Heroes: Arda

[CarpeGuitarrem]

So...I just had a random crazy idea, because I was watching the last episode of Season 2 again, as I was looking at the forum...let's see how it goes...

(Contains spoilers from Season 1 of the NBC show Heroes)

How to Stop an Exploding Man...Revisited
Kirby Plaza--New York City

Many "specials" converged on New York City in a climactic event, as Peter Petrelli, power-mimicking hero, faced down with Sylar, power-absorbing serial killer, and at the same time tried to control his own abilities, the ones which threatened to destroy New York in a nuclear explosion. At the Plaza as well were Noah Bennet and Mohinder Suresh, normal humans with an extraordinary mission. "Specials" DL Hawkins, Niki and Micah Sanders, Molly Walker, Matt Parkman, and Hiro Nakamura were there for various reasons. Hiro, a time-and-space-manipulator, showed up on the scene and eliminated Sylar as a threat...or so he thought.

As Hiro stood in front of Peter, Sylar decided that his interference could not be risked, and he telekinetically threw Hiro. Before the hero could be hurled away from the battle, he performed one desperate manipulation of the fabric of time and space. And he teleported every one of the specials at Kirby Plaza into a strange time and place...

Yep, it's an LOTR/Heroes crossover. We'll see how it goes. The Heroes have been split up, and it's the Third Age of Middle-Earth. Peter has no idea of how to use his time-and-space manipulation powers, mimicked from Hiro, and Hiro believes that he has been sent to Middle-Earth on a mission...a mission that he does not know. Here goes.


•Hiro Nakamura, Teleporter
Companion • Man
Strength: 4
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 9
Special.
Skirmish: Exert Hiro Nakamura to make the first Shadow player assign him to a minion skirmishing another companion; that companion is unassigned.
"YATAA!"

•Molly Walker, Locater
Follower
Resistance: +1
Special. Aid-wound two companions. When you transfer Molly Walker to a companion, you may add a threat to play a companion from your draw deck.
"I can find him for you."

•Niki Sanders, Troubled
Companion • Man
Strength: 5
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 5
Special.
Maneuver: Exert Niki Sanders to make her Strength +4 and Resistance -5 until the start of the regroup phase.
Her ability, superstrength, manifested itself as a split personality in her mind.

•DL Hawkins, Strong
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Special. Each other companion is resistance +1.
Response: If DL Hawkins is about to take a wound, add a threat to cancel that wound.
"It's going to be you and me from here on out. Partners."

(These are rather preliminary, so be sure to give your feedback...)

[lem0nhead]

•Hiro Nakamura, Teleporter
Companion • Man
Strength: 4
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 9
Special.
Skirmish: Exert Hiro Nakamura to make the first Shadow player assign him to a minion skirmishing another companion; that companion is unassigned.
"YATAA!"

Cool but he could cost 2.

•Molly Walker, Locater
Follower
Resistance: +1
Aid-wound two companions. When you transfer Molly Walker to a companion, you may add a threat to play a companion from your draw deck.
"I can find him for you."

The aid is too much. Sound though.

•Niki Sanders, Troubled
Companion • Man
Strength: 5
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 5
Special.
Maneuver: Exert Niki Sanders to make her Strength +4 and Resistance -5 until the start of the regroup phase.
Her ability, superstrength, manifested itself as a split personality in her mind.

Thats an awesome reflection of her ability! Might make it +5 and -4 though. She always has at least a teeny bit of control to get nikki back from jessica and her strength becomes at least 9 id say, she could have aragorn in a fight when shes jessica!

•DL Hawkins, Strong
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Special. Each other companion is resistance +1.
Response: If DL Hawkins is about to take a wound, add a threat to cancel that wound.
"It's going to be you and me from here on out. Partners."

Prevent not cancel. Other than that accurate again i'd say

for some cool idea and synergy with the characters from the show.

[FM]

I loved the lore on Hiro, but since he DID learn how to wield a Katana, PLUS he can freeze time, you'd think he'd be better in a fight.

[Thranduil]

•Hiro Nakamura, Teleporter
Companion • Man
Strength: 4
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 9
Special.
Skirmish: Exert Hiro Nakamura to make the first Shadow player assign him to a minion skirmishing another companion; that companion is unassigned.
"YATAA!"

I can understand him being such low strength with some huge pumps from his Katana and his father and his time-freezing etc.

•Molly Walker, Locater
Follower
Resistance: +1
Aid-wound two companions. When you transfer Molly Walker to a companion, you may add a threat to play a companion from your draw deck.
"I can find him for you."

What are your thoughts on these guys' cultures? She could do with some enforcement of some kind, like each time she is transferred to a special. And I want a bonus for using her with Matt and Mohinder.

•Niki Sanders, Troubled
Companion • Man
Strength: 5
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 5
Special.
Maneuver: Exert Niki Sanders to make her Strength +4 and Resistance -5 until the start of the regroup phase.
Her ability, superstrength, manifested itself as a split personality in her mind.

I'm not sure you should have that much control of Niki's ability. How about some kind of telepathy and put her into the culture? Like revealing the top card, and if it's a Shadow card, make here strength +4 etc.

•DL Hawkins, Strong
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Special. Each other companion is resistance +1.
Response: If DL Hawkins is about to take a wound, add a threat to cancel that wound.
"It's going to be you and me from here on out. Partners."

Again I'm curious about how you decided on each character's cultures.

Thranduil

[FM]

Perhaps a NEW culture for them would be better, like, a Human culture and a Special Culture, and that's about it?

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I loved the lore on Hiro, but since he DID learn how to wield a Katana, PLUS he can freeze time, you'd think he'd be better in a fight.

Lol. The Katana can definitely be a possession...and if the time-freezing were around, I think it might be too much. I mean, that theoretically makes him invincible.

As  for the cultures, the story here is that they've been knocked around to different parts of Arda, and separated. I'm planning to stick Micah and Molly together, and I've already made culture choices for some of them. I'm planning to put Peter and Sylar in [gollum], as FP and Shadow, respectively, based on the idea that Sylar got captured by Sauron, and is now one of his servants, and Peter landed in Mordor, exploding there. As far as culture-deciding, I went with a few odd choices, on purpose, and a couple inspired by the abilities. Hiro's, for example, fits perfectly with some Hobbit themes. As does Niki's and the Dwarvish themes.

I'll have a look at the cards, potentially revise, and give a peek into some thoughts I had on Peter and Sylar, who will be rather unique.

[FM]

Makes sense, when you put it that way. Still, the idea of Nikki as a Dwarf bugs me deeply.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Lol, she's not. She's human, just hangin' out with the Dwarves.

Here's some Peter stuff, with a new keyword: "mimic". A character with mimic gains a response action; if a Special uses an ability, the mimicking character may pay the cost to "mimic" the ability; they may perform that ability at any time, until the regroup phase.

•Peter Petrelli, Called to Heroism [gollum] FP
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 5
Special. Mimic-add a threat.
Skirmish: Add a burden to make Peter Petrelli strength +3.
"It's my turn to be somebody now, Nathan!"

Empathetic Mimicry [gollum] FP
Condition • Support Area
To play, add a threat.
Peter Petrelli may mimic any Special's ability.
"Dig into that file cabinet of yours and pull something out!"
(Note: this means that you don't have to pay the cost or wait for a response to mimic the ability. Peter can just simply use it. So this makes things much easier for him.)

Uncertain Teleport [gollum] FP
Event • Maneuver
Spot Peter Petrelli to replace the Fellowship's current site with a random site from your Adventure deck.
"Next thing you know, we're here."

Exploding Man [gollum] FP
Condition
Vitality: +2
Resistance: -1
Bearer must be Peter Petrelli. Each time the fellowship moves, add a threat or discard this condition.
When you discard this condition, wound each companion twice, except Peter Petrelli.
"Boom."

•Heroic Resolve [gollum] FP
Condition • Support Area
While you can spot Peter Petrelli, and he is unexhausted, your other [gollum] conditions may not be discarded by a Shadow player.
"Because there has to be one that's good. There always has. And your heart has the ability to love unconditionally."

[Thranduil]

Empathetic Mimicry [gollum] FP
Condition • Support Area
To play, add a threat.
Peter Petrelli may mimic any Special's ability.
"Dig into that file cabinet of yours and pull something out!"
(Note: this means that you don't have to pay the cost or wait for a response to mimic the ability. Peter can just simply use it. So this makes things much easier for him.)

Peter only learns to mimic people when they're not there. How about something where you search through a draw deck / discard pile and mimic a special that you find?

Thranduil

[FM]

Yeah, you COULD borrow an idea from MtG, and maybe, like, search your deck for a special, remove it from the game, and give Peter his ability (and state that Peter has the special ability of each Special removed from the game BY HIM).

[CarpeGuitarrem]

No, he can mimic people when they are and when they aren't there. He mimicked Claude Rains when he was with him, as well as Niki, Claire, Nathan (actually, mimicking Nathan's flight was his first)...yeah. And of course he's done the same when they're not around, such as mimicking Sylar's telekinesis. I'm not quite sure of the point you're going for...

(Anyhow, I will be using that idea of removing a Special from the game to copy an ability, except triggering off of a kill, to use for Sylar, who definitely keys into that)

[Thranduil]

Just that he shouldn't require the characters to be in play to mimic their abilities, because he does it well after he meets them.

Thranduil

[FM]

They could key-off differently. Or be made to work together, although that might prove to be too powerful. For instance, Peter could remove them from the game from your deck (meaning he meets them, and then they part, even though you CAN play another copy of them, so he can meet them again WHILE having their ability). For Sylar, he should spot cards in the Dead Pile. However, since this would make him next to useless most of the time, he could ALSO spot cards removed from the game (synergy with Peter), if this doesn't prove to be too powerful.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Just that he shouldn't require the characters to be in play to mimic their abilities, because he does it well after he meets them.

Thranduil

That would make things a bit complicated, I think.

Although...hmm...there is one thought. Peter and Sylar, perhaps, can both (with their respective ability conditions out) use powers on Specials removed from the game. Peter has cards which remove Specials from play through the methods of "discard from hand" and "discard own". Sylar has cards which remove Specials from play through the method of "pay a cost to remove from game". He'll probably also have that as an option if he's about to kill a Special...after all, he has to put some effort into getting the ability. So...

Absorb: If a Special with absorb wins a skirmish against another Special, you may pay the cost to let the absorber use that Special's abilities while the absorber is in play.

•Sylar, Renewed by Darkness [gollum] SH
Minion • Man
Strength: 10
Vitality: 3
Site: 3
Special. Absorb-remove a threat.
Response: If Sylar is about to kill a companion, remove that companion from the game instead to add a threat.
"I'm back."

Intuitive Aptitude [gollum] SH
Condition • Support Area
To play, remove a threat.
Sylar may absorb the ability of any Special removed from the game.
"Let's see what makes you tick."


Granted, the idea of "absorb" isn't verbatim like Sylar's ability in the show, because it doesn't always trigger upon death. This is a playability adjustment.

[FM]

Elegant solution, I think, although the absorb keyword needs a better name AND some clarifications. For instance, I don't get how the condition works, he can't win a skirmish against a character removed from the game, so, shouldn't it say something that specify a phase and that order you to pay the absorb cost right there and then to have the ability?