Quick question: one of my players want to play a hero that needs to transform to activate most of her powers (or maybe all). Think about a werewolf kind of hero.
Which playbooks do you think she could use to achieve this?
Quick question: one of my players want to play a hero that needs to transform to activate most of her powers (or…
Quick question: one of my players want to play a hero that needs to transform to activate most of her powers (or…
I think The Transformed or Bull would work fine. To be honest, in my opinion the attitude of the PC drives the template. Just add whatever super power you want… 😉
The Transformed doesn’t seem to fit the bill, since one of his drives is to balance his inhuman nature…
I’ve thought about The Janus or The Bull, but I’m not so sure.
Janus is good, too. Pretty much anything except the Beacon and Transformed can work. The Beacon is about the mundane becoming hero. The Transformed is about not being able to be normal.
Bull could be good, Janus resonates well with a split life.
This is a situation where you need to start asking the player questions. What is the nature of the hero’s transformation and what does it mean to them? Are they at any risk when they do transform? Depending on their answers to questions such as these, you can narrow down the playbooks.
For example, assuming they’re playing an actual werewolf-like character, they might be…
The Bull, because they were made to be a weapon or tool to be used;
The Doomed, because when they transform they have to keep the ‘beast’ at bay and someday they might just lose themselves;
The Legacy, because they’re one of the latest members of their tribe;
The Protégé, because they were sired by an elder werewolf who sticks around to mentor them;
And so on.
Once it’s clear what she’s going for, you can look at the abilities and interpret them to match the character concept. For instance, for the Legacy you could pick the ‘magic’ power suite: “Divine Armor” could take a page from The Elder Scrolls series and say that werewolves are blessed by a god of the hunt, “Magic Weaponry” could refer to the hero’s claws and fangs; “Mythic Might” and “Legendary Speed” simply refers to the power that comes with being a werewolf; and “God-like Beauty” could refer to a certain magnificence that carries over between their human and wolf forms.
Great explanation, Andrew Taylor. But how would you deal with the “fragile human body” she has when not transformed?
The same way you deal with the ‘fragile human body’ of any other character who is an ostensibly normal human outside of their powers.
Nova. Roll to charge up your powers when you transform.
I like the idea of the Janus being some kind of werewolf. Your Mask move represent Danger, and when you put it on, “Bad guys, watch out!” And because of your fragile human body, no one suspects that mild manner high schooler is really the Beast of Halcyon City!
+Marcelo Paschoalin That’s a question that can only really be answered by asking your player some more questions. How are your powers limited when you aren’t transformed? Would you care if you transformed publicly (maybe her legacy or mentor forbids it)? What triggers your transformation (does she have full control over it)? Once you know the answers, and what playbook they’re using, you can play to their established fiction and frame your moves appropriately.
For example, she could answer by saying that she’s trying to keep a secret identity and doesn’t want to transform in public, that her powers are severely reduced while in her human form, and that she can transform at will but being angry or in pain can also trigger it. Like, when transformed nothing short of a silver bullet can actually harm her, but as a human she’s only a little bit tougher than the average person and can be hurt like anyone else. This allows you to create situations like this one…
“While shopping at a mall with your school friends you witness a supervillain attack in the food court. You’re in your human form and civilians all around you are in danger. What do you do?” (Does she enter the fray as a human? Does she transform now, or does she try to find a secluded spot? If she does retreat to transform, is the situation worse when she returns?)
Lets say she decides to go into the situation as a human, but instead of fighting she helps to evacuate the civilians. She makes a defend move, rolls an 8, and chooses to expose herself to danger.
“You leap into action and quickly usher your friends and a family to the nearest exit, but when you go back to help some more people, the supervillain singles you out. ‘Trying to be a hero, kid? Cute…’ He extends his hand and one of the foot court’s tables is lifted into the air and thrown at you. If you were transformed you could bat it aside effortlessly, but as a human you’re a bit more vulnerable. Take a powerful blow.” (What happens now?)
Andrew Taylor “The Doomed, because when they transform they have to keep the ‘beast’ at bay and someday they might just lose themselves;”
Not being in full control of their transformed self sounds more like a Nova to me. A Doomed with this power might have a transformation that causes lasting damage to one or both of their forms, or maybe each time they transform it gets a little harder to return to human.
Transformed works if the change is not voluntary (Hulk)
Thanks everyone. Those were great points. I’ll let you know how this unfolds…
…if this unfolds, as the player may change her idea before we start. 😉
Eadwin Tomlinson Isn’t the Transformed about never being able to be “normal” again? Having a normal human form seems like it would go against that.
Sebastian Baker I see your point but Banner, for example, can’t have a normal life because his transformed form is so dangerous. I suspect that’d be the same for a werewolf. A Janus probably works in more circumstances now I think about it.
Sebastian Baker The important thing about the Transformed is the public sees them as a freak or a monster, which influences their view of themselves. Even though Banner can turn normal, he’s a wanted man. His human face is on all the poster, and every death is laid at his feet. Doesn’t matter that he has a human face or can’t control himself when he’s the Hulk-everyone thinks Banner is a monster. So for a shapeshifting Transformed, I would stress that they can’t have a secret ID-the world must despise them regardless of their appearance. Otherwise, it’s just a Janus with a secret identity.
I think Nova works best, since you “charge up” before expending flares. Simply don’t allow power use outside of this charged period to occur in the fiction. She should pick flares that reflect the fictional aspects of the transformation.