Rarity Makes a Character for a Superhero RPG
Rarity Makes a Character for a Superhero RPG
by Present Perfect
Despite being alone in the castle library, Twilight clopped her hooves together in gleeful anticipation. Dice, source books and four completed character sheets lay before her, the mere sight of which filled her with the thrill of GMing an impending superhero game.
There was Argus Arbostar, the axe-wielding space pony from another planet, who travelled around the galaxy seeking justice. Graviton, the gravity-controlling expatriate of Griffonstone, running from her dark past and the ninja assassins sent to hunt her down. Maritime, the noir detective pony who fell into a vat of radioactive waste while on a case and now uses his water controlling powers to seek vengeance on the mobster who tried to end his life.
There was also Hayr Brayne, the giant, mutant bunny rabbit from an apocalyptic dimension who fought crime with reckless abandon, bad attitude and severed unicorn horns that he used to shoot magic lasers at the bad guys.
Twilight still intended to urge Fluttershy to get a therapist.
Which just left Rarity. While she had played in their games before, she was the perennial straggler, preferring to play out her fantasies in the realms of the possible -- gossip, daydreams, romance novels -- than those of the truly fantastic. But she was a good enough friend that she wasn't going to sit out their first time playing with a new system just because she thought the Power Ponies were "too juvenile a subject for grown mares", or that she had "had enough experience in being one, thank you very much."
There was a knock at the library door, and Rarity entered thereafter. "Helloooo, Twilight! May I come in?"
"Yes!" Twilight couldn't keep the excited squeak from her voice. "I'm all set for our session if you are!"
"I am, dear." Rarity trotted to the plush chair sitting across the low table from Twilight's and elegantly took her seat, dropping a pair of saddlebags off to the side. "I know you said something about rolling dice to make a character, but I fancy I already know what sort of character I would wish to play."
"Oh?"
Twilight hoped her disappointment didn't show on her face. Rolling up random characters was one of the highlights of playing this system, unlike in other RPGs, where random rolls could leave half the party overpowered and the other half struggling to catch up, or lock a player into character choices they hadn't wanted to use.
"Yes, dear. I shall play as a young, up-and-coming debutante who fights crime utilizing the gadgetry sewn into her exquisite clothing designs."
Well. If Rarity was getting into the spirit of things, who was Twilight to say no?
"All right," she said, setting up her copy of Power Ponies #1. The RPG's core rulebook, it was a frankly intimidating tome, weighty and expansive, with striking images of the Masked Matter-Horn, Humdrum and the Mane-iac on its cover. The size was due to the text being in a large font, not to mention having lots of space for pictures for everything. Awesome, comic-booky pictures that really set the tone.
"We can use the constructed method of character creation, then. Get ready to write things down!"
Rarity gave her a thin smile and raised a pen and a piece of scratch paper. "Hit me with it, Twilight."
"Okay." Twilight turned to the character creation guide's first step. "So, if you're playing a debutante, I expect your Background is going to be Upper Class. Your character comes from high society, right?"
"Precisely."
"All right, so write that down as your Background. It gives you a dee-ten and a dee-eight to assign to two Qualities out of Fitness, Persuasion, or the Mental Qualities category. And those aaare..." She flipped back a page, casting a quick bookmark spell so she could reference the page easily in the future. "...Alertness, Conviction, Creativity, Investigation and Self-Discipline." A surge of excitement rippled through her. "Oh, you should definitely take Creativity as your ten. That sounds like the kind of thing you want to have at a high die size."
Rarity scribbled something down, then gave Twilight a wan smile. "I must admit, Twilight, that is quite a lot of information to go through all at once. Did I hear Persuasion as an option?"
Twilight nodded. "Yes."
"That will do nicely, then. I suspect Pearl -- my character's name will be Pearl Luster, by the way -- will know how to bargain and banter with other high society ponies."
"Great! Assign a dee-eight to the Persuasion Quality!" She made note of a page number and flipped quickly to it, then held up the book for Rarity to see. "You also get a Responsibility Principle. The list is pretty long, so I'll let you read through them quickly."
Rarity began scanning the page, and hmm'd to herself. "Remind me again what a Principle is, dear?"
"Oh, yes. You'll get two over the course of character creation. They're guiding, well, principles that your hero holds most important to them. They're roleplaying guides, too, providing narrative Twists when you roll low. But when you use them in-game to overcome challenges, everypony gets a Hero Point!"
"Hmm, how fascinating," said Rarity, as though completely un-fascinated. "A number of these sound like they would fit..."
"There's a few more on the next page," Twilight said, turning it for her.
"Oh dear." Rarity let out a short laugh after a moment. "Even more good choices! Well, let us begin simply. I shall operate under the Principle of the Mask, hiding my true identity from all and sundry. A high-class lady must protect her reputation, after all. She can't be seen participating in vigilantism." Rarity mock shivered. "It would ruin her!"
Twilight giggled. "All right, write that down as your first Principle. I'll fill in all the mechanical details on your actual character sheet once we're done. Now then."
She flipped ahead a few pages until she came upon another chart.
"You get a ten and two eights for Power Source selection, but since we're not rolling, let's see... How about Powered Suit? You mentioned something about mechanical dresses? Would that be the source of her power?"
"I suppose it could be. What other options are there?"
"Hmm, well, Tech Upgrades is for mechanical parts that are integrated into your body, so probably not what you're looking for... Oh, I suppose Genius would fit! You did say Pearl Luster makes her own designs, right?"
Rarity smiled. "Well, now! The girls will accuse me of playing myself at this rate!" She laughed, and Twilight joined in, just glad Rarity was enjoying herself now. "Yes, our little debutante is a fashion genius! What does that provide me?"
They conferred over the stats for a moment.
"Well," Rarity said at length, "Inventions sounds like the sort of Power one should prioritize. And I like the sound of Intuition and Presence, as well. Presence especially!" She gazed up to the ceiling, tapping her pen against her lip. "Along with knowing how to deal with other ponies, she knows how to make a grand entrance! Once she's gotten everypony's attention, she keeps it!"
"You also get a choice of two out of three Yellow Abilities. They're what let you use your Powers and Qualities to greater effect in-game!"
Her eyes sparkled as Rarity read over the effects. Eventually, she chose an ability that would let her react to taking damage by defending against it and then gaining a bonus off the same roll, using her dress as both shield and amplifier. The second would use her Presence to give herself a persistent bonus, then a small attack using that bonus.
"That Ability I shall name Grand Entrance, I think!" Rarity wrote the name down alongside the other pertinent information. "That is something you can do in this game, correct?"
Twilight grinned at her. "Yes! If you can't come up with names for everything right now, don't worry, we'll deal with that by the end."
She glanced down at the page, and her eyebrows raised. "Oh! It says you get one more Quality, Information or Mental, at a dee-ten." She read the lists off, which got Rarity pondering.
"I already have two Mental Qualities, yes?" At Twilight's nod, she said, "Then perhaps I should diversify. Technology, to supplement the integration of mechanical and aesthetic?"
"Technology it is!" She flipped two more pages ahead to a third chart. "Okay, Archetype. This is how you use your powers as a hero. A Physical Powerhouse, for instance, gets up close and personal with their foes, while a Blaster stays at range to fire lasers or fireballs. For you, though, I think Gadgeteer would fit perfectly."
"May I see the list, Twilight? To save your poor voice from having to rattle it all off if nothing else."
Twilight floated over the book, wondering silently if perhaps there weren't another reason to avoid her listing off everything in it.
After a few moments, Rarity squinted at the bottom of the page. "My my, what are these two final choices? The others all have information next to them, but these just say 'varies'."
"Ah! That would be Divided and Modular. They're considered to be extra complex to play and not really suggested for a first--"
"Now, hold on, dear, let me at least see what they do..." Rarity flipped to the indicated pages and scanned the text. "Hm, hm, hm, no, not Divided, certainly." After more silent reading, Rarity declared, "Twilight, my character is going to be a Modular hero."
"But--"
"No buts! I am certain this is what I want." She smiled to herself. "Yes, perhaps instead of many dresses that she changes between, she has but a single crime-fighting dress, as it were, and it changes shape to fit whatever the situation requires. A sphere, perhaps, for defense, or a pair of wings to augment her flight."
Twilight scratched the back of her head. "I, uh, well... Wait, augment?"
"Oh, yes." Rarity gave Twilight a look like she'd just asked the most obvious question in Equestria. "I am playing a pegasus, did I not mention that? To get away from the self-insert, as it were."
"No, you didn't mention it." Twilight grumbled as she reclaimed the book from Rarity's magic. "But that's okay. All right, let me see, I haven't tried doing this before... Okay, so you need to pick another Archetype first and 'modularize' it, as the book says."
"I suppose Gadgeteer will indeed be the choice, then."
Twilight smiled. "Good! Let's go get you some more Powers and Qualities."
Rarity settled on a high die for the Gadgets Power, as well as Flight, fitting for a pegasus hero. For her last selection, she picked the History Quality, though she lamented that all her choices had been either in the Mental or Information categories.
"That just happens sometimes," Twilight said. "It does mean you're good at those things, though!"
"Well, I suppose. All right, what do we do next?"
"Next..." Twilight pulled out a sheet of her own. "We start deciding on your forms. You're going to have at least one auxiliary sheet in addition to your main character sheet, to keep track of them. Now let's see, you get a few mode-changing Abilities automatically..."
They worked through the numerous modes -- and there were a lot -- over the next few minutes, with Rarity deciding to change her secondary focus from the Gadgets to Flight. After all, if she were playing a pegasus, shouldn't she want to be a good flyer? The various modes gave her access to different Abilities, while changing her Power dice up or down in size. By the end of the process, Rarity had a solid variety between support, offense and defense.
Twilight let out a whistle. "Wow, Rarity. That's a lot of dee-twelves you end up with in some of those modes."
Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. "But of course, darling! Didn't I tell you this was a good idea? And just look at how versatile she can be!"
"You were right." Twilight gave her an indulgent smile. "Now's the chance to pick your second Principle, by the way. This time, it's under the Identity list!"
"Oh, drat," Rarity said, as she took the book and began scanning the pages. "I'd hoped for one from the same list as before. Let's see... Hm! Well, I certainly wouldn't think Chaos was a heroic principle. Goodness, though there are a few more excellent choices here. Defender or Compassion, what do you think, Twilight?"
Twilight chewed her lip for a minute. "Not to sound negative, but maybe not Compassion? I wouldn't be surprised if a high-society pony was maybe a little out of touch with what ponies of a lower station might go through."
"Defender it is, then!" Rarity jotted it down. "I've already said how much I think her dress machine will allow her to defend herself and others, after all. Oh, and I like the sound of these Twists! I suspect there will be ample opportunity for her to learn hard lessons in the field."
"Oh, definitely!" Twilight couldn't help the mischievous grin that spread across her muzzle. "All right, that's it for Archetype. Ready to pick a Personality?"
"Ooh, I like the sound of Alluring already! Hm, though I see Arrogant at the end of the list, I could definitely see Pearl having a haughty streak."
Twilight hmm'd. "Well, consider the Status Dice. As you change Zones, Alluring gets stronger while Arrogant gets weaker. Not that I'm pressuring you to take the strongest option, of course, having a dee-ten Status in the Green Zone is great!"
"Mm, no, I think I shall go with my first inclination in that case. An alluring and perhaps still a bit arrogant pegasus debutante fashionista with a mechanical dress that helps her defend those less fortunate than she!" She put a flourish at the end of the word. "Is there anything else?"
"Oh, yes! First, you get to make up a role-playing Quality! A dee-eight stat, just for your character, that defines them in some way."
Rarity thought for but a moment. "Oh, 'Fashion Forward', dear, absolutely."
Twilight giggled. "All right. Now comes the part where you have too many choices. Red Zone Abilities! You get two. Here's the list."
It was a big list.
Eventually, Rarity settled on an ability that would make her Red Zone defenses a little more consistent, as well as a big attack utilizing the full force of the technological dress, at the price of a Major Twist.
"Retcon!" Twilight declared. "Because comic books always have retcons, that's a step in character creation, too. You can swap around two dice from your Powers or Qualities, change out what Power or Quality you're using for an Ability, change a Principle to any other one, increase your Red Zone Status by a die size -- which would be a dee-twelve, sweet Celestia! -- or get an extra Red Ability."
"Hmm." Rarity brought her paper to her face and squinted, as though the answer were already there and just tiny. "You know, a few steps ago, I'd have said I wanted to change a Principle, but I must say, I've rather grown attached to the character I've created here. Also, I noticed the Reliable Aptitude Ability is available for both Powers and Qualities, and I rather like the idea of being extra reliable."
"When the chips are down, you'll be a real powerhouse!" Twilight smiled at her.
"But of course, dear!" Rarity stretched, then let out a little yawn that she covered hastily. "I must say, Twilight, the creative drive I have experienced over the past half hour was invigorating, but this is something of an ordeal. Are we near the end?"
Twilight nodded. "One last step: Health! You get a base of, let's see, dee-ten Creativity means, eight, eighteen, wow, twenty-eight Health to begin with. And then you can either add four to that, or roll a dee-eight and add the result instead."
Rarity lifted an eight-sided die in her magic. "Let the winds of destiny seal my fate!"
They both stared at the die.
"Huh," said Twilight. "A four." She gave Rarity a lopsided smile. "Guess it was meant to be."
Rarity laughed.
"I suppose it was. And we are done, yes?"
"Pretty much." Twilight took the sheet of paper from Rarity, running her eyes over the flowing horn writing. "We'll need to come up with a physical description, and rename your Abilities, but that can happen later. You've been more than patient, Rarity, and I don't want to take up any more of your time."
"Oh, not at all, dear. I had fun!"
"So I have one last question for you."
Twilight grinned, and Rarity leaned away from her. "And that is...?"
"What's your hero's name?"
A bright spark lit Rarity's face in that moment. "Why, as a matter of fact, I think I've been saying it all this time..."
"There's too many of them!" Graviton shouted. "We have to retreat before we're eaten alive!"
Maritime kept her covered with high-powered water blasts, as her Gravitation Field was currently occupied keeping the limp body of Argus Arborstar aloft and away from the Shadow Changeling hordes. Argus's axe, however, was currently in the furry hands of Hayr Brayne, who was gleefully chopping away at their enemies.
Pearl Luster stood at the back of the group, sides heaving as she thought. She hadn't had the greatest luck in their climb up the captured skyscraper. At least one fire had started because of her carelessness. She was limping on her right hind leg. Not to mention a stray Button Bomber had helped ensure that Argus would go down sooner rather than later.
There wasn't much she could do about any of that right now, though, let alone her current predicament. She wasn't adept at fighting literal waves of enemies, endless or otherwise. Her leg hurt, but her insides hurt more. She just felt so useless! After a short career of crime fighting, helplessness was not something she was used to anymore.
Try as she might, however, she could not come up with any plan to better the situation, beyond sending her Button Bombers to assist Hayr Brayne fighting off the changelings. And they weren't doing much, truth be told.
That is, she could only come up with one plan. She kept coming back to it again and again. And she didn't like it. But what else could she do?
"You all need to leave," she said darkly.
It seemed as though her teammates hadn't heard her at first, until Graviton squawked, "What? Are you crazy?"
"I'm not crazy!" Pearl stamped her hoof. "We need to stop Queen Morphosa's Madness Machine before she enslaves all of Maretropolis! I can destroy it, stop her, and maybe even wipe out her army, all in one go." She lifted her forehoof to her face and said, "Sheaves, Skirmish Mode."
"Yes, mum," said the robotic voice of her Style System's A.I. Her dress shifted from its usual flouncy ruffles to a series of metal plates protecting head, chest and fetlocks.
"I had to give the dame credit," said Maritime, ducking as a changeling leaped past him, then hosing it down with pressurized water. "She had chutzpah. But to do all that in one go, she'd have to bring the whole building down. Nopony could survive that."
"I can survive it." She stood firm, using all her willpower to keep her forelegs from trembling. "If it means getting rid of these sons of bitches once and for all, I can survive it."
Hayr Brayne looked back over his shoulder, grinning at her uncharacteristic profanity. "Hah! You pull that off, you'll be the most XTREME motherfucker in the multiverse!" He hefted the axe over his shoulder and backhanded a changeling that got too close. "I'll cover you, ain't like I got anything better to do." He chopped a pair of changelings in half in one swipe, then blasted another with a magic laser from his Unigun.
"Go," Pearl said to the rest, lowering her head. "Evacuate those civilians we left in the stairwell. I'll give you one minute." And then she dove into the fray, punching changelings one by one. It was the least she could do. It was all she could do.
The other two heroes looked at each other, then nodded. They left, Maritime keeping any would-be followers at bay.
When Pearl and Hayr were completely surrounded, she took to the air, and spoke a command into her Style System.
"Sheaves, activate self-destruct. Authorization code: Final Fashion Storm!"
The plates that made up her dress began to glow bright red, emitting energy that built by the second, burning the chitin off the nearest changelings and sending others scrambling for cover that wouldn't save them.
Hayr Brayne watched her until it was too bright for him to stand. Then he gave her a salute and, bellowing his warcry -- "HAAAAYR BRAAAAAYNE!" -- he jumped through the nearest window.
He would bounce.
When the building finally came down, the rest of the heroes were assembled well away from it, along with the last few office workers who had been trapped in the building by the swarm. Graviton couldn't watch. Maritime wiped at his face and muttered something about the weather in Maretropolis being unseasonably rainy. Hayr Brayne bawled his eyes out. And Argus, who had just regained consciousness, looked up at the collapsing skyscraper with wonder and despair.
"Space sakes alive," he whispered. "Fare you well, Debutante. Fare you well."
"The Shadow Changeling horde is defeated, but at what cost? Could Debutante have survived the skyscraper's collapse? Find out in the next issue of..." Twilight's voice caught in her throat, and the rest came out hoarse and quiet. "The New Power Ponies."
There was not a dry eye in the room.
"And that's where we'll end our session tonight." Twilight swallowed and let out a long breath. "Rarity, that was one horseapple of a finale!"
"Good golly, girl," said Applejack, "I thought you were just good at makin' entrances!"
Rarity sniffed and put on a brave face. "When one has a flair for the dramatic, one practices it at any befitting opportunity."
Pinkie and Fluttershy said nothing, just hugged each other while crying. Even Rainbow Dash had to wipe away surreptitious tears.
"I can't believe I'm getting emotional about a fake pony from a made-up game," she groused, voice more gravelly than usual.
"That's the power of RPGs," said Twilight with a small laugh. "And the other good thing about this one is, Rarity's character doesn't have to be dead, unless she decides that's right for the story."
Rarity returned the smile. "We'll have to see, I suppose. It could be an opportunity to make a new character, after all..."
Author's Note
This story is based off the Sentinel Comics RPG, a system my friends and I have been enjoying in our own gaming sessions of late. :) I apologize if the character creation process was a bit dry, I promise it's much more fun to actually do than it is to read about.
So this story came about because the makers of said RPG run a weekly podcast, and in the most recent episode, they were answering some questions about Modular heroes. One of them said "we're talking about tiers of rarity". You can guess the creative process from that point. :3
Also, I actually made this character in the system as I was writing! If you're interested, you can find the completed character sheets below:
Character sheet
Auxiliary sheet
Thanks for reading!
