. So much so he built a successful pirate fleet and retired to Phase World. Where he started to get bored. Figuring 'what the heck?' he decided to try his hand as a cutthroat businessman and started smuggling things past the authorities of a dozen worlds, even moving supplies through Center without paying duties. But just as a cover for his smuggling, he started a legitimate shipping corporation (the Spacer Guild) which, through his leadership and judicious sabotage of the competition, became the greatest such corporation in the Three Galaxies.

Now 240 years old, enjoying the heck out of his golden years, Londo's biggest problem is deciding which of his many lickspittle lieutenants, oafish offspring, and machiavellian mistresses should be heir to his empire.

[Simon_Jester]

Question regarding this Thraxus fellow: what exactly is the formal meaning of 'Godling?' Is that an intelligent species who are all inexplicably named 'Godlings?' Is it a particular path to obtaining extreme personal power of some kind?

[gigabytelord]

Question regarding this Thraxus fellow: what exactly is the formal meaning of 'Godling?' Is that an intelligent species who are all inexplicably named 'Godlings?' Is it a particular path to obtaining extreme personal power of some kind?

As far as I know the easiest way to become a godling without doing anything is to be the child of a god and a mortal. There are other ways some good some bad but all are incredibly difficult.

In the last campaign I was in the main antagonist gained the powers of a godling by first murdering an entire city and absorbing all the ppe of its inhabitants. He then proceeded to drain all the energy from the lay-line nexus that lay just outside the city, and then hopped from nexus to nexus repeating the process. To say he was "as a god among men" by the end would have been an understatement.

[Ahriman238]

Godlings are minor beings who inhabit the realms of gods but have no worshipers and are not named in legend. To borrow from the Thor comics/movies, every other Asgardian who isn't Thor or Loki or Heimdall or such is a Godling. They're almost ageless, 50,000 year lifespan and usually a lot stronger than people and MDC besides. Plus being smarter, stronger willed, and better looking than mortal humans, see invisible, regenerate, good nightvision, fire/cold does half damage, drugs and poison are half as effective etc.

Godlings can pick 3 powers from the divine power list. Demigods (human/divine hybrid) get one and are mostly normal people besides, and full gods get six.

Turn Invisible at-will.

Super Strong

Super Tough

Super Swift

Shapeshifting- to animal, once per day per level. No monsters or magical creatures.

Energy Blast

Energy Aura- personal forcefield, not much improvement on Armor of Ithan, for a god.

Fly

Impervious to one of the following: fire, cold, lightning, energy weapons, poison/disease and mind control/possesion.

Super Psionics- character has all powers form any two lesser disciplines (healing, sensitive, physical) or all powers from one lesser discipline and 5 super powers, OR is a Burster. You can take multiple times, but there will be a lot of waste if you do the first two.

Magic- character knows all level appropriate spells and has all powers from: the standard (LLW) list. a Warlock list (one of the elements) Shifter, Mystic, or Necromancer. The last is only available to evil Gods and Godlings. Again, you can take it multiple times to master multiple magic disciplines, it;s sort of one of the defining features of gods in this setting.

Godlings can be promoted to full Gods by the assent of their Pantheon Leader, but it's really really rare.

[Ahriman238]

Huh, it's actually been a while since I first mentioned the Godlings and Demigods, so I suppose I should elaborate some more. Godlings start with 80-280 MDC, add 10-40 every time they level up, plus regenerating 5-30 MDC every minute.

As for divine powers:


Turn and See Invisible count as one power.

Super Strong means add 12-22 to PS (where each point is another 50 lbs. of lifting capability)

Super Tough adds 1-6 to PE plus 40-180 more MDC (some from the PE boost)

Super Swift add 7-42 mph (11-65 kph) to running speed. Base speed is 10-24 mph (16-38 kph)

Energy Blast is 1-6 MD (can be softened to SD) for every other level, ending like Thraxus at 8-48 MD.

Shapeshifting lets them turn into one specific animal once a day. Taking it twice means any animal.

Flight can be sustained for 2 hours per level. Speed is 21-84 mph/34-135 kph.

The impervious powers you already understand. Likewise the magic and psionics.


I said once when this all began that there are four classes everyone talks about complaining how they break the game. Shockingly, dragon hatchlings aren't on the list, presumably because the awesomeness is balanced out by a lack of experience/skills and there are an awful lot of dragon-hunter NPCs who are pretty good at what they do.

Glitter Boys have more firepower and armor than most mecha and tanks. Then again, they have weaknesses and disadvantages that are really well-known.

Apok are unstoppable evil-stalking slasher film villains who quite literally make minor demons mess themselves.

Cosmo-Knights can take on space cruisers and win.

But Godlings, Godlings call out to the power gamer in all of us. "Here I am," they say "wouldn't you like to be a super-caster with a hand in three schools? Perhaps a Mind-Melter grade psychic who still has MDC and the strength to rip a bear's arms off?" They're so customizable and a lot of the combinations are really, really scary. Like if you took shapeshifting once to turn into a housecat. The rules say you keep your mind, MDC, strength, spellcasting, psionics and power of speech whatever your outward form. So you could become a cute kitten with an MDC claw attack, or literal mind-control, and that's dreaming small.

[Ahriman238]

Actually, I was going to mention this shortly anyways, there's a plane/city for Godlings, Demigods and divine-associated races like Asgardian Elves and Elder Cyclopes to meet and live together, it's called Megalopolis. It's only a city of a few million, originally created as a meeting place for all the Pantheons of Light, who lacked the ability to create a new plane from scratch so it sits at the foot of the True Olympus, surrounded by infinite ocean. It is convenient to other divine realms, perhaps there are other portals in the city, perhaps you can actually sail to them, it's never said.

Megalopolis is one of a handful of vaguely-alluded to worlds only really accessible to the players through Phase World, which has a permanent portal to the agora and does a brisk trade in magic items.

[Simon_Jester]

Hm. Can a godling be 'promoted' to full deity by worship without the permission of the pantheon leader? I'm more than half surprised that isn't the case.

[Ahriman238]

Hm. Can a godling be 'promoted' to full deity by worship without the permission of the pantheon leader? I'm more than half surprised that isn't the case.

Grey area. The Godling entry in Pantheons says by the will of the King/Allfather/Pantheon leader. On the other hand, Demons and Deevils become Regents then Lords, effectively Gods, by gaining worshipers and supernatural minions. Demon and Deevil Lords have most of the same powers and operate on a similar level with a similar nature.

You could house-rule it without a problem, for instance I never heard of a way to become a Godling or gain the power of one without being born a Godling, yet gigabytelord clearly has, maybe from the Rifter, a scratchbook or just something that happened in a campaign because games don't always follow the rules precisely.

The major distinction between Godling and God here is that a Godling is still a person, ageless yes. MDC, saturated with magic, but flesh and bone. A God is a ball of self-aware magical energy equivalent to a small star, anchored to a physical body it uses to interact with the world and retain cohesion, but the person you see is very little of what the God is.

[Ahriman238]

Right, so Level Two, right below the first is bigger, roughly a hundred square miles.

The southwest corner is dominated by Gateland, containing 1280 dimensional portals connecting Phase World to the Megaverse. Gateland consists of 64 three-story domes, each holding 20 portals. Incoming travelers are restricted to one hub, the dome, until they've been scanned and it's c;ear they aren't carrying plague or anything too destructive. Heavy weapons and power armor need to be checked at the gate. They won't let bioweapons, mysterious magic artifacts or unknown nano-tech in either.

So let's see, I already mentioned the portal to Megalopolis, what else is there?

A couple of portals to Hades and Dyval, naturally.

There are 5 portals to Rifts Earth. One to the Tree of Darkness in Germany's Black Forest. One to the city of Splynn in Atlantis, one to Cibola South America, the Yucatan Peninsula, and a secret Naruni base somewhere in North America. Yeah, none of them happy or easily accessible places.

Two gates to the Palladium Fantasy World, one to each Palladium game world, to be honest, including TMNT, Robotech and Macross.

Two to Wormwood, one in Worldgate and one deep in Unholy territory used by some knights for deep strikes. As I said before, the Prometheans seem engaged in some kind of conspiracy of silence to keep the Splugorth and Naruni from ever hearing of Wormwood.

The Plains of White Mist are an infinite desert shrouded in fog, dotted with Millennium Trees and fortified city-states. There are roughly a thousand cities, each built around a portal to a different world, and merchants of all stripe brave the nomadic raiders and monsters of the plains to sell their wares.

The Scorched Lands are a plane of scorched wasteland, with large and constantly-active portals to Hades, Dyval, and the Elemental planes of Earth and Fire. Demons and Deevils are a constant menace, I'd assume more so now that there's a war on, and every so often a major Fire or Earth elemental decides to rearrange the landscape. Still, beneath a meter or so of shale, sand or topsoil the place is solid rare and precious metals, including at least one magic amplifying metal that only comes from here. So tough, hardy people live here with a handful of cities, digging up the wealth of the land and defending themselves from demons and elementals as best they can.




In the middle of Level Two is Central Station. Center has a double-helix monorail winding up and down through all but the top level, and over 2,000 trains to get around even just over Level Two. The trains are subtly bigger on the inside, enough for 20 ft (6.5 m) giants to feel comfortable. The monorails and elevators are free for all, but you do have to put up with screens playing advertisements. Expect a 15-30 minute commute to any point in the city.

The elevators are the size of a two-story house and 5,000 elevator shafts run right through the center of each level, except One. Well, I say shafts, the elevators actually pass right through the floors using phase technology, and a new car always appears a few seconds after one left.

The trains and elevators are all monitored and run by CAIN. In event of an emergency, the car/train and all passengers are immediately teleported to safety.



Level Two has a large warehouse district, because so much buying, selling, and moving of cargo happens there.


And a large financial district, with many offices and the Exchange I mentioned before.


And the Elder's Sanctuary.


Also home to Universal Phase Technologies, by strict Promethean law, your only supplier for Phase technology.


As for the spaceport, the southeast side of Center is dotted with external landing pads (for small ships, for 5 hours max) and some great big 600x600 ft/183x18x m. doors leading inside. If you're willing to pay extra, stay longer or have a bigger ship there are 4,000 internal landing pads each capable of holding a mid-size freighter or cruiser. There are 1200 Deluxe Hangars only rented on an annual basis but sometimes sublet. These are spacious, secure, and have a bulk Phase Teleporter to move your cargo easily into a warehouse.

Outside the spaceport, parallel to the monorail is the Merchants Concourse, where a large number of small businesses operate, shops and bars conveniently close to the ships. There's Helmutt security which will guard your pad or rented warehouse, ABA gun-sellers, Begal's smokes for every conceivable species, a big Naruni store, bunch of pawn-shops, and Center Landing Express, a business that sublets landing pads and deluxe hangars owned by one Collin Darrin, possibly the greatest living Runner (smuggler) to ever get rich running the Kreeghor blockade around the Free Worlds Council.

There's a lot of drinking establishments and so on. The Magic Lantern is a ritzy gentlemen's club for spellcasters, with a generous library and two dozen private rooms, every caster is welcome though only paying members get to use the back rooms and the full library. Runners usually go to the Rabbit's Hole, which has a nice lowbrow ambiance, half-a-dozen boltholes and secret backdoors and the best sellers of forged identity papers in the three Galaxies. Tranq's is more the sort of place you go to get shitfaced, with every possible drink and recreational substance you're heard of, and many you haven't.



The northeast corner has the shipyards, not run by the Prometheans but by half-a-dozen corporations including the Naruni who are all to happy to show the fighters that could be yours. Repair work is done there too, of course.



Just towards the center of the shipyards is Spacetown, a district filled with hotels and motels for transients, along with even more shops and entertainment. Has something of a reputation as the rougher side of Center.

The biggest restaurant in Spacetown is Tri-galactic buffet, with 50,000 seats, open 22.3/7 and catering to a variety of tastes. In fact, in the backrooms they will serve you live food you have to chase a bit. Carmen's Fine Dining is the classy place with the Kreeghor Caviar. C&C's Coffee and Cakes is a galaxies-spanning fast-food franchise like Dunkin Donuts but understanding if Wulfen like their milk boiled or Kreeghor take a cup of Golqal syrup in the morning.

The Jovian is a spacer's sports bar. FTL (Faster than Liquor) Express has an enormous bar with staff, every manner of exotic drink and arcade/pinball games. The Rock and Keg is a bar for Dwarves who are sick of all this sissy fruit juice (wine) but is awkwardly proportioned for most customers. Most interesting to me is Central Fantasies, a business that rents holodecks by the hour and takes it for granted that people will use them mostly for sex, for extra money they'll send in a shapeshifting employee with you. I'm imagining people trying to do the sort of literary/historical things they used it for in Star Trek and then trying to slink away so they're not seen at the place. I don't know, it just makes me chuckle.

[Ahriman238]

Alright, trying to finish up center. Levels Three and Four are mostly industrial and warehousing, with a couple other features.

The Splugorth Dimensional Market takes up a full quarter of level Three. Lord Klynncryth rules here and having seen what's happened to every other Splugorth who tried to conquer Center, he's decided to stay put and not make trouble. The Splugorth quarter has all the comforts of home. Including magic pyramids, a large slave market, gladiatorial arena and Bio-Wizardry for sale. A very popular destination.



All this is managed by a High Lord named Anshurr "the Eye of Klynncryth." Anshurr and Kylnncryth are effectively omniscient in their quarter, due to the magical surveillance common wherever Splugorth live, but Anshurr has cultivated an extensive network of contacts throughout Center, making him one of the best informed people in the Three Galaxies. If there's something you need to know, odds are Anshurr knows it and is willing to share if you can meet his price. Klynncryth knows of and approves Anshurr's information-dealing side business, content that his spymaster will never betray him. Anshurr has the standard MDC and powers of a High Lord.


Level Four has an only mildly less impressive Naruni district, with film studios for their adds and movies, a large firing range and trial area to test-drive their vehicles and a robot/meha gladiatoral arena.

Four also has Bushido Industries headquarters.

Finally, Four has the Warlock Market, a UWW neighborhood and marketplace which has it's own smaller version of the monorail system. The Market has the Tower of Lord Andros, an elven wizard and alchemist (and Shifter, and Diaboloist) who claims to have barely escaped Earth during the Cataclysm, and sells potions and magic tiems. Andros is actually...
Spoiler

A disguised Lizard Mage and fugitive from the Palladium Fantasy World.

The Market also has the Institute of Magical Arts, arguably the greatest school of magic anywhere. It even has small techno-wizardry and Temporal Magic departments, plus temples to all four elements. A decade of study is required to make first level of any spellcasting class, and the fees can be ruinous. Luckily scholarships are available and teachers often sponsor students, halving their tuition, in exchange for a number of years of post-graduate work as a research or teaching assistant.


Levels Five through Eight are residential. Houses, schools, parks, hospitals, supermarkets, that sort of thing. Generally the higher the level the more upscale the neighborhoods.


Nine, Ten and the underground levels are markedly different. The lighting is dimmer, the streets are narrow. Everywhere else in Center the Level Roof soars hundreds of feet overhead, but in the lower levels the ceiling and floor are just twenty feet apart. The rumor is that they aren't proper levels but some sort of maintenance space the Prometheans have never bothered to shoo people out of. Nine and Ten are slums, and definitely on the bad end of the city, but Eleven and Twelve are the boundary into the underhive, and the place where weird stuff gets rifted in from time to time. Ultimately the city has ten levels above ground and ten below.

In recent years a group called the Society of the Knife has taken over the underhive and is working on Levels Nine and Ten. They're sort of a combined black market dealing in restricted phase tech, and stuff smuggled past the Promethean's taxes and fees, and a thieve's guild, assassins and they've absorbed most of the street gangs that used to operate underground. This is the one group in Center that Security is actively pursuing, they don't care about other people's fugitives or slave-traders or what have you. There are 50,000 full members of the Society, plus a quarter million hirelings and thugs.

The leader of the Society is a masked warrior known only as the Knife Master. Traitors to the Knife are given a blade and dropped into their makeshift arena with the Knife Master to fight for their lives. The Knife Master is a freelancer from Wormwood who escaped to Center, then made a pact with an alien intelligence, becoming a Witch. He took all his new supernatural power in the form of increased MDC, regeneration, strength and physical skills. He's now a far more powerful warrior than he ever was, more than a match for any Temple Knight and yet he is a slave to the alien master who ordered him to form and lead the Society. The whole thing deeply frustrates him, which he takes out on anyone he has a reason to hurt or kill.

248 MDC with 40 MDC chainmail and a 110 MDC personal shield. Regenerates 10-40 MDC a minute. Wields a magic resin knife (3-18 MD) and a Naruni plasma pistol.

[Ahriman238]

Well that's D-Outbreak mined out. Leading us naturally to Heroes of the Megaverse, a book entirely about the one Macguffin waved under our noses in the last book, the only hope left if Cormal goes berserk. So, let's talk about the Book of Heroes.

The Book is an artifact spoken of in nearly the same reverent tones as the Cosmic Forge itself. Literally millions of heroes have quested for the book over the millennia, and very, very few ever found it. Recorded in the Book are the names, mystic True Names, and complete life stories of roughly 2,000 of the greatest heroes who ever lived. The book is leather, 12x9 inches (30x23 cm) with just 96 pages, though when you settle to read it you will find you somehow never run out. A major theme of this book is that not all the greatest heroes were legendary warriors, superheroes or mages, many were ordinary people who did incredible things, inspired others or simply refused to be beat down by all the darkness in the world. That said, much of the book focuses on epic warriors, mages and superheroes.

The Book has a wide variety of powers making it a useful weapon or tool, though they're sort of incidental to why everyone wants the thing. The Book is indestructible and can be used to parry a variety of ranged attacks, and holding the book up over your head will create a forcefield for 12 feet/3.5 m all around that soaks up 2,000 MDC and regenerates almost instantly. When rolled up, it can be used to parry magic and MDC melee weapons and does 5-30 MD to evil beings, double that for demons, devils and other supernatural evil. The Book gives strong bonuses when used to disarm, or to help pin an opponent. If you hold the book in front of your face you can see through it with true sight, the same works if you use it as a rolled-up spyglass and can let you see three miles away. If the Book is pressed to someone's head it automatically ends possession, mind control and dispels illusions and disrupts telepathic attack. Held over a wound the Book mends it, held over a heart it can restart the heart and lungs and stop internal bleeding, cure poisons and revive the comatose. The Book will not save or heal evil beings. The Book can make people around it immune to heat, cold, poison, vacuum, radiation and other environmental hazards. It also makes an exemplary personal flotation device.

The Book can lend a character a temporary boost of 1000 PPE, 500 ISP or any one needed skill.

If a noble character owns or sleeps near the book, odds are pretty good on him having some meaningful dreams and visions, of the helpful and informative nature.



The Book has another name, linked to the reason so many go looking for it, the Hero Maker. Someone who pages through the book will find a hero whose story appeals to him or her in a deeply personal way. Thereafter, that hero becomes their Hero Mentor and appears to them in dreams to offer advice or just interesting conversation. As long as possession of the Book is retained, the Hero Mentor can appear to the hero as a figure no one else can see or hear, and if the Book is clutched to the chest, the hero will automatically hear encouraging words from their Mentor. The Mentor can grant one small aspect of one of his/her powers for a day (like a specific spell) and can train their protégé in any one hand-to-hand fighting style, 4 weapons (2 ancient, 2 modern) and 1-4 non-combat skills. And, of course, dispense plot-critical information. Even evil characters, if not totally irredeemable can get a Hero Mentor.

In times of dire need, the Mentor is semi-reincarnated in a magical construct body, the Hero Avatar. Avatars are only half the strength (level) of the real deal, but have all their memories and knowledge intact. An Avatar may linger as long as a year or two to help out, but will usually either sacrifice themselves or return to the book when no longer needed. Avatars inspire others to acts of greatness, an ability they can bestow temporarily on their protégés. The Avatar can merge with their protégé, acting as a more direct form of guidance, providing increased perception and resistance to mind control, illusions and telepathic attack. While sharing bodies, the Mentor/Avatar can boost the range, duration and damage of a character's powers (including superpowers, psionics and magic) by 30%. They can also grant one of their powers to the player and, only with the player's permission, swap out and take control, transforming into themselves.



The final power of the Book of Heroes is the Birth of a Hero. A character may choose to essentially give themselves up to the Book and be remade as a worthy hero with powers akin to some of those worthies in the Book. Please note, this is NOT a straight power-up. It's more like regeneration in Doctor Who, a character keeps their name and memories, but their entire personality, appearance, alignment, skills and weaknesses can be different, they are replaced by a superhero version of themselves. You essentially roll up a new character with the added complications of a hero symbolism and a character weakness (gets unreasonably self-sacrificial when people take hostages, for instance.) Cosmo-Knights and supernatural beings like dragons cannot be empowered by the Birth of a Hero.

Such a hero picks or rolls randomly a superpower from a table of 100 (technically 101, but the last is a power shared by everyone with powers #99 and 100) superpowers in this book. Some are things we've seen before, or minor variations, some are downright broken. If the powers from the book don't satisfy, players can use the standard superpower sets from Heroes Unlimited/Skraypers with the GM's approval. Roll to see (almost exactly 33% each way) whether you get 2, 3, or 4 powers.

[Ahriman238]

Hokay, powers from the Book of Heroes. They're outlined in the book alphabetically. This will have to be broken down into chunks.


Animal Powers- A person looks normal, but has the powers of a particular animal from a particular class (birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, rodents, herd/running animals, canines, felines, rodents) usually a stack of physical and skill bonuses, some unusual senses and maybe something like flight or breathing underwater.

Animal Metamorphosis- The hero can turn into any animal larger than a housefly, which isn't supernatural in nature. He retains the power of speech, psionics if any, and can use other powers at half the normal range and potency. Has the SDC, strength and natural abilities of the animal, so he can become an elephant to tank through things, a bird to fly, a dog to scent-track, etc.

Animal Transformation- essentially superpower lycanthropy, can turn into a specific predatory animal, 25-50% bigger than normal with supernatural strength and triple his normal running speed. Or can turn into a humanoid animal shape with somewhat less strength and speed.

Bestial Fury- AKA Hulk-out. Character turns into a huge, strong, dumb, and rage-driven monster. Strength doubled and turned supernatural, speed and leaping distances doubled, MDC transformation (if already MDC with supernatural strength, increase MDC 30% and strength 25%.) May have claws or fangs.

Bio-Regeneration/Healing Factor- Regenerate 4-24 MDC (or 5-15 SDC) every 15 seconds. Better saves against coma, disease, poison and the effects of radiation. Can survive a vacuum for 1 minute per PE point.

Breathe Without Air + Superior Immune System- exactly what it says, plus recover form injury 3x faster.

Creature of Water- empowered by water. Can breathe without air for an hour for each PE point (needs to surface eventually) impervious to cold and pressure depths, nightvision, swim at 100 mph/160 kph. While wet gets a neat stack of combat bonuses, superior performance on all skills, strength is supernatural (and plus 400 lbs.) and can regenerate half their health/MDC in 1-4 minutes of immersion.

Demon Sight- can always recognize demons, devils and similar supernatural evil, no matter how good their disguise. One power that trumps a Pandemonium's shapeshifting. Can spot possession 75% of the time. Strangely this halves, but doesn't negate, the odds of a demon seducing the hero. Go figure.

Demon Talons- Arms turn into scary looking clawed hands that each have 55-105 MDC, do 3-18 MD on a hit, have supernatural strength, are immune to heat, fire and radiation damage, and are real handy for climbing and digging. Whole body gets aminor MDC transformation, but will have less MDC and none of the resistance of the arms.

Demon Touch- the hero's eyes turn all black, his hands become the withered claws of an ancient man's and crackle with dark lightning. His touch and lightning attack harm only supernatural evil, doing 1-6 MD to undead, witches and sub-demons, 5-30 to lesser demons and devils, 10-60 MD to Greater ones, and 30-90 to Lords, Dark Gods, Supernatural Intelligences, and Demon Stars with a touch. The black lightning can shoot just 12 feet/3.5 m out and does 3-18 MD to most supernatural evil, double to Greater Demon and Devils, triple to Lords.

Demon Slayer- A born enemy to demons and their ilk, deals double damage to supernatural evil, triple to Lords and similarly powerful, whether they use their bare hands, a superpower, a railgun or a starship cannon. Takes only half damage from supernatural evil, even if they use a weapon or poison, and is totally immune to a vampire's bite and mind control.

Demonic Transformation- the ability to change back and forth between a mortal form, and that of a chosen Greater Demon, with all the MDC, spellcasting and natural abilities thereof. So if you say Baal-Rog, that's your other form.

Deevil/Infenral Transformation- turn into an alternate, Greater Deevil form with all the MDC, spellcasting/psionics and natural abilities of the same.

Dimensional Door- create portals that remain open for just 5 seconds. The portals can lead 5 ft./level away normally, getting you into the next room, or 100 ft./level when teleporting to a familiar location.

Energy Expulsion: Minor Lasers- Hero shoots lasers from the hands or eyes, doing 4-24 MD plus 1 MD per level (max of +15) with a range of 140 ft/46 m per level. Character takes half damage from lasers, light blasts, heat and radiation.

Energy Expulsion: Major Lasers- Lasers from the hand or eye do 1-6 MD plus 2 MD per level (max of +30) at a range of 500 ft./152 m. per level. Character is totally immune to lasers, while light blasts, heat and rads do 10% their normal damage.

Energy Expulsion: Major Heat- Microwave heat blasts do 1-6 MD per level (max of 15-90 MD) at a range of 300 ft./91 m. per level. Character totally immune to heat, fire and microwaves. Normal radiation does 20% damage, magical fire and plasma do half.

Energy Expulsion Major Plasma or Ion Blasts- from the hands, eyes or mouth doing 2-12 MD, plus 1-6 per level (max of +15-90) at a 300 ft./91 m. per level range. Character takes no damage from heat or fire, 30% from microwave blasts and radiation, half from magical fire.

Energy Expulsion

[Ahriman238]

Flight: Angel Wings- Ability to sprout angelic wings on demand, flight is 120 mph/192 kph per level (max of 1800 mph/2897 kph) can survive in space with wings out and fly at double the normal speed. Keen sense of speed, direction and altitude, wings have 50-100 MDC and regenerate.

Flight: Demon Wings- The same as Angel Wings in every way, except for aesthetics, the wings get 20 more MDC and the speed is reduced to 100 mph/160 kph per level.

Flight: Wingless- can fly without wings or visible supports. 200-800 mph in atmosphere (320-1280 kph) can triple that in a vacuum, but needs a spacesuit or a different power to survive it. The real reason to take this one is you can fly at 5 times the maximum in a "sprint" that lasts only a few minutes and only if you focus your all on moving faster (more vulnerable to ambush.)

Flight: Space- ability to survive space for 1 hour per PE point, not counting time in FTL. Can fly at speeds faster than and close to the speed of light, but not much slower. Cannot fly to any location closer than a thousand miles, can arrive at any point within the solar system in 10-40 seconds, within 100-400 miles of the intended destination. Always lands gently on a spacecraft, asteroid or planetary body, can follow a signal to a precise destination. Immune to non-magical cold, radiation and heat from friction.

Force Field Generation- This lets heroes create a variety of forcefields which actually depart from level and give you 20 MDC per point of ME (will) so a theoretical max of 1000 MDC, but 60-480 without serious munchkinry. You can do this as a skintight personal forcefield, an overgrown buckler shield, or a wall or bubble 15 ft./4.6 m. per level in size. You can create hovering platforms and bubbles as a crude method of telekinesis or flight. Your forcefields can also manifest as blunt weapons only, doing 2-8 of whichever damage you'd normally do punching people. Or you can create forcefield projectiles that do 1-6 MD and can be dialed down to SD.

Giant-Size Growth- Character can grow up to 10x his original size (roughly 60 feet for humans) and smaller intervals, though always a multiple of the original height. Add 30% to MDC/SDC and +4 to strength for every multiple of the original size, strength becomes supernatural at 4x. Funnily enough cube law applies to the character's weight here but doesn't impede movement, however intelligence, speed and the charisma stats lose 5% for every "growth step" or multiple of the original height.

Heart of Darkness- allows you to confront the savagery at the heart of man and comforting lie of civilization- nah, just messing with you. Hero has such an affinity for darkness they can never be blinded and actually see better without the light. All darkness themed magic or powers used against them does 10% the normal damage or effect, with a similar reduction in duration. The hero is much faster and stronger in the dark, heals three times faster, with 30% more MDC/SDC and is even better at all skills (similar to Creature of Water.) Defaults to totally invisible in the shade, though this can be suppressed by an act of will, and can create a 10x10x3 ft,/3x3x1 m. per level wall of darkness that no light (even laser weapons) can penetrate, this power can be used only a few times a day. Skilled at tracking and sneaking.

Heart of Fire- Unleash your inner pyro. Hero is impervious to all heat and flame, including magic fire and even magma, can breathe toxic gases and see through smoke, but takes double damage from cold. Hero can light any flammable substance within line of sight/ 300 ft. Hero can extinguish fire with a thought, or fuel it. If he goes all out and sacrifices some of his health, a tiny match or candle-flame can become an inferno veering a hundred foot radius. Can conjure a wall of fire (10x10x3 ft,/3x3x1 m. per level) that does 10-60 MD to anyone trying to pass through. Can throw fireballs doing 2-12 MD plus 1-6 per level (max of +15-90.) Skilled cook and firefighter.

Heart that Flows (Water)- Great affinity for the sea. Nightvision, impervious to cold and crushing pressure, can breathe underwater indefinitely, can swim ten times as long without tiring. Defaults to floating, but can swim, dive and walk along the bottom of water bodies easily. Can even swim against the currents and tides unhindered, ride waves like a surfer without a board and walk on water. Can identify all aquatic animals and plants. Can conjure water all (you guessed it, 10x10x3 ft,/3x3x1 m.) that flows hard to prevent anyone getting through, you'd need to be absurdly to superhumanly strong to have a chance. This wall actually has an MDC, 40-70 MD to bring it down. The hero can shoot balls or shards of ice (3 at once) doing 1-6 MD or a firehose spray of water doing up to 1-6 MD but can be dialed down to SDC and apparently works a treat against vampires. But they also folded in APS water, the hero can turn into a person made of water, 120-420 MDC immune to physical attacks except explosions. Skilled sailor and swimmer.

Heart of Light- The hero with this power can see the entire spectra of light, and read an open book from 10 miles away. In the dark vision is restricted to 5 miles. Cannot be blinded by any amount of light, or by smoke or debris. Impervious to lasers and radiation, half damage from heat and other energy weapons. The character can create light, a blinding flash to disorient attackers, a flashlight or searchlight-like beam, glow or angelic halo, lasers (10-60 MD can be dialed back all the way to 1-6 SD) and of course, a wall of light. The wall is 20x20x3 ft./6x6x1 m. and doesn't damage anyone unless they're specifically vulnerable to light, but it is impossible to see through the glare and passing through even with your eyes closed and shielded will blind you. The wall lets most forms of matter or energy through, but just absorbs lasers. Hero is skilled with optics, TV/radio, firefighting and has a bonus to notice structural flaws or hidden spaces.

Heart of Steel- This hero has an affinity for metal, he does 50% more damage with any metal weapon and takes half damage from any metal weapon or projectile. He can scale any metal wall or surface like Spider-Man or walk through it like a ghost. He can identify any metal with a glance, and can naturally conjure steel blades or bludgeoning instruments that all do MD, or shoot steel balls or blades at high speeds doing 1-8 MD. Naturally he can conjure an iron wall 10x10x3 ft,/3x3x1 m per level with 80-140 MDC. Can turn into a man made of steel, 260-660 MDC, resistant to heat, cold and electricity, much stronger but also much slower. Skilled at salvage and appraising the quality of weapons and tools.

Heart of Stone- An overdeveloped connection to the Earth. 50% more damage with stone weapons, half damage from rocks, Earth or Stone Magic. Can climb any stone or concrete surface flawlessly or walk through it as though intangible. Can conjure stone weapons and shoot spikes or stone balls doing 1-6 MD. Can conjure the standard sized stone wall, 70-160 MDC and find any secret passages, rooms or compartments in a stone building. Can turn into a stone man 160-660 MDC resistant to heat and cold, with much more strength and much less speed.

Impervious- MDC conversion (add HP and SDC, then add 200-800 MDC. Just add the 200-800 if already MDC) Hero is completely impervious to SDC attacks (hundreds of MDC has a similar effect even without help) and MDC weapons do just 10% normal damage and regenerates 2-12 MDC every fifteen seconds. Half damage/effect from magic magic or psionics that do damage or directly effect the body. Impervious to disease and radiation, ages at half speed, one third effect from cold, poison and drugs, can do any physical activity ten times longer than others. For each PE (STA) point can go 1 hour without air, 1 day without water, 1 week without food. Magic weapons do full damage, illusions and magic to trap or restrict movement are effective as normal.

Impervious to Energy- No damage from energy weapons, 10% damage from heat and fire, 30% damage from magic attacks. Full damage from physical attacks, extra damage from cold and ice. Recovers from damage three times faster than normal, unless surpassed by a greater healing power.

Impervious to Fire- Immune to damage from heat, fire, plasma, radiation and microwaves. Heals twice as fast as normal, unless surpassed by another power. Can breathe without air for 10 minutes per PE point.

Bulletproof/Impervious to Kinetic Attacks- Zero damage from blows, however strong, projectiles, explosives or shrapnel. Nukes, plasma bombs and other largely thermal effects do 30% normal damage. You can still get knocked back or around by impacts that don't damage you. Also heals at triple speed unless a better healing power.

Impervious to Magic- The hero is an anti-mage who is really resistant (has an amazing save against magic, 10% the damage or effect even if it fails.) The hero cannot use magic, be healed, transformed or teleported by magic. Magical weapons or artifacts do 10% their normal damage, physical attacks by supernatural beings do half damage. Some magics invoke a physical force, like an Earth Warlock crushing you between stone walls, and this power isn't much use in that situation.

Impervious to the Supernatural- Immune to the special powers of supernatural being, like a Gorgon's or Magot's petrification, or a Pandemonium's stare. Likewise immune to fear effects, mind control, possession and vampire bites. Magic and psionics from supernatural beings, good and evil, are half as effective. Physical attacks do 20% their normal damage. Picking up a gun remains effective.

[Ahriman238]

Insect Powers: Stingers- take the powers of a wasp, hornet, bee or other vespid! MDC conversion (double the combined hp/sdc, otherwise just add 20% to MDC) with augmented strength. Immune to most stunning/neural disruption attacks. Can fly at 35 mph/56 kph per level, (max of 525 mph/840 kph) to a max altitude of 20,000 ft with a loud buzzing noise. Select two of the following four powers: grow a stinging tail (2-12 MD) shoot energy blasts from the hands (4-14 MD, can be dialed down) a disorienting/stunning touch attack, or firing stinger-like spikes from the wrist (1-6 MD per spike, can shoot three-spike bursts.)

Insect Powers: Beetles- assume the strength of a mighty beetle. I guess. More than double the strength boost of the Stingers powers, and more MDC (triple the combined HP/SDC.) Chemicals and poisons do half damage/effect. Becomes skilled at climbing and navigation. Can fly at 20 mph/32kph per level (max of 300 mph/640 kph) to a maximum altitude of 20,000 ft. Hero can secrete a chemical irritant through their skin adding 2-8 SD to attacks against people, 1-6 MD to attacks against MDC monsters. They can also release a cloud of chemical irritant, a cloud of pheromones making them nearly irresistible to the opposite sex, andtag people or objects with a scent marker they can follow later.

Insect Powers: Wingless- be gifted the powers of a... wingless insect, of which there are quite a variety. The book recommends ants, ticks and crickets. Oh whatever. Get the same MDC as the beetle (triple combined HP/SDC) with super speed and strength. Get wall-crawling and become proficient in acrobatics, sneaking around and finding your way, plus kickboxing. Jump one yard high/long for every point of Strength.

Kinetic Sponge- all physical attacks, explosions etc. do 5% their normal damage. All the damage you didn't take can be added to your next punch, kick or thrown weapon. You can use as much or as little as you want, but the excess damage always fades after fifteen seconds.


And now we come to the part where the Book of Heroes, which will not transform supernatural beings, will nevertheless grant you magic equivalent to decades or centuries of study. With as much or more PPE as a dedicated caster, a level-boost to spells (assume +1 unless I say otherwise) and/or casting spells very cheaply. Where possible I have linked to previous posts outlining the magic used, but you may have to scroll a bit. In particular I was sort of dumb about putting all the Elemental Spells in a single massive post. A lot of these draw from the standard list Here.


Magic: Air- Hero becomes the master of all Air Magic in addition to getting a bonus to spell strength, taking half damage from electricity, becoming a master of astronomy and navigation and being able to hold his breath for five minutes per PE point.

Magic: Control of Elementals- can see and speak to Elementals as a Warlock, can cast every spell that summons or controls Elementals, even tangential like Fingers of Wind or Flesh to Stone.

Magic: Death- character is a Master (but good!) Necromancer who can use all Bone Magic besides, but will not be corrupted by his/her dark powers. +2 bonus to spell strength, immune to a vampire's bite.

Magic: Demonic- A heroic wielder of Demon Magic, likewise immune to corruption. Has some bonus spells, including Armor Bizarre, Mask of Deceit, Lifeblast, Expel Demon, Words of Truth and Tongues.

Magic: Dimensions- completely owns all Temporal Magic, plus all magic to do with teleports, space warping, ley lines or dimension travel. Gets 20% more PPE than most casters, and all the above spells are half-price.

Magic: Dominion- all mind control spells, all restraint spells, some illusions, some healing.

Magic: Earth- all or most Earth Magic plus a small addition to SDC/MDC and an upgrade to supernatural strength.

Magic: Fire All Fire Magic, immune to heat and fire, half damage from magic or plasma-based fire.

Magic: Guardian & Protector- All protection spells, with a hearty range of stealth, restraint, healing and some general utility spells like Fly and Escape. 20% more PPE than most casters, all of the above cast with +2 spell strength.

Magic: Illusion- All illusion spells for a pittance of PPE.

Magic: Nature mastery of all the Nature Magic of the Old Believer class, plus all Shaman Magic (sorry, haven't gotten that far.) Skilled at wilderness survival, navigation, and identifying plants and animals.

Magic: Negation, Entropy and Chaos- knows all Spoiling Magic (hmm, can't seem to find it, but it's Russian, might repost) plus nifty spells like Armorbane and Anihilate, Realm of Chaos, and generally any curse, any negation of technology or magic.

Magic: Outer Space- knows all Space Magic plus the first two levels of the standard list.

Magic: Transformation and Transferal- knows all standard spells that transform someone or something into something else, or enchants/gives new powers or qualities to people and things. Including all healing magic. +10% PPE. Healing and self-transformation spells performed at half cost.

Magic: Warrior- Everything you need to become a mystic Paladin, every direct damage spell off the standard list, plus the Armor spells, Energy Disruption, Escape, See Wards, Swim as Fish, Breathe Without Air, Forcebonds, Frequency Jamming, Implosion Neutralizer, Heal Self, Impervious to Energy, Implosion Neutralizer, Superhuman Endurance, Ricochet Strike, Targeted Deflection, Sleep, Watchguard, Weight of Duty Magic Shield, Phantom Mount, Sleep, Frostblade, and Power Weapon.

Magic: Water- All Water Magic and Ocean Magic (soon, I promise!) plus the power to breathe underwater indefinitely, can't be harmed by ocean pressure, half damage from the cold.

Magic Spellcaster- knows all spells on the standard list through level 6, 2-7 spells from levels 7 and 8 respectively, and 1-4 spells each from levels 9, 10 and 11. +3 to spell strength, +50% more PPE than most casters.


Manifest Super-Weapon- Ability to conjure one personalized melee and one ranged weapon that always vanish but appear in your hand as needed. The melee weapon does 5-30 MD to most, 10-60 against demons and devils, and 20-120 against Lords, Dark Gods, Alien Intelligences, that sort of thing. The ranged weapon does 12-42 SDC to mortal foes, 10-60 MD against MDC creatures, power armor, mecha, and spacecraft and double that against the major evils.

[Ahriman238]

I admit I've been putting this off for a while. The next seven are mind powers, combining a packet of skills (which I rarely mention unless I find them unusual) with a dozen or so psychic powers and a particular sort of attitude and worldview, making them rather a lot of typing for me, and I thought a while about whether I could or should just cut down on the details. But I see no alternative but to go through with it. I do like the way each personality type gets powers and skills appropriate to it.

Most of the psychic powers are pretty self-explanatory. For everything else, there's the list.


Mind: Analytical- a sharp and logical, yet intuitive, mind. Skills include research, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, writing, cryptography, history and lore skills, skills for checking the quality of weapons and goods (two separate skills) and of course the analytical brain is excellent at intelligence work, and interrogation. Powers are Sixth Sense, See Invisible, See Aura, Sense Presence, Psychic Omni-Sight, Object Read, Mind Block, Group Mind Block, Psi-Shield, Psi-Sword, Telepathy and Intuitive Combat.

Mind: Builder/Tinkerer- good with machines. Computer skills, demolitions, EOD, some choices of electric and mechanical skills, salvage and piloting. Powers include Telemechanics, Object Read, and Telekinesis.

Mind: Cunning-sneaky, devious and great at improvising. Skilled at intelligence and undercover work, streetwise, good at performance and bluffing, good at barter and haggling. Pick to be good at either disguise or escaping restraints. Powers are Sense Evil, See Aura, Ectoplasm, Ectoplasmic Disguise, Mask PPE, Mask Psionics, Alter Aura, Psionic Invisibility, Empathic Transmission, Hypnotic Suggestion, Mind Block, and Mind Wipe.

Mind: Deductive- a curious person, a born solver of riddles and mysteries. Computer skills, recognizing forgeries and finding hidden items, intelligence, surveillance, interrogation, and the rare forensic science skill. Powers are Meditation, Auto-Mind Block, Detect Psionics, Sense Evil, Sense Magic, Sense Time, Sixth Sense, Psychic Diagnosis, Object Read, Telepathy, Psionic Invisibility and Mentally Possess Others. I'm not sure why the psychic detective needs the best mind-control power, or doesn't have See Invisible, but I otherwise I agree this all works.

Mind: Scientific- again with that boundless curiosity, albeit focused in a different way. Highly skilled at math, pick multiple science skills, some medical, basic computer, electronic and mechanical skills. Meditation, Sense Evil, Sense Time, See Invisible, Sixth Sense, Psychic Diagnosis, Speed Reading, Object Read, Detect Psionics Comune with Spirits, Mind Bond, Mind Bolt, TK lift and Electrokinesis.

Mind: Math Wiz- is great at math. Almost like a wizard, hence the name. Computer skills, advanced math, advanced navigation, cryptography and safe-cracking, pick either chemistry or astrophysics. Meditation, Sense Dimensional Anomaly, Read Dimensional Portal, Sense Time, Resist Thirst, Resist Fatigue and TK forcefield.

Mind Over Matter- is great at imposing his/her will on the world. Skilled at philosophy, begging, fasting, dowsing and basic medicine, then either art or calligraphy, then either cooking or playing an instrument. Meditation, Super Regeneration, Bio-Manipulation, Deaden Pain, Deaden Senses, Exorcism, Healing Touch, Stop Bleeding, Death Trance, Levitation, Impervious to Fire, to Cold, and to Poison, TK Push, TK punch, TK Leap, and Super TK.

The Power Cosmic- yeah, they went there. This cosmopolitan entity can survive almost indefinitely in space. No need for air, immune to radiation, cold, and the heat of reentry. MDC conversion (add HP+SDC+50-300 MDC.) Can derive all necessary nutrition from sunlight, four hours needed on a planetary surface, just one hour in space. Strength is augmented, becomes supernatural in space, can regenerate 3-18 MDC an hour in sunlight, 6-36 MDC in fifteen seconds in space, and regrow limbs inside an hour. Can fly at Mach 6 in atmosphere, Mach 20 in space, has a native FTL ability of 2 LY/hour. Can fire 20-70 MD energy blasts which can be dialed down a the way to 1-6 SD. The only weakness is that long periods of light deprivation (like, 3 days) will depower the hero.

Phoenix Effect- This hero can be reborn from the grave within a minute, and suffer no ill effects save being returned to only half his normal SDC/MDC. If killed repeatedly in a short time, the period before returning stretches out to hours and then days. Also, the power is good for a limited number of uses, and even the player isn't sure exactly how many. 1 rez for every PE point (so 3-24) plus 3-18 secretly rolled by the GM.

Psychic Healer- all psychic healing powers, plus Psychosomatic Disease, Super Regeneration and Bio-Manipulation.

Psychic Channeler- Meditation, Sense Magic, Sense Evil, Sense Time, Sense Dimensional Anomaly, Exorcism, Healing Touch, Psychic Purification, Restore PPE, Radiate Horror Factor, Electrokinesis, Hydrokinesis, and Pyrokinesis.

Psychic Master- All super psychic powers, plus 6 from each 'lesser' category.

Psychic Mind Controller- all psychic powers that influence or control others, plus Empathy, Auto-Mind Block and Mind Bolt.

Psychic Physical Manipulator- All physical powers, plus Super Regeneration, Bio-Manipulation and Psi-Sword.

Psychic Savant- all physical OR sensitive powers, plus 2-8 powers from the category not picked and 3-7 super powers.

Psychic Sensitive- all sensitive powers, plus Mind Bond and Empathic Transmission

Psychic TK Master- all telekinetic powers and levitation.

Psychic Warrior- Meditation, Death Trance, Sense Time, Sixth Sense, Mind block, Mind Bolt, Exorcism, Intuitive Combat, Levitation, Psi-Shield, Psi-Sword, Hydrokinesis, Electrokinesis, Pyrokinesis, TK jump, TK punch and TK accel attack.

Regenerative Healing- This hero does not age, regains lost limbs in a few hours, and organs in a few minutes. However, this quick-healing will only go to the minimum needed to function and prevent death. The rest comes slower, to the tune of 5-30 MDC (or SDC) and hour. Brain-death will permanently kill this hero.

[Ahriman238]

Shapeshifter: Dragon- this hero has an alternate form as a dragon, indicative of their personality, so people who believe themselves warriors at heart become slightly larger, more armored with more horns and spines. The dragon form is generally 20 ft./6 m. long (can be 50% larger or smaller) with 100-600 MDC plus 5 for every point of PE he has (max. of 120) and regenerates 2-12 MDC every fifteen seconds. Immune to disease, resistant to either fire or cold, good nightvision, can't dimensional teleport or shapeshift like a true dragon, but can change appearance to look like a different dragon. Can breathe fire (1-6 MD per level) and has 3-9 sensitive or physical psychic powers. The hero gets one of the following magic powers in dragon-form: all spells of a given element like a Warlock, all standard spells up through level 4, or level 5, or all standard spells level 6-8.

Shapeshifter: Humanoid- this hero can transform into any humanoid alien or D-Bee, gaining their natural abilities (no magic or psionics) so if he impersonated a Deevil he would get the appearance, the MDC (reduced) and regen, nightvision, invisibility, dimensional teleport and gnossolalia, but nothing else. If the other form has functional wings, so does the hero. Any advantages gained tend to be halved though, so half the MDC of the real deal, half the flying speed or strength and so on. Cannot impersonate specific individuals. A given form can be maintained indefinitely.


Shapeshifter: Impersonator- This shapeshifter CAN impersonate a specific person, but not a general member of the species. There are two ways this can work, detailed study of a subject can lead to a pretty good impression, appearance, voice, mannerisms. But if the hero can touch the subject and find somewhere private to change in the next few minutes, they become a flawless copy, down to retinal, fingerprints and DNA. They also copy natural abilities, psionics and superpowers, but not memories, magic or skills. Any other powers the hero has are suppressed for the duration of the impersonation. Any copied powers, and the flawless transformation, are lost the moment they change back. A given form can be maintained indefinitely.

Shapeshifter: Vehicle- Autobots, roll out? *hides* With this power, you can turn into any vehicle you're aware of as long as it's "smaller than a five-ton truck" which is pretty small. Yet strangely includes most starfighters and several space shuttles from the Three Galaxies. You are a skilled pilot of whatever vehicle you are, and can wring some superb handling (halve penalties for tricks and stunts) and 30% more speed than is normal. You get the MDC of whatever vehicle you are, if the vehicle is destroyed you will be rendered unconscious and returned to human. All controls are purely ornamental, you don't need fuel. Oh, you can't copy weapons, no missiles or bombs ever, but if you have a power that lets you fire energy blasts, you can fire those through whatever guns you manifest. Vehicles include motorcycles, cars, trucks, aircraft, boats, and starships, it does not include mecha. Oh, and you can only maintain a transformation for 30 minutes per PE point per day.

Shapeshifter: Unlimited- Can turn into any living thing, mouse to T-Rex, complete with natural abilities. Can't impersonate specific individuals, transformation can be maintained only for a few hours and if takes fifteen seconds to make the transition.

Supernatural Being- This hero is infused with magic, becoming a superior supernatural being and will generally be recognized and treated as such. MDC transformation (300-1200 MDC plus combined SDC/HP) regenerate 3-18 MDC every fifteen seconds, resistant to fire and cold unless specifically vulnerable to them. Nightvision, breathe without air, glossolalia and dimensional teleport. Supernatural Strength and Endurance, with generous stat boosts, more resistant to mind control and fear, add 100-400 years to life expectancy. However, you must roll a random weakness to one of the following: wood, silver, fire, cold, magic, psionics, magic weapons, sunlight, or darkness.

Super Robot Body- When this power is used, all the nearby metal that isn't part of buildings is summoned to the user, forming around him a 15 foot (4.6 m.) mecha. This mecha moves as an extension of the hero's body, and is actually a hair quicker. 400 MDC, can lift between 110,000 and 270,000 lbs. (55-135 tons) depending on initial roll and level. The robot body can run at 30 mph/level (max of 450 mph/724 kph) and can double that if anything consumed to make the robot body had jet thrusters. In fact, if there was an aircraft or spacecraft in there, add retractable wings and flight at 150 mph/level (max of 2250 mph/3622 kph or just say Mach 3.) Super Robot Body will always include radio, full environmental and a day's worth of air. SRB can grow claws, forearm blades, hammerhands, metal spike-throwers (1-6 MD) and flamethrowers (3-18 MD.) If the hero inside has energy blast or magic powers, they can be fired out through any energy weapons. Yes, spellcasters can wrap themselves in an MDC mecha and still cast.

Super-Speed- Hero can run at 300-800 mph (480-1280 kph) normally, and double that in a sprint that can be maintained only for a few minutes. Can always stop and turn on a dime, takes no damage from friction, nor his clothes or possessions. Has a very good auto-dodge and reflex saves. Can jump 20 feet high and 30 across from a standing position, add 40 to height and 60 to length for every 100 mph of a running start.

Super Martial Arts Warrior- This hero is a skilled boxer, kick-boxer, martial artist and gymnast. When he enters combat he undergoes a small transformation, getting 60-160 MDC (if already MDC, just add this) his strength and speed become supernatural (x5 strength, can fight for hours, maybe a whole day without tiring) and his speed doubles. He is immune to fear, and treated as an expert in all melee weapons, especially improvised ones.

Super Pile Driver- the damage from every Power Punch (where you take time to line up the perfect punch, form a good stance and put your hips into it, thus eating 5 normal attacks for extra damage) is doubled. The damage from every running tackle is increased by a factor of five. The hero takes no damage from hitting things this way, not even if he does a charging head-butt against a giant mecha. Meh.

Super Pilot- This hero is a master pilot of any vehicle, including spacecraft. He can push the vehicle to it's limit and penalties for stunts, evasive or combat driving are a third the normal amount. He is an acceptable mechanic, and can always remember any route he's driven or been driven. He can also start any vehicle with a touch to the controls, but can't necessarily access the controls (though he does get a lockpick skill that applies only to getting into vehicles.

Super-Powerful- your basic, semi-invulnerable brick. MDC conversion ((HP+SDC)x10+40-240 MDC. Just add the 40-240 if already MDC) and regenerates 14-24 MDC an hour. Supernatural Strength with a generous boost to the stat (+14-24 PS) and instead of the normal fifty, can lift 100 times the stat in pounds. Endurance isn't supernatural, but fatigues at 10% the normal rate. Exceptional vision (can read a street-sign a mile away) with good nightvision and hearing. Pick two resistance/impervious powers: impervious to cold, to fire, to disease, or resistant to poison, drugs and radiation (1/3 the normal effect.)


Going to have to take a break now, for those not counting, that's 89 powers down, the end is in sight.