The Spider Man Movie Web Site

Character Sheets

In response to a few ideas thrown back and forth by the regular Rpers in the X-mansion, I have taken it upon myself (Who better?) To create a style of statistics for use for character creation. Keep in mind this is only a suggestion and should not be taken too seriously. I am loosely translating a style of character generation used by a roleplaying game a few of you might be familiar with in White Wolf. I am not forcing anyone to obey or use these suggestions. But if they are approved I will take it upon myself to aid in character creation, but not to any extent that it infringes upon my own roleplaying time. In brief, I get the right to say "Not right now."

Stats should be loosely based on a few certain classifications on a scale from one to five, five being the highest level humanly capable without some form of augmentation be it cybernetic, or mutagenic or miscellaneous. Examples of stats higher than five would be the Incredible Hulk having a Strength of 10 or even 11, or Tao with an Intelligence factor of 12 or 13. As I have said, this is all pretty subjective seeing as how powers fluctuate and I'd like all of us to use caution to not over exaggerate your character for the sake of ego. Here are the catagories:

Here's a basic one to five scale without going into too much detail.

1: Completely inadaquate. A one means you are as close to incompetant in that area as you get without not having it at all.
2: A basic human average. Nothing too special.
3: A bit above the common man. You have a bit of training in that area.
4: Exceptional. You're one of the cream of the crop in this ability or attribute.
5: Phenomenal. You are the elite. Humanity doesn't get much better.

Strength
(Pure physical strength. One means you're an absolute weakling, five means you're a walking mound of steroid advertisement.)
Dexterity
(Physical speed and agility. One means you have trouble tieing your shoes without help, five means you can pretty much juggle chainsaws blindfolded.)
Stamina
(Endurance. With a One you get winded chewing gum, a five means you compete in Triatholons for a warm up.)
Charisma
(Basically how likable your character is. On a one not even your pets like you that much. On a five, people won't leave you alone.)
Manipulation
(Getting people to do what you want by talking or intimidating them. On a one you'd be lucky to win a staredown with a kindergartener, on a five, the president makes sure that war with Iraq is okay by you first.)
Appearance
(A very subjective catagory, this is your basic character's appearance. One equals Weird Al on a bad hair day, five equals Cindy Crawford.)
Perception
(Your basic awareness of what's going on around you. One is when you don't even realize you have your eyes closed until someone points it out, five is when that fly in the next room starts getting on your nerves.
Intelligence
(Your ability to absorb and retain knowledge. On a one, you'd be lucky to remember your name from day to day, on a five you search for the cure to the common cold in your spare time while pondering the true meaning of the universe.)
Wits
(How fast of a thinker or a reactor you are to things. One means you duck AFTER you get punched in the face, five means you can see the punch coming before your opponent even thinks about throwing it.)

Then there would be a few basic abilities;
Hand to hand combat:
Firearms:
Technology:
Medicine:
Computers:
Subterfuge: (Seduction/Con artistry/Politics.)
Melee weapons:
Mutant history: (What your character knows about the denizens of the mansion) And so forth. Other abilities certainly do exist, but I'm not about to take the time to write them out for you. I'm sure we'll add more to it in the future if this style is chosen to regulate the many characters out there. So deal with it.

That's it for basic stats. Advanced examples of characters already created would be as follows:

Brandon Slayton (My own main character, please let me know if any of these stats sound unreasonable for those of you who know the character.)

Strength: 4 Dexterity: 5 Stamina: 4(An example of constant physical training and alien genetics, Brandon has very high physical stats, though none above what would be humanly possible) Charisma: 3 Manipulation: 2 Appearance: 4 (Brandon doesn't get along with others all that well, and doesn't care much for manipulating others, thus the lower scores. The appearance is pure ego for me.) Perception: 2, Intelligence: 3, Wits: 4 (Brandon isn't really that perceptive after being completely intangible for so long. He's intelligent, though not schooled after all his time trapped in another dimension, but he is a quick thinker.)

Hand to hand combat: 5 (Brandon has trained most of his life even while in the void at the martial arts in many different styles, an extremely good fighter) Firearms: 1 (He knows how to load and point a gun. That's about it.) Technology: 2 (Not schooled, Brandon mostly just picks things up as he goes with electronics) Medicine: 3 (Brandon has picked up a basic knowledge of how to treat injuries through his training) Computers: 2 (Again, lack of experience with the physical world makes him a bit rusty on this ability. Subterfuge: 1 (Right. Brandon doesn't have the patience to try intimidating someone. He'll just deck them.) Melee weapons: 5 (Part of his extensive combat training, it's safe to assume Brandon can pretty much beat you to death with whatever he can get his hands on.) Mutant history: 3 (Brandon's been at the Mansion for months now. He knows everyone currently there, though newcomers he doesn't know much about.))

Tactically Augmented Organism, or TAO. (Or how I view him. Please don't smack me around for this Alan.) Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 4. (Genetically engineered, Tao is pretty much a perfect physical specimen, though a little weak brute wise.) Charisma 4, Manipulation 6, Appearance 4 (Tao is an extremely tricky fellow. If you listen to him, you're in trouble.) Perception: 5 Intelligence: 9 Wits: 6 (These aspects are extraordinarily high just because of Tao's immense mental enhancements. The guy knows everything.)

Hand to hand combat: 4 (Great fighter just through pre-programed reflexes) Firearms: 5 (The guy can shoot you with a rubber band and make it lethal.) Technology: 5 (Again. Tao knows everything.) Medicine: 5 (See above statement) Computers: 5 (Ditto.) Subterfuge: 5 (Don't listen to a word he says. He's evil. Trust me. But you'll think he's Mother Theresa if he wants you to.) Melee weapons: 4 (Again, basic pre-programed reflexes.) Mutant history: (I really can't define this one as it has not been proven if Tao really knows everything about those at the mansion, or if he's just faking it really well.) Overall, Tao's abilities are high to make up for a lack of any "powers" as we can define them.)

Power classification gets a bit trickier, seeing as how there are an infinate number of different powers that are being used, and are available to be used at the mansion at the time. Just be as detailed as possible, again keeping the urge to advance your character to a god like level right off under control. Minor alterations of the 1 to 5 system can be used in this case, though only with advanced knowledge of exactly how powerful your character is. Here's a few comparisons on a couple of basic powers:

Magnetic field command: (In this power, which is my term for the ability to affect the magnetic field of all things we have two good examples in the mansion. Magneto, who would rank a 5 or even a 6 in this ability for the repeatedly proven examples in the comics of his extent of control, and Lorna Dane, who would have perhaps a 3 or a 4 for her less refined, less powerful ability. Sorry Tella.) Telepathy: (Apparently the most common power in the mansion, this power is minor on most levels in the mansion I feel. It is a small source of irritation for every new character to come in and expect to lock minds with Exodus or X-Man. Here's the basic breakdown, Jeff style. Word. Telepaths on the normal level, in that they are able to read surface thoughts on unshielded individuals, and perhaps communicate in that style would be a 2 to 3. Examples would be pretty much half the mansion at this time. But specifically Steven Yount, Nash Styles, and Damon because most of these individuals either have a very small telepathic ability they've trained, or have a large psionic powerbase, but little training in style or subtlety. A 4 would be a level attained by Emma Frost, Psylocke, or Jean Grey. 5 would be Exodus, Selene, Xavier and Legion. And Nate Grey would perhaps voyage into the region of 6.

Again people. Study your characters to the extreme. Tell how their powers work. How they manifest. How your character fights, eats, breathes. We're creating worlds here and worlds can't function without believable characters. Does your laser blast come out of your eyes or your hands? Do you hypnotize others through eye contact or touch? Can you fly by controlling gravity, or riding the Magnetic waves of the earth? How often can you use your powers? Give yourself some weaknesses to play upon. You can destroy buildings, but pass out for hours afterwards. You can fight toe to toe with the Hulk, but you couldn't outrun the Blob. While some of you might doubt how fun it might be to play a fallible character, believe me, it has its appeals.

In response to a few postings on the message board I would give this guideline for powers. Give your character one major power. Energy control, teleportation, or Telepathy, though I'd recommend staying away from telepathy. They explore your character in the mansion. Let him train, learn new ways to apply his powers. Magneto again is a great example of this, using his control of Magnetics to fly, create energy blasts, form big asteroid space stations, stop the flow of iron to the centers of the brain that control mutant powers, and so forth. Let's get away from the one dimensional characters who merely show up with the power of gods to manifest any superhuman ability they desire at a moments notice. No more characters with Super strength, telepathy, control of fire, and time travel, please.

Main Page

Mansion Rules


1