[RPG] Character Ideas I Can't Use #1 -Effigy

A long time ago, I played in a Champions 4th edition game TheDude ran. I played a "Green Arrow" type, but as a girl. The character's name was Huntress, and she was pretty much utterly devoid of personality or motivation whatsoever.

I got to a point where "going through the motions" got really boring and I wanted my character to die.I talked to TheDude about it, and he agreed.  For those of you that read TheDude's blog, don't be fooled by the genial tie-wearing demeanor. The man is pure evil, in red-haired maniacal form. He listened to my pleas, and actually went through with kill- just in a way I ^^^REALLY^^^ did not expect.

Not only did he kill my character, the then brought her back- as a villain. Not any villain, nope. He brought her back as a she-demon from Hell. Instead of bows and arrows, she used claws and blood. She could project "blood bullets/needles", and then once they punctured a victim's skin, track the victim anywhere for a day. She had some other cool talents, but the ability to track her victim by her blood really intrigued me.

I had that concept in my head for a while, and I played with ways to make it cooler, different, or just interesting in some way. I finally came up with something that took TheDude's basic idea and turned it on it's ear. I came up with Effigy.

Effigy is a shapeshifter with mentalist abilities- and absorption. Effigy does a mental attack on someone across the battlefield, and then takes on their shape. Once he does so, his defensive absorption abilities kick on, and his teammates start to beat on Effigy. The damage done to Effigy is absorbed and directed to the mental attack, and the opponent goes out in just a few well placed blows.

It's a simple, beautiful and effective idea. It's also, admittedly, insanely powerful. Even when I first built him at 250 points, Effigy had an effectiveness of 400+ points, if not more. I've pitched it to no less than 5 separate GM's, and each and every one of them has said "NO".

Effigy has a reputation, and I didn't even do the work. TheDude did all of the warning- he was so impressed with the idea and so sure he didn't want it in his game he figured he'd share the news. I've had fun conversations where I'm about to pitch ANY idea and the GM will come up with "but first, let me say- NO EFFIGY".

I've accepted this as a fact, and tried to move on. I throw around the idea of turning him into a villain, but it never feels right. Maybe I need to build a "Foster's Home For Unloved Heroes", or something.

That's just the first of at least a couple ideas that are beautiful in theory, but improbable and/or impractical in "reality". I mean, we are talking about games...

[Mom Time] Being Challenged

Sorry for the delay in posting, folks. I seriously and honestly struggled with whether to post this, or leave it be. I'm not interested in bing one of those "Mommy Bloggers" that gains popularity and netfame due to the antics of their kids. But I'm pretty committed to being as honest as I can and offering a POV that maybe you don't experience everyday.

At the moment, my "Mom Powers", the formerly Superman like abilities possessed by many a mother, are being seriously challenged. One of my kids is causing me a lot of consternation and serious frustration; confounding me and my standard bag-o'-tricks.

It's not just my amazing hearing and back of my head-o-vision that's being put to the test; it's my very core beliefs about what I am as a mother that are being cut right through.

Being a good wife and a good mother are things that I take very seriously and doing a good job at raising my kids is truly important to me. These most recent developments have me wondering if I'm falling down on the job in the mom department.

After some serious thought, I'm very aware I could have it much worse- I could have a kid that is stealing, vandalizing, fighting,  taking drugs, or any number of much more serious offenses than the ones I'm facing.

At the core, the child in question is pretty good; just in serious need of a gut-check. I'm committed to making it happen, no matter how grueling it might be or how hated I'll be (for the moment)- because I know what I do today matters to how they turn out tomorrow.

So here's to challenges- I hope I'm made of tough enough stuff to take on anything they might throw at me!