Feel free to work on your character concept(s) here!

I thought that I would start off with the same characters that I had originally proposed for the other game.  Maybe they would fit in here and mesh well with the other characters.

Heartbreaker (Protégé or maybe the Beacon playbooks)
   A prophecy put this young girl in jeopardy from a supernatural cult that was willing to do anything to capture her and see that it was fulfilled.  She was rescued by an established hero who reluctantly allowing her to assist him with his vigilante activities while he kept watch and protecting her.  Her skills grew with experience and eventually enough time had passed that the prophecy failed to come true.  It should have been the start of an exciting new chapter but her story took an unexpected turn when that hero decided to step away from fighting crime to focus more time on his personal life and get married.  She was losing her mentor, her partner in justice, a father figure, and romantic crush.  Those who may have knew her as this innocent sidekick would probably see that she is being a little bit immature by changing her heroic identity, costume, and acting out to get attention that she had lost.
   Looking towards martial arts and equipment or some minor telekinesis if it's not the Beacon playbook.

Itsy-Bitsy  (I was thinking the Delinquent playbook, but he's more class clown than vandal.  Maybe another playbook would work better)
   Background is subject to change but it was originally as follows:  An unwise decision to explore a hidden location that turned out to be an abandoned lair of a supervillain caused this young man to be exposed to the materials left behind for schemes that had yet to be unleashed when the room collapsed around him out of disrepair or from tripping some hidden trap.  When he crawled out from the wreckage, he was only a fraction of his former size.  While that might have been a wake-up call for most people to dial back on the risk taking, his impish personality only saw the humor in the situation and the possibilities to use his new abilities to engage in even more mischief.... and maybe help some people along the way too.  He wants to prove those who constantly warn him that he wouldn't amount to anything unless he grew up.  It turns out that he didn't need to grow up... he needed to shrink down!

Either one could be good! You don't have to choose now, feel free to develop either or both. I just have some initial thoughts.

Re: Heartbreaker.

Minor telekinesis may well be fine for a Beacon. They can get away with having some minor (but potentially quite useful) knack. That said, a Protégé's mentor is assumed to still be an active hero. I suppose it can work if he is still somewhat active and just spending less time on it, but otherwise Beacon sounds more fitting right now. Perhaps she'd reconnect with that mentor or find a new one at some point (Playbook change!). Perhaps by the time that's an option, she would develop a different outlook...

Obviously, I'd need more detail on the (ex-)mentor if this is the character you wish to go with. And on the prophecy and the cult. Even if that chapter is truly done, it may well have some other repercussions...

Also, "father figure" seems to imply she didn't have much of one before, for whatever reason - do I have that right?

Re: Itsy-Bitsy.

I think that's absolutely a Delinquent. You can always emphasize the mischief and fun over being abrasive and selfish (and besides, who's to say that he isn't just being criminally self-indulgent and irresponsible with his tricks, and isn't using jokes to deflect attempts to understand or control him? Well, you, of course, but also NPCs with Influence). There may be other options if you don't think it would work, but I haven't thought of one that would be more suitable yet.

That said - is his primary ability size-shifting? Just shrinking down from his normal size? Also, was he made permanently smaller, or was that just a temporary effect until he figured it out?

As a Delinquent, you can justify getting an extra ability of some kind as well, or maybe elaborating on that one somehow.

And obviously I'd need details on the villain as well if this is the one you choose.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:08, Fri 23 July 2021.

Thanks!  I wanted to see what the other players were going to submit for their characters before making a decision.  Somebody might have a great idea or really want to play the Beacon/Protégé/Delinquent role and I don't want to influence their choices.  Maybe one of my ideas might have a natural connection to another player's character.  I would also welcome opinions from other players to see if they have any preferences (or criticisms).

Some thoughts in regards your questions --



The mentor fits the Batman-style role. Instead of this being the story of a teenage protégé wanting to break away and exercise her independence, it's twisted around that the mentor is stepping away and the teenage protégé isn't ready for this excitement to come to an end.  She's unprepared and trying to figure out how to go solo as a hero, but she's also acting out and maybe hoping that he'll notice her save-me-from-myself behavior.  The team will become a substitute for the relationship that she lost with her mentor and the family that was taken from her by the cult.

The cult and prophecy can be molded to fit the game world.  It was basically an idea to establish a long-term relationship with her mentor.  Instead of this being a villain-of-the-month that the mentor could track down and end the threat to the girl, there would be a steady stream of villains continually coming after her such that she needed constant protection and give her a reason to learn to protect herself.  When the time for the prophecy to be fulfilled had expired, that threat had ended and the mentor felt comfortable with stepping back from his focus on crime-fighting.  However, like you suggested, maybe the prophecy was misinterpreted or somebody found a loophole to make something else happen.


He will probably have some degree of hyper-agility and/or other increased physical capabilities in his reduced size to make him an exceptional hand-to-h... hand-to-shin(?) combatant.  One second, frustrating the criminals by darting around under foot, and the next, leaping up to strike a normal-sized opponent in the jaw.

As for his reduced size being permanent or adjustable, I'll consider both options.  If it's under control, that obviously allows for a secret identity and more stories related to normal school activities.
If it's permanent, he's either a dropout or has gone the public identity route and has to face the challenges of being a shrunken student in high school.  I think that being a dropout would deny him an audience and the attention that a class clown would be seeking so I don't really see that happening.

I was hoping that the villain could be a surprise.  It makes sense if they were the criminal mastermind / brain type.  The fate of the villain can also be determined -- Did they come to an unfortunate end?  Did they reform and give up crime?  Were they busy conducting their criminal activity elsewhere?  Were they captured... and now was about to be set free or escape?  Did they witness the intrusion of their lair remotely?  Did they return to find their layer destroyed, found a tiny set of footprints, figured out the connection, and are now seeking revenge?  So many fun options!
This message was last edited by the player at 03:36, Wed 21 July 2021.

Leaving the prophecy, the villain or any other such blank spaces up to me is perfectly valid. I'll think of something interesting. Just let me know if you have any particular preferences or come up with something yourself.

Re: Itsy-Bitsy, I guess one question is, how small is he now, if he was just reduced in size? If not, how small can he go? I notice a lot of sizeshifters in comics like to go microscopic or lower when the occasion calls for it, is that on the menu for him? Or maybe some sizes are beyond his ability... for now.

Mind you, just being very small all the time might be a bit troublesome to deal with. Not a dealbreaker, but it leaves a lot of issues to consider, like how he would get around (hitch a ride on the big people?). Could be fun of course, so ultimately up to you.

(Definitely still interested in Heartbreaker as well, but I'll wait for more information first. Also will try and get more players in soon.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:29, Wed 21 July 2021.

RE: Itsy-Bitsy

I'm not really a fan of the microscopic shrinking aspect that some characters have in the comics.  I was thinking of him being limited to a toy-like stature somewhere in the range of six to twelve inches tall.  If it's controllable, there would not be stops in between, for example, stopping at 3 feet tall.

I agree that being small all the time has its difficulties, but finding ways to overcome them and being able to help others is what makes him heroic.  There will still be things that he will be physically incapable of doing but there will also be many things that he will be able to do that a normal-sized person could not.

Ah, so basically an action figure? That could be neat.

If he is permanently stuck, I guess he could be a Transformed - if you wish to lean into that side of his situation. Not so obviously monstrous as most of them, but still someone many might consider, silently or otherwise, "not a real person any more". Obviously hampered by the transformation as much as he is empowered by it, but striving to overcome those disadvantages.

That may sound a bit more tragic than what you had in mind, though. Of course, a "clown" who cracks jokes to distract himself and others from his tragic plight is a classic archetype. I think it could work if you don't want to go Delinquent with him.

So, any further thoughts at this point, now that there are more prospective players around?