The Book of Peter Stanchek

[johnny139]

Man, I really like all three of the powers you have in the latest post, but I also really liked Mental Scream - that feels really iconic to me, that moment where he breaks free of Harada and absolutely wrecks the whole building. Blowing up the heads of like a dozen people at once, that sort of thing.

I think the easiest thing to cut is the auto-wound in The Sting - it's kind of "boring" and is represented by his normal attack. Maybe marry that to the Psychic Scream special attack - roll attack dice against all figures within X spaces, then you can choose one to roll the d20 against?

I'd also err away from the codename here. It was the same question we had with the Runaways - they "have" codenames, but they don't usually use them. So what's most iconic? For him, I'd say it's just his name, Peter Stanchek.

[Yodaking]

I prefer the power on the card to the alternate idea. Having to keep the controlled figure somewhat close makes it interesting, a figure that can move an opponents hero can break the mind control then. On the Trust power I don't see much benefit to having the marker on your own figure so I'd just put it on someone I could afford to sacrifice early in the game to get the +1 double attack going sooner.

Might increase the impact of rolling the 20, you may have gone too far in the nerf.

[LordVenoc]

So maybe something more like this? I really liked Johnny's idea for the scream, that might be a good middle ground when coupled with the order marker limiting ability. I think I found a direction for the first power I'm more happy with:

NAME = PETER STANCHEK

SPECIES = PSIOT
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = TELEPATH
PERSONALITY = REBELLIOUS

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 4

MOVE = 7
RANGE = 6
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 6

POINTS = ???

TELEPATHIC COMMAND
Instead of attacking, you may choose a Unique Hero figure within 3 clear sight spaces of Peter that does not have the Mental Shield special power. If it is a figure you control, take an immediate turn with that figure. If you do not not control that figure, roll the 20-sided die. If you roll 15 or higher, take control of the chosen figure and that figure's Army Card, remove any Order Markers on that Army Card, and take an immediate turn with that figure. If a Hero affected by this special power is no longer within 3 clear sight spaces of Peter at the start of any player's turn, remove any Order Markers on that figure's Army Card and return control of the figure and that figure's Army Card to the player who controlled the figure before it became Telepathic Controlled.

MENTAL SCREAM SPECIAL ATTACK
Range Special. Attack 4.
All enemy figures within three spaces of Peter are affected by Mental Scream Special Attack. Each figure rolls defense dice separately. After attacking with Mental Scream, chose one figure affected by the attack and roll a 20 sided die. If you roll a 20 and the chosen figure is not the only remaining card in the opponent's army, it may not have any order markers placed on its card during the next round.

PSIONIC FIELDS
If Sting or any friendly figure within 3 spaces of Peter is attacked and at least 1 skull is rolled, you may reveal an "X" Order Marker on this card. If you do, the attacking figures attack immediately ends.

FLYING

[LordVenoc]

It sounds like a power layout like this might be a good direction:

TELEPATHIC COMMAND
After revealing an Order Marker on this card and taking a turn with Peter Stanchek, you may choose any Unique Hero figure within 3 clear sight spaces of Peter. Roll the 20-sided die. Add 10 to your roll if the chosen figure is friendly. If you roll 15 or higher, take temporary control of that hero and immediately take a turn with the chosen Hero. At the end of the turn, control of the chosen Hero returns to the player who controlled the Hero before the Telepathic Command. All Order Markers that were on the chosen Hero's card will stay on the card. You may not take any additional turns with figures after the Telepathic Command.

MENTAL SCREAM SPECIAL ATTACK
Range Special. Attack 4.
All enemy figures within three spaces of Peter are affected by Mental Scream Special Attack. Each figure rolls defense dice separately. After attacking with Mental Scream, chose one figure affected by the attack and roll a 20 sided die. If you roll a 20 and the chosen figure is not the only remaining card in the opponent's army, it may not have any order markers placed on its card during the next round.

PSIONIC FIELDS
If Sting or any friendly figure within 3 spaces of Peter is attacked and at least 1 skull is rolled, you may reveal an "X" Order Marker on this card. If you do, the attacked figure may not be attacked for the remainder of the turn.

SUPER STRENGTH
FLYING

This gets rid of the permanent control for a mind control that allows for turns. This is a bit more in line with the typical usage of mind-control done by Harbingers, even though they are very capable of long-term control.

Do people like that change in direction? I know some seemed to be a fan of having to keep controlled units close. The extra turn potential might shoot the points up too high, as I'd like to see him in the 340-390 range in the end.

[MrNobody]

One thing I’d start looking at is text length. I’ve been told Dracula and Baron Mordo have the most text, so you can compare it to them.

EDIT: Also, can he throw stuff with his mind? If so, he might earn the SS Symbol like Jean Grey.

[Yodaking]

Seems like a good approach to try out.

I just want to be sure I understand the intent on the defensive power, you just want to end the current attack only and not the current attack phase of the turn. So a double attack figure would have the first 4 skull roll ignored but then the second attack still gets rolled for. That's how I'm reading it. If you wanted to end the attack phase for a figure, then a double or triple attack would all be lost, but then after attacking powers like bonding still kick in.

[LordVenoc]

He's leveled part of a massive tower with his mind. I didn't realize that would qualify.

As it is it is negating one attack. I could see it being a prevention of all attacks against that figure that turn if he seems to come in underpowered for the mid/high 300s range.

Do people have thoughts on Telepathic Command? I'm concerned giving up the attack weakens him overall a bit too much. I like him being able to "control" allies, but I think there's no good concise way to do that here.

EDIT: Just counted. Peter has three more lines than Dracula. My immediate knee-jerk response is to rework Telepathic Command to be more like Grodd's one turn mind control. I know some liked his control, but the Scream should be more the "centerpiece" of the design than the control.

[Lazy Orang]

Originally Posted by LordVenoc

He's leveled part of a massive tower with his mind. I didn't realize that would qualify.

As it is it is negating one attack. I could see it being a prevention of all attacks against that figure that turn if he seems to come in underpowered for the mid/high 300s range.

Do people have thoughts on Telepathic Command? I'm concerned giving up the attack weakens him overall a bit too much. I like him being able to "control" allies, but I think there's no good concise way to do that here.

EDIT: Just counted. Peter has three more lines than Dracula. My immediate knee-jerk response is to rework Telepathic Command to be more like Grodd's one turn mind control. I know some liked his control, but the Scream should be more the "centerpiece" of the design than the control.

Well, one thing you can start with is cutting 'that does not have the Mental Shield special power' from Telepathic Command - Mental Shield makes them immune to mind-control as standard, that's what the power does.

[Scapemage]

Originally Posted by Lazy Orang

Well, one thing you can start with is cutting 'that does not have the Mental Shield special power' from Telepathic Command - Mental Shield makes them immune to mind-control as standard, that's what the power does.

Indeed. If you cut that line, everything should fit, considering Dracula has 4 powers and we're working with 3 here. That means we don't need the extra in-between power space.

[Tornado]

Sounds like he should have SS based on the Jean Grey precedent.
Does he fly via mental powers?

Would these tweaks work? I just altered Grodd's power a bit to fit the direction you had.

PSIONIC FIELDS
If Sting or any friendly figure within 3 spaces of Peter is attacked and at least 1 skull is rolled, you may reveal an "X" Order Marker on this card. If you do, the attacking figures may not attack any figure in your army.

TELEPATHIC COMMAND 15
After revealing an Order Marker on this card and taking a turn with Gorilla Grodd, you may choose any Unique Hero figure in clear sight of Gorilla Grodd. Roll the 20-sided die. Add 13 to your roll if the chosen figure is friendly. If you roll 15 or higher, take temporary control of that hero and immediately take a turn with the chosen Hero. At the end of the turn, control of the chosen Hero returns to the player who controlled the Hero before the Cognizant Control. All Order Markers that were on the chosen Hero's card will stay on the card.

[Arkham]

Can always try it on a card to check.

We should always strive to not be up against the minimum font size though.

[Yodaking]

On the SS front, more often then not it is used in my games to avoid falling damage so that is something I keep in mind when considering if it is a good fit for a character. If this figure gets thrown off a 20 story building, can they use their mental powers to 'feather fall' safely down to the ground in addition to being able to lift heavy objects with their mind? Then SS is a good way to represent that without trying to create a new power. Although in this case, since he has the flying power the falling question doesn't really matter as much unless flying is negated by a power or glyph.